The Plan I Have For You

Its hard to believe Christmas is over.  It seemed like I blinked and December was gone.  Saturday, I packed away the trees and decorations. The year we married, I started a tradition of purchasing one Hallmark ornament for each of us.  Four family members and 19 Christmases later, I now have enough to decorate an entire tree. Each ornament tells a story in our family.  There's "Our First Christmas" to celebrate the beginning of our family.  A silver tiara represents my "princess."  A red cardinal adorns the tree in memory of mine and Troy's grandmothers who loved red birds.  A little orange striped kitty is for the fluffy little pet who I claimed as my baby for 17 years, and an RV reminds me of the best family vacation we took. I smiled as I carefully wrapped each and placed it in the box. I have to admit I could use a "do over" for Christmas this year.  I spent December in a funk.  Friends around me were battling for their lives with...

Have you ever noticed how just when you seem to find your comfort zone, that is when God decides to shake things up a bit?  He started shaking things around in my life about three years ago.  Admittedly, I had gotten used to living life earthquake style, as long as I could do it in my shell.  Well now he's started peeling back the layers like a Bloomin' Onion on a tray at the Outback. I'm usually an encourager.  I started this blog to share my encouraging lessons with others.  Let me just be real and tell you something. The words penned in this blog have been very far between lately because I've been fighting a pretty big battle behind the scenes.  Its been hard to sit down and write an encouraging word when you are struggling to stay afloat yourself. I haven't kept it a secret my health has been an up an down battle for the past couple of years.  After this last surgery, I went on a run of headaches that lasted in the range of 50+ days before ...

No matter how strong you think your faith is, Satan will always attack you.  He knows exactly where your weak spots are, and he aims straight for the heart.  I've been trying to find the words to share with you just what has been going on behind the scenes of my usually tough Super woman front.  Can I make a confession to you?  I've been shaking in my boots.  This morning our choir sang an amazing Chris Tomlin song, the one that has been played over and over in my car trying to keep a straight face during a tough time.  As the words poured out of my heart, the memories of singing them over and over the past several weeks on the way to work, on many long, lonely trips to the doctor poured through my mind.  I was diagnosed with a suspicious spot on my left ovary in mid March.  Along with the diagnosis came more tests and a waiting game.  Surgery was scheduled, and the ovary biopsied.  Then more waiting to see what my fate would be....

Exodus 14:13-14 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord , which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.   The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. This morning God led me to the story of the Israelites and their journey across the Red Sea.  It still amazes me that every time I read something I have read many times before, I can still learn something new. In Exodus 14, God places the Israelites in an area where they appeared to be trapped.  God hardens the heart of Pharaoh and he sends out his army after them.  We all know what happens from here, Moses, led by God, stretches out his hand and parts the sea so the Israelites can cross on dry land.  Then God instructs Moses to once again stretch out his hand so the sea returns and drowns the Egyptian army.   We all have had our wilderness experiences....

Psalm 139 13 For You shaped me, inside and out . You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath . 14 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul. 15 You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You As I took shape in secret, carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb . 16 You see all things; You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb; Every detail of my life was already written in Your book; You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it. 17 Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them! How grand in scope! How many in number! 18 If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains...

I had an opportunity one day this week to be up early and take a road trip.  Road trips were a part of my life for five years.  The one part of travel I enjoyed was the quiet time.  It's been much harder to accomplish that being at home, and I really appreciated the opportunity to have that time this week. This was a special road trip, a four hour, round trip journey to take the entrance test for graduate school.  Its a dream I have been talking about for almost 10 years, or more. I topped a hill, catching a glimpse of the sun beginning to rise.  Literally the clouds were painted a beautiful pink before my eyes.  God's awesome, beautiful artistry in the making.  He painted the clouds and simultaneously spoke to my heart. God has opened many doors in my life.  In that moment, I understood the power of the doors he has closed.  If it had not been for a series of closed doors...and one through which he had to push ...

Isaiah 43:1-2:  But now, this is what the Lord says—      he who created you, Jacob,      he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;      I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2  When you pass through the waters,      I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,      they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire,      you will not be burned;      the flames will not set you ablaze. I flipped open my Bible to Isaiah several weeks ago after reading this verse, shared by a coworker as he began his cancer journey.  They are words of hope, and words of courage.  They are calming words and a promise from God to take care of us during our hardest times. I got so excited as I thought about the examples the Bible of God's provision described here. ...