Friday found me at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina. It is a glorious beach and I thoroughly enjoyed walking up and down its length scrutinizing the sand and searching for treasures. I picked up a piece of shell whose colors caught my eye. Varying shades of yellow and gold striped across a shell worn smooth by waves and sand. When I saw that it was a broken piece of shell, I dropped it back to the beach. And then God spoke to my heart, "broken but beautiful". That's me. That's you. That's every one of us. The hardships and hurts of life break us down. They leave us with sharp edges that can do their own wounding. They make us fragments of the people that God created us to be.
God will lovingly smooth our sharp edges if we will allow His grace and love and mercy to work in us. Where the world sees failure and faults and imperfections, God sees possibility. He sees an opportunity to be strong in our weaknesses. God sees a chance to make us beautiful in spite of our brokenness.
That shell, an amazing work of art, now sits on my dresser as a daily reminder to me that God sees my brokenness, but He calls me beautiful.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
oceans of love, waves of blessing
God always speaks to me when I am near the ocean. Or, maybe I listen better. No distractions...just God, and me, and the crashing waves. I've been in both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans in the past 3 months, and both times God has used the ocean to speak to me.
As I traveled across the Pacific Ocean in June, God asked me, "Can you see the edge of the ocean to the north, or south, or east, or west? Can you see to the bottom?" Of course, my answer was no. That's one of the things I love about the ocean...it's enormity and grandeur. God spoke to my heart, "That is how big my love is for you. You cannot see or comprehend its width or breadth or depth." I'm going to spend the rest of my life experiencing that love beyond anything I can imagine!
Two days ago, I stood in the Atlantic Ocean and watched as wave after wave came in over my feet and my legs. God reminded me of His great love for His children. And then God spoke to my heart, "My love and blessings will continually wash over you like the waves of the ocean, if you will stand in Me." The waves of the ocean never cease; they come in to the shore one after another. Depositing unexpected treasures on the sand. Washing away the footprints of the past and leaving a blank slate.
That is God's grace and His love and His mercy. Wiping away the past and giving us new opportunities. Bringing every good and perfect gift as an unexpected blessing at the exact time we need it. I'm choosing to stand there...in God's ocean of love and waves of blessing.
As I traveled across the Pacific Ocean in June, God asked me, "Can you see the edge of the ocean to the north, or south, or east, or west? Can you see to the bottom?" Of course, my answer was no. That's one of the things I love about the ocean...it's enormity and grandeur. God spoke to my heart, "That is how big my love is for you. You cannot see or comprehend its width or breadth or depth." I'm going to spend the rest of my life experiencing that love beyond anything I can imagine!
Two days ago, I stood in the Atlantic Ocean and watched as wave after wave came in over my feet and my legs. God reminded me of His great love for His children. And then God spoke to my heart, "My love and blessings will continually wash over you like the waves of the ocean, if you will stand in Me." The waves of the ocean never cease; they come in to the shore one after another. Depositing unexpected treasures on the sand. Washing away the footprints of the past and leaving a blank slate.
That is God's grace and His love and His mercy. Wiping away the past and giving us new opportunities. Bringing every good and perfect gift as an unexpected blessing at the exact time we need it. I'm choosing to stand there...in God's ocean of love and waves of blessing.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Jesus Christ has set me free
I will rise from waters deep, into the saving arms of God.
I will sing salvation songs, Jesus Christ has set me free!
-What the Lord Has Done in Me, Hillsong Worship
I've started 2 blog posts in the last month that never made it to publishing. Even though revelations from God were so meaningful to me, I was stopped in my writing tracks by the fear that my words would be meaningless to anyone else. Held hostage. The blessing that should have kept flowing from God to me to you, and anyone who happened to read my blog, was stopped short by fear.
This morning at church we sang some of my favorites...every one declaring freedom in Jesus. When we sang the last verse of What the Lord Has Done in Me, I nearly shouted, "Jesus Christ has set me free!" Free from fear, free from the need to please people, free from the darkness and deception of the enemy, free from the box of my own expectations! And of course, free from sin and death! Hallelujah!
I haven't been living like I'm free. I've been more concerned about what people think of me than what God thinks of me. I've been held in bondage by whispered deception, doubts and fears planted in my mind by the enemy of my spirit. And I've listened to them and almost believed them. But, my Father God speaks the truth to my spirit minute by minute. He chose ME, adopted ME, redeemed ME, loves ME, and blesses ME with everything I need! Not because I have proven myself worthy, but because of His grace! Again I say, hallelujah!
Look out world! I'm living like the free child of God that I am! Free to love extravagantly and to be loved! Free to speak words of love, life, and hope! Free to follow Jesus every minute of every day! Free to live enthusiastically and joyfully the life that God has created just for me! Free to be the best Dawn that I can be!
I will sing salvation songs, Jesus Christ has set me free!
-What the Lord Has Done in Me, Hillsong Worship
I've started 2 blog posts in the last month that never made it to publishing. Even though revelations from God were so meaningful to me, I was stopped in my writing tracks by the fear that my words would be meaningless to anyone else. Held hostage. The blessing that should have kept flowing from God to me to you, and anyone who happened to read my blog, was stopped short by fear.
This morning at church we sang some of my favorites...every one declaring freedom in Jesus. When we sang the last verse of What the Lord Has Done in Me, I nearly shouted, "Jesus Christ has set me free!" Free from fear, free from the need to please people, free from the darkness and deception of the enemy, free from the box of my own expectations! And of course, free from sin and death! Hallelujah!
I haven't been living like I'm free. I've been more concerned about what people think of me than what God thinks of me. I've been held in bondage by whispered deception, doubts and fears planted in my mind by the enemy of my spirit. And I've listened to them and almost believed them. But, my Father God speaks the truth to my spirit minute by minute. He chose ME, adopted ME, redeemed ME, loves ME, and blesses ME with everything I need! Not because I have proven myself worthy, but because of His grace! Again I say, hallelujah!
Look out world! I'm living like the free child of God that I am! Free to love extravagantly and to be loved! Free to speak words of love, life, and hope! Free to follow Jesus every minute of every day! Free to live enthusiastically and joyfully the life that God has created just for me! Free to be the best Dawn that I can be!
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