(Original post sent out 10 February 2015)

Happy New Year!  I thought I’d share a piece of encouragement from me to you.

I’ve been spending a tremendous amount of time in reflection this year.  Thinking about God’s plan for me. What’s His design for me? What’s God’s destiny for Crystal? Perhaps you have to…

I thought, “we sit in church, we tithe, fast and pray because we’re obedient to the Lord, but I was tired of being superficial “Sunday servant”, and wanted a much deeper relationship with God.  A bigger manifestation of His presence in my everyday life, and especially in my children’s lives.  I remembered that I prayed a specific Word over my son’s life as he lay motionless in the ICU for days after a horrific car accident.  There seemed to be no evidence that things would turn around, and the burn and trauma doctors gave his Dad and I little to no encouragement that recovery was possible.  So I said over and over to my son (and myself):

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’ ”  (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT)

Looking back five years later, it seems like we couldn’t have been in such a desperate place.  My Father God certainly answered all our prayers then, and continues to declare His promises and good plans for all our lives today.  I still pray this prayer over all my children, from the oldest to the youngest.  I still spend time each day with the Father declaring great promises over their lives, calling things forth not as they are but as they will be.  That horrible time is now a time of praise for my family, and my son is a living witness that anything is possible with GOD alone.

Nothing on earth is impossible with God!  Be encouraged today if things aren’t going the way you hoped they would.  My faith has shown me that the Lord can turn the most desperate situation around.  He has great plans for your life.  I agree with you today as you pray and speak life into your dreams.  Be blessed!

Photo credit: Day Dreaming Photography. http://www.gadaikansaja.com.

This weekend we had the most beautiful snow fall across our town.  Not the wet, heavy stuff, but the fluffiest, softest snow I’ve ever seen.  It weighed almost nothing, and believe me there was a lot to shovel!  I found myself mesmerized as I looked out the window, letting the quiet surround me.  Times like this appeal to the introvert in me because I can just think. No work, no calls, no deadlines, just pure reflection. My mind started to circle back to the day before, and the pretty tense conversation I had with a co-worker.  From the start it hadn’t gone well, and things quickly spiraled down to the point I had to abruptly end the conversation.  We’ve all been there, in situations where we engaged “prickly” people, or maybe we were the ones not at our best. Out of nowhere words spilled out our mouths making us think “where did that come from?” I keep a notebook for such occasions because often times I won’t have peace so I write about it, pray on it and come back to it periodically to think on it when I’m not so emotionally involved.

When I was young it seems unnatural that words could wreak havoc over my life, or make the difference in my success or failure. When I was a kid I sang the song, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Then as an adult I came to realize, oh yeah, words do hurt!  Plus they seemed to have “power.”  Power to damage (or heal) emotions, and power to set a course of destruction over our very lives. What pictures come to mind when you say these words out loud: I love you; you’re beautiful; I’m sorry, please forgive me; you’re special?  Now think about words you’ve spoken to another that you wish you could take back. What emotions come to mind? More often than not feelings of hurt, shame or anger start to bubble up inside you even though the situation could have happened many years ago.

That’s why we are to guard our mouths and hearts. Proverbs 13:3 says if you’ll guard your mouth you’ll preserve your life, but if you speak rashly you’ll come to ruin (NIV). One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 4:23 which says to “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (NIV). What’s everything? Well, it’s everything including the course for your life! Those that are closest to me know that from the time I carried my children I spoke words of great faith to them, including praying and singing to them in my belly!  So my eccentric side has had spurts for a while. As children I would read to them, and continued to speak blessings and words of protection over them.  When they entered their late teen and early adult years everyone at some time or another would give me “the look.”  You know, as in “Mom, please stop,” but I never did.  My job as Mom is to constantly speak life over them, and to correct ANYONE who does otherwise.  I’ll even speak in love to them when they talk negatively over their own plans or their future.  No, we’re not perfect, but we are perfected in Christ.

There’s nothing like a marvelous Monday to start anew. Make a promise to yourself and to the Father that this week you’ll speak life into your every situation starting now. We serve a God who says to ask Him for the impossible!  We are instructed to have just a tiny measure of faith, and we’ll see the incredible!  I agree with you today as you realize that the Lord gave you your life to bless this earth, and nothing will change that.  Speak life over your circumstances: your marriage, over your children, over EVERYTHING!  Tell yourself every morning you were created for a purpose, and ask the Lord to reveal His purpose for your life. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45).