Day 145 – What’s your story?

Today’s Reading: Psalm 38 – 40

“I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.” Psalm 40:10.

God gives each of us a different story. Yours will be different than mine and mine different than yours. From the moment God created you in your mother’s womb He already knew each day that He laid out for you.

Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written,The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.”

God has great plans for each one of us.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

But God didn’t give us this story to keep it to ourselves or hide it under a bushel, NO, He gave us our story so we could glorify Him.

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Jesus taught lessons through stories, in fact, The Bible is one Big Story pointing straight to Him!

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

And John came to testify of Him so others would believe.

John 1:7 “He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.”

Joseph, Esther, David, along with many others, including YOU, have a story. I get so excited when God gives me the opportunity to share mine. What’s your testimony? What has God brought you from and through and to? Be Loud, Be Proud, Be Unashamed, so that by your story others will know His Story and make their past His-story too.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Day 144 – When the Lord finds us being faithful to Him, He will look into our heart and give us our deepest desires.

Today’s Reading: Psalm 35 – 37

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4.

Two questions you’ve probably never contemplated in the same thought: Where am I at in my walk with Christ, and What is my greatest Desire?

Have you ever noticed that the longer a dog is in a family the owner and the dog begin to resemble one another? Or how a child that is adopted into a family will resemble the features of their parents and siblings (even if they are of different races)?

I’m always mesmerized by God’s gracious gifts.

When we are growing closer to Christ in our relationship with him, our heart, actions, and words begin to reflect Him as well. As our heart looks more like His, His desires will become our desires.

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

God loves us as our Heavenly Father, and when we commit ourselves to Him, He Wants to give us the desires of our hearts.

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act.” Psalm 37:5.

When I look back at my teenage and pre-married years, my dad showed that I was making him proud by giving me the vehicles I wanted at big milestones: from a jeep for my 16th, an Audi for college graduation and a Harley for taking my brother on a vacation while they were away. Did I need these things, absolutely NOT, and I’ve learned some other lessons from this, but for this purpose it shows me that God desires to do even more for us.

My own children have their desires as well, and when they are being obedient to me, kind to one another, and respectful to my rules, I long to give them more than their desires. But when they are acting like a fool and being completely disobedient, I want to take away everything I’ve ever given them. Thank the Lord that God gives grace and mercy.

The next time you begin to have a desire in your heart take a personal inventory, are your desires aligned with His desires? If YES, then pray and wait to see what He does.

Day 143 – He will turn our Mourning into DANCING!

Today’s Reading: Psalm 30 – 34

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” Psalm 30:11.

Mourning is what occurs after we lose something or someone we hold dear.

It can take days, months, or years to fully mourn the loss and feel healing from the brokenness.

After my son Hayden passed away, many told me that the mourning process was be different for everyone, but everyone must go through it. If you don’t go through it in the beginning and instead suppress it, the process will happen later on and can be even worse. So, I decided it was going to be a no holds bar type of process for me, I was all in and wanted God to heal every inch of my body. I cried at odd times, I went silent, I stopped looking to the future and focused on making it through the day.

Once a year passed my JOY was returning, the mourning was becoming light. Laughter was reignited, plans for the present and the future were ignited; I thought I was complete. However, there was one thing I hadn’t noticed that I lost, and until I found it, I didn’t even no where it was….my voice.

My voice, is what makes me dance, it’s who God created me to be – a visionary and someone who implements the vision, standing firm on my convictions. Looking back over that time, I felt different. It wasn’t because I couldn’t dream, it was on the back-burner; it wasn’t because I didn’t have any joy, it was just tucked away. My personality had changed.

I love really getting to know who I am, the ins and outs of how God created me, and 2 years before my loss I was certified in a specific personality test called DISC. When I first took the test, I was High “I” (my heart) but following in a close 2nd was “D” (my voice). 6 months after Hayden passed I took it again and I was still High “I” but in close 2nd was “S” (a listener). I thought, “God must have changed my personality,” but in reality, My mourning process changed me.

After 7 years, God is still slowly turning my mourning into Dancing and Returning my voice of His Truth. I’m still relearning, reviving, and rediscovering who I am. It’s like unearthing a hidden treasure that got buried by death. Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe in Mourning your loss, but I believe that God can also heal the mourning and turn it into dancing.

Day 142 – No matter the circumstance, no matter the time, look for the good.

Today’s Reading: Psalm 27 – 29

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!” Psalm 27:13

Optimism, pessimism, there’s 2 sides to every coin and to every story. We have a choice as to which side we see. We have a choice to look at the glass half-empty or half-full. We have a choice to wake up every morning and look for the good in the day or the bad.

I choose to look for the good in the land of the living. Looking for the good brings your heart gladness because Good is from God.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”

When we look for the negative in things it makes our heart hurt, it makes our stomach sour, and our eyes see evil.

Proverbs 11:27 “Whoever seeks good finds favor,but evil comes to one who searches for it.”

Looking for the Good in a situation is guarding your heart from fear. Looking for the good is seeing all as God’s creation since He created everything and He created it as good!

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”

If you look for the negative you are looking for evil and that was brought here by Satan.

Proverbs 4:20-27 “My son, pay attention to what I say;turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight,keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity;keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead;fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

The one thing that I can promise is that in all my trials and all my pain I look for good. Evil or negativity bring regret and who wants to live in regret when we don’t know what a day will bring. Look for the good!

Day 141 – Death, where is your sting?

Today’s Reading: Psalm 23 – 26

Psalm 23:1-6 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley,I will fear no evil,for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalm 23 is a beautiful picture of God’s faithfulness to walk with us through all of this life and into eternity. As so many of our loved ones have gone to meet our Savior at the gates of Heaven, we can find comfort that they are no longer in evils path, they have a new life, death no longer has a hold of them, and they are in the Presence of our Shepherd King.

We will all one day face death and until we get there it can be a very feared thing that stops us from pursuing some of God’s greatest plans for us. However, the closer we come to the valley of the shadow of death it can also become something we LONG for.

1 Corinthians 14:55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Over the years, I’ve found comfort in the thought of meeting Jesus in Heaven and all my loved ones being right there with Him. I can picture them being held by Him, hugged by Him and loved by Him in the person.

Seeing Jesus in Heaven is something I long for, and thankfully, I know it is something My youngest son longed for before he even realized he’d be meeting him so soon. In Sunday School, the week before Hayden met Jesus, his teacher taught a lesson on The Angels at Jesus’ birth. After flying Hayden around the room for the 100th time, Hayden looked up and said, “I want to go to Heaven and be with all the angels.” I have no doubt after he made his way through the pearly gates, he saw how good and true Heaven really was and in his cutest face demanded to stay.

It is so hard for us on earth to even think of being without our loved ones, but where they are and where they are going is the House of the Lord forever! ❤️💙

Day 140 – No evil will succeed when you stand firm on the right side of the War.

Today’s Reading: Psalms 19 – 22

“Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.” Psalm 21:11.

Every. Single. Day. Evil gets shot at me by the fiery darts of the Devil. And sometimes it seems like they are coming from the people closest to me.

He knows our weak spots and he preys on them, making it difficult to remember we aren’t battling flesh and blood when someone hurts us. In the moment, we think, why would they do this to us, in reality, the devil knows who to use to get under our skin.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

God promises us that the evil one can never get to us who believe and have faith since we are given the full armor we need to deflect him.

Ephesians 6:13-17 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

At this point, the devil may still seek us, but use it as an opportunity to pray for those he’s using against us.

Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Even Jesus, while hanging on the cross, beaten, mocked, and insulted, prayed.

Luke 23:34a “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

God can use evil for good.

Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Day 139 – You don’t have to be afraid of the dark.

Today’s Reading: Psalm 15 – 18

“For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.” Psalm 28:28.

Today’s devotion is for all my friends who find themselves in dark places.

Darkness is hard. It grips our insides and ties us in knots. It’s cold, dark and dank, bringing to life all the fallen of creation. Evil hides in the dark and abides in the dark. Darkness pushed out love and welcomes hate. The only light of darkness is the bringing to light every fear. You can’t see in the darkness causing you to fumble and stumble and fall. It can come on you like a storm, we can be born into it because of a fallen world, and it can sneak up on you like the coming of the night sky.

But we don’t have to be afraid of the dark. At any moment in the dark we have access to Light!

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

Once this Light lives within us it never turns off. It may grow dim at times but the Light within us never goes out. God makes your Light brighter as you walk into darkness.

John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Don’t be ashamed of your light, let it shine into the world.

Matthew 5:15-16 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I’ve been there, I’ve felt it, but thankfully the darkness couldn’t overcome me. It has scared me but never overtaken me. Jesus is the only Light of the world and He lives within me.

He will live in whoever believes in Him and place light in them too. He will turn darkness into light and use His love to push out all fear. You have no reason to fear darkness because His light Shines Brightest in the Dark!

Day 138 – Only a fool would say there is NO God!

Today’s Reading: Psalm 12 -14

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” Psalm 14:1.

Google says, “a fool is a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.”

You are so Silly. Those are the words we say to a child when they are acting childish. I was a child when God revealed himself to me, and the majority of the time we see Him most naturally as a child. When we wait until we are older and think as a child, questioning everything we once knew or things we were once told, we are acting like a fool.

When I was only 8 years old, As “Heady” as I am, I debated over and over again about the reality of God. But I haven’t debated since because I have Faith without even an ounce of doubt that God is Real.

When I hear someone say there is no God I immediately go back to my childish debates and ask the question that confirmed it to me, “Where did we come from?” If the answer is ‘The Big Bang Theory’ I answer back with “Where did the atoms come from that banged together?” Everything has to come from something or Someone and I know the ONE! This is a debate I could go on forever with, but there is also something deeper that speaks to the heart, “Where does your hope come from? Where do you find joy? What makes you want to live?” There is no reason to live if we have no purpose, no hope, and no joy, and the only place we can get these is from God.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

There is no thing, no atom, no person, and no pet that can fill the emptiness in our heart that only God can fill. With God we have Eternity in our hearts, a yearning for what is yet to come.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

And with Jesus we have Joy. You are wasting time acting like a fool and doing no good. The only way to have the Good life is to turn to God and have Faith. He is our Sustainer, Creator, and Savior. God Is Good and God is Real. Believe.

Day 137 – The Lord hears the cry of the afflicted and strengthens their heart as they call to Him.

Today’s Reading: Psalms 9 – 11

Psalm 10:17 “You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,”

I’ve never felt any greater strength than when I’ve been under the deepest affliction and called to the Lord. The quicker I call the quicker I am strengthened. As when rushing to the unknown, prayers of Jesus, a heart unaware of what to say, spoke louder from my heart’s desires than any words could ever speak, and not only did He raise my head with his strength, but he filled my heart with his peace.

The words said in prayer don’t always express the feelings we have deep in our heart because it can be so complex and quite overwhelming. Yet, Jesus leans down low and knows our desires. God loves to hear the desires of the afflicted because He knows that they are in their most dire need and can only look to Him. Some people wait until they’ve exhausted all other resources before going to Him, and yet He doesn’t turn from them, instead he allows their Waiting to seek Him as a period of time between their need and His answer.

Bonhoeffer was such a man that never left His faith and always sought the Lord in his affliction even to the end. He left this world comforted by the thought that life didn’t really begin until it ended here on earth. Bonhoeffer was quoted as saying, “Death is mild, death is sweet and gentle, it beckons to us with heavenly power, if only we realize that it is our gateway to our homeland, the tabernacle of joy, the everlasting kingdom of peace.” So, as his time came to an end and he climbed upon the gallows, he bowed before his King, and let his desires be spoken from his heart. A doctor watched as Dietrich went to his death and said, “In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

That my friends is the answer to the desire of one’s heart, the strengthening of the Lord.

Day 136 – God loves YOU!

Today’s Reading: Psalms 4 – 8

Psalm 5:7 “But I, by your great love,can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.”

Have you ever thought, why does God love me? I’m but nothing and I do so much wrong. Even David contemplated this. He knew of all the wrong he’d done, but God still loved him and provided for him.

Psalm 8:4 “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

David is reflecting not on anything bad that has happened to him, but the good and care that God has for him.

2 Samuel 7:18 “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”

After God had brought David into his kingdom and provided for all of his family, he sits in awe with great thanks for what has been done.

God loves each one of us in the same way that he loved David because He created man in His own image. He knew who we would be and what we would be like before we were even born. He created us OUT OF LOVE; He knit us together in our mother’s wombs.

When you look at the wild flowers, the sunrise, the monarch butterfly, or the beautiful cardinal, remember that if He has provided for each of them and made them beautiful, He will provide for us even more.

Psalm 8:6-9 “You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

When the Lord breathed breath into Adam He gave him dominion over all the earth and everything in it for him to take care of it and God in return would care for us. We love others because He first loved us, we DO, by His example. If you ever doubt His love for you, think about a mother and child, you would give and do anything for your child, and we are His children, so He would do anything for us. Just as I care for all of my children and can’t wait to be together, He too longs for us and is awaiting the day that we will all be united.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” John 3:16a.

Now that’s ❤