He Reached Down From Heaven…

beauty

Have you ever felt pinned in?

Your mind racing.. searching for the right thing to say, the right thing to do…

Have you felt as if your spirit has been crushed…

Your heart is tired; your thoughts abound…

  You are not alone, Sweet Friend…

I was going through a really tough time not too long ago… My heart broken into a thousand pieces… I wanted to fix what was happening, but there was simply no way…

One morning as I sat there crying, I opened my Bible, and confessed my heart to God… I was weary, and broken…

And there was Our God…

His word filled my heart, mind and soul…

And it will yours too…

This is what He showed me; and He wants you to know the same…

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.  He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.  They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

but the Lord was my support.  He brought me out into a spacious place, Hew rescued me because He delights in me…”

Psalm 18:16-19

He delights in you…

How I pray for  my dear friend reading this… I pray you are  signing a huge sigh of relief…

Oh, Lord, You are so good.. thank You for always fighting for us; watching over us; and holding our hearts in your hands.  We will never ever be perfect… far from it!  But by your grace, we are comforted, restored and healed…

You are our knight in shinning armor.. Our king; and our redeemer..

Praising You, Heavenly Father…

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

There is Freedom…

where the spirit of the lord isFear.  Loneliness.  Pain.  Regret

All emotions that lurk around the dark corners of our minds…

In my life I have opened those doors all too many times, only to find more sadness, emptiness and sorrow!

I have learned that it is true.

” But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness…”

2 Corinthians 12: 9

In weakness we find God…

Amazing…

My days are full of voices and decisions. The world is loud; constantly pulling and tugging;  But the only true voice that brings peace, hope, and understanding is the voice of our God..  So in my weakness; depression, fear or regret there is goodness!

I can stop the pulling… the tugging.. the loudness

And

just live for today…

My weakness turns into strength when I know I can’t do life alone.  I need God.  My strength is in God’s voice. His unconditional love that sets me free from bondage and regret;; and His quiet whispers to love others as we love ourselves, to live in harmony;

 to live in love…

    His unconditional love and goodness being poured into my heart… setting me free from the whispers of failure, pride or self-condemnation…

To know that we are here for a purpose.. that our lives matter and that the maker of heaven and earth is deeply involved in our lives..

That is a beautiful thing…

Dear Heavenly Father, Your goodness in my weakness is such a blessing, and I thank you for your gentle and loving touch.  When my thoughts go grim, and my hope begins to fade, what a Joy to know that that is my moment to seek Your beauty.. To stop whatever it is I am doing, and enter Your courts with thanksgiving and praise. My life is in your hands.  May Your strength flow through my veins and encourage my heart as I pray to be a source of encouragement and light to others that may struggle with the same emotions… How I pray for Your love to set them free..

Your love and beauty amaze me…

In Jesus Name,

Psalm 121: 1-3 ” I lift up my eyes to the hills; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip; He who watches over you will not slumber…”

Romans 8: 28   “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.. ”

Isaiah 61: 3b ” To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…”

Live in Love,

Lisa

 

 

 

 

Beautiful in His Eyes…

todayOh, Lord, ” may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer…”

Psalm:14

What a constant battle this can be!

Dear God, to live a life beautiful in your eyes just makes me smile…As I am reminded that each new day opens itself to so many great opportunities to shine of the beauty and  love You so richly  lavish on us… I want to take this moment to seek Your presence, Father, to be still in Your sweet aroma…

Cleanse me, Oh Lord, I pray.  I lay down my thoughts that aren’t pleasing to you, and ask You to fill my heart with the beauty of Your love…

It’s not about people pleasing… saying or doing the “right thing”  (Which can always be my downfall)  It’s about the freedom of living my days to be beautiful in Your eyes…

May my words bring hope, love and comfort to this world of darkness…

And may all the glory be given to You as I am more and more able to live to please You; and not worry about what that looks like to anyone else…

Your smile is my heart’s desire…

I love You,

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen..

Living in Love,

Lisa

Nothing Can Separate You. Nothing…

He will provide“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can’t, and life can’t.  The angels can’t.  Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away…”

Romans 8:38

Nothing can separate us from Your love…

 How sweet is that sound…

Father, when I think of all the sadness, fear and frustration.  Self condemnation and worry my heart can face in a day, how grateful and amazing is it to be reminded that nothing… NOTHING can separate me from You…

Not our fears for today, or our worries for tomorrow…

Dear Heavenly Father, to be close to You…  To know that You are near, that is my heart’s desire. To walk with you;  hand in hand…  no matter what I am facing.  Keeping my heart open to Your light.  To Your love.  Praising You for your goodness; beauty and great hope, while letting the rest of my thoughts, simply fade away.  Knowing that You are one step ahead of me,  and believing my heart is in Your hands…

May your beauty, goodness and kindness be the overflow of my very soul, as I turn my eyes toward heaven.

Psalm 18: 1-15  “I love You Lord; You are my strength.  The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold.  I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, for He saves me from my enemies…”

Dear Lord, as I come into Your courts, I give you my heart, my life, my day… May your gentleness and peace flow through my veins, giving me the very air I need to walk and live in love…

In Jesus Name…

I pray…

Amen

Live in love

Sweet to the Soul….

sweet to the soulHow beautiful is this….

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones…”

Proverbs 16:24

I love all of those words…

Sweet… Pleasant…Honeycomb… Soul… Healing…

Isn’t it amazing how one kind, sweet or gentle word can change your whole day…

Dear Heavenly Father, How beautiful You are… Help me to use my words wisely…  To breathe your beauty and goodness into the lives of others especially those who are searching for hope…

I know first hand that kindness matters, and how much a kind word can lift my spirits and help me to gain perspective… It’s so super easy to be led down a trail of harsh words, self-righteous actions and unjust criticism.. But those words, that trail… always leaves my heart empty,… broken and wanting…

which is quite the opposite of …

Sweet, pleasant… nourishing and healing…

Thank you for Your beauty, Your goodness and Your perfect example of gentle loving kindness…

May my heart and day be a reflection of Your great love…

In Jesus Name,

Amen..

I love You, Jesus

Proverbs 16:16  “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver..”

Live in Love,

Lisa

 

“It’s a bad bad day..”

kindness flowersI got to go out to breakfast this morning…

So fun!

 As we walked up to the hostess station, the cute, not so happy, girl says…”2?”

“Yep, :)”

My husband says, and without even looking up at us, she grabs two menus,  flips her ponytail around, and starts walking,  off we go!  Without a word said,  she places the menus down at a table squished between two other business men.

 My husband starts to say, “Do you think we could sit …”  And, as if we weren’t even there, she walks away heading in a bee line straight to the kitchen!

 Whoa…

 So, there we are,  just standing in the middle of the room, looking at each other, like…

“What just happened?!”

As we look at each other,  processing the situation, another woman walks over to us, and again, my husband says, “Do you think we could sit over there…”  and points to an open table on the other side of the room…

Sure!

The woman says, and we follow her.  “Thanks”, we say.  She grabs 2 menus, and with a smile asks us if we would like some coffee…

“That would be great… Thanks”

Looking around, we both kinda start complaining to each other, the words to a song from the movie

“Despicable me”

start playing in my head…

“It’s a bad bad day, despicable me, if you take it personal that’s okay… “

Hahahaha…

I start singing it to my husband, we both start laughing..

She was definitely having a bad bad day… and didn’t care if we took it personal!

That was okay…

  As I watched her move around the restaurant… She was obviously stressed, and doesn’t want to be there.. My heart begins to tug at me, and I realize that  this is not personal..

Something is wrong…

Maybe she has a little one who is home sick, or maybe she is going through a heart wrenching divorce, or maybe she is fighting with someone she loves…

or maybe worse…

My heart grows 3 sizes, as I begin to pray for her..

I wonder how many times I too have treated someone like they didn’t even exist… Stress will do that… for sure!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me that it’s always about love…That we wont always be treated the way we think we should be, or the way we would hope we would treat others.. That’s not what this was about.  This was a sweet, priceless opportunity to let Your loving kindness… Your grace and goodness exhibit itself through my words, and actions… Thank You for this gentle reminder, and how I pray for that sweet girls heart… Oh, Lord, thank You for loving me, and reminding me, that this was an Opportunity … rejoice and be glad.

May we pray for opportunities to love others…

I love you Heavenly Father,

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Ephesians 4: 31-32   “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you..”

Psalm  5:11  “But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing of  joy..”

Romans 12:9  “Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; and cling to what is good..”

Live in Love,

Lisa

 

Just Breathe..

breathe in breathe out move onI woke up this morning feeling a bit discouraged, but I couldn’t pin point why… As I got myself up, pushed myself to the coffee pot, poured my morning coffee.. My thoughts began to multiply, and negativity began to overtake me.. then sadness!  Then, like waking up from a bad dream, I realized, ” Danger.. Danger, Will Robinson” (Remember that show?? Lol  Lost in Space!)

Hey, what am I doing!

“I lift my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?  My help comes from Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth…”

Psalm 121: 1-2

And just like that I snapped out of it… Whoa!  How quickly I was drowning!

I ‘super hate’  when that happens!!  Hahaha

Living above the weeds, Living in the light, Loving other’s as yourself….

Breathe in… Breathe out..

“He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber”

Awwwsome!

Oh, Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this morning’s wake up call!  Thank You for always fighting for me, and always turning my eyes toward heaven… I am bringing you all of my thoughts, and asking You to replace them with thoughts of You… thoughts of Your hope, love and inspiration…

May I walk in Your grace, fully surrendered.. fully aware of Your precious presence…

 Thank You for Your sunshine and love

In Jesus, Name…

How I love You,

Amen…

Galatians 6:9   “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up, therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers..”

Keep living forward…

The Beauty of It All…

flowersFlowers.. When in full bloom… How beautiful!

Someone once showed me a great example of what a Christian life should look like…As we were talking, she noticed a beautiful, in full bloom flower, as we walked over to admire it, she looked at me, and then at the flower; and said… You are this flower, it’s open, in full bloom,  transparent…. it’s not like any other flowers, and it’s beautiful.

I love that!

As I have thought about that statement over the years, the more I understand, the depths of what she was saying.  If we live our life in full bloom, daily being nourished by God’s love; we wont want, or need to get all tangled up in the roots;  in the depths of the dark soil.

The dark soil of gossip, judgment, and deception.. where thoughts start to close in, and your mind feels like it’s being taken over by your evil twin…

That is no way to live!

It is my prayer that I would stay away from the weeds… to stay above the ground, living a life in full bloom… that is where there is no confusion, plenty of fresh air;  and lots and lots of light.. The light of beauty, hope and goodness…

I pray we would bask in His light… Breathe in His beauty and grace.

That we would live to love, and when we feel that pull that draws us to the weeds, to the darkness of the soil, how I pray we would; stop.. do not dwell there. But instead, we would turn our  eyes toward heaven, toward God’s  beauty and amazing  grace, that I would shine of that beautiful flower, and not be touched by the soil…

“Whatever is Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely… think on these things…”

Phil 4:8

I love You, Heavenly Father, your beauty, hope and love encourage my heart to live in love.. to guard my thoughts, and to keep my face turned toward heaven.. Thank You for today.  Thank You for Your beauty; and Thank You for your grace…  I pray I would shine of these beautiful truths; and may other lives be touched… and hearts set free.  What a blessing it is to live above the weeds…

How I love You,

In Jesus Name,

Amen

“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin..”

1 John 1:7

Live in Love,

Lisa

 

Today is a New Day….

shine onWhen situations arise, and you have to choose; I pray I would choose love…

I have missed plenty of these opportunities for sure!   What I have gleaned though; is when I choose to retaliate, or push my point….  I.  Am the one.  I have to live with…

Yuck…

When I am alone; and there is nothing but quiet… my mind will not rest..

Uggg!

So, so hate that feeling!

Peace in who God is, peace in who I want to be in Christ, and peace that transcends all understanding is my heart’s desire…

“Love is patient, love is kind… it does not envy… and it keeps no record of wrongs.”

1 Corin 13:4

Dear Heavenly Father, Good Morning!  Thank you that Your love shines through our hearts. How I love that!    May Your wisdom and grace be my guide… As I go through my day today, may your love shine in what I say, and what I do. I want to shine of Your beauty and goodness that others will want to know You more.  Letting go of myself and living in your glorious light!  May your beauty shine wherever we go…

I love You, Father,

In Jesus name,

Amen

 ” Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God..”

Matthew 5:9

Let Your Love Shine on…Today is a new day :)

Live in Love..

 

 

Don’t Worry… Be Happy…

let not your heart be troubled…When it seems like thoughts and emotions from the past begin to shade the light of who God is today;  When you start to bur ray yourself  with, “I wish I would have..”  or “Maybe I should have…”  When guilt, confusion, sadness start to creep in; It’s time to reposition yourself.  These thoughts are like a dark room… no windows, no sunshine, no where to turn..

I was having one of those days, not too long ago, and my mom said;  “Oh, Lisa, you just got to reposition yourself… just a little,”  Then she turned my shoulders just a “liiitttle”  to the right…

How sweet that was, and how my heart cried…

 If we will just reposition ourselves a little to the right.. out of the darkness; out of the shade, right into the beauty and warmth of God’s loving Son.. His arms always outstretched, calling you to run to Him as fast as you can!

 Can you Picture Him waiting for you?

 Bent down on one knee, arms open wide.. He has the most precious, gentle and welcoming smile on His face.  He motions you to Himself… and when you get to Him, His arms wrap around you; and He holds you ever  so close;  He picks you up, swirls you around and says… “I got you”

 His light pierces the darkness, and the darkness is gone..

My, Dear, precious, Heavenly Father… Your light is the very warmth of my soul.  I am in awe of Your love for me; a sinner… thank You that You are perfect, that your love is perfect, so I don’t have to be.  You are my rock, and my refuge.  I so thank You that I don’t have to be anyone but who you made me to be.. I am your daughter, and I am trusting you, always, with my heart…

I love you…

In Jesus Name,

Amen

“The Lord is my light; and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.  So we say with confidence, ” The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid…”

Heb 13:5  Deut. 31:6  Ps 118:6-7

1 John 4:18 ” There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Live in Love,

Lisa