Shut The Front Door

The door stands wide open, and there is a warm gust of wind carrying the scent of a stranger. You are chilled by the sound of feet slapping the cold stones. How did they get in? Voices carry from room to room, and you hide. Your knees pulled to your chest...you wait. They are looking for the treasures of the King. 

Proverbs 25:28 " He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."

You are the treasure of the King...did you know that?

Your life, is so precious to God, and a gift. A treasure really. A lovely one at that. Oh, the worth you have. What have you believed about your life, and your value? 

Think about it for a moment. Do you weigh each day,  and believe that it is priceless? There will never be another today like this one. It is yours to seize, and to take hold of. You can never, ever, get today back once it is  gone. Do you believe that you have something of great value that deserves to be protected? Do you live like there is more on the line than your comfort and temporary pleasure?  You are building a life...each choice you make matters. Nothing is without consequence. Do you live with boundaries? Do you  guard  your life with truth?  Are your decisions treating your life as a holy creation by God? Or do you live with your walls broken down, and your front door wide open? Allowing who ever, to have access to the treasures in your life?  Do you greedily gobble up the lives of others along the way as you binge on self destructive decisions? Seeing no real harm in living selfishly, and with no self control. No boundaries...no responsibility...no managing your own life. Do you have your door wide open communicating to others that there is no real value here.

You are the treasure of God, and your worth is far greater than any earthly treasure. You are a rare find, and  there is no one like you. The thing is...if you don't believe that there is something worth protecting inside...you won't!

It is time to shut the front door, and to value what is inside...protecting what is valuable. It is wise to guard your heart, and to be careful with your life. I am not suggesting hardened walls of bitterness and un forgiveness.  It is time to use truth as your filter and love as your protector.

Proverbs 4:23 " Above all else, guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life."

It is time to see yourself the way God sees you...gorgeous, beautiful, and one of a kind. Knowing your worth is the first step to walking with purpose and responsibility. Until you know your worth you will require nothing of anyone, and any lie will have free reign in your life.  I pray that you will know Gods great love for you today, and understand your worth. Today, ask Jesus to show you how much he loves you. What is the truth about who you are, and what is His heart towards you? What lies have been believed?  How much are you worth? I pray that as you seek him today that you will find His heart for you, and your life. 

I Twirl

Watch me daddy...

I am your little girl. Do you like my dress? It is white. Am I pretty daddy? Do I smell like wild flowers, and look like a dancing daisy in the summer wind? Watch my braids unravel daddy, and the sun kiss my freckled nose. I am innocence. Do you see me daddy? Watch this daddy...

I twirl...

Pick me up daddy, and let me stand on your boots. In you I will have roots. Lift me up so that I can see your loving eyes. It is peace to rest in your strong arms. Will you hold me?

I twirl...

Listen daddy, I can sing. Do you hear me daddy? Let me sing you a song; angelic, and faultless. Do I have a good voice daddy? Does my song melt your heart?

I twirl...

Am I a good girl daddy? I know I fell down in the mud, and stained my white dress.  Do you still think I am pretty when I cry?

I twirl...

1 John 3:1 " I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."


You twirl for your daddy, and you are very young. Looking for him to approve, and say that you are good, and beautiful. He thinks you are  smart. You dance. You wonder... will he watch you? Spinning and spinning your dress twirls and your hopes beat wildly in your chest. Does he think you are a good girl?   You hold your hands up for him to lift you...up...up...and away from the ground. When he holds you  it is there that you feel important, and valued. He is your protector. You feel special because he is so big, and strong, and everyone is watching you, and they see how much he cares for you. He speaks...and you feel encouraged to live. You want to live. You believe him when he says you are beautiful.

I saw a little girl recently, and she was dressed in a fluffy colorful skirt, with bouncing curls.  She cried  out for her daddy. Daddy, daddy...daddy! She  panicked as she searched for her daddy. He calmly said...I am here.

I know that we all have fathers somewhere. Some of them have been there, and continue to be there. Some of them however have not always been there. You twirled and he didn't notice because he was too busy.  You chased a dream, and wanted to tell him about it but he died...why did he have to die? You needed to know that you were good but he wasn't there to tell you. He left a long time ago when he left for that other woman. Your mom cried...and so did you.  You may have fell down, and stained your white dress, and you looked around for him to pick you up; he was holding his beer instead. You sang, really loud, and with no fear but he told you it wasn't good enough...try harder. Now you are afraid to speak up. Fear came in and resided where once confidence strolled the streets of your heart. Maybe you were the little girl who longed for the touch of your father ...but he touched you in a way he never should have. You needed to feel valued but now you just feel the cold wind of shame blow over your skin...and now you don't trust men. Maybe you just wanted to be with your daddy but he wanted a son instead. You didn't want to feel afraid of the world but he lifted his hand, and not in love but in anger and struck down your innocence. You whisper...where was my protector? 

Can you remember being a little girl? How did you twirl for your daddy? Are you twirling still and wonder if your beautiful, smart, good, honorable, and loved? Do you  know that God takes pleasure in you? Do you know your great value? 

Psalms 139;13-16 " For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Today, as you twirl I pray that you will know that you  are not hidden from your heavenly father. Even when you want to hide...you are never hidden. You could run until you collapse from exhaustion but He will still be there. Your dress may feel dirty from all the times you have fallen. Your knees may be scraped up but you are still beautiful, and pure in His sight.  He sees you. He says that you are wonderful. You are good. Your days are written and everyone of them are made just for you. Don't be afraid of His touch today He brings healing.  He is your protector and will help you forgive those that have not protected you when they  should have. May your soul know this well...

Twirl...You are His daughter...His little girl in which He is well pleased. 

Cold Feet

She lay on her bed with her heart pounding, and her mind full of anxiety, and doubt. Tears flowed and mingled with her hair, and pillow.  It wasn't that long ago that she had felt confident or so she thought. There was no sense of purpose anymore just a path of broken starts behind her. Her dreams felt like a fairytale that she was crazy enough to believe.  Pressing her into the bed like a heavy slab of cement the shame  weighed her spirit down.

She asked herself, " Why am I always in this same battle over, and over again? I told myself this would never happen again!" She had become everything she hated, and done everything she had promised she'd never do. This deepened the wound, and the rut of  her despair had become a grave to all sense of hope, and her dying dreams hung on the walls of her doubt.

The voices of depression were speaking again and she felt herself resigning to defeat.  The thoughts whispered, and she couldn't help but listen..."Maybe Im not worth the fight after all. I feel worthless, and why would God value me, and why would anyone want me? I don't deserve anything good. Maybe all I deserve is what Ive got...HOPELESSNESS."

Jeremiah 29:11 " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

Depression has been a familiar feeling to all of us at sometime in our lives. Doubt seems to  loom over our future , and a deep sense of regret haunts our past.

Have you ever had cold feet on the stage of your dreams? 

Have you ever wanted the best but decided that it is too scary to hope for?

You may be asking yourself...Why?

If you have ever felt like you are in a cycle of defeat, and shame... there is hope. Have you ever  had dreams, and made goals and yet deep down inside you didn't feel you deserved them?

Self sabotage is the conscious choices we make that prevent good things from happening at the hand of our own actions. We  believe in our heart that we don't deserve the best anyway, and so we choose the path of least resistance. Fear follows you around like a shadow, and because you are afraid of being robbed you choose poverty of heart. Who can rob me if I have nothing? Self pity is your best friend. Blame becomes your defense for your broken state. Chasing others away that love you becomes a pattern of rejection in your life ; your going to leave them before they ever have a chance to leave you. Your pride becomes the wall between you and your freedom. 

Do you believe today that God has the best for you? The best spouse? A good job? The right friends?  Do you feel valuable? Do you believe that you are worth protecting? Do you want freedom from the cycle of defeat? 

Freedom is right there for the taking. Jesus breaks the chains of our captivity with His promises that are never broken.

Finally...

Phillippians 4:8 " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

To find freedom from self sabotage and self hatred you must call it like it is. You can choose to walk in truth today. 

 Instead of finding blame in others for your circumstances you must take responsibility for believing lies and kick them out. Turn from them and repent for believing them. 

You must replace the lies with truth. It is time to forgive others and yourself. Let go of the past and renounce all fellowship with bitterness. 

My prayer today is that you will take a moment to deal with your belief about yourself and how God sees you. May you find freedom to believe for and choose the best that God has for you...because you are worth it!

Game Over

While strolling down the isle of a local store, and shopping in the wedding supply section; I came across a wedding cake topper.  At first sight this could be quite amusing, and honestly this idea of how a wedding transpires is not new at all.  It was of a young bride and her groom, as she drug him down the isle. While, he was not kicking, and screaming it was apparent that he was not going willing either.

I have also seen a quite popular shirt worn by young men that shows a scene quite similar to this, but with the words, "GAME OVER" printed across the top.

As a woman our hearts cry out to be precious and to be desired, and we long to know that we are worth the fight. We want to know that we are enough, and that we are pleasing. It is just something that we are wired with deep in our spirit. God made us on purpose just like that, and it was not a mistake.  There is something quite romantic about a man that will fight for his bride and pursue her. Nothing is as beautiful as a bride who knows she is loved and desired. I love to watch the face of a bride as she walks down the isle on her wedding day. Just the same, a groom that is in love, and calls his bride to him down the isle with his adoring eyes is breathtaking, and a heart stopping sight. Yet, in todays culture the idea of marriage has become a foolish thought and its importance has wained. In my experience, I would even suggest in some cases; the scene of the cake topper could easily be switched to the groom dragging the bride down the isle.

 There is no way around it, no matter what the culture says, we are wired for intimacy.  We can be led by our compulsion to cover deep pain with addictive behaviors in relationships. We expect that a person can settle our hearts storm, and bring peace to our lives. We settle for compulsion and the instant gratification of a surface level bandaid. However,  the rush of the high will fade, and the addicted heart will look for something new; it just cant help it. Our heart cries out for intimacy.

There is power in the love of Jesus, and he is the groom that waits for you. He demonstrated his great love for you, and he gave his life to prove it. He fought for you when he rose again and conquered death. He pursues you with a passion that is unlike no earthly love. No matter what season you are in, whether you are a single lady or a married woman; let Jesus fill your heart ache. His eyes adore you, and He says you are enough. You are not lucky to have him, you were indeed chosen to be His bride and don't you forget it! I pray today that you will see yourself as you really are. What lie have you believed about your worth and value? How have you lived out  that lie? How is it robbing you today? What person, or addiction has been your bandaid? It is time to give up the lies and lay them at the feet of Jesus. There is no other thing that can heal your wounds then to have a intimate relationship with Jesus. Love is worth fighting for, and it is not a game to be won. I say today, that you take a look at those lies that degrade your sense of value and worth and shout out, GAME OVER!!!!