When Nobody is Watching

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 

Dance like no one is watching. How do you dance when no one is watching you? I love to dance when no one is around to judge how bad it is. I give it my best shot and I dance with all my heart. I sing as loud as I can whilst spinning around the house and shaking what the good Lord gave me.

Ok so sometimes I dance about with my little girls and my long-suffering husband who I am trying to convince to let go and dance. But there is something that happens when I am on my own and no one is watching.

When too many people or strangers are around I withdraw and become reserved. I am aware of what I am doing and very concerned about what others think of me and I get embarrassed.

Isn't this how we are in real life. We are so concerned about what others might think of us that we lose our courage and we stop being 100% who God made us to be. We scale back and instead of fully jumping in to what God created us to be we worry more about what others think than what God thinks.

Or we go the other way and try and perform to make ourselves look good when everyone is around but when we are alone we do not give God all the glory. Instead we think of new ways to promote ourselves. New ways to make ourselves look good and when it doesn't work and we are still the same person we were last week we feel like failures.

So I ask again. How do you dance when no one is watching? How do you live your life to the glory of God. If no one ever saw what you did except God. If no one every acknowledged how awesome you are how would you dance? When we dance, sing, worship, live, love, laugh. Do we do it to the full. Do we throw our whole being into it or do we hold back and are reserved.

Live your life like no one is watching. Like no one cares how dumb or awesome you look. Love with your whole heart and dance with all your being. God is so pleased when we worship with abandon. It delights Him to see us doing our very best and when we don't worry about what others think.

What could you achieve if you live life in this way? If there were no fear or selfish gain, how would God use you? 

So while you watch this music video I dare you to dance wherever you are whether someone is watching or not. Pray in public. Sing praises to your God. I see my daughter who is just 2 years old singing and dancing around in church. She dances like no one is watching. She can out worship just about anyone, not just because she hasn't got any hang ups but because when she does something she does not worry about how she looks but she does it because she is doing something she loves to do. 

Offer your whole heart to Jesus. Let your whole being rejoice and pour forth praise and worship. 

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Exciting Things

Hi everyone,

I must apologise for being so quiet the last few weeks. I have been taking some time off to hear God and there have been a few family emergencies and other things that have cropped up.

I am changing my Blogging day from a Wednesday to every Thursday. For those this corner of the world (New Zealand) it will be late Thursday night and for my readers in the US it will be Thursday morning or there about.

In June this year I submitted one of my Blog Posts to Christian Mommy Blogger as part of a writing challenge. This has been published into a book along with other lovely ladies. So I am excited to announce that I have been published into and e-book which you can read at the bottom of this blog where it says Love Devotional. Alternatively you can click Here. I am on Chapter 12 if you want to have a nosey.

God is opening up doors for me in a few areas and I am very excited to see what is going to happen in 2015. It will mean saying goodbye to a few things *sniff* *sniff*. But do not worry my Blog will continue and I am thinking of writing a little book but that may take some time.

There is change just on the horizon and I am excited.

So until Thursday I pray you have a blessed week.

Role Models

Titus 2:3-5 3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers.[a] Instead, they should teach others what is good.4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes,[b] to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

I know we are all sick to death of hearing about the Titus 2 women but that is exactly what I am not only going to write about but what I am going to do and act out.

We can teach and preach about Titus 2 but if we aren't living it out then where are we? We are part of a society that teaches sex education, focusing solely on the physical but not speaking into the emotional, relational and spiritual aspects of sex and marriage. 

Telling someone they aught to love their husband and their children, to work in their homes, be good and be submissive to their husbands is just not good enough. We end up heaping guilt on these young women and imposing a whole list of things they have to do and not do. When they behave in a way that we deem inappropriate we bring in judgement. Now I am all for judging sinful behaviour in a loving manner. Say if you can clearly see there is a recurring sinful pattern that needs addressing do so in a way that brings conviction not condemnation. But what often happens is a spiteful almost condemning judgement over young women who have never been taught these things.

It has become a very lazy way of instructing young women. Simply pointing out the obvious does not bring change. We need to live by example. What good is our life if people aren't learning from our mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes but what a joy it is when we can save someone the heartache of pre-marital sex, falling for the wrong type of guy or going down the path of least resistance.

A lot of the time we judge because we have not dealt with that very same issue we are pointing at the other person for having. You think how much better you feel about your messy house because you just went to your friend's house and it is way way messier. You break out in a sweat and fear for your kids because you had pre-marital sex and now they are of that age and hanging out with this guy you don't like the look of. 

It is good to be concerned for those around us but it isn't good when our judgements are just that, judgements and finger pointing instead of loving instruction. Bringing hope to the youth of our nation that they need not go down the road we have gone down, that there is a way to stay pure and honour God. There is a better way and it is never to late to change. 

So today who can you be a mother to? Who in your life could use some good advice and encouragement. Men who can you be a Dad to? Who is out there who has no father or mother who needs to be taught that there is a better life for them and that their circumstances that they were born into and that they live in do not define who they will be and become? God has a much better plan for each of us and it is time we share that news. Don't sit back and complain about what is wrong with the world. Be a role model because we all need more good role models in this world. The ones on TV are just not cutting it anymore.

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The Wages of Sin

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sin. It doesn't matter what it is. Whether it is lying, stealing, cheating, murder, shop lifting, armed robbery or selfishness it taints you.

It coats you in a dark sticky mess. The more you try and hide your sin the messier it gets. It stinks and spreads like an infection.

Not only do you become stained but it rubs off on those around you. You think that because it is your sin alone that it only affects you and no one else so you continue to cover it up but like a toddler with a smelly bottom the smell lingers and everyone around you smells the effects.

The more you try and cover it up the more it spreads, taints and smells and rubs off on others around you. Such is the wages of sin. You reap what you sow and what you reap you cook up and serve to those around you.

Don't be fooled into thinking you can deal with your sin on your own. That it is your sin and that it was only small and you won't repeat it. Yes we are all human and to err is human but do not be deceived into thinking that your sin is a small matter that only affects you and can be dealt with with a simple apology.

You can't deal with sin on your own. The more you try and wash it off the more it spreads. The only way you can become clean is through the blood of Jesus. Through repentance. Repentance means to turn away from and this is so much harder to do than an apology. It can take time and it involves confessing your sin and exposing it.

Exposing it is difficult especially when you have hidden it for quite awhile and it has spread quite far.

I have been going through some stuff lately that has made me see just how destructive sin is and how far reaching it is. Sin hurts and it brings division and it separates us from God. Now understand the Bible does say nothing can separate us from the love of God but sin works in a way that when you are in the thick of it and you try and cover it then you pull away from God. The closer you get to Jesus the more aware of your sin you are.
Be wary of stepping away from His presence for anyone or anything. If you have a new boyfriend or girlfriend and you spend more time with them than reading God's word and in prayer or you pull away from church and friends. Alarm bells should ring. Sin will blind you and it will start with a small lie like did God really say you shouldn't?

It is only through His forgiveness and the covering of His blood that can wash you clean. Only Jesus can do that. Only He washes you clean but only you can want to be made clean. No one else can make that decision for you.

Sin has consequences and you will still need to live through those consequences and make amends to those who were harmed by your sin. But when you repent and turn away from your sin, expose and confess it and stop running that is when true restoration starts. That is where you will find freedom from the taint of sin.

1 Peter 5:9 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

John 10:10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Forgiveness of Self

Luke 10:27  The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”


I look in the mirror and think the worst things. Things I would not say to anyone, not even my worst enemy. I sit on my bed, tired and worn out and totally battered and bruised from words said to me and things I perceive and I berate myself. I drag myself over the coals for things I said or did. I pull myself down. I cover myself in mud and filth as I feel I deserve because I try and justify and work out things. I build my own Babylon. I try and build a tower with my own hands. I build it so high and so 'beautiful' that no one may penetrate it and hurt me again. That maybe next time I see someone I will not say or do something that I will regret.
It is all my fault I say. If only I hadn't said that. If only I wasn't such a loser. If only I had it all together like so and so over there. She never says anything wrong. Lord I don't think you can use me. I am just too messed up.
These are my thoughts sometimes and I am sure you can all relate to a few of theses things. We try and be perfect and not offend anyone and we do things on our own in our own strength. We try our utmost best to be someone. Do the right thing and not disappoint. We build and we build and we build but what we build is ugly. They are lies. We do not build the truth. We do not build things that God has told us to build. We waste all our energy on covering up. Just as make up will cover up our blemishes temporarily but it won't take them away.

What happens when we talk to ourselves like this is we end up calling God a liar. We don't believe the promises He has given us. The words He has spoken over us to build us up become this thing we despise. Be it an attack of the enemy or not it isn't right. When we don't love ourselves how can we love others well? How is it we treat others so much better than ourselves? Why are we so hard on ourselves?

When we pull ourselves down and we don't deal with issues and just patch them over it will affect our relationship with those around us. Not only that but we cannot fully love our enemies and we cannot live our lives loving as Christ does. We can become judgmental, critical and un-lovely.

When we love others we accept them. When we have problems in our relationships we try and mend them and forgive others. We need to love ourselves, accept ourselves and forgive ourselves.

Stop pulling yourself down. You are fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm 139:14. You are not ugly. When a person says something hurtful to you don't bring your weaknesses into the mix and blame yourself and pull yourself apart. Forgive them and yourself and whatever part you had in it and move on. Easier said than done I know but we need to at least try and make things right instead of covering things over with layers of dirt and grime and guilt.

When we focus on ourselves we take our focus off God. When things like this happen run, and I mean run, don't walk, right into the arms of God. He is the ultimate healer and protector. We cannot trust our emotions or our thoughts. They lie all the time or are so fleeting that there is no point in really entertaining them.

Forgive yourself or you will waste a lot of time an energy. Your cup can't run over if it is covered in holes with temporary fixes. We need the healing of forgiveness not the temporary patch of guilt and self loathing.

I have made an art of forgiving others. I forgive others so easily but whenever someone hurts me it bumps on the wounds that I inflicted on myself. No matter how hard I try and squash it down or patch it up it always hurts. It is up to me to forgive myself so that God can heal me.

So what is it going to be? Are you sick of hurting from the damage you heaped on yourself. Are you tired of the negative words the replay in your mind? Sick of the way you mercilessly torture yourself everyday because of something you said or didn't say? Well this life is not about you. It is about Jesus and we need to let go of our egos that tell us that someone else's actions are because of us. Your husband's anger problems are not your fault. Someone else's bad day that they took out on you is not your fault. You are only in control of what you do, say and think. You cannot make anyone act a certain way. It is not your fault. Be kind to yourself. Focus on what God says about you. Praise and worship Him because He has made you fearfully and wonderfully. Every inch of you is beautiful and a wonder. Honour the perfect creation God has made that is you.

Dear Jesus
You died on the cross for our sins and for this we are most grateful. We pray today for forgiveness of our own selfish and negative thoughts and the awful things we have said about ourselves regardless of the reason. Lord we pray you build us up in truth and freedom to be all that you say we are. May we come back to the heart of true worship of you Lord.
In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.


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More Than I Can Handle

Psalm 23

You know how when you end up in a place where life is just way more than you can handle.
I have been in that place way too many times and it really is unpleasant, I cry, moan, grumble and think about quitting.

Things happen that are out of our control. The load is too big to carry and you strain under its weight. You go from being excited about doing things for God and for people one minute and the next you are crying that you can't handle it.

You hear the line, "God won't give you more than you can handle" and you think something is wrong with you or someone is lying to you.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God will not give you more than you can handle. It does say that when we go through the tough times that He is there for us. That we are not alone and that we are not doing life on our own.

I know it is easier to say than to do but the truth is your life is more than you can handle. It will always be that way. Chaos is everywhere. Sad things happen. Bad things come your way. You have to always build your courage and be brave. Stepping over obstacles until you are sure your spiritual self, if visible, would probably resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ripped! Seriously though. Life is hard!

We don't go through it alone though. When we feel like we are alone in what we are going through it is because we are focused on the problem and not on God who is always with us.

I have felt so overwhelmed and panicky that I felt like I should just get things over and done with and not attempt to try it again. I get all sick and jittery and it is only because I am seeing that my husband is away for a week or that my new idea I had I actually had to follow through on and it all seemed like a huge mistake. It is easier just to quit. To run away and not deal with life. It is so simple to just not attempt anything new and to just curl up in bed with a good book and lie in bed and just not deal with life but this is what we miss, we miss God's provision. We miss God's blessings. When we persevere and keep close to Him and obey is voice and call on our lives we see what God has in store for us.

If I quit the things God has asked me to do or I moan about being left at home for a week on my own with 4 kids I put myself down. This is what happened with the parable of the talents. The one guy did nothing with the talents that were given him except bury it in the ground. He did even bother to invest it or take it and buy tools and seeds so he could reap a reward with it. He got afraid, he quit while he was ahead and had nothing to show for it in the end.

We always want to be in control of everything in our lives and so when the hard times come we do not know how to handle it. We try and take control of it but it is like trying to pull at a loose thread on a sweater and not expect it to completely unravel. We try and grasps grains of sand but they slip through our fingers.
It is only when we allow God to have control over our lives and allow Him to help us through it that we truly feel like we can make it through.

The Lord is your Shepherd, you need no one else to guide you through. You need not stress because He gives you a place to rest. He provides for your every need. Even when you walk in a place of dread and darkness, He is still there. A still, small voice guiding your every step. You will not fear the times to come because you know He is always with, will be with and has always been with you. He blesses you and anoints you and fills you to overflowing. He does not believe in holding back or saving His love for you for a rainy day. He does not store up his kindness and comfort for you. His mercies are new every morning.
If God is for you who on this earth or anywhere can be against you? If He is who He says He is and He does what He says He does and you believe these to be true what harm can come to you? Is there nothing you cannot handle with God in control.

Yes life and all that is thrown at me is more than I can handle or bear but I am not told to carry my burdens. I am told to give them over to God who is more than capable to carry them for me. Not even the things that are more than I can handle is impossible for God.

Today if you feel as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders. You cannot see a way out and the world is a rough place to be. You want to quit all of it. If that is you let me tell you that Jesus is right there beside you and sees your pain. He sees that you are overwhelmed. He is looking into your face right now and wiping the tears from your face. My Jesus is a lifter of heads that are downcast. He is a restorer of peace to our souls and a renewer of hope to the lost and weary.
Jesus really cares for you. Why don't you call on Him now and ask Him to take control of your life and the things that are more than you can handle.

There is no Bridge

Exodus 14, Joshua 3 and 4

Isaiah 43:2

Blog post inspiration. A bridge. Title Bridges of Faith. Excellent! Only there is no mention of bridges in the Bible because God does not use bridges or builds bridges for His people to cross over He just parts the seas and allows them to wade through the river.

I had this long post typed out while I was out this evening but when I went back into the app it was all gone and while I do think it was rather clever it wasn't really near the truth I wish to share with you.

There are no Bridges. In life you are either on the banks of the sea or river or you are in the sea or river. 

For Moses and the people of Israel there was no bridge to cross over the Red Sea.  For Joshua and the people of Israel there was no bridge to cross over the Jordan River. When they stood before that mass of water they did not say 'Hey Lord where is the bridge?' They simply went where God told them to go and waited for His instruction as to how He would like them to cross. 

When Peter stepped out of the boat he did not say 'Let me come to you Lord but first I need to build a bridge'

We all want a nice little bridge over our troubled waters. But oh what a awesome thing when the stormy oceans are calmed. When we step out and walk on the water. When what seems like a huge obstacle is parted before us. When our rough seas and turmoil and insurmountable obstacles lie before and God comes and parts the seas or allows us to walk on our trouble. That is true faith. When we are in the thick of it. When we wade deep into the waters to cross over and trust that God will get us through. That if you fall He will lift you up and out.  

When you cross over that river you do not do it alone. God goes with you. He goes before you. He watches your back.

We can have a bridge to cross over and it will be quick depending on the type of bridge and there will be a certain amount of faith but the faith you have will be in that bridge supporting you. Your faith will be in whoever built it. 

I have a very small idea how to build a bridge. I have seen documentaries but I have also seen bridges fail and collapse. Bridges get old. Bridges are not forever.

What I am certain of is that my faith lies in God. That He will get me across safely to the other side when I make Him the focus of my life. When I rely on Him and make Him the only one I trust to bring me through all my hardships.

My God is greater than any bridge made with my own hands. We try and construct a plan for our lives. We have a problem and instead of going to God we run around trying to fix it ourselves. We build a bridge but the bridge collapses under us. If only we would just trust and wade in. 'Right Lord I have this issue but I will jump into it with both feet and let go of my plan to solve it and let you take full control.'

So today when you see no bridge. You see no way over your problem. There is no way around it. There is no way under it. Go through it and see what miracle God works in your life. Signs, wonders and miracles don't happen while we are avoiding an issue but in the midst of our issue.