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Dear Daughter
I am sitting here, it’s 10pm. Each of you played all day with your friends and your sisters. You happily dozed off to sleep after a full day of joy…. I am praying in such thankfulness.
How thankful I am for the blessing of you. How thankful I am for your joyful laughter. How thankful I am for your contagious smile. How thankful I am for your loving embrace. How thankful I am for your heart warming whispers. How thankful I am to be chosen to be your mom. Thank you My Father ❤️
Lord I pray you continue to fill these girls with your love, your heart and your dreams for them. I pray the draw near to you more and more each passing day. I pray your guidance and their love for you is stronger than anything that crosses their path. I pray your protection over them in Jesus name Amen.
Take Back Your Life
Some of us may not realize that we have molded into a life that is controlled by other people. As much as all this new technology keeps us moving, involved, and in the know, it has created a world where all we do is respond to other people’s demands.
Take a second to think about it.
How many notifications do you have on your phone right now? How many instant messenger, emails, games, likes and comments from recent post or even notifications for items that are selling near you….the list goes on and on. Does your phone beep, vibrate or light up everytime your are “notified” of something. I mean it’s super important right? It makes us feel busy, active, involved and important?
When did we start making these words synonyms? They do not mean this same thing. Busy does not mean important nor does it mean productive. Constantly responding to other people or electronic demands of our time is blinding. When is the last time you took a moment to think and meditate on exactly how you’d like your day to go? Who would you love to have a conversation with? Who would you enjoy sharing one-on-one time with? Do you realize you can create your day?
The best quote ever said to me…so far…
Heather….are you coming at your day or is your day coming at you?
That is the day every single notification what turned off on my phone and my phone set to silent. That’s right. I have ZERO notifications, no vibrations, no dings, rings or fancy chimes. Zip, zero, nada, none.
My life has changed drastically. I come at my day. I am more at peace then I ever have been. I don’t have anxiety nor do I feel rushed or obligated. I spend 50% more time with my family. I have several more meaningful conversations. I am in the here and the now with the people I chose to spend my time with.
How amazing would that feel for you?
Let’s talk about this. How do you feel? What do you foresee as speed bump or issues you would run into?
Peek into Worship
Recently I came to realize that “Worship” doesn’t mean the same to everyone. It is not that people do not want it to mean the same thing. It is that they only get what they know. They only know what they experience. They only experience what they have been introduced to.
I have been a worshiper since 2009 when I met Jesus. I did not grow up knowing and understanding who Jesus was at all. I knew that there was God and God created man and people went to church on Sundays. Although I didn’t go to church regularly I knew God created me.
I did find myself praying, however. My grandmother introduced my brother and me to prayer as children. Although prayer was never a constant in my life as a child, it was my absolute go-to when my life was disrupted or I felt alone.
I will not go into my entire salvation story today. My point in referencing this is that I literally was brought to my knees by the holy spirit and began following Jesus because Jesus opened my eyes (at the age of 26). I talked to God from then on. I learned how relational He was and the one way to connect with him was through worship. Worship through singing, through silence and listening and through dancing. By no means was I a great singer or dancer. I began to realize the more I let go and didn’t care whether what I was singing or how I sounded or whether I had any rhythm to my movement, the more I connected with the Holy Spirit. That “Peace and Joy that surpasses all understanding” is absolutely what I experienced.
Worship is what we were created for.
We are always trying to find peace and joy through our own means. We come up with things we want to do or be involved in thinking we will find complete happiness and fulfillment. Upon completion or even halfway through we only find ourselves lacking desired results.
Why do you think this is? Why do you think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel believing and thinking we have found our calling only to find ourselves at the starting line again?
I believe that when we connect with God relationally and intimately through worship that he teaches us things that are beyond our natural abilities to comprehend. That the fulfillment is in a spiritual place and our minds are far too immature to grasp it. When we make this connection consistent we are filled, fulfilled & walking in peace and joy consistently.
Welcome to walking into one of the first things you will not grasp until you experience. That is the way God works. We shouldn’t expect anything less from a God that is so wonderful.
God, I thank you for the people reading this. I thank you that their hearts are desiring to know you more and to know themselves more…the way you created them. I pray a release of your holy spirit into their lives through worship. I pray they find worship in silence, singing, dancing, writing, painting, drawing and any other creative area you place on their heart. I pray an awakening of their spirit and a fire in their heart to know you more. I pray this in your precious son Jesus name Amen.
A New Definition of Love
Love is one of those things that are crucial in life and so it only makes sense that we understand it more.
We grow up ready to fight for what we believe is fact later to learn that we may not know what we think we know. Truth is so hard to find in the world. Which is why I quit looking in the world for truth and started asking God.
For those of you reading this that think you have it all figured out…and you may…please take a second to realize that not everyone has had the same upbringing, life lessons or even life experience.
The Love we are Taught
ADORATION Love
This love typically is expressed when we are children. People love you and are happy with who you are and are growing to be. This love is freely given initially. You are adored and you fall in the approval of their expectations and standards. We learn to seek approval from these people in almost everything that we do because unknowingly their love is not consistent. Their love weakens and strengthens with their approval of your actions.
REACTION LOVE
Some people are born into a life where love is a consequence related to expectations. You are always under scrutiny. If you do “this” then you get approval a.k.a “love”.
PROVEN LOVE
Some people begin to experience love when another person begins to feel loved. When we naturally or even unnaturally make other people feel good an attachment is created. This attachment can grow slowly or quickly and can last a long time or a short time. The result of making someone else feel good and their reaction to us in return begins to define a feeling we call love. Often this is where preteens and teenagers begin their definition of love.
I could go on and on however for today I’d like to focus on these 3. Maybe because it’s what I experienced or perhaps it’s what I’ve seen those around me experiencing lately.
The Bible explains 3 types of love…of course, a great study and you absolutely should learn them. However, this is not the focus of today’s writing. What I’d like to focus on is the realization that perhaps what we “know” about love may not be the absolute truth.
Think about situations you may have been in or are currently in. Do they fall into the top 3 categories? What happens when you fall out of their expectations? Do you foresee this love changing? Have you experienced this Love alter? Does it seem to have a rating? Perhaps sometimes they love you a little bit, sometimes a lot. Sometimes you are teetering on the love-meter and at any point, you may tip into the unloved side for a little while. Does your definition of love state that it is consistent? Should it weaken and strengthen? Does love always have the same definition in your life? Should it?
I define Love as unwavering
I can tell you what I do know. I know that Gods definition of Love is unconditional, everlasting and unwavering. I know that experiencing Unconditional Love in this world is nearly impossible. I also know that God helps to transform our understanding of Love when we ask Him.
I ask God to teach me what His design of Love is. I continue to ask because every experience requires new understanding and new faith and new love.
I know that if we continue to seek Gods guidance in how to love others and love ourselves then amazing things will happen both inside us and around us.
Above all, Love others deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins
-1 Peter 4:8
I pray that right now God helps you see the difference between this worlds definition of Love and His design of Love. I pray that this revelation awakens your spirit and overcomes the hurt you have faced in the past. I pray God reveals to you how He loves you and a deep inner knowing of who you begin to ingrain a new design of Love for your life. In Jesus name, I pray these things. Amen
Winning Life When Losing
The beauty of life is questionable when we lose something or someone
When we lose our grip, our hope, our love, our passion, our dreams, our family, our breath or even ourselves, it is life draining. Our brokenness causes hopeless & meaningless living.
It is surely true that life has losses and most would agree that life has its Joy’s. Even the substantial joys & successes lie in shadows when we lose even the smallest things.
The joy of a Newborn child to a family whose heart is still mending from a miscarriage. The unbearable pain as a mother holds her 5-year-old baby girl for the last time as she drifts away. The joy when you find your soul mate and reminisce about wedding photos. The never-ending waves that continue to knock you down after they chose a life with another romance. The smiles at Christmas when a long-awaited career promotion allows the celebration of gift giving. The unrelenting pit of debt, bills and a job that tears your family apart. The deaths from addiction, accidents, illness, tragedies & unforeseen circumstances.
Every heart is breakable, and every soul cries.
The reality of this part of life begins to set certain standards for us. Have you ever heard of the saying “I’m losing my Grip on Life.” We grip & hold on to what we can and do everything in our power to not lose what we have. We do not even realize that our drive is no longer a drive for life, it is a drive to keep from losing our life.
I am not going to go into the natures that birth from fear. The point in today’s writing is to ask ourselves this question. How much of my life is driven by the fear of losing? Do I set goals based on what I want to make sure I don’t miss? Are my dreams hindered by complacency because I am afraid of losing what I have gained? Money, control, love, loved ones even positions? Write down a few things that are coming to mind as you read these questions.
After you write a few things down, let’s pray together.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this recognition of fear-driven grip on our lives. Thank you for revealing these areas and helping to continue to bring them to the forefront of our focus. We ask that you help us trust you more God. Believing in you also means we Believe that you will work all things together for our good. Thank you for that. As you reveal these “grips,” we declare ourselves free from them. Free from the fear and control that binds us from actually living. We will no longer allow ourselves to live in fear of losing. I declare a shift & new mindset, new dreams, fresh desires, and actions. Let a new faith arise in the hearts of your sons and daughters. We Thank you & Love you and pray this all in Jesus Name Amen.
Unrelenting Passion
Your Passion will always have a connection to your life like an unrelenting string or rope. Sometimes it is only a sewing string barely hanging on & sometimes its an unbreakable chain. Most of us although are somewhere between a sewing string and perhaps a 1/4″ size rope. Our passion has been criticized, stomped on, forgotten, lost and sometimes just thrown out. Why does it always seem to hold on? Why does it always seem to prick our thoughts when we least expect it.
To be honest the most I am reminded of passions is when I meet someone that has achieved something I so desired to achieve at some point in my life.
*The first thoughts are reminders of the Happy Feelings I received in thought
*The next were the excuses & life circumstances that prevented me from achieving
*The last was the overwhelming depressed feeling of failure
Had any of these thoughts recently?
I have come to the understanding that Your Passions in Life are actually millions of seeds that were planted & ordained to grow. Matter of Fact these seeds were meant to Flourish! Picture an empty 100 acre track of land. Now consider your creator walking in a weaving path dropping seeds on this empty track. As time progressed some seeds sprouted, other grew & some never saw the light of day. Now think of the environment this land has seen.
Some days are sunny, some raining, some storms & come and wiped out everything. Some trampling has occurred. Perhaps you are imagining crowds running through your track colorful, beautiful flower garden. Some are imagining monster trucks having a heyday on all of your rose bushes & fruit trees. Some are literally imagining a tractor tilling up all the land & demolishing any evidence of life leaving only soft, dry, icky brown dirt.
As we talk about passion & love we can be reminded of our dreams. Some of you may have a harder time & some of you may recall instantly. In ALL cases these passions will always be a part of your creation. In every case above, the seeds could never become unplanted. They never are removed from you.
Allow yourself to revisit your Passions. Write them down. You can even take note on why you have that passion and what would come out of you pursuing that passion. Take captive of negative talk, do not allow yourself to believe those passions will not come to pass or that it is too late. If you have not started a Journal I encourage you to begin one now.
Write at the Top “My Passions are Unrelenting”
- What 3 Passions do I have.
- Compliment these with Goals that you have let lay dormant. Whether they match or not. Journaling may allow somethings come to the forefront of your mind that need expressing.
- Journal the images that your mind creates. “When I think about these passions I see…”
- If someone were to pursue these passions what character strengths would they need? For example “This would require someone to be Strong, Loving, Intuitive, Positive, Knowledgeable, Caring, Inspiring…”
- Then Create 3 “I statements”
- I am Loving
- I Inspire others around me
- I am a Strong Woman/Man
- You can end your journal entry with a promise to yourself or a prayer to God. Ask Him to stir these desires & help be your encourager everyday as you pursue your passions once again.
Your Passions are Unrelenting because you were Designed for Greatness -Heather
Finally Found What We Were Missing
A few months ago John and I engaged God’s will as he planted us in a new church in the city we live in. We spent the last 5 years learning God’s word & applying His correction over our for individually and as a family but we were missing something. I remember being at such a loss for words crying out to God daily “why do I feel so empty?”. We had a consistent prayer life & we both have great relationships with our king. I called on the Holy Spirit each morning before my feet hit the ground. My every morning ritual was balanced with sipping coffee and diving into God’s word. John and I actively prayed together, discussed the Bible, prayed with friends as well as engaged the word & prayer with our kids. My heart whispered there is more. Before I knew it I was feeling depressed & empty more often. I was broken & melting inside. Where is the fire? What am I doing wrong? What am I missing? Why can’t I hear your direction?
Have you ever felt so close to God yet so far away from Him? Here I was losing hope that the deep yearning to be fulfilled would ever be satisfied. About 3 weeks into this internal battle John and I visited a well know Holy Spirit filled church for Father’s Day. It was here I began to hear God loud and clearly. I began to follow a series of instructions given by the Holy Spirit allowing me to dive deeper into God’s word as well as a deeper relationship with the Trinity. It was during this Holy time that God guided our Family to a new church & calling. I have experienced the Holy Spirit deeper than ever before. Before now I would have not been able to explain the lack of joy, peace, love & worth. I knew I was missing something, but in coordinating all of the right steps through the years I could not find an explanation for my hollowness.
Sometimes we find ourselves in places with no answers & in places where hope seems lost. God reminded me having no answers we find ourselves in a place where we can only trust Him. I didn’t understand why I felt a void in my life so I searched for God more. I was serving and praying for a purpose yet I was still empty, with no answers, so I opened my heart even more. So much more than I finally laid my entire being on the altar. It was here I received the fulfilling of the Holy Spirit more than ever before. I learned that the Holy Spirit can only fill where you empty yourself. Before this moment as soon as the Holy Spirit came to me I would accept and stay in that moment. This time I was so empty I wept for more. The holy spirit came and I continued to cry & yearn, praying in the spirit, praising, dancing, singing & anything my body wanted to do. In this moment the Trinity became a realistic part of my life. I could finally see and feel My Father, My Jesus & My Comforter & I understood the need for each in filling my spirit & needs.
We can get so mixed up in the process of life that we postpone our worship and praise life. To be honest, the more I praise and worship the more God pieces things together without me! God doesn’t want us to be in control. So many people are afraid of laying on the altar, letting go or praising with abandon because they do not want to lose control. This will eat you from the inside out. These tools of freedom are a gift. The world & its expectations can have us so bound that we are tormented with perpetual grief, depression, anxiety, and fear.
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.Hebrews 5:7
God has given us the ability to praise freely & worship with abandon. If you are missing a part of God the Father, Jesus the son & the Holy Spirit you will find it with this gift. I pray for a fulfillment in your life deeper than your heart can even imagine in Jesus Name Amen!
No Rhyme or Reason… Just Jesus
My father knows more than my name
He created me to be, do, have unashamed
The labels the world places on me
Have nothing on God’s grace indeed
It did take cuts, bruises & tears to finally hear
Decipher that deep whisper as oh so sincere
It is not your fault I no longer listen to you
Don’t be burdened or distressed, no shame is due
Jesus called my name for the 1000th time
You see he is patient and requires no rhyme
No reason, no season, no sudden excuse
Just openness & love and belief in the good news
He will dry your tears & soothe anger, depression addiction & lust
No need to be ashamed it is in all of us, but Him you can trust
You see your words don’t cause strife or confusion to me
Just a yearning to introduce my savior and king
He died on the cross so I chose to as well
So my dear friends like you can live in freedom instead of hell
What do you ask how is it you say?
Yes he will enter your heart your life & he will stay
Dear Jesus my friend is in need of you right now
He’s here arms lifted, heart open & life laid down
How awesome are you with just one moment
With no requirements, no judgments or one single atonement
To wipe away misery, self-destruction & grief
And send your holy spirit to fill a life that bleeds
Hallelujah my heart sings and rejoices
If you haven’t met my Jesus this may just sound like noises
Don’t worry when your ready just call
No matter the time or the place he is there through it all
Just in case you forget and need some help
Just say, Jesus, I’m willing, I’m ready I give you all of myself
Come into my life & dwell forever
I’m ready to know you & live life together
Heather's Refresh 
