Does God have a plan for me? Will I know it when I see it? Am a capable?

• Years ago I knew God called me to share my story in a unique, and big way!
• Years ago, I allowed fear to step in front of me and create a roadblock to God’s plan.
• Today, there is nothing that fear can do, nothing that Satan can do!

I’m sharing my story and God’s glory with the world!

How do we confront the intimidation of stepping out- in any arena? Where do we find our strength?  Are we believing through hope and action, or believing through stagnant hope?

If our hearts are ready, if our minds are set by his compass, and if our stories reflect His greatness, how do we step beyond our comfort zone into His purpose?

In today’s news we are hearing of the Christian persecutions around the world. A message of love is the only message to combat the cold and calculated measures of Satan! This is where we come in!

God’s plan is different for each one of us, but on one thing,

we share a common goal-

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20

God has a plan! You will know it, you are capable!

Trust him enough to follow him, wherever he may lead you, in whatever way he may use you! Trust HIM!

I’ve often been told my life should be made into a movie. It wouldn’t always be the happiest film. I’ve overcome abuse, loss, fear, bipolar disorder and some tough parenting challenges!

I was beaten and broken by a life that tossed me around, the last thing I thought I could be was renewed. I was who I was, how can I possibly change that?

Learning how to let it go and leave it at the cross and to incorporate my new faith and this new me, into my old daily routine was difficult? What is change? How do we transition from a place of comfort, no matter how frightening that place was, to a place of grace?

How does that old me fully be the His new me?

Your story hasn't been fully written, and no matter what arises in the stages of your life, He is ready to lead you forward through the story. 

Are you ready to step back? Can you remove the shield you placed over your heart?

Are you ready to let love be the theme of your new life?

In what was once so weak, are you ready to be Jesus strong?

Moms in today's society are expected to be "Super Mom"- work full time, clean, cook, chauffer, nurse, counsel, teach, bathe, and then-look presentable, pay the bills, and be that awesome wife! Anyone out there the perfect example of this kind of mom? That's a NO for me, too! 

In 2013, I found myself quickly succumbing to a critical health freefall. The stress of a grandbaby being born to my teenage daughter- 3 ½ months early, a husband traveling over half the year, a teenage son missing his dad-and showing it, and my mom who, herself, faced some serious news on her own health, all by June- had taken its toll. By the end of the year, I would face 2 biopsies and was visiting doctors on a weekly basis, until everything came to a sudden halt. I had to quit my job just to catch my breath.

There was a time I only relied on me, it was all I had. So to trust God in everything didn't come easy. Multiple times in my walk I've had to lay it down, and trust the God who asks me to.

Do you believe God has it under control?  Or are you to busy being a control freak? 'Trust in the Lord sounds good on Sunday, don't get me started on Monday'- mentalities leave our hearts empty all week long. God intended to be part of your day-every day! More importantly, He intends to be your rock for the rest of your life.  The journey doesn't have to be so chaotic, if the right driver is at the wheel.

What happens when we are ready to ask and seek, but we won't knock for all we see is our own banner of shame, guilt or fear blocking the door.  The Lord has a plan for us, nomatter where we began!

I’d accepted Jesus into my heart, I believed in the life, death, and resurrection of the one who came to save me. The more I walked forward in Christ, the harder Satan made attempts to stop me- reminding me of who I had been, and all I’d done. How could'I' be a soldier for God?

It was an internal battle of the wills- God’s will over my new life, and Satan’s will of the old- and I sat in the middle, looking from one to the other with guilt and fear that I couldn’t shake. I was left in a sad place, feeling lost and unsure. God met me there, hard hat in one hand, gloves in the other, and said, “Are you ready now?”

Let God lead you, and break down the barrier of shame that holds you imprisoned in darkness. He’ll walk you past that point-creating a new you…He’s the designer of a rebuild in you. 

Goal- To stop living in fear of the past and release our guilt and shame- any small thing that stops us from knocking on the door to His will, interrupts God's work through us. We can’t hide from the past, we can only accept where we've come from and love all that we are today. God loves you, all of you, every story, every hurt, every joy, every mistake.

Matthew 7:7-12

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

..My childhood memories came back in waves of pain. They flooded my inner being with anger and fear. I found myself in a mental health freefall. It was time to confront the loose ends of my past- not with people here on earth, but with my God above. Did God leave? Why did I endure what I did?..

My biggest challenge was to forgive. It just seemed so unfair. How do you turn all the anger, the feelings of rage that are bubbling deep inside, into forgiveness?  It didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen.

The Lord wants us to overcome the stronghold of un-forgiveness, even when evil has really taken its toll. Keep in mind, no matter how fast the pain occurred, the road to recovery may be a slow, steady walk. 

When forgiveness is the last thing you want to encounter, you may find that's when the Lord encounters you.