More Than Enough

I have faced many difficult and troubling situations, but the majority of them have involved encounters outside of myself. This last year I was brought to a place inside of myself that I couldn't seem to make sense of.

There were times that my heart seemed so heavy it felt that I was struggling for my very next breath. I felt like a stranger in my world, in my own skin. I had reached the end of me…

That is exactly where I needed to be.

At the very end of myself... it is there that I found God in a powerfully personal way. When it seemed there was no one, there He was.

 In the wait with me.  In the wait for me. 

I began to do the work of sorting, searching, seeking.  It was time to move forward. I began my quest to heal. I determined to do the hard work, whatever that would require, to get back up. I was not going to be taken down. Not this way.

Here I sit reflecting on all I have learned. Here I think back to the fight within myself.  Here I sit with a new and fresh awareness of God and His presence.

It required unmasked honesty… with myself. It dictated the refusal to rationalize or explain things that I knew needed to change. It didn’t allow for me to gloss over those areas God was putting his finger on.

It has not been an easy road. It has not been a comfortable road. Honesty with oneself can be brutal, but oh so necessary.

As I look back over the journey this last year has taken me... 

I see the harsh reality of it.

I see the beauty of it.

I see the place I was sure would be that of my last breath. Instead... I found I was in the valley where the very breath of God himself rushed through and revived me.

I see the wilderness where I was confident my dry soul would wither and die. Instead... I discovered the stream where God himself had led me to refresh me.

I see the rugged cliff that I so easily almost fell over.  Instead... next to it I see the bench where God himself invited me to sit and rest awhile, to regain my footing and renew my thoughts.

I Peter 5:10 (NIV) "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

It has really turned out to be quite a beautiful year. As for the person I am today… I am the same but somehow so strangely changed and different...

Yes, it has been a year of hard heart and soul work. However, it has also been a year of reflection, awareness, growth, restoration, renewal, and surrender.

~"A Beautiful Hurt"~
           --Leslie Nease

If you find yourself in a similar place, I want to encourage hope. I want to spur you on to take just one more breath. 

Don’t keep throwing yourself into more of something, anything, in an effort to cease the pain.

Take a moment and stop!

Do not fight the journey. Do not be afraid of it.

Take it. Choose it. Accept the difficulty of it.  Do not cower from the pain of it. Embrace it.  Invite it.

Above all, invite God into the very midst of it and allow Him to walk it with you!  He is already there.  Welcome the awareness and reality of His presence.

You are not left alone. God is there to reveal Himself. Discover that He is all that you need.  He is enough.

No, not just enough...

He is more than enough!

Thank you to those who walked with me through this last year unknowingly supporting, affirming, and encouraging me during a very difficult personal time.

Thanks to you who are new to my journey this last year. Your coming and sticking around helped to encourage me in my pursuit for newness.

I appreciate each one more than you know!

Welcoming the days ahead as I walk with Him on the path that He leads!  

Happy 2012...

Christmas Song Mix Up

Our little guy had a few songs to learn for the Christmas program. Two of them were "Happy Birthday" (to Jesus) and "Away in a Manger".

After practicing both of these songs, he suddenly burst out on his own singing...

"Happy Birthday to you.  Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday dear little baby Jesus asleep on the hay.
Happy Birthday to you."

Although he obviously combined the lyrics of both songs into one, sung with his young innocence and excitement, it was one of the most precious Christmas songs I think I have heard in a long time.

Happy Birthday dear little baby Jesus indeed!

Wishing you and your families a Very Merry Christmas... all because of Him!

Happiness versus Joy

This Sunday will be the 3rd Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy. I've been contemplating the difference between happiness and joy. There is a difference you know!

Happiness is fleeting. It is circumstantial. Happiness is dependent on other factors. Happiness is not an emotion we feel all the time.

I must admit, sometimes I am far from happy.

However, joy is different. Joy comes from deep within. Joy can be present regardless of the circumstances and situations surrounding us.

I once heard this definition of joy: "Joy: Peace dancing in your heart."


Capture a picture of that for a minute.

Peace dancing.

Regardless of what all else is happening... there is peace. That peace is not just sitting still becoming stagnant, it's dancing! Dancing in your heart, the very depths of your soul!!... That my friends is joy!

"Joy is more than my spontaneous expression of laughter, gaiety, and lightness. It is deeper than an emotional expression of happiness. Joy is... God in my life as I walk with Him." -- Bonnie Monson

Life as I walk with God. That is true joy!

Walking with God requires action. To walk is a verb. We must be active in the process. We must walk. We find joy by seeking God and His face, by being in His presence.

This is not a joy that can come from a new car, a new house, gifts in pretty packages, or anything else we might think would bring us joy. This joy, this peace dancing, comes from God alone...walking with Him and being in His presence.


Psalm 43:3-4 (NLT)
"Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy."

Psalm 16:11 (NLT)
"You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. "

God is the only one who brings that true joy into our lives. It is that joy, that peace dancing, that can be and is the giver of our strength... even in the most difficult times.


Nehemiah 8:10b (NLT)
"Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Psalm 28:7-8a (NLT)
"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The Lord gives his people strength. "

As we seek God, as we actively walk with God, as we depend on Him...He gives us His joy. He gives us His peace dancing in our hearts and His strength. It is nothing we can attain or achieve on our own. It comes from Him and Him alone.

Whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, whether happy or sad, whether exciting or tragic, whether energizing or exhausting... we can have joy.

From the very depths of our beings, our souls can rest in His plans. Our moments find strength to push forward in His strength. Our hearts can dance the dance of peace... the dance of joy. 

When it is all said and done, we can give thanks and praise to His name. He has done great things! We have been filled with joy... a peace dancing... because of Him!

Psalm 9:1-3 (NLT)
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you."


May you be filled with joy this season. Not happiness, for that can change in a moment's notice. No, I do not hope for only happiness. That is not enough to sustain you in the things life has to offer. Happiness is not near enough.

My hope and prayer is that you be filled with joy. May you seek the giver of all joy. May you find yourself walking with Him... side by side and hand in hand.

Regardless of what you are facing, decisions you are making, plans you have, and hopes you dream...may you look deep into the depths of your heart. As you look into the very depths of your heart and soul, may you find joy there...

Joy: Peace dancing in your heart!