Have you ever found yourself needing to repeat over and over and over all the things God says about you?

I am the apple of God’s eye!
I am a daughter of the King of Kings!
I am loved!
I am Chosen!
I am enough!

I am finding this on repeat in my mind and out loud audibly on my knees with my hands raised high!

I am facing many new challenges as we step in to this new chapter of our lives! It is all absolutely wonderful, and it is all clearly a gift from God and His will, and purpose for our lives!

But it is also a huge challenge!

My husband and I are stepping into the new and the unknown when most people our age are retiring.

It is so easy in these situations to be trapped and even thwarted and frozen in your tracks by the overwhelming feeling of “this is too much,” and “I can’t do it.”

As debilitating as this thought can be… It is actually the perfect place to start!

The realization that I can’t do it, is the point at which I humble myself, and admit that only God can do it for me and through me!
Because I am…

The Apple of His eye!

HIS DAUGHTER!

HIS PRINCESS!

LOVED BY HIM!

CHOSEN BY HIM!

AND ABLE TO DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIS STRENGTH IN ME!

Because of these truths, I can take the step I am taking today! I can step into a new position that He has called me to. I can trust Him to fill in all of the inadequacies that I have! I can step into a new church family and love them with His love the way He has called me to! I can trust that He will bring the increase and that I can decrease and serve Him in humility.

I can step into a new school and a new grade and trust Him to give me wisdom and knowledge beyond what I have now! I can live out the Truth that I am the Apple of His eye!

“For this is what The Lord Almighty says…for whoever touches you, touches the apple of His eye!” Zachariah 2:8

TRUTH BOMB

YOU ARE THE APPLE OF GOD’S EYE AND HE IS YOUR PROTECTOR!

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work Will be rewarded.” 2 CHRONICLES 15:7

So remember, you are so loved, you are priceless and you are treasured by God!

Speak Truth Love

These are the words that I was singing over and over last week with 230 young children and lots and lots of volunteers like myself! 2024 marked my third year in a row to be a part of Bayside OC Church’s ‘BREAKAWAY’ Kids Camp for Pre-K through fifth graders. And we truly “BREAKAWAY!”

We break away from the mundane, the boring and the status quo! We plunge head on into loving one another, side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder, as we sing, dance, throw water balloons at each other, give our best attempt at crafts and most of all, learn about how much God loves each and every one of us! 

We “BREAKAWAY,” to revel in and love one another with the pure, unashamed, love of our great God!

Sure, it can be exhausting as you wake up at the crack of dawn to be up and out extra early and be ready to receive those beautiful faces running at you, full to the brim with energy. But more so, it’s also refreshing as you “BREAKAWAY,” to spend the hour before eating breakfast with, having a devotion with, laughing with and praying with like-minded servants of God! 

Sure, it may cost you a week of work or vacation time or saying no to other things.

But it also renews your spirit as you “BREAKAWAY,” and raise your hands and move your feet and sing as loud as you want(because no one can hear you over the voices of rambunctious children), as you praise your great God!

Sure, it can leave you a bit more sore and tired as you have used your body up and down, up and down to tie loose shoelaces, to wipe popsicle drippings off of faces, and to move rapidly from station to station. But it also restores your mind and spirit as you “BREAKAWAY,” and put into practice “Loving one another with the love of Jesus!”

“WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US!”   I JOHN 4:19

God drew me anew this week to I JOHN chapter 4. It speaks of what we need to be careful of and NOT DO, as Christ followers, and then it speaks of what we are TO DO, as Christ followers!

“BREAKING AWAY” from our routines and schedules, and to-do lists can be difficult to nearly impossible! We tend to hold on tightly with both fist clamped to the control of our schedules! But I believe that 1 John chapter 4 is telling us that we also need to “BREAKAWAY” from our routines and practice loving Jesus and loving others!

When we do truly BREAKAWAY and give ourselves to Jesus we find that we are restored, refreshed, and renewed in Him!

TRUTH BOMB

TO TRULY BE RESTORED, REFRESHED, AND RENEWED, WE MUST BREAKAWAY TO JESUS!

What is it that you need to “BREAKAWAY” from, to BREAKAWAY to Jesus?

I PROMISE YOU IT’S WORTH IT!

Speak Truth Love

“This is how we walk, how we walk on water…one foot in front of the other!

He’s never gonna let you go under, just put one foot in front of the other!”

Sometimes I am feeling overwhelmed!

Life is great! God is clearly in control and blessing and then BAM! Life punches you in the gut again.

It takes your breath away.

It hands you a pile of difficult to impossible tasks to accomplish.

You want to run, you want to hide, you want to fall into bed, pull the covers up over your head and hibernate like a bear in winter.

With the faintest whisper, too quiet to hear, you ask God for help! 

The next thing you know you are dancing and singing alongside 200 kids at Kids Camp and His words come clearly to you as you sing the camp song and dance along!

“Just put one foot in front of the other!”

Just say one prayer, one after the other!

Just serve one person, one after the other!

Just love one person today, one after the other!

Just make one phone call, one after the other!

Just trust God with this one thing, one after the other!

Just rely on God’s Word, one word after the other!

This is how we keep from sinking. 

This is how we keep moving forward!

This is how we walk on water! 

We trust Jesus, we keep our eyes on Him, and we will never go under!

I cling to this promise from God:

“But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3

God is so faithful and true to answer our every prayer! Those spoken out loud or those uttered with barely an audible breath.

The key is…are we listening to His reply?

If we listen to the Lord, and put one foot in front of the other in obedience, He will keep our head above water and He will show us the way through! 

Walking on water with Jesus is not a “Relax, I’m on vacation,” mentality.

Instead, walking on water with Jesus is reaching up, taking His hand and walking, putting one foot in front of the other, one moment and day at a time, as you take on life’s problems, issues, responsibilities and trials!

He is the lifter of our heads and He will lift us up and NEVER LET US GO UNDER!

TRUTH BOMB

Walking on water is trusting in Jesus, every step of the way!

Speak Truth Love

“God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”   1 Corinthians 1:9 (NCV)

I am not writing my Blog today solo. Rather, it is a duet as Jim and I both are singing God’s praises!

“Our God is an awesome God; He reigns from Heaven above, with wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God!”  

This duet is the praise song that keeps rolling off our lips as we stand in awe at our faithful God!

Week 6 of our faith-filled journey in following God in, but didn’t know specifically what He was leading us to, has now come to fruition. 

Last night, the Elders at Summit Christian Church called Jim to a meeting and officially asked him to be their next Lead Pastor! This offer was the final affirmation from God in our faith journey in following our faithful God! Three weeks earlier, also on a Monday, I received a call from the Elementary Principal offering me a contract to join their team as a 5th grade teacher this school year. In six weeks, since arriving back in Southern California, God has faithfully led and directed us to His next places of ministry for us!  

We are in awe of our amazing God, and we praise Him for every faithful step of this journey. God desires for us to have His best. I have always believed in God’s best!  To follow God in spite of hardships, clinging to Romans 8:28–“God causes all things to work together for the good of those love God and are called according to his purposes“–requires trusting Him when it isn’t all mapped out for us.

A wise friend said to me, “You cannot live God’s best and still control the outcome.” Getting God’s best requires us to let go of the controls, and let God steer our ship, AKA, the direction we go. 

This is not an easy way to live, but it is the only way to experience God’s best!

TRUTH BOMB

When we let God write our life script, then we are living God’s best!

Friends, there is so much freedom in letting go of preconceptions, interpretations, and expectations. We let our faithful God write our life script instead of us.

We give God all the glory for His faithfulness to us in this journey He has had us on! And now we pray that we will be found faithful to Him, and He will equip us to accomplish His purposes in this next phase of our life script!

To Him be the glory!

Speak Truth Love

Revived and Restored!

God’s presence + God’s creation + God’s blessings = revival and restoration!

“Be still and know that I am God…”  Psalm 46:10

God’s Presence:

In order to receive God’s presence, we must be willing to be still.

A week at the beach. The wisest choice I could have made was to take a break from the busyness and step into some time to be still. 

“Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord.”  Psalm 148:4

God’s creation:

Spending a week in God’s creation at the beach brought refreshment, not just to my spirit but also to my physical body!

“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”  Psalm 113:3

God’s blessings:

Spending time with God, and giving Him the glory for our most precious blessings brings revival to mind, body, and spirit!

“Children (and their children) are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”  Psalm 127:3

Giving God the glory for his greatest blessings in our life, and spending time in his creation brings true revival and joy!

After putting these three things into practice in my 4th week in following God faithfully back to Southern California, I am revived and restored!

TRUTH BOMB

As exhausting as life can be, God is always the true source of our soul restoration. 

Speak Truth Love