Luke 2: 6-20:
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

1“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Notice what Mary did … “But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

Scripture often uses the word heart to represent the center of our thoughts and emotions. As she saw her miraculous new born baby laying wrapped in a manger (after being unable to find a single hotel room or guest house available), kneeling next to Joseph (he man who had every reason to leave her yet he stayed and believed) and now these shepherds who have come revealing what the angel had said about her baby, she kept it in her heart. She’s sitting in the moment, noticing everything, recognizing this is a profound spiritual experience.

She’s seeing how God had worked through everyone and everything to make this happen. She’s noticing the details and their divine alignment.

And this is who we are called to be this Christmas. We’re called to be the daughter, the wife, the mother, the sister, the aunt, the grandma, the friend, the neighbor, the girl who will be fully there and actually NOTICE. Notice the details and their divine alignment. Notice how God worked through everyone and everything to make this happen. Notice it. Sit in your moments and recognize the miracles in those moments. This does not require the presence or participation of another living soul … just you. Intentionally noticing. Noticing the beauty. Noticing the moment. Noticing the miraculous.

These days hold the potential for precious memories, but you miss those precious memories if you rush through them and focus on trying to make things perfect. Stop. Just be here. Be fully here. Notice.

It’s okay if the house gets messy. It’s okay if the kids get wild. It’s okay if everyone is still in their pajamas. It’s okay if dinner is served late. It’s okay if you eat dessert first. It’s okay. You don’t have to control it or fix it, just notice all the good there is to notice.

Notice the sounds. Notice the smells. Notice the flavor. Notice the sights. Notice the moments.

My sister, you’ve been missing entirely too many of your moments. Moments that held the potential for precious memories. Moments that were nothing short of miraculous. Don’t miss these!

Mary kept these things in her heart and thought about them often. It’s time to store up some beautiful things in your heart so you can think about them often.

Many years ago I read a little book by Andy Andrews called “The Noticer”. Back then I was much more of a rusher, an over-talker, a fixer. I deeply struggled to sit in a moment and just be there. I must confess I was a poser. I cared more about how it looked than how it really felt for everyone else. I would ruin a beautiful moment by fixing the background so the photo would look good. The Noticer helped me to notice the beauty in the moment, as is. It shifted my perspective to see life that was unfolding in front of me, life that would pass I would never get back.

Now, I get totally swept away in the simplest moments. This weekend I made blanket forts with my grandson for nearly an hour. I savored every giggle and captured the moment as a precious memory in my heart. I noticed. I noticed what a miracle it was and all God had done to make it happen. It was my Mary moment. “But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

This morning I sat up in bed to begin talking to God, and I noticed my husband laying next to me. The warmth of his body. The sound of him sleeping so peacefully. I just noticed. There was nothing I needed to change. Nothing I needed to fix. And nothing I needed to rush through. Just notice. A Mary moment.

My prayer for you today and the coming days as you celebrate the birth of our Jesus, is that you have intentional and on purpose Mary moments. That you remember this. That you slow down. That you pause. That you listen. That you feel it fully. That you store up that moment in your heart so you can think about it often.

For a bit of fresh inspiration this morning, I searched for short podcast on being a noticer. Clicking on the first one in my search, to my surprise, the dude starts talking about being a muleman. I had somehow landed myself on a podcast about raising MULES! What’s really crazy is I decided to listen. His mulemanship tip for the day was to be a noticer. To notice what the mule is doing for you and appreciate them.

And that right there is perhaps the best relationship advice ever! If it’s important to notice your mule and appreciate them, don’t you think it’s important to notice your loved ones and appreciate them. Heck, what about your pets. Can you notice and appreciate them today?

Going through this day as a noticer is a total game changer. Remember this, your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely. Don’t waste your words or your thoughts. Consider even the simplest action you take, for your life matters beyond measure … and it matters forever. You only get one shot at this thing called life … start noticing it as it happens.

Every time you hear or say Merry Christmas, think about a Mary Christmas. Mary, the noticer. Mary, the one who stored up precious and miraculous moments in her heart so she could think about them often. My friends, my your day be filled with Mary Moments, and may you have a Mary Christmas.

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It’s Christmas Bible Study time, my friends!!!
Grab your Bible, as we study these scriptures today:
Luke 1: 1-38
Isaiah 7: 14
Matthew 1: 20-21
Ezekiel 36: 26-27

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Today is just one day, what could possibly happen in one day? What difference could one day make? This isn’t Christmas Day, this isn’t New Years Day, today seems to be just an ordinary Thursday in a busy week where we’re all preparing for Christmas. One day that seems insignificant and ordinary, but what is this one day?

In the hands of God, today could change everything.

Today will certainly pass quickly. It will come and it will go, and you will either do the things you said you were going to do, or you won’t. You’ll either live it well or you will sit it out. The danger is in our assumption that today doesn’t really matter and that tomorrow will always come.

But do you realized there are 1,000 years of heaven’s power wrapped up in this one single day of your life? 2 Peter 3:8 “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”

Who wrote this? The Aposotle Peter. Yes, the friend of Jesus who miraculously walked on water with him. I bet Peter woke up on that day thinking it was a totally normal day, and yet that day was the day he did the impossible with Jesus. Peter couldn’t have walked on that water if he would have practiced for a thousand years, and God just made it happen one day.

Now Peter says, DON’T FORGET THAT’S WHAT GOD CAN DO. It’s not only what he can do, but it’s precisely what he DOES. God does in 1 day what you couldn’t do in a thousand years. If you’ve forgotten that, you’re feeling hopeless. If you’ve forgotten that you’re feeling stuck. If you’ve forgotten that, your future has grown dark. It’s time to REMEMBER it now.

So here, in this single day of life you have been offered, God has the power to do what you couldn’t do in 1,000 years. 1,000 years of planning, work, divine timing and details have all gone into this one single day of life you woke up to today. And here you felt like it was all just ordinary.

Have you ever noticed when scripture starts with “One day …”, a remarkable story is about to unfold. “One day” signifies importance and distinction.

It was “One day” in Luke 5 that Jesus is standing by a lake teaching, and he asks to get in the boat with Peter (yes, the same Peter who told us to remember what can happen in one day with God.). On that one day, Jesus asks to get in his boat and what happened next would change the trajectory of Peters’s life and countless others. Peter became a disciple of Jesus that day and it happened on an ordinary day where he was out fishing. It was “one day”.

Luke 8:22 “One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.” And this was the day they saw Jesus command the wind and the waves and they obeyed. This was the day they realized even the storms of life were under the command of Jesus. It happened “one day”.

Acts 3:1-8 “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer. A man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.”

How many days had this man spent laying at the gate of the temple, begging for money? How long had his life gone unchanged, merely hoping for “change” as in gold or silver, not “change” as in get up and walk. But on one day, everything changed. That one day was an alignment of 1,000 years in Heaven. A divine encounter that changed his whole world. And it just happened one day.

Doesn’t this change your perspective on this one day you have today? It’s not an ordinary day at all when you’re calling on an extraordinary God. What might possibly unfold in this one day you have, could just be the work of God in 1,000 years.

But what if you fail to show up on that one day? What if the man who had been lame from birth wasn’t at the temple gate on that one day when Peter and John were walking through? What if he would have stayed home that day?

What if on the day Jesus showed up at the lake teaching, Peter would have quit work early that day and gone home? What if he would have been in a bad and irritable mood and not receptive to some strange man in a robe and sandals asking if he could get in his boat? It happened in “one day”, but Peter didn’t realize that was THE day. But it was. It was THE DAY God called him to a completely different life that would change everything.

What has God been working on for you in his timeline in Heaven which is radically different than your timeline here on Earth? What has he been aligning to become possible all in one day, but you won’t know what one day?

It will be one ordinary day, and you won’t want to miss it.

You see, one day when I was a freshman in high school, I saw the new boy walking the hallways in his British Knights shoes, and I thought to myself, “who is he?!!!” Well, I had been praying for years that God would bring new boys to my little country school, and one day, he showed up. Oh to know now all God had been doing for literally generations to bring that boy to my school and have him show up “one day”. I sure am glad I had my collar flipped up and my bangs with the extra poof that day, because it was the “one day”!

You have a “one day” story. One day you met them. One day you took the first step. One day you said no more. One day you walked through that open door. One day you clicked play. One day you said yes. One day it all changed.

It’s the power of one day.

And what do you have here today? Girl, you just woke up to one day. You can’t go back to yesterday and you can’t jump ahead to tomorrow. You have just this one day. Have you forgotten the proven power in a day?

What could happen today? What could change today? Well I have no idea what God could have been working on for 1,000 years in Heaven that could all unfold in this one day, but it might just be really big!

What’s our role in this?

It’s really quite simple. Just be available.

One day when Jesus showed up and asked if he could get in the boat with Peter, Peter was available.

One day when Jesus intentionally took the disciples straight into a storm, they were available.

One day when Peter and John were walking into the temple, they encountered a lame man who had never walked before, and all 3 of them were available. Peter and John were available to be used by God, and the lame man was available to receive healing.

Every one of these “One Day” stories include Jesus and Peter. That’s why Peter could write, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” Peter knew the power of one day. He experienced several “one days” in his life that changed everything.

If you’re walking with Jesus, today holds the power of 1,000 years!

Be available to give today.
Be available to receive today.
Be available to follow today.
Be available to be flexible today.

Jesus, you want to get in my boat today? Well, I had plans to leave work early and go home and do things that need to be done, but you bet I’m available. Get on in my boat!

Jesus, you seriously want to head straight into this storm where it looks like we will surely sink? I’m going with! I’m totally available for wherever you’re taking me.

God, you want me to stop and speak to the one who is laying there unchanged forever? Would you want to use me to create change, even though I have no idea how that would be possible? Okay, I’m available today!

God, you want to change what has never ever been able to change in my life before? You want me to get up today in your power? I’m SOOOOO available!

It all happens “one day”. Everything that has happened on the countless, unimpressive days before, has led to this one day. And today could be your one day. Won’t you be available for it? Won’t you show up for it? Won’t you believe God has the power to unleash a thousands years worth of work into this one day?

Today is either your “one day”, or it is leading up to a “one day” for you. Either way, heaven’s work is unfolding here today and God wants to know if you’re available for it!

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It’s exactly one week until Christmas. Whew, how are you doing? Give yourself a point for each one that describes you today:

• You still have to wrap gifts.
• You still have to plan a big meal.
• You still have to buy a crap-ton of groceries.
• You still have to clean your messy house before company arrives.
• You still have to buy a few last minutes gifts.
• You still have to make Christmas cookies and treats.
• You still have to take family photos.
• You still have so many things on the Bucketlist you have to do: You have to drive around and look at Christmas lights, you have to take a photo with Santa, you have to drink hot chocolate, you have to sing Christmas carols, and oh crap you still have to do some sort of random act of kindness.

How many points did you rack up? How behind are you on all the things on all the lists?

I’m at a zero. None. And ya’ll it’s not because I’m super organized and ahead of schedule. It’s because I’ve screwed up enough Christmases with all the things, to now understand I actually don’t HAVE to do any of this, I GET TO.

Really, think about it ….

You still GET to go to a grocery store that has absolutely everything you need all at your fingertips without you having to kill it, pluck it, skin it, or harvest it? You just get to grab it off the shelves, buy it with money you’re walking around with, and take it home in your vehicle that runs?!! Oh my gosh, you’ve hit the jackpot sister!

You still GET to make cookies? You GET to prepare your home for company? You GET to wrap presents? You GET to go see Christmas lights and drink hot chocolate? Oh my gosh, best day ever!

Look at all the joy you have still ahead of you. Look at all you have been blessed to get to do.

Why do we make this a chore? Why do we commit ourselves to doing things, then show up with dread to do them?

Y’all it is 1 week until Christmas morning, and if you’re feeling stress and overwhelm over all you still have to do, you’re in desperate need of a perspective shift. I’m pretty dang sure Jesus doesn’t want you rushing around miserable and exhausted for the next week because of his birthday. That doesn’t honor him.

Girl, you may be getting all the things done, but are you nasty about it? You’re rushed, you’re uptight, you’re just pushing through. Pushing through what? The season of joy? The most wonderful time of the year? The gathering of precious souls you get to share life with? The celebration of the one who came to save you? You’re pushing through that?

How about we not?

How about we remember why we’re doing what we’re doing and the sheer blessing behind it all.

Let me tell you something, there’s not room for stress and overwhelm in a life of joy. Joy requires space. It expands and overflows the edges. It consumes hours and days. Joy takes over to-do lists and chores. Joy allows you to still get all the things done, but remain grounded in the blessing of why you do what you do.

It is time to evict stress and overwhelm from this celebration. Stress has no space in all this joy. Overwhelm is not welcome in these special moments we get to create.

We often trade what is so incredibly special for a sense of overwhelm. Why? Why would you allow that invasion of your most precious moments? Why would you let the enemy bring stress to your party? Why would you allow the sneaky exchange of all you are so ridiculously blessed to GET to do, for things you HAVE to do?

One of my key scriptures for 2025 is Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”

What if every day, we simply tried to spend that day as we should. Living as if this single ordinary day is actually quite extraordinary will totally change the experience.

One of my favorite movies is called “About Time”. I recommend it to each woman I get to mentor. You think it’s all cute and funny until the final 20 minutes and you realize the deep life lesson unfolding. At the very end of the movie, the main character says, “I just try to live every day as if I’ve deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.”

That’s deep. Let me say it again. “I just try to live every day as if I’ve deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it…”

With that, my guess is this Christmas may not be perfect for you, but there is something or someone you have this year that you would one day give anything to have for one more time. So what if this Christmas, you didn’t rush through it all. You didn’t stress and show up as a lesser than version of who you really are. What if you pretended like you returned to this Christmas from some future time, to savor what and who you have now for one more time. Intentionally. On purpose.

It all hits so different.

This perspective will have you living different. I believe it will have you making days count instead of wasting them or wishing them away. I believe it will have you living ordinary days in extraordinary ways. And isn’t that what Psalm 90:12 means, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”

You honor Jesus with your joy, not with your overwhelm. You celebrate Jesus with your presence, not your presents. Your day doesn’t need more time, honey your day needs more LIFE.

Stress and overwhelm have no place in a life of joy. Look around, you have so much to do because you have been given so much.

Now, give yourself a point for all the glorious things you still GET to do because you’re so ridiculously blessed in final week before Christmas:

• You still GET to wrap gifts because you were able to buy things they will love.
• You still GET to plan a big meal because people want to sit at a table with you.
• You still GET to buy a crap-ton of groceries because healthy people like to eat.
• You still GET to clean your messy house before company arrives because life has been happening in your house.
• You still GET to buy a few last minutes gifts because you want to bless someone else.
• You still GET to make Christmas cookies and treats and create memories.
• You still GET to take family photos that will outlive you.
• You still have so many things on the Bucketlist you GET to savor and enjoy and be fully present for.

As you do all the things, may you be filled with grace and peace and choose joy a million times over.

There’s no space for stress and overwhelm.

This is God’s gift to you! And your gift to him … enjoy it!

Live this week as if you’ve come back to enjoy it all one more time with who you have and what you have now. There’s some truly extraordinary tucked away in your ordinary. Find it!

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One of my absolute favorite stories in the Bible proves the transformational power of Jesus. It shows there’s absolutely no one too far gone to be saved and redeemed. There’s no wrong Jesus can’t make right. There’s no life he can’t use for his good purposes. AND … you don’t even have to get yourself together before Jesus comes looking for you! That’s right, Jesus will choose you before you even consider choosing him!

That’s my story. He wanted me and he came and swooped me up. Met me right where I was when I was trying my best to have success without him, and set my feet on solid ground before I even knew I wanted to be on solid ground.

And this gives me the most unshakable hope for others who have wandered far and don’t even want to be found at this point. Ahhhh, Jesus knows where they are! He can intervene and change everything in an instant.

Before we read this powerful story in our Bibles together, let’s understand the setting and the timeline. Jesus has already been born, he’s already walked the Earth, he’s already died on the cross, and he’s already been resurrected back to heaven. Jesus’ disciples are now fulfilling their calling and spreading the Good News. But there’s trouble. Some were adamantly against Jesus being the Messiah and people becoming his followers.

That trouble is lead by those who truly believed their way was right, and Jesus was wrong. They defended their way by persecuting all followers of Jesus, seeking to capture them and imprison them to stop this radical movement of Christianity. One man leading the battle against Jesus followers was Saul. He devoted his life to ending this revolution for Jesus. Saul surely thought this Jesus was a good man who did good things while he was alive, but he couldn’t possibly be the Son of God as he claimed. So, he would put an end to this blasphemy.

That’s where we are when we come upon the divine intervention of Jesus in a way that could not be denied. The story is known as The Road to Damascus. Now, let’s read this powerful story together. Acts 9: 1-19:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

How long had Saul been seeking Jesus? ZERO DAYS! How many times had Saul prayed in the name of Jesus? ZERO TIMES! And yet, Jesus came seeking Saul! How wrong had Saul been? REALLY WRONG. How convinced was Saul that the wrong way was the right way? TOTALLY SOLD OUT TO BEING WRONG. And yet, Jesus intentionally chose him.

He chose him when he was wrong. He chose him when he was on his way to do the wrong thing. He chose him when he wasn’t wanting to be chosen. But Jesus doesn’t need permission to do his life changing work. You darn well better believe he can show up and change everything in an instant!

Verse 15, Jesus says, “Saul is my chosen instrument.” He knew his potential. If Saul had been this strong and persistent about the wrong thing, imagine how strong and persistent he could be about the right thing. If he had been relentless to take Jesus’ followers captive when he was confused, imagine how relentless he would be in setting Jesus’ followers free when he knew the truth.

Saul didn’t choose Jesus first … Jesus chose Saul first. While Saul was angry and violent and convinced of his self-righteousness, Jesus came seeking him!

Saving was not Saul’s work … that’s Jesus’ work. Saving is not your work, my sister. You can’t do that. You can’t save yourself and you can’t save anyone else. Jesus holds that power in his very capable hands. You can trust him to get this right!

The enemy loves to play the screw up and beat up game. He helps you screw up, then holds you captive in a never ending beat up session. You replay your failures over and over again, hiding in shame, reliving your guilt, and dismissing yourself from the potential of anything better for your future. But God has not dismissed you. Jesus doesn’t flinch over your past. He knew every single thing you would ever royally screw up before you even took your first breath, and he still chose you. Why? Because he knows your potential!

GIRL, YOU HAVE POTENTIAL.

You have potential to use everything you got wrong before to help others get it right now. You have the potential to take all that regret and live in immeasurable grace now. You have the potential to be fully forgiven, totally redeemed, and overflowing with purpose. How do I know? Because he did it with Saul, honey he can do it with YOU! And he can do it with the one you love that has been valiantly marching down the wrong path.

That’s why I love this story. We see how a single encounter with Jesus can radically change anyone. We see how Jesus chooses the unlikely, then empowers them to live a life of deep purpose. The old life doesn’t continue after an encounter with Jesus … we are changed to live totally different! We are made new in Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Do you know who wrote that? YES … this man Saul who was made totally new by Jesus! Saul who was given a new life and a new name. Paul. How absolutely divine and how absolutely miraculous. It’s a story only God could imagine!

Gosh, that makes me wonder what story God has imagined for you, my sister! What divine encounter for miraculous change could he have aligned for you?!!!!

But, please do notice, an encounter with Jesus doesn’t always leave you with that warm fuzzy hopeful feeling. An encounter with Jesus left Saul blind for 3 days. This was his humbling process. His pride was being stripped. His anger was being extinguished. His perspective was being changed. Saul was dying to himself. Jesus says this is what must happen. We must die to ourselves. We must give up our old ways. We must be humbled.

Humbling is a hard process. It hurts. It strips us. And it changes us. 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”

This is precisely what happened to Saul. He was humbled. For 3 days he could not see. For 3 days he was stripped of everything he thought was right and in the darkness of no sight, he saw the light. Then, after he was humbled, he was lifted by God.

This is where Saul becomes Paul. A new name was given to a humbled man chosen by Jesus. Paul, formerly known as Saul, joins the disciples in their mission to spread the truth of Jesus and he goes on to write the majority of our New Testament Bible! Yes, he’s the Apostle Paul, author of Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Phillippians, Thessalonians …. The man who Jesus chose, the man who Jesus blinded, the man who Jesus radically changed because he knew his potential! But he had to be humbled.

Let me tell you, on the other side of an encounter with Jesus is a humbling process. On the other side of that humbling process is a strengthening like you have never felt before and a calling that starts a fire within you. And then, very likely, humbling again.

I’ve personally found Jesus has to continually meet me along the road and humble me again. I get all fleshy. I get distracted. I get drawn into success and shiny things and Jesus gets put on the back burner occasionally. Then, he graciously humbles me again, strips me of a few things, blinds me for a bit so I can really see the truth and get back on the right path with him. Not out of punishment, but out of a calling to my potential. Jesus knows whats inside of me! He knows how I can be used for greater things, so he has to humble me to keep me from settling for lesser things.

He knows your potential too, my sister. He’s coming straight for you! You may be humbled here. You may be stripped of a few things. But I assure you, Jesus knows what he’s doing! He’s right in choosing you!

What could Jesus do with a girl like you, a past like yours, a pain like that, a problem like this … Wow … that’s a whole lot of potential in the hands of Jesus!

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This past Friday, something incredibly simple and yet wildly dangerous happened to me. For two days, I’ve been licking my wounds and reliving it all in slow motion … but this morning, God gave me the revelation to share with you.

The lesson: Be careful, you may fall here. And if you fall here, where will you slip next … that’s where the danger is.

I currently live in the Florida Keys with my husband, Tank our 130 pound yellow lab, and our 2 year old grandson Maverick. Maverick has a deep passion for throwing rocks into the ocean. Tank has a deep passion for swimming in the ocean and I have a deep passion for just being by the water, so it all works out perfectly.

This past Friday was the most gloriously sunny and warm day, so I was out at the water with Tank and Maverick. Our neighborhood has a small park and boat ramp where we often play in the sunshine. Maverick was standing at the very edge of the water on the ramp, as he always does, throwing rocks. I was only a few feet away watching. Maverick slipped and gracefully just plopped down in very shallow water. But within seconds, he began to slide. As he slid, he rolled, and soon, he was in danger. I stepped onto the ramp to grab him, but my feet hit solid moss and I went down … hard. There wasn’t an ounce of grace in the move I made.

The more I tried to reach for Maverick, the deeper I slid on the mossy ramp. He was all the way under, I was up to my neck and time was moving in slow motion. Finally, I reached him and he had held his breath instead of sucking in salty sea water. He was fine. We were fine. Until we weren’t.

I couldn’t get us back up the mossy ramp. I continued to slip in the wrong direction until we were floating under the wooden dock.

Now I don’t know how long you’ve been listening to this podcast, so I don’t know if you’ve heard my other stories about the hidden dangers of the docks in our canals, but my neighborhood is home to several very large crocodiles. One of which I’ve named Gnarley because he likes to sunbathe on my neighbor’s dock with his mouth wide open as if to show me my hips can fit through his jaws. People play and swim in the water all the time … you just don’t dare go under the docks.

And here Maverick and I were … under the dang dock where we never intended to be.

It all ended well and I thanked Jesus as I limped all the way home that day. Maverick is still repeating, “Be careful by the water, Franny. Be careful by the water.”

Now, I realize the tide was incredibly low that day, and although we have stood on that ramp dozens of times throwing rocks with no problems, that day was different. That day the low water had us standing in danger without knowing it. The moss that is typically under water was right at the edge and we were standing on it.

And once we slipped, we ended up where the real danger is.

So, where have you and I been playing around that isn’t safe? It’s not safe because if we slip here, it takes us to where the real danger is.

Do you see what God is trying to show us? It’s easy to say, “There’s no harm in doing what I’m doing here”, and maybe that’s true. But my sister, if you slip here, where do you end up? THAT’S DANGEROUS.

1 Corinthians 10:12, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

How foolish it is to assume you could never fall, you could never screw this up, you could never slip. Oh you could … and it could be disastrous. Let us not be so arrogant to assume we couldn’t fall. Girl, you could absolutely face plant here. You could make a total fool of yourself here. Only by the grace of God are you standing!

And if you fall here … what happens next. What do you unknowingly slip right into? You never slip anywhere good. Slipping always takes you to danger. Slipping leads to dark places under wooden docks where crocodiles like to hide. Slipping takes you to enemy territory. Slipping will leave you wandering around lost in a land you were never supposed to get stuck in.

And every single one of us can slip. One minute you’re standing strong, but when the tide changes so does the ramp, be careful not to fall.

Moses knew about slipping people. Moses was the leader of the Israelites. He had led them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. God had equipped Moses to lead the people on a victorious path through every battle and hardship on their way to the land God had promised them. Seas had parted. Ways were made. Food had miraculously fallen from the sky. Everything they had needed had been provided. They literally had proof of God’s power at work to guide them.

But when they faced the next big obstacle, they slipped.

They slipped into fear. They slipped into overwhelm. They slipped into settling for where they were over where God was taking them.

When they heard about the enemies they would have to overtake to step into the land God had promised them, they decided it was too hard. They forfeited the promise God had for them. It was a land better than their wildest dreams. A life they couldn’t even imagine. But they fell before they got there. And when they fell, they slipped into a life far below their potential.

For 40 years, they wandered around in the wilderness, falling short of the fulfillment of God’s promise. Fear held them. The unknown terrified them. (Hmmmm … sound familiar? You’ve been so afraid to face that hard thing that you’ve opted to settle for less. And here in the “less than”, your whole life has been slipping.)

Now, after 38 years, Moses speaks to his people before he dies. The time has come for them to try again. It was time for this new generation to remember God’s power and respond in faith. It was time for them to leave their wilderness and move toward their promise. And Moses says to them in Deuteronomy 4:9 TPT, “Only be on guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.”

If they remembered what they had seen God do before, they would have the courage to believe what God was going to do next. If they remembered all the ways God had provided for them before, they would believe in his provision to come. Fear wouldn’t hold them back if they remembered. How do you remember … you keep talking about it!

And my sister, if you will remember how God has gotten you through every time before, you wouldn’t be held by fear here. What’s your testimony? Are you still telling it?

Or did you hit a little moss and fall? And once you fell, you seem to have forgotten. And now you’ve just slipped. Slipped into bad habits and poor thoughts. Slipped into playing little and assuming the worst.

God wants to help you back up now. God says in Isaiah 41:10, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

If you have fallen, God wants to help you up before you slip further. Girl, ACCEPT THE HELP TO GET UP! God never slips!

God wants to give you the courage to make a different decision. He has special strength available for you to help you change. If you will fully surrender your heart and mind to him, he will change your desires so that you no longer want what has been hurting you. Did you know God can do that? He can literally change your desires so the toxic thing you think you just can’t give up becomes the very last thing you would ever want again.

His hand is outstretched for you.

He doesn’t want his girl slipping further and further.

Be careful, you may fall here. And if you fall here, where will you slip next … that’s where the danger is. To keep from falling, remember all God has done before. Find strength and courage in focusing on his power and his promises. Take his hand that will lead you to victory!

If where you’re standing is on the edge of danger, it’s time to step away now because you don’t want to slip into that!

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In this special Friday Bible study time together, we are hitting 2 topics in 1 devotional!

STOP MAKING THIS ABOUT YOU

The more you lead a self-focused life, the more you’re prone to discouragement. Every time you forget that it’s not about you, you’re going to get prideful or fearful or bitter. Those feelings will always lead to discouragement because they keep you focused on yourself. (Rick Warren)

Luke 14:33, Jesus said, “You cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.”

You’re being selfish with your feelings.

Much of your frustration is coming from trying to give God good ideas about how to fix this.

Isaiah 55:9 “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Just release it and instead pray, “God, shift my heart about this.”

GOD DIDN’T CAUSE IT, BUT HE CAN WORK IN IT

John 7:17, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God” – which means anyone can also choose NOT to do God’s will. Outside of God’s will, you are not covered. You are living in disobedience. You are vulnerable and you are in danger.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:16, “Hold up your shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” – Yes, the devil aims fiery arrows at YOU. Those are not from God.

You don’t have to make friends with sin, evil and destruction. You don’t have to co-sign. THIS DOESN’T BELONG TO GOD. However, what does belong to God is YOUR FUTURE when you surrender it to him.

Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Matthew 6:34 MSG “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

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If you’ve already prayed about it, what do you do next? Really, what do you do when you’ve talked to God about this?

Jesus is very clear. After he teaches his disciples how to pray, he tells them in Luke 11: 9-10, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

When you’ve already prayed about it, then you pray again. You keep talking to God about it. Over and over again.

But why? The why is important because I must admit for a long time I had it wrong. I thought if I kept praying about it, maybe I would change God’s mind about it. But honey, God already has good plans for this situation. He already has a preferred future that is better than the future you’re imagining. You praying about it isn’t about changing God’s mind, it’s about changing yours.

When you continually pray about something, your mind begins aligning with God’s. The more you release it to him, the more you can receive the fullness of what he wills.

This is really a matter of passion. Will you be more passionate about your way and your timing, or God’s divine plan concerning this? Prayer develops passion. The more you pray, the more you recognize God in the details, and the more you recognize God in the details, the more passionate you become about watching him work.

The Passion Translation of Luke 11: 10 refers to the person who keeps on praying as the “persistent seeker”. The persistent seeker of God’s way will discover every single thing they need. The persistent seeker of God’s timing will be filled with passionate patience in the wait. The persistent seeker of God’s plan will walk in supernaturally aligned details.

Persistently seeking God changes you. That’s why Jesus says “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.” It’s not the one big thing you do once that changes everything. It’s the little things you do daily that impacts your life. John C. Maxwell said, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine”.

You may not feel the immediate impact of daily prayer time, but you keep on doing that and I’m telling you there’s no possible way you will come out the same. You may open your Bible on most days and not understand what you’re reading and feel like it’s a waste of time, but you keep opening God’s word and eventually his word will get in you. It will change how you see things. It will change how you react to things. It will change how you think about things. Why? Because God’s word changes you on the inside and eventually that starts showing up on the outside.

Jesus says, KEEP ON DOING THIS.

A habit creates dependency. If you drink coffee every morning for a few weeks, soon you will have a dependency on the caffeine in that coffee. You will NEED it. Like get a massive headache without it kinda need it.

If you have a habit of hitting the snooze button 7 times before you get up, you soon develop a dependency on all 7 of those alarms before you actually wake up. What used to wake you up the first time, you now sleep right through as you hit the snooze out of habit without realization the alarm even went off. You are now dependent upon every hit the snooze button before waking up.

If you start drinking a glass of wine to unwind at the end of every day, soon you will have a complete dependency on that wine. You simply can’t feel at ease without it.

Habits create dependency.

And Jesus says, “After you pray about it, keep on praying. After you’ve look for God, keep on looking.” Why? Because this is to become a habit. Every habit creates a dependency, and you are designed to be dependent on your Creator.

For those strong, independent women trying to go through life without needing anyone, the thought of being created for dependency might be a hard pill to swallow. So go ahead and try being independent from the Creator and see how that works for you. Start holding your breath now, because the very air you breathe is his breath giving you life. You can’t. You can’t do this without him. You simply cannot physically be independent of God.

Your every breath is dependent on God. Waking up this morning was dependent on God. You can’t make yourself wake up, only God can do that. Your ability to think, process and function is totally dependent on God.

To all my strong, independent, self-willed, goal driven, determined, ‘don’t need anybody’ sisters out there … girl, humble yourself. You’re not. You can’t do anything without God. Jesus says in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” That’s truth. Humbling, pride crushing, self-willed breaking, TRUTH.

Prayer gets your head and heart in alignment with this dependence. Prayer changes you.

As you pray about it over and over again, seeking God’s movement and involvement, you open your hands and lay it at the foot of the cross. Over and over again, you release it to the only one who can change it. Somedays you pick it back up so you can worry about it and try to control it. Jesus says, “KEEP ON PRAYING ABOUT IT.” Bring it back to the foot of the cross, Sis, lay it down again. Release after release. Day after day. Until it’s a habit. And once it’s a habit, then you have a dependency.

This is by God’s design. You are physically dependent on Him whether you want to be or not. Prayer creates a mental and emotional dependency on him that aligns your heart, soul, mind, will and being with HIM. Then, you’re changed.

How are you changed? You kept praying about it. Through prayer, you developed a passion for what God is doing above what you wanted.

If I could have had this my way, this mess would have never touched my family. Through prayer, my entire being is coming into alignment with God’s greater plans and I’m literally growing excited about the bigger picture only he can see. I’m receiving divine visions of what his preferred future is, and it’s eternally so sweet! It’s hard in the here and now, but through prayer and a continual release of my way to receive a new passion for his way, I’m seeing how it will be worth it.

I know you’ve prayed about this and you’re questioning why when nothing is changing. Oh but my sister, you keep on praying and there’s something big changing. YOU ARE CHANGING. You’re learning to open your hands, release your sense of control, and seek God for his bigger and better plan. Again and again it’s becoming a habit. And this habit of persistently seeking God is creating a passion within you for the things of God. And this little thing, done over and over again, will radically change your entire life.

The more I pray about it, the more I see God working. The more I see God working, the more my heart is aligned. The more my heart is aligned, the more my hands are open. The more my hands are open, the more I can receive. What’s received here is peace overflowing and immeasurable strength for the journey. And that journey leads to a destination God has promised to be ridiculously good!

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There’s something you wish you were better at. There’s something you’re trying to do, but you’re struggling. What is it specifically for you?

Are you trying to grow a business, but you’re struggling? Are you trying to date, but you’re struggling? Are you trying to fix your marriage, but you’re struggling? Are you trying to raise those kids, but you’re struggling? Are you trying to get better at communicating, but you’re struggling? Are you trying to start a ministry, but you’re struggling? Are you trying to overcome procrastination, break a bad habit, wake up earlier, or not be a grouchy hag, but girl, you are struggling?

What if I told you Jesus gives specific instructions on how to get better at the exact thing you’re struggling with? What if within your Bible is the precise answer for your struggle and it will undoubtedly help you get better. Would you look for it? Would you try it? Would you trust it?

I’m currently struggling with a few relationships that I simply don’t know how to fix. I don’t know how to heal what has been broken. I don’t know how to repair what the enemy has absolutely destroyed.

At the same time, I’m also trying to raise my 2 year old grandson who has the funnest spunkiest spirit, and yet a prideful streak in him that would rather sit in time out for hours than say sorry. And ya’ll, I’m old! My back hurts. I don’t know how to balance being grandma and mom at the same time. I can’t find the instructions for this.

And that same me is here this morning trying to speak to you, along with thousands upon thousands of others around the world who will be listening, and say something that answers your questions, guides your next steps, and points you to Jesus. But how can what you need to hear impact what thousands of others need to hear? You don’t live in the same country, you’re not in the same season of life, and your struggles look nothing alike. But I need one thing to speak to everyone that will mean something.

I’m struggling.

You’re struggling.

Could there possibly be an answer in the Bible for all these struggles? Could there be a specific solution that helps me, helps you, and helps every soul listening, SPECIFICALLY, PERSONALLY, DIRECTLY?

Yes.

This will absolutely blow your mind. Let me show you.

Jesus chose 12 people to become his disciples here on earth. Those 12 lived with Jesus for the 3 years of his active ministry here on Earth. Jesus was personally training them up to continue spreading God’s word after his death. He took several fishermen, a tax collector, a politician, a thief, and a poor hourly worker, and he taught them how to become preachers and teachers of his word. And he did all of this training in 3 years.

I wish Jesus would train me how to do the work I need to do. Jesus, I could use your advice on these relationships. Show me what to say, show me how to handle this. Jesus, I don’t know how to do all I have to do here. I can’t do this on my own. I’m struggling.

Okay, prepare yourself … this is going to blow your mind.

In the 3 years Jesus spent with his disciples, he taught them 1 thing that guided them in everything. One thing that helped them with every single thing they would ever struggle with. One thing that equipped them to go from who they were and what they used to do, to become who they were called to be and do all God had planned for them to do. Jesus taught them ONE THING.

Do you know what he taught them? He taught them to pray.

For real, this is the only thing Jesus really taught them how to do. For them to go from who they had been and what they had always done, to become his divine and appointed spokesmen responsible for spreading the life changing truth we are hearing about today, they only had to learn one thing … learn how to pray.

God absolutely smacked me in the face with this one this week. For every single area I’m struggling and want to know how to do better, Jesus says, “THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD PRAY.”

This is my answer.

This is your answer.

If you want to be a better wife, learn how to pray about it.

If you want to be a better mom, learn how to pray about it.

If you want to break a bad habit, learn how to pray about it.

If you want to make lasting changes, learn how to pray about it.

If you want to build a business, heal a relationship, grow a ministry, impact your community, do something exciting, move to a new place, or get yourself a breakthrough, learn how to pray about it.

If the disciples were to go from casting nets and catching fish to building global ministries that would last thousands of years, and the only thing they were taught was HOW TO PRAY, and IT WORKED, then we should be saying, “please, someone, teach me how to pray about this!”

In the 3 years of doing life together, the disciples witnessed Jesus praying over and over again. He often went to be alone and pray. He prayed about everything, always. After seeing this so often, one of the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

And Jesus said in Luke 11: 2-4, “This is how you should pray: Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

It wasn’t a 6 week class on praying. It wasn’t even a script to be memorized. It was a simple demonstration of conversation with our Father in Heaven.

This was very different than the disciples had heard from other religious leaders. They would intentionally speak long and wordy prayers to appear impressive. Jesus said, stop the show!!!!! In Matthew 6: 5-8 he said, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

Then, Jesus teaches the gathered crowd how to pray. Matthew 6: 9-13 are similar to the prayer Jesus taught his disciples in Luke 11, but not exact. This shows us, it’s not about the specific, memorized and repeated words. It’s an example. An example of simplicity. An example of the power in conversation with the Father.

“Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

Jesus never taught his disciples how to preach, he taught them how to pray. Jesus never taught his followers how to have a good marriage, he taught them how to pray. Jesus never taught his people how to raise children, manage money, keep their house clean, handle their boss, or deal with a car that won’t start and an electric bill you can’t pay at the same time. And yet, HE DID. He taught us how to handle every single one of those things specifically. The answer is LEARN HOW TO PRAY.

Learn how to seek the Father for help.
Learn how to seek God for guidance.
Learn how to ask for strength.
Learn how to lean in for your next steps.
Learn how to talk to him about your struggles.

What ever you’re struggling with, Jesus says the answer is to pray about it, and he will show you how. It’s simple. You talk to God.

Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Whatever you’ve been worrying about, pray about it.

Whoever you’ve been talking bad about, pray for them.

Whatever you’ve been struggling with, pray about it.

Tell God what you need! You can do that!

When I learn how to pray better, I learn how to do everything better!

When I learn how to pray over that relationship, I learn how to be better in that relationship.

When I learn how to pray over the changes I need to make, I learn how to better change.

When I learn how to pray over my house, I learn how to care for my house better.

When I learn how to pray over my money, I learn how to manage my money better.

When I learn how to pray over my decision, I learn how to make much better decisions.

There’s absolutely nothing and no one you shouldn’t be praying over. When God’s word says pray about everything, it really does mean EVERYTHING. And when we learn to pray about everything, we see God’s hand in everything.

Many years ago I learned how to pray better and it started a life changing journey. It came at a time when I had grown so distant from God I didn’t know how to take the necessary steps back to him. Just in case that’s you, let me tell you the step back to God is right here. You just call out to him. There is no wrong way.

A simple way I learned that helped me start was the 4 sentence prayer:

1. Tell God what you’re thankful for.
2. Confess where you’ve been wrong & ask for forgiveness.
3. Tell God what you’re worried about.
4. Ask God for help.

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Whatever impossible you are facing, God could overcome it all in an instant, but he often doesn’t. Why is that? Why doesn’t he call down the angel armies to fix this? Why doesn’t he display his extraordinary power and intervene in a way that not a single soul could deny him?

If I were God, that’s what I would do. But God’s thoughts and God’s ways are infinitely higher and better than my own.

Instead, God often invites you and I into partnership with him and gives us marching orders to be part of his miraculous victory. He empowers us to walk in faith, but it’s always our choice whether we walk or whether we cower in fear. Whether we show up for the battle, or whether we give up in the fight.

God wants to know … are you going to be his partner in the impossible? While his power is not dependent on your participation, his invitation has included you and maybe he’s just been waiting for you to lock arms with him in this and not look back.

Joshua 6 tells the story of the Battle of Jericho. It’s a nearly unbelievable story of impossible walls crumbling with the shout of God’s people. A shout that was both a battle cry and a praise to God, and everything that stood in their way fell to the ground and they walked right in.

I don’t know about you, but I need some walls to fall! There are some things in the way that are causing problems and heartache I never saw coming. I fully recognize I don’t have the power to tear these walls down myself. I don’t have the ability to climb over them. (But boy do I want to!) My God holds the power to make them fall, and he’s invited me to a divine partnership in the battle. My role is to depend on God, march forward in faith, and prepare my praise.

And my sister, I believe you’re listening today because that is your role in the impossible you’re facing too. You’re being called to depend on God, march forward in faith, and prepare your praise.

Joshua is the leader of the Israelites after Moses died. The Israelites have spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness after their lack of faith and overwhelming fear that held them back from stepping into God’s good plans. And now, they’re ready. The next generation is ready to trust God in the impossible and move out of their wilderness. And God says, go to Jericho … I am giving you Jericho.

Jericho is a 6 acre fortress. The entire city is protected by a massive wall, the walls of Jericho. These walls were first 13 feet of stones, then on top of the stone was over 20 feet of brick walls. You couldn’t climb these walls, and you certainly couldn’t break through these walls. Jericho was considered to be the best defended city of Canaan and no doubt the most difficult to conquer. Jericho knew the Israelites were camped nearby so they were on high alert.

But our God is not detoured by the impossible! Defeating Jericho was impossible, but Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With God, all things are possible.”

Joshua 6, beginning with verse 1. “Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. no one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, ‘I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a rams’ horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”

Now lets be honest, this sounds absolutely ridiculous. March in circles, do it for 6 days. Just keep circling. Around and around. Day after day. Then on the 7th day, march around 7 times, then after the priests blow the horns, everyone shout really loud. Then those impossible walls are going to just fall down.

Notice what happens next. Verse 6, So Joshua called together the priests and said do it. Then he gave orders to the people. He said do it. No further explanation. Just start marching.

Joshua depended on God (because this was one terrible battle plan without God), he marched forward in faith, and he prepared his praise. There was going to be some shouting after all this marching, because those walls were going to come down.

Now, get this visual … there were an estimated 600,000 soldiers in the Israelite army. Imagine Joshua telling 600,000 trained soldiers they were going to march in circles for days in silence, then they were going to shout. That’s all. And imagine 600,000 soldiers start lining up to begin marching.

Would you? Would you line up? WILL YOU LINE UP?

Will you depend on God? Will you march forward in faith? Will you prepare your praise absolutely believing God is going to do the impossible here?

The marching begins and they go in circles. Circles for days. Circles in silence. Circles with absolutely nothing happening. Circles that honestly made them quite vulnerable to the attack of their enemies on the other side of the wall. Yet they showed up for their partnership in God’s battle plan.

And on the 7th day, after their 7th circle and the final long blast of the rams’ horn, they all shouted. It was both a battle cry and an enthusiastic praise to God. Verse 20, “Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelietes charged straight into the town and captured it.”

I’m on marching orders. Marching orders that tell me to move forward in faith and don’t complain about it along the way. Marching orders that tell me to prepare my praise because God is doing something I cannot see.

This weekend, in my frustration and anger over a situation I cannot control, a personal situation that absolutely guts me and scares me at the same time, I clearly heard God speak to me. I grabbed a sticky note and wrote what he said and put it in the pages of my Bible. He said, “Pamela, my girl, I’m asking you to not speak in anger against the souls involved in this. Direct your anger only towards the works of the devil behind this. Do not give him ammunition with your accusing words and retold stories.”

Those are marching orders. Just like the Israelites, they were told to move forward and not speak about it. They marched in circles in silence until the time came to shout in praise. THEN and only then did those walls crumble.

Yesterday, I was out on a prayer and praise walk. I had prayed all I knew to pray over my situation, then I turned on my praise music. Just then, a sweet soul I get to mentor text me and said, “Pamela, listen to these songs.” One of the songs was Brandon Lake’s ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’. I listened to that song on repeat. That’s where I am. I have a hard fought hallelujah to bring while I’m still in the battle. My eyes of faith are not oblivious to the reality of the situation, but my eyes of faith also know my marching orders. My praise must be prepared!

The song says:

I’ll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt
Been-through-hell hallelujah
And I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail
Story-to-tell hallelujah

I prefer the miraculous, immediate, wow that was easy hallelujah. I really like the life is good, it’s all beautiful, I’m so happy hallelujah. But the truth is, that hallelujah is cheap compared to the hard fought one. That hard fought hallelujah with marching orders that don’t make sense is of great value. That’s the one God has asked me for. I wonder if he’s asked you for the same.

God tells us to PREPARE OUR PRAISE. That is faith. I don’t have to wait until the walls crumble to praise, I know it’s going to happen. I don’t have to close my eyes and ignore the problems either. The eyes of faith see the difficulty, they survey it all in it’s hard reality, then they say, “WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.”

I’m marching, Sis. I’m trying my darndest not to complain, not to talk bad, and not to give the enemy an ounce of ammunition in this battle as I march. Want to join me? There are some walls that MUST come down!

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