Remind Me

by Amy Posted on June 16, 2013

I don’t know about you but I need reminding….
That I don’t know everything and that the things I think I know still need some refining.

I walked home the other evening.  Is it okay to say here, I believe God’s Spirit was speaking to mine…Because I turned a corner, when I turned that corner back to my driveway.

DSC_1152I need this field.  Because looking out I think I see it, but I don’t… My mind runs wild for a second as I simply take it in for a moment.  My brain He gave says, “there could and most likely is, little birds nesting in those tall flowing grasses, likely millions of insects doing whatever it is they do best, and a few foxes finding their hole to rest…”  Not to mention the shades of green no one’s been able to duplicate yet…
And seeing a life size area sized up to be laid down by a few graceful deer, I knew someone had been resting there the night before.
But most of these I couldn’t see.  They were my best guesses, my creative imaginings, or maybe a small dose of life experience kicking in.
Standing still I realized and remembered something.
This is only one way He reminds me.   I need Him to see.

DSC_1143 DSC_1292What about you friend…  How has He reminded you lately?  Because sometimes reminding one another of His glory is necessary.
Because we can’t walk our path alone and He knows that already.

I need home.  I need a neighbor just up the road to meet and to know.  I need you friend, who’s reading.  I need my church doors to remain open so His Holy Spirit can flow in.

Because alone, I see only glimpses of His glory.  And for this, I thank Him.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”.
John 14:26 ESV.

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11 Years Of Grace

by Amy Posted on May 28, 2013

If 2 spouses each say “I’m going to treat MY self centeredness as the main problem…” You have the prospect of a truly great marriage.
- Timothy Keller -

DSC_1168“I gave as much of myself as I knew how to”….

That’s what my husband confessed as we prepared to slide the 11 year antique vhs into the machine yesterday evening.  We pressed play, vulnerably, out loud in front of an audience of 4 little people we’ve created… who didn’t know us back then.  We both confessed we didn’t have a clue what we were doing.  And I think that’s as important for them to know just as much as it is for us to understand.  I let go of a few tears and embraced more healing.  We didn’t know then that “for better or worse” meant even when one of us sins against the other not out of true love but out of pure selfishness.  Oh’ my, aren’t we human!

My first mission as I watched was to be less embarrassed than I’ve been in the past, and embrace all God has done for us.  I process this.  Because staring into the screen we both see it.  We see different people, and God’s redemptive work on full throttle.  Because for me, looking at that 20 year old girl from a different world is like having an out of body experience.  I know I’m her, but I think God’s grace is better understood as life continues on…
11 years of the best intentions.  I would like to say I was always committed but that would be an exaggeration.  My thoughts and feelings didn’t always match the vow I promised and neither did his.
We reached a fork in the road where we chose to tell our whole story and continue on walking in what we started.  The Spirit of God moves between us.  It’s His Spirit that flows through us and for us.  Now, by God’s grace we would much rather settle down, give God credit, and admit we’re not perfect. 

The kids were all tucked in, with questions swirling around their little heads.  Some answers have to wait till morning.  I slid into bed resting on this man’s chest and thought,
I’m at peace with all of it because the “for better and for worse” part can’t be separated.  It’s all a part of us.  We’ve been redeemed into one person.  We’re finding out, receiving grace doesn’t hurt as much as the things we try to create to replace it.

Friend, have you ever looked back on your marriage, or other relationships and seen the growth and grace given?

Are we ready to embrace today for all that’s in it and do the best we can?
Because 11 years is less than a day to Him. 1 Peter 3:8…

And He says, we’re worth it.

p.s. Click on this song… I had forgotten until last night.  This was the song, the words, that we had chosen way back when to light our ceremony unity candle along with.  This song now reaches depths of my heart I wasn’t aware of yet. Glorious GRACE friends.  :)

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New Life

by Amy Posted on May 21, 2013

Here’s a peek into my life around here friends…
EmmaBirthThese little people, have a way of bringing out things in you that you weren’t aware of before they entered the world.  They don’t call themselves teachers but are possibly one of the best guides toward our own self-awareness.  They are life changing.  And God uses them when they aren’t even aware yet…

Twelve days ago my nine month wait came to an end.  A little girl was born breathing with brown eyes staring back at me.  Things changed quickly, forming beads of sweat on her forehead for a warning.  We didn’t know what to think.  Her first visit to the nursery showed scary levels of low blood sugar.  A mother’s milk turned into formula quickly and I had to take a step away.  They thought they could get her balanced out but the next days knowledge knew she had to be moved to the nicu.   A five day stay there felt like some of the longest hours I’ve ever known.  We entered into a part of doctoring we didn’t plan to.  We met people we never expected to know.   I wept out deep from my gut a mother’s heart and fear took hold for the little life I had just birthed hours before.  Needy prayers grew and helped fears lay still…
You don’t want to let go.

EmmaDaddy2

photoAnd only by God’s grace, we didn’t have to.  Some of the smartest brains join together with ivs and feeding tubes and we hold our breath and hold her while she’s connected to life.

I’ve thought of this before friends.  I’ve thought of death as a critical part to life and wondered how I would go on worshiping when the lives I care for threaten to leave.  There truly is no way of knowing.
But God…

I could say, “we thank our lucky stars” and so many other things… But I know right now all I can thank is the God I say I serve.  I can’t call this a “Job Story”.  But it is now ingrained as part of my own Biblical history, that I’ll carry with me.  I can only hope I have the surrender and submission that Job got to experience after hearing directly from the maker of all things…

Friends, I know there are so many of you out there who’ve experienced loss at a level unimaginable to me.  All I want to say is, let’s do our best to prod each other along towards faith at every chance we get.  May we not miss a beat of anything He’s offering.  Life is worth living… Welcome home baby girl.
DSC_0880Thanks for sharing your time with me friends.  I hope you have a great day out there in this big old world!

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Tomorrow’s Fresh!

by Amy Posted on April 25, 2013

FHL_TomorrowMistakes_Anne“Tomorrow’s fresh with no mistakes in it.”  What a great way to think…

A few words lined up on a page from one of the most passionate fictional character’s I’ve ever come across, can come to life for us right here and now, and be very helpful!
(Hint… Sometimes, we have to Life Coach ourselves!)  :)
For me, it’s as if this thought jumps off the page from my head to my heart.
And that’s where I need it most to be life changing.
We could choose to minimize it as “just” fiction, but fiction is always written by someone who’s lived a reality somewhere.

This can roll around our heads like a song and encourage change in our very real lives… It’s from a story but the truth is it comes from the most real story ever told… The Bible.  There’s a beautiful truth here, but we’ll only get the change we want if we embrace it!

Can you imagine how effective we would be if we lived this way?  Believing and living each day as fresh, full, and new!  And isn’t this just how God sees us 24/7…

 Forget about what’s happened: don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There is is!
I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.
Isaiah 43: 18,19

If you’re anything like me, you’ve already failed in something this week.  But when failing isn’t the focus, we are free to dwell on something greater.  When we don’t get it right we get to refocus on the One who already has.

So, we can ponder, pray, and choose to act well today.  Because today has already been covered by grace with no mistakes…

Do you have a favorite line or positive quote to share?  Drop me a note in the comment section here and the whole Full Her Life Community will benefit!

 

 

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Choosing Thanks and Getting Gifts

by Amy Posted on April 5, 2013
There’s nothing better than setting your alarm to the Spring birds songs.  Or, taking a walk in fresh air, and opening “The Good Book” with orange juice and pen in hand.  There’s nothing better than… well, many things.
DSC_0740
Once God helps us start looking!  In life, there’s something interesting about bowing low but looking out.  We will never find everything we need by only looking in.
There are natural gifts given that don’t need our hand in it, and some we’re invited to create moment by moment.
What will you do with the life that’s given, friend?  Today, is all we have for now and it’s enough if we breathe in deep, thoughts of thankful breaths.

When God encourages, “Give thanks”, He says it knowing it helps.  He knows us and how we tick.  We get the opportunity today to re-define the bad, the sad, and the pain-filled moments…The good, the happy, and lighthearted moments by giving them all up as one, because we trust the One who gives them.  He gets to hold them and mesh them together.  God shows us how to call them all gifts.

Life is always right at our fingertips… Learning to live life to the full is what Jesus died to give.  So, when you wake up today begin training your mind to say, “Thank You”.  Write your gifts down, say them out loud, share them with your community.

This is just the beginning.  God’s Life doesn’t run out.  MAKE it a great day friends!

 Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  NLT~

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Joy And Waiting For Spring!

by Amy Posted on March 20, 2013

Spring is here but it looks a little different from what you’d expect.  Not by our choice but by, “that’s life”… instead of green it’s keeping the white for a time.

FHL_JoyGrowsYou never know what you’re going to get so why not choose joy anywhere, anytime, anyplace?

It was only last week in the lovely northeast, I had to weave around melting puddles and brown mud layers thick deep.  Exiting a long country driveway for a morning walk can be tricky and creative in times like these.  But, it was worth it to get out and get moving!

Now, as Spring arrives, Winter decides to give us a grand finale by letting out about 10 inches of snow just to keep us on our toes… and in warmer shoes.

Thankfully, our attitudes don’t have to follow wherever the weather goes.  We don’t have to be that unpredictable.  Because joy isn’t born when “good” things happen, but of how you think of all the things that do happen.  Joy grows from how you thank.  And somehow by God’s sweet grace, joy can build a new mind and mold a new person over time.  Someone sweeter than before.  So, why not choose joy as we linger here between two seasons?  Why not, embrace feeling a little stuck in the middle?  This to shall pass, friend.  Why not enJOY the life that’s given…

The flowers are waiting for us beyond the mud.  And there’s still beauty in white snow falling from heaven, even in late March.  We can choose joy right where we’re at.  Today, all we can say is, “Welcome Spring”, whatever you look like!  May God be glorified, Amen…

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Miracle Days

by Amy Posted on March 12, 2013

“It’s not that unusual, when everything is beautiful”…
 And Ms. Sarah sings it so lovely too.  It makes me want to prepare it for a special for my church family, and turn it up loudly for the children here who follow me.  I have the sudden urge to raise my hands as high as they can and smile, and I think I will.  Maybe I’ll touch more of Him if I try to?  Won’t you join me friends, in an ordinary day filled with gratitude…

The sky, the stars, sunshine and sunsets, birds, trees, flowers, mountains, lakes, the changing of seasons, and the uniqueness of humans… It’s hard to call these gifts “ordinary”.  They’re nothing less than extraordinary, once we start noticing.

It’s just another ordinary miraculous kind of day.  Everything is new in some kind of way.  If we want to see a miracle… then maybe, all we have to do is look around us now.

It’s about not waiting around any longer for more life to come by but adding the living to life right now.  Living today to the full.  What if we’re barely scratching the surface?  It makes me wonder if God can’t reveal too much at once because we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves…
I think God has more for us, friends… To embrace ordinary things that happen every day like, a refreshing walk, a good book, your favorite meal, my baby boy’s smile.  The list is endless once we start it… So make the decision to never stop.  What a beautiful way to live.

Feel free to stay and press “play” to hear Sarah Mclachlan & see a few of my pictures!

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever”.
~Psalm 16:11 NLT~

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We’re Moving On!

by Amy Posted on March 7, 2013

FHL_Isaiah43MSG(1)Because of Jesus, we get to move on with our lives.  We get to receive the joy of letting go what’s been done to us, and the things we’ve done wrong in our past.  We get to inhale that spiritual breeze that blows by and release it towards others.  What a breath of fresh air that is!

Today friends, this is about moving forward with the One who knows how to love us best.  Sit with me for a moment and be silent.  Let go of your past and pick up what He’s capable of now.  Every experience is a part of us but doesn’t have to define us.  That’s God’s job.  He’s ready to move us on.  I’m learning, I’d rather move forward into the unknown than stay stuck circling the same mountain over and over.

It’s almost Spring!  It’s time to touch down on new soil!  Are you ready to move on…

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Rainbow Moments

by Amy Posted on February 25, 2013

FHL_RainbowDP(1)The other morning I asked my oldest to jump in and help unload the clean dishes.  You never know what you’re gonna’ get when you ask for help, do you.  I wasn’t shocked when she answered she didn’t want to and while I appreciate her honesty, I asked her again anyway.

Who really wants to begin a day in a negative way?

I walked away and within a few minutes time something in her changed.  I could hear her humming when she called me in to see her work.  She hadn’t just put the dishes away, she had made a display!  With our assorted colors combined she found almost all the colors of the rainbow and stacked them up high.

She may not have noticed  but I saw truth in it.  God was here for a visit.  One of His promises was at rest in my kitchen.  When we choose to do right, we’re blessed in return.
There’s power in small moments.

How do we take the mundane and make it beautiful?  Sometimes, we luck out and just fall into the flow but other times we have to make conscious choices to change our own attitude and look on the bright side of things.  We have to search for our rainbow.

How often in every day life do we have the chance to turn something around but we’re too blinded by our own attitude?  We’re so closed we can’t even see the promise standing in front of us.  As we grow older than 8 years old this becomes a skill.  We have to see it to practice the artistry of creating beauty in each moment.  Small moments can make up big living!  What a difference it would make if all our small moments were good moments… It was something that my little girl and me got to experience together that day.

We don’t have to wait any longer if we embrace the promise God has already given.  How will you find your rainbow today, friend?

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A Season Of Returning

by Amy Posted on February 14, 2013

Lent.  It’s a small word that means big things.  I didn’t know much about the act of it until recently.  In fact, I don’t think I had ever heard of it until last year… besides the occasional Catholic Christian I would pass by wearing black ash on their forehead.
I never knew those ashes meant something was beginning…

DSC_0506And this season begins in returning.  Confession, surrender, and a heightened awareness of ourselves as Jesus works in our midst.  While some of us may fast something we’ve discovered distracts us from this holistic return to Him, some of us may choose to slow and reflect.  What God truly wants is us.

Love.  It’s a small word that means big things.  And I’m feeling it’s highly complementary that Valentine’s Day steps in the day after Lent begins.  I appreciate that.

I’m reading through this little book named “Holey, Wholly, Holy”, available here.  And this friends is how I desire to be.  And my prayer for you right now is that on this Valentine’s Day you return to Him in some way that you’ve never been near Him before.
God is love and this year, on this day, I’m thankful for Lent.

 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.  You do not want a burnt offering.
  The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.  Psalm 51:16-17  NLT

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