The Lord is good to us, He listens and answers prayers, warms our hearts, comforts our soul, and is our constant Lord and Savior. His promise to always hear us is true and profound. His Word takes His direction and spells it out for us stubborn ones, providing the refinement and direction we need to take our walk to the next level, to gain the ability to claim and act on our God Filled Power.  Example are the verses below. Suggesting our prayers should start with coming to Him with all of ourselves, then praising Him with our deepest points of our souls, and a pure heart. AND - people you really can not do that with a myriad of irritations in your head, hate, rage, recruitment, forgiveness. No matter what adjective you choose, extreme or on the more soft side - it is all the same thing - we need to embrace His Promise, Forgive our Transgressors, and Ask God to Forgive Us!! 

So let's get started - shall we - 
We find ourselves asking to we guard our hearts or do we forgive?  The answer is both - they are very different!

Yesterday, I was blessed and sat in church with a wonderful Man God has blessed me with, and listened intently to the message that sure did hit home. I entered church angry and I didn't even realize it - and - as much as I have been in denial about it, it is true, there was a lot I needed to forgive. Different people and many different circumstances, both old and recent. It is as if the past hurts just kept serving up new injuries. Yes, this is on the heals of Thanksgiving. What happened, other peoples choices, choices they had the right to make, I simply allowed them to hurt me. 

So here is where you Forgive, you forgive the person, pray over it and get through it. Knowing all the while Our Father has your back!!  Then, you guard your heart from further hurt stemming from that same person, or from that same behavior. Therefore, taking yourself off the roller coaster that hurt, circumstance, or person(s) caused.  Instead embrace your healing through Christ, and through forgiveness. It is truly a way to thrive in life verses just survive.

I can't say I want to be immune to hurt, nor saying that is what God wants for us. Not at all, each of our pains are for us to grow.  Grow in the Lord, not to grow in anger or resentment. So yes, I was convicted, prayed as we sang, cried and boy oh boy am I thankful! Thank you Lord.  

I want to call attention to the Women Readers - Our Call is to be the "Helper", to be the "Nurturer" among many others vast and broad callings on women. To which BTW you can find in Proverbs 31 for starters.  No where will you find that we are supposed to just sit at home, sit at work, dominate our man, or be dominated, control everything, be perfect, or worse be the victim and stay suffering in the garbage the enemy sends our way.  Doesn't say that at all!

Myself in particular the past decade, well a little more than that was a nightmare!  Starting three years ago God Woke Me Up - Big Time Rocked My World.  It was a mess and needing rocking BTW.  Post that an awakening began, I began personally examining my life, dealing with the pain, forgiving and now blessed with redefining so many elements and relationships. I pondered where did I forget to guard my heart, where did I open it too much or not at all.  Some of you may know right now I am redefining my life. I am divorced, and that wasn't pretty. I had put my career on hold, totally given it to the Lord.  Which was scary, risky, and humbling. My Mother was sick, went home to the Lord, my Father who I found out isn't; completely threw all of our memories away and instantly remarried in just a couple of months.  I had spent my life in a trap of performance based love, parents, x-husband, his family, co-workers... I am not complaining, nor a victim. I am merely setting my stage. I know there are so many of us women that are in similar spaces.  We survive in those states, and frankly that is a barely surviving. Certainly not living, and most certainly not Thriving!   How did we get here?   If I may suggest, ask a different set of questions. 

How do I thrive? How do I get a better outlook?
- First, You humble yourself to the Lord and ask for His Forgiveness, 
- Consistently, honor Him in prayer, 
- Ask for His guidance, then Choose to Believe He is There Guiding You!! 

In other words, stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because it will. Difference is, you have not given it any power. Instead you have chosen Faith, and God rewards by providing us with REAL POWER !  TYL PTL

Well Listen All You Gal's - I sure would like you to join me. Let's change this!!

I believe it starts with getting right with God - so drop your pride, drop your extreme need for independence, to be right, to control, to avoid being controlled. Whatever it is that is under your skin. Give it to God the Father. Let's start over for heaven's sake - push the do over button. 

Next verse is a little reminder, if your thoughts are filled with sin, it is sin you wish for or want, it is still sin even before you have acted on it.  Iniquities are the thought of the sin, the coveting, wishing and wanting of that sin. Transgressions are sins we actually acted on. Hear you see the power of your thoughts, in that those lusts are causing your voice to be silenced.  Your voice to the Lord, or rather His ears.  So in the warning the Word is also instructing to humble ourselves, and repent in our prayers before we start listing off the areas of wants and needs. 

So guard your hearts, stay pure of heart, mind and actions! Of course repent when you fall, because we are human and we are living in grace, Thank You Lord, He forgives us and washes us of our sins past, present and future.  There is still the need however to repent, moreover the need to guard your heart and strive for pure thoughts and actions. It is hear where we are truly blessed. Make no mistake this isn't performances based love, we are His children He loves us regardless; as The Father He also wants the best for us, so see this as positive guidance, His words instructing and advising on the best path forward!!  Thank you Lord, Hallelujah !!!!

“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.” Psalms 66:16-20 KJV

Oh my Gosh... Now What?  We all have these moments, years, events, experiences (however you want to define it). Bottom line - the now what - is Really Now What Are YOU Going to do.  Will you let these days, things, steal your joy, your happiness? Or will you bend, grow, and then THRIVE?

We all have our "Person", of course we all also know Women are heavier on the need for emotional connection and communication.  Your closest friends, those people who really know you such as a long time Friend, your Mother, Your Adult Children, and if you are blessed Your Husband. It is difficult when one of those connections leave us. For me my entire family seemingly disintegrated right in front of my eyes, divorce, adult children moving away and becoming distant. Father re-married, and whoops I find out he isn't even my Father.   My Person, My Mother, went home to the Lord Sunday, July 26th 2015.  However her words will be with me forever. TYL.  It is interesting because our relationship was certainly not perfect, NOT AT ALL. But, I could always go to her.  Now with all the aftermath past her passing, wow so so much to think about and I certainly wish I could have that last conversation with her. Such as well Mom, who is my Father among a few other things I sure wish I knew the truth about.  On the positive side, oh gosh Mom I am SO happy and blessed!  Your were right - Faith in God!

Back to the point we all want to know that truth, that motivating reason. It vexes us to distraction, to depression, to well many many things. In the end of the day, "can we please all agree to all look up, up to the Lord?" He stands there with His Truth, the Word, always out. Never hidden. He is there. Yet, we have these emotions, these unsettling emotions.

I have been wrestling with this for several weeks now, in all honesty for several years.  Today I am called to write about it; today as all of us mourn for the loss of lives in Texas after a sincerely terrible act of violence - against people worshiping the Lord this Sunday. Reflecting on the terrible losses in Las Vegas among many other terrible acts of violence for seemingly ZERO REASON.  Losing anyone in your life is amazingly difficult, and losing a loved ones in such a terrible way. Well, please all join me in prayer today. Many of us are hurting, however many of us have our Comforter the Holy Spirit. Psalm 86:7 " I will call to you whenever I am in trouble, and YOU will answer me."  

““Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.”  Isaiah 60:1-5 NIV

If you haven't read the book of Isaiah yet, DO IT!!  This book is truly amazing and powerful; the promises, commands, opportunities and again more powerful promises. WOW Thank You Lord!  Today I wanted to surround you with some of those amazing Words, smile today, walk with an extra kick in your step because WOW look what Father God is saying to you!! 

I was reflecting on some conversations, and yes even arguments that I had in past years with my Mother this past couple of weeks. Praying through them the entire time, what are you trying to tell me Lord?  Finally I received His Words; look at these verses. He has assured me We weren't arguing, I was learning and practicing. She gave me that gift, the Lord brought it back and gave it to me again!!   

I have nothing to worry about, (even though my flesh wants and aches over the loss of My Mother, the loss of My Person), I have nothing to fear, I don't have to light my path or wonder who is going to light it for me!!! The Lord has this handled, through Active Faith, I receive all of His glorious promises (you can too). You see the enemy knows I'm not shy, I have a voice, one that people will listen to.  TYL. The enemy knows that I am out of the shadows and working for the Kingdom, so he sent me massive destruction, change, hurt, extreme pain, rejection, failures, and extreme loneliness this past several of years. Why? In hopes that I would give up! I would not persevere! I would not have experienced these amazing and glorious gifts from the Father. Why, because I am now sharing them all w you!  

You know some patience, humility, time on your knees, and opening your eyes and heart - the Lord deliveres. He delivered me a complete do over - a wonderful faith-filled man, two more beautiful children where we now have 5 together and wow what a wonderful balance. I have had negative feelings due to hurt and heart-ache from the past. My Ex-husband, his family, my family... so many people being disloyal, and literally not caring about the consequences, only inflicting harm on persons they love.  

This is the same for you, it doesn't have to be a daisy chain of oh my gosh terrible moments, are you serious, and holy cow if I didn't have witnesses to it I wouldn't even believe it myself -- stuff.  I needed that refinement, and I am thankful for it -PTL!!  My point to you is in all the things, those moments, not just the biggies... Go to Him, praise Him, Thank Him and be cloaked in His Comfort. See and realize He is your light, He is NEVER leaving you. Let that sink in! It is Real!!  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!! TYL

So go out today with the Biggest and Brightest Smiles for all to see!! 

“The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”  Isaiah 60:19-20 NIV