Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. “I waited patiently on the Lord” this morning and it didn’t take long before “He turned to me and heard my cry”. He never ceases to amaze me. If I do my part He’ll always do His. My heart was heavy this morning for no good reason at all, and when my heart is heavy; He’s the only Way to make it leap for Joy all over again. So, to Him I run…and sometimes “I wait”…and within no time at all “He turns to me” and He wipes away my tears and He reminds me of all the reasons that I have to be consumed with Joy. There’s nothing in the world that compares to an Attitude Adjustment straight from the Throne of God and there’s no greater Joy than time with Him…the Living Waters…my Redeemer and my King. Isn’t that the way you deal with a heavy heart too?

It can be so easy to surrender to a heavy heart if we aren’t careful. Sometimes life feels like a lot to bear with seemingly no end in sight, and sometimes it makes no good sense for why the heart is heavy at all! Some people “hide” their heavy heart from the rest of the world as if there is some sort of shame for them to be struggling; but not me. My feelings aren’t unnatural and they don’t need to make sense to the rest of the world, because they come as no surprise to the King! The Bible is filled with stories of people that found themselves with a heavy heart for different reasons, and Words of comfort and encouragement straight from the Throne of a Mighty God can be found IF we just look for them. God understands a heavy heart whether the rest of the world does or not, and He’s always ready to restore the heart if we just reach out to Him and “wait patiently” until He “turns to” us and He’ll ALWAYS hear our cry! The Bible says that God stores up every tear we shed in our entire lifetime in a jar like a treasure, and that One Day He’ll wipe all of our tears away for good! Now that’s a God of compassion and the One that understands a heavy heart better than anybody else on the planet. Being reminded of His Love and His Compassion is enough to lift even the heaviest of hearts…IF we turn to Him and “wait patiently” for Him. This is the Key to our Joy!

I wear my heart on my sleeve for all the world to see day after day. When I’m happy the world knows it. When I’m scared the world knows it. When I’m overwhelmed the world knows it. When I’m doing battle because of my Faith the world knows it. When I’m feeling discouraged the world knows it. I’m not transparent as a means of getting attention. I don’t look for a pity party and I never speak up in search of a sympathy card. I’m transparent so that I might be an encouragement to all those people too afraid or too ashamed to speak up when their heart becomes heavy and they convince themselves that nobody on the planet understands what they feel. You’ ll never find me moping or feeling sorry for myself when my heart becomes heavy, that’s for sure. Instead you’ll find me going to the Source of my Joy with everything I’ve got, and if you hang around, you’ll be eye-witness to how easily my heavy heart can be turned around when I shamelessly give it to Him. I turn to Him…and I wait patiently…and I have NO DOUBT that’s He’ll show up…and NO DOUBT that He’ll understand…and NO DOUBT that He’ll wipe away my tears and remind of the millions of reasons I have to be consumed with Joy. He’ll always do His part; as long as I do mine.

The heart that was heavy this morning has been Tended to by the King of Kings and it now overflows with Joy. I might need a Heavenly reminder throughout this day, or until my heavy heart doesn’t feel so heavy anymore, but I know where to go for my Strength and my Joy when I need it. And as long as I do my part; He’ll always do His.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s a new day of a new week and I’m refreshed and revived for my Journey after time in the presence of the Living God. Time spent with Him is the most important thing I’ll do today, not just because I’m showing Him honor by giving Him the first fruit of my time, but because He’s my Commander in Chief and each step I take with Him is a Step in the Right Direction. So, I wake-up, I pray-up, I listen-up and I arm-up each day with His Plans for me front-and-center, and as long as His Plans are my main focus; I’ll succeed in every single thing I do..for Him and with Him. Isn’t that the way you see your life too?

It’s easy to measure “success” by tangible signs that come from dollars and cents. Big cars, big houses, big toys and big jewelry catch an admiring eye from most people. Sometimes these things are a genuine sign of affluence, and sometimes they are nothing more than an attempt for some poor soul to fool the world into believing they’re something they’re not. Some people try so hard to impress the world and the cost and the consequences don’t seem to matter to them as they work so hard to be admired. Sometimes affluence is just a lifestyle that has effortlessly passed on from generation to generation and it would be nearly impossible to spend all the money if they tried. Sometimes there is no outward sign of money at all, and the “keeper” of the wealth could easily be presumed to be penniless. The world is often shocked when it hears of their passing and how they left almost every penny they ever earned behind.  There’s no wrong in having lots of money as some people of Faith would lead the world to believe. After all, if nobody had any money, God would have a tough time funding ministry and working His miracles in a tangible world. But the truest sign of wealth isn’t measured in money at all, and the truest sign of Success doesn’t come from the bank. It’s what we do here on earth that has an Eternal “measure” that will bring the greatest Reward (AND joy) and the reward at the “end of the day” will exceed the value of all the gold in the world. This is the key to Success.

We’re each born for a Big Purpose and each of us has already been equipped for the Job. How interesting it is to hear people say “I don’t know what God wants me to do”, when He’s already issued the Job Description and He’s already given each of us a unique Gift to be used for His Purpose that will always lead to Success. Jesus said to Peter, “if you love Me; feed my sheep”. But how will we feed them food if we have no money and how will feed them Truth if we aren’t willing to try? Hoarding up our Gifts and our talents and our money serves no Purpose at all, and if we aren’t careful; the same God that gives is the God that takes away too and we could so easily find ourselves penniless and useless for Him if we don’t put to Good Use those things that bring Him glory.

I may be a “business woman” and I work hard to earn my dollars, but the Greatest Work that I’ll ever do in my life is my work for Him. He’s front-and-center in my work, in my family, in my friendships and everything else in between. As long as I have my Life in Perspective; I’ll always be successful. The fruit of my labor will soon dissolve my debt, and the Fruit of my work for Him will have Eternal Significance. I love Him and I’m doing my Part based on my Job Description…I’m going forth to tell the world the Good News, and I’m using my Gifts and my talents to feed His sheep day in and day out. I’ll never have to worry about a single thing as long as I’ve got that Part right.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Living God with no expectations at all and He surprised me with the Lessons He had for me today. It’s when I set aside my own agenda and I surrender to His instead, that the most amazing Words flow from the Throne of a Mighty God straight into my soul. What a sweet reminder to me this morning that I’m not supposed to just walk in the Light, I’m supposed to “walk in the light as He is in the light” and in order to do that; I have to set aside my own will and my own agenda and do what He has for me without question. This isn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign of Strength and it’s the part of my life that makes no sense to the world. Isn’t that the way it is for you too?

It can be so easy to live a life according to how everybody else thinks we should live, and we can create our own turmoil when we make that mistake. There’s an opinion out there for every move we make and there’s criticism ready for every mistake. Most of us want to make decisions that “make sense” and we’ll look for reinforcement to rationalize our moves because of it. Some of us have people in our lives that somehow believe that they’re the appointed experts and they don’t mind speaking up about what we’re doing wrong and what we should be doing right. It’s human nature to feel more comfortable about our every move if other people agree with us, and sometimes when our plans “make sense” to them we can easily misconstrue that to be a “sign” that we’re headed in the right Direction. Although God sometimes uses His people to help confirm His Plans; the opinions and instructions from the rest of the world don’t matter at all when God has Plans for us that don’t make sense to anybody else but Him. To “walk in the light as He is in the Light” means that we follow His lead ESPECIALLY when it doesn’t make sense because when God sends us in a Direction that makes no sense, Faith kicks into overdrive and that’s where the biggest miracles happen. Living a life that doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world is the only God-way to live at all. This is the key to Trust.

There’s so much about my Life that doesn’t make sense that it would be impossible to list it all. Time and time again I’ve been told what I should do and I’ve been lectured for not following advice. I’ve weakened a time or two and I followed the lead of another, even when His Spirit was speaking a different tune to me…and I’ve paid a price bigger than most people can imagine because of it. When people come my way with opinions and instructions that differ from what I know to be True from God, I realize that they are more intent on being a stumbling block for me than a Messenger sent by Him. His Plans are rarely rational and His Plans don’t have to make sense to anybody…even to some of His “well meaning” People. When God tells me to do things that make no sense to the outside world, He surely doesn’t want me to look for approval elsewhere, and when God tells me to do things that make no sense to the world; I know He’ll be using me to be a Witness to the world of what Faith really looks like. God told Noah to build the ark even though Noah had never seen rain. I’m pretty sure that Noah became the focus of mass mockery (even to his own family) because what he set out to do according to God’s Instructions made no sense at all. If Noah had surrendered to mockery and had he ignored God’s Instructions that made no sense at all; none of us would be here today. It’s when we are willing to do things according to God’s Plans ESPECIALLY when they don’t make sense that we can be used in ways that have the Biggest Impact on the Kingdom in His Name. This is the key to Obedience.

I’ll keep living a life that makes no sense and I’m ready to tell a good God-story about the Journey anytime He gives me an audience. I’ll leave people shaking their heads about the miracle of my Survival and I’ll show them what it looks like to keep moving forward even when my Direction doesn’t make sense to anybody but God and even though I endured criticism from the rest of the world along the way. When we get on the other side of what didn’t make any sense at all, we see the Miracles and we see why God had us do what He had us do…and it all makes sense in the End.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Living God before He lit up the world, and as I asked for Wisdom for where I’m going, He spent some time reminding me of where I’ve been instead. Each piece of life that He brought to my mind was given Godly-clarity, and I could see how each of those pieces prepared me for such a time as this. Each thread of pain and each thread of tribulation…each time of conflict and each time of brokenness…ALL working together for Good in my Life today. The thought of those things didn’t make me sad at all…they made me EXCITED because I could see all the Work that He put into me to prepare me for the Next Step in my Life. Now with a big dose of His Wisdom and I’m definitely ready for the Journey! Isn’t that the way you look at your Preparation Time too?

There are so many people who like to bury the past, as if it was all a mistake and it served no good purpose at all…except to be a miserable season in life in their eyes, that is. As for me, ” I declare His Righteousness in the great assembly” so I hear from plenty of people claiming to share my faith that tell me the past has no place in the Present; and they cringe when I talk about mine. They like to remind the world that they’re new creatures in Christ and that the past has been washed away; but that’s not true. The SINS of the past have been washed away, but the Past had a Purpose as surely as the Future does!. It’s only when we see “the past” for what it really is, and we understand how God uses it ALL as part of His Perfect Plans for us, that sharing the past becomes a testimony to the Saving Grace of a Merciful God, and that’s a VERY powerful way that we can Glorify Him to the world! What better way would I have to encourage a broken person than by telling them about how broken I was before I met Him too? What better way can I assure them that I serve a God of a million second chances than to share with them how many times I’ve fallen and how He picks me up and He forgives me every time I ask Him too? What better way do I have to paint of Picture of what He can do with a life than to tell them where I’ve been and show them where I am? What better way do I have to assure them that there is NOTHING that He won’t forgive than to share with them what He has forgiven me of too? Love is one thing…Restoration is another! When we leave out all of those things we’d rather forget, we leave out the Best Part of the Story!

I might make a lot of people claiming to share my Faith cringe when I talk about my past, but I give a whole lot of others Hope when I do. I know firsthand how God can change a heart and Tenderize it to so that it can be Useful to Him for Eternal things. I’ve taken more punches than I can count but I see the Purpose in it all, and I’ll never stop talking about the past, the present and the Future. There is nothing He can’t forgive, nobody He can’t Restore and nothing He can’t use to bring Glory to Himself! If you doubt that, just look at my Life. I’m always happy to Share it with the world because ALL of it made me who I am today…a child of the Living God and a Vessel for the King!

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I had a lot on my mind when I first opened my eyes this morning, and I was inclined to let the details of life stand in the way of my joy. But when I turned to the Living God and I gave Him my time and attention and I replaced the details with Praise instead; I found my Peace, and all those thoughts dimmed in His Presence. This little holly tree, framed in the shadows of bigger trees, served as a sweet Reminder to me this morning of how I might be inclined to think small, and I might feel overwhelmed with the details if I let myself be, but I’m always surrounded with Help and Hope by One much bigger than I am. Isn’t that the way you look at your Life too?

The mind is an incredible Design by the Hand of God and it’s the engine behind every step and every breath we take. But it can also be the Battle Ground that leads to discouragement and defeat if we aren’t careful. It can be so easy to see ourselves like this little holly tree. All alone and Smaller than all the rest… and vulnerable to the Wind and the Rain because of it. But when we’re willing to look closely, we can always find the shadows of Help and Hope IF we don’t let the mind consume the heart. Happiness isn’t necessarily a state of mind…it’s a state of the heart..but when happiness doesn’t come easy it’s always the Battle Ground of the mind that stands in the way. It’s the thought of sadness that has the potential to override the joy. It’s the thought of defeat that has the potential to override the victory. It’s the thought of weakness that has the potential to override the strength. It’s the thought of loss that has the potential to override the gain. It’s the thought of all those little details that have little significance in a Big Picture, that have the potential to override the Majesty of a Mighty God. I know with certainty that if I’d let all those details run wild in my mind this morning, I wouldn’t just lose sight of my Help and my Hope; I’d be a worthless Vessel for the Living God today. When I look at it that way, I can’t afford to become a Battle Ground that leads to my defeat…NOT if my first priority is to serve my God, that is.

We read in the Bible that in the midst of a bloody battle Moses went to the top of the mountain to raise his arms (and his staff) toward the Throne of God for Help and Hope. The battle went on for a long while, and Moses grew weary from raising his arms. Every time he lowered his arms in fatigue, the enemy began to take hold of the battle. But when his arms were raised up to the Source of his Strength; his army saw victory. Defeat isn’t optional when it comes to those things of God. So, God sent Moses Help and Hope (otherwise known as Aaron and Hur) and those two Faithful friends sat Moses down on a rock to rest, and they held up his arms FOR him because he was too weak to do it himself, and those Faithful friends held his arms steady until sunset. The same God that sent Help and Hope to Moses is MY God, and I know that He will always send Help and Hope to me too… as long as I Trust Him and I refuse to be defeated in the Battle Ground of my mind. When I’m weary from the journey, God will send me an Aaron and Hur too and He’ll have them stand beside me when I’m too weak to go-it-alone. I may feel like that little holly tree every once in a while, but I’m always surrounded by Help and Hope and I’ll NEVER be defeated…IF I don’t let my mind override my heart, that is.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cold and it’s windy and it’s spitting snow across the farm this morning. I’m thankful that the work that I had planned for this new day will all be done from home…where’s it’s warm…and peaceful…and safe…and fully equipped to do my work. My time with the Living God overflowed with thanks this morning and the thanks just wouldn’t stop flowing. I could sit before Him for the rest of my life and I’d never be able to cover all the things I have to be thankful for. I never got around to asking Him for anything because my heart was overflowing with gratitude for all that He is and all that He does for me that it didn’t occur to me to ask Him for anything! Isn’t that what happens to you sometimes too?

The words of David from the Book of Psalms came to my mind this morning as I was giving thanks. David said “were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare” and that’s what it felt like for me. David was referred to as “a man after God’s own heart”, and I can’t think of anything sweeter than to be referred to as “a woman after God’s own heart” too…at least that’s the goal. Some people think about David and all they seem to focus are his “failures” and all the countless times he fell; but not me. I see his humanity and his humility and see how every time he failed or fell, he couldn’t wait to go before his God to ask for forgiveness…and I see how he had no doubt whatsoever that God would do just that because of David’s heart.

I see how David confessed his weaknesses over and over again and how He called out to God for strength. I see how he took his Spiritual Punches and the consequences to his wrongs like a man and not like a wussie. I see how he sometimes crawled into the presence of our God when he was weary, and there seemed to be nothing left in him to give; and I see how God restored him every single time. I see how bold he was in His requests and I see how he expected to be heard by God…and He trusted God to see him through. I see how he expected supernatural things from a supernatural God and he was eyewitness to many because of it. I see how he sometimes succumbed to fear of his enemies, and I see how he never surrendered to defeat because he trusted the battle to be fought by God Himself. No, I don’t see the bad in David…I see all the good. I see that His heart was Tenderized by the King just like mine has been and THAT’S why he was known to be “a man after God’s own heart”. David understood that there was no good thing in him apart from God…and so do I.

With a heart overflowing with gratitude it’s destined to be a good day. If I find myself struggling with circumstances today, I’ll be thinking about David. My “mentor” and my encouragement…an imperfect man that loved our God with his whole heart and I’ll be striving to be a woman “after God’s own heart” every step of the way.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. Life is pretty full these days, and if I’m not careful I’ll rush through my time with the One I need the most to see me through. So, I make sure that I focus on Him first, and I clear my mind of everything else that will come AFTER we Meet. The fact that it’s not easy sometimes is enough to set me straight. After all, if every step, and every word, and every encounter, and ever provision will be sifting through His Hands before they ever reach mine; why in the world would I set Him aside until I have more time to spend with Him? Isn’t that the way you see your schedule too?

It’s funny how people are inclined to separate their work from His Work when it all goes hand in hand in His eyes. It doesn’t do a whole lot of Good for His Work to keep our Faith inside the home and inside the church and never take it to work with us at all. Our greatest platform for Him IS through our work because that’s where we spend most of our time and that where the “lost” people are…but it’s in the workplace that most of His “followers” remain silent. I haven’t always worked for myself where I’m free to do and say whatever I want in His Name without the risk of being fired. But even when I relied on employment for my income; I still fearlessly took a stand. Even though I sometimes feel like the birdhouse in this photo, standing tall and standing alone…I never deny Who I am in Christ…no matter who signs my check.

Back in those “employee” days, I had a Bible front-and-center on my desk and it wasn’t set aside for anyone of any faith or position. A few times when I was challenged to “put that away” I kindly offered to meet outside of my office, but I never put it away at their request. When I took a break I opened those pages to nourish my soul and I made no apologies when I was found in His Word. The people around me always saw me stop to pray before our meals no matter who was joining us for lunch, and eventually I was asked to lead the prayer for all. My Words were kind and my Spirit was peaceful and loving, and I refrained from speaking harsh words of judgment no matter what I saw or heard. I wasn’t always publicly acknowledged as being a Christian, but I was always acknowledged as being “nice”…and even a time or two I heard “she’s the nicest person I ever met”. I loved those moments! Not because it made me feel good to receive a compliment, but because it gave me the chance to give Him the Glory for all that I am.

Almost everyone we read about in the Bible had a job to put food on the table, and God didn’t tell them to stop fishing, or to stop administrating or to stop being a physician, or to stop farming or to stop being a merchant when they started Following Him; He told them to FOLLOW Him and to GO FORTH and tell the world instead. More than being an opportunity to create our income, our work is an opportunity to reach the world for Christ. There is no separation when it comes to the things of God. So, if you’re inclined to “behave” yourself in public and refrain from sharing Him with your world, you might have to answer for all those lost opportunities One Day. As for me, I might get ridiculed and “judged” every once in a while, but I don’t care much about what those people think of me…I care about what HE thinks of me instead. I’ll be working hard to put food on my table today and everyone I encounter will be another opportunity for me to bring my King Glory by sharing Him with my world.

How about you?