May Your Love Abound...

Greetings, dear friends!

For those of you who read my weekly posts, I ask your forgiveness for not posting last week. I was a bit under the weather. You may want to consider subscribing to this blog. That way you will recieve notification as soon as my blog is posted each week. I post every Monday.

Now on to the topic. I love the Christmas season; the sights, the smells, and the sense that hope is within our reach. I know that for many, this season ushers in stress, fear, and anxiety. As much as we would love for our lives to represent the thirty second holiday commercials, most of us know what it is to barely hang on while those around us celebrate with glee.

Life has a way of disregarding the special dates on the calendar. Thankfully, the promise of peace doesn't abide by a schedule either. We are promised peace and love on every day, in every situation. And yet, how easy it is to let anxious and fearful thoughts tie us up like an old string of Christmas lights. It seems wrong that one burnt-out bulb can extinguish a whole string of lights, but it can. It seems equally unfortunate that the darkness of fear often overtakes our capacity for faith, hope and love.

Just this morning I read these words from scripture:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11).



Rather than relying on the season to deliver us a gift of the perfect-looking Christmas, may we instead walk in, rely on, and count on the love of God who daily lavishes Himself upon us. Instead of fretting because others let us down or overlook us, let us walk in love with an ever increasing understanding of its power.

When we make it our aim to recieve as much of the love of God as our souls can handle, we will be made full during the most depleting times. When our goal is to give away as much love as we can (regardless of our circumstances), we will find a richness no commercial could ever capture.

Take a deep breath today. Look out the window and smile. Know that your name is written on the hand of God and know that your life is in His care. Refuse thoughts of worry, doubt and fear.

Embrace faith instead. Cling to the hope that God will make everything beautiful in its time. Walk in love today. Give away as much love as you can. Be a blessing to everyone around you. Give to those who have less than you.

Establish a new level of Christmas joy by abounding in love because the King of the world is overwhelmingly in love with you. The more you give, the greater your capacity to receive.

By the way, these darling children are my niece and nephews (what a picture of love!).

A Divine Appetite

In a few short days, we in America will celebrate a wonderful holiday. The rich scent of turkey and stuffing in the oven, pies on the cooling rack, and a spice candle burning on the stove will usher in our sweet time of Thanksgiving. As we set our best table, play our best music, and put on our best spread, the sights, sounds, and scents of the season will fill up our homes.

Thanksgiving is a great time for families and friends to gather and enjoy one another's company. Even more so, Thanksgiving is a profound time to pause and give thanks for the ways God has been faithful to us as a nation, and more specifically to us as His children.

I am counting the days until my boys come home from college and we're all together again. I am excited to hear their latest tales of adventure and as much as I hate to admit it, I am even looking forward to seeing them wrestle around on the floor and turn the house upside down.

My mouth waters as I think of my sister's sweet potatoes or my Mom's stuffing. My brother-in-law makes the juciest turkey known to man and I will be bringing some delectable desserts.

And yet, while it is true that I look forward to this Thanksgiving with great anticipation, truer still is the Divine Hunger God has stirred within me this past year. More than anything, I hunger for more of Him.

I love how God moves in when we draw near. I love how He drops surprises in our path when we least expect them. I love how He loves the least-of-these and asks us to as well. I love how He whispers when the rest of the world screams. I love how He quickens the heart when a song resounds, or a bird sings, or a child laughs.

There's something about this Divine walk that stirs up the hunger.

When we know there's more, we want it.

I know there's far more to the character God than I could ever comprehend. I know He promises to be found by those who earnestly seek after Him. I know that He actually confides, confides, mind you, in those who walk with Him in a reverent way.

He cherishes our dreams and refuses to quench the smallest hopes. He remembers our prayers long after we forget them and He's constantly moving on our behalf. Every thought He has towards us is born out of deep love and affection.

He's been there for me and I love Him so.

I know Him more now, than I did last year. Much more, in fact.

And it's not enough for me.

My prayers of late have been, "I want more, Lord. And once You've given me more, increase my capacity for You, and then give me more again. I want to be so full of Your compassion and Your love, that when others encounter me...they encounter You."

Hunger is a good thing when it makes you turn to Him.

May this blessed Holiday Season stir up a renewed hunger and affection for the One who deeply loves you.

Proclaim His Power!

The enemy of our soul comes to steal, kill, and destroy all that's living and beautiful and good in our lives. But God intends for us to have life, and not just life, life abundantly, life to the fullest, life spilling over and all around us. When we walk in the fullness of all God has for us, we can't help but give away the freedom, and healing, and life which has been so freely given to us. So how do we overcome the enemy's plans for our demise? Revelations 12:11 tells us that we overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. One drop of Jesus' perfect shed blood is enough to restore and renew your whole life. The blood of Christ forgives and heals us. One way to walk in the fullness of God is to know that though His blood was shed long ago, the power still works for you today. The power of His blood is not a "back when" He died, or "back when" He saved you sort of thing. Every single day you have access to the power of His blood, and you need it. When you blow it and need forgiveness, His power is there to cleanse you and make things new. When you trip and fall over your own inconsistencies, the power of His blood is there to stand you up, brush you off, and set you on the path again. When the enemy steals from you, or you hand something over because of your own ignorance or unbelief, the power of His blood gives you the authority to get it back again. One way to overcome the assaults of the enemy is to daily walk in the redeeming power offered you because of Jesus' shed blood. The other way to put that enemy under your feet...is the word of your testimony.

I recently spoke at an event with a number of other speakers. One of those speakers was Fern Nichols, president and founder of Moms In Touch International. I was blessed to share a meal with Fern and let me tell you, this is a Kingdom woman.

Our food sat neglected on the plate as we sat sideways on our chairs, leaned in close, and shared one God-story after another. Fern so sweetly asked about my journey to Jesus and I shared it with her. She was so engaged in my testimony that my own faith swelled as I shared.

As she chronicled her journey, I was inspired by the foundation of faith her parents had built beneath her. My soul was so nourished in that time with Fern that the meal itself was simply a side note.

At that conference I spoke to total of about a thousand women. I heard story after story of how God divinely spoke to each one. Many, many women approached my table with tears in their eyes and a story on their hearts - a testimony of how Jesus personally met them, encouraged them, and blessed them at this conference.

The telling and the hearing of our testimonies encourages faith, reminds us of His love, and challenges us to walk in the Power of the Living God.

The night before the conference, I opened up to a passage in Psalms. Here is my paraphrase, "Proclaim the power of God...He gives power and strength to His people (68:34-35).

Live in the power to which you have access! Walk in and count on the power of Christ's love to heal, renew and restore your life. Every day, embrace the forgiveness and healing that's been made available to you.

And I challenge you today, and tomorrow, and the next day, proclaim the power of God! Tell your story. Recount the ways God has faithfully led you and cared for you. Proclaim by faith that He will come through for you again (this is the testimony of faith). You will be empowered and strengthened as you do! Ask others to tell you what God has done in their lives. Listen intently and rejoice over thier victories. This will encourage their faith and challenge yours.

We overcome the enemy - the thief of all that is beautiful and good - we overcome him by the Power of the Blood and the Word of our Testimony.

Tell me, what is God doing in your life?

Expect More!

Our God is Mighty and Strong and True, and He is bent on our freedom and wholeness. Psalm 118:5 says, "In my anguish I cried to the Lord. He answered me by setting me free." How often do we ask for just enough and no more? We ask for just enough to get by; we ask for a break, but He offers a breakthrough. We ask for relief, He offers us freedom. Jesus is not interested in making us more comfortable if it keeps us in prison. He wants us free! He is intent on our freedom and He wants us to desire it as much as He does.

Can you proclaim out loud, "I am free!"? Do you feel free? It is for freedom that Christ has set us free! We are not, no never again, to be subject to a yoke of slavery (see Galatians 5:1).

Before we were Christians, we had a list of accusations that stood against us and confirmed our guilt. But the Bible says that list, that debt, has been cancelled, and not just cancelled, taken away. With our guilt came supernatural powers that had legal right to steal, kill and destroy everything beautiful God offers us. This is the best part! When Jesus died on the cross, He did more than cancel the debt and remove the reminder of our guilt, He triumphed over the spiritual powers opposed to us. He disarmed them and made a public spectacle of the enemy's power by defeating death on the cross.

Think of it. Your list, your spiritual debts have been taken away. The enemy's right to keep you in prison has been disarmed. Your prison door is swinging on its hinges.

We've all given up a measure of our "paid for" freedom because of sin, fear, unbelief, and ignorance.

None of us can walk in true freedom without contending for it. We all have our share of battle wounds, past mistakes, and certain fears. Only those who are bent on their freedom find it.

If we had torn ligaments in our ankle and were unable to walk and do life with ease, we would pursue medical care and do the physical therapy necessary to regain our physical freedom.

Why, then, are we so willing to walk with a spiritual limp?

Oh, Lord, increase our understanding of all you want to do in and through us!

As we head into the holiday season, think about the gifts God wants to give you. Ponder for a minute how Thanksgiving precedes Christmas.

Begin thanking Him today for the ways He is going to come through for you. Thank Him by faith for the gifts He is preparing to give you. It's not that we are to treat God as our Santa Claus in the sky. The call on our lives is much higher than that. He delights in giving good gifts to His children. He longs for us to be fully free because when we are, we live powerfully on earth.

When every past hurt and offense is swallowed up by love, and when every fear is conquered because of Love's Redeeming Power, we then walk, and breathe and live, and give love and freedom to everyone we meet.

Ask for more! Expect more! Instead of asking for a drink of water, prepare for the raging river of God to sweep you off your feet and take you to your next place of promise! This is God's great will for you. Please Him by raising your level of belief and expectation!

Surrender...

My life verse is this: "And so I walk in His presence as I live here on earth" (Psalm 116:9). His presence is a place of promise, and nourishment, and care. We are never far from His provision and never more alive than when we walk by His side. Even in the wilderness, especially in the wilderness, He is there for us, walking with us, providing for us, and showing us the way to our next place of promise. Sometimes life leads us to places of great difficulty and struggle. Sometimes our circumstances scream that God has forgotten us and will not come through for us. It is in those places where we are tempted to set up camp in the wilderness and make it our home. We get used to the less-than life we are living, and it seems easier to settle than to hope for something better. But we must never surrender to our circumstances, only to God, and there's a big difference between the two.

The Old Testament tells how the Israelites took forty years to complete a journey that should have taken them about one week. One commentary says that this was a consequence of their rebellious fears. Now God cares deeply for us and aches when we are afraid, but when we coddle our fears more than we cling to God, those fears become an affront to His loving care and provision for our lives.

In the Psalms it says, "The people refused to enter the pleasant land for they wouldn't believe His promise to love and care for them. Instead they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord."

They refused to believe the Promise, and then they grumbled because their life had no promise!

Does that sound familiar?

The Israelites were not made for captivity. They were made to live free and reign as representatives of the Most High God.

We were not made for captivity. We were made to live free and reign as representatives of the Most High God.

Surrendering to our circumstances is like camping in the wilderness, refusing to believe that God is leading us to our next place of Promise.

Surrendering to God amidst our circumstances is to say, "Lord, You alone know what is best for me. I can't see You, I can't feel You, but I know You'll come for me. I know Your promises are true for me here. I know You have a purpose for me here, and I know You've made a committment to love me here. You get to decide how this goes, Lord. I will trust in You. I will walk through this wilderness, but I will keep my eyes upward and my ear bent towards Heaven. I will lean in and listen and watch for my breakthrough, for I know You will come for me. My circumstances do not define me, Lord. You do. I am Yours and I will follow You forever. Amen."

But for you who fear My Name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture (Mal. 4:2 NLT).