IGNORE: Leave the Past Behind

When I logged on to my favorite social networking site, the two little red ones glaring in the top left corner of the screen alerted me that I had a new friend request and a new message in my inbox.  When I clicked the friend request tab, I was totally taken aback by the face staring back at me and furthermore, by the message in my inbox.

It read: “It’s been a long time. You’re still beautiful I see. We should catch up.”

“Wow! Really?  Is this a joke, God?” I thought aloud.  I looked around to see if Ashton Kutcher would jump out and tell me that I was being Punk’d.  But I wasn’t.

A familiar face from deep within my past had re-emerged after almost a decade.  I hadn’t seen or spoken to this guy since our ugly split that left me broken and empty.  Although I’ve long let go of the harsh feelings I had towards him, re-opening that door to my past was something I refused to do. 

Click to read more ...

God Will Help You OVERCOME Any Hardship

For the past few weeks, I have had an insatiable craving for Chinese food – sweet & sour chicken with a side of mixed vegetables, to be exact.  My boys love the fortune cookies, so they are ecstatic about mommy’s current food of choice, because that means they get to indulge in one of their favorite snacks every time we visit the local Chinese takeout restaurant. 

One thing we enjoy doing before the boys ravage the cookies is pulling out the little white strip of paper tucked inside, and reading the “fortune.”  We usually get random sayings that make us laugh, but on this particular day, we got a really good one.

“Alright now” I said as I read, and I waved my hand in the air.

“What does it say, Ma?” my oldest son inquired.

“God will help you overcome any hardship,” I responded.

Click to read more ...

Endure the Process: The Discomfort Leads to Destiny

Last week, my husband Jeremy and I received some really exciting news.  We are expecting our fourth little blessing, predicted to arrive at the onset of Spring 2013.  We adore our three sons, so adding another sweet pea to the bunch has our hearts overjoyed.

I am already head over heels for the precious little life growing inside of me; however, in all of my exuberance, there’s one thing that I am not so thrilled about – morning sickness.  Well, in my case, morning, afternoon, and evening sickness.  It never ends.  Although I know it will soon subside, and a beautiful blessing will come at the end of it all, it’s the one unpleasant part of the process I wish I could skip altogether.  But I can’t, so I may as well embrace it, right?

I remember feeling that same way while enduring the tough process of allowing the Lord to transform my life.  There were some tears I wished I didn’t have to cry; some friends I wished I didn’t have to lose;  some struggles I wished I didn’t have to go through; and some mental battles I wished I didn’t have to fight.  But you know what?  No matter how much I resented what I had to face in order to be groomed and developed into who the Lord destined me to be, I understood that there was no way to avoid the breaking, pruning, purging, and refining process.  If I wanted the blessing of new life awaiting me on the other side of my unwelcomed circumstances, I knew I had to go through it all.

Click to read more ...