Mr. Clean

I cleaned my bathroom today (insert, praise to Amy here)! Am I the only one who enjoys walking into a sparkling clean, bathroom? I love entering into it, and seeing no dirty distractions around me anymore. A clean bathroom feels good. It speaks relaxation to me. I can spend my time in my happy, clean bathroom with ease. Have I mentioned it's the one place in the house that I can lock the door and not feel guilty when little hands knock, singing out, "Mommy, mommy"... and I say, "Don't come in!"

When it's not clean, I tend to go in only when it's absolutely necessary and rush out as soon as possible!

What if I enjoyed a good cleaning from God just as much? How would that change me? What if the very first thing I do when I walk into my time with Him, is to ask Him to clean my heart? Just like my clean bathroom, I know that my heart would sparkle in His presence. I would sit longer, and enjoy my visit with no distraction of an unconfessed mess. God is so good! He loves a clean heart just as much as I love a clean bathroom... okay, bad comparison, He LOVES my clean heart much more than I could ever imagine loving my clean, anything!

I don't always enjoy the scrubbing of the tub (it's hard, messy work) but over time I've learned that in the end it's worth my energy and effort.

A clean bathroom feels good.

A clean heart feels even better!

It might be uncomfortable at first, but as you learn that you can trust Him, you will see that God is the best, most patient, most caring cleaner around!

Psalm 51 NIV
² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Clean out my heart, clean out my house...

Take out your longest broom to reach over into the deepest corners of me!
With your softest sponge of grace, scrub away my spots and stains.
Rinse away all my dirt from years of being used and make me like new again!

AMEN!

Your Love Letter

Read along, and take this into your heart, this is what God has laid on my heart for you. I don't know how many women are going to read this, but I hope that each of you gain another level of closeness with our living, loving God today! God with God girls!
Love, Amy

Dear Daughter,

I am going to give you what you need. I am going to give you comfort so you can rest and recover. I am going to replace your pain with my joy. Take one day at a time and I will show you how I can overflow your days with blessings. I know everything that is going to happen to you in your life, and I have already planned a way out for you. I will not waste any moment of your life, I will pour purpose into every part of it! You are my beautiful daughter. I died for you because I love you. No one can love you the way I do. Walk with me and you will never be hungry again. Look up at my face and step into all my love and promises.
Love, Jesus

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"

Amen
~ Ephesians 3:16-21 NIV ~

The Other 364 Days?

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins".
1 Peter 4:8 NIV

So, tomorrow is Valentines Day and I am beginning to feel a little strange about using a special "date" on the calendar to celebrate love! Technically, I already have 365 "dates" with my husband every year with endless opportunities to show love! So, is it just me, or does picking one day seem a little odd to you too?

They say, hindsight is 20/20, so now I get the chance to look back and notice something about myself on previous V Days. I act different. Sometimes, I even start a day or two before the big day, with hopes that that's what my husband will remember. I carefully put on my best behavior, my best outfit, my best makeup (which means I actually put on makeup), and do my best to say some nice things to my husband. I have found only one problem with all of my self observations, they're all about me!

Isn't love about giving not getting?

.... "Love each other deeply" ....

Isn't love about imperfections

.... "Love covers over a multitude of sins"....

They're covered, you can't see them anymore

I know my husband better now than I did 10 years ago...

We're living through the good and the bad together.

Today I pray, while I put on my best outfit of patience, my best makeup of forgiveness, and my best behavior of respect... that I will love him deeply.

This year on Valentines Day (and the day before) I propose an idea. That each of us women observe ourselves, look at our love meter, and see not at how high we can get it, but on how much of it we can give out.... every day!

Do you act differently on Valentines Day?

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7 NIV

Enjoy Valentines Day, just don't forget to show your husband that you love him just as deeply on all of those other 364 days this year!

It's in the sitting...

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone, my hope comes from Him." Psalm 62:5 NIV

Raise your hand if you think you're too busy! Nod your head if you have most of the days filled up on your calendar for the upcoming weeks ahead! Give me an "amen sister" if you think you need help managing your life!

You may be reading this right now and feeling like you have no time to rest! Or, that you are avoiding moments to rest because you are scared of what you might find in those quiet places in your mind.

I think one of our natural tendencies as women is to complain about our lives (our schedules). We can easily forget, that we form our lives by all of the little choices we choose to make each day. We desperately need to learn to check in with God and follow His Spirit in us before we give our yes or our no.

And we won't know how much we need to do that until we understand how much we need Him!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Wouldn't it be nice to have a place to sit, just you and God? I heard someone say once that we are spiritual beings living a human experience (not the other way around). If we truly believe that, we will take the time to invite God in to show us how to sit, and nurture our souls... to give us rest through the inside out.

My soul needs rest today, and I know just where to find it! My prayer for you is that you join me in the sitting and invite God in to renew your mind, so your soul can have rest today!

Go with God girls!

My Extra Favorite Verse

"No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us."
Romans 8:37 NIV

This verse has been my favorite for the last few years. I mean come on, it's just one of those verses that can get you pumped up, you know! But lately, God is shining an even brighter light on it for me. The longer I live, the more I have to forgive (and be forgiven), the more experiences I have, the joys and the pain. I am beginning to see that through all of these things I WILL be Christ's conquering woman! Talk about a, "you go girl" moment! Hard times WILL actually make me stronger because I am learning to line myself up with God's love for me! This verse is coming alive right before my eyes, I can touch it and taste it, and it means more to me now than ever! Nothing can get in the way of God's love for me!

So, I guess now you could call it my extra favorite verse!

What's your favorite verse?

The 11 Letter Word...

"Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."

~ author unknown ~

Forgiveness... a big, 11 letter word.

Recently in my life, I came to the strong conclusion that I can't forgive. I know this sounds awful, but I'm inviting you in to see one of the most humbling thoughts I've ever had in my life. There are many reasons why I can't forgive... anger, time (too little or too much has passed), a broken heart, (insert your reason here), excuses, why I as a woman, can't forgive. But, I am learning that the number one reason I can't forgive is because I'm human. I'm simply not God and there is nothing simple about that. I look at Jesus' example on earth. I think about His chosen torture, death, and His three day separation from God as He accepted punishment for the sins of the world. I understand that I can't forgive like Him. He loves me perfectly. For me, forgiveness is like a battlefield! For me, it's all about acknowledging in that moment of honest words that I can't win this war... it's not in me. That is just about when God starts running in to rescue me...

I can see .... compassion taking ground and forgiveness is not far behind! The battle cry is, "praise God". Send me your whole army! Fight for me! Fill this warrior princess up with as much FORGIVENESS as her armor can possibly hold!!! Make her armor into the finest of steel so nothing but FORGIVENESS can pass through!"

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results". James 5:16 NLT

There is freedom found in repentance and forgiveness! They're the best of friends... they work for you and for me, side by side, in our battles! If you are willing to fight through the pain you will find hope on the other side. We will experience healing. The pain still visits with me. But I am purposefully choosing to trust God to hold my pain. I can honestly say, I haven't won my battle... but I do know one thing... God is fighting for me!

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NIV

Have you experienced the power of forgiveness in your life?

I had the privilege of hearing Michael O'Brien at the American Association Of Christian Counselors World Conference last year. He opened each morning with a few worship songs and I enjoyed it immensely! I hope that as you listen to his song, you can take a few minutes by yourself, to be quiet before the Lord.

In this manner, therefore, pray:Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
Amen.

Go with God girls!