She Dances Free

She who once was enslaved to sin is now free in God. 

She who once followed her own passions now submits to God's leading. 

She who once brought shame now is a carrier of grace. 

She who was once proud and rebellious now follows God. 

She who was once beat down by sin and the devil is standing strong in the Lord. 

She who was once chained now dances free.

How is the possible? By the blood of the Lamb. It overcomes the greatest sins. It cleanses her filth. It removes her shame. 

Praise be to Lamb. Because of Him, she dances free. 

The Weak One

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Sometimes I feel so weak.

I want to be an awesome encourager, sold-out God-follower, good friend, and a good daughter.

But so often I reach these pivotal points where I have to make a choice and I see the gap between my abilities and the task at hand.

I feel weak and insufficient to do what He is calling me too. 

That's when He reminds me, "I have chosen you. I'm going to use your weakness to showcase my strength. I'm going to take the weakness of your singleness and use it to display My sufficiency. I'm going to take your heart that trembles and use it to touch others with My love. I'm going to take your words that seem so feeble and use them to build others up. I'm going to take your hands that shake with fear and use them to touch people with My love. I'm going to take the areas that you feel vulnerable and use them to display Me. Will you trust Me in all of this?"

To which I reply, "yes Lord. Take my weakness and fill it with Your strength."

It's then that the amazing happens. He fills me with strength to do that which He has called me to. Now I can step forward (many times with shaky hands) and make the God-honoring choice. I can live the life He has called me to live. He enables me to do what I couldn't do in of myself. 

Today if you are feeling weak and inadequate, Praise God! It's only when we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to Him that His power can flow through us. This is our Christian life. This is who God has made us to be. 

Today are we willing to let go of our self-sufficiency and become dependent on His sufficiency? We cannot to do both. Oh, Beloved let us chose to become Gods weak little lambs that Christs power might be displayed in us.

In Your Eyes

3 years ago I was in a broken place. When my engagement ended, I thought the tears would never end. I thought the pain would be forever. I thought I had lost it all. I'm so thankful God proved me wrong. 

One of the hard things I had to do in picking up the wreckage was going back to work. But God and my coworkers were so gracious. God comforted me and gave me strength for each new day. My family drove me in most of the time so they could be close for support. My coworkers gave me space and let me cry when I needed to. A true blessing. Slowly God healed what had been broken. 

One day my boss told me that she was so thankful I came back. "It was so sad to see you after the breakup. You looked empty. I was so thankful I got to see Rose come back into your eyes."

It was true. I had lost Rose to get marriage. With that that was off the table, I was left with a shell not sure of who I was. Hurting and broken. 

The amazing thing in all of this is that God never left me. He kept pursuing me. He day by day would restore and heal what had been shattered. He kept renewing me and making me new. 

Today I look back and I can trace His hand of grace and healing. He remade my heart to be more like His. He had Rose come back into my eyes. 

I pray that today when people look into my eyes they see Rose. The Rose that is a reflection of Christ. The Rose that longs for more of the Living God. The Rose that has compassion for the hurting. The Rose that seeks to be a good friend. 

In all of this, He is good. In all of this, He is faithful. In all of this, He works a greater plan than I can imagine. In all of this, He is to be praised. In all of this, He is Holy. In all of this, He is the One who restores what has been lost. He is the One who made Rose come back into my eyes. 

A Faith That Remains

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I came to Christ at 12. The devil said, "Ha, we will plant the seeds of legalism and focus on what she isn't doing. It will destroy her faith." Even though I walked through a tough season, Christ stepped in. He brought the truth of His amazing love into my heart and set me free.

I went through a season of growth and walking with God. The devil said, "We need to discourage her with the friends that are leaving her and the people who don't believe in her." But God kept giving me connections with true believers and encouragement to continue on.

I was being used by God to serve others. "Plant enough bad thoughts to render her ineffective." I kept singing. I kept serving. I did for a while anyway.

Then I began to believe I was entitled to marriage and bitter that God wasn't giving it to me. Then a guy came into my life who was all wrong for me. I left the straight and narrow and followed the infatuation of my own heart. "Finally!" the devil said. "Now we can destroy her faith as she pursues her idol."

But God stepped in. He demolished my idol and broke me free from its hold. The breaking of Rose was hard, but it became the means by which God remade me, "This time we can destroy her with bitterness, hate, guilt, and shame. She will be so beat down she will never rise." But the Lord worked in my heart. Day by day, I started to look a little more like Christ. Day by day, Christ replaced the hate and guilt with grace and love. He has given me beauty for ashes. I am redeemed. He healed me.

Throughout my life Satan has sought to destroy my faith. He has used the hard things in my life to whisper lies and try to make me give up. But God has never stopped pursuing me. He keeps redeeming my story and working in my heart. I've never been in this battle alone. He has always won in my life. 

This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. May I continue for His honor and glory always.