Sweet and Sour 365

Choose and Take JOY! Right where you are and right where you stand! I love when I find hearts right where I am about to step - He goes before me.

Happy Friday! Take some time to soak in some silence this weekend.

Today...let's make every effort to rest in His promises!

"God’s glory is on tour in the skies" ~Psalm 19:1 (MSG)

And it's Friday - we made it. No matter what the week held...look up and let your soul breathe. “Only the Word is the answer to rightly reading the world, because The Word has nail-scarred hands that cup our face close, wipe away the tears running down, has eyes to look deep into our brimming ache, and whisper, “I know. I know .” The passion on the page is a Person , and the lens I wear of the Word is not abstract idea but the eyes of the God-Man who came and knows the pain.”  ~Ann Voskamp  

He always shows up for me. I'm in the car a lot going here and there and sometimes I get lost in the "mother-hood" of my day. Being busy can be a drug and slowing down can be the withdrawals that I need...but don't necessarily want. When I glance back and see the light making a hole through the dark cloud - I smile. I smile because He always shows up to remind me that He's surrounding me no matter what. He's poking His light through my cluttered day - so that I will see Him. He's clearing a way for me to come back and put my attention where it belongs.  "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be ...

Mid-week - don't give up - keep going. Be the gift today.  With all of the things you have to do - the endless tasks - let them be the gifts you get to do for others and for God.  We are blessed and we get to bless. Happy Wednesday!

A promise that He is always near. When we wake up - He is with us. When we go about our day - He goes with us too. When we go to bed - He's there to give us rest. I love this...but sometimes I can go through my day - just moving through the motions and not really being awake. You know? Not being awake to all that is around me...all that He has blessed me with. So I spiritually wake up - I wake up to this day...this life...and give thanks.  “ The man who has forgotten to be thankful has fallen asleep in life .” ~Robert Louis Stevenson

"So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth." ~1 John 1:6 (NLT)

Taste and see that the Lord is good... ~Psalm 34:8

Love is patient....let's ease into the weekend.

Friday!!  A new day to rejoice in!  

Peace and freedom...

"In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life." ~ 2 Corinthians 2:14 (MSG) Have you ever felt like you have been in such a fog that peace was way out of reach? Maybe saying, "Why can't I just have some peace?" Yeah - me too. When I get like this...I try to remind myself to take some deep breaths. My past of teaching yoga reminds me how to breathe. Some say this breath sounds like Darth Vadar....others say that the inhale and exhales are the sound of God.  “The letters of the name of God in Hebrew… are infrequently pronounced Yahweh. But in truth they are inutterable…. This word {YHWH} is the sound of breathing. The holiest name in the world, the N...

"Rejoice always,   pray continually,   give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Sometimes we think it is just easier to hold on to the hurt and bitterness. That letting it go would mean we were wrong or weak. Some of us have been holding on to it for so long - that it has become part of us. But...by clinging to it - only hurts us more. The roots dig deeper into our own hearts and then we start hurting others. The first step in healing is to trust Him enough to let it go. Once we start to believe Him - our hurts start to heal. We will still feel pain while we heal - but lean in and allow His Peace to warm you.  "Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.   And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." ~Ephesi...

Today, go slow and soak it all in. Don't make today a day consumed with busyness. If you are like me - slowing down can be hard to do because there is always something that has to get done. But try it. Be still and listen for Him. He knows how we are...and He longs for us to sit with Him. He knows us by name and whispers to us. We will never hear Him if we are always rushing.                        “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;                   I have summoned you by name; you are mine."                                            ~Isaiah 43:1 Look around you and give thanks for all that you see - even the mess that you want to pick up. When we slow down - we see our lives. When we hurry - we miss all of His blessings. ...

"Then God opened her eyes..." ~Genesis 21:19 Sometimes...it can be hard to see the good in our day. Sometimes...we can't see what we need even when it is near us. Sometimes...all we see is despair.  We can be blind until God opens our eyes.  The disappointments, the heartaches, the headlines - they can be all that we see - all that we focus on - until God opens our eyes.  In the day to day tasks - let me see. In the headlines - let me see. In the wilderness - let me see. God open my eyes....and my job is to keep them on Jesus.

“Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time." ~ Genesis 18:32 (NLT) We have access to the Creator of Heaven and Earth! God is approachable and responds every single time to us. Today, accept His invitation to come and sit with Him...ask your questions. Make the choice to put aside busyness for a few minutes today. And remember this - He views you through the eyes of grace.

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.      I am your shield,      your very great reward. Genesis 15:1 I like that God comes to ordinary people and uses them! You don't have to be a certain way or have a certain thing done first in order for God to use you. Just be willing. God told Abraham that He would protect him and to not be afraid. Abraham believed God but he still questioned God. I love that. We can ask our questions that we have and still be willing. All we need is a mustard seed of faith. So today...ask your questions...be willing...and keep pressing in. Thank you God for being our shield and our protection!

“...lift up your eyes, now, and look from the place where you are, to the north, south, east and west.  For all the land that you are looking at, I will give to you and to your seed forever." ~Genesis 13:14-15  God says to Abram...I'm giving you all of this and Abram believed him. But we also see the human side of Abram when out of fear Abram started to panic and take matters into his own hands. In Genesis 12, Abram starts to lie to try and keep him safe. He could have let God step in - but he chose to try and do it on his own.  We need to remember that God will keep His promises and that they are on His timeline. Not ours. We need to walk with faith. IF you believe THEN - look up and take a step in faith today. 

"Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him." ~Genesis 6:22 Everyone thought Noah was crazy building this big boat...but Noah had faith and believed God. I'm guessing Noah didn't know how to build this boat - at least not the size that he was going to need. But God gave him all the instructions he was going to need. Noah had faith and believed. Sometimes I forget that God is not limited to where I am. He goes before us - He goes with us - and He goes behind us.  Today, stay under the umbrella of God's protection...have faith and believe. 

What masters you? “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. ” ~Romans 6:14 What masters you? Whatever it is – it may not have started out as something that controls you now. It can slither up behind you and begin to coil around you until it starts to choke the life out of you.  God says, “Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:7) Christine Caine says to call it what it is.  Don’t change the label of the sin. “ If I had a bottle of poison and ripped off the label, replacing it with a label that said chocolate syrup, you would think I was crazy. And you would be correct, because the milder you make the label, the more potent you make the poison.” Call it what it is and be set free. Bring it to the Light and give thanks for His grace. Because of grace – we can live in freedom and not be mastered by sin any longer.  Liv...

Beginnings! I love a clean slate....a fresh start. Each day is a new day - but there is something about starting a new year. If I let my mind wander too much - I can become anxious about the unknown in what this year brings. But if I stay rooted into His word - hopefully - I will not freak out too much and remember that He always provides everything that I need. He provides. Happy New Year and embrace the beginning! "When I was a boy at my father’s knee, the pride and joy of my mother, He would sit me down and drill me: “Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live! Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding! Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch! Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life; love her—she keeps her eye on you. Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding! Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it; never let her go—she’ll make you...