Fix My Eyes

Have you ever just stopped and listened to this song? I hear it all the time but never truly paid attention to it until today. The message is a powerful one. We need to fix our eyes on our Creator who gave us life and longs for a relationship with us.

He loves us that much! So much that He sent His only Son to die for us. To die so that we might have life! That’s LOVE, y’all!

I especially love the line, “Find faith in the battle, Stand tall but above it all, Fix my eyes on You.”

Life is going to hand us trials and tribulations. We’re going to meet hardships throughout our life. But through it all, we must fix our eyes on Jesus! He knows what’s best for us and He is the only One who can get you through life’s trials. You may think you can handle it all on your own but you can’t. Only Jesus can and will carry you through life’s storms if you will just surrender to Him!

We can be confident that if Jesus did not leave us in HIS darkest hour, He won’t leave us in OUR darkest hours.

J. D Greear, Not God Enough

So when condemnation whispers “You are finished”, we need only look to the cross to hear Jesus’s triumphant answer: “No! IT is finished!”

J.D Greear, Not God Enough

(Y’all, I really recommend this book by J.D Greear. It’s AWESOME!)

For King and Country—Fix My Eyes

Hit rewind
Click delete
Stand face to face with the younger me
All of the mistakes
All of the heartbreak
Here’s what I’d do differently

I’d love like I’m not scared
Give when it’s not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you

I learned the lines and talked the talk (Everybody knows that, everybody knows that)
But the road less traveled is hard to walk (Everybody knows that, everybody knows)
It takes a soldier
Who knows his orders
To walk the walk I’m supposed to walk

And love like I’m not scared
Give when it’s not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you

The things of Earth are dimming
In the light of Your glory and grace
I’ll set my sights upon Heaven
I’m fixing my eyes on you, on you
I’m fixing my eyes on you, on you
I’m fixing my eyes

Love like I’m not scared
Give when it’s not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you
I fix my eyes on you, on you
I fix my eyes on you, on you

Migraines

I suffer from migraines. Last Tuesday I started feeling one coming on and so I took my prescription medication for it. However, it didn’t do the trick like it usually does and as of yesterday, I still had the migraine so I decided to go to the ER. They gave me a cocktail of medications that did wonders for the severity of the headache. As in, I went from a 10 on the pain scale to a 4.

Today I woke up for the first time in a week without a headache. Yay! Praise the Lord!

I was feeling pretty good today so I decided to go out to LifeWay to look around. I found a book by J.D Greear called Not God Enough that seemed really interesting so I bought it.

“Your God is too small.
We like God small. We prefer a God who is safe, domesticated, who thinks like we think, likes what we like, and whom we can manage, predict, and control. A small God is convenient. Practical. Manageable.
The truth: God is big. Bigger than big. Bigger than all the words we use to say big. Only a God of infinite power, wisdom and majesty can answer our deepest questions and meet our deepest longings.
Ironically, many today seem turned off by the concept of an awesome, terrifyingly great God. We assume that a God you would need to fear is guilty of some kind of fault. For us, thinking of God as so infinitely greater and wiser than we are and who would cause us to tremble in his presence is a leftover relic from an oppressive, archaic view of religion.
But what if this small version of God we’ve created is holding us back from the greatest experience of our lives–from genuine, confident, world-transforming faith?
In Not God Enough, J.D. reveals how to discover a God who:

• is big enough to handle your questions, doubts, and fears
• is not silent
• is worthy of worship
• wants to take you from boring to bold in your faith
• has a purpose and mission for you on earth
• is pursuing you right now

God is not just a slightly better, slightly smarter version of you. God is infinite and glorious, and an encounter with Him won’t just change the way you think about your faith. It’ll change your entire life.”

I’m already on Chapter 3! It’s AMAZING!

Some quotes I found to be thought provoking:

Most Christians haven’t rejected God; they have just reduced Him

True worship is intimacy grounded in awe.

His love at the cross didn’t move me because his magnificence in the heavens hadn’t humbled me.

A God we can predict, instruct and control is not a God who will captivate our affections or command our devotion.

I haven’t even finished this book and I can already tell it’s going to be a favorite!

What’s on your reading list?

 

 

 

 

Sunday is Coming!

EditIt’s Good Friday.

Why do they call it Good Friday? Nothing about it is good when you think about it. Christ was nailed to a cross, taking on our sins. He suffered an excruciating death. And all of it was for us! I guess that’s where the good comes from. He saved us from dying a sinful death.

I don’t know about you but every time I think about how Christ took my sin upon his shoulders, I get chills. Who am I that Jesus would die for me? I mean it, who am I?

Well, without Christ, I am nothing. Without Christ, life is meaningless.

But WITH Christ, I am FREE! God loved you and me SO much that He sent His ONLY Son to the earth to die a horrible death so that we wouldn’t spend eternity in Hell.

Today we remember the day Christ was crucified for our sins. He was beaten, mocked, tortured. It was a horrible day.

“It Is Finished” were Christ’s last words. But what many didn’t know was that in 3 days, Christ was going to rise again and prove to the world He is who He says He is!

Take a moment to listen to this song by the Gaithers. It’s such a powerful song!

There’s a line that is drawn through the ages
On that line stands an old rugged cross
On that cross, a battle is raging
To gain a man’s soul or it’s loss

On one side, march the forces of evil
All the demons, all the devils of hell
On the other, the angels of glory
And they meet on Golgotha’s hill

The earth shakes with the force of the conflict
And the sun refuses to shine
For there hangs God’s son, in the balance
And then through the darkness, he cries

It is finished, the battle is over
It is finished, there’ll be no more war
It is finished, the end of the conflict
It is finished and Jesus is Lord

Yet in my heart, the battle was still raging
Not all prisoners of war had come home
These were battlefields of my own making
I didn’t know that the war had been won

Oh, but then I heard the king of the ages
Had fought all the battles for me
And that victory was mine for the claiming
And now praise his name, I am free

---

But Sunday is coming, you guys!

Sunday is coming! Christ rose up from the dead!

He conquered death and we are FREE!

Praise His Name, I AM FREE!

 

 

Seeking God

¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

I grew up in church. I participated in church functions. But I never searched after God. I never actively read my Bible as a teenager. I THOUGHT I was a Christian because I went to church and participated in events.

I was just going through the motions, however. And when I was 19 years old I finally found God. We had an evangelist come and speak at our church and it was a statement he made that got my attention and made me realize I was not who I thought I was. He told us, “You can be 99% sure about salvation but you’re still 100% lost. Right then, I realized I had all the head knowledge of God but no heart knowledge. And on March 16, 2003, I gave my life to Christ. I sought after God.

It will be 15 years on March 16th that I gave my life to the Lord. My spiritual birthday.

I’ve had my moments of weakness, however, and did stray from the Lord for some time in these past 15 years but last July I finally got serious and finally realized it was time to stop playing church. It was time to get serious about following the Lord.

God doesn’t hide from us! He wants to have a close relationship with us if we would just seek Him. And if we seek Him with all our heart and soul, we will find Him!

⁹ But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29

And so I rededicated my life to the Lord and have been in His Word ever since. The thought of living a life separate from God absolutely terrifies me. I don’t want to be anywhere where God isn’t.

Y’all….God is so awesome! I fall in love with Him every day. He has ways of showing Himself to me that just make me stand in awe of Him.

I want to be in God’s will. And I know that I must pick up my cross daily. I must deny myself and follow after Him. I know that I will have struggles. I’m currently in the midst of a struggle but I know without a doubt that the Lord is right here beside me and is in control.

Jesus is becoming my best friend. He is my Protector, my Prince of Peace, my All in all. He’s my Shepherd, my Comforter. He’s the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is worthy to be praised! He is my GOD!

Who is Jesus to you? 

 

Stop Remembering What God Has Forgotten

Do you have a tendency to remember your past sins that the Lord has already forgiven? Do you tend to harp on them?

I know I do. Sometimes I will harp on them, wondering how in the world God could forgive me. But here’s the thing: HE HAS!

If you have asked God to forgive you of your sins…..He has and He forgets them!

Psalm 103:12 says,

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgression from us.

And look at Isaiah 43:25!

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more.

Why harp on something that has already been forgotten?

I tend to harp on my past sins, thinking to myself “how could God forgive that?” I’m slowly learning to stop doing this. I’m slowly learning that when God has forgiven me of a sin, I am to do what he does: put it in the past and forget about it.

Is it hard? Well, yes, of course. It’s in our human nature to dwell on things. At least it is for me! 

But once God has forgiven our sins, we are FREE! Free from the bondage of sin. There is NO condemnation!

Romans 8:1-2 says:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you FREE from the law of sin and death.

What can separate us from Christ once we become a believer?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?……….No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:35, 37-39

Simply put, God loves you. And He longs to have a relationship with you. But until you confess your sins and become a believer, that sin you are harboring is separating you from Him.

Won’t you come to Him today?

 

From Panic to Peace

Photo by Dc Lovensky on Unsplash

When I was 17, I started having panic attacks. To this day, I have no idea where they came from. Nothing significant had occurred in my life. They just showed up. Out of nowhere.

 

One night, as I was trying to get to sleep, I had a major panic attack. It was so bad that my hands seized into a fist, my heart was racing super fast and I literally thought I was dying. My mom tried her level best to unclench my fists but she couldn’t. It was miserable. My mom told me later that when she put her hand over my heart, it felt like a heard of horses galloping.

Mom took me to an urgent care where the doctor put me on Xanax, which made my panic attacks worse. So they switched to Klonopin. I was on that for years and for the most part, it kept my panic attacks at bay. I would still have some but they weren’t nearly as bad.

Well, eventually, I had to stop taking the Klonopin because I no longer had insurance and so I couldn’t afford it. I started going to a clinic in my city that helps those who are uninsured and they put me on Lexapro. That stopped working so my doctor put me on Celexa which I am still on. And it works wonders. I still have minor setbacks but they are nowhere NEAR as bad as that one night when I was 17.

But you know what the best medicine is? God’s Word. I find that when I’m feeling even remotely anxious, I just turn to God’s Word and look up Scripture on anxiety.

Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Some people believe that medications are not needed and that just by having enough faith is enough. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe this. When a person has a panic disorder or suffers from depression, there is a chemical imbalance taking place in the brain. In some cases, medication is a necessity, as in my case. I tried to wean myself off my medications once and it was awful.

Photo by Bethany Laird on Unsplash

Some more Scripture you can read if you are feeling anxious:

 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:33-34

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.|
Jeremiah 29:11

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

 

We live in an anxiety-driven world. But God’s Word promises us that as His children, one day we will live in a peace-filled world! One day He is coming back for us and all of life’s worries will be gone! Can I get an AMEN!

 

Have you ever had a panic attack? What did it feel like to you?

On Trial

Photo by KEEM IBARRA on Unsplash

*If you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?*

 

I heard a variation of  this question years ago for the first time and it’s remained with me.

It always gets me to thinking about my relationship with God.

If I was arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?

Do people see Christ in me throughout my every day life or am I just going through the motions?

Matthew 7:21-23 says:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I don’t know about you but that passage has always frightened me. To have God turn to you and tell you He never knew you? Talk about scary!

I’m going to be raw here for a moment. Here is an excerpt from my prayer journal:

Am I living a life that pleases You, God? Or am I just trying to work my way into Heaven? I want to be a soul on fire for You! I want to glorify You in all I say and do.

Why is having a relationship with You so difficult for me sometimes? Why do I struggle with this?

Have I truly given my life to You? Is this Satan’s way of attacking me?

I long to live a life that glorifies God.  I want people to see me on the streets and think to themselves, “There’s something different about her.”

Satan definitely knows my weaknesses and is using them against me. I came across a great quote one day that helps me when I battle Satan like this:

There would be no inner battle if we were truly lost.

So on days like today when I’m “doubting my salvation”, I just read this quote and it reminds me that I AM saved. Satan is just trying his level best to make me believe otherwise.

Another quote I came across and I have hanging up in my room is this:

One of the key ways you can tell you’re saved is when your faith is continually leading you towards repentance and Jesus is continually bringing about change.

Matt Chandler

(I’m struggling with the putting words into sentences today (stupid Fibro fog) so if any of this sounds off, I’m sorry.)

Would there be enough evidence to convict you if you were arrested for being a Christian?

 

 

 

Battle for My Mind

Satan is constantly whispering in my ear, “You’re not good enough. You can’t do this. Just give up now.”

My inner voice responds to him “Shut up. You know nothing. Go away.”

Then it goes quiet. Nothing. No voices for a few minutes.

Then comes the voice that I have grown to know and love. The small still voice that is the Lord’s. He tells me I AM good enough. I AM able to do this. Don’t give up.”

I know what voice I need to listen to. It’s obvious. But Satan’s voice then comes roaring like a lion. It’s his voice versus God’s voice. They’re battling for my mind.

It’s a never-ending battle.

A battle for my mind, my heart, my soul.

Who will win?

Who will I LET win?

It’s up to me, really.

Who do I choose? God or Satan?

Heaven or Hell?

I choose God

I choose Heaven

But there are days where my actions clearly choose the opposite.

There are days I give in to temptation. I listen to Satan’s voice.

I forget momentarily who I am.

A child of the King.

I’ve let Him down once again.

But here’s the beauty of it. He will always take me back! He waits for me with arms wide open when I realize the error of my ways. When I realize how foolish I’ve been. When I realize that that missing piece in my heart is just a prayer away.

I’m a bipolar Christian with a desire to bring others to Christ. To help them see the error of their ways. To help them see that the missing piece in their heart is just a prayer away.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Being bipolar and a Christian is definitely not easy. I struggle daily with racing thoughts and distractions. Satan knows my weaknesses and uses them against me. I try my best to cling to God through these times but sometimes my fleshly desires kick in and I let go and try to go my way.

 

But then I hear His voice, ever so softly, urging me to return to Him. To reclaim the gift He gave me. The gift of salvation.

Redemption for my sins.

He loves me with an agape love. An unconditional love. An everlasting love. His love never fails. Is never rude. Is never harsh. He loves me.

Despite my failures

Despite my shortcomings.

Lord, it is my desire to please you. To live a life that glorifies You. It is my desire to bring others to you. Help me to stop being so scared. To stop being….well, me! You created me. You love me. You know what I can do, even if I don’t.

Lord, you have great plans for me. Point me in the right direction. I want to do Your will. I’m tired of trying to do it all on my own. Especially when we both know I can’t do it all on my own. I need You and I’m begging You to help me cling to You throughout all the hardships I am going through. You are teaching me something, Lord. Help me to understand what it is.

And He loves YOU just as much! He loves YOU the same way. 

Won’t you come to Him?

 

He Knows My Name

I’ve always loved this song but I’d never seen the video for it until today. I strongly encourage you to watch it. It’s about 12 minutes long but it’s totally worth it.

Francesca Battistelli-video

Spent today in a conversation
In the mirror face to face with
Somebody less than perfect
I wouldn’t choose me first if
I was looking for a champion
In fact, I’d understand if
You picked everyone before me
But that’s just not my story
True to who You are
You saw my heart
And made
Something out of nothing

I don’t need my name in lights
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I’m not living for applause
I’m already so adored
It’s all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh

I’m not meant to just stay quiet
I’m meant to be a lion
I’ll roar beyond a song
With every moment that I’ve got
True to who You are
You saw my heart
And made
Something out of nothing

I don’t need my name in lights
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I’m not living for applause
I’m already so adored
It’s all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh

He calls me chosen, free forgiven, wanted, child of the King
His forever, held in treasure
I am loved

I don’t need my name in lights
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes

I don’t need my name in lights
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I’m not living for applause
I’m already so adored
It’s all His stage
He knows my name
He knows my name oh, oh
He knows my name

Happy Single’s Awareness Day!

EditYou know, there was a time where I would get so depressed about not having a special someone on Valentine’s Day.

Then it dawned on me. I have the BEST Valentine in Jesus! He loves me so much and has never left me despite the many times I’ve failed Him and tried to push Him away.

He loves me so much that He sent His only Son to die for me so that I wouldn’t die in sin. My sins are paid for. What more could a person want?

So if you’re single this Valentine’s Day just remember….there IS someone out there who loves you unconditionally. His name is Jesus and He longs to have a relationship with you. 🙂

 

And don’t forget…TOMORROW is half priced candy day! 🙂