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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For me, finding the path to being able to rejoice began with “lifting up my eyes.” I was only months out from two very big griefs that had struck our family, and I was struggling to just breathe. I was wondering if life would ever hold joy again and if I still had purpose on this earth. Exiting the park after a long walk, I started climbing the sidewalk that would lead me home and I heard in my Spirit, “ lift up your eyes.” This has become a life journey! One I wished I had begun long ago. If you find yourself fighting to keep your circumstances from dragging you down don’t miss this week’s brand new episode of the Seek and Savor podcast. I believe you will take something valuable with you. ❤️ Link in my bio....
There is no better place to dwell, to take up residence and abide,than in Him. When the things of this world feel like they are shaking me I check my heart and ask myself “Where are you abiding?” When I look back at the faithfulness of my God not just to me but to the generations that have come before me my heart is lifted up. He is worthy, beloved! He is worthy of our praise, our trust and of our teaching the next generation. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will hide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Ps 91:1 He is a safe place to hide our heart. ❤️ #asafeplace #renewyourmind #hopeforthefuture#athousandgenerations#seekandsavorpodcast...
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
I am trying to remember to press in. I want to be in tune with His voice not just when I am desperate and in times of deep suffering. But also when the sun is shining, my to-do list is long and all is right in my world that day. Commune means: To converse or talk with profound intensity or intimacy. I have not mastered it, but I long for it to become second nature, this walking and talking with God. No more boxes of time that he must fit in! Morning devotions, Bible Studies and church, yes, but also doing the laundry, taking a walk, driving in my car. When you walk in relationship with someone beloved there is a back and forth a giving and receiving.
Paul said that he had NOT YET attained to knowing Christ as he ought, but he pressed on toward that goal. Phil, 3:8 I want to know Christ and I want to be sensitive to His voice. Imagine a world where we listened more and talked less. What are some ways you make time for the Father to speak to your heart? #hisstillsmallvoice #leanin #soulfuel #hopeforthefuture...
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 love this sweet reminder I stumbled across one day, that joy is found in His Words.
Although I often look for joy in so many other places, no one else’s words have the power to remake me.
Like a surgeon’s scalpel they can precisely strike the place in my heart that is believing something other than the truth.
And when His Word replaces that old lie, new life springs up and with it comes joy!
Oh that we would go to your Word FIRST, when all is not well, Lord! Gives us a hunger for it, so that it becomes our joy and delight! #itiswellwithmysoul #onethousandgifts #seekandsavorpodcast...
I sat in a room this week where we talked about obedience coming from a place of love. And I remembered a simple prayer I have prayed for years, “Increase my love for you, Father.” It is a prayer I have prayed on repeat. Then today God took me back to a little swing I sat on beside a lake in Minnesota. I was a young college student with a freshly broken heart and God’s presence with me on the swing that day was tangible. He was tending my heart while also inviting me deeper. All these years later I am so grateful for his invitation to go deeper, and to remember we don’t have to do any of this alone. I am human and I forget. Sometimes my heart defaults to fear or anxiety. I forget the invitation. But I believe that simple prayer to increase my love for Him has been guarding my heart all along. When I forget I’m not alone He reminds me. When life feels unbearably hard, He lifts my chin and says, “ Lift up your eyes beloved.” When I am walking in times of answered prayers, surrounded by love He calls me to notice it. Love for Him increases in my heart and I am compelled by His love to continue this obedience journey. I am compelled to follow Him. “I love those who love me and those who diligently seek me will find me.” Prov. 8:17 How have you seen God pursue your heart? #drawmedeeperlord #liftupyoureyes #seekandsavorpodcast #renewyourmind...
