Category Archives: Stories Of Faith

A TRIBUTE TO MY MAMA

Anyone who knows my mother knows why I’ve always wanted to be like her. During the hardest season, my mother was the wind beneath my wings. She taught me the most valuable lessons of my life.

Today, I am remembering the years after my dad divorced my mother, recalling how she turned to Christ to help her restore and renew her life. I believe wholeheartedly it is what I witnessed during those years that made me the woman I am today. What stands out in my mind the most is how my mom depended on God. While watching my mother, I saw a hurting woman turn to Jesus for her every need. She was a young, beautiful woman and she could’ve easily turned to other men in her desperation. With amazement, I watched her closely as she sought God. Most importantly, I watched how a woman’s passionate love for God could make a bad situation turn into something good (Romans 8:28).

My mother was the first person I ever saw fall deeply in love with God. Since she no longer had a husband, she depended on Christ for everything. I can still vividly remember my mom sitting with her Bible in her hands and reading it for hours. She was always seeking to know God better. Her life was a true testament (and still is) of the goodness of God. Her love for Him, while I was growing up, was evident by the fruit in her life. I saw the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) growing daily as I watched my mom’s example.

I saw a woman giving sacrificially, like no other person in my life. One time, she literally gave away the coat on her back. It was her favorite jacket, the one she wore all the time. She gave it to a young teenage girl because the Lord had asked her to. In that moment, I remember thinking, “I want to be like Mama.”

I learned from my mother that following Christ can be a great adventure. Shortly after my dad moved out of our home, my mom bought a special ring to replace her wedding ring. She beamed as she told her friends why she wore the ring. It was a ring that told the story of her heart—the story of the adventure that God had swept her into. From the side, the ring looked like a roller coaster, symbolizing the excitement of following God. From the top, it looked like a music note, symbolizing the beauty God was creating in her life. She wore the ring as a symbol of her commitment to God and His commitment to her. This was the first time I saw how the Lord personalizes our ties to Him.

The way my mother reacted to the pain in her life was teaching me a life lesson that would stay with me forever. I learned from my mother to see the best in everything, how to overcome any obstacle through Christ’s power, and how to live life to the fullest while enduring hardships. I learned from her how to see God in every situation and how He rescues us in times of need. Above all, I learned from my mother how to forgive completely, how to love others unconditionally, and how to be a woman after God’s heart.

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31: 29-30

This tribute was posted previously on the LIVE ABUNDANTLY NOW blog.

PRAYER FOR PENTECOST SUNDAY TO IGNITE A JESUS REVOLUTION

“We need a JESUS REVOLUTION!” I sank into my chair with a timid feeling after I shouted those words while hundreds of young people were singing a worship song at Passion City Church (Atlanta, Georgia). I will never forget that night in the summer of 2011. Up until that point, I had not ever shouted as passionately during church, so I was embarrassed, until Pastor Louie Giglio began preaching a sermon about the necessity for believers in Christ to be filled with zeal and passion. My embarrassment lifted immediately as I listened to the sermon about zealously living for Christ, and I knew that my urge to shout had been prompted by the Holy Spirit.

Two years before that night, I attended a worship service at Passion City Church for the first time. In 2009, as a middle-age woman, I sat in a sea of college students, and I was fixated on one word: “REVIVAL.” With my spiritual eyes, I could see the beginning of a true spiritual awakening. In the following years, I had a dream in my sleep about a great revival, and it confirmed to me that what I had been sensing was truly from God.

Around the same time period, I was reading about Pentecost in the Bible. I began to envision a true movement of God similar to the stories in the book of Acts. I envisioned people getting healed of diseases, the blind getting their vision back, and chains of addiction being broken. Most importantly, I envisioned people weeping in repentance.

As the years passed by, the seeds of revival increased as the PASSION CONFERENCES took place each year with thousands of young people meeting together. Multitudes of these youthful ones were touched by Jesus, and I believe these gatherings helped ignite a movement that has led to the beginning of a great spiritual awakening.

With more than a decade of watching God move, I’ve prayed passionately for an unprecedented great awakening to be ignited—a Jesus movement that will impact the world by bringing forth a harvest of saved souls. For years, I’ve prayed that the greatest movement of the Holy Spirit we’ve ever seen would begin and spread like wildfire throughout the U.S. and spread to all the nations of the world.

This week, as I’ve been pondering the significance of Pentecost, I suddenly remembered a vision I had in 2010. A decade ago, I had envisioned our HEAVENLY FATHER in His glorious splendor with white hair, standing above a beautiful river with a dam above it. In my spirit, I heard these words: “The dam is about to break.” At the time, I wrote the words in my journal and I shared about my vision with my husband. I sensed that what I had envisioned was a symbol of the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would be taking place in the future.

Acts 2:17 says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.”

Year after year, I have longed to see an unmatched outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For many years, I have thought it would happen on Pentecost Sunday.

Here’s a prayer I wrote on May 24, 2018.

Jesus,

Thank You for pouring out Your Holy Spirit upon our nation. I ask You to release a move of Your Spirit across this nation like we have never seen before. Remove all the hindrances and open up the floodgates of heaven. Let every false prophet repent or let them be taken out of leadership. Bring forth countless new leaders to lead the body of Christ. Let Your Spirit rule and reign in the churches of America. Let stadiums be filled up with Your glory and let millions of souls be saved. Let Pentecost season of 2018 and 2019 far exceed what we read about in the book of Acts. Thank You, Jesus.  I pray in Your name, Christ. Amen.

A few days after I remembered the vision, I heard the Lord clearly say: “The dam will break on Pentecost Sunday.”  When a dam breaks, it floods everywhere in the vicinity and the water rushes all throughout the land powerfully. The dam breaking means that God’s Spirit will be poured out like it never has been poured out any time before.

I believe that’s what will begin happening on Pentecost Sunday and it will continue to intensify throughout the Pentecost season and keep intensifying until Christ returns to the earth. The Spirit of God will be poured out in such a significant way that it will be like a blast of dynamite being ignited. The church will never be the same.

This outpouring will spark a Jesus movement like we’ve never seen before. Those ready to receive more of the Holy Spirit will be empowered to do great things for Christ. The ones who are too busy with earthly endeavors will possibly miss what’s coming. Those who are trapped in sin need to repent to be able to experience this glorious outpouring.

Acts 2:1-4 says: “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

There will be naysayers who will say this is not from God, but in due time they will see that this is genuinely the outpouring that the prophet of the Bible, Joel, prophesied (Joel 2:28-32).

We are a truly blessed generation.

Let’s pray more passionately than ever before and trust Christ to bring forth a JESUS REVOLUTION that will begin changing our broken world.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am in absolute awe of You. Thank You for hearing our prayers and pouring out Your Spirit upon the earth. I ask You to ignite a Jesus revolution this Pentecost Sunday that will begin to break the chains of racism off of our cities and nations.

I ask You to wrap Your loving arms around the family of George Floyd and comfort all of the ones who are mourning his needless death. I ask You to awaken us fully with Your love and let us have strong voices against the wicked injustices in our communities. I ask You to bring peace to the areas in our world that are experiencing civil unrest. I ask You to stop the violence that’s happening in America currently. Bring peace among the races and let us love one another with Your perfect love.

Empower us to do great things on the earth. Let each one of us be used mightily to bring forth the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Let us be peacemakers and help us to bring change to the world until the day of Christ’s return. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

May you have a blessed Pentecost Sunday and may you open your heart to receive all that Christ has for you.

THE POWERFUL PRAYERS OF DESPERATE MOTHERS & GRANDMOTHERS

Desperation drives us to our knees more than anything else, and there’s no denying the desperate crisis of the global pandemic we are facing. I don’t believe there has ever been a time when prayer has been needed more than now.

The prayers of mothers and grandmothers are perhaps the most powerful prayers offered up to God. A mother’s and grandmother’s prayers are motivated by a fierce love to see their beloved offspring flourish in this life.

Today, I’m thanking God for my dearly loved grandmother, Mimi. She was overly finicky about her name and wanted to make sure everyone knew her name was Minnie V without a period next to the V. I’ll always remember that, but what stands out most about Mimi is that she prayed passionately. She passed away in 2007 and left an amazing legacy of faith. Her life was defined by prayer and her relationship with Christ was exemplary. I’m rejoicing over the impact she had on my life. She was a mighty prayer warrior and prayed faithfully for me throughout my life.

In honor of Mimi, I want to share an excerpt from my new book, The Desperate Mom’s Prayer Book.”

The year my teen daughter was entering the adolescent stage of life, I was in the attic sorting through junk when my eyes were drawn to a wooden crate. It was a handmade box that hadn’t been touched in decades. I had vague memories of storing some special keepsakes in the crate so I carefully opened the lid, reached inside, and pulled out the first thing my hand touched. It was a letter written by my grandmother in 1981, the year I turned sixteen. Emotions flooded my heart as I began reading the words of my beloved grandmother, Mimi. Finding a letter with one of her prayers meant more to me than words can express. I had not read that letter since she had first given it to me and I was stunned when I got to the bottom of the first page.

In my precious moments with God, at the quiet times on the porch, I asked Him to give me a special message for you. Romans 12:1, is what first came to mind…’I urge you… to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.’ It is a verse for all dating people and I claim it for you today. Amy, I pray every day for your mind, for God to protect you from the enemy. Satan likes to attack teenagers with their thinking, their friends, and in every area of their lives. So every day I pray, building a hedge of protection around you and I also pray for your future…

I couldn’t hold the tears back as I realized the magnitude of the words she had prayed for me. I know wholeheartedly that the prayers of my grandmother were what protected me during my teenage years.

Mimi’s prayers, along with my mother’s prayers, are what carried me through my immature years. I’m sharing a picture of my grandmother with me and my son in 1997.

I feel certain that Mimi is celebrating in HEAVEN over the release of this encouraging book. I worked on writing “The Desperate Mom’s Prayer Book” for years. This book is an updated and expanded version of my previously published eBook. The book contains more than 75 prayers and includes personal stories about the power of prayer working in the lives of my children. It’s for mothers who are desperate, and have nowhere else to turn, but to God. The ultimate goal of the book is to point mothers toward Christ and a life of prayer. The book’s message is laced with hope and encouragement for mothers to trust Christ to do what seems impossible.

Jesus Christ will make a way through every crisis we ever face in this life as we pray and release our problems to Him through fervent prayer.

Matthew 17:20 tells us that Jesus said, “For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Sit at the feet of Christ, pray boldly, and let your faith move mountains.

I hope you enjoy the FREE preview of THE DESPERATE MOM’S PRAYER BOOK.

A MARRIAGE BUILT ON CHRIST’S LOVE

Shortly after awakening this morning, Michael said, “I sent you something. Go check your email.” After hearing the happy tone of his voice, I knew it was something special he wanted me to see. I hurried over to my computer and my heart leapt when I read the words of the message. In the message, there were lyrics and a video of a brand new song by Keith Urban.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I sat at my desk and listened to the new song. Michael said, “It’s my song for you.” I listened to it repeatedly and said, “It really is the perfect song for when you first met me.” He replied, “Yes, and it’s the perfect song for you today. You’ve helped me so much.”

As the day went on, I pondered Michael’s words. I love the fact that Michael appreciates who I am and what I’ve offered him during the three and a half decades we’ve been married. I am grateful that I could help my husband in so many ways, but I give Christ all of the credit, because it was Him working through me. Christ’s love flowed through me to love Michael through his darkest valleys and greatest disappointments.

While I listened to the new song many times today, it served as a beautiful reminder of the glorious and miraculous things Christ has done in our lives as a married couple. As I listened to the song’s lyrics, my mind was flooded with memories of all that Christ carried us through since we got married in 1985. I thought about the years that Michael was barely hanging on to live his life as he battled through clinical depression. I thought about the many times Michael battled suicidal thoughts in previous years. I thought about the brokenness we had in our marriage during our younger years, and I thanked God again for the miracles He has done to help Michael become a new man.

As I recalled the amazing miracles Christ did in Michael’s life, I wept tears of joy and thought about Christ’s miraculous power that pulled me out of my post-partum depression in 1997.  The only reason we both made it through those hellish days was the fact that Christ pulled us out of a deep, dark pit and redeemed our lives. God made both of us brand new (Corinthians 5:17).

When we were wading through the muck that seemed to hold us captive in the dark, I could have never dreamed we would be standing strongly together, hand in hand with Christ. He redeemed us with His amazing grace and love.

Through prayer, our marriage was rebuilt firmly on Christ’s love, and His grace is what keeps us going forward together, growing closer to each other every day.

What Christ did for us, He will do for anyone. If our marriage could be healed, anyone’s can. If you are facing a situation in your marriage that seems impossible to overcome, turn to Christ and surrender it all to Him.

You will be amazed by the results of praying a simple prayer: “God, help us through the miry mess.”

Pray together and watch Christ transform your lives. Let Christ and His love change your hearts toward each other. A marriage built on Christ’s love won’t ever fail, because love never fails.

Hallelujah.

LORD,

Thank You for the gift of marriage. Thank You for being our ROCK and REDEEMER. Thank You for Your amazing love and grace. Thank You for rescuing us out of the horrible pit and miry mess. Thank You for making all things possible and bringing forth miracles in our lives. Thank You for hearing our prayers and healing us when we’re broken. Let us pray together often and have strong marriages firmly built on Christ’s love. We will praise You forever and ever. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.” Psalm 40:2 (NKJV) 

 

VALENTINE TREASURES

When my daughter was about three years old, my husband Michael created a special treasure hunt for us to enjoy on Valentine’s Day. He hid small candies throughout our home for the family to search for. This treasure hunt remained a tradition and a highlight of Valentine’s Day for many years.

The hidden candies were fairly easy to find at first, but it was harder and harder to find them after the most visible ones were found. Michael hid some of the candies in concealed places, and we never found all of them on Valentine’s Day. A great part of the joy in the hunt was the fact that we continued to find the candies unexpectedly during the days and months ahead.

Our anticipated Valentine treasure hunt reminded me of life. When things are going smoothly, it’s easy to see and enjoy the treasures. However, during the difficult seasons, it can be a tedious thing to find and focus on the treasures. They have to be tirelessly sought after because they are hidden, but it is the hidden treasures that are truly the most valuable.

Without the storms, I don’t believe I would have ever discovered the priceless treasures of life.

In 2006, Michael was self-employed, running a graphic design business with another design artist. The small company was suffering and eventually had to be shut down, leaving us with a very small income. This gave our family the opportunity to look for treasures in the midst of adversity. The greatest treasures in our lives were birthed out of a season of hardships.

On Valentine’s Day that year, we had very little money and we knew we couldn’t buy gifts or cards like we had done in previous years. We decided to make hand-made cards for each other instead of giving presents and store bought cards. Every year after that, we looked forward to designing our homemade cards for each other.

One year, the card my husband made for me had a huge heart on it, symbolic of the love in our marriage. My daughter made me a card with pictures and words that reminded me of all that God had done in my heart. On the front of the card that my son made for me when he was ten years old, there was a colored picture of a rainbow, a storm, and a heart in the middle with a sword stuck in it. He had written words in that hand-made card that later proved to be prophetic. It said, “Remember a rainbow comes after a storm. This is how you reach your heart’s goal.” Those were such words of wisdom from a young boy.

I’ve saved every one of those handmade cards, and they are very meaningful to me. They are irreplaceable—something that money can’t buy. And even though the hard season is over and my husband has a good career now, we realize that the best things in life are free. I don’t want to ever forget those times of being in need. Our family learned the most important lessons we will ever learn in the midst of those trials.

The heavenly, eternal treasures always come forth when we take our eyes off of the hard things about life and keep our eyes focused on Christ.

Every year on Valentine’s Day, I ponder the memories; I embrace the words and the love expressed through each of those handcrafted cards. With a heart of gratitude, I thank God for the storms of life and the blessing of my Valentine treasures.

Our Beloved Jesus,

Thank You for loving us perfectly and being our greatest treasure of all. I ask You to help us to discover every one of the treasures You have for us in the kingdom of heaven. Let us look to You above everything else this life has to offer. I pray in Your name, Christ. Amen.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field…” Matthew 13:44”

May you discover the hidden treasures of life this VALENTINE’S DAY and always.

 This post has been updated and revised from a piece originally written in 2008.

LIVING FULLY ALIVE IN 2020

On this NEW YEAR’S EVE, I’m pondering the goodness of Christ. The story of our dog Zoe reminds me that God is involved in every detail—both big and small—as we live surrendered to His plans for us.

Miraculously, God brought Zoe into my mother’s life at the perfect time. My step-dad (Ron) was battling cancer when a kindhearted dog breeder greatly blessed him with a beautiful wheaten terrier puppy, free of charge. While Ron was in the midst of his final days on the earth, Zoe entered the picture as a rambunctious puppy. Zoe’s personality brought us much needed comfort as she flooded the room with exuberant life.

At the time, my mom shared with me about the Greek meaning of the name Zoe. It means “life.” Later, I learned that it specifically means “God’s life.” Our four-legged friend has definitely lived up to her name.

With her tail wagging at warp speed, Zoe licked Ron’s face while he was lying in the hospice bed getting closer to his eternal home. It was a beautiful symbol for us as we thought about how life here beneath the heavens is truly temporary. God used a little white dog to help remind us of this truth; and then joy emerged in the middle of the sadness.

About eighteen months after my step-dad’s death, my mom realized her traveling lifestyle wasn’t the best situation for taking care of a dog. She decided Zoe would be happier living with me and my husband. Zoe moved to our house in 2012 and has lived life zealously and reminded us of the faithfulness of our heavenly Father to bring joy during the hardest challenges.

As we begin a new year, my prayer is that we will all have a greater revelation of Christ’s perfect love for us and live fully alive no matter what we may face.

Christ loves us deeply, and He brings fullness of life even on the most troublesome days.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This post was originally written in 2015.

A PRAYER FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION

While reading through some of my writings today, I stumbled upon a prayer I had written in July of 2010. Nine years ago when I wrote this prayer, I could have never dreamed of what Christ would do in the lives of my children. As I was reading the prayer, I sensed the Lord leading me to share it on my blog (in an edited version). It’s a prayer that I hope will inspire other parents to continue praying for their children.

I am in awe of how God has done abundantly more than I could have ever asked for or imagined in my family (Ephesians 3:20). Now, my daughter and son are in their twenties and they are truly filled with the light of Christ. Their lives are a testament to the power of prayer and our family is an example of how Christ turns trials into triumphant victories as we live by faith.

After watching Christ work mightily in the lives of my son and daughter, I have a zealous desire in my heart to pray for the younger generation to be transformed through God’s power. Let us join together and pray for the youth in our communities to be the light of the world.

Let’s pray passionately that the youthful ones will be set free from destructive paths and be the ones that bring the greatest change in our world.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your love and grace. Pour out Your Spirit upon our lives and our family. Baptize each one of us with Your Holy Spirit in a powerful way. Help us to be good parents that love unconditionally and let us be everything You want for us to be in our children’s lives.

I ask You to meet every need of our children and hold them tightly in Your embrace. Help them to feel Your presence with them continually and heal every hurting place in their hearts. Give them the desire to live for You and to follow You all the days of their lives.

Let Your light shine brightly through our children and let them draw near to You each day. Let them be mighty warriors for Your kingdom and shining examples to all their friends. Help them to turn away from sin and stand up for what is right. Help them to always walk in the Spirit and live by faith.

Raise up our children to be the strong men and women of God they are called to be. Help them to stay focused on You and follow Your guiding voice every day. Let them be pure and blameless in Your sight. I trust You and pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

“Be faithful to pray as intercessors who are fully alert and giving thanks to God.”

Colossians 4:2

Pray, trust, and wait on the Lord to do what only He can do.

THE BEAUTY OF MARRIAGE

Over three decades ago, while standing in front of approximately a hundred and fifty people on April 27, I looked into Michael’s eyes and said, “I do.” I was a young nineteen-year-old girl, without a clue of what those two simple words really meant. The most important thing to me at the time was the passionate love I had for the one who had swept me off my feet. I couldn’t imagine my life without Michael. With a simplistic attitude, I made a commitment to love my husband as long as we both live.

The first few months as husband and wife were very much like a honeymoon vacation. We were inseparable and giddy as we began our new life together, but as the months grew into years, challenges began to arise. Job losses after our children were born and other real life issues came to test our love; and we approached seasons in our marriage that seemed impossible to overcome.

At one point when our children were very young, we lived separately for a few weeks to figure out how to mend our broken relationship. Even with the challenges, neither of us ever completely gave up.

At the lowest point, we both agreed to place our marriage in God’s hands and asked Him to teach us how to really love each other. We each began to look to Christ, and step by step things began to change in our marriage. We learned to embrace the differences in our personalities. We learned that where one of us is weak, the other is strong. We learned that there is a divine purpose for our opposite strengths and weaknesses.

We learned that genuine love is built on the ability to accept the other individual with flaws and all. Once we learned those lessons, then the real beauty of marriage began to grow in our relationship. All masks came down and a mutual trust developed that is indescribable.

As a couple that did not give up during our younger years, Michael and I learned that love isn’t a fleeting emotion based on feelings. In reality, real love is a selfless commitment and it’s most evident when we face trials.

Looking back, I can remember a time when I had a horrible flu virus and Michael’s love for me was so strong. I was probably the sickest I’ve ever felt in my life. My head was pounding with pain and my body ached terribly. As he patiently spooned chicken soup into my mouth to help me gain strength, Michael’s tenderness and gentleness spoke volumes of his love for me.

Along with my recollection of Michael caring for me during sickness, there are countless stories laced with joy woven into the past thirty-four years where love has shown itself as the powerful force in our relationship.

While looking through some of our photos, I saw a picture taken on the front porch of our friends’  vacation home in North Carolina. The picture struck me instantly and served as the perfect analogy for the way our marriage has grown so beautiful and comfortable.

 

With Christ’s help, our love has become like relaxing on the front porch of a cozy home as we experience the exhilarating beauty that brings rest to the soul. The thing that brings us rest in our souls—unconditional love—happens to be the very same thing that brings out the most awesome beauty of marriage.

Hallelujah.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1 John 4:7-8

 

 

GOING FORTH YIELDED TO CHRIST

As I ponder the memories of the past year, the defining theme of 2018 could be summed up in the word, “yielded.” It was a year of allowing Christ to stretch me more and fully accept His callings for my life. The most defining moment for me was standing on a mountaintop at ‘Fields of the Wood,’ a Bible-themed park, on my 53rd birthday. It was a significant birthday and God confirmed His plans for my life in amazing ways that day. It’s no coincidence that the biblical symbol of the number fifty-three is “faithful witness.”

While standing on the mountaintop, the sky was blue like beautiful pools of water and the golden rays of sunshine were radiantly shining down as I stretched my arms toward HEAVEN.

I wept as I prayed: “Lord, I am Yours. Take me and use me however You desire. I will go wherever You lead me…together with my husband.”

It was one of the most powerful moments of my life as I stood on a concrete platform in the shape of the cross, surrounded by the flags of the nations. I knew in that moment I was truly yielded to the unknown possibilities, realizing I had no idea where Christ would lead us. The only thing that mattered in that moment is the confidence in knowing I am His and my soul is completely free to do what He placed me on the earth to do.

This journey of living the yielded life in Christ is not about us—it’s all about Him. Our failures and brokenness do not determine whether or not God will use us for His glory. In fact, the more broken the vessel is, the more Christ’s Holy Spirit can flow through us.

Wrong mindsets say our flaws disqualify us from being used by God, but the Holy Spirit says: Broken people make the best examples of the wonder-working power of God.

Last year, Christ embedded it into my heart that only His opinion matters. Christ freed my soul completely from fear of anyone’s opinions of me.

So here I am, a fifty-three-year-old woman, ready for new adventures and ready to be the most faithful witness for Christ that I can be. After this life is over, I cannot imagine a greater reward than hearing Christ say: “Well done, MY good and faithful servant.”

What about you? Are you ready to say, “YES” to whatever Christ has for your life? God is ready to take full responsibility for the life of the ones fully surrendered to Him. A yielded heart is one of the keys to true contentment. When we are yielded to Christ’s will for us, He is faithful to chisel away the sins in our hearts and lead us to the new beginnings in store for us.

Life will not be perfect until Christ’s return, but it is deeply fulfilling within our souls when we simply lay everything down and quit trying to figure things out. Let’s live totally yielded to Christ in 2019 and do the things on His agenda for our lives.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for filling us with Your Holy Spirit and leading us with Your guiding voice. Please help us to surrender every part of our lives to You and let us walk by Your Spirit. Let us seek You wholeheartedly and live for You with a singleness of heart. We lay aside all of our selfish ambitions and yield ourselves to You completely. Let us keep You as our highest priority every day. Help us to live each moment guided by Your Holy Spirit so that we can make a difference in the world. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

“Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.”

Jeremiah 10:23 (NIV)

May the grace and peace of our Lord be with you.

Amy

© Copyright 2018 – LIVE ABUNDANTLY NOW

 

A LIFE OF STANDING ON THE PROMISES OF GOD

I’m remembering my grandfather’s legacy of love and faith today on his birthday. He passed away at the age of ninety-six in 2012 and he left an eternal impact on my life.

As I’ve been pondering Poppy’s life, I thought about how he was a beautiful example of a man standing on the promises of God and living a truly blessed life.

Poppy was not perfect—because no man on Earth is flawless, but he loved Christ with all his heart and kept his priorities in the proper order. He was a man of prayer and faith.

At his funeral, one of the speakers shared about how my grandfather was the kind of prayer warrior that would get up in the middle of the night to pray for an urgent prayer request. Poppy walked by faith so well and his life continues to inspire me even all these years after his death.

There is a verse in the Bible that comes to my mind when I think of Poppy. Deuteronomy 5:33 says, “Walk in all the way that the Lord has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

Poppy could have lived a tragic life. His earthly father passed away on his 11th birthday and left him fatherless. However, he chose the high road and he let God fill the void in his heart after losing a parent at such a young age.

The tragedy in Poppy’s childhood did not prevent him from living abundantly. Poppy surely prospered in his life. He had a rich marriage with my grandmother for seventy-two years. He stayed committed to her and loved her through the good times and through the hard times. He was a man of courage and a man of honor. He loved his family and friends so very much.

God’s promise of an abundant life was fulfilled for my grandfather because he walked closely with his heavenly FATHER and depended on Him for everything.

God keeps His promises. The blessings promised in the Bible come forth in our lives when we trust Him and live fully surrendered to Him. May you be inspired by my grandfather’s life to trust Christ and stand on His promises in 2019.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thanks so much for Your goodness and thank You for the countless promises in the Bible. Help us to keep our eyes focused on You and let us stand on Your WORD every day. Give us confidence to do the things You’ve called us to do and let us take steps of faith toward the callings You’ve prepared for us. Let us turn away from idols and love You more than anything else. Help us fulfill all the purposes You have for each one of us and lead us to all the new beginnings You have for our lives.  We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.