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.
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! 💕...
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...
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.” Jer. 15:16 Don’t miss today’s episode of the Seek and Savor podcast, “Feasting on your Word.” #liftupyoureyes #seekandsavorpodcast #renewyourmind #wordofwisdom...
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...
It was just a couple of years ago, but I still remember it. She told her mama that Nana had to have this even though they had already bought me a present. Her mama obliged.
It was a necklace that said two words, “Immeasurably More,” A lump rose in my throat as I opened it.
My heart needed those words. It needed to remember that while I “lift up my eyes,” I also need to remember that God is able to do immeasurably more than I can find the strength to ask for or even imagine. This is for you too friend.
Our God is for us. His book is a love story. Sit down, and invite Him to speak to your heart. You are dearly loved. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen Eph. 3:20,21 #seekandsavorpodcast #heisforyou #renewyourmind #rejoicealways...
Happy Birthday to my Alan! 10 birthdays in Heaven, and it makes me wonder. Is he celebrating being home from his mission on this earth? What is He doing while we remember the gift He was to us, and still is? Ever since he left I have been sharing words with you. Because I feel called by God to share in some small way the “JOY, that is set before us.” Sometimes it’s a joy that wells up and overflows for the taking and other times it must be fought for.
I can make a list a mile long of all the good God has brought about since he left. Because that is our God, good and faithful, chasing us down with His mercy and grace. I can also count the tears that have been shed, how many times we have longed for Alan’s actual presence and the memories we wanted to make with him. The in between, is the place I have learned to live. Holding both joy and sorrow, trusting that when I am weak Christ’s power is being made perfect in me and finding true joy in walking every day with my Savior. When we had to choose the words to mark where Alan’s physical body was laid, I waited a year. I wrestled, I cried but, then I knew…”Alive in Christ.” It was the single most important thing to say and it’s true. This is why we lift up our eyes beloved. It’s why we are not overcome by it all. If life is in between for you beloved, you aren’t alone. ❤️ May I pray for you? #seekandsavorpodcast #lifeafterloss #hopeforthefuture #rejoicealways #griefshare...
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?...
Have you ever wondered what it means to LIVE by the words that come from God’s mouth? Matthew 4:4 tells us that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Just like our bodies need bread to continue living, our spirits need the word’s breathed by God to sustain our souls. Breathed by God beloved. Of course it would be these words alone that have the power to actually Revive us.
Revive us according to your word God.
This is how His yoke becomes easy and His burdens become light.
It happens when we fill our hearts with so much of Him, He spills out in the pressing. I want to drip Jesus. Don’t you?...
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...
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.
I do that sometimes and on this particular night it was medicine for my soul. After I walked this historic horse 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. I felt the tension leave my body.
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 exhale all the things and remind your soul this is true? Tell me all the ways! 👇🏼 #exhalefear #inhale #joyforthejourney #rejoice #seekandsavorpodcast...
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.
