THE TREE OF LIFE

Herein lies the message of the Gospel:

I  have received the gracious gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In turn, He must truly become the only Lord of my life. Confession, repentance, healing, restoration and a divine calling all spring from this gift of grace.  To bear fruit for His glory, I must continually go through the process of dying to self, establishing Him as Lord over everything in my life. Everything! True freedom from the things of this world that entangle us and lead us, deceptively, down the road to destruction.

The roots of my salvation grow and dig deeper as I am developing my relationship with Him through much prayer and fasting. I must remain on bended knee and entrenched in His Word to remain grounded in His truth. Continually feasting on His Bread of Life and His Living Water. 

He will bring me through that gate and down the narrow road that leads to the New Jerusalem. I will rid myself of sin and idols through obedience, submission, relationship, suffering sacrifice, shepherding and surrendering ALL. For His glory. If I remain grounded, humble and continue to grow, I will inherit the Kingdom, by His work on the cross and through the empowerment of His Spirit within me! 

This life is the abundant life: submission, transformation and devotion to our God bearing much spiritual fruit in my life for His glory! 

Galatians 5:13-22

13 For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is summarized in a single statement: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do. 18 But if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

19 Now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, 21 envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 Now those who belong to the Messiah Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also be guided. 26 Let’s stop being arrogant, provoking one another and envying one another.

WHAT IS 'FAMILY?'

Alone. Lonely. Lonesome. Solitary. Abandoned. By oneself. Unaccompanied. Words that sound empty, sad, painful. Things we usually want to avoid at all costs. There are certainly a lot of negative connotations associated with these words.

Truth be told, I've struggled off and on throughout my days with these negative words associations. Have spent quite a bit of time by myself. I'm an only child. My dad traveled a lot so both my mom and I spent a lot of time alone. I had a very small extended family whose members lived in the Midwest and East coast (we're on the West coast) so we rarely saw them. I married into a small family whose members were again in the Midwest and East coast and somewhat estranged from each other so it has been just my husband, myself and our two kids. And, unfortunately, we now have only one surviving parent between the two of us.  

As God would have it, I ran across this beautiful verse last year during a season in my life where I was feeling very isolated:  

God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. Psalms 68:6

I clung to this verse that day and have never let go. "God sets the solitary in families"..... I truly seek claim to that promise and look for it on a daily basis. And, He is faithful and good to fulfill it. But never does He do things in the way we expect....


Over the years, He didn't give me more additions to my physical family; however, He has brought a few people into my life that I can call friend or look at them as family. He has increased my family by giving us an extended spiritual one. Through church, homeschooling and bible study. Many of these giving people bless me in ways my physical family never could. And, yes, the Lord does fill our cup to overflowing in His perfect timing. 

A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

As you might imagine, birthdays and certain holidays are among the most difficult for me to be without family. You really tend to sense how 'alone' you are on days where tradition is to gather together with family. Especially birthdays. We all like to be celebrated on our special day. Even after all these years, I still like to be remembered on that day.   

I just celebrated another year of life. Honestly, I was dreading it. I did my own birthday chant: "Nothing special. Rarely remembered. No expectations...." This year was different.  I received the nicest gifts, cards, and Facebook notes from sweet friends in all my 'families'!  Just when I needed it most. Those cards and comments are like treasure to me. Little nuggets of gold! A sweet birthday gift in the form of a promise fulfilled from the One who loves me most....

"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Your kindnesses never go unnoticed especially by the One who really matters.  God shows His amazing love in many ways including those beautiful random acts of kindness through others. Never miss an opportunity to reach out to those you come in contact with to extend a word of thanks, appreciation or encouragement. Reach out to those who need 'family'. Be inclusive. Love on 'em any way you can! Even the smallest of gestures can make a huge difference to those whose tanks need filling. Bless others in this way and you will be blessed!

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13

A NEW VIEW

For today, let us place no limits on ourselves in being willing to step outside our comfort zones for the benefit of others.

For today, let us place no boundaries on our love for others whether they be our family, our friends, our neighbor, the poor, the selfish, or the hurting.

For today, let us free ourselves from having expectations of others and expect more from ourselves.

For today, let us truly ask ourselves what we would and should do if there is no tomorrow, embrace it, and live it.

For today, let us show a kindness or give a gift to someone who least expects or deserves it.

For today, let us live our lives for someone else rather than for ourselves.

For today, let us give more than we take, listen more than we talk, and share more than we borrow.

For today, let us use the gift of time toward things of long lasting purpose and legacy rather than on entertainment remembering that time is a most precious gift and, once used, we never ever get it back.

For today, let us give Him this day fully trusting Him to set our path and see what wonderful things He has in store for us rather than planning every moment and filling our lives with busyness.

For today, let us stop striving and stressing to be at the 'top' of the heap in things that are temporary and impersonal; let us start living with simplicity and emphasis on the lasting relationships in our lives.

For today, let us see this gift of life through God's eyes and humbly ask Him to give us His eternal perspective on all things and hope in the life to come.


James 4:13 - Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”


Proverbs 16:7 - When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Matthew 6:19 - “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.