Worship / Music Playlist:

Gratitude:

I’m grateful that God taught me how to really allow Him to carry the full weight of our sorrows. If you are someone who is very empathetic and has big vast feelings, grief can become a giant anchor that weighs you down. You can crawl into the well of sorrows with others and not be able to find your way back out. Allowing God to carry that weight doesn’t mean you don’t feel anything or have empathy for others. It just gives you better ropes to climb out of the “sorrow well” stronger and faster.

Scripture:

Isaiah 53:4 (King James Version)

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Lessons Learned:

While I can’t tell people exactly how to grieve, because each person’s journey can be a unique and different. I can tell you how NOT to do it.

Recently found out that a friend I grew up with since kindergarten, but had lost touch with, got sick and died unexpectedly.

In the past, I had a tendency to just stuff those emotions into a pressure cooker until it finally exploded. Slapping a bandaid on it without giving it time, space, and grace to heal. But God gave me the little pressure cooker valve - the one that reminded me of a little bell, when I would play with it as a young child. And He has taught me how to use that release valve to process it in healthy ways. If you experience times of grief, I hope you will find ways to use that pressure release valve too.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus“

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”

Shelly Rexroat

Worship, Gratitude, Scripture, Lessons Learned through time in the presence of God..

If you are curious how my daily 1:1 with God began…

In 2020, I was thrust into a new leadership role and knew I would need God’s help to step in and lead with excellence. So each week, I spent hours in praise, gratitude, and prayer. Eventually I lovingly gave it the nickname, “my weekly one on one with God” - similar to the personal time I spent on a business level with other leaders and my team.

Then in October 2024, things changed as God began to direct these one on one sessions, instead of me being the one to initiate them. God began waking me up early each morning, usually with music and songs He gave, and I began spending hours in His presence each day gaining wisdom, discernment, skills, and just learning of His deep love for me and others. At first, it was hard, as my body felt so tired. But over time I started to understand what a true privilege and honor this is. And later felt God nudge me to begin sharing it with others.