Did you know that the most quoted verse in the bible has changed over the past 20 to 30 years?  When you and I were young this was the verse that everyone quoted and knew: “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16. Do you know what it is today? When I share it with you it will not surprise you. You won’t necessarily know where this verse is in the bible, but you have heard it quoted. Even non-believers know this verse and are quick to point it out. Our culture has pulled us from a Christ centered verse to a verse that focuses on us. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” Matthew 7:1.

This is the verse that our children are growing up hearing used most often. Think about the ramifications of this significant change in our culture. Instead of quoting the gospel with John 3:16 we have taken a verse out of context and are using it to give us permission to do whatever we want to do without any accountability for our actions. Sadly, this is not what Jesus was saying when he quoted those words over 2,000 years ago. We have to read on to understand the meaning.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5

Here’s the deal…there are two people with something in their eye. The goal is to remove both the plank and the speck from both sets of eyes. In order to do that we have to be reflective on our own sin first. When we see our sin and ourselves for who we are it causes us to approach our brother and sister struggling in sin with love, compassion and understanding. It’s not a finger pointing opportunity to point out wrongs in others.  It comes from a place to help restore sight so they can see. Isn’t that beautiful!

Our Pastor shared the analogy of his son who loves to play in the sandbox in their backyard. He and his wife were watching their children play when they saw their son get dirt thrown in both eyes. His eyes were shut and he began to try to walk around unable to see. He asked us what kind of father would he be if he just let his son try to figure out how to get the dirt out on his own? It’s actually cruel to think about isn’t it. Of course a loving father would get up, get a wet paper towel and go to him to help remove the dirt. That is love. When we help another brother and sister remove the speck from their eye we are loving them. We are helping them to be able to SEE!

Don’t be swayed by the culture’s lie. We are not called to sit back and watch as sin destroys lives of those we love. We are to lovingly come alongside of each other to offer help so that all of us can SEE! Let’s get busy loving one another!

There was so much to take away from this message that I had to go back and listen to it again. It’s worth listening to in your free time.  I hope it impacts you as much as it did me. #curreycreek #arise #gloryup

I spent some time on the road this past week with my dad and girls traveling. We were going to a place that was unfamiliar territory for all of us. Before we headed out I typed in our destination in the Waze App, and it quickly calculated our directions and even had an estimated time of arrival. We have come so far in our technology that we can literally just jump in a car and go without giving it much thought as to how we are going to get there. Gone are the days of reading maps and stopping and asking for directions.

In many ways I love the convenience of typing in an address and directions appear and even audibly tell me which way to turn. Wouldn’t it be nice if life could work like that? We just type in our destination…Heaven…hit calculate and it gives us a nice pathway to get there. There will never be an app that can do that for us, but we do have His Holy word to guide us and direct us on our journey.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

We have a decision to make when it comes to which road to choose. I just shared with one of my girls this week about the time I had to decide on whether or not to stay in the Corporate world and work in radio which is where I had earned my degree or be a mom. I loved my job. I loved the people I got to meet, and the cool places I got to go. I thought I had arrived at where I was supposed to be in life, but my precious family was suffering. My husband was bathing the kids and feeding them dinner as I would get home late often. I was dropping them off at two different locations for daycare because we felt strongly in them going to the preschool at our church. It was exhausting, and I constantly felt like I was swimming upstream. I told my husband that if I could just get our baby over to the church where I could have one drop off and pick up that would help make things easier.

I called the Church Preschool office and spoke to the Director. She told me I was the 4th person that day that had called looking for infant care. You guys there is a 4 to 1 ratio for babies to teacher.  The Director told me she needed to find a teacher and she could make the class work.  I thought…GREAT, let me know when you find her.

The Director called me the next day to ask if I wanted to be the Preschool teacher. She said The Lord kept putting me on her heart. You guys that was the furthest from my plans. I wanted to keep my job doing what I loved to do, but I found myself with a decision to make. I had to ask for help. My husband told me to make a Pro’s and Con’s list. I had a whole list of excuses as to why I should keep the job. I was going to get a discount for the girls daycare. I was going to work 9a to 2:30p. I was going to rock one of my own babies. I was not going to have to pay for after school care anymore. I would not have to work anymore weekends. The list was long for the pro’s and very short for the con’s. I was literally going to make $20 less to rock babies than to keep my salary paying job. The answer was obvious, but at the end of the day I still had a decision to make.

I had to go into my boss and tell him that I was resigning. I had sweaty palms, my heart rate was high, and it was hard. After I told him, he looked me in the eyes and told me that I had just made the best decision of my life and that I would never look back and regret choosing to be a mom. He was right.

I love being a mom and helping my girls find the narrow gate that leads to life eternal. I told my girl that was listening to me share the story that in the end the decision was mine to make. I had to do what was hard in order to put the needs of my family before myself. Often times choosing the narrow road is as simple as putting others above ourselves. When our focus is off of us and placed on those we love the most it helps us see the pathway a little more clearly. Then we do the hard thing and walk in the way!

I love being comfortable. The first thing I do when I get home from work is head to my bedroom to change clothes. I put on my comfy pants and shirt, slide on my house shoes, and throw my hair back in a ponytail. After dinner time I like to snuggle up under a soft blanket and cozy up with my family. How about you? Do you like to be comfortable?

What if we take this question a step further and relate it to our personal lives? We like it when things go smooth don’t we? When our bank accounts have extra money at the end of the month, when our kids obey and follow our rules, when our boss recognizes us for the hard work we give, when our spouse wants to shower us with affection and take us on a date. The list can go on and on. We like it when life goes like this, but what happens when it doesn’t? 

“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” Mark 1:16-20

These men were doing what they loved to do. They were comfortable with their profession. They were fishermen. They were good at it too. They were going about their comfortable lives when Jesus came and invited them to follow him. Notice the underlined words in the verses…when Jesus approached Simon (Peter) and Andrew they responded AT ONCE! They left their nets and followed him. When he approached James and John they responded WITHOUT DELAY and left their father with the hired men and followed him. Wow! I often wonder if Jesus were to show up in our lives today if we would respond the same. Would we drop everything and go? Would we without delay say YES and leave our comforts behind? 

My family is going on our 4th year of living in a new community. Four years ago, our lives were comfortable where we were. We had a church family that we loved. We had a business that we poured our hearts into. We had amazing friends that had become family. Our kids were grounded and supported by amazing teachers and faithful friends. Life was good. On a Sunday afternoon, our Lord spoke to my husband and I during the same message. It was unsettling to me. I wanted to pretend that he had not asked me to let go of it all and to GO where he was leading. My husband felt the same. We both got in the car quiet. We took our girls to lunch like we always do. We went through the next few hours without discussing anything. We finally made it home into the privacy of our bedroom. Ryan asked me if he could visit with me about something. I told him yes, I have something to share too. Within the next few minutes we both realized that we had heard the same message. We had been invited by The Lord to GO and FOLLOW HIM and he would make us fishers of men. 

We could have said no. We could have remained in our comfortable, but we found courage to say YES. We found the confidence to take each new step as it came our way. This “Journey to the Hills” has been a rich journey of faith for our entire family. We’ve had to lean into Him for every bit of it. We’ve had to lean into each other. We are still leaning in. The Lord has expanded our reach for his people, and I love being one of his disciples. My man has come into another calling. At the start of this month he became the Administrator for a Hospice Company on top of being the Administrator of the Home Health. He is serving such a special population of people, and I am proud of him. I am at the High School with my girls. The Lord knows exactly what he is doing placing me there. I love that in these difficult teenage years He placed me right in the middle of their world. I am forever grateful for His ways being so much higher than mine. I am still writing. I am still listening to Him speak and sharing it with all of you! My confidence is coming back! I am grateful! 

So what about you? Are you comfortable where you are? Are you afraid of losing your comfort? Are you being stretched into a new season where you don’t know what lies ahead? Are you afraid you don’t have the confidence it takes to fulfill your calling? Lean into what you are feeling. Ask The Lord to give you confidence and clarity. He equips the called. He will give you exactly what you need. He is so faithful! #gloryup #arise #go

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an evening with my little sister last week. She called me up a couple of months ago and asked if I would want to go with her to the last stop on the “Moxie Matters” tour in Austin with Jen Hatmaker and Nicole Nordeman. She paid for my ticket and told me it was a gift…no need to pay her back. Wow! What a treat and the evening will go down in my memory books for a lifetime.

The message Jen Hatmaker shared was on PAIN! Really Lord!?! I was tapped out of walking through pain. I really wanted an evening where things could be light and not so heavy. As it turns out, The Lord uses our moments of pain to transform us the most. Jen has always had a comedian style to her approach of sharing the good news. We all chuckled as she questioned why He couldn’t grow us through happiness or our vacations, I mean really couldn’t there be an easier way than pain?

She had us turn to the story of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus is being questioned by an expert in the law. He wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. I love Jesus and his answers.  He knew the guy was an expert in the law, so he asked him what was written in it. The answer: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Jesus tells him that he has answered correctly and tells him to “Do this and you will live.” The expert has another question…”And who is my neighbor?”

This is where Jesus could have given him a straight answer instead he tells a story.  The very first sentence in the story rocked my world on this evening. I have read this story many times but for whatever reason this was the first time I allowed the pain of it to sink in. “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dad.” Luke 10:30

Jesus starts the story with a man in PAIN! He was left naked, beaten and half dead. I have never experienced this kind of physical pain. Sadly there are those that have because of our broken world that we live in. I have experienced other forms of pain where I was left deeply emotionally scarred and bruised. We all can relate to the man who was left half dead can’t we?

Can we also relate to the ones that passed him by? The Priest…the Levite! They were religious and were thought of in high regards yet they passed by on the other side. They didn’t even want to walk by him on the same side of the road. They saw him suffering and did nothing. When we see our brothers and sisters suffering do we keep walking as if we don’t see they are struggling. I know I am guilty.

Have you ever been the Samaritan? Have you ever stopped to go out of your way to help someone that was deeply wounded that needed help getting back up on their own two feet? Jen went on to share a beautiful story about this picture that you are seeing with the elephants. In the wild when a momma elephant is giving birth the other female elephants encircle her while she goes through the pain of bringing forth new life. They stomp and throw up dirt telling the predators that if they want to mess with their sister while she is vulnerable they will have to go through them first! You guys…this is where it got to me the most in the evening. Jen asked if there were ladies in the room that were in the middle of the circle…currently walking through the pain. She asked them to BE BRAVE and to stand where they were. Ladies popped up all around the room. You could hear a pin drop. Then she asked if you have a lady standing near you if you would be willing to go and encircle her and be a part of her tribe.  There was a precious lady standing directly behind me. I stood up and grabbed her hand.

As other ladies joined me in encircling her the tears began to fall.  She was able to let down her guard and simply be held in that moment. She was safe. She was loved and she was PRAYED for by a group of ladies that had never met her before. It was beautiful. This is what being a Samaritan looks like. This is what being a good neighbor IS!

This is what our world needs most right now. When we stand beside each other, support and love each other through the pain there is transformation and new life that can begin. I pray you have a mighty and fierce tribe that is willing to encircle you when you are vulnerable. I hope you are BRAVE enough to stand up and reach out for help.

These words are true: “When we deny our own pain we are denying our own transformation.” Jen Hatmaker

I don’t know about you but I don’t want my pain to be for nothing. I want to lean into it, and allow it to transform me into a better me.

On the contrary when we don’t this also is true: “People who don’t transform their pain transmit it on to others.” Jen Hatmaker

The last thing I want to do is bring pain to other people…especially the people I love the most. Be BRAVE! Lean IN! Deal with the pain and allow it to TRANSFORM YOU! There is new life waiting to begin when you do! #ARISE

I was sitting at my desk on Friday morning sipping my hot coffee while waiting for my computer to restart. I remember thinking to myself, “Thank God it’s Friday!” Have you ever had one of those weeks where every day was hard? Weeks like that can be so exhausting.

I stopped my thoughts from derailing into a self-pity party and got to work. Shortly after my oldest daughter walked in. She came in to tell me she had just gotten a text from her best friend from our hometown inviting she and I to come to a Women’s Conference in Georgetown that evening. She asked if she could go. Honestly guys, I was so exhausted that my gut instinct was no. I didn’t think I could find the energy to leave work, drive two and a half hours to Georgetown, participate in the two hour event and then drive home. I just wanted to go home on that rainy Friday and get in my PJ’s and crawl in bed.

Something inside told me that this was not about me, get over yourself, and take your girl to see her best friend. She needed it. What I didn’t know was just how deeply I needed it too.

The fog and misty rain caused us to arrive just 30 minutes before the event started. We met up with our besties in the parking lot that was full. There were over 3,000 women in attendance to this event. I thought to myself we were going to be lucky to find a seat. After we entered the auditorium there was a lady that walked up to us and asked us if we needed seats. We of course told her yes and she walked us right up front where the VIP’s were sitting. She ushered us in to 6 open seats right up front and center. Friends, when The Lord has a message to give you…HE MAKES THE WAY!

It was time to worship together. I don’t know if you have ever been to an event like this. If you haven’t may I encourage you to do so. When you have 3,000 women stand to their feet in PRAISE and WORSHIP the hair on the back of your head stands up. You can’t help but lift your hands and sing. The diversity in the room didn’t matter. We were all there with one purpose and all of our differences and trials in that moment seemed to fade away. It was AMAZING!

Priscilla Shirer was our guest speaker for the evening, and The Lord brought an amazing word through her that spoke to each of us right where we were. Isn’t that so cool…that through the word of God…He can speak to the masses individually and intimately. Check out this verse that we camped on for the evening; “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, BUT HE HAD LEPROSY.” 2 Kings 5:1

What a man of accomplishment and resume. He was the commander of the army. He was highly respected. He was a valiant soldier. He had it going on…BUT HE HAD LEPROSY.  Priscilla went on to point out the way we are in our Social Media world today. We like to share our accomplishments and how we have it going on, but we don’t like to talk about our leprosy. The thing is we all have it. We all have something that is broken to deal with in our lives. It’s what we do with it that can either save us, or it can down right kill us.

“Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” 2 Kings 5:10

“So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” 2 Kings 5:14

Sweet friends, what are we going to do with our leprosy? Are we going to deal with it and be cleansed? Our Lord can handle our yuck. He wants us to lay it down before him. He can wash our sin away. He can cleanse us from it all. The weight can be lifted and our joy will return. I don’t know about you, but that is the life I desire to live. I am so grateful that I said yes to go. I am so grateful that my oldest got to sit next to me and hear the same message spoken to her personally. We both had walked into that building exhausted and tired from our hard and broken week, but we both left refreshed, cleansed and new. There were tears beautiful and thankful tears for the way He moved to provide for us. We needed it. He knew we needed it, and he met us there in the most beautiful way. We serve a mighty and faithful God! He is mighty to save and cleanse us from our sins.

Enjoy this beautiful song! Sing it to Him! He hears…he listens…and He ANSWERS!

The moment was surreal for me. I was holding my husband’s hand with my head bowed praying for one of my best friend’s baby that was being dedicated to The Lord. I had just held this sweet baby for the first time only minutes before the dedication. The smell of his sweet skin and innocence in his eyes took me back to when my girls were babies. I remember Ryan and I bringing them before the church and making the same commitment. In that moment of remembering my eyes filled up with tears.

My babies are teenagers now and gone are the days of the sweet baby smell and the innocence in their eyes. They are trudging through trying to find their way in this big world where school shootings, suicides, drugs, alcohol, and anxieties have reached a whole new high. I work in a high school where I see teenagers up close and personal. Their world is “Me-centric” where all that matters is the here and now. Parents voices begin to fade and their need for their peers approval begin to speak louder and cause confusion. I’d like to say that because I chose to take my daughters to the front of the church all those years ago that they are dismissed from the chaos, but that is not true. They do not receive a free pass on the struggles of life. We all have to go through them, but when you are surrounded by a community of faith and JESUS is their foundation… there is HOPE and a PROMISE that keeps us parents on our knees and fighting for our babies.

“Do NOT let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” John 14:1-11

Ryan and I made it back in time to go to our church at Currey Creek, and we are so grateful. This is the message that was shared. The timing is always perfect from The Lord. I love it…Jesus tells his disciples, “STOP letting your hearts be troubled!” BELIEVE!!!  Trust in God and BELIEVE IN ME! There is not one second of our days where our God has forgotten us. He REMEMBERS our dedication.  He REMEMBERS our salvation! All 3 of my babies have said YES to JESUS!  They are HIS! That promise that He made to His disciples are for you and for me! He is ACTIVE!  He is working on our behalf here and now and also in the future. I love that he says he is preparing a place for us…and then he goes on to say that he is coming back. You would think it would say that he is coming back to take us to the place he is preparing, but the verse says, “I will come back and take you to be with ME!” You guys…Jesus LOVES us and wants us to be with HIM!  There is nothing better than that good news my friends. 

We all have moments when we think like Doubting Thomas and Realist Philip. These guys are the real deal. They dropped everything to follow Christ and yet they struggled. We all do. We all fall short. Jesus is calling us to simply BELIEVE! Don’t stop trusting in God and BELIEVING in JESUS! He is the EXCLUSIVE way to the Father. You cannot get to the Father without believing in JESUS CHRIST! PRAY! Cry out to HIM!  Get on your knees for your children. There is an evil that is trying to steal them away, but when God’s people PRAY, God is VICTORIOUS.  He will NOT let them be plucked from HIS hands. Keep speaking the truth in love to your children. Keep loving them. Keep showing them your TRUST in God…and watch our Faithful Father do what only HE can do! Jesus SAVES! He will see our babies through all of their precious days!!!  #ARISE #BELIEVE #PRAY 

I had the opportunity to get away this past weekend to a 6,000 acre ranch. The plan was to hunt, relax, eat some food and hunt some more.  I am not an expert level hunter. In fact, I just learned how to look through the scope of a gun just a little over a year ago. Here’s the funny thing, no one on this trip would have guessed this to be true. I talk a pretty big game. I like to give the impression that I know what I am doing even when I don’t. The thing about deer camp is you can’t mask this for very long. They will figure you out quick…especially when you aim and miss.

I had a lot of time to think about things while sitting still in a deer stand. I was surrounded by nature. I had “missed the mark” when I missed a boar that had come out from the woods. He got away. I was disappointed and wished that I had the chance to shoot again. It made me start to question myself. What else have I missed the mark on?

It doesn’t take long, when you allow yourself to be reflective, to open your eyes and see a clearer picture of the person you see staring back at yourself. I miss the mark on so many things. I miss the mark on being the wife, the mother, daughter, sister and friend I need to be. I’m not perfect, so why try to give the impression that I am?

We made it back in time to go to church yesterday. The title of our sermon was, “Esse Quam Videri.” This means “To BE rather than to appear.” It seems The Lord was not finished allowing me my reflective thinking. The words that were spoken were speaking straight to my broken heart. We were in the book of Acts when Peter was speaking to the crowd after they had witnessed Peter heal a beggar.  They were astonished by him and he quickly confronted their sin and made much of Jesus Christ.

“Men of Isreal, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. YOU handed him over to be killed, and YOU disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. YOU disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murder be released to you. YOU killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” Acts 3:12-15

Every time there is a YOU, you and I can place our name. We are sinners that fall short of the glory of God. We miss the mark! There is a remedy to our sin. Peter goes on to share it with the crowd. This is for us too. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be WIPED out, that times of REFRESHING may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you.” Acts 3:19-20

Sweet friends, if we are really His disciples, we must BE rather than appear. We must see the need for our own repentance. When we spend time with Him, he will allow us to see things the way they really are. I spent a good amount of time with Him yesterday, and tears flowed. I’m laying it down at His feet. We live in a world that only can condemn, but we have a Savior that WIPES away our sin. It’s gone! Done! Finished! Times of refreshment IS COMING when we lay it down! I will ARISE and GO! Won’t you join me?

A big THANK YOU to our sweet friends, The Chappell’s. We enjoyed our time with you and meeting your sweet friends. Thank you for putting up with my big talk self and loving me despite of it all. I’m such a work in progress, but thank God, He’s not finished with me yet.

Sometimes when this world has left me empty and has disappointed me I dream of Heaven. It helps me take my eyes off of my circumstances and place them on the reality that awaits me. It awaits for you too.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” The he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21: 1-7

I love that John was given this vision and he was faithful to write it down for you and me. I love that God spoke to John and told him intimate details of what he will do for his children that overcome this world. It overwhelms me. Visualizing him wiping away my tears bring me tears today. The dream of not having any more death, mourning, crying or pain makes me long for Christ to come.

Like John, God allowed me to get a glimpse of Heaven when I was watching my grandmother rest in her hospital room while my mom went downstairs to call and set up the Hospice Nurse. I was the only one in the room when she woke up. She looked over at me and called me by name. This took me by surprise as she suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease. She told me it was the most beautiful white she had ever seen. She went on to tell me she was going up the mountain and asked me if I thought she would know when she made it to the top. I held her hand and wiped away her tears as she continued to tell me what she saw. “I saw my mother and brother, they were smiling at me.” I knew that my precious Mema was on her journey to her forever home, and the peace that was ushered in was from God himself to me. I am forever grateful for that amazing moment with my grandmother. He allowed me to get a real glimpse of the glory that awaits for you and for me. Heaven is REAL sweet friends. This world is not our home. We are on a journey to the most beautiful and forever home we could ever receive and the BEST news is our God will dwell with us there. We will get to walk with him and talk with him. We will get to worship him all of our days. It will never grow old. I simply stand in AWE and can’t wait. Meanwhile, our charge as His followers is to keep marching on. Keep trusting in Him, the one who is faithful. He is making all things new. He told us that his words are trustworthy and true.

Did you know that all are invited to come? There’s no one unwelcome. I love this new song by Sidewalk Prophets. Take a listen. Let every word soak into your heart and help you breathe in His rich peace, grace and mercy that He offers. The invitation is easy to receive.  Jesus tells us in Mark 1:15, “The time has come,” he said, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, whoever would LOVE life and see GOOD days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:8-12

What if we each took these words and lived by them? I wonder just how different this world would be. Our family sat down a couple of months ago and really digested what these words were asking us to do. It’s been a challenge for us, but in trying to live up to them we have experienced a breakthrough. I hear words from my bedroom that bring a momma to tears, “I love you sis, good night.” Simple words that bring hope and life. Harmony! The bickering is being suffocated out by compassion. It only takes one to get it started. What if you were that one person? What if instead of responding to an insult we offered grace? What if we prayed for the one that is hurting instead of trying to pay back the hurt?

Listen to the break down of these verses: “In our fallen world, it is often deemed acceptable by some to tear people down verbally or to get back at them if we feel hurt. Peter, remembering Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39), encourages his readers to pay back wrongs by PRAYING for offenders. In God’s Kingdom, revenge is unacceptable behavior, as is insulting a person, no matter how indirectly it is done. RISE above getting back at those who hurt you. Instead of reacting angrily to these people, pray for them.”

There is a consequence to each direction we choose. When we choose to live in harmony with one another, to love, be compassionate and humble we LOVE LIFE and we see good days. The Lord’s eyes are upon us and his ears are attentive to our prayers. YES! I want and need  Him to hear me when I pray. How about you? When we choose to pay back evil with evil and insult with insult our consequence is steep. The face of the Lord is against us.

His word is a lamp unto our feet. It shows us how to live and shows us how to have a life of abundance. I don’t know about you, but I want that life. I want to offer a smile instead of a frown. I want to offer a word that can encourage over a word that can hurt. I want to show others sympathy instead of indifference. I want to be compassionate to what others are going through. We are all walking through our own trials. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all lend a shoulder or a helping hand instead of tending to our own selfish needs or desires. So what’s stopping us? Let’s get out there and LOVE BIG! Let’s ARISE! Let’s be obedient and experience a BREAKTHROUGH!

This is Genevieve Love holding me when I was first born. She is my Great Aunt on my dad’s paternal side. Everyone called her Dede. She had a contagious smile that would light up a room when you walked into it. She radiated JOY. I do not remember a cross word ever leaving her lips. She was gentle and kind, humble and generous. Everytime my parents would take us to visit she and Uncle Brooks they would give my sister and I a $1 before we would leave. We would get up in her lap and she would hug us as tight as her rheumatoid arthritis would allow. I will never forget my Dede.

This is Margaret McKnight. She is my Great Aunt on my dad’s maternal side. Everyone called her Aunt Honey. It was the perfect nickname for her. She was as sweet as honey. She was our family historical as she always had a camera. There was never a moment when Aunt Honey wasn’t asking you to smile. I was the first grandchild on both sides of my family. I learned to pose and smile at a very early age. She was the life of the party. Everything was BIG with Aunt Honey. She had exquisite taste in jewelry and perfumes. When my sister and I would visit we would spend hours in her bathroom spraying every kind of perfume and pretending we were movie stars. Before we went to bed my Uncle Hugh would make us a root beer float in a big fancy crystal glass…that’s right, right before bed. They rottened us because they could, and they wanted us to know we were loved. I will never forget my Aunt Honey.

These two ladies are where I get my amazing name, Margaret Genevieve. It’s why I go by Gennie with a “G.” I love it’s uniqueness. I love that I bear the name of two amazing ladies that never had children of their own but LOVED each of us as if we were their own. I love the qualities they both had, and I pray that one day my children’s children may remember me as fondly as I remember them. I hope I radiate JOY as much as Dede did. I hope I am kind and generous. I hope I am seen as FUN and the life of the party like my Aunt Honey. I hope I break out the crystal glasses and serve up something special for my grandbabies right before bed.

Last week I had a dream about my Nana. She was my dad’s mom, sister to Aunt Honey and the very best grandmother to her 9 grandchildren. It’s been years since I have dreamed of her. She was so beautiful in the dream, just the way I remember her. She was helping me clean out my drawers of all things. I remember waking up and just being so thankful for that precious dream. When I went to work that day I was having a conversation with our new Counselors. They asked me if my first name was Margaret. I said yes with a smile and went on to explain the heritage of my name. I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe The Lord was reminding me of my sweet heritage and to write it down so that my children and their children will know the depth of their heritage.

When God called me to “Arise” this year by being strong and courageous from Joshua 1:9 he also showed me the importance of remembering our heritage…yours and mine. We all are descendants from Abraham. We are like the Israelites trying to make it to our Promised Land. Just as God had parted the red sea with Moses, he parted the Jordan River for Joshua and his people so they could cross over. He will do the same for us. He is a “Waymaker.” No matter what mountain you are climbing or dry land you are walking through keep going. Persevere! Hold FAST! Remember His faithfulness. Write it down so you won’t forget. Share it with your loved ones.

“In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the people of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” Joshua 4:21-24

I love the footnote of my bible for these verses. It says, “Do you have traditions — special dates or special places–to help your children learn about God’s work in your life? Do you take time to tell them what God has done for you – forgiving and saving you, answering your prayers, supplying your needs? Retelling your story will help keep memories of God’s faithfulness alive in your family.”

I hope this inspires you like it did me to write it down. Tell your family, especially your children, of His faithfulness. Life is hard. It can try to knock you down to the point you don’t want to get back up, but when we remember His faithfulness not only to us but through the hands that have gone before us it gives us the courage and the strength to keep going!

Today I dedicate this blog in loving memory of my Father in Law, Charles Wayne Coe – February 11, 1944-January 22, 2014. Four years ago today…we miss him, we love him and we will always remember our Grandad!

To my husband…keep marching on sweet one! Persevere, hold-fast, we will make it to the Promised Land! I love you now and forever.