The Wind and the Waves

The Lord woke me up at 6:45 this morning.  For real. Saturday. The day after summer break begins. Those who know me well know I'm not a morning person. The sad part is, I'm not a night person either.  Paul says you can catch me best from 10-2.  I wasn't ready. Boy was I not ready. But He was.

Before the coffee was even finished brewing He had directed me to Matthew 14:24-33. Yes, sometimes I get on my phone first before I go to the Lord.  Sometimes I open Instagram to wake up.  I know it may be a horrible habit, but I can't seem to dive into anything until the fog has lifted a bit from my eyes. This morning the Lord used it to point me to him.  A friend I follow posted a picture of her Bible this morning opened up to these very verses (Thank you, Lisa Young!!).  I knew at that moment the Lord put it there just for me.  He wouldn't let me get past it until I opened my Bible and dove right into what He put there just for me, for this morning.

My heart seems to stay in a very raw place these days.  I'm so ready for this season of pruning/chiseling to be over with for a while.

Verse 24..."Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves." A strong wind and heavy waves.  Do you ever feel like you are drowning beneath the wind and the waves?? What is your wind this morning? What is in the waves?? Part of me doesn't even want to peel back the layers to look.

Verse 27..."But Jesus spoke to them at once, "Don't be afraid." he said, "Take courage, I am here!!"  After I read this verse my heart began to see a glimpse of hope.  Take courage, He is here, beside me, holding me by my right hand...holding my husband by his right hand, holding my children by their right hand, holding my parents by their right hand, holding each of us by our right hand.

Verse 28..."Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water."

Verse 29..."Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

Verse 30...But when he saw the strong wind and the waves he was terrified and began to sink.  "Save me, Lord!" he shouted.

Verse 31...Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.  "You have so little faith," Jesus said.  "Why did you doubt me?"

Why do we doubt Him? Why do we struggle so much with trusting that He is in control and we can let go and let Him take over?

When I started reading these verses I just had to stop a minute and reflect a moment at how good the Lord is.  He has been preparing me for this morning. He knows that worship music speaks volumes to my soul.  I've had this song on on my playlist and every time it comes on I have to push repeat.  I had to just smile at how He works.

Come to Me

I am the Lord your God, I go before you now
I stand beside you, I'm all around you
Though you feel I'm far away,
I'm closer than your breath
I am with you, more than you know

I am the Lord your peace, no evil will conquer you
Steady now your heart and mind, come into My rest
Oh, let your faith arise, lift up your weary head
I am with you wherever you go

Come to Me, I'm all you need
Come to Me, I'm everything
Come to Me, I'm all you need
Come to Me, I'm your everything

I am your anchor, in the wind and the waves
I am your steadfast, so don't be afraid
Though your heart and flesh may fail you
I'm your faithful strength
I am with you wherever you go

You have to take a minute and listen to it.  I can't even.  I am your anchor, Shannon, in the wind and the waves.  I am your steadfast, so don't be afraid.

I am your husbands anchor, your children's anchor...in the wind and the waves.  So don't be afraid.  Let go.  Hold onto me.  Come to Me.

https://youtu.be/oy9mAJh5ST8

What is your wind? The more I allow fear to control my thoughts and my actions, the more of a mess I create in myself as well as my family.  It's time to let go.  It's time to take hold of His right hand and step out on the water.

Live Life Intentionally

Happy New Year from The Mints Fam!!  It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that 2014 has come to an end and it is already 2015.  Does that sound weird to anyone else but me?? Can time just slow down for a bit already?? 

It seems as if I see myself coming and going in so many different directions lately.  I can't seem to wrap my head around what needs to happen today, much less all that happened yesterday or needs to happen tomorrow.  

I don't know about you, but I'm over it. OVER. IT...DONE.  There has GOT to be a better way.  

For the past few years The Lord has given me an area of my life that He wants me to focus very intently on.  Apparently I'm a slow learner, because there have been a couple of times that one area has spilled over into the next year.  I am also realizing that although He gives me one area to focus on, He is only using that area to build upon the next.  Just follow me here for a little bit and I'll explain myself.  

For a couple of years my focus was REST.  There were areas of my life and continue to be areas that The Lord has shown me that I need to focus on when it comes to REST.  First and foremost, I needed to learn to REST in who I am in Christ.  As I learned and continue to learn this, it has helped me so much when it comes to resting my thoughts, emotions, fears as well as just allowing myself to slow down physically and give myself permission to rest.  Why do we as women have such a hard time with this area of our lives? 

Isaiah 30:15 (emphasis mine)

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says, "Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it."

For the last two years (remember I'm a slow learner) the word The Lord gave me was HOPE.  Thank goodness He quickly led me to the book by Renee Swope, A Confident Heart.  I wasn't quite sure where He was going with this one.  Why is this so important?  HOPE...what He continued to teach me was that hope is holding on....holding on when things around you begin to feel like they are slipping away.  Hope is praying expectantly when it seems as if there are no answers or you might not even know how you need to pray.  I read where HOPE motivates when discouragement comes in quickly.  HOPE energizes when your mind, soul, body and spirit are just plum worn out.  HOPE endures, it smiles confidently, it presses on.  

January 1, 2014 I came across Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience.  It was definitely a life-changer for me.  She shared how there would be new resolutions, new words for the year, new plans...but that maybe, just maybe, the one word we needed to focus on was Jesus.  Just Jesus.  Change in Him, Become like Him, Hope in Him, Rest in Him. 

So as 2015 comes barreling in without invitation (I'm still trying to work on my to-do lists from 2014), The Lord put a few thoughts on my heart...thoughts I'm still trying to process through, pray through. 

Shannon....what would it look like if you intentionally woke up each day and just lived life in Jesus...Just Jesus...instead of letting life live you?

Trust me, I'm still pondering this question, so I'm not quite ready for 2015 yet and it's already January 2.   If I'm honest, thoughts of fear and overwhelment have already crept in.  What if I can't figure this one out?? (Dang Satan) But then I also have thoughts of hope....what if I really could do this?? What if I allowed myself to REST my soul, HOPE in the Lord and INTENTIONALLY live life in Jesus...Just Jesus.