Yesterday, I was walking to my car from a meeting and admiring the glistening snow that was all around me. I thought about this verse:

Isaiah 1:18 New International Version (NIV)
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

I only have one thing to ask. Don’t you want to Glisten? I do.

God Directs, I CHOOSE to Follow!
Be blessed!

I am way behind on putting away my Christmas stuff and as I put away my nativity scene I started to think about the wise men . These men sought and were determined to find him. When they did, in Matthew 2:11 we read that the wise men fell down and worshiped him.

This brings me to a question that I believe we should be asking ourselves. How determined are we to seek him in our own lives? We should all seek him with the same determination, that causes us to fall down and worship him. Seeking God is deeper than just coming to him for the first time seeking salvation. Seeking God means that we seek him at all times for all situations. When you are feeling blessed seek him to express thanks and joy. When you are lost, seek him for guidance and direction. When you are broken, seek him for comfort. Seek God with determination! God DIRECTS us to do that, CHOOSE to follow.

Be blessed today !

Ever look at child and think, wow look at how happy they are. Children often run around the world without a care in the world. We often hear people tell them not to grow up to fast. When I became a mother I found myself saying some of the same things. As adults we often feel overwhelmed by bills, to-do lists, jobs and relationships thus losing the joy of a child. But do I have news for you……and me too, WE ARE STILL CHILDREN. We are God’s children. That joy can be found in obedience to him. We must claim that joy, live life obediently unto God and sing his praise.

Psalm 32:11 tells us
REJOICE in the Lord and be GLAD, you righteous;
SING, all you who are upright in heart!

When we choose to live according to his example we will find joy.
Find joy today children of God. Bring yourself from the overwhelming burdens of this world, by simply walking out today and singing a new song. GOD has DIRECTED, CHOOSE to follow!

Blessings to you today.

As I drove home from work today I heard Chris Tomlin’s song, Even So Come and I felt a tremendous feeling of adoration for God just listening to the lyrics.
The Chorus specifically spoke to me, the chorus says:

“Like a bride waiting for her groom
We’ll be a Church ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing “even so come”
Lord Jesus, come
Even so come
Lord Jesus, come”

I immediately started to pray, I began to pray for the Church, each and every one of us. We are his church, and as I prayed I asked myself, “are you ready church?” Are we ready for our groom, for our King? These questions should cause each of us to take an internal look and ask ourselves, are we being obedient to God, are we asking for forgiveness from our sins? Our primary purpose in life is to emulate God and his love.

GOD has DIRECTED, we MUST CHOOSE to FOLLOW.
Be blessed in following the Father today!

We have all heard the old rhyme, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
Let’s get real though, words do hurt. More often than not we would probably take the stick or stone just so that we could “get the pain, over with.” Words are lasting though.

We can feel the negativity of painful words and rush to replace the words with encouragment in order to fight the feelings of sadness, disappointment, shame or anger. Perhaps we have decided that these words define us. Perhaps we think that these words are truth, but they do not have to be your truth. The opinions of others do not define you, negative words that are spoken are not your truth.

God knitted each and every one of us in our mother’s womb. The truth is God created you for his glory and there is no room for negativity within that truth.
Unfortunately for as bad as we may feel about the things said to us, we have all done the same to others at one point or another. I don’t know about you but that thought makes me cringe a bit. To think I may have inflicted the same negative feelings toward someone makes me feel like I need to make sure I become aware of my words and make a change.

Turn your bibles to Ephesians 4:29 Before we read the verse let me give you some background, Ephesians is a letter that was written by the apostle Paul in order to encourage and challenge the church to live a life that glorifies God, a life filled with moral standards and love.

I want to encourage us to accept the challenge brought to us in

Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Let’s think about this for a second, what would life be like if everyone accepted the challenge, to avoid unwholesome talk and build each other up? It is hard to even fathom just how awesome it would be, isn’t it? So here is what I propose we do. Let’s shine that light, let’s make a conscious effort to accept the challenge and follow through. Let’s use the encouraging words and spread it to all the people we can.
Let’s make that old rhyme about others instead of ourselves: “sticks and stones may break YOUR bones, but I’ll use my words to encourage YOU.”

Be blessed and bless others today!

Throughout the day I had an overwhelming need to pray about people in fear after I received a vision. I saw a single woman walk into an enormous ocean wave she wore a white button up shirt with white flowing pants,she had long blonde hair, and blue eyes. She lifted her hands toward the clear blue sky and had a huge radiant smile on her face as if she could see the face of God. I felt a sense of complete joy and peace, God said to me, “my blood washes over my children like a wave, and through me they are made pure. Through my blood they are cleansed.”

I was then led to look to my left where a dark storm cloud hovered over another wave. The wave towered over an enormous crowd of people, their clothes were stained and tattered, they looked as if they felt scared and alone, they frantically looked around as if searching for something. God’s arm was held out underneath the top portion of the wave, holding it back from swallowing them. He said to me, “those who do not know me are afraid, lead my children to me so that they might be cleansed by my blood.”

This reminded me of a poem written for the book I plan to publish this year. I ask that after you read this poem take the time to pray for those who have not yet experienced the love and security of a life in Christ.

In this Moment
By: Lisa Bracy

There is a man sitting on a throne way up high
A man filled with love, never a sigh.
You worry he gets tired of hearing from you
But cling to him is all he wants you to do.
You say maybe he just won’t understand
But he watched his son die on a cross in the sand.
Perhaps you are carrying a heart of guilt and of shame
But do you know that is healed by the call of his name.
Do not be afraid to let him come in
Rejoice in a life free from your sin.
This is your moment for mercy and love
This man has been waiting for you from above.
Your father who loves you, your father who cares
Is a man with compassion, it’s your pain that he shares.
He gives an everlasting life and the absolute best for you
Embrace him in this moment is all you need to do.

I recently had a conversation with my Auntie about prayer. It was one of those days that I was late to work, I spilled my tea in the car, people were less than happy at work and the evening ended with a rather large tiff with my husband. More than anything, in that moment, I wanted to get under my blankets and slam a fluffy pillow over my face and forget the days events all together. I just wanted a shot at a new day, but in that moment my auntie’s text showed up in God’s perfect time, as it always does. The text was a simple how was your day? Which lead to us getting on the phone for a long phone call where I explained what a bad day it was. In her usual sweet voice she said “I’m sorry, honey, did you pray about it?”
That question was the conversation starter for some other important questions:

1) Where do I pray?
2) Do I get on my knees?
3) Am I free from distractions?

Can you believe this pray without ceasing kind of girl had not given much thought to these things? Thinking about these simple questions enhanced my prayer life. Mark 1:35 demonstrates to us how Jesus prayed.
We learn that he prayed before sunrise, he GOT UP, LEFT the house and WENT OFF to a solitary place. Not only did Jesus start his day with prayer but he removed himself from distractions. He understood the importance of a solitary place to talk to his father. God needs us to do the same. We need to GET UP and GO to our solitary place where we can sing his praises, where we can give thanks and where we can lay our burdens at his feet. I encourage you to find that solitary place to pray to your father, get on your knees and pour your heart out to him! He will meet you there. Add this to your prayer life, at the very least rise and go to bed spending time in this solitary place.

Mark 1:35

Praying for your anxious hearts tonight. HE HEARS YOU, JUST BREATHE ❤ I wrote this for you:
Grip
As the hand of anxiety grips at my throat, I will breathe.
As my chest starts to become tight, I will breathe.
As my thoughts run from me, I will breathe.
As the hand of anxiety grips at my throat, I will breathe and be free.

As I watched the Royal Wedding today I thought about all of the preparation a bride and groom take in order to look just perfect. How often though do we think about the garments that God has given us and the purpose of those Garments.

Put on your new clothes today through a right relationship with Christ.

Isaiah 61:10-11