We make destinations out of our dreams and then reach for recognition. The accolades solidify our success.
But if the source of light goes out, the world won’t see the work anyhow.
God is light. God is love.
So share more smiles and be kind to hands reaching out today. Lock eyes and be generous with your love.
When we get to the end of this life, the only thing that lasts is the love we leave in all the footsteps following behind.
If He never did another thing, the very Truth that He saved my soul is enough for ceaseless praise.
But then He went further and gave a family who loves me, friends who would die for me, and a job that fills my hands with something to do.
If He never healed the diseases inside… If He never sent a spouse to share life with or a sweet child to care for… If He never answered another prayer, the life He’s already given is enough to fill all of time with praise.
When your praises go up, He sends a rain of blessings pouring down.
Beware of what’s convenient.
I’ve never known the devil to offer something that takes work.
Don’t pass up what you need for something you want.
Relationships. Your job. Discipline with your money and health.
What looks easy now will require work to clean up later.
Don’t settle. Stay true to your convictions.
I always wanted to save the world; every homeless man and all the hungry children. My parents thought I’d outgrow it. I never did. I also wanted to be a crime-solving detective so I took investigative reporting for a test drive and found I’m an activist at heart.
Death will shatter walls of insecurity and take away the excuses to wait another day to do what you want to do. My brother was just a year younger than me. Losing my best friend as a teenager unveiled the deep seeded strength my soul found in God; a faith that had been nurtured morning after morning through searching the scriptures for the mystery beneath it all.
My aim is to inspire myself to move forward every day. From the overflow, I hope to inspire female confidence in others. We are so conditioned as women to hate on ourselves and reject compliments. Many of us have been taught that men validate a woman’s self-esteem so we’re left empty when there’s not a ‘he’ in our lives. We have to start by encouraging ourselves and then strive for healthy female influences to fill us. Then maybe we would find our attention in loving others.
The greatest lesson I’ve learned is to let whatever I do today be enough. If I run two miles and don’t lift weights afterward, it’s okay. I know that I’m enough. Successful enough, smart enough, pretty enough, healthy enough.
There was a time I trusted every single person and was teased for being so naïve. Too many lies and lessons later, I’ve learned to listen to my intuition and the Spirit’s leading. My heart still feels open and I’m ever madly in love with people, yet by the grace of God, I’m also more rooted in reading situations and have come to understand this heart needs protecting.
Thus, over the years, my skin has thickened and my heart softened.
Leaning into love a little more, I’m more obliged to let a man open my door than do it all on my own. And I bask in this sweet gesture. Saying no to someone who offers to help is closing a door.
Doing what I fear helps crack open the seed that helps me grow. I read somewhere that a human’s greatest fear is being alone. When I watch the world spin over the axis of careers, material, and relationships, this conclusion is certainly true for my own life. Taking the leap into living alone, traveling as a party of one, and remaining content as a single woman has been the biggest journey of faith for me.
I’m a believer in the impact of healthy habits, not just physically but emotionally as well. A morning routine of quiet time over coffee has a profound effect on my life. It is essential and helps me to live in the moment. 
I’ve gotten better at slowing down and being more mindful of myself. My pride used to thrive on crushing it at work, crushing it at the gym, but leaving my mental health at bay. Getting up at 5 a.m. helps me claim the first part of my day in solitude without competing demands for what keeps me grounded. This is my sweet spot. There’s morning runs or afternoons in weight training. Monthly massages have been a game changer.
My focus is to commit to few demands, narrow the numbers and deepen each one as far as we can go together. Primarily, I look for shoulders wearing interesting layers and vulnerable souls who demonstrate strength over their emotions.
If we were to spend a dreamy day together, it would begin over coffee, unraveling our hearts in the Word. The sun would smile brightly and we would nod to how marvelous He has made this life. I just imagine in the end, that the moon would find us around a fire laughing at how crazy and adventurous this life really is.
I am blessed, beautiful, confident, secure, forgiven, redeemed, talented, qualified, prosperous, disciplined, focused, creative, prepared, equipped, empowered, anointed, accepted, healed, and approved.
With layers of humility, I accept the abundance of love, joy, and peace that spills from heaven into the depths of my soul.
I am motivated to be more than average or mediocre; I am a child of the Most High God.
Victory follows me all the days of my life.
I dare you to declare this over your life every day of 2016. With bold authority in Jesus’ name, I can tell you that your year won’t be crowned in just goodness, but also in supernatural healing, unmerited favor and bountiful breakthroughs. Amen.
Starting isn’t easy.
Yesterday just wasn’t mine to move forward. I didn’t work out. Didn’t work on my dreams. Didn’t work on much of anything.
On the first day of the year, I was still in the starting blocks as the calendar took off.
Last night, I laid in bed talking my goals off the ledge of failure because here’s what I know about the race we’re in:
You don’t have to be at the front of the pack to finish.
Today is another chance. On your mark. Get set… Go!
Whether you did things right in 2015, stumbled through it or couldn’t seem to get a solid footing on being brave, December 31st is the moment we all toss out the past. Calendars are on their last day. Most pocket planners peak at this moment. Many goals are measured with an end-of-the-year deadline. No matter if you achieved your goal(s) or abandoned them, we all flip open to the first page tomorrow and begin again.
If you want to fan a fire that sets your future ablaze, breathe the air of a ferocious prayer at the base of the future’s flame. January 1st is as close to the bottom, the beginning, as we can get.
The intensity of flavors in a fiery prayer can keep us at the table lingering in our petition with the Lord. I can’t think of a better place to be when there’s a plate piled high taking up residency in my mind that I need to release.
Carve out some time to stir in seasoned supplications you asked for last year and have yet to see. Stay longer and let the taste of these bold requests mix with the sweet intimacy of Jesus. This kind of meal will drown out the blandness of living with anything less than a constant craving for more time at the table.
There are a few personal pieces you may want to add to this prayer starter here, so I encourage you to use a sharp pair of scissors to trim off the excess and tailor the threads of thanksgiving and surrender to custom fit your life.
In Jesus Name, we come before you with boldness. We thank you, Jesus, that we are your sons and daughters and we can approach your throne at any time because of what you did on the cross.
Lord, I thank you for the work that you did on the cross. You did the work so that we can rest. We shake off the worry and anxiety that has us pinned beneath your best.
We pray for a baptism soaking in grace that brings new levels of restoration to these desires You have planted in our soul. We pray for a refreshment of hope in 2016.
Lord, for those who have been working and striving to achieve that love from you, I pray for your power to strengthen their spiritual muscles so that they can shake off this work mentality right now and receive rest and grace and the peace that is only found in you. Lord, You did the work so that we could rest and receive all that is in store for us, in Jesus Name.
In Jesus Name, we receive the wisdom that only you could give us, Father; wisdom to make the right decisions in our careers, with relationships, over our finances and the future. Lord, we thank You now that the Holy Spirit counsels us, comforts us and is the director of our story.
Father, Your word says that we can plan our way, so we bring you our plans for the new year and we lay them at the altar of your will. We acknowledge there are things You see in our future that need adjustment to our plans today, so we lift up to You these goals and ask You to establish our way.
We trust You to lead us into the right appointments this year. We believe that you are setting us up even at this moment with divine meetings in 2016. You are opening every right door and closing every wrong door, and we thank You that You guide us and lead us with peace. And that You are making a way even when there seems to be no way.
With each choice we make, Your Word says that your peace will be the presiding sign that points to the direction we must go. So still the contents of our heart to remain calm in the storms so that we may see this sign.
Lord Jesus, our desire is to act with more courage these days. Strengthen our resilience to say ‘no’ in the name of love and rest and grace, and creating more memories with the people we care for. You are the God who loves us and will bring new life to our worn-out hearts. Fill us also, Lord with the audacity to say ‘yes’ to the talents you have entrusted to us.
Creator of heaven and earth, we acknowledge you have planted a dream in our hearts and interwoven uniqueness that’s exclusive to the story we’ve been living. We’ve been wrestling with doubts because our eyes are still fixed on our weakness. Empower us with the courage to lift our mind above the colossal concern that we’re not worthy enough. Restore the joy in this gifting and help us to refocus the fears to the mere satisfaction that we receive when we’re working out of this skill.
We ask that the noise would recede and the most important things are made clear and lovely. Detach our doing from our being in our minds and open our hearts to the transforming power of being still. Our prayer is that we’ll find ourselves drawn closer to the heart of Your story.
In Jesus’ name, I thank you that You are providing us with everything we need according to Your riches in glory, Lord. We are not limited to our bank account. We are connected to the right hand of the Father who has unlimited resources to dispense to His children.
Lord, I thank you for financial miracles happening right now; debts are being canceled and running over blessings are being poured out.
Lord, I thank you for your healing, in Jesus’ name. That every cell, bone, ligament, tissue, and organ is being brought back to the way they are supposed to be operating, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, I thank you that addictions are being conquered, that strongholds are being released and that chains are being broken even at this moment that we speak it into the atmosphere.
Lord, we declare and we believe that whom the Son has set free is free indeed. Thank you, Father for changing the palette of our desires, the contents of our heart and the thoughts consuming our mind.
We know that You cause all things to work for good to those who are in Christ Jesus, so we acknowledge our inheritance as victors of this world and not victims. Lord, because of You, we will prosper. Because of You, Jesus, we are moving from strength to strength and glory to glory!
Heavenly Father, our prayer is that we will live on fire with hope, fully engaged with intention, alive in our passions, and offering generous amounts of grace as we embrace every opportunity to love in 2016.
May we live fully, deeply, and more courageously with greater impact in our present places. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As a contributor to “liftupyourday.com”, this article first appeared on December 28, 2015.
The new year is starting whether you’ve got a plan for great things or just living on prayer that it won’t be like the last one.
My prayer is that discover the potential God placed under your fingertips and reach for what you haven’t tapped into yet.
You may have climbed the ladder in 2015, but the gifts you were given last season aren’t the same as what’s coming to you in the next. You were designed to grow into new opportunities and talents over time. So although you may be satisfied with where you are, God has new levels for you beyond this point.
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” – Frederick Buechner
You may have to give up contentment to get a little uncomfortable so that God can cultivate his gifting. As long as you keep honoring God and developing your talent, the oil that belongs to you will not flow to anybody else. God will get you to where you are supposed to be.
David spent his days in the shepherd’s field slinging stones with the sheep until a moment came when God put this small, seemingly useless hobby to work defeating a giant. This victory let David to the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 16 – 17)
Maybe you know what God wants you to do but your talent has gone dormant because you haven’t been disciplined to develop it any further. You might be stuck in an overwhelmed schedule or intimidated by fear that you’re not good enough. Doubt that you’ll be able to stick with it and end up reverting back to your routine after a while.
Failure says ‘what if… what if… what if…’
Faith says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6)
Sometimes we see heroes of faith and think they have it all figured out. But God asks us to do things afraid so that we will lean into Him on faith. If we had all the confidence, courage and strength to do it on your own, we wouldn’t run to Him as the source.
The Father’s gifts were never meant to pressure you. When you’re tempted to ‘wait for the perfect time’ to get out of your comfort zone, lean into the resistance and remind yourself this is an excuse. There is no perfect time. Daring to take the first step is difficult for a reason. Pressing against resistance makes you grow.
God has invested gifts in you and He’s expecting a return on that investment. Like the servants with the master’s money, God is looking for the willing to carry out his plan. (Matthew 25:14-30)
Keep using what God is giving to you and He’ll continue to pour out more through you.
So start the stirring now by praying for this dwelling passion to grow. Stretch your imagination and reframe those intimidations into inspiration. It’s time to turn down the distractions, stop discounting this gift and get focused. It’s time to fan the flame of your blessing.
God has a hedge of protection around you and your future that cannot be penetrated without permission. You don’t have to live worried.
Heavenly Father, develop in us this gift with your grace, your favor, your wisdom, and your strength. Stir up a storm of passion for your blessing and equip us with the courage to get out of our comfort zone this year. To You be all the glory and honor as your work is being revealed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
