I woke up this morning with that old familiar children’s song in my head, “I’ve got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY down in my heart.” Do you remember it? If you were raised in church as a child or went to Vacation Bible School, then you probably do. There is just something about this song that makes me so happy. Most days, I wake up saying “This is the day the Lord has made, let […]
Living a Life of Love
359 posts
Where do you find God? I find God in the most unusual places, often when I’m feeling low or just plain stressed out. When things are going good, it is easy to forget about God. But when things take a turn for the worse, I go running straight to God. Last week, I hit a bit of a bottom. Feeling about as low as I’ve ever felt, I wanted to blame my hormones or the overwhelm of having way […]
With it being the week of July 4th, let’s talk about freedom for a moment. It is a word I take for granted because I have grown up with all kinds of freedoms. But today, let’s look at true freedom and where to find it. We always hear a lot of talk about freedom around the Fourth of July. Just yesterday, I received a group text from a minister which read; “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. […]
A few years ago, I spoke at a women’s retreat. The theme for the weekend was “Do you hear Jesus calling you?”. Jesus has been calling me for quite some time. At this event, I was able to share story after story of how God has spoken to me; from selling our home, leaving our community, then our church and lastly, selling my business to follow the dream of writing a book. By hearing, trusting and obeying God, me and […]
Yesterday was the first day of school. There is always a lot of anxiousness with a brand new school year, but with it being my son’s senior year, we have shifted into excitement. We have a tradition, a motto, “First day, let’s pray.” This year is no different. When the alarm clock goes off, we are all up and at ’em. Except now that he is older, there are no lunches to pack and no clothes to lay out. It feels a lot like a […]
Every day I wake up, I have the opportunity to practice trusting God. And so do you. Whether it is a little nudge or maybe a clear message, God is always speaking, leading and guiding us. We have the opportunity to respond. We get to participate in this amazing work here on earth. Today, we are going to dive in on what it means to trust and obey and why it is so important. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog on Trust […]
Maybe you think Easter is over and it is time to move on. But if we are going to fully understand the gifts of Easter, and live the life Christ intended for us, we need to look at what it means to be “Easter people.” Jesus has some gifts He wants to give us. Gifts that will bring new life to these dead bones. Let’s receive them today. I never thought of Christians as being Easter people. I […]
With a slower approach to Lent this year, I hope we have discovered a newness to Easter. Often, in my haste, I miss so much. But I have to wonder, what really comes after Easter? As we continue in that slowness, reclaiming what we might have lost or maybe something we missed, let’s begin to wonder. On that first Easter morning, we find those closest to Jesus, not joyful, but confused. As we watch them, they begin to wonder and something miraculous happens. God shows […]
Who are you becoming? Do you know? Often, I think I know who I am becoming only to be surprised by who I really am. Caught up in daily life, sometimes we lose sight of who we are and who we want to be. But Jesus has a gentle way of reminding us who we really are. In John Chapter 13, we see this painful, little interaction between Jesus and Peter. Jesus reminds Peter that he is not there yet. He is not who he […]
Do you ever think that maybe you were created for something more? That there must be more than this job, this day, this life even? God is always offering us something more. Ephesians 5:1-2 reads, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love; just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” “Live a life of love…” This is my life verse. If you follow me on social media, […]
Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do. Yet, I find myself always waiting on something. When God spoke to me years ago and said, “Sell the house,” we began waiting for the right buyer. After that, God said, “sell the business and write a book,” and we waited. Now, just a few years later, I am still waiting. Do you feel like you are always waiting? Here is what I discovered; there is a proper way to wait that pleases to the […]
I dream big dreams. However, it has not always been that way. Some years back, I had this man randomly approach me and say, “God wants you to know, it is okay to dream big dreams.” The statement energized me then and it still energizes me now. God needed me to know that it is okay to dream. Because, “nothing is impossible for God.” God wants you to dream big dreams too. Sometimes, we are afraid to dream because of the fear of failure or […]
I am loving this deep dive into the Lord’s Prayer in regard to how to pray. I hope you are as well. Sometimes, I envision Jesus standing before me, just as He did the disciples, teaching me how to pray. It is a powerful visualization, but that is how real our faith is! As we study the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6, we begin to see, it is broken into two sections. The first, […]
As we look at the model of prayer, given by Jesus, in Matthew 6, we learn just how to pray. Last week,as Jesus prays, “Our Father,” we realize we all belong here! To know that you belong, that I belong, is an amazing feeling! The week before that, we found out, some call The Lord’s Prayer, the Disciple’s Prayer. Jesus is in fact teaching us to pray as He prays. We also learned within the Lord’s Prayer are […]
For 2025, I decided to go deeper with God. Just like any good relationship, spending time with God cultivates that connection. Prayer and how we pray is our communication. Jesus is an excellent teacher. Last week, we learned prayer is the cord connecting us to God. Jesus tells us, in Matthew 6:5-13; “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by […]
Last week, we found out how important prayer is, when it comes to deepening our relationship with God. In that message, Jesus models praying for us. If you ever wondered how to pray, this message is for you. Let’s be clear, there is no wrong way to pray. The definition of prayer is; “a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.” I like to think of it as a conversation. […]
This year, I have committed to going deeper with God. Understanding my “Why” is critical to being able to obtain this goal. Part of going deeper, is seeing as God sees. This is tough, so I prayed a prayer, “Lord, give me eyes to see.” Then, God answered and it became harder. How did it become harder? I then was able to see things as God does. Or at least my interpretation of it, anyway. I began to see […]
We just had our first snow storm in three years. One and a half inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain. That’s about as good as it gets in North Carolina. For whatever reason, when it gets cold like this, cold enough to snow, I think of those without homes. Those people on the streets without a warm bed and a hot meal. And I always pray, “Lord, give me eyes to see.” A few years back, I remember […]
