And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5 NASB

Just before I was married, I lived with my Grandpa and Grandma Smith (my moms parents). They truly loved the Lord with all their hearts. They had started at least 2 churches in Lansing, Michigan before I was born, would give their last dime to help someone in need. Good people! But the thing I loved to watch the most was that before they lay down to sleep, they would sit on the edge of the bed and say a Psalm they had memorized. This was one I happened to be home for and was asked to sit on the bed and join in.

It didn’t matter that I didn’t know all the words, it was the words themselves that made the huge difference. It was the declaration to never forget that God is always faithful. Faithful to forgive, to heal, to redeem me from the pits. Who actually crowns me with lovingkindness and compassion, two very important things to have in my life.

I don’t ever want to forget who satisfies my life with good things and renews my youth like the eagle. I remind myself that things could be worse. I’m not sick. I’m not homeless. I have friends and family who love me even in my weirder moments.

Remember to be thankful today,

Sandy G

Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5:16 AMPC

Wow, I could write a book of confessions, and that’s only my own observations. I can’t imagine what would be written should someone else grab a pen. But I’m so thankful that because I confessed my sins to God and believed on His Son, Jesus, all of my sins were wiped out, cast away, forgotten and everything in my life became new. That right there is a very good thing!

Our pastor spoke on Luke 15, the Prodigal son, and something he highlighted was the kiss of the father when the son came home. It wasn’t a peck on the cheek, it was passionate kisses all over his face. He was so happy to see him back that the rest was dismissed. It didn’t matter that he’d squandered his inheritance or that he’d played the fool with harlots. He unconditionally loved him.

That’s what God does for us. He simply loves us. That love isn’t based on us keeping the rules, it’s based on something bigger and deeper than we can even imagine. He’s not trying to record every wrong step we make so He has reason to keep us out of heaven, He’s prepared a place for us so we can eternally be with Him.

I think that James was writing this to remind us that confessing our faults to one another helps everyone to understand that it’s not by what we do, but by what He did. He made a way for us to talk with God as our Father, the Father who loves us regardless.

Who wouldn’t want to sit and talk with a Father like that? You may not have had a good earthly father, don’t compare Him with him. If you really want to know Him, read the story in Luke 15:11-31 and think about God as that father. Now run to Him. Sit on His lap and love on Him this morning. It will totally change your day!

Make it a good one,

Sandy G

Wake up, you sleepyhead city! Wake up, you sleepyhead people! King-Glory is ready to enter. Who is this King-Glory? God, armed and battle-ready.

Wake up, you sleepyhead city! Wake up, you sleepyhead people! King-Glory is ready to enter. Who is this King-Glory? God-of-the-Angel-Armies: He is King-Glory. Psalm 34:7-10 MSG

Don’t hit that snooze button again! Get up, pull up your Bible App or open your actual hard Bible and read a Psalm. Than close your eyes and smile at Jesus. Tell Him you love Him and invite Him to accompany through your day. He loves it when you do that.

Then get ready to experience a day like no other. He will find ways to hug you that you’ll just know was a God wink. How exciting to live life with Jesus.

It’s going to be a great day!

Sandy G

God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life. Psalm 23 MSG

David recognized the Great Shepherd because he was a shepherd. He new how to approach His throne with no needs, just worship and praise.

I can just see him laying down in the meadow at night surrounded by sheep, looking up at the stars, overwhelmed by thoughts of God. Even when danger surrounded him, David felt safe because the Shepherd walked and talked with him each and everyday.

Like David, I’ve been alone and lonely, but I found Him right there, at the edge of the pit of despair. Like David, I’ve focused on the blessings instead of the heartbreak. His hand outstretched to lift me up and point me in the right direction. I don’t do it every time, but I’m learning that direction of travel.

God always reminds me that there is nothing I could ever do to keep Him from loving me. That boggles my mind. Such grace! Such mercy! How could I not bring Him my worship? How could I not fall face down at His feet and just say, “Thank You!”

I’m not afraid when You walk by my side.

Sandy G

Have you ever been angry with God? I have! I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this struggle.

When I was 13, my dad died very tragically and multiple people came to me and said, “God took your daddy.” That made me angry! I couldn’t understand why a loving God would do such a thing. For two years I harbored some very deep resentment until someone spoke into me the truth of God’s love. That Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy, but that God came to bring life more abundantly.

Sunday, our pastor talked about Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. There was so much to her story that spoke to me but perhaps in a little different light. Her story was about an empty womb, mine was about unanswered prayer. But the struggle she went through on her journey was one I could definitely relate to.

Watching others receive miraculous healing while you watch a loved one suffer is hard. Hearing one bad report after another is hard. Sometimes I have to constantly remind myself that Jesus didn’t say I’d never go through anything, He said He’d go through it with me. I just have to remember that. I choose to trust Him.

And when I want to pound my head against a door because it’s stuck shut, I have to tell myself, remember who holds the key and wait for Him to open the door. In the mean time, I’ll simply wait and trust in His unfailing hand. I may not hear what I’d like to hear or get what I want to get, but I know He loves me and wants what’s best for me. I don’t see it all or know it all, but He does. I choose to trust Him.

Sometimes something has to die and be uprooted so that something else can come through. Something with other purpose that’s meant to feed others and give life. What looked good to me may have just served His purpose and needs to go. I choose to trust Him.

I was born with purpose.  Not mine–His. My spirit possesses multiple seeds that are for specific seasons. I choose to trust Him.

What if the thing I’m longing for is for then and not now? It’s about timing. You’re going to be glad that your expectations didn’t let go. I choose to trust Him.

Your womb holds your future. But even if your natural womb is taken, your spiritual womb will still produce. I choose to trust Him.

Sandy G

To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness,The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 NKJV

Can you imagine getting up every morning, putting on what you wore yesterday, then putting something clean over it. Day after day, you go through the same routine putting on layers of old and dirty just to cover it with a clean outfit. After a few weeks of this, the clean would have to be a much bigger size just to fit over all the old not to mention the smell.

Crazy, huh? Yet everyday we refuse to lay down the old in exchange for the new. We try to carry on with the old life and just cover it with our version of righteousness. We add our own twist to worship, our praise is not from our hearts but from our flesh.

This is my prayer today; I cast off the old, the pretend, the garment that makes me stink of old mindsets, selfish desires, self ambitions and traditions and I trade it for Your robe of righteousness. I want to be called Your own. I want to look like You, talk like You, smell like You. When others look at me, I want them to only see You!

Oh Jesus, I’m so glad you made a better way. Thank you for cleansing me in Your blood, washing me clean and placing on me a robe of righteousness. I’m Yours to use, Yours to claim, Yours forever. May the smell of Your glory permeate the world today as I pass through wearing Your robe. Just as the woman who touched the edge of Your robe and was healed, may everyone who touches Your robe on me be changed, healed, delivered and set free. May they look at me and say, ‘She looks just like her Daddy!’

Sandy G

and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:46

The Father values you. In spite of your actions, He values you. In spite of your decisions, He values you. In spite of your current stressful situation or what you think of yourself, He values you.

Your value has never been about what you feel, your value was stamped on you when God created you. I found this in the dictionary when I pulled up the word value; the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange.

Jesus exchanged His life for yours because of the value you hold. Contained deep inside of you is something only you were designed to do for the Father. You can’t compare your worth to others because others have their own gift. Some of us are simple, some are complex. Some are born leaders, some are born to follow.

There is nothing wrong with you. There is nothing missing or lacking in your life if Christ lives in you. The words of Paul come to mind; Christ in me, the hope of glory. He brings everything you need to do anything He asks of you. It’s simple trust that makes you a team.

Trust Him to be what you need to be.

Sandy G

So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6

Ever held a seed in your hand and imagined the possibilities? Well, you can keep on imagining all you want cause until you plant it, it ain’t growing nowhere! I can have a seed, hold a seed, encase it in beautiful jewelry, but until I plant the seed it, water the seed, care for the seed, nothing will ever come of it. Why? Because seeds have a purpose to reproduce after its own kind.

Has your seed of promise remained in your hand and you wonder why it hasn’t done anything? Plant it! I’m not saying toss it onto any old ground and hope for the best. I’m saying spend time with God and get some direction. Ask Him where the best soil is for that particular seed! If you want optimal yield, you must learn to listen and obey.

Sometimes you have to look for a better job to replace the one you have. Sometimes you must plant your children (NOT LITERALLY-though at times you may want to!) and totally trust God for their future before you see the slightest bit of change.

Don’t be discouraged! Don’t be downcast, oh my soul! My help comes from the Lord! Even when you can’t see what’s going on with the seed, it’s growing. Don’t gage the end result by what you see while it’s still growing.

I love what God has done in both my daughters lives, but most of you didn’t know me going through the ‘growing’ part. I had to stop talking about what I saw and come into agreement with what I heard in the Word. I had to put on my blinders and speak of things that were not as though they already were.

It was the soil I got dirty in, caring for the seed I had entrusted to the Lord. Water, watch, water, till, weed, water, watch…it’s a long process, but keep remembering that tree is destined to grow and yield fruit!

So, go ahead and imagine what one seed of Faith can do.

Sandy G

I Samuel 30 Tells the story of David and his men returning from battle to find their town burned to the ground and all of their families kidnapped. Loss. In verse 4 it says that they wept till they could weep no more. Brokenness. But then in verse 8, David seeks the Lord and asks if they should pursue. He sought the Lord! And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

Don’t curse your season of loss and brokenness, seek the Lord with all your heart. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Let’s continue with verses 18-20; “David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock.”

If you will just stop looking at what you’ve lost, encourage yourself in the Lord by thinking on what He’s done for you in the past and seek His face, just love on Him, ask Him what you should do, He will show you! The very area the enemy is fighting you in is the very area God wants to bless you in. Body, soul, mind, spirit, faith, finances, family and future.

God didn’t love David more then He loves us. Don’t allow this time of loss and brokenness to dictate where you will end up. The battle isn’t yours, it’s Gods! His ways are not our ways, they’re backward. Who else would design a seed to fall into the ground and die before it could yield fruit?

Father, I give you my losses, my tears, my pain and sorrow. What the devil has stolen from me, you will return to me 100 fold now in this lifetime according to your Word. Just as you have in the past, you will take all that the devil intended to use against me and it will be for your glory. I TRUST IN YOU! Not everyone will understand me, but Father, you do and that is all that matters to me. I TRUST YOU! With my children-I trust you! With my finances-I trust you! With my job-I trust you! With my gift-I trust you. I rejoice in my victory because as David, I will recover all!

Love ya’ll

Sandy G

 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NASB1995

Nothing ever happens in your life that surprises God. What you choose to do with it and how many times you have to go through it before He gets your attention, is another story.

He has plans for you, but you’re not going to know ahead of time what they are. That’s why trust is so important in your relationship with God. If you have to know everything, perhaps you’re following the wrong god.

Let’s surprise God and pause, seek Him, ask for wisdom, and do what He says. It’s so simple. Take time to listen and obey today and see if it makes a difference. You may be surprised!

Sandy G