An Open Letter to Moore, OK

My heart is crushed for you. 

I'm 1,400 miles away, but I can feel your pain and hear your cries. 

It just doesn't seem right moving on with my normal day while you fight for your lives and struggle to survive. 

It doesn't seem right to sit on my couch and watch the television, to eat my breakfast in my comfortable home while you're stranded and homeless with nowhere to go.

It didn't seem right to crawl into bed and ((try to)) sleep last night while you were sleeping on concrete floors, cots, chairs, maybe even without a roof over your head. I can imagine you were probably wide awake thinking about where you'll go and what you'll do when the sun rises again, afraid of learning even more tragic news with the dawning of a new day. 

It doesn't seem right for me to get another day of life when the lives of innocent children were claimed by this tragedy. Oh, how I wish they could have lived to see the beautiful world they lived in. My heart is broken for their families who have lost and are lost. 

I can't even begin to imagine what you must have experienced in the last hours. Trauma, horror, tragedy, loss, fear, pain, grief... It just doesn't seem right. 

But Moore, there is hope.

As hard as it is to hold on today, I urge you...don't let go. You aren't forgotten, you aren't abandoned. God is with you and for you. When you feel like giving up, fix your eyes on Jesus and push a little harder.

I'm praying for you. A lot of people are praying for you. And our prayers are powerful and effective. ((James 5:16)) We're fighting for you. We're on your side.

Hold on, Moore. Hold on tightly.

((waves of wisdom)) YOU.

Welcome back, friends. What do you think about the facelift? :)

Well, I'm glad you've joined me for this one because I think everyone (especially every woman) needs to hear this truth on a regular basis.

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I was sitting on the beach watching the water roll in and out. I began to notice all the beautiful shells and how intricate and unique each shell was. I thought back to a family vacation in Pensacola, Florida. I remember searching for shells up and down the beach and getting so excited every time I found one because it was so different than any others I had found. They all are. Unique.

Do you believe you're unique? Do you believe you have something special to offer to this world that no one else has? Do you believe that God has a specific plan and purpose for YOUR life that isn't like anyone else's? Do you believe God made you the way you are for a reason? Well, let me tell you...all of those things are true.

David writes in Psalm 139, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." ((vs. 14-16))

This absolutely blows my mind. To think that God knows every detail of our lives from start to finish is incredible. He sees the big picture. He sees the purpose of my life. He has a plan. For each and every one of us! Do you believe that?

Let me encourage you in this today: 

God made you. You aren't a mistake. You aren't an accident. You weren't a surprise. God didn't forget to write your story. He made you with purpose.

God made you to be you, not anyone else. How tempting it is to try to be someone else -- someone whose life looks easier, prettier, better. The problem with that is that we weren't created to be anyone else but ourselves. No matter how hard we try by copying, mimicking, and imitating other people, we will never be satisfied because it's not us.

God made you for a reason. Ephesians 2:10 is one of my favorite verses because it states this truth so simply and clearly. "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." We aren't just on this earth to exist. God made plans for us! We are his masterpieces! He knows where you'll be in 5 years, 25 years, 50 years. He knows all the incredible things you'll accomplish for his kingdom. He knows all the lives that will be changed by you. He knows about all your wildest dreams.

Don't ever let the enemy tell you you're worthless. Don't ever believe the lie that you don't matter. Believe in your heart that God has a huge plan for your life. Understand that every last detail about you was created that way for a reason -- even the things you don't like! Don't try to hide yourself to be someone else. Embrace who you were made to be, and BE YOU.

God made YOU. He made you to be YOU. And he made YOU for a reason.

a whole new look!

I am so excited about the new look on my blog! I think it fits me perfectly!

I'd like to say a HUUUUUUUUUGE thanks to Courtney from Rows of Grey who designed the whole thing. Didn't she do an amazing job?! If you need any kind of blog design or other graphic design, check her out! You won't be disappointed!

I'm looking forward to being able to write more and pour more of myself into my blog. I pray and believe God is going to do some stinkin' cool things with it and through it. :)

Thanks for stopping by to scope it out! While you're here, check out the first post of my new series, Waves of Wisdom.

((waves of wisdom)) washed away.

taken with my iPhone

Are you ready for a little beach talk, friends? I hope so.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this post to catch up. Don't worry... I'll wait. :)

I'm beginning this series with the most important lesson of all. You may be thinking, "Don't they always say you should save the best for last? Bad planning, Lindsay!" Well, I agree. But the rest of the lessons in this series will be meaningless unless you understand this first one.

Last Thursday night, Hubs and I decided to take a trip to our local beach to watch the sunset. It's a small, but cute beach about 10 minutes away from our house. When we arrived, we realized we didn't bring towels or anything to sit on ((we're still in the rookie stage)). We just sat on the sand anyway and began enjoying the scenery. If you know me at all, you know I can't sit in one spot for too long. I don't even like going to see movies because my attention span just doesn't last! So I decided to get up and walk along the beach. 

A few minutes later, Hubs joined me, and we started trying to make good footprints beside each other so we could take a picture. We tried and tried and tried, but every time he would make a good one, the wave would come and wash it away before I could get my foot in. It gave us a good laugh, and we eventually gave up. (The best we got was the picture below.)

But this little scenario got me thinking. It amazed me how quickly something could be washed away and never seen again. I had the same thought on Saturday when I was sitting on the edge of the beach, barely in the water, and every time the water would come in, I would watch it take thousands of shells back with it. I was thinking, "Man, if I ever lost my wedding ring in the ocean, there is no way I would ever find it."

I bet you know where I'm going with this. The same is true for our sins. Just like our footprints in the sand, sin makes impressions on our hearts. Big and small. Our hearts become spotted with bits and pieces of seashells, if you will. Our hearts become dried up and hardened. It's not a pretty sight.

That is until Jesus comes in. He washes our hearts clean. They become clean slates. No footprints, no seashells, just washed clean. Aren't you thankful? The Bible says that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). Not even the worst of sins. No matter how dirty your heart looks right now, there is grace. Grace to cover sins, grace to wash your sins away, grace to carry your sins far away so that you never have to face them again. 

taken with my iPhone

I could go on forever about this, but I think you get what I'm saying. I know this is such an elementary concept for most of you, but I urge you to constantly remind yourself of it. It is truly the foundation of our relationship with Jesus. We have to understand that our sins are washed away when we invite Jesus into our hearts. Nothing, not one sin, is held against you any longer. It's gone.

If this is your first time learning about this and you would like to know more about it or ask me some questions, please don't hesitate to comment or email me. My heart is that everyone know's the gracious love of God and lives in it fully.

Thanks for reading. Keep an eye out for the next post. I'm going to be writing about how God made you YOU.

lindsay

((waves of wisdom))

My corner of the blogosphere has been pretty quiet lately. I don't know how you could have missed it if you follow me on any social media site, but in case you did, I moved to Florida! You can read more about it here.

Obviously, one of the first things we did when we arrived was take a trip to the beach. And I'm delighted to say that we've been three times in the week that we've been here! I'm falling in love with that place very quickly. Every time I've been there, I've felt this overwhelming presence of the Lord. And my mind becomes flooded with all these thoughts and ideas about the beach and how it symbolizes difference aspects of our relationship with God. 

I finally started making some notes in my phone about things I might want to write about. On the way home from the beach a few days ago, I had this idea to do a little "series," if you will, on lessons from the beach. 

I think it's so cool to look past surface level and dig deeper into what God is telling you through his creation. 

So for the next few weeks, I'll be writing about some of the things God put on my heart.

Maybe you can't make a half hour drive to the beach like I can (okay, okay...I'll stop bragging now), but I think the beach can still teach you a few things no matter how many miles separate you.

I hope you'll tag along with me on this journey. You can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Bloglovin' so you don't miss out on any Waves of Wisdom. We all need a few of those every once in a while, don't we? :)

lindsay

dear florida

((or "flo-rida" as Hubs and I like to call you))

I have to admit. I was a little nervous about making you my new home. Don't get me wrong...I was insanely excited. But you have to understand, you're 22 hours from my family, closest friends, and the place(s) I called home for the last 22 years.

But I've been here for about a week, and I've learned a few things about you. Wanna know what they are? Here are a few (in no particular order).

Finding a Dr. Pepper can be a bit of a struggle.
You have 7-Eleven, which makes me feel like I'm back home.
The Target by my house smells super funky. Can you do something about that?
Your palm trees...gorgeous. Wonder if I'll ever get over them.
Oh, and Macy's smells weird too. Just sayin'.
You're really hot. Don't let it get to your head...I'm talking temperature. But I like it. Makes me feel at home.
Your roads are weird and confusing, but I'm slowly figuring them out.
Your people are pretty nice. One guy even touched my hair at the mall. Okay, that wasn't nice. It was creepy.
I've always loved the beach, but now...I LOVE the beach. It makes me think.

Everyday it feels a little more like home. I'm really trying to treasure each passing moment because I know how special they are these days. Someday, I'll look back at this season of my life and wish I could relive it. I can't even begin to imagine what the journey ahead of me looks like, but I'm so excited to find out, and I can't really complain about the journey being by the beach. :)

Thanks for making me feel welcome.
I really, really like ya.


lindsay

a quick thought on prayer

our church family praying over us before we move to Florida to begin a journey in a new ministry
[photo credit: Linda Jordan]

Y'all.

Prayer is powerful.

I've gone through some seasons in my life when I felt like my prayers were hitting the ceiling. I was believing the lie that prayer didn't matter. Even though I grew up hearing the words "prayer changes things" over and over, there have been times I've questioned that. I've heard story after story of the way people prayed fervently and God moved, but when it comes to my own life, 

it's not as easy to have that kind of faith.

Sometimes I think, "God, you know what I need. Why do I need to pray about it? You have a plan, and you're going to do what you want, so what's the big deal?" C'mon, I know I can't be the only one who's ever had those thoughts. It's hard, isn't it? It's hard to find the balance between praying for something you want and trusting God to do what's best. The important thing to remember is that

 God wants to hear from you.

God wants you to pour out your heart at his feet. He wants you to be faithful. He wants you to trust him. He wants you to talk to him.

Don't let the enemy fool you into believing your prayers are pointless.

God hears your prayers. He sees your heart. He knows your story.

You better believe your prayers are powerful.