You are chosen and holy and dearly loved.

Do you know who you are? I mean do you REALLY know who you are? I ask this question and not lightly so you’ll take a moment to process this and see if you know who you are. I don’t mean “what is your name” or “where do you work” or “what do you like to do”. If you are a Christian and you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do you know that you are a child of the Most High God? Do you know what that makes you? That makes you a prince or princess! Can I get an AMEN?!

We serve a great God and He loves us so very much. He loves us so much that He gave His son to die on a cross for us to pay for our sins! Not only that but He designed each one of us… He knew us BEFORE we were even in our mother’s womb! David says in Psalm 139:12-14 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” You are made with care and precision, you are loved and designed. You were made in the image of God and He has a purpose for your life.

To sum this up, you are fearfully and wonderfully made, you are loved, and you are a child of the Most High God! You are chosen and you have a purpose. Walk this out; mull it around in your brain. How does this change your world? Will you act differently? Live differently?

Remember who you are, in Christ!

Noah and a blast from the past!

I was flipping through some old newsletters I wrote when I was an intern. I found one that really hit home and I realized the message that was there and the revelation that I had received for my own life; literally 2 years ago and I’m only now beginning to see the comfort God was giving me then! Sometimes we are so dense… at least I am.  Here’s the message I wrote:

So, I’ve been reading in the book of Genesis, and I was reading about Noah. As I was reading I started picturing being on the Ark with my family for months! It would be difficult not knowing exactly how long I would be there or what God had in mind. Not to mention the fact that there were a ton of animals and where in the world did they go to bathroom? I started thinking about it and I realized how much faith Noah really had to have. He trusted God that he would not be on that boat forever! I wondered if I would have that kind of faith, trust and patience. So, my encouragement for you would be, even though you don’t see the whole picture and you don’t always know why you are going through it or what it’s going to look like on the other side, trust God. He sees the whole picture and his timing is perfect.

Jason and I have been believing for kids for 3 ½ years now… I wrote this message 2 years ago.  We were only in what I would consider the beginning of the painful season of this waiting. We are through the painful part now, but I look at the contents above and I see how much meat there is! Bless the Lord. When we are going through something, good or bad, God is right there with us; He is so faithful and constant. God does see the big picture and if you have given your life over to Him completely you can trust that He will take care of you. That does not mean that you won’t go through junk, by all means there will be junk! But you don’t have to go through it alone. The best part about going through life WITH God is that when you do have something happen, or a season that is not-so-fun, you have a Comforter.  You also have someone to celebrate with during the joyous times!

Noah dealt with serious opposition and persecution; people ridiculed him for taking God’s Word by faith and building the Ark even though no one had even heard of rain! Imagine what he was thinking, what he was feeling. When you know that God is in control, and you take Him at his word, it makes standing against opposition, temptation, persecution, and struggles that much better. You know that you have God backing you up! How cool is that?
We may not understand why we have to wait for something, or why we’re going through something, but we can know that we’re not alone. We can also know that the One who sees the big picture is in charge. Trust in God, fellowship with Him, and spend time in His Word. Let it penetrate every fiber of your being. Let God reign in your life.

This is love...

One of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world is be outside... I love growing things to! I am currently nurturing a whole lot of tomato and pepper plants! What a fun way to end winter and start spring. Everyone really should do it...

Anyhow, these last couple of weeks have been full of thought and prayer. Jason and I have been through quite a bit in our almost 5 years of marriage. The best part about it though, is that it's brought us closer together. There's no way we could have gone through financial downfall, infertility, and other issues on our own and made it through. We've gotten closer because of God. We made a choice about 3 years ago now to truly follow God and make Jesus the Lord of our lives! It's been the best decision we've ever made. It didn't take the problems away by any means, but it sure did make it simpler to go through them. When you really KNOW who your true daddy is (God in heaven). Everything in life is richer. We have a God who loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us. His grace is sufficient and overflowing for us. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Sure life gets tough... every person goes through their own battlefield. But the good news is that you don't have to fight alone. God wants to fight our battles with us; he's given us authority over Satan. When life gets you down, you're not alone! You're never alone when you have the Holy Spirit. Check yourself... do you know who your true daddy is? Do you know who you are fighting WITH and who you are fighting AGAINST? God loves you so much, accept it and embrace it.

"We love, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

I truly love you all!

Seasons

Oh how I love the seasons!

I love the changes each one brings... summer brings sunshine, green grass, plants in full bloom, and trips to the cottage. Fall is beautiful with it's ever-changing leaves and brisk air, there's something truly refreshing about that cool air in the morning, with the frost covered ground and deep reds and yellows in the trees. I love the sound of the leaves crunching below your feet every step you take through the woods... Winter is one of my personal favorites. I know this goes against the norm, but I truly love the cold air and the snow-globe look it has when the big snow flakes are falling so gracefully to the ground. I love the big "storms" we have that cover everything with mountains of snow that looks like powdered sugar has come to rest all over and ice has frozen the trees. I love it when you wake up in the morning and the sun is glinting off of those frozen trees! Spring is the season where everything comes to life again. The grass turns green, the trees bud, the flowers start to peek their heads out of the ground. It's really all quite something, isn't it?

The seasons of weather are really quite similar to the seasons of our own lives. Have you ever noticed this? Think about it for a moment. Are you enjoying a joyous time in your life where you feel like everything is in bloom? Are you transitioning into a different season? Life is always changing and will never stop changing. Some seasons we wish would never end and others we would love to skip if we could! The reality is though, we can't stop the seasons from coming and going. The best thing to do is to enjoy or at the very least learn everything you can from the season you're in. Try to be content with where you are at.

No matter where you are at, God loves you. He has never forsaken you and He never will. He wants to walk through every season with you and teach you things while you're there! Take a look outside and find something beautiful with your surroundings. Now, look at your life, what's beautiful in your life? Thank God for it!