From Frazzled to Fun

This weekend Christ followers celebrate all across the Earth.

"THE defining moment in history...

is it your defining moment in history?" 

- Jill Rhodes

If you know the joy of having Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord then it surely is your defining moment in history.

I encourage you to take a few moments to turn your thoughts and heart to Jesus by listening to our friend Rachel Leigh Bowsher's new single just released. (CLICK HERE)

Praying peace for your heart and home!

P.S. Get JESUS (Outstretched Arm of Heaven) on your favorite streaming platform here.

I pray this new song, written and recorded by Taylor Stull, will refresh your spirit and soul as you look to the Lord.  

(By the way, if your kids hear this song, you may be hearing them sing it the rest of the day! It seems to have that effect.) :)  

Taylor shares:   

"This little song is now spreading its wings & how I hope it soars!  

Psalm 24. 'Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts.'  

With every step, I come to the knowledge that anywhere with Jesus is safe.  

The more I let him cleanse me.

Purify me.

The more I experience him.  

Take me on the mountain.

Or take me to your riverside.

Mountain high.

Valley low.

Anywhere you want to go…..  

Just change me as we walk together.  

When I hear this song, I feel like I’m soaring high above the clouds.

Kissing the tops of streams & running through open...

I'm still rejoicing over how the Lord met us in such a powerful way at the Coach Mom Live Retreat in Phoenix a few weekends ago.

I so appreciate everyone who shared their talents to make it such a special weekend.

My daughter Mari made this video showing highlights from the weekend, which includes some of the moms sharing what the time meant to them.

Again, one of the most powerful moments this year was the time the foster and adoptive moms shared their stories with each other.

Where to go from here...

I am excited to continue the love and support by opening the doors to Truth Mom Tribe, a community for honest, free, and fun foster and adoptive living.

If you are a foster or adoptive mom, or seek to know how best to support your foster and adoptive mom friends, I hope you will consider joining the Truth Mom Tribe!

Do you ever feel like God isn't hearing your prayers?

I sat today with a friend and we recounted some of our best answered prayer moments, and it was so spiritually encouraging and uplifting.

What did all of these "best" answered prayer moments have in common? There was always some difficulty, risk or peril...but God.

What in your life do you need God's intervention in?

Always pray and never lose heart. (Luke 18:1)

Click here and take in this 30-second astounding testimony springing from a simple sincere prayer.

Then take a moment to lift up your heart to the Lord, asking Him for intervention in your life or family.

Trust the promise that as you pray according to HIs will, He hears you. And that you have what you have asked. (1 John 5:14)

I'm praying right now that as you pray a sincere prayer, the Lord will show you

• He loves you
• He sees you
• He hears you

Please let me know if you end up with a cool story to share!

P.S. Have you signed up yet...

Happy Thanksgiving!

May all our days be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Even science proves that it has a great impact on one's mental and emotional health.

Some thoughts on thanksgiving that I journaled this last week from a compilation of sermons by Bill Johnson:

• Thankfulness is an expression of trust that keeps us conscious of the Presence of God
• Thanksgiving enables us to take what the enemy meant for evil and transfer it into to the hands of God, knowing that He is causing all things to work together for our good.
• When we are thankful, we sanitize our touch and involvement in the matters our our lives. It removes the remaining "flesh influence" that defiles what God might do.
• Thankfulness sanctifies.
• When I am thankful, everything in my life is usable to God.
• Thankfulness is an automatic position of humility, the #1 virtue that changes a person's life.
• Thankfulness can change the nature of a family line

I am thank God for the privilege of being...

God flew me all the way to Africa and back, 20 checkpoints each way, with an airline ticket that had the wrong LAST NAME. Yep…it was a miracle! 

I only got detained 3 times. Each time they came and profusely apologized, letting me pass through without speaking a word on my behalf!

I love to share my most exciting God stories. But I realize they all have one thing in common: a certain degree of peril. 

The idea of living out more God miracles sounds amazing… but...today just never seems like a convenient time….

Right now, we all stand in a unique time ourselves…

War, threats of organized terrorist groups on our own soil who have entered through our open borders, political unrest, bank closures, and food chain disruptions all threaten our sense of peace.

But I encourage you to not be dismayed or discouraged.

One thing we know from the past: The biggest challenges are God's biggest opportunities to show...

Have you heard about After Death, a new movie by the makers of The Chosen and Sound of Freedom?

The movie tells the stories of 14 people who clinically died, and came back to tell about it.

Producer Stephen Gray said that out of the thousands of stories they looked through in the making of this movie, they were amazed to find 40 similar testimonial data points across these people of all sorts of religious backgrounds.

For us, watching After Death will be a great alternative activity on Oct. 31...dinner and a movie!

(If you are wondering why we choose to do alternate activities on Oct. 31, here you can find a video of me explaining 7 questions we answered to make that decision.)

Opening weekend is such a powerful time to watch a film, especially for independent films like After Death. The more people come out for it, the longer the movie will be shown. So let's show up on Oct. 31! 

Get tickets...

We are living in times that we cannot risk prayerlessness.

 WHAT IS GOING ON?

This week it was reported that Israel was barbarically attacked by the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. Not just going for the military, but a ruthless attack -- killing grandmothers, families, and even infants.

"There have been about 1,200 Israelis that have been butchered by Hamas terrorists. That is the equivalent to around 30,000 or 40,000 Americans, if you adjust for population.” said Karys Rhea, a fellow with the Jewish Leadership Project.

Rhea said they suffered the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

WHAT ABOUT FRIDAY, OCT. 13, TAKES THE CONFLICT UP A LEVEL?

Khaled Mashal, a leader and founding member of the Islamic terror group Hamas, has called for a global Day of Rage on Friday, saying “this is the time for Jihad,” according to American Greatness.

Mashal called all Muslims "to show anger,...

A little more than a year ago I started a new and powerful habit: taking communion daily.

If you've been walking with me for very long, you probably have picked up on my attitude about how I want to live. I once heard someone say, "When my alarm clock goes off, I want the devil to say, 'Oh no, she's up again!'"

Bingo.

This daily communion addition I believe has been powerful and, if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I want to encourage you to consider doing the same.

If we didn't understand before that we are in a daily battle between good and evil, I'm pretty sure we all realize that at this point in history.

It's fierce and this is no time to be complacent.

In the shakings, our families need us to fight for them.

A reminder of where our absolute victory in this battle we are in is found in this verse:

“They overcame him [the accuser of the brethren] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their...

It's time to STAND. Actually let's ROAR. What we believe is not what we say, but what we do. Do you believe all humans have been given unalienable rights by our Creator...Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to name a few? How are you exemplifying that now in the choices you make in these ongoing unprecedented times? Do you want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for your children's future? Mama, it's time to show your children what you believe and to live it out.    In case you hadn't heard: Colleges are reinstituting their COVID mandates. Over 100 schools have put in place a vaccine mandate A major Hollywood studio, Lionsgate, is bringing back mask mandates, contact tracing, and  mandatory COVID tests $1.4 billion dollars is being spent to develop yet another (the 7th) COVID booster The federal government is buying up new COVID supplies in...