Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Every Woman

I look into the mirror and the reflection I see is 'every woman'. Every woman who has ever felt as though she is stuck in the middle. The middle of raising her children, the middle of her marriage, the middle of life.

I have been married for 16 years and a mother for 13. The beginning seems so far away and the end seems...well, it seems light years from here.  I lead a blessed life; no tragedies of death or divorce or affairs, no major psychological problems beyond the usual spaciness of trying to keep everything running when calendars and schedules cause an allergic reaction. My problems are run of the mill. An ordinary woman leading an ordinary life. Nothing to cause me to stand out from a crowd. Nothing that would catch people's attention. Nothing that would make people stop and listen. The ordinary life of every woman.

Yet not so ordinary because of Who I live for. This is what I need to remember when the 'ordinaries' take over. You see, I believe that God does use tragedies but we don't have to experience tragedies to be used and this is the message I want every woman to hear. I want every woman to hear this long and loud and let it sink deep in the heart soul. God uses people. Even the ordinary 'every woman'.

I want to be the voice of 'every woman' crying aloud that the ordinaries matter. The ordinaries are what weave life together. That life can be full with an ordinary life, that we don't have to go to hell and back in order to live life full and free and abundant. Ordinary every woman...God loves you and cares and plans abundance for you.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Perception

Lately the feeling of never quite measuring up is overtaking my heart and mind. I feel like that scrap of material the fabric stores calls 'the ends', which is a polite way of saying there isn't enough material left for any sort of project. That's me, never quite measuring up!

These are the thoughts that scatter through my brain: 'I don't spend enough time with the kids, my default response is impatience, I can't seem to fully engage and enjoy the children, I do the bare minimum in the kitchen, I would rather relax and create than clean and scrub, which creates a cluttery home.

But whose standards are these? In reality I am comparing myself to a mom I admire for having boundless energy and always smiling and enjoying her children. I compare myself to another mom who has it all together in the household department or the wife who does such a fantastic job of loving her husband or the mom who imparts such spiritual wisdom into her kids.

My problem, I see, is that my perception on another woman's life has a greater influence on my perspective that God's word. 

And I hear God say, 'ah, ha! now you're starting to see clearly!'

Psalm 139:13-14 states: 'For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

If I look at myself through the eyes of the Lord, I see that I am his wonderful workmanship, but when I reject  myself and focus only on the negatives, I reject him. Who am I, the created telling the creator that he made me wrong? What pride on my part.

Thank God for grace. His grace. Only His grace. Yes, he made me and yes, I am a sinner redeemed by the blood of his grace. Grace that washes away my sin and makes me whole and covers all areas of my life. 

God's word must have a greater influence on my perception that anything else. Anything else can be twisted and turned into a lie which twists and turns my mind into a pretzel! 

God's word and him alone.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Monday Musings

Monday Musings....rambles through the tangled files of my brain.....


.....marriage is hard, but oh so worth it.

.....meeting my children's needs, to develop them according to their bents and strengths is something I strive for and often fail at.

....feeling the need to be a deliberate goal setter so I don't go marching round the same bend again and again and again...

....tried out a natural homemade facial peel made of unflavored gelatin and milk: the verdict is still out...

....thinking of school starting and savoring the fewer demands on my time...

....wondering if the feeling of always being just on the edge of the 'inner circle' ever goes away

....wondering why that matters

...wishing for a retreat....a hide-away....to vanish from society for a while

....thinking hard about worship and what that means and looks like in a church setting

....do not want people to equate God's presence with the quality of our music and type of music because where two or three are gathered he is in the midst. His presence is not dependent on music.

....wondering if we focus too much on the 'externals' of worship ie: music, song choice, instruments, tastes of music and fail to remember that it isn't about the music, but the state of our hearts before a holy God

....pondering justice and mercy meeting at the cross

....God is just: he requires a perfect sacrifice. he is perfect so he became the sacrifice

....God is merciful---not giving me what I deserve--death, separation, damnation--but because he is just and merciful--too seemingly incompatible ideas and fused them into one action--his death on the cross so I could be free to live in harmony, togetherness, unity, fellowship, with him.

....Oh how he loves.....

....rather smooth skin from my 'facial peel' and peel it certainly was...wowza!!

....day ? of a messy, messy kitchen....

....thinking of friendships and wondering how to navigate my children through friendships

...aching over hurt child's feelings and wanting to step in and protect them, but knowing, knowing that this is really a God-given opportunity for teaching

...ready (I think) to take that leap into God's unknown and trust him to make the way firm

...always it comes back to this: surrender and trust.

Monday's Musings--quite the tangled ramble of all that is swirling and twirling in the noggin

Over and out.....

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Hosea 14:9

Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.


Boy, when I read this, I think 'Whew, I sure am glad I am not rebellious, I would hate to stumble in God's ways.'  Hmmm....right there, I think I have a problem. Does this sound like pride to anyone?

As I ponder this verse and let the words swirl around in my head and heart I see that when my heart is right, God's way is easy to walk in, but when my heart is rebellious, God's ways are difficult to accept and I do find myself stumbling over and through them.

Disobedience.

 Pride. 

Fear. 

Insecurity.

Anger

Bitterness. 

Resentment

Unforgiveness.

Self-centeredness


All of these and more have been my stumbling blocks to walking freely in God's ways. When my heart is filled with anything other than the righteousness of Christ, I will stumble and fall. This I know. But what about the other side of the subject? What about all that Christ says I am in him? 

Beloved

Chosen

Delightful

Sung over

Righteous

Forgiven

Accepted

Approved

Can my refusal to listen to this side of God's heart for me cause me to stumble in His ways? Yes, it can. 
When I refuse to see myself the way God sees me, I am rebelling against him just as I rebel when I withhold forgiveness for an offense. 

Why is it easier to see all of my failings and I am more than ready and willing to bring them to the cross to find forgiveness, but it is harder, much harder for me to believe and embrace all that God sees in me. 

Accepting his love and goodness just because he loves me because he made me, can be a stumbling block for me to trip over. I will skim those verses that speak of my preciousness to God and apply them to someone elses life, but not my own. Isn't this a form of rebellion as well? Is it no wonder I stumble when my heart is filled with denial towards the depth of God's love for me?

To reach out and accept the fact that I am chosen and accepted and approved is not a form of pride. It is accepting truth. The truth of how God sees me. Maybe if I place this template of truth over my heart I will begin to see my little idiosyncrasies through his eyes and rather than self-condemning myself for all my flaws, lift them one at a time to him and ask him....'What would you like to do with this, Father?'

It is in this act of surrender...acceptance that I will walk freely in his freedom. Because as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: 'He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.' I am clothed in his righteousness. I wear his robe of righteousness and when I wear this robe he sees me as:

redeemed

accepted

approved

chosen

delightful

righteous

forgiven

his own.

Maybe I  need to look not into the mirror that hangs in my bathroom, but I need to look into the mirror of his love and embrace all he sees. 

 Then I will walk in his words freely, without stumbling, but with victory.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

My obedience or disobedience affects not only my relationship with God, but it also affects the body of Christ because I am part of a body. I am part of something bigger than myself. I am a part of a whole picture of which I can only see a tiny little corner. I do not stand alone, but I often act like I am.


When I don't listen to the small whisper that urges, 'Hug this one,' or 'Write this one', or 'read this little one a story', my disobedience is not simply between me and my Jesus, but it affects the one whom I was urged to touch and love.


This life of following Christ is not an isolated one. I am the means by which he touches hearts and lives. When I fail to respond to His urgings, His love and blessings that He longs to flow through me to others is stopped.

I paraphrase Psalm 119:57-60:

He is my portion!
I promise to obey your words. 
I seek Your face with all my heart.
He is gracious to me according to his promise.
I think about my ways and turn my ways to what you command. 
I will be quick to obey and not delay.



So, 'God is my portion'--he is all I need. I don't need the approval of others, I don't need success, I don't need (gasp!) a purpose, for he is my approval, he is my success, he is my purpose. 

'I will obey your words'---his words, his heart: my words, my heart. the only way this is at all possible is by reading and knowing and meditating on His words. His words. Not mine. 

'I seek Him with all my heart'. Where is my heart? This is why I must guard my heart because if I let down my guard....then I begin to seek approval, success, and purpose. 

'He is gracious to me'....this one is hard for me. It is hard to accept those gifts freely given with no strings attached.  But truth it is...He is gracious to me, thank-you Jesus! 

'I am mindful of my ways'---what am I thinking? Where am I going? And then if I have gotten off course, then it's time to get right back to it. 

'I will be quick to obey and not delay'. Hmm....this one, have I? Do I ? No, sometimes I like to excuse away my reasons for delaying to obey, but really, delayed obedience is disobedience. Ouch. That one hurts.



So all this wrapped up in a tidy little bow? I pray that I will obey without delay. And in order to do this, I will pray Psalm 119:134 which states: 'Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts.' 


Lord, 
Free me from the expectations of other people so that my heart and focus can be solely on you!





Tuesday, July 3, 2012




This native little flower to the place I call home is a gem, hidden from view unless you look close and it's time of glory is oh so brief. 

It reminds me to think that as my God 
cares for 
and 
clothes the hills 
he
spoke into being
then
He must care for me, whom he 
breathed life into. 

I am.... 
Filled with the very breath of God. 

This drops me to my knees and I look down and as my eyes fall onto this exquisite little bloom, 
his truth fills and swells and I cannot help but say...
Bravo!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Hiding Places


‘You are my hiding place, you will protect me from trouble, you surround me with songs of deliverance’. Psalm 32 :7

What does hiding in Jesus look like?

I think of hiding places as being calm and still and secret, but how does this work in my everyday life? How do I tuck myself into Jesus while at the same time reaching out and ministering to my family? Practically speaking I cannot literally hide. There are too many things that require my attention and time. So what does hiding in Jesus look like?

It must, it needs to be a spiritual act. We live on two planes. What our spirits are engaged in and what our physical selves are doing. And the mind, will, and emotions are the tie between the two.

It requires our spirit to be engaged with what our soul is thinking and feeling. What are the thoughts running through our minds? The verses in 2 Cor. 10: 3-5 instruct us to take every thought captive and brought under the authority of Jesus.

Could being captive, really be another way of saying that I am hidden in Christ? And those renegade thoughts that take me out of the hiding place are really my enemies to disrupt the peace of God?

What we think about has so much power. So living in awareness of where our thoughts take us is one key to staying hidden in Christ. Wake up! Be aware! Think on Christ. Think about his love and promises. Put into practice Galatians and the fruit of the spirit. Live aware.

Hiding places bring to mind small, dark, narrow places, but really, what if, by just changing our mindset of what hiding places are, we find the spacious place of rest in Jesus?

He is light and in him there is no darkness. So, imagine his hiding place as being filled with the most wonderful, warm light and everywhere else is darkness. Where would you rather be? In the light. The world outside of the light is dark and scary and hard to find the way. That place, the darkness, is just a step away from the light. One step and I can be plunged into the darkness. One step and I find the light of his hiding place.

I think most of my battles are in the mind. This is where I fight everyday. It is good to remember that I live two lives. The one I see and feel and experience with my physical body and the other, the hidden life. The life hidden in Christ. Of course, the two lives must mesh and merge, but so often my body may or may not be doing what my heart and my spirit is directing. Or, I may be going through the motions and my spirit is really struggling to believe the good in what I am doing.

‘You are my hiding place, you protect me from trouble, you surround me with songs of deliverance’. What comfort this verse provides. I am protected from trouble in that hiding place. My anxious heart is soothed by songs of deliverance. The question arises—am I hiding in him and are my ears open to hearing him? What am I placing before my eyes to see and ears to hear? Am I filling my mind with great and good and godly things and thoughts?

Monday, May 7, 2012

Barren Beauty


What happens when you awaken to the fact that life is not quite what you imagined it to be? When hopes and dreams are not coming to fruition and you can see no way clear that they ever will? What happens when you wake up to a tantrum and it’s your own?

Read the rest here.


Blessings to you and yours, 

Jess

Sunday, March 25, 2012



There is a place that I love to be. 
This place is my hiding place. 
It is the palm of One who loves deep and wide. 

At first thought, a hiding place is dark and quiet and small. 
But if God is light. 
And He is. 

Then His hiding place must be light filled. 
It must be spacious. 
It is a safe place filled with the light of His presence. 

Hiding from something is a fear filled response, but when we hide in the One who is creator and a star breather we are surrounded by His songs of joy and deliverance. 

My hiding place. 
It's not a secret. 
Jesus. 
The name above every name. 

My light-filled, 
God-breathed,
protected place. 

His palm. 

There I rest, not cowering in the darkness, but rejoicing in 
His Light. 

Bravo, God!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

You're Already Amazing Review


 Words.

Words can change a life. 

Words can impact a society. 

Words can bind up heart wounds. 

The Word of Life is, of course, whose words are most powerful, but amazingly He will use frail human hearts to bend minds and heal hearts and this is the case with this amazing book, You're Already Amazing, by Holley Gerth. 

This book is like sitting down with a close friend over a cup of smooth coffee and peeling back layers of lies that surround this heart. At times the words slice, but not in a painful sort of way, but in a freeing sort of way. At times the words inspire--inspire me to courage to finally embrace the Truth. But always, the words point me to the one who is the Giver of Truth. 

You're Already Amazing's focus is about embracing who I am and becoming all God created me to be and instead of listing things I should change and do more or be more, I am presented with tools to help understand and make me more aware of how God created me so that I can fulfill His purpose for me. 

There is chapter that deals with common lies women believe, and the truths that set us free. This chapter is so appropriate because before I can live the out God's purposes for me fully, I must relinquish my belief in lies that prevent me from walking in freely in God's truth. The challenge posed is to continue to believe the truth when emotions are screaming otherwise.  

Another favorite section of the book talks about possessing the Promise, guarding the Promise and celebrating the Promise. I believe God leads us to the promised land and then he waits for us to embrace the promise. it's a wonderful dance between me and the Father. 

He leads, I choose, He enables.

It's a beautiful dance and You're Already Amazing by Holley Gerth helps make the steps a little more clearer. This is one book every woman who has ever looked in the mirror and frowned at herself needs to read and let the truth that you are amazing sink deep within the secret places of the heart. 

I highly recommend this book and want to thank (in)courage and Revell publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book and for Holley Gerth, who is a woman  I want to know and call friend!

Bravo, God! for words that heal and inspire and call me to courage!
Bravo, for words that enable me to see through a glass dimly to the truth of light on the other side!





Thursday, February 16, 2012



'He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.'
Psalm 18: 16-19
He rescues, not because he feels sorry for me, but because he 
delights. in. me. 

Let that sink in. He longs to give us victory, not because he has to because he created us and died for us. 
His motive in it all is this:
He delights in you!

Bravo, God, Bravo!

 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012



'You, O Lord keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into
light.'
Psalm 18:28

Sometimes the messiness of my life can cloud the light beyond. 
But knowing that God himself is the light in my darkness causes me to see the messiness 
as a work of 
art. 

Bravo! 

Sunday, February 12, 2012


'In my distress, I called to the Lord, I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 
Psalm 18: 6-8

To know this truth: 
That my cry is heard. 
that my God acts upon my cry. 
That his consuming fire burns forth--for my heart to be his and for my enemies to be consumed. 
These grasses lit with the fire of the setting sun remind me of my God, who loves and acts with an 
Consuming Fire. 
Bravo!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012


God is my ever present help. 

'I lift my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.'
Psalm 121:1-2

Praise God! I simply need to look up. I lift my eyes, my hands, my heart and when I do, I see my Help coming. 
He rides on the clouds and his voice is the wind and I am helped. 

Bravo!

Sunday, January 15, 2012


To know that He leads besides still waters. 
To know that sometimes the waters seem far away, but they are there. 
It brings great comfort in knowing that He cares enough to guide my every step and maybe if life doesn't feel like 
'still waters',
then maybe, just maybe I'm looking the wrong way.


Wednesday, January 11, 2012


'Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.' Psalm 111:3

His righteousness endures forever. He is consistently righteous. 
I am not consistent. It is a struggle for me.

(Obviously, since this is for yesterday!)
But what comfort there is to know, that He is righteous and he is with me and infuses me with his spirit....
consistently. 

Forever is a concept difficult for me to grasp.

But praise God! He is and it is not difficult for him 
at. all. 
Bravo!

Monday, January 9, 2012


'Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.' Psalm 108:5

Yes! Lord, yes! You are exalted! Your glory is over all the earth! 
You painted the morning sky, just like this, and I sat in awe as I watched the sky be engulfed by the flame of your presence. 

Bravo! 

Sunday, January 8, 2012


'Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.'
Psalm 107:15-16

The iron chains insidiously wrapped themselves around my heart. I woke up burdened and heavy and full of fear and insecurity and inadequacy. 
It is a chain. 

It is a prison of iron bars. 
Somehow, without warning, I am back in that prison. 

The prison where all is dark and no light shines.

The place where I hide behind the shame of bars of iron. 

But God.
He broke down those gates and cut through the bars of iron and set me free. 

His love is unfailing and never ceases to amaze me with his wonderful deeds. 
Bravo, God! Bravo for your love and freedom. 

Bravo!

Saturday, January 7, 2012


This song.
These truths.
My God reigns here and fear and jealousy have no place. 
None. 
God reigns here.
God Reigns here.
Bravo! 

Friday, January 6, 2012


'Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.'
Psalm 107:27
Unlike the rose, God's love will never, ever fade and die away. No matter what happens. When I am ignoring him, he loves. When I am choosing selfishness, he loves. When my words hurt, he loves. When I fall into the trap of rejection, he loves. When I reject, he loves. When I judge, he loves. When I fear, he loves. When insecurity rages, he loves. 

He loves. He loves. He loves. 
For this, Lord, thank-you, from an uncomprehending heart, that your love never fails. Never. 

Bravo!

Sometimes I get trapped in a web of sin and it entangles me, but this Word comes to me:
'He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave,' Psalm 107:20

The sin that deadens, the sin that deceives. His word is the antidote to it all!
Thank-you, Lord, for the word, for the the freedom in the word! 

(just pretend this is Jan 5th--I missed a day!)

 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012


He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders. 
Psalm 107:29-32


For this, Lord, Bravo! that you are like rails in my life. As long as I stay on the rail of You, I will be guided to where you want me to go. I may be buffeted by storms and wind and rain, but secure on the rails of You! 

Bravo!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Light of Hope


He is my hope. In him I cannot be shaken, I cannot be moved when I hope in Him. He is hope. In Him I cannot be disappointed. 

He is the light of my life and the hope of my heart. 

My hopes are secure because He is my hope. I can trust Him with my fears and secret wishes, with my ambitions and my failures because in Him there is no disappointment. 

Bravo, God! Bravo! For taking care of all aspects of this heart of mine. This heart that you've placed within. This heart filled with your hope--hope that carries me through great days and not so great days! Bravo! 

Monday, January 2, 2012

Bravo!








'He wraps himself in light as with a garment;' Psalm 104:2


To imagine, the light I use to see by, He uses as a garment! To imagine that when I draw near to Him, I am wrapped up within that 'Light' blanket. His light, warming me from head to toe, filling me inside and spilling out to my family. Light. 

Thank-you, Lord, for this gift. This view of light. I can only imagine you grabbing light by the edges and swinging up and around to settle on your shoulders and drawing the edges close around. You wear light! Bravo!