A pot of thoughts

Life is going to be full of failures, small victories, mistakes and heartache, complete joy, and sometimes lack of direction. But, regardless of the hardships we experience, our unmet goals and expectations, that feeling that life as it is does not measure up to the aspirations we once had..or even the outcomes from changes in lifestyle/personality/health/environment/physicality/passions, etc.... one thing is certain.

 and will always be certain.

There is a GOD who created you, me, us ..for something much bigger. yes, much much bigger than our dreams. much bigger than the promises we make to ourselves. bigger than our burden of responsibility. bigger than any path laid out for us by someone else, or perhaps ourselves. and yes, even bigger than our circumstances, whatever they are.

So America is the "land of the free," but so many of us have no clue what it means to be free.  Bound-up and blinded by unresolved feelings of resentment, unmet expectations, addiction, sadness, illness, worry, guilt, hurt, fatigue, and unsatisfied longings, we live as captives...likely unaware of what it is that imprison us. I am positive that this captivity is satan's defense in response to the Lord's gift of freedom and peace.

I will never be able to explain the "wheel of the world." And, yes, I do aspire to be "something great."  But in the same way that I am limited in knowledge, GOD is all-knowing.  In the very way that I am limited in wisdom, GOD is all-wise. In the same way the I get weak, tired, and discouraged, GOD is, has been, and always will be strength. rest. joy. GOD. 

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Daddy, thank you for blessing me with tiny victories, with fellowship, with passion and desires! Thank you for being my freedom. Thank you for having a purpose for me. Can you lead me into a deeper love with you, please?  Will you guide me into a spacious place where I can simply delight in You?




One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. - Psalm 27:4

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. -Psalm 18:19

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:1

A Picture of Forgiveness

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. -Matthew 5:8

Last night I got this vision while I was spending time with the Lord.  It was of the beauty of forgiveness.  I saw a bride walking down the aisle.  The train of her beautiful white dress was so long that it spread out perfectly, touching each church pew on its aisle side.  What was so special about this picture was what happened as she was walking.  As she stepped slowly and her dress touched the pews, either side of the church would turn solid white, from the floor to the seats, all the way to the ceiling.  And the pattern continued with each next step, finally walking up to her husband-to-be, as spotless church surrounding them both.  Not only was she in a process of being made whole little by little, but everything she touched was made whole.  The purity that she had chosen was spreading joy, purifying her husband, forgiving anyone who may trespass against her, and teaching others to forgive.  The forgiveness that the Lord had laid on her like a bright light in darkness ---> she accepted it..she understood it..she was drawing from her heart the forgiveness God so lovingly gave her and applying it to her relationships, to her actions.  This is my prayer for myself and for you.  Embrace the purity God wants for you.  Choose to live a life of character, of compassion, of love and joy.  Choose to forgive those who have or still are hurting you; and accept the loving pardon Jesus shed his own blood for you to have.  Create peace and joy in a broken and hurtful world.  Each of us have the beauty to do so, thanks to being made in the image of God, and to our relationship with Jesus Christ.  He is pursuing you. He loves you. You are more precious to him that any gift you could give, any accomplishment you can achieve. Truth.

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. -Ephesians 1:4

He who covers and forgives an offense, seeks love.. - Proverbs 17:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us, and purify us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. -Matthew 5:8

The Lord has a plan, and whatever mess you've been in is part of it.

Have you ever heard your decisions can make or break you?

...make you what? happy? sad? stronger? depressed? thankful? learn? a prisoner? free?

..maybe it isn't all the decision that "makes you," but how you handle the aftermath, the consequences, the results...I'm assuming you've made a few "stupid (in someone's perspective)" decisions throughout your life just like I have.  I'm sure if it's a strong or weak point of mine, but I always seem happy among trial. When I have made decisions that are threatening to my future, that are hurtful to others, that are considered bad decisions, I deal with the consequences alongside the Lord.  Not as if I'm abusing his grace, but as if I am desperately seeking what I am meant to learn through my situation...why focus on the darkness around you, when there is light in front of you? it just seems silly..our choices have been made. Some of them, we wish we could take back, but how many times have you wished to win the lottery vs how many times you've won it? ..or how many times have you wished that you were Carrie Underwood and it happened? We can't take our choices back, so it can only be hurting us to dwell in them.  We can, however, ask the Lord to bless them.  To give us some compassion, to show us some path that we wouldn't have had or seen without experiences this mistake in this moment.  I don't mean that the Lord is going to bless your decision to be unfaithful to your spouse.  I mean that the Lord can bless the situation, can teach you, can open doors..seriously, he's like for real always waiting to just hand us this big bundle of mercy that we need but don't deserve.  

God does not want us to live in guilt, Satan does. Yes, you have a conscience, so do I. That's how we know we did the wrong thing. That's how we know to look to God and say ..uh oh, I think I really messed up..and I need your help, Daddy. 

I recently came to my earthly dad crying, and thanking him for the huge sacrifice he made to help fix the horrible mess I made, and ya know what he said?.. "That's what dads are for."  Lets be real, if we could do this life alone, we wouldn't need Jesus. Stop feeling sorry for yourself if you are/believe you are a victim of someone else's mistakes..Stop beating yourself up if you feel like you made the worst decision that is ruining someone else's life. You are allowing Satan to grow death inside of you like a weed. I promise it's gonna choke you before long. Look to the Lord. There is a reason. There is a season. Kill the pity and regret.  Open your heart, and ask the Lord for help so that life can move forward.  You have what is now. Learn from your mistakes, and let God use them to glorify his name (however tainted that may sound.)  This is the life HE gave you, and He doesn't want you to spend it beating yourself up, feeling guilty, depressed, or anxious. It's your choice. Pick up The Word, pray, listen, seek godly counsel.  The Lord has a plan, and whatever mess you've been in is part of it.

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As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us. -Psalm 103:12

But on thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:14

"give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our traspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." -Matthew 6:11-12

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9

I sought the LORD, and heard me and delivered me from all my fears. -Psalm 34:4

The Truth

I don't even feel the need to comment on the dialouge below..The sequential statements I've taken from a passage adequately express my thoughts; and although I am enticed to explain all the things on my heart..these words are just so powerful...All from Jesus..All recorded in John 8. I encourage you to read this, then read the entire chapter, which includes the context I've excluded. John 8 is an account of a real happening, history - when Jesus walked the earth as man. The following is scripture speaking, Christ speaking directly to me..and hopefully you.



"Neither do I condemn you..Go now and leave your life of sin."
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"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
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"You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins."
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"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, the you will know that I am."
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To the Jews who had believed him Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."
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"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
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"If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own, but He sent me."
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"You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
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"If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
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"If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing."
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"I tell you the truth, Jesus answered...I am."

Love: The Superior Way

The title in my Bible for 1 Corinthians 13 is "Love: The Superior Way"

Websters offers 28 different definitions. Here is my favorite.
LOVE (verb)
 16. to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).

...so beautiful, right?
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Like me, you may cherish love over anything in life. Over money, over success, over image. Over race, religion, lifestyle..there is something I believe we all want and need. 
There's something about giving and receiving love that is so fulfilling. It's like we were programmed to love and be loved. I believe it with all of my heart. I believe that God created us to desire affection, to desire something deeper than surface-level relationships. I love to show people love-friends, family, that "someone special," even strangers..I love to love. and I need to be loved.. luckily my God is the Father of love, the Author and Creator of Love, the Ultimate Giver of Love, the Best Example of Love to Follow. I want to know and give love more and better each day the SUPERIOR WAY..

Love is patient; love is kind.
Love does not envy;
it is not boastful; is not conceited;
does not act improperly; is not selfish;
is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs
finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.
..Now these three remain:
faith, hope, and love.
But the greatest is love.

[1 Corinthians 13]

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity

Something Worth Fighting For

Sometimes I forget that I am fighting a battle. I forget that the enemy is at war, and I am his opponent, the one out for attack, the one he wants to see fail.


What happens when the opposer isn't ready for battle? Trojan Horse..sneak attack?
How can we win a battle we aren't fighting?  If you were face-to-face with the devil right now, would you say, "ok, you win. i'm too tired to fight?" Absolutely not. p.s that face-to-face with the devil thing..it happens every day..the sneak attack thing..yeah that too. But if we are not fighting, praying, learning scripture, preparing ourselves for battle..I promise we are gonna loose every time.


Satan's desire is to strip everything good from you, to make you believe that what he offers is real and satisfying, to make you feel self-sufficient and happy momentarily, then rip that magic carpet right out from under you and prince Aladin (or princess Jasmine)..and laugh as you're falling - poor you, feeling guilty, embarrassed and lost, knowing you can't survive the fall if you make it to the bottom..I guess in that moment, it's much easier to say, "Lord, Lord I love you, save me."


If I'm a long distance runner who doesn't train, what am I?..slow, out of shape, incapable of winning a race.
If I'm a half-blind book reader who doesn't wear glasses, what am I?..blind!


I obviously can't read the book on my own..I need help! I obviously can't win the race from eating chips and ice-cream and not exercising..I need self-control! ..I'm a Christian who doesn't pray. A follower of Jesus who isn't following because I don't read scripture consistently enough to remind me what to follow. A peace-maker who can't make peace because I feel unsettled. A lover who cannot love because my attitude is too selfish and sour as I ponder all my own problems.




So let's do some clean-up. You and God. Me and God. Because, Christian, I know you'd agree:
We have something worth fighting for...


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Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour. -1 Peter 5:8


Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. -Ephesians 6:11


Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. -Ephesians 6:13-15