Inmate

When forced to handle things we thought we never would
we transcend the fears of the past, and enter into new courage.

We realize it's all in our minds, and we can face anything.
God gives new strength for today!   He is our unending source.

Bringing old fears close to our hearts,  chance for new grace.
Grace is always fresh, as it comes just when we need it.

The liberation found in stepping over the threshold and learning
it is all in how we view our lives and the challenges that lay before us.

The Glory we feel when we have escaped the fright, and renewed our
sense of self, and the overcoming we have progressed toward.

Freedom comes one day at a time, triumphing through battle after battle.
We do come into a spacious place, and our reward is our victory!   Selah.

Irony

The very thing we desire for our lives, 
we feel we are not worthy of having.
The result of this belief is sabotage.

The more we are capable of loving another
the less we are wanted by the sorry foe.
Ironic indeed!    How sad that we trash our lives this way.

What it must do to the Father's heart, 
to see His children hurt themselves.
Pushing love away as they don't believe they are worthy.

Where is the breakthrough? 
When will we reject the lie
and come home to the Father's house?   

Love Anyway

Personal growth blossoms when we don't get our way.
When we experience disappointment and hurt.
Knowing the Father is always there to hold us up,
when we can feel that we are drowning.  

He's a good Daddy, and He's reliable!   
When others are simply being human
with their respective limitations, it's our
awesome opportunity to grow further into Him.

My desire for this New Year is to know Him more.
To get closer to my Father in Heaven, and to
His Son, my Savior and Redeemer.   To know a
greater anointing of the Holy Spirit for my life.

When all is gone, and I am alone, my sorrow
turns to Joy as I press into my Lord.   I can know
Him better in my desert times.  There is a living
testimony of my loneliness, as He is my overflow!   

No surprises

God knows the secret to getting our attention.
It is only in the muck and mire that we can be real.

For me getting in touch with my negative emotions
is the hardest thing in the world.     Yet, He continues
to draw us.

Sitting and feeling, ouch!   Who wants to do that?!  
God cares about every emotion I have, He only wishes I would.

We can come kicking and screaming, or we can get to the end
of ourselves, and cry out, and He's been waiting here all along!  

Selah.

Stepping Out

We can't be afraid of opening up our hearts,

love is messy, uncertain, but predictably colorful.

It is priceless to connect to our own insides.

To have a healthy love for ourselves.

Too often we have gone through our lives like robots,

being completely shut down emotionally.  

It's a sickness, it's called, "dead"! 

Knowing God is the beginning of life.

It is only through His love, that we can 

begin to take chances with our hearts.  Selah.

Secret

Does He hide His face from us? 
What is He seeking? 
Will we pass the test?
We need strength upon strength
to overcome.

Five years of growth in one.
Smoking furnace.  Truly being
refined as gold.  When there
is nothing left, but our relationship
with Him, we are changed.

We are overcoming and accomplishing
His goals for us.  As we listen in prayer,
we receive the next step, and then
the next.   Our focus gets sharpened,
and we come in closer to His bosom.

It is true, that in the fires, we are
molded into His image, of grace, love,
compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and
encouragement.   He will never leave us!
Selah.

Surprised

Don't be surprised when God uses you,
a broken vessel.   The deeper the pain,
the sweeter the wine.  Easy to say,
after we have experienced His Glory.

You may wonder, 'how' can He use me?
I am so flawed, and still in process.
I am amazed at His continual goodness
and faithfulness to me!  

If He has to continually break me, to
keep me soft in heart, and mallible in
His hands, so be it.  There is no sweeter
place than in the arms of my Beloved!