Tag Archives: God

Homesick 11/6/15 

06 Friday Nov 2015

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Happy Friday y’all!! 

Today I am feeling homesick. There are moments that this journey wears on me. I get tired and I miss the comforts of home. I miss my family. I miss my friends. Not everything was perfect but I had a comfort zone {don’t we all} and I would have never left except to be obedient to the Lord. 

Sometimes our obedience leads us on a journey to lonely places. I recall the story of Abraham. The Lord called him out to a place where he had never been. He just went. He gathered his family and went. He didn’t have a plan. He had faith. He trusted blindly. This decision of obedience will always cost us. We will lose some things, some people too. We will leave things and people behind. We will take a huge risk in the hope of God being faithful. 

In Hebrews 11 it tells us there are rewards for such faith. It’s the hall of faith. What a list of amazing people doing extraordinary things for God. These were everyday people like you and me. They got homesick. I’m sure at times they wanted to go back {the Isrealites did}. I sometimes want to too but on days like these when home seems so far away I choose to remember everything God said and did. I take my tears to Jesus and he comforts me with hope. Hope for all he is going to do even though I don’t see how. I am comforted knowing that I am not the only one who took a risk and left home. I am encouraged that like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and all the others who have walked a journey, that I too, will be rewarded for my faith. What an honor! 

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Keep Asking! 11/5/15 

05 Thursday Nov 2015

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Good morning friends!!

Every year my husband and I request that the kids make their Christmas list {open season lol}. I must say the kids don’t disappoint as their list can be quite extensive. This year was no different but I noticed that my teenager had a really hard time making a list {will wonders never cease}. You’d think I’d be happy…no list…no gifts. Right? I was curious to what was taking him so long so I asked him. He said that what he wanted he knew he wasn’t going to get so what was the point in making a list. Hmmm. Not the answer I was expecting. 

How many times have we refused to go to the Lord with a request simply because we didn’t think he would answer us? 

I was hurt because I asked him to ask and he didn’t trust my heart towards him. He didn’t see it that way. He saw the times that he asked and didn’t get what he asked for. Sound familiar? I am not insinuating that our request is like a Christmas list or that the Lord is Santa Claus. It’s the principle here of asking when told to ask. The Lord tells us to pray; to bring our request before him continually. Often times we stop asking because we haven’t received in a way we expected. Just like my son, we don’t trust the heart of God towards us. We see an unanswered prayer and our hearts get hardened and distant. We get discouraged and disappointment sets in and we no longer pray and seek God for our needs and desires. 

God asks us to ask and seek him and he knowing the plan for our life will say no at times or not now. This is NOT him not answering or not hearing you. This is his protection over you but do not stop asking!!! Don’t be discouraged over a no or not yet. Be encouraged that the Lord knows your end from your beginning. He sees your need and wants and has a plan to meet them all. In the meantime he’s working on your behalf in unexpected ways. Trust the Fathers heart towards you…you are after all his beloved child. 

A Good Father 11/4/15 

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

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Good morning friends!! 

I woke up this morning singing a song about what a good Father God is. Seeing God as a father can be very hard for some; it was for me. We tend to look through the lense of our personal experience with our own dads. If our experience has been bad or even non existent it will be a challenge to see God as he really is. 

I love the movie “Father of the Bride.” I can not watch that movie without crying. The way George Banks loves Annie just melts my heart. He wasn’t perfect, in fact he was hilariously cheap but his love, admiration, respect, and devotion is what I imagined a dad’s love should be like. 

No matter what your experience has been I’m hear to tell you that our God is a good Father. His word says it. His actions prove it. His track record is flawless. He can be trusted. He doesn’t withhold good from you. He will always keep his promises and meet your every need. His plan is not to harm you but protect you. He stores your tears and knows the very number of hairs on your head. There is not one moment of your life that he has left you or forgotten you. He sees you. He ears you. He is for you and his heart will always be to give you all of him. 

Lord I pray today that you heal every broken part of us that keeps us from seeing you as you really are…our good Father. Comfort those of us who still grieve over the loss of our father and relationship. Bring peace and quiet the noise that drowns out your voice. In Jesus name…Amen! 

Hello Change 11/1/15 

01 Sunday Nov 2015

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Good afternoon friends! 

Hello November! Where has the time gone? It’s the holiday season already? Are you ready? I am! 

This season is my most favorite. When I feel the change in the weather and see the leaves changing colors I know it’s fall. From here I can expect the holidays to be close by and the hustle and bustle to begin. 

I often say that what we know to be true in the natural is also true in the spirit. God has his tendencies. There are things we can be sure of when one season ends and another begins. Look around you and tell me what you see. Is there chaos? Things shifting? Change happening? Things a little messy? Have you been feeling the ache of transition? Well, then get ready for something new! It’s a new season! There has been a process of things slowly dying and now it’s time for them to fall. This is good! Don’t look around you and be dismayed by what’s no longer there. I doubt the trees cry over the dead leaves falling. Don’t cry over what was! Rejoice! God is making room for the new. Look forward with great expectation! It’s time!! 

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
 Isaiah 43:19 {NIV}

Complaining and Comparing 10/28/15 

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

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Good morning friends! 

Today is the day we get another step closer to where Gods is taking us! Yes!! 

Do you ever catch yourself wondering why in the world am I still here? This would be the reoccurring theme these days. Have you seen hardship after hardship with small seasons of peace or calm yet it’s never long enough to be an overcomer or victor. Can I get a witness? Amen sista Emilie {I’ll high five myself}! 

God is doing a deep work when you find yourself in a familiar situation or season. The Isrealites were brought out into the desert to worship the Lord and root out Egypt. They had been captive so long {hundreds of years} that Egypt and their ways were more in them than they thought. They cried out to be delivered from bondage physically but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally they were in bondage as well. Our outside condition is NOT the only condition that needs to be tended to. I’m sure they, the Isrealites, thought the moment we are out of here we’ll be free from all of this slave work and bondage. Yet, we see that when they were in the desert even after the Red Sea crossing they wanted to go back cause at least they had this or that. What?! Go back after all they have seen God do?!

Don’t judge. We do it all the time. How many times has God brought us out of a situation and it doesn’t look like we thought it would and the first thing we do is complain and compare? We want the immediate turnaround, it’s what we prayed for. However, God sees deeper then that. He sees how we have become a slave to our old way of thinking, doing, believing. Oh sure, our surroundings may be different but we are still in the same place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We are wandering round and round the same mountain wondering what is God doing. He is killing off the old you. The old ways. The old mind set. The old belief and doubts that have held you at a distance from true trust in God. He is creating a new dependence on him alone. No more options. He can’t allow you to have one ounce of Egypt in you when you enter into your promise land. 

Don’t despise your wilderness. This is a mandatory season of preparing you for your promise. I know it doesn’t look good. You’re tired. You’re hungry. You want more than just the temporary. Stop complaining. Stop comparing. Get ahold of what has been promised and praise God while on your journey there. Don’t allow yourself to wander one more moment longer than necessary because of your complaining and comparing attitude. Trust God knows the way out and is leading you there now!! 

God Is Moving 10/16/15 

16 Friday Oct 2015

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Good afternoon friends!! 

It’s Friday yahoo!! I was feeling relaxed and ready to rest tonight but the boys are having a sleep over! Yikes!! Pray for me!! 

Last night as I was getting ready for bed my heart was heavy as I began to pray. There are so many things that I need God to do and I want to see him move…now. I immediately felt this check in my spirit that said “I have and I am, the greatest moves I’ve done for you Em have been in you, remember?” well that certainly changed my prayer. 

How many times do we look to touch our blessing and miss the wonder of the blessings God has done in us; the ones that can’t be tangibly held? A lot of times we can overlook our greatest victories because we can’t hold or touch them. When I look back over the past four years I see the miracles of a transformed mind and a healed heart. Outside situations may not have changed much but I can recall a time when I cried out to be delivered from my wounded heart and messed up mind set. God has done just that!! How could I have missed that?! Easily. When we think of blessings we see a great job, a house, cars, a closet full of clothes, and yearly vacations, to name a few. These are great blessings but they are not the only ones. A renewed mind and healed heart are blessings too. 

I don’t know what God has done in you or what he has delivered you from but I urge you to remember. God has done great things for us and we need to acknowledge them. I know you may be discouraged as to what you haven’t seen changed yet but God is working on those things too! He is concerned about every area of our lives. Don’t lose heart when you see all that needs to be done instead look at what has already been done. The Lord promises to make every crooked place straight. Trust today my friends that God IS moving!!  

Have a great Friday!! 💞 

Looking Back  10/14/15

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

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Good morning friends!! 

Have you ever looked back to another time and place and tears just streamed down your face because you remember so well the memory? 

I wrote this 2 years ago right after my son left for boot camp {Marines}. I had lost my dad to cancer less than a year earlier and had just moved to a new city a month prior and was feeling so alone and depressed. There was a lot going on in me. I was missing my dad terribly. I couldn’t breathe without my son and living in the middle of nowhere with no friends, no family, and no hope {even as I write this I’m in tears}. I cried a lot privately {still do}. I was trying to be strong for everyone; keeping it all together. We had already been through so much on our journey and I couldn’t be the one to falter in my faith with all the questions I had let alone have the answers for the ones everyone else was asking. This girl had to fake it and be happy and man what a burden that was to carry. 

His plan is not always what we think it will be. There are many surprises along the way and if we are not careful and hiding in him we will be caught so off guard that we will think we went wrong somewhere or that he left us. His promise to us is to make ALL things work for our good. No matter what the “all” is it can be used if we allow him to use it. He also promised to never leave or forsake us. This one is a biggie for me. The feeling of abandonment is a common tool the enemy uses to isolate us. Don’t fall for it…he is a liar! 

I can remember writing this and feeling so at peace. I love those moments where his voice can be heard so clearly. I was trying to be strong and bear the load that he alone was meant to carry…my questions, my disappointment, my grief, my sorrow, and every other broken part in me. The message was loud and clear…I can NOT but He CAN! 

What are you trying to do that has you overwhelmed? Are you carrying a load that is too heavy? Feel like you’re drowning? Trust that even though your waters may be turbulent right now or even muddied God is still in control. 

 Have a good day friends!! 

Liar Liar 10/12/15 

12 Monday Oct 2015

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Good afternoon friends!!

Don’t you hate it when a thought interrupts your day and overstays it’s welcome?! Me too!! I was doing the dishes {when am I not?} and I had a thought about dishonest people {ugh}. Trying to decode why people lie is almost impossible. You’ll hear lots of reasons why but truth is there is only one real reason anyone lies…fear. I know all the times I’ve lied {guilty} has been out of fear. Fear of consequences. Fear of what the truth will look /sound like. Fear of what I will look like if I tell the truth. Honestly, the truth sometimes is a scary thing. 

Truth requires more out of us. Telling a lie is the easy way out. We don’t have to confront ourselves or others. We get to hide a little bit longer and avoid the inevitable…truth or consequence {a result or effect of an act or condition}. The bible says the truth will set you free…free from what? Free from strings that lies are attached to {my condensed definition}. Guilt. Shame. Condemnation and ultimately sin. We as Christians know the truth {Jesus, his word} and yet we settle for lies everyday that chain and bind us like a slave to the enemy and in return it results in a lifestyle of sin and destruction. 

I wanted to judge the liar and realized that I too, have been one. I am one every time I tell myself anything contrary to Gods word; when I comply and agree with the enemy when he whispers lies in my ear. I want to be an honest person but I must know the truth…Gods word! Live it. Believe it. Speak it and then I’m free from lies and the hurt they bring. 

Lying is a temporary fix for a deeply rooted fear. God is the only one who can dismantled our fears with his truth and love that leads to right believing and right living. Next time you’re tempted to lie think…What am I afraid of? I guarantee if you process this and begin to practice truth in your inner being you’ll be less tempted to lie to yourself or anyone else. 

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.           Psalm 51:6 

Keep in Mind 10/11/15 

11 Sunday Oct 2015

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Good evening friends! 

Monday is quickly trying to take over my Sunday and that is no bueno! LOL! 

Are you dreading tomorrow? Well, here is a list of things we need to keep in mind this coming week {repeat as often as you need to}.  

  • My God has already gone before me {nothing is by happen chance or a result of Gods failure} 
  • I will pursue peace in every decision {if it dosen’t feel right I won’t do it, eat it, or say it} 
  • I am only responsible for myself {what others do is a result of their choices not mine} 
  • I am deeply loved by a good God {when doubt enters in and I can’t see that the devil is a lie} 
  • I will see the goodness of the Lord this week {expectations are a set up for surprises} 
  • Nothing and no one is in charge of my happiness {this is an internal job} 
  • Smile! {people are watching} 
  • Pray! {fail to pray plan to panic} 
  • Live! {don’t spend so much time making a living that you forget to enjoy living}     

My sincerest hope is that we don’t dread our life. Look around and see all that God has done. Focus on the good. Look for it and dwell there. I pray that the Lord cover and protect you and that you know the depths of his love for you! 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. {Proverbs 3:5-6}

Have a great week!! 

My Decalration! 10/8/15 

08 Thursday Oct 2015

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Good morning friends!! 

For the past 4 years my family has been on a journey. We were given very little insight to what we would have to go through. We were told to go and not look back. We followed blindly and willingly. We have encountered some major disappointments and frustrations. We had no idea of the struggle of what depending on God in the reality of our disappointments would be like. Nothing has gone according to what we thought it would be like {shocker}. Our expectations were huge! Our reality was less than huge…disappointing to be honest. 

However, this is not a story of how horrible our God is or how he failed us. It’s a story of a family who followed God and endured inspite of difficulty, discouragement, and disappointment. We have survived not on our own merits but by the grace of God. Although our expectations were not met he still met us in unexpected ways. We are real people with real feelings and emotions. We get tired. We get upset. We have our good and bad days. We press on. We continue to believe that there is purpose in the process. The process is done in the waiting; in the time in between prophesy and promise. The promise doesn’t have a chance to be all that it was design to be without a process. I have no idea what God has for my family but I know we are in preparation for it. I will not sacrifice all that I’ve known God to be and is on the alter of disappointment.

The very same God that ushered the Israelites across the Red Sea, the same God who silenced the mouth of the lions for Daniel, the same God who brought forth a baby from the womb of Sarah at 90 years of age, the very same God who delivered and blessed Joseph super abundantly, the same God who made David, a shepherd boy, a king, the same God who gave Joshua victory over all his enemies, the same God who raised Jesus from the grave, this God, my God, will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that I could ask, dream, or imagine. YES, the One who is the same, yesterday and forever will see me and my family through {and yours} to our expected end. 

If you’re disappointed today know that you’re not alone. I want to assure you that what you’re feeling doesn’t surprise nor insult God. He sees you! He knows exactly where you are. You’re in a process. Even though you feel forgotten and forsaken you’re not. Be encouraged today that you are in great capable hands that have not let you go. There is no need to protect yourself or the reputation of God. He’s big enough to handle it all. Don’t despair. Don’t quit. Don’t turn around and go back. Keep moving forward even if it’s with tears in your eyes. Rest instead of worry. At the right moment the right door will be open to you and you will NOT miss it!! I’m praying for you today wherever you are my friend!!