AGITATION:Agitation is the act of stirring things up, like the agitation of a washing machine that moves the water, detergent, and clothes around and gets the dirt out.

In order to clean, there must be some agitation.  Take washing clothes for example. No matter how far you look back in history, some sort of agitation was necessary for the process of cleaning.

When I clean my house, I may stir things up a bit, especially when I dust! Sometimes, my house looks worse before it looks better. For example, when I recently cleaned out, organized and purged items from my closet, my house was in disarray. I had stuff everywhere!!!! BUT, I knew it was just part of the cleaning process.

But why did my closet need cleaning? I could barely step inside my closet to reach my clothes. It had gotten cluttered with various storage items. No, it…

While many may not admit it, Christians often struggle with doubt, anxiety, tormenting thoughts, fear, and the like. All of which will promptly steel your peace and be long gone before you even realize it. The thief in the night, you might say. I’ve been there recently. And this is the comforting word the Holy Spirit gave me:

My circumstances do not have to change in order for me to experience God’s freedom from tormenting thoughts. I can have God’s peace in the midst of a stressed filled situation!
His grace is enough!

Your circumstance may not change, but your mind can!!!! Keep your thoughts fixed on God, and He is sure to keep His promise of peace!

^“Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe!” Psalm 116:2 tlb

We had gone out to supper at a nice restaurant, with a pretty nice 45 minute wait. While waiting, a shadow caught my eye of someone  s-l-o-w-l-y walking toward the waiting area.  The shadow looked to be that  of an elderly person with a severely hunched back. I was already feeling sorry for this individual.

Then, the shadowy figure came into the light and I saw a father walking with his young son. This tall man was hunched over with arms around his son; and walking ever so slowly as to hang on his every word.

What could an 8 or 9 year old boy have to say to his father that is so captivating, as to garner such undivided attention in a busy restaurant? What can WE say to our Father…

Here we are just a few days away from Christmas: 6 days to be exact. We are busy with hustle and bustle: attending holiday programs galore, cooking for family gatherings, and prepping for parties at the work place. And so the list goes on. Needless to say, we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

It is no wonder that we can actually find ourselves irritated and aggravated this time of year.  

Meanwhile, celebrating the birth of Christ becomes lost in the commotion, and is just another scheduled event. Church calendars are planned out with special Christmas programs, and everyone knows exactly where to go, and when to arrive: for Christmas programs that is.

This is a good time for us to ask ourselves what the Wise men asked: Where’s Jesus?

Do we look for God only when problems arise……have we hidden Him in that dusty…

My 23 year son was very excited about his new job. Although he has very little experience in the field, he was hired with an HVAC company where he will be trained and have support for going returning to school to receive certification. What a great opportunity!! Things are looking up.  He hops in the 28 year old Honda Accord to make the hour and 15 minute commute (one way) to begin his two week training. On the way home one night, this faithful and trusty old vehicle blew its clutch a day or two into the new job training. Training that is required in order for him to keep this promising new job. This might be a great excuse for your boss when you’ve been on the job 2 years but NOT 2 days!

The quoted repair price exceeded the value of the car. So that’s out! My husband…

“Tell Me your ‘everyday’ kind of talk. I want to have THAT kind of conversation from you too! I want to be included,” the Lord spoke gently to my spirit immediately after I texted a friend. I had been texting back and forth with a friend, and the content of our communications was light and jovial: silly even. I smiled and chuckled out loud a time or two when reading my friend’s responses.

God wants that? I thought about that for a moment. I text people daily and often, as most of us do these days. Yet, do I reach out to God that often? And would I tell him the happy, silly moments, or do I just save the serious, heavy topics for Him?

God is interested in every aspect of our lives, and He is interested all the time.

The scripture tells us that God never leaves us…

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us,
even though we cannot see it up ahead.” Hebrews 11:1

This table….old, used, abused, painted and re-painted…currently adorned with the three different colors.  A table discarded by my daughter because it no longer had purpose.

Yet I had hope for this piece of abandoned furniture, and wasn’t giving up. Not yet anyway. But after sanding and sanding and not seeing the results I’d imagined, my frustration grew and my determination wavered as a new purpose emerged:  chunk this unchanged junk!!!

That’s the moment the Holy Spirit whispered an important life lesson to me:
“When you don’t see progress, trust the process.”

We all have a “table” in our lives that needs a change. And we’ve all experienced that moment when we’ve…

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” This Charles Dickens quote just about sums up ANY holiday season.  And does this response sound familiar to anyone, “Yeah, everything was great EXCEPT…..”I’ve said it before, and will probably say it again.

I think there will always be exceptions to the perfect holiday. Everything was great except: my kid was sick, my car broke down, my flight was cancelled, my ordered  gift didn’t arrive in time, my bonus wasn’t given this year, my funds were running low, my family  member said some very hurtful things…… my……oh my…… oh my! Surely the worst of times.

There are exceptions or special conditions to nearly everything: contracts, grammar rules, laws, warranties, etc. I’m about to shock some of you with what I’m going to say next, but keep reading all the way through. There are even exceptions or conditions to…

We’ve all found ourselves in a situation that requires nothing short of a miracle. At some point, we have faced a harsh reality; some devastating news; or an impossible circumstance in which we were powerless to change. Perhaps all options have been exhausted, and it feels like it’s over; feels like time has run out.

I’ve got some great news:  it’s never too late to expect a miracle!!

God is not limited by time or severity of your circumstances. It doesn’t matter how permanent your situation may seem. In Acts 3 we meet a forty year old man that was crippled since birth. Yet he was instantly healed: walking and leaping after forty years of immobility. In John 11 we meet Lazarus who came back to life after being buried, and dead for four days.

None of this holds power over our God!

Nothing is impossible with Him!

It is…