Life Coaching: How Much Do You Need Mercy?

Friends, I am somewhat at a loss of what just exactly how to write this today. I know what I want to say—just not how to say it. I’m gonna try to muddle my way through this, and hopefully, it will make sense on the other side…Our Pastor has been teaching out of the book of Joshua, and I gotta admit, I really like that. If you want adventure, intrigue and miracles, Joshua is the book for you. In Joshua 3:16-17, something interesting happens. The children of Israel were moving toward a place God had promised them, but there was an obstacle in their way—the Jordan River. But they had one thing going for them. They were carrying the Ark of the Covenant with them. And on that Ark were two cherubim. And between those two cherubim was the mercy seat of God. Scripture tells us that as the Ark was carried down to the water, the water parted from Adam (the name of the country) to the Salt Sea (roughly 20 miles). This was not the first time God had parted the water for the children of Israel, and some of them quite possibly remembered either seeing it or hearing stories about it. This must have seemed a little deja vu to them.

If we look at this metaphorically speaking, the name “Adam” brings us to mind of the first man—the one who rebelled against God and got himself kicked out of the Garden of Eden. And if we look at “Salt Sea,” it isn’t too much of a stretch to think about Lot’s wife who was turned into a pillar of salt. This is something I’m still mulling over in my mind, but my point is this: No matter what our sin is, whether the rebellion of Adam, or the inability to leave our sin behind like Lot’s wife, the mercy of God goes before us. And God is seated on the mercy seat for a reason. When we find ourselves in a sitting position, we don’t move. We are fixed in that place until we stand. God is seated to indicate that He is not the one who moves away. We are. We move away from his mercy, and there we get into trouble. When God leads us somewhere, the motion is ALWAYS FORWARD. I can’t think of a single time in my life where God told me to move backward into my sin. Not once. No, He is always calling us away from our rebellious natures into the life of peace and contentment in His presence.

I don’t know where Lot’s wife was geographically speaking when she decided to look back on the city of Sodom and Gomorrhah. Does it really matter? I don’t really think it does. What matters is what are we gonna do today about our own rebellious mess? We know we need God, yet we resist the mercy seat, where He sits waiting on us. Why do we do that? I believe it’s two things: 1) We’re ashamed, and 2) we love sin more than we love God.

I don’t write these things to be harsh at all. I am merely writing about the human heart and how recalcitrant it is! We embrace those things that do us harm, and we continue in wrongdoing, even to our own detriment. We love ourselves, and we cannot possibly love God until we know Him. But all of this is okay—it’s not because we loved Him, but because He loved us. He created the mercy seat because He loves us, not the other way around. We can’t understand it, neither can we stop it. His love is beyond our control, and so is His mercy. He is a merciful God. I am grateful for that. God bless you!

Life Coaching: Freedom

I wrote this two years ago, and thought I’d share it here in my blog:

Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

There is freedom in the Name of Jesus. There is power in the Name of Jesus. There is peace, joy, comfort, strength and hope in the Name of Jesus. We, as Christians, can look back and view our pasts without the yoke of bondage weighing us down. Because His burden is easy and His yoke is light. My Pastor pointed out Sunday that a yoke was designed for one thing--work. But work isn't a bad thing. Work is a good thing. If the "work" is easy, lively, adventurous and well, FUN, who wouldn't love to work? It's when we allow ourselves to get bogged down with it that it becomes heavy. And when it becomes heavy, that, my friends, is when despair, anxiety and depression set in. That's when the oppression of the enemy chains us to his yoke, and we lose our freedom. 

Here's the thing...freedom found in Christ is absolutely free for all who come. No charge. All we have to do is exchange our lives for His, and I can assure you, living the life He chooses for us is worth every second, every minute, every hour, every day of freedom when we surrender ourselves to His will. It's a "good trade," to quote a line from "Dances With Wolves." Our lives may not be easy ones, but the exchange of bondage for freedom is a trade we gladly make for the joy of knowing Him, loving Him and serving Him. He is Lord. He is God. He is Alpha. He is Omega. He is Everlasting. He is Comfort. He is Strength. He is Joy. He is Peace. He is Hope. He is Love. He is Mighty. He is Wonderful. He is Justice . He is Righteous. He is Vindicator. He is Helper. He is Servanthood. He is Freedom. And if, indeed, God is all these things, why hesitate? It costs nothing to believe. It costs everything not to. If we Christians are wrong, well, wouldn't we rather live our lives as free women and men than as slaves? If I come to the end if my life and discover God truly does not exist, then I have at least led a meaningful life, because the natural by-product of serving God is serving others. I'm sorry, folks. You have come too late to tell me there is no God (to quote another of my pastors). I'm addicted to His Life, His Freedom, His Service to others. 

There is freedom for ALL. All. No exceptions. Just reach out and grab it with both hands and don't let go. God bless!

Life Coaching: Take A Walk On The Wild Side

I had an occasion to go downtown for a business appointment this week. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the appointment but I WAS looking forward to going downtown. I love our downtown area. They have revitalized it and it’s fabulous. Lots to see and lots to do.

As I was sitting in the reception area waiting on the 12 year old businessman I had an appointment with (don’t even ask—I’m having a cynical moment), I noticed two paintings on the wall. In my experience, the decor and especially paintings, can tell a lot about the person who occupies the space. Is it warm, is it cold, is it inviting, or does it say “hands off?” In this particular case, both paintings were studies in red and gold. Since I had to wait and since I had nothing better to do, I started looking at these paintings. Both were abstracts. I know abstract art is designed to make you think, but as I looked at these two, all I could think of was a broken wine glass on one and a sunspot on the other. Red swatches with black lines and a red circle that reminded me a bubble. I like what Bob Ross said, “I generally don’t paint things I have to explain.” Maybe I’m simplistic, but I generally don’t look at things I have to think about that hard.

After completing my business, I walked to The Brown Bag, a cute little lunch spot next door. I was a little frustrated because the appointment wasn’t what I anticipated, and I’d paid $8 to park. Eight dollars. Eight American Dollars….however, my annoyance vanished as I sat on the little terrace and ate my meal. Yes, eight dollars (!) was a lot to pay to park and yes, my meal was almost $10, but the day was nice, the waiter was kind, and the view was urban and chic. I felt kinda satisfied and happy.

There are some changes coming up in my life—changes that make me both excited and just a little scared. That’s why I’m grateful for little stolen moments like this one—moments of peace and moments of joy. Moments of contemplation. Moments of happiness. Even though I don’t know what’s coming (and none of us know that), I can still sit under an umbrella, in the downtown area, eat an overpriced meal, pay too much for parking, and be content. God is with me. He never leaves me. He never leaves you. He goes where we go. He keeps leading us in the direction we need to go. He keeps honing our vision, until we can see Him face-to-face. He keeps convicting us of our sin, and picking us up when we fall. We can connect with a God like that! Relationships are built on such as this.

In the golden hours of the day, ask yourself this: what am I doing to develop my relationship with God? Am I meeting Him or am I running away? Am I quietly waiting on Him to move, or am I rushing ahead? How can I connect with God today in such a way that I’m still and content? These questions aren’t easy ones. I have to leave you guys with things like this from time to time so you’ll know I really DO know how to life coach and not just try on wigs…although, honestly, the wigs are a lot less painful than self-examination, aren’t they? But an unexamined life, is an unfulfilled life. We must examine ourselves in order to do something none of us wants to do—CHANGE! Our lives are constant examinations of our ability to change, and that’s painful and difficult. G. K. Chesterton said, “The Christian life has not been weighed and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” Let’s not let that be us. We have all the tools and documents at our disposal to be successful as disciples of Jesus. Don’t let difficulty stand in your way.

Contemplate a weird work of art. Walk you dog. Pet your cat (if it will let you). Hang out with that friend. Listen to different music. Go swimming. Take a pottery class. Paint a picture. Try a different food (you know you want to eat something besides that salad, Sister!) And above all, talk to God. Develop that relationship, regardless of religion, church or creed. We are Christians first, everything else, second. Have a wonderful day. Be blessed.

Life Coaching: Stopping Your Worry

I am a worrier. I fret and stew, toss and turn, mull and analyze. I am not proud of this fact. I often find myself awake late at night, wrinkling my sheets from my restlessness, staring at the ceiling, playing out and replaying scenarios over and over again in my mind. “If they say this, I’ll say that” is a frequent theme for me. I plan my responses to imaginary conversations just in case I ever have them. And the sad part is, those conversations NEVER happen in real time. Only in my mind…

Why do I do this? I think it’s a desire to figure out what’s gonna happen so I won’t be surprised. I can be prepared. I can brace myself for the worst. Subsequently, this type of thinking hinders spontaneity. And it hinders faith. It hinders trust. It hinders me from walking fully in God’s presence in the moment.

What about you? How often do you worry? How often do you worry about things that have already happened? How often do you worry about the future? How do you prepare for your future? How we deal with the unknown speaks volumes about our character. As I just revealed, my character is lacking in this area, but I’m working on it.

When we go fishing, we take that fishing rod and cast our line out as far as we can go, OR we cast our line where we think the fish will be. We attempt to maximize our chances of catching a fish. When we “cast our cares on Him,” (1 Peter 5:7) we take our cares to the place where our chances of success are greatest—into the arms of Jesus. To let go of the burden of our worries is to walk in freedom. Liberty comes in the care-free life.

My prayer today is that we are walking in such a manner that we’re not allowing worry and stress to ovettake us on our journey. We are free. We are prepared, not by letting our minds roam all over the place, but by preparing our hearts for the coming of the Lord. And not just His physical appearance, but the manifest example we have been living our lives as pleasing vessels to Him by loving Him and loving others. There are two commandments in the New Testament, and the entire law of the Old Testament hangs on these: Love God, love others. We cannot fully love if we don’t do these. And we can’t live a free, whole, centered life until we do. I am striving for that. How about you? God bless you, my dears!

Life Coaching: The Things We Survive

It’s been said that that which does not kill us makes us stronger. I myself have survived a few things…For example, I drank some sort of noxious liquid from little wax Coca-Cola bottles and gained no strength from it. I ate candy cigarettes full of sugar and it didn’t help me with my stamina or endurance. I burned patchouli incense and didn’t choke to death from the fumes, which is a miracle. These things did not make me strong, they made me cautious. Well, actually I can still taste the candy cigarettes by just typing the words…so maybe I was a bit hasty on that one.

I am not certain that being a survivor has made me stronger. I believe I was already strong, which made me a survivor by proxy. We survive precisely because we are strong. Perhaps our strength just needed to be proven. Perhaps it was curled inside us all along, brought out by wax Coca-Cola bottles, candy cigarettes , patchouli incense, and such.

We are the sum of our parts. With each trial, we have a choice. We can let it overtake us, or we can use the knowledge we gained to mold our lives into something worthy, honorable and pleasing to God. When we are weak (which is pretty doggone often), He is strong. His strength is our strength.

What can we do today to show our courage and strength? How can we move forward boldly in the midst of our struggle? How can we use our God-given abilities to be the strong men and women of God He intended ya to be? These are questions for us to ponder today. For some, we focus on what’s ahead, planning our movements meticulously. For others, we flit about like the little butterflies, taking life as it comes. And no matter which camp we fit into, our reliance on God must be our primary focus for whatever comes our way.

Be strong and courageous. Don’t be dismayed or afraid. For the Lord Your God is with you wherever you go.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Life Coaching: When You’re Awake At Midnight

I am awake at midnight. I am not happy about it, either. I feel like my nights are spent either dozing on the couch at 9:00 pm, or making a Thanksgiving wreath at midnight. There’s no in between with me…

I suppose I am nervous. Nervous about the future and nervous about going to bed….which is an iffy proposition here at the Jackson household. I can either fall asleep quickly or toss and turn for hours. And since I slept like a hibernating bear last night, I’m anticipating a night of tossing and turning. Such is the life of a post menopausal woman…

I can easily find stuff to worry about without too much trouble. So instead of worrying some more, I’m gonna count my blessing…I was privileged to go to a swim party last night with a great group of ladies from our church. One of the precious ladies was gracious enough to open up her home to us, and we had a great time eating and splashing in the pool. Let me say right off the bat…I had not tried on my bathing suit since last year. I have gained 10 pounds, and I looked like a stuffed sausage in that bathing suit. But since I had squeezed myself into the thing, I was gonna swim or die trying. I almost did die trying because that swimsuit was so tight, it almost squeezed the life out of me. I am lucky to be alive…

At any rate, my daughter brought my grandson along with her, and I got to play in the pool with him. I’m not sure he enjoyed it as much as I did, but he didn’t cry and I call that a victory. I am grateful to still be here on this planet and be part of my grandchildren’s lives. It is a gift from God to be able to live so close to them. Truly. I thought about that last night while I was playing in the water with the Grandboy, and I wanted to cry from gratitude. I don’t deserve God’s gifts.

Well, today’s blog is an absolute ramble, and I don’t know how to stop that. So I guess I’ll just leave it with this…God is good. God gives us things we don’t even know we need. Sometimes (like tonight when I can’t sleep), I have time to contemplate on the awesomeness of the Lord God Almighty. I can contemplate His power. I can worship Him for who He is. It gives me a chance to really appreciate what He does.

I am going to close this out with this…I’m going to bed and I’m grateful…grateful for my family and grateful for each of you reading this. You are my tribe and you are my posse. Thank you. Goodnight and God bless!

Should You Always Speak Your Truth?

I have been on a journey of self discovery lately. I have discovered a few things about myself that I’d like to change, so hence the journey. I have not necessarily been happy about said journey. Said journey involves a lot of soul searching and I feel like I’ve done enough of that to last a lifetime. But if I am to grow as a “new creation” in Christ, then journey I must. The worst part is I have to provide my own ice cream…

In my quest for truth, I keep hearing the phrase “speak your truth.” I’m not sure what that is exactly. Because I’m quite certain that Elaine’s truth and the real truth are not the same things. My truth always paints me on a positive light. I am never wrong. I am always validated. And I am always, without fail, entirely focused on my own feelings.

I’m not saying this is incorrect. I’m saying this is selfish. Because if each of us has our own version of the truth, then what? My version and your version may be entirely different versions, like two different people viewing an automobile accident. One is standing on one side and the other standing on the opposite side. Both viewed the accident, but each had different perspectives. We couldn’t know for certain who was really at fault, if we went strictly by the witnesses “truth.”

It seems to me, there is only one version, or there should be—and that’s God’s version. His Truth does not change. His Truth is pure. His Truth is not self-serving. His Truth is holy. Therefore, His Truth is the only Truth we can rely on to get it right. Every.single.time.

I’m not here to minimize anyone’s pain and suffering. Sometimes we have to go over a series of events systematically in our minds because that’s the only way we can rationally make sense of what has happened to us. That’s perfectly normal and perfectly fine. But to make Truth become something that’s merely “relative,” is to minimize its purity. It waters down the aspects that God finds most dear—integrity, love, relationship, joy, peace, kindness, selflessness, and patience. We can’t have these things without absolutes. And one of the absolutes is Truth.

I am continuing on my journey, tanked up on Apple fritters from Beavers Dough Joe. The fritters have fueled my body, and the good Lord continues to fuel my soul. God bless!

Life Coaching: 3 Basic Ways to Love Your Life

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. - 1 John 5:12

I am writing this today simply because of a discussion I had with my sister, Robyn, this weekend. We were talking about Christianity and lamenting over the inability of us Christians to grasp even the simplest of God’s concepts. We struggle. We dither. We procrastinate. And we disobey. All of us are guilty of one or the other at some point in our lives.

How difficult is it to love our brothers and sisters in Christ? What are we doing every day to show them we are compassionate towards their struggles? How are we walking out that love? In short, what are we doing about it? Today, after I woke up, wiped the crust out of my eyes, let the dogs out (my sister and her dog are staying with me for the week), fixed myself a cup of tea and settled in to write this blog, the conversation of the last few days kept replaying itself in my mind. Then, when I read this verse this morning, it just seemed to fit. Without love, there is no life and without life, there is no love. Love grows and thrives in a life filled environment, and vice versa. Some would argue with this statement, especially someone who has lost a precious loved one. But I would counter that one of the two who loved is still alive; therefore, there is still love and there is still life.

In the verse above, John makes it pretty clear that without the Son of God actively working in our lives, we have no life at all. Therefore, without that life, can we truly love as God intended? I don’t believe so. I have jotted down three simple ways to help us on the pathway to loving our lives:

1. Love God. This is rather basic, but before we gloss over this and dismiss it, let’s ask ourselves do we really do this, or do we just give lip service to it? We get complacent in our relationship with God at times. It’s easy to love God when the sun is shining on our faces and a full headwind. Not so much when we’re walking through a valley…

2. Love others. Again, rather basic, but don’t we find it’s much harder to love others than it is to love ourselves? We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. The body of Christ is difficult, messy and broken. It’s a difficult brood to love. But if we do, and we lower our expectations, we find peace. We can stop the mental anguish that goes with expectations. Just love ‘em. It’s easier and less stressful to maintain love than it is hatred.

3. Love life. Ok, basically this one is kind of a gimme. But if we don’t make a conscious effort to love our lives, we end up dissatisfied, bitter, hurt and angry. There are many reasons to hate our lives. Many. Instead of counting the reasons to hate our lives, let’s search for one good reason to love it. We can breathe in and out. That’s miraculous in itself.

   One of the reasons I love to read John’s writings is that he keeps it simple. There’s no hidden meaning (well, there’s The book of Revelation, but that’s a topic for another day). Our lives begin and end with Jesus Christ, and He is the One who gives love, gives life, and He is the one it’s impossible to live without.

Life Coaching: Who Is God?

Nezahualcoyotl was a ruler in Mexico before the arrival of the Europeans. He once wrote, “Truly the gods, which I worship, are idols of stone that do not speak or feel… Some very powerful, hidden and unknown god is the creator of the entire universe. He is the only one that can console me in my affliction and help me in such anguish as my heart feels; I want him to be my helper and protection.” This may be a case of Nezahualcoyotl living up to his name, which means “hungry coyote.” He was definitely hungry for the One True God, but didn’t know how to go about finding Him. He had never heard of The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But one thing he did know…there was a God out there somewhere and it was not the god he had been worshipping.

I do not know the heart of this man. I can’t know if he truly found God. But I do know this…God’s Word says if we seek Him, we will find Him if we search for Him with our whole heart. I have to believe that a man who wrote such lovely words and who went on to build a temple to honor “the God who paints things with beauty” was a God finder. Even if he did have an unpronounceable name…

Who is God? What does He mean to you? How to you seek Him? And when you seek, how do you find? These are just a few questions to ponder today. Do we think enough about who God really is? When we pause to just think about the awesome power of God, do we tremble and fall down on our face to worship? Do we think about it at al? I suppose I am in awe of Nezahualcoyotl. (I am going to have to figure out a way to shorten that name if I have to write it many more times). This dude had pretty much everything he would wish for, yet he was empty.. I am reminded of the ancient Romans who built a temple to an unknown god, just in case they’d forgotten one.

My point is…we were born to know God. We were created for community with Him. He wants that and so do we! Our hearts long for it. We may not know what the longing is, but we know something missing in our hearts. We are unfulfilled without Him. He may start out as our “unknown god” but if we search for Him, she soon becomes our “Known God”.

It’s ok to trust an unknown future to a known God. As we get to know Him, rely on Him, and worship Him, we can see His character and nature manifest itself in us. We become what we love, in a sense. And in the becoming, we draw closer to the heart of God and closer to knowing His excellent character. And in that knowing, our faith is developed. We ask, we seek, we find.

*Story about Nezahualcoyotl was taken from “Our Daily Bread” 2016

Life Coaching: Do We Really Want Hear The Truth?

“The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Psalm 119:160

How often do we ask ourselves, “do I really want to know the truth?” For me personally, I think I want to hear it, but when looking into God’s word, I sometimes think I’d rather just live my life blissfully ignorant when confronted with some of the more difficult truths. Like “love thy neighbor” and "forgive 70 times 7.” And my personal favorite “let patience have its perfect work.” I am beginning to sense a theme here…

On a scale of one to ten, how truthful do we believe God’s word really is? I mean, do we assign Levitical law a 2 on a sliding scale of relevance, yet reward grace with a 10? It is my belief that contemporary church does exactly that. We have somehow minimized the Old Testament, and rewritten the New to make it say whatever we think is relevant in the moment. We pull out the Old Testament stories when we want to prove a point about faith, endurance, beauty, etc., but don’t talk much about Jepthah’s daugther or Jael and the tent peg. It’s my belief the reason we do this is because we don’t have an explanation for these stories that fits our agenda. We have re-created God into our image instead of conforming ourselves into His.

Here’s the thing, folks…there are things in the Bible we cannot explain. There are things in the Bible we don’t understand. There are things in the Bible we probably don’t need to try to figure out. There are things in the Bible that make us scratch our heads. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) We don’t understand middle Eastern culture; and 2) We try to read the Bible in light of today’s societal norms. We can fix Problem Number 1 by reading up on middle Eastern customs and traditions. That sheds a lot of light on some of the biblical teachings. Problem Number 2 is much more difficult to fix. We tend to see the world in light of where we live, our neighborhoods, our communities, even our countries. And that’s something you just can’t do with the Word of God. The Bible is just not a normal book, so there’s no need to make it fit modern society’s views, and no need try to normalize it. We can’t. We can’t normalize a book that was written for eternal significance.

I am not in any way intending to minimize the Bible for what it is—the written Word of God. Rather, I am trying to emphasize how society and how we, as Christians, have taken something holy, sacred, and perfect, and squished it into something that would be unrecognizable to most early Christians. If we take the Book of Acts, for instance, it is a perfect blueprint of how we Christians should be living our lives. Yet, we insist on commercializing, packaging, and modernizing something that needs no alteration. The words in the Bible are what they are—written with humanity in mind for eternity. It is a shame we even needed the Book, and we wouldn’t have needed it if Adam and Eve had behaved themselves. We could be walking with God in the cool of the evening, enjoying His manifest presence every.single.day. but NOOOOO…..but that is a story for another day.

I am simply trying to say this: the Word of God is absolutely perfect. Read it. Embrace it. Let it speak to you. Let it heal you. Let it minister to you. Read it at face value. Read it for spiritual value. Read it for financial advice. Read it for emotional support. But read it through the eyes of your spirit, not through the eyes of societal programming, political correctness or even patriotism. Our obligations as Christians are well above our obligations as American citizens. If we did one tenth of what we are commanded to do, we could end war, world hunger, slavery, and murder. We would love our neighbors, forgive them, embrace them, lead them to Christ, and live in harmony as much as possible here on this earth.

Life Coaching: Life Lesson From Jonah

Mark 3:27 "Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. "

I wrote this two years ago, posted it on Facebook, and promptly forgot about it. Today, it was in my FB memories, and I decided to post it here. I hope it makes you think, like it did me…

In church this morning, I kept thinking about this scripture...There is a reason for the word "strong" in the word stronghold. If it didn't have power, it would be called a weak hold. A friend of mine pointed that out to me years ago and I've always remembered that. Rewind several thousand years to Jonah. Jonah slept like a brick in the boat while a massive storm raged. My point? When deception takes hold of our lives, we sleep like babies. When a strong man takes over our house and invades our life, we are lulled into a false sense of peace and security because we are deceived. We are working for the man every night and day (no offense, CCR, and note the lower case "m"). We allow strongholds of every type into our lives and once they live there, we get so used to them, we become comfortable with bondage. Jonah was perfectly at peace with the idea of running from God. He was cutting zzz's and thinking he was one smart cookie. Little did he know that he'd soon be fish food. He didn't come to his senses until three days later. He was covered in vomit...gross, but free. He had his focus back. Sometimes we have to wade through all manner of foul and disgusting things in order to even know we have a strong man in our lives. The strong man may be movin' up, but he ain't movin' out. (This must be the day for old rock 'n' roll) He likes it there. He's found a home. He's comfortable. He has a dog. And a cat. And cable TV. Why should he move? He lives in our lives relatively rent free. Why should he move? And once he's there, boy does he have an entitlement mentality! He doesn't want to be evicted. He will delay it as long as he can. Much like Jonah running from the Lord, sleeping in that boat, oblivious to the whale of a tale that was getting ready to swallow him whole. Three days in the belly of a whale chilled him right out. But, you see, I have a feeling the bondage wasn't totally the physical location of Jonah. The true bondage was the strong man of rebellion against the One who made him. It took three of the most miserable, putrid, foul days imaginable to get his attention...three days to drive the rebellion out of his heart so he was at last free to do God's will. I do not want to be a Jonah.

I have a feeling that most strong man issues have a seed in rebellion. A seed that was planted long before Jonah in Eden. It is no coincidence when the enemy handed that fruit to Eve that it was something that had a seed. A seed, when planted, sprouted a rebellious fruit and ultimately resulted in the downfall of mankind. And we have been trying to overcome it ever since.

What is your strong man? We all have one. We all have at least one area of our lives we struggle to turn over to God. It's a little piece of ourselves we want to keep and hold and pet. And if we leave it undisturbed, we think we have peace. Because when we disturb that strong man, pain comes. And nobody wants that. We are pleasure-seeking creatures. I know I am. But it is only through pain that we change and confirm ourselves into the image of the immutable God.

There is only one way to defeat the strong man...to keep from becoming Jonah. There is only one strong covenant--Jesus Christ. As the verse above states, "only someone even stronger could tie him up and plunder his house." Not only does Jesus defeat the strong man, but He plunders his house! The word "plunder" means to "take goods by force, particularly during war." I want my stuff back, don't you? I'm tired of handing hard-earned victories over to the enemy's camp. I want my stolen identity ransacked, taken by force, dragged before the throne room of the Most High God, and exposed for the lie that it is. We are not the strong man. We are not the deception. We are not false peace. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. How dare the enemy even think he could sneak into our barracks and steal our provisions!?!

Life Coaching: What Are We Doing To Stop Abuse?

I am a member of several online support groups for ladies who have been involved in abusive situations. I am amazed (but shouldn’t be) at the number of ladies who have suffered abuse at the hands of a spouse, a parent, a child, a relative or a friend. The statistics are staggering: One in three.

What causes this and why does it continue? Speaking strictly from personal experience, I can only say growing up back in the day, when women were punched, slapped, pinched, yelled at, molested or mistreated, it wasn’t called ‘abuse.” it was called family problems, temper tantrums, or worse—”thats’ just the way he is. He doesn’t mean anything by it.” I have heard these words come out of the mouth of some of my relatives, and it’s no wonder the current generation of young women are still dealing with the problem today.

I am going to be completely transparent here. I had a great uncle who was an alcoholic. I don’t believe I ever saw the man take a sober breath in his life. When I was a kid, my grandmother and mother would take us over to visit. He lived with my great-grandmother, until her death, and never had a home of his own. He was notorious for groping any of us female cousins if we got within arms reach of him. This was not only tolerated, it was excused. In all fairness, no one was really educated about abuse back then. We just had a vague idea to stay away from Uncle G if he’d been drinking because he was liable to act up. Never once did I ever hear either my grandmother, my great grandmother or my mother call him out for what he was—a sick, twisted individual, who should have been prosecuted for the pervert he was.

This is not a pretty topic to discuss, but it does lead me to this conclusion: We have more education now about abuse and about abuse prevention, yet women are still being treated as subpar citizens and children still not believed when they tell their story. Why is this? Speaking as an older woman, I have come to these conclusions:

1. There was a resignation to most women back in the day—a resignation that their lot in life was to put their head down and take it. Women didn’t have a whole lot of choices back then. They were relegated to the status of second class citizens, something that women have worked hard to rectify, but will needs some work, when we have people in prominent positions still misusing their positions to maneuver women into situations that are neither wanted nor condoned.

2. Women were genuinely led to believe if they were abused, it was their fault. Women were somehow convinced if a man made a pass at them, or showered them with unwanted attention, then the woman must have done something to bring that on. Her dress was too short, or her lipstick too bright, or her actions were somehow encouraging. That argument simply isn’t logical. Each of us is responsible for our own self control.

3. There was a sense that families always stick together. While families DO need to stick together, that isn’t the main thing here. Sticking together in the face of molestation, abuse, violence, and worse, is simply WRONG. I had a coworker whose husband frequently beat her, and he beat her son so badly, he was reported to DHS, which he should have been. I will never forget what she said to me when she was crying about it to me. She said, “It was a family matter. Why did they have to get involved? It was a private family matter!” I don’t blame that poor woman. She was a victim just like the son. No, I blame a society that had convinced women they must keep silent in the face of such violence. This is not the time to keep silent, but as little as 30 years ago, women felt they had no choice if they wanted to keep their lifestyle.

I am writing this today from a woman’s perspective. I realize there are men who have been in abusive situations as well, and let me say right here, they do not get the respect they deserve, either. I can only write from my own personal experiences, and in my experience, we, as a society, have a long way to go. We are certainly not there yet. But, I have witnessed things improve over the years, and I am hopeful for our future. I certainly don’t want my granddaughter to have to fight some of the battles I’ve had to face over the years. If I don’t speak out against abuse, domestic violence, violence against children, and other acts of debasement, then I am leaving the way open for the same things to happen to my grandchildren. I can’t have that. I am doing what I can by speaking out and making an occasional video about abuse. I don’t want to come to the end of my days, stand before the Lord, and be held accountable for my silence.

I am praying today that anyone who is has been affected by abuse or domestic violence find peace and contentment. Please get the help you need. Seek counseling, and move forward with your life. It’s possible with God’s help. God Bless!

Life Coaching: Life Lesson From My Couch

I have struggled today to find something to write about. I have something I have been thinking about, but I’m not sure if I need to post it because it could be easily misunderstood. Maybe I’m struggling today because I took a Zyrtec for my allergies. I would like nothing more than to curl up on the couch and sleep for a couple of hours. I’ve also been awake since 4:00 this morning, and I am grouchy as a bear. I had to get out early this morning, and I wasn’t real happy about that. I have to go pick up my groceries here in a little bit and I’m not real happy about that, either. Well, except for ice cream…I’m a little happy about that, even if it is Halo Top…

I think I just want to be left alone today, an emotion I seldom feel, but when I do feel that way, I mean it. I just want to lay on the couch, nap, watch videos and eat the Halo Top to the bottom of the carton, burp, and proceed on to the popcorn…but alas, I started a new diet and I can only have about half a cup of said Halo Top, and one small bag of popcorn. On further reflection, this is probably why I want to be left alone…I am hungry and I want a pizza. Maybe I just need to rephrase that…I want to be left alone except for anyone who has pizza and/or donuts. I would settle for either, but would prefer both.

When life gets like this, I know it’s time for me to slow down mentally. I have to decompress, take my time, and just hang out for a little while or stress will get the better of me. I know myself all too well, and today, this afternoon, I crave the quiet, calm presence of the Lord. I need His soothing touch, and I need His energizing power. I also need chocolate. A piece as big as my head.

Forgive my rambling today. I am definitely not on my game, but I really don’t have to be. All I have to do is tell God how I feel and He will meet me right where I am, hold me in his arms, and give me peace, quiet, rest. That’s all that matters. I am praying God will meet you where you are with that same peace,and bless the works of your hands today, as we go into the weekend. May He richly and abundantly bless you with grace and mercy. And may you find rest for your souls.

Life Coaching: What Are You Gonna Do About It?

I usually write Tuesday’s blog on Monday while Sunday’s sermon is fresh on my mind. If I don’t, I am apt to forget some valuable lessons that seemed life altering when sitting in the pew, but leaving my head the minute I get behind the wheel of my car. I have started taking better notes so I can remember, but I’m not a young woman anymore, and sometimes, things just happen…Yesterdays sermon went a direction in my mind that I’m quite certain my pastor did not intend. He was teaching about the man who was born blind from the ninth chapter of John, and my mind kept going back to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But my meandering mind DID find a link, so I guess my pastor would have been proud after all.

In the book of Daniel, we find the story of those three men who were in Babylonian captivity. They were instructed to worship pagan gods by the king. It was the law. In fact, they were instructed to physically bow their knees. Needless to say, they didn’t, or their names probably wouldn’t have made it into the Bible. This really angered King Nebuchadnezzar, the dude who made the proclamation. He commanded they be tossed into a furnace and burned. The furnace was heated up so much that the guys that threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the flames were killed just from the heat. One hot oven right there now…But these three men said something interesting that reminded me of that man who was born blind as mentioned above. They said (and I’ll quote), “Our God who we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your Hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Bold words to say to a king.

Here’s the thing and here’s why this story is like the blind beggar—both knew ONE THING. The blind beggar only knew that he was once blind, but after an encounter with Jesus Christ, now he could see. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew ONE THING as well—God was able to deliver them, but if He didn’t, they were not going to bow down to a false god. Once our eyes are open (like that blind man), we know not know much, but we know who God is! Everything may not work out as WE planned, but things work out the way HE planned.

Knowing ONE THING is liberating. It means we don’t have to keep up with a whole bunch of things. It means we only have to know the ONE PERSON and the ONE THING. I had a pastor once years ago who used to say, “keep the main thing the main thing.” That is very true. So here are a few things to ponder today:

1. In what areas have you been blind? Where have you been lacking in sight? What are you gonna do about it?

2. What do you do when it gets really difficult to serve God? What are some things you do daily that need to be changed? What are you gonna do about it?

3. How have you taken the ONE THING and made it the MAIN THING? What are your specific steps to do so? What are you gonna do about it?

4. When you take these steps, what obstacles get in your way? How have you allowed obstacles to stop you? What are you gonna do about it?

   As you can see, there is one question that I asked over and over…knowledge means nothing if not applied. All the knowing in the world won’t get you where you need to be unless you take that first step and just do it. Nike was really onto something with that slogan, in my opinion. There will always be things to hold you back. Always. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a huge thing holding them back, and so did the blind beggar. Most of us aren’t Babylonia slaves, and my guess would be that if you’re reading this, you have sight. (or at least glasses to assist you in reading this). So, what are you gonna do about it?

   This is a rather tough one this morning. I don’t mean to be tough on you, but I am a life coach, after all, and life coaches don’t always ask easy questions. I am praying that God will show you that ONE THING today, and that you will do something about it. God bless, my dear friends!

Life Coaching: Broccoli and God's Goodness

Today, I have been a blogger slacker. I have really been busy with the YouTube aspect of the business, and it’s been a real struggle to find a balance with this. I think I am about to get my feet under me, though, and for that I am extremely grateful!

I just want to focus on the goodness of God today. I had a conversation yesterday with a friend about some of the unexpected events of my life, specifically some of the bone headed decisions I had made over the years. Reflecting back on that conversation (something I am prone to do because I pick myself half to death about things that come out of my mouth), I am thinking that maybe those bone headed decisions weren’t necessarily the problem. The problem was in my heart. The heart issue was the reason my decisions were bone headed—I hadn’t fixed my heart, and it showed with every.single.decision I made.

Don’t get me wrong—I’ve actually made a few GOOD decisions in my life, but the bad ones were real whoppers. Life changing whoppers. Whoppers that kept me away from God and away from His people. I regret that. I don’t regret, though, that those same decisions were decisions that drove me closer to God and made resolves of iron in my spirit to not repeat the sins of the past. Those resolves are set in concrete, and Lord help anyone who tries to mess with them.

I have cried a little yesterday and today thinking about the sheer goodness of God. I have marveled at His mercy. I’m captivated by His grace. I’m in awe of his patience. And I’m astounded by His willingness to still forgive and cover my sins and mistakes, which are many. I can only speak for myself in what I am about to say and some won’t understand this statement. Going through divorce, death, caregiving, running away from God, living like a pagan, and generally being an all around fool, was a dark, terrible time in my life. BUT, it has made me who I am today, and for that, I can clearly see the goodness of God molding me into the strong woman I am right now. I may be beat up a little bit by life, but I’m still standing, and I always will be, as long as God is on His throne. And HE always will be!

My mother used to tell us this when we wouldn’t eat our dinner—”Those starving kids in Africa would give anything to be able to have that for dinner.” I never figured out why all the starving kids in the world lived in Africa. That always made me scratch my head a little bit…and still does. Why not the starving kids down the block or across town? I am probably the only child in the world to think like this and probably why I am not a fan of broccoli to this day. I offered to box mine up and mail it to them, but she didn’t go for that…Anyway, back to the point of this blog today…My mom was speaking of things she really knew nothing about, having lived within a five mile radius of the same location her entire life. She was speaking about that just to get me to eat something that was supposedly good for me (the jury’s still out on that. Broccoli was intended to be married to cheese, and that’s all I’ve got to say about that subject.) She had no other motivation, nor did she speak from experience. Yet, she had the best intentions possible for me. She wanted me to eat healthy food and clean my plate (another topic for another day). She, being the sweet little southern soul that she is, didn’t know she was gonna have a rebellious hellion like me for a daughter, and I think she was a little deterred by it. However, she hung in there with me, prayed for me, and even though she did not approve of me, she still loved me.

God is like that. Imagine (minus the broccoli) the Maker and Creator of the Universe bending down from heaven to listen to one lonely cry for help, one broken spirit, one solitary life, that needed salvation. That is real goodness. Even though God surely could’ve stopped many of the things that happened to me in my life, and He could’ve punished me mercilessly for disobedience, he didn’t. Don’t get me wrong…there is a reap to the sow. But the sowing was of my own volition, not God’s. And since God is now at the center of my life, and I am walking with him daily and have been for many years, the reaping is from the years of sowing solid, good, cultivated seed. The fruit of said seed is sweet and tastes fine. I was tired of eating bitter fruit. Nothing worse than biting into a bitter cucumber…or finding half a worm in your apple.

I hope today you are blessed, and that wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you know God loves you, His goodness and mercy is following you, and you can see the goodness of God in the land of the living today. God bless, fellow travelers!

Life Coaching: The Good Samaritan

Early this morning as I was walking Trixie, I started thinking about the parable of the Good Samaritan—what it means and how can apply it to my life today. I admit Trixie wasn’t the least bit mindful of my morning musings because she proceeded to get on the grass and do what all good doggies do when they’re walked. I get no respect…

Samaritans and Jews hated one another. In fact, one translation calls him, despised Samaritan. The aminosity goes all the way back to the vision of the northern and southern kingdoms. You can do a quick Google search and read all about it. To put it briefly, Samaritans weren’t eager to help Jews, and Jews weren’t eager to accept such help. The Bible doesn’t tell us if there were words exchanged between the Samaritan and the Jewish man. My mental playing out of the parable views it as the Jewish man beaten unconscious, thereby rendering him incapable of speech for at least a while; however, this is only my imagination. We can’t really know what was exchanged between the two. But, we can know this because the Bible says it…the Samaritan was moved to compassion, dressed the Jewish man’s wounds, put him in his donkey and carried him to get the care he needed.

What moved the Samaritan to compassion? It was seeing the state of the Jewish man. It was looking at him lying there by the side of the road, bleeding and broken, left for dead. And the Samaritan knew he could do something about it. What is our take away from this parable? What can we learn and apply on today’s society?

People are hurting all around us—your neighbor, your coworker, your friend. What are we doing about it? Are we merely keyboard warriors, or are we feet on the ground soldiers, in the trenches, helping others? It’s easy to post a meme. It’s hard to hold the hand of the hurting and watch them take their last breath. It requires something of us.

We worry about what’s taking place one thousand miles away, yet what are we doing at our own back door? If you feel called of God to move to the darkest corner of the earth and spread the gospel, by all means, go. That’s a very noble and true calling, and it’s needed. But we are ALL called to love our neighbor. Every.single.one of us has that calling. And the easiest, most immediate way to do that is to show them. Show them love. Show them compassion. Show them Christ. I think we Christians have somehow lost that. Somewhere in the noise of the world, we have ignored the cry right next door.

I am writing this on a Sunday, gloomy and rainy, before church. I’m thinking about getting ready (I haven’t actually worked myself up to the actual getting ready phase just yet), and yet here I sit. I write these things because I know we are all guilty In some way of ignoring the cries of the broken. My question is this: What are we gonna do about it? Are we gonna continue to post meaningless drivel on social media, or are we actually gonna try to help the one we can—our neighbor? Helping our neighbor is a messy business. It means we have to care. We have to be inconvenienced. We have to take our face away from our phones for a hot minute. But the rewards are great, both now and eternal. And the greatest reward is this—it will please God immensely to see His children emulating His Son.

Surviving Widowhood: Grief Recovery

I watched a video this week featuring Dog The Bounty Hunter. He recently lost his wife to cancer, and he was pretty broken up about it. It was heart breaking to see this tough, burly, street-smart man weep like a baby. He obviously loved his wife very much, which you could tell, if you’ve ever watched his TV show. It touched my heart, and I’m still thinking about it a few days later.

Even though some of us may have experienced anticipatory grief (for example, if your loved one had been given a terminal diagnosis, and was ill for a while), the pain and shock of their passing still takes its toll. We grieve early, but it seems to me, the grieving process may be longer because we grieve both before and after.

Dog The Bounty Hunter was positive his wife was gonna beat cancer and be healed. She didn’t and she wasn’t. She died, leaving Dog to sort through both his unrealized expectations and his grief. Has anyone else had that happen to them? Asking God to heal, yet He doesn’t? And I know some are going to say, “Oh, it’s the ultimate healing. They’re in heaven!” Tell that to the distraught husband cradling his lost loved one in his arms after an 18 month battle with cancer. Or tell that to a parent who just got the news their daughter died from an overdose. Or tell that to a wife who is sitting alone in a hospital waiting room when the doctor comes in and tells her her husband lost his battle with heart disease. Tell that to the mother who suffered a stillborn birth. Tell that, and see what response you get.

Im not questioning the veracity of the statement. I’m questioning the wisdom of it. Yes, of course, we are healed when we get to heaven. What has that got to do with what happens here on earth? We who have lost a spouse do not want to hear that and, in absolute honestly, it ticks us off. We don’t need a reminder of the prayers that went unanswered and seemingly ignored.

Tell us instead that you love us. Tell us a story about how our loved one impacted your life. Tell us you are praying for us. Tell us you are there for us when others have gone and forgotten our grief. Tell us our grief is okay. Tell us we are not going to die and we still have purpose. Tell us to breathe. But don’t mouth pithy phrases. Silence is better. If you don’t know what to say, hug us sit silently with us and cry with us. Be the awkward friend at that moment and we will love you for it forever.

After being a widow for a little over five years, I can tell you, things do change. Perspective changes. Things get better and our futures get brighter. Different isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it’s only whatever you make it. We survive, we live, we dream, and we perhaps love again, if we’re lucky. But make no mistake—we are never the same as we used to be. I don’t mean that negatively. What I mean is we are changed, but we aren’t necessarily altered in a negative way. For me, I am a better person having survived widowhood. I am a more compassionate person having watched the suffering of one I loved. I am a more patient person with people. I love more and I live more. I recognize how short life is. I see how important it is to grab time and hold it close to my heart when I babysit my grandkids. I laugh more when I’m out with a friend. I tell people I love them, when before I would’ve been mostly silent about it. Because this one statement, this is true—LIFE IS SHORT!

Please don’t think I’m being fussy today. I’m not. I’m merely writing what was on my heart after watching a man who seemingly has everything weep for his spouse. It touched my heart, and hence today’s blog. God bless, everyone!

Life Coaching: Self-Confidence and Little Foxes

Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.

Song of Solomon 2:15

I do not want to get up this morning. I’m sleepy and I’m grumpy. Watch out, world!

My video this week was about self-confidence and things you can do to regain it. Is that something you’ve struggled with? What did you do about it? How did you overcome the negative self talk that persists in driving your day? I am convinced negative self talk is one of the most destructive “little fox” to ever spoil the vines. The struggle is a very real one. I’ve never met a single woman who didn’t deal with it in one way or another. Some have just learned how to shut it down.

Our spirits are tender things, sensitive to offense and sensitive to the voice of the Shepherd (or they should be). But often we have so much jabber going on in our heads, we can’t hear what God is trying to say to us. Things like l love you” and “you are wonderfully made.” Important things like that. God wants us to know that because, in some ways, we are our own worse enemy.

Today, practice this: When you begin to hear yourself tell yourself (that’s a LOT of “yourselfs”!) you can’t, you won’t, you did, you didn’t, stop for a moment and tell yourself “yes I can, yes I will, no I didn’t, and yes I did.” Tell yourself that God has a plan and a purpose in your life and that you’re living it out right now! Even if your circumstances appear bleak, your spirit and your attitude can soar, if you let them.

Look, I’m not hear to tell you everything is gonna be all right. Sometimes things are NOT all right. Sometimes those little foxes eat all the grapes, tear down the vines and spread rabies. This is fact and let’s not sugarcoat the truth. However, if we approach difficulty with the attitude of joy, peace and confidence in both God and ourselves, we greatly increase our chances for success. We can have confidence in ourselves because we can look back at our struggles in the past and say two things: 1) we made it through alive, and now we can learn from our past, and 2) We can do everything through God’s strength because that’s true and honorable strength.

Well, I’m gonna get my lazy and grumpy self out of bed and work out this morning…I can’t believe I even wrote those words, but it’s been a long time coming. Have a blessed day, fellow Ninjas!

Life Coaching: God's Vision or Yours?

“If we lose the “heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible—not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled.” Oswald Chambers

What do we believe about God? This is a question I find myself pondering today in my lateness to get this blog posted. I was not on top of it this week, for sure, like I normally am. I procrastinated, mainly because I felt I had nothing of value to say. Yet, when I read this page from “My Utmost For His Highest,” Oswald Chambers said it better than I ever could.

We go about our daily business, work, family, baseball games, concerts, meal preparation, balancing the checkbook, laundry, eating, sleeping, loving, and yet, how much of God is really in our activities? How does going about our day honor God? Or better yet…what do we do on purpose to fulfill the calling and vision God has planted in each of our hearts? I can be single-minded at times, which is biblically better than being double-minded, I guess, but in that single-mindedness, do I leave God out of the equation and focus only on the task at hand? Even though my attention span is quite short (“Look—squirrel!!”), when I decide to hone in on something, Katie bar the door, as we say down here in the south! I will pursue that thing until it’s stomped into the ground like a dead snake. I do rather like this about myself, but in my pursuit, am I doing it with excellence and am I doing it alongside the Holy Spirit? Those or questions I ask myself and sometimes the answer is “no.”

How about you? What is one thing you KNOW God wants you to do, and yet you’re procrastinating? What’s stopping you from fulfilling your goals? How are you including God in your daily life? There is a great biblical example in the book of Judges. Jael was a woman on a mission. When General Sisera’s army tried to invade, the children of Israel had them on the run. General Sisera, fleeting for his very life, was beckoned into Jael’s tent, given warm milk to drink, and lulled to sleep. While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Jael took a tent peg and hammer, drove it clean through Sisera’s head right straight into the ground, pinning him there and killing him dead. Even though this is rather grisly, Jael was merely going about her daily life, when she saw the opportunity to make the defeat of the enemy complete. She used tools that were familiar to her—the tent peg and the hammer. I imagine many times in her life, she had used the same tent peg and hammer to pitch the family tent. She was proficient in their use. It was part of the daily, nomadic lifestyle of the Israelites. The point? When it was time for her to do warfare, she used the weapons SHE KNEW HOW TO USE BECAUSE THEY WERE PART OF HER EVERYDAY LIFE

Our daily lives are much more than the sum of our physical activities. While important, physical activity can’t replace spiritual activity. We can’t substitute busy-ness for spritual-ness. I just made those two words up, but don’t they fit, though? Take a quiet moment today and ask God, “Lord, have I lost my heavenly vision? If so, how can I get it back? “ He will show you and more importantly, He will love you through the missteps.

Have a great day, everyone!

Surviving Widowhood: Finding Your Purpose

No one ever said widow life was easy. It isn’t. It’s doggone difficult and some days you feel like you want to just crawl in a hole and stay there. Other days, you feel good, ready to take on the world and arm wrestle the devil. And those other days, the in between days, you feel like you’ve lost your purpose. Not quite ready to die, but doing no arm wrestling, either.

So often, we feel our purpose in life is wrapped up in our spouses. And when they’re gone, we feel our purpose has left with them. Let me say right here..:it’s perfectly normal to feel that way—perfectly normal. When the other half of a whole is missing, naturally we feel the loss. It takes God, time and prayer in order to recover from that type of loss. However, God created us with a purpose and that purpose did not change because we lost our spouse. It merely changed directions.

It takes a while to recover our bearings. That’s to be expected. But when we do, and we eventually do, we are faced with the question, “Now what?” Let me state right now…I do not know the answer to this question. Only God knows that. My “now what” will be different than yours. But you do have one. Even though it may feel like you will never breathe again, you will. You are here for a reason. You just need to just discover what it is.

My pastor spoke on Sunday about the first chapter of Genesis. His point was throughout the chapter the words “and God said,” was liberally interspersed throughout the book. At the end of the chapter in verse 31, one word changes…it goes from “God said” to “God saw.” The entire first chapter of Genesis is describing things that God spoke into being…things only He could’ve created. And at the finale of His creation, after speaking all of creation into existence, He saw the result of his handiwork was very good. In other words, God’s vision is the direct result of what He spoke. He spoke it, He molded it, He saw it—the result of what He envisioned all along—the things that were inside Him to create. Our purpose and vision function the same way. We speak, we act, we see. That’s the process.

The video today goes right along with this, so I’m gonna post a link below. Find your purpose. And do it! Don’t let anything stop you from fulfilling your calling.