Laced with Grace…”Caged”

Fear restricts you from living life.  The enemy relies on his intimidation and manipulating tactics to utterly destroy you.  He wants to convince you that you are weak and powerless.  He wants to manipulate us into believing that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  When we allow fear to call the shots we are falling for Satan’s mind games.

He is hoping we are gullible enough to fall for his tricks so the coward in him will not be reveled.  Just like bullies in school that use intimidation to hold power over their victims, he relies on this tactic to work and make you fall into his trap. 

He wants to defeat us with lies, deception, and intimidation to stop us in our tracks.  Fear will stop us from living life the way God intended us to live life...in peace.  You can’t live life and live in fear too…it’s like oil and water, they just don’t mix.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7

We were created to have a relationship with our God and for us to live peacefully lives.  He never intended for us to live our lives fearful and convinced that we are trapped and have nowhere to go.

The enemy wants you to think you are a prisoner, but nothing could be farther from the truth.  You aren’t a prisoner; you are just convinced that you are.  He makes you think that you are in a cage and you can’t get free and you can’t get out, but in reality the cage doesn’t exist.  He wants us to believe that we are caged.  The definition for caged: to confine or keep in or as if in a cage.

We don’t have to buy Satan’s lies and fall for his mind tricks.

I heard about this animal (I’m wanting to think it was a lion) that had been caged for its entire life and was eventually released into the wild with wide open spaces to run, hunt, and live life as it was intended to.  When they let that animal out of the cage and into the wild open spaces, though the animal was no longer caged, it still walked back and forth like it was in an invisible cage.  Excitement and adventure awaited this lion, but he was unable to have those things because in his mind he was still caged. 

Fear keeps the prison bars there (in your mind) but they are actually not even there at all. 

Fear can keep us locked away in our past.  Like that lion released out into the open wild, we too can enter into a new chapter in our lives full of excitement, adventure, and amazing possibilities, but because of some painful past experiences we stay living in our past instead of the present.  He is free!  He could run around and enjoy life; but instead he stays in the perimeter of that small cage that he once lived when he doesn’t have to. 

We don’t have to live life as if we are in a cage.

Do not live in the past.  Do not live in fear.  Do not let the enemy make you think that you’re caged, because you’re not; he is the one that’s caged!

You can also read this devotion over at Lacedwith Grace

Laced with Grace..."Following Him"

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “Following Him.”.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added to you.”  Matthew 6:33 ESV

When you try to do life on your own and do the things that you want to do and live how

you want to live and date the people you want to date and pursue the career you

want then have a plan to turn your life over to God later when you "lived your

life to the fullest" and done all the things that you wanted to do and your about 50 years old, your actually missing out on more than you think.

When we give God our lives and put Him and His desires before our own and choose His will and the plans that He has for us instead of our own, all of the deepest desires of our hearts are granted to us and begin to unfold on our life journey following Christ. 

When we are spiritually reborn, that's when our life really begins!! 

Some think living for God is all about what you can't do and that’s a shame because they are really missing out on life.   

Life without Christ is no life at all. 

When you follow Christ and become close and build a relationship with Him you

can't help but fall in love with Him and want to be more like Him.

The more you get to know Him the more you love Him.  His love changes hearts.

When He changes your heart that is when you become a follower of Christ and you begin to WANT to live according to His Word and there are things that you DON'T want to do anymore.  When you are following in His footsteps you want to be more like Him every day.  It’s not about what you can’t do, but rather, it’s about your relationship with Him.

Following in His footsteps will lead us to His plans and what He wants for our lives, which is really what we want too!!

Many years ago I made that change in my life and pursued Christ and left my old life behind and all my plans, hopes, and dreams.  Up until then, I always thought that “church” and “God” and all of that was all about standards, rules, and what you can’t do.  I realized that letting go of my hopes, dreams, and plans to follow Him was the beginning of my life.  

When I began to live my life following Christ and following His plans and dreams and the life He had waiting for me, all of my deepest hopes, desires, and dreams were added.  All of the things that I have ever wanted (even things that I didn’t even know I wanted) began showing up in my life and the best part is…there is so much more yet to come! 

He knows us more than we know ourselves!

You will never be disappointed putting Him first in your life.  Only until you begin to follow Him and His plans will you begin to live for the first time and experience life like never before.

Are you pursuing your plans in hopes of getting what you want? 

God knows your deepest desires and longs to fulfill them… all we have to do is let go of our plans and follow Him which will lead us to all of our hopes, dreams and desires.

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

You can also read this blog at Laced with Grace.

T.R.U.S.T.

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “T.R.U.S.T.”.

I remember at school the teachers would break us up into teams and one student would get behind another student and we would close our eyes and fall back, trusting that the student behind us would catch us as we fell back. 

Has anyone ever done this? 

Well I have and it’s not so easy trusting that some random student that you don’t know and that doesn’t seem to want to participate will be paying as much attention as he should when I fall back for him to stop me from slamming into the ground!

 This five letter word T.R.U.S.T. has been putting me to the test!

Trust is to put your complete confidence in someone knowing they won’t let you down.  Trust is to fall back without doubting that the student behind you will catch you so you don’t hit the ground.  It might be a little hard trusting a second grader to break your fall, but if it were God behind you waiting for you to fall; you can trust that He will be there to catch you so you don’t hit the ground. 

It would be easier wouldn’t it? 

It’s easy to say that you trust God until… that dreaded call… that unwanted illness… that scary news… 

I have 7 days until my last day at work and the clock is ticking.  I have searched and applied, called, emailed many places submitting my resume and applying for positions… but still no job.

That five letter word T.R.U.S.T.  is the only thing I am holding onto right now.  It’s the only thing keeping me from getting stressed out, worrying myself to death, and imagining all the what ifs.  We must trust God to fulfill our needs and provide for us.  He knows that I only have 7 days left, He knows how many bills we have, and He has never let me down... EVER!!

Looking back at all the times He has miraculously provided should assure me that He will provide this time just like all of those times. 

Psalms 56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; shall I not be afraid…” ESV

Over and over again you will find in His Word that He keeps His promises and will provide on time… not our time, but His time.

Daniel trusted God would protect Him in the den of lions even though the lions hadn’t eaten for days…God protected him and shut their mouths!

Noah trusted God that there would be rain and continued to build the ark without ever seeing a drop of rain in his life…God let the rain pour!

Joshua trusted God that the walls would come tumbling down after marching around 7 times…God let those walls crumble to the ground!

It’s a scary situation and even though I am human and naturally would worry about something like this, I have a sense of relief because I can look back at His consistent pattern of promise keeping in my life and read His Word and find comfort in knowing that He is trust worthy, I can rely on Him, and He will never fail me.  I have been re-learning all over again that He is in control and I can trust Him and rely on Him to provide and provide on time. 

You can also read this devotion over at Laced with Grace

Laced with Grace..."A Savior for us all"

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “A Savior for us all”.

Christmas is an exciting time of the year.  It’s my favor holiday to celebrate and as soon as the hot summer days begin to fade into cool weather and the leaves begin to change colors and fall I start getting excited about Christmas.

I just love the trees!  The snow!  The fire place burning!  Christmas songs!  The homemade cookies!  The lights!  The presents under the tree!  The Christmas dinners!  The family gatherings!

It’s so exciting buying gifts, receiving gifts, spending time with family, and making wonderful memories. 

I love this time of year, but even more than all the wonderful things at Christmas time, I don’t ever want to forget why we celebrate Christmas.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

God gave us the most precious gift anyone could ever give or receive; a Savior. 

On that day He gave to us more than we could ever need and EVERYTHING we could every hope for!  Christ was born, a Savior for us all!!

Christmas cannot be found in shopping malls or underneath the Christmas tree… it is found in our hearts!

It’s a time of GIVING and BLESSING others!!! 

Let’s not get caught up in the “things” we buy or receive, but remember it’s all about LOVE and GIVING and BLESSING others, like Christ did for us!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! J

You can also read this devotion over at Laced with Grace!!

Laced with Grace....Dare to Believe

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “Dare to Believe”. 

I’m sure every one of you ladies have tied an apron around your waist and grabbed all the ingredients that you need to bake a cake. 

You grab the shortening, sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, water, eggs, etc… 

Stir it all together…

Pour into the cake pan and bake…

After 30 mins or so, you have a cake!

Gathering the ingredients to make a cake is a lot like believing and having the faith about something that hasn’t happened yet.

Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” NLT

You need all the ingredients in order to make that cake, without them, there will be no cake.  Your faith is like all the ingredients that it takes to…..

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Laced With Grace….”You can’t hide what’s inside”

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “You can’t hide what’s inside”.

It’s easy to claim to be a Christian because all you have to do is simply that – claim it.  Simply claiming to be something doesn’t make you what you are claiming to be.  I can claim to be the tooth fairy, but it doesn’t make me the tooth fairy….right?  I hope you would agree with me on this.  If you believe everything you hear, then you are thinking that I have a ton of teeth stashed somewhere.  Ha!  Humor me for a moment…..

If I don’t have wings, can’t fly, and don’t have a magical wand then I’m not the tooth fairy.  I can claim to be….but the fact remains that I just can’t prove it; therefore I’m NOT.

We should prove that we are Christians by the way we live our life. 

It boggles my mind that so many people say they are a Christian, but they are the meanest and ugliest people around, who murder others with their tongue and say and do whatever suites their fancy and not thinking twice about what spills from their mouth.  Their hearts are filthy and full of wickedness and nothing but darkness. 

Do they actually think that we can’t see the condition of their hearts? 

Do they really think they’ve got us fooled?

Your actions and words will reflect what’s inside your heart just like the moon reflects the light from the sun.  No matter how hard you try, you can’t hide what’s inside your heart.

Matthew 15:18 says “But the words you speak come from your heart – that’s what defiles you.” NLT

If the condition of your heart is “clean” and you are “Spirit-filled” then others will………

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Thankful Thursday – Gifts from above

I am thankful for many things this Thankful Thursday.  I am so thankful to know the Lord and have the privilege to walk and talk with Him daily.  Years ago when I gave my life to Him, He transformed my heart into a new heart with new desires and gave me a new nature.  I haven’t been the same since. 

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away’; behold, all things are become new.”  - 2 Cor. 5:17

I’m so thankful for the experience of regeneration (being born again).  I’ve learned that life is no life at all if you’re not living your life for Jesus Christ!  I’m thankful that lovingly and gently lead my heart to His.

I’m also thankful for the most precious gift from above, my wonderful husband Jordan.  He is not what I imagined….he’s MUCH MORE!!!! J 

I’m thankful for my family.  There is nothing else like family - that closeness that you have with your family is priceless.

Today, I am linking up over at Thankful Thursday.  Iris is our host the month

of June; visit Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday posts!

To Know Him

Do you ever get overwhelmed when you think of the people all over the world that don’t know Christ Jesus? 

Sometimes when I think about the millions or billions of people that know of Him, but don’t really know Him (close relationship) it scares me.  I start thinking things like…”I wonder if they will have a chance to know Him like I know Him?  What if they don’t?  What if they never get a chance and spend their lives without knowing the one that changes everything?” 

I get myself all worked up and before I know it, I’m feeling the weight of the world resting on my shoulders…Ha, like it’s my problem to take care of or something!  What am I thinking?  It’s great and all that I care about the people around me, but it’s not my problem to solve…so why am I all upset over these people that don’t know Christ Jesus? 

Then it hit me, I’m not trusting in the Lord.  I have to trust Him that He knows the needs of those who are not yet living their lives for Him.  When I realized that it’s all in His hands, I was able to relax and feel relief, the weight lifted off my shoulders. 

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.  Everything he does is just and fair.  He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

He’s on it!!  He is so amazingly powerful and all knowing!!  He’s working in our lives, each and every one of us, gently guiding us towards a place close to Him.  Even though there are so many that haven’t reached that point yet, we must patiently wait for the Lord.  He’s working in their lives.  He knows the hearts that will accept Him and the ones that will not, but the Word of God says that He will give ALL a change to receive His free gift….the gift of salvation. 

Laced With Grace...."Jehovah"

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “Jehovah”. 

Some claim that Jesus Christ was fabricated by the human mind; simply produced by the imagination and nothing more.  If, in fact He was invented by man then why has man not been able to improve on Christ over the years?  Improvements have been made continuously over the years on everything that man has made.  No one can deny that we don’t continuously improve on everything that we can get our hands on.  

It’s nothing out of the ordinary to see improvement at every turn.

On television we see commercials advertising the newest improved gadget that is better, faster, smoother, lighter, and more convenient than ever before.   

“The Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power Razor is Gillette’s most advanced blade ever.  Thinner, finer blades with a low-resistance coating glide effortlessly through hair for less tug and pull, providing incredible comfort, even if you shave every day.”

Gillette’s website advertisement clearly makes my point; this product is one of the many products that are continually being improved and I doubt the production of ideas will stop flowing.  In the 18^th century the first razor invented was a “straight razor”, years later you can see substantial improvement.

Years ago…

Now…

Compare the automobiles produced in the 20^th century to the 21^st century; you are bound to see a major improvement.  The progress that man has made on the appearance, assembly, versatility and the wide ranges of makes, models and color options are vast improvements from where automobiles first began.

Years ago…

Now…

Architectural structures began to mature and flourish hundreds of years before Christ was born.  Buildings were sturdier and more permanent than before.   Structures in the 21^st century have dramatically improved with endurance, stability, beauty, design and manufacture.

Years ago…



Now…

Jesus Christ claimed deity; He applied to Himself the
statement of Jehovah, “I am”.  

John 8:24 “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

John 8:24 “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said “I am the light of the world.  If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 10:9 “Yes, I am the gate.  Those who come in through me will be saved.  They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.”

John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No on e can come to the Father except through me.”

This truth of the revelation of Jesus Christ is revealed in Scripture and proves that Jesus Christ is deity and not man-made. 

We are merely humans and are unable to…..

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Prayer

Have you been doing all the talking?

The Artist At Work

Today I want to share my heart with you, something that the Lord has been tugging on my heart to change.  The past few months I have been convicted of something that I have never been convicted of before and it all started when I opened up my mouth and uttered a phrase that I haven’t forgotten since. 

Like any other morning, I was driving to work and turned into the parking lot to park my car and noticed this person who wasn’t very attractive and like most people’s reaction I said to myself “ugh, that person is so ugly.”  As the words left my lips Jesus spoke into my heart and said, “That is my creation you are talking about; my work of art”, and I felt so terrible that I had said something so awful and basically criticized God’s creativity and capabilities.

From that moment on I decided to never speak of God’s creation in a negative way ever again.  That person shouldn’t be judged or criticized by us; all that matters is that God thinks they are beautiful because He created them.  We are all uniquely made inside and out, and we are His pride and joy…His work of art.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of His hands.”

This scripture says the heavens are proudly announcing and showing their appreciation of His marvelous art work (His creation) and the skies are giving their approval and making it known.  He is our Artist and we are all His work of art.  He loves us.  He’s proud of what He has created and we should be too.

God is our Creator; He is The Artist!!! 

We should have an appreciation of His art and beauty; not just the mountains, waterfalls, sunsets, stars in the night sky, Grand Canyon, but the people He created too.  We are His work of art!!

Laced with Grace....I Don’t Buy That Lie

Today I shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled “I Don’t Buy That Lie”.

Satan doesn’t just temp us on the obvious things like to tell a lie, smoke cigarettes, talk bad about someone, or cheat on a test.  He tempts us with less obvious things like when you are facing difficulty in life and everything seems to be falling apart.  He comes along and whispers lies into your ear to lure you out onto his slippery pathways with one objective in mind…..for you to fall.  Yes, he plays dirty.  He kicks you while you’re down. 

In those moments in life, that is when Satan runs as fast as he can to get to your ear and fill it with lies and deception.  He tries to convince you that God has abandon you and no longer loves you.  He tries to convince you that your situation is hopeless and will never change and never get better.  He tries to discourage you when you need encouragement the most.  He pushes you down, right at that moment you need a helping hand.  He tries his best to drag you down as low as he can drag you so you are discouraged and hopeless of your situation. 

Satan will drag you as far as you let him!

Yes trials are hard, no doubt, but the Lord has shown me something different in this scripture today.  I’ve never thought about it like this before, but the reason we feel so weak, hopeless, fearful, discouraged and faithless........

Click here for the rest of the devotion!

Safe and Sound

The record breaking storms have passed and the sun is shining.  We have made it through the storms this week.  Our town was blessed.  We are all safe and sound right?

Yes we are safe, but what about sound? 

Throughout the Mid-South area we experienced severe thunderstorms and twisters with minor damage compared to other cities in the U.S. leaving us safe, but maybe not so sound. 

The enemy can torment your mind leaving you with fear.  He can get you worrying and imaging the worse-case scenarios and all the “what if’s” you can thing of….  But remember what 2 Timothy 1:7 says….

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Not worry, but peace!!  Not fear, but power!! 

Dear Lord,

Please help us to not listen to the enemy’s lies and focus our minds on You. Give our hearts peace and a sound mind.  Amen!

My Painted Heart

I have faced a lot of difficulty, pain, and heartache in my 26 years.  The pain I have suffered has made me who I am today and I wouldn’t take that back for the world.  God can turn any bad situation into beauty.  I was completely broken up inside with nothing left.  God knows exactly what he is doing and has allowed everything that has happened to me with a great purpose in mind.  Just think, we are his pride and joy…the apple of this eye…the most precious thing that belongs to him…he proved that when he sent His one and only son to die on the cross for payment of our sins in order to purchase us!!

We are so precious to Him!

What is the MOST PRECIOUS thing that belongs to you?  Something you have purchased?  Something that has been given to you?  Let’s say a small glass vase has been passed down in your family for many generations and it now belongs to you.  It’s precious to you…your whole entire family line for generations has owned and cherished this small glass vase which tells a story that runs all of the way back to the latest your family were able to trace on your family tree.  It is now in your hands to take care of, watch over and protect.  It is precious to you and you are in charge of it…it’s YOURS!!  I’m sure you would make sure that you knew exactly where it was at all times and if you decide to take it into another room and place it another spot in your house you would make sure that it would be safe there in that new spot.  Whatever you decide to do with it or wherever you decide to place it, you will have its best interest in mind ALWAYS.

That’s the way I like to think of it.  God’s ALWAYS aware of where we are and what is happening in our lives.  If something will help us build character or help us grow stronger in him, then he will allow the stormy winds to swirl in our lives.  He is there and never leaves during the storm, but is smiling inside seeing the end results which is his ultimate plan.  Of course at the same time he is hurting that we have to go through such pain but is very understanding and has compassion as we face that storm.

I have deep scars from past wounds (experiences) but that is what keeps me desperate for Jesus!!  Never a day goes by that I am not constantly reminded that I NEED him desperately EVERYDAY!!!

James 1:2-3 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

There was a time in my life that God wasn’t apart of it like he is now, only because I didn’t allow him.  Those were lonely, dark days that you couldn’t pay me enough money to relive.  If it weren’t for those experiences in my life I wouldn’t be who I am today. 

That’s what we are…God’s creation!!  We are like a painting that he is working on. 

He has got all his paint colors out, jar of water, paper towels, brushes and the grand idea of what picture he wants to paint. 

He has got this apron on and is all ready to go!!  With excitement he takes his first stroke on the blank solid white canvas and thinks to himself “This is going to be a good one!” 

Time passed and the canvas now has beautiful shades of color.  When he begins to mark the color black into the picture we start to wonder what is going on and why is this happening?  I don’t like the color black!!!  Who likes the color black??  It’s ugly!!  I don’t want that in my life!!!  It’s not even a pretty color!!! 

We must have the color black painted in our hearts.

 No it’s not a pretty color, but it is necessary…all together it makes the picture!!  Adding black to the painting is what makes it become beautiful.  What would the Mona Lisa be without black?  It wouldn’t be the beautiful famous painting as we know it…that’s for sure!

When I look at my past hurts I see pain, but when I look at the whole picture I see Gods fingerprints all over this beautiful story he is writing in my life. 

What a beautiful story God has written!!  He is not finished yet!!

This song “Before the Morning” by Josh Wilson says it all….click here to listen!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all that you have done in my life and are still doing today. You are the reason my heart sings!!  Once there was only brokenness in my life, but you have mended me back whole.  I am now healed and even better than before.  I am thankful for the scares I have in my life because they are simply reminders of what you can make into beauty.  I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the painful experiences that I have faced.  I look forward to more beauty that you bring into my life each and every day. Amen!