Song Love {June}

"Sparrows" by Jason Gray


"Jesus Sees" by Meredith Andrews


"Dear Younger Me" by MercyMe

Music Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {April}

"Warrior" by Steven Curtis Chapman


"Crazy Faith" by John Waller


"Guilty" by Newsboys

God's Not Dead 2 hits theaters nationwide today. Let's go out & show support for what is true & good!

Love,

-Bess-

P.S.: All the songs featured this month are from faith-based films.  Oh, & here's a sneak peek at God's Not Dead 2...

To My Father: A Poem

I am a little bird -

Do You see me when I fall?

Oh - that You do -
I am heart-wrenched & broken

And bid Your eyes turn from me.
But they stay -

And are grace eyes -
And I can scarcely breathe.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father."

-Matthew 10:29

Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {March}

"When I'm With You" by Citizen Way {This came on the radio while I was driving around the other day, & it really felt like just what I needed to hear. Hope this song, & the others, speak to you, too.}


"God is on the Move" by 7eventh Time Down


"Just Breathe" by Johnny Diaz

Music Love,

-Bess-

For You

"No Longer Slaves" by Bethel Music


"Cast My Cares" by Finding Favour


"Here I Am Anyway" by Josh Wilson

Brave Love,

-Bess-

Take That Leap!

I know fear.  We've been like this {visualize me holding up 2 fingers twisted together} for a long while now.  Yep, we're old...  hmmm, I'm not sure what the word is - not friends...  Acquaintances?  Inseparable enemies?  I don't know, but one thing I do: it hasn't been a stellar association & it isn't a relationship from above.

God did not give us a spirit of fear {that's straight from 1 Timothy 1:7}.  Then, why can't I shake this?  How did this happen?  Let's look at what fear does first.

Fear causes us to make hasty, unwise decisions & it can paralyze us from taking the bold, risky steps God is calling us to.  It whispers every founded & unfounded "what-if."  It knows how to trigger our deepest dread &, if given the space & time, it will completely plunge our hope into utter darkness.

But if God did not give us a spirit of fear, who did?  That may be the easiest answer of the day: the enemy of our souls, Satan.  How do we combat fear?  That answer is a little more difficult.  What's the hardest part?  Putting it into practice when fear has become the default mode of a weary heart.

In all honesty, fear & I haven't always been so close.  Sometimes, when fear has come knocking, I've kicked him to the curb like a super-ninja with mad street skills.  But, after awhile I stopped going to my ninja training class {yep, I never got my diploma... sad}.  Anywho {& back to reality}, after multiple attacks from fear, its whispered lies {because who knows lies like he whose native tongue is lying (John 8:44)} started to sound like rock-solid truths.  Weakness won out, & taking my eyes off Jesus I began to focus on the anxiety that burdened my very bones.  Fear is a thief that wants to rob us ultimately of our very life.

So, what's the plan?  How do we fight?  Fear is such a multi-faceted, personal, evil-transformer kinda thing in its victim's lives that there's not a single ninja training video that can be presented.  Yep, that's messy real-world for ya.

Here's some starting places, however...

• Replace the lies with God's Truth!  Read His Word.  {Click here for some of my favorite scriptures on dealing with fear.}
• Let it out.  Talk with trusted, faithful family & friends.  Ask them to pray for you concerning this.  Christian counselors are also a godly resource & help.
• Find something that takes your mind off fear, & back on Jesus.  Sing worship songs, hang out with godly friends, or volunteer to help those who need it.  Fear doesn't thrive in such places.
• Pray.  Pray.  And pray some more.  It's true that God already knows what we need & what we are going to say, but He wants to hear it from us & it blesses us to speak to Him & expectantly await His loving reply.

This won't be an overnight change, it will be a journey.  Some days I battle hard & win, others I don't.  But through Jesus we can do all things {Philippians 4:13}!  Take that leap, & leave fear behind you, a fuller life through Christ's strength lies just beyond that anxious place you've been calling home.

Love & Fearlessness,
-Bess-

P.S.: Truth: I wrote this for my own fearful heart.  I pray it blesses yours, too.

Help us, Lord, to take a fearless leap knowing You will catch us.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Reminder {To Us}

Don't forget.  When all the 'what ifs,' insecurities, & shadows come creeping...

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love & of self-discipline."

-1 Timothy 1:7 NIV

Brave Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {Feb.}

"Diamonds" by Hawk Nelson


"Here's My Heart" by Lauren Daigle


"Awake Our Souls" by Tim Timmons

Music Love,

-Bess-

Just Saying...

"The grass withers & the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

-Isaiah 40:8

His promises are true.  His words are rock solid & eternal.

Love & Peace,

-Bess-

That One Healthy Fear

"The One Healthy Terror."  Maybe a strange chapter title, at first glance, for a book entitled Fearless.  I dove into it anyway, thinking I already had that "healthy" fear pegged, unmasked, & known.  Perhaps you feel the same.

Perhaps you know in head-knowledge & in fluent Sunday-School-ese that this "healthy" fear is a reverence & awestruck awe for the great I Am God.  However, as I read Max Lucado's words, I uncovered how small my knowledge base truly is & how I have placed a neat box of my own ideals, wants, & needs around this uncontrollable, in-containable King of all.  

It struck me, then, that when I pray "Father" & use such familiar a term as "Daddy," I am right in saying so, but do I ponder that this same Father God, to whom I lift my prayer, is the One who flung stars all around the heavens with purpose & order, & tenderly knit together every unborn baby in every mother's womb?  Who parted & unparted seas, & formed the loftiest peaks & every bumpy ridge of a tree trunk's bark?  Designed every mysterious unique swirl of every human beings' fingerprints since Eden & the first?  The One who can rain down wrath like none other, & still spreads across the sky a promising rainbow to this day?  The One who loves in such an immeasurable, incomprehensible amount, giving up His beloved Son for us, that all the grains of sands & drops of water upon the earth added together do not equal it?  

All of that {& more} is the One to whom at times I have cried out against, & doubted, & accosted, disappointed, made demands of, the One I have flailed before like a temper-tantrum toddler at a grocery store...  Whom I have hidden from those who need Him most out of my own fear, but fear of God in all His immeasurable power & might I have neglected.  I, in my deep sinful foolishness, have been afraid of so many things unworthy of angst.  Didn't Jesus say to not be afraid {again & again}?  For if we are to fear something, may it be that "healthy" revering fear of Him who brings us to our knees in love & worship.

Love,

-Bess-

"They fell on their faces & were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came & touched them & said, 'Arise, & do not be afraid.'"

-Matthew 17:6-7

Song Love {Jan.}

"This Year" by JJ Heller


"This is the Day" by Josh Wilson


"This Cup" by Sara Groves

Music Love,

-Bess-

P.S.: Here's a bonus song!

"No More" by Josh Wilson

Current Wish List...

I want:

• peace like a river
• joy no matter what
• trust when I'm in the darkness & the light
• grace that covers my frailty
• love not dependent on outward things
• hope for tomorrow
• strength to keep marching His straight & narrow
• comfort for fear
• healing for brokenness
• forgiveness for my wretchedness
• a jar for counting the tears - that they be not wasted
• beauty in the chaos
• purpose in the perpetual in between
• glory for the One who is the Giver of all good things - may it be unto Him

Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {September}

"To Those Who Wait" by Bethany Dillon


"Open My Hands" by Sara Groves


"Oh Fear {My God is Near}" by Moriah Peters

Music Love,

-Bess-

P.S.: This is one of my favorite lyrics 

{from "Open My Hands"}:

I am nodding my head an emphatic 'yes' 

To all You have for me

That verse packs a sermon!  May it be said of me, that I said 'yes' to Him.

A Poem

"Broken Pieces"

Their jagged edges rip –

&, yes, scars.

Shame deeper, though –

It’s invisibility, a harsher factor.

But –

His grace.

His healing.

Deeper –

Yes,

Deeper still.

Amen.

Love,

-Bess-

Passion No. 1

A life lacking passion is a doldrums of stagnancy & purposelessness.

Jesus Christ is my number 1 passion.  Period.  Any other passions that fill my heart flow from Him & are ultimately for His glory.  He took this girl who was a mess & made her a princess.  He gave up His life for mine, as the ultimate sacrifice that I might be cleansed from all my sins - past & present - & be made new.  He is my comfort & my shield.  My Lord & my King.  He is the only thing good in me.  He is the light I want to share; the example & teacher; God in the flesh.  He is my living hope & my hope of glory.  My only way to the Father.  He is who I turn to when all is falling apart & I am failing - & He always receives me with arms wide open.  He is the one who knows every intricate detail of my being & every flaw in my heart & loves me immeasurably, unchanging, & without condition.  He is the careful beautifier of my soul & cleanser of my brokenness.  In His name my prayers are spoken loud or in an inner whisper.  He is my eternal security & the thing I strive to seek first on this cluttered & damaged earth.  He is living inside & will finish the work He has begun in me.  His words are true & His promises are never broken.  He is faithful & trustworthy - full of patience, mercy, & grace.  And He is mine & I am His.

How could Jesus not be my number 1?  It is my prayer He is yours, as well.  You will find no passion better anywhere.

 Much Love in Christ,
-Bess-

{Jesus speaking} "I am the way & the truth & the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."
-John 14:6

"He satisfies the thirsty & fills the hungry with good things."
-Psalm 107:9

P.S.: My words are not enough to describe & magnify my Jesus!

August {Song Love}

"Prodigal" by Sidewalk Prophets


"Glow In the Dark" by Jason Gray


"Getting Into You" song by Relient K - performed by Jamie Grace

Music Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {July}

"Trust In You" by Lauren Daigle


"Flawless" by MercyMe


"Unusual" by Francesca Battistelli

Music Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {June}

"Where the Light Is" by Dan Bremnes


"Exhale" by Plumb


"Where I Am Right Now" by Jared Anderson

The lyrics of these 3 songs have been speaking deep & ministering to my weary heart here lately.  I pray they do the same for you.

Music Love,

-Bess-

Song Love {March}

"The Maker" by Chris August


"Shoulders" by For King & Country


"Through All Of It" by Colton Dixon

Music Love,

-Bess-

P.S.: What song{s} are you currently enjoying?

Song Love {February}

"Heart Like You" by Love & the Outcome


"Faithful" by Hawk Nelson


"Day One" by Matthew West

Music Love,

-Bess-

P.S.: Here's a bonus song I know I've shared before, but felt led to share again!

"Bloom" by Moriah Peters