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.
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...
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! 💕...
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think....(Eph.3:20) We serve a God of FAR MORE beloved.
Somewhere along the way, whether by fiery arrows of doubt and fear from the enemy or by our own insecurities; this truth becomes threatened.
We begin to think small. We begin to ask for little. We begin to tell ourselves to settle for less. We may even begin to think that we are hoping for too much.
Ah, what welcome relief to know that we serve a God who is able to do far more, abundantly than all we ask or think. And the cherry on the top is the next verse: “According to the power that works within us!” When you follow Jesus and His Spirit comes to live inside you, you have this same power, the power that raised Jesus from the dead. That’s no small thing friend. So let’s dream with God. Let’s set our minds on things above rather than the earth. Let’s ask and seek and knock and do it all for His Glory. #seekandsavorpodcast #hopeforthefuture #renewyourmind...
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....
Have you ever found yourself holding your breath, not even aware you were?
Maybe you are anxious about all the things staring you in the face. They may even be accompanied by the potential threats of what could happen tomorrow . It’s hard to follow the instruction not to worry about tomorrow. And yet God’s word doesn’t just say. DON’T WORRY for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. He tells us what to do instead. Today’s episode of the Seek and Savor podcast is, “In Need of Joy.” We don’t just talk about needing it. We look at God’s word for instruction on how to attain it. Find the link to listen in my bio. #seekandsavorpodcast #findingjoy #womenoftheword #christianpodcast...
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.
We live in a fallen world, people sin, and hurt abounds. But God…. It is the place I am learning to live in. Yes, these things are true. My leg still hurts from an injury back in February and my car broke down on the way to church. But also, a friend painted my kitchen cabinets cream and my son repaired my deck. I find myself savoring more of God’s word, I read books to my grands in silly voices and I get to have conversations about Jesus everyday.
I am standing in faith waiting on God for many things… You are too right? But God. He Still lives and His promises are true. He is not man that He should lie. ❤️ Dear friends, if your heart tends to linger over what has not yet been made whole maybe like me you need the reminder of who God is and what he has done so that gratitude can revive your heart. Don’t miss today’s new episode of the Seek and Savor podcast on this topic. (Link in bio.) Many things may be true, the hard and the beautiful but gratitude can revive your heart. ❤️ #givethanksforlife #thehardandbeautifuljourney #graceupongrace #alwaysrejoice...
I cannot be everywhere, but God can. I cannot right every wrong, but God can. I cannot see the future and avoid every trap the enemy lays. But, God has promised to go before us, behind us, be our strong right hand and keep us from being shaken. God reminds me that at every point I feel the weakness of my flesh and its inability to do everything I want it to, He is there.
There is freedom, joy, trust and surrender in knowing that. Sometimes we don’t “feel” those things in the moment. But, we can keep looking at Him, waiting in expectation. It’s the best position for us to see His hands move. Lifting up our eyes to see His presence…
“To you I lift up my eyes Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the Lord our God, Until He has mercy on us.” Psalm 123:2 #liftupyoureyes #seekandsavorpodcast #onethousandgifts #encourage #hopewriters...
More time at home can mean more time to look inside ourselves.
This makes us uncomfortable so we often fill our time with Netflix, music, or anything to distract ourselves.
I love a good movie as much as the next person. But I’m determined to walk out of this season with MORE.
When the Spirit led me to pray this prayer, it took me by surprise! “God please use the dead things to nourish the soil of my heart.” What did that even mean?
We’ve all got them beloved, things that aren’t bearing fruit. But here is the good news! He will use even those things.
Invite Him to turn the soil of your heart. Give it a good weeding. He works all things together for our good
We can trust Him.
Even as we see things slipping through our fingers that we wanted to hold onto.
God is already in the act of bringing life from that.
Can you trust him beloved? What is he asking you to let go? #lifeafterdeath #goodsoil #trustgodsplan...
Does your life feel like it’s changing friend? It changes all the time doesn’t it? I don’t understand why I haven’t become more comfortable with change. Maybe because I am always trying to get life to line up with my vision or expectations of it. The one constant amid every change that life can throw your way is Jesus.
I stepped out on my deck one morning, lifting up my eyes to savor the beauty of a quiet moment. Then all the things came flooding in. You know what I mean. Things that aren’t yet made right, situations you are contending for, fears of the future all threaten that peace that was just yours. Then I felt God’s Spirit tap me on my heart. Ask me beloved… I’m sharing the whole story on this week’s episode of the podcast, “Finding peace in every season of life.” The link is in my bio or comment peace and I will DM you the link. ❤️🍁...
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....
So thankful for this man my children got to call Dad. He was so selfless always putting our needs above his own. He was faithful and filled our home with laughter. His work ethic and how He used it to serve others and teach our boys how to serve is one of my favorite things. But nothing surpassed His desire to follow Jesus more. I love that my children will always remember waking up to Him in his chair, Bible in his lap and coffee in hand. I wish He was here today to tell him one more time how loved He is and how grateful we are for all the ways He cared for our hearts. Love is more than words. It is laying down your life, your desires for someone else. ❤️ Thank you Father for Alan Dickson. #lifeafterloss #loveisaction #fatherlove #rejoicealways...
