Called To Love

  At the end of the fall, many people have prepared their gardens before winter sets in. They have pruned the plants and fertilized the soil in preparation for the Spring. God does the same type of preparation in the lives of his children, so that they are prepared for the next season of their life. This preparation is called Pruning. Pruning has two functions; the removal of branches that have produced no fruit and the preparation of branches that have been fruitful. Two purposes, one tool! As you go through your season, consider what season of pruning you are in... the one where God is removing the unnecessary things from your life, or the one where He is increasing your fruitfulness.  "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:2 Unapologetically, G

As we face the 2020 Pandemic, it is close to impossible on your own knowledge, courage, and strength not to become anxious and afraid. Daily updates on death tolls, frightening recounts of people dying alone, and so much more. As we shelter at home day after day, we are often left to the overwhelming reminders of how uncertain and different life is becoming. Those of us who know Christ are quietly struggling due to a lack of normalcy of worship and fellowshipping with other believers. Those of us whose families are spread out struggle with the lack of touch and affection. As I search the scriptures for strength, God reminded me in Philippians 4:6-7 how to strengthen our faith even in perilous times. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. His first instruction to us...

As a child, when I would get hurt I would always tell the story of what happened. If I fell off my bike, I would share how fast I was going and what I was trying to jump over. When I fell out of the tree, I bragged about how high I got before I slipped. Those experiences produced scars. The scars I acquired in my youth all came with a story of triumph. As we get older our scars no longer remind us of the triumphs, but of the pain, the lies, the helplessness, and worthlessness. The enemy uses them against us. He uses them as a trap and we become disappointed in whom we have become. I am so glad that we have a God that takes our scars and turns them into badges of victory. We have a God that is crazy in love with us! He sees the scars whether internal or external and reminds us that its okay not to be ok because through whatever we are facing, he is there. He seals the deal by showing us his scars. Understand that God could have removed his scars upon his resurrection, but he chose...

Many of us have found ourselves in a desperate place. We become overwhelmed by our situations, circumstances, and responsibilities. We feel that we have failed when the results are not what we expect. We begin to believe the lies about ourselves and God and fall victim to our thoughts.  You have to know where those thoughts come from... "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44 Be encouraged! We serve a God of Extraordinary patience, strength and unwavering power. Know that when you find yourself in a fight for your life, you just need to give the fight over to God! It's ok that we don't get it all right... God is not expecting perfection, just faith. "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the ...

I am a list maker! I make list daily for home, work and  ministry. Although I can clearly see the big picture of the things I want to accomplish, I am that girl that has to write out every step on how to get it done. I can at some times become compulsive with my list, but that's just me.  The Holy Spirit reminded me that Satan knows his job and that is to Steal, Kill and Destroy. Day after day, tactic after tactic, he is relentless in trying to take your mind and actions off of doing God's will and walking in His purpose.  Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. This morning as I began to fuss and my little girl about her mix-matched socks, the Holy Spirit reminded me of what a blessing it is to have her in my life. As I searched the refrigerator to find that my favorite snack was M.I.A, the Holy Spirit reminded me to look around at all of the other choices I had.   The songwriter says; "Count your Blessings, name t...

There were many church songs we sung as children that had deeper meanings that weren't revealed until my relationship with Christ grew and matured. "I want to be a follower of Christ" It made me think of the disciple's journey as they followed God on the earth. It was very hard for me to comprehend how without God in the flesh, I could become a true follower of Christ.  As my relationship with God matured and I realized that God was in me, my heart, mind, spirit, and soul, being a follower was easy. Yet I desired more. I wanted a more intimate relationship with God. That is when the scripture opened up to me and revealed that He desired to be my friend. At one time, I had a really twisted idea of friendships.  I had lost many people whom I called friend which left me hurt and broken. I vowed never to call anyone friend because it was too closely related to pain and brought bad memories and hurt. But there is a song; "I am a friend of God" that made m...

I've heard many people say things like, "I'm waiting for that "Great" opportunity to come", I want a "Great" relationship, God will bless me to find a "Great" church and finally, Have a "Great" day. We slather the word "Great" around to quantify our desires. We want the best of whatever it is we are seeking in life.  What if the "Great" that we are seeking can only be found in us. What if we are the ones responsible for bringing "Great" to the party.  What does "Great" look like? "Great" are those things that are excellent, and worthy of praise, lovely and admirable. "Great" has characteristics of love, joy, patience, peace, gentleness, and self-control.  "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."  Psalms 147:5 Is "Great" beginning to sound familiar?"Great" is our God! "Great" is how ...

I use to have a car that was in pretty good shape. It ran well, good tires, quiet engine, air, and good heat. The only problem was that the gas gage did not work. I would always find myself worrying if I would run out of gas. I would constantly try and remember where I'd been, how far I'd gone and when the last time I filled up. I worried about what I Knew I had, but could not see. Our journey in Christ can sometimes feel like we are walking around with a broken gauge. We know that God has filled us up with what we need,  but we find ourselves second-guessing whether or not we have enough spiritual fuel for the journey. We overthink, underestimate and rely on our flesh and emotions to determine whether or not we can complete, let alone start this leg our of the journey. We must have faith that if God placed His anointing on us and His Spirit in us we are assured that we are enough and have enough for the journey, even when we don't see it. "For I know the plans...