Follow His Footprints

Thou Shall Not Worry

Habits are hard to break for a reason. Take it from me, a recovering worrier. It’s a  battle to stop the worry gremlins in my head, but it can be done. This continual battle is won not by myself, but with a little help from my friends and a lot of wisdom from God.

I’m a student of habits. Reading and learning about habit formation as it relates to memory and everyday life is fascinating. Habits help our brain function effectively as it takes less brain power to do them once they’re learned and ingrained. But this quality also makes them difficult to break.

The habit of worry is a conundrum. [Read more…]

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Honoring Gratitude

It’s been a long year. I’ve lost two of my favorite people, battled annoying physical issues and been blindsided by multiple challenges. These circumstances often left me ungrateful even though God wove in wonderful and unforgettable moments amid the woeful and wearisome. The year has simply left me tired and unsure of what’s next. But the last few weeks have also given another perspective. It’s time to honor gratitude.

As Christians, we are called to give thanks in all circumstances. Realistically that’s easier some days than others. Instead we often complain, ask why, or are mad at what God gives and allows. It’s difficult to be thankful when struggling to keep our heads above water. But in all my circumstances, especially the not so good ones, I’ve always known and felt God’s presence. For that I am grateful.

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. In fact He knows better than anyone we aren’t. Which is why He’s always faithfully present. He fully comprehends our imperfection and sent Jesus to save us and the Holy Spirit to speak to us. So in the moments we don’t understand, want to cry, pull our hair out, or throw up our hands, we can instead call upon God and shift toward gratitude.

We do this not because we want to or should, but because we can. The gift of God’s saving grace ensures a heavenly home for those who believe. But God’s grace doesn’t begin when this life ends. His grace also provides the gift of His in-dwelling peace and presence right now.

Right now-in the midst of the mess, loss, hurt, rejection and pain this life can bring, God is here. God won’t always change what’s happening to us. But He will always be present with us.

God won’t always change what’s happening to us, but will always be present with us #gratitude #trust
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Sometimes life isn’t fun. Often it’s painful, sad, and worrisome. It throws curves when we’re expecting the fastball. It zigs when we want to zag and leaves us breathlessly swinging to keep up.

But we shouldn’t let the swinging, zagging and worrying make us lose sight of what we already possess-God’s presence, peace, and grace. He’s here with each us. Even when we feel no one can fully understand. God can and does and He’s right here fully understanding everything about us. We’d be wise to remember this. {I just heard this fantastic song, Remember by Lauren Daigle (love her!) that reminds us to remember God’s faithfulness and presence in everything.}

This Thanksgiving and holiday season when everyone else is merry and thankful, circumstances may tempt us to not feel the same. Yet, I’m remembering while I may not be thankful for everything, I am grateful for His never ending presence in everything.

Instead of feeling sad, worried, or unsure of the future, I’ll simply shift my perspective and honor gratitude. I will give thanks to and for the God who created me, saved me and never, ever leaves me.

Honored to link up with this special gift guide from Crystal Storms-check it out!

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Finding Presence

But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,  for our hope is in you alone. ~Psalm 33:18,20-22

Something about a hurricane threatening your child makes one’s mama bear instincts kick in. Three weeks after our son went to college a potential hurricane loomed on his horizon. My pride in not worrying too much blew away as Tropical Storm Gordon blew close. Thankfully it bypassed his area and all was well, but for a nervous few days, I lived 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “never stop praying“!

Simultaneous to Gordon, additional family issues blew in and a few days rolled into a swirling month of life storms. On the other side of those life changing storms, I am simply thankful. Thankful to my God who through it all, never left me or mine. His presence was ever present. As literal and figurative storms approached, hit with fury and now in the aftermath, I always sensed and leaned into His presence.

When the words Present Presence came for this year last December, I anticipated they had to do with my son leaving for college and my dad’s failing health. I wanted to be present for both of them, the rest of my family, and feel God’s presence in all of it. Now approaching the end of this year, our son has indeed moved across the country to college and my dad and other loved ones have moved to their eternal home with Jesus. I miss them all in different ways, but one thing has remained constant: God’s presence with each of us.

For those of you anticipating a blog series on God’s presence as mentioned in my last newsletter, recent life storms have blown that plan away. But not even minor or major life situations could blow God’s presence from me. While my writing plan may have vanished with the wind, God had another, better plan for me-to show His presence even more powerfully than any literal or figurative storm of life.

Instead of writing about His presence, I simply felt it in so many ways. I found God was present in:

  • Those who came beside me and mine. They prayed, gave up their sleep, helped with what was needed, or simply lent a hug and their presence. So many were His hands and feet as we weathered life storms. Another reminder to always be available because we may never know how a simple act can mean so much. (I sense another blog post from this lesson…)
  • His Word. Multiple times daily His Word came to me with just what was needed in a daily devotion, verse of the day, scripture at worship, or Christian songs that came on at just the right moment. Don’t dismiss the coincidences of life-they may simply be God showing His presence.
  • Prayer. His presence soothed as I whispered prayers for so many situations this last year. He heard me, lead me to solutions and comforted me in the midst of it all. As I prayed incessantly, I often would sense an answer or a direction afterwards. Even if the next step wasn’t always clear, I ALWAYS knew He heard me and was with me and those I love. One of my last memories of Dad was praying with him the prayer Jesus taught us. It’s a gift I’ll always treasure.

This year began with a desire to be physically present with those I love more. I feel blessed I did this in many ways. Most importantly, His presence was acutely palpable, often when least expected. I began seeking to be present and feel His presence and found so much more.

Winding down this year, there’s an even greater desire to be present for those I love, serve and find in my life daily. His presence continues to prompt me to be His hands and feet and encourage others along the way. I sense that will still include writing here on the blog, but not sure how that will evolve.

In the interim, I pray He continues to give me words to share and encourage. But for now, some time away is needed. I’m going to continue seeking His presence and path for me and mine, trusting in His timing. More than ever before, He has shown me His plan reins higher than mine, especially in life’s small and even hurricane force storms.

But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy. ~Psalm 68:3

My hope is in Him alone. He is with me, my child across the country and my dad in heaven. He will never leave me or any of us just as Joshua was told:

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Trusting in these promises, let’s continue to follow one footprint at a time. Keep seeking His presence and see how it changes you and your storms of your life. Need some more encouragement in seeking His presence? Check out this song I found over and over again this year. Please keep in touch and let me know how His presence helps you with a comment or on social media. Until we connect again, let’s keep following His footprints to wherever they lead us.

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Instilling Faith to Follow

It’s back to school season and this year that meant a college far, far away for my first born. I often wondered if I had done enough as a mom to pave a path of faith to follow. It made me think of all the ways this world can impact our children and how our influence as Christian parents can create a firm foundation.

More than any other time in history, our children are being raised in a world surrounded by expanding temptations, publicly differing opinions and increasing negativity. The rise of social media platforms give way to things like divisive political arguments while television programming and movies are less edifying-all shaping the current environment. As parents, it is more important than ever to do what we can to set a good example and encourage our children’s faith as they grow.
Form traditions & habits while they are young
We’ve talked about being purposefully present and how easy it is to be distracted by the littlest things, but it is just as important to help our children be mindful of being present in their faith. It begins by being a good witness with our own faithful actions, sharing the ups and downs of leading a life of faith, and setting a Godly example.

Another good way to do this is to instill habits that bring our children closer to God daily. Simple ideas like having them pray before meals and at night are the start to getting our children conversing with God throughout their day. Reading their Bible along with daily devotions can give them spiritual wisdom to take with them in their day ahead. Start traditions that they can look forward to like worshiping together or a family Bible study once a week.

Quality family time is important for any child’s growth, but it’s even more imperative to instill a strong spiritual mindset for our children. Attending church every Sunday is a good start, but the church’s additional opportunities can immerse them in the Spirit and help them make new friends who have similar values. As they get older, they can participate in youth ministry groups, worship services, and Bible studies.

Outside of the church, look for spiritual opportunities during family outings and activities. Go on nature walks and visit parks, appreciating the majesty of the Lord’s creation. Curl up on the couch as a family for movie nights, and whether the movies you watch have a specific message of faith or not, discuss lessons learned and moral observations of the characters. They then will be more mindful of this thinking and relate it to their Christian perspective when they consume media on their own.
Communication is key
It is so important to be open and honest with our children and expect the same from them. If they see something inappropriate on TV or hear something bad in school, discuss why it is inappropriate from your perspective as well as in God’s eyes. When they talk about the types of media they want to consume or want to do something with their friends that we don’t agree with, let’s not just just tell them they can’t watch or do something and leave it there.

Being specific in why something might not be appropriate as a Christian is definitely more important as they grow into their teenage years. It will hopefully instill not just knowing right from wrong, but a desire to be their best self for God. Most importantly, when they do set a good example or otherwise make us proud, let’s not hesitate to give them praise and appreciation for doing the right thing.
I pray these these simple reminders will help strengthen our children’s faith and give them the encouragement to develop into the great Christ-following individuals they were created to be. I know there were moments I didn’t always follow through on all of these suggestions. But it’s my prayer that I created a foundation of faith to follow nonetheless.

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
Proverbs 22:6 NLT

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He is Near

What’s your first thought when seeing the sun diffusing through clouds high above? As the light streams down from radiant beams I’m always reminded of God’s presence. It’s like He’s showing me He’s near and present, even if I cannot physically see Him.

Winding down on our #BePresent series this Lent, we’ve discussed being Purposeful and being present in Real life with Eyes open to the world around us, even when it’s Stressful. We understand the importance of making Every moment count and we do this by remembering God is near as we strive to do the same. N=Near

God is near to us in so many ways we cannot always see or even fathom. Remember how Elisha prayed for God to open the eyes of his scared servant so he could physically see how God’s heavenly army was surrounding them?

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. ~2 Kings 6:16-17

The same is true for us, God is always near; we just can’t always see Him the way we want. This I why I love huge displays of God’s glory in sunbeams, rainbows, beautiful creatures or just the simple beauty of a sunrise. It’s a reminder of God’s presence but also how He is present with us. In the busyness of life, I don’t want to miss the beauty of these simple expressions of God and how to be present in them and with others.

Trust #God is near us in every moment, showing us His #presence and how to #BePresent #faith
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David knew God was present and could sense His presence even when he couldn’t see Him. I wonder if He knew God was near when seeing sunbeams as I do? It makes me want to praise Him with joy as David did:

But let the godly rejoice.

    Let them be glad in God’s presence.

    Let them be filled with joy.

4 Sing praises to God and to his name!

    Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.

His name is the Lord—

    rejoice in his presence!

19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!

For each day he carries us in his arms. ~Psalm 68:3-4, 19

Each day, each moment God is carrying us. He’s that near to us. It’s our job to have faith and trust in God’s ability to #BePresent even when we cannot physically see Him. Let’s choose to be present and also sense how God is near us in all those moments we want to make matter like:

  • Holding a loved one’s hand without saying a word.
  • Reading silently yet still present with each other.
  • Opening up the Bible to the exact message needed that day.
  • Loving acts of kindness in the world around us.
  • Laughing, loving and being near in the big and small moments.

Life is full of moments and how we choose to live and see them makes a difference, not only in our lives but also in those whose moments intersect with ours. Let’s remember God is near in all of them. We can seek His love, peace, guidance, and strength through a simple prayer. We don’t need a giant sunbeam to remind us, only simple trust in His presence as we seek to #BePresent.

Linking with #ChasingCommunity & #HeartEncouragement

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