Engraved and Tattooed

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; 
your walls are ever before me." 
Isaiah 49:16 NIV
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"Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me." (Amplified)
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"Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands.

The walls you're rebuilding are never out of my sight." 
(The Message)

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*ENGRAVE-

To carve, cut, or etch a design or letters into or
To impress deeply as if by carving or etching
Synonym: tattooed
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Have you ever gotten a tattoo? 
If not, I'm sure you know someone who has.


I know many people, including myself, who have gotten tattoos to symbolize their love for another person. I guess in a way, you could call it a "love wound". We choose to sit through the irritation/pain of a tattoo so that we have a "memorial" of a memory or a person. Years ago, I made a very spontaneous decision to get initials engraved on my body. I SOOOOOOO regret it now, as that person no longer holds that special place in my heart.



The verses above in Isaiah speak of God's love for His people in Israel. He wanted them to know that He wouldn't forget them because they were engraved into the palms of His hands. The verse before speaks of a nursing mother who forgets who baby at her breast, yet God will NEVER forget.

In the New Testament, Jesus bore "love wounds" for us.



This verse in Isaiah could also be true of Jesus' death and Resurrection on the cross. Every whip that tore open His skin was because of His love for you and I. Every drop of blood that was shed was for you and I. Every pound of the hammer driving the nails into His hands was allowed because He loves you and I. Every thorn that pierced Jesus' scalp was embedded for you and I. 


 Every breath of air He gasped for was for you and I.

Jesus had "love wounds" for us,
yet He will never regret it...
He will never say,
"Oh man, why did I do that?"
He will never deny you...
or say His sacrifice was a mistake...



Lately, I've been worrying and having anxiety over my kids, but God brought me back to this verse. If He loves me enough to let His only Son bear "love wounds" for me, wouldn't that mean He loves me AND my children enough to take care of us. Isn't God still big enough in our lives to take care of the small and big circumstances around us???



I've always told Dylan that he can't trust and be afraid at the same time. He has to choose to trust that God will keep him totally safe when he falls asleep, or else He chooses the believe the enemy's lies and is afraid. Trust and fear are opposites. He gets that and now is calling me to make the same choices. 


 "Mom, if you're afraid, you're not trusting..."

...hmmm...out of the mouths of babes...



Today, I choose to relinquish control of my children and place them back into the arms of my Heavenly Father who holds and can protect them better than I ever can. I choose to trust that God is still in control and still has a plan greater than I can ever imagine. I choose to believe that I will walk in the wisdom and counsel of God because I have the mind of Christ. I choose to stand with the sword of the Spirit in my hand, and quit cowering with fear and doubt. I choose to declare God's promises over myself, my children, my finances, my job, my house, our futures and God-given destinies. I choose to remember the "love wounds" my Savior bore for me, and to keep looking forward and up! In the name of Jesus Christ, I stand!

~engraved in His palms~

Fight the good fight...

I spent the last week of 2011 determined to bring in the new year by letting the past be the past...once and for all. I have spent so much of my life re-living scenario after scenario of my past. Whether it be things from my childhood, or my teen years, or my mistakes, or from my marriage/divorce, I just continued to live in it.

Everything God had shown me up until December 31, 2011, was leading me in the direction that my past had to go!  I was like a war veteran, telling the stories of the past over and over, only to keep myself stuck in that time frame of hurt, rejection, and pain.  

Anyway, I woke up January 1, 2012, determined to go forward into all that God was calling me to. By mid-morning, I was ticked, irritated, and saying some very bad words!!!  Although my past was not repeating itself, it felt like it was through a very similar situation. I was ready to run someone over TICKED BEYOND TICKED!!!

The memories of my past reared its ugly head and started taunting me.

"Ha! Ha! Here I am! You thought you could get rid of me! Remember this incident? And this one? Remember the pain of this one? The rage? The bitterness? The anger? The injustice? Oh, what about this? Just in case you forgot, let me remind you about..."

I was ready to blow!!!!! I had a "right" to be was angry! That person had NO right! Selfish! Jerk! Bad, bad, bad words! Insensitive! Grrr.... I continued on and on until I eventually lost all of my peace, all of my joy, and probably a little sanity as well.  I let the offenses come and stack up so high that I couldn't even begin to think of sleep because my mind was so bombarded with junk!

I finally found sleep because I eventually woke up....(angry!)

I vented to a friend. I vented to her again. And I vented to her again. I text a different friend and said, "Um, how am I supposed to think positive about this???" 

I did that for two or three days.

My heart hurt for the people involved. That caused more anger because it could have been avoided! The anger caused more hurt, more resentment, more bitterness, more anger, more hurt, more resentment.......

I finally cried out to God, "I'm tired of being angry and bitter. Please help me not hunt this person down! Make good come out of this. I pray for everyone involved, even the person making the poor choices. Jesus, we need you to make this right! I need to move forward. Help me to be a light, not a jerk. Protect my kids! Protect the hearts of everyone else involved. And please move in this situation! In Jesus' name, Amen."

I was able to sleep last night.

I woke up with peace this morning.

I'm choosing to go forward.

When the next ghost from the past appears, I will choose, once again, to go forward...

Because I am CHOOSING to...

"forget what is behind and strain towards what is ahead... (I will) press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13b-14

I still...

I'm reminded today of the promises God has given me regarding my future and the future of my children.


Although I do not hold all of the results in my hands, I will still choose to believe. I still choose to hope for them to be fulfilled. I still stand on the Word of God. I still know that God said "Yes"; therefore, I wait... and I trust... and I believe... and I hold fast.

Attitude of gratitude...

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

I'm sure most of my Facebook friends can tell when I'm doing "good" emotionally and when I'm not. I tend to post more positive statuses when I'm doing "good", and disappear when I am not.

I'm doing "good" right now.

I have had mountain after mountain of trials over the past year, and it is nice to get a reprieve from those. The funny thing is though, that my trials haven't disappeared, but my attitude of complaining has.

I woke this morning being thankful. As I watched slow flakes fall and glisten in the air, I saw such beauty and I thanked God for His creation.

As I think about what has changed lately in my life, I realize that nothing really has...except ME.

My trust in God has exceeded heights I never knew was possible. I have come to lean on the One who holds my world in His hands. I have come to trust that He really does "have a plan for my future...to prosper me and not to harm me...to give me hope and a future."

Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"

I used to think this verse meant to thank God for EVERYTHING, including the bad stuff. Although there is some truth to that, I suddenly realize I am to have an "attitude of thanksgiving/gratitude" as I present my requests to God.

For example: I do not have to be thankful that my checkbook is down to mere cents so close to Christmas, BUT I can be thankful knowing my Heavenly Father and perfect Provider has my finances covered. Some how, some way, He is still in control and I know He ALWAYS provides for my needs!

I do not have to be thankful for the trials my oldest child is going through, BUT I can rest in the fact that even though I am three hours away...God is beside Him. I can find peace in knowing that Jesus knocks on the door of his heart. I can have joy because I KNOW God also has my son's future in His hands.

Finances and my children...my two biggest sources of anxiety and fear...YET I can offer my praises to God because even though things look bleak in the natural, with what my eyes can see, I KNOW God is about to break through in the supernatural!

How do I know??? God has given me promises, though the Word of God, the Bible, about my finances AND my children's futures. He continues to point me to verses about prosperity and blessings financially. He also continues to give me verse upon verse about BOTH of my children serving the Lord, and about them BOTH having the peace of God.

So I can rest. I can be thankful. I can have peace.

And because of the daily time I spend with God, I can KNOW that I KNOW that I KNOW that He is FOR me, and not AGAINST me. I know I don't have to spend hours in anxious prayer time begging Him to take care of what I cannot. I just have to pray scripture back to God, scriptures/promises HE gave me, and KNOW that He is STILL God...and STILL in control of my future...

I encourage you to open your Bible to any of these verses listed, and really ask God what they mean, what they "look like", for your own life. Ask Him for promises you can stand upon during your tough seasons of life.

I pray that you will develop an attitude of gratitude in your life as you really realize that God is the Master Builder of your life, and He holds the blueprints of your life in His hands.

"Give thanks..."

"Shout for joy..."

"Sing a song..."

"Rejoice..."

Little words. Short phrases. Simplicity, right???

Well, it should be. In actuality, it really is, yet somehow we (er...um...I) make it harder than what it should be.

In my quiet time with Jesus, my heart has been impressed with the common theme of joy.

JOY - JOY - JOY

Say that word by itself, and it only tells me what I wish I had. It doesn't tell me what I need to do to have joy, nor does it tell me how to obtain it. It just reminds me of a deep desire of something I wish my soul possessed. Joy...

I'm a "fast food" kind of girl. I order it. I want it. And I would like it now-please-and-thank-you. I don't care for fancy food and I don't care how long it has simmered for. Just get it on my plate. If I smell it, then it should be time to eat it.

I don't like exercise, yet am in great need of some major weight loss! I'm still waiting for the miracle revival meeting where I get Holy Spirit "zapped" & all my weight is shed off at the altar, with everyone praising the Lord, while I dance around, falling out of my overly huge clothes from my instantaneous miracle weight loss.

"Are you ready to stop smoking?" my wonderful doctor asks, where I stubbornly reply, "Not unless you have an instant cure-of-a-pill where I will never crave another cigarette, will not gain weight, will not have mood swings, and can guarantee it will be an easy-peasy, happy journey to being a non-smoker."

So, imagine my response when God told me what the answer to having joy was!!!

Can ya guess??? Go ahead! Guess!

I gasped. Like the kind of "gasp" I did when He told me I probably would not have my instantaneous "Revival-miracle-weight-loss" experience.

"Give thanks Heaven! In ALL things! In ALL seasons! In ALL circumstances! When your checkbook is empty, give thanks that your needs are being met! When...give thanks!"

Well, I kinda' do that anyway. Sorta'. Um...sometimes. Well, only when it's not THAT bad! But I suppose I could give thanks more. Sure, no problem.

"SHOUT for joy Heaven! Give out a shout to me for all of the wonderful things you DO HAVE!"

I don't want to shout, but o-kay, if I have to, I suppose I can try.

"Sing a song sweet Heaven! When you sing a song of praise, it penetrates the darkness around you! Sing when you are sad. Sing when you are happy. Sing when you are worried. Sing when you are peaceful. Sing when you are depressed. Sing when you feel content. Sing. Sing. Sing! Especially when you don't feel like it!!!"

Hmmm...This list is sounding pretty familiar. I'm sure I have heard this before. Actually, many times before! I guess I am supposed to sing!!!

"Rejoice Heaven, rejoice! You are so busy looking at everything you do NOT have that you are failing to see all that you DO have. Cultivate an attitude of praise. It really does create joy. At first, it may seem odd and it may feel uncomfortable, but every time you CHOOSE to rejoice rather than despair, you are choosing to walk closer to joy..."

I don't know about you, but I really am tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching others experience joy while I still sit miserable. I often wonder if God lets us get to that place of getting "sick and tired of being sick and tired" so we will finally do what He's been asking us to do for forever!

What has God been asking you to do? Are you ready to do it? Are you finally ready to take the journey that He has placed in front of you over and over and over and over? I'm thankful God never gives up on me! I'm thankful that He continues to encourage me to walk forward on the individual journey that He's placed me on!

Do you believe God loves you?

Fear (Video blog post)

I finally gave in and decided to do a video blog post. I had tooooooo much fun with this. I hope you enjoy it:) Blessings Friends!!!