abandoned to Christ.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:26, ESV Psalm 73:25 says, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." Both verses 25 and 26 resonate the song of my literal and figurative heart; for God alone makes my physical heart beat, and He alone made my figurative heart alive in Christ. Without the LORD I wouldn't have physical or spiritual life...and neither would anyone else. This past Friday, my Cardiac Electrophysiologist confirmed that I have an uncommon heart arrhythmia called sick sinus syndrome (SSS) . What this means is that my heart can no longer keep a steady rhythm because it's "sick". The short version is that my natural pacemaker (sinus node) is no longer functioning properly so I have bradycardia (heart rate under 60 bpm) which causes me to be very lightheaded, dizzy and weak due to the lack of blood flow...

It's been a while since I've shared anything about my physical health ( my last post was in November 2014 ). Perhaps you thought the Lord healed me from my serious health afflictions...but He hasn't...yet. And that's okay with me. I'm now entering my 11th year of constant and often debilitating pain, extreme fatigue, seven surgeries in seven years (my most recent was a few weeks ago). I'm also still adding new specialists to my already large repertoire (an Endocrinologist, Cardiac Electrophysiologist, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, and more). In addition to all this, it looks as if I'm going to need at least one more, and possibly two surgeries this year (one for my hyperparathyroidism and the other for a cardiac pacemaker). The reason it's been so long since I've shared anything about my continually declining health, is because I've wrongly concluded that it's better for me to encourage you rather than burden you with my seemingly, ...

Tomorrow, we'll celebrate another Mother's Day. For some, it'll be a day in which we have the opportunity to honor our mothers who love the Lord and taught us to do the same. For others, it'll be a day when we miss our mothers who are no longer with us, but have entered eternity with Christ, or grievously, without Christ. And for others, this Mother's Day will be a day where we're tempted to send cards filled with untruthful, feel-good sentiments and share posts on social media that describe a godly mother we never had/have. Regardless of what kind of mother we had/have, we're called by God to love and honor her... biblically (read: Celebrating A Different Kind of Mother  to find out how to practically obey this biblical mandate). Some, like me and my husband, were raised by mothers who worked hard to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. But sadly, neither are/were believers (my mother-in-law entered eternity without Christ🥺) However,...

I look to the Lord. "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for You have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy." (Psalm 61:1-3, ESV) In my current situation, my "enemy" just happens to be my own body. My literal heart is faint. As many of you know, the Lord has allowed, in accordance with His good and perfect will, for my body to suffer many things these past 10 years . Now with five surgeries within five years (I didn't write about my kidney stone surgery and stent last year...I just didn't feel like it, sorry), I have another issue that requires extensive medical attention. I have a heart arrhythmia. I have what's called premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). I've actually had them for the past five years, with about one year where they completely went away. They started up again this past year, but similar to ...

There are many (too many) days I have trouble just opening the Word and getting my day started with Praise and Quiet Time in the Lord. I know this isn't a popular thing to share, but it's an honest thing to share about my spiritual walk...or sometimes, lack thereof. Though I could keep this weakness of mine hush hush and only share my accomplishments, my highs and all my joys I have in Christ, I can't do that because it would be disingenuous. When I remember I'll never be the wisest, kindest or most Christ-like person on this side of Heaven, I am both relieved and spurred on toward holiness (2 Cor 7:1, Eph 4:24, Heb 12:14). This may sound a bit strange—to feel relieved and encouraged by what makes me weak; but in Christ, these seemingly diametric concepts are actually harmonious. "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep m...

"While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. BUT JESUS rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God. " ~Luke 9:42-43, ESV (emphasis mine) When was the last time I was astonished at the majesty of God? When was the last time you were astonished at the majesty of God? We're often astonished by so many things: breathtaking musical talent, incredible athletic ability, jaw-dropping acts of illusionists, amazing (and often humorous) animal antics and even the evil we see all around the world. I'm not saying this is wrong. What I'm saying is, are we more astonished by these creations, or their Creator? We live in a generation deluged with information through news, videos and social media. With this influx of information it seems we've forgotten the most important aspect of communication—listening. We've forgotten how to stop and smel...

Being "out there" in social media and writing online brings a lot of people into my life. More than I can fit into my home and more than I can usually respond to in a timely manner...if at all. This makes life a bit more interesting and often fills my days and heart with praise to God, prayers for friends (some I've never met in person) and also some heartaches along the way. I never set out to be a writer. I never set out to have readers or have people who would "follow" me. I wasn't raised in a Christian home, so I set out to be a diligent student of God's Word. I wanted to learn how to be an excellent Proverbs 31 wife and mother, a loving sister/friend to fellow Christians and an exemplary witness of Christ to the lost world. I set out to know what my spiritual gifts are and use them as God has ordained in His Word (Rom 1:11-12, 15:2; 1 Cor 12:7) to edify the Body and cause many to give thanks to the Father—while bringing glory and honor to Hi...

Early last week, I had the special blessing of attending a luncheon with Keith and Kristyn Getty at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Then, the very next day, God increased my blessing by allowing me to interview this lovely couple. It's always a joy when the Lord connects me with saints in Christ who love the Him and are devoted to His Kingdom work with humility and integrity. I really can't say enough about how genuinely kind, down-to-earth and pleasant both Keith and Kristyn are. "Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus" ~Philippians 2:3-5 My interview with Keith and Kristyn reminded me our heavenly Father's command to love Him with everything we have and love others as Christ has loved us. I was greatly encouraged by their p...

Yesterday I had the blessing of interviewing Jimmy Needham : a young, 28-year old Christian, husband, father and someone who just happens to be a singer/songwriter. I say "just happens" because unlike most, the obvious career the Lord chose for Jimmy, is not the one he foresaw for himself. Jimmy is a graduate of Texas A & M. His plans were to remain at his alma mater and teach Philosophy. But God inspired the heart of Jimmy's loving and supportive father to encourage him with an offer to fund Jimmy's first album, originally titled, "For Freedom"  in 2005. Three months after Jimmy posted songs from this album on MySpace, he received a call from the President of InPop Records who flew to Houston, Texas to meet Jimmy. InPop signed Jimmy with their label and publicly released his debut album, "For Freedom" under the new title,  "Speak"  in 2006. It was after these two events, Jimmy realized, "this doesn't happe...