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
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We set our minds on many things. Some of them are good and some of them just further distract us from the very present battles waging war against our souls. I was thinking about how to handle those battles one day so I returned to The Word. And here is what happened…. “The TRUTH of the Word was doing something inside me. It was bringing life to my bones. It was waking up parts of my heart that were asleep. Perhaps dear ones, if we truly saw the WAR going on in the spirit world we would quake in fear. We might even feel overcome. But I believe God has chosen us to live in this time period for a reason. I believe the enemy wants us to SLEEP but our God who is rich in mercy is saying WAKE UP beloved. WAKE UP. Put on the full armor of God. The BATTLE IS AT HAND. And so we get to choose. Comment Yes, if you want the link to one of the most listened to episodes of the podcast: The Year of No Fear. #liftupyoureyes #thebattlebelongstothelord #fixyourgaze #fightthegoodfight #wordofgodspeak...
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...
During this season as we gather together to celebrate the holidays we may remember the gifts He has given. While also holding some kind of sorrow in the other hand.
We are reminded of those no longer with us. We are facing challenges in relationships, health or finances. We are faced with big decisions While time and miles may separate us from those we love nothing will separate us from Him beloved.
One morning as I sat to still my heart before the day’s rush. I read this verse and felt Him calm my heart almost as if he heard the waves crashing against it. Peace Be Still. I am the one who lights a lamp for you!
I split the darkness with my presence.
This is the truth I am carrying with me today! My God and yours chose to light a lamp for us. He did it by sending Jesus. If I spend today and every thanksgiving giving thanks for this, it will not be enough.
Jesus, the light of the world, changed everything! May our hearts be changed more with every passing year as we move from glory to glory! Save to remind your ❤️....
As we approach Christmas, you may be wondering how to make the holiday more meaningful.
It’s so easy to get caught up in all the busy of the season that it’s here and gone before you realize you forgot to even savor it.
We rush from one Christmas program, gathering, or event to the next. We shop online, brave the stores, and make our baking lists.
But where is Christ?
Where is the time to truly unwrap the gift of togetherness?
One thing our family gained when my precious husband moved to Heaven was perspective. We realized there is no better time than today to SLOW DOWN, make that memory, share the story of Christ coming down, and remind one another of His presence. It also turned our eyes outward to notice the ones who might be forgotten.
Christ coming down is the sweetest gift we’ve been given, friend. And savoring the gift of Christ can look like seeing with His eyes and loving the person right in front of you with His love: visiting the sick, dropping by a nursing home, or shoveling your neighbor’s sidewalk without being asked.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17, NIV).
How can you share the best gift of all with others? How might you slow down with your family and embrace His presence together? #liftupyoureyes #christmasgram #savorthemoments #lifeafterloss...
Sometimes I wake up and after a quick prayer hit the ground running. All day long it feels like an engine is revving in my heart and mind. I may even be too busy too pay attention to that feeling so I just keep going like the energizer bunny from one thing to another.
When I finally pause in my day I notice feelings like, stress, irritability, worry, or frustration with others. There is a lack of overall peace.
But when I wake up early grab my coffee, spend time “resting” in The Word of God and allowing him to reset my heart, everything changes. He quiets my soul. He replaces lies the enemy has spoken to me with truth. My perspective shifts from a temporary one to an eternal one. When difficult moments come through the day I am more likely to let them roll off my back and choose joy. It’s really other worldly, of course it is! This world is not our home we are travelers passing through. We require food from our native land to sustain us! And, that is what He does He sustains us!
“ Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 #bruisedbutnotbroken #renewyourmind #dailybread #resteasy...
I like to think of joy as that feeling of bubbling mirth that just wells up inside us and spills out of our mouths in trickles of laughter. And it can be. I have memories of time spent with family sharing stories, reliving the past punctuated by outbursts of laughter. What has joy looked like for you?Do you have memories reuniting with loved ones you haven’t seen in a while? Your heart feels like it may burst when you open the door and they walk into your arms. You are overwhelmed with joy. This may surprise you but I have also found joy when life has so wearied me with its storms I find myself stumbling to the Word. Out of sheer desperation I gather it up close. Glancing down at the page the words seem to leap off of it and down into the soil of my heart and I feel seen. The God of the universe sees us friends. He knows us. Those words written so long ago were written for us, for such a time as this. Our hearts begin to fill with deep joy, as we remember He is with us. It’s as if our very soul splits wide open with a grin and His Joy becomes our strength! What brings you joy friend? #joyoflife #givethankstothelord #rejoicealways #wordofgodspeak...
I’ve always associated giving thanks with abundance. But I now know ‘thanksgiving’ can happen anytime, and is probably most profound when it comes from a place of brokenness.
Not only does it carry a peculiar beauty, it carries power. I believe that power is a gift God wants to give to you today.
When my husband was diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer at the age of 45, then moved to Heaven just 14 months later, our hearts were shattered. But it was only seconds after he exhaled earth and inhaled Heaven that I experienced true thanksgiving in the midst of heartbreak. I remembered feeling it and marveling that the two could coexist.
When life gets hard we have two choices. We can become bitter or we can press into the Father. We can hop back up on that potter’s wheel and say, “Fashion me into the vessel You want for Your glory.” It’s a choice we make, not one time but again and again.
The practice of noticing and giving thanks shifted my focus from the little things that used to rob me of my peace to all the tiny drops of grace the Lord would shower my days with.
When you begin practicing the presence of God, it opens up a whole new world of sight. It is this perspective, this seeing with new eyes, that allows you to walk by faith. What once was impossible is now the only way. I pray that the eyes of our hearts are enlightened during this season of ‘giving thanks’ and even after. Ask the Lord to help you notice some things today you may have formerly passed by, and give thanks for them.
“I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD” (Psalm 116:17, NIV). #givethanksalways...
I’m not sure where your heart is today beloved. Maybe you find yourself encountering those various trials 1 Peter talks about. Maybe you are waiting, praying, knocking and you find yourself growing weary. Hoping against all Hope can be hard. Or perhaps the overwhelming darkness that is swirling around in the world at large is pressing hard against your heart. These are the words God is comforting my heart with this morning. He is able, more than able. “Where can I go from your Spirit Lord? If I take the wings of dawn, If I dwell in the remotest parts of the sea, Even there your hand will lead me.
If I say, surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night, Even the darkness is not dark to YOU. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to YOU. You have covered my head in the day of battle. Behold Oh, Lord you know it all.”
I’m praying these excerpts from Ps. 139-140, Will gird up your faith dear ones. May your heart remember that He knows and May that be enough. ❤️ Because He is still on the throne and that is enough. #peacethatsurpassesallunderstanding #liftupyoureyes #christourhope #rejoicealways #renewyourmind #graceupongrace #lightoverdarkness...
2016 was the year we said good-bye to Alan. We will see him again, it isn’t forever though it feels like it. It was the year we followed God’s voice to leave everything we knew and go to the place He was calling us. Little did we know it would be our last year to all live together for many years. It was a year of resting and grieving. Grief is exhausting. It was a year of quieting the noise and only listening to His still small voice. It was a year of making big decisions like buying a house and starting my public writing journey. (Art by @breezybrookshire.) This morning I sat in my chair and watched a red cardinal outside my window and I longed for one more day with Alan. I can’t say 2016 was my favorite year. But it was a year of turning the page in our lives and finding God was still with us on the next one. And for that reason alone it was a good one. #rejoicealways #liftupyoureyes #lifeisbeautiful #seekandsavorpodcast...
*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.❤️
We all could use a little more Joy in our lives couldn’t we? If someone asked you, “Would you like more hope in your life today?” We might look around and say, “Yes! Sign me up!”
Well beloved, we can have it. I’m wrestling with things just like you, and here is where my heart is anchored.
“May the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace, as you trust in Him, so that YOU may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
I want to Overflow with hope, and the way we do that is by looking at Jesus and saying, “I believe Him.”
Our hope can’t lie in this world or in people friends, it must lie in Christ Alone.
I’m just over here “lifting up my eyes.” Who’s with me? Save this for a day your heart needs to Remember. ❤️🙏...
I read this verse and it was one of those that made me STOP and read it again, and again.
We have a God that is working deeds of deliverance in our midst beloved. Maybe, you can’t see it yet. Maybe, the fruit of that deliverance is still a seed under the dark soil. But you can rest assured that He is at work! He is always working! And something about that phrase, “ My King from of old,” brings me great comfort.
It reminds me that in a world that is always looking for the next best thing my God is timeless. His faithfulness knows no end.
