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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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.
What encourages you to keep going friend? Is it setting goals? Is it words of affirmation? I was thinking about how hard it can be to persevere when life feels hard. When all we want to do is REST… And I had a memory come back to me. I was in high school in the middle of a track meet. I wasn’t fast. A sprinter I was not. No, the mile was my race. I never considered myself a runner, just someone who could endure. But as I remembered circling the track I was taken back to the stretch of turf that ran in front of the home crowd. You know, the one right before the finish line. And, I remembered instead of slowing down because I was tired and it was near the end of the race, I actually ran faster. I had a bit of a kick at the end. You see, it didn’t matter that my body was tired. I had witnesses. All my friends and family were cheering me on! I wanted to give it everything I had to finish well. Guess what! We have that still.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.(Hebrews 12:1)
So friends, let us lay aside or throw off every weight be it sin, or sorrow or heaviness or fear and let us RUN. * Save for the days you feel weary.❤️ #seekandsavorpodcast #rejoice #finishtherace #hopeforthefuture...
So often fear makes us want to turn around and go the other way.
Or we think we must hurry ahead to achieve all the things we want to.
Staying steady, our hand in his hand is often hard. The enemy comes in and tells us that uncomfortable is not the place we want to be. He says “in control” is better.
But, oh beloved what joy is found in surrender.
“For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you. Isaiah 41:13
This was us…. 10 years ago ,about an hour after the doctors in Chicago told us to go home and set up hospice.
The light in my eyes is supernatural.
I guarantee you there were many tears that came too. But in that moment, I was overwhelmed by God’s Grace. I was there, in the city of my birth, and God was pouring bountiful snow on my head as the worst news was delivered. I felt carried in His bosom, seen to the depths of my being. And while my heart felt broken beyond repair, I also knew I was deeply loved.
“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me, your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.” Psalm 138:8
God always goes before us in the sweetest of ways. Yesterday, I got an unexpected delivery from someone dear. I also fell and injured my leg pretty badly. Today my kids gathered (minus Jake and family) to remember that it was 10 years ago today that Alan moved to Heaven. Life if full of unexpected things. It presses me to fix my gaze on Jesus and ask Him to show us what He wants us to learn. Form us into your image oh God. Fill our lips with your praise and may no weapon formed against us proper. Here is some good news friends,though the weapons may form and satan intends them for evil. God intends them for our good! He is for us! Going before us in power and love and following us with His mercy and grace. ❤️ Where do you see Him showing up for you? #seekandsavorpodcast #liftupyoureyes #rejoicealways #lifeafterloss...
I can tell you when I’m NOT the happiest, when my thoughts are all about me.
I am the most happy when I forget about myself. That is when I can let go of disappointments, anxiety, or even pride.
When I “Lift Up my eyes” from myself to others and then to God, hope comes, love pours out and I am filled with joy.
This week God gave me a beautiful picture of what happens when we do that! He gave me a choice to give in to the frustration of the moment and how I was inconvenienced or lift up my eyes and give. ❤️ I’ll be hopping on stories this weekend to share what happened so make sure you are following along. ❤️ We always have a choice.
This week I was reminded that often beauty and devastation go hand in hand. As I walked around my neighborhood I marveled at the trees glistening as if they were covered in diamonds. I also mourned the massive trees lying on their sides,roots lifted in the air. The longer I walk this earth I see how much we can learn that it is possible to hold both. It’s not only possible, good can come from it. Today’s episode of the Seek and Savor podcast is a reminder that we can still find beauty in the middle of broken places. Are you looking beloved? Comment link if you want to listen to this 8 minute episode. Save to remind your heart. ❤️...
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 ran across this picture the other day. It always makes me stop and puts a big lump in my throat. Because #1 Hands tell SO much. #2- This was Alan and I and one of the kids praying before we walked across the street to yet another cancer appointment in Chicago. It made me think about what our hands are doing. I thought about how they speak volumes of what lies inside of our hearts. Excited.9:10 tells us “Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.” This made me want to share someone’s hands that have touched me! “I remember her hands. I used to lie on her lap twisting the chain that hung from her watch. Her wrinkles and spots were beautiful to me. Those hands were rarely still. Always cleaning, cooking, washing, mending. Doing something for someone. She never met a stranger. She found something kind to say to everyone, at the store, at church and in her home. I watched her sit at the table writing letters, reading recipes and clipping articles from the newspaper. Her head bent, her brow furrowed as dedicated to these tasks as any other. Whether I was in her home or she was in mine she encouraged me to rest while she labored. She expressed her love in fudge making, blanket knitting, linen closet cleaning and hand holding ways. She poured herself out. She was my grandmother, and she let her hands be used by Jesus.” What are we doing with our hands beloved? Whose hands have touched your life?
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...
I am finishing up 6 months with Lisa Whittle and my Ministry Strong CoHort! We got a couple of days to meet in person, dive even deeper and spur one another on in our callings. What a gift! Doing something like this was a step of faith to Jesus prompting. I am so glad for all the ways He speaks to our hearts. I am grateful for the ways Lisa, asks probing questions, challenges our insecurities and always leads us back to God’s word. I humbled by the women I met and all the ways they build the Kingdom. They are brave, strong, loving, servant hearted women doing hard things and loving people into the Kingdom every day. I am so proud ro have gotten to know them. I am walking away emboldened to keep saying yes and stepping out in faith myself. Thank you to @lisawhittle and her entire team, especially @sarahwoodwrites. Hearing from @melissabryankruger was icing on the cake. 💕 #gratefull #womenoftheword #christianpodcast #joyonthejourney...
New Year’s Eve is the anniversary of the day our world began unraveling…. But God was with us, carrying us, making a way. As I read and remember some words God gave me when we were in the thick of it, these are some that stood out as worth sharing. They are my gift to you as we enter a New Year. May they lead you deeper into Him.
“It was not enough anymore for me to just read His word in the morning. For, by the afternoon the pain of watching the changes in my Alan from the brain cancer would overwhelm my heart if I did not gird it up with MORE of God’s truth! I see now how beautiful the scripture is that says,
“You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” ( Deut. 6:8) The Lord knew we would need daily, reminders of His Word. His Truth becomes the solid ground that we can build our lives on! The word is Living and Active and more powerful than a double edged sword. It is the ONE thing that is strong enough to carry us through hard times, to strengthen us when we are weary and renew our hearts when they fail us. Carve out time in your day to sit down with this GIFT. Ask the Spirit of the living God to open your heart and mind as you read it so that you might be transformed by the renewing of your mind ( Rom. 12:2). It is the Greatest Treasure and too often it just sits on a shelf. Let it be your daily bread for the new year.❤️#new #lifeafterloss #hopeforthefuture...
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...
