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.
Fear can feel like it’s lurking around every corner and the idea of running toward the future with Joy may seem impossible BUT… I ran across these words one day in my reading.
“Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done.” Ps. 105:4
If you are anything like me, familiar words can lose their power to move you.
Maybe you’ve even sung “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,” so much that you’ve forgotten why we should do that and the power that comes when we do.
But friends, we actually never stop seeking things. It’s something we do on the daily.
We seek fame or fortune, friendship or achievement. We seek answers to questions we have. We often look for these things in ourselves and in the world around us.
Maybe that’s why this verse met me.
We are no strangers to seeking and it seems like the author of this Psalm knew we would even seek strength from sources other than our Lord.
But when we REMEMBER His wonders and SEEK Him continually something changes in us beyond the obvious. We get the strength we need but we also are GLAD!
Seeking God and Remembering Who He is, brings joy to our hearts beloved.
It’s the reminder I needed. Is it one you needed? #seekandsavorpodcast #rejoicealways #graceupongrace #wordoflife...
I did something recently that I didn’t want to do. I prayed, I made space to listen to God’s voice and while it wasn’t clear right away, eventually God removed all the obstacles that stood in my way of saying, “yes” to the thing I didn’t want to do. All the obstacles that is except my flesh.. My flesh still said, “ Please no.”
When I knew God was moving me forward towards obedience I still didn’t know the “why” behind what he was requiring me to do. But, I was willing. My heart was surrendered. My yes, led to more nudges from God to more things I didn’t want to do. But I had already positioned my heart in a place of surrender so the fight wasn’t as hard this time. It was more of a “Really Lord? Alright. Yes, Lord.” And with each yes my eyes became focused… NOT on how my yes was received by others but by the peace that was left in its wake. My heart was quieted and lighter with each step of obedience. Joy started seeping in and God was also bringing revelation. This week on the podcast we asked the question, “What are you hungering for?” Don’t miss it beloved. Because hungering leads to eating and what we put in our hearts changes who we become. ❤️ Does this resonate with you? Drop a ❤️ if so....
I don’t know about you but I often feel like I am going to war every day now. Why you ask? Because time is short and the battle is fierce. Just look around you. I feel a sense of urgency to keep in step with the Spirit. I pray often for Him to tune my ears to hear his voice. God said that He prepared good works in advance for us to do. So how are we to walk in those if we don’t keep in step with His Spirit? Are we doing those things? Or are we allowing the cares of this world, (even valid ones) to distract us from them? What are those good works He has prepared for us to do?
Dear friends, until Jesus calls us home we get the honor of co-laboring with Him this side of Heaven.
There is work to be done. There are people to intercede for. There are human beings to love and stand in the gap for and it shouldn’t require us to strive. It becomes the overflow of our hearts the more time we spend in His presence.
‘But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” –Psalm 73:28
For more encouragement listen to Seek and Savor Podcast. Season 7 episode 1- The Sheep Hear His Voice....
There is hope in the midst of the fire. Don’t miss this week’s episode of Seek and Savor. Find 10 minutes of pure encouragement at the link in my bio. ❤️...
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?...
I love the reminder from Exodus 13 where God goes before His people as they flee Egypt.
His presence went before them in a cloud by day and fire by night.
It made me think of how often we stumble forward in hope that God is leading us out of captivity, out of bondage, setting us free and leading us toward His promises and good plans for us.
But sometimes all we see is the clouds around us or even fires of adversity.
What a comfort to rest assured that what we see with our physical eyes is not all that is there.
No, His presence goes with us. He leads us forward to better days. And no day is good without His presence.
At the beginning of a new week, beloved may we fix our gaze, not on what is seen but on what is unseen. Let us hold fast to our Savior and rest in His presence.
He never leaves us and always goes before us is such good news! Who else needs to hear this?
Sometimes God does His deep work when we feel hidden away. Maybe you feel hidden because of grief and loss. Maybe you feel hidden because of a change in your circumstances. Maybe you can’t even articulate why you feel hidden. Though that place may feel hard beloved, and your desire is for rescue…. He is there. He has good for you right there in that desert place. Lift up your eyes, turn them back to Him and find the hope that is waiting for you “in His presence.” More to come on this topic. Make sure you are subscribed to my free newsletter so you don’t miss the upcoming podcasts and newsletters. ❤️ Comment: HOPE if you wish to subscribe....
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! 💕...
It’s funny but I wrote these words 8 years ago and they were exactly what I needed to remember today. Because God has my heart in a place of surrender again. #Surrender.
It’s the word God laid on my heart today.
Yesterday it was fight. Fight the good fight. No weapon formed against us will prosper.
Both of these are very good things.
We DO as the Spirit directs us.
We always take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation to fight against our enemy. The one who longs to steal every good thing we have in Christ.
But also at the end of the day we KNOW that it is not by might or by our power that we win. It is by His Spirit, and so we surrender to His will.
I don’t know if the Lord is telling you to fight today or surrender but they can both be done from a position of being hidden in Christ dear ones.
And that is a good place to be.
*This Picture is just a sweet reminder because Alan was a man that knew how to fight for my heart and how to also trust Jesus and surrender. ❤️
Drop the word “fight” or “surrender” in the comments if you want prayer for God to help you do that in His Strength.
I’ve been asking the Lord for more. I’m realizing I need Him more than I’ve reached for Him in the past. What I mean by that is, of course we need Him to save us, friends. But, He didn’t just sacrifice His life for ours and stop there.
Psalm 139 says He is intimately acquainted with all our ways.
When my husband went to heaven and the fog of constant grief started lifting, I began to see how very much alone I was..
Who would help me make all the decisions I was used to making with a partner? The ones, we take for granted like; What’s for dinner? What color should we paint the house? Is it time to replace the water heater or should we wait? And the bigger ones like how should I handle a conflict with my child or is it time to sell the house? It only took a few weeks before I had decision fatigue.😰 Then one day out of frustration, I said, Lord, since he’s not here, I need you to do all these things….And you know what? He did. As I waited on Him, he answered. I began asking him to be everything: my counselor, my friend, my physician, everything. So, it was no surprise to me after one particularly stressful week, I came across this verse in my reading.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy making wise the simple.” Ps. 19: 7(NKJV)
There He was again, giving me the perfect prescription for a dry, weary soul crying out for direction.
What do you need the Lord to do for you beloved?
Ask and he will answer. Seek and you will find.
Tag a friend who needs to remember that He wants to be our Everything! #liftupyoureyes #seekandsavorpodcast #heiswithus...
