Wake up my Heart!

Raised Catholic, I grew up making the sign of the cross more times than I could count. “Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen.” I admit that the words (and actions) were done more out of routine, than out of focused time on the Lord. But that little prayer talks about the Trinity. The great I AM exists three fold; as God, as Jesus, and as the Holy Spirit. The first two are easier for most to comprehend. The last is more abstract. What exactly is the Holy Spirit? The rest of this post explains how it makes sense to me, but by no means is it the only explanation! “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:28). By receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son become alive in us as a distinct entity. The Holy Spirit has an existence, in addition to ourselves, but our individual self does not disappear. If the Holy Spirit simply took over, every believer in...

I must warn you that my devotions follow no specific biblical order or topic! They are written off of a Scripture passage I cannot get out of my head, a verse found through a random Bible read, or from researching a topic relevant to me on a certain day/time. Today's post is one I wrote a while that made me go "Amen," as I was reading it a few moments ago. It is from the Old Testament, in the Book of Joel. In Chapter 2, verse 13 reads, "Don't tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you." Please read the whole chapter for more context! I pulled out that verse because it brings me great comfort, in the midst of great repentance. There are so many things about this small section to love. Let’s break it down: Don’t tear your clothing – tear your hearts. How profound! Our hearts -  those gl...

Here is a warning…as I am immersed in dissecting the Book of James right now (thank you Beth Moore), many devotions new may tie in to his words!   One of my favorite verses for a long time has been from Romans, Chapter 5: “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5). This passage means so much to me because it focuses largely on hope. And hope, when you have it, truly cannot disappoint because it lives in our hearts as a form of faith – and what lives in our hearts? God’s love. Isn’t that incredible! We may spend some focus on a later date on just how amazing that is! Take time now to relish that for a second though – God’s love lives IN YOU! Today, though, I want to focus on the beginning of those verses, “We also rejoice in our sufferings…” ...

Isaiah 48 17-18 tells us: I am the Lord your God,      Who teaches you what is best for you,      Who directs you in the ways you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands,      Your peace would have been like a river,      Your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Although I am sure the context which with this was written refers to much larger concepts than I am applying them today, the point still comes across: it is God who teaches us what is best and God who directs us where we should go. If we pay attention to his direction, we then can have peace and righteousness. I often have little “spiritual nudges”. During these times (usually during the early morning), I know that God would like me to spend time with Him. I have lots of proof that when I listen to these nudges, not only do I feel closer to God, but my days are much more positive, and productive. But what...

Hello all! Thank you for joining me as I enter the world of blogging! My hope for this blog is to bring some inspiration, reflection, and prayer into the lives of those reading it. If, as Beth Moore has said, the Book of James can be summed up in two words: "Live it," this is my attempt at doing so. I am stepping out in faith to share with those of you whom I know - and hopefully some of you that I don't! Therefore, I am jumping in with both feet and worrying about the details (such as my profile, pictures, and format) later. My plan is for this to be a weekly blog, although there will be several posts at the beginning because I have lots of devotions already written. Bear with me as some are short, and some are long! Some are directed more toward mom's and I will put a "warning" of sorts on those. I will not post all of my devotions at once because reflection is important. Please feel free to hold me accountable for that weekly post in the future should...