Author: tara

We are already in full swing in the year 2016!  I don’t know about you, but I feel as if time is literally flying by! As you look back on this past year, what are your thoughts? Was it fulfilling and fruitful or was it filled with fears and frustrations? Most of us had a combination of triumphs and trials, exhaustion and exhilaration and disappointment and delight!

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

No matter what 2015 brought you, IT’s A NEW YEAR! We get to begin again! If you felt like you were in a “dry wasteland”, the Lord is creating rivers there for you that will refresh and revive you! If you wandered around last year in the wilderness trying to find your purpose or direction, your Creator, the One Who has already planned your amazing destiny, will show you the path to take to fulfill every purpose for which you were created!

There are a few catches! Well I knew it couldn’t be that easy, you say! It’s actually pretty simple! There are 3 main things we must do in order for the Lord to place us on the path He designed for us before we were even born!

• WE MUST LET GO OF OUR PAST! 
• WE MUST SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEART!
• WE MUST ASK THE LORD FOR HIS VISION FOR OUR LIFE!

1.LETTING GO! Now that’s asking a lot! After all we’ve been wronged, things have happened to us that we didn’t deserve, people have treated us badly and there’s just a lot of hurt and pain back there in the past! Or maybe we royally screwed up and can’t get past that! It’s just too hard to forget! Well all you have to do is read Genesis 19 to know God is serious about us not looking back! Yikes! Poor Lot’s wife! She just had to look back instead of looking forward to the promise and provision of the Lord! I don’t think being a pillar of salt is the type of pillar we ought to dream of becoming! She was “toast” and never got to experience God’s vision for her life! She couldn’t let go!

We’ve been bombarded with “that” song “Let It Go” for months and months and months! “I’m never going back, the past is in the past! Let it go! Let it go!” Great wisdom from that famous theologian, Princess Elsa! We only harm ourselves by hanging on to past hurts! Chances are if we are replaying those old tapes in our heads, we are harboring  unforgiveness or anger towards someone, ourselves or even God Himself. LET IT GO for your sake! And because God has COMMANDED us to do this!

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:36

Forgiving someone has nothing to do with the other person, but everything to do with us! Walking in unforgiveness affects our body, soul and spirit, slowly poisoning every part of us!

Quite a number of years ago I was experiencing some major health issues and could not get well despite many trips to the doctor, bottles of vitamins and herbs and eating healthy. In prayer one day as I cried out to the Lord and asked why I had not been healed, He clearly spoke to me about a person I had not forgiven! I was shocked as I thought I had done this already, but as I prayed through, I realized my emotions were still hanging on to hurts in the past! I quickly repented and asked the Lord to forgive me and asked Him to help me see this person as HE sees them! I then chose to truly forgive and my heart was moved with compassion towards them! I truly saw them as He did! Amazingly enough in a matter of days, I was physically healed! Ask the Lord if there is someone in your life you need to truly forgive! If you haven’t forgiven yourself, ask the Lord to give you a revelation of how He has ALREADY forgiven you and removed your sin as far as the east is to the west! Psalm 103:12 He doesn’t even remember your sin! FREEDOM FOLLOWS FORGIVENESS! As you forgive others and or yourself, the chains of unforgiveness will break and sweet freedom will be yours!

2.SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART! There is only ONE, Who loves you more deeply than any other, ONE Who knows you so well (and loves you wildly anyway😊) that He has numbered the hairs on your head and cares about every detail of your life and ONE Who has created you to fulfill the amazing plans He designed for you before you were even born! He so longs for a close and intimate relationship with you! He wants to walk with you and talk with you and tell you, you are His own!

There is not a relationship on this earth that can fulfill us and bring us true peace and joy, like knowing Jesus! Not with head knowledge of Him but getting to really KNOW Him!! He is so kind, loving, compassionate, wise, holy, full of peace, joy, goodness, patience, peace………He’s absolutely perfect in every way and He wants to hang with imperfect us every minute of every day in spite of us being a mess at times! He says to us we are HIS beautiful mess! So “duh”!! Why wouldn’t we run after a relationship with Jesus?!?! Like Nike says: Just Do It! He’s made us an offer we can’t refuse!

3.ASK THE LORD TO GIVE YOU HIS VISION FOR YOUR LIFE!  At last we get to the fun part and the purpose I’m writing today! VISION! However in order to get to this point, we need to make sure we let go of our past and seek an intimate relationship with the Lord in order to move forward with His vision for us!

The Lord God Himself tells us in His Word that we MUST have a vision or we perish! There is something inside of us that dies when we are not dreaming with God, fulfilling the call He has on our lives and using the gifts He has so graciously given us to bring His message of hope to a world desperately in need of a Savior! I know each year that passes and now that I am entering my sixth decade of life, I am determined more than ever to really seek the Lord for His vision or assignments for me! I don’t want to reach the end of my life and realize that I didn’t accomplish all that He created me to do because I wasn’t intentional about asking and fulfilling HIS vision for my life! I don’t want to be so distracted and busy with the things of this world or my own agenda, that I miss the real purpose of my existence!

One definition of vision is: “the ability to perceive something not actually visible, as through mental acuteness or keen foresight.”  That is a somewhat secular definition. I don’t think we can get God’s vision for our lives by our own mental acuteness or keen foresight! Not so much!! I know I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer and I need heavenly wisdom to give me direction! I do love the part of the definition that says “the ability to perceive something not actually visible.” We can only perceive God’s vision through SEEKING Him in prayer and LISTENING for His answer!

God’s vision for each of us, at first, is not even on our radar screen! If He revealed it all at once or too early, we would probably run the other way!! But He will reveal it bit by bit, year by year. Each one of us has a purpose and assignment as different as each snowflake that falls from the sky. It’s created by God with our individual personalities, gifts, strengths and even our weaknesses in mind! He uses EVERYTHING about us for His glory!

SO HOW DO WE FIND THIS VISION?

All you have to do is ASK Him! He never hides His will from us and He really does speak to us whether it’s His still small voice, His Word as we study and meditate on it or sometimes He uses other people to speak into our lives! When you’ve heard people say the same thing to you several times over, take note! That could be the Lord speaking to you!

Another great place to start is by writing down your own personal mission statement! “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2:2 Most all churches and ministries have them and we should too! What are you passionate about? What breaks your heart? I’m thinking about 2 women right now. One is a young mom of 3 in my new hometown of Katy, Texas who is passionate about rescuing young girls out of the slavery of sex trafficking and introducing them to a Savior who can heal their brokenness and shame. Another is a woman in Texarkana who ministers to the homeless and women in a behavioral health center, being Jesus with skin on and giving them the hope of Christ in the midst of their hopelessness!
Most probably your mission statement will be tied to the vision and destiny God has designed specifically for you! Aren’t you curious to find out what He has planned for you? Do you want to waste another year chasing rabbits and running around in circles? Don’t you want to use the gifts He has so graciously given you to make a difference in your sphere of influence? And you do have one!!

So let go of the past, forgive and start anew in 2016! Really be intentional about seeking a close, personal, intimate relationship with the lover of your soul! He really is wild about you, mess and all! Ask Him to reveal to you the things HE wants you to accomplish in order to fulfill the call and purpose and reason He created you! There is no one on this earth just like you! And there is no one on earth that can fulfill God’s vision and purpose for you but YOU! Times a ticking! Let’s find it! JUST DO IT! Vision & Action = CHANGING THE WORLD! And let’s cheer each other on as we live the life HE designed with great love for us! Write the vision! Make it plain! THEN RUN AFTER IT!

FAITHFUL LOVING FATHER, WE ASK YOU TO FORGIVE US FOR GOING OUR OWN WAY, FOR NOT SEEKING YOUR VISION AND PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES! WE KNOW YOU HAVE A DESTINY AND PLAN FOR EACH ONE OF US THAT NO ONE CAN REPLICATE! YOU HAVE GIVEN EACH ONE OF US SPECIAL GIFTS AND PASSIONS THAT WHEN CHANNELED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION CAN YIELD AMAZING FRUIT TO FURTHER YOUR KINGDOM AND DRAW OTHERS TO YOU! HELP US PRECIOUS LORD, TO NOT BE DISTRACTED BY THINGS OF THIS WORLD AND TO LOOK TO YOU THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTOR OF OUR FAITH, FULLY KNOWING THAT YOU WHO HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN US, WILL BE FAITHFUL TO COMPLETE IT! PRAISE YOU FATHER FOR LOVING US SO MUCH AND CHOOSING TO USE US TO MAKE AN IMPACT FOR YOU IN THIS WORLD! WE ARE HUMBLED AND WE SAY ‘YES LORD, USE US TO BRING YOUR LOVE, PEACE, JOY AND HOPE TO THIS DYING WORLD!’ IN JESUS PRECIOUS AND POWERFUL NAME! AMEN

Love Always,

tarabella

John 3:30

It’s the final countdown. 2015 draws to an end. We have less than 3 weeks to fulfill our list of 2015’s New Years resolutions or did we give up hope on those in week 3? I for one am excited to see 2016! I LOVE even numbered years; they just seem more neat, orderly and symmetrical!

So how was your year? When you look back on it, what emotions are stirred up in your soul? Were there hopes and expectations that never materialized? Were there events and circumstances that rolled over you like a freight train making you feel as if you had fought on the front lines of a war? Or do you feel overwhelmed by the goodness and faithfulness of God? Probably ALL of the above!

H.O.P.E. When we have it, we feel like Superman… able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! When we lose it, it feels like every bit of life, peace and joy has been sucked out of us! And when we hoped for something really really important to us and it doesn’t happen, what we dreamed of turns into a nightmare of despair.

The truth is we most often base our HOPE, or lack of it, on our circumstances which ebb and flow as much as the tides of the sea. We let the events of our lives and the emotions that come with it, dictate wether we hang on to hope or allow what we see or don’t see to crush our hope and send our dreams to never never land!

So as the year 2015 comes to a close, what things have you hoped for or dreamed of that you didn’t see come to pass and may have even experienced things getting worse?

• Is it an illness you hoped would be healed by now,
• a prodigal son you thought sure would return home this year,
• a struggling relationship you dreamed of being brought back to life,
• perhaps a wonderful idea for a product or company or ministry that you just knew would be successful but it never even got an inch off the ground?

Fill in in your own blank. Perhaps you’ve hoped and prayed for something for a really. long. time. and you’re convinced nothing good is coming!

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick 💔, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life!”🌳 Proverbs 13:12

The Word is clear on the effects of losing hope! It will actually make the heart sick! The Hebrew word for heart actually encompasses our mind, will, inner man and the actual heart or center of everything!

Scientists and medical personnel are now discovering the value of hope and having a positive outlook on the outcome of people battling serious health issues. Not only that but they are proving that having negative emotions and not having hope, affects our health greatly and can in fact bring on disease!

So having HOPE can be a matter of life or death! Having dreams fulfilled is a tree of life!

As I said before, the reason we actually lose hope is because we are basing it on WHAT we see! ……It’s not a what; it’s a WHO!

“Our HOPE is found in nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness! I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly trust in Jesus name.”

OUR ONLY HOPE IS JESUS!  He is the only One who loves us with a supernatural, everlasting, unconditional and deep deep love! He came, He died and He rose again and is seated at the right hand of the Father and He is interceding for us and our precious loved ones, DAY AND NIGHT! His love for US drove Him to the cross! His desire is to give US the desires of our heart and to keep the fires of HOPE burning until He returns or takes us home!

This world can’t offer us hope, in fact it’s great at dashing them! Just scroll down Facebook and find articles on the 5 warning signs of everything from deadly diseases to how he’s cheating on you! Just a visit to the Doctor, especially if you’re over 60, will put you over the edge as you begin to feel you’re at the beginning of THE END!😳

The Word says:

“Now faith is the assurance of things HOPED for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

So how do we get the assurance that what we are HOPING for, can and will actually come to pass? First we must have faith that God is able to bring to pass that which we are hoping for! The Word says later in the chapter that without faith it’s impossible to please God! It also says we must believe He is who He is and that He rewards those who seek Him! But now it gets a little sticky! We gotta do some soul searching here!

• First of all we must be hoping in things that line up with God’s Word and His character! If we’re hoping for a million dollar mansion or a Rolls Royce, there’s a chance that may not be in God’s plan. Although I know the Lord loves to bless Hi children!😃
• We need to prayerfully seek the Lord and ask Him if the particular thing we are hoping for such as that promotion or ministry opportunity is actually His will for you or is it something we are selfishly wanting. I always ask Him to give me at least 3 strong confirmations! He loves to confirm His will to us! He doesn’t play hide and seek when it comes to us knowing His will!
• We need to learn to patiently wait on the Lord! The Word “deferred” hope in Proverbs 13:12 actually means to “put off to a later time, postpone.” I’m actually very thankful that at times the Lord did not give me what I was hoping for when I asked! There were things that needed to be done in and around me first! His timing is ALWAYS perfect!
• And finally we need to discern by the Holy Spirit when it is time to move on! There are times when we are hoping for things that just aren’t going to happen, mostly because of the choices of others. We all know precious people who have hoped against hope that their marriage would be saved, but that spouse has made the decision to leave. It’s not that we are to lose HOPE, but we ask God to give us a new hope for our future! One that will look different than what we had hoped for and dreamed of, but one that will allow Him to take our dashed hopes and bring in His resurrection life, joy, peace and love! He will turn what the enemy meant for evil into our good and His glory!

When my middle child Adam was about 2 years old, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Although it was benign, it was the size of a small grapefruit and it destroyed his pituitary gland and a good part of his vision. It also has properties to grow back at any time in his life! As a matter of survival and sanity, I dug in to The Bible to find the HOPE I needed! It was there the Lord led me to so many of His precious promises that would become an anchor of HOPE for me when the seas of discouragement were drowning me!

There were setbacks, bad reports, a relentless seizure disorder for 5 years and a serious threat to the only vision Adam had left, BUT I kept crying out to the ONE who is my hope, reminding Him all along of His precious promises He gave me in His Word! I battled the enemy’s accusations and proclamations of doom and gloom with the HOPE that “My God is able to do exceeding and abundantly MORE than I could ever ask or think, according to the power at work in us.”

After a really big setback in the middle of the night, I laid on the bed near Adam and cried out to the Lord with a broken heart. He spoke to me so gently but decisively! He first asked me to rehearse His Faithfulness! He wanted me to look back on my life and recount the countless times He had been Faithful to me in answering my prayers. The times when I had lost hope and He came through with His love and power and delivered me from the fear and dread that hopelessness brings! Oh. so. many. miracles!

The second thing He asked me to do was begin praising Him! As I began to do this out of obedience, because my heart was not feeling it, the craziest, deepest, most comforting peace began to permeate those deep dark places where hopelessness was trying to take root! There was even a joy that began to rise up! It was incredibly supernatural but I had to do things in the natural to experience that!

Have you been thinking of areas in your life where your hope is waivering or have you lost hope completely? I’ve got good news for you!

*You have a God who deeply loves YOU!

*His very nature and character is HOPE and He wants to give it to you in EVERY area of your life! 

*Hope has nothing to do with what you see, but everything to do with Who He is and the Promises He gives us in His Word!

*He has promised us a future and a HOPE!

HOPE will rise up and abound when you:

*Rehearse God’s faithfulness to you!

*Praise Him in the midst of hopelessness!

*Dig in to His Word and stand on His promises!

So the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say, is that Adam is 29 years old and is a healthy, productive, joy-filled lover of Jesus! He got a degree in Children’s Ministry and is one semester short of a Masters Degree in Education! Best of all, the Lord brought him the most beautiful, incredible wife and her wonderful family! We are so blessed and grateful for what God has done and continues to do! I wonder what things would be like now if we had given up HOPE! I suspect our life rises and falls based on the expectations and hope we have or do not have! Hmmmmm……. Selah (that means to pause and reflect!)😉

H.O.P.E Having Only Positive Expectations! I know that’s a little cheesy and overdone but it’s an easy way to remember that when our expectation/hope is in Him, we win every time precious ones! It doesn’t matter how hopeless your situation looks to the world or in your own eyes, we have a God who parts the seas, levels mountains and raises the dead to life! NOTHING is impossible with God and to him who believes and has HOPE!

“Now this HOPE does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5

Receive His LOVE and HOPE today!

GRACIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER, I CRY OUT TO YOU LORD ON BEHALF OF YOUR BELOVED CHILDREN WHO ARE LOSING OR HAVE LOST HOPE! THE ONES WHO ARE FIGHTING TO KEEP HOPE ALIVE! I THINK OF THE PRECIOUS FAMILY WHOSE 1 YEAR OLD SLEEPS DAY AND NIGHT BECAUSE OF CONSTANT SEIZURES, OUR DEAR FRIENDS WHOSE SON LEFT HOME 8 YEARS AGO AND THEY ARE WAITING FOR JUST A WORD FROM HIM! TO THE BRAVE ONES WHOSE BODIES ARE WRACKED CONSTANTLY WITH PAIN AND THEY HOPE FOR THE DAY THEY WAKE UP PAIN FREE! YOU SENT YOUR ONLY SON JESUS TO CARRY ALL OF THIS SO WE COULD EXPERIENCE YOUR HEALING TOUCH, YOUR DIVINE MERCY AND YOUR PERFECT LOVE CASTING OUT EVERY FEAR! POUR OUT YOUR HOPE ON YOUR PRECIOUS CHILDREN AS THEY FIX THEIR EYES ON YOU, THE GOD OF ALL HOPE, AND CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN EACH OF YOUR PRECIOUS PROMISES! WITH EXPECTATION OF HOPE ABOUNDING! IN JESUS MIGHTY NAME! AMEN

Love Always!❤️

tarabella

John 3:30

As the events of this past week deeply disturb the merriment and magic of this season, my body feels the heaviness of grief for the families of those lost in this senseless act of terror, my soul is deeply troubled by the what the future holds, but my spirit chooses to trust in the Prince of Peace, the Goodness of the Lord and One who holds me in His victorious right hand!

“PEACE I leave with you. My PEACE I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.”John 14:27 

PEACE! The anecdote to fear. anxiety. grief. sleeplessness. discord. hopelessness. hatred.

I was curious and so started searching the Internet for quotes about peace. I wanted to see what the world says about it! Most of the quotes came from Dalai Lama, John Lennon, Buddha and even Lady Gaga! The jist of each quote points us to use our own strength from within to obtain peace! We have the power….we ARE the power.???

Now I don’t know about you, but when I’m faced with trials and tribulations or just watching terrifying events shake our world, there’s NOTHING in me personally that can muster or dig up enough peace to quiet my fearful and troubled heart!  I really know this because I spent a large part of my life dealing with fear, which is the opposite antagonist to peace! I’ve pretty much tried every approach!

To not walk in peace is to walk in fear and fear has torment! ( See 1John 4:18)

There’s nothing more unsettling than to lay our heads on the pillow at night and be bombarded by all the things we are anxious and worried about! One of satan’s biggest ploys is to get us into fear so we can not receive the peace that Jesus so freely gives us! It’s a gift that cost Him His life and yet we allow the voice of the enemy, who speaks doom and gloom and hopelessness, to be LOUDER than the voice of our Good Shepherd whose promise is:

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

Ah there it is! The 🔑! The key is to TRUST!!

When I was physically so sick and so tired and sick and tired of struggling with fear, I finally realized, through the precious Holy Spirit, that it was because I did not truly TRUST God to take care of me and the ones I loved! I began to see that the enemy was speaking lies to me which were preventing me from believing the TRUTH about what God says!

I began to dig in and meditate on the hundreds of TRUTHS that are found in the Word of God! One of my favorite stories on fear is found in Mark 4:37-41. The disciples were in the boat with Jesus and a tremendous storm came up out of nowhere! Kind of like our troubles do! The crazy thing is that Jesus was in the back of the boat with His head resting on a comfy cushion and He was SLEEPING! Who sleeps through a storm? The Prince of PEACE does! That’s Who!

You see, He and the Father had/have a loving, intimate relationship! Some 30 years before that, His Father came to Him and said, first of all I LOVE  you deeply, but I also LOVE ALL PEOPLE, past, present and future and I’m sending you to walk among them and show them my unconditional LOVE! I want them to have 24/7 access to Me and be in my Presence on earth and throughout eternity! I want them to know I will hear every cry of their heart and no matter what they go through, I will be there holding them in my victorious right hand, never leaving them or forsaking them and will keep them in perfect peace as they turn their eyes and hearts on me!

So as Jesus lay there sleeping in peace in the midst of the storm He knew Who had His back! He knew no matter how tough or terrifying the circumstances were, His Loving and Mighty Father would see Him through and He could TRUST Him and be at peace! He also knew the power and authority His Father had given Him and so He merely had to say “PEACE be still” and the storm was over! We have that same power and authority but that’s another blog!😃Selah

HE TRUSTED HIS FATHER WITH HIS VERY LIFE!

So what’s keeping you up at night? What lies is the enemy speaking to you about you or your loved ones life, health, safety, future?

Dig. Dig. Dig.  Dig into His Word! There are over 400 times where peace is mentioned in the Bible! He knew! He knew we would be bombarded with so many things that would attempt to steal His peace! He wanted us to know, we don’t have to live in fear! Spend time in intimate fellowship with Him! He LOVES to have conversations with us! Seek Him with ALL your heart and you will find Him! Jer 29:13

The Lord has given me glorious freedom from the spirit of fear! I know now that I can TRUST Him with every detail of my life because He is Mightier than any mountain or mess I face! But I had and have to continue to pursue His peace in order to dispel the fear that will always try to find an open door!

Psalm 34:14 says:”Turn away from evil and do good; SEEK PEACE AND WORK TO MAINTAIN IT.”

Peace just doesn’t fall on us especially since the world and the enemy of our soul does everything possible to steal it and instill fear! Seek it. Chase it down. Run hard after it! Stay in the Word so His truth can dispel every lie.

Let the beautiful TRUTH of the Word wash over you and flood your heart with peace that only He can give, as you learn that you can TRUST HIM with your very life! Believe that you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

Loving, Mighty God, Thank you for sending us the Prince of PEACE; You have given us Your peace which no one can replicate! The peace this world offers is so fleeting and will never dispel fear or give hope! We are surrounded by a world filled with terror, hatred, sickness in body and soul. But Jesus your Word says to be of good cheer for YOU have overcome this world! (John 16:33) Help us to not be overwhelmed with the circumstances around us! We want to be like Jesus who slept in perfect peace as the storm raged around Him. Stir up in us a desire to pursue, chase after and walk in Your peace! Forgive us for not receiving this great and costly gift! Come, our Prince of Peace! We need you! In Jesus matchless and mighty name! Amen

Love Always!❤️

tarabella

John 3:30

PS Pray and meditate on this when fear rushes in!

⏳TIME…….is fleeting, is irrevocable, is precious! We can’t get it back, save it or change it! We can waste it, misuse it or make the most of it! We can either become a slave to time or we can master it! Once it’s gone we can never ever get it back! Never!

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17

The Word of God gives us a mandate to make the most of our time but many times at the end of the day I’m frazzled and frustrated because I’ve either wasted or misused my time!  Now you are either a time person or not! Are you on time to everything or are you consistently late to work, meetings, lunches with friends, weddings-yikes!…?

For much of my life I have been between 15-45 minutes late to everything, (I’m sure I was born past my due date!), until a friend who loved me enough, called me on it! She shared with me that by being late, I was being rude, selfish and inconsiderate of other’s time! The precious Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth, came right on in behind that and convicted me of putting my wants and needs ahead of others and devaluing their time! Since then I have been intentional about not being late! I’m not 100% but I may only occasionally be about 5 minutes behind and most of all I finally see the true value of time! I don’t think I’ll be late to my own funeral now!

Since I’ve turned 60 this year I’ve become almost obsessed with time! You begin thinking about all the time you’ve wasted or misused! ! I thought about all the time I spent on the phone with my friends when my kids were little because I needed adult conversation! All the times I spent cleaning, wanting my house to always be picked up! I could have loved on them more, played with them more, taught them more!

Then you think of the time you have left! Will I see my grandkids get married and have babies, will I get to enjoy long, wonderful years with my dear husband after he retires, will I impact those around me by pouring out the love of Christ and sharing His good news of  redemption, healing and life eternal? When you get older you really begin to realize that time is precious and that if we’re not intentional, it races past us at breakneck speed, waiting for no one! And there are no do-overs! But don’t wait until you get older to treasure your time!

In this age of technology and social media, which can be a great tool, it is slowly becoming a time killer! When you go to a restaurant do you notice how many people are on their phones? There is no conversation! Without conversation there can be no relationship! I confess I have been guilty of that at times! People are not being present with the person in their presence!

So what is killing your time? Is it your phone, the Internet, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TV….?

As I pondered this I began to think of all the time I’m spending trying to find the perfect Christmas gifts for my family! I was at the mall this past Sunday, so very cra cra I know, and 100’s were shopping like there was no tomorrow! I know many had been out since Black Friday running on fumes and coffee! We are all buying more stuff!

In my quiet time this morning I felt like the Lord said that most people don’t want more stuff! What they want from us is our time! Good ole sit across the table conversation! Not the shallow, chatty kind but the I really care about what’s on your heart kind! The tell me what’s troubling you and let me encourage you kind! What if we gave that kind of gift? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to schedule regular dinners, go on a trip together or meet weekly for coffee rather than buy one more scarf or shaving kit?

What if we took the time to speak a word of kindness to the exhausted cashier, offer to pay for a strangers meal or give someone in need a coat? What if we spent time seeking out the hurting and sharing with them the good news that God loves them and wants to heal their heart, meet their needs and give them life eternal through Jesus Christ?

But most importantly, what about our time with Jesus? After all He’s given us this precious gift! Isn’t He worth our spending time with each day? I know I struggle with this during the holidays, but the Lord has shown me it’s because I sometimes place a higher value on other things over Him! Ouch! That is really ugly but I know He still loves me, His Beautiful Mess, and with His help I am going to be intentional about putting Him first every day!

Well precious ones, I’d say it’s about time we take time seriously! So TAKE time! I mean grab it, treasure it, value it! Be wise, make the most of it! Don’t waste it, be a slave to it or let it slip away from you, for you’ll never have another chance to use the time today to impact your precious family and loved ones, and the world around you, with the love, hope, joy and peace of the Savior of the world-Jesus! For ⏳TIME… is fleeting, is irrevocable, is precious!  

PRAYER: GRACIOUS LORD, YOUR WORD SAYS IN PSALM 39:4, “REMIND ME HOW BRIEF MY TIME ON EARTH WILL BE. REMIND ME THAT MY DAYS ARE NUMBERED-HOW FLEETING LIFE IS.” HELP US LORD TO NOT WASTE A SINGLE MINUTE OF OUR LIVES ON THINGS THAT HAVE NO VALUE. FORGIVE US FOR PUTTING SO MANY OTHER THINGS ABOVE YOU AND SHOW US THE AREAS OF OUR LIVES THAT ARE KILLING OUR/YOUR PRECIOUS TIME! HELP US TO TREASURE EACH MINUTE OF EACH DAY AND THE BEAUTIFUL FAMILY AND FRIENDS YOU HAVE BLESSED US WITH. MAY WE HAVE YOUR EYES TO SEE THOSE AROUND US WHO NEED YOUR LOVE, HOPE, GRACE AND PEACE! AND MAY WE TAKE THE TIME TO GIVE TO OTHERS WHAT YOU HAVE SO FREELY GIVEN TO US! HELP US TO LOVE AS EXTRAVAGANTLY AS YOU LOVE US! IN JESUS MATCHLESS NAME! AMEN

Love Always,

tarabella

john 3:30

My husband and I moved to Houston 8 months ago to be close to our only two perfectly wonderful and wonderfully perfect grandbabies! I am over the moon about them and being close to my only daughter and great son-in-law but it has been quite a transition moving to the 4th largest city in the United States with over 2 million peeps! I recently went to the city’s BIG Christmas market and was literally just carried from place to place by the crowd of women as we were shoulder to shoulder! So many people!

Yesterday my wonderful hubs thought it would be fun to take me to see the Galleria shopping mall! Having been a “mallaholic” for most of our 37 years of marriage, I was excited and full of giddy expectation! It didn’t take long for that giddiness to turn to grumpiness as I felt smothered by the throngs of people madly dashing to get the best deal for their dollars! After a couple of hours I felt like I had done one of those mud obstacle courses minus the mud!

I’m here to confess to you that I didn’t have the most kind and loving spirit towards that mass of people! 😬 Now outwardly, other than a few sighs directed towards the lady exchanging her toddler’s entire wardrobe, I appeared to be that nice loving Christian, but inside my head in rapid fire, I was making comments about those people who had bumped past me or driven their massive strollers over my feet!

But the Lord holds me to a high standard which fortunately but unfortunately I have asked Him to do! With each and every critical and negative thought I had, the Holy Spirit, in His firm but loving way, nailed me on it! By the time I left that mall I was not only physically and emotionally wrung out, but felt like such a grinch who had failed miserably in God’s love your neighbor command!

What I love about the Lord is He takes our failures and turns them into fabulous life lessons that actually change our very hearts and makes us more like Jesus! So this morning I happened upon a beautiful story of a family at Target who didn’t have enough money for their purchases so were putting things back they couldn’t pay for. A lady in the lane next to them overheard and stepped in to say she wanted to pay for their ENTIRE purchase! The mom began to weep! Now no doubt this dear saint probably experienced the trauma of Target during the holidays and had probably been been dodging kids and carts and waiting in a long line, yet she heard that still small voice calling her to step in and be Jesus with skin on! She was loving extravagantly!

How many opportunities do we miss each and every day because we allow negative and selfish thoughts to crowd out the voice of our precious Lord! How He wants to use us to bring the good news of His love, mercy and grace to those who are struggling with pain, disappointment, fear and loss. So someone pushed past me to grab the last sweater! What hurts are they carrying in their hearts! What devastating circumstances are they experiencing! What if it was me going through the same thing? What if I could be the only person who has shown them love for as long as they can remember! What if I’m their only representation of our loving God and our Savior Jesus?

“BELOVED, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER, FOR LOVE IS FROM GOD, AND WHOEVER LOVES HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD AND KNOWS GOD. ANYONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD, BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE.” 1John 4:7-8

Oh precious ones, our Amazing Heavenly Father loves us extravagantly! He gave us a gift that we could never come close to matching nor could we ever repay. He gave us His only Son Jesus and even watched Him go through excruciating pain, suffering and even death! But He was gloriously raised up and is seated right now beside the Father, where night and day He is praying for us and asking the Father to meet our every need and give us the desires of our heart! That’s extravagant!

So how can we do any less than love people extravagantly! Since we experience God’s over the top, to the moon and back love, don’t others deserve that too no matter what they’ve done or how they act?
When I acted a fool yesterday, my beautiful Abba Father went above and beyond to teach me through my failure and dropped in my heart how very much He loves me inspite of my shortcomings! Reminding me once again I’m His beautiful mess!

WARNING!! We can NOT love people this way unless we rely on the Lord’s strength and power! There are some pretty tough cases out there, but at times we can all be one of the toughest! During this season where the lonely feel even more alone and the hurting hurt even deeper, let’s ask the Lord to give us His eyes to see others as He sees them, His heart to feel the compassion He feels and the courage to reach out and love extravagantly!

PRAYER: Dearest Loving Lord, Thank you for loving us in the most extravagant way! Forgive us for taking for granted the GREAT PRICE that was paid so we could live in fellowship, freedom and peace in you now and forever! Open our eyes Lord to see what you see in others whether it be our own family and friends or strangers we pass every day. Help us never to forget that we may be the only Jesus with skin that others may see! Give us your heart for people and the courage to reach out and touch a life with Your extravagant love!

Love always❤️,
TaraBella
“HE MUST INCREASE AND I MUST DECREASE” John 3:30
P.S. Send me your stories on how you reached out to show love!💖

Since I’ve turned 60, I’ve spend a lot of time looking back on my life! I’ve thought about how I could have been a better mom, wife, daughter. How I should have done this more or that less. The coulda, shoulda, woulda’s swirl around in my not as sharp as it used to be mind! But God in His preciousness and unrelenting love keeps bringing me back to the many, many blessings He’s poured out on me because I’m His beautiful child and He LOVES to bless His children! “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11

Gratefulness-“Deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received.” This definition of gratefulness seems to warrant a BIG, DEEP response from us to whomever has bestowed kind blessings upon us. We are so quick to thank someone when we receive a gift or when someone cooks a meal for us, helps out with the kids or gives us an encouraging word! You know, when real people do real things for us!

But how quick are we to thank the One who gave up His life for us! The One who forgives us a billion times a billion and then some more! The One who loves us wildly even when our minds and thoughts are on the petty things of this world instead of on the One who is responsible for our very life and breath! Why do we show more gratitude towards our earthy family and friends than we do our Creator, Savior, Redeemer? “In Him we live and move and have our being.”Acts 17:28

I think sometimes it is easier to respond to real people we can touch and see! But let me tell you precious ones;

Jesus is REAL y’all!

I’ve touched the hem of His garment and been healed! I’ve seen Him transform lives, restore broken relationships, deliver people from addictions! I’ve heard His still small voice whisper that He will see me through, give me strength and restore the things the enemy has stolen! I’ve seen the lost saved, the weak become strong and His grace be sufficient! Apart from Jesus, we are nothing and can do nothing until He is our EVERYTHING! “For apart from Me you can do nothing.”John 15:5

One day in my quiet time I sensed the Lord telling me in His kind but firm way that I was not being grateful for the things in life that He had given me! He nailed it as always for I had been murmuring and complaining about my present circumstances. And then I heard the million dollar question: “Who do you say I am?” Jesus asked this question to His disciples, His closest circle of friends who spent every waking minute with Him for the past three years! Really? You think we don’t KNOW who you are by now?

Who do we say Jesus is? Have we met the REAL Jesus or do we just know the Jesus that religion has taught us about! The REAL Jesus is so full of love for us that no matter how much of a mess we are, He calls us His Beautiful Mess and loves us through it! The religious Jesus that we’ve heard about loves us if we say and do all the right things! The REAL Jesus has the desire and power to come into impossibly hopeless situations and bring hope and healing! The religious Jesus is not quite big and powerful enough and may not even want you to deliver us!

Jesus is REAL y’all and I’m so GRATEFUL for the REAL Jesus that pursued me as a young Catholic girl, brought me through many situations where I felt rejected and had no self-worth and did miracle after miracle in the life of our son who was diagnosed at 2 with a brain tumor ( now 29 yrs old and married to a precious girl!). He has healed me supernaturally from physical illness, crippling fear, legalism, pride, selfishness, unforgiveness, anger and a BIG religious spirit! “For nothing is impossible with God” Luke 1:37

So how in the world can I not be GRATEFUL! I KNOW the REAL Jesus and He loves me deeply, and unconditionally! He is wild about me and He’s wild about you too! So which Jesus do you KNOW? I think the times I am ungrateful and whine and complain, I am putting Jesus in that small religious box where I have to work for His love and approval and just cross my fingers and hope He’s big enough to save me from whatever mess I’m in! But when I turn my eyes to the REAL Jesus, my heart is full of gratitude, devotion and deep love for the One who NEVER leaves me or forsakes me! I can’t fear because I know He is bigger than any problem I face! This has become my life verse:

“For my God is able to do exceeding and abundantly MORE than I could ever ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20 I think that just about covers it all!!

So here’s the invitation! Get to KNOW the REAL Jesus! Dig in to the Bible and read the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You will see a beautiful picture of who Jesus really is! Don’t be fooled by the weak and watered down version that the world speaks of and sadly much of the church does too. The Jesus I’ve gotten to know is BIG, powerful, compassionate and full of grace and mercy when we don’t get it right! He loves you so deeply that He willingly went to the cross and by His death and resurrection provided a way to intimately KNOW Him and receive everything we could ever need to live victoriously and eternally!

“BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME, BLESS HIS HOLY NAME! BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS, WHO FORGIVES ALL YOUR SINS AND HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES, WHO REDEEMS YOUR LIFE FROM THE PIT, WHO CROWNS YOU WITH STEADFAST LOVE AND MERCY, WHO SATISFIES YOU WITH GOOD SO THAT YOUR YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLES.” Psalm 103:1-5

Now that’s as REAL and fabulous as it gets! May our hearts be full of gratitude for the One whose love ran red at the cross so we could truly live!

TaraBella

PRAYER: Dearest Lord, We want to really KNOW the REAL you and all of your awesome ways! Help us to take you out of the small boxes we have put you in! Grow us in our faith to believe that You can move mountains! Help us to really believe that you want to see us walk in love, freedom, joy, hope, peace and victory! Open our eyes to see the many ways you love us and may we be grateful for all you have given us! We love you imperfectly but help us perfect that love!

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