Aware of the Cats!

Yes, I am thankful for the Cats in my life…and I’m not talking about felines!  To understand where I got the incling to call people in my life Cats, listen to this last Girlfriendit Radio Show titled, Surviving Life and hear Sandy Tremp share her story. 

What a clever little name to give the people in our lives  who God has used as a catalyst  to move us forward.  

Are you aware of the Cats in your life? 

God makes me aware of these Cats when I spend time with Him and one way I spend time with Him with a toddler at home, is during my afternoon walks.  This last week, God has been showering me with little whispers of His love, and they all echoed through the trees during my afternoon walks.  My eyes have gravitated towards the beautiful trees in our neighborhood. 

This is one of my favorite trees.  The leaves were actually red in the fall and leaves changing is a foreign thing in the Arizona dessert.  Right now, these trees are full of beautiful white flowers. 

About half a dozen line the path just a few feet out my front door and as the days go by, I have watched the white flakes of the blossoms cover the sidewalk as if it were snowing. 

This reminded me of a scripture in Isaiah that talks about us being washed white as snow…a scripture I heard while at a retreat and it actually snowed in late spring. 

Karie, Chris, Cameo, Deb and I

Then another day a storm rolled through and I was racing my boys off to football practice driving through the neighborhood watching the flakes flutter with the wind across the street reminding me of the gifts we have been given from God are meant to flow freely to cross the paths of another and I was reminded to pray for a dear, sweet, new friend. 

Then, now after being so very aware of the Cats in my life as I walk and remember other times I went for walks being aware of the trees, sometimes as a little girl, sometimes as a lost teenager and sometimes as a hurt adult woman…there God has always whispered.  With each walk and small part of my journey, He has drawn my heart to see the tree that I am as described in Jeremiah 17:7-9.

Sometimes things happen, sometimes people are abusive, sometimes people are unaware, and sometimes I just need to learn to give God the heartaches and pain so that I can grow.  And isn’t that just what a Cats purpose is…to bring about change—with each Cat in my life, God has used them to make me that much more fruitful!  I've learned about boundaries, mercy and grace along the way--both for myself and to extend to others--and I'm still learning.

I took this picture weeks ago when I was struck with how stoic this bird sat perched on the branch of this tree, and God has brought it to my mind frequently. 

You see, a few trees down the path, a handful of birds were flying away as I walked down the path, startled by my approaching feet.  But this bird sat still—unmoved even as I drew closer to capture this amateur photo. 

Something in me wants to be like this bird—unmoved by the noise of life, chaotic situations and relationships with Cats.

I have a feeling this bird has allowed the Cats in her life to roam in and out of her life, knowing she can soar.  We have wings to soar GIRLFRIEND!!! 

I needed to remind myself of this fact this week.  Do you need to be reminded too?

What keeps you stuck in the pain? 

What helps you remember those wings?

God’s Word and even the very study I wrote and have published as an eBook are speaking to me this week.  In Matthew 4:11, right after Jesus rebuked the enemy with God’s Word, it says, “angels came and attended him.”  I’m reminded that I too am going to be thrown arrows from the enemy and he unfortunately knows what has wounded me in the past, and he loves to inflict old wounds.  I must consistently refute the arrows from the enemy and fight through the pain with God’s truth.  It is here that my heart is light and I see my ability to soar…not just surviving but thriving! 

Let’s practice together, Allen McCray also encouraged the listeners on Girlfriendit Radio  to make a list of what is true—turn that desire to compare your list with mine or anyone else’s and I will resist this temptation too--but let’s just share with the purpose of spurring one another on to see what is true! 

I will start and I will be looking to hear what you have to say too.  Ready-set-go! 

I AM LOVED…WORTH DYING FOR and WORTH the effort to be spoken to!
(These past weeks it's been in the trees...hmmm possibly, for the purpose of casting my eyes above to see the heights as to which He wants me to soar)!

*Come on...don't be shy, share your truth and let's thrive--even amongst the Cats in our life!

Help!

I chuckled to myself when I got home from Bible Study the other night and saw that one of my boys wrote a little note in response to my first note to him and the rest of my boys.

As I smiled and let the love of my boy sink in, I felt God whisper to me, "Yes, let My Love sink in."

I haven't always had a heart to ask for help...either from others, my boys, and especially not from God.  But I am learning as I take little baby steps, what it means to walk humbly with my King.  Hmmmm...we don't have to get it just right before we take those first steps, do we?  We have the freedom in Christ to walk...to take those 'freedom baby steps.'  (Want to be encouraged to take some FREEDOM STEPS...check out this album another princess is debuting soon).

Do you need help?
Do you ask others for help?
Do you ask God for help?

I have definitely been that kind of wife, mother and friend in recent years that did not need help, for I felt that I could take care of things best on my own.  If I asked for help I used to feel that I was fully displaying all of my weakness and fraility for all to see--and who wants to display weakness.  (Ah, yes, but when we are weak, You are strong (1 Cor 4:10). 

Can you relate?

This week in my studying...please feel free to join me and others on the Princess Path and let me know if you want to join in on the studying 1 John, we are just beginning Chapter 2 and you can get my eBook here...we just talked about God being our help.

As I stare at the words penned by my boy, I also think of the words God inspired others to pen and I know God is with me in spirit and encouraging me to ask for help. 

Do these scriptures stir your heart like they do mine?

"Now go, I will help you..." (Exodus 14:12)

"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. (Numbers 33:26)

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."  (Isaiah 41:13)


Who is your help?  How do you ask for help?

Clean And Cute!

Does your life look or feel messy?  Yesterday was a messier day than usual for me and I even tweeted this picture of my son.  I titled this picture of him and is smeared spaghetti tray, “It’s been a messy day!”

I thought a lot yesterday about how messy life can be.  In the middle of the muck of life, it is easy to feel like we can’t get cleaned up—hopelessness can set in at any given time and thoughts of change exhaust even the most driven princess. 

I realized this morning that God was speaking to me through my messy day and He rocked my heart this morning as He breathed life into my heart.  His words of truth are echoing now as I type, “You are already clean.”  And as I work through my 1 John study He is highlighting this truth even more!

Click here

Are you studying God’s Word?  Are you plugged in with a group of girlfriends?  I encourage you to get connected and meet face to face with some gals around you; but if for some reason you can’t—I invite you to check out my study here and get connected with me and other girls on the Princess Path.  There are almost of a dozen of us on this specific journey right now and I will be sharing more of my heart these coming weeks as I venture on this journey with some new girlfriends.  Just click on the picture to the right and it will direct you to Amazon to download my eBook.  Then visit with me here and let me know that you are studying with us—I would love to pray for you each week!

So, in today’s study we read Hebrews 9:14 and 22 and the word cleans jumped off of the page for me.  I share the meaning of the Greek word in my study and write—“all the mistakes, all the regrets, all the dirtiness that life brings, He can wash away.” 

I realize how much the world has taught me otherwise.  Even the very people God has placed over me in my life, other well-meaning people just have managed to communicate either by their words, or lack of words and just their simple actions have left me with thoughts close to my heart, “You are not good enough,” or “I see your messiness and until you get it together, you have no worth.”  As a child I remember feeling like my good always needed to be better when words of affirmation were often withheld.  Over time, my heart was left feeling dirty, inadequate and without hope and I couldn’t really explain these feelings--I just know I felt this way deep inside.  I struggled with feeling clean and good.  Do you struggle with feeling good enough in this messy world?

Remember this picture I said I tweeted, I got several comments back with just the word ‘CUTE!’   I have to say, I agree with the comments, for as I snapped the picture of my messy boy, I was thinking about how cute he was and he was just so proud to be feeding himself and enjoying every second of messiness.  As I glanced again at the picture I heard God whisper, “How cute you are in your messiness.  And just as you are cleaning him up—I do the same for you…You are clean and cute!”

You are clean and cute too girlfriend!  I pray you make time to chat with our King today and hear His whispers for yourself.  Feel clean and cute!  Because He has already made us clean and cute!

Want to be inspired by another’s journey with God that brought about clean and cute amidst a messy life?  Bryon and Julie Widner will be sharing their redemptive story on Girlfriendit Radio today…can’t wait to hear from this former skin head and his wife and how God transformed their lives with His love.  Come listen with me and then let me know what you thought of the show?

Beautiful eBook!

Last night I was at church attending a leadership meeting and was delighted that they chose to begin the meeting with worship.  The last song we sang, brought the Spirit of God close, reminding me of the magnitude of God’s love for me.  This theme that I am loved, and WHOA HOW HE LOVES US, has been resonating in my heart these past few weeks and I remembered quoting this song in my first eBook. 

Yes, you read that right…my first eBook on the study of 1 John is published! 

As if that wasn’t enough, I’m so excited to be leading a group of women through the study beginning next week! 

Check out my page on Amazon and then click on the link for my eBook “A Journey Through 1 John – See the LIGHT-Feel the LOVE- Live the LIFE!”

I first wrote this study on 1 John about  2 ½ years ago and led a group of almost 20 women through the study and was blessed by giving both my time to studying and praying with these women. 

God continues to open my eyes and open my heart to His ways and His love; encouraging me to live the abundant life free from the entanglement of abuse and sin that I was accustomed to as a child.  My life is not perfect, I am not perfect…but none of us has to be…His love is perfect. 

May we know and rely on the love that He has for us girlfriends! (1 John 4:16)

Leaving the meeting last night, I chatted with three gals that I have never met before; there are hundreds of leaders at our new church and my family is still six months new to the church.  Two of the gals were named Linda, and we made small talk about the name Linda; it’s my mother’s name (please continue to pray for her—I will blog more this week about her and her journey) and then one of the gray-haired Linda’s spoke about a time decades before when she was a naïve teenager a casa-nova type gentleman told her that the name Linda meant beautiful.  “It does!”  I know that; yet this Linda was sharing how put off and offended she was with this man’s context and attitude as he shared with her this truth. 
I chatted with them briefly about how sad that the world may try to bring us down and taint our ‘beautiful’—yet God has named each one of His children after his own beautiful image….

I celebrate today this day that my eBook is published not to boast of what I have done or my own ‘beautiful,’ (truthfully: at times my feelings about ‘beautiful’ have waned)—No, it is God who captivated my heart and has transformed me from the inside out…and I pray that you too will see, feel and embrace your own beautiful!!

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.  I sing and write anthems to His beautiful name!

(Psalm 135:3 The Message)

You are a beautiful princess, grab your tiara and join me on this Princess Path…and if you feel led, grab a copy of my eBook and let’s go down this journey together!

Would love to hear your thoughts about the study; you can comment on Amazon or below on my blog. 

To my King be ALL the BEAUTIFUL glory!