Home Is...

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I think about all the flooding and fires going on in the world, and can’t imagine going through anything like that. Yes, I’ve been in a hurricane and lost power, but that was a piece of cake compared to what others are enduring. Can you imagine having to evacuate your home and not knowing if it’ll be burned to the grown or not? Can you imagine seeing waters rise and flooding your only source of transportation and the home with all your possessions you’ve worked all your life for?

This morning, while thanking God for His mercy on my life, I was reminded that this is not my home. I’m just a pilgrim passing through. I was also reminded that my material belongings shouldn’t matter so much to me, and I should have a very light hold on all of it.  What’s important is knowing God will protect me through whatever I have to endure. Of course, I’d be a fool to not lock my apartment door every morning when I leave, but it’s not the lock that’s protecting my possessions! Thank you, Lord for always reminding me that You are my Keeper! You are my Protector! You are my Watchman! You are the source of everything I have – even my children that I love and watch over with Mama Bear protective eyes. 

Putting things in perspective takes away worry, and when storms or floods rise, I can focus on God and not my goods. It’s so easy to forget who is in control, but I’m thankful for those nudges that bring me back home and safe where I belong - under God’s covering and protection. Home really is where the heart is, and my heart belongs to my Heavenly Father.

Stop Trying

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There was a petty thought that kept coming to mind this weekend that I just couldn’t shake. No matter how hard I tried to focus on something else, that petty thought kept surfacing and messing with my head. It doesn’t matter how large or small a task may be, it’s only when I realize where my help comes from that I’m relieved of the pressure to perform faithfully. Exercising, pure thoughts, bridling the tongue, being slow to anger, and showing compassion are just a few issues that come to mind we deal it. 

I was reminded this morning that ‘trying’ to do anything in my own power is a waste of time.  It seems like it would be a simple task to try to do better at anything, but trying isn’t what we’re called to do. We’re called to surrender. I went to bed with that petty thought and awoke with it. Uuugh! Lord, help me! It was at that point of helplessness that I realized who had the power for change, and it sure wasn’t me. Instead of focusing on the problem, I needed to focus on His power. I was also reminded that God has given me everything I need. I don’t need to ask for more grace, more patience, or peace. He gave it all to me when He died on the cross. My job is to surrender my Self and abide in His presence. I need to remind myself of this on a daily basis. 

The simplicity of spirituality is made difficult when I involve my own thoughts. Today will be a better day. I already feel refreshed in my thinking and free from the pressure of trying to do better. If you’re tired of trying, just surrender. It’s easier. The hymn, I Need Thee Every Hour, comes to mind and I sure do need Him.

Write Your Life

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I’m a writer and you are, too! 

Just because you haven’t physically written a book does not exclude you because God gave us all some ink to write in the form of life itself. We may not be aware of it, but every day we write a page of our memoir. At the end of the day, how will your book read? Will it be comical, sad, eventful, frustrating, challenging, joyful, or boring? It’s up to us because we have the ability to make choices. We have the ability to write the book we want to be remembered by. It doesn’t matter what life throws at us. We have the ability to make the best of it or sit and complain and do nothing about it. 

I choose to have a book full of adventure birthed from my storms of life. If I didn’t learn from my storms and find the good in each one, someone reading my book would think my life was full of only heartache and pain, and that is not the case! It is so easy to sit back and look over the cards we’ve been dealt in life, but did we play the hand we were dealt? Did we even attempt to learn how to play the game of life or did we look at our cards and fold? Regardless of age, we’ve been penetrated by a life full of vitality and creativity through the Spirit of God. We can either walk in it or stand on the sidelines with thoughts of defeat and a ‘woe is me’ attitude. Write your life, so others won’t want to put your book down. They’ll read your page-turner full of anticipation. 

Don’t envy the books of others, write your own! Ever season of our life is a new chapter waiting to be written. Use your ink and write!

Emotional Thinking

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One of my favorite books is Eckhart Tolle’s, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.
I pick it up most mornings to read a page or two. I must share what I read this morning.

“The voice in the head tells a story that the body believes in and reacts to. Those reactions are the emotions. The emotions, in turn, feed energy back to the thoughts that created the emotion in the first place. This is the vicious cycle between unexamined thoughts and emotions, giving rise to emotional thinking and emotional story – making.”


I’ve wasted a lot of time in my past on unexamined thoughts and even embarrassed myself by how I reacted to them. Unexamined thoughts are thoughts that surface from past relationships, experiences, or words expressed from others. Unfortunately, the negative thoughts surface a lot quicker than the positive ones. Thoughts trigger emotional responses and since women are emotional beings, we spend a lot of our time in a world of unexamined, crazy thoughts. One solution that helps me is to think on things that are true, right, and pure as the book of Philippians states. It’s a battle because those trash thoughts, as I call them, always come uninvited. Also, living in the awareness of God makes a huge difference. Not just thoughts about God, but allowing my total being to be consumed by the presence of God - every step I make and every move I make. When we’re consumed by His presence, the negative thoughts are minimal. 

Our daughters, nieces, and those we mentor need to know about emotional thinking or they’ll grow up wasting time creating an emotional world in their mind that doesn’t exist. Women are beautiful beings, but our emotional thinking can make us look, act, and react ugly. Think about your thoughts and change that mental channel when necessary.