My testimony as shared March 17th, 2024

I was recently asked to share my testimony at my home church, Northridge Community Church, as a part of their Redeemed series. God perfectly timed it for me to share this particular day as the teaching and worship, both separately prepared, all lined up to be one story of the Father’s love for His children.

How did I first come to faith?

I was three years old when my father died, and although I didn’t know it at that time, his loss left a hole in my heart. My mom remarried a wonderful man I am grateful to call Dad, yet I still felt like I didn’t fit with my immediate family. Being a creative person who has often been called overly sensitive didn’t help, neither did being molested as a pre-teen. This combo of actions and feelings led to feelings of loneliness and intense shame as I began to look for love in all the wrong places as a teen and young adult. I had known about God from growing up in church, but didn’t know Him. I was 21 and singing back up one night for a band, and somehow sensed there was something more for me while singing the song “Heaven.” Around that time, a trio of brothers with whom I went to church sensed that I was at a crossroads, and God used them to help answer my questions about heaven, faith and who God is through the Word, Christian music, and a drama called the Countdown. I accepted Christ 33 years ago this May, and fairly quickly understood what Jesus did for me to become His, but it took a lot longer for me to accept God as Father due to my hurts as a young child and for not making the wisest choices growing up. The Prodigal son passage really spoke to me about being real with my issues, and that all God the Father was waiting for me to do was to run to Him, as Jesus had already done the heavy lifting in clearing my way home.  It became apparent that my overly sensitive antenna was actually being able to hear the Holy Spirit. This has brought me much guidance and comfort as I navigated the highs and lows of my journey, knowing God is with me in and through it all.

How is God moving in my life now?

Any time I stray from following what He has for me to do and say, the Father is always waiting to welcome me back home, clean me up, heal my wounds, set me back on the right path, and pour His love into me when I am in His Presence. I am feeling His pull to do more with my gifts and talents, and to be a more intentional follower of His ways. I see how to walk out Kingdom values through the example of Jesus in the Word, I hear Holy Spirit’s direction when I listen for His prompts and guidance, and I rest in the safety of knowing there is nothing I can do to make my Father love me any less, or any more. God has filled that hole in this wounded lonely girl’s heart with more blessing than I could have imagined 33 years ago when I said yes to Him. He has proved Himself to be a good good Father.

What would I say to someone with questions?

I wasted too much time carrying burdens I was never meant to carry, and telling myself the whispers of invitation I had been hearing couldn’t possibly be meant for me, that if God really knew me, He wouldn’t want me. If you are sensing there must be more, that you want to lay down all that is weighing you down inside, or you want to know the truth about why you are here, God will meet you right where you are right now. And as the words of the song which has been playing in my mind all week say, “Run to the Father, fall into grace, I’m done with the hiding, no reason to wait. My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend, so I’ll run to the Father again and again and again.” And unlike those who have hurt us, He is always approachable, always waiting, always loving, and will never leave you.

when you are the owner of a broken heart

Friend, today I am going to share from the heart one of the biggest lessons I have ever learned about brokenness.  My prayer is that the same God who is rebuilding the broken pieces with me will give you a glimpse of hope where you are feeling broken.

Maybe you and I, we’re never meant to be complete. Could we just be broken together? If you can bring your shattered dreams and I’ll bring mine. Could healing still be spoken and save us? The only way we’ll last forever is broken together. – Broken Together- Casting Crowns

Relationships are hard.

Especially the ones with the people you interact with every day.

Because in our own way, deep down within each of us, we are broken.

Some more than others, but no one walks this earth unscathed in some way.

Not even Jesus did.

I have found that when I am feeling broken, I have a tendency to hide away, lick my wounds and brood. Occasionally, a full blown cry fest erupts, leaving me exhausted on top of the broken pieces I am trying so hard to hold together.

But we were designed for community. With our best friends and families, but especially in marriage, if we have been blessed with that gift.

These past 25 years together, my hubby and I have had a lot of mileage into the realm of brokenness. It has been harder than I imagined at times, more painful than I ever thought, and gone deeper than I ever dreamed possible.

Yet together we are stronger because of it, for we can see God moving better in each other at times than we can sense Him moving within ourselves.

Building one another up when the other is feeling low. Being the shoulder to cry on when we need to let it out.

Because the secret to being broken in a marriage and still staying married?

The three stranded cord.

By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 (MSG)

When even one of you invite God into your marriage, He intertwines Himself into it. He becomes the stabilizer, the marriage counselor. He gives you the love to express when you feel empty, yet your hubby needs to know you care. He gives your hubby the strength to just listen & tell you he loves you.

Without God, our marriage would not have made it this far.

Because in our own strength we would have run on empty long ago.

It’s not about having made a bad pick, or being a mismatched pair.

It’s making the one you are with your mate, supported by the Love that never fails, never gives up and never runs out on either of you, or your marriage.

If you know you are broken and need help, pray and ask God to bring you to the right resources, or bring the best help to you.

Your spouse’s brokenness isn’t for you to heal, that is His job. They need your support and love as they face their own brokenness and support you in yours.

God knew when He designed marriage that we would need one another:

In better, in worse.
In sickness, in health.
With wealth, without much.
Whether whole or broken.

The amazing thing I have found? My hubby and I have not been so broken in the same ways that we couldn’t be there for one another. Often not perfectly, but present none the less.

In His mercy, He makes us the mate our spouse needs. Whether we have broken bits or not.

Only God can take what is broken, and shape it to make something beautiful.

  • He is with us, every step of the journey.
  • His Presence draws closer with every request for Him to come and be nearer.
  • His love, strength, grace and mercy are more than enough for what you and your spouse may face today.

He longs to restore and repair where we are broken, and can do amazing things when we place ourselves in His hands.

Broken together with the Potter makes for a beautiful finish beyond belief.

When we give Him all the pieces, He can make us whole again, one piece at a time.

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#broken #hopefortheharddays #hopeinHisPresence

called back to life

Peter denied Jesus three times…

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 26:69-75

In these verses, God gives us a glimpse both into His heart & the heart of man.

Jesus knew Peter would deny Him.  Peter rejected Jesus’ Word of knowledge, yet it came to pass when the going got rough.

Jesus also knew what He was going to do to uproot the damage Peter did within himself with the three denials. Even before Peter denied Him.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him,“Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

John 21:15-17

Three times, one for each denial, Jesus reassures Peter of his call.  He will be the rock in which Jesus built His church, even though in that moment he is just a blubbering mess of brokenness.

Because we too are a wreck when God speaks into those painful places where we have denied our wrong doing, didn’t need His warning and were devastated by the results.

I want to reassure you today, Beloved.

Each time you strayed, your Shepherd not only has His eyes in You, He knows how to best help you return to the fold of His embrace.

He gets that we sometimes make decisions based upon fear, as Peter did. 

In the heat of the moment, one of his closest friends having been ripped from his company  Peter reacted on instinct instead of trusting in His plan, in His Words.

I’ve been there. Often. 

Yet His love continues to speak health and life back into my life, and make me whole as He cleans up my messes. Just as He did for Peter.

God restores us, Beloved. He doesn’t just forgive us.  He makes us better than we were before. He makes us whole though His holiness, love, and mercy.

I believe Peter was so changed and emboldened after Jesus spoke those reassuring Words into his heart & Spirit.

Peter became that very rock Jesus saw waiting to be called out from under the rubble of his life.

These verses gives me hope for when I know I’ve blown it!

God knows us so well, Beloved. May we rest in knowing He will restore us in every area we turn over into His waiting hands. Allow Him to speak you to life again.

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pressing in for mercy

This morning I responded snappily to an ongoing stressful situation.  I didn’t pay attention the reminder which flashed into my mind to just listen, but instead instantly reacted.

Again.

As someone who believes how we use our words can bring life, I am likely harder on myself all the more because I know better & know He desires for me to live His Words.

But You delight in showing mercy,
and mercy triumphs over judgment.

When I get overwhelmed at times, I forget to:
stop.
pause.
breathe.
pray.
listen.
wait.
then speak.

When I fail & speak sarcastically, with hurtful words, I become undone once i take a second to process what i have just done, knowing I may have wounded someone I care for.

But You delight in showing mercy,
and mercy triumphs over judgment.

You whisper loving words to invite me back to Your embrace, into Your Stronghold of safety where I can come & be washed clean of the stain of my sinful words.

My past embraced
My sin forgiven
I’m blameless in Your sight
My history rewritten

When I bring all of me before You, You are quite well aware of each of the wrong doings, flaws & gaps existing within me, alongside the gifts You are awakening.

You embrace me anyways.

There will never be a day
You’re uncertain
of the ones You choose

You know me & chose me long before I even came to be.

There is no surprise to You of what I am like, for Your Holy Spirit indwelling me means You are constantly aware of what is going on within me.

You are personally invested in me. Your Beloved.

And once You clean me up & lift me back up again, all i desire to do is spend my life celebrating You. You love me so You even took the judgment upon Yourself so I would no longer carry it.

So I will awake
and spend my days
Loving the One who has raised me up
From death to life
From wrong to right
You’re making all things beautiful

Even me.

Mercy found me but didn’t leave me there.

He helps me move beyond what I believe is possible into the expanse of His possibilities…all things are possible for the endless God who sticks with me through all my days.

You delight in showing mercy
and Mercy triumphs over judgment.

PS. The quoted text today are the lyrics from the one song that whammied over the head & grabbed my heart’s attention Monday night.  The song is Mercy, by Amanda Cook, of Bethel Music, on her yet to be released CD BraveNewWorld. A definite must hear for those of you, who like me, struggle to receive the costly but precious gift of mercy God offers us all.

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grace in judgment’s place

I didn’t get my writing down when I usually do today.

I normally rise & shine with the birdies, and write early before my day gets full, before distractions rear their heads off the pillows 🙂 or my work shift starts.

I started a new medication to help me cope with a new to me condition which has hit me quite hard over the past month, and has been affecting me more than I like to admit emotionally.

Reluctantly I began taking it, and it has hit me wonderfully in one way (pain free) and left me hangry every 2-3 hours or sleepy enough I could sleep at a moment’s notice.

Neither of which makes for a fun wife, mom, friend or co-worker.

So I took it after dinner last night thinking that if I knocked the sleep portion off right away, I could wake up hungry & eat, and start the day wide eyed & bushy tailed as usual.

Not.so.

I woke up an hour late feeling like i had a hangover, needed another four-five hours sleep, and did I mention an hour later than usual?

So my whole routine has been off.all.day.

And that’s okay, because everything I have needed to get done gone done, just not when k thought it should.

Then I realized, I needed to give myself grace instead of judging myself too harshly.

Its okay to admit my day is not what ithought it would be.

Because in some ways I depended more on God than I usually do, and had some conversations I might have otherwise missed because of my early morning delay.

God wasn’t surprised or mad at me, so why should I be?

In the place of self judgment,  I am offering myself the gift of grace today.

May He continue to remind me that all of us need grace in whatever place we find ourselves throughout our days.

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PS. Thanks for being cool about me being late posting today 🙂

May the Force be with you always

Today is May 4th. Officially Star Wars fans’ favorite day of the year.
Their fave saying to post today?

May the Fourth be with you.

Yet there is a deeper reality to this blessing for those who believe in Jesus. Who have been adopted into the family. Who seek to be led by God, not their circumstances.

The Force is always with those who belong to Him.

Holy Spirit moves in when we accept Jesus for who He really is, our Savior & Lord.

Jesus promised us all when He returned to heaven that He would leave Holy Spirit with us all to guide & lead us here on earth.

You could say the Force that created the universe moves on in within each beloved believer.

Jesus also instructed the disciples to wait for Holy Spirit to come to them.

We tend to run our own way, and when we hit a blockade or pothole ask for His help.

Jesus reminds us we are to wait and follow His lead.

The Father’s love,
The Son’s mercy,
The Spirit’s grace,
give us a legacy of a living hope.

A Force that will not be overturned.

The Force of all that is good, holy, pure, truthful, life giving, restorative, creative & eternal.

This Force lives within each of His.

Isn’t that a wow mind blowing awesome amazing hard to wrap your thoughts around concept?

We don’t need to see this Force, Holy Spirit, to know He is with us.

Our lives become the evidence of His Presence in our lives.

When we respond to His prompts:
people are set free, healed, encouraged, welcomed into the Kingdom.

Holy Spirit is the force for good.

There is no dark side to God.

He is all light, purity & truth in His holiness.

He will never steer us wrong.

Jesus also reminded us that His sheep would know His voice.

Holy Spirit helps us tune in & hear what God has for us to hear, and teach us.

He is fully God in a way we cannot see in body, but can sense with our spirits.

Holy Spirit will always point you towards Jesus & our Abba. They all love to talk about each other, especially to us.

So today, on this sci-fi holiday, I pray:

May the Force,
Holy Spirit,
be with you,
always.

(Make it so, Number One!)

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let it flow

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Five years ago, I hit a bit of a harder patch than ever before. Injuries, illnesses & secrets revealed combined in an attempt to soak me dry to the bone.

Without God, the enemy would have succeeded in fully leaching the life out of me.

As it is, God held me even closer, spoke to me more clearly, and poured life into me, each & every day.

He keeps doing so with each new today.

The hardest part for me each year seemed to always hit around my birthday.

And quite frankly, without God, my kids & my best friends, there wouldn’t have been anything worth celebrating.

My hubby, post two major surgeries without full resolution of all his problems, got some good news this week. They may know what is causing his last plaguing symptom.

I ended up with an unexpected tax bill this month, which slapped me silly for a few hours before I could hear God whisper, “I got this. I told you breakthrough is coming.”

Hubby got one of his best tax refunds back within 6 days of filing. Which more than covered my bill, the two main needs we have needing repair, and knocking off 1/4 of our debt.

Numbers don’t mean that much to me. Relationship is more important, and always will be.

But the weight I was still carrying over our finances was quite a load, and God told me this week its His to carry, so hand it over & stop taking it back. He set me free.

So far this past 48 hours, God has been knocking my socks off with an outpour of blessing I have not been expecting, but am so grateful for.

My hubby, daughter & son all amped up and blew me away with their gifts of love, and time.

My besties rocked me again with blessings wrapped in laughter & care. They have kept me close through the rocky days, and loved me as I needed to be loved all the way. My chicks, my heart sister gifts God knew I would need in my life? Abundant blessings, each one.

My coworkers sang me happy birthday, and threw me an apple themed party (apple crumble, apple coffee cake, sour apple can’t & apple danish!).

My parents are taking us all out to dinner tonight, and have been so supportive to us all over this past long haul that tears well up from thinking about their love shown in action.

What I have learned, and celebrate today?

I have always had blessings growing around me, because of His handiwork.

He has been the giver and keeper of my life.

He is the Water I need to drink in every day, to keep life flowing in my spirit.

He is the Word I crave daily, to fill me up and direct me how to life & get to know Him more.

The garden of my life will never run dry when I choose to ask the Gardener to keep pouring Himself into it. The pruning, uprooting and straightening out that occurs under the Gardener’s hand may be painful, the pests attack may try to permanently damage, but I celebrate the Life Giver has me.

Not just my back.
He’s fully got me.

And so, even when the bad days try to gray out all the Son, I can still water my garden, with His love, grace and mercy, and hope for the new day’s blessings to come, as He has planned for me!

Every day, not just our birthdays or anniversaries are worth celebrating! So pull out your nice dishes, fave tea cup, recipe you save for a special occasion.

Jesus has you.

Worth celebrating every moment of every day!

Don’t forget to allow Him to water your garden daily. Keep your eyes on the new growth each season. Let Him bring to life a new you as you sink deeper into Him.

come-passion

In an interesting unexpected conversation yesterday on the bus, I touched an aspect of God in a way I had not yet done in such a way before.

As i was listening to the earnest young missionary from the Latter Day Saints speak about his church having the ‘living prophet’ and 12 apostles, I felt compassion for him rise up within my heart.

He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

Like many sheep, he is following the wrong shepherd, and doesn’t know any better.

He hasn’t yet met the Shepherd.

What makes Jesus unique to me after this brief conversation is how much compassion He has ALL THE TIME.  Yes, He did lose His temper once or twice. but because of His passion for serving God, and wanting us free of what binds us.

He came to us because of His passion for His people.
All of them.

The ones who know, the ones who don’t yet know,and the ones may choose not to know Him.

Come, Passion.
Compassion.

Lord, may the passion that led you to choose to walk amongst us here on earth , willingly taking on the cross, sin & death?
May that passion arise anew in us and flow out from us in a wave of compassion that will draw people to discover You.

Come, Passion. Well up within us until we can’t help but burst forth in worship, praise as we shower Your love, mercy & grace wherever we go.
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there can only be One

There can only be One.

We may think that there are more, we may even deceive ourselves that we are it.

But what the world screams the loudest is usually fueled by the enemy, the one who tries to counterfeit the Original, isn’t it?

At the center of humanity’s inability to get along is the lie that we know best. That we are capable of knowing what is best for other people, how they should live, whether they should have a certain job or not, whether they should be a part of the in group or left to the outskirts.

In these ways, and so many more, we judge one another.

But not only do we judge one another on what we think is best for each other, we judge them on what they have done wrong, as if we have never failed or sinned ourselves.

Humanity was never designed to be its own judge.

That role belongs to the Only One who is capable of administering it.

The Only One who has not fallen or sinned or made an error of any kind.

The Only One who was, and is, and ever will be the best for that position.

The Only One who is perfectly suited to judge, because He is perfect.

And He created the system of right and wrong, simply through being Himself.

Not only is He perfect, He is loving, kind, merciful…and eternal.

He is beyond time, this Judge, and so is not swayed by the urgency we have to resolved things in the here and right now.

He is also patient, and with the best purpose behind being so…

God does not want any to perish, and as such, has postponed His judgment until Jesus returns, because Jesus paid the price which allows God to pass over us until that time to come arrives.

When we try to judge one another, we hurt Him.

When we refuse to forgive, and lay down our offenses, we hurt ourselves, the Ones He loves, and muddle up our relationships with those He loves.

And when we judge, withhold forgiveness and hurt those around us?

We join Pilate on the Judgment seat.

We were never meant to judge one another.  God allowed the Israelites to have kings, and governments, full well knowing that it would entangle humanity  into the judgment debate…where before it had only been God’s way, with God as judge.  He knew the enemy wanted this, to turn us against one another.

But God wasn’t surprised, not unprepared for the cost to come to restore proper balance.

Here’s the clincher.

There is Only One judge.

God.

I am not talking about someone judging your work to be substandard because you didn’t put in your best effort kind of judgment here.

I am talking judging over those He created, judging their hearts, their decisions and motives.

Just as Jet Li had to battle his evil duplicate in the classic sci-fi movie “The One”, we have to wrestle down the enemy duplicate of who we are meant to be.

God made each of us uniquely,. and we reflect Him in our only One-ness.

It is time to kick the fake you image the enemy is prompting your flesh to put on back to the pit where it was made for.

In order to  be His hands to the world, our focus is to leave His fingerprints behind, no one else’s.

That means when you are tempted to judge someone over their situation, you ask God how to pray and love up on them instead.

This means we take a good hard long look in the mirrored windows of our own homes before throwing stones at the glass houses of others.

It means we deal with our hearts, decisions and motives on our knees before the Only One qualified to judge us, versus placing blame and deflecting through our judgment.

I soooo get this isn’t a nice soft word today…the mirror in front of me is screaming for me to get clean again.

I am so thankful I can ask Jesus to clean me and make me anew every evening, and every morning, because of what He did for us all on the cross, because He alone has the power to resurrect the dead & restore the broken, and Only he was ever meant to judge us.

I am so thankful His grip will not let go of me, until less of me and more of He is what the world will see.

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name the doubt & grab His hem

I am more than a bit timid when it comes to asking God for something i want for myself.

In fact, I tend to ask for myself as a tag along, or add on at the end of praying for other people’s needs.

Which isn’t a healthy symptom at all.

You see, that likely means i am not submitting to the fullness of what God has for me.

By struggling to try and cope on my own, i miss out not only on the strength He has for me, but experiencing His care and growing in our relationship.

And I am oh so tired of caring for myself on my own.

I remember reading the verses about the woman with the bleeding issue when i was first a believer, and relating to her:

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  Luke 8:43

I too have had an issue with cysts and heavy bleeding since i was 14 years old.  No one has been able to stop it here on earth. I am thankful that it has slowed with medical intervention & eating a healthier diet (staying away from too much caffeine along with all soy & dairy has helped develop less cysts and keep my hormones more in check), but it has not been healed so far…

And today, I acknowledge to myself, God and all of you,  my heart has stopped believing in my dream…. to be able to say the following as part of my testimony:

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Luke 8:44

Boy, putting that into words both hurts and feels freeing to my spirit.

I say i believe, but my trust in His best plan for me has waffled over this issue….literally, of blood.

I believe, I know He can heal, for I have both seen it and experienced it in other ways.

But will He?

The Word reminds us God is our healer in many places, and how He has the best in store for those who love & follow Him.  I believe in that truth deep down.

His capability is not in question in my mind or heart.

His will is for me to be whole, fully restored, and healed.

But will He heal me in this area?

Ultimately, I know when I meet Him face to face as i enter eternity, I will be the me He planned for me to be since creation.  And i do draw comfort in that actuality, that fact yet to pass.

But will He heal me in this area now?

Timing becomes the question… I want His healing now.  I am weary of having spent 20 years of gross frustrating embarrassing and exhausting at times handling this issue.

And that is the crux of the problem.

I have been gripping this issue too tightly.

I have not fully let go of it and gripped on to His hem.

I am tired of trying to hold it all together, Lord.

I am letting go of my timing, my desires for You to heal  me on my terms.

I am grabbing the hem of Your robe, pressing in and refusing to let go.

Because I KNOW You want me healed.

I speak this out right now, I believe You’re my Healer.

You can, You want to, and You will heal me.

And until Your timing is released for this issue of blood to be removed from me, You will be more than enough to keep me in the midst of my struggle.

You have been for me since before I was born, and always will be.

I surrender my doubts that You don’t care about me enough to heal me, You may not ever heal me while I am here on earth, and I am not worthy to be healed.

Because of what You did on the cross, Jesus, You have made me worthy through the covering of Your blood. I can approach with confidence because the veil has been torn, and You invite me to come.  The One who rose from the grave? He is more than able.

And like the daughter in this story, I do not go unnoticed. You are keeping Your eye on me.

I pray that how the story ended for the woman in Luke 8 ends the same for me, but I am determined not be hiding when You do heal me, God, but shouting it from the rooftops. May You build in me the Rock solid faith I need for my healing to come to pass because of Your touch:

 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”  But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Reader,  did you know its okay to have doubts?

Its not okay to keep your doubts hidden.

We need to bring them out into the light of His presence, so He can help us seem them in alignment with His truth, and who He is.

Doubts hidden become strongholds of the enemy, giving him space in our minds where he was never meant to roam, and begin to trap our spirits in chains from the pit.  

God made us to long for more.

Come as you are to God. He loves us as we are….whether wounded, broken, hurting, doubting, fearful, angry, insecure, lonely.  He never makes us feel bad for our feelings, but as He pours His love into us, we can be healed and made whole beyond imagining.

He is and always will be more than enough for all we need, and works tirelessly to bring His design for us into reality!

So I will never let go of Your hem God. Because close to You is where i was meant to be.

 

 

 
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