The Mothership

”So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.“ ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ What word has God planted in your heart that has the power to save your soul? A friend of my called me the threader. My family is interconnected through threads. What they pickup from me will determine if they are able to bend and flex or if they will be tight with tension. If my stress and angst is known, then my threads are taut and unable to be flexible. But if I am looking for the peace in all situations, my threads are able to move freely, and yet with intention. Depending on circumstances, my husband or I or even a child help keep the peace. We talk a lot about “keeping the peace” not with the intent to people please. But with the thought of how can we come to each interaction, love the person well, with a lens of boundaries that helps keep the peace in our hearts? Peace is always accessible, ...

It fascinates me how intricately woven we all are, one from another. We each have desires, abilities, and strengths that God so tightly knits into our souls that sometimes they come spilling out when we least expect it. What an exciting moment when you minister to someone's heart due to the overflow of what your heart has cultivated! From the goodness that he has placed in us, we continue to pour out even more than we dreamed...if we look to him.  When we pour out from the inflow of Him in our strengths, true Kingdom cultivation happens. In OUR strengths. Not someone else's strengths, but the strengths that are so different from person to person. When you think of specific details and attributes of who God created you to be, there in lies truth about your identity in HIM. Your identity is so different than mine because that’s how he intended.  It's also in the strengths that the enemy can speak the loudest. The attributes God has so tenderly loved and placed in our hearts ...

Are you in the Valley of Weeping or a place of refreshing springs? Truth is you are either close to the edge of embankment, on your way down, settled at the bottom, or on your way down the stream of your journey.  How interesting that our tears of blessings were once, possibly, our tears through heartache and suffering? The tears that we shed - dry or soaking wet - during our strife become the refreshing springs our body and mind need for renewal. When we we find ourselves at the bottom of the valley it is in Him we can only find encouragement and the endurance to make it to the place of peace.  Our tears, fears, and struggles fall down the rocky bank only to collect into large puddles. We can trust ourselves, but when we do, all that is left is dry ground - never quite quenched. When we trust Him, he guides us along the stream, picking up speed for the journey ahead. Until, all of a sudden we embody the joy and wisdom that only he can give. We come away fully encouraged and c...

I feel like we all have varying degrees of where we are in our walk with the Lord. Some of us have been following Him for years. some have been questioning Him for years. Some are boldly living a life committed to loving others well. Some are pressing into new giftings that he's so richly blessed us with. Some of us love to be good people. Some of us are looking for any opportunity to bring God's Kingdom. And some of us haven't taken the unknown step of having Him in your life. And some of us just don't even want to bother. But guess what...God still loves us.  No matter where we are in our walk, God still loves us. He is about connection and relationship. He is a Father with wide open arms no matter the cost or the energy or the effort. God loves the prodigal son/daughter feeling rejected by all the things they've "done wrong." God loves all those beaten down and told so many lies of their self-worth. God loves the child seeking and que...

My heart hurts. It hurts for those who have to feel the loss of a loved one. For those who deal with pain, physically and mentally, on a daily basis. It hurts for those that don’t feel loved. And it hurts for those that feel they have to hurt others. I have been trying to formulate words about the violence in our world. I feel with every fiber of my heart what I’m sure is only a spec of the pain that God feels when we hurt. During worship one evening I feel like he encouraged me with this. I hope this encourages you. A girl runs effortlessly through a field in the midst of a valley. She runs with abandoned insecurities. She twirls as if there is nothing to loose. Some days she runs and some days she walks through the valley taking in all the details. It’s a familiar place. And all she can see is beauty before her. Joy spread across her cheeks. Joyful because she knows the love and the protection that lies within. She KNOWS his voice. It is written on her heart, in her mind, and s...

Words are my nectar... they give me life in so many ways. People, I need words and I know I'm not alone. I need words...positive words...encouraging words..check yourself words...words that give me life...words to help me process all the words. And I need these words more than I need another taco (and who can't use another taco)! Today was a major case of the Mondays.  The weight of Monday felt like it was already next Monday and I'd accomplished zilch...it was only 10:30.  But I can't stay there...I can't stay in my case of the Mondays because apparently someone made me an adult. Which means I need to help feed, clothe, facilitate focus, create a sense of responsibility (which means I need to be responsible), and all the other tasks that are expected of me on a daily basis. The druthers of all the adult things...can give anyone a case of the Mondays.  I needed extra words today. When life just seems unbearable and I'm unable to make in...