Love Like Jesus

 

“Don’t should on me.” 

I heard this said by a young mother once. She had her first child and she had all kinds of unknown people approach her with what she called “shoulds.” You probably know this as well. When people whom we don’t have relationships with try and tell us what we “should” be doing or how to do it. Life is hard and God doesn’t want a list follower but a relationship with a Christ follower. He said love is the greatest commandment. 

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39

What if we loved people instead of putting 

our “shoulds” on them? 

You know that first reaction to someone who we think isn’t doing life the way we think they should be doing life and especially the fellow believer in our church. 

I am guilty of the side eye too but did Jesus do that to the woman at the well? Or the adulterous woman the people wanted to stone? No. He first of all knew who they were and loved them in-spite of their sin. He told the woman at the well to go and sin no more. He also states that the one who is without sin is the one who should cast the first stone at the adulterous woman. Jesus loves us first. It’s when we know this love from Jesus and see it from our fellow believers we can be drawn back to him. No amount of “shoulds” will ever draw someone to us or to Jesus Christ. 

Sometimes I need to step back from my own self righteousness and remember that God wants me to first get to know people and love them as he does. God loves us. It is then that his love will draw them back to a life of holiness. Our attitude as a professing Christian is the very thing that will either draw people towards Christ or push them away.  

God didn’t push people away but he drew them in. That is the “should” that I need placed on myself today. 

I should want to get to know people before I think anything else about them. 

I should love like Jesus everyday. 

Hope In Every Season

 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:18‬ ‭NLT

Everything feels so heavy. The prayer requests for the sick and hurting. The natural disasters and civil disruption around the world we see happening. It’s too much. It’s all too much for my heart most days. My heart aches and feels helpless yet I know there is hope. I hear the prayer requests and pray. My prayers can seem so small but I don’t want to underestimate the power of prayer. I believe our prayers bring down the power of God upon our lives. In my flesh I want to do more than pray because it seems too small. Yet this simple act of obedience makes a huge impact in the kingdom. God wants His children to pray and be alert.‬‬ 

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭7:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is hope in every occasion even if we are blinded by those circumstances. I know His goodness is here. I want to feel it. Don’t you? I don’t want to stop praying in the highs of life to only be found one day at the lowest searching for God.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today my prayer is that I will rise to the occasion fighting in prayer for others. 

Pray without ceasing. 

Pray with a trusting heart. 

Pray with my sisters in Christ. 

Pray for those needs and requests around me daily! 

God Sanctifies Me As A Mom

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As I think on how Jesus has shown me how He saves. Saves us as parents from the emotional roller coaster and struggles of parenting our kids. Saves our kids from the inner struggles they deal with and bad decisions. God sent Jesus for us.  Here are two mothers who had to let go and let God. 

Moses’ mother had to give her son up to save him from being killed. God took care of him. 

Hannah had to give Samuel back to the Lord. God took care of him. 

Both of these mothers loved their kids but were faced with letting go of them. Giving them to the Lord for protection, saving, and ultimately using them for the kingdom. 

I saw this as a hard ask of me when my kids started growing up. I had always controlled everything from what the wore to what they eat. I saw the instruction and discipline I taught them as good but I couldn’t control their every decision forever. I know for me letting go wasn’t easy. If you know me I like control and while your kids are young you can hang onto their shirt tails but not so much as they grow older. Ha! I learned along time ago with my strong willed child and even with my easy going child I had to let them go into the hands of Jesus for guidance and protection. I couldn’t save them. I couldn’t continue to make their decisions no matter the mistakes. God is ultimately in control and we only have these little people and teens for a little while.

Isn’t that just like God to show us as parents how He loves His children just the same. God sent His one and only son Jesus to save us. Jesus doesn’t make our decisions for us but guides us as we follow Him. We are used for His glory.  

My prayer is for the parent who is coming to grips with letting go of those babies graduating school this year. I know it is an emotional time but exciting time in life. 

My prayer is that we will be role models that our children will see Christ in us because they don’t stay little for long. 

Lessons In Serving My Local Church

  

  Grace and Truth Hand Knit And Stamped Bracelet 

I had to keep the church nursery again this week. My heart was already weary from a busy week of work and taking care of my own kids. Now I was asked to do one more hour of service at church. Our church was small and the volunteers were even smaller in number. 

I can remember as a mom of littles being absolutely tired of chasing my kids at home much less taking them to church and do it in front of everyone. I saw it as one more place to find myself struggling to keep up. I was struggling to see the importance of serving in the midst of my own struggles at home. I didn’t think I had it me but I would go and you know what I leaned? 

God met me there and equipped me every time. It never failed that someone would always show up to help ease my weary heart and rally my own kids. I would then be encouraged to keep the nursery and later on teach for that one hour in our church. 

I eventually saw that time every week as holy ground that God used me to serve. I learned so many lessons for my own heart. I learned serving God isn’t easy but when I show up He always does too. 

Serving has shown me what the heart of Jesus looks like. Jesus was a servant and if I want to reflect my Savior then my heart had to learn how to reflect His. As I looked around at those serving my family they were showing me how to be selfless because they weren’t exempt from bad days and struggles either. They loved me and my family well. Kindness and grace filled their words. They reminded me that I was doing the best I could as a mom. Not to mention the countless prayer warriors God sent my way. So no mater the size of the church it needs more servants for the kingdom. 

Today I want you as a mom to be encouraged you are doing your best. The days can be long and tiring but the Lord refreshes the soul. (Psalm23:3) Jesus will equip you to serve not only your family but in your church body. 

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,”

1 Peter 1:3 

Surrendering Control to God

 

I surrendered to God’s call to save my soul when I was a teenager. I believed Jesus could send me to heaven but I ran from His amazing grace for a long time. I had not surrendered every part of my life to Him. Crazy to say that out loud yet how many of us can say this as well? I still wanted to live by the worlds standards. 

I needed to learn how to surrender my will to Gods will. I had to learn my belief in Christ meant that I was to walk in His Spirit, trust His ways and those ways are better than my ways.  

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:16-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I was taught growing up to be in control of my life. You can do whatever you set your mind to but you must work hard to do it all of which rely on me. Hard work was natural for me. What I wasn’t natural was to rely totally on Jesus. I believed He had my eternity covered BUT the here and now I wasn’t so sure about. I wasn’t surrendering every area of my life. My knowledge of God at this point in my life was what others had told me not my own first hand knowledge of the Word of God. 

I wasn’t living like I believed God. My marriage after many hurtful fights felt hopeless and my parenting felt like I failed my children in many ways. 

My total trust wasn’t in Jesus Christ for reassurance a d healing. 

It was in what I had trusted and clung to for a very long time, control. I would continue for a long time believe in what I could control around me or if I worked harder everything would work out. ⁣

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It was such a turning point in my life when I totally surrendered control to God. I was at the end of myself. I broke down in tears of exhaustion. I prayed to God for help. I felt the weakest I have ever felt yet the strongest I have ever felt in my life. God answered in His time and He healed what felt broken beyond repair in my marriage. He told me I was the parent for these children no matter what choices they make you did the best you knew how. He still loved me and wanted fellowship with me. 

Not having control over situations is a terrible feeling for someone like me who thrived off control. In my prayers I heard God whispering come to me, “I have always been here.” Give it all to me.” ⁣

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When I finally surrendered to Gods authority on my life I received His sweet gift of grace. I listened to the Spirit, I couldn’t get enough of God, His Word and His transforming power. I saw the strongholds fall in my life fall one by one and finally felt freedom standing in the middle of His amazing grace.⁣ You see I was saved at a young age but I ran from surrendering everything to my Savior. As I leaned from reading and learning who God is the people of Israel in the OT I could see myself. I saw my strongholds and heart sickness I lived with for so long. God never gave up on His people then and He doesn’t today.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Today is has been a daily surrender and dying to self and I hope you will join me in this. I would love to hear your stories of surrender and listening to the Spirit. -𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 

Tag me in your testimony  #knitthegospelintoyourheart 

Have you had a God Moment?

 These wee little hands closed up tight and each finger interlocked as if she were going to pray when really she was desperately wanted her bottle. LOL

My heart completely melted when I saw these hands and of course I had to snap this picture like any Grandmother would right? I can see my own hands clasping together in prayer and God speaking to my spirit. God holding me and telling my spirirt the desires of my heart are from Him. I need to walk by faith and not sight. To not look at how long it will take to happen but to just take one day at a time walking in by the Spirit.  

God moments happen like that when you are least expecting and maybe even when your heart is weary and broken. Many of us are weary, sad and fearing the unknown and can’t hear anything except a noisy world. Noise can stir up anxious thoughts and I don't think God is in the business of stirring our hearts toward fear. He sends abundance and His goodness awaits us. We need to find a way to block the noise and take time to slow down, listen, and see what God is saying instead of the noisy world. 

You might find this happens..

God sends an angel to put a smile on your face, or to remind you that He is there with you and the love is so overwhelming you might become a puddle of tears from it.  Listen closely for God’s whisper, it’s going to be okay. 

Faith is a muscle that we will need to continually stretch in our life and I am so grateful for God's reminders of His goodness through pain and healing.

May we hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ like these tiny hands pictured for nourishment of our hearts and souls everyday!  Bless you friends! 

“Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭CSB‬‬ 

Jesus is Enough!

I have asked God what should I do?

Just like the men asking Jesus in Luke 3, “what should we do?”
This year already it’s ran through my mind but rather I want to ask how am I living for you God?

Jesus answers by telling us to give generously, love fiercely and bear fruits in repentance!
It’s with a repentant humble heart Jesus is glorified. There is no magic answer to what this life looks like or  your goals except I know that He wants our life and actions to magnify His name!
Amen💗


Bless you today friend-
Tracy

Only Jesus

Custom Design Your Own Bracelet

Only through J E S U S 

can we be changed, 

loved limitlessly, 

be enduringly strong, 

forgiven, 

sanctified, 

and always delivered. 

God the Father sent his son Jesus to suffer for us and redeem us through His resurrection on the cross.  If I am a disciple, I am a reflection of Christ for those here in this life.  This is my time to step up! Jesus is all sufficient and qualifies me to share the gospel.  I have said it before and I will keep #preachingtomyself  to be “salt and light.” Season my community with God’s grace and through His Words share power and light up the darkness.  Beloved child of God there is nothing that disqualifies you other than listening to the enemy.  

I love this latest order in the shop that went out this week!  It inspired me who Jesus is and how that impacts me as a believer 🧡

What about you?   Have you felt disqualified from sharing who Christ is? 

Let’s me encourage you today that your story matters! 

Blessings- 

Tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 17

Today is Day 17 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge ‬‬

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God’s plan can’t be thwarted by our actions.  Even in the midst of our lives we make decisions and God already knew and does knows what will happen.  We still are to pray and to be used by Him to fulfill His purposes.  I have felt like the decisions I have made have really messed things up before and that’s just not the case.  Jesus called us to walk by faith so in that we are to trust Him and know that good will be the end result for us. 

Have a blessed day friends! 

Tracy 

September Positivity Challenge Day 3

Hello friends!  

We are going through positivity scripture this month. I hope you are joining us writing and meditating on God’s Word.  We don’t have make it complicated just write out the verse or copy the picture and use as a phone wallpaper.  How much do we stare at the phone this would be a great way to keep scripture close. 

I am not sure what season you are in but this months scripture is helping me focus on God instead what I am not getting accomplished.  

Let me know what season you are in as a Mom or Wife.  Do you enjoy writing scripture and meditating on it through the day? 

Today’s positivity verse is:

John 14:21 NASB

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

This verse just by reading it can seem like we must keep all the commands of Christ for us to receive His love. Well, that is true but it also means we will try and fail. We are human and sinful.  God loves us no matter how we have failed but wants us to repent! 

Seek Jesus and His love and His Spirit will fill us up.  

It is a daily devotion to Jesus that He seeks🌿

Blessings -

Tracy