 Have you ever come to the realization the way you are living is not leading to life but actually feels like darkness has entered? It’s not the abundant life the bible talks about or life-giving to the people around you. It’s not the life you hear about at church or the one you imagined you would live.
Do you ever think, “I want more of God but I don’t know where to begin.” Or even laid in your bed in the dark of the night and pondered about your day and said out loud, “Why did I say that or Why did I do that?” There is no perfect person in this world. Even the person we perceive as a strong Godly person makes mistakes. The beauty of the Lord and Savior is today your life can be rebuilt. So many people get stuck and truly don’t know where to begin to change their life because they feel there are just too many areas that need changing. Maybe for the first time, you are hearing negative, ugly words coming out of your mouth. Maybe you have become aware that you are judging people in your mind daily. Maybe for the first time ever, you are aware of things your hands have been doing that embarrass you now. Maybe your feet have walked in places that you know God would not approve or your eyes have looked at images, movies, and tv shows you know down deep in your heart you should not be watching. These are the areas that are broken in our lives as it relates to our spiritual walk with God. Until these areas are repaired, do not expect to experience the real joy of the Lord or to ride on the heights of the land or feast on the inheritance of Jacob (Gen 28:13-14, Gen 35:10-12). Let me pause and reiterate the inheritance of Jacob that is ours to inherit: land, innumerable descendants, and blessings from the Lord. We deprive ourselves of this inheritance if we chose to remain as we are. We deprive our children. We must choose to create a new us; to build a better you. In doing so, our lives will be enriched. So, where do you begin if you don’t know where to begin. First, above all, we must receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I know this can be a scary phrase for those that have lived most of their lives in sin but we, the people, the sinners, are the very people Jesus died for on the cross. We are the very people Jesus loved so much that He sacrificed His life so that we may receive the gift of salvation. Maybe Jesus already lives in your heart and you are saved but you know there are areas in your life that you need to rebuild. Start with one of those areas to rebuild. As Christians, we have to remind ourselves, we do not need to reach perfection to call upon the Lord. It’s quite the opposite. We call upon the Lord in our sin, in our imperfect life, and in our need for broken pieces of our life to be repaired. For me, I find one area of my life that I feel is broken and I look up the antonym of that word and then I take that word and look up all the scriptures about that word and start reading those scriptures. I study those scriptures and learn how to specifically change in that area. Then I pray and ask God to help me as I rebuild this area in my life. And, oh yes, remember Field of Dreams and Ray kept hearing “build it and he will come?” People thought he was crazy when he actually plowed his cornfield to build the baseball field. His wife was skeptical at first and his brother in law couldn’t see what Ray saw. Yes, this. This will probably happen to you. Family and friends may not understand your desire to rebuild some areas of your life but do it anyway. Can I tell you a secret? The reason you even see an area in your life that needs rebuilding is God has opened your eyes. He wants us to live a life in abundance but we have to change some areas of our life to experience this life in abundance. As we invite the Lord to rebuild areas that are broken, we will see our joy return; we will become aware that the arm of the Lord is not too short to save. No longer will the Lord’s ears be too dull to hear us. No longer will the Lord’s face be hidden from us because of our sins. All this happens because we invite the Lord into our brokenness; to rebuild us. And don’t forget it opens the gate wide open for us to receive the inheritance of Jacob: the land, the innumerable descendants, and the blessings of the Lord! Build it and He will come and not only come once but when we build a new us, He will come and come and come.
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 In late August of 2017, God laid on my heart to begin to pray His great and precious promises for our family. As I started studying the bible and looking at all His promises in His word, I could not believe how many were in the bible. I am committing to pray all His great and precious promises from Matthew to Revelation in 2018. There are about 250 promises in the New Testament. I believe, as a wife and Mom, one of the greatest gifts I can give my husband and my children is prayer. I have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord over the years as I prayed for specific requests. I believe in the power of prayer. Prayer can literally change the path your husband or children are on. Prayer is that space carved out to hear the voice of the Lord; to approach our Savior and be in His presence. It is a time where we can come empty and depleted and leave full and refreshed. It is a time to believe that victory for your family is coming.
Today’s great and precious promise is the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus stated in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in the spirit refers to a person who is humble and meek; a person who knows they need God and gives themselves over to Him. Jesus says this person is blessed and will receive the kingdom of heaven. Lord, I praise Your mighty name and thank You the kingdom of heaven is one of your great and precious promises for us. Father, I hold up my children to you today. There are so many people with so many voices trying to get the attention of my children. I thank You that Your voice is the voice they hear over all the other voices. I come against arrogant behavior and pride in my children. I release a spirit of meekness and humility in my children. I thank You they will not be so full of themselves and self-absorbed that they do not see Your will and Your way for their life. I thank You they recognize they need you, Lord, in every area of their life. I thank You that today You are filling them up with the fullness of Christ. I stand in the gap for my children. I pray Your love is poured out on and in them today. I pray that You are alive in them today. I thank You no weapon formed against them shall prosper. I thank You that the kingdom of heaven is theirs! In Jesus’ name, Amen.  It's a brand new year! I love the "new" in the beginning of a new year. It's almost like a big fat reset button to do things we wish we had done better last year. It's that fresh start, a time to begin again, For some, it's about wiping the slate clean. For me, it's about going forward and building on all that happened in 2017 and doing it better than last year. It's about being intentional as a child of God, a daughter of my King! It's a time to believe, have faith, and hope for all that God has for me and my family in 2018. I want my children to get excited about a new year. I want them to be intentional about stepping back and praying and thinking about how they can do better this year, I want them to grow deeper in their faith. I created this New Year's Resolution template for our family last year and updated it for 2018. It's great to do as a family. Feel free to download and use for your family. Happy New Year! 
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Hello and Welcome!
Wife, Mother, Adoption Advocate, Writer
Who am I? Galatians 2:20 does a great job of summing up who I am. My life is His, the One who loves me and gave Himself for me . In return, I want to be all He wants me to be and do all He wants me to do on this side of Heaven. 
Recipient of the Angels in Adoption Award 2016. A program of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in Washington D.C.
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