Category: Love


Dec
2013

New Year, New Clothes, Happy 2014!

categories: Love

Yesterday is gone, yet we can look back and see where change can be made. Today is here for us to thrive and embrace each moment. Tomorrow comes only through the grace of God and when it does, He has already been there. He goes before us to clear the way so that we will not fall.

When I think of the past year, it reminds me of old clothes I need to shed.  My slacks now sit above my ankles, the cuff of my blouse is frayed, and the collar of my shirt has lost its button. Yes, they are worn out and too small now. It is time for new clothing. Clothing that does not wear out. The kind that grows with me and makes me shine like a lamp on a hill!

It is only fitting that I fall to my knees today and cry out to the only One who can hear me. Today is the last day of the year, the cusp of a new season and the mark of seven years since gaining freedom. Though it might sometimes feel like it, I am never alone. He is with me, and His promise is that not one can stand against me. He the great Overcomer and through Him, I’ll do the same.

Before I rise from my knees, I dry my tears and envelop myself in His clothes. He provides a helmet for my head, a shield over my chest, a belt to wrap around my waist, and shoes for my feet. I have His sword and I place my confidence in Him. He is my security in all things.

This is the eternal flame that rises higher leaving yesterday as a burning ember, today as a flickering flame and tomorrow as a united heavenly host of flames.

I’m ready to put the old behind me and bring in the new. Today is the end of 2013, tomorrow, the beginning of 2014. What will you leave behind? What will you add to your wardrobe that will spark the flame?

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Oct
2013

No Shoes

categories: Freedom, Listening, Love

Two Different Shoes_No shoes_102513She walked in about ten minutes late so concerned about her tardiness. “I don’t even think I can tell you what happened to me.” She began trying to tell me why she was late before I could say anything. “I really think I am just getting dumb,” and she went on “I can’t remember anything anymore.”

I was certain it had to do with her being inundated with information. I knew she was going through a difficult time.  “I’m late. I walked in early and looked down at my feet, and I was barefoot.” Smiling and almost laughing as I envisioned the scene, I explained, “It really isn’t that unusual. I’ve worn two different colored shoes to the office before. I’ve known many other women who have done the same thing.”

Me sharing my personal experience seemed to put her at ease a little and when I looked down at her feet that were turning blue, I had to ask, “Where did you get shoes,  you said you are barefoot?” “Oh, Allison, I ran to the consignment store and then to my daughter’s favorite boutique across the parking lot.” I kept smiling thinking how resourceful she was to go to a store instead of driving all the way home. She kept talking, “The consignment store had nothing my size and the boutique didn’t either.” I was a little confused. After all, she did have shoes on.  “Where did you get your shoes?” She looked at me like a cat with a mouse in its mouth, “I got a size too small at the boutique, my feet are squished into them.”

Isn’t this just the way we do things sometimes in our lives? We rush around in a panic looking to find something that will fit and when we don’t find it, we settle by forcing it.

When is the last time you forced something and not let it take its natural course? Did it hurt you or anyone else?

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Jul
2013

Pressing On

categories: Love

I keep pressing on to reach the goal. Just like when building a house, writing this book has required a complete stripping of the land, removal of any unstable ground and grading before pouring the footings and level foundation. It’s a laborious work. It requires revisiting events and emotions I didn’t care to experience again. But the process has been good. My life has improved and the writing has become more precious and alive. Sometimes I ask myself, “Why have you spent all these years on this one project,” and I hear a whisper, “Publish His glorious deeds, tell everyone what He has done.” I look back at changes in me and the life reborn. Coming from desperation and looking for love without Him to being loved into having a purpose with Him is all it takes to keep me pressing on. Our amazing Creator gave His Son to die for me. It took nearly four decades of deep and paralyzing pain, major stumbling and falling down, so far I thought I might not ever get up. In the midst of it all something happened. Our Creator got my attention. I don’t believe my rebellion could have ended without divine intervention. When I look at life today, I’m thankful. Thankful that all I went through drove me so far away that I had no where else to turn but to the loving compassion of our merciful Savior and Lord. I’m confident He knew I could bear no more. A life of peace, joy and love from the beginning might have changed everything. With all my flaws, He showed me His love.

He rescued me. I didn’t deserve it and wasn’t  looking for it. How could I look for something I didn’t know? He redeemed me through His greatest gift! Sharing the wonderful things He has done through this book is an honor. It’s not a real pretty package neatly tied with a ribbon. It’s painful, but  light came. I want to tell you all about that light and love. That’s why I went back  . . . so you won’t have to. I let Him rebuild my house, forming me and shaping me in His way and for His purpose, in a way beyond anything I might imagine.

I did much of the painful work to guide you there too! Maybe it will save you some time and you will opt out of further shattered dreams and broken heartedness.

____________________________________________________________________________

It has been a long road. It all started more than forty-five years ago. Today, the last few strokes are down and the weight is lifting. Finally, the story of my life, the grave places I visited, the lost and blind life I led is down on paper. But who cares about all that? The good part is what happened in the middle of all that.  In the middle of the darkness and on the road that led to hell. . . there was revelation of truth and love! There was a rescue and in this rescue came forgiveness, peace and grace. Now, lived out on the other side after five years, I share the story. The truth about why (more…)


Apr
2013

Love of Our Creator

categories: Christ, Love, Protection
...and the greatest of these is love.
…and the greatest of these is love.
God is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him and welcomes us into His lap of comfort with wide open arms. No matter where we have walked, what we suffer, where we are afflicted, He waits patiently to lavish His love upon us! Nothing is too hard for Him and through Him we can do all things.
Jesus, our perfect model of love, came to die for our forgiveness and so we might live. He exhibited for us an amazing life submitted to God in all the days He walked on earth as man. Let us look to Jesus, the Holy King of Israel, to learn how to love one another from the depths of our hearts and souls. Never, does Jesus abandon, never does He withhold, never does He punish, never does He condemn, never are we alone.
He is our protector, our provider and our guide. In these amazing three words, we see how to care for one another in our family and the family (more…)
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Mar
2012

Letting Go

categories: Love

One of the most empowering things I have learned to do is “Let Go” of the control in my life.  I have learned to live my life realizing that the best way I can make a difference is to begin with where I need to improve, asking God to help me.

I have also learned there are some people that have not yet learned this lesson. They spend way too much time looking at others and pointing fingers trying to tear their lives down, rather than using words to build one up. These people are unable to look in the mirror and see the error of their ways. Many times it can be because those closest to them do not model a better way. There is a loving way to communicate to a loved one that what they are saying or doing is hurtful, thoughtless and arrogant. On the flip side, be very wise about where you point your finger. Many a person will turn to be your enemy if you point at them. Only those ready to receive constructive criticism accept it and use it to improve. It has also been said that those who point their finger are telling a lot about them selves. Kind of like looking in a mirror. Taking the log our of our own eyes before we try to tell someone about a tiny speck of dirt in theirs is crucial in creating change from love.

The bottom line is that we all have done things we are not proud of and we know it. There is forgiveness readily available. We can self examine, ask God for the strength to help us change and work toward that end. That is where we will begin to see change happen around us. Using the Serenity Prayer can be helpful to us in these times. Thinking on things that are uplifting, look for the good in others and realizing that we have a great influence on others through what we say and how we live our own lives can be an amazing way to effect change without interfering and creating enemies.

“God, Grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

and the Wisdom to know the difference.”