I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Set Priorities

My husband and I have some long time friends who opened up to us about a struggle they were having in their marriage. The reason for their struggle is they were not prioritizing spending time together. They each had their own agenda of what they needed/wanted to do, but most times it didn’t include the other person. Soon feeling neglect were realized and tension and accusation began. My husband and I shared with them what we do to be intentional about prioritizing our relationship. Each morning, we “meet” in his office to have coffee, conversation, devotional, and prayer; we call it our touchpoint. It usually lasts from 15-30 minutes, as time allows. Then on Fridays, after work, we sit on the porch for some “back porch sitting,” to wind down our week together. Yet another prioritized touchpoint. These two touch-points have done wonders for our relationship. We have found out more about each other, have lively conversation, laughed together, cried together, asked for forgiveness, and been forgiven. There is another relationship that needs prioritized with the same intentionality as we do for our marriages; our relationship with our heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. When I intentionally spend time

Read More »

I Choose Today to Recognize Good

Good ideas, good food, good days, good…. Do you ever wonder where all the good comes from? Scripture tells us where good comes from, when it states, ”Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father…“ James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬a ‭NLT‬‬ Barnes’ Commentary talks about goodness within the context of this verse, he states,  “…where it can be regarded as good as a whole and in all its parts. The general sense is, that God is the author of all good. Every thing that is good on the earth we are to trace to Him.” Even when everything around us seems to be bad, evil, or not going as well as we had hoped, there is always good. How can I say this when I’ve experienced such tragedy and trauma in my life? Because I have seen it first hand, and God also promises it in His Word, ”And 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.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In those times, and those since, I have intentionally looked for good. And when something good happens

Read More »

I Choose Today to know love

This morning I woke up and this verse was playing on a repeat in my mind, ”So the Word [Christ Jesus] became human and made his home among us…”. I got to thinking about this verse and asked “why?”. Why would Jesus come down from heaven, from His throne and place of honor, to live among us as a mere human? Well to get my answer, I only had to read the rest of the passage! “…God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One [Jesus], who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.“ John‬ ‭1‬:‭17b-‭18‬. Jesus came to reveal God to us. Since God is love (unfailing love), Jesus came to show us His true nature: loving kindness, gentleness, goodness, sweetness, delight. Not legalism; not condemnation; but to save; to know God’s perfect love; to have a real relationship with the Creator of the universe; to give life abundantly now and for eternity. Who wouldn’t want that life? Who wouldn’t want the guarantee to live forever in constant relationship with God? Why would anyone chance that for hoping they are right

Read More »

I Choose Today to know I have a purpose

A few weeks ago I talked about God giving us the gift of His breath in our lungs. He designed us on purpose, for a purpose. As a reminder of David’s worship to his Lord when he said, ”You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.“Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ God wasn’t arbitrary about how and why He made each and every one of us. He knit us together, as David said. He designed us with intentionality, as Paul tells the Ephesians church, ”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.“Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This verse reminds us that He planned good things for us to do a long time ago. So when He is knitting us together and making His masterpiece with purpose and intentionality, why wouldn’t He equip us by giving us the gifts needed to succeed and flourish in the Master’s plan? He wouldn’t and He didn’t. He has given us Christ Jesus, who perfectly lived out these gifts while being fully man and fully Devine. He embodied all these gifts so

Read More »

I Choose Today to use His Breath

At church yesterday, they sang a praise and worship song that just spoke to my heart called Great is the Lord by All Sons and Daughters (I put the link at the bottom so you can listen if you want).  The chorus says, “It’s your breath in my lungs, so I pour out my praise, pour out my praise… to You only.” This brought to mind when God created Adam in the beginning. “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭ This verse tells me three things: First, the Lord intentionally made Adam. He actively formed him on purpose for a purpose. There is a verse in Psalms (139:13) talking about how God knit us in our mother’s womb. Have you ever knitted something or known someone who knits? They have a plan, they take time in picking out the right attributes that will make a perfect product. This tells me He created us, yes, you, with intentionality and care. How amazing is that! That alone is a reason to give Him praise! Doesn’t that

Read More »