The House You're Building

The Joy of Christmas Christmas is all about joy.  Every commercial venue is selling this emotion; from model’s poses on a website selling sweaters to the latest Hallmark movie, there is an expectation in the air that life will make sense, our relationships will finally come together, and we will feel light and free, our souls wrapped in incandescent light.  In dropping off my son at a sleepover last night, my girlfriend recounted how busy she’d been shopping, how much she still had to do, and how her New Year’s party wasn’t turning out like she hopped.  I appreciated her honesty.  So many of us put on a happy face this time of year and get through the holidays, thinking that maybe that next tradition will give us the pick me up we are looking for.  I’m guilty of the perpetuating the deception of Christmas cheer.  Last night was my work holiday party.  The whole week had been filled with heaviness. ...

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.  Romans 12:2 I had an unexpected lesson from God this morning.  The location of today’s encounter came at the Kia dealership.  A few months back we discovered the rear seatbelt in our 3 rd row had separated from the frame.  A bolt was not tightened properly and had to be reinstalled.  The shop had to order the part so this morning I returned to get the seatbelt fixed.  I have a dislike for sitting in waiting rooms in general but especially going to autoshops.  My dad was a mechanic and I’ve always felt they treated women differently.  Not that I’m a huge expert in car repair but I feel like I know more than most.  I started off frustrated because I was told I the repair would be free and take 30 minutes.  Then 10 minutes later I was updated that it would cost me $175 and take 90 minutes.  I called...

For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel - Zechariah 4:10 I have a tendency to get excited about things.  I've always been that way about ideas or plans.  When I learn a new skill, I start planning 10 new projects to make.  When I go on a trip, I  immediately try to start learning the language.  I can spend hours on Pinterest planning things I want to cook.  I do make new things every week to the chagrin of my family...can't we just have tacos again...but for every new recipe I try I have 5 more that I sit on my "making soon" board.   This year God has given me the challenge of getting to know myself, my limits and abilities and owning who I am right now.  With that knowledge, I'm to embrace my capacities and make choices that reflect balance for my life.  Last week my busy season came to head with multiple thin...

Recently my friend had back surgery.     An avid runner, fitness instructor, and triathlete, you can imagine how hard the thought of a minimum 6-week recovery was to her.     Not used to holding herself back physically, she had to allow herself to rest.     Once the initial healing-stage is complete, to compete again, she has to slowly ease herself back into her normal workout routine.    I’m a little different than her.  Though I attend a fitness class here and there, I don’t teach them.  For me a run is a 3-mile jog around a lake near my home, not a 12-mile toughmudder.  I also don’t think I could swim a half-mile leg unless I was in a shipwreck.  For me having to take 6-weeks off and watch Downton Abbey on the couch wouldn’t be too tough. Physical recovery is one thing, but what if you’re facing a recovery of the heart?   I was led to this question as I recently pondered a phrase in...

What do you say to a woman who just found out she has terminal cancer?  How do you respond when this woman is a complete stranger? How to you encourage when she begins opening up to you about her currently reality and the trauma from her past that has caused her to drift from God.   This past Collide event I had a divine encounter on a carpet-worn step.  I noticed something in her face that bespoke her burden.  I sat down.  She told me a fraction of her story but the Spirit within me revealed that she was carrying much more.  I knew she had fear and needed answers.  Was she going to be okay?   Inside I started to panic a bit—for how do you proclaim to a hurting woman that God is still good when He allows that impending diagnosis over your life? Especially when your own cancer story was early detection, outpatient surgery, and regular dermatology checks to make sure it hasn’t returned?   ...

A Personal and Powerful God who Sees Me He has a plan for you that is good… For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the  Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) He dries your tears… He has saved me from death,      my eyes from tears,      my feet from stumbling. Psalm 116:8 (NLT) He thinks of you often… Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count. Psalm 40:5  (NASV) He made you…intimately… For you created my inmost being;      you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Psalm 139:14 (NIV) You are never alone…   I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back ...

Sisters and Seekers, I logged onto the blog today after a long absence-I am now helping write for a local women's ministry and in this season of life, don't get to my blog as much as I want to.  Saw I had 18 readers from Israel this week!  Welcome and hope we can connect!  As always feel free to comment or send me a message...seeing women from all over the world access this content is such a blessing to me! So why the sudden break from my hiatus?  This teacher/mom/writer/daughter of God is home for day 3 of an unexpected winter storm.  Where I live in the Pacific Northwest, we typically get snow on our mountains and rain in the lowlands.  This winter has been a bit different.  We were getting 1-2 feet of snow over a few days time and the community services that treat our roads are just not ready to handle it.  That, along with freezing temps and meandering hills make the roads treacherous.  God has given me the gift of slowing down and th...