Greater is He that is in ME

Last night I couldn't sleep. 

I kept feeling like a shadow was over my bed watching me.

I kept thinking of worst case scenario's in my mind.

FEAR kept me awake.

It literally stole something from me....a good night's sleep!

And isn't that what the devil always does?

He steals, kills and destroys... John 10:10

BUT the second part of that verse is the key to victory.

Cause though the devil takes....

Jesus gives us life...ABUNDANT LIFE!!! 

So, I made a choice last night as I lay there wide awake at 1:00 a.m.

I decided to fight back against that fear. 

I decided to live the abundant life Jesus died to give me.

I prayed and asked God to fill me with His love. 

"Perfect love casts out fear."-  1 John 4:18

I spoke out verses about God's mighty power in me.

"Greater is He that is in me than he that is in this world."- 1 John 4:4

I chose to focus on spiritual things.

"Set your mind on things above and not on things of this earth."- Colossians 3:2

And do you know what happened?

His peace, joy, and love immediately flowed over me. 

Why?

Because I acknowledged God's power at work within me!

Once I felt His power at work, a song rose up in my spirit right there in that bed.

A song from when I was a child in children's church.

It goes like this:

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river in my soul, (2x)

I’ve got love like an ocean,

I’ve got love like an ocean,

I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul,(2x)

I’ve got joy like a fountain,

I’ve got joy like a fountain,

I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul. (2x)

This song may not mean much to you but it was a lullaby for me last night.

I hummed it and sang that song in my mind until I finally dozed off.

It's like God was holding me and rocking me back to sleep.

 I could hear him singing along and whispering peace to my soul.

That, my friends, is the power of God.

FEAR debilitates, handicaps and destroys faith.

But when we tap into His resurrection power within us, fear has to leave us alone!

Jesus' power is so great and He cares so much that no need is too small.

My late night example of sleeplessness might seem small to you

but, to me, it was huge.

And God knew just how to show up and in what way to release 

His power so I could have victory.

He can do the same for you, ya know.

Jesus loves me (and you!), this I know....

FAITH

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

The Hebrew word for "faith" is emunah, which comes from the root word, aman. 
It means to "securely trust or rely upon." It is actually from which we get the word Amen. 

This word , emunah, is more than just a belief that something is true. 
Rather, it is a belief in the only Someone that is truth. 

It's the difference between knowing about God and having a personal relationship with Him.
It's the difference between hearing about your friend's miracle and having a miracle of your own.
It's the difference between seeing God as distant Creator and seeing God as best friend and Saviour.

It requires faith to do just about anything in life.

We have to believe in God's unending love or we have no love to give to ourselves or to others.
We have to believe in God's perfect timing or we have no ability to wait patiently for God's promises to come to pass.
We have to believe in God's amazing grace or we have no strength because we are constantly trying to do it all on our own.
We have to believe in God's forgiveness of our sins or we spend every waking hour confessing our faults and hiding from the truth.

It's really a glorious cycle of saying yes to Him and letting Him do it all...again and again and again.
It's when we try to muster up faith in ourselves and our own abilities that this glorious cycle gets interrupted.
Because it's never been God's intention for us to "do" anything.
It's only ever been about God doing it for us. 
And to believe that God already did everything for us to live a life of abundance ....that, my friends, requires faith! 

Thankfulness is a Choice

In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd focus on thanksgiving today.

Not the holiday.

The heart attitude and life changing perspective of gratitude.

One of my absolute favorite writers, Ann Voskamp, 

wrote a book called "One Thousand Gifts." 

In it she explains the simple yet profound truth that

giving thanks for something every day can literally change your life. 

She goes through her own life story - and much of it is agonizing and tragic- 

and gives God thanks for the little things through it all.

The little things that most of us would miss.

She sees them.

Because she makes a choice to see them.

Thankfulness is a choice.

How many little things do we miss because we're focused on all the big things that went wrong?

Life is definitely tough.

There's no getting away from that reality.

But our attitude can make or break us.

When tragedy strikes, do we blame God for the pain?

Do we blame ourselves for what we did or did not do?

Do we blame someone else?

Or, do we thank God through it?

And give ourselves grace to be imperfect?

Do we offer that same grace to others?

Thankfulness is a choice.

It's not something we can just fall into.

We have to pick it up. 

When the snow is piled high in our lives, we have to dig until we find it.

Our hands may get cold.

We may start to shiver.

But when we find it...oh the warmth that takes over.

Thankfulness becomes a warm blanket to our cold souls. 

It brings relief.

It brings joy.

It brings life.

Thankfulness is a choice.

It can literally save your life.

Without it, we are dying a slow, painful death of soul- hypothermia.

We become bitter and cold to the blessings in life.

We become frozen where we are.

Stuck.

But when we say, "Thank You, God", JOY ENTERS IN.

And we notice the little things. 

The heart shaped leaf among the huge piles we have been raking all morning reminds us of God's love.

The endless rain on our roof reminds us that He is pouring out His goodness on us until we overflow.

Oh, how so much joy can come from such little things!

You'd be amazed.

Just try it.

Let your heart be embraced by the joy it brings.

I'll start.

Thank You, God, for today.

That I woke up.

That Your mercies are new every morning.

That Your word is true.

 That my family is with me.

That my needs are met.

You are the author of all that is good.

And I am thankful.

Buy Ann Voskamp's book here:

http://onethousandgifts.com/the-book

You Can Make It Through

PERSEVERANCE
(noun)- steady persistence in adhering to a course of action or purpose; steadfastness
- those who have been chosen by God will continue in a state of grace to the end

Why is life so tough sometimes?
Can't we all just breeze through each day with no major interruptions, challenges and disappointments?  

If only...


Here's the thing:
A life without interruptions means the same monotonous routine, day after day, week after week.

A life without challenges means no one ever questions our choices or holds us accountable.

A life without disappointments means we never have a reason to look up and ask for His help.

All of these situations in life require perseverance. 
I love how God never gives us more than we can handle.
He does, however,  promise to be there for us in the midst of the daily grind. 

Cause that's how it seems sometimes, right? 
Like we are being ground up into little bits of ourselves...

You know what I mean:
The baby won't stop crying and the phone rings for the thousandth time.
The kitchen sink is full of dishes and you can't remember the last time you took a shower. 
OR
Your husband left and you have no one but the dog at home waiting for you.
Your closest friend moved away and you're too scared to reach out and meet someone new. 

Life's tough and there isn't a single one of us that is exempt from hard times. 
So we have to make a choice.
To press in to God more than ever before and push past the pain that interruptions, challenges and disappointments can bring. 

Why? 
Because He is faithful.

Romans 8:28 says,
 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."

It's just a realization on our part really: 
That He is always in control. 
That our lives can NEVER spin out of control cause He has each of us in His ever capable hands.
That He will bring joy out of the pain.  

THAT, my dear Beautiful Warriors, is what perseverance is all about. 
Taking step after step after step...until you look back and realize you made it through! 
It wasn't easy and you had some obstacles to overcome. 

But you did it. Because you gave it to HIM. 

Verses to encourage you:

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

You can do it. 

You're an over-comer!

Take Time to Rest Today

REST

(verb)-to lie down, to cease from motion,

to remain, to be firmly fixed

How long has it been since you've really felt at rest? 

I'm not just talking about physical rest. 

Rest for your tired and weary soul?

Rest for your hurried and busy mind?

Rest for your broken and scarred heart?

I don't know about you....but I feel guilty when I get tired. 

I let my mama brain go all crazy and point fingers at me 

for taking a break! 

"GUILTY!" I hear in my head. 

"Of what?" you ask.

NOT BEING ABLE TO DO IT ALL

ALL THE TIME.

Yep. I get tired. And cranky.

Very cranky if I don't get some rest!

 Spirit, soul and body worn out!

Do my hubby and kids like to be around exhausted me?

Well, let's just say they enjoy rested mommy much more. :)

 "How do I find the time?" I hear you saying from your side of the screen.

You don't...

You can't find something that's not there in the first place.

You have to do something radical:

Make Time

Tell your heart it deserves to have a good cry over a cup of tea.

Tell your mind that it's ok to shut up and let God do the talking for a while.  

It's what He's waiting for by the way.

Tell your body to go take that bath with lavender scented bubbles 

and listen to some Beyonce on your iPod.

Tell those to-do lists you'll get to them later.

Put the remote down and close those heavy lids.

Are your heart muscles sore?

Do they need some time off to feel Gods healing love?

It's ok. 

Genesis 2:2 says,

"On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation, 

so He rested from all his work."

God rested. So we can too.

Psalm 127:2 NLT

It is useless for you to work so hard 

from early morning until late at night,

anxiously working for food to eat;

for God gives rest to His loved ones.

Matthew 11:28 NLT

 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary 

and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

A little rest break for ya...