Beautifully Broken

New Year's is always a time of reflection.  The wins, the losses, sweet memories, and the not so great parts of the year usually start to circle in my head as the year wraps up.  I'm hoping your year was filled with more joy than sorrow, but regardless, the holiday season while sweet, usually comes with some heartache as well for countless reasons. This year I did a really long read through of Judges, and fittingly finished it this morning.  Judges was not a book I had ever thought about spending much time in, but doing a deep dive into it this year has honestly been really fitting. To be honest, this year felt like it was filled with lots of lessons.  More specifically, sometimes I feel like I have to learn the same lesson over and over again.  A lot of times I look at this as a sign of failure for myself, like "God I am trying, why do I have to go through this again?".  It can feel frustrating feeling like even when I am trying to give things over to God,...

I'm going to preference this post by saying this subject is not where my heart currently is, but it's where I'm praying to get.  The journey of remembering to choose joy daily is filled with a lot of learning. Today was a day that a nap, going for a walk, or watching a movie sounded way more appealing than getting ready and going to church.  Per usual, by going, God showed me something I needed to hear. Lyrics of one of the songs that played said "You're all I need, so be all that I want, Jesus".  One reason this is one of my favorite songs is because honestly, many times there are so many other things consuming our hearts than Jesus.  Many times, these are the things we put most of our focus into. I think many of us realize why God calls us out of sin- there are earthly consequences to sin that make for an obvious answer of why He asks us to give these things up and return our focus on Him. Currently, I am processing another area God may be calling us to let ...

Have you ever heard a story where someone is making choices so poor that you cannot imagine how they got themselves into that situation?  Then have you ever woken up one day realizing you are a mirror image of that person/situation? I've been reading through the book of Judges lately.  Judges tells the story of the Israelites turning away from God to follow another person.  They get farther and farther away from the Lord until they are hopeless, scared, and beg God to return and show mercy.  God, being the powerful and gracious God that He is, returns.  Life is good.  A little bit later, the Israelites fall into the exact same trap of sin and distance from God until they reach a breaking point-and eventually return to Him.  Each time they leave, they come back and realize how much they need the Lord in their lives. Reading Judges seems silly because they leave something so good, sweet, and real for something that is continuously not working, and it is ...