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Dear Abba, may we, each one, embrace every moment in the here and now, claiming it as a divine gift. For these moments are orchestrated by You in Your way and time. They cannot be reproduced because they are 100% original and organic!

May You impress upon us the present for it is where we find ourselves. Now provides an opportunity to claim moments with You, our Lord, and numerous occasions to embrace Your truths and make You known.

May we delight in You, the Maestro, of this symphony called life and naturally respond with worship and adoration. You are creating a chorus of melodies each of our ears hear. As we receive this act of You singing over us, may we overflow with extravagant responses of praise!

We embrace You as our Light, our Refuge, our Peace, our Rest, our Joy, and our Delight! We welcome You as our Steadfast and Strong Tower, our Ever-Present Father. We hold fast to You---our Rock, our Defender, our Voice, our Salvation! You are our Heart and Soul; You are our Everything!

Amen!

His divine power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

II Peter 1:3

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Excerpt taken from Daily Dose of Intention: 365 Days of Purpose by Shagae Jones

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Brokenness carries a connotation of weakness, unworthiness, and loads of messiness. Often, the fact that brokenness presents opportunity for breakthroughs is overlooked.

·        Soil must be broken to embrace new life.

·        Seeds need to be broken in order to sprout and bear fruit.

·        Water within a womb must be broken for the birth of a precious newborn.

·        Glass of all colors must be broken to create a beautiful mosaic.

Brokenness is the fertile ground of new things awaiting to burst forth in all their beauty. Our Lord is faithful in His way and timing. He rarely moves in the way we humanly expect, but always in the best course possible. He keeps His promises with redemption tactics that are incredible to behold!

Without darkness the light would not be seen as such. By experiencing life within the darkness, we can fully experience the liberating agent of light! Think of a precious baby knit together within the hidden place of the womb where no light can touch? But within the blackness, the birthing process begins. Slowly, the contractions move that precious being towards the light, then almost as if the anticipation of freedom is too great, the method speeds up culminating in birthing life, hope, and beauty.

Darkness and brokenness are the foreshadowing of breakthrough. A consistent dose of tenacity is needed to recognize what is happening behind the veil of both. Dawn is right around the corner. Look to the east; it is coming!

The Spirit of the Lord and King is on me. The Lord has anointed me to announce good news to poor people. He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts have been broken. He has sent me to announce freedom for those who have been captured. He wants me to set prisoners free from their dark cells.

Isaiah 61:1 (NIRV)

{Excerpt taken from Daily Dose of Intention: 365 Days of Purpose by Shagae Jones}

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When we are more afraid of staying the same than making a radical change, then we will act. If a doctor informs an individual that she must make dietary revisions due to her current health or meet an untimely end to life as she knows it, she will readily recognize that as the wake-up call. The reality of the ultimatum becomes the catalyst to instigate change in her life. No more hitting the snooze button.

Most of us know what we need to do but lack the motivation, commitment, or resources to follow through. We make excuses, explain away our lack of action---deep down hoping that the necessary change will just magically appear with minimal effort from ourselves. We have convinced ourselves that “someday” is sufficient for change and await that day where everything aligns and this unstoppable force rushes in placing us on the path to a better self.

The truth is that most of us will rationalize our poor choices, destructive habits, and passivity to action until we come face to face with a wake-up call. It shakes our world and causes us to have to address the giant of necessary change standing square in front of us. The days of apathy, rationalization, and inaction are cast aside with a conscious decision to accept the call for transformation. We rise up, alert and prepared for action!

What wake-up call awaits our acknowledgement?

“This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: “I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”  Ezekiel 37:5

(Excerpt taken from Daily Dose of Intention by Shagae Jones)

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All through Scripture the admonition to give thanks is prevalent. A companion of thanksgiving is praise, and God’s Word is loaded with encouragement to do this habitually. We recognize and identify what we are thankful for and then lift up and acknowledge what our Redeemer is doing and Who He is! The theme throughout is consistent in its instruction to practice gratefulness and praise. Our Creator knew that there was something quite powerful in this simple act of faith.

Don’t misunderstand! This action rarely changes our circumstances, but it does transform our perspective, displaying insight we could not view without the act of giving thanks. When we walk into a dark house everything looks eerie and threatening. However, as we begin to light up the house with a flip of the switch, the rooms are illuminated, casting a proper perspective upon what was moments before quite frightening. Nothing truly changed except our perspective. The light provided an avenue for us to view life more clearly. This light and outlook often arrive in the form of a grateful heart.

Let’s take the thought of light a step further. Even a pinpoint of light can bring comfort, decreasing the fear that lurks in the darkness. Praising Him who is able to penetrate the darkness is like grasping the hand of a loved one when we are scared. All of a sudden, the presence of another calms our nerves and restores balance. The cloud of despair is lifted as our soul sings and rises by giving honor to our Sustainer. As we often see with our Redeemer, He has designed a principle that when practiced will provide what we need to walk through difficult days. We will tether ourselves to being grateful and watch our faith grow.

The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 1:4-5 (NLT)

(Excerpt taken from Daily Dose of Intention to be released soon)

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Life is jam packed with questions of why, where, when, and how long. However, answers to life’s difficulties and heartache rarely arrive neatly packaged. Instead, they tend to meander alongside our path, intersecting at just the right time and with just the right amount of information we are prepared to digest. There is a mystery to this life that cannot be adequately explained and involves a lifetime journey of discovery. Life is meant to be experienced and radically lived; there are no perfect formulas to circumvent hardships. No matter how well we plan, problems will always present themselves; the unexpected will occur; sickness and heartache will be our companions. The key is what perspective we will institute no matter the circumstance.

When my children were born, I quickly deduced that there was no user manual. And what worked with one did not effectively work with the other. They literally exploded out of both ends of their body and kept me up in the middle of the night for unexplainable reasons. But oh, the mystery of the joy that flooded my being when they smiled and cooed at me. There was neither method nor blueprint to parenting; no perfect way forward was available. Instead, in its place, was a desire to ask questions, pursue relationship, and a willingness to travel the winding road riddled with ups and downs, detours, graveled paths, and harrowing bridges with my two little ones. And I was richer for the adventure.

Formulas and easy answers never satisfy because they are deceptive, promising us easy fixes, shortcuts, and pat answers that don’t exist in our daily narratives. Life’s questions are often resolved in the heat of battle, in the daily writing of our story through trial and error, and in our determination to not quit but persevere. And guess what? We won’t find our purpose or passion in a formula either. Proper perspective recognizes that detours, meanderings, and upward climbs are in a very real way the solution as they are the tools employed to build growth, depth, and faith! Trust and dependence on our Guide, our LORD, becomes necessary and eventually evolves into instinct. For in the messy, the less than perfect, the unknown, you just may discover beauty, fulfillment, and abundance.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

James 1:2-4 (NLT)

(Excerpt taken from Daily Dose of Intention to be released late 2023 or early 2024)

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There’s always an ebb and flow to the waves. The ocean is never completely still; tides are a natural part of the sea’s dance. No one wave crashes to shore like another, and each retreat is uniquely its own. Nonetheless, it always comes; we can count on the continuity of its rhythm. It is a song that continues to play no matter the circumstances.

As we create margin in our daily lives, we embrace this rhythmic movement as the Spirit leads in our life. He continues to rush over us like waves lapping against the shore. These healing waters provide grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. Conversely, there are times when it seems the Spirit is withholding, beckoning us to wait---to spend more time just basking in His life-giving presence. At these times, we remain confident that this also embodies purpose. Our very existence is wrapped in this rhythm of give and take. How well we learn to dance in the presence of the Spirit and His leading determine our consequent growth.

May we choose daily to trust the pace of our LORD. We cease the running ahead of Him, instead lingering in His steps, waiting on Him. We are in no hurry, cognitive of the value of slowing our march onward. Catching our breath, we sit in His presence to learn the rhythm of the waves that mimic inhaling and exhaling. We inhale all that the Spirit graciously breathes into us and exhale all that hinders rest, renewal, and right focus. Oh, the peace and joy that floods our soul when we grasp this essential rhythm!

“Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’” (When he said “living water”, he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.)”

John 7:38-39

{Excerpt taken from Daily Dose of Intention to be released later this year}

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Emmanuel (or Immanuel in the Hebrew) is God with us! God with us through all of life’s ups and downs. When we feel abandoned and all alone, may we remember God is with us. When life doesn’t follow our expected route, God is with us. When tragedy and sorrow upend our life, God is with us! God never leaves us nor forsakes us!

The good news of advent is that the Messiah has come. He has the power and initiative to set us free from what holds us in bondage. He has the creativity and power to help us become “unstuck” from our ruts. He breathes healing, hope, and new life into our broken lives.

He is Emmanuel --- God with us!

E --- Everlasting Father

M --- Maker of all Creation

M --- Messiah

A --- Always Present and Faithful

N --- Nudges our Hearts

U --- Unifier

E --- Eternal

L --- Loving Kindness and Compassion

Create space this season to sit in the presence of the sacred, allowing your heart to be bathed by Emmanuel --- God with us!

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We are hard-wired to find relief, joy, and peace when we SING, PRAISE, AND GIVE THANKS! Something shifts within us when we practice gratitude through one of these means. Our outlook becomes hopeful; our negative thinking is halted; the corners of our mouth turn upwards, and our body relaxes. The tenseness dissipates, and we can breathe in and out freely!

Notice nothing necessarily changes in our situation or circumstances. But it transforms everything within which greatly affects our perspective. Our vision is affected by a lens that adds dimension and clarity. We are able to see the upside-down phenomena when Christ is our life. Things are not as they seem. Suffering is an opportunity to shine bright and gain compassion for others. Heartache allows our Savior to be the healing balm. Apathy, discouragement, and cynicism when laid down present a chance for us to change direction.

In a Google search, the data stated that there are over 400 references to singing, roughly 250 references to praise, and about 170 of giving thanks. Wow! And according to desiringgod.org it says there are fifty commands to sing. This confirms the importance of practicing these three words in our daily lives. We need them to be infused within us, so they become our natural response no matter our circumstance.

Whether this holiday season brings you joy or pain, please continue to SING, PRAISE, AND GIVE THANKS! They bring about gifts that continue to bless us and those around us.

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Have you ever viewed God as a Being who delights in you? Have you communed with God and heard Him speak good things over you? Has your experience been with a God who desires to commune with you and be seen by you?

Or is your image of God harsh, dictatorial, and condemning? Have you experienced a God who awaits your next wrongdoing so He can once again pronounce how disappointed He is in you? Are His demands on you driving you to exhaustion and burnout? Does He to seek to discover what is flawed in you rather than what is beautiful in you, His beloved creation?

We all, in some way or fashion, project an image of God into the way we view Him. In a sense, we have chosen a specific characteristic of God to focus upon based on our own life experiences, relationships, and culture. This is a natural tendency. But what happens when the picture we’ve draw of God isn’t accurate, nor biblical and it has the reverse effect --- detaching us from our Creator and Savior? This view could easily result in negating a relationship with Him. We build walls to protect ourselves from this distant and apathetic Being. Or we attempt to earn more favor or appease His anger by doing more, never fully satisfying Him.

Here are a couple simple challenges for two very broad approaches to embracing God…

For those of us raised in the church and caught in the trap of doing more and better to prove our worth to the Lord, may we cease the doing and just be in His presence. Allow ourselves to be fully seen by God and experience His pouring out of delight right where we are. Enjoy being and all that entails --- gratitude, reflection, contentment in the present. May we stop huffing and puffing to make a difference and just embrace Him.

For those of us who have put distance between ourselves and God because of the judgement, misconception, or anger associated with a divine, sovereign being, may we do the counterintuitive and draw close. And as my daughter often says, “Be curious”. It can be so easy to miss what is right in front of us because we are utilizing a lens of another human beings’ behaviors or judgements. Or a lens that sees only our own reality reel. We’ve understandably, yet incorrectly projected those on to God.

Believe it or not, God wants to hear from all of us --- the good, bad, and ugly. We, after all, are His creation. His desire is to connect and relate with each of us individually as His beloveds. He urges us to cease from striving and be with Him. He implores us to draw near and be curious! Embracing God is quite simply to relate!

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Freedom… words associated with the spirit of freedom provide insight to its significance…

Independence, autonomy, liberation, release, space,

Flexibility, spontaneity, openness, and free will

Those words that stand in direct opposition to freedom might be even more informative…

Captivity, bondage, restriction,

Confinement, slavery

The emotions experienced when perusing each of those lists separately clearly delineates the heart’s yearning for freedom and our rejection of anything not considered freedom. An innate desire to be free resonates deep within each of us. Such a rich and powerful meaning that has been the genesis of nations, the catalyst to breaking the cycle of abuse, and the expression of those who cease the use of harmful substances or habits. Even more pronounced, may be our built-in longing to be freely true to who we were created to be without the restraints of social, cultural, and familial dictates. The word is conveyed regularly in our country and loosely enough at times that we may have conveniently forgotten a few concepts about this powerful word.

Freedom does not come freely! Freedom comes at a cost whether the price is life, sweat, or external/internal battles. Breaking free from addictions, vices, or unhealthy patterns, although reaps an outcome much desired, costs the individual something. A death of sorts to what was and death never comes easily. The old life tenaciously clings to what was. However, freedom is always worth the daily fight!

Freedom doesn’t mean we are free to do all things, to live however each of us decide. This would create a lawless nation governed by the whim and notion of each individual, including those that would murder, lie, cheat, and steal all in the name of freedom. My freedom should not infringe upon another’s freedom. The result of being free is we are allotted the privilege to value the lives of those around us and respect their freedom. This leads perfectly into the third principle so easily forgotten.

Freedom comes with great responsibility, especially in the way we choose to pass it on. There is a parable that Christ told in the Gospel of Matthew (18:21-35); it’s entitled The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. In a nutshell, a man owed his king more than he could ever repay in a lifetime, so he pled for his freedom from this debt which the king graciously gave. As you read the parable, you become astounded that the same man who had left a free man turned around and chose not to forgive the lesser debts of those who owed him. How can this be? Often people misinterpret freedom as a power move rather than a gift giving tool. When it becomes about power, freedom dies a slow death.

Freedom should always be a catalyst to free others, break down barriers and live abundantly towards others! For freedom is not a destination but a journey. In the freedoms we do experience, may we be grateful and understand the responsibility we’ve been endowed to express to those around us. May our freedom not lull us into a trance where we are blind to the injustices and atrocities that still exist. May we use our own freedom to remain free and set others free!

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