God's Telling You to Be Brave

This is probably one of my favorite posts, because it reminds me of a time of courage. We did crazy things haha and it's fun to remember where God's been faithful. 

Bravery isn't knowing all the answers. It's standing on the promises we have from God, knowing HE has all the answers and He loves us very much. (Tweet that!)

A retreat was what I needed to clear my head and start fresh. Six weeks away from a conference many had poured blood, sweat and tears into and I was still wracking my brain and Bible for a specific and timely word from God.

We trekked upstate and a little to the east, arriving at the beautiful Lake Tahoe. The next day we drove around the lake, wide and vast and still. "What do you want me to tell them," I asked of God. "There are 400 girls coming to the conference hear from you and I don't know what to tell them." 

At that moment and for the next 2 hours, my mind flooded with memories and stories, verses and quotes that my life was being built upon. Middle school, high school, college and a tiny bit of marriage was the only life experience I possessed, but somehow I knew it was enough. 

I couldn't grab my iPhone quick enough. Typing on those little buttons like a mad woman, I knew the Holy Spirit was reminding me of things that would connect with the hearts and experiences of those girls. 

I cried with awe. Oh how He loves us.

I wept with overwhelm. Oh how He's shaping us. 

By the time we'd wrapped around the bend, I had something to say. It wasn't my message, but I was living it. It wasn't my design but I was wearing it. It wasn't my idea, but it was my hope to give. 

This is what He said:

Tell them I love them.

Tell them to love me with everything in them.

Tell them My love does not depend on theirs.

Tell them to not be afraid.

Tell them the world needs to hear their story. 

Tell them they are precious to me.

Tell them I see them where they are.

Tell them I will meet them there. 

Tell them My grace is deep enough to cover their hidden regrets and it is wide enough to cover their future mistakes. 

Tell them it is time to awake. To be fully awake.

Tell them to be courageous.

Tell them, to be brave. 

Today I pass on this message to you. Whoever you need to be today, whatever you need to do, be awake, be courageous, be brave.  (Click to tweet that!)

What My Two Year Old Taught Me This Year About Decision Making

January 2015, I decided this year would be my year for "Decisions." 

I wanted to make wise, thought through, calculated and healthy decisions about my life, dreams, family and marriage.

I thought that by deciding to make my decisions this way, I could control the pace at which the situations that called for some decision making came. Did I lose you yet? 

I wanted to be in charge of my life again. I wanted to dictate how fast or slow it would go, depending on the speed of the day or week or month and how my family and I were grooving.

I wanted to, in my mind, finally be an adult about the mature decisions I made.

But after 357 days of toiling to form a routine, a process, a grown up adult plan for my life, I've discovered yet another one of life's dirty little secrets:

The adult decision process is exactly the same as a child's. The only thing that changes is the scenario, setting, weight and complexity surrounding the decision. 

My two year old and I make decisions the exact same way! 

She wants something.
She fights for it.
Someone or something warns her it's not good for her.
She then gets to decide if she will disregard warning for the sake of momentary satisfaction.
Or she gets to decide if she will heed warning and avoid certain heartache.

I want something.
I fights for it.
I then get to decide if I will disregard warning for the sake of momentary satisfaction.
Or I get to decide if I will heed warning and avoid certain heartache.

The only difference is that her decision involves things like a box of cookies or jumping on and off the couch and mine involves situations like whether I'm going to work or stay home after Baby Mo 2 is born. (Ok, sometimes mine involves cookies too.)

Decisions. Deciding. 

Most of us don't blatantly choose the wrong thing. Sometimes we do, but most of the time we want to do what's right, we just don't know what exactly that is. Thus, my lesson for the year:

“All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.” | Proverbs 16:2

Only God can set my feet on the road to wisdom. He sees my heart, He knows my kryptonite and my strengths. He knows what He's fashioning me for and what I need to let go of.

He knows. And I've found myself laughing because of how little I included Him in my decision making process!

It would KILL ME, if I knew Symphony was up against a big decision, like whether she should poop in her pants or in the toilet, and she felt she didn't have permission to ask before making the wrong decision.

I want her to know she can come to me with any question and I will help her see what she should do.

And I'm not even God! Just a mama that loves her more than anything. Just think of how silly it is that God views us in that same vein, times 1,000,000 and yet going to Him first isn't yet in our routine.

I would make decisions and then ask Him,"Did I do that right?" Instead of inquiring before hand and allowing Him to lead me from the beginning.

And it's not this super spiritual "Jesus please send me a note or an angel to tell me what to do."

It's more like, "Hey, I am seeking You. I need help. I don't know what to do and I need you to give me a peace or discomfort if I'm making the right or wrong decision." 

"But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive!" | Psalm 54:4

So 2016, come what may. The crazy, the hustle, the sacrifice, the hidden and the boxes of diapers.

I am not afraid because, yes it took me 300+ days to figure this thing out, but from this point on, most of my decisions won't be made in vain or strife or confusion.

I am seeking God first, on everything.

Ciao --


End of the Year Reading in case you're bored

• Why You Need to Finish Strong This Year
• The Ground is Breaking
• A Letter to My Brother 4 Years Later
• 20 Things to Remember If You Love a Highly Creative Person

My God Will Supply All Your Needs (Even the emotional ones)

I've been feeling a little off balance lately. 

It could be the fluctuating pregnancy hormones. It could be work responsibilities and struggles. It could be I feel like I haven't had time for my marriage. It could be that I haven't sat and read a book to my kid in who knows how long. It could be that everywhere I look there's more sickness and death and mourning and struggle and loss. 

It could be fear. I'm not entirely sure yet. 

So this morning, I walked into the office, lit some candles, put on my new favorite chill playlist and started reading. 

My only agenda was to be refreshed. 

Whenever I'm doing a no agenda Bible read, I usually start with a passage I know will refocus me and then read the chapter before or the chapter after. Or both.

Today, I read before. The passage I started with was a verse I memorized as a child:

"Fear not for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

As a child, this verse brought me comfort in both dire and silly situations. It is my life line. 

So I started there and then read one chapter back. Isaiah 40; a chapter that goes in deep about God's comfort for His people, His promises and how they'll never waiver, and then into His greatness.

It's as if He knows our human minds and tendencies toward doubt and therefore validates Himself, probably unnecessarily, to remind us, again, who He is. 

I read verse one. Verse two. Verse three, four, five, six. Verse seven and eight. Nine and ten. 

I didn't know what I was looking for. All I asked for was a word. A word that would comfort whatever felt off balance. A word that would remind me of what mattered. 

And then verse eleven. 

"God will tend His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah 40:11

Like jumping into a crisp lake on a blazing, humid, hot Summer day, I got my word (words, really) and my soul was refreshed. 

Why? I found myself asking. Why do you just show up like that when we ask? 

It's simple really, He replied. Because I love you. 

He loves us. All of us. He wants us to ask Him and He will give. He wants us to seek Him and He will be found, pouring out love, security, peace and joy in our hearts, minds, and souls.  

So Jules, and any other girl, wife, mama, student, woman who needs them, here are your words: 

• God is a God of action. He tends, carries, gathers, leads. 
• The actions begin with Him. Alone. He initiates movement.
• His people are His responsibility. Not yours. You show up, but He moves them. 
• The burden is His. He carries. You support. 
• He sees you, young mom of toddlers. He sees your babies and He sees that you have no idea what you're doing. He will teach you. Trust Him again today.
• His mode of operation with His children is gentleness. Always. 

My family is taken care of. My work situations are taken care of. My home is taken care of. My friends and family struggling with life and health and love are taken care of.  There's no need to fear as long as my eyes and ears are open to how He's asking me to step in.

Anybody else need that today? Just me? Ok :)

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

I Am Barabbas

If you have not seen this video, it was slay you. I watched it, not knowing what it was, and I ended up in tears and thanking Jesus all over again. #imsorry #yourewelcome

Good, Good Father

I shared this video with my FB pals and the response had me in tears. From the moment I heard this song, I know women (and men) around the world would resonate so deeply with it. I want to sing it everywhere at all times haha. 

As a girl who relied on Jesus to be her Father from a young age and then had a miracle step dad fill the earthly role, this song gets to me.

This beautiful song was originally written and recorded by Housefires.

Good Mom vs Bad Mom

I love supporting other writers and ideas that are exploding my mind. This piece by Esther Houston, is one that I can't get out of my head and I hope helps reshape some of my "guilty mom" syndrome. - JM

Original Post by Esther Houston on Hillsong Collective

Being a mother brings out stuff you never knew you had inside of you. An ability to love that you never thought possible before, a level of selflessness you had never experienced before, a grade of sleeplessness you never thought one could survive before. But we love it and wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

We would change everything about it but yet, change nothing at all.

What does that even mean? I’m not really sure, but that’s how I feel.

I’m sure the majority of moms share the sentiment, even though many would be too afraid to admit it and end up sounding like a “bad mom”. So here you go. I’m saying it first so that you can understand that you, dear friend, are not alone; and feeling like that from time to time doesn’t make you a bad mom.

If the single defining characteristic of iconic good motherhood is self-abnegation, her child’s needs come first and their health and happiness are her primary concern. They occupy all her thoughts, her day is constructed around them, and anything and everything she does is for their sakes. 

Her own needs, ambitions, and desires are relevant ONLY when in relation to theirs. If a good mother takes care of herself, it is only to the extent that she doesn’t hurt her children. A good mom MUST be able to figure out how to find time for herself, but only if it’s without detriment to her child’s feelings of self-worth.

How is any of that even achievable? 

Being a good father is a reasonable and attainable goal. You show up, you support, you’re physically there (when you can), you provide. I think I’m a MUCH better father than I am a mother.

Read the rest here.

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Do you feel the struggle? How do you handle the good mom vs bad mom mindset? 

Notes from Sunday | On Trusting God

Trust is an enigma, its almost always preceded with a great amount of fear but once you engage it, it'll set you free.

I was a girl who was told having her own babies was probably never gonna happen. And now, 5 years later, I have a toddler and another miracle on the way (and I'm not even sure how this one happened...)

The doctors gave me a diagnosis that shattered my world, but God always works at a different capacity from this world.

Listen, I'm not saying that when you bring your needs to God he will fill them how you want them.

What I am saying is when you bring your needs to God, He fills them in a way that will cause you to know Him and love Him and trust Him even more than you do right now in this moment.

Whatever you're carrying around today give it to Him.

Someone here needs to know God is their defender.

Someone here needs to know God is their provider.

Someone here needs to know God is their ultimate healer.

Someone here needs to know God still love you. No matter what. 

Trust Him at His word when it says, 

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

He's not messin' around.

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I Want My Daughter to Know Why We Sing

I have a fear that one day my daughter might come to despise the church, without ever really knowing or discovering for herself what it stands for.

I've seen my fair share of pastors' kids or kids with any connection to the Church, turn their back on it all because of any number of reasons. Some, because of all the things it took away from them--recitals, dad at their ball games, family dinners, vacations, Sunday morning doughnut runs. Others, because of the chaos it comes with--fishbowl lifestyle, open home, early mornings and late nights.

I know some parents completely missed the signs; the warnings and cries for attention or help from their children. But some really, really tried. Like really.

That's what terrifies me.

I'm afraid I'll try my hardest to be balanced and still miss the mark.

So I started a journal. For her. Hopefully the first of dozens that I'll write in, pray over, cry through and laugh about.

It's just one more attempt to go out of my way to let her know, to let you know, sweet Symphony, why we get up early and stay up late, why we spend most every Christmas and Easter in the walls of a Church.

This is why you know your way around the sanctuary and church halls and where every bathroom and trash can are. This is why everyone you waddle past knows your name.

Because Jesus loves us.
He saved us.
We, me and your Dad, we shouldn't be here.
He wasn't planned.
I was supposed to be a sexual abuse statistic.
We are not supposed to be here, in this place, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

We made some bad decisions.
Destructive decisions.
Petty, self-righteous, and sinful decisions.

AND GOD'S GRACE WAS STILL SUFFICIENT.

Trust me, that's some crazy good news.

We sing because we have to. 
We have to tell the world about this magnificent grace and love.
We have to show you that it's the most real thing you'll ever experience.

This is why we sing, and dance and act like crazy people on and off the stage.

Grace, love, peace.
Redemption, restoration.
It's all because of Jesus.

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Our family worships and serves at Shoreline Church in Austin,TX. If you're local we'd love you to join us! And tell us when you're here. Obvs :) 

Are You an Intentional Friend?

Me neither.

Friendship is the mother of all relationships; ironically. (Click to tweet!)

Without friendship, the human race cannot thrive. We could survive, sure, but we wouldn’t be living at our full capacity. We wouldn’t be tapping into who we really are: Created beings in the image of a relational God.

Now with that, let me say I am a bad friend.

Or at least that’s what my sweet husband tried to tell me. We were watching a video series on marriage and that evening’s topic was on friendship. The pastor said thatfriendship is the foundation of all healthy relationships. Different types of friendships will go to different levels of intimacy, nonetheless, friendship is the required baseline.

At the end of the video, he told us to ask one another how they think we are doing on the friendship scale. When I asked Ty, he replied,

“You’re a good friend babe…when you want to be.”

Of course he was super gentle and compassionate in his response, so much so that I did not feel offended (for long). But he was right. Ty’s words to me that day were both timely and enlightening. I never realized I was that way with my friends. But as I started to evaluate my friendships and the ones that fizzled, I saw a pattern of declining priority among them.

I realized I am what I like to categorize as a “convenience friend.”

When the stars align and my schedule clears up, then we can try to get coffee. It’s not for lack of desire necessarily, but rather ignorant precedence. I love my friends, probably more than they know, but I wasn’t being intentional about showing them their value in my life.

That night I tossed and turned until 4AM, mulling over the many friendships I’ve probably lost due to my unintentional way of being a friend; or convenience friendship. I felt dichotomized because on one hand I felt so much sorrow for the past, and on the other hand I felt motivated to start showing my friends just how much they mean to me.

I was reminded while reading Colossians 3, that friendship doesn’t just consistent of the DON’T's (don’t gossip, don’t backstab, don’t hate, don’t hurt, etc), but more so of the DO’s (love, humility, patience, kindness, compassion, etc).

Friendship isn’t passive and convenient, it is proactive and sought out because it is necessary! We were never meant to be independent and self-sufficient. We were never meant to be alone.

You need them to get through this life and they need you.

So this is my challenge to you (and to me!)

This week, write a card, an email, or a text to a friend you have been “convenient” with. 

First, ask for their forgiveness for not being the friend they needed. 
Second, tell them how much you appreciate them and be specific. They will love it!

“Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:7-9).

4 Things I Learned in Prison | Hope

You have nothing to say. There's no way she'll relate to you. Can grace really be this deep?

This voice in my spirit would not relent. I don't know if it was my own doubts or some outside source, but it was ugly and mean.

The Word of God is sharper than any double edged sword, I spit back. Greater is HE that is in me than He that is in the world, I repeated it to myself over and over again.

I shook my hands out and bent my knees. I felt like I was going to buckle amidst my group of women.

He came to seek out and save the lost. I was lost and so was she. He came for me and her.

Sarah* was probably the seventh or eighth girl out the big metal door. She shuffled her white sneakers down the ramp and onto the cold damp concrete.

One thing I noticed right away was the two different style of shoes the girls had on. Clean white sneakers and black cloth slip ons with rubber soles. That's interesting, I thought to myself.

As she started looking around, I walked up to her and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Jules. What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah," she said and as she did her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth began to widen. Most of these women were numbers. Identity was considered a privilege they didn't have.

The program started and we all sat on the cold hard concrete as the speaker told us her story of brokenness, abuse, and addiction. Sarah sat next to me.

"Do you ever get tired of doing this?" the speaker asked. "Do you ever get tired of running and surviving?" Some of the women answered verbally and others just with their brows and nods.

"Then listen to me, there is rest for you today. Jesus said, 'Come to ME and I will give you rest."

Wiping the tears from my own welling eyes, I glanced at Sarah. Then I looked to my left, behind me, and in front of me and I saw it. I saw the walls cracking and heart gates opening. I saw women, just like you and me, sitting in what looked like an elementary school yard, feel the pain and the loss and the fear.

I saw, old ones and young ones alike, covering their mouths with their sleeves because this woman told them we loved them.

It was obvious they'd never heard that before, or if they did it was followed with a broken promise.

"These women," the speaker continued, "They came here from all over the country just for you."

We huddled into groups of five or six and Sarah, wiping her eyes and a little worried about her makeup, scooted into my group. We talked through the message of the Gospel and then the flood gates opened. It started with Sarah.

"I've been here for 15 years," she said, "and I've got 10 more before I'm even up for parole. My youngest son is in his 20's and I never saw him grow up. I have five grand babies I've never even met. Every day I wake up and ask God why He's keeping me alive. How do I keep the faith with something like that?"

Remember how I noticed the two different styles of shoes? The girls who were in for a short-term didn't waste their commissary money on shoes. They'd get by with the cheap ones. But the sneakers, the clean white crisp sneakers, those girls had lost all hope.

There it was again, that voice. You're in way over your head.

With tears streaming down my face, I leaned in, looked her straight in the eyes and replied, "I have no idea. I have no idea what it's like for you. But I do know this: the God you pray to every morning, if it's the same God I talk to everyday, He is in the business of redemption."

"Even for someone like me?" she asked.

Yes, absolutely yes.

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As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Luke 18:35-43

Wholeness, healing, redemption; all things I tend to put subconscious guidelines on. For instance, it'll only come to situations like this and people like that. It's never too radical but definitely not impossible. 

My finite mind has tried so hard to grasp the vast concept of grace and salvation, the undying hope of the world, but it was a pair of crisp white sneakers that made it click for me.

Hope is for everyone. Everyone. There is no limit on God's redemption plan. 

This weekend Sarah was confronted with the same question Jesus asked the blind man, What do you want me to do for you? 

And she answered, "Hope. I want you to give me hope."

*Names changed to protect identity
This post is part of a four part series. Did you miss Part One?

4 Things I Learned in Prison | Faith

We drove up to the back entrance, on the back end of a car line filled with old Cadillacs and soccer mom SUV's. My hands were sweating and my body aching as we pulled into our parking space.

I thought I knew what I was doing, but it turns out I had no idea what I was getting into. This was the kind of thing you can prepare for in theory, but until you do it, your mind grasps desperately for something predictable.

Nothing about this was predictable to me.

As we walked towards the crowd, my manila packet in hand and name badge pinned securely to my black leather jacket, I prayed unbeautiful prayers that sounded more like stuttering than actual supplication.

Help me, I'm not sure, what am I doing? How, how, how did I ever think I could make a difference here?

Yet, regardless of what I thought I should or shouldn't be doing, there I was, walking myself alongside an army of grandmothers, mothers, recovering addicts, widows and a few college girls into a small door on the corner of what can only be described as the Jericho of chain link fences.

We had come to prison.

And I was terrified.

But not of them. Of me.

As we walked along the freshly cut grass of the maximum security women's only prison, and into a gym that steamed of clorox and lemon, I thought, "What exactly am I going to say to  a woman who was incarcerated for things I can't even dream up??" A lot of these women were here for life.

Who was I, this girl with standard life, to tell them about joy and freedom and redemption?

I doubted God's move on this one, but promised I would keep my heart and my eyes and my ears open to hear from Him and seek out hopelessness.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to look far.

As we walked through their dorms, toward the backlot where we'd have our gathering, I could have cried, seeing the vast pendelum of reactions when a dozen women walked through their "home" smiling and greeting them with all warmness and care.

Some were furious. Some were confused. And some lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

They looked at us like we weren't real.

Hopelessness wasn't far off.

- - - - - -

What do you do when God calls you to something you feel completely and utterly inadequate to accomplish?

What do you do when you have no concrete idea what you're actually supposed to be doing? 

I had a lot of questions and about 7 minutes to discern an answer. Or so I thought. For most of the morning, I thought I needed the entire roadmap to be effective. I needed to see the destination and work backwards in order to not end up off roading or stuck in a ditch I couldn't get out of. 

Nevertheless, I had a gut wrenching feeling God was going to do, once again, what He'd been faithful to do all my life:

God was going to guide my steps. Not give me a full delineation of the game plan.  

In other words, I had to move, walk, step instead of sitting in the paralyzing planning phase of the moment. 

Reason is knowing and trusting a proven God. Faith is super scary movement based on reason. 

And faith makes mountains move.

So I walked. Right up to a beautiful woman named Sarah.*

To be continued.

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

Fear May Nag Us in Every Season

Sometimes there's seasons where I'm grinding through so much, I can't write it all down quick enough. And when I do find time to get something on paper or in this blog, it doesn't quite make sense. 

At least not yet. 

So that's where I'm sitting at the moment. In my apartment, windows open, babe asleep and dish washer running, and waiting. I'm waiting for it to make sense. 

There's so much to celebrate right now and yet my mind keep gravitating towards the fear. Fear of what could be's or what should be's. 

Will I ever get a hold of fear? 

Will I ever be able to hold it in my fists, look it in the eye and have the last word? 

Is it always elusive or can it be conquered to the point of dissipation? 

Maybe this is why my friend Paul from the first century Church said, 

"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, [fearful], grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children." (Romans 8:15 MSG)

Maybe, just maybe in these moments of this life, the existence of fear is my reality because I cannot see the entire storyline. If I could, I'd have no need for fear. 

Maybe, I have the question wrong. 

Maybe it isn't, "When will fear cease," but rather, "How deep does my trust go for the One who conquers it?"

This is tough stuff.

It makes our T-shirt Christianity feel a little flimsy at times, eh?  You know you wore them too: WWJD (what would Jesus do?), FROG (fully rely on God), LGLG (Let go, Let God). 

Fear may nag us in every season, but at the end of the day, we can rest in this:

He who began in a good work in you (and me) will be faithful to see it to full completion.

And if we hold fast to God, as a child clings to her Father, our race will not be in vain.

There is nothing, no man or woman, no circumstance or trial, no sin or amount of shame that can keep the love of God from enveloping us. Forever.
Faith. Hope. Love, and the greatest of these is love. 

Fear will always lose to love.

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"We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less." 2 Corinthians 5 

Words that Bring Life or Death | Free Downloads

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This morning our pastor's message was on the power of words and how we can either speak life into our circumstances or death. Either way it will change the atmosphere. I want to remember that. I want to bend my atmosphere, no matter what happens in my day, towards Jesus, His life, His love. 

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

ROMANS 12:2

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

EPHESIANS 4:29

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.

MATTHEW 15:18

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

PROVERBS 15:4

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

LUKE 6:45

This is What Love Does

We all have a gripping desire to feel loved, valued, seen. The journey may get rocky, vision may get blurry and a refocus may be in order. But at the end of the day, when love leads the way, the world shifts.

Love is patient and love is kind. It doesn’t envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful; it doesn’t rejoice when things go wrong, but rather rejoices with the truth.

It is the very key that unlocks the door of unity.

Why?

Because love bears all things, believes all things, hopes and endures all things.

Love joins generations. It compels the younger women to reach up for the hand of her older generation. It activates the older women to lift her up in the lessons of faith and bravery.

Love covers multitudes of sin.

Love unifies diversity.

What do we need most to change our corner of the world?

Love.

And by our love, we will shine.

They're Just Girls Aren't They? | My Refuge House Art Show

"People who've interacted with our girls all come back with the same thought. 'They're just girls aren't there?' They giggle, they laugh, they love clothes and average girly things. You'd never know from first look how deep their wounds go and how vast their pain. That's because they've experienced love."

Crystal is the Executive Director of My Refuge House the bomb. I've met a lot of passionate women who are doing big, beautiful, amazingly life changing things.

But Crystal, she is changing the world. One girl at a time. 

My Refuge House, located in the Philippines, is a safe home for girls rescued from the human sex trade. Currently, My Refuge House is called "home" by 12 girls, with grand plans to house another 12-50 more. 

Tyson and I had the honor of performing at the Annual My Refuge House Art Show. These girls, this cause, this movement is something that makes our hearts bleed. We each have our stories of how we got to the place of determination to put an end to this horrendous tragedy, and together, we've made it our resolution to do everything we can, whenever we can to make sure it happens. 

And right now, that's partnering with Crystal and her team at My Refuge House.

The theme of the evening was "We Step Into the Light." 

Each girl in the home was paired with an artist who crafted and fashioned a piece of art they felt depicted their girls triumph. Victory. Freedom. 

You guys, these pieces would make you bawl. 

Some were eloquent, some were poignant. Some were filled with grace and fluidity, while others were courageous and warrior-like. But every single one beamed with love. Pure, unadulterated love. A new love these girls had never known before coming to My Refuge House. 

Isn't that crazy? They never knew love. 

The sex trade sometimes feels too big, too bad, too untouchable to be stopped. And isn't it true that when we feel overwhelmed, it's just easier to sit down and do nothing? Isn't easier to feel pity, or even disgust and fervor, and yet, when action is necessary, we have no clue where to start?

Me too. Me too. 

Until now. Because of men and women like Crystal and her team, we can do something. Tangible. Right now. Like 3 seconds ago. 

We can be the wheels and tracks and coal by which their train operates. They have the tools to heal and restore. I don't. But I have the tools and resources to fuel their restoration process. They don't. 

We need them. They need us. Or this thing never gets handled. 

So here's my proposition for you:

Ty and I have committed that for the month of February, we'd like to raise $2700 that goes directly to My Refuge House. $2700 is not a lot. 

• That's 540 of us donating ONE DAY of coffee ($5). 
• Or 270 of us not eating at Chic Fil A for ONE MEAL ($10).
• Or 135 of us skipping that dress sale just this ONCE ($20).

Feel me? 

We can do this guys. You have been so generous in the past with way bigger goals and that's why I love this community so much.

You guys aren't the typical "blog readers." You aren't really blog readers at all. You are community. You are encouragers. You are empowers.

You are world changers. 

Will you help me change a little more of the world this month? 

G I V E

Click to give your donation of $5, $10, or $20 via My Refuge House's super secure and tax deductible site. (Make sure to use the provided link so we can track how much $$ raised.)

S H A R E

Know someone who is passionate and overwhelmed about this too? Tell them you found something small they can do to start with! We have custom Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pics just for you. 

G E T

Yup. We want to show you your sacrifice means the world, so we're giving you a little gem of music. A free download will be coming later this month! You're the first to hear about it!

The Ground is Breaking

There is something new around the corner. Something's about to burst open in this world. The rumble beneath the earth is the sound of evil scrambling. Fighting harder to stay prevalent, relevant. 

But it will not prevail. 

We have a promise, from One who has yet to break a single promise, that even the fiery gates of hell itself cannot eliminate. 

This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.

And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19 MSG)

Another translation says, 

I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.  (Matthew 16:18-19 AMP)

Meaning, there is nothing that will keep the movement of the Spirit, through the vehicle of the Church, from churning faster and faster and faster. 

Restoration is God's plan. Redemption. Salvation will be had for the earth and those who dwell in it. 

Something is coming. 

Something is awakening. 

The ground is breaking and light is bursting forth, even brighter today than it was yesterday.

Look for it and I promise, you will find it.

Original image from this brilliant designer.

How to Change Someone's Tomorrow

A sisterhood isn't created by organized gatherings. It starts first with regular, ordinary life; seemingly small decisions that will ripple into the future, affecting lives in ways we might never know the fullness of.

Shanna's story makes me cry, not tears of sorrow, but tears of thankfulness for the beautiful loving girls in the world. I want to be one of them.

"So I want you to remember, when you look at your mom, she's not just a housewife. She's not just a person that picks up your clothes and clean the house, she's a hero. She's my hero. And she saved my life."

Who we love on today might change their tomorrow. Don't forget that.

Why You Need to Finish Strong This Year

30 more days. 2014 has only 30 more days and then it's gone forever. 

It's crazy to me that this year, this day, will never again exist in history. 

There are moments I wish my days away. Not in a daydreamy sort of way, but more like a Man-I-wish-you-would-go-away sort of way.  Have you ever felt like that? 

There's nothing you want more than for this day to fade and morning to come. Nothing got done today. The kids are too hard to parent today. The job just won't let up. The family can't seriously make anymore drama. 

Am I getting close? 

There's hardly anything more exciting or revitalizing like "new." New days, new products, new seasons, new years. I don't wanna do this anymore, we sigh. I just want to start over. 

In the middle of the mud, we crave a clean slate. (Click it to Tweet it!)

But here's a dirty little secret no one tells us about starting over: Our monumental memories are in the middle of the mud.

Character is made in the mud. 

Virtue is tested in the mud. 

Integrity of heart and soul is built up in the mud.

To hit the reset button everytime we got a little dirty would do a great disservice to humanity. Nothing would finish because dirt is a reality. Nothing would complete because our hands wouldn't be rough enough to handle the pressure. Nothing would move forward because moving something as big as legacy and generations are bound to well up sweat and tears amidst the weather of life. 

Getting out of the mud is a small goal for our year. What if we strapped in and committed to making it out of the mud of 2014 with treasure we discovered at the bottom of the pit? 

We have 30 days left. 

Is your marriage breaking? Are your grades flatlined? Do your children feel distant or are you half-a**ing your way through the workday? Maybe there's a dream you feel is impossible, especially in 30 days. Try it. I dare you. 

Some of you have already found your treasure this year and it might be time to start making your way out. 

Some of you have been so focused on the water pressure it'll take to wash this year off. Stop and look around. What are you missing?

Some of you have fallen asleep. In a mud pit. Wake up. Your year is not lost. 

And some have stubbed your toe on the treasure, thinking it was a rock. Stoop down, feel around, and pick it up. You might be surprised. 

Regardless of where you are or where you aren't, give it all you got and let's finish this year strong. 

- - - - - - - - - -

My Momma use to write verses on index cards and stick them around my life, my room, my car etc. Here are some verses and inspirational quotes you can stick around your space to remind you to keep going, every moment of everyday. 

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. 

So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.

Philippians 3:12-16

Defeat doesn't finish a man, quit does. A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits.

Richard Nixon

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish.

J. R. R. Tolkien

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 

1 Corinthians 9:24

What My Daughter Taught Me About Needing Her Daddy

I packed our bag while my one year old was well into her first nap of the day. 

God, I prayed aloud, can I have an extra measure of grace this weekend? 

I was feeling tired, having just recovered from a 24 hour flu bug and the mere thought of walking through security with my toddler made me want to get back in bed. 

But it came. The grace came in floods and flurries at the right moments. 

I knew this weekend would be tough for Baby Girl Mo, seeing new people and new places. People that knew her and her story, but faces she wouldn't recognize. So I did my best to walk her through who each person was. But "This is 'so and so'," was only good for so long before her little body started pressing further into mine with uncertainty and anxiety. 

I knew her sleep schedule would be off, so I did my best to compensate with extra naps and "down time" away from the crowds and gatherings. 

However, what I never anticipated was how off balanced she became every day we were away from her Daddy. 

With each day that passed, she became more and more emotionally unsettled. There was a sense of fear that overcame her every time I walked out of the room. (A girl's gotta pee at some point!)

Initially, I couldn't figure out what was going on. But on about the third night, Tyson sent us a video of him singing to her and she instantly lit up! She was beaming from ear to ear and giggling through the familiar song she's heard a thousand times.

As the video ended, she turned to me with a look of worry and a whimpering tone to play it again and it hit me. 

She needs her Daddy! She misses his love and affection. She needs to be held by him. There was an ache in her for his presence and she didn't know how to identify it. 

Right now, her sense of balance and security rests largely on the presence and love of her Daddy. 

It occurred to me how very real this need is, not only in my daughter's life, but in mine as well. (And maybe yours too?)

I need my Heavenly Father, everyday or else I get off balanced and unsettled.

I get worrisome and fearful when I cannot remember how strong and safe my Father is. 

There is sometimes an ache in me that I can't identity until I've spent time in the love and song and presence of my heavenly Father. 

There is peace in His presence. There is joy in His presence. There is balance and understanding in His presence. There is freedom in His presence. 

Whatever you need right now, it can be found in His presence. It may not all be tangible, but it's there. The wisdom, the direction, the breath, the life. It's there. 

Sym and I were only gone a total of five days. Not that long. But I'll tell you what, I ain't never taking her away from her Daddy for that long ever again. 

- - - - - - - - - -

What do you need right now?

Is there an unidentifiable ache in your soul? 

- - - - - - - - - -

My Momma use to write verses on index cards and stick them around my life, my room, my car etc. Here are some verses you can stick around your space to remind you to press into God's presence every moment of everyday. 

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. 

Psalm 16:11

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple. 

Psalm 27:4

Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:9

And behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you. 

Genesis 28:15

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

John 15:5

I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 

Psalm 16:7-8