Lyrical Friday-Laughter Comes Upon Us

Miami, Fl sunset

 Has life been difficult? For the most part, many of us can answer a loud and resounding, "Yes!" Perhaps this year has been more challenging than others or it may just take a nose dive into darker days. I've had my share of troublesome days, and through each hardship I've had a choice: to receive God in the midst of the trial or reject Him. In every situation, both good and bad, you too have been given a choice to acknowledge God or reject Him, to worship Him or reject Him, to trust Him or reject Him. And yes, lack of trust is a form of rejection even if you claim to love Him. It is my desire that both you and I be a people who not only say we're Christians but live as Christ-followers everyday, in every situation.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25

For you dear Friend who is caught up in a fiery trial, I encourage you to wrap yourself in God's word. At times you will not receive a word fitly spoken, which is not a bad thing... God still speaks to us through the beautiful mystery of His Spirit. But oh when you read those words that penetrate your heart and seep deep into your bones and your spirit is rejuvenated, refreshed and restored— nothing compares to these moments. The good news for you is that God yearns to speak to you. And never forget that what matters to you, matters to God; not matter how small or how big the matter may be. I encourage you to not give up on God, His word or praising Him. 

For you beloved who is found in the days of peace, sow for yourselves seeds from God's word in the vineyard that is your heart. Seasons will come where you will need to pluck a harvest of hope, encouragement and truth. Better to have a reserve of God's word than to find yourself helplessly begging for any word, any help, any truth. If you are not prepared for these difficult times, you may be easily swayed in the wrong direction. Enjoy these days of peace in the presence of God, in His word and in His praises.

Praying for you to know God's presence, His embrace and His strength. Oh, and here is a Psalm that I hold unto for dear life when I am in the midst of difficult times: Psalm 126

"When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, 

we were like those restored to health. 

Our mouths were filled with laughter, 

our tongues with songs of joy. 

Then it was said among the nations, 

“The Lord has done great things for them.” 

The Lord has done great things for us, 

and we are filled with joy. 

Restore our fortunes, Lord, 

like streams in the Negev. 

Those who sow with tears 

will reap with songs of joy. 

Those who go out weeping, 

carrying seed to sow, 

will return with songs of joy, 

carrying sheaves with them."

Sarah Macintosh's song is so fitting and right on.
He is for you, He is with you in the fire and He will get you through this! Many blessings to you.
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Laughter Comes Upon Us, Sarah Macintosh 

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I've wept until I made a visible trail
This path has not been kind or ever friendly
But if I thought I’d want it another way
I’d surely find that nothing else is for me

Cause He is closer to me this way
Drawn by the tears and pouring rain
Right here clutched in His embrace
Whispering breath against my ear
Tucked up against His scarred ribcage
Right here is where I want to stay

Laughter comes upon us like its lightning
Striking without wind or cloud or change
In knew that if I’m with Him it’d be this way
‘Cause promises are promises to Him

birthday surprise! It's Josie

Happy Wednesday! 

Today we approach our final birthday surprise with one of the most special women I know and am blessed to call my friend. One of my earliest memories of our friendship was her impeccable taste in clothes and my acknowledging it. Though she continues dressing lovely, it is her passionate love for Jesus and His joy alive in her that attracts people to her. She radiates His glory everywhere she goes, making Josie one of the most beautiful women I know. May you be blessed by her post today! 

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The Great Restorer

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I’m excited to be writing this and a bit nervous. You see, writing takes me out of my comfort zone and into an area where I am stretched and have to completely depend on God. I’ve prayed about what I would write about. I originally had my heart set on worship, as the Lord had placed in my heart, but then it took a turn last night.

My husband loves to watch the History Channel, among other channels that I would rather not watch (Discovery, National Geographic, etc) … boring! Anyway, these channels are not my first choice. I would rather watch HGTV, but at times I have learned to enjoy those shows with him and have learned a few things along the way. We were watching a show called ‘American Restoration’. This show consist of people bring old items (dirty items that were not being used and couldn’t work any longer) to a man, an expert, that could restore them to their original beauty. As I was watching this I was thinking, “Why would anybody keep that, its old and ugly and so worn out. What’s the use?” The Lord in that moment said to my heart, “That’s what I do.”

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He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3

This verse is true in my own life and in yours. God is the only One who can turn around a life that seems to be in the worst of situations; a life so run down by problems, unmet expectations, mistakes, and failures. Anyone looking at such a life might ask, “What’s the use of it?” But God is the Great Restorer; He can give you a crown of beauty for ashes. God can make something out of nothing. He can and He does provide in ways that only He is capable of. He can give you an abundant life. He does the impossible. He is your Creator.

The end results in the show is great, to see this expert turn something so dreadful into something so beautiful, it made everyone smile including myself. This “thing” could be used again for its original purpose and with loveliness.

You and I are precious in the eyes of Jesus, who paid it all for you and I ‐for love. He loves you and me so much that He will do what only He is best at and is able to do: turn our circumstance around, cleanse our heart from the guilt of the past, and start fresh. That is with one condition, that we submit our lives to Him, the “expert restorer”. Those things that were brought into the shop for restoration didn’t tell the expert what to do, that would have been laughable. So it is silly to tell God how He needs to change our lives. We are the ones making it worse. Each item brought into the shop required its own work. At times it took the renovator a little longer to restore one thing more than another. So it is with us. The “restoration” work of our lives is a personal one. Each of us is a unique, one of a kind, masterpiece that requires a specific chisel, drill, nail, buffer, cut, furnace, time, paint and gloss to be restored to our original God-given purpose. The end result will be a beautiful and glorious thing to see, and everyone will know that the Great Restorer has done a marvelous work in our life. It will bring a smile to those around us and most importantly to Jesus.

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If you feel like there is no hope or beauty in your life, I encourage you to come to Jesus. He is the only One who can restore your life to beauty and purpose that if told you, you would not believe it. He already knows the work He can do in you and through you.

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Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us...  Ephesians 3:20

Submission to God begins by trusting that God can do the impossible in our lives. Trust Him for He loves you and is waiting for you to allow His hands to restore you. I can say this confidently because He has turned my ashes into beauty. All the glory goes to Him my Lord and King!

PS: I guess it’s still about worship.

We worship God because He is worthy to praised.

When you feel down and out, worship, worship, and worship! Thank God and sing to Him and you will have a beauty that is to be reckoned with :)

a chair experience with Ruth

Years back a wonderful friend shared with me something very personal... of course I'm going to share it with you! It's too good to keep to myself. My beloved friend had a submission problem. As hard as she tried to submit to her husband and respect him, she just couldn't. She would throw tantrums, argue, talk back, do the opposite of what he desired and well... you know how that goes. Both were strong willed and bumped heads all day long. But something began to change with the help of a chair. Yes, a chair.

You see, my Friend took for herself a child size chair that belonged to one of her children and kept it in her small closet. Every time she disagreed with her husband on any matter or was in a heated argument she would go to her closet, sit on the small chair and talk to God. It was in those chair moments that she would vent, she would pray, she would cry. Most important, it was in those chair moments that God revealed to her the condition of her heart, he would speak correction, redirection, comfort and hope to her. Her marriage began to be transformed by these chair experiences with God. Ever since she shared this with me, I go to God for chair moments. Not in the darkness of a closet but wherever, whenever.

Today I want to share a chair experience with you and with Ruth. I pray that the Lord would reveal the condition of our heart. May He speak correction, redirection, comfort and hope.

Ruth 1:16-17 “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

Let's break this down (click one verses):
"Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go"
Are you willing to cling to Jesus and follow Him wherever He may go? Are you willing to leave family, friends, career, possessions, pleasures to follow Jesus? [Luke9:23]

"wherever you live, I will live"
Have you chosen to make your home the center of God's will for your life, or is your home the center of your will for your life? Are you content where God has you? [Matthew 6:33]

"Your people will be my people"
Are God's people your people? Do you love all of God's people, or only the ones you choose to love? [John13:35 Romans 12:9-21]

"your God will be my God"
Is God, Lord over all and every area of your life? Or are your own god? Are your possessions/career/education your gods? Has someone taken the place of God in your life? Are you willing to give up these gods? [Hosea 2:14-23 Matthew 6:19-21]

"Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried"
Are you willing to die to yourself as Christ died to himself for you? [Galatians 2:20]

"May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”
Are you fully committed to God? Have you ever made a lasting commitment to God? [Psalm 56:12-13]

Thus, many have a value and affection for Christ, yet come short of salvation by him, because they will not forsake other things for him. They love him, yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better. -Matthew Henry

Let us not love anything more than we love Jesus. Just as Ruth clung to Naomi and vowed, may we cling to our Lord and say: I will not leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and You will be my God. As you have died, I will die, and there I will be buried. As You have risen, so will I rise with you. May You punish me severely if I allow anything to separate us!

birthday surprise! It's Christy!

Hi Friends. Today's guest blogger is my amazing friend Christy. The best way to describe her is Proverbs 31:26, "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness." I know that God will speak to all of you through her post. May the Lord bless you abundantly as you seek to know Him and make Him known. 

Whenever food comes up in conversation with anyone I have to mention Latin House Grill. It's a restaurant on wheels that travels throughout the city serving the most amazing Mexican/Cuban inspired dishes. I feel like I'm holding back and depriving you if I don't let you know about this delicious place!  Imagine the kind of friend I would be if I didn’t tell you about this life changing restaurant (seriously, the place will change your taste buds).  Imagine if you found out through someone else and then found out I had been going to this place all this time. This desire to share good news (hint hint) about the restaurant, can be likened to my desire to share with people whose lives need fixing, the amazing power of my Lord and Savior, who changed my life when I was 17 years old.

I'll spare you all the details, but I pray as you read this tidbit on my life you recognize that God sees you, knows you, and loves you unconditionally in spite of you :)

In high school I was pretty popular.  I had a group of friends who I partied with, a car, money for whatever I needed and the freedom to use all these things at my leisure, however, like all people, I always wanted more.  And the more I wanted, the duller life got. I remember driving home from clubs at 2 and 3 in the morning wanting to cry or leaving a party and asking about my self "who was that in there?"  I was empty, I had a void in my heart I felt no one could fill, however, for years, I strived desperately to fill it with myself.  Something was missing and I never could figure out what that something was.

Around the time all this was going on in my heart, my mom, who had recently been saved, invited me to church.  You would think that a person living in the rebellious state I was in would automatically say no, however, I went without much hesitation one Sunday morning.  The night before I had partied so late that the following morning I still had on the same make up.  Tears streamed down my face as I felt God begin to work in my heart and show me my need for Him to fill the void I desperately needed filled.   That morning, the void was filled, however, my life didn’t change much. 

The year that followed was brutal.  I spent the rest of my junior year in high school battling conviction and struggling to live a life both in the world and in the Lord, something Jesus makes clear is impossible (Matt 6:24).   It wasn’t until my senior year that I finally gave up the battle to live two lives and surrendered my life fully to the Lord.

In the coming weeks after my encounter with God my junior year, the rest of my family followed. One Sunday afternoon I was trying to rush through lunch to go to the beach with some friends (Sundays, I thought, were for the beach) when my mom casually turned to me and said I wouldn't be going to the beach, from now on we were going to be together on Sundays (a tradition we've continued for 8 years now). Part of me was angry, but a greater part of me was relieved. I felt as though I was beginning to take off some of the masks in my life.   Again, it wasn’t until almost a year later that I finally allowed God to begin changing my life, however, God was faithful, despite my faithlessness, and never gave up on me.

See God had started a work in my life which He has been perfecting ever since. He gently began taking away the people, hobbies and desires that were not only unpleasing to Him, but were killing me.  The things I thought would be impossible to let go, the wounds I thought would be impossible to heal, the life I thought would be impossible to restore, He healed, He restored and He transformed. 

I share this with you because Jesus changed my life. You may have seen that on a billboard or bumper sticker somewhere but the truth behind the words run deep in my life and the life of so many others. He is the only One who can fill our emptiness.  Some of you right now may think that your life is unfix-able, the place your in is unreachable.  Let me share something with you: It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him.  “God gave Christ for us.  God hates our sin but loves us.  We can be so quick to buy into the lie that we first need to fix ourselves, then find Him.  Reality is we need Him before we can ever be fixed.  Wherever you are today, wherever life has brought you, you aren’t too far away from Him. As Paul said in Acts 17:26-28, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, for in Him we live and move and have our being”  All you have to do is open up your heart, no matter how broken, no matter how small, and let Him mend it and enlarge it.