Life Imagined

Matthew 5:45 For He causes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  The MSG says it like this…This is what God does. He gives his best - the sun to warm and the rain to nourish - to everyone, regardless. The good and the bad… What a powerful message to me this morning. I tend to see rain as this negative thing that is “in the way.” It gets me wet, makes me want to stay inside, typically keeps the sun (which I love) hidden. But the intent of rain is quite the opposite. It nourishes! In the natural, it nourishes our trees, lawns, flowers, gardens, etc. In the spirit, His rain is nourishment for my soul, my heart. A thing I need on a regular basis!! And, according to the verse in Matthew above, He rains on ALL of us, regardless of whether we deserve His nourishment or not. That’s good news!! Praise God 🙌  His spirit rains on me, growing me, changing me.  He is reminding me this morning that His rain gives us time to rest a...

You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me. Psalm 56:8-9  I remember a time when my tears must have overflowed God’s tear bottle. Lisa Harper says, “Grief is not the opposite of hope but rather the proof of it.” That's exactly what I felt. The grief I felt was strangely full of hope, a knowing that God would turn my sadness into joy, my brokenness into the wholeness. I knew that what had been stripped away would be restored…God’s way 🙌🙌. Why? Because He promised in His Word in Joel 2:25. And I have found Him to be the Keeper of Promises . I can take my real, raw, honest emotions to Him for He gives beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, a spirit of praise for heaviness. That's his promise in Isaiah 61:3. He did it for me, and He will do it for you.  Man, I’m thankful to be God’s girl. I hope you know you're His too ❤️

 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8) Good morning, friends! I had something on my mind and wanted to share it with you. One of our granddaughters recently got hurt, and it hurt my heart so deeply for her. Since that day, I have wanted nothing more than to see her, hold her, be close to her, tell her how much her Mimi loves her. I didn’t cause her to get hurt. It was an accident and accidents happen. But, man, I just wanted to fix it, to lay my hands on her, pray for her. I know that her resilience and quick healing is because of the good God we serve.   We spent the afternoon with her on Sunday and after we left, I was thinking about her and God spoke something to my heart. He told me that He feels exactly the same way when I hurt. He isn’t the cause of my pain, sickness, etc. But when I do hurt, He wants nothing more than to comfort me, be close to me, hold me. He wants me to trust Him. Oh man, what a good good God I ...

Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you (Psalm 63:3).  Praise - To express admiration.  To celebrate.  Have you taken time to praise God today, for His lovingkindness that is better than life , because His thoughts toward you are good?  I know that in my praise, in my time with Him, mountains are moved, my understanding is enlightened, revelation is found, and His plans for me take shape. Praise God!  He promises that if we seek him, we WILL find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). It’s there, in praise, that the Holy Spirit reveals, speaks, communes with me. It’s there I’m reminded I can trust Him with everything…ALL of it. I can rest and leave it all in His hands. I will praise him when all is well, and I will choose to praise when it doesn’t feel easy. He is my rock, my refuge, my strength, my shield. He is my friend. I will   praise Him! I don’t know what today is like for you. Maybe you’re on cloud nine, or maybe today is hard. Pra...