We Dare To Hope

Yet, I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
So I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
Lamentations 3:21-24

Even though, in spite of, even when, in the midst of, after all this, even if...
No matter what has happened or what is lacking - YET we are not destroyed, we are not without mercy, what has come before doesn't matter to what comes after. We aren't broken evermore, we aren't consumed, we aren't totally depleted... there is a promise of healing, replenishing, and fullness.
Dare to hope again - He promises a tree of life where hope is found!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

I'm way more than 5...

Is it just me? Am I the only one who sometimes feels like a 5 year old - crying to not have wait for what I want NOW, trying to convince God to IMMEDIATELY pick me up, telling me "yes, you can have what you want, and yes, I'll do exactly what it is you think you need me to, and right now"? 
Realizing I'm waaaaay more than 5, and that God will no more do that than I would have to my own 5 year old is both embarrassing (that I behave/think that way sometimes), and also a relief (that He loves me too much to give in on what's not HIS best for me)...
Romans 8:28 - "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

It doesn't mean the waiting and discipline is fun, or even any easier, but it does mean we can trust Him 
Isaiah 26:3 - "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

When you are His you are:

Marked - having a distinctive or emphasized character; a banner, a dividing line, a border around...
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were MARKED in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit - Ephesians 1:13 (NIV)

Sealed - evidence of authenticity; insuring that the contents have not been altered...
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit" - Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)

Identified - to cause to be or become identical; to be or become the same; claimed as known by or belonging to another...
"And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he IDENTIFIED you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago" - Ephesians 1:13 (NLT)

Have the kind of week that leaves no one around you in doubt, that you KNOW without a doubt, that you belong to THAT kind of God!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

A thread in time...

Some down time this morning has me reflecting on a thread. A thread that I and some friends all seem to be traveling through life tethered to lately. A thread the weaves itself around and within all our paths circumstances. The kind of "similar" that shouldn't be ignored. The kind that leaves no doubt something very specific is  happening. And obvious "something" that is somehow linking us together in some deeper way we have yet to see or can't begin to know. 
Same lessons to learn? Same lessons to teach? I'm sure that's part of it, but not the full of it.
Maybe the outcomes won't be alike, but the journeys sure are - that much is VERY evident at the moment :) 
I hope I'll get at least a small glimpse of the bigger picture God is surely painting, using each of our "colors" to blend the one tiny area on His canvas we exist on into all the others... after all, the picture isn't complete without our part in it is it?

praying eyes and ears open :)

Joyful on the journey,
Marisa

Roll With It...

Mondays have a life of their own sometimes it seems - instead of trying to beat it into submission, lets decide here and now to just let God handle all that mess & we'll just roll with the punches ;)

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

Ready...

"If Jesus backs you into a corner, it's to set you free. He's holding you down long enough to snap that trap you're in." - Beth Moore

ready to hear the sound of the chains breaking... ready to stop wrestling... ready to shake off the bindings... ready to breathe in deep, and finally exhale just as deeply...

Awaiting a breaking - and so ready for it,
Marisa

Monday Morning Musing...

What did we leave our bed, our car, and our house, believing this morning? That the day was defeated already, or that an adventure just may await us?
If God was thinking of us when He created the world, then He was most assuredly thinking of us before this Monday morning began too!
Having faith that He faces whatever the day brings with us isn't entirely accurate - He also faced it BEFORE it reached us. In its very design.
So instead of straining blindly against the things that try to trip us up, sticking to us and causing us to panic - as if we just walked through spider webs - we need simply to let His love and plan for the day wrap around us like the very air we walk through - clinging to us on all sides, above and below, in front and behind.
We bump into the things the enemy throws up in our path, yes. BUT all within the very day GOD created.
Don't hand over the day to the enemy - walk freely in with the Creator!
Have a victorious week!

A Monday Expirament

As we begin and move through this week, how about we attempt something that may feel like it could give many a panic attack... trusting God with everything in it.

Eeeekkk! I just heard a collective gasping for air by some at the mere thought.

Yes, there are things that we all must put on our to do list, things and people we are responsible to and for. But what would happen if we let God choose some things on our list? And what if we - dare I even type it - Let Him CHANGE some of the items too as we go?!
Does leaving room for Him to handle your list sound dangerous?
I think it does too a little. But...

Galatians 5:25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Jeremiah 17:7
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Now imagine the thrill around the corner, the 'unexpected' that He's in charge of and has created. Don't you also feel a little excitement at the thought of actually moving freely about your day in Him and His perfect plans?!

Me too :)
Marisa

I'm Branded with Love

I've been meditating on this verse since this morning:
"From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus."
~ Galatians 6:17

And here, simply, is what God has so sweetly poured over me in His presence as I did...


I am a new creation - I am eternally protected, loved beyond measure, made righteous, forgiven, and I inherit heaven... I can forgive, let go, walk in truth and favor, and move ahead bold and confident... I stand in the shadow of the cross of Christ with His wounds flowing down over me, branding me as His - the world can not reclaim me, I am slave to nothing but Jesus - truly, what can any one do to me that my God doesn't make right in the end

Celebrate who you are in HIM today, celebrate who HE is today!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa