Who Are You?



Your trauma. Your illness. This is not the story of your life. It is a chapter to be written in victory! When I first meet people. There is no trace of the sick girl I once was. They have no idea until I intentionally tell them what Jesus did so many years ago.  My life instead looks like a woman who did not have years stolen or growing experiences missed. The complete payback has been astonishing.

You are not called to be identified or recognized by your trauma. You are called to be known as children of God who stand in Victory and don't shrink back when challenged. The world needs victors. The world needs friends of Jesus who held his hand through Hell and walked out the other side.

Where we have been and what we have a victory from should be spoken about. It should be celebrated time and again. The thing we wrap our personhood around should be that of our identity in Christ and the original design of the Father.

Don't stay marked by your affliction. Don't let the title of your story be that of a victim. Embrace the whole person you were designed to be. This person who has a testimony of overcoming through Jesus and now lives fully into the original design of their creator.
I am a Daughter of The King, I am a Devoted Wife, I am an intentional Mama, I am a Minister of the Good News, I am a Healed One! Who are you?

99%



99% of my time is spent keeping small humans alive, sweeping up dog hair and figuring out what to feed my family. It’s not walking around on a spiritual high or sitting still in my prayer spot. Yet somehow I am walking out a deeply meaningful and alive relationship with God himself.

Our walk with the creator is not about a Holy Moment that shakes the earth. It is about the daily intimacy and inviting Him into our normal. Our invitation is met with a happy friend who wants the best for us.  He is cheering is on and seeing us for exactly who we are. That is what we want most after all.

Invite Jesus into your ordinary. When absolutely nothing is Instagram worthy. That is where you find your real friends. He will be sitting there simply pleased to be with you. Jesus is funny, Jesus is peaceful, Jesus is friendly. Invite Him to be part of your real life!!!

The quiet you find and the flow of grace to face and conquer from will define your life. This is where I live. Feeding my people, holding my kitties and watching my Jesus smile in my normal.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

Now I Remember



I am learning to appreciate the process. To not focus just on the final destination but to allow the journey to reveal all of God that was intended. Not to say that I do not whine from time to time like a bored kid in the back seat.

When I acknowledge all that has passed and I recognize all that is promised suddenly the “right now” and “I AM” is made more evident. The journey can be slow but beautiful, and the present communication and formation of what God is creating can take our breath away.

We need only to remember and acknowledge.
Write down the victories friends. Rehearse the memories of what once seemed so far away that you now hold in your hands. When God gives you a promise either through prophecy or His Word record it. Return to His message to you. God is not afraid to be held accountable. He is heartbroken to be forgotten.  When we forget Him, we lose ourself, and the process becomes a painful place we stay instead of the route to the promise.

Psalms 63:4-8
Daily I will worship you passionately and with all my heart.
My arms will wave to you like banners of praise.
 I overflow with praise when I come before you,
for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.
You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.
 I lie awake each night thinking of you
and reflecting on how you help me like a father.
I sing through the night under your splendor-shadow,
offering up to you my songs of delight and joy! 
With passion I pursue and cling to you.
Because I feel your grip on my life,
I keep my soul close to your heart.

Curling Up




   My kids learn better when we are physically touching. It may not be for all subjects but certainly for reading. We began with teaching them both together. Everything we teach our son we also offer our daughter. This seemed to be working until we realized that our son who loves numbers but isn’t a fan of reading. He would wait for his very verbal sister to answer and then respond.
I then broke it up one at a time, and that certainly helped things. Then one morning instead of letting them spin and stand on their head beside me. I pulled them one by one onto my lap, and we did our lessons. It was magical! They were calmer, more focused and somehow even without much affirmation they felt seen and brave.

I am the same way with God. When I need to face or learn something new. The ability to get overwhelmed or overstimulated is always present. If I choose to stay close enough to hear His heart. If I have decided to sit in His lap today. Not yesterday because yesterday’s don’t count today. As I curl in for this day and rest as I take in the new, I flourish.

I can not describe the deep satisfaction of watching my kids learn and grow. I am even more at a loss for words as I feel the pull of their beautiful souls on mine waiting to be seen. My Heavenly Father feels the same. I am seen, I am connected, I am learning.

Curl up in His lap guys. He has all the answers, and He can not wait to hold you. 


Lost in the Reading



I see paper hearts hanging from strings. They are dangling from the ceiling and fluttering around me as I walk into the room. This room is our secret place. The space my heart runs to when I talk to my King, my friend and the lover of my soul.
There are so many hearts brushing across my face and tickling my ears.
Then I stop and grab one. Each heart has words on them. I couldn’t even see them until I took the time to pause and look closer. The words are written in the unmistakable handwriting of God. Once you see His writing in your life there can be no counterfeit. I realize what I am holding is a love note.
This love note tells me that I am beautiful. He finds me beautiful. The next note I grasp savors the glee of listening to my children play together. The following letter talks about His desire to exchange every grief for joy.
I realize that in our daily lives if we will stop when the moments brush up against us. What we will find written is a love note from our King. The moments, memories and genuine exchange of authentic relationship. This comes in the pausing and reading, in the sharing the details and remembering, again and again, He has been there through it all.
I am so thankful for the daily hanging notes. I want to get lost in the reading.

Look with wonder at a depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children.
1 John 3:1