Meet Tara

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think....(Eph.3:20)
We serve a God of FAR MORE beloved.

Somewhere along the way, whether by fiery arrows of doubt and fear from the enemy or by our own insecurities; this truth becomes threatened.

We begin to think small. We begin to ask for little. We begin to tell ourselves to settle for less. We may even begin to think that we are hoping for too much.

Ah, what welcome relief to know that we serve a God who is able to do far more, abundantly than all we ask or think.
And the cherry on the top is the next verse: “According to the power that works within us!”
When you follow Jesus and His Spirit comes to live inside you, you have this same power, the power that raised Jesus from the dead. That’s no small thing friend.
So let’s dream with God. Let’s set our minds on things above rather than the earth. Let’s ask and seek and knock and do it all for His Glory.
#seekandsavorpodcast #hopeforthefuture #renewyourmind ...

She isn’t tiny anymore.
But as I look at her little bowed head and heart full of faith I am reminded that God is faithful.
We may live on a battlefield and feel the tug of war over our hearts and those we love but we forget something beloved.
Our God is able.
He isn’t dependent on our earthly wisdom.
He doesn’t rely on our ability to figure things out.
Even as a mature grandmother who walks with God I find my own heart forgetting.
I find myself anxious about waves that come against us, the ones that threaten to overtake us.
But when I quiet my soul, and surrender I remember.
I am not alone.
We are not alone.
He fights on our behalf.
Will He use us? Yes.
But the answers, the relief, the rescue lies in Him.
I got the joy of talking to this dear girl this week who isn’t this little anymore, about hearing God’s voice. We talked about how to recognize it, and how to make space for it.
Ah… that is the rub isn’t it friends?

“My soul waits in silence for God only. From Him is my salvation.” Ps.62:1
“My soul waits in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.” Ps. 62:5

When was the last time you waited in silence? If your heart feels conviction you aren’t alone.

Who is willing to wait on the Lord with me?❤️
#waitonthelord #hopefortheworld #seekandsavorpodcast ...

Have you ever found yourself holding your breath, not even aware you were?

Maybe you are anxious about all the things staring you in the face.
They may even be accompanied by the potential threats of what could happen tomorrow .
 It’s hard to follow the instruction not to worry about tomorrow.
 And yet God’s word doesn’t just say. DON’T WORRY for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.
He tells us what to do instead.
Today’s episode of the Seek and Savor podcast is, “In Need of Joy.”
We don’t just talk about needing it. We look at God’s word for instruction on how to attain it.
Find the link to listen in my bio. #seekandsavorpodcast #findingjoy #womenoftheword #christianpodcast ...

There’s a lot of things grasping for our attention,
Situations and circumstances that would draw our hearts away from the one who brings LIFE.
Proverbs 4 speaks a good word for us beloved. It reminds us to….

Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.

Setting our gaze on the right thing is the difference between overcoming or being overcome.
In Peter’s situation it was the difference between walking on water and sinking into it.
I know it can feel SO very hard but today, right now, what if you just “lifted your eyes?”
What if you took them off that THING and put them on your great God?
I promise you, Jesus makes everything look smaller.
And He will sit with you in the midst of it all.
#seekandsavorpodcast #hopeforthefuture #changeyourperspective #renewyourmind #wordofgodspeak ...

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 ...

What love are we filling our hearts with this week?

Is it a temporary one that serves ourselves?

The Word of God is able and actually designed to perform surgery on our hearts dear ones. It penetrates the deepest parts of our soul and spirit.

Where there are lies, it can uproot them and plant truth.

If you struggle with fear God’s love can uproot it and plant faith that He is able to love you well and enable you also to walk in love.
He is able to wash your mind in the truth that whatever is coming against you His perfect love casts out fear and He will be the keeper of your heart.

Lay down the striving and rest in His love. ❤️
#layitdown #restinhim #loveofgod #seekandsavorpodcast ...

I ran across this quote one day that I’d saved from T. Davis Bunn-
“The whole world’s out there screaming for our attention and only one little voice in our heart is whispering ;The answers not out there. It’s in here.”
Oh how I want to listen to that still small voice beloved!

There have been times in my life I desperately wanted to hear from God. I know you have too. Write it on the wall, Lord. ❤️
Isaiah 30:21 says,
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, This is the way, walk in it.”
Now more than ever it’s imperative that the sheep know the Good Shepherd’s voice.
We could just make up our own path but why would we do that when He can see down the road? He can direct our steps and lead us in triumphant procession.
For more on this check out my Seek and Savor podcast and search the episode, “The Good Shepherd.”
#seekandsavorpodcast #hearinggodsvoice #liftupyoureyes ...

We serve a God who will not let us go missing.
He leaves the 99 to go after the one lost sheep.
Sometimes beloved we are lost because we wander.
And sometimes we are lost because the weeds grow high, we get distracted and darkness falls all around us.
Take heart.
Lift up your eyes.
And let the stars remind you that he knows your name and he will not let you go missing.

“Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who created these stars,
The one who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name.
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.”
#liftupyoureyes #countthestars #thosewhowander #lightoftheworld
Is 40:26 ...