On a personal note

Hey friend, 

 You may have noticed things have been a little quiet around here. They have. I hope you’ll forgive me and extend a little grace.   I’ve been ...  

Stuck.

Lost.

Spinning in circles.

Overwhelmed.

Fragmented.

Distracted.

Stressed.

 I wonder whether this writing thing is even for me. “Who do you think you are? You can’t get things together. You have nothing to offer.” 

Loser

Failure

If only you had…

If only you hadn’t….

You’ll never...

 STOP! Silence the lies, the accusations, the fears. Sit still and hear the Father singing over you. He loves you, not because of your accomplishments, checklists, accolades. He isn’t drumming His fingers waiting for you to rise to the top of some imaginary platform.

 He’s smiling. He’s covering you with His wings. He’s inviting you to pull closer and REST.

Cease striving. Step out from under the heavy yoke of MORE. More doing and trying. Come to Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Because He is pulling the heavy load.

 His was to bear, carry, take, lift.

 Ours is to keep in step with Him. 

 His was the cross, the wrath of God on our behalf, the wounds, the blood. Ours is the grace, the forgiveness, the mercy, the unstoppable love.

 When Jesus uttered the words “It is finished”, the Father tore the curtain in two. He was waiting for that moment.  Believing on  Jesus’ Sacrifice ushers us into the Most Holy Place. We are invited to live in God Himself.

 There is no condemnation there. No need to perform. No disappointed looks or finger-wagging. Every stone of accusation has already been hurled at Jesus. He took them all. There is no one to condemn you. 

 To condemn yourself after looking upon His sacrifice is to spurn the cross, to mock the grace extended to you. 

 Those words of accusation? They are lies. They stem from that serpent tongue and fling themselves toward you. 

 By His wounds, we are healed.  The punishment that brought us peace with God was laid on Him. He took it all.

 And He invites us to Himself. “Come to Me,” He calls. 

 We come. We hear His words spoken over us:

Found.

Held.

Loved.

Forgiven.

Free.

Graced.

Friend.

Mine.

 Two words remain: 

Thank you.

 That’s where I’ve been and where I am. I pray you’ve found hope here today. My regular newsletter will be sent out shortly. If you haven’t already, you can sign up to have it sent to your inbox by clicking here.