The Journey

So many of us are our own worst critics. Often times, we try to change things about ourselves that we believe to be unlovely. We set the bar so high that is impossible to reach much less surpass. Hollywood sets the standard, our family sets the standard, the people we attend church with set the standard. God Almighty IS the standard and He loves us the way we are. He not only wants us to be who and what He created us to be, but He will help us get there! Our Creator is ever molding and shaping us. That is, if we allow Him to. As I look back over the past several years, I see me...the chameleon. While it can be good to be able to adapt to your environment, it is not good to lose who you are in the process. When my husband and I separated, I came to terms with a very harsh reality. I had no idea who I was. What music do I like? What color schemes and what style of decorating do I like? How do I like my hair or what is my style of dress? For almost 10 years, I had someone ...

Mark 3:31-34 (NLT) Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, "Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you." Jesus replied, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then he looked at those around him and said, "Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” I have always had such difficulty with this scripture. As a mother and a sister, I cannot imagine going to hear my child or my sibling preach The Good News only to be dismissed like Jesus seemingly did to His family. I can almost hear myself saying, "and just who does he think he is?" However, I believe I now have a better understanding of what this means. Jesus was not so dismissive out of disrespect nor was He saying He did not love them. Only, God the Father and His will would take pr...

Over the past few weeks, I keep hearing the words, "fix your eyes on Me." I've noticed during my walk with the Lord that when He lays something on your heart, you can rest assured you will hear it more than once and usually from various sources. Such has been the case with this phrase. So, naturally, I am sharing this with you. This topic could actually make up an entire page rather than just a few paragraphs, but I can tell you for me, there are two very real reasons we should fix our eyes on Jesus: 1) To avoid temptations and 2) To resist doubt You know, in life, we are bombarded with so many distractions and temptations. Things come at us to entice and to allure us. Most often, we don't even realize we have lost our focus until we wake up one morning saying, "God, what is wrong with me?" or "How did I end up here, again? What was I thinking?" Matthew 6:22-24 (NIV) is recorded as, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes ar...

As you may know from earlier posts, I was very moved by Beth Moore's study, Jesus: 90 Days With the One and Only . The study really draws you into an intimacy with Him. The study enlightens you on the complexities and the very essence of Who He was and Is! During this study, I would sit on the floor with the study guide and my Bible while I completed the day's devotion. (I say devotion for lack of a better word. The lessons are short like a devotion, but the depth was often overwhelming.) At the end of each lesson there is a prayer. At that time, I would have my personal prayer time. I would imagine Jesus sitting on the sofa while I sat at His feet. These were very special times for me. I felt so very close to Him and that I could tell Him EVERYTHING...and I did just that. Upon completion of that study, I moved on to another, but my routine changed. Somewhere in all of the reorganization of my daily activities, I lost this very valuable time of sitting at His feet...

Have you ever met someone and instantly you were bonded to them for life? It felt like you've known them always? This is the case with my estranged husband's brother and his wife. They are like my own brother and sister. Even with all that has transpired over the past two years in my marriage, they have kept in touch and have continued to pray for us. So tonight, I want to share a very small part of their story... Gaston and Kynn Bilbo are phenominal people. They are very involved in their local church where they are faithful in tithes and offerings. They have literally fed the poor, visited the sick, and even visited those in prison. (We'll get to that in a minute.) I have seen this couple grow and mature in their faith by leaps and bounds over the past 10 years. Their growth spurt, if you will, has been an inspiration to me. Their hunger has made me hungry. Their excitement in the things of God has made me excited. They truly are contagious! Many years ago,...

So, I'm sitting here in the Columbus/Ft. Benning Airport waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting...2 hours of waiting. As I look around, I see many others doing the same thing. Everyone handling "the wait" in a different way. Some people are eating. Some people are chatting it up with their friends or fellow wait-ers. One military guy is sleeping on the floor no less. I started thinking...as Christians, how do we wait? I'm not refering to waiting on our order at our favorite restaurant or a flight home or even in line at the grocery. How do we wait on the Lord? In my journey, I have had and still have long periods of waiting. Each time the wait has been worth it! The outcome has usually been different and better than what I had hoped or imagined! David tells us in Psalm 40:1 (AMP) "I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry." Everyone has their own walk, their own journey, and their own times of waiting....

The past couple of months have been difficult. Nothing earth-shattering has happened, no tragedies. I have been looking in the mirror of my soul. I have seen some ugly things. These "things" always come up when I pray earnestly for a clean heart. I'm referring to heart matters such as envy, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, idolatry, even. It's the ugliness I see when I say, "Father, that I might melt into you!" You see in order to become one with Christ, He has to clean us up. He has to bring those unsightly things to the surface that we try to bury inside (all the while praying no one else sees them) in order for us to deal with them. This is The Refiner's Fire. The fire that burns out the dross to bring forth gold. That same fire referenced in Malachi 3:2 which states, "...He will be like a refiner's fire or the launderer's soap." John the Baptist foretells of Jesus' coming with "His winnowing fan...