Ever feel like this? (I have!) Looking back over our pasts can be excruciatingly painful if we don't let God radically transform our trials and wounds for His Glory. We have to be willing to let go of those memories and allow the healing power of God to come in and restore those areas of our lives. That is what this artwork is all about. It is about allowing God to restore our memory and align our history up with His truth.

Here is the thing (and I know this from first hand experience), Satan attacks us through our wounds and memories. If we let our memory and wounds remain in the dark, we will continue to live in unhealthy cycles of pain. Once we allow our history to be exposed to the light of Christ, He removes the lies and the darkness of the enemy and sets us free to walk in truth.

I pray that as you are reading this blog and looking at this artwork, that God would do a mighty work in you. I pray He would reveal to you the memories and wounds He wants to heal you from and expose all the lies you have agreed with the enemy on. I pray in the Name of Jesus that He would break those agreements you've made with the enemy and set you free forever with His Truth. May His Truth be planted in your hearts and take root in a mighty and powerful way--so much so that many others will also be brought to the Truth of Christ as a result of the fruit that springs forth from the seeds of Truth that Jesus has planted in you. In Jesus Name I pray this, Amen.

On a side note, please forgive my absence. I am in the middle of a major season of transition because God has opened up a new door in my life. It is an exciting but crazy time and I'd appreciate your prayers as I await God's provision. I am now on a church planting team and will be putting a lot of time and effort into building His church. Praise Him!

Don't we all wish we could have a little more faith? I'm in a season where God is making it clear that I must expect Him to do great things--things far beyond what I could have imagined or thought in my own mind (Isaiah 64:4). Welcome to the harvest (although I'm not quite seeing it yet). But God wants us to BELIEVE Him for one! You can trust Me; I am faithful, He says.

I love the above Matthew scripture because faith depends so much on our perspective and how we see. Lord, open up our eyes so we can SEE! Perspective is everything! We have to get God's perspective on our lives--now, in the past and future. With His perspective we see things clearly through the light of His Truth (which sets us free to dance) and not through the lens of Satan's lies.

Our satisfaction and joy should come from God alone (not from our circumstances) and if you aren't feeling it-- I promise you there is a lie from the enemy that you are believing. Go to God and ask Him to reveal that lie (or lies). Ask Him to help you come clean. Once you have accepted the truth, you are free to love, laugh and dance no matter how bad your circumstances may be. I learned this in the valley. I learned it the hard way, but I'm so glad I finally learned. I pray what I learned with help you too?

Are you ready to believe God for something bigger, greater? Take a leap of faith--believe and obey. I think we will all be blown away by what our Great God can do :)

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. ~Psalm 27:13-15

Who or what is the cornerstone of your life (Isaiah 28:16)? If it's not Jesus, then you are on shaky ground. Sure, circumstances can make us happy for a while, but if they are our foundation, then we are sure to fall as soon as one thing goes wrong (and it's only a matter of time before it does). If our whole world rises and falls based on our circumstances or another person (maybe a friend, spouse, parent, etc) then have idolized that circumstance or person. God wants to remove all the high places in our lives to allow us to make Him our solid foundation so we can live on an even plain (Isaiah 40:4). If Jesus is our cornerstone and foundation, we can live out of the JOY of a relationship with Him. Only Jesus is the abundant supply of living water. We must have this living water to have abundant life. Thus, if you want abundant life you must have Jesus as your foundation. Once He is the cornerstone of our lives, we cannot be moved by any circumstance or person. Think about how powerful that is!!! No human or circumstance has the ability to move you or me! We can live on a constant, even plain of worshiping God and being in a state of joy that only knowing and pursuing Him can bring. People will let us down eventually. They also will never fully live up to our expectations. However, God never fails and He never stops loving us. We can live in 100% security based on His love for us and His character.

Do you want to be fully satisfied? I believe only Jesus Christ can satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. Is your cup empty? Do you know that as a believer you can take your empty come to Jesus Christ and He will fill it overflowing with the Living Water? Do you realize that your empty cup can be filled this way no matter how terrible or great your circumstances are? You see, our cup never runs over because of our circumstances, but because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. That's why we can have life and have it abundantly no matter how deep and dark the valley is that we are walking through.

Are you waiting for God to give you a desire He has placed on your heart? Do you realize that God can fulfill that desire completely with Himself while you wait for it to come to fruition in your life? God let Abraham understand this:

I've been in a season of my life (and I still am) where I've had to rely on God for everything. I realize God has done this to build up my faith in Him and His sovereignty. I've learned that the waiting kind of faith is the hardest. It's easier to do, do, do and have faith than it is to sit on the sidelines of life and wait and have faith that God will move. Sometimes God puts us in circumstances where we cannot do what He has called us to do until He moves and provides us with what we need for our calling (these are seasons of preparation for what is to come). God promised Abraham a promised heir so that his descendants would be many and he would be the father of many nations. Abraham waited for 25 years until God fulfilled the promise. However, Abraham's faith became so great after Isaac was born that when God told him to go sacrifice his only son Abraham turns and says "We'll be back!" on his way with Isaac up to the altar. Abraham had such faith in God after he waited 25 years for God to deliver, that he knew he would be returning with his son one way or another because he relied on God's faithful character which he had already witnessed. God would not take away what He had promised to give Abraham so that he would become the father of many nations.

Look around today at all the Christians in the world. We are all Abraham's descendants. God is still faithful to Abraham today. In fact, as every day that goes by before the return of Christ, God is increasing his promise to Abraham! Abraham's blessing keeps getting bigger and bigger every time a new person accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior! I am amazed by God's fierce loyalty and faithfulness to His children. What has God promised you today? Are you trusting in Him and waiting for Him to fulfill His promise? Or are you giving in to doubt and despair? Perhaps this devotional by Oswald Chambers will lift your spirits: IS YOUR HOPE IN GOD FAINT AND DYING?

Many Blessings!

Every so often, God brings up situations and circumstances in our lives that hit on old wounds--usually childhood ones. God brings these wounds up because He wants to heal us from them so we can have life more abundantly and be more like Christ. Our wounds block us from enjoying fellowship with God and with each other. If you are struggling with this today, I'd encourage you to let God heal your hurts. Let Him take His time--He knows exactly what He is doing. There is a time and a season for all things under the sun. There is a time to heal and a time to grow out of our pain. It is important to remember that God redeems our past by actually changing it. I believe God can rewrite our history. He brings up old wounds, heals them, and then shows us how mightily we were loved all along the way in places where we only saw pain and darkness before. God wastes nothing--not even time.

I've also learned that a part of discipleship is wounding. God allows us to be wounded so we can be more like Christ and molded and shaped into His image as God heals us. Knowing God as Healer is a wonderful and intimate thing! As crazy as it sounds, enjoy this time. Enjoy the time of solitude and intimacy with God as He heals your heart. Knowing Him intimately in this way will carry your heart through the rest of your journey and time here on earth.

I've been meditating on Psalm 23 lately. I know it has become such a cliche--which is why I believe God has had me meditate over it to find the real meaning. I think about David's life and what he has been through. God especially brought to mind David's time in the wilderness when he was running away from King Saul who was trying to kill him. The Lord brought to my attention that while David was running away for his life in the wilderness, his cup still ran over. Although David was waiting to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, his cup still ran over. Why? Why did David's cup still run over while he was on the run for fear of his life and away from his home land? It was because David had God in his heart. Our circumstances are not what make our cup run over. It is the Lord! That's why it is so important that we come to God time and time again and allow Him to not only fill our cup--but to cause our cup to overflow. It's not our circumstances that fill us up and make us whole or bring us joy--it is the Lord. If we stand on the Lord for our joy, happiness, hope, and overflowing cups in our lives, then our circumstances will not have the power to bring us down. This is a very challenging thing to accomplish in our lives but it is so worth it. Can you imagine the intimacy we can have with God if we just let Him come and fill our cups no matter what desert or wilderness we are in? Jesus says, "Come. Let Me fill your cup." All the praise and the honor and the glory go to Him! I'm so glad that as a Christian, I don't have to live my life being happy or miserable based on circumstances. I can base my emotions and feelings on God--on the only Rock who cannot be moved. This is security. This is building upon the rock and not the sands of circumstances. This is God!!!

"For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death."
~Psalm 48:14