You're Not Alone....

"The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged...." Deuteronomy 31:8


I remember it like it was yesterday, December 12th 1998.....The EMT's were carefully loading my precious Daddy into the back of the ambulance as he literally struggled for every breath.....It felt as though every cell in my body were screaming all at once..."This can't be happening again!"
You see, My family (Daddy included) and I had just been through almost the exact same scenario just 4 months earlier with my precious Momma.....who, was by this time, in Heaven with Jesus......
I climbed in the front passenger seat of the ambulance, and as I did, I felt panic creeping in....as an only child, my life was becoming unrecognizable......and quickly at that!
I was numb......I sat there staring straight ahead with my heart and mind racing.....searching for something to hold onto in that moment when it felt like everything I knew....everything I had built my life around was slipping away......
Suddenly, my heart snagged on something....something solid, something true, comforting, and very familiar....it was faint at first, but the still, small voice began to grow stronger inside of me until I heard it with force and clarity......"NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU....NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU!"
And then I knew it.....I wasn't alone....despite how small and alone I felt in that awful moment, my God was there assuring me of His constant, eternal Presence......with me....and with my Daddy.
As God would have it, my Daddy did leave this world and join Him in Heaven that day, and even though I went through a season of fear and discouragement the like's of which I had never experienced before.....I have since learned the absolute truth of Deuteronomy 31:8......I am never alone and my Sweet Sister, neither are you.......
I don't care how alone you may feel, right now, at this very moment.....you simply must remind yourself that feelings lie! Scripture tells us, that God, on the other hand, is not a man that He should lie....to make it plain.....HE CAN'T LIE because there is no darkness in Him.....
He says you are not alone and by George, you're not alone....ever! Early in the morning, at noonday and late in the midnight hour....He is there.....with you, for you, by you, over you, and around you! Ever-loving, ever-caring, ever-present, ever-working.....
I wish I could say I've never experienced another moment of loneliness, sorrow, or panic.....nope, I can't say that at all.....I also cannot tell you that you'll never experience another moment filled with those emotions either.....what I can tell you though is this....now, when those moments find me, I try to do 3 things right away.....I close my eyes, quiet my racing mind/heart and begin to listen for His still, small voice.... and I listen hard until I can hear it ringing loudly within me like a bell full of eternal promise....."NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU.....NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU!"
I pray you can hear it too, Girlfriend.....I pray you hear it too.......


*For more great reminders that you're not alone head on over to http://holleygerth.com/ today and/or join me Monday, February 3rd at 10 AM EST on  Blog Talk Radio to hear more on ways to relate to loneliness!

You're Beautiful.....Just as You Are

As a 51,  very soon to be 52 year old woman, whose BMI falls comfortably in the "overweight" range....living in a society where all over the television, especially this time of year, are svelte, swimsuit clad, gorgeous, 20-somethings.....I really NEEDED this weeks reminder!

I am beautiful....just the way I am!!!! Why? Simply cause GOD SAYS SO and He alone, along with His Word alone, are to be our final authority!

Now, please hear me clearly, I am not at all saying that there is anything wrong with having been endowed with the God-given gift of external beauty.....every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above....beauty included!

I suppose that what I am attempting to say here is....while external beauty is good, it is not ALL that there is to beauty....especially in God's economy....and especially if you are a child of God in Christ! God's Word reminds us that external beauty is fleeting and does not last (Proverbs 31:30) but there is a most important "type" of beauty that does last, and goes far beyond external appearance.....that is "the beauty" I want to discuss with you today, and I pray with everything in me that by the time I'm done, you'll know for certain, just how gorgeous you really are!

The first thing I want to tell you about  "the beauty" afforded us by God via Christ is that it is eternal....

As 1 Cor. 15:35-50 tells us, we shall receive new, imperishable bodies....unlike the frail human bodies we now live in, our resurrected bodies will be very different from our earthly bodies.....Yes, we will be recognizable to one another, but our bodies will be spiritual ones; full of glory and equipped to endure for all of eternity.....without any of the trappings of earthly beauty that we so often feel the need to partake of in order to feel attractive on this side of life. In other words gals, someday we're gonna receive the Ultimate makeover and NEVER have need for another one......ever again!

The second thing you should know about our beauty in Christ; is that it debunks the world's standards of beauty because it manifests from the inside-out....not the outside-in.......

2 Cor. 4:7 assures us that we have been given a great treasure which is the light of Christ shining in our hearts! This "treasure" is the supremely valuable message of salvation in Christ Jesus which God has entrusted to us to share with those around us.....

In 1 Peter 3:3 Peter admonishes Christian women, particularly wives, to not be overly concerned with outward beauty...i.e. fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry and beautiful clothes.....but rather to concern themselves with the beauty that comes from within; the unfading beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit.

Now let me say again, this does not mean that we, as Christian women, should be dowdy and frumpy. It is absolutely good for us to take care of ourselves, be good stewards of the bodies God has given us, and to look one's best, but far more important than all of that is the developing of an inner spirit of Godliness,which again.....is eternal.

The Third thing you should know about our beauty in Christ is that it is recognizable in us, now....on this side of life because those who possess it also possess wisdom and discretion.....

 Show me a beautiful woman who consistently shows no wisdom and discretion in her behavior and I will show you a woman who does not yet fully know her worth in Christ! Proverbs 11:22 instructs us that a beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like adorning a pig's snout with a gold ring! Basically,  physical attractiveness without discretion is soon discovered to be quite ugly indeed. We also need to develop our ability to think and make wise decisions.....because those two qualities will lead us and sustain us in our efforts to walk out a Godly life here on the earth....yet again, leading to eternal gains.

Again, I can't speak for you gals, but it has done my heart good to be reminded that I can be comfortable in my own skin....right now....today and always.....I'm grateful to know that I can drop, and never need pick up again, the vices of comparison and competitiveness..... I'm grateful that I can continue on in my own race and seek only to become more like Jesus and better at being me.....and the cool thing is....you can too.....because Sweet Sis, you are beautiful.....just as you are! Always have been & always will be!

You're Loved

Ok....I'm just gonna go ahead and admit it.....I am a Girly-girl from the word "Go!" I absolutely adore all things "love" so this week's topic of the Coffee for Your Heart Encouragement Challenge over at Holley's website http://holleygerth.com/  totally floats my boat!
There's nothing better than romance.....good, old-fashioned, true, authentic, romance with the One and Only Lover of our souls!
Yes, human love is great....it can be fulfilling and endure for a life-time, but today, I'd rather we focus on the One true love affair we are offered for ALL of eternitty......The One True Love that doesn't change based on our successes, failures, good times, bad times, education level, or socioeconomic status.
By all means, I love you....like crazy as a matter of fact! I desire, pray and hope the best for you, and I want like nothing else to see you live life to the absolute full....but....unfortunately,  my love is fallible, flawed and finite.... Although I promise to do my best to honor God's decision to allow you & I to journey through life together, alas, that's all I can do....my best....which in the final analysis will not be anywhere near good enough to measure up to the love God Himself holds for you!
There are numerous aspects of God's amazing love that are worthy of our meditation and attention....it's eternal, enduring, unconditional nature are enough to make me swoon, but there's one thing I want you to know, cherish, remember, and hold onto for dear life.....Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus!
"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, "For we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39
I'm not sure about you, but I am in one of those seasons of life where I need to be reminded that I am loved beyond limits or circumstances! I need to be told afresh that I have a love covering me which cannot be shaken or removed.....contains none of the varying degrees of human fickleness.....watched me come into this world, shadows my every step through this world and will certainly be there someday to escort me away from this world.......And I pray Precious Friend, that I have reached my goal in today's post....I pray that your memory has been jogged, your faith bolstered and your heart stirred because we serve a God who is no respecter of persons.....in other words, He has no favorites amongst His kiddos.....just like He loves me....He wanted me to tell ya that you're loved too!

What I Want Those I Care About to Know in 2014

It has been quite some time since I have found myself so excited about taking part in something!
Holly Armstrong Gerth announced last week on her website http://holleygerth.com/ that she was beginning a new series titled "Coffee For Your Heart Encouragement Challenge" and my heart just jumped all over the idea of using my words to encourage and build up the hearts of those God has lovingly placed within my sphere of influence!
I am an encourager by gifting and nature; so being part of something so important.....so cool....just made perfect, immediate, absolute sense to me!
What makes this even more of a blessing for me is the fact that I had been seeking God about how He might have me share thru my regular weekly broadcast in this new year. There had been passing, fleeting ideas which didn't stick....but this Challenge......this caught, stuck and ignited like a wildfire in my heart!
What could be better than getting to spend the next few weeks to months lavishing words of life & love on those I care about?  Absolutely nothing!
In a world where so much of what we hear and are told is designed to make us feel less than and discontented, it is a pure JOY to deliberately set my heart and mind to doing the exact opposite!
I fully expect that the  dividends of completing this challenge will resonate in and thru my life not just for this year, 2014, but throughout all of eternity! That's my prayer at least.....I pray over all those who are embarking on this Encouragement Challenge that our hearts will enlarge with love and hope.....I pray that as we are purpose driven to share the vitally important resource of encouragement with others that God will see to it that we reap 100 fold on what we are sowing! I pray that the joy of The Lord will flow out of us and become contagious to those in our presence! Mostly, I pray that God will be glorified in and thru this series as many of us join together using the various gifts and talents He has entrusted to us as we seek to lift the hearts of His people! Amen!

Our topic for this week is: Encouraging Words I Want Those I Care About to Know in 2014.....so here goes!

1. I want them to know fullness of relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
John 14:6, John 10:10

2. I want them to know that relationship with God is possible because of God's great love for them.
John 3:16, 1 John 4:10-12, (and I am sharing Him because I love them deeply too....)

3. I want them to know they are created with purpose.
Eph. 2:10, Jer. 29:11, Psalm 139:14

4. I want them to know that God is still good even when life is not.
Romans 8:28, Gen.50:20, John 16:33, John 14:27

I hope you'll take the time to search out and reflect on each Scripture reference for yourself, but I also hope you'll join me Monday morning, January 13, at 10 AM EST as I elaborate and share my heart on each point via my weekly broadcast on Blog Talk Radio! Tune in at blogtalkradio.com/lotg so I can tell your heart even more of what I really want it to know!