From the Abundance

These past few weeks have been really busy for me, an emotional roller coaster ride and virtual amusement park of feelings if you will.  Father's Day was a lot harder on me than I expected and took a lot out of me emotionally.  It was my second without my daddy and not one bit easier than the first. I'm swiftly approaching month five here in Daytona Beach and though things are feeling like home, there's still that sense of being in foreign territory.  There are just some comforts of home that you lose when you move away and being able to go plop down on a friend's couch is one of them.  It may not seem like much, but if your friends are like mine, then it means the world for those few hours. I spent a lot of time in my head the past couple of weeks, thinking, praying, reflecting, questioning, and listening for answers... Not much luck in finding those answers I was seeking but I carried on.  Sometimes God's silence is the answer.  It means wait, it means I wan

One of the things I love to do when I travel is find funky unique places to visit.  The photo above was taken while I was on vacation in Miami.  There's a huge area called Wynwood Walls where the buildings, fences, and pretty much everything is covered with beautiful graffiti style art. My friend and I took tons and tons of pictures and I have several of this particular painting.  There's so many intricate details in this picture that drew me in and made me want to look closer.  I was flipping back through pictures and thinking about what I wanted to write today and I ended up thinking about the course of my life.  I figured I would be married by now, have a couple of kids, a business or a great job, and be well into ministry.  Although it is nothing like I imagined it would be, I can truly say it's been amazing thus far.  Yes, there's been some hardship, some pain, some disappointment, and many many tears shed along the way but overall, it's been great.

Yesterday I went to the beach for what was supposed to be a short meeting and an interview for an online show, So What's The Problem.  We ended up staying at the beach for almost 5 hours.  It was such an amazing blessing and was much needed.  Sometimes you never realize how much you need something until you have it.  We had our meeting, did the interviews, frolicked in the water and talked about a thousand things.  I am so thankful for my new Daytona Beach family away from home. While they were out playing in  the water I took some time to walk and pray, like I usually do when I'm at the beach.  There's just something majestic about standing at the ocean.  You realize how small you really are in the scheme of God's vast creation, yet see the beauty in the fact that He knows the number of hairs on your head and bottles your tears.  It amazes me every time!  I am constantly in awe of God , his creativity, and love for us. Yesterday as I finished my prayers I took th

It's taken me a while to figure out what I've wanted to blog about today, what God would have me say to His people, and what's in my heart.. Love it the overwhelming need, prevailing thought, main idea, and thing that was there.  There's so much going on in our country, our homes, schools, and individual lives that we forget sometimes to love. Not only to love but be loved.  As I've watched the news coverage of the shootings in Orlando I can't help but be overcome with sadness for the families that lost loved ones, the coworkers and friends that lost their people, and the love and light that each of them were robbed of. I remember what it was like when my father was murdered, it's been a little over a year, and it's not something you just get over.  At best you learn how to cope, how to re-establish normal, and live with a piece of your heart missing.  So I say to each of you that it's a time to love.  People all over the world are hurting, in

Have you ever grieved for something that you haven't lost?  I bet you have and didn't even realize it.  I went to the movies tonight to see Me Before You and I cried my little eyes out.  It was such a great movie!  I laughed, I cried, I reflected on my own life and things I often take for granted, and I left with questions.  As I left the theater I sat on a bench and talked on the phone with a dear friend about old times and the neighborhood we grew up in. We talked about the changes, things in our lives that have changed, some things we'd hoped would have turned out other ways and things we aspire to have.  His voice became a little sad as he talked about not being able to see his daughter and how everyone around him seemed to be celebrating graduations and birthdays.  I reminded him that he wasn't alone in longing for those celebrations and someone to share them with.  I have the same issue with everyone around me celebrating births. engagements, anniversaries, gr

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. 2 Kings 4:2  This text seems so simple at first glance but when the Pastor was reading the text in its entirety to tell the widow's story it was the last part of verse two that grabbed me like a kid in the trick or treat bowl.  I heard the words I have nothing... but a pot of oil.  That word arrested me so fast, so completely and utterly knocked me over.  Let me explain why. It wasn't the fact that the widow didn't have anything but more so that she didn't realize the value of what she actually did have.  The oil!!  If you've got the oil you have everything you need.  The woman didn't just have oil, she had a pot, or a VESSEL.. (catch me in the spirit).  The woman had oil but she also had a place for the oil to be kept.  The same thing has to be true for us. In order to have that oil

In a few days I will hit my four month mark here in Daytona Beach.  It has truly been an adventure.  In these four months God has connected me with amazing people that feel like home, I've done things I never had the opportunity to do in KY, completed several projects that I'd been trying to finish forever, and opened up the door for me to use all of my gifts for ministry and to generate income.  Oh what a difference location can make!  Now I'm not telling you to jump up and move, but what I am saying is this. If you know that God is calling you to a different location, go! Don't hesitate, don't make excuses, just go as He leads. The pastor has been preaching a series called unstuck and the lesson last night was 5 signs you're stuck. You feel like you're going through the motions You make excuses to avoid change You have no plan for what's next and worry about what's coming You feel scatterbrained You don't feel like yourself  (yo