Surrounded

The Lord has been teaching me to be very, very aware of His presence! How can we be aware of something that is not always tangible? We know His word, we know His voice, we know truth....we know Him.

A few months ago I was on my way home when my tire went completely flat. I pulled onto the side of the road and called my husband to let him know what had happened, so he could come to my rescue. He was not close by and it was going to take him a while to get to me, so there I was stranded and alone with dark storm clouds covering the sky. It wasn't long before thunder, lightning and heavy rain joined those dark clouds. I was surrounded by darkness, or so it seemed. Panic was rising up in me, but then immediately I began to pray and speak His word...
"You are my refuge, You are my strong tower, I have not been given a spirit of fear, Your perfect love drives out fear, I am Your daughter and You are such a good Father, You tell me to not be afraid for You are with me, I am not alone, I am surrounded by You." Then these lyrics came alive in my spirit...
"It may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by You." Though surrounded by dark clouds and loud thunder, I was even moreso surrounded by His light and His gentle whispers. The Holy Spirit reminded me of Psalm 32:7 in that moment:
"You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance."
As I sang to my Father, not only did I become aware of His overwhelming presence, He was surrounding me with songs of deliverance! He sings and rejoices over us, what a humbling and beautiful truth! 
I was so very aware of His presence that I didn't even notice the gentleman who stopped to help, he was very kind and patched up my tire enough where I could make it home. When we deliberately switch our focus from fear to Jesus, we can't help but break out in worship of who He is!

More recently, my husband was working out of town and yes, God has delivered me from fear, but I am still more aware of those little noises at night when he is not home. I began to ask the Lord one night to show me the angels He has stationed around our home. I heard the word "rampart" all night and was led to Psalm 91:4 the next morning....
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."
A rampart is a defensive wall, it is to fortify and surround. When we worship and surrender to Him, He breaks through our walls of fear and doubt and raises His rampart of divine protection and peace. He was faithfully showing me again that He has me surrounded, He is my protector and refuge. His faithfulness, His truth is my shield and rampart. He covers and surrounds His sons and daughters! Oh, what peace to be very aware of His presence!

We may be surrounded by darkness, chaos, or fear, but we do not have to surrender to it! We cannot allow the darkness we see with our physical eye to blind us from God Almighty's presence and light that is surrounding us. I choose to submit and surrender to His truth, to Him.

Lord, gives us eyes like Elisha! When we are like his servant and only see the enemy army surrounding us, open our eyes so we may see that we are surrounded by you!! (2 Kings 6:13-18) Help us Lord to be very aware of your presence!

When we are aware of His presence, there is no place for confusion or doubt and fear must flee!

I have this quote on my mirror in my room:
"God incarnate is the end of fear; and the heart that realizes that He is in the midst... will be quiet in the middle of alarm."
- F.B. Meyer

Yes, may we realize He most definitely is in the midst and our hearts can be quiet and at complete rest even in the middle of alarm. We are surrounded! Thank you, Jesus!

Just Keep Pouring

I sat outside silently lifting up my concerns to the Lord when I noticed my son pouring water into a bucket. As I watched the water continue to flow and overflow out of the bucket, the Lord spoke to my spirit "daughter, just keep pouring." This super simple poem came from that super simple moment with our supernatural God. Jesus is faithful to fill us with Himself when we seek Him and we have the honor of pouring His love, truth, and goodness into our children.

Just Keep Pouring

The day has been hard and long
I realize I am not that strong

Humbly at Your feet I fall
Knowing You hear me when I call

Your face and voice I seek
And You are good and faithful to speak

You say "Daughter, just keep pouring"
No matter how loud the enemy is roaring

Keep pouring out My Word and truth
Training them up from their youth

Keep pouring out your prayers
Casting on Me all your cares

Keep pouring out My grace and love
Setting your mind on things above

Keep pouring out your tears
Releasing to Me all your fears

Keep pouring laughter, joy, and hope
Even if you're at the end of your rope

Daughter, keep pouring out your heart to Me
And I will give you My eyes to see

Don't dare look through fleshly eyes
That stir up doubt entertaining satan's lies

I see all the sibling fights
And all your sleepless nights

Daughter, you're doing so well
What a story you'll have to tell

You are absolutely never alone
You are deeply loved and fully known

I see every single sacrifice you make
All for your children's sake

Keep making time to sit and be filled
And I’ll pour into you as you yield

Mothers, your pouring is not in vain
Abundant life in Christ those souls will gain

By faith, we see them mighty and soaring
So keep praying, loving, and just keep pouring

Door of Hope

For the past few years, I have prayed and asked God for a word and scripture for the new year. This year He has given me the word "HOPE" based on beautiful scripture from Hosea 2:14-15..

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt."

No one desires the wilderness or desert place, but God often leads us right into that lonely season. We must not forget that God led His own Son there also. The thing is though, it is He that allures us there and that means He is there in the wilderness too. Yes, the desert place may feel desolate and lonely but it can also be a place of vision, revelation, and freedom if we will surrender and follow Him, yes even into the wilderness.

I did not realize how much I like control or how much I lean on my own understanding until recently. God asked us to make a big change without informing us of what the future will look like.

We can have total anxiety or total peace in the wilderness seasons. I am choosing peace because even though I don't know His plans, I do know Him! And He is good and His plans are good, therefore I trust Him! 

The beautiful truth is that often the Valley of Achor (trouble) is our door of HOPE. When we know who He is, all our hope is in Him!

I wrote a poem recently during this difficult yet hopeful and exciting season. I pray it speaks to you as you gain His sight in your valley allowing you to see the door of HOPE. 

Door of Hope

The wilderness is dark and lonely
Your light leads me down the rocky slope
Only You make the valley of trouble
As a door of hope

You desired me without distraction
You allured me to this desert place
Away from the other voices
Where I can truly seek Your face

Following You to the desolate valley
Or upon treacherous heights
No matter where You lead
I won't look back, even on the darkest nights

I look ahead not knowing what is next
The path is unknown, yet my heart full of trust
You, my Guide have ordered my steps
My Creator, you are faithful and just

Even in the valley, You provide rest
You will never lead me astray
My heart and feet are bound to Yours
You are my Shepherd and perfect is Your way

There is liberty in the valley with You
Yes, I see the door of hope and I sing
My strength and joy restored
My God, to You alone, I will cling

I won't surrender to self pity
If I have Your vision and sight
You are my shield and reward
Onward and upward through this plight

For Only You make the valley of trouble
As a door of hope

Upon Your Wings

I absolutely love the visuals God gives us in His word. I have always been drawn to the passages that mention eagles, but never quite understood them until I looked up commentary recently.


"When its young are first fledged, the eagle is said to assist them in their flight by flying beneath them, so that they may settle upon its wings or back, if necessary. God means that He has bestowed upon His people the same tender and powerful care, has borne them up mightily when they might have fallen, supported their first flight as fledglings, and so saved them from disaster."

"You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself." Exodus 19:4

"As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings..." 
Deuteronomy 32:11

"but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

Out of this new found knowledge and excitement, somewhat of a poem was birthed from my soul....

As the eagle stirs up it's young
Because it knows what is best
You, Oh Lord, stir me as well
Out of the comfort of my nest

Through all the "what ifs" and "I cannots"
You remain ever so patient and kind
Encouraging me to rise up and trust
That You won't forsake nor leave me behind

You cover me with Your mighty wings
I am hidden and safe under Your shadow
But You persist, lovingly stirring me
To spread my wings, trusting as I follow

In the sky, I look beneath me
Your mighty wings spread wide
So much time I wasted fearing a fall
All the while, upon Your wings I ride

If I become weak and tired, I will not panic
Your wings are underneath providing me rest
If I fall, I fall upon You, no safer place
The sky contains beauty unseen from the nest

Oh God, Your wings cover and protect
Your wings stir me though my faith be poor
You renew my strength, raising me up
I hope in You and upon Your wings I soar