Moving Day

It's time. It's time to move. Just a little over a year ago, God moved us from the home we had built and believed we would live in forever. The house sold so fast that we had to look for a temporary place to live - God's idea of temporary and mine are not the same. But here we are - one year later moving into the home God has prepared for us.

It has been a really long year in so many ways. Little did I know that I came with more personal baggage than boxes!! God has sifted me, broken me, remolded me, broken me again, shaped me, kneaded me, broke off some more and is lovingly putting me back together. I'm not there yet, but he is allowing me to move on to the next stage. He spent the last year getting my attention. I had a lot of things from my past that had become so embedded in me and who I was that I never realized they weren't supposed to be there. Somehow I had come to believe the chains and bondages from my past were normal. Truth is - I needed to be set free from a lot of junk and God has used this move to do it.

In Beth Moore's video teaching from her "Daniel" bible study, she talks about how when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fire they were not burned, but their bondages (ropes) were burnt off and they never smelled like smoke when they were taken out. On top of that - God did not leave them alone to walk through the fire. This move has done that for me. We have been in the fire for 12 months and the heat has been the hottest in the last three weeks. The ropes were burnt off in the first 11 months, but the chains of metal take a higher heat to burn off.

I could go on and on about generational curses, soul ties and the like that we have had to acknowledge and get rid of, but that is better suited for another time. Let's just say I am not the same woman I was twelve months ago or for that matter one month ago. Without any question, this has been the hardest year of my life, but it has also been the most rewarding, most liberating and most freeing. I am a new woman in Christ.

So - let's move. I believed last month that God was getting ready to finally move us into the Promised Land. And tomorrow we will truly possess and live in the land that He has given us. Our exodus out of Egypt and captivity is almost over and I can see the Glory of the Lord up ahead. Thank you Jesus!

Amy's Confection Perfection

Every so often God brings someone into our lives who just changes us forever. About 4 years ago, God opened the door to bring Amy Banbury into my life. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone else like her. The first time we met she casually said, "I have cancer". I'm not sure what the normal reaction is when someone tells you that, but nothing within me ever gave it a second thought that someday she would just say "the cancer is gone". It just seemed like the next step. The cancer has come and gone and come again, but I still believe this is just part of her journey and that she will overcome every aspect of it.

Over the last four years, Amy has gone through chemo, radiation, dialysis, and I am sure far more than any of us know. But the one thing that has never changed is her vivid and vibrant personality.

This Saturday is Amy's grand-opening for her new bakery "Amy's Confection Perfection". Just like everything else in Amy's life, she holds nothing back in her baking. Everything is over the top and absolutely delightful. This woman makes a lemon bar that I believe came straight from heaven! Once you bite into anything she has ever made, you quickly forget that you should be watching your calories because the desserts are just blissful!

I will be there for Amy's grand-opening on Saturday. I will buy and eat way too many sweets and will love every minute of it. And all the while, I will be thanking God for Amy, for her healing, for her gifts and for her life. There is a lot of celebrating to do this Saturday!

Leaning on Him

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

How many times in life do I head down my own path and look back to see if God is going to come along with me and bless and protect me? Far too many! I think about all the times I start out following God's leading and direction only to then lean on my understanding.

In the last year (and weeks) it seems that I have had to lean on him more and more. My own understanding falls far short to comprehend the work God is doing in my life. In reference to "make your paths straight", the study notes in my bible say "He will remove the obstacles from your pathway and bring you to your appointed goal." Of course! If God is going to direct my paths and lead me to follow Him, He will remove the obstacles. He didn't call me to follow Him only to leave me stranded at the first detour.

These verses need to be a constant reminder to me to trust in Christ completely and not try to figure everything out from my own understanding. It is just as important that I acknowledge Him in all my ways. It is easy to call out to God in the tough times, but I need to remember to call out to Him in EVERY decision I make. I want to be on His path - not my own.

What a sweet reminder that He walks with me in the good and the bad. I can't think of a better traveling companion.