How many of us have spent much of our lives leaning or going out of the way we knew we were meant to go in our lives... to please or “go along with” what others told us we should; or, to be the consolation for others? If we do it for too long, we forget how to stand on our own; or to become all we were perhaps meant to be. All too soon, we realize the things that anchored our souls in our youth have been so uprooted, we risk toppling over if we don’t reconnect with the soul’s anchors to refuel. 

Are you ready to exclaim ”Not Today” by: Hillsong United? 

In nature, some trees or plants thrive better when seeded in clusters or groups, while others need more nutrients, requiring greater spacing, if they are going to thrive and BE all God planned for them. 

Just as in nature, humans are not all created to thrive in the same manner. 

What feeds the soul of one, may have very detrimental or devastating affects and effects on another. 

We are not all the same; but, we are equally and BEautifully created in the image of God. 

God always knows where you are.  Embrace... Yes, Jesus was an individual with followers; but, He also sought solace and refuge in ”God and Me time,” on the mountain. 

”By Your Side” by:  Tenth Avenue North reminds us to not fight the hands holding us, wherever we are.  Stop fighting who God calls you to BE, or where. 

At first glance, some things may not seem so detrimental.  Take the first picture, which merely looks as if the smaller tree is providing some minor support for the larger tree. 

Upon closer inspection of the second picture from a different angle, we see the larger tree’s need was so much greater than the other tree had resources to provide, in keeping it aloft. 

Just as we humans tend to want to “rescue” fellow humans, despite knowing we lack the strength or capabilities at times by giving from wells not refilled enough or vast enough to draw from for the other’s needs... we can permit the uprooting of our inner peace and souls. 

It’s okay to say “No.”  It’s okay to make self-care a priority.  No, it is ESSENTIAL to make and take time for self-care. 

It’s better for everyone when we stop avoiding that “Little Voice Inside,” as Jaci Velasquez, sings so eloquently. 

Sometimes, all we need is a little sunshine beating down on us to be secure in remembering the warmth of God’s Abundant Love is surrounding us, daily. 

”O Come to The Altar,” by: Elevation Worship and feel the warmth of Jesus’ love, even on days the sun isn’t shining! 

Take a moment to remember, honor, and BE great-full, (not grate-ful,) for those who bring a little added “splash of color” to your life, today, and always. 

For me the greatest influence is ”The God I Know, ” whose love permits me the freedom to embrace all of my quirky and crazy... broke my doubt and gives us all unconditional love about which Love and The Outcome sings, quite Beautifully! 

Seasons come and seasons go.  The leaves and flowers may change; but, the trunks of perennials remain. 

As humans, we were made in God’s image to withstand many seasons of challenge and change. 

Some of us weather few storms, while others endure many. 

Unlike trees and shrubs, we are not dependent on others to know if we are not receiving the nutrients we need and we aren’t necessarily dependent on others to help us relocate. 

When God gives us a nudge, it’s up to us to embrace our fears and move onto the path or location we’re being guided towards in order to not only have enough light; but, in BEing a Light or beneficial for those around us. 

There’s no better time to follow the suggestion of the Newsboys’ song... “Live With Abandon.” 

How will you take this unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and live, more into your faith? 

For me, it’s embracing “a call to serve” through the music God began bringing to me, as a child. I had always been too afraid to share it... until God brought me the support I have needed, in God’s infinitely perfect timing. 

How is calling you to step into your Divine Love and Service towards others?

Are our lives resembling the outstretched hands, always needy and empty... waiting for God and others to fill them, our hearts, and our souls, without doing the same for others? 

Or, do we provide, as we are called? 

Do we wait until the people around us are totally depleted of food, water, or shelter in The Word of God to nourish and strengthen their spirits; and, wonder why they feel forgotten and alone... or do we engage when given, or better yet, try to create opportunities to feed and fuel those who are too depleted to bother asking for help, anymore? 

How many of us will do for wildlife; but, not for the humans we see “singing sad songs” or perched around us, each day? 

Why is that? 

Is it because in nature or with wildlife, we might have a better chance of the ones we’ve helped... return to “flutter” or “climb about,” or “make a show,” of public appreciation we can capture to show the world... with no verbal commitment for further engagement? 

Is it because we fear, “once we begin, it’ll never end...” when helping our fellow man? 

Yet, we expect God to always be there to answer our every need, no matter how frequent or how large, the asking. 

The song “First,” by Lauren Daigle reminds us to seek God first; then perhaps, we can relinquish the Gifts we’ve been given so freely. 

What are we willing to give... of ourselves, our time, our talents, our treasures... in order to foster those or similar Gifts in those who would like an opportunity to BE that kind of Gift... for someone else, too? It might be someone a little too spiritually “tattered or torn” to ask; but, who makes an effort to show up.

Is it better to always keep things trimmed nice, tidy, short, and precisely... or is it better, sometimes, to permit a little bit of slacking, loosening or lessening of our need to control the perception of things being so tidy? 

We might find letting a little slack, provides a perfect bit of camouflage for an eyesore or two, while providing the perfect opportunity for other creatures to perhaps find a happy home, nestled in what we initially viewed as “such untidiness, or disarray.” 

Perhaps when we contemplate a song like “Healed,” by Nichole Nordeman... we can remember we have nothing to prove or fix. We have “sinned;” but, Christ died and we are forgiven. It’s time to embrace we are “healed,” whenever we are ready to accept and claim it. And, it is so. 

What can you let go of controlling, so tightly, today, it might help another to breathe a little freer, or into whom can you help breathe “new life?”

Just because a large portion of a bush or tree in nature, no longer serves or flourishes at its primary purpose, doesn’t mean it’s no longer valuable. It can serve to nourish so many other BEautiful life forms... if we continue to nourish the parts that remain strong. 

The same is true as we age or lose functioning, within our human bodies. We can choose to maintain and strengthen the things we can, adjusting to new norms... and embrace the opportunities to thrive in new, exciting ways... and/or return to simpler pleasures we’d since long forgotten we enjoyed, “once upon a time.” 

No matter where our lives go or how our bodies age, may we always remember God asks us to go “All In,” just like the lyrics Matthew West sings about in his inspiring song. 

Do you know someone who is struggling to find self-worth? 

Imagine how that life might change, if you took a few moments some morning, or afternoon, to chat over tea or coffee... in earnest conversation and you helped them rekindle a long forgotten passion that gave them new purpose. 

What if you do more than “imagine it,” and you embrace doing it! 

Who will you inspire, today? 

While watching the skies, one afternoon, there were a lot of “W '' clouds that whizzed by so quickly, I could barely capture any of them. I pondered the significance, after the third one, as I snapped the fading remnants. 

The song “Give Me Your Eyes,” by Brandon Heath, came onto my headphones, just then. 

Then, it came to me... I felt like those “W’s” were God showing me how The Word, or His Word, gets distorted, misinterpreted, and misconstrued to the point it is used to actually eliminate the Love, Christ was sent here to SHOW us. 

We need to stop allowing humans to butcher or crucify the messages Christ came here to show us, we need to live out, each day. We are to love The Lord, our God... and Love our neighbors, as ourselves. No more, no less. 

How can we lay down our fears, and embrace our neighbors? Through meaningful conversations. It’s how we learn... we are not so different. We all cry clear and salty tears from our joys and our pain, and we all bleed red. That withstanding, the “institution of The Church” has browbeaten us/society to always “mend” a perhaps “broken fence,” (relationships with those who’ve harmed us.) ReCogNize, “the church” has benefitted from that brainwashing narrative by conning people they view as “less than” to donate towards maintaining their idolized buildings, while those who are “affluent” within the church are the ones in “leadership roles,” going on vacations whenever they want. They’ve gone into demanding those they consider “less than” need to donate our time, our talent, and our treasures… rather than knowing or having the understanding in God’s love, charity begins at home, refilling our own well… and neighbors helping neighbors… NOT emptying or depleting our time, talents, and treasures into the hands of those who’ve lost touch with us.

These flowers are like “the little engine that could.” They are the plant that our late dog “watered,” the most. Despite the fact his “watering our lawn,” killed the grass, this particular plant and its flowers seemed to love Poppy’s “contributions,” each day. 

Isn’t it fascinating how something that normally kills lots of plants, can be so very beneficial... to a mere one? 

Perhaps that’s why some relationships don’t look or seem like they should work at all... or kind of like where phrases, “opposites attract,” come into being? 

May God “Forever,” as Kari Jobe sings, be the only one who was Risen and is Alive in ways to BE Lifted High enough to know all of the reasons for everything in God’s Gracious and BEautiful... Divine Plan. 

Embrace the quirky people and things in your life, who or that make it more Glorious❣️ 

Sometimes, we are afraid to pull back the curtain and look at our past, perhaps because we’re afraid we’ll get stuck there. 

But, what if we need to go back to our deepest “Cut,” as Plumb so hauntingly sings, to experience or feel through something we stuffed or shoved aside, in order to more completely discern, identify, and more thoroughly process past trauma stored within ourselves, our body cells? For it is only when we begin to truly process everything held within us we can begin to see the lessons taught by those we’ve loved and lost. 

Then, we can let go of what was holding us back; and, “Be the things you loved about those who are gone.” And, it does not exclusively mean those who have passed. It can also refer to those who have qualities that profoundly touched or moved our soul in ways we never imagined... ways we are grateful to have experienced; and will never forget. 

Peering inwardly, some would choose to focus on the dying or dead portions, perhaps viewing them as ugliness. 

What if, rather than viewing the dead or dying portions surrounding us or more importantly, within us, as ugliness we should try to just eliminate immediately... we realize how permitting them to decay away in their own space and time; but, with helpful, healthful, support along the way... we focus on the beauty in what will BEcome when the environment reaches full transformation? 

Kutless has a beautiful song, “What Faith Can Do,” sharing such a mindset change in seeing what is possible. Things may die or fall away; but, things and people can also rise again, more BEautifully❣️🙏🏼🙏🏼❣️ 

Even within individual plants, changes occur... some BEautiful, while other parts decay and fall away. In perennials, we have faith the changes occur to restore beauty to the plant for the following season... to bring beauty and nourishment to those around it. 

Plants have faith in the knowledge they will return, bigger and more BEautiful... each season. 

Kari Jobe sings about her faith in the song, “I Am Not Alone.” No matter what our personal or world situations are, we can have faith... we are never alone during our changing or growing seasons. Are we looking to others around us for strength, comfort, help, and peace... or relying on those gifts within us… given to us by God’s Grace, Love, and Faith in us... showing us, perhaps... it’s always been within us... IF we see ourselves... through God’s eyes? 

Perhaps it takes these isolated times for us to discover how much we have “put onto others,” versus reaching inward to use the gifts Creator had given us, long along, at our inception. God’s Wisdom & Vision, not ours. 

Sometimes plants we tend have prolific harvests, sometimes... not, or parts can become diseased or blighted... with only a few fruits or veggies able to be beneficial. 

It doesn’t necessarily matter how much work we pour into nurturing, supporting, and caring for a plant or a person... if they are unable to absorb the nutrients being provided, the nutrients may merely get washed away with the next storm. We can hope, pray, and do our due diligence; but, only the individual and God control the outcome. 

No matter how desperate we are for something or someone to thrive, rather than merely survive and exist... it is the plant or individual who needs to “Breathe” the air and nutrients and draw them inwardly... I know I am lost without them, something Rebecca St. James sings about in her song. 

Our vast life experiences can alter the way we see things. This tree for example, if you came under it while on a nature walk, would it give you the impression it wanted to scare you, or hug you... surrounding you with love? 

We can let things “tear us apart,” inside, or we can let them strengthen our resolve to not let them shatter us beyond repair; but, give us the fortitude to stand firmly in our Truth, Faith, and Love... as Martina McBride sings in “Concrete Angel.” 

A “bird” cloud, reminded me of a study I was doing, earlier today. I’ve been doing a study, combining a word search of Women of The Bible; then, reading the corresponding scriptures. I typically challenge myself by looking for a grouping of three words, at once. At one point, I was searching for the grouping of “forgiveness, freedom, and guilt.” I found guilt first, forgiveness second; then, freedom. 

I began to meditate about how the aforementioned “ordering” truly resonates to a lot of our everyday lives. Often... It isn't until we bear the guilt of our pasts, whether individually or collectively, forgive ourselves and one another (for doing the best we could with what we knew at the time... as we do better when we learn more... per Maya Angelou,) that we can truly seek and receive forgiveness... deeply within. 

Sometimes, the “sins of the soul” may create within us a sense of self-righteousness, rather than seeking repentance. 

Perhaps if we return to the place of our “initial wounds,” we can live into sharing  more “Motions Of Mercy,” as Francesca Battistelli sings so BEautifully... with ourselves and one another. 

Instead of only “taking stock” of our lives annually, with regard to the people, places, and things we are grateful for, (we can see, hear, smell, feel/touch, and taste…,) perhaps we can become more mindful and appreciative of them on a daily basis.  

Can we want less, expect less, and waste less… in order to value one another, ourselves, Mother/Father Earth… more? How can we approach each new day, honoring the healthy boundaries of our own... while doing the same for others? 

For me, it’s about BEing true to that which I am called to BE. Serving; but, not serving until my well is so depleted I cannot honor a spiritual call. It is not giving of oneself to the point of the destruction of everything you know your soul to BE. That is not serving any Divine call; but, man’s. Don’t be disillusioned, we can have various “calls,” throughout our lifetimes… none of them have to mean ministering, preaching, teaching, or counseling. There are an entire array of ways to serve a “calling.”

How often do we receive pleas on the heart for giving to organizations, for folks that we and said organizations would pass by in our daily living… were it not for the recognition or additional funds to maintain programs, buildings, etc. If we do not have compassion for those with whom we interact daily, can we truly expect the organizational offerings to magically turn lives around? Or, do we offer a hand up, (not a hand out,) teaching (skills) in giving moments or opportunity… which includes calling for accountability of those abusing individuals or groups of people, organizations, and systems. This includes calling out and standing up in opposition to elitists systems, embracing opportunities to build better foundations for equitable living wages within every home, without the need for one or all adults, or in some homes... even the children, needing to forego self-care in order to work 3 - 4 jobs to provide for the bare necessities, let alone be able to continue their or their children’s learning and growth opportunities, with any measure of success.  

To those generations who bought into the DOing to HAVE… be mindful of exactly what it is you now have. I’ve met so many who have the mindset those who are no longer willing to be a party to the elistists’ “DO what we want you to do, to buy what we dictate you should want…” so many of you don’t even have the clarity to see the ways you belittle those, while bailing out your own children and family members to avoid familial scandals, humiliation of family names getting into the “news,” etc. In all of the doing to have, the creation of a boom in addictions of all kinds took place, even within you and I; yet, we fail to even be cognizant of it. Maybe some struggle with family get togethers; because, we fail to be thankful for the struggles we see others going through; because it reminds us of ways we fail, each day. To “heal the world,” we need to first face and admit our own failures… within our families and our friend circles. Instead of blaming or continuing with the empty promises of changing to be more helpful, we actually, truly, whole-heartedly BEcome the change… by first, dropping to our own knees.