A Line in the Sand

A line in the sand. 

The urban dictionary says it’s,"Something that you refuse to do, or something on which you will not compromise. A point that you will not pass in any situation."

You might call it a defining moment. 

That moment you firmly choose which way you’re headed at a particular crossroads of life. 

It’s the place where ideas are birthed, visions are cast, declarations are penned, challenges are accepted. Mediocre is not welcome, mundane has to flee, and uncertainty is exiled. 

That is what happens when you draw the line in the sand. 

You decide that you will go no further in that same old way. No more compromise. It stops here. 

And the new mindset begins. 

But sometimes you need someone to remind you that you are worth that line in the sand. 

And I think that is where I was when I received this message from my friend.

A picture of my name and 2017 in the sands of a Hawaiian beach that brought me to tears.

What was just a simple gesture, a rake of the finger across granules of earth, a mere moment in time for her…that became a defining moment for me. 

What I had desired in my heart, was drawn in the sand for me.

She stooped down to drawn lines in the sand that spelled out a future not dictated by my past, but a future declared by the passion and positioning of my present. 

And in that moment I was reminded of Another who once did the same for a woman caught in sin and faced with a past so insurmountable that she could not imagine her future. I can only imagine that she stood before her accusers and could not find the hope to grasp in that moment. 

But Jesus.

“But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and sin no more.’” (John 8:6-11)

Jesus drew lines in the sand that changed her future from condemnation to grace. 

And the line that Grace draws? It changes things.

He drew a line in the sand of her present that declared her future untainted by her past. 

A defining moment. 

A woman on the doorstep of condemnation, now a woman on threshold of transformation. 

She simply had to remember that line in the sand.

That place where Jesus stooped down, raking his finger across granules of earth, and spelled out a future not dictated by her past, but a future declared by the forgiveness of her present. 

A defining moment that defined her life.

A defining moment that didn’t tell her she had to stay in the familiar- it unleashed her into the freedom of her present and the promise of her future. 

That’s what a line in the sand will do: unleash you from the ordinary into the extraordinary, from the mundane into the insane, from the past into the power, from the mediocre into the marvelous, from the safe into the spectacular. 

And sometimes God uses another to draw that line in the sand of your heart. 

To remind you, you are worth that finger scraping the earth.

You are forgiven.

You are called to GO. 

You are worth that defining moment where a thing is birthed, a vision is cast, a declaration is penned, a challenge is accepted. 

All you have to do is believe. 

Believe that you ARE who Jesus says you are and you will DO what He has purposed and prepared for you in advance to do! 

A line in the sand.

Let the new mindset begin. 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works , so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10

“…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

#SimpleTruth 

My Itty Bitty Life

Ambassador. 

It's a huge assignment. 

And sometimes I feel so small for the task. 

But Jesus didn't think so: He died and rose again for me to have it. 

He absolutely believes that I am enough for every single task, every single encounter, every single valley I enter and every single mountain I am called to scale to make His name known. 

Why? 

Not because of any good or any power that I alone possess. No. 

It's because He is enough in me. 

When I fully embrace the One the world so desperately needs to know, that is when I so beautifully make Him known. 

Not because I am asking the world to look at me, but because I am so locked in on Him they can't help but see the One who has captured my gaze.

I can only truly represent a heart I fully know. 

That is when I become an ambassador for Christ. 

So today, even when I feel like the tiny and powerless, I will focus my spirit on the only One with power to make me big and bold. He will take my itty bitty and do great big things as I stand surrendered. 

What will my life say about Who He is today? 

 #SimpleTruth to power your day, you life and connect others to His tender grace.

~@JuliePMac 

The Unexpected

It hit me a while back. 

One of those deep thought moments where truth just pierces and you see what you couldn't see when you had to take that first step of faith that scared you and almost paralyzed you.

It hit me when I was siting on a bus on a once and a lifetime trip that had all come about because of something I never expected. 

I never expected to be diagnosed with major health issues. 

I never expected to try all the "right" things and still end up living in daily pain that no one even really knew about or understood. 

I never expected for a quick message to turn into the path to pain free. 

I never expected on that path to find the opportunity to share this hope with others. 

I never expected to be reduced to tears over stories of success and renewed health. 

I never expected so many doors of ministry to open simply because I shared my struggle. 

I never expected to be able to speak the love and life of Jesus into so many people's circumstances. 

I never expected financial blessing and freedom. 

I never expected any of it. 

Why? 

Because I was living from my limited expectations instead of from my LIMITLESS God. 

I was dreaming from a safe place. 

I was compartmentalizing my life, unable to see the possibilities of where heaven meets earth...where everything I have to offer is surrendered to Him in every place, in every situation. 

My mission is to lay down MY mission and take up HIS in any and every opportunity He places before me. 

Worship.

Writing.

Speaking.

Plexus.

Health.

All of these are pieces of my dream- glimpses of who I am- who HE created me to be. 

And they are all His.

I long to be a person that allows the Lord to loose heaven through me. 

I never expected God to use something that I hadn't even considered. 

But He did. 

And I am thankful I get to share that with others. 

One year ago He prompted me to step out in scary faith and bare my soul. 

It's been a journey of growth that has stretched me in so many ways.

And I wouldn't trade it for a thing. 

I know it's only just begun. 

The only way to limit less in life is to live LIMITLESS in CHRIST!! 

#SimpleTruth for your day, your week, your year...life! :) 

South Carolina Heat and Jesus Fire

It's hot. Like I just want to hire people to fan me hot. If you haven't lived in the south, and you don't know what SC 100 degree heat feels like, you can just nod and pretend. 

If you have, you just said, "Bless her heart" and meant it. 

You don't leave anything in the car during the daylight hours unless you want it warped or cooked. Ask Jarrett's poor Chipotle rewards card he left on the dash. 

And God bless your soul if you sit down on leather seats with anything shorter than capris. It's the kind of hot you feel with every breath. It's humid and hot and even the shade wants relief down here. 

And while I complain and fan with my old church fan in the car(not even kidding- see pic))

WITH the air running...all of the sudden, I remember. 

I remember all those Facebook posts about a countdown to summer I saw everybody posting and the longings for heat filled bathing suit weather and all the sunshine. 

We asked for these days. 

We longed for change. 

But for that cold season to leave, heat had to arrive. 

Change could only come with heat. 

No doubt: Heat changes things. 

And so it is when God allows the heat, the fire of life to come to that area where I've been asking for change...and I pitch a fit. I fan and whine wanting the heat to be turned down because it's just hard to breathe sometimes. 

But He is changing my season and the heat has to come. 

He is transforming this vessel and the fire has to breakdown what was to prepare for what will be.

And I have to trust Him. 

Melted hearts in the hands of the Refiner.

The fire doesn’t change our worth, it changes our purpose.

Melted gold is still gold…its just being shaped by the Creator into something that is going to add to its value, not detract from it!

It will not be comfortable or easy. 

It may feel like running barefoot on a SC blacktop some days. 

But there's a big patch of country grass and clover waiting to pause and cool my weary feet and my racing heart along the way and it's right next to the heart of my Daddy. 

So when the heat comes and the fire blazes, just know that what we call destruction, God calls preparation for purpose. 

It may feel like an end of good things, but in reality it is the beginning of GOD things. 

God's plans are to prosper us, to PROPEL us into our purpose and future. 

He is our Refiner. 

He is the Rebuilder of broken walls. 

So the next time you feel like Jarrett's chipotle rewards card left on the dash in this SC summer heat- all warped and bent- remember that it just means you're ready and able to be shaped for a purpose you may not yet know in the hands of your Father who DOES. 

Fan on fiends. But don't remove yourself from the hands of the Refiner. 

He makes all things new. 

#SimpleTruth for when the heat comes. 

Praying you know your worth in Christ today and everyday.

~Julie 

 

“I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’””

Zechariah 13:9 NLT

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19 NLT

Gratitude>Grumbling

I don't know about you, but in my life, it's so easy to fall into the trap of judging others for their grumbling and then justifying my own. 

I see it around me, but am blind to it in my own life. And then I wonder why all the bumps and bruises. It's because I've been walking blind. Grumbling only increases my stumbling in the place I am walking through. 

God is sovereign. 

Not just over the situations I like, but even over the ones I don't. 

God is good. 

Not just in the situations that make me happy, but even in the ones that shake me to my core. 

   

Those simple truths are what fuel my gratitude. 

I have to let the fire of those truths sweep through my heart to refine and purify my heart, my mind, my intentions, my plans, and my actions. 

Gratitude opens my eyes to see not just A WAY but to see HIS WAY- no matter how dark or daunting the place I'm in. 

Gratitude is transformational. 

Grumbling is toxic. 

So what am I choosing: toxicity or transformation? 

Everything I encounter may not be the situation I want, but the ONE I want above all has already seen it, known it, and made every provision for me so I can walk through it victoriously. 

He is sovereign. He is good. And He wants a relationship with me. 

THAT is worth my attitude of gratitude. 

It isn't easy, but it's possible when we focus our mind on Jesus, our eyes on the Father, and our ears on the Spirit. 

Praying that in His strength we can all walk out that #SimpleTruth today. ~Julie

Herder to Hero: Finding Purpose in the Everyday

Sometimes we want the grand purpose of a giant slayer when Jesus is asking us to be a faithful sandwich deliverer and sheep herder. 

David was often called from his sheep pen to the battlefield...but it was only to take the soldiers their sandwiches. His dad sent him to feed the fighters and bring back, not his own amazing story, but the story of his brothers. 

David lived his life serving sheep, slaying animals, satisfying hunger, and telling other people's stories. 

Instead of getting to stay where all the action was, "David went back and forth", the Bible says. 

Maybe we can all relate to that a little? 

Stuck in the back and forth. Living what feels like the movie "Ground Hog Day", listening to stories all around us, but so painfully aware we are never moving forward in our own. 

Before David was a hero, he was a herder. But it was that day in and day out herding that prepared him for the day he was to be a hero. 

When we are longing for some glorious purpose on a well manicured platform, what we need to understand is that it may show up as a dirty, screaming giant in the middle of your daily delivery. 

Will we be positioned?

Will we be ready? 

Will we consider it someone else's problem? 

Will we have tended our stinky sheep so faithfully that we are confident to take on the giant slaying?

I want to answer yes. 

But some days, I think I am so busy complaining about my back and forth, that I never even see the great big purpose he sends into my path. 

Our faithfulness in the back and forth positions us to be propelled into the heart of our purpose. 

When you have trusted God to fight for you and be with you in your behind the scenes battles, you won't run from that looming giant out in front of the world...you will run TO it. 

You will wonder why everyone else is running away. 

You will stand in confidence that God is bigger than that giant in the path of your purpose...because you know He put it there to propel and prepare you for whatever is next. 

Just like with David, people may not understand your willingness to take on the giant...but, they didn't see the fights you've already come through. 

You can say with boldness, 

“The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” 

1 Samuel 17:37 

The herder became a hero because he trusted in Him. 

The Lord who rescues is the Lord who redeems. 

He rescues you in the everyday to redeem you for that some day. 

That day your purpose looms large and you know for a fact you are beaten and unable so you consider running back to the sheep pen and sandwich delivery. But then, you stop listening to everyone scream in fear and discount your contribution and you start listening to the One who has assured your victory because HE is more than able!! 

Don't resent your days in the sheep pen...its preparing you for the giant that marks the path of your purpose. 

#SimpleTruth for your everyday as you wait for that some day. 

Simply Marvelous

For a preacher's daughter turned preacher's wife in the south, the Resurrection of Jesus is not new news to me. 

As a matter of fact, it is the sole reason I can take a breath to the deep part of my lungs.    

But even though I intentionally keep the knowledge of that truth before me...I found myself frozen over one word as I read about the familiar scene of the Resurrection in Luke 24:12:

“But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.”

Marvel.

In the original Greek, this verb carries the meaning to properly wonder at, be amazed, astonished out of one's senses, awestruck. It's root word- a noun- means that the "marvel" is something that powerfully strikes the viewer personally and evokes an emotional astonishment. 

Peter saw the stone rolled away, the grave cloths folded, the tomb empty. 

And he left marveling: amazed, awestruck, personally and emotionally impacted by what he had seen. 

And it positioned him for a step of faith. 

Have I stopped truly marveling at the resurrection? 

Have I stopped allowing the power and awesomeness of what Jesus did for me impact me deeply, personally? 

Are we living so guarded that the power of the Resurrection no longer leaves us astonished and undone? 

Or maybe that is what we are holding at bay: the possibility, the idea, the fear of some area we have in lock down becoming undone. 

And so we meander by the empty tomb every now and then...never really looking in...comfortable and content with the concept of Jesus and His resurrection- but nothing more.

When we marvel and find ourselves emotionally impacted and amazed out of our senses, we can at the same moment find ourselves positioned for a step of faith. 

A step of faith that requires us to stop believing that whatever we are stuck in is all there is. 

A step of faith that asks us to trade death for life in every area- even that deepest, darkest place. 

Why?
Because Jesus went to the deepest, darkest place and won the victory in your stead and in mine. 

Peter's marveling positioned him for a step of transforming faith that turned him from ashamed denier to powerful declarer. 

God doesn't need us to marvel to stroke his ego.
He wants us to marvel to fuel our faith. 

He longs for us to move past the idle thought of the resurrection and move forward in the POWER of the resurrection! 

We have to let it impact us personally, deeply, emotionally, individually. 

Why?
Because it will position us to be transformed from ashamed deniers to powerful declarers.

Run to the tomb. 

Stoop and look inside.

See that Jesus is.not.there. 

Move past the mention of the resurrection...and MARVEL at the magnitude of what the resurrection means for every piece and every part of who you are. 

That is where the life change happens. 

That is when the chains fall. 

That is when the walls crumble. 

That is when grace wins: when we refuse to be blinded by our mediocre meanderings and choose to MARVEL at the finished work of Jesus Christ. 

Marvel at the resurrection. 

Then, step out in a faith full of wonder and power like never before. 

#SimpleTruth for a marvelous life. 

And my soul shall ever be. 

"How marvelous! How wonderful! 

And my soul shall ever be. 

How marvelous! How wonderful!

Is my Savior's love for me." 

 -hymn, "I Stand Amazed" 

Hello. Goodbye.

This small sign. I almost chose to write different words in this particular chalkboard amidst my Christmas decorations. And even after I made it, I thought, "Oh well, I can change it later."

 But this little sign has had more impact on me over the last 2 weeks than I could have ever imagined.

 I have realized that I have said "hello" to so many things in my life when I should have been saying goodbye. 

The enemy has fear knock at my door? I say hello. Worry rings the doorbell? I say come in. Loneliness asking to come in? I say hello. Unworthiness pounds away? I say hello.

 But why do I struggle so to trust turning my door knob when Jesus sends grace knocking? Comfort? Joy? Confidence? 

Hello. Hello to truth. That is what I need to say, not just in this season, but every season that life brings.

 It seems that a lot of things have been coming to my door lately asking for entrance. 

But what a simple reminder that if it isn't a thought, a word, an attitude, a mindset that brings me straight to the comfort and joy of my Father's heart, then it isn't my Father who is bringing it. 

I never thought I'd use this phrase in a Simple Truth sharing moment, but this is what keeps coming to my mind: 

Bye, Felicia! 

Maybe I need to make that chalkboard too! 

Everyday, we choose- we choose our hellos and goodbyes and therefore open up the home of our hearts or close it off to a multitude of things. 

What are you saying hello to? What are you saying goodbye to? 

May our hellos in every area of our life usher in Holy Spirit truth. And may we have the courage to say goodbye to all that distracts and drains us of His power.

 Bye, Felicia, indeed. 

Hello, Comfort and Joy. 

#SimpleTruth for every season. 

When I Forget God is Faithful

Sometimes our circumstances cast such a thick fog around us, that it becomes hard to see God in the midst of where we are. That is when have to look back and remember Him where we were. 

It is way too easy for me to complain and wail like the Israelites in the desert, instead of stand in faith and call on My Deliverer and Red Sea Parter. 

How quickly I forget. 

And that's why I have to be diligent to remember. 

That's why you see me scribbling in my journal, putting God's promises up on my door frames, mirrors and car dash- not because I want the appearance of holy...but because I have to remind my thick headed, stubborn flesh of the Truth of Who my God is:

 Faithful. Present. Fully Able. 

When I look around and feel claustrophobic because the reality of life is pressing in on every side, that is the moment of Truth: the moment I press back with the Truth I choose to keep before my eyes- God is Faithful. 

Believe me, just like the Israelites, I have deserts I wander in, but I am choosing not to set up camp there- and I remind the enemy to not issue me an address- because I am just traveling through. 

My God is ever faithful, and He is leading the way. 

"...if you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand firm at all."

Isaiah 7:9 

#SimpleTruth #first5 @first5app @proverbs31ministries @wblight 

Facing the Unknown

When I walked up to my front door by myself  and found it standing open, it stopped me in my tracks. It took me a minute to process. Wait. This is different. Go in? Don't go in?

I yelled an inquisitive "Hellooooo??" into my dark house except for a random light on in my room. Wait- why was my light on? Everyone should be gone. No cars are in the driveway. 

When you're standing in the face of the unknown- it can be terrifying and paralyzing. 

But you can't keep standing where you are. 

I was on the phone with my best friend and like friends on scary movies NEVER do, she reminded me to NOT go into the dark house alone. I walked over to my neighbors and they either didn't hear my knock, or couldn't respond to it. So, I stood there in between my yard and theirs wondering how to go into this unknown- this place that was mine but I was stuck not being able to claim and settle into because of all of the what ifs. What if someone was hiding and waiting. What if we had been robbed. What if I was about to be robbed. What if...what if...

Thankfully, my BFFs hubby came to my rescue- armed for battle. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as we cautiously walked in and checked all the rooms and closets, afraid of what we would find. 

Nothing. 

The what ifs of the unknown didn't turn into the what are's. 

And isn't that often the way? 

Now don't hear me saying we need to run recklessly into the dark, scary places of life.

But-

We also can't stand frozen in the front yard or locked in the car in the driveway of the place God has told us to call home: where and who we are called and created to be. 

God doesn't expect you to blaze into the unknown on your own. He wants you to wait on Him, walk in alongside Him- because He is the One that arms you for any battles you may encounter along the way. 

As we walk with the Holy Spirit, we begin to see that so many of our what ifs about the unknown are not the what are's. 

We can step out of the paralyzing terror, flip the lights on in that dark unknown place, and find out it's home. 

 And instead of grabbing the hand of a fellow panicker, find a friend- a voice of truth and wisdom- who skips the drama, and simply reminds you to not rush in alone, but press in to Jesus, the One who goes before you and with you into that unknown place. 

Whatever unknown you are facing, realize that to God, it is fully known. 

Trust the One who sees what is and you won't be paralyzed any longer by the what ifs.

#SimpleTruth 

The Banner Doesn't Lie

In the not too far past, there was some big fight in the news.

Not like a fight at school fight, or "I don’t like your opinion fight”- It was a boxing fight. 

I don’t like boxing.

I find it rather barbaric and people really mess up their faces and noses and ears and…cognitive abilities. (Rocky fans, don’t hate on me- I still like inspirational boxing movies from time to time.)

So because this particular match was all the buzz, per the usual, it showed up in my Facebook newsfeed. 

But something really struck me as a picture of all this popped up on my screen.

The fighter was on his way out to the ring with this entourage all around him- security, fancy women, coaches, trainers and the like. And then there was this one guy standing right behind him as they were walking the path to the ring who was consistently holding above the fighters head this attention grabbing belt that declared the fighter’s title.

This guys job was to make sure that everyone knew who this fighter was. It was his accomplishment on display so everyone could see why he deserved to be in the fight.

But I bet that boxer hadn’t won every single fight he had ever been in his whole life. I bet he’s had a few scars and bumps and bruises along the way- if in the ones he did win. He probably hasn’t thrown every punch correctly and he probably missed a few blocks.

But he was still a champion.

The belt doesn’t lie. 

Now I am not a boxer- nor do I ever want to be- although I wouldn’t mind following their workout to get those killer arms.

But...I am a fighter. 

I get into the ring daily as a Jesus follower.
And I have the Holy Spirit and an entourage around me that help me stay focused and pressing into to Whom and what will train me for the fight in front of me. 

But I can’t forget about the One behind me.
He is holding His banner over me that says “Love”.
Just like the song I used to sing in church as a child:
"His Banner Over Me is Love" (linked here is a grown up Bethel Music version you will love)

What simple words that I never quite understood until now.
See, those words weren't just telling me about Jesus...they hold truth about me- my identity in Christ.

I act like Jesus is constantly shaking His head in disgust at the opportunities I have missed in the Kingdom fights, or the punches from the enemy to my life that I so stupidly welcomed instead of blocking. I act like I have to cover the bumps, bruises and scars in shame.

But that would only be what would happen if it were my accomplishments that determined whether or not He holds that banner over my head. 

But it isn’t my accomplishment…it is His.
And Jesus says, "It is finished."(John 19:30)

When I accept that He conquered death on the cross and won the complete victory for me, He holds that banner of LOVE high over my head saying, 
“THIS IS THE ONE THAT I LOVE! 
I won eternal victory for HER. 
This one is my beloved! 
She is VICTORIOUS!” 

And even when I mess up, that banner over me never changes. 

Just like that fighter, that truth changes the way that you walk.

Confidence becomes a part of your stride, even when personal perfection isn’t always present.

Why? Because you know your title.

You know who you are. And as a Believer, you know WHOSE you are. 

I don’t deserve a place in the fight for His Kingdom, but Grace says otherwise.

His banner of Love over me is an irrevocable title of Victory by His righteousness that cannot be removed. 

I have screwed up. I will screw up. 

But in Him I am a Love lavished, Grace given, Righteousness received champion.

The Banner doesn’t lie.

Let’s start walking to the fight like we know Who we are and Whose we are.

Let’s live out loud for Jesus in a way that it becomes the evidence that LOVE is the banner He waves over us and that transforms us and sets us apart.

His banner over you is Love. 

#SimpleTruth that can transform. 

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”

Song of Solomon 2:4

How to Walk When Waters Rise

"Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." Proverbs 30:5 

Genesis 8 is a great reminder that like Noah in the flood, the Truth of God's word and our obedience to it are our lifeline.

 In every storm and in every season, we have to: 

turn toward His truth, 

trust He is for us, and 

trudge forward. 

It may be scary, it may be exhausting, it may cause us to be brave when we don't want to be, and the choices we make may cause people to think we are crazy, but obedience isn't about pleasing others- it's about trusting God's plan.

 

Moving with Him step by step- or maybe as Noah would say, hammer by hammer. Galatians 5:25 says,

 "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." 

Today, I am trying to get in sync. 

To trust His gait. 

To believe that even at a sweaty sprint or soothing stroll, He has a plan for my good. 

Noah shut the door on the right side of obedience- world outside, and him with God. And that is where I want to be found when the floodwaters rise. 

Even if I have the blisters and the callouses from keeping His way and trusting His word...I know my hope is with Him. 

So if you see me walking funny, or out of breath, or frozen in my tracks, or turning an uncommon direction, or bumbling through an unusual stride...I'm just doing all I can to keep in step with God. 

He alone knows the way to my ark...and that is peace for my every storm. 

#SimpleTruth #first5 @first5app @proverbs31ministries 

No More Pack Mule

By myself at a random table in a Starbucks post dropping off my kids at school. 

That statement in itself is weird. 

Me? By myself? Weird. 

Kids at school? Weird. 

Me at Starbucks? Ok...that's pretty normal.

But I feel way out of my skin eating breakfast and drinking a fancy flat white- instead of my plain old coffee- and no one across from me at the table. 

I don't quite know what to do with all this- the here and the not here. 

I am caught thinking about all I want to do and then, all I don't want to stop doing. 

And then the Spirit whispers deep: 

In order to pick something up, you have to lay something down. 

You cannot carry all the things. 

When my kids were small, my father in law always called me a pack mule. Why? Because every time he saw me, I was carrying all the things. 

From a kid to diaper bags to Batman to trash. Times 3. 

I carried it all. 

Carry all the things. 

But that can't last forever. 

Kids grow, bags shrink, Batman gets lost, and well...they still give me their trash. 

But the truth is, we can only carry certain loads in life for a season.

And then it's time to set one thing down to pick another up. 

Better still? 

We set the good things down to pick the God things up. 

The load we have been used to carrying becomes too familiar. We tell someone wanting to help, "No don't grab anything! I've got it balanced. If you take one thing it will all come tumbling down." 

And maybe there are parts of what you're carrying that God wants you to keep. 

But maybe what's in my hands isn't meant for me to carry? 

Maybe someone else is standing there empty handed because I am carrying the good thing that's supposed to be their God thing. 

I am not meant to carry all the things. 

I am meant to carry my God things. 

Because that load is light. 

It may not be easy, but it is in proportion to the strength He has released for me to carry it. 

So I am sitting here, letting go and laying down what isn't mine to carry. Not knowing what it all looks like to pick up what He has put in front of me. 

But...

I know it's a God sized load that I was designed to carry. 

There are a lot of good things that I will have to lay down. 

But the God things can't be left behind. 

And you have to lay something down to pick something up. 

I won't be grabbing all the things, but I will be holding His things...and that is a load I can bear. 

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

#SimpleTruth 

#First5App

Will Love Provide?

My mama loves to feed people.

If you are around her and you're hungry- then she feels she has failed. 

I had a friend tell me once that she "thinks in food" when it comes to planning an event. This would be my mom. We often say my mom could take a can of beans and a loaf of bread and turn it into a four course meal. 

We are only half kidding. 

She always has food prepared or shortly available- long before we are ever even hungry, she has already thought of what she will serve us in love. She expresses her deep love for us through providing. She longs to meet our needs- and we all have to eat.

In John 21(after Jesus's resurrection), the disciples are back to the business of fishing- and having no luck- when Jesus unexpectedly appears to them on the shore. After He calls out to them, they miraculously catch a huge net full. And then, they head to shore-to Jesus. 

But for me, this verse stands out:

"When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread." 

These men had not known what their night would bring- that they would catch nothing until Jesus intervened; that they would be coming to a random place on the shore to connect with their risen Lord.

But Jesus knew. 

Jesus knew their hunger before they knew it. 

Those coals, the fish, the bread- Jesus had been preparing for them what they didn't even know they would need in a place they didn't even know they would be. 

He was already there, provision waiting- nourishment for hungry souls.

Jesus was showing them His deep love for them. Reminding them as He met their need that fullness only comes from Him. 

I think about the quiet moments on the shore as Jesus prepared the meal long before the disciples were even in sight- as He thought about them, cooked for them, prepared the provision before they ever arrived- and the love that was in every step. 

Just let that movie play in your mind a moment. 

It was His joy to meet their need...and it is His joy to meet yours as well. 

Trust. Love will provide. Maybe not the way or time you expect, but He will always provide. 

That sea you are sailing? The one that has left you tired, boat and belly empty?

He has a place of provision already prepared. He's simply waiting for you. He's waiting for you to hear His call from the shore to meet Him- even if it's not the way or the when you expected. He knew your hunger even before you did, and the food is ready and waiting. 

The smell of provision is already in the air. 

Jesus longs to express His deep love for you.

Will you stop the work of casting your net long enough to come ashore and let Him love you and provide for you? Those overflowing nets of fish you're catching- that busy, full life? They are from Him anyway. 

The very thing you need, He has already provided...even before you know you need it. 

Trust Him, get near to Him, so you don't miss the meal He has prepared for you! 

So...my mama may be feeding us a meal, but it's the provision of love we devour. And fueled for the next steps, we go on, knowing the next meal is already cooking in her heart...just like my Jesus. 

Never doubt: Love provides.  

#SimpleTruth 

Perfect Peace in my Pieces

I was scrambling in my living room to have my time with the Lord, while my mind was scrambling a thousand other places, a thousand miles an hour. 

I was thinking about everything ahead in this coming season...all I knew and didn't even know-  and it had me in a dead panic in my mind. 

And then, before I even sat down to get in the Word, the Holy Spirit brought this verse up in my spirit:

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

Perfect peace. Not some version of peace- but perfect.

Perfect is defined as: "having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Absolute. Complete."

In other words, it is exactly what we need when we need it. 

Perfect peace.

Calm. 

From the inside out. 

It's learning to trust IN Him, rather than trusting things around and about Him.

 

Where you trust FROM determines the kind of peace you live IN. 

As we trust in Him, He secures us with the unwavering assurance that abundant life is His promise(John 10:10); therefore every battle we are facing is to bring about that very purpose.

He is the anchor for my thoughts in the raging sea of worry, doubt, and condemnation in my mind. When I fix my eyes on Him, I am no longer dizzied by the whirlwind of the world. I am locked into His gaze and I see what He sees, I can know what He knows: that every bit of it is for my good because He is Good. He is a good Father, giving me every good and perfect gift. 

(James 1:17, Romans 8:28)

Maybe not always the ones I want...but it's always the ones that I need. 

I have to live my life with open eyes and open hands:

Eyes open, fixed on Him.

Hands open, filled by Him. 

I have to stop looking in every direction hoping to see some answer for my questions- because HE IS THE ANSWER. 

I have to stop reaching in every direction to grab what feels and fills like I want it, when I want it- because HE IS MY PROVIDER. 

When I scurry around and try to piece together peace in my life, it only results in stress, failure, frustration, anger.

I am playing a game I will never win.  

It's time for me to stop worrying about the win and start focusing on the One.

What are you fixed on today? 

Believe me- I know it is hard to see past all that is screaming for your attention. 

But only One focal point will bring perfect peace. 

He doesn't promise to remove whatever is raging in your life, but He promises to love, grow, and be with you through it. 

That is perfect peace. 

#SimpleTruth 

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT

Knowing The Way

The unknown can be paralyzing. 

Feet turn to lead.

Mind fills with fear.

Heart beats out of chest.

And worry comes running to be my friend. 

I have to walk forward. Because stopping isn't an option when I have a way to go, a journey to walk. 

But sometimes? I just want to know the way. The whole way.

I want to see the Maps version of His plan pop up on my smart phone so I can see it all in a picture or in enumerated steps or even 3D satellite view. 

I want to know the way. 

But then, I remember that Jesus promised to be a "lamp unto my feet, a light into my path". A lamp at my feet assures I can see just enough to keep walking and not stumble and fall. A light on my path shows me the way right in front of me, not miles down the road. 

Jesus shows me His way in my here and in my now. When I lock my gaze on Him, He doesn't just show me the way- He IS my Way...no matter the ease or difficulty of the path beneath my feet. 

While I am concerned with knowing a way, Jesus draws me to Himself so I can know THE Way. 

We all have a way we are wondering about and wandering around. 

Let's stop our worry and let go of fear. 

Trust The Way for His way on your way. 

You may not know it all, but you know Him- and I promise that is enough. 

That's may prayer for us today. 

~Julie 

#SimpleTruth 

@first5App 

Spit and Mud to Heal My Mess

Spit and mud: Jesus uses it in John 9. Seriously. 

And for what? A miracle. 

Jesus sees the blindness-this mans point of need- and meets him there with spit and mud. 

Sometimes I get mad about an area of "blindness" in my life- places in need of His miraculous. I get bitter in my blindness. I don't understand why I have to live life saddled with physical frustrations and impairments...storms camped out over me spiritually, emotionally, situationally, relationally. 

But then when JESUS approaches my need with spit and mud...I lament over messy methods and delay or even miss my miracle. 

When asked about this man's blindness Jesus simply says this: "...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."(John 9:3) 

What if I took this approach, had this mentality toward every occurrence and every area of my life?

What if I lived with that level of pure, simple confidence that Jesus WILL display His glory through the miraculous in my life...even if His intervention is unconventional by my standards? (see spit, mud and a face washing!) 

Will I embrace spit and mud from the Master in order to see my miracle? 

I'm blind in so many ways. But I know God has a plan for His glory in it all if I will just surrender to His process. 

I don't love the method every time...but I love and trust the Master. 

And that is enough for me. 

I'm praying you embrace the spit and mud, too. 

~Julie 

#simpletruth #first5 @first5 @proverbs31

A Posture of Grace

John 8 begins with a bang. 

An adulterous woman, caught in the act. I know many of us recognize sin in our life- but how many of us can say that the thing or things we are most ashamed about, we have actually been caught in the very act of doing, and then had it announced in the town square before religious leaders?! 

Let that sink in a fat minute. 

This is a for real moment in this woman's life. As in- how do you even stand up under the weight of all that shame? But they stood her before Jesus and her community and declared her sin for all to see. 

What strikes me is what Jesus does: he stoops low. He bends down. 

He took the posture of Grace. 

Philippians 2 reminds us of that:

“And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,”

Philippians 2:8-9 AMP

He lowered himself so she could stand in the midst of her accusers. 

And that is what the cross and empty grave have done for you and me. 

All her accusers dropped their stones and walked away, "...until only Jesus was left with the woman, standing there."(John 8:9) 

Only Jesus. Alone in His presence. That's when you see the truth of who He is and who you are in His eyes.  

I'm afraid that as soon as the stones fell, I would have run away in shame, bearing the weight of the condemnation that brought me to that place. 

But she remained...and in doing so let Jesus declare the opportunity for new life over her.

"...And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more." John 8:11

In the same place they declared her sin and shame, JESUS declared her righteous through His grace. 

When I am accused, when I am judged- right or wrongly- how do I respond? 

Do I run from Him or to Him? 

Do I dare remain as this woman did and glimpse this unconditional Love? 

Am I willing to position myself to receive grace from the One who is postured to issue it? 

Only then can I step into who HE says I am- when I allow His declaration of truth to redeem me. 

Jesus disarmed her accusers to arm her for LIFE. 

That is the power of Grace. 

Let that marinate in you so it can pour out through you in every place you enter. 

Let's position ourselves for Grace, but let's take a posture of Grace in our lives so that others can see this crazy love of Jesus. 

I am asking the Holy Spirit to help me embrace it AND live it. 

That's my prayer for you today, too. ~Julie 

#simpletruth 

@first5 #first5 @proverbs31

The Most Important Thing About You

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."- Tozer

Jesus is polarizing. John 7 reveals that. Verse 43 tells us people were divided because of him. 

Why? Because what we believe about Him is the most important thing about us. 

It determines if we live FOR or if we live FROM. 

We live FOR our thirst to be quenched or we live FROM the Thirst Quencher. 

We live FOR righteousness or we live FROM His Righteousness. 

We live FOR victory or we live FROM His victory. 

We live FOR satisfaction or FROM our satisfaction in HIM. 

We live FOR love or we live FROM His perfect love. 

Jesus says in verse 38, "Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow FROM within him." (my emphasis added) 

FROM is inside-out living. FOR is outside-in.

FROM is transformational. FOR is temporary.

FROM is grace filled. FOR is effort filled. 

FROM is empowering. FOR is draining. 

FROM is focused. FOR is afraid. 

In every part of our lives we are choosing to live FOR or to live FROM. 

I am asking God to show me where I've chosen FOR...asking Him to rearrange and add to those letters to help me live FROM. 

That's my prayer for you today, too.

~Julie 

#simpletruth @first5app @proverbs31ministries #first5 

Perfect Love

There's nothing I can do to make Jesus love me less, and there's nothing I can do to make Him love me more. 

He loves me perfectly. 

This is Grace truth The Holy Spirit stitched into this sinner's heart years ago. But I often revisit it...run my fingers across those words to remind my weary soul. 

And I repeat to myself: 

I don't have to BE perfect for Jesus to love me perfectly. 

At times like this that I just have to journal it to remind myself- to make it sink deep, because some days, some seasons, the world screams at me-this mama, wife, daughter, sister, pastor's wife, teacher, worship leader, writer- yes, the world screams the exact opposite at every turn. 

I am tempted to fall in love with working towards some false perfection rather than His Perfect Love.

But JESUS.

Hebrews 12 tells me that JESUS is the Author AND Perfecter of my faith. 

When I look Grace in the face, I am undone. 

When I am enveloped in the embrace of my Savior, my walls fall. 

When I am positioned at His feet, 

I am not driven to DO; I am driven to LOVE.

I cannot hold back or hold in what He has done for me. 

When I live from His love and not for it, I am FREE to truly love. 

 

Hey Do-er? Breathe deeply. 

Every single bit of His love, grace, and forgiveness is available to you right in the middle of your mess and your crazy. Let's change our cry from "If God..." to the truth declaration: God IS! 

God is for you. 

God is with you. 

God is love. 

God is enough. 

He loves us perfectly, even though we are far from it. 

Find rest and JOY and POWER in that truth today. 

You are SO loved. 

Hebrews 12:2

"We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne."

Romans 5:8

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."