{Pieces}

Life tends to move at a wicked speed, as we have already all established together and agreed upon. Life can throw curve balls and changes that you may or may not have seen coming from left field. Life can leave you feeling like the world has taken and taken and taken, and you stand there with only your empty scarred palms held open. Life can make you feel like the world around you is falling to pieces, and all you can do is watch them scatter away.

Life can be like that sometimes. 

Days can be hard and moments can be rough, but clinging to the promise that God is who He says He is, it's the only way I can make it through each and every hard day or moment. Bringing my worries and cares, my chipped urn before Him, with my empty scarred palms held open is all He wants. The daily surrender of Your will, not mine. Your ways, not mine. Your plans, not mine. Your strength, not mine. I'm thankful that God has allowed me to be on His team. I'm thankful that God has called me His own, and He never grows tired of me coming to Him (even if it's about the same ole thang because let's be honest, processing things take time).

I know so many folks that go through each day as it comes without knowing the all surpassing peace that Jesus provides. And I say this not to be demeaning in any way, but because it's an honest question - How? How do you go through the hard without Him? I know I'm not strong enough to do any of this life without Him (believe me, I've tried!). More days than not, I'd rather just throw in the towel and say, "God, beam me up!" 

But to live is Christ, to die is gain as Paul says in Philippians. So I'm choosing to trust that God is who He says He is. I'm going to heed to the godly advice from a man (Paul) who's life was radically changed in physical and spiritual ways, because he must've been onto something when he was given this wisdom. To know Jesus is to know love.

So then, if to live is Christ then we must choose the hard and walk through it with Hope and Grace, because of His strength. That means choosing to wake up and have the hard conversations with your spouse. That means choosing to fight for your marriage. That means choosing to raise your child in the way you should. That means loving on the difficult neighbor or co-worker. That means choosing to be real and authentic with people while showing them the mercy of Jesus in your life.

Mamas, friends, loved ones - choose the hard in every day life. Even when it feels like the immediate inner sphere around you in slipping away piece by piece. Know that God is still holding on to you so tightly, and will never let you go.

"When the night is holding on to me,

God is holding on.

When the night is holding on to me,

God is holding on...."

That Old {Rugged} Cross

Let's talk about that old rugged cross and what it means to me.

As Easter is coming, the sweet old hymn of "Rugged Cross" is on repeat in my head. As a woman of faith, that cross represents so much to me -- the hope and joy I experience every single day is because the Son of God chose to hang from that old rugged cross and die for me and my sins. But He didn't do it just for me. No, he did it for everyone. 

Have a shared my story with you? Not my story of marriage or becoming a mom. Or the story of how I'm a sister to 3 younger siblings. Not the story of my dearest friendships or work life. No, this is my story of redemption and continual restoration day in and day out.

I was the kid that took my family to church. My mom will totally agree with this statement. I loved getting dressed up and going to the church I grew up in, looking at the stained glass cross at the front of the church and hearing about a man named Jesus. As I stepped into my teenage years, I walked through the confirmation process because, honestly, it's what I thought I had to do. Looking back now, I see that my head was in it but heart wasn't there and I had not been discipled properly to fully understand the weight of my decision (discipleship will be a whole 'nother platform I'll preach on someday).

So, I did that and became involved in youth group. I loved the friendships, the trips, feeling like I belonged to a group. Unfortunately, I was an inch deep and a mile wide in my faith. When I hit 18 years old and college, I ran fast and hard from church and my faith. I became wrapped up in a relationship that was nowhere near God-honoring or healthy. Towards the end of that relationship, God began removing those scales back from my eyes and leading me towards Him. Ultimately, I left the relationship and began chasing after Him again. I'll be honest, it was a very slow start and it wasn't entirely successful every day. But thank God for grace, amen?

Here's the thing about my faith and all that it is - it absolutely does not mean I have it all together, or that I don't struggle with things (hello anxiety, lack of patience, sour mouth, etc.). But because I have surrendered and said, "God, you're bigger than me. You're the only one that can change me," I have a hope and joy that is unexplainable. The finite problems of this world don't weigh me down anymore, and the fact that I know when I take my last breath on this earth, I will take my next breath standing before my Maker. How incredible is that? Do you believe in that?

Let's say I'm wrong for a minute, and all this Jesus stuff I believed in the majority of my life was just a bunch of story-telling. All that means is at the end of the day, I end up in the ground just like you and that's that. But what if I'm right, and all this Jesus stuff is legit? My life after my last breath, after that comma, will continue and be in a beautiful place called Heaven and I won't know suffering there, I won't have tears, and I will be with my Savior who died on that rugged cross for me. As for the one who didn't believe in this Jesus stuff, after their last breath and after their comma, their life will continue but we won't be together in Heaven. And that wrecks my soul in unimaginable ways. 

So, I tell you all of this because of a great quote by an atheist I once heard - "How much do I have to hate you to not share with you the greatest hope and joy I have?" 

I don't hate you but more than anything, I want you to know that there is hope and joy and peace and all of that even in the midst of suffering and struggle. Does my faith make bad things not happen to me? Absolutely not. But it makes going through the hard things easier because at the end of the day, this isn't my final home and this isn't where my hope lies. My hope lies in the one that hung on that old rugged cross.

"So I'll cherish the old rugged cross

'Til my trophies at last I lay down.

I will cling to the old rugged cross

And exchange it someday for a crown."

**If after reading this you have questions, please message me, text me, call me, send me a smoke signal. I will never ever shame you for asking questions, and I welcome the really hard questions that challenge my faith. I love you, but Jesus loves you more and you deserve to know Him.**

Blueberry Muffins {and} Bible Reading Musings

There is nothing like a homemade southern blueberry muffin, complete with the crunchy topping. It just exemplifies the southern way of life when it comes to eating -- we don't skip out on the good stuff, folks. Blueberry muffins and anything with peaches in it. Let me stop while I'm ahead because man, my mouth is watering.

Now that we've established all that is right and holy with the blueberry muffins, let's move on to some Bible reading musings. I'm going to be totally honest here, is that alright with ya'll? 

I have always struggled with my Bible reading.

Like, always always. I have over the years admired the women in my life who can wake up before the sun rises, prepare their coffee and breakfast for the day (if they're a true southern woman, it's a blueberry muffin with crunchy topping, amen??), and dive into God's Word. And then they're able to go about their day and radiate the love of Christ to all they interact with. Very much the Proverbs 31 type gal.

Then there's me... 

I would set my alarm earlier, threaten myself before falling asleep that if I didn't wake up so-help-me-God, only to hit snooze and sleep in. Then of course, I'm rushing around like a mad woman with her britches bunched in a wad and just chastising the very existence of my soul for not waking up when I should have. Then the guilt sets in, you read a couple quick verses because "it's the right thing" (no, it's not, not if your heart is not in the right place), and go on about my day. What a travesty. Also, for those that are muttering, "Well she can do her Bible reading before bed." No, no she cannot. Because as soon as my body goes horizontal, my eyes close. Believe me when I say I've tried!

BUT. There is always victory in Jesus. 

I began a Bible reading plan through my Bible app and I thought to myself, "Okay, let's just read this. Let's dive into God's Word and READ it. Read it word for word as I would a novel." Again, let's be honest... Old habits die hard. But GOD. New habits can be formed with time, and perseverance, and patience, and the Spirit moving in you when you allow, and coffee, and blueberry muffins as snacks. The start was hard, I will not lie. But as I continued to press on toward the goal, I truly began to fall in love with the words before me. The stories and the reminders of God's faithfulness no matter what. Thank goodness for Jesus and His love for us!

My goal is to read the Bible entirely. I want to read the stories, psalms, passages, and love letters that my sweet Father intended for me. Once I have read through the Bible entirely, then I will go back through and dissect it piece by piece because for me, the stories will be familiar and I can say, "Oh! This is when this happened." Just as Jesus becomes familiar to me each and every day in my sanctification process, His Word will be like an old familiar friend when I read it. As a Christ follower, how can I NOT know my faith intimately? That would be like standing at the altar with Hunter making a vow to love and cherish... Only to turn, walk away, and hardly know the man. What is the point?? If I can do it, you can do it too. 

Thank you, Lord, for your Word filled to the brim with love and grace. And thank you for blueberry muffins.

Taking {Stock}

Before we became parents, someone once told me that "the days are long but the years are short." Maybe for you friend, but for me? The days are short and the years are even shorter... How is that even possible??

Time flies when you're having fun, I presume.

Let's take stock of where we each are at today at the end of another week. How are you physically? Mentally? Spiritually? The hustle and bustle and every day grind can distract us from staying connected to our internal thermometer. We can become so busy just trying to keep up that before we know it, we're wondering why the internal cup is drained empty and how do we fill it back up. 

As a wife and mama, we wear many hats. Caregiver, chauffeur, chef, maid, lover, friend, employee, and the list goes on. We spend our entire day being needed by someone and exerting every bit of the best we have to offer to meet those needs. I hear you mama - it's a lot some days! But take heart and hear me when I say this...

... You're an incredible wife. You are a good mama to those babes. You're raising small humans to one day be strong like you and enter the world in which we live to thrive. As a sister in Christ, you're discipling and leading and guiding the small heart towards the Lord. You're doing big things, mama...

So if you find yourself overworked, exhausted, feeling defeated, or just tired of the routine - know that you are loved, cherished, and what you are doing matters. You are valued and appreciated. You truly are wonder woman. And rest in this - find your identity first as a daughter of God. From this, everything else will flow.

Daughter of God...

...

Wife striving to live the Proverbs 31 life...

...

Mama to littles that adore you...

...

Faithful friend to so many around you...

...

And so on.

Keep waking up, keep discipling, keep loving because the work you are doing now is making waves in the lives of those you impact. Find rest this weekend and refill your cup, mamas!

Women for the Gospel

Happy Wednesday ya'll! This is coming a little later in the morning than usual but hey, life happens and sometimes you've just got to live it. Hunter and I have been invited to be guest speakers tonight for a youth group so we're very excited about that!

 

A couple weeks ago, I shared an article with ya'll that focuses on the aspect of women's ministry. A friend of mine had shared it with me when I voiced to her my desires to start a women's ministry group. With the details in place, the facebook event created, and the word is out... I wanted to share with ya'll the heart of this ministry.

 

Women's ministry, as of late, hasn't been getting the best of reputations. And honestly, I'm in agreement with many of those nay-sayers. I have noticed that many, not all, but many women's ministry groups are more focused on the social aspect of it all. Getting together to have breakfast, maybe study the Word, gossip about who is doing what seems to be the norm lately. Now like I said, not all of women's ministry groups are like this; if you're ministry group is out in the community and sharing the Gospel with others, then this doesn't necessarily apply to you.

 

With this stigma in mind and my passion for people (specifically women and teenage girls), I wanted to create a women's ministry that focused on 3 things:

 

Love the Lord with all our hearts and intentionally share it with other women in the community.

 

Come together to study the Word and create a safe haven where we can ask each other the hard questions that nobody wants to ask.

 

Do life together.

 

The most important piece of this entire women's ministry is to bring glory to God. If it doesn't do that, then it's a waste of time. Even though we're in "modern times" and women are held to much higher standards than they were several years ago, women still aren't fully regarded as equals in our communities. When you spend time with teenage girls, hear their stories that just absolutely wreck your heart, and find that it's almost considered "normal" because nobody can really do anything about it, then there's a problem.

 

We need to empower the women in our communities. We need to remind them that they are a child of God, created in His image, beautiful in every way, and that they can rise above the discrimination, abuse, and indifferences towards them. They can take this and share it with their families, teach their children how to live and love like Christ, and empower other women around them.

 

THIS. IS. NECESSARY. 

 

Clearly, I have a passion for this. Clearly, God has a passion for all the women in this world. When I mentioned being intentional, I meant we will go spend time with people that not a lot of folks want to spend time with because it's uncomfortable. That means women in prison, young mothers in the pregnancy center, the prostitutes and adult entertainment ladies... You name it. We're loving on them.

 

Friends, I ask that you will pray for this group. We're meeting in a week and a half, and I cannot wait. Pray that we will put the Lord first in everything we say and do. Pray that we will intentionally love each other and others in our communities. Pray that when we do life together and study the Word, it's with open hearts and minds because let's be honest, we all come from different walks of life.

 

If ya'll have any questions at all, please feel free to leave a comment or email me directly. I have so much passion and love for this ministry and rather than joining all those nay-sayers and doing nothing about it, I want to embrace those nay-sayers and change it for the better. As we meet and continue to share the Gospel, I will share some of the experiences to hopefully encourage others to do the same.