It has been a somber week for Texas. My heart is breaking for the families, school, and community. In times like this we can call on Our Heavenly Father; “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jer‬ ‭29:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ The words we say, may be, “why God?” Or maybe we don’t know what to say so we sit in His presence and let the Spirit speak for us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Rom‬ ‭8:26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Both of these verses above are followed by a verse about the heart. Even with broken hearts and broken words, We can connect with God.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Rom‬ ‭8:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On this Finish Friday, let’s not forget to turn our hearts towards God and ask Him to heal our broken hearts. We can hold onto the Hope and faith that we have in our hearts. One day there will be no more death and no more tears. Click here to worship with Holding onto Hope by Bryan and Katie Torwalt.

This past Sunday we celebrated our children graduating high school. It has been a joyful time. I know at some point this Mama is going to cry. There is a quote by Dr. Seuss I’ve seen a lot in the recent weeks; “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Our children are a gift to us. They may not always make us smile, however the time we have with them, even in the struggles should be treasured; “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭127:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬.

I feel blessed that God chose Hollie and I to receive these two precious gifts. This day is the beginning of some new, scary, exciting adventures. I can smile knowing that God is going to continue to carry them along the way. On this Thankful Thursday I am especially thankful for my village of family, friends, and church that have helped us raise our children. Let’s join together in prayer that all our children will never forget their roots; “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬.

We are blessed to have God’s word and the transparency of the Apostle Paul. He demonstrates this in 1 Corinthians 2:3 NIV; “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.” We too can come to God and to each other in weakness and fear. In verse 4, we are also blessed to see God’s power and not just hear about it; “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” In verse 5, he demonstrates this so that we can rest on God’s power; “so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”

There is something about standing in front of God’s vast ocean to remind us of both God’s power and rest. I made us a little acronym on rest as a reminder on this Water Walking Wednesday to rest on God’s power.

Reconnect with God’s word

Encounter God’s power

Stay a while and find rest

Transparency with God and each other

There is something about being transparent with God and each other that lifts our burdens so that we can find rest. We never know what others are walking with. Through transparency we can help each other to understand.

My husband Hollie and I have been riding bikes most evenings. We like to wait until it is dark because it is cooler and very peaceful to ride at night. My bike light shines light on the path ahead and his bike light alerts the traffic behind us. On this Transformation Tips Tuesday, I think about the strengthening of our muscles that is not only happening physically but in our marriage and spiritually as well.

In 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ the Apostle Paul writes to strengthen our faith; “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

I love how the Message version reads that our Heavenly Father takes us by the hand; “May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God’s love and Christ’s endurance.”

I sit this morning and think of how our bike light guides us as we endure the workout. This Christian walk we are on takes lots of love and endurance. I want us to imagine our Heavenly Father taking us by the hand today and leading us throughout our day. May we remember that we are to shine His love as He strengthens us to endure the days tasks ahead.

On this Mindset Monday, what is your perspective for the days ahead? In this photo we know there is a beach of sand we cannot see. Just like faith, it can’t always be seen. In this verse from Hebrews brings us a perspective of hope; “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My prayer for you and I; that we all have assurance in our faithful God. That we can all have hope when we can’t see the sand. That our glasses are half full verses half empty. According to the dictionary assurance means, a positive declaration intended to give confidence; a promise. Let’s voice a declaration that it is going to be a great week!

Click here and Worship with Blessed Assurance by Elevation Worship.

Last Sunday Deborah asked us to examine our bloom color and our soil. This week at my house, our Cala Lillie’s we planted last year stated to return. They are located in a shady spot under our tree. I remember them being really hard to plant with the trees root system strongly in place. I wondered if they would return. Amazingly the the remnant of the seed bloomed just a beautifully.

Remnant means something left over, small remaining quantities of something. In 2 Kings 19:30 NIV, one year there was an invasion so the land could not be sown. The following year was to be a sabbatical year. Yet the Lord provided; “Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above.”

Spiritual Sunday is a time to go to church and get filled so that we have a remnant of worship to carry us throughout our week. That remnant may not always be in full bloom but God is always providing. We always seem to be waiting on something, right? Clothes to dry, dinner to finish cooking, a child to come home, waiting on a Doctor to come in the room, breakthrough, or healing. If we praise in the waiting, our root system will remain and our faith will stay strong. May there always be a remnant of praise on our lips to carry us through the week.

Click Here to worship with Stay Strong by Danny Gokey.

Welcome to See you Saturday!! Click here and Join me as I talk about stumbling blocks!