I’ve been thinking about what Pastor Rick Ross preached last weekend @nlchurch. It was all about truly trusting God, His plan for you and the boundaries He has established. I appreciate and have learned to establish boundaries for myself, but I didn’t think of them as part of my faith so much as part of God’s protection. Walking by faith and observing God’s boundaries has indeed led me to a place I’d always wanted to be and had stopped believing was possible. I prayed for it

Habits can be good and they can be bad, some habits aren’t actually either good or bad, they’re just a tool to accomplish a goal - like a morning routine which helps you to remember to do all the things you need to without having to exert a lot of mental energy. Those bad habits though, some are obvious and some not so much. When the habit prevents you from reaching goals, good health or pursuing your calling and purpose, it is bad. Maybe it’s ok if you do it less often, but

What does it mean to “guard your heart?” Well, it doesn’t mean not to let anyone in or to love people to prevent yourself from getting hurt. When God speaks about our hearts in the Bible, He is referring to our mind, will and emotions- our inner self. And when He tells us to guard this part of it, He means to protect it by being careful who you allow to influence you and take your time and energy. To guard your heart means that you have boundaries and say no to people or thin

Sometimes we think we are just so smart, don’t we? And we think we really understand our world and what is going on around us… but our most immense wisdom and understanding is foolishness next to what God knows, understand and plans. It’s more than our minds can even comprehend. We’re even trying to build super computers and artificial intelligence to imitate God’s abilities in some way - but we can’t even really equal our human brain power. Faith in God and walking with Him

God leads us through the whole spectrum and gamut of emotions to mold our hearts to see and love others more like Jesus does. Following Jesus is giving Him our hearts and trusting Him to do what’s best! Do you really trust Him with your heart? #trustinthelord #lovelikejesus #childofgod goodgoodfather #jesuslovesyou #shalom #yourjourneytobeingwhole #dailydevotional

Our faith in God causes us to yield our free will and follow God wherever and whenever He leads us. It’s love and trust. God does the same for us - His faithfulness is unlimited though! We trip in our obedience all the time, but that doesn’t make us unfaithful sinners, it just means we are human. God pours out His grace so we can receive mercy, get back up and try again. Our desire to fulfill Gods will and purpose will be strengthened as we go. #createdonpurposeforapurpose #g

Why do we think that someone else’s sin is worse than ours? And, why do we think that God will forgive some people, but not others? Celebrate His mercy and forgiveness, rather than wish for revenge or punishment for others - this is the kind of love that Jesus gives us so that we can experience the fullness of His grace! #grace #mercy #love #goodgoodfather #forgiven #childofgod #shalom #yourjourneytobeingwhole #dailydevotional

This is one thing that I can always say - God has been faithful to me all my days! I have not been faithful to Him all my days. I’ve had seasons of wandering and seasons of spiritual drought, but the Lord was with me every step of the way. He has used my suffering for His glory and given me beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness! I will always sing of the goodness and faithfulness of God! #godisfaithful #goodgoodfat

Read that quote again. When I heard it at church this weekend, I felt conviction- have I let the small things (cares of this world) crowd out my hunger for the presence of God? I don’t want to nibble at the table of the world when I can eat at the altar of the Lord most high, my Savior and my Redeemer. My focus Word this year is all about making space and investing time into seeking God more earnestly and purposefully. PRAY. #pray @johnstephenpiper @alecseekins #livingstreams

#MLK was a prophet of our time. He was killed while I was still little, but his influence and words live on! To understand justice, one must look to the Bible - because in the Bible, “Justice had primarily to do with conduct in relation to others, especially with regard to the rights of others. It is applied to business, where just weights and measures are demanded. It is demanded in courts, where the rights of rich and poor, Israelite and sojourner, are equally to be regarde

So many times I pray for help to be and do what God created me for - I should probably pray more for a teachable spirit and just to do His will in every circumstance and situation. This is a Psalm of David, but Jesus told us to pray for Gods will to be done here as it already is done in Heaven. David was a man after Gods own heart, and maybe his deep desire to do God’s will was part of the reason… #stepbystep #godswill #discipleship #prayer #shalom #yourjourneytobeingwhole #d

As Christ followers, we are to do what He did and walk as He walked - it’s all discipleship. We are His students and He is the Master/Teacher - in the Jewish culture, He was a Rabbi with His followers. Jesus embodied each on of these characteristics in ways that His disciples hadn’t seen before. He showed compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience with the lowest of the low and the worst of the worst. He actually hung out with the outcast people. What do we do fo

How many times have you chosen our own desire for happiness over obedience to God? Our human nature is selfish and our culture teaches us to look out for “number one.” We don’t need to teach our kids to be selfish, we need to teach them NOT to be - to think of others and to obey the boundaries we have for their protection. God does the same thing with us! We obey Him because it’s for our own good. Ultimately, our obedience leads to joy and fulfillment. Lord, please help us to

The Lord is with you. To hear His direction, His discipline, His voice - you must first learn to listen. I’m preaching to myself too! Listening isn’t always our natural response in a tense situation, but it’s what I’ve learned is most important. There are lots of times God has been communicating to me, speaking through others, in circumstances, and in my spirit. Sometimes I even noticed or heard Him, but I wasn’t actually listening. It’s like when someone says something in th

I don’t think we can really grasp the concept of never failing. Ever. God’s perfect understanding of everything and everyone is so much bigger than our comprehension, and yet we still try. Why do we get upset when people (or ourselves) fail though? That is our humanity - and we have to be careful not to put too many expectations on people and put them in God instead. He is the faithful One, He is merciful and He is with us! “The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no

There is only one Truth, and that is Jesus - He is the word made flesh and the Bible is His word - so that is THE TRUTH. Anyone who says that they have their own truth or that there are many truths is leading people away from THE TRUTH and toward bondage. The Bible is full of examples of what happens when “the people do what’s right in their own eyes.” When we believe a lie, we are bound to it, but that can be broken by the truth. Jesus came to set us free! Walk with Him in f

Everyone in this world has troubles. Jesus even told us that He wasn’t removing them for us, but that He was triumphant over them. In the meantime, He is with us! He fills us with the strength to persevere, faith to keep going and covers us with His peace! This Shalom is the fullness of peace - our Lord does all of this to fulfill His purpose which is your purpose too! ““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But t

This is my focus this year: to focus on God and my relationship with Him. I know some people choose a focus word - I’ve done that too - it’s PRAY. It’s easy to be distracted and focus on other things - your job, your kids, your spouse, your problems, etc. it’s not that these people and things aren’t important or don’t deserve your focus, because they do, it’s just that I need to keep Jesus at the center of it all. And, I realized that I’ve been better at that during some seas

When you follow Christ, this is how you’re supposed to walk: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low

I’ve heard faith in Jesus and the Bible called “blind faith.” But Jesus promises us that we’ll never walk by faith in the darkness- so it’s not really blind then, is it? Believing in or for something you cannot see isn’t blind if you have something to base it on - and we do! We have the true, proven and unwavering word of God, we have the transformational grace of God, and the Holy Spirit who helps us navigate through everything every day. We have the power of Christ in us to