Thoughts: This Easter

"5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his,we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his"

Romans (6:5) 

I think this is the first Easter that it has clicked. My vision, a little less blurred, is able to take in the sight of Christ…his death…his resurrection.

The light that emerged from the tomb he exited is upon me, revealing the truth that is unlocking doors, reviving my spirit, and indeed raising me to life as well. Its like Christ is pushing me forward. Im standing on the Grand Canyon of my own faith, and he's pushing me closer to the edge. To fall…not into the depths of the earth, but into his life…his faith. Losing my life for the sake of gaining his.

My heart is overwhelmed at the glory that comes with his death and resurrection. As Christ was placed upon a tree and nails were drove into his hands and feet, those same nails were being drove into my sins, my earthly desires, my life. It was my sins that was cloaked upon him that day, and it was my life that died with him as he breathed his last. "It is finished." No longer do my sins chain me to this earthly world, for they have died and were buried.

"6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."

(Romans 6:6) 

And with his death came resurrection. Christ didn't only die, taking our sins with him in the tomb, but he rose to give us life. A new life…not a re-embodiement of our old life in a new form, but a life that has emerged out of the fresh placid waters of Christ. A life that isn't alive in the world, but alive in Christ.

"7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death that he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

(Romans 6:7-11)

(Photo Credit: Proverbs 31 Ministries) 

The truth that he died to inject within us is not found nestled under a tree within a easter egg, or tucked away in a brightly assembled easter basket…it is found in him. Which is in us. As my pastor brought to my attention: "The hope of glory- Christ in you- is alive!" (Colossians 1:27)

Christ did not ascend just to sit at the right hand of God, but he also is sitting within us.

Take a few moments today and embrace what Christ has done & is still doing for us. Reflect on each piece of the journey that has brought us to where we are as of now. His death…his resurrection…his life that has settled upon us.

This Easter I encourage you to go deeper!

Love you all ladies…fly closer today!

Surrendering Your All

This is a post I wrote for Whole Magazine back in September of 2013. I wanted to share with my loves on my own site. Here's the link to the blog over at Whole Magazine. "Surrendering Your All" You can also click on the picture to the right, and it will take you to the Whole Magazine Site. Enjoy ladies. 


There is a song by Deitrick Haddon titled “Have Your Way” and just as the title suggests, the song invites the Lord to have his way concerning our entire being. The lyrics seem as though they are lifted right out of my soul; they explain that after all of the trying, rebellion, and sin that has widened the gap between us and our savior, we no longer desire that way of life. We simply want the Lord to have His way in us. We have arrived at the point where we have had enough and we surrender. These words are used to form a prayer I share with my Abba, but sadly have sparked no real change in any of my actions.

This last time the song came on, God made me think, “Do I really mean the words I sing, do I know what it means to surrender?” The words that flowed out of my mouth were real and I can honestly say each time I cried out to God, it was from the heart. However, once the worship was over and life began, my actions did not align with those surrendering words. We must ask ourselves do our actions align with our worship, or do we merely want God to transform us because we tell Him to, without giving our all to Him?

Merriam-Webster defines surrender as: To give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another.

The Free Dictionary defines it as: To give up or give back (something that has been granted).

Both definitions suggest that in order to surrender we must give all of ourselves. The Free Dictionary also provides an excellent point that we are not giving up something that is ours, but essentially when we surrender to God, we are giving Him what is rightfully His. How would we feel if someone only gave us back only half of what was ours? We shouldn’t only give God the areas we want fixed or won’t affect us, if we make the decision to surrender we must know God deserves all of us.

Surrendering means trusting God, humbling ourselves, and being ready and willing to do whatever He asks us to do. We will make mistakes, and will not always get everything right, but our mindset should be that no matter what we will keep dying to our flesh and letting God use us.

We all want to let God use us and to be more like Him, and I know I gloss over what it really means and imagine the blessings that will come forth. However without sacrifice, obedience, and suffering we will fall short of becoming more like Him. The absence of those will actually prevent us from allowing God to have His way within us. Surrendering means choosing God over my emotions, and denying my flesh when I want to sleep instead of spending time with Him. It means being bold and audacious, and inviting Him into every area of my life. Let us not be afraid of giving ourselves completely to God, and losing our life for Him. Know that once we let go we will find ourselves in a better place.  

 Matthew 16: 24-26, “24Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any one would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be of a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?’”

Thoughts: Hard Days

The below was written previously, but it is adhering to me presently. Hard days. Days like today where I poured out my heart to Christ in worship, and now Im empty. Empty to the point where I have no energy left to recharge, and I want to wallow in self-pity. With each passing minute I find it harder to get up…its comforting here. My body is use to this. Use to trudging along in an atmosphere of despondency until something in my environment kicks me out of it. Or until I reach the point where I can't take it any longer. But I am slowly learning that this war doesn't have to wage on as it does now. God has granted me the power to overcome & placed his Word at my grasp to nourish me. He whispers for me to move, to worship, to talk….its hard. Oh the strength that it takes to move forward out of what seems natural, but it is not mine, but his strength that is running through my veins. He meets me here…right here at my dining room table. He will meet you…Take a deep breathe, and blow out the strongholds that are weighing down your spirit. Fly closer ladies...

Hard days. Yesterday was one of those days. A day filled with a tug-of-war game that I didn’t have the strength to play.  Tonight is one of those nights. Nights where emotions are choking and rising up in my throat.  Days & nights where I am glad that God can meet me where I am. I don’t have to run miles, or say extensive prayers in order for God to be at my reach. Thankful that when I don’t have the words to communicate to others (or even myself), He knows.  He knows when I cant complete sentences, when I’m blubbering in my tears, and when my chest feels like its about to explode. He meets me in those moments. For that I am thankful for my God.  He met me today at church, and I know He will meet me again tonight. 

What if everyone?

"What if everyone". These were the three words that were printed across an envelope that was being handed to me as I stood in a Food Lion parking lot... "If you would like, here's a $20 gas gift card." Who has ever said those words to you without there being fine print? Or didn't come with regulations, meaning you had to sign up, get involved, or share your second cousin’s step mom's phone number? Not many people. But there was this guy and three kids standing in front of me with the sincerest smiles on their faces. Hesitant, I took the envelope and naturally asked more about the organization.  

 “What If Everyone (WIE) partners with local churches, businesses and organizations to serve the community. Our desire is to imagine “what if everyone” volunteered in their community in a practical way.  Our vision is to ignite a desire in people to use their skills and passion to serve those in need all around them.  WIE offers one-time as well as ongoing opportunities.”

http://www.whatifeveryone.com/#/home

As I mulled the newly found information in my head I couldn't help but be skeptical. Who would give a random stranger a $20 gas gift card? What made him approach me? Was there really a card in this envelope? Was there money on this gift card? Even though the questions swirled around in my head I couldn't help but thank God. 

As I thought about the blessing and this organization I was saddened that I was blinded by my skepticism. There is so much evil that is pressing in our world that we become “turned off” to the fact that there are people in this world that have pure hearts. There are people who seek to pour out their love, time, and energy to be a blessing to others.  When we do happen to come across organizations and people who seek to serve others we tend to say, There’s still a few good people in this world”, as if they were all washed off the face of the earth.

There are good people in this world; we must highlight them and replicate that goodness so that our light repels the darkness. Let us begin to outweigh the darkness that seeks to consume the world and us.  Mahatma Gandhi says, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.…We need not wait to see what others do.”

So let us “be the change that we want to see in the world”. Let us change the world through our actions. We can only get there if we all take that step, a step that will begin to change the attitude of this world.  We cannot simply keep talking about change and how this world is currently. We must be the change. Lets not push off the efforts on those who we think can handle the job, or think that the next generation will pick up the slack. Start today and stir up such a change and disturbance of good that people will be itching to be a part.

What if everyone took that step today…

Who are you making famous?

My devotional proposed a question, “In your life, what would it mean to be a ‘mere stagehand’ where the main character is Jesus?” God then immediately proposed a question to me, “Was HE the main character in my life?” As I sat and pondered the answer God dropped another thought into my spirit; a follow up to the aforementioned question… Was I doing everything to make Him famous, to put His name in lights, and to build Him up. OR was I the main the character & wanting Him to do everything within His power to make ME famous, to make MY name shine in lights, and to prop ME up?

These thoughts were like the Selah’s that are found in various Psalms…making me stop and listen to what God was trying to get me to receive. So much of me wanted to cry out Yes God, you are the main character of my life.  And to some point this is true, but I know He isn’t the main character in every area of my life.

I struggle with the desire to be wanted, liked, and adored…and there is nothing wrong with that. God has placed that desire in every one of us. But He doesn’t want us to search for those affirmations in material things or others but in Christ alone. He desires for us to be satisfied in Him…and we can make Him famous in that manner. John Piper has been noted for saying, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” We can’t glorify God when we find satisfaction in material things or other people…we will end up glorifying that person or thing.

So just as God proposed that question to me, I propose it to you: Who is the main character in your life. Is your mission to make God famous or to make yourself famous? Now I’m not saying that on your journey you wont be blessed be beyond measure, but that shouldn’t be your aim.  Everything we do should be for His glory.

So like me you may have to do some recasting. We may have to hand over the lead script, and step to the side and allow God to be applauded.

Who are you making famous?

Thoughts: Dropping My Control

Everything floating around me today is telling me that my God is capable, my God wont and cannot fail, and to step over and let God be God. I’m stepping into those truths today.  I know that today will not be the last day I step into those truths, but I step into them today with purpose. I’m taking a step in a way that I pray will change my life…a change so powerful that life as I know it will cease to exist…

There is a saying…”Don’t put all your marbles in one bag”...but that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m dropping all of my hopes, dreams, cares, & concerns into the hands of the ONE God that is capable of holding it all. I’ll admit that my hands are shaking as I pick up the marbles of my life that have rolled around carelessly due to my human nature. Pure fear grips me…and I began to ask the question, which exposes the doubt that I have in my God. “What if…”

I make excuses in attempts to keep the smooth marbles in my hand for a little while longer, “I’m just making sure you remember God…I don’t want you to forget.”

But I have now gotten to the point where I have had enough. I’m tired of being a one-woman team, running here and there in a feeble attempt to make sure everything works out how I envisioned it. Trying to stand up the details I think will fall in line with the big picture, even though I am not all seeing or all knowing.

So I’m picking them up, one by one and handing them over.  Allowing my fingers to linger in God’s hand to reassure me, to steady me, and to let his voice that says, “I am able to do far more abundantly than all that you can ask or think” calm me.

I don’t know what the days, weeks, or months may have in store or what they will look like in this process of releasing what I thought I needed to be in control of. But it’s time to distinguish the fears and open my eyes to see every aspect of God. Aspects that will relieve the pressures & stresses that weigh me down as I run around trying to be God’s assistant.

I’ve learned recently in a small group full of wonderful women and through the sermons of my pastor that I need to stop allowing the dotted line that hangs from the what ifs put me in a choke hold. Its time to finish the questions: What if it doesn’t work out the way I envisioned it? What if it doesn’t happen at all? Can I still manage to have faith, joy, and peace in my God?

God is working on me...He’s begging me to trust Him. He desires for me to hand over my anxious thoughts…. So here I am, doing what the world told me not to do…placing all my marbles in one bag.