Month: May 2025

True Freedom

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He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 25:8

On Memorial Day in America we look back on the sacrifices that were made to gain and protect our freedom. These are good things to reflect on and be grateful for, remembering we weren’t owed such sacrifices yet they are the catalyst to our current lifestyle. Remembering is good in cases like this.

Sometimes remembering can be detrimental to us. I look back too often on my mistakes and regrets and this causes me anxiety. I get trapped in cyclical thinking about what I could have done differently and how things may have played out better in different situations.

Enough.

God already said He will remove the disgrace from His people. He’s already done everything in order to reconcile us to Himself. The chains have been broken. We should bask in that promise and learn to forgive ourselves. If God forgives us how can we still hold on to our failures? Are we better than God that we are justified in our un-forgiveness of our own selves? We should forget all that just like the Word of God says He does…

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:11-12

God doesn’t expect us to forget everything. Besides, all the past experiences good and bad make us the version of ourselves we are today and the even better version we will become in the future once we inevitably have more experiences and resources and knowledge. Maybe fully forgetting isn’t the best way to learn. Maybe we should take the past as a lesson learned and do better, however don’t dwell on the past. Peace doesn’t live in the past or in the future or in memories or even in our minds. Peace resides in the present.

Peace comes from God and one way to have the peace of God in uncertainty is to remember God’s goodness as it’s written in Psalm 77. However, God makes a point to say we should “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” and He continues with, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

God is always doing a new thing in our lives and although Jesus said in John 13:7 “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will”, He wants us to trust and obey as well as walk in the freedom Jesus died to give us.

Why are we walking around like we still have a death sentence dwelling on our past screw ups? We’ve been set free! For those of us who believe Jesus is the Son of God and trust Him as our only hope of salvation, our shame has been undone. UNDONE.

God, I confess I walk around like I still have a death sentence at times. If I had been on death row, guilty of a horrific crime, and an innocent person chose to die in my place and lovingly let me go free, I would be forever grateful. I’d be aiming to live my life to the fullest, giving them constant thanks for each breath I don’t deserve. I only have a chance at a life of freedom because of their sacrifice. That’s reason to celebrate and share my redemption story. That is what those who fought for our freedoms we so lavishly enjoy did for us. Moreover, that’s exactly what you did, Jesus. Not only are you innocent, but You’re the Son of the Most High God. You’re the King of Glory. Royalty, yet You willingly gave Your life for mine. Thank you! Forgive me for taking what You did for granted instead of fully enjoying Your sweet freedom. I’m not bound by the chains of sin and death any longer. You have set me free! Help me live and thrive in the freedom You died to give me. Amen♥️

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

Photo Credit: christ.co.ke

Goodness and Mercy… Always

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“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…”

Psalm 23:6 (ESV)

What a bold claim. Surely. 

There is no doubt detected in the shepherd’s words. He does not look to the right or to the left; he simply makes the claim that he knows with confidence that God’s goodness and mercy will always be his. He does not state that he is qualified to receive these blessings, or that he has been good so God will be good. Not at all. God is always good, and as believers we can have the same confidence that God’s goodness and mercy will follow us always. Our confidence is God’s faithfulness, not our own. Our faithfulness can be ever wavering. We are, as the book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller clearly says, like sheep. 

Sheep are known to be emotionally complex, which is a very accurate way to describe humans. We often allow our emotions to dictate our lives and the way we perceive God. If we feel good we may shout from the rooftops about the goodness of God, but when we are feeling down we may tend to think God is not good. He may not have answered a prayer in the way we had prayed and hoped for. We feel disappointed and sometimes question the goodness of God in our vulnerable state of mind. This is a way the enemy can distract us from our purpose, and deceive us into believing God does not care about us. As we read in John 8:44, the enemy is a liar and the truth is not in him. When he lies he speaks his native tongue so we must be on alert. Calling to mind the Word of God reminds us that God is good all the time even when we don’t feel happy. Contentment should be our goal and we should rest in the knowledge that no matter what, God’s goodness and mercy will always follow us. 

Our minds don’t process things like our Good Shepherd. We cannot grasp His ways or His plans to love us well. We do not know what it takes to get in position to live out God’s purpose for our lives. It can at times seem like we have fallen off the path – even going backwards – when regression may be part of the path all along. We try hard to work and fix and do and make and be in our own strength and by our own powerless “power” when all we have to do is trust the Shepherd. He designed it so simply, but we make it so complex.

Psalm 23:6 is a soothing verse. We find comfort in it when life is going smoothly, but we should most definitely find comfort in this statement made by a faithful shepherd when life is going roughly.

When life circumstances are hard, we must look at the character of God. Can He be trusted? Look back to scripture. The Word of God gives us a numerous instances of God following people’s lives with goodness and mercy. Abraham saw firsthand when he was sent to Mount Moriah to sacrifice Isaac. God created nations from Isaac’s sons. God used Jacob’s life to carry on the Abrahamic Covenant. All these and more show God provides people with goodness and mercy even when a life is riddled with trials and hard circumstances. Looking at the lives of those in the Bible clearly illustrates that He can be trusted completely. 

The most impactful and meaningful way God displayed His goodness and mercy for believers is when 

“…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. Romans 5:8 (KJV) 

How valuable is Jesus to us. The Son of God taking the wages of sin for us who would believe shows God’s steadfast love for us.By sacrificing His Son to reconcile us, God freely gives us the ultimate portion of goodness and mercy. It is the very goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4) and His mercy that withholds our due punishment.

When we see things in light of God’s goodness and mercy we are able to face the difficulties in life with confidence knowing He is working all things together for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That does not mean it will all work out as we hope, or that it will feel good in the end, but nothing will ever change the fact that He is good. Feelings do not change the truth; God is always good. Jesus is our Good Shepherd.

 

Look back on your own life and site instances where you personally saw God’s goodness.

 

When has God shown mercy in your life?

 

 What a great gift to have received goodness and mercy and to know we will continually receive these priceless treasures. Remember to reflect on these examples when things are not going how you hoped and let them be a reminder that God’s goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.

God vs. The Unexpected

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May 11, 2023. The most terrifying day of our lives. Its not something I want to celebrate, however it’s definitely something to reflect back on. It’s been 2 years today and what followed were some of the darkest days we’ve ever been through. Never could we have imagined what would happen. There aren’t enough words to describe what we have been through. No one can understand and I would never want anyone to understand. I can’t even understand and I lived it. When the ambulance doors closed as I sat in my car watching so I could follow to the nearest hospital equipped to treat stroke patients I said out loud “This is life altering”. I had no idea how true that was. It was indeed life altering in the most horrifying ways.
I have been dreading this day knowing this milestone would fall on Mother’s Day. It’s a hard thing to process. I still haven’t accepted that my healthy 51 year old husband had a stroke. A brain stem stroke at that. The fact that he is still here 2 years later after a brain stem stroke followed by all the other mysterious undiagnosed episodes is an absolute miracle. Most people that have ischemic brain stem strokes don’t survive long enough to even make it to the hospital. But God. God still has a purpose for Jimmy’s life even though he’s lost so much of what he believes made him who he is; his talents: singing, playing the guitar and piano, drawing, painting, perfect penmanship, and teaching people in fun ways about the Word of God – all those talents are gone. We pray some of that will return, but if it doesn’t, he’s still alive and has a purpose. He is still brilliant and he is back at work running the IT Department at the hospital with strength and confidence. He does a good job at everything he is able to do. He’s still determined, positive, encouraging, hopeful and enthusiastic about our future which is so inspiring. It’s miraculous.
We’ve seen God use this event in so many ways for our good. I have stumbled and even crumbled many times in the past 2 years, but my God is a redeemer. He restores. He is always waiting for us to turn back to Him. He loves to bring beauty from ashes. I believe we have already seen that and the best is yet to come!
So many people have supported us during this difficult season. Way too many to name. We’ve experienced an incredible outpouring of love and we are so appreciative. We could never repay all the people that have worked and helped in so many ways showing the true love of Jesus to us as we were suffering and afraid.
So I was dreading today but now I’m simply grateful. Grateful Jimmy is not only alive, but living life. Grateful for God’s restoration. Grateful for God’s perfect plan even if it’s way different than mine. Grateful for my boys and all they’ve learned through this. Grateful to be their mom. Grateful for my beautiful granddaughter who is an absolute ray of sunshine in our lives even on the darkest days. It shows even the tiniest light shines brightly in the darkness. Grateful for healing, physical and emotional. Grateful for salvation in Christ alone.
Happy Mother’s Day with all my love, especially to my mother who I often take for granted but I never stop needing!🌷

P. S. May is Stroke Awareness Month. Know the signs and symptoms. It can happen to anyone at any age even with few to zero risk factors. Act F. A. S. T. (Facial drooping/numbness, Arms weakness/numbness, Speech slurring/difficulty speaking, and Time – acting quickly is crucial) It could mean the difference between life and death or recovery and not recovering.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
‭‭Romans 8:28

“so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭45‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

April 11, 2024 – almost a year out and he was actively having debilitating episodes except for on this day! Thanks be to God for letting Jimmy attend and enjoy Caison’s and Madison’s gorgeous wedding 🤍🖤