Scatter Joy

Hello Friends!

Have you ever had a moment that you truly feel you are experiencing a little peace of heaven here on earth? Well friends I am surrounded in such moments...and the crazy, wacky, wild and insane thing is...life is MORE than chaotic right now in our household! Yikes...yep there is a whole lot of living life on purpose going on.

In the midst of living out life...my husband runs out with the boys on Saturday and the little guy goes with him to the mailbox...and they bring momma in a little package. The boys love it when we get packages...doesn't matter if its for them or not...they love the anticipation. So does their momma. So I announce..."this little package is all the way from Canada" and of course the boys must see where that is in reference to them...so they take a little hike to the map on the wall and daddy shows them.

The boys come running back to help momma open the package and inside is this most beautiful necklace that says "Scatter Joy"...it comes from my friend Joy. There in the midst of living life sitting on our floor in our family room, one momma, two boys and an Engineer got to feel and experience a 'little peace of heaven here on earth'. Yes friends we did...a moment of being loved on by someone who is truly living out of the overflow in her life. My friend Joy who I have never met in person...but my Jesus knows I would love to!!, has her own life of crazy happenings and circumstances and issues...but she paused long enough to "Scatter Joy"! If I could just express in words how timely this was for me and my family.

You see we are experiencing some stress, issues, circumstances and stuff on all sides.

But the moments spent on our family room floor thanks to my friend Joy reminded me, its not about the stress, issues, circumstances and stuff on all sides...nope...its about what my Jesus has asked me to do....

"Scatter Joy"

I want to encourage you today to see where you can do just that!

God has NOT called us to conform to our world.

God has NOT called us to abandon it.

Friends God has called us to transform it!

"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."
John 15:11

Let's do it!

"For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12

Dear Heavenly Father thank You for loving us and being our One true source of joy. May we know that we find our full joy in You, and You alone. Bless Joy, continue to wrap her in Your amazing arms. She truly makes this world, Your world a better place by 'scattering joy'-Amen

Please know that I am praying for you my friends and family. Thank you so much for the opportunity to see Jesus working in your lives. Please be in prayer as I continue to seek God and take one step at a time...you are amazing people to live life on purpose with. I love you!

Did you have to use those words?

My toes have been stepped on.

There is a lump in my throat.

I am a little overwhelmed, anxious and nervous.

What do I do next?

Now if you have been around my blog long enough you know I am a girl who likes my chocolate brownies. I have posted about them a few times, Brownies, Brownies, Brownies. I am just finding a few examples for you...just a few!

So here comes the real hard part of this post....

I have been reading, following and watching Lysa Terkeurst journey with this whole 'no sugar' thing. And to be perfectly honest I thought it was a bit extreme and to be even more honest I thought yikes what is she trying to do to us 'girlfriends'? Does she not know that we NEED chocolate...and that sometimes we DESERVE chocolate!!?!?

I have been very impressed and proud of her journey as she has shared it very openly and genuinely. She has shared her struggles and I am sure they have been more than difficult.

But then she had to go a step further...and its the step further that has sent me into a little bit of a tizzy...yep her post today....

"Two toes on the side of victory"


There are so many things in her post today that are tugging at my heart and pulling me in another direction.

And to quote Miss Lysa...words I know are from her heart and placed there by a God who absolutely loves and adores her:

"What it does mean for me is I must completely starve the internal drive that makes me feel like I need a brownie... or I deserve a cookie. Saying I need a brownie is a sign of an empty heart... a heart whose misplaced desires have crowded out the fullness of Jesus.Saying I deserve a brownie is a sign of an empty mind... a mind whose misplaced desires have crowded out the richness of God's truth.If I choose to have one simply as an occasional treat, that's one thing. But longing for it and then wasting mental energy processing the guilt of eating too many- crosses a line I don't want to cross any longer.I want to be filled up with Jesus. I want to be satisfied by God's truth." (emphasis mine)

And this is where my Jesus got me...yep...these words of I deserve and I need. You see I have read every post that Lysa has posted about this whole 'no sugar' thing and stood back and congratulated her and cheered her on. But today is when my Jesus tugged at my heart.

I have been convicted of using these words....

I need.

I deserve.

And friends the things that I have said I needed and I deserved have just been empty void fillers...chocolate...food...sugar...quick fixes.

I am guilty of spending time planning how, when, and where I can get me some chocolate!

Where does this leave me?

Where am I going?

I am standing before my Jesus and reaching out and taking His hand.

Seeking His will in and His purpose in these next few steps.

Did Lysa have to use those exact words?

Yes she did because my Jesus needed my heart to hear them today!

Jesus please take me, my heart, my mind, and my body and cleanse it from what I have filled it with, clean it out and fill it with more of You! Take away my mis-truths, false beliefs about what I need and deserve...and transform me into what You desire for me to be! I love You Jesus-Amen!

That's a wrap

This here post will bring a wrap to our Relationship Series. Some of you are dancing and celebrating right now thinking...'woo-hoo' cause it sure was mega hard to endure...and I would have to agree with you!

I have thought for quite awhile on how to wrap up this series...and I want to leave you with some encouraging thoughts...where I find myself placing my hope.

I believe in an Almighty Creator who created us, His people, to be in relationship with Him. And when we do this one thing...all else will fall into His design!

I can hear my own heart...and maybe yours is crying out to...'that's the one thing I can't seem to get right!' 'I can't get this whole being in relationship with God thing right!'

Friends....can I share with you what I hear Him whispering to us...

"Quit trying to get it all right and just allow Me, your Creator to love you!"

Once we allow His love to cover us, wrap us, and live in it each moment...then we will be 'doing it'....we will be in relationship with Him. There isn't a program, system, book, study, or religion that will work this out for us. Only the love of our Creator will make our relationship with Him right!

I would love to come to the end of this series saying that all of my relationships are better and more perfect...I think some of them are, but honestly the one that truly has become more intimate is the one with my Jesus! He has peeled off so many layers of pride, mis-truths, and has reminded me that I live for Him and Him alone!

I have spent the past two weeks in what feels like a cave. Hiding out and asking God a lotta of questions. Good news...He has been faithful...I know its only in His character to be...but it still knocks my socks off! He has revealed even more of Himself and has fed me some very large portions of eternal food! My prayer is that I not waste any, but truly chew them thoroughly and allow them to nourish me. I don't want one second of this 'cave time' to be wasted!

There are alot of challenges and new things in these upcoming weeks for me. And I know that the investment Jesus has made in me will help me to face them. I know my knees will be shaking, and tears will be shed, and I might even fall down...but I know that I will face each one of these challenges and new things wrapped in His love!

So friends...'that's a wrap' to our Relationship Series! May you know that your Creator loves you. May you allow His love to wrap you up and may you live in it each moment.

Remember...its NOT our job to create relationships...its His!

I love you and am praying and knowing God will continue to bless you!

Friday Challenge

Here's a challenge for us today:


Live today like He loves you and adores you to pieces...because He does!

Off to get me some

Warning: Dear Friends and Family, this is a long one! Just so you know God is all over me and this is a very real and dear post to my heart...I am walking towards my God to get me more of Him! This will be up for awhile as I will be a taking a break for a few...hey it will give you time to make it through to the end of this post! I love you and more importantly your God loves and adores you!

_______________________________________________


Have you ever had a moment, day, week, month, year that felt completely out of control? Well I sure have…and the funny thing is I have caught myself blaming and pointing the finger at everyone else but myself!
　
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. Proverbs 25:28
　
self-control
–noun
control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings, etc.


Self control is a wall for defense and protection.

Am I lacking in self-control?

How does lacking in self-control look? Sound?

’oh I can’t do that, that’s way to hard, I don’t have the strength to do that’

I can’t lose the weight

I can’t bite my tongue

I can’t exercise

I can’t eat healthy

I can’t quit smoking

I can’t love that person

I can’t walk away from that addiction

I can’t wash another load of laundry or make another meal

I can’t be their friend

I can’t stay in this marriage

I can’t work another day at this job
　
What is your "I can’t?"

Do you need to come lay it down before a God who can?
　
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 changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

Mastering self-control in some specific areas of our lives:

Our words

He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. Proverbs 13:3

What we say, is it positive, uplifting, God honoring
Would we say that if the person was in the room?
Gossiping
Encouraging


What we spend our time doing

Serving self or others?
Time wasters?
Time with God each day?

Taking care of ourselves

What we eat
Working out
Do we have health problems that could be corrected if we ate better, worked out, sought preventative health care (ie physicals each year, dental visits)

Our attitude

Do we tend to act or react?
Are we defensive?
Impatient with others?

Our thoughts

Judgmental or ourselves or others?
Impure?

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)

There are many things that we can be in control of in our lives and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can be filled with the divine power to achieve them!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26

Oh and just a reminder: We shouldn’t let anything or anyone determine our values and standards in any area of our life. This is Gods job, and His alone!
　
What happens when we are out of control?

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 1 Peter 4:7 (New International Version)

I don’t know about you but when I am out of control, I am not focusing on my Jesus, I am not clear headed, and I am wasting a whole lot of time being stressed and worried. Friends this is not the life Jesus has for us. He has a life of peace and joy, filled with a whole lot of grace and love!
　
Where do we go from here?

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy." 1 Peter 1:13 (The Message)

We put our hope and faith in our Jesus and the future!
　
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message)

So I am off to go get me some self-control! By laying down my list of "I cant’s" and allowing Him to fill me with a whole lotta divine power that shouts I can!

He's Not Finshed with me yet!

You ever have one of those moments in your day when you feel like the world stops and God just loves all over you?

The other night the Engineer comes home from work, changes his clothes, grabs his guitar, sits down in a chair behind me and starts playing this song.




Friends life is hard at moments, moments that sometimes seem to carry on too long. Life hurts, hurts so deeply you think the pain won't stop. Life seems so unfair, where you long to see truth reign.

But then you are reminded by a God that each moment, the hard ones, the hurting ones, the unfair ones have purpose too!

Friends I wish I could give you the same blessing I received in my garage the other night, the voice of one amazing Engineer singing his heart out and playing his guitar, I can't unless you buy the plane ticket...HA!

But I can pray blessing over you that you will hear His voice today. A voice saying that He loves you and He too has great plans for you!

Just wait and see!

How do I do this?

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4 (emphasis mine)


I can't love myself, because in all my humanness I feel unworthy, and incapable. I can't be a great wife, or a great mom, or a great friend. I can't be, without Him! It is His divine power, wow just typing those words, divine power, makes it so meaningful. Friends this isn't just a little bit of something, no, its a whole lot of Him! He's giving Himself to us, so we can be. He gives Himself so we can love ourselves and be everything He needs us to be!


For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9 (emphasis mine)


The above is so not a checklist to work through. Its a process. One that God has specifically designed for each of us. The way He works on faith with me won't look the same as it does for you. Some things might come easier for some of us. And to be honest there are moments when I think...'yeah I got that one down this time!' and come to find out its just one little step of learning it. Take for example self-control...there are things in my life I have no problem with, and I think that I have placed confidence in myself at times and held an attitude of 'I'm so glad I have control over that in my life' when in all reality there are SO many areas to have self-control (our time, food, our words, our attitudes). Which we will go into later this week...yikes I am a little nervous to blog about self-control, its some serious shaky ground to be standing on...but hey why not share standing on shaky ground with some friends and family!??!

When we add to our faith, we are living out our security in our salvation. Our works don't earn us a spot in the family of God. Rather our works demonstrate our new life given to us by Him!

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10-11

May we seek the Truth, knowing we are His and He makes us able.

To thine own self be true

**The Word of God is clear on the connection between loving God, loving others, loving ourselves, and taking time in those relationships.
　

The above statement was on the ‘syllabus’ (link to) for the first day of the Relationship series. Over the past few weeks we have covered the importance of being in a loving relationship with God and loving others, this week we will look at loving ourselves.

Living life fully at peace and being free in grace will allow us to be in a healthy relationship with ourselves.

Grace is God’s free and unmerited favor for sinful humanity.

When we live fully in His grace for us, we find a peace and joy that allows us to live freely! Living freely allows you to live life purposefully.

Friends and family will you join me in praying today that He will turn our hearts to see Him, hear Him and truly experience Him?

Dear Heavenly Father thank You Lord for pursuing us and calling us by name. Thank You for desiring to reveal to us our true selves, the ones You created us to be. Please prepare us, ready us to hear the truth You have for us. Amen
　
**Do I love myself?

**Where does my confidence come from?

**What am I confident about?

**Do I know what God says about me?

**Do I hear what God says about me?

**Do I believe what God says about me?

**Do I know the Truth?

But now this is what the LORD says- he who created you, O Jacob
He who formed you, O Israel; "Fear not, for I have redeemed you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

"This above all: to thine ownself be true,And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man."-Shakespeare-Hamlet

Seeking to know the Truth will lead us to His amazing grace. If there is one selfish thing you do for yourself today, seek His purpose! Seek Him for love, confidence, and peace. When you seek Him, you will find Him and He will fill you to overflowing. You will then be able to live freely in His love for you. A place that will leave you dancing!
　
May we know that He loves us, cares for us and wants more than anything to bring us close to His heart!

Fiddling with the Facilitator

Okay so many, many weeks ago I heard God speaking to my heart that He wanted me to facilitate a blog series on relationships. I wish I could tell you that from the moment He first started whispering until right now here in this very moment that I have felt nothing but elation, excitement, and in complete control. Yes that's what control freaks want to feel all the time! But friends its so not the case here. I have been overwhelmed, frightened, pushed a little too far, stretched, twisted! I have been fiddled with!

Friends I believe we can't truly experience life without allowing God to fiddle with us. You see His fiddling is very purposeful. He doesn't just 'try' something out on us to see if it works, nope, He knows it will! So when He fiddles its all good!

Is it possible that when He fiddles with a mommas heart on releasing her boys into the next season and phase of their lives that there is eternal purpose? Is is possible that this fiddling that really hurts a mommas heart is all about relationship? A relationship in which God is asking me to trust Him above all else. Could this fiddling be about restoring relationships? Will the fiddling be worth it?


Dear Father God I want more than anything to be a girl living on purpose in relationship with You. I want my mind, heart, and soul to be filled with You. I want to trust You and submit to You in all things. Even when it seems what You are asking of me is really stinkin hard. I know You don't fiddle with me because You can, but because You want to. Your fiddling is full of Your heart extended and shared with me. Thank You for loving me before, now and tomorrow. I desire to be Your girl complete fiddled with on purpose. Amen

Friends as the facilitator of this series please know that I have been fiddled with by Our God and know that I believe its all on purpose!

May we allow Him to fiddle with us! May we trust Him, He knows just what needs tweaking and He knows just how to do it perfectly!