The Acts Church & Prayer

Ladies, oh how I wish we could fully grasp the power of prayer! Let’s just review some of the amazing verses in scripture related to prayer…

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 

Mark 11:24

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 

James 5:16

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 

Luke 11:9

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 

Jeremiah 29:12

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

 Matthew 21:22

And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 

1 John 3:22

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 

1 John 5:14-15

Are these verses not wild? God, our heavenly Father and Creator, says that if we pray within His will and fully believe we will receive it, that He will grant it to us. This is just one more thing that leaves me in awe of our Father. It leaves me in awe of how extravagant His love is! But then this leaves us with a question. Why do we not see our prayers answered sometimes? Sometimes it is because our hearts are not pure and it is not in line with God's will. But this week we are focusing on the other reason. Scripture tells us the other reason is because we do not have the faith to believe that God will do it. As I write this it is almost as if I can feel the hurt that God feels when we do this. We come to Him and ask Him to do things, yet don’t think He will do it, we doubt Him, we doubt His goodness and that is not ok, ladies! I am guilty of this. The Lord has been dealing with this heavily in me lately and I am so thankful He has! He is opening my mind to so many truths, and yet also to so much unbelief I have carried in my heart for years. Scripture calls this being double minded and that we can expect to not receive anything from God when we are double minded (James 1:6-8).

So this is what it comes down to: do you believe that God will answer your prayers? Do you believe these verses as truth? Do you believe that you are a daughter of the Most High God and that He wants to pour out His love on you? Because let me tell you, if you truly believe in Jesus and He is your Lord & Savior, then you are a daughter of God! You live under the blessing, Jesus has bore your pain and sorrows on the cross and you are free to walk in all the goodness of God! My prayer is that today you spend time evaluating where your heart is at. Evaluate the depth of your faith, and don’t be afraid of what you find. There is room to go deeper for every believer. We all have opportunities for growth and Jesus is constantly working on us. But we cannot go deeper in faith until we first are willing to evaluate our hearts and get to the place where we are willing and want to go deeper. Go for it, ladies!

Choosing a Spirit-led life

Love. It always comes down to love. Love for God. Love for those around you. Love for the lost. Love for yourself. There is a song by Hillsong that I love (let’s not get in to the controversy there :) ). This particular song gets me every. single. time. It is called As you find me and one of the lyrics is “you loved me as you found me”. The simplicity and truth in this wreaks my heart. 

I don’t know about you, ladies, but I was messed up when God called me to that altar the first time. I was broken, dirty, confused and certainly not looking for a relationship with God. It makes no sense that He would want me. The only explanation is the deepest, greatest love one can imagine. Deeper than I could understand until I experienced it fully many years later. As Ephesians 3 puts it, it is so deep and wide that we must have power to comprehend it!

So how does this connect to living a Spirit-led life that we have been discussing this week? Well, to put it simply, we either have more love and devotion to God or more love and devotion to this world. One will always win out. So, what one is higher in your life? Where is your heart? Where does your devotion fall?

I encourage you to spend some time on these questions. Don’t be afraid of the answers. Don’t run from the harshness of truth. Don’t be scared to confront your heart. Time spent on these questions could have more impact on your life than you can imagine.

Your unique role

Ok ladies, you know how you fully understand and accept your responsibility as a wife, mom, friend, co-worker etc…? Well, why is it harder for a lot of us to accept that we also have roles within the body of Christ? Scripture is very clear about this, yet we seem to have pushed this truth aside for years past. We seem to have let disappointment, hurt, disagreements & earthly things get in the way of our relationships in the body of Christ instead of walking in unity like we are supposed to. We seem to have largely fallen away from meat, and only taken in milk for a while (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). But it’s time to move on! It is time to get away from this. It is time to start walking out scripture in our everyday lives. It is time to fully believe the word of God and let go of the excuses. 

We need our minds renewed. We need to let go of the world, and grab hold of God’s kingdom. We need our eyes and ears opened spiritually. We need revival. We need to move forward as the body of Christ and all come to the agreement that we are to go out and fulfill the great commission!

But how do we do this practically? How do we share the love & grace of God to such a broken world? To put it simply, we all walk in our unique role! Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If we slow down, listen and walk in obedience, we will find this to be true! God supernaturally fills us and pours into us, when we are walking in our unique anointing. It is when we are trying to force our will, or trying to walk in someone else's shoes, or being disobedient, that we find ourselves running out, we find ourselves empty, we find ourselves hitting a wall. Now, let me also clarify though that walking in your unique role will not be easy. No laziness will be tolerated, and you will have to work hard. Very hard. However, you will have fruit. You will see God working. You will get more done than you thought possible. You will be filled with an incomparable joy and satisfaction! 

So, ladies, go! Start running and never look back. Start pursuing Jesus more than ever before. And watch Him begin to fill you with His fire, with a passion so deep for Him, you didn’t know possible. Turn your back on the earth and the things that will waste away, and turn fully to His kingdom. Pursue answers to your questions. Thank Him for His goodness and love, and show Him your devotion back the only way (I personally) know how….by obedience! By always saying yes. By letting go of your desires, and saying yes to the destiny that God has purposefully designed for you. 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

The endurance of motherhood

As mother’s, we need endurance. We need to keep our eyes on the horizon, remembering what we want long term for our kids and connect how the little daily decisions impact those goals. Every time we choose them over our phones, that has an impact. Every time we choose discipline over ignoring, that has an impact. Every time we choose to slow down and just be with them, that has an impact. But over time this can also wear us down. It can exhaust us. It can leave us feeling empty and tired with nothing left to give. So how do we continue to make these decisions over the long haul, but keep ourselves from drying up, keep ourselves from being left empty? Well, we find an answer to this in Romans 15:4-7:

4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

These verses tell us that the scriptures and God himself will give us the endurance and encouragement we need. How beautiful is that! But there are two steps, I believe, for this truth to become a reality in our lives. Those two steps are: we must truly believe this as truth, and we must be willing to step out of our natural day to day and step into deeper faith with God. 

If we do not believe this as truth then it cannot become a reality in our life. If we are not willing to step out of what we see around us, and step into deeper faith with God, then nothing in our life will change. We will go about our days doing our absolute best to give our kids what they need, but eventually we will dry up. We will run out. And we won’t have anything else to give. That’s just the nature of motherhood and the needs of our kids. They need so much, that there is no way we can give them everything they need by ourselves. But how beautiful that God knows this, and He has given us all we need to be the mothers He desires us to be. He has given us the scriptures, which then the Holy Spirit highlights and speaks to us through, and then He has reconciled us back to Him through His son, Jesus! Giving us intimacy and relationship with Him! Ladies, that really is all we need. There is nothing more filling and powerful than being in the tangible presence of the Lord. His tangible presence changes everything. That is how He fills us, that is how we keep going, that is how we see things the way He does, by opening our hearts and recognizing His presence. 

I just have to stop and ask, have you ever felt His overwhelming, tangible presence? If so, you know exactly what I am talking about. If not, my absolute biggest encouragement to you is to ask Him to open your heart & mind to recognizing His presence, and ask Him to help you feel His presence tangibly! I want to pray this over you, if you are reading this right now, Lord, I ask that you open hearts & minds to your presence. I ask that you remove barriers, remove religion and remove doubt to the possibility of feeling your presence! Lord, please overwhelm these women with your powerful & beautiful presence, and flood their hearts with your goodness & love! In Jesus name, Amen!

Ladies, Jesus did not die on the cross for us to barely get by in life. The curtain in the temple was not torn for us to live life as ‘normal’. No, Jesus died for us to have a completely transformed life. A completely new life. A life where we walk with Him everyday. A life where we know His presence and He fills us and overwhelms us with His love regularly. So let’s believe the truth that God has given us everything we need, and let’s be willing to go deeper in our faith. Let’s stop trying to get by on our own, and let’s lean into Jesus more. Allow the scriptures & God to give you the endurance & encouragement you need, by prioritizing your relationship with God and reading His word.

A fresh perspective on motherhood

The narrative in western culture on motherhood is pretty sad and depressing. Have you ever sat back and thought about that? The role of being a mother is rarely spoken of as a gift, blessing and privilege. But usually the topic revolves around tiredness, losing yourself and the need for wine. It is almost always sarcastic too, which just has a tendency to be a little too snarky for me. 

Have you ever wondered why the narrative is so negative? I think most people see it as simply an outlet to their harsh daily life. They need time to just relax and be and laughing at funny memes about how annoying kids are does the trick. What’s the harm?

Well, call me crazy, but I think there is harm in this. Not always, sometimes it is harmless and relieves stress. But if it starts to change the way we think about things, if it starts to have an impact on our view as a mother, then we start running into a problem. I never saw it before, but once God opened my spiritual eyes I could see it clear as day. Satan pushes this narrative in culture because he knows the importance of mothers. He knows the importance of the impact of mothers. He knows the depth of the role of motherhood. And he wants to stop our kids from coming to know Christ. He wants to destroy families. He wants to distract us away from our roles and keep us too busy to realize what he is even up to. And unfortunately he has done a good job for decades now. But we won't focus on that today. 

Because God! God is raising up His women and mothers to take back ground. He is opening our eyes to things we could not see before. He is empowering us to take back motherhood. He is equipping us with the tools we need to have thriving families. So, if God is for us, who can be against us?

Ladies, let’s take back motherhood. Let’s change the narrative. Let’s put the focus on the beauty and blessing of being a mother. Let’s encourage those around us to be the moms that God has designed them to be. Let’s show those around us that there is hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is purpose to the mundane of our days. There is purpose in the repeated discipline. There is purpose in the dishes, the vacuuming, the laundry, the tears, the late nights and the early mornings. Let’s bring joy and excitement to the journey of motherhood! So, let’s start today! Let’s do what we can to improve the narrative in our lives, and the lives of those around us!

Deeper faith

Something that I was never taught about when I was younger is the part that comes after salvation. There is such a focus on salvation, but little to no focus on what comes after that. Yes, salvation is the most beautiful gift in all the world, but what comes after that is critical! The journey does not end at salvation, but rather it just begins. 

You know the parable of the seed falling and what soil it lands in? (Matthew 13). Ladies, we need to do what we can on our end to ensure that the seed in our hearts falls on good soil. How do we do this? Well, as scripture says in James we ensure that we are not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word. In western culture, we have been taught that saying a particular prayer is a one way ticket to heaven. Congrats, you made it! But scripture goes much deeper than that. Scripture tells us that only those who do the will of the Father will spend eternity with God (Matthew 7:21).  I don’t know about y’all but this verse strikes some healthy fear into my heart!

Let’s go back to the parable about the soil for a minute. That parable also tells us that there are those who joyfully accept Christ, but then the cares of this world squelch them out. They allow the difficulties in life to take over. They allow hurt, pain, and sorrow to overrun the love and grace of God. How can this happen when someone has joyfully accepted Christ? Well, I believe there are different answers, but a significant part of this goes back to what scripture tells us in James. Are we being a doer of the word or are we only hearing the word and deceiving ourselves? 

Let me just come out and say it….following Jesus takes work. Walking in the will of God for your life ensures that you will come across significant hurdles. You will face temptations. You will be engaged in a war. A war that you have victory in, but a war none the less. God has given us all we need to not only engage but also to win. He fills us with the power, abilities, wisdom and discernment we need to be successful at our particular assignments He gives us. But ladies, these assignments don't happen while we choose netflix every night. They do not get done while we choose to accept culture and desire the next best thing. They are not completed while we actively choose selfishness over the needs and cares of our families and those around us. 

We start to see growth, fulfillment and joy at a whole new level when we finally surrender our reality, our views, our desires, to believing God and what He has spoken. To choosing to take on the hard work. To choosing to push through the battle. To refusing to give up despite attack after attack after attack. 

So, today lets evaluate where this sits with us. Are we frustrated with a lack of results in our life? Is that lack of results from us not going deeper, not putting in the hard work, or is it simply not time yet? Do we need to muster up some patience for God's timing? Or are we trying to stubbornly force something that God is saying no to? Today, press in to Jesus. Be honest with Him. He already knows it all, but there is power in praying through things with Him, and laying out what is deep in your heart to Him. Take inventory of where your heart is, and what you can do to strengthen and deepen your faith in God.

Why the wait?

Does anyone else out there feel like most of their life has been a waiting period? Or is that just me and my lack of patience? 

There is so much growth in waiting though, that I have found myself able to rejoice and worship in the waiting. With excited expectancy for what God is doing and what is to come. I still have frustrating days of course but overall, looking back, I am able to see how much God uses waiting periods and all the beauty that comes from them. 

But we can either enhance, or limit, the beauty that can come out of our waiting periods. 

Do you find yourself becoming bitter at your waiting? Allowing your frustration to overtake you and sometimes giving up instead of persevering? Potentially hardening your heart in the unknown instead of going deeper in faith? Not willing to budge until you have answers? If so, you are not alone. But I want to encourage you in switching your mindset, in opening your heart to possibilities, and in using this time for good!

Ladies, scripture makes it clear that we do not always understand what God is doing. When we read the old testament we see story after story of people, scared, timid and ordinary, being used by God in awesome, yet unexpected ways! When we read the new testament, we are told to expect hardship, to actively put on our new self, to engage in the victorious war against our enemy, and to stand strong in Jesus! So why is it that when we don't understand, and we feel lacking and we come into hard times, do we think God has forgotten us? Why do we tend to harden our hearts in these times instead of pulling from scripture parallel situations to encourage us through? 

Let me tell you something: God is doing things in your life, God is working things out for your good, and God is wanting to mold you into a closer image of Jesus….but He needs an open heart. He needs a willing vessel. He needs a relationship. And He needs you to prioritize Him. Why? Because His love is so incredibly more than we can imagine, that He gives us free will. We have the choice, every single day, to say yes or no to God. So this is the part that hurts, but we must confront it if we want to move forward. Are you saying yes or no to God? Not only in your prayer time but in your actions throughout the day. Are you diving deeper in scripture and pursuing God more than the things of this world? Or are you falling into the trap of busyness and He keeps slipping down the priority list? Have you hardened your heart and stopped listening to Him because your worldly expectations are not being met? 

I know these questions can sting and you can get annoyed with me. But do you want to see change? It is not fun coming to realize that we are part of the problem for delays in our life, but after all, we are the broken ones in our relationship with God, so it would make sense for that to be the case, right? So be willing to evaluate yourself. Be willing to take time to think through your decisions and actions. Be willing to come to God and ask Him to show you where you really are. What you need to work on. And how He sees your current situation. It could be the decision that moves you forward. It could be the decision where you start to see advancement, and no longer sit in stagnation.

Accepting your forgiveness

Our pride is a problem, ladies. I believe it is a very sneaky problem, it can creep up and rear its head out of nowhere. We think we are good and the next minute a huge burst of pride comes up and our behavior turns ugly. Pride is at the root of a lot of sin too. It can have us on a downward spiral in no time, with no advance warning. And I think pride is a significant hindrance to people allowing Jesus to wash them clean. But as Jesus says in John 13:8 “unless I wash you, you have no part with me”. I don’t know about you, but that verse kicks my act into gear.

I want a place with Jesus. My heart aches for more intimacy with Him. More knowledge of who He is. More encounters with Him. More time spent in His tangible presence. This burning desire helps me in my surrender. It takes away the pain of letting go of my desires, letting go of my life, and following Him. It takes away the sting of when He reveals sin and things I need to work on, and keeps my pride at bay. 

But what if you are struggling with desiring more of God in your life? How do you get your first love back? The best place to start with this is simply to ask! Ask God to fill you with more desire for Him. Ask and don’t give up, keep asking. Also, make sure you are walking in obedience. It is so important we are being obedient to what the Lord puts on our hearts, oftentimes He will not move forward with anything else until He sees obedience. 

But ladies, being washed by Jesus is so important, I cannot stress it enough. For so many years, I walked around professing Him with my mouth, but denying Him with my character and my actions. Not only is that detrimental to your witness, but it is detrimental to you! So today I want to encourage you to let go of this world. Let go of worrying about what people think of you. Let go of striving for money, a bigger house, upgrades and finding satisfaction. And cling onto Jesus. Run to Him. Read scripture, get in prayer, worship Him, and watch your heart change. Watch your life change as you let go of the sinful world, and hold onto Him. Watch Him help you turn your heart from things, to relationship. Watch Him heal you and restore you. And you will find yourself in more joy than ever before. More contentment than ever before!

So what washing do you need? What cleansing needs to happen in your life? Take the first steps today in surrendering to the process. Opening your heart and mind and letting Jesus come in, and do what only He can do…restore you to who He desires you to be!

We can’t do it all

Our way of thinking in current culture is so far removed from God’s word that some days it seems impossible to live out life as a Jesus follower. Everyday it seems we are standing out more and more. We are being isolated by our beliefs and mocked and laughed at if we are willing to stand firm and not budge on our beliefs and lifestyle. We are being squeezed and it is needed and healthy to see what is coming out with the squeezing. But that does not make it easy.

As a mom currently raising 2 kids in America, about to be raising 3, my days can feel daunting. They are filled with prayer and concern over influences and trying to find the right words to explain the mass deception the earth is filled with. There are days I wonder why God planned my family for this specific time and I wish it was just easier. My heart longs for simplicity and righteousness. But as in Esther, the Lord reminds me often that He has made my family ‘for such a time as this’. And that simple sentence right there strengthens me more than anything else. 

But with the way things are going in society these days, corruption, sin being flaunted everywhere, mass deception and an overflow of hate, the tendency (at least for me) is to want to crawl in a prayer closet and be with the Lord, and ignore the world. I want to protect my kids from influences and confusion and watch over them. I want to seclude us and have a thriving homestead so we don’t need to go out into the crowds, so I don’t have to answer the questions that come up about the advertisements everywhere that don’t make sense to my kids, so we don’t have to experience pure hate from others because of how we live. 

But at the end of the day this is wrong, selfish, and not how God desires us to live. We are here ‘for such a time as this’ to be His light, which is needed on such a deep level right now. We are here to show the world that there is a way out of the hatred, fear and anxiety and His name is Jesus. We are here to show the world that you don’t have to buy into the corruption and lies, but you can thrive in your intimacy with Jesus and following Him. We are here to show the world that we can’t do it all on our own, but that we need God to heal us, save us, redeem us and restore us. And we need fellow believers to walk alongside life with!

We are at a crossroads in our culture. Women have been lied to for decades and the lies go so deep. We have been told we can do it all, and we should try to do it all. Because we can reach the ultimate happiness when we do. But us who have surrendered to Jesus know this is a great lie. We know the danger in this belief and we see it playing out in the lives of those around us. So, if not for yourself, for the sake of others, we need to speak up. We need to live a life fully dependent on Jesus. We need to openly profess we cannot do it all, and that is ok! We need to claim the name of Jesus and speak His truth, and help to break the deception of those running themselves ragged trying to save themselves from this broken world. 

So, ladies, are you spending time in scripture, renewing your mind, and believing God over culture? Or are you running yourself ragged trying to do it all alone? Trying to meet the needs of all your family, bake everything from scratch, cloth diaper, make more money, have the cleanest house on the block and the sharpest looking kids in town? Are you showing yourself grace and accepting limitations, choosing to rest on the sabbath instead of getting things done? Are you allowing negative influences into your life that are confusing the word of God and sending you down a path towards exhaustion and dead ends, or are you believing God, pressing into His love and goodness and following His will and desires for your life? Are you obeying His commands and taking up your cross daily? Are you willing to stand out these days and raise your kids differently and speak the truth when needed?

Ladies, this is not a condemnation, but rather let this be the spark that ignites your passion again. Let this be the last straw that gets you back to the secret place with Jesus. Let this be the encouragement you need to get back to reading scripture everyday. And let this be the day you decide to give up trying to do it all, and grasp onto humility and community. God didn’t only plan my family for such a time as this. But if you are reading this, He planned your family for such a time as this! And He has filled you with distinct passions and abilities to help fulfill the needs of those around you. So if you are a knitter, then go knit. If you are a baker, then go bake. If you are a gardener, get in your garden. If you are a teacher, then go teach. And if we all can stop trying to do it all, and instead follow the convictions on our hearts, we will all find rest, fulfillment and an overflow of our needs being met!

Selflessness in motherhood

We are all born into selfishness. It plays into our fundamental desires, to have all our needs met and be as fulfilled as possible. But the problem is we have fallen prey to understand our needs from a worldly view, instead of from the perspective of our heavenly Father. 

When you sit down and think about our needs and desires they usually reflect things such as food & water, a home, clothes, entertainment, transportation etc. But when you read scripture you see our needs, as described by our heavenly Father, are different. They are salvation through Jesus, a relationship with God, a renewed mind, discernment, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and deep rooted faith! And if we have these things then all our other needs become met as well. 

As hard as it is ladies, I want to encourage you to lay down your view of your needs at the cross. Give your needs to Jesus, and ask Him to fill you with the needs that He knows you need. Ask Him to renew your mind to understand His kingdom better, to understand motherhood better, to understand His desires for you better. I do not believe we can walk in selflessness alone. Our pull to sin and selfishness in this age is so strong, that we truly do need the power of God and intimacy with the Holy Spirit to continuously lay down our needs at the cross. To put others before us. To choose our families day in and day out. To console the overtired toddler, to find the energy to nurse your newborn throughout the night, to pray through the pain of watching your kids turn away from God, to stand firm in your convictions with your teenager, to slow down & just be with your kids, to simply love them unconditionally through the exhaustion, pain, frustration and trials the years bring. 

Ladies, let’s start going to the word of God for instruction. Let’s let the truth of God’s word flood our hearts, and let’s live out the truths everyday. Let’s actually be willing to change our habits, our days and our lives to be obedient to God. Let’s be willing to lay down our needs for our families needs. Let’s be willing to walk towards selflessness in motherhood hand in hand with Jesus!

Keeping our mouths / The importance of our words

Ladies, it is time to stretch ourselves. It is time to get out of our comfort zones. It is time to walk through the door of opportunity. It is time to let go of inhibition, and run after Jesus!

For many years now, it has been commonplace in the church to have one foot in God’s kingdom, and one foot in the world. To half heartedly follow Jesus, and obviously still fit in and not let things get too weird, right? To attend church on Sundays, but to make sure that life stays the same and we don’t let ourselves become ‘too christian’ that we lose friends and have to change our lifestyle. 

I don’t know if you have noticed, but life has changed. The world changed in 2020 and I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble…but I don’t think life will ever go back to the way it was. But before you get upset, let me say that I see that as a huge blessing and invitation! You see, when you are comfortable, when you have all your needs met, the tendency is to just fall asleep, to not take eternity seriously, to just rest and focus on having fun. But when you wake up one day and your normal has all the sudden been flipped on its head, your needs are not fully met, and you have to modify your day to day unwillingly, well that has a way of waking you up. It has a way of bringing life into perspective and bringing your focus to more important things in life. 

When I read the new testament, I see a fully devoted, surrendered and faithful people following Jesus. I see people who see the freedom in Him, see the love & grace, see His power, and turn from their old ways and never look back. I see full devotion or no devotion at all. The half hearted version we have seen in the church in America, let me just be blatant, is actually no devotion disguised as full devotion. I know that sounds harsh, but we have to wake up! We have to welcome Jesus into every facet of our lives, we have to fully surrender every part of our life to Him, and we have to be willing to establish HIs kingdom wherever we go. 

And now to this week's topic (that was a long introduction!), this full devotion includes our mouths. The way we speak has a profound impact on not only our lives, but also on the way people perceive us. When people hear us speak, do they see someone who is living in the light or the dark? Do we proclaim the name of Jesus but then talk like everyone else around us? Or do our words show that He brings freedom and life change and beauty into ugly situations?

There is no shortage of verses about the importance of our words in scripture. Some of the verses are intense too, like James 3:5-6…our tongue sets the course of our life on fire! Take a moment and sit in that truth. Are you speaking life or death over your life and your loved ones lives? Are you speaking life into your husband and kids? Or are you speaking discouragement, negativity, frustration and overall death into their life? Ladies, our words have a significant impact on our families! 

Today, let me encourage you to be wise in the way you speak. Don’t be afraid to look different. Don’t be afraid to change. And recognize the importance of your words! Take time today and in the next few days and evaluate your words. Evaluate the situations in your life and how your words are impacting those situations. Are you speaking life into a hard situation or making it worse by speaking negatively about a hard situation? Seriously, it matters!

So, ask Jesus for help. Ask Him to be renewing your mind, filling you with a heavenly mindset, and changing your words to reflect the freedom, love and grace found in Him!

Purification, obedience & love

God only desires what is best for us. Yet, this is so hard for us to wrap our heads around. The lie that made its way in when Eve chose to believe satan over God has infiltrated this broken world. The lie that maybe God is hiding something from us, that maybe He is not absolutely good. And that maybe we can find something better if we just do what we want. 

But is that the character of God that is shown through sending His son to earth to be the ultimate sacrifice for all of us? Is that the type of love displayed by Jesus choosing to stay on that cross, enduring more pain than we can imagine, because He desired a relationship with us so much? No, it's not. 

God loves all of us so much, that He refused to let sin stop us from having a relationship with Him. God had the perfect plan, and that plan offers salvation to all. Literally, everyone. Regardless of your past. Nothing is too sinful for Jesus’ blood to not cover. His blood can cover and remove the worst of the worst sins. 

And it is God’s desire that we all come to the purification that He has offered! Why would He offer salvation to the whole earth if He did not desire for all to come to relationship with Him? This is the invitation to purification that we all have before us. If you are willing to stop the busyness of life, to stop and evaluate nature, to stop and evaluate the things happening in the world today, I believe that God will reveal to you the truth behind who He is. The truth behind Jesus being His son and the fact that His sacrifice offers purification for us all…we simply must respond to the invitation! 

So what about those of us who have responded to the invitation and have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Well, then we are called to grow in our maturity. We are called to pursue God and grow in our knowledge of Him. We are called to study His living and active word, meditate on it and live out the instruction found in scripture. We are called to obedience! You see, Jesus does not only offer salvation for all of eternity to us, to save us from eternity separated from God our Father, but God is SO good that He desires to set us free and for us to walk in an abundance of joy in this life too! 

There is no greater joy, comfort or pleasure found than being in the tangible presence of God. Once you are exposed to this and can recognize His presence, it has a way of being all that you desire! But God wants us to pursue His presence. To pursue the things of His kingdom, to pursue intimacy with Him and to let go of the things of this world. When we do these things, we begin to walk in greater joy. We begin to walk in greater fulfillment. Our open wounds begin to be healed and we start to walk in wholeness, as Jesus fills us up with Himself! This is part of obedience. Pursuing God, pursuing intimacy with Him, pursuing righteousness and letting go of our dreams and desires and picking up His desires and plans for our lives. 

Salvation is the most beautiful gift of all. But once we are saved, I believe that is just the beginning! We must grow in our understanding of God, who He is, His character and discover His specific plans for our lives. Once we receive salvation, then we are all called to go out and make disciples of all nations. All of us! But this instruction looks different for us all. Some of us are called to overseas missions, some of us are called to pastoring, some of us are called to church planting, some of us are called to be the light in our office, some of us are called to be the light in our families. And as we grow in our maturity and intimacy, we are able to better discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and His leading us into the specific plans He has for us. Just think about it, someone else coming to salvation could be waiting on your obedience! Will that person not be saved due to a lack of obedience on your part? I don’t think so. However, God wants you to be a part of their salvation story! He wants you to be involved and to share the good news, and that is awesome! So obedience is a big deal. 

Lastly, the greatest commandment we all have is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. However, the type of love God desires is not our broken love as we see it in this world. But the never ending, actionable, agape love that God has for us. The only way for us to be able to walk in this vast love for those around us, is with God’s help. This love is so great, deep and wide, that we are not capable of it without God helping us! And God wants to help us. So don’t be afraid to ask Him. Just have an open heart, welcome Him into every crevice of your heart, ask Him to heal your heart, ask Him to show you the love He has for you and the love He desires you to walk in. Ask Him to bring you to greater obedience and love as you walk through this life hand in hand with Him!

listening AND doing

Free will. It is one of the most beautiful things that God has given us. It shows His utmost love for us, that He desires for us to choose Him as well, we are not forced into relationship with Him. How beautiful is that? 

But it also leads to frustration sometimes. We want God to make our decisions easier and to speak audibly into our situations instead of subtly guiding us. We want Him to invade a loved one's life with His love and power, to encounter them in such a strong way that they are changed forever. Sometimes this happens and wow, it's amazing and we rejoice! But more often than not He works in our lives in subtle ways, changing our hearts and guiding our decisions. 

At the end of the day, it is up to us to choose to act and live out our faith. There is a reason you read so often in the new testament about not being deceived, about walking out your faith and implementing what you now know as truth into your life. Because we can hear the word and read scripture everyday, but we can also choose to not let it change us, to not walk out our faith, to not live life the way God desires us to. 

The more you read the new testament the more clear it becomes how drastic of a difference light and dark is. The more you see the corrupt ways of man and the brokenness of society in general. And the need for our Savior, Jesus! It becomes clear that to be a true disciple of Jesus, we must live our lives differently than the world. We must look to Jesus’ life as an example. We must do what we can to choose Him and His kingdom, not worrying about the choices and ways of the society in which we live. We must do everything we can to not be corrupted by the world!

So what does this look like practically? What can we, as busy mom’s running our homes, training up our children, and encouraging our husbands, do to ensure we personally and our families do not become corrupted by the world? Well, first and foremost we have to let go of worrying about what others think. We have to mature to get to the point that we do not worry about the way people perceive us, the judgment coming at us for our decisions and what people say behind our backs. Because let me tell you, if you are following Jesus, people are talking about you behind your back. Scripture tells us this! And especially these days, if you are following Jesus, you look weird. But don’t worry, you are not alone! Keep at it :) 

Ok so back to it, what can we do?  What should we be doing to protect our hearts and minds for us and our family? Well, let me just give you permission to protect your family. Ladies, working as a team with our husbands, or solely, we are the gatekeepers of our homes. We have the authority to decide what comes in and out of our homes. You think the news is too negative and don’t want your kids exposed to all that mess? Don’t let the news be turned on. You don’t like the way in which a show is now moving and are not comfortable with your kids watching it? Say no. You don’t want your kids having phones until older? Don’t let them have one. You sense a very bad influence in your kids life from a friend? Have discussions and be ok with moving on from that relationship if need be. We must ask God for discernment, wisdom and courage and have confidence in our authority within our families. God specifically designed you as your husband's wife, you as your kids mother, and your family to be right where you are, at this point in history! Let that encourage you. Let that give you the courage to stand firm and unmovable in your faith. Let that give you what you need to not allow yourself to become corrupted by the world. 

Ladies, doing what we can to not allow ourselves to be corrupted by this world is not an option. It is an instruction found in scripture and if we want to follow Jesus, we must take these instructions seriously. So press into Jesus. Ask Him to speak truth to your heart about potential things in your life that may be corrupting you. And don’t be afraid to change your ways, be different and shine your light!

Superiority of the New Covenant

It has been a hot minute since Jesus physically walked the earth. Speaking truth into hearts and revealing the love of the Father in a way that had never been shown before. Showing us the greatness of God’s character and His burning desire for relationship and intimacy with us. 

It has been such a long time that we don’t have much of a context for society back then. We have stories passed down and of course scripture, but as for understanding what the Israelites were experiencing in their day to day and what their anticipation looked like for their savior, that is very hard for us to grasp. And I think this is where we lose understanding of the absolute goodness and beauty of the new covenant that we walk in everyday!

Just imagine, you wake up, and you are not forgiven of your sin from yesterday. You cannot go to your prayer closet and ask for forgiveness and repent (truly change your ways) and then carry on. There is no mediator between you and God the Father. No sacrifice that can cover your sin yet. You must find a clean and worthwhile animal to take for sacrifice. And you don’t have the Holy Spirit with you to help you in your repentance. To help you change your ways and walk closer to holiness. To convict you of wrong and guide you towards righteousness. 

I wish I had a greater revelation of the beauty of the new covenant, the opportunity we have before us that never existed for people before Jesus came to earth. But I sit back and think of this often. Trying to imagine what life would have been like, and it is nearly impossible to understand the gravity of the situation. But I think it is important to stop and recognize the age we are living in. Recognize the opportunity we have living in the church age! 

Church has gotten such a bad rep over the past couple decades. I believe it is because we tried to take things into our own hands and turned our back on intimacy with Jesus and surrender to the Holy Spirit (at large, of course there are some that never did this!). And now people think church is something hypocrites do on Sunday mornings to make themselves feel better but it is so incredibly boring they can’t understand why anyone would walk through the doors in the first place. 

But God’s truth is not boring. Being with fellow saints is not boring. Welcoming the Holy Spirit to the gathering and surrendering to His desires for that day is not boring. Recognizing God’s presence and being with Him is not boring! In fact that is the greatest place to be. The more I grow in being able to recognize His presence and shove distractions aside, the more I crave His presence. I pursue it everyday. I can’t imagine life without it. And there is something about corporate worship that brings His presence so strongly, it is so important to find a church welcoming to the Holy Spirit and to your family! His presence, overwhelming you and filling you with joy, speaking to your heart, the gift of the Holy Spirit, that is because of the new covenant through Jesus! We should be so thankful to be living during the church age.

Ladies, today I encourage you to try to view the new covenant with fresh eyes. Try to imagine life before Jesus and the reality of people before Him. And contrast that to your everyday life. Contrast that to your intimacy with Jesus and Him being with you all the time. To the voice of the Holy Spirit and His guidance. And come to a greater thankfulness for this! I encourage you to worship and praise God for His vast love shown to us in the new covenant. Because it truly is greater than we can imagine, God’s love for us!

The anchor of God’s promise

This world is fleeting. This world is hard. This world is disappointing. And this world is broken, fallen from perfection. But how absolutely good is our God to not leave us hopeless, to not leave us without perfect love, and to provide us with His perfect solution to overcoming this world…His son! God sending His son, Jesus, to this earth completely transformed everything. It brought heaven to earth. It brought healing to our brokenness. It brought hope and salvation that we could not provide for ourselves. 

But we have to say yes to this. We have to agree with God’s goodness, recognize the lies the enemy has planted for us, and walk towards the fullness that only Jesus can give us. We have to understand the impact of the hope that this all brings us. This hope changes everything! And it breaks my heart to see so many not recognizing this hope, or not holding onto their original revelation of this hope. Not fully grasping what it all means and not allowing it to change their life. Ephesians 1:18-19 says “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe”. And Philippians 1:9 says “And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…”

Ladies, today I encourage you to not sit in your salvation. But to ask God for more revelation, to pursue His kingdom with passion and desire for more knowledge. We are to always be growing, moving towards righteousness and never giving up asking for Him to reveal more to us, to fill us with more wisdom & knowledge & discernment. His kingdom and ways are so vast and above our heads, that we must have Him be the one to reveal things to us, to open our eyes and give us revelation and heavenly insights. The insight and revelation into this hope that we have in Jesus has the power to change everything in our life. It can pull us out of depression, sin and grumbling in an instant. 

Let’s desire to walk out everyday with this hope. Let’s desire to let go of our past and walk in the new creation that we are in Jesus. Let’s desire the things of God’s kingdom more than the things of this world. And let’s hold on to the hope that we have in God’s promise regardless of the world around us!

Breaking down Titus 2:4

As a woman living in America, I see two very different messages coming my way. The first message is coming from culture and it tells me to do what I want. Do what makes me happy. Don’t let anything stop me and I can do anything that I desire, I have no limitations if I simply work hard & think positive, I will reach my goals. The other message comes from a lot of my community, reading scripture and the relationship I have with the Holy Spirit and it contradicts all of the above messages. It tells me to let go of myself, to surrender fully to God, that my daily work as a stay at home mom is incredibly valuable, that this world is broken and to understand hardship is part of the brokenness. That giving is better than receiving. And to keep my eyes focused on heavenly endeavors. 

So how are we as godly women supposed to walk out these opposing messages in our day to day? How can we live a life set apart for God, yet welcoming and loving to those following the cultural mold? How can we protect our hearts from judging and hardening throughout the years?

It is certainly a hard line to walk and we will not always get it right. However, scripture gives us answers! This week we broke down Titus 2:4 and discussed the instructions that are given to us as women - to love our husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind and to be subject to our husbands. I thank God for His word and instruction that we have from Him! If we can spend time in scripture and prayer everyday, and be in a place of full surrender, then I trust that God will direct our steps and guide us into how He desires us to live our day to day. When we find ourselves coming into confusion about a situation or not sure how to handle something, our role is to be mindful of scripture, re-read verses like these that set the expectations for our behavior, and go to God in prayer for specific instructions and guidance. 

The trap that we cannot fall into is knowing what is expected of us, and yet being stubborn. Coming up with excuses why that is too hard for us, or convincing ourselves that we don't have to do what we know to be right. Ladies, if we have an intimate relationship with Jesus, we know all of the above instructions to be true, this will not catch us off guard. So, the question is, are we being obedient or not? Are we choosing to love our husbands through their failures or are we turning our backs on them? Are we being kind to those around us and loving our community or are we refusing to help when we are able? Are we living a pure life and saying no when we should or are we giving into sin? 

Ladies, it is time for us who proclaim the name of Jesus to start walking out that proclamation in our everyday life. It is time for us to rejoice in being set apart for the gospel! It is time for us to know who we are in Christ, and refuse to cave to the lies we are being told from culture. To stand firm in our beliefs, convictions and what we know to be true from scripture. It is time for us to shine our light to a dark world!

Confident convictions

Oh ladies, if I could just cut through the lies and get you to believe that you are worthwhile and usable by God! It is time for us women to pay more attention to what God says about us than what society tells us. It is time we silence the enemy and recognize that we are loved by the Most High God and He has important, specific plans for each one of us. 

As women in America, we truly have been brainwashed. This is most likely true for all the western world but I can only rightfully speak for the country I have grown up in. Growing up in public school, it is relentlessly shoved into girls' faces that we are equal, we deserve as much if not more than men, that we can do anything we put our minds to. Which, yes at the root is true. But it is spoken of in such a twisted way, and it has penetrated the hearts of a significant population of women today. As young girls, we are told we must be tough and strong and we will succeed. Over the years this tends to harden our hearts, especially towards men, and has a detrimental effect on the way we view ourselves and success. Because this also teaches that there is only one road to success, and that success looks the same for everyone.

God made women the way He did for a reason. He purposefully created us with our talents and abilities to assist and work alongside men. He did not intend for us to view ourselves as inferior and work hard to be more masculine. No, He made us with intention because he saw the need that man had, that men could not do it alone and that is why we are different! Ladies, if we can sit in this truth and let it flood our hearts, I believe this revelation is life changing. 

Instead of constantly comparing ourselves, let's choose to enjoy our differences and walk in our strengths. It is time to redefine success. It is time to recognize the lie embedded in the American dream. Success is not a well paying career, 2 kids, a hefty mortgage and plans on friday night. Success is walking in the unique plans that God has for you! Success is being willing to lay everything down, and say ok Lord, what do you want? Why did you make me this way? Why did you fill me with such crazy passion for {insert topic}? What do you want me to do about this conviction in my heart that will not leave me? And then action! We cannot stop at the questions and wondering. Once God gives us clarity and creativity to move forward, success is trusting and moving ahead! 

God does not only have plans for men. God does not only have plans for those that ‘have it all together’. God does not only have plans for the educated, the extroverts, the well mannered, the bible scholars. No. God has plans for you. God has plans for those whose life is not perfect. God has plans for those who are shy. God has plans for those who don’t have scripture memorized. God has specific plans for you, ladies! 

Today I encourage you to go to prayer about this, and have an open heart. If you don’t believe me, then talk to God about it. Sit quietly with Him. Ask for His presence to surround you and begin to open your heart to hear what He has to say, not just what you expect Him to say. This is the way to intimacy. This is the way to have life to the full. And this is the way to know God’s plan for your life.

Be Holy

The call to holiness should not be intimidating or scary. The call to holiness is a beautiful invitation from our heavenly Father to be closer to Him, closer to His heart and closer to His plans and desires for our life. It is a call of love from our Creator and Father!

And this love is so great that we don’t have to go through an obstacle course of challenges, trials and exhaustion to get there. We don’t have to do this on our own. All we are called to do is let go. Let go of our perceived control of our life. Let go of our desires and goals. And let God take over in our life. Let Him decide our path and what's best for us. Give Him control of our decisions and surrender to the Holy Spirit working in our hearts and life. 

Full surrender is not easy, and it is something we must constantly evaluate to ensure we are not trying to snatch back control in any areas. But it is also one of the most beautiful choices we can make. To sit back and say yes, God I trust you, I know you are absolutely good, I know your plans are the best for my life and I give it all to you. I give you all control over my life and ask that you work on me. Heal my heart and chisel away at me so I can look more like you. So I can shine your light as bright as possible for those around me to see your goodness too!

You see, if we do not fully surrender, then our hearts are not in the right place to hear and obey the Holy Spirit. We may not hear Him, or if we do, we may ignore the convictions the Holy Spirit puts on our hearts. We may not allow Him to bring us closer to holiness. We may not allow him to work on us and mold our hearts closer to purity and where God desires us to be. Convictions are a significant way that the Holy Spirit speaks to us. I think it is a significant way that He takes our hand and walks us toward holiness. It is how He helps to mold our character to be more like Jesus, because without that we cannot shine His light. Without any change in our life, how can we show others the beauty and realness of Christ?

For example, a little while back the Holy Spirit started to convict me of drinking. Now, did I have a drinking problem? Absolutely not. I simply enjoyed a glass of wine here and there. But out of nowhere, when I would be drinking that wine, the guilt and pointlessness of it overwhelmed me. The Holy Spirit did not whisper specific directions to me (which sometimes He does) but it was an unavoidable conviction. This happened for about two months or so, and finally I said ok, Lord I choose you, I don’t understand everything you do, but I trust that you have a particular reason why You are convicting me of this, so no more. I let go of it! And again, not because it was needed for my life, not because my family needed me to for any reason, not because it seemed to be outright sin, not because I indulged too much, simply because the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to do so. I still do not fully understand, because there are others in my life who do not feel that conviction. But that is where the intimacy and trust comes in. If we are in the mindset that we have to understand everything, well, then that does not look like much faith, right?

So, is there anything that has been on your heart? Are there any convictions nagging away at you that you are trying to avoid? Has God asked you to do something that you are ignoring? I encourage you to trust Him and go through with it! Trust me, I know it can be very scary. The past few years have been a wild journey of trust for me and I have not seen comfort in about 5 years :) But also, I truly believe life begins when you take hold of Jesus’ hand, and say ok! Whatever you ask, lets do this! So do it. Let go of fear. Choose faith. Choose intimacy. Choose God and His ways!

Thriving in marriage

We all know the scriptures surrounding marriage. We all know that marriage is a big deal. We all know that in God’s eyes marriage is a lifetime commitment. But everyday subtle messages are fed to us that marriage is not what God has said about it, marriage is not that big of a deal and really you are probably better off if you leave the marriage, it’s not worth the fight. 

So what are we to do with these conflicting messages? What are we to do when the society around us has lost its way and turned its back on the truth? Well, we have no option but to press in to Jesus even more! Marriage is not meant to be easy. It is two imperfect, sinful humans coming together agreeing to live life together. We both bring baggage, expectations and hurt into the marriage. It is normal to ebb and flow through joy and easy times and strife and hardship. 

So with all of this, how do we work towards thriving in our marriage? Through the busyness of life, the constant needs of kids, relentless demands at work, house projects, bills and loving and supporting our community? It seems as though marriage can easily slip down the priority list without us even realizing it until we find ourselves struggling to love our spouse and wow when was the last time we actually talked? I can’t remember! 

Well, it is not an easy answer and one that many will turn their back on, but we simply must make the decision that it is a priority and we must be willing to change our lifestyle to match that decision. If our marriage is a priority, then we cannot watch a screen after the kids are asleep every single night. If our marriage is a priority, we cannot go months on end with no date night. If our marriage is a priority, we cannot go about life without having meaningful conversations and making decisions together as a team. We have to move marriage up on the priority list and not let it slip down continually. We must be willing to live life differently than those around us regardless! We must be willing to believe God and follow His lead regardless!

At the end of the day, we all know our marriage is worth the fight. Even if we are in strife and struggling through each and every day, we chose to marry our husbands for a reason. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of those reasons and pray, pray and pray some more! Sometimes we simply need to let loose and have fun together. Sometimes we need to have a serious conversation and both come to the conversation with open hearts and a willingness to change. And sometimes we simply need to continue on in prioritizing our marriage and loving our husband! Regardless of where we currently find ourselves, thriving in marriage is possible with God. It is possible if we both pursue Jesus and keep our hearts from hardening. It is possible if we both decide to love regardless and prioritize each other. It all starts with a decision. And that decision is to prioritize and care. Be willing to put in the effort. So make that decision today! Spend time in prayer to keep your heart, and decide to love your husband through it all.

The value in community

Community. I think at this point, we all know that community is best for us. That it is desirable and that it provides a greater satisfaction in life. That we cannot do it all on our own, that we are not meant to carry the burden of it all on our own. But there seems to be a disconnect in knowing this and bringing this truth to life in our lives. 

So where is the disconnect? What does the disconnect reveal to us? Well, there are two things that I believe this reveals. 

1. We believe society over God’s word

2. We prefer our comfort zone instead of fellowship

My family lives in America, and since a very young age we are taught that we need to be independent, we need to strive for success, no reliance on anyone else is the goal. We place independence higher than family, joy, contentment and quality of life. But at the end of the day, what does independence give you? Should it be placed so high by American society? Looking at the typical Americans happiness level, it becomes clear that our values are not right. That something is off. 

So how do we combat this? How do we practically change our life, our day to day to align it more for joy and contentment? For the things in life that actually matter for decades to come?

This is not an easy task. But our families need us to step up and be willing to take the steps to make it happen. We must be willing to be different, we must be willing to go against the grain of society. We must be willing to be bold in our beliefs. In order to be filled with boldness, courage and reserve for the challenging times, we must fill ourselves with God’s word. We must spend more time in God’s word than we do in the things of this world. For example, when we wake up do we grab our phone for social media or the headlines or do we grab our bibles? Before bed do we watch a show filled with language, sex and violence or do we read scripture and spend time with God? Unless we are willing to make these changes in our lives, nothing will change in our life. 

We also must be willing to step out of our comfort zones. We all know staying home, ordering in food, and watching tv until bed is easier than going to a small group from church. Easier than going to a friends and encouraging them through a challenging time. But which option is going to fill you with more satisfaction? Which option is going to fill you with laughter, joy and fun? Convenience and comfort are not what we are meant for. As followers of Jesus we are called to live as Jesus did. Which does not revolve around convenience and comfort, but rather around loving others and devoting ourselves to the needs of those around us. To loving in a sacrificial manner and being obedient to the call of God on our life. 

If we are willing to devote more time to scripture, worship and time with God and we are willing to leave our comfort zones for obedience, then I believe we will find ourselves not only in more community but also more filled with joy and contentment! We may find ourselves feeling more full, having more energy, laughing more and overall enjoying life, instead of just going through the motions. Jesus said He came so we could have life and have it to the full, are you following Him and experiencing life to the full? Or are you struggling believing Him and holding back? His word never changes, you simply must trust and move forward, and watch God fulfill His word in your life!