Audacious Courage for Life

You may be spending New Years Eve alone like me.. our stories may be different. One thing is certain- You are loved. You are not alone.

Just as I posted this morning- God IS WITH you.

Being lonely is normal. Being in a quiet season is normal. However, believing you are not loved in that loneliness is a lie.
You are so, so very loved. You are cared for by a creator who says YOU ARE GOOD.
Do you know what good means? It means complete. Your Creator, Our Creator— Our Abba Father says we are good. Let that sit on your heart. Remind yourself to who you belong.
Beloved of God.
You may be physically alone, but never spiritually. You have been made whole with nothing missing. Not one single bit of you is wrong. Embrace it.
Let all of us that are “alone” tonight embrace and invite Our Father to be with us. Feel the comfort in knowing He is always with you. ❤️❤️🙏🙏

If you are consistently pushing your partner to do more and more and they never get to rest— stop.

If you are pushing your partner to do things they said they do not feel comfortable with— stop.

If you are constantly comparing what you do against what the other person does, as in a tit for tat—- stop.

If you are getting negative feedback from your partner on a regular basis- stop ignoring the feedback and listen.

If you are not allowing for your partner to stretch or grow—- stop. Let them grow and enjoy what they are interested in.

If you make plans without your partners input— stop.

If you dictate and demand to your partner— stop.

If you leave no choice making for your partner— stop.

If you believe that your money is only your own and is controlled and only financial decisions are made by you— stop.

If you believe you matter more than your partner— stop.

If you believe your work compared to your partners is valued more and believe yourself to be “the harder worker”- stop.

A relationship is a SHARED life between two individuals. A marriage is covenant SHARED. Love is to be a SHARED emotion.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

May we treat each other with respect and kindness. Knowing that these actions will yield good fruit in good time. Understanding that the negative actions cause rifts and are hard to repair. Be gentle, be gracious and trust God. 💙🙏

I was thinking about what extraordinary means the other day while working my second job. It means very unusual or remarkable.

I pondered the facts that I had never done anything extraordinary. I thought about what could I do that would be considered extraordinary. Then, I have this thought:

What if our ordinary is extraordinary? What if me working two jobs, cleaning my home, checking on my children, taking care of our dog… What if that actually IS extraordinary??

Sometimes we need to step back and reassess how we feel and think about ourselves. God said I am fully complete and perfect in Him. I’m already extraordinary! The world deems your hard work, skills, life living to be nothing but bland. Social media feeds you lies that you need to be constantly doing more than someone else to be worth more. It isn’t true…

You woke up today… maybe you made the bed… maybe started laundry… maybe not. Maybe all you were able to do was just wake for the day. Then, my dearest friend… that is extraordinary. Everyone will have a different perspective on extraordinary… no one person will always agree.

Let the truth be told— feeding the poor, helping the homeless… these are commendable and can be extraordinary actions. But, You — you just being You is incredibly extraordinary.

Don’t downplay or dismiss your worth. You were worth dying for… A Savior gave his physical life to raise each of us from the “dead”. His sacrifice was extraordinary and you too, are extraordinarily extraordinary. 💙🙏💙

What is Audacious Courage for Life?

It is the courage to face our truths— whether they are grand or utterly painful. In being audacious we can learn to live in freedom.

Join me on the journey. Here is a snippet of my story:

I was an angry parent many times. I wanted total control. I wanted to be the perfect parent. The perfect friend. The perfect wife.
Instead, I was overbearing. I was short tempered when I knew I failed or couldn’t control the outcome. My marriage was a failure. (Let alone the abuse.) My motherhood… I would do well and then, Boom! Completely flip the house upside down. Everyone in my path was due to suffer.
I hurt each of my children in the same ways and in different ways.
It haunts me. Moment to moment depending on the day. I think on the moments that I cussed at them. That I screamed at them while so frustrated.
There were moments, it affected the household deeply. I DID fail as a parent to my young children in these ways.
It doesn’t matter of any of the good memories or moments. It was tarnished by the hurt. I have apologized as the moments get brought up or present themselves.
There have been moments I would rather die then examine and address the hurt that was caused. Or debate running away or never being a part of their lives again. Not a self loathe, but a hatred and painful grief of my mistakes. It hurts and it always will.
I love my children. They are kind. They have listened to me apologize over and over. I still apologize as needed. I will forever be reminded and remember what I was as a mother to my young children.
The most beautiful gift I have now is that they have chosen to love me. They have chosen to move forward with me as young adults and allowed me to be a part of their lives. That is an honor and a privilege.
Do not ever take advantage of a child who is compassionate enough to give you another chance. They trust you to do what is right and to keep trying. Perpetual failure can only occur if we don’t grow. Keep trying. Keep growing and learning to love better and healthier.
We are truly blessed to be their parents. Our children are truly an inheritance of the Lord.

https://youtu.be/nZ9D4GyfrfE?si=J_CFDMHSpHfu33y9

SYMPHONY

Sometimes it's hard to breathe
All these thoughts are shouting at me
Tryna bring me to my knees
And it's overwhelming
Darkness echoes all around
Feels like everything is crashing down
Still I know when my hope is found
And it's only You and
… Ooh, You say You're working everything for my good and
Ooh
I believe every word
… 'Cause even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me
Through all of this chaos
You were writing a symphony, a symphony
… And even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me
Through all of this chaos
You were writing a symphony, a symphony, oh
… Tune my heart to Your beat
Let me be Your melody
Even when I cannot see
But You orchestrate it
Even when the dark surrounds
You'll never let me drown
I know that my hope is found
In the name of Jesus
… Ooh, You say You're working everything for my good and
Ooh
I believe every word
… 'Cause even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me
Through all of this chaos
You were writing a symphony, a symphony
… And even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me
Through all of this chaos
You were writing a symphony, a symphony, oh
… Yeah, I wanna truly know if You compose beautiful music though
From all my unruly notes
The distance is dissonance, move in close
Now I see erased the scales from my eyes
Then played the scale in my life
Chaos played off with a chord in accord
With the source prevailing through strife
… And I've tasted suffering
I've been embraced by the painful buffering
I've been bound by doubts so loud right now
But a melody is made when you play these rusty keys
So we all gotta get pressed
Tuned up like instruments
But I know
All of life's tempo is set
Whenever we remember this
… That even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me
Through all of this chaos
You were writing a symphony, a symphony
… And even in the madness, there is peace
Drowning out the voices all around me
Through all of this chaos
You were writing a symphony, a symphony, oh
… Ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, a symphony
Ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, a symphony
Ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, a symphony
Ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, ooh-whoa, a symphony

Symphony (lyrics) ~ Switch (feat. Dillon Chase) I LOVE this new song! Prepare for an audio and visual celebration! You folks voted in favor of creative videos, so I'm doing my best to learn new skills. ...

Let’s live a life that is kind to ourselves.

🖤✨

Even as a Christian, there are days the world is just one big muddled mess.
I have nothing left. The season sucks like an overflowing septic tank!

God is faithful.

There is no one but my God who loves me in purity and protects me. He is my rock and foundation. No emotion, no statement, no treatment can ever persuade from who my Great and Faithful Savior is and will always be. Our Alpha and Omega! My one and only love of this physical life to the spirit life.. I will forever praise Him— Abba Father!!!