Moments, Memories, and Miracles

I love that we have the ability to have memories and remember special moments in our lives. Do you remember some of your firsts? The first time you rode a bike? First day of school? Driving a car for the first time? First kiss?


Today I want us to visit one of Jesus’ ‘firsts’. His very first miracle! The story of His first miracle is found in John 2:1-11.


On our journey to the cross we are learning that Jesus came to be with people. He came to meet with them right where they are. In the second chapter of John we see Jesus doing just that. He is attending a wedding. He takes time to attend this social event; it becomes an important part of His mission. He is there with His mother and a few of His disciples.


His mother comes to Him to announce that the wine is gone. Mary comes to Jesus with an everyday ordinary need. She trusts that He will meet the need and take care of the situation. Mary has never seen Jesus perform a miracle at this point, yet she believes he has the power to do something about the wine. She submits to His way of handling the situation.


Jesus uses the six stone water jars, something the Jews used as part of their Old Testament law for ceremonial washing. Jesus made something good of it-He brought purpose to it.


His first miracle! He turned the water into wine. Not just everyday normal simple wine. The very best wine. He took something ordinary and turned it into something extraordinary! Now that’s what I call a miracle. And just think He is just getting started.


The disciples who were there at the wedding with Jesus witnessed how Jesus would go about His ministry.

**He would use His God given authority

**He would help people

**He would personally be involved in the lives of people

May you know that Jesus wants to live in the moments of your life with you. He wants to make memories with you. Most of all He wants to take your ordinary needs and turn them into extraordinary miracles!

Friday Challenge

Hello and welcome to the blog!

As we journey to the cross I want us to really understand in our hearts what the cross is all about. What it represents, what is has done for us, what it means to us on a very personal level.

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30 (NIV) (emphasis mine)

My heart desires that everyone come to see Jesus as the One who stood in the gap for them. I don't just want to be a girl who types these words out on a blog I want to be living this out. So what does that look like?


This weeks Friday Challenge: Stand in the gap


Standing in the gap means to pray for them, love them, help lead them to the heart of God.

Standing in the gap is NOT about being righteous or having an attitude of 'I have arrived and now I will have pity on every one else'.

Standing in the gap is desiring for everyone to join you in relationship with God. A God who has a grace and loved filled relationship with their name on it!


Is there someone you can stand in the gap for?

Someone you can pray for?

Someone you know who needs to meet Jesus?

I am praying hard today for a friend. She is shackled by shame, guilt and doubts. I am praying God will surround her with a grace that breaks the chains that hold her captive. I am praying she will allow Him to pick her up and turn her eyes to Him. Praying she will step away from that which holds her captive and grab her Fathers hand, a hand that has been tattooed-pierced just for her. I pray she will dance freely with Him. Freely lavished in His love!

I know there are many people in my life who have stood in the gap for me-Amen!

Who needs you to stand in the gap?

A spouse?

A co-worker?

A child?

A friend?

A sister-in-law?

A cousin?

A brother?

A parent?


Or maybe you come today needing someone to stand in the gap for you. Leave an anonymous comment if you feel led and there will people who will stand in the gap for you. I will, and I know there are many friends and family members who will join me!


This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16 (NIV)

Tweeking the Treatment Plan

I have been thinking today that this blog has been pretty serious the last few weeks and I am in need of some humor, some good laughs! How about you?

So the Neurologist diagnoses me with a thalamus that is not functioning properly. Now for those of you who did not take Anatomy and Physiology in college...the thalamus is part of your brain. The thalamus is the part of the brain that relays sensory information. Anyway this is SO not going to be a lesson in brain anatomy and function...I just wanted ya'll to know what I am working on treating. My brain! Well not the whole thing...the majority of its working just fine! Hence my amazing ability to blog....and with humor I might add. Well I guess humor is all a matter of perception and I am havin me some issues with perception...HA!

Okay so on to the treatment plan. My treatment plan includes many things that will help to get my thalamus functioning properly again. One focus is eating a high amount of antioxidants. So I am learning which foods are high in antioxidants and what forms they need to be eaten in to get the best benefit. I am also learning the difference between organic and non-organic. So I say all this because I am on a desperate pursuit for some Organic Chocolate Brownies that are packed full of antioxidants....I am thinkin if I get me some of these there has to be a healing coming real soon!!!

And this next tidbit of information is a real bare my soul moment...but green tea is high in antioxidants and so I am drinking me lots of green tea. Well when the thalamus isn't functioning properly you have a sudden urge to pee and you gotta go every 15-20mins on your bad days. Just so you know high intake of green tea does NOT help this little issue of very frequent powder room visits!! (I don't find it a coincidence that God planned my speaking schedule these past few months. I think He must have known that I wouldn't be a very effective speaker while doing the potty dance!)

Prior to this 'little' brain issue I was running and working out just fine. Well the Neurologist said I need to focus on taking it slow at first and concentrating on muscle strengthening/building activities. The example she gave...was a four letter word. No not just in my mind...but really typed out on the page she handed me was a four letter word. YOGA. Now for you little limber flexible people out there don't go leaving me any comments on how I will 'grow to love it' or 'you can do it if you just put your mind to it'...did I mention the brain dysfunction...HA! Okay so I head myself to the local library...and find me a YOGA DVD. The librarian at the counter was looking at me thinking...'oh honey do you know what you are gettin' yourself in to?' And friends...I was totally clueless. I am not sure what my preconceived ideas all included...well one that it was a four letter word...and that I am a runner and I have a hard time standing still...lying still, posing still, breathing calmly...etc! This high energy girl needs to move to feel like she is working out.

So for fun I invite the boys to try out the DVD with me...and in surround sound I can hear them saying..'that's not what the people on the tv are doing', 'mom I don't think you are doing it right.', oh and the Engineer inquires...'babe what level did you get?' Level? You mean there is more than one level...as I am twisted in a knot thinking to myself I am SO NOT sure that the Neurologist knew what she was doing recommending this YOGA stuff...I am not relaxing, this hurts and it sure isn't helpin' my brain any!

Well I am happy to report that my little outing to the store yesterday I found me..."YOGA for Beginners" I think I will start at this level ya'll and see if its a little less stressful!


So the only tweeking I am doing to the treatment plan is adding in some good ole fashion laughter!

Watch this video for a full dosing of healthy laughter:

Right where you are

Jesus was 30 years old before He started His ministry, a ministry that would last three years. He did a whole lotta work in these three years. He packed in a whole lot of teaching, healing and loving on people.

The mission of Jesus was to bring God to the people. He came to restore a relationship that just couldn’t be fixed by the law of the OT. He came to be a ladder between God and His people.

During the three years of His ministry Jesus met people right where they were.

• 
  The disciples on the shores with their fishing boats.
• 
  Matthew at work with his tax paperwork.
• 
  A woman who’s past was the talk of the town.

Jesus came to where they were at to bring them a grace and loved filled relationship. He came to meet them where they were to bring them closer to the Father.

He came to meet with me. To remind me of His love for me.

God told me, "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! Jeremiah 31:3 The Message (emphasis mine)

As God and I have talked over the past few days He has showed me that my healing was something He would do, but that I can’t limit His ways or His timetable. Oh and that what I thought needed healing, my physical body, there was oh so much more to it!

Part of my Journal entry from 3-20-09

"Yesterday’s diagnosis is very hard for me to take and deal with. I can’t. Why is that? Why is there a stigma to the diagnosis? Why do I think I can control everything? To hear that a part of my brain is not functioning properly hit hard to the core. You see I wanted it to be something that wasn’t so personal feeling, like something that wasn’t my fault. For this feels like I should have control over this. I want to be bigger and better than that. For it feels so weak to be this way. Lord please lead me through this process every step of the way. Please give me the wisdom to discern Your will and voice in this. I don’t want to be labeled with a diagnosis. I want to be labeled with Your Son." Amen


This weekend He has answered my cry, and has led me through the steps of understanding the process. Here is a look at our weekend dialogue:

He says:
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:22-25

I say:
My faith is in You God. I know You are mighty and capable of anything. I want to be used so that you receive all the glory and honor. I am willing to submit my life. I submit my physical pain as a sacrifice for you, to bring worship to You!

He says:
But Samuel replied,
"What is more pleasing to the Lord:your burnt offerings and sacrificesor your obedience to his voice?Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT)

I hear God telling me

"Nichole I don’t want a ritual sacrifice from you. I want a love relationship with you. One where I bring you closer to my heart. And out of love for me, you will obey. Bringing you closer to my heart Nichole means things have to go that are blocking our relationship."

The rest of the journal entry:

"Lord I come this morning to kneel before You. I come to ask forgiveness of judging the people around me over the years. For thinking I knew better, for thinking they just weren’t trying hard enough, for thinking their problems or issues were their own fault. Father please forgive me for judging them out of my pretense, my pride, my issues with self-control. Forgive me for placing on them "a law of requirements" a law that I have placed on myself. Lord forgive me for not seeing the people You created in Your very image how You see them. I know Your precious word tells me that I see the outside, but You see the heart. I am praying this morning Lord Jesus see my heart, clean, repair and renew it. Only You have the power to do this Lord. I come this morning to seek Your forgiveness for any stigma that I have added to this or put on the people around me. Please forgive me Lord." Amen

You see I thought I had control over my body, and so should other people. My pride led me to look down on those around me. I am guilty of thinking of others, "quit whining, get yourself together and take control of yourself". And now I stand corrected in my thoughts. There are things that I can control, and those are the choices to take care of His temple. To eat healthy, exercise, manage stress, and to let Him control the things I can’t.

Yesterday He showed me what a healing heart could do for Him. The phone rang yesterday evening as I was making dinner. It was someone who God has brought in my life to love on. She called to share that she was feeling some guilt and shame from a choice she had made. We had a great conversation, we shared, we talked about God’s unconditional, grace filled healing love, and we prayed together. And you know what I am praising God for, making the ministry Living My Life On Purpose, have such awesome and eternal purpose. You see this phone call came at just the right time, it was part of the healing process for me.

A healing of the mind, body and soul. For I stand in awe of a God who cares so much to not let me settle. He keeps meeting with me right where I am!

May you know that He wants to meet with you, right where you are. He has a grace and love filled relationship waiting for you. Let Him lead the way, cause it will take you right to His heart!

The need to Process

Thank you for your prayers. The appointment with the Neurologist brought information to us yesterday, which leads us to the need to process all of it. There are some questions answered, yet the information brings us new questions. God has spoken to my heart over the past 24 hours and I am sticking to Him very close. I have to be honest in this post. I struggled for many weeks on whether or not to share what was physically going on with me, on here, or even with friends and family. Why did I struggle? Well I think it was for many different reasons, one being I didn't want to burden anyone else, I did NOT want to be the focus of this blog, it is my hearts desire that He get all the attention, oh and I tend to hide behind a mask of pride I have created for comfort! When I did share what was going on it was because God asked me to show that He was with us in the middle of all this, and that He was working. I know He led me to share. I am praying and asking God to lead me through every moment of this journey. Please know He is bringing answers and working in this situation. I am very overwhelmed at the fact that I am living my life in front of everyone at this moment. Yeah sharing on your blog will do that...huh? God is leading each step with His love and grace. We are in conversation and I know He will lead me in obedience in every step. I am praying for His will to be done. I am praying that He will be the focus and that He will heal what needs to be healed. Please know that I am sharing what my heart is able to at this time, and trusting He has a hold of the rest.


‘the righteous will live by faith’ Galatians 3:11

"Thank You Lord for reminding me that I didn’t, can’t and won’t ever get it right, and that’s okay because You did, can and will! Thank You for loving me so much to keep me close and continuing to teach me the truth of Your amazing grace filled love for me."

Preparing for a purpose

**Note** Hello Friends and Family thank you journeying to the cross with me during this season of our life. God has filled me with so much of His truth, His peace, and His love over these past few days. I have been praying prayers of preparation. Preparation for the MRI results, which came back today and are Unremarkable! Which is a bitter sweet result...but as you will read into today's message that He has spoke to my heart. He is preparing the way...He has gone before me and knows all the details. And I am choosing to living right in the middle of that...its a very peaceful place! Thank you for your prayers. I will be taking a break from blogging for a few days, to 'prepare'! He is filling my heart with lots of GREAT things to share as we journey to the cross! Stay tuned. I love you and may you live fully in His love for you!


_______________________________________________

Are you prepared? Are you in the process of preparing? What are you preparing for?

What kind of things prepared Jesus for His purpose? He was the Son of God I think He had the ‘right’ connections to a Father who filled Him with a whole lot of love! He was in a deep and intimate relationship with the Father.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1-2


God was very intentional on having His Son go through some very important moments so we could relate to Him on a human level.


Mary and Joseph were chosen by God to be Jesus’ earthly parents and help prepare Him for life. In the second chapter of Luke, Mary and Joseph take Him to the temple to present Him to the Lord. During their visit to the temple an old man by the name of Simon sees Jesus and takes Him in his arms and praises God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
You now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to Your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32 (emphasis mine)

Mary and Joseph were Gods earthly assistants in raising this child. Mary and Joseph knew that God had a plan for Jesus’ life. They might not have fully understood all the details, but they trusted God did.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6


The next two events we read about in the gospels are of Jesus’ baptism and then being tempted by Satan in the desert. These events show that Jesus went through life experiences so He would know what it was like to be human.

At the age of 30 Jesus went down to a river and was baptized. Why? Jesus was perfect and didn’t need to be baptized rather He humbled Himself in full submission out of obedience to God. Jesus wanted to live out His love relationship with His Father, and He wanted to take the sins of the world and wash them all clean.

And a voice came from heaven:” You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” Mark 1:11


Jesus comes out of the Jordan and is led by the Spirit into the desert. God brought purpose to the time in the desert where Satan tempted Him.
To fully identify with humans Jesus spent 40 days in the desert with Satan who tempted Him in everyway.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who had been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Your childhood
Have you ever questioned why you had the earthly parents you do?

Your past
Do you ever wish you could start over?

Do you question how anything good could come from the mess?

Do you want to forget it and leave it behind?

Your present
Are you trying to get all the moves just right to make the dance look good enough?

Do you feel like you are stranded in the desert with the enemy?

Are ready to step out in obedience and get your feet wet in the river?


Friends these are NOT wasted times! He is preparing you! You might not know all the details, have a million questions, be seeking answers. But trust what He is saying to you:

“For I know the plan I have for you”, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD. “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you.” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:11-14


Your Future

May you know that He has prepared the way for you. He sent His Son to do just that. Jesus prepared the way…all the way to the cross. And the reason He prepared the way was for the purpose of showing you just how much He loves you!

Thank You's as we journey

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for making life after 30 so fun and memorable! My birthday was full of lots of laughter, yummy treats, and some great gifts from the boys! Oh and a suprise visit from my parents...better known by the boys at Nana and Papa!!


Thank to the Engineer for the most delicious cinammon rolls and Oregon Chai tea for breakfast! Thank you for treating me like a princess, and continuing to be my best friend, I love you!

Thank you to my boys who picked out gifts from their hearts to bring joy to mine, socks, Diego birthday card, chocolate covered eggs, and clear nail polish. You made mommy feel VERY special, I love you boys from here to the moon and back a million zillion times!

Thank you mom and dad for making the trip over to suprise me, oh and the very yummy angel food cake decorated with chocolate covered strawberries, the gifts, the lunch and Red Robin, and for loving on the boys too, I love you mom and dad!

Thank you to all my blog friends who decorated their blogs, who left songs of joy, and who celebrated with me! You guys are awesome and I love you!

Thank You Father God for reminding me of this:

But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
the One who got you started, Israel:
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,
trade the creation just for you. Isaiah 43:1-4 The Message


As we journey to the cross in these next few weeks together, please know just how much God loves you. He wants to meet you right where you are at today. And when I blog again thats what we will talk about. Just how personal our God is!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Where I am...really!

On Saturday January 10th of this year it was as if someone flipped a light switch on that controlled my life. I have had a constant headache everyday since then. A headache that will intensify with no notice and sometime for no apparent reason. I have blurry vision and my eyes feel tired most of the time. Too much movement of my head causes me to be dizzy and lightheaded. My neck is either stiff or painful. When I lower my head down to do normal everyday tasks like take laundry out of the washer, zip up a little guys jacket, buckle a little one into a car seat the pain and pressure increases in my head and there is a sharp shooting pain that goes down my neck into my back. My arms feel weak and tired, and my hands/fingers tingle. There is pain in my lower back. There is a burning sensation in my knees, and my legs are tired and weak. My toes are tingly.

I have struggled with sharing parts of this for a long time. I have bounced between its my story and its no ones business. And I most definitely am not sharing for pity or of someone to feel sorry for me. I also don’t want to convey the message that my life is harder or more important. Many people, many family members and friends are going through very tough times too!


I have been reading about a whole lot of healing that Jesus did in the Bible. There are many times when Jesus would heal someone and then He would instruct them to not share their story because it wasn’t the right time. (Luke 8:56) Then this morning I read these words:

"Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. Luke 8:39

I have to be honest with you. I am still smack dab in the middle of this storm. A storm that is very strong and very real and is not just affecting me but the lives of my husband and my boys. So even this morning I asked God ‘why do you want me to share where I am?’

His answer:

Because I want you to tell people that I am with you. That I am protecting your family. I want people to know that I am bringing you peace. Share with them that I am working, even in the midst of this storm.


And because of who He is, I am at peace knowing He is in control. I am choosing to believe He will bring purpose to this!

Please be in prayer for:

1- The Engineer and our two little guys, as this storm is very hard on them!
2- MRI appointment tomorrow
3- Doctor appointments next week to review MRI results and meet with a Neurologist at the University of Washington.

Father God You are Sovereign. In Your mighty hands You hold all that is precious and dear to You. You are in control. You know the way, and how it will come to be and You fully understand. I pray Your complete will to be lived out in my life. I pray I submit and I offer to you a teachable, honest and humble heart. You are the provider of all we will ever need. Please forgive me for holding onto things that need to be released to You so that You can work. May I see others how Your grace filled loving heart sees them. Remove from me temptations. Keep my eyes fixed on You. For You are to be glorified in everything! I love You Lord-Amen.

Where He Came From

On our journey to the cross…we need to remember where Jesus came from.

For God had a purpose in how He chose to send His son.

The very people God created and said were very good (Genesis 1:31), were the same people who broke His heart initially in Genesis chapter 3 and over and over again through out the Old Testament. His people committed real sin and were in need of a real Savior. God knew His people needed a Savior, He knew they struggled with obedience and relationship. Sound familiar?

God used a real teenage girl to bring salvation to a real hurting world. A real sweet, precious and soft skinned baby was born in a real smelly stable. He was born to a real mommy and her husband who was a real carpenter.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth, which was despised by the Jews.

Even Jesus, God’s son did not escape being ridiculed and questioned;

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathaniel asked. John 1:46

Even Jesus was stereotyped. He was labeled because of where He grew up. And I am sure He received many second looks, about the whole virgin birth story.

God wanted us to have someone we could relate to and yet someone we could stand in awe of. God knew this Savior would need to be fully human and fully God.

He was fully human because He was born of a woman named Mary, and He was fully God because this was a virgin birth placed there by the Holy Spirit because there had to be no trace of sin in Him.

I choose to believe God was very intentional about every detail of sending His Son to us. I believe Jesus came from a very ordinary earthly origin so that we as humans could relate and enter into a relationship with Him and be led to a very extraordinary eternity!

As we journey to the cross I am praying and knowing that He will meet us wherever we are and lead us from there!

May you know its not where you came from that is important but where you are going!



Resources:
Birth Announcement to Mary Luke 1:26-38

Jesus is born in Bethlehem Luke 2:1-7

God became a human being John 1:1-18

How Jesus gets to Nazareth Matthew 2:13-23

Passion and Purpose

Good Morning Friends and Family! It's cold here...Miss Ellie Mae's water bowl was frozen on the back porch this morning...no worries...I poured some warm water right over the top and she is sipping herself some fresh warm water...she is such a sweet princess!

Well if you haven't noticed from journeying with me...assuming you have been around the blog awhile...I have some serious passion...as you can see from the above picture I am VERY passionate about shoes...so passionate I will take photo shoots with them...HA! I am also passionate about chocolate...surprise! Oh and I am most definitely passionate about my Engineer...and the two little energy filled boys I get to share life with too! I am also passionate about my Jesus...so passionate in fact He has turned it into my purpose for living. Yep...that's right...my purpose is to live in a love filled relationship with Him and then share Him with those around me! Passion is so beautiful when He brings purpose to it!


My Jesus has laid it on my heart to share His purpose and passion. The purpose He came, because He is so passionate about you! So over the next few weeks I will share His journey to the cross. Please join me! Pray for those who need to meet Jesus!



This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 The Message


May we allow Him to bring purpose to passion...its what He does best!

Friday Challenge

Good day! Thank you for visiting the blog today. I am glad you are here and I am always so happy to share the abundance of love that I live in each and every day.

I have been truly loved on by an amazing Creator. He uses so many ways and is so "creative"...thats probably why He had the privelege and honor of creating everything...it must be one of His spiritual gifts...ya think? Anyway I was blessed this week by my momma who dedicated a song to me that I thought I would incoroporate as this weeks Friday Challenge.

Read on....

Today we will find ourselves in different circumstances, different seasons of life, different situations. Some will be on the mountain top singing their hearts out with praise and adoration, some will be in the valley trying to keep their heads up. But hear me today friends, He is with you and you just need to Hold on to Him! He doesn't want us just holding His hand when things are tough and hard. He doesn't want us to let go when we think we can "do it on our own now!" We need to hold on at all times! It's not about weakness....its about a relationship. Its not about us earning our dependence and one day not needing to be dependent. In a true genuine relationship you hold on the entire time!

Friday Challenge: Hold Onto Jesus

So here is the song my momma dedicated to me and my Jesus is telling me someone else needs to read these lyrics today!

You're a little piece of heaven

You're a golden ray of light

And I wish I could protect you

From the worries of this life

But if there's one thing I could tell you

It's no matter what you do

Hold to Jesus

He's holding on to you
The world will try to tell you

That might is more than right

That beauty's on the outside

And being good's a losing fight

But remember what I've told you

Because the world will make you choose

Hold to Jesus

He's holding on to you
Hold on to Jesus

Cling to His love

Rest deep in His mercy

Whenever things get rough

Don't lose sight of His goodness

And don't ever doubt this truth

That when you hold on to Jesus

He's holding on to you
Hear me dear Jesus

Rock this little one to sleep

Keep her close when she's scared

And give her grace when she is weak

I know she'll stumble

But I know she'll make it through

If you hold to her just like

You said You'd do

Hold her Jesus

And she'll hold on tight to You

Song Hold Onto Jesus by Erin O'Donnell

May you know I am praying for you today!

Share the Love

I got myself in a little situation recently by reading someones blog and leaving a comment! However the situation had some great rewards...ones that arrived in my mailbox on Saturday! My friend over at MyADHDMe was 'paying it forward' and she made me this little gift! Now she proclaims to not be crafty and I would have to disagree...this is one of the coolest things I have ever received. It was a confirmation for me that the ministry of Living My Life on Purpose is His ministry and He is loving on people and I get to reap some of the amazing benefits too! Like gaining friendships with amazing people like MyADHDMe. And to quote my friend, the creator of this amazing gift, "a genuine, one of a kind, highly collectible, priceless, handmade, refrigerator magnet made by yours truly, MyADHDMe."














I love it! Thank you for sharing the love!



I just want to say thank you to all of you who have loved on me and my family in these past few weeks! Thank you for your prayers and support during this part of our journey. We appreciate you and your faith in Him! Please continue to pray. I have an appointment tomorrow at a Health Within Clinic here in town for them to evaluate my neck to see if they can pinpoint anything coming from this area causing my headaches. Then on the 19th of March I have an appointment with a doctor at the University of Washington in the Neurology and Headache Clinic!



I was reading in Luke this morning. Luke was a doctor and I just think its so awesome that God wanted a doctors perspective as part of the gospels!! I was reading Luke 5:17-26. There are some guys who are bringing their paralytic friend to Jesus. I am amazed that Jesus responded to the faith of the friends. Not the faith of the paralytic, but his friends!! Our faith, our intercessory prayers, our servant like attitudes, our living on purpose can bring our friends to the living Christ.

I want to encourage you today to see the people around you today. Everyone needs to be touched by the love of God!



I want to share the love today:

• Cindy has started her radiation treatment.

• Mary has been diagnosed with a cyst on her knee.

• My mom needs to continue to heal and be restored after a car accident.

• Moms out there that need perseverance to get through their day.

• Marriages this morning that need prayed for, commitments revisited.

• There is a little boy waiting clear across the world to come home to his new family.

• Ministries that are being started to spread the love of Jesus.

• A young couple desperately wanting to have a baby.

• A woman who is wanting more in her relationship with Jesus.

• Many people who need the Healers hand kept on them.

• There is a world in desperate need of the love of Jesus!

May we be willing to share the love!

Confessions

Have you ever spent time trying to figure out what you are working for? What your goal is? What you are trying to earn?


Confessions of a Daughter:
I would have to be honest and say that growing up as a daughter to my parents I spent most of my time trying to earn their love, not that they were requiring it on their end. But rather I found myself trying to earn their approval and acceptance. I worked hard to give them reasons to love me. Grades, extracurricular activities, sports, dressed appropriately, had the right friends.

Confessions of a Sister:
While being honest I would have to admit that I tried to pave a road, make things smooth and easy for my younger sister. You know a most excellent way to follow and walk in. And when her steps didn't quite line up with mine, I spent too much time wondering where I went wrong and got her off track.

Confessions of a Wife:
Did you know that marriage is Gods design and NOT mine! Yeah well this took my much trial and error too figure this one out. I was stubborn, prideful and arrogant enough to try it my way the first time and fell smack dab into a very ugly mess. One only He could clean up! So with His grace of a second chance I am still learning big words like submission and love!

Confessions of a Friend:
Careful to share too much, for what if they saw that I had real thoughts, real hurts. Keeping friends at a distance would be more comfortable for me. When would I realize that friends and relationships were not about me. But rather that a relationship was meant to be real, genuine and needed to be focused on the other person!

Confessions of a Mom:
I didn't want to be a mom, why? Well to be perfectly honest it would be something I KNEW I couldn't control. I was a very observant bystander of the moms in the stores. Why weren't they controlling the temper tantrums? Would I have a special secret? What about the heartache of something happening to your children that you couldn't prevent like an accident, an illness? Thankfully God knew better, He knew just what it would take to teach me that I am NOT in control and that pride would be stripped in the form of two amazing little boys! Two little boys who would teach their momma that "Even mommies make mistakes" and grace and love are sitting right there to wrap their arms around me!

Overall Confession:
I have spent many years of my life focused on the wrong goals, the wrong rewards and the wrong prizes. I have focused on the approval and acceptance of others. I have tried to walk my journey as if it would keep someone elses steps right on. I have focused on doing the thing that keeps me looking right. I have wasted time worrying I wouldn't be able to do it and so I didn't try. I was concerned that I wouldn't hear the words of praise and adoration from a large audience.

Thankfully there is One who has taken my confessions and has wrapped me in His loving arms and has whispered in my ear that there is only one goal, one reward, one prize I need to be concerned about!

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 (emphasis mine)

The one goal, the one prize, the one reward is Jesus!

You see my One Purpose is to get Him! To accept Him. To receive Him. To be in relationship with Him.

May we come to know Him as He has meant for us to know Him!