When my Heart grows Weary… #goodness

colossal burst of sunshine blogKind words.

We all need them.

My heart so aches for them.

“Kind words are like honey.  Sweet to the souls and healthy for the body.”

Proverbs 16:24

In the midst of a perfectly awful day, someone’s gentle kindness awakens hope and helps us to put things back in perspective…

Oh, Lord, when my heart is weary and thoughts grow dim, how I thank You for those whose focus is on You and loving other’s…

My soul cries out for goodness… to see the best in other’s.

How I pray to be a blessing to someone today!

I love You, Jesus,

In Your name, I pray,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Proverbs 11:27

 

In Your Sorrow… He is Near… #goodness

his tender voice calls out your name blogIn your sorrow, He is near…

“Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 

She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 

“Why are you crying?”   the angels asked her. 

Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 

She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her.  It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.

“Why are you crying?”  Jesus asked her.  “Who are you looking for?” 

She thought he was the gardener. 

“Sir,”  she said, “If you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” 

“Mary!”  Jesus said

She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”

How perfect is His love….

Dear Friend….

He is near… especially in our sorrow.

Mary… Oh, how she wanted Jesus… She wanted to see him, touch, him… She wanted His precious body to be safe in her arms…

She so loved and cherished Him…

Her heart was broken into a million pieces, and there He was!

In the midst of her deepest sorrow…

There He was!

She sought Him…

And He was there.

How I pray our hearts to surrender…

That we would search for Him. Let Him in, and let Him be close…

Dear Heavenly Father, How I thank You for such love.  For Your amazing gentleness and calmness in the midst of our storms.  May we seek You, and let You be our heart’s desire.

How I pray we would hear Your tender voice call our name…

That we would be still and Know that You are God.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“You are my refuge and my shield; Your word is my only source of hope..”

Psalm 119:114

“Be still and know that I am God”

Psalm 46:10

Walk in peace today.. remembering He is near :)

Cling to What is Good… #goodness

be nice to people

Praying God’s goodness, hope and peace in and around our lives today…

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Cling to what is good..”

Romans 12:9b

Searching For Good?

if you search for good...I love this…

“If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!”

Proverbs 11:27

My natural instinct is to always want to find the good in any situation… I hate even the thought of confrontation, anger and resentment.

Evil is such a strong word, and sometimes it’s hard for me to remember that bad and evil have an agenda….

By instinct I want to protect myself.  What I have learned, and what this scripture is telling us is powerful!

If you find yourself in a situation of judgment or resentment, and you are carelessly letting feelings of darkness, turn your eyes away from whatever is good…

look out!

This scripture says the evil will find you…

How true is that?!

How many times I have opened the door to this course of action… enough to have been stung and stung again!

It seems that evil will always be present…. especially when good is wanting to shine the light of hope!

It is my heart’s desire to seek God’s hope in all things…

To know that God asks us to search for good gives me the strength to believe that He honors that.

He will give us favor in the situation, and He will turn the tide.

Obedience is the key.

Search for good… and you WILL find favor…

Dear Father, These words are pure delight to my soul. You are good….

 Thank You for shinning Your light of truth so brightly.  My heart can so easily be consumed by the darkness I see.  Thank You for clarity and light!

Thank You that I don’t have to be sucked into the darkness…

You are my way out…

Help me to memorize this scripture.

To write it on my heart, and recall it daily…

“If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!”

Proverbs 11:27

Thank You, Oh Lord, that You have plans to prosper and not to harm me… You have plans to give me hope and a future…

What more can I ask for…

You truly love me..

You Give me the strength I need, to be the woman You know I want to be…

Strong and loving… Hopeful and joyful…

Thankful and giving…

Secure in You.

Consumed by who You are…

I love You, Father…

Keeping my eyes on You.. Searching for the good.

Letting go of what is evil…

Walking in the light…

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Beauty is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord, is to be praised..”

Proverbs 31:30

Walk in peace, sweet friends…

You Are Set Apart…

amazing people just dont happen“And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”

Romans 8:30

God chose You!

He called you out by name, and sealed you with the blood of Jesus…

He knew you before you were in your mother’s womb…

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5

We were chosen to make a difference in your world.. to let the light of God’s hope and the beauty of God’s grace shine bright in and through your heart…

You are on purpose and for a purpose…

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;

God chose the weak things of the wold to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly thngs of the world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the thinhgs that are.  So that no one may boast before Him.

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

1 Corinthians 1:26

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Where is the wise man?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has God not made foolish the things of this world?.  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”

1 Corinthians 1:20

Today Is Beautiful…

today is beautifulStaying in His light of love… Walking in the beauty of His grace…

Turning my back on the darkness… Trusting God with my days…

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your great love, hope and redemption…

You are my God, and I thank You for Your beauty…

Today is beautiful, and I will walk in Your goodness…

I love You, Jesus,

In Your Name, I pray,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Give Your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you.  He will not permit the Godly to slip and fall..”

Psalm 55:22

 

Guilt..

guiltEver feel stuck?

Your mind can’t rest.. You don’t know what’s wrong, maybe you just feel uneasy…

The days keep rolling on, and so do your  thoughts….

“Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!  Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable and I groaned all day long.  Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.  My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat…

Finally I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them.  I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” 

And You forgave me!  All my guilt is gone…”

Psalm 32 1-5

God can use our guilt to draw us into His presence of light, hope and love…

Forgiveness is a word that heals.. cleanses, and softens our hearts…

God longs to be near to us in all our dark and weary places… especially those places in our hearts where we have shut the door, and thrown away the key!

Sometimes, I sit down to have my quiet time with God, my mind races…

The truth is I find myself not wanting to sit still..I feel uncomfortable, rushed… even wanting to move from the light.

But the best thing to do is let the light shine bright.  Let God’s beauty and goodness draw the darkness from your heart, and hand it to Him in a sliver platter…

Give him all the hurtful words, thoughts, or actions that grip your soul… Trust Him to set Your heart free..

It is a great exchange.. your sin for His goodness.

“Finally I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them.  I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” 

And You forgave me!  All my guilt is gone…”

Psalm 32:5

Trust Him in this and see your heart freed and your soul renewed…

Dear Heavenly Father, How I thank you for Your forgiveness and light always bleeding through my heart..

How I thank You for your gentle nudge of uneasiness in my soul… You draw me into Your courts that I might be cleansed… refreshed and renewed.

Thank You…

Lord, You are so good, and I thank You for loving me.

Today, how I praise You for refreshing my heart, use me to refresh those who are heavy laden and looking for hope…

I love You, Jesus..

In Your name I pray,

Amen

“Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. 

For You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble.  You surround me with songs of victory.. The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you.”

Psalm 32:8-9

Live in Love,

Lisa

To You, Oh Lord, be the glory…

Generous Love…

oh how he loves usI was drawn to this story…

Hardened hearts, jealousy, and power.

How easy it would be to find ourselves here, if we are not aware of God’s beauty and grace..

“Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.  Since it was the Sabbath, (and you weren’t supposed to do any work) Jesus’ enemies watched Him closely. 

Would He heal this man’s hand on the Sabbath?  If He did, they planned to condemn Him.  Jesus said to the man, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” Then He turned to His critics, and asked, “Is it a day for doing harm? Is this a day to save or to destroy it? But they wouldn’t answer Him. 

He looked around at them angrily, because He was deeply disturbed by their hard hearts.

Then He said to the man, “Reach out your hand.” The man reached out His hand, and it became normal again!

At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to discuss plans for killing Jesus.

Mark 3:1-6

Crazy right!  They went away and discussed plans for killing Jesus.. They wouldn’t let themselves for one minute see any good…

How scary is that…

I feel like a hardened heart creeps up on us… We let our emotions, and our plans, dictate what we want, and when we don’t get exactly what we think we should…

Bad things start to happen.

I so need to be careful to lay my heart, my dreams, and my day in God’s presence.. Thanking Him.   Basking in His word of goodness and keeping myself in check.

It’s a journey for sure.. But love should always win :)

Dear Lord, I love You.  When I read this story, it makes me want to ask for forgiveness of my own heart,  which can be so judgmental, hardened, jealous or threatened…

Today is a good day to bask in Your generous love and goodness…

How I thank You for exposing what a hard heart looks like. That we don’t have to fear, or be threatened of the beauty You pour into our hearts.. Your love and beauty is flowing through us, so we can love other’s.. just as You love us.

I love that…

Thank You so so much!

How I pray this day; my heart, my thoughts, would be an extension of Your great love…

May other’s see Your light of hope in my eyes…

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Live in Love,

Lisa

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor sick people do.  I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough..”

Mark 2:17

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him..”

John 3:16

Peace be with you sweet friends…