The disciples were so focused on what Jesus asked them to do, that they almost missed Jesus Himself! How many of us are so focused on reading the new study, engaging in new relationships, serving the less fortunate (which are all things Jesus might be asking us to do), yet we miss Jesus entirely?
Words matter. The words we speak and the words we think about ourselves and others can bring life or death. They can stifle and steal, or they can nourish and nurture. Do I speak life?
What is something other people see in you that you don’t see in yourself? Why can’t I just embrace the faults that are obvious to others and need to change?
Overcoming doubt and unbelief, along with all the other giants we face, solely rests in believing God rather than our own perceptions about our circumstances. Either we trust and believe God or we don’t…Until we are overcome by who God is, we will be overcome by who we are not…
As this word kept coming to my heart and mind, I couldn’t stop thinking of how it gets thrown around in so many different circles. When you ask a beauty queen at a pageant whIMG_0045at she wishes for, you can almost always expect to hear, “World Peace.” (Miss Congenitally reference? Anyone?) Or when you drive around at Christmas time you can almost always see, “Peace on Earth” displayed in the yards of your neighborhood. I hear this word often, but have I ever stopped to reflect on its meaning? Its significance? Have I ever really experienced peace in life?
Little did I know that this single, 5-letter word would be the thing God would use to transform me, inspire me, lift me and carry me through the most difficult year of my life. This would be the beginning of tracing His “glory story” in the most unexpected narrative. God has shown me this past year that Glory is the very beginning of the story and also the grand finale.
Three years ago I heard about choosing a word for the year and it seemed all the “cool kids” (AKA “cool bloggers”) were doing it. So I didn’t pick a word. Fast forward two months and I was asked what I was hearing from God. In that moment I faced a choice and knew I had to chose whether to put on a mask or not. With trepidation I took the mask off and God chose a phrase for the year: Renewed Joy. “Renewed Joy” was the deepest longing of my soul as I had been drifting from myself. Deeper than resolutions or goals, it anchored me and gave me hope.