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!

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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

Hey Friends! This week marked 40 years of marriage for my husband and me!

As I was reflecting on 40 years of choices, children, grandchildren, mission, ministry, homes, different cities and different countries, different churches, friends, deaths, births, marriages, and whole lot more, one phrase stood out loud and clear above them all…
GOD IS FAITHFUL!

God drew me to the life of Moses as I reflected on the truths from Exodus through Deuteronomy, the same phrase stood out…GOD IS FAITHFUL!

God was Faithful to lead his people for 40 years and take them to the place He wanted them to be! God has been faithful to us throughout our 40 years and now he has taken us to the place He wants us to be for the next 40(Unless He calls us Home to Him first)! Who says you can’t minister well at 101 and 103?!

Moses spent his first 40 years thinking he was a real somebody. He spent his next 40 years learning he was a nobody. And he spent his final 40 years learning what God could do with nobody!  God can take a nobody and make them a somebody!  Moses had been faithful to fulfill God’s calling on his life. It wasn’t easy, but he was in the center of God’s will for him!  And at the end of his life, Moses wrote:
“For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, and without iniquity, just an upright is he.”  Deuteronomy 32:3-4

As we celebrate 40 years of marriage this week, it is truly due to God’s faithfulness and God’s faithfulness alone! In anything we do in this life, there will be highs, lows, open pathways, and roadblocks. There will be bumps and bruises, along with trophies and triumphs. As long as we keep our eyes on God and follow His path for us, we will find his faithfulness as our Rock and our Guide!

TRUTH BOMB

God, our Rock, faithful!

Speak Truth Love

Mom’s Blog August 13

TRUTH BOMB

I am not able, but God is more than able!

I’m cutting right to the chase today. The realization that we are not able but God is more than able is truth, and the acceptance of this in our lives produces confident humility. It allows us to step into new adventures with God regardless of our age, stage, or capability! We can look back and realize that God’s faithfulness in the past is our confidence of his faithfulness in the future! We can humble ourselves by recognizing that it is not in our own strength and ability that we step into the new adventure, but our full confidence is in God. This gives us humble confidence to know that whatever adventure we are stepping into, our God is more than able to equip us with everything we need to accomplish his will and purpose for us in it.

I am starting a new teaching position and church ministry. I know that I am not able, but my God is more than able!
Whatever you are facing, and whatever adventure He is calling you to, God is more than able!

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Speak Truth Love

Wow, that is so easy and almost natural to do!

If you are here with me every Tuesday receiving a “Tuesday Truth Bomb,” from what Jesus is doing in my life, then you know that BIG changes are a part of my daily routine right now!

I am learning and growing and stretching in ways that I’ve never experienced before. My morning prayer is that God will equip me, bless me, and enlarge my capacity to learn and grow! Also, that He will give me His strength, not my own, to accomplish His will and purposes! 

We are in a new church, pastoring and in a new school, teaching! It is so easy when things get overwhelming and tough, to look back. But looking back does not bring the growth that God desires! It actually can set us back if we are not moving and looking forward.

One of my devotions this week spoke to me so powerfully about moving forward, no matter how different or hard it may be and NOT LOOKING BACK!

In Genesis 19 we encounter, in my opinion, one of the most difficult stories in the Bible. Lot and his family have moved away from Abraham and his family and settled in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18 tells us that the sin within these cities became “extremely serious.“ However, God had a plan to save Lot and his family from the coming destruction. He told them to,

“Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain!” 

Genesis 19:17

God was showing His mercy and faithfulness to Abraham by giving Lot and his family a rescue plan! 

I know that I have needed rescue plans! God has truly shown His mercy and faithfulness to me to provide them.

Lots Family was stubborn! 

God provided a rescue plan and they continued to hesitate. I don’t know about you, but I have been known to drag my feet and even pout a little bit as I’m dragging them! But eventually, Lot’s stubborn family obeyed. But as they ran, we read these chilling words… 

“Lot’s wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt!” Genesis 19:26

Lot’s wife struggled with many of the temptations that we struggle with. Instead of walking forward, with what God was leading her to, she looked back to what she knew. Her home, even though it was burning to ashes! 

The issue was truly her heart. Even though her feet were moving in the direction of God’s plan, her heart desired what she had left behind. Lot’s wife was rejecting God’s mercy! 

Jesus himself reminds us to ,

“Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17

I am reminded by the words of my Savior Jesus Christ, to put my allegiance and trust in Jesus, and in Jesus alone! When He calls, I am to move forward and NOT LOOK BACK!

TRUTH BOMB

WHERE GOD GUIDES, HE PROVIDES!

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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