I felt this word drop so strongly into my heart tonight. I shared it first on my FB Page, but then felt like I should post it here too… Continue reading →

Part Four: Getting a “word” from the Lord for your year

Many of you have, for some time, gotten a word that tends to frame out the upcoming year for you. It could be something that captures in one word (or phrase) the focus or desire of what you sense the year will bring about, or what direction you feel you are being pulled towards or even what you hope and pray to experience. Words like: Joy. Courage. Rest. Belief. Intentional. Obedience. Hope. Build. Release. Balance. Restoration. These are just some of the words I’ve already seen popping up in friend’s posts for this coming year. But where do these words come from? Does everybody get a word? And if we’d like to have a word, how can we know what our “word” is? Continue reading →

Part 3: Knowing What Season You’re In

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

Seasons are cyclical, and just like we experience seasons in the natural, so we experience natural rotations through spiritual seasons. Each one has a unique purpose in our lives and knowing what season we are in now can help us navigate more clearly what we are experiencing spiritually. We can also start to anticipate and prepare for what season we will most likely step into next. Continue reading →

I hope you’ve had a chance to read my first post in this series. If not, I encourage you to do so. Before moving on to the next step in this process, I wanted to give you an update on my “reflection” step. I did say I’d open up my journey to you, so, here you go. Continue reading →

I’ve just hung a new calendar on the wall and cracked open my new day-planner so I can start penciling in some key dates for the new year. I love the holidays. But there’s a unique, unmatched energy that comes with flipping over to a new calendar and starting a brand new year. Continue reading →

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.

And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa….”

Acts 10:1-8 NLT

I would have to look it up in my journals to be exact, but if my memory serves me correctly, I want to say it was the earlier part of 2008….maybe even as early as 2006.

I was reading through this exact passage in Acts when suddenly, a dissatisfaction set in over me. Continue reading →

Today, I woke up as usual. Had my morning coffee. Read some. Started getting the family ready to go. But as I considered everything else that was on my plate to do today (all the necessary, but not-as-exciting stuff)…this is all I kept thinking:

“Maybe I’m not really what I think I am. Maybe I have a higher value or thought of myself than what I’m really capable of. It has been so hard to do what I feel like I am called to do in this season. I feel like I’m always giving my best energies to other things – things that I also sense are very important – but I can’t seem to get the traction that I believe I am capable of getting.”

“God, be honest with me. Am I really called to minister? Am I really called to write? Am I trying to do something I’m actually not cut out to do? Continue reading →

Some time ago, after moving to NC, I reached a point where I was, well, frustrated. Prior to moving, we had decided that I would take at least one year to get our family situated, get our kids transitioned to year-round school, and just make sure that all was well in place as we recalibrated into our new rhythm. I had plenty to keep me busy and it was a pure joy to have that time where I could just really focus on my family and our home. Yet once everything started falling into place, I was struggling with this sense that I – me, personally – wasn’t moving forward in what I felt God had called me to do. I felt like I was actively taking steps to move forward, and I was being obedient to His promptings, but I still didn’t feel like I was gaining any traction. And then one night, I had a dream… involving my garage. Continue reading →

“In the first part of my dream I was driving through a desert. It was daylight, the sun was shining bright, but there were no other cars on the road. All of a sudden, the scene shifted and I was in the parking lot of a large convenience store. It was a gas station and the shop associated with it was bright, new and really big. As I walked up to the doors, even while still quite a few feet away, the huge glass sliding doors just opened for me. I knew there was no way it was the motion sensors because I was still too far away from the doors. But I got the sense that this place had been anticipating my arrival and had intentionally opened the doors to receive me. Once inside the store, I noticed how much bigger it was than I had even thought at first. Everything was bright, colorful, and it was very cool in there, Very refreshing. And there were lots of things on the shelves to pick from.” Continue reading →