This is the place you’ll find hope. The kind of hope that can carry you through those hard places you unexpectedly find yourself in.
I’m no stranger to the hard life throws at us and in the midst of trying to find my way through one of those dark places I heard 4 words deep in my spirit,
“Lift Up Your Eyes.”
It was a gentle reminder from our great God that I needed his perspective instead of my own to walk through my husband’s unexpected journey to Heaven.
Those words carried me and you too if you’ve followed along with me. They also led us to creating the Seek and Savor podcast which equips us to lift our eyes on a daily basis.
I’m Mama to four amazing young adults and Nana to six darling grands with two more on the way.
My sweet husband got to meet his Savior at the age of 47 after a year long battle with brain cancer. We miss him every day.
Life for me, felt like it was ending but God was doing a new thing.
I don’t know where life finds you today beloved, but God, He is all about doing a new thing in us and it begins when we fix our gaze on Him instead of our circumstances.
Life may be filled with hard things dear one, but we were made to do hard and holy things and in the process we become vessels of beauty, fit for the KING.
“My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. ” Exodus 33:14
I’d love to connect with you.
Email me using the form below and I’ll respond soon. I’m also available for speaking events for women of all ages and stages. For a list of topics, please visit my Speaking Page.
I woke up this morning with these words coming out of my mouth. “Up from the grave He arose.” But they continued… “With a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a VICTOR from the dark domain And He lives FOREVER…” These words are from a song written by Robert Lowry. But my heart claimed them aa my own upon waking. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came that we may have LIFE friends! I don’t know the things you may find yourself wrestling with in your everyday life. I don’t know the wilderness season you may find yourself in or the grief that may feel like is breaking your heart. But I do know this good news is bigger than a day! It was for yesterday, today and tomorrow. It will carry you when you feel weary and hide you in the shadow of the Almighty as you wait for deliverance. The good news that Jesus came, He died and He rose from the dead is for EVERYONE! It’s for you beloved. John 14:1 (ESV) “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.“ Psalm 9:10 (ESV) “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.“...
10 years ago we spent our spring break at the beach. Alan’s body had just been buried but I knew he was fully ALIVE. 2 years after that I penned words sharing what the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart that day. The truth of them is still breathing life into me today.I find myself growing in the fertile soil of them. I pray they will breath life into you as well, no matter where your heart is challenged in believing today.
“Yesterday as I worshipped I felt Christ brushing past the rubble in my broken heart. In some ways the pain of Alan’s absence can feel fresh all over again. It’s on those days I’m made aware again of how life doesn’t look like I thought it would. The shock has gone. The flashbacks of painful days are fewer and fewer. Yet, I often found myself kneeling in a graveyard of broken dreams, unable to find a vision for the future. As I would walk about seeing others grow old together, I would wonder what that would have looked like and sometimes the new dreams God was giving me felt too BIG or far away. But God…
I felt the Spirit whisper to my heart, ‘The graveyard is the perfect place beloved. I am not daunted by death. No, I conquered it. In fact, you must know something… I Still Move Stones.’ Cue the tears friends. He still moves stones!
Have you ever heard more beautiful words? I can hardly think of any.
Mark 16:4 says, “ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.” That great big stone that covered the tomb where they lay our Lord’s body had been moved. He came to conquer death. Then He tells us in Romans 8: 11, “ The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you.” At work in us? How is that possible? He is in the business of moving stones. The resurrected one wants to resurrect our hearts. He wants to conquer death on our behalf . Not just once when our earthly flesh fades, but every day! He longs to take the stones of brokenness, sin , heartache and death from our hearts. He wants to move the rubble out of our paths so we can LIVE resurrected lives. Because He lives, we can too.❤️#seekandsavorpodcast #christinus #liftupyoureyes #sundayiscoming...
We weren’t running to escape something, nor were we running to pursue our dreams. We were simply following God’s still small voice when we moved here 10 years ago this month. He was the one thing we could cling to in a tumultuous season of grief. We left everything we knew but we traveled with the one who knew us before we were born. Make room to hear His still small voice beloved. You won’t regret it. ❤️#seekandsavorpodcast #liftupyoureyes #rejoicealways #hopeforthefuture...
Sometimes, we just need to step away and remind ourselves that our God knows all that is troubling our souls and He has not given us over beloved.
For me that often looks like walking. After I walked this beautiful farm I sat on top of a hill and witnessed the ever changing sky. Minute by minute the colors changed, chasing each other until even the lavender faded to black.
It reminded me that everyday he goes to great lengths to show us He is present. We can either stop and notice or continue on, overwhelmed by what our feelings are speaking to us.
He is for you beloved! How do you press pause and remind your soul this is true?...
How in the world can we “rejoice always,” when we look at everything going on in your world and mine? Take courage my friend. God is still at work. Don’t miss this episode of the Seek and Savor podcast, Desperate for Rescue.#seekandsavorpodcast #liftupyoureyes #linkinmybio #rejoicealways...
God will always shine his light in the dark places for our benefit. He wants to tend our hearts. Are we looking for His light?
Removing things, that are dead or just taking up space will actually make room for LIFE friends!
And something wonderful happens each time we surrender to God. Whether that be the first time we surrender our lives to him or when we surrender on a normal day in an ordinary moment.
Hop over to the Seek and Savor podcast as we learn to disciple our hearts. ❤️ Link to listen in my bio. #seekandsavorpodcast #newheart #lightoftheworld...
*Life is always changing. Even this snow covered path I walked a couple of years ago is covered in ice today. Trees are uprooted and branches scattered all around.
Lift up your eyes friends and look back to see where you’ve come from and how far God has brought you.
Then ask him what’s next. Not in a 10 year plan kind of way. But just a “today” kind of way.
And maybe it starts with “Thank you!”
Thank you for bringing me this far.
I would love to pray for your next steps. Drop a comment if you want that.❤️
In this “instant society” we live in it is so tempting to ask for things like hope, joy and peace in a grocery list type of way. I ask. He delivers. And please don’t require me to wait. Instead, it is more about relationship. Like Jacob wrestling the angel of the Lord it is in the process of wrestling through life while holding onto the Lord that good stuff is produced. Ps. 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Take 10 minutes and listen to the rest of this episode, “Finding the Good,” on the Seek and Savor podcast. Something sweet happens when we realize there is purpose even in the hard and God wants to use it for our good! 💕...
I’ve been asking the Lord for more. I’m realizing I need Him more than I’ve reached for Him in the past. What I mean by that is, of course we need Him to save us, friends. But, He didn’t just sacrifice His life for ours and stop there.
Psalm 139 says He is intimately acquainted with all our ways.
When my husband went to heaven and the fog of constant grief started lifting, I began to see how very much alone I was..
Who would help me make all the decisions I was used to making with a partner? The ones, we take for granted like; What’s for dinner? What color should we paint the house? Is it time to replace the water heater or should we wait? And the bigger ones like how should I handle a conflict with my child or is it time to sell the house? It only took a few weeks before I had decision fatigue.😰 Then one day out of frustration, I said, Lord, since he’s not here, I need you to do all these things….And you know what? He did. As I waited on Him, he answered. I began asking him to be everything: my counselor, my friend, my physician, everything. So, it was no surprise to me after one particularly stressful week, I came across this verse in my reading.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy making wise the simple.” Ps. 19: 7(NKJV)
There He was again, giving me the perfect prescription for a dry, weary soul crying out for direction.
What do you need the Lord to do for you beloved?
Ask and he will answer. Seek and you will find.
Tag a friend who needs to remember that He wants to be our Everything! #liftupyoureyes #seekandsavorpodcast #heiswithus...
Lifting up our eyes to our faithful Father changes everything, especially us. Find more encouragement on my Seek and Savor podcast. 💕#seekandsavorpodcast #liftupyoureyes #rejoicealways #lifeafterloss...
More time at home can mean more time to look inside ourselves.
This makes us uncomfortable so we often fill our time with Netflix, music, or anything to distract ourselves.
I love a good movie as much as the next person. But I’m determined to walk out of this season with MORE.
When the Spirit led me to pray this prayer, it took me by surprise! “God please use the dead things to nourish the soil of my heart.” What did that even mean?
We’ve all got them beloved, things that aren’t bearing fruit. But here is the good news! He will use even those things.
Invite Him to turn the soil of your heart. Give it a good weeding. He works all things together for our good
We can trust Him.
Even as we see things slipping through our fingers that we wanted to hold onto.
God is already in the act of bringing life from that.
Can you trust him beloved? What is he asking you to let go? #lifeafterdeath #goodsoil #trustgodsplan...
