NO!

He said, "NO"... I was so sure it would be YES... with everything within me I knew it was that appointed time... I mean He had spoken to my fragile spirit that He wants me to grow, He wants me to listen, He wants me to absorb His voice... APPLY what I've been given for His greater good... so after hearing that, one would think it would have been YES...

Did I miss it... was it a selfish dream... an intimate, self-absorbed desire... did my ability to discern His voice go away... the sting was tangible and my heart was broken... for He is my way-maker... the possible to my IMPOSSIBLE... the means to my need... YET, His answer was NO!

The sound of it crushed me and in the depth of my despair... His NO, suddenly became my YES... I really don't know how... as much as I wanted what my heart had sought after, thankfully, along the way, He stepped in... He took over... He spoke up... and I was left with His NO... as my heart collapsed under this despair, gently the voice of YES whispered... above the noise... above the disappointment... above the dread... I HEARD MY YES!

A dream spoken into your heart is REAL... even when God closes a door, He is only removing obstacles that will lead you to the ultimate opening... With a heavy heart but TOTAL understanding before the Lord... I accept His NO! A WISE soul encouraged me with this, " God's no's are always wrapped in redirection and purpose!"... I believe it and I receive it!

Remember this... His NO can only lead us to OUR GREATER YES! 


"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28

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Saturday SHOUT OUT!

Have you ever been so DEEPLY ANXIOUS to follow a PASSION?... a passion that you know ONLY GOD could have placed within your desires... a calling that He has developed into a BIG dream you are waiting to fulfill... THAT'S ME! I know, that I know, He is leading me into this dream that He has placed inside me... I've FINALLY embraced the very thought of it yet I'm so anxious to move further into it... to be complete in His design of it... then this morning He lead me to this...


"WAITING, TRUSTING, AND HOPING ARE INTRICATELY CONNECTED... WAITING FOR ME TO WORK, WITH YOUR EYES ON ME, IS EVIDENCE THAT YOU REALLY DO TRUST ME. YOU CAN WAIT EXPECTANTLY, IN HOPEFUL TRUST."~ JESUS CALLING


Are you WAITING on an answer from God... have you been seeking Him for specific direction... do you have a dream you want fulfilled... a desire you want ignited... maybe you have a flame you are ready for Him to put out... WHATEVER it is you are asking Him for... Wait on Him... wait with EXPECTANCY, TRUST that He will answer in His time and in His way and HOPE for His BEST for you... waiting can be so HARD but it carries us to His COMPLETION... His BEST... His RIGHT for us...


So today let's.... WAIT-HOPE-TRUST with GREAT EXPECTANCY!!!!

"WAIT FOR THE LORD; BE STRONG AND TAKE HEART AND WAIT FOR THE LORD!" (PSALM 27:14)

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Sometimes It Just Feels Good to Leave It Open!

My word shall accomplish what I purpose ~ God

I am a HUGE fan of leaving my windows open during the day... the sun shining through the window pane and the natural light captivating my attention... how could I possibly close myself off from something so breath taking... the outside world that surrounds my simple comfort of home... beyond the glare of the glass there is a whole world waiting to be explored... waiting to be influenced... waiting to be noticed... even waiting to be changed... it is right within our grasp and pulling at our very nature to step into it's unknown... only to venture out into it... so simple yet so complex...

Like God's active & alive word... it is the very lifeline into His world and the very nature of who He is... a powerful tool that is waiting to be explored & lived out... in some ways it's simple to understand and yet in others it's complex... always FULL of hope and the very PROMISE of what's to come... it's captivating truth pierces our soul and causes a stirring... it teaches, sharpens, corrects, fulfills, judges our thoughts and motives, provides peace, calms our storms, arms us for our battles, watches over us, protects us, gives us meaning to our here & now... yet prepares us for our destiny...

It's how He speaks to us... to fully know Him as much as we possibly can, we must open up our hearts to Him... dive into His very word... words spoken to bring us LIFE... to guide us through our temporary home... He speaks to us... to sharpen our spirits and smooth the rough edges... 

Open it... read it... posture your heart to receive it... soak it in... be changed by it... apply it... live it out loud... share it... and just leave it open... when you walk by it's open pages your spirit will be reminded of it's very POWER!

 It's how HE SPEAKS TO US ~ And sometimes it just feels good to leave it open!

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Hebrews 4:12

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She Speaks... With Wisdom!

"She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue!"

Proverbs 31:26

WOW! This is definitely a characteristic to strive for! 

5 years ago a friend e-mailed me a daily devotional written by Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries. I was immediately touched by this concept. God had blessed someone with the gift of encouragement and she is using it to impact others in this way. As time has gone by, God has been cultivating the desire of writing into my heart, to "speak" encouragement and His TRUTH into others lives! I love to interpret my soul's stirring and inspire the very hearts of God's beautiful creation, to refresh others so I may be refreshed! My journey has been full of experiences that I believe God wants to encourage others with and He is leading me to do so through writing and speaking. As I started my journey into 2011, I felt God guiding me into a season of growing. I know beyond any doubt this is my year to LEARN, my year to GROW, my year to EVOLVE as a servant for HIM! 

This July, Proverbs 31 Ministries, will be hosting their "She Speaks" conference. It is an opportunity for women who are gifted with the passion for speaking, writing and leading to GROW! To be equipped to serve Christ to our fullest potential! The workshops will provide the following tools:

1. How to deliver and develop a message while fully engaging your audience.

2. Discover and develop your writing voice. Learn how to develop portfolios and engage your readers from start to finish.

3. How to effectively cast vision, build a team and engage others in your Women's Ministry.

Proverbs 31 Ministries is also providing 2 Cecil Murphy Scholarships! To learn more about the She Speaks conference go here:http://shespeaksconference.com/

This is an AMAZING opportunity through She Speaks! I believe in the very heart of Proverbs 31 Ministries and hope to be apart! http://lysaterkeurst.com/2011/03/she-speaks-scholarship-contest-2011/

With my EVERYTHING let the words that I SPEAK be pleasing unto you Lord!

I hope to see you in July at "She Speaks"....

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OUR DAY OF DIAGNOSIS

"Excuse me, but we are The Lewis'"... a statement that runs through my mind frequently when I think back to "OUR DAY OF DIAGNOSIS"....

All too unfamiliar, all too unexpected... Are we ever ready for a diagnosis... Are we ever prepared for a diagnosis... in my opinion NO but then again as a believer in Jesus, YES...

"Will you journey with me through OUR diagnosis?... I promise for it to be painful yet inspiring... confusing yet hopeful... uncertain yet eternal"... This is what I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to my soul as we encountered that very day... maybe I couldn't quite explain it that way at first but through a very ORDAINED journey God revealed His miraculous to me... as a matter of fact, He still is...

It was an exciting day, early morning, that we labored and delivered a 6lb 4oz little blue eyed boy... Christopher Michael Lewis... he was charming at first sight and our baby boy... he would be ALL that a man and woman could dream of in a little boy... a star athlete, a true gentleman and certainly he would carry on the family name... not even 48 hours into his entrance into this world... did our lives, including his, change forever more... what started as breathing issues quickly ended in a DIAGNOSIS... as countless nurses and doctors entered our room to check on us and inform us of our baby's progress we grew more and more anxious of what the future would hold for our family... NO ONE is ever PREPARED for the whirlwind of a diagnosis yet somehow during ours PEACE permeated my presence... UNEXPLAINABLE I know and SCARY at the same time... was it shock, was I dreaming and soon I would awake or maybe- just maybe God was going to perform a miracle right before my very eyes just as He had done for others COUNTLESS times before...

Down Syndrome was our diagnosis and Topher is our miracle... 10 years later and miles beyond our start, God has created a MASTERPIECE and exceeded our miracle... LIFE took on a new meaning and DIAGNOSIS gave us a new outlook on life... have there been up & downs... have there been uncertainties & painful encounters... YES... but my Creator has journeyed EVERY step of the way with us... sometimes He has carried us... sometimes He has pulled us... sometimes He has silenced us and sometimes He has pushed us... BUT EVERY TIME He has equipped us to carry our cross and He has carried our burden and made our load light... He has really cared for us WELL!

So what do you do with a DIAGNOSIS... you embrace it, you carry it, you allow it to become apart of who you are... Why... because it's a part of your journey... an ordained, appointed place for you... sometimes it is a place you will visit for a short time... sometimes it is a camp-out... and sometimes it's your destination... God has an appointed PLAN for you... you have been given your DIAGNOSIS because you are the only one who can carry it and carry it well...

For me our diagnosis is our destination... we will carry it until we are ushered into eternity... where PERFECTION will be completed and His ultimate purpose will be revealed... so until that beautiful, appointed day... we will continue to behold, embrace & carry our diagnosis... for He is ours and we are His!


"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for WELFARE and not for evil, to give you a FUTURE and a HOPE!" ~ God (Jeremiah 29:11)

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FREE! NO STRINGS ATTACHED!

Sarah Young, the author of Jesus Calling, does and AMAZING job of scripting TRUTH from the very heart of Jesus... As if He is sitting right in front of you having a conversation over coffee!

God's word is ALIVE & ACTIVE and the pages of this devotional will captivate your soul and give your spirit a deeper hunger for God's TRUTH!

He really is ALL we need! He really will SPEAK to you if you will only open your heart & listen!

I have been incorporating Jesus Calling into my day for sometime now... one day it occurred to me that I was keeping too much of Him to myself and decided to start sharing excerpts with my virtual community... YOU too have been captivated by His TRUTH!

Today I want to GIVE AWAY a copy of Jesus Calling...  FREE... with no strings attached!

All you need to do is leave a comment telling me the MOST influential statement ever spoken to you! On Monday I will randomly draw a name and contact you!

Let's GO... let's be influenced by the TRUTH... Jesus IS Calling...

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ARE YOU A WINNER?

I absolutely despise roach bugs... they give me the CREEPS! I can accept that they are a part of God's beautiful creation BUT I absolutely want them to stay in their own territory!  Needless to say, when they step into my arena, IT'S ON...

Just recently I happened upon one in my home... I couldn't reach a napkin soon enough to grab it and SQUISH it! I have NO REMORSE for them... once I get them in my grasp I squeeze and twist... I get pleasure out of removing them from my clean, safe & healthy environment... I did NOT invite the roach in & trespassers are NOT highly favored!

The same with difficult people... I don't usually invite them into my space, they usually are not highly favored & I often want to squish them... BUT they too are a part of God's beautiful creation... often I think maybe God allows me to cross paths with the difficult ones to SHARPEN me, STRENGTHEN me, HUMBLE me, GROW me and INCREASE my PATIENCE! I WELCOME all of these opportunities for growth into my life but I wouldn't necessarily choose the process through DIFFICULT PEOPLE.

We ALL encounter difficult people. For some they are family members, co-workers, a neighbor, someone in the grocery line, a church member or maybe even someone you live with.  The next time you encounter that DIFFICULT PERSON remember they are crossing your path for a specific reason... whether it's to sharpen you or God showing His sovereignty to them... most of the time, them being difficult, is NOT a reflection of you... it's an inward image into the chaos of their soul... SO REMEMBER THIS...

1.  You CAN CHOOSE how you let their actions & words effect you... sometimes you have no other choice than to love difficult people with the cross in between you!

2.  You CAN'T CONTROL how difficult people act towards you BUT you CAN CONTROL how you react to them...


CHOOSE LOVE... LOVE ALWAYS WINS!

" Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!"( Luke 10:27)

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