Jesus is with you in the storm and with Him there is perfect Peace! Jesus is able to rest in the middle of the storm because He knows God is in control! 

God’s got you no matter what kind of storm you are in. When Jesus was on the lake with his followers, “a terrible storm, came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” And Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly all was calm.“ Matthew 8:24-26 

When we truly understand who Jesus is, we will know that He can calm whatever storm we are facing. Jesus can calm a storm in nature, and He can also calm the storm in our hearts! 

TRUTH BOMB

Jesus is with us and He is our PERFECT PEACE! 

Speak Truth Love

It finally feels like Fall!

I walked out of my Lifegroup last night and it was raining! The wind was whipping everything in sight around and my shacket was soaked by the time I ran to my car. Fall had arrived!

This morning the temperature had dropped and I actually wore a sweater to school! 

“Sweater Weather, Sweater Weather, Sweater Weather!”  Try saying that three times fast? You will be tripping over your tongue as you slow down and speed up.

But it will leave you laughing every time!

And Friends, sometimes I think the best thing we can do is laugh! 

Laughing doesn’t mean everything is great, but it does mean some things are!

Laughing also makes the natural endorphins God put in our bodies, surge, and we feel better.

I saw a short GIF today on two women repeating the words, “Sweater Weather, Sweater Weather, Sweater Weather,” over and over and over again! I could not stop watching it. It made me laugh until I cried! I really needed it! My endorphins kicked in and my day got brighter!

What makes you laugh?

What makes you smile?

What makes your heart lighter when the weight of the world seeps in?

Remember what the Word of God says:

“A MERRY HEART IS GOOD LIKE MEDICINE!” Proverbs 17:22

So, instead of following your doctors orders, follow your Lord God’s orders and LAUGH!

TRUTH BOMB

A CHEERFUL HEART IS THE BEST MEDICINE!

Laughter truly can be the best medicine!

HAPPY FALL FRIENDS!

Speak Truth Love

He is my refuge and He is my strength, no matter what I am going through!

Many people believe that I love to worship God because I am passionate! But the truth is, I crave worshiping God because He is my refuge and my strength! I run to Him no matter what is going on in my life. I lift up my hands, and I cry out in worship!

Much of the time my cries come through the beautiful and eloquently written words of others as they cry out to God. Sometimes my worship is inaudible, as my spirit cries out to Him from deep inside my soul! At times, my worship is loud, as I stand in the middle of a crowd with my hands raised high and repeat the words over and over again as my soul cries out for strength! 

Worship is my lifeline! I am in good company! 

David cried out in worship to God as he was being stalked by Saul. Saul sent his men out to hunt David down and kill him!  In the midst of his stress and pain, David cried out, “My God is my rock, and whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior.” 2 Samuel 22:3

Paul and Silas also cried out to God as they were imprisoned and chained to the ground in a filthy jail. They joined in worship of their refuge and their strength in the most desperate time of trouble…

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25

I cry out to my great God to be my refuge and my strength as I go through desperate times of trouble!
He is my light in the darkness! He is the truth among the lies! He is my Rescuer and my Redeemer! He is my refuge and my strength!

TRUTH BOMB

When I am desperate, God is my refuge, and when I am weak, He is my strength!

Speak Truth Love

“Sing to The Lord a New Song”

“His Mercies are new every morning”

Do you remember the words to that song…

“Sing, Sing a song, Sing out loud, Sing out strong…

Don’t worry if you’re not good enough for anyone else to hear…

JUST SING, SING A SONG!

Maybe you are too young to remember this tune, but regardless, the sentiment is timeless!

I have been “singing“ a song to God now for over three months(It’s actually been the same tune for 5 years)!

I have sung out praises, requests, pleas, and everything in between! My voice has been strong and my voice has been strained. My voice has been loud and my voice has been quieter than a whisper. But through it all I have kept singing!

Oh, I wanted to stop. I wanted to give up! I wanted to SCREAM instead of sing. But every time I got close to giving up, that sweet, soft, but firm, melodic voice came through!

“You are not alone! I am with you! I have been faithful in the past! I will be faithful till the end!”

My God is Faithful!

He always has been!

He always will be!

The hard part is…

His timing is not mine!

But, HIS TIMING IS PERFECT!

So as I wait…I must keep singing!

My favorite part of the song I was quoting earlier is the ending…

 It simply goes,

Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana, Nana Nana!

Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana Nana, Nana Nana!

The words don’t matter.

Just keeps singing!

Our faithful God will always answer and His answer, and His timing will always be perfect!

TRUTH BOMB

IN THE WAITING…KEEP ON SINGING,GOD IS FAITHFUL!

Speak Truth Love

TRUTH BOMB

GOD’S DAY IS EVERYDAY WHEN WE COMMIT OUR DAY TO HIM!

I have missed you, Friends! I know it’s only been a week…But are you with me when I say, “Sometimes, a week can feel like a year?“ I’ve had one of those weeks! In fact, I’ve had one of those weeks…Followed by another one of those weeks…Followed by another one of those weeks…You get the picture!

But at any point throughout any of those weeks, has God been any of the less near to me? Has God been any the less powerful? Has God been any the less present? The answer to all of those questions is no, no, and no!

God is near to us, God is all powerful, and God is infinitely present with us at all times! The key is, we have to set our minds on him every morning of every day and ask him to be in our day!

When we do this, Friends, He is faithful!

I was blessed with a God-fearing Grandma that taught me to get out of bed, set my feet firmly on the ground every morning, and say,“This is the day The Lord has made,

I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!”

Each and every day, no matter what we are facing, no matter whether we see the answers we desire from God or not,

GOD HAS GOT US AND IT’S “GOD’S DAY!” All we have to do is give it to HIM!

So, please forgive me, Friends for my absence last week, when I allowed myself to get overwhelmed, and I lacked the margin to write one more word.

This week, and every week I commit myself to make it “GOD’S DAY,” and remember that…

HE’S GOT ME!

I love you all! I pray for all of you! May this be a day that you feel God in it from beginning to end!

“This is the day that the Lord has made;

    let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24

Speak Truth Love

You have a tool belt given to you by God!

When you fill it with the tools God gives you to both Thrive and Survive, you have God-given power to wield to accomplish both!

LOVE is the greatest tool from God in your tool belt!

This week I was reminded in two powerful ways that God’s love is both simple and powerful!

First way I was reminded was after receiving very difficult news about my mom’s tragic illness of Alzheimer’s. 

Not only is it progressing, which it is, it is progressing rapidly! As I watch her mind and body deteriorate, my heart breaks with each progression. Last Wednesday my heart could not sustain anymore.

I broke down BIG TIME!

My broken heart could take no more. I cried out to God loud and strong!

He heard my cry!

He reminded me that He holds my mom in the palm of His hand. He cares for her, holds her tight and wraps His tender arms around her so she is never alone!

He reminded me gently by bringing to mind this song that she repeats over and over and over again, even though her mind cannot remember the ones she loves the most!

“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…”

These simple but powerful words demonstrate God’s great love for her, for me and for you!

God’s LOVE is greater than any disease, loss, pain, grief, or trial that we go through!

God’s love helps me rise above my circumstances and survive!

And then, in the most tender of ways, God gently reminded me that He not only loves me so that I can survive, He loves me so that I can thrive!

Last night I was putting my two youngest grandchildren down to sleep. I was reading them books and cuddling with them both! After we said prayers, I said what song do you want to sing…

They both shouted out,

“JESUS LOVES ME!”

My heart was swelled overflowing, as God had gently reminded me my love is sufficient for you! I love you, no matter what! I can both survive and thrive because of the true and pure love of God!

TRUTH BOMB

JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW!

Speak Truth Love

When you’re back against the wall and you’re stressed and have no margin in your life for air or extra, what do you do?

You go back to what you know! 

My dad has been in heaven for 12 years now. When he passed from this world to heaven, he didn’t want a big funeral. In fact, he didn’t want a funeral at all! He was a strong and stubborn man, and his quote was, “if they didn’t spend time with me while I was alive, then there’s no need for them to show up when I’m dead!”

Instead, he wanted every little bit of money he had left, which wasn’t much, to go to all of his girls and their spouses and their children to do something fun together! So we went on a cruise and celebrated the life of my dad!

After that, in his memory, we put a small plaque down where his parents were buried and the saying that we chose to put on that plaque took no time at all to decide upon. 

My dad has four daughters, and every one of his daughters, and everyone of his grandchildren quickly looked at each other and quoted what my dad always said to us,  “What do you know for sure?” And the answer we always replied back to him was, “That you love us.“ 

Every time I miss my dad,  I repeat that phrase to myself. And my heart is filled with love from my earthly father.

When I am tired and have no more to give, when I am stressed out and nothing seems to make sense, and when I am frustrated and hurting, and nothing seems to heal or soothe, I remember what my Heavenly Father says to me.

“I will never leave you or forsake you.“. “I have loved you with an everlasting love. “Nothing in all creation, neither life nor death, nor principalities, nor powers, can separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord.”

I am quickly reminded and restored that there is no difficulty in life I go through that my heavenly father is not there for me. He is for me, and He is with me! And I can rest in that! 

TRUTH BOMB

GOD IS MY STRENGTH WHEN I AM WEAK!

Speak Truth Love

On a day when we remember one of America’s worst days in history, we are simultaneously reminded of one of heroes, America’s resilience, and beauty coming from ashes.

When any group of people are willing to look beyond the tragedy and lift their eyes to the Creator of the universe, the one true God, He and only He can bring beauty from the ashes. 

There is no denying the heinous crimes that were thrust on America. Innocent and heroic lives were lost. Families were devastated and a country mourned. On this day it is important to remember each life lost and given for the good of another. Every life matters to God, and He sees and receives them all. 

In the light of such a tragedy, there is hope to be found when we fall on our knees and turn our eyes toward Him. God can make beauty from ashes! One of the most significant reminders I have from this is the miracle birth of my nephew Jake. He was born exactly four years after, on 9/11/05. My sister had prayed 10 years for a child, and even through in vitro, she was unable to maintain a pregnancy. The doctors told her there was nothing else they could do. She walked into the parking lot that day, threw her hands in the air and cried out to God.  Later that year, Jake was born, her one and only, miracle baby! I believe that Jake being born on 9/11 was no accident. He is our reminder that God brings beauty from ashes!

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…to comfort all who mourn…to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…”. Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)

We serve a miracle working, all-powerful God, who has all things in His control! As dark as the world may seem, or our lives may seem, when we bow our knees and turn our eyes to Him, He can make beauty from ashes.

TRUTH BOMB 

Our God specializes in making beauty from ashes!

Speak Truth Love

Once the calendar turns from August to September, there is a switch that flips in my brain. September signals to my brain, Fall! The days are shorter, pumpkin spice lattes are on the menu, and the temps should be dropping! But they are not and I long for the cool days of Autumn. Yet, reality remains that the days and possibly weeks ahead continue to SIZZLE! 

While the temperature heats up, the key is my attitude should remain cool. Keeping cool in the middle of the heat is not easy. The heat in our lives can be physical heat, or mental, or emotional heat! Regardless, we must try to keep our cool. As temperatures rise we must reach out and grab the Truth of God’s Word to cool down. Our mental and emotional temps heat as quickly and easily as we reach out for our hydros or Stanley’s to cool our physical heat. God’s Truth brings cool, calm refreshment to our overheated emotions and mental states.

“As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭42‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN WE ARE IN A STATE OF SIZZLE, GOD’S WORD GIVES TRUE REFRESHMENT!

Speak Truth Love

This week two people I love very much have birthdays! My sister and my very dear friend! I have a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart just thinking about celebrating them! But the truth is, sometimes we feel like celebrating, and sometimes we don’t.
Circumstances of life get in the way, and may drag us down or make us feel like they’re really isn’t cause for celebration.

The real truth, Truth with a capital T , always gives us a reason to celebrate! Jesus is the Truth, and what He has done for us always gives us a cause to celebrate!

I was blessed to have someone in my life that taught me that in a loving and practical way! My grandma would wake up every morning and declare that,

“This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

It was her daily declaration that she was going to celebrate any and every day that God gave her breath in her lungs and life!
That celebration was not based on the circumstances of her life, but rather on the fact that Jesus gave her life, and it was a gift worth celebrating!
My grandma never had a lot of money according to the world standards. She was not even educated past high school. She had cancer four different times and eventually cancer took her life. But she lived absolutely every single day in celebration of what Jesus did for her and the life he gave her!

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”
Psalm 150

This week, I Celebrate the life that God has given my sister and my dear friend! Birthdays are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate those we love, and I love celebrating these two very much!

Even beyond a birthday, the truth is, theTruth Himself, Jesus Christ, has given us eternal life! And every day He gives us breath in our lungs is cause for celebration!

TRUTH BOMB

EVERY DAY IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!

Speak Truth Love