Monthly Archives: January 2014

High Anxiety…

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high anxiety blogIt creeps up on me like a long lost friend…

“I’m good,”  I tell myself, “I got this”… I even thank God for His peace and whisper to Him that I trust Him, and need Him…

Then from the depths of my fears… I start to acknowledge a voice I somehow think I should..

I feel anxious, rushed.. I feel myself start to obsess and worry.  I begin to condemn my thoughts, but discouragement and fear have begun to settle  in…

That voice is not my friend..

That voice turns my peace into confusion.. My hope into dismay…

That is the voice of my enemy..

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for calling my name.  Thank You that I don’t have to listen or give credence to the voice of despair.  Thank You that because of Your great love for me, I can simply look away…

” 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…”

Psalm 121: 1-3

Yours, Oh Lord, is the voice of comfort. and peace that transcends all understanding..

  As I come before You, Father, I lay my fears, and worries down, I thank You that when I come before You, I know  I can trust You with my heart..

I know that it is Your desire that I be filled with Your hope.  Your goodness..

Your gentleness and spirit..

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again; Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near. 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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..”

Philippians 4: 7

Your sweet voice calms and stills my spirit..

You fill me with Your goodness and grace bringing light to my eyes and hope to my soul..

For that I am so very grateful.  So today, Heavenly Father, I turn my eyes to You.  I turn away from the voice of despair and put my heart back in Your hands..

Thank You so much for Your truth.  Your Hope.  And Your goodness..

Help me to forgive.  Help me to love.  Help me to draw other’s into Your glorious light of goodness and grace..

Help me to live a life of love…

I choose You…

In Jesus Name, I pray..

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“The Lord will keep you from all harm.  He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

Psalm 121: 7

Thank You, Lord, for Your great protection…

Have a happy day!

Waiting For God…

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waiting for God blogWaiting on God..

Trusting in Him to guide my path, open new doors, and lead me in the way I should go, can be such a struggle in my heart…

Not wanting to be lazy, or fearing what other’s think can cause such turmoil in my spirit…

This Psalm reminds me of God’s unmistakable peace.  Goodness.  And presence in our lives…

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.  He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams.  He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.”  (V 1-3)

Dear Heavenly Father, You are my heart.. My very breath, and everything I need.. thank You for Your rest and peace.. You fill my heart with such hope and strength.. Thank You that I can depend on You for guidance, and that I don’t have to have it all figured out…

May my life bring You honor, as I rest in Your leading..

“Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.  Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me.  You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings”.  (V 3-5)

Oh, Lord, it’s so hard when the path feels dark, and I see no light.. thank You that I don’t have to fear for You are near… Your rod and staff are protecting me.. giving me such comfort and peace…

How I praise Your Holy Name..

That You prepare a table before me with such a feast of goodness in the presence of my enemies, fills my heart with such gladness…I can feel so undeserving of Your great love, yet You chose to anoint my head with oil…

My heart overflows with love and so much joy…

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” (V 6)

Psalm 23: 1-6

Oh, Dear Father, thank You.  I sense Your goodness and unfailing love pursuing me…  I bow before You, accepting and believing I am Yours…

And I will live in Your house forever…

I am truly and forever so thankful for who You are..

My Father, and My God.. My King and my Redeemer..

Blessed be Your name..

I pray Your precious truths in my heart, and over my life…

In Jesus’ Holy Name,

Amen..

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Trust in the Lord with all of Your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways submit  to Him, and He will make your path straight.”

Proverbs 3:5

 

Not By Chance..

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not by chance blogIt is not by chance that You know the touch of God…

‘When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

“Well, they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets”

Then He asked them, Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

“Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in Heaven has revealed this to you.  You did not learn this from any human being..”

Matthew 16: 1-17

Your life.  Your faith.  Your love for God…

All because God choose to show himself to us.

Jesus told Peter, “You are blessed, because my Father in Heaven has revealed this to you.  You did not learn this from any human being..” (Mt 16:17)

How amazed and astonished must Simon have felt at that moment..?

How amazed and astonished does that make me feel..?

God chose to reveal Himself to us…

To me.  To you..

The God of this whole universe, has blessed us with knowing Him.

How He loves us.

Dear Heavenly Father, to know and be reassured that my life.. my faith, and my desire to know You more is not by chance, fills me with such thanksgiving and hope.  To see the words You said to Simon, is such a treasure and I thank You so so much for revealing yourself to me..

Thank You for Your grace.  Thank You that my life is continually being cleansed and renewed for You great glory, that I would be a light to those who are searching for your great hope and salvation..

How I pray I would be an extension of Your love to those who cross my path today…

I love You, Jesus..

In Your Name, I pray,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works so, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do..”

Ephesians 2: 8-10

Our Inner Most Beings…

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exactly how God made you I know what it feels like to struggle with depression, fear… uncertainty, and self-esteem…

I know that each day I wake up, I can start with a smile, but hopelessness, sadness or isolation can creep in at any moment…

 I know exercising and eating right always play a part in our mental health, but,,, all in all, if I’m honest with myself… I seem to have this struggle at my core…

I can pretend that I have it all covered, but that’s just living a lie.

The truth is. Without my hope in God’s love for me…

I would be a mess…

I know it is Him who covers me.. Who bleeds His beauty and hope into those dark places and ugly thoughts…

It is Him who calls me to Himself.

He is my hope and my very life line.

I have come to understand that God in His all-knowing, and all loving way, Can use us, just as we are.

We are not lost; or overlooked, I am who I am for a reason..

My prayer is that you will trust God with who you are too…

Just the way you are.

I pray you will let Him encourage you.  Let God’s word help you to know Him better and see that He is good..

To know that you are not alone.  You are not crazy.. You are just you..

And you are beautiful in God’s eyes…

“For You created my innermost being You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, IO know that full well.. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in you book before one them came to be, How precious to me are your thoughts, O God. How vast is the sum of them..”

Psalm 139: 13-18

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your unconditional love.  Thank  you that you have designed us each individually and through my experiences and trials, I choose You.  I choose to be completely and utterly transparent in Your eyes..

That I may be filled with Your hope.. Your goodness and Your mercies..

Because of who you have designed me to be, from my inner most parts, I can bring You glory, honor and praise..

And I love that..

May our heart’s desire be to know You more, that other’s would see Your loving kindness in and through us..

That they too would know how very much You love them…

That would be awesome..

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Oh Lord, You have searched me and You know me, You know when I sit and when I rise, You perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord, You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me too lofty for me to attain…”

Psalm 139: 1-6

“May He grant your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.  May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory flying banners to honor our God.  May the Lord answer all your prayers..”

Psalm 20: 4-5

Rescued…

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rescued blogHelp me to keep my eyes on You, Oh, Lord…

Then Peter called to him,

” Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”  “All right, come,”  Jesus said. 

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 

But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink, “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 

Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed him,  “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said, “Why did you doubt me? 

And when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped Him. 

“You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed..”

Matthew 14:29-33

How many times, in a single day, can my mind start doubting in God’s goodness for me..

Ahhhh.. a lot :/

I find such comfort and sweet refuge in the stories of the disciples..

They were in the presence of Jesus.

They were watching miracle after miracle, yet deep down.. someplace in their heart of hearts… they too struggled…

When I think of this story, it’s interesting to note that just a few hours before this happened, Jesus fed about five thousand tired and hungry people with five loaves of bread, and two fish!

Jesus had the disciples bring him the loves of bread and two fish.  Then He looked up to heaven, and asked God’s blessing on it…

How amazed must they all have been when they fed the five thousand people and even had left overs???

Amazed… but not fully changed.

That’s so true of my life too…

I believe God loves me.  I believe that God has great plans for me.  I believe Jesus died for me.  Saved me.  Rescued me.. yet I can doubt that He can change me.

When times are good, I know that the hand of God is the reason…

I know that.

Why then in my struggles should I doubt…

Thank You, Heavenly Father for this sweet story of Your love and faithfulness to Your friends…

You were their to feed the hungry… You were there to calm the storm…

All we need to do is call Your name.

Maybe Your answer doesn’t look like we want it to, but You always answer with your hand reached out, and Your heart calling our name…

How I thank You, for such amazing grace…

I love You, Jesus…

May my heart be full, my hand ready to reach out, and Your name on my lips…

I love You,

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“He reached down from Heaven and rescued me; He drew me out of deep waters.. He delivered me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at the moment when I was weakest, but the Lord upheld me.  He led me to a place of safety.  He rescued me because He delights in me..”

Psalm 18: 18-19

Thank You, Jesus…

I Am Whole In You…

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i am whole in you blog“As for God, His way is perfect.  All the Lord’s promises prove true.  He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection…”

Psalm 18:30

I love that!

God’s way is perfect.

He is a shield for all who look for His protection…

Protection can mean so many things at different times in our lives.

Protection from someone, something or even our own thoughts!

When I feel overwhelmed by someone, I cry out to God for protection…

When I feel consumed by something, I cry out to God for protection..

When I know my mind is wandering off to places of darkness or confusion…

I cry out to God for protection..

“For who is God except the Lord.  Who but our God is a solid rock?”

Psalm 18:31

He is my Lord.  He is my hope, and He is my protection…

And that is pure joy…

Good Morning, Dear Heavenly Father… What a joy it is to know You are my solid rock…

May Your loving protection that covers me, give me the strength to open my heart.

To know You better…

To trust You more..

You are my hope, and my strength…

How I thank You for that so so much.

 I am whole in You…

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“God arms me with strength: He has made my way safe.  He makes me as surefooted as a deer, leading me safely along the mountain heights…”

Psalm 18:32-33

 

A Cleansed Heart…

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a renewed heart blogTrusting God with all of my heart.. kneeling in prayer, cleansed by His grace..

Each New day His glory renown…

“I love You, Lord, You are my strength..”

Psalm 18: 1

The beauty of His goodness.. The hope of His face..

“I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise..”

Psalm 18:3

Thank You, Dear Father, for hearing my prayer.  For lifting my head and covering my fear…

“But in my distress, I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help.  He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry reached His ears..”

Psalm 18:6

Your love is my armor.  Your hope is my guide..

How I love You, Dear Father… Your mercies I’ve found..

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”

Psalm 118:29

Childlike Faith…

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child like faith blogWhen we humble ourselves, seeking to know God more.

Trusting God to lead our lives, guide us and direct us…

We are taking the first step.

God beckons our hearts to come to Him.  He wants to give us rest.  He wants us to listen, take His yoke, and learn..

He is gentle and humble, and He so wants to give our hearts and minds rest…

And the second step is this.

In exchange for us coming to Him, He takes our struggles, heart aches, and confusion, and replaces them with Himself…

He gives us hope, life and light…

“Come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light..”

Matthew 11:28-30

Good Morning, Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for your constant perusing of my heart…

Today, as I come before You, I ask for the courage and strength to believe Your words.. That You are humble and gentle and Your burden is light…

I lay down the heavy load I am carrying of worry, fear, doubt or pain…

(Take a minute and talk to God about Your worry… be honest and talk with Him… )

I trust You with it all..

I want to seek to know You better, and  trust You more…

I want to live in the light of all that is good.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Then Jesus prayed this prayer; “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.  Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way…”

Matthew 11: 25-26

Thank You for loving me, Jesus…

With All of Your Heart…

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with all of your heart blog“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My souls thirsts for God, for the living God..”

Psalm 42 1-2

I so understand the desperation of these words…

There have been times in my life when I have felt so distant from God.. My heart was heavy and my soul thirsting…

This scripture opened my eyes and helped to understand that I was not crazy, abandoned or lost.

Other’s from old felt this way too…

What I have come to understand; is that this deep void I was feeling, was a real need, and only God could fill it…

So I had two choices…

I could run from this pulling of my heart

or

 I could meet it dead on…

I tried running.. keeping busy.. watching Reba lol.. (one of my all time favorite shows to watch;)  I just  had no time to surrender.. busy, busy, busy!! That didn’t turn out well at all.. just sayin!

So once I put my big girl pants on, I was ready to make a commitment to seek God’s presence..

To surrender my life into His hands, and meet him daily in His temple…

It was a rough start.  But I knew if I wanted to “Love God with all of my heart” I needed to know Him.

Do you find yourself feeling distant from God?  Thirsting to know Him better?

If that’s you, let me encourage you, sweet friend…

Make a commitment to yourself to read His word daily…

Start with the Psalms, and let His tender voice of love and goodness draw you into His presence.. Let Him speak sweetly to You..

He will feel all the empty places.. Cover you will hope and gladness…

Because that’s who He is, and that’s what He does..

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your souls and with all your strength and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment”

Matthew 22:37

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you.  He rises to show you compassion..”

Isaiah 30:18

The Harvest is Great…

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the harvest is great blog“He (Jesus) felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help.  They were like sheep without a shepherd.  He said to the disciples, “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send out more workers for His fields..”

Matt 9:36

When I read this my heart filled with awe and wonder.. Jesus felt great pity for the people.

pity (ˈpɪtɪ) —n, pl pities: 1. sympathy or sorrow felt for the sufferings of another: 2. have pity on, take pity on to have sympathy or show mercy for.

(Yahoo dictionary)

His love and compassion is what draws us to Him…

Jesus asked the disciples to pray.  Pray to God for more workers to help with the hurting people..

Have you answered that call in Your life?

To me it’s a daily event.. To reach out, listen or sometimes physically help someone in need..

Heart’s are broken.  Lives are torn apart.  Money is scarce.. Advice is needed.

A smile, a hug.. A phone call or text…

“The harvest is great, and the workers are few…”

Dear Heavenly Father, I love You.  How I praise and worship You.. Your love for us is never-ending, Your mercies and compassion overflowing…

As I thank You for this new day, I pray I would be aware of the harvest…

That You would give me the desire and strength to reach out to someone In my day that may be in need… that I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to love and listen…

Remind me that it’s day by day.. moment by moment.  That’s all that is required of me…

Use my life, Dear Lord, to bring You glory.. to help the hurting and lost see Your great goodness and love…

Thank You for Your overflowing mercies…

In Jesus name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom..”

James 3:13