How are you today?

It’s an innocent question intended to say, “I care about you,” but these days it seems to carry much more weight – even more sincerity. In the wake of the past year, we’ve learned to pause a little longer, look the person in the eyes, and actually wait for an answer. We’ve learned that we shouldn’t expect the obligatory, “I’m great! How are you?” because that person might not be great, and this might be the first time they’ve had to courage to say so. We’ve learned to an even greater degree that we are designed for human interaction and that takes time – it requires us to slow down.

So, how are you today?

Have you had a chance to listen to the wind through the trees lately? Have you recently traced the shape of your child’s face as they fall asleep in your arms? Have you been able to have a heart-to-heart with a friend over coffee? When was the last time you got lost in a movie with someone you love? Or danced in the rain? Or tried to skip rocks across a pond? Or laid in the grass watching the clouds drift by? What number did you get to the last time you tried to count the stars in the sky? When was the last time you marveled at the wonder of God?

Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16

You, my friend, are designed for pausing – breathing – waiting – resting – refreshing. Our loving Father intends for this to be a regular part of our life rhythms; regularly caring for the temple He has entrusted to us. So now that we are officially in summer, it is a great time for us to pause and reevaluate our pace. Let me encourage you to plan now for some rest. Take advantage of the summer season and pencil in a tall glass of lemonade, some time on the back deck, or running through the sprinklers with your kids. I think you’ll find yourself refreshed as you take time to let the Lord whisper…

You are adored.

This past week I was challenged to, once again, evaluate my thinking about age, maturity, and standing up to society’s expectations of what is admired. It isn’t new that our culture celebrates the young, strong, and wrinkle-free. And, you know what? They should be celebrated! But here is the part that our culture seems to forget…..no time of life should be celebrated to the exclusivity of other seasons of life. Not to the exclusivity of other God-designed people. 

Darling Magazine recently published an article titled, Darling Letters: The Gift of Getting Older where Stephanie Taylor calls aging a gift! So does the book of Proverbs.

Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained in the way of righteousness.
Proverbs 16:31

A crown of splendor sure sounds like an amazing gift to me! Each season of life brings a beauty unique to that season. Isn’t it like our loving Father to give us beauty throughout life?! Why, oh, why would I begrudge His gifts to me and hold one in higher value than the others? The longer we walk through life with the Lord, growing into the women He has designed us to be, think of all the things we get to enjoy.

• Experiences
• New places
• More friendships
• Next generations
• Deeper relationship with the Lord
• Wisdom

So I embarked on a weekend-long endeavor and began noticing women of all ages, walk up to them, and simply tell them how beautiful they are. I was discrete because I didn’t want to embarrass them or appear to be some weird lady in the grocery store! But I also spoke with sincerity and looked them straight in the eyes so they would know, somewhere in their spirit, that the God of all creation created them too. The appreciation in these women was undeniable as they would almost whisper a surprised, “Thank you.” It occurred to me just how many of us have not been told lately that we are beautiful…

Gracious words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24

I also shared the article above on my Facebook page. I wanted to encourage my friends – young and old – to embrace the beauty of the season they are in, while appreciating the beauty of prior seasons and anticipating the beauty of what is yet to come. Then, just to put an exclamation point on all of it, I invited them to post a picture of themselves in the comments. Here is what I learned:

• While many are comfortable reacting with a blue thumbs up or big red heart, far fewer are comfortable posting a picture of themselves.
• Women in their 50’s and older were more likely to post a picture.
• People are more likely to join you if you’re the first to jump in the pool! (I posted my own pic first.)

Is it possible that we have become too focused on what we don’t appreciate that we miss the beauty altogether? Perhaps we see the jiggly abs and forget the life that they also carried. Is it possible that we are discouraged by the wrinkles on our face and forget they were created by laughter? Are we unsure about our appearance with braces and therefore minimize our smile? Maybe we are still developing our gift of music/voice/writing/(fill in the blank with your gift) so we hesitate to share the beauty of it as it is right now with those around us. Do we still hear critical comments from voices of the past who try to convince us that the lies spoken are actually true?

You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
Song of Solomon 4:7

Your Father, the Lord of all creation, calls you beautiful! You are created in the image of God Himself and granted many gifts from Him. Let that sink in today and receive the freedom that comes from truly knowing you are a created-with-a-beautiful-purpose daughter of the Most High. I think you’ll find yourself a little kinder to yourself, more joy-filled, and freer to highlight the same truth to those around you. We are surrounded by those who simply need to be reminded…

You are adored.

Have you ever been weary of asking and trusting God for His answer to a prayer?

For she said,
“If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
Mark 5:28

The woman with the issue of blood that we read about in Mark knew what it meant to persist. For twelve years. Certainly, she must have been weary. Weary of isolation from her family and community. Weary of illness. Weary of unanswered questions. But she persisted and knew that even if she caught the hem of his garment, just a small part of Jesus, she would be healed. Her faith was strong in that desperate grab at the tassels near his feet.

I’ve found myself praying in desperation. Begging God to move in a situation that was simply too big for me to comprehend a solution for. My prayers, posture, language, and belief shifted from confident to desperate after long lengths of time. I know that God is never offended or disappointed with my desperation; His love for me is not dependent on my level of confidence in the moment and He welcomes me as His daughter. Always. So I was surprised recently when I heard His gentle voice say, “Seek my face, not my hem.”

Somewhere along the line, I had come to believe that a desperate grab of his hem was the only option I had left to my heart-wrenching prayers. I had forgotten that I, as a daughter of the Most High, not only have access to His face, but am joyfully welcomed into His presence with a loving smile upon that face.

And as I lifted my eyes from His hem to His face, my focus shifted from my need to His magnificence, glory, ability, authority, and power. My heart shifted from desperate pleas that He would move, to assurance that He would, and in a way that only He could.

You have said,
“Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Psalm 27:8 ESV

Are you weary of asking and trusting God for His answer to a prayer? Lift your eyes from His hem to His glorious face. See the deep love He has for you in His eyes. Let your shoulders relax and tune your ears to His loving whisper…

You are adored.

season – noun
sea·​son | \ ˈsē-zᵊn \
: a time characterized by a particular circumstance or feature
: an indefinite period of time

We hear this word used frequently.
* People are in a season of rest.
* They are enjoying baseball season.
* Parents of young children are in a busy season.

Life is filled with seasons and they are marked by noticeable events. There is also no denying that seasons flow from one into another. While spring certainly has plenty of snowy days in Colorado, it always flows into summer. Spring never jumps over summer straight to fall. And while we do have snow in the spring, we never fall back into a full blown, second winter before spring finally emerges. (Even though, here in Colorado, it might feel like it does!) Seasons meander but they always flow reliably into the next season.

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
Genesis 8:22

Do you feel like you’re stuck in an unpleasant season? Do you yearn for the next thing, the next step, the next anything? Do you feel like you are in winter #4 and springtime will never arrive?

season – verb
sea·​son | \ ˈsē-zᵊn \
: to give (food) more flavor or zest by adding seasonings or savory ingredients
especially: to make more agreeable                                                 
: to treat (something such as wood or a skillet) so as to prepare for use
: to make fit by experience

Here’s a thought: is it possible that the Lord wants to season you for the next season? 

If the Lord delays something, it is for good reason. He is not a vindictive Father. He does not delight in our hardship. However, He will tarry with us in an uncomfortable season for the purpose of His work to be done in us. After all, He has promised to complete what He has started, so He will not abandon His work in us.

o   Does He want to add depth to your flavor (ministry and testimony)?
o   Does He desire to see something specific in you that will give you greater influence?
o   Is He in the midst of preparing you for use in a unique way?
o   Are there experiences He wants to walk through with you so you are lean, strong, and fit to be utilized by Him in a certain way?

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:15-16

You, my precious friend, are needed. Your skills, talents, giftings, testimony, personality, and experiences are all needed by the Lord as He weaves His beautiful tapestry of time and story. He delighted in creating you and takes joy in growing you. This process of one season flowing into another is part of the story He is telling through you to those whose paths cross yours.

His timing is no accident.
His assignment is not haphazard.
His preparation is not punitive. 

Instead, the Lord delights in lingering with you – softening rough edges, sharpening dull armaments, and deepening your love for His work in you. It is yet another gift for you, His precious daughter, and just another way He whispers…

You are adored.

My mom loves music, so I grew up on some pretty amazing rock and roll. Elvis, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, and basically any band from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack … yep, they’re my jam! My mom also loves to dance so it was pretty common for her to be singing at the top of her lungs with the record player and suddenly grab me as her unsuspecting dance partner. But when your mom is a prize-winning twist contestant, you don’t mind!

Recently I received some pretty disappointing news. While it didn’t come as a complete surprise (the Holy Spirit’s work) it still hurt to hear. A lot. This was just one more addition to a growing list of recent disappointments and I’m sure all of us can testify to seasons like this. But for the first time in a very long time, I was also keenly aware that I was standing at a fork in the road and, for the first time in a very long time, I was tempted to take the path that I already knew would be detrimental to my heart. I had the choice to lean into the Lord or lean away from Him. Leaning into Him would involve feeling the sadness, letting the tears flow, prayer, and keeping my heart softened – vulnerable – knowing that it will get hurt again in the future simply because I live on planet Earth. This is a path I have traveled often so, while I know the victory, I also know the work and risk of future pain. Leaning away from Him would involve ignoring the pain, putting on a happy face, and believing the lie that hope/vulnerability/looking forward to things just wasn’t worth the risk of disappointment anymore. Leaning away from the Lord would mean embracing the lie that it is solely up to me to protect my heart. This path felt easier and appeared to come with less risk of future pain. But it is a path that I left behind years ago after learning that risk of pain comes with life. I am wiser to walk through life leaning into the Lord.

Just moments later, I stumbled upon this quote:

“If we refuse or fail to grieve well,
we will die inside and our emotional life will forever be superficial and shallow.
Our joy will be a cheap sham,
and not the full-hearted joy of those who have known the Lord’s comfort in sorrow.”
~Pastor Andrew Arndt

To grieve or not to grieve. To hope and risk hurt, or to hope less and supposedly risk less. I choose grieving with the Lord’s involvement because that brings His healing touch and true freedom to love with an open heart that isn’t guarded. And it is there that He chooses to work so beautifully – bringing healing, true joy, new growth, and miracles.

The following morning as I continued to grieve and pray, I heard the Lord whisper, “Your focus is skewed.” I was reminded that His “no” is often a protection. He has good reasons for His “no” even if it hurts. So I started thanking Him for His omniscience and goodness His protection and perfect plan. I thanked Him for all that He had planned and the opportunity to celebrate with people I love. A grieving heart became a grateful heart.

And right in the midst of that holy moment, I heard Crosby Stills & Nash chortle, “Love the one you’re with. Love the one you’re with!” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud! Let me be clear that the lyrics of the entire song certainly do not apply here, but it was a funny reminder that while it is good and necessary to grieve loss, it is also good and necessary to celebrate the ones He has placed in front of me – right now.

Jesus was so good at this! Despite His full understanding of what lay before Him, He fully loved the ones in front of Him. 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
******
This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12

Yes, He grieved but He didn’t allow it to crowd out the joy of the moment that He faced simultaneously. Although He knew the torture that waited for Him, He never let that stop Him from loving the people in front of Him – even those He knew would be part of the betrayal that would bring the pain. Wow, sit with that for a while!

The idea that grief and joy are fully exclusive of one another is a lie designed to rob us of our God-given hope. As daughters of the Most High, we do not grieve as those without hope! We do not grieve as those without Jesus! So, the next time you find yourself standing at that fork in the road, let me encourage you to embrace grief with the Lord and embrace joy with the Lord. As long as each involve the Lord, it will be OK. In fact, as long as each involve the Lord, it will be holy. And each moment – difficult and joyful – are precious whispers from our loving Father that He is with you, He is for you, and …

You are adored.

I don’t know if it is the changing seasons or the fact that we have a new grandbaby on the way, but “new things” have been spotlighted to me quite a bit lately. As if I am on the threshold of a shift. Of course, as a planner, I would love to get everything in order before this new thing arrives.

Whatever it is.

You know, be prepared.

For the unknown.

Hmmm….

I have a misconception that all the loose ends of my current life must be ticked and tied before the new thing arrives. And I seem to have a LOT of loose ends!

• A home renovation project
• Yard work
• Carpets that need cleaned
• Laundry – is it just me, or does it multiply overnight?
• A front-end alignment on my truck

The truth of the matter is that God is not sitting there tapping His fingers waiting for me to get my act together. In fact, His timing of a new thing is not affected by my to-do list at all! Even better, I can trust that He is not going to fling a new thing on me and overwhelm me. When our Father brings a new thing to us, it is a gift – well-timed and well-measured.

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

If you are feeling ill-prepared for what the Lord is bringing to you, take a deep breath. As we yield to His will and perfect timing, He does what only He can. He orchestrates time and details to weave a beautiful tapestry of gifts created for you, His beloved daughter. We don’t have to fear new things. We don’t have to wonder if we are prepared. Our God is a good Father who delights in giving His daughters good gifts at the perfect time. 

Go ahead and step through the door to receive His gift. Tell fear and self-doubt to hush. You are waiting for your Father and listening to hear His whisper of love…

You are adored.

After more than sixteen years of working very part time from home so I could educate our children from there at the same time, I found myself back in the workforce as an Executive Assistant here at New Life in 2013. As thrilled as I was about the opportunity to serve at the church I had loved and attended for more than twenty years, I was also nervous that the skills I leaned on in the advertising world way back then wouldn’t cut it in today’s ministry world. Then two years later, I was invited to change my assignment to Executive Assistant to the Senior Pastor. That invitation came with equal measures of honor and internal terror. Again, I wasn’t confident that my skills would be up to speed with the current demands of an Executive Assistant, especially to a Senior Pastor of a mega church. I had nightmares and they looked a lot like this ZzzQuil Commercial from 2016. Go ahead, take 50 seconds to watch…

Let me be clear that while my Pastor is NOTHING like Hannah’s boss in this commercial, the enemy sure is. Somehow, I had given precious space in my mind to him, and he was more than happy to send me into a mental tailspin. All those questions that Hannah’s boss asked in rapid-fire succession were suddenly firing away in my brain as well. I questioned everything about myself!

• Time management
• Ability to use the copier (Actually I was concerned it would jam on me because, well, Murphy’s Law.)
• My ability to “zhuzh” (Is it even possible to come up with another word that is any more vague than zhuzh???)
• Missing emails, missing phone calls, missing ANYthing
• Forgetting details

…and the most terrifying question….

• What am I going to WEAR?!?!

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
Psalm 37:23-24

What mind space have you given to the enemy? Where have you unreasonably questioned yourself? In what ways have you not believed the Lord’s placement of you for this time and for His purpose? You, my precious friend, are placed by God. You are equipped by Him for His purposes at this very time. As Executive and Administrative Assistants we juggle a lot but we don’t juggle alone! When God places you, He also equips you. His calling comes with a promise to finish the work (1 Thessalonians 5:24). 

So stand and be bold – you bring so much to this table! You have been placed where you are by your loving Father with an assignment unique to you. Know that your Father is kind and merciful. He is with you. He is for you. And He is continually whispering…

You are adored.

We are in a season of transition here in Colorado. That awkward space between winter and spring. The people who keep track of such things tell us that Colorado sees 300 days of sunshine annually. Three hundred! Yet those of us who live here know that, even with the sun, we are not to be fooled by the Fake Spring that often arrives in April. Fake Spring lures us into a false sense of joy that the snow is gone and the 70’s are here to stay. Fake Spring tries to convince us that the delightful scents of summer that Bath & Body Works has laden their shelves with are a dependable marker of the arrival of a new season. 

Then we open the drapes one morning to find snow on the ground. Again.

None of us could flip the calendar fast enough from 2020 to 2021. On December 31, 2020 you could practically hear the rush of air as we ripped that old calendar down and gleefully replaced it with our shiny new 2021 grid of daily promise. We were ready for familiar activities and a sense of normalcy…as we once knew it…to return. And were ready to give it a grand parade! Seasons, however, never arrive on a dime. Instead, they leisurely amble into existence with frequent circles back into the previous season. As if they can’t quite make up their minds. 

I have been so very ready to get back to normal, but this deeply anticipated new season seems to be circling back into the old one a few too many ways. While many of us are back in the office more frequently, things still seem to be operating differently than before. Where we once had stamina to push through, we may now find ourselves still weary. Some of us are experiencing frustrations of things taking longer than normal – similar to what we saw back in March of 2020 – as we adjust to a familiar work environment in new ways. The season of normal simply is not snapping into place as readily as we thought it would. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11

So here I sit with the Lord. My 2021 grid of daily promise in one hand and the desire to match my step with His in the other – my thoughts held up to His thoughts – my ways set next to His ways – and I let that Fake Spring fall to the ground. Sure, I’m excited about the idea of returning to normal but the honest truth is that there are several pieces of that old normal that simply do not need to return. Rather than anticipate an old thing returning within my timeline, I need to shift my gaze to the joy of the new gift He has waiting for me in His perfect time! I can trust Him to make everything beautiful in its time. Even if it comes a little later and looks differently than I’d prefer – because His gifts are always a custom fit.

Will you join me in appreciating the beauty of the day; brilliantly colored leaves, sparkling snow, dancing flowers, or warm sunshine? As seasons meander into our lives, He has special and unique gifts for us to enjoy at His leisurely pace. Will you embrace His perfect timing with me? Gifts are meant to be enjoyed, not rushed through. And each one, from beginning to end, is a gentle whisper that…

You are adored.

Have you ever been in a season of waiting? A time where you’ve prayed and received a word from the Lord but haven’t see the fruit of His answer yet. That in-between time can feel so long and drawn out. Even the most faithful can find themselves asking if the Lord somehow forget His promise or question if He could have forgotten us.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:1-8 NIV

Not only has He not forgotten you, but He also hasn’t removed His eyes from you! Our God is the best promise keeper and it is impossible for Him to forget what He has promised you. So why the waiting?

There is something that grows within us when we are waiting for the Lord’s move. Our focus is more intently on Him. Our attention is on the Lord because we want to see His move – as it happens! Our conversations are with Him are richer as we talk with Him about our heart’s desire – our prayer. And if we linger with Him long enough, we also find ourselves in a sweeter place of surrender. I don’t know about you, but this determined, equipped, called, strong-headed, Irish girl tends to resist surrender. The warrior part of my nature is more likely to rise up than to lay her shield down. So learning to raise my sword in prayer – learning to kneel in surrender to His will and timing – brings a sweet understanding that He is fully in control of His will, not me. 

But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells
even though you still experience all the limitations of sin
— you yourself experience life on God’s terms.
It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life,
he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself?
When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life.
With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!
Romans 8:10-11 MSG

Pastor Andrew recently reminded many of us that Holy Saturday is a reminder that even Jesus waited on the Father. Jesus did not raise Himself from the dead. The Father did. Which means Jesus Himself laid His life before the Father and surrendered to the Father’s will and perfect timing. Our hope as Christ-followers is to know that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will do the same for us. He hasn’t forgotten. He hasn’t changed His mind. He isn’t delaying without purpose. As we tuck our lives into the life of Jesus, our hope increases. As our hope increases, our faith is spurred on. As our faith is spurred on, our joy splashes on those around us. And as our joy is splashed out, others are drawn to the love of Jesus. 

What a beautiful invitation from the Father to wait on Him for His move and His answer! He is inviting us into the participation of His holy and miraculous work! He wants us with Him through this process. Not to do but to be. To be loved. To be refreshed. To be filled. To know beyond a shadow of a doubt that…

You are adored.

\ ˈem-pə-thē \

: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another…

Empathy requires us to put ourselves into the shoes of another and imagine how they might be feeling about or dealing with a given situation. It is a place of humility. Today’s culture suggests that showing empathy for another is a sign of weakness. I would like to suggest this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, much like offering forgiveness, offering empathy requires great strength and confidence. Recently, I read in Darling Media, “At its core, empathy is all about respect. It’s about seeing and responding to the needs and experiences of the people around us, which makes it a powerful tool not only in relationships but also in the workplace.”

When we see people struggling, our place as daughters of the Most High is to help them see just how loved they really are. Helping a person know how valued and affirmed they are is a holy work. But it doesn’t always come naturally, or conveniently. Showing compassion to others requires us to step outside ourselves and our schedules. It requires us to slow down long enough to recognize the person in front of us needs something. Empathy takes our attention and our time. 

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself.
You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.
Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.
If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
Galatians 6:1-3 MSG

Grandma Slattery would have said it like this, “Be nice to others and don’t get too big for your britches.” 

After a pretty difficult season, I’ve had opportunity to examine my own actions for a few months now and, honestly, I haven’t been too proud of some of my own behavior. Somewhere along the line I allowed the difficulties to harden my heart in certain areas. It is so easy to make excuses, explain away the reason for an ugly thought, or tell ourselves that it was just in our mind so it didn’t hurt anyone. But Solomon has something to say about that too…

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23

There is no escaping our own heart so we must do all we can to invite the Holy Spirit’s work in it. We are human and susceptible to sin that so easily entangles so let’s be diligent in keeping short accounts. More and more, I’m asking the Lord to remove the weeds of high-mindedness and prune anything that doesn’t bring Him glory. This requires my willingness to have the soil of my heart disturbed – sometimes, fully wrecked. Weeds have a way of spreading their roots wide and deep; intertwining with other roots, rocks, and anything they can wrap themselves around. So untangling and pulling them out can be messy. But, oh, so worth it!

So I’ve decided to fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit when I feel that twinge of conviction. I’m mindful of submitting to His work when something sharp enters my mind. I’m doing my best to remember – truly ponder – the forgiveness that I’ve already received in abundance. There is something about personal reflection that waters the seeds of empathy and compassion. And empathy is a good measuring stick for the Holy Spirit’s work in us. As empathy rises, so will words of kindness, encouragement, peace, and genuine love for those around us. And who doesn’t need to be reminded that…

You are adored.