Beauty from Ashes - A Continual Process

(to subscribe enter your email in the box above) The other day I wrote from my mama heart.  The thought of a 3rd knee surgery for our boy momentarily made me feel like we were starting over.  I temporarily "projected" the former surgeries into the current situation.  But I did not take into consideration that we have all changed over these past surgeries, and that the even the injury is different this time.   Transformation. This is just one small story out of many in the our family, where God has allowed us to see His hand in the before, during, and after of hardship.  How could I forget the miracles?!  Even for a few days, I forgot.  But not for long, and now I wish I could write to you about every single one them because they are all so amazing! That is what I aim to do in these little tid bits of stories I write about.   It's pretty easy to see the miraculous in your life, when you see it's all miraculous... grace.is.miraculous. Ho...

I have to add a p.s. to my last post.  I wrote in a moment's time the weight of 49 years of battling anxiety.  It was not over the fact that our son might not get to play basketball.  It was about knowing that this is a painful season in his life, and at the same time knowing that God will use it.  It was about my flesh battling fear of how it will affect him, and my spirit knowing that God is with him. In retrospect maybe I should not have posted it.  In light of what is going on in the world it is shallow.  In fact, in light of what my close friends are battling, cancer, it is shallow.  So I am following up.  I can by humiliated by what anxiety can do to me, or humbled by it.  In humility I write posts that are vulnerable and true.  I now want to add to my last post.  Because God says, "I dwell in the high and lofty places with those who are humble and contrite."  Isaiah 57:15.  I am contrite over what fear can do t...

This is my "letting go" bush. A friend gave it to me the first August our girl left home.  This post may be too much information, or possibly shallow for some.  But I'm humbly sharing for the one who needs this connection.  The one who fears that being shaken and undone is the end and not the beginning of something good.  And I might add here, that while I'm incredibly honest about the struggles of anxiety, God has given me great joy, and I enjoy Him and the life He has path before me!  I love His Divine appointments! Yes I'm about to download a mashup of my soul.  For some who are "older," a "mashup" is when several things happen at once...most commonly songs.  Someone creatively blends and morphs one song into another.  Sometimes we need to mashup our stories, the ones that point to Jesus.  That is my intention. Well, I am not being creative here.  I am being honest.  Honest about life with Jesus.  My life wit...

I want to be a HOPE giver!  Life is not all about darkness and trouble.  But it says in Proverbs 13:12 that "hope deferred makes the heart sick."   The darkness can and will really get you down, but take heart.  Read on.  It can feel hopeless sometimes.  That's when we have to know what is true about dark and light.  Yes there's a battle, yes it's dark, yes it's hard, yes we despair, yes we fall, yes we fear, yes we resist change, yes we hurt.  This is real, this is the hard stuff.  God does not hide this truth from us.  It says in Romans 8 that, "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope f...

Close call? That's what happens when we get distracted. Applies to the physical and spiritual realm of life. Whether driving, or planning your day, distraction can disarm us!  When I am distracted, I am prone to self sabotage!  Now if we are talking about our "old" self, that is good!   Galatians 2:20 says,  " My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."   The bad thing is when I self sabotage the "new" me .  It comes so easily.  It's my weak spot!   2 Corinthians 5:17 says,  " This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"   My CHRONIC PRAYER of "EMPTY ME AND FILL WITH THEE," is a very good and necessary prayer!  It's no secret that in my past, fear had a total grip on my life.  Now it just gri...

Ever want to hold on to the moment, the person, the place, I mean really dig in and hold on?  These precious people, these places, these moments, when a new season is just around the corner... This little girl in Honduras knew that Josh would catch her, she was loving the moment!  Here's to knowing God will always catch us, let us love the moments and let them go!  Every "let go" leads to a "CATCH!" Is it the caffeine or the fact that I feel the control slipping from my fingers? Doesn't really matter what I want to control, when I/we belong to Jesus, the fact that He has control should bring on the peace and the surrender. For some, change and adventure invite peace and joy!  We are all different.  For others, stability and calm would drive them crazy!  Don't compare, that's not the point.  I really just want to talk about surrender.  That's one thing that never changes with me, because I need to do it daily.  I don't ...

Yes, moms, dads, teachers, students, business people, scientists, artists, musicians, athletes, get the idea?  Let us ask, "how can we touch someone today for the good of their soul and the glory of God?" Let us ask for Divine appointments today, right where we are, and be mindful of where the rest of the global church is doing ministry.  Let us MULTIPLY! Waiting to board my flight home.  In one blessed week!   3 of us, Kristen, Josh and Steve were in Honduras serving with Sparrow Missions. There they serve homeless, orphans, poor, addicts, and the sick by  sharing Jesus, and also teaching how to sustain life...physical and Spiritual empowerment. I was at my sister Anne's house in Texas this past week.  Anne Todd & family serve with YWAM. YOUTH WITH A MISSION.  They daily reach the nations. My niece Adie is in a school preparing for an urban outreach to Chicago, Hannah will soon go to a YWA...