cultivate the life you want
I have known Jesus since I was young. I always felt a deep connection to Him.
When I was 15, I made a decision that changed my life. I made Him Lord of my life. I made a decision that has stayed with me my whole life.
While watching the 700 Club a man told me that God wanted to be a Father to the fatherless. That was me. Fatherless. And I made a decision, that if He would never leave me, I would never leave Him. I can now say that I have been Fathered by the best father.
I keep hearing from the Lord, ride the wave.
I will be the first to admit I have struggled at home. Not my usual routine. Adjusting to new a lifestyle. Adjusting to all the news and emotions that come with it. Dealing with all new situations and sometimes not knowing how to process it all.
Why am I frustrated. I want to control something that I simply can’t. So there’s pressure and I am making myself frustrated for something that I can not change. For someone who likes routine and likes to plan, I find myself only planning for the next day.
As I was praying, I heard the Lord tell me to ride the wave.
I’m from Texas and when you go to the beach they tell you how to ride the riptide if you get caught in one. A rip tide is a strong current that usually pulls the swimmer or boater out from shore to the sea. It’s strong. When one gets caught in a riptide, their first instinct is to try to swim out. The swimmer gets exhausted swimming against the current, they drown from exhaustion. But experts tell us when we get caught in a rip tide to stay calm and ride it out until it ends. Yes, it’s carrying you out to sea, yes it’s scary to think not the unknown, but allowing the riptide to carry you not only saves your energy but your life. Then you can exit the riptide and swim back to shore.
I’ve been struggling to maintain all the daily routines, that I was swimming against the riptide. I need to just ride the wave. I have to remind myself, I’m safe a home. My family is safe, life will continue after all this is said and done. Not of us will leave this unaltered but many of us will leave changed.
I am not talking about riding the wave of fear. Or the fear of uncertainty. The opposite, ride the wave of trust in God.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “for I know then plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for a hope and a future.”
We can get so caught up trying to figure things out, we miss what God is doing in our lives. God is not keeping things from us, He is getting things to us.
Ride the Wave. His wave. His wave is love. His wave is peace. His wave is security that He will see us through.
Yet, in the grand scheme of it. It’s a small moment in time that may feel like eternity.
I’m no expert. But some of you need to hear it too.
Ride the wave.
Do what you can with what you have. Hope for tomorrow. And the next day. And the days and weeks after. Allow yourself to feel all the feels. Just remember it’s a short moment. Don’t lose your joy. Don’t lose your peace.
Ride the wave. We will get back to shore in no time. #cultivateyourlife #pause
“Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later.” –Bob Goff
Encouragement and Prayer for today.
Father, lift our heads to see you. Even in the midst of uncertainty and the unknown, we are known by you. You hear every one of our cry. You see and know every one of our pain. We don’t have to be strong in front of you. Because I’m our weakness, you make us strong. We come to you knowing we will be comforted, but also our chapter isn’t over. We won’t look downcast on our current situation, but be reminded that goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives. We look to you. The story is unfolding. You have good plan for us. This is just a chapter in the moment of our lives. Amen. #pray #love #jesus #encouragement #faith #hope
I was driving the other day as I ran a few needed errands. Praying as I drove. I prayed about the day. The state of our nation and world. People who are out of work. People who are infected. People who need hope and security.
Then this scripture cane to me.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6
He reminded me that I am not suppose to be anxious for anything. I am suppose to be making my requests known with thanksgiving. He hears us when we pray. He is not hard of hearing. He is not complacent. He sees us and hears us.
What if the prayers of your past year are about to be answered. What if you dreams and desires are coming. He is faithful and he is working things out, even in the midst of chaos and disorder in the world, he still lives and revives His children.
As I was giving my requests to God that day, I had the peace that He hears us and He is still working things out in all our lives. He is the God that makes ways in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Trust His process. He didn’t do this to us, but He will make a way out.
Miss me? Yeah, it’s been a while. I haven’t blogged in a hot minute. But today I think is the day.
If some of you experienced a hard 2019, then I am in good company. It. Was. Hard.
But I have to say that with all my good intentions and goals, the start of 2020 has been hard too. Why? I have no idea. Continue reading “How is your 2020 going so far?”
Your Passion = Your Purpose
What are you passionate about? What motivates you to see change?
Did God give you a burden for the lost? A desire to speak? Is there a subject that every time you hear it, something inside of you rises to the occasion?
What it means to Cultivate your Life…
Over the history of my life, I have had friends come and go in my life. I hate when friends drift apart or that we move on. It’s painful for me to leave others behind, but as I grow in who I am, I know that friends are part of my journey. 
Have you ever struggled with self-image or body image? For most of us, it’s a real deal. I struggled with it my whole life. Being an overweight teen and watching my thinner friends wear the trendy clothes or get asked out my all the guys.
I remember praying to God about the person I would marry. And I thought to myself, I’m gonna marry a guy while I am still fat because I want him to love me for me and not my body. Wether that was the right mindset or not, I did. I married a guy who absolutely loved me for me! In fact, he never once did he call me a name or seen my size. And he continues to make me feel like the only woman in the world.
But as most women do, it sometimes doesn’t matter, if alI you see is a not so perfect body and feel so ashamed of what I saw in the mirror.
Even after kids and my weight climbed, it was worse and made it more apparent.
On my weight loss journey I was at a marriage conference. The leader asked all the people who have ever had issues with their body image or body shaming to please stand so she could pray over us. She asked us to ask Jesus what He thought of our body. That’s a great question. What did God, my creator, think of my body?? As I stood there for a moment, the scene of Mary Poppins came to my head. Except I was holding the measuring tape and as I unrolled it, the words, “ PRACTICALLY PERFECT IN EVERY WAY” appeared on the tape. I began to laugh then weep. It all didn’t matter anymore, what I thought of myself, what I thought others thought of my body, or even what my husband thought of me. Nope, the only thought that mattered was God’s thoughts of me. I can now bless my body and all the parts I don’t like about myself, because I know He sees it differently. I think I will carry that into the rest of my life.
☕️ My sweet friend gave them cup to me, because I know she knows my story and my journey. I absolutely love it! A reminder of the girl who was set free from her view of herself. I can embrace the view Jesus has for me spirit, soul, and my BODY. 
I often tell people that it wasn’t my weight loss that brought me to a new place, but a new mindset that brought me to believe in my weight loss. It was actually loving myself enough to finally do something, I felt I couldn’t do before. My journey isn’t over and I love that! I love that I continue to discover more truths about health and who I am as I work on my health and love myself.
Today, I am looking into some new transitions about my body and praying about the next steps. I can’t wait to share my journey with you.
#weightloss #healing #lifestyle #love #selflove #bodyimage #health #mentalhealth #jesus
One of the hardest things for us to acknowledge is when we are wrongly accused. You know the truth, and you want so badly to justify yourself. You want so badly to prove the others wrong and be in the right. Continue reading “Accusations”
Cultivate Life 
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