Is there something in your life that has fallen apart and appears hopeless today? Something seemingly broken beyond repair only serving as a painful reminder of dreams left unfulfilled?

Maybe that broken thing in your life is you. You feel broken. You have fallen apart. You’re nothing like you used to be, having lost who you are somewhere along the way. And maybe you even asked God if it’s remotely possible for things to still change in your life … well, he’s answering you directly and personally right here today. I know without a doubt he gave me a very specific message to share with someone who is seeking.

GOD IS A HEALER, REDEEMER and RESTORER.

He had a vision for who you could become when he knit you together in your mother’s womb. He had dreams for you and planted them within you as desires to guide you to the life only you can live. But life happened and things got tough, now who you are today isn’t quite who you imagined becoming.

You may have given up on you, but God certainly hasn’t. He’s given you this space and time to heal you, redeem you and restore you. His desire is not for you to continue with this brokenness and unresolved issue. His desire is to bring you back to who he created you to be.

Jesus is a restorer. Within God’s word, we’re invited into specific stories of restoration in the lives of broken people. My favorite is the story of Mary Magdelene.

Luke 8:1-2, “Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the kingdom of God. he took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.”

Jesus changed everything for Mary. In him, she was RESTORED. She was brought back to her original state of wholeness and purpose. Everything that had happened to her, everything she had been through and everything she had done wrong was gone when she encountered Jesus. From that day forward, she traveled with Jesus and his disciples. She had an active role in his life here on earth. She was there when he healed people. She was there when he taught. She was there when he was crucified. She was there when the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty.

Mark 16: 9, “After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.” She then went to the disciples and told them about the risen Jesus.

By God’s great design, the woman who is listed as the most demon plagued human in the entire Bible is the woman chosen to first see Jesus.

Mary Magdelene is mentioned more times in the Bible than most of the disciples, and is by far the most talked about woman in scripture. This is who God chose to use. A woman he could restore. God always knew who she could be walking with Jesus.

So, tell me again, why wouldn’t he choose you? God has never lost sight of who you can be walking with Jesus.

Your brokenness, your struggles, your weaknesses, your past, and your questions of today do not diminish God’s potential work in your life. He knows exactly who you can become and what you can do with your life, and he still hasn’t given up on getting you there.

Come be restored by the Almighty now. Come let him heal you and redeem you and guide you in returning to the good plans he has for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Those plans have NOT been cancelled. This hasn’t been ruined.

Jesus hasn’t thrown his hands up and walked away from you. He spread his arms out and offered his life for you.

Why? So through him you can be restored.

Have you ever witnessed the process of restoring an old car? I was the not so proud driver of a 1972 Monte Carlo as a teenager. This was the car I was nearly born in, then it became my primary means of transportation once I turned 16. I hated that car. I hated it’s puke green vinyl seats. I hated it’s loud engine and old push button radio. But most of all I hated the whole driver side of the car was gray primer. It was so embarrassing. I would intentionally park in the school parking lot so that no one could see the driver’s side.

What I didn’t understand back then is the gray primer was keeping that car from rusting into a pile of junk. It was protecting the spread of disease in the metal. It was in process of restoration.

The process of restoration isn’t always pretty. There are stages of cutting out the rust, sanding down the edges, and putting on the primer. The shiny new paint comes later in the process.

YOU ARE IN PROCESS. God knows exactly what he is doing and he says it’s okay if this process takes a little time. He has a vision of you fully restored and he says you’re worth the work it will take to get there.

He’s not ashamed of you. You are his pride and joy. His greatest masterpiece. And now he is lovingly restoring you to his original design.

Anyone who owns an antique restored car takes great pride in it. They have their own car clubs and parades to show off their restoration work. They proudly display the original features of the car which were far more expensive to restore than just replace. And God is the same with you. He’s proud of what he is doing in your life. He takes great pride in investing in you and he wants to show you off!

2 Peter 3: 8-9 “With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.

Here in this space and time God is doing a great work in you. He is restoring you. He doesn’t want you to remain broken because of what happened, what you lost, or where you have failed. And he certainly doesn’t want you to sit and rust away with unmet potential. God is holding back the end of time to allow your restoration. He is doing a work in you, and honey he isn’t done yet.

What a story of restoration you will have. What a beauty you will be. You will undoubtedly be more valuable than ever before. But right now, you may have a little gray primer, and that’s okay. You’re in process of returning to who you were created to be. God takes great pride in this process.

And all you have to do is keep walking with Jesus.

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Enjoy today’s unscripted devotional with these scriptures:

Philippians 3:14, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”

MSG, “Be a breath of fresh air.”

AMP, “Do everything without questioning the providence of God.”

Numbers 11: 1, “Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed.”

Verse 23, “Has my arm lost its power?”

Psalm 34:3, “Magnify the Lord with me.”

Luke 1:46, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

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On the island of Marathon in the Florida Keys, there’s a young man in his mid 20’s who gives the best pedicures. He’s friendly and always wants to talk … like a lot. I know all about his struggles with alcohol in the past and his boredom with a life of sobriety. I know he grew up in a ghetto in Southern California and he’s struggled with relationships. Each time I sit with him, I feel the Spirit within me stir. What he’s searching for is Jesus. What he needs is Jesus.

But he told me believing in God is hard for him because if there is a God, God took his grandma. His grandma was the one really good thing he had in his life. He shared that she was loved by everyone and never hurt anyone. Then she got cancer and died. Now, my young friend who talks a lot while painting my toenails, questions if there’s a God at all. Why would God do that to someone who is good.

I think deep down, it’s a question we’ve all struggled with. Why do bad things happen to good people? Where’s God in life’s hardships?

I can’t pretend to have the perfect answers here. I felt very inadequate in answering him. Somehow my reply of, “Life is so much more than what we see here, my friend.” felt sorely lacking and empty.

Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

This is a promise. A promise for specific people. A promise for anyone who loves God and are called by him for his purposes. To understand who these people are, we must begin with the end of that sentence first. To be called by God for his purpose means you are being personally requested. God has called some by name, specifically and intentionally. The purpose of his calling is to bring them into a relationship with him.

Is that you? How do you know? Scripture actually explains to us that God chooses who he wants, and who he doesn’t choose for a relationship with him, he hardens their hearts so they refuse to listen to him. My human mind can’t understand that, and it doesn’t have to. I’m not God and I can’t assume to know better than he does or demand explanations for divine matters for my human understanding. God owes us no explanations.

But, if God calls us into the purpose of a relationship with him, then the door is opened for us to love him. Scripture is clear when you love God, you will want to obey him.

Now, let’s do a little self check here – do you want to do better for God? Do you desire a relationship with him? Do you love him even while you don’t understand him?

Yes! Understand that’s because God first chose you for relationship. He called your heart to him for the purpose of relationship! He loved you first! That is you! So, this promise is for you.

The promise is, God will cause everything to work together for your good. Who will do it? GOD WILL DO IT!

You can’t always make it work together. You can’t always fix it. You can’t always pick up the pieces and make them fit again. But God can. That’s his promise.

A promise is only as good as the person who makes it. This is a promise from the maker of Heaven and Earth. This is a promise from the one who holds the whole world in the palm of his hand. This is a promise from the one who has literally numbered the hairs on your head and knows every detail about you. This is a promise from the one who has complete authority and undeniable ability to do the impossible. If the one who can make the impossible possible has made a promise to you, then every impossible you’re facing for is suddenly 100% possible.

God has called you into a relationship with him, now he himself will be involved in every detail to make all things work together for something good.

Good doesn’t mean it will always be happy times. Good doesn’t mean everyone gets healed. Good doesn’t mean grandmas don’t die. Good doesn’t mean hardships don’t happen. God’s good is an eternal view of current circumstances. And with that eternal view, it all leads to something greater.

For my friend who’s struggled with alcohol and relationships and can’t trust there’s a God because grandma died, he’s simply not seeing the eternal view where God makes things good. And it’s fair to feel the way he feels. But, he’s being invited into a changed perspective that trusts God to get it right.

And that’s really it – Can we trust God to get it right? Can we trust God to take these problems and messes and somehow work them out and make them good?

Let’s take an inventory. Has God ever done that for you before? Has he ever taken a bad situation and made it work out good for you? Has he ever used a hardship to change you for the better? Has he ever shown you his goodness and mercy through tough times? I bet he has. So, he’s doing it. He’s already fulfilling his promise.

He promised to work everything together for good for you, and you can see he’s done it before … now you can trust he will do it again. He’s got it right before, you can trust him to get it right again.

God’s promised you a cake, my sister. The cake will be good, but you may not like some of the ingredients.

God working in your life is a whole lot like making a cake. It’s different ingredients, mixed together. Some of the ingredients when singled out are not favorable. Baking powder – get you a teaspoon of that. Yuck. Nobody wants that nastiness. But, it’s a vital ingredient for the cake you’re baking to turn out good.

I don’t know what baking powder you’re dealing with right now that is unwanted and undesirable – but I know if you’ll trust God with it, he will mix it all in with everything else to make something good.

He uses that lost job. He uses that broken relationship. He uses that heartache. He uses every no. He uses that disappointment. And he mixes it with the beauty of a new month of life. He mixes it with the rising sun. He mixes it with answered prayers that are now just your normal. He mixes it with your blessings. And all together, he makes it something good.

Romans 8:35, “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecute, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us.”

Bad things sometimes happen on our way to ultimate victory.

Bad things sometimes happen to good people because we live in a fallen world that isn’t paradise YET. But every bad thing that happens to us is allowed by a mighty, powerful, all-knowing God with an eternal perspective on mixing it all together to make something eternally good. Yes, forever good.

Sometimes we’re facing a teaspoon of something temporarily bad, but it’s an ingredient of something eternally good. Let God mix it all up. Let him do his work with everything in your life. The good and the bad.

He’s made a promise and he will fulfill his promise. It’s guaranteed. He will cause EVERYTHING, yes everything, to work together for good for you. Yes, you – because you’re a girl who loves God. You love God because he loved you first and he’s called you into a relationship with him. That relationship has you completely covered.

You won’t always understand it, but you can always trust it. This is all being worked together and in the end, it will be good.

Now, personalize that scripture and receive it as your truth. Insert your own name. Romans 8:28, “God causes everything to work together for the good for you, (insert your name), because God first called you into a relationship and you love him.”

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How exactly do you talk about a sometimes awkward topic without it being awkward? For real, how do you do that?

Answer: Just don’t be weird about it.

God’s truth is the truth for every single one of us. God’s not weird, so sharing his truth isn’t weird unless you make it weird. You make it weird when you insert yourself and try to make it about you instead of about God.

Ready for this? We’re going to talk about a sometimes awkward topic today without it being awkward. We’re sharing straight from God’s word and therefore we know it is truth.

Romans 8:26-27, “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”

We call this praying in the Spirit or speaking in tongues. Most everyone has a personal bad experience with this. Someone made it weird. Someone put on a show, someone made you feel less spiritual, someone made it awkward.

Is speaking in an unknown language prompted by the Holy Spirit real – yes – sometimes. How do we know? Because God’s word tells us it is an example of what the Holy Spirit does for a believer. And let’s be honest, sometimes it’s manufactured nonsense from someone hoping you’ll notice them. That’s awkward. It’s cringey. And God is not impressed.

A few verses in 1 Corinthians 14 explain it like this: “If you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally. If I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.”

It is not for the benefit of others, it is personal. It shouldn’t be a show. It’s not a sign of spirituality or superiority. Once again, if you’re making it about you, you’re doing it wrong. You’re making it awkward.

The Holy Spirit offers many gifts to a believer. This happens to be one gift we get hung up on unnecessarily. If you don’t speak in tongues and pray in the Spirit, it DOES NOT mean you don’t have the filling of the Spirit of God. It doesn’t mean you’re on a lower level. It doesn’t mean you are spiritually less than anyone else. It means maybe you haven’t opened that gift yet, or maybe you have been offered other gifts. That’s not a bad thing.

When we make it about us, we make it awkward. This isn’t about you – this is about God’s Holy Spirit within you.

Let’s simplify this. The point of praying in tongues is allowing the Holy Spirit to pray for us in alignment with God’s will. You see, maybe there are things we don’t know to pray, things we’re afraid to pray, things we’re holding back on – so when the Spirit prays for us, we’re out of the way and in full agreement with God beyond our own awareness.

It’s a surrender, not a show.

It’s a willingness to agree with God’s will without knowing the details.

It’s signing up for the unknown mission, the mystery assignment, the next scary step all while it is totally unknown.

When you’re praying in a language you don’t understand, you’re agreeing to words and sentences you didn’t orchestrate. Through the spirit praying for you in it’s language, you may have just said, “Send me, I will go.” You may have said, “Change me first.” You may have said, “I’ll walk through this hardship to learn the lesson.” You may have said, “Take it away from me, I can’t be trusted with this.”

So you see, it’s a willing surrender to God’s plan, God’s authority, and God’s love – even though you can’t predict it or control it. This is faith.

Here’s where we take away all the awkwardness. We’re going to take away the tendency to make it about the show and about ourselves, and just allow the Spirit to pray for us, orchestrating words and sentences we can’t control and we don’t understand, but we agree with them in faith. Don’t be nervous – this isn’t going to be weird, I promise.

And, guess what – you already know exactly how to do this. I promise you do – you’ve been doing this since you were a little girl. Now, you just do it with greater meaning and unleash God’s power. I’ll teach you how and you will never forget this. It will be a prayer you pray in your most desperate times. Times when you are stuck. Times when you don’t know what to pray. Times when you’ve run out of your own plans, you’ve run out of time, and you’re about out of hope.

First, let me share a story.

A grandfather was walking through his yard when he heard his granddaughter repeating the alphabet in a tone of voice that sounded like prayer. He asked her what she was doing. The little girl explained: “I’m praying, but I can’t think of exactly the right words, so I’m just saying all the letters, and God will put them together for me because He knows what I’m thinking.”

WOW! Pray all the letters and just trust God to put them together for you.

This is a prayer of faith. This is allowing the Spirit to form words on your behalf. That’s not weird, that’s powerful!

Maybe you’ve been praying over the same situation for years and you simply don’t know what else to pray. Let the Spirit pray for you! Let him arrange the letters and put it all together as a prayer that perfectly aligns with God’s will over that situation. If you can do that, you’re showing complete trust and surrender.

I think that’s the whole point. God wants you to trust him so much that you offer every letter that could make up every word there is, to be put together into sentences that could say absolutely anything, and actually MEAN IT because you trust him that much.

The prayer of complete surrender and total faith that begins by saying, “A. B. C. D. ….”, is the prayer that unleashes the will of God and puts you smack dab in the middle of it.

When you don’t know what to pray… When you’re exhausted from praying the same thing over and over again… When you feel like everything you have been praying has been dismissed… This is what you do … you pray your ABC’s over it. All the letters are there, God will put them in order.

This is not a prayer reserved for the super spiritual. This is not a prayer to show a higher level of connection or superiority. This is a humble prayer that allows the Spirit to pray for us without us getting in the way.

Some might think that would be silly. Gosh, even a child can pray their ABC’s. That’s actually the whole point. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus called a little child to him and he said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The MSG translation says it like this, “Unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom.”

Have you ever prayed your ABCs on your knees. Why not do it today? In fact, why not just do it now? With me? Some might think it’s silly, but your Father who is in Heaven is pleased with childlike faith.

What a humbling prayer of childlike faith. Join me on your knees right now if you can.

God, A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. O. P. Q. R. S. T. U. V. W. X. Y. Z.

Now Lord, put all those letters together in alignment with your will. In the name of Jesus, Amen

You have no idea the power of what you just prayed. He aligned the letters perfectly to create the prayer you didn’t even know to pray.

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Did you know we are told to pray to God and refer to him as our Daddy or Papa? That’s not disrespectful. That’s not irreverent. It’s personal.

God actually wants to be more than just your Creator, more than just the director of your life and supreme authority, he wants to be in a close and special relationship with you. A relationship of deep affection that offers you the ultimate security.

One day a crowd followed Jesus up to a mountainside and he sat down to teach them. He taught them how to handle the real issues of life. And here, Jesus teaches us how to pray. He gives us the example of how to talk to God. We now call it the Lord’s prayer and maybe you even have it memorized. Matthew 6: 9, Jesus begins by saying, “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven …”

In Aramaic, the language Jesus used when teaching this prayer, it is Abwoon d’bwashmaya. Abwoon is an intimate word combining Abba, which is the term a child uses for their father, like Daddy or Papa, and womb which is the source of life. D’bwashmaya is translated into “who is in the heavens”, but not as we think of the heavens today. In Jesus’ time, heavens didn’t mean a far off place in the sky. Rather, it was the unseen spirit that is all around us and in us. Right here is the heavens. In our breath is the heavens. Jesus used the phrase “Abwoon d’bwashmaya” to teach us of a personal God who is not distant, but in our immediate presence seeking a personal relationship. And we’re to talk to him as such.

Our Father in heaven – Abwoon d’bwashmaya – Our Daddy who is here with us – Our Papa God who is close, in all things, giving life.

Then, when Paul is chosen by God to share the Good News and teach the gospel of Jesus, he explains in Romans 8:15 that because we are adopted as God’s own children, we are to “call him Abba, Father.” Again, we’re reminded Abba is the term a child uses for their relationship of love and trust with their Daddy, their Papa. It shows respect, deep affection and security.

Girls, this is who our God is. He’s our Daddy. The one we can most trust. The one we can have a true relationship with.

If you’ve been listening for several years, perhaps you remember a time when I used to pray at the end of each episode and I would begin by saying, “Good morning, Papa God.” Some loved it, and some more than hated it. As the emails poured in, I struggled to understand why this was such a point of contention for so many. Why was it so hard to call God Abwoon, Abba, Daddy, Papa? Why was this offensive to some?

For a bit, I must sadly admit, I doubled down. I wanted to prove my point. I speak to God in the way Jesus and Paul did. I’m in a relationship with God, he’s my Papa. I come to him like a child and I find my greatest security in him. But then something happened … My dear Papa God moved my heart and showed me why so many were struggling with this. And, if I continued to push it, I would be creating an unnecessary stumbling block to some who were genuinely seeking a relationship with God.

This is why I dropped it. My Papa God asked me to. He didn’t want a stumbling block between him and a single one of his girls. That’s the most important thing to him.

My Earthly Daddy was one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. He wasn’t perfect, but he loved me perfectly. He was my protector, my provider, my safe place, my warm space. Sitting on my Daddy’s lap, I was always good enough and forever loved. Because of his love, accepting God as my Heavenly Daddy was no stretch at all. In fact, because of my personal experience with my Daddy, Papa God is a perfect fit for me to know my Abwoon d’bwashmaya, my Abba Father, the personal God who is close and seeking a special relationship with me, his daughter.

But for many others, there’s a massive gap there. They didn’t have the example of a loving father, a protector and provider – a safe place where they were always good enough and forever loved in the arms of their Daddy. And if that relationship has been twisted, spoiled, or completely absent, then maybe it’s hard to think of God as a Daddy and feel the affection and security it was intended to bring.

And don’t you realize, this is exactly why the Fathers in family relationships have been a direct target of the enemy. If he can cause hurt in the heart of God’s girls and make them distance themselves from a Father, then naturally looking at God as their loving Father will be even harder. If there’s a strain on the earthly relationship with a father, then the relationship with a heavenly father could be strained as well.

I’m not a therapist, so I don’t have the 5 steps for healing that, but I know this much – it desperately needs to be healed. Anything creating a divide between us and our Abwoon d’bwashmaya, our Abba Father, our Papa God, is a work of the devil. Satan knows the security you would feel in deep relationship with your loving Father. He knows your relationship with God deepening to a place where you can run to him, crawl in his lap, and just rest in him as your Daddy and you as his little girl, always good enough and forever loved – well that would be a threatening place for you to be. That’s the last thing the devil wants.

The devil has worked overtime to attack the Fathers. You see, he knows the statistics. He knows if the Daddy follows Christ, odds are the family will follow. Some statistics say if the Mother follows Christ, there’s a 17% chance the children will follow Christ and remain in relationship with him for their lives. But if the Father follows Christ, the odds are 93% that the children will as well. That’s huge – and it’s why it’s become a huge problem today. It’s a strategic attack of the enemy on the Daddys so the sons and daughters can’t trust God as their Heavenly Daddy.

The truth is, if we see our Daddy as a Godly man who loved us well, then it’s much easier for us to have a close childlike relationship with God, just as Jesus tells us to have.

My prayer for you today is if there are barriers that have been built blocking you from that childlike relationship with God that is like a little girl with her loving Daddy, then I pray in the name of Jesus that those walls would come crashing down. I pray that you be immersed in the love of Abwoon d’bwashmaya, Abba Father, Papa God and you find healing, confidence, security and absolute adoration like you’ve never experienced before. I pray that the attacks on your family would not be successful in creating barriers in your relationship with a God who wants to be more than just your creator, more than just the director of your life and more than just your supreme authority, but he wants to be your Daddy. Yes, YOUR DADDY, because you are forever his beloved, treasured, chosen girl.

We will end today with the MSG translation of Romans 8:15, “This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant with a childlike, ‘What’s next, Papa?'” Could this be why Jesus said we must become childlike to receive the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3-4)? Trusting God as our Daddy, our Papa God, with that sweet expectant innocence of a child. That is a true relationship, one God seeks with us. This is the relationship your soul was designed to crave and be empty without.

What’s next, Papa. I trust you. I find complete confidence and security in you. I know you are right here with me, I know you love me, and I am held by you. So, whatever is next, we’re going there together! Me and you, Papa God. Together.

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When did life become all about us? Really? How have we made this about ourselves? It’s so easy to insert myself into every situation, and when it’s about me, is it really about Jesus anymore?

The Holy Spirit working within us leads us to think little of self and much of Jesus. The less I think about me, the more I’m available to be guided by God’s spirit to end up precisely where he wants me to be. But me constantly thinking about myself really gets in the way.

A few years ago, I came face to face with one of the most humble human beings who simply showed me how to get over myself. He showed me how to get out of my own head and into the will of God. How to overcome the little voice that tells me I can’t, and lean into the voice that says this is bigger than me and I’m being invited to be part of it.

His name is Jim, and he was the owner of a little coffee hut along the road on the way to the North Shore. His hut was nestled among the food trucks selling fresh scampi shrimp and pineapple smoothies, surrounded by honey bees, wild yellow canaries, and palm trees. He sold an iced coconut mocha that made my taste buds sing.

I shared the story of my encounter with Jim the day after I met him, then I returned the next day and asked him to listen. Since then, we have been friends. We text one another occasionally with prayers and praises, and each time I go to Hawaii I seek him out for that reminder of what humility looks like.

Jim reached out to me again this week with an update and a praise. God had gotten him through cancer and is now bringing him to a new season of life with fresh purpose. He asked if I could share with him once again the episode of our encounter, but as you may know, going back and finding a devotional that was over 1,000 episodes ago is nearly impossible.

So, I did some digging and I found my notes! Notes that need to be shared again!

Let me tell you about Jim, because when I tell you about Jim, I’m really telling you about Jesus.

On Jim’s little coffee stand on the North Shore of Oahu was a purple wooden, hand painted sign that read, “If Jesus Could Save a Wretch Like Me, He Can Save ANYONE!” He had full size bibles stacked on the counter, free to everyone.

A conversation unfolded with Jim, where I asked him to share his wretch story with me. He said, “My story is much the same as many others. I was living a selfish life, hurting everyone else along the way. I drank a lot of alcohol and created hurt everywhere I went.” He said, “Jesus had to leave the 99 to come look for me hard. I didn’t make it easy on him. But he still came.”

He told me he was given the gift of repentance.

Woah … the gift of repentance. Did you know that’s a gift from God? Jim explained it like this … If you get pulled over for speeding, you apologize to the officer as he gives you a ticket and you promise you won’t do it again. The next day, you speed again, just hoping to get away with it. The gift of repentance is the difference between hoping to just get away with it again, and truly wanting something totally different.

The gift of repentance allows us to see the damage we are creating, and turns our hearts towards God and the souls all around us. The gift of repentance shows us life isn’t about us.

Repentance is a gift from your Heavenly Father who wants you to live in the fullness of life he created you for. When you receive and walk in the gift of repentance, your life becomes the most beautifully balanced and grounded example of humility and love.

Acts 11:18 “God has given the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.” It’s a privilege to get to want to do better. It’s a gift from God, and it leads us to life. And remember yesterday’s devotional on the release from slavery to sin. Through Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and the Spirit makes us WANT to live better. Not just get away with our old ways, but change our old ways into new ways because we’ve been made new from the inside out. That is the gift of repentance.

2 Timothy 2:25-26, “Hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” Again, God GRANTS repentance to radically change our lives.

Have you ever asked God for the gift and privilege of repentance? This gift will take you out of the traps of selfish living and lead you to live that open, expansive, and limitless life Jesus came to give you. A life out of your own head, and into the fullness of everything God invites you to partner with him in.

HONEY, IT’ REALLY NOT ABOUT YOU. GET OVER YOURSELF.

Jim told me once God hunted him down and gave him the gift of repentance, he wanted to make everything he did about God and not about him. But, what could he possibly do to make his simple life about God? How could he use his little coffee hut for God’s work? That’s when he felt a prompting to offer bibles for free.

So simple … and that little voice told him it was so silly. What would everyone think? Would he look foolish? Would he be considered weird? So, he hesitated, and once again, his desire to honor God was twisted into everything being more about him than about God. He felt embarrassed and ashamed, knowing who he used to be and questioning how God could ever use someone like him.

As humble as that sounds, it’s the same path of self-centered living. Me. It’s about me. It’s about how I might look. It’s about my shame and my regret. It’s about my doubts and my questions. And when it’s all about me, it’s not about Jesus.

So, in obedience, Jim put out the bibles, and he painted his sign, fully displaying his story and humbly pointing to a relentless God who rescued him and would do the same for absolutely anyone else!

With a tear in his eye, he shared with me how he still struggled to believe God could use him. How a painted sign could make a difference. How a free bible could really ever change a life. And then he said it again, “But it’s not about me. It’s about God, and he can do anything he wants to do.”

Since offering his little coffee hut business to God, he said he had been blessed beyond measure in ways he could have never imagined. Was he doing anything radically different? Nope, he was just offering what he had to God and decided every day the little voice that tried to make it about himself wouldn’t win the battle.

Do you realize the work the enemy does in your life with that little voice that tries to make it all about you? That one slips right past our radar and trips us up without detection. Let’s shine a light on that weapon of hell and see it for what it is. Girl, what have you made about you instead of about Jesus?

How could God use you and I if we just got over ourselves? What if we stopped caring about what others thought about us, and more about how God wants to love through us? What if we stopped trying to put on a show, and used every part of our story to honor God in complete humility?

You see, Jim shares evangelism in a more beautiful and authentic way than I’ve ever seen. Is God using him? You bet he is! I didn’t need him to tell me about Jesus or give me a bible, but I needed him to remind me it’s really not about me or what anyone else thinks about me! It’s not about what big things I can do, it’s about my willingness to do even the smallest things for God right where I am with exactly what I have.

Jim told me his greatest hope is to stand before Jesus at the end of his days, and hear Jesus say, “Jim, because of your life, this child is here too.” I have a feeling there will be more than one of God’s children there as a result of a wretch who knew he was a wretch, and humbly and fully accepted the gift of repentance, painted his little sign, shared his simple story, and offered free bibles.

Ask God for the gift of repentance. May he grant you the divine gifting of getting over yourself and never being the same again. May you offer what seems totally insignificant to you, and allow a great big, powerful God to use it in ways you will never know this side of eternity.

The enemy doesn’t get to play in that old shame and guilt anymore. Your story will be shared. And every time you share, may you remember more and more, it’s really not about you. It’s about God and the souls he has placed around you!

Here’s to my friend Jim, my fellow wretch who has been hunted down by Jesus and saved and another day of life covered by the gift of repentance, with a timely reminder that this isn’t about me at all.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

Within you is flesh. Flesh is drawn to sin. It sees a sign that says “Wet Paint Do Not Touch” and immediately WANTS to touch it. It is defiant and rebellious and continually wants it’s own way – and the way of flesh is never the right way.

But did you know Jesus offers an end to this battle? That rebellious nature in you can die and the voice you hear within can change. You can go from inner turmoil to inner peace, from always messing things up to getting it right. The way has been made for you. Let me tell you about it.

3 chapters within your Bible tell of this battle and reveal the true solution. Romans 6, 7 and 8. Take 5 minutes today and read those 3 chapters for yourself. Let God’s word get into you and rewrite your narrative. When it does, something changes about you!

Sin has power in our lives. It chains us and holds us captive. We become a slave to sin, constantly doing things our flesh desires and then paying the price for it. But the chains of sin are broken in one thing … BAPTISM.

Baptism is so much bigger than we have made it to be. It’s not a ceremony or show. It’s not a ritual. It’s a breaking of chains and a changing of a life. Romans 6:4, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

This is how we have a shot at a new life. A life no longer bound by sin. A life no longer stuck in doing the old things. We go down in the water and we come up free! Only Jesus can do that, and I’m telling you, he does!

I was born to a very young mommy and daddy who both had hard childhoods. My dad never knew love. He never knew family, although he was part of a very big one. Dad’s life had been nothing but poor choices and messes. But when I was born, my dad went to a church and said, “I have a baby girl now, I’ve got to get my life right.” And he was baptized. Let me tell you, he became the best dad a girl could ever ask for.

Sin no longer held him. He gave up alcohol, partying, other women and every bad habit. And he never went back. He was forever changed and I forever benefited from that choice. He lived a radically new life after dying to his sin. And let’s be clear, that’s what is available to every single one of us.

Romans 6: 6-7 says, “Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”

Sin is our master until we let Jesus set us free. When Jesus sets us free, sin is NO LONGER YOUR MASTER. You live under the freedom of God’s grace, and God’s grace is what changes you. Not hating yourself. Not wallowing in regret and shame. God’s grace covers you and changes you.

Verse 16, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” Verse 18, “Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”

You see, something dramatic and life changing happens in the life of a believer. When you accept God’s grace and you’re baptized with Jesus, your inner voice changes. Your thoughts change. Your impulses change. Your desires change. You no longer want what you used to want. That happens because you’re dead to the pull of sin and you’re alive to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Slavery is only broken by death. In biblical times, if you were owned by someone as their slave, you would be theirs until you died. It was your life sentence. God knows sin gets into your flesh and holds you as it’s slave. You live a life far short of his promises. You settle for far less than is possible. And your whole life you can fight, but you will be stuck there because you are it’s slave. Slave to sin until you die. And my friends, THAT IS BAPTISM. Baptism is dying to self and being raised to new life in Jesus. The old is washed away. The old sin that held you as it’s slave. The old chains that kept you stuck in that old life.

That’s dead. And when you’re dead to sin, that sin knows there’s nothing more it can do to you. You’re worthless to that sin when you’re dead to it – so it moves on. You’re left free to live a new life in Jesus! That’s how it works!

But first, you have to die to that sin. You have to let it go, surrender it, crucify it, bury it. Ephesians 4: 22-23 MSG, “Everything, and I do mean everything, connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! Then take on an entirely new way of life – a God fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” This is how your life is made new. You let that old life die and you allow God to make you new.

In this new life offered by Jesus, you become instinctively obedient and pleasing to God. Your priorities begin to change. When Jesus changes you, you actually WANT to do better and now you have the power to do it.

BUT ….

But what about when you don’t have the power to do it? What about when you want to do good, but you end up going back to the old bad ways? What about when you fall back into old bad habits? Oh Paul knows about that. He’s a sold-out follower of Jesus, and yet he admits he’s struggling with old sin creeping back in. And I am so grateful he’s honest about this struggle so we know we’re not the only one.

Do you hear that? YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY CHRISTIAN TO STILL STRUGGLE! It doesn’t mean you’re not saved. It doesn’t mean you never really gave your life to Jesus. It means maybe your focus has gotten a little off.

Paul writes in Romans 7: 15-23, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. When I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh what a miserable person I am.”

Sound familiar? You want to do good, but you screw it up. You start strong but never finish. You have great intentions but your follow through sucks.

The problem here is not your desire to live well – the problem here is your focus. This is all self-focused. Over 40 times in this scripture Paul says “I and me”. And the truth is YOU can’t save yourself. You versus your sin always leaves you losing.

But something completely flips when Paul shifts his focus. Watch this. Verse 24, “WHO WILL FREE ME?” This is his shift away from self-focus. He’s looking for a savior outside of himself. He’s come to the realization that he can’t will himself into change.

Have you come to that realization too? You just can’t make yourself good enough. You can’t make yourself change, you always seem to eventually slip back into the same old stuff. Yip, that’s because you don’t hold that power. You can’t save you. You need someone else to free you. That someone is is Jesus, and only Jesus.

Paul says, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Now he’s Jesus focused.

And something happens when you stop focusing on yourself and you start focusing on Jesus – you’re free! Free to change and live a radically new life. Your inner voice changes. Your habits change. Your impulses change. You actually WANT to do the things that please God. You don’t HAVE to, you WANT to. You start craving time with God. You hunger for his word. You are repulsed by the things that are not of God. And you don’t have to force that, it just starts happening when you stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on Jesus.

As simple as it may sound, Jesus really is the answer. Always. Forever.

Have you died to that old sin and accepted the new life Jesus is offering? Maybe you’ve been baptized before but you didn’t know what could really happen. Girl, do it again! Focus on Jesus this time. Let him set you free. Let him wash you clean. Let him change you from the inside out.

Romans 8:12, “You have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” You died to that. You’re no longer it’s slave. You have a new master, and that master is Jesus. You have a new guide, and that guide is the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit will take control and change you.

Even as a seasoned Christian with a whole lot of years of faith under my belt, I’ve learned the Spirit wants more of me. And the more I obey the Spirit, the more he changes my desires. I’m repulsed by what I used to do. I’m literally offended by my own old self. I cringe over things I used to say. That’s all a result of Jesus making me new and continually working on me.

Let him do that in your life. It’s possible and honestly, it’s not even hard.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

Delayed obedience is disobedience. Our God is a god of details. When he tells us to do something, it’s not just about the action, it’s about the timing.

The mark we’re aiming for is constantly moving. It’s not a stationary target. So when God says, “shoot the arrow now”, but you delay your action and shoot your arrow later, the target has already moved and you hit nothing. Wasted shot.

Imagine bird hunting. You see the bird flying, there’s your shot, but you wait 5 minutes to pull the trigger. Why are you waiting? You’re planning, you’re researching, you’re seeking to gather all the details, you’re talking about it. How ridiculous that 5 minutes later you pull the trigger shooting at where the bird WAS in the sky, but is no longer there. You can’t get frustrated that you missed the shot when you delayed your action.

For someone listening today, God has said NOW, but you’ve still been waiting. That’s a problem. You’re trying to make it perfect when God never asked you for perfection, he only asked you for obedience. And the timing for obedience is immediate.

Imagine if you told your dog, “sit”. Instead of sitting he just runs wild. Imagine 3 weeks later you find your dog in the woods and he’s sitting. You wouldn’t celebrate that. Him sitting later is not obedience. No, he just got tired of running.

God is looking for a girl with a heart that is fully committed to him in obedience with not only what to do, but when to do it. 2 Chronicles 16:9, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” A fully commitment is not only obedience in action, but obedience in timing. And here’s the wild thing – if you will just commit to God in action and in timing, then he has promised to give you the strength you need. Read that scripture again. The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth (he’s looking, searching, checking every one of us), and he’s looking to strengthen those whose hearts are FULLY committed to him. Supernatural strength is yours when you commit to God’s details and trust his timing.

God is the god of details … you are not. The details are his, not yours. Jesus said in Matthew 10:30, “The very hairs on your head are all numbered.” That’s a detail God knows – he literally knows precisely how many hairs you have on your head at this very moment. But that is NOT a detail he gives you or asks you to be concerned about. If you tried to count your own hairs, you would go insane. But God holds that detail with no effort.

What details are you obsessing over that simply are not yours to know? What details are you delaying over that are causing your disobedience? God said do it, and you may very well get around to doing it once you’re satisfied with your understanding of the details, but God is not impressed by that. You’re as good as that dog who ran wild for 3 weeks when told to sit. Later isn’t good enough. You’re missing the timing because you’re caught up in the details.

The details belong to God, and because they belong to him, you can trust him with them. How hard is it for you to say this: “God, I trust you with the details. I don’t have to know to go.”

There’s a super famous story in Mark chapter 7 about a miraculous power move of Jesus. Jesus was teaching a crowd of thousands and thousands of people in a very remote place. The crowd had been there all day listening to Jesus. Now, it’s beginning to get late in the day and Jesus’ helpers, his 12 friends the disciples, are thinking about dinner. They’re hungry. The crowd is hungry. There’s no food here. So, Jesus’ friends suggest to him that he end for the day and send everyone away so they can eat. That sounds extremely reasonable. BUT JESUS HAD SOMETHING ELSE IN MIND.

Jesus says in verse 37, “Nope, you feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

Jesus then tells them to go find out what they do have. They go out and ask around and find there’s only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish in the entire crowd. Again, there were THOUSANDS of people. Then Jesus tells his disciples to divide the people into groups of 50 or 100 and have them sit down.

BUT WHY? What’s the point of organizing the crowd when there’s clearly nothing to give them. DETAILS.

Jesus did not give the disciples the details of what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. He gave them an action and obedience required they respond immediately.

But imagine if they wouldn’t have. Imagine if they would have said, “What’s the point of directing this crowd of thousands of people to sit down in numbered groups? This seems pointless. Explain to me WHY! I need to understand why I’m doing this because it seems like a waste. I don’t understand, Jesus.” That would have been disobedience.

DEMANDING THE DETAILS BEFORE AN ACT OF OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE.

But what can happen when you respond in obedience of action and timing? Something miraculous!!!! If you want to be part of something miraculous, you must be obedient without the details.

The disciples divide the massive crowd into smaller groups just as Jesus had said. Then Jesus begins breaking the bread and giving the pieces to the disciples. First, there was enough bread to give to the first group. But imagine feeding the first group, knowing there’s no possible way there could be enough for the second group. Imagine knowing the action you’re taking will NEVER BE ENOUGH. What’s the point in even trying?

But each time the disciples returned to Jesus for more bread to give out, he had more. More and more and more. It never ran out. Eventually, the entire crowd was somehow fed. Verse 42, “They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.”

Jesus never gave the disciples the details of how it was going to work. If the details were required, the miracle would have been missed. Instead, Jesus invited the disciples into partnership with him and all that was required of them was their obedience. They didn’t have to multiply the food. They didn’t have to provide it. They didn’t have to figure it out or understand it. They simply had to keep coming back to Jesus and spread what HE was doing.

That has been the key to my life. I don’t have to understand it or have enough on my own, I just have to keep coming back to Jesus and spread what HE is doing.

In early 2013, we had just sold everything, given the rest away, and moved our family to a little beach house in Southern California. We were struggling, we had no great plans for the future, and if we were going to pay rent the next month, God was going to have to come through for us. One day, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Pamela, start hosting a devotional call.”

There were a few problems with this. One, I was NOT used to hearing from the Holy Spirit so it was really hard for me to know it was him. Second, I had no clue what a devotional even was. So, I went to the local Barnes and Noble and I bought the first book that was labeled as a devotional. The next morning I hosted a conference call and read directly from that book. And that was the beginning of what is today the #1 daily devotional podcast in the world.

I can’t credit it to any greatness of my own. Rather, I was naive enough to just do it hoping God would let me off the hook after a week. It’s funny how the very thing I didn’t want to do is now the thing God himself would have to make me stop doing. It’s amazing how if I just keep coming back to Jesus, he has more for me to share.

What I’ve learned is, God knows what he’s doing. Like seriously. He knows. And if he tells us to do something it’s because he’s invited us into partnership with him. You don’t want to miss out on it! He will not give you the details first.

He will give you an invitation that doesn’t make sense, scares you, and seems ridiculous at times … ACCEPT. YES! I’m in, Lord!

And then, just like the disciples, you may find yourself in the middle of the impossible, passing out pieces of a miracle. The details will keep you stuck because they are not yours to hold. The details belong to God. The obedience is up to you.

Delayed obedience is disobedience. Respond now. What are you going to do about what God has been telling you?

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

This morning at 2 am, our phone rang. It was a call I had been waiting on. A call I had been praying for. A call that revealed the divine plan of a good God who never, ever stops working.

Our youngest daughter was facetiming us from the hospital, proud to show her mama her brand new baby girl. If you know our story, you know the journey to get to this moment. It’s nothing short of a miracle. Not only is our little girl alive, but she has her own little girl now and she wanted to share her with me.

Miracle after miracle. Blessing upon blessing. Proof of a living God.

The 4 year old little girl we met in an orphanage in Mexico, who became the burdened 13 year old who tried to take her life, who then became the most beautiful 17 year old that walked out of our home and left our family to never come back. The prodigal who has journeyed far on a path I wouldn’t have chosen, she’s finding her way. God has never stopped working. On the hard days. On the days when I’ve lost hope. On the days when anger got the best of me. On the days when my hurt heart did nothing but build walls. God was always working.

Working in the unseen. Working in the mess. Working in the dirty details I wanted to ignore.

But, I’m learning something about God – if you give him your mess, he can turn it into something beautiful as if it were designed to be beautiful from the beginning. He can take a pile of mistakes and somehow weave them together into a testament of his power and love of tremendous value and worth.

Look what he did with his first creation of man. He took a pile of dirt – just dirt. Dusty ol’ dirt from the ground, and he breathed life into it. Just dirt. And when God breathed on it, dirt became a man.

That doesn’t make sense to me, but I believe it. And if God can take something as worthless and meaningless as dirt and form it into a living being that every single one of us would come from, then what could he do with your pile of dirt? Yes, your heap of disappointment. Your load of nothing. Your handful of brokenness that has lost all hope?

Let me tell you what he could do – HE COULD BREATHE LIFE INTO THAT!

I’ve seen him do it.

I’ve seen him take a marriage that was so far gone they had already gotten divorced, moved out, split their finances, and moved in with other people – then God breathed life into that marriage again. Today, they’re part of a marriage ministry to testify of the wonder working power of God in the messiest of marriages and hardest of divorces.

I’ve seen him take a woman who was absolutely crushed in her divorce and instead of her husband returning, God went to work in her. She was once in such a dark place she didn’t want to continue living, but God saved her. And healed her. And called her. Now her career is guiding other women through an unwanted divorce to find their life worth living on the other side of it.

I’ve seen God take a young man who had ruined his life with drugs and alcohol, running from family and the law, and land him in a last chance recovery center he didn’t want to be in. His mama messaged me the day he ran away from that recovery center and asked me to pray. I asked God to stop him in his tracks and turn him around. Bring him back to the place that could help him. And let me tell you, that’s exactly what God did. This young man literally stopped running, turned around, and walked back through the doors of the recovery center, got clean, and got healed. Now 15 years later, he and his wife OWN that recovery center and he’s helped countless other young, lost, addicted souls just like he once was, walk through that door and then walk out whole, clean, healed.

That’s our God! No one can do what he does. He can breathe life into this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is day 1 of my granddaughter’s life. Her first breath was just hours ago, all while knowing there will one day come a final breath here on earth. Her earthly experience has begun it’s countdown, but her eternal experience will be forever. She is an eternal soul that has been given a body for her temporary earthly experience.

Wow, can you look at this experience of yours through that lens? This is just your extremely temporary earthly experience. But within you is an eternal soul that will never end. You will simply graduate from this experience to the next experience which will far outweigh this one! But because this earthly experience is all we know and all we see, we weigh so much importance on it, forgetting it is literally nothing but a vapor, here one day and gone the next.

The way my Bible puts it in John 4:14 is, “Your life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” We’ve all seen a thick morning fog settle into the valleys. And we know that fog won’t last forever. It just hangs there in the low spots, then as the sun comes, it just fades. Poof, it’s gone. Girls, our entire existence here on earth is us just hanging out in the low spots. This is our low spot – don’t put such a high value on it. There’s so so so much more to come.

In our study of Romans, we find a verse that brings perspective and hope. Romans 8:23, “We wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” Girls, new bodies are on the way!!!!!!!!!!!! So why in the world are you putting so much importance on this very temporary body? Your value can’t come from this body. It’s dying. Literally dying from the moment you breathed your first breath.

It’s the body you were given to carry your soul through this earthly experience, so yes, take care of it. But if your body becomes your focus, your soul goes hungry. And your soul is eternal. It is forever. Nothing is of greater value.

Your soul was so important that Jesus died to save it. He didn’t do that for your body. Nope, he lets your body get old and get broken. He lets it fall apart and decay. But that soul of yours – that is of immeasurable value, covered in the blood of Jesus to make you worthy of eternity in paradise.

You can’t remember your day 1 in this earthly experience, but it happened for you just as it happened today for my newest grandbaby. You were once that precious and miraculous baby. It was you. Your soul was given a body. Now that body is carrying your soul through this temporary earthly experience on your way to forever. What a miracle you are. How valued you are. Eternally. Forever.

I pray you know you are THAT loved, that wanted, that known, and that seen. God knows exactly where you are and your soul is secure in him. And whatever your pile of dirt is, invite God to breathe into it, then watch him work. Watch him do the impossible. Watch him make something beautiful out of that disappointment. Watch him flow through the very thing you would wish away.

Nope, it’s not going away – this is where God wants to work!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela

Many years ago a mentor taught me, “Life is like the changing seasons.” Seasons change and so does life. Seasons do not last, nor do the conditions and situations of life. We live in a constant state of change. We’re left with the choice to either hate and endure it, or savor and embrace it.

Today, we wake up to a new season. Summer 2025 is officially over. For some, that may be heartbreaking. For others, you may have been secretly enjoying pumpkin spice for weeks and you’re ready to go full gangbusters with your boots and sweaters. Hate it or love it, a new season is here.

I think what’s really hard for most is the reality of what follows fall. We all know since the beginning of time, after fall comes winter, and maybe you really don’t enjoy winter. And this focus on what’s coming next keeps you from enjoying the beauty of what’s here now. This is beautiful. This is special. Just stay here.

Isn’t that the secret to enjoying life … just enjoy here with what you have instead of stressing about what’s next.

Since the beginning of time there’s another truth, and that truth is, no season lasts forever. What always, always, always without fail follows winter? Spring. Then summer. Then fall. It’s the pattern of God’s creation and we’re here in the flow of it. Why fight it?

And this is the way of life. It’s continually changing. Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” The season of life you’re in now will not last forever. The next season will come. Maybe the next season will be your favorite, or maybe it won’t. Regardless, it will pass and life will change again. The key is, savor and embrace everything there is to be loved about THIS season of your life before it changes and you can’t go back.

With that, welcome to Fall 2025. You will only ever get one of these in your lifetime. Decide now you’re going to live the days of this season fully.

But today is monumental in another way as well. It’s the beginning of the final countdown. Que the 80’s music, “It’s the final countdown, ba-da-dah, ba-da-du-dut-dum”. Today is the beginning of the final 100 days of the year. It’s all come down to this. 100 days.

Remember when 2025 was fresh and new and filled with hope and promise? Remember when, in the cold winter you imagined the changes you could make and the life you could be living in the span of this one year? Now, there are only 100 days left.

100 numbered, limited, passing days. Numbered. Limited. Passing.

Moses prayed in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Imagine where Moses was as he was praying this prayer. Imagine what he was doing. He was leading the Israelites through the wilderness to their Promised Land. The journey was hard and the people became impatient and ungrateful. Soon complaining filled their camp. Conversations were filled with everything they had lost, all they were tired of, and details of what they didn’t want. Days all started running together. Every day, they ate the same thing in the wilderness. Every day, they did the same thing in their wilderness. And every day, they hated it more.

They weren’t getting where they wanted to go. They felt stuck. And this is where Moses prays, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” He didn’t pray, “Make this season go by faster God, we don’t like it.” He didn’t pray, “Get us out of this by tomorrow.” He didn’t pray, “Let us sleep our way through this until we get to the good part.” No, he asked for God to teach them how to live today the best they could, knowing it wouldn’t last forever.

This is my prayer over us today as we begin the final 100 days of this year. Lord, teach us to live these final 100 days of this year the way we should. Not to waste them or wish them away. Not to create ruts and get stuck in deep holes we try to dig our way out of come January. Not complaining or wishing things were different. No, Lord, teach us to take these 100 days and live them in a way that is pleasing to you and honors the gift of time you have given us. It won’t last forever.

Numbered. Limited. Passing.

I believe what God is asking of his girls is to reengage with passion. Instead of settling in for the last part of the year as if it’s almost over, to gear up and show up as if it’s finally their time. This is your time to live – live right – live well – just as God is showing you.

Does that mean you will slay every goal, lose that 50 pounds, dig your way out of debt and fix those broken relationships in the next 100 days? Yeah, probably not. It actually means something even bigger and better than that. It means you can learn to live in PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ALMIGHTY.

1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is the invitation for you in these final 100 days of 2025 – a divine partnership.

No, you couldn’t do this on your own. Your way didn’t work. You’re not where you wanted to be by this time. But now you get to grab the hand of Jesus and work in partnership with the one who is always faithful to do exactly what he says he will do.

And do you know what God says he will do? He says he will do A NEW THING! Isaiah 43: 18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Do you know who God said this to? He said this to Moses. Moses, as he’s in the wilderness. Moses, as he’s surrounded by complaining, whining, tired people who just wanted it to be over. He says, “Look, I’m doing a new thing! I’m making a way!”

What if God wants to do a new thing in you, through you and for you in these final 100 days of the year? Would you partner with him for that? Or would you focus on everything that hasn’t worked so far and just count yourself out? Sadly, that’s what most will do.

What if God wants to make a way where there has been no way before? Would you show up and look for it?

God is looking to partner with the ones who will dare to get up again, dust themselves off and be all-in for the new thing God is doing right here in the wilderness of all that hasn’t been working for you.

Does it mean instant success? No. Here’s what it means – it means living like today matters. It means gaining a different perspective on the journey. It means growing and becoming more in this season. More like the girl you were created to be. More like the life you were designed to live.

100 days. What could happen in these final 100 days if you truly partnered with God as he’s doing a new thing, and you lived each day like it mattered?

There’s only one way to find out. Take his hand and let him guide you in your next step as you commit to living this day the absolute best you can.

Re-engage your passion. Fan the flame to the desires of your heart. This isn’t over. The final countdown is playing – it’s go time!

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