I was reading in Genesis the story of Adam and Eve.  I've read it many times, but for some reason, one particular sentence jumped out at me.  I'm sure most people can relate to the experience of rereading a book or watching a movie again and noticing something new each time.  The part of the story that stood out to me this time was when Adam and Eve were in the garden getting ready to eat the fruit.  It says that Eve ate, then Adam ate, and then their eyes were opened. (Genesis 3:6-7)

This might seem insignificant, in fact, it had each time I read it previously, but this time, new understanding came to me. Eve WAS COVERED by Adam.  The realization hit me that it didn't say that Eve ate and her eyes were opened and then Adam ate...but rather that Eve ate, then Adam ate, and THEN their eyes were opened.  Even though Eve had sinned by eating of the fruit, her eyes were not opened until Adam also sinned.  She was covered by him...and Adam until he sinned, was covered by God.  It wasn't until Adam stepped out from under that covering that suffering began. There is a hierarchical order given to us by God.  God covers man...man covers woman.  When a woman is married, she is covered by her husband. When a woman is unmarried or widowed, she is covered by her father.  If her father is no longer, she is covered by God, Himself.  We all have a covering...men and women alike, but do we remain under that covering is the question.

It reminds me of the time shortly after I moved to New York from Florida to look for a job so that I could bring my family up.  I needed a place to stay, and our pastor and his wife had offered to open their home to me until I could find a place for my family to live. My husband told me to accept their offer and stay with them. He said this to cover me...to keep me safe in his absence. But...because I felt like I would be a burden on them, I chose not to listen to him and went my own way. Even though my husband warned me not to do this, I stayed with different family members who weren't following the Lord...and in essence completely came out from under my husband's covering in the process.  During each stay, I was miserable. In one place, I even ended up falling and breaking my hand which I'm still recovering from now almost two years after the fact. Some might say that was just coincidence, but I know that it would not have happened had I listened to my husband, remained under his covering, and gone where it would have been safe.   I chose to do what I chose to do and suffered the consequences of that choice.

I think about Adam and Eve and what might have happened had Adam not also sinned but rather remained under the covering of God that day... How today might be completely different.  I do know that if we remain under the covering that God has ordained for us, we will be protected.  The question to ask ourselves each day is are we covered today.  Are we abiding under the covering that God has placed in our lives or have we stepped out from underneath that covering.  If we have stepped out, it's time to repent and return back to that covering.

Cliche title I know...but the title, no matter how cliche it sounds, needs to sink into our spirits.  Before I went on vacation, I was mandated that while on vacation I had to get a pedicure.  Who mandates something like that right? Well...someone did...and because they did, kicking and screaming inside my head, I honored it.  I have gotten manicures before but never would step out and get a pedicure because no one touches my feet...I mean NO ONE. Yesterday...someone did. omg!!! If you know me...you'd be saying that right along with me lol. ...Anyways, I digress.

I have to honestly say, it wasn't the nails on the chalkboard nightmare I thought it would be.  It was an awesome experience. As I sat laughing and reminiscing with family members, I had my sore feet in hot bubbling water and hot towels wrapped around my legs...soooo relaxing.  Hot stones were rubbed along the bottoms of my feet, lotions and oils were applied...and then beautiful sparkly nail polish to finish it off.  I was treated like complete royalty for that small moment in time. This may sound ridiculous when referring to just a pedicure, but God knew exactly what I needed at this very moment in my life. I needed to, one, step out and do something that I was fearful of doing, and two, be ministered to in this way.

Do you know that God knows exactly what you need...when you need it?  Matthew 14:22-33 tells the story of Jesus walking on water.  It also tells the story of what our fear accomplishes...and what God accomplishes.  

"Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.  But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

In this story, Peter was afraid, but he stepped out of the boat.  He walked on water for as long as his eyes were on Jesus. The minute he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on his situation, he became fearful again and began to sink.   But Jesus didn't let him go.  He was right there to take Peter by the hand the second he called out.  You see...Peter may have been fearful...he may have doubted God in that moment...his faith may have wavered...but God, despite Peter's human lack, was able to reveal Himself to all the people right in that very moment...because Peter STEPPED OUT of the boat despite his fear.

We have to learn that even if we are afraid, when God says to step out of the boat, we need to step out of the boat.  He will take care of us, and He will use the experience to bless and grow us and others.  My friend...whatever it is He is telling you to do today, do not be afraid...step out of the boat.

You ever get so busy and downtrodden in life that you forget to just live and enjoy the moment you are in?  That has been me the past several years...always trying to be or do, dealing with frustration after frustration, problem after problem, and never just taking in and enjoying the moment.  My husband used an illustration in his sermon this past week about how when your kids are babies you say...boy, I can't wait until they are out of diapers, and then, boy, I can't wait until they can talk, and then, I can't wait until they go to school...etc. etc. Always thinking about the next stage rather than just enjoying them right at the moment they are in...and by doing this, we miss so much.  You know what...I'm tired of missing out on so much.

I'm finding the more that I'm thinking about and pursuing the next moment in life...the more I'm discontented and missing out on this moment.  Life has literally been passing me by...and there's nothing I can do to turn back time to get what I have missed out on back.  I have learned through many hard lessons that I need to enjoy the moment.  Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  THIS.IS.THE.DAY...NOT.TOMORROW.

I am here now in Florida for two weeks; time off that I should have taken long ago.  And now, I'm going to enjoy every moment of it... the sun, my family, and life in general. I will not let this time pass me by.  Today is the day that God has made...and today is the day I will rejoice and be glad in it.  As I am allowing Him to help me live life to the fullest in the here and now... I encourage you also to allow Him to help you to learn to enjoy the moment.  I assure you that it will be worth every second of your time.  God is good!

I'm a firm believer in standing up for not only what is right...but what is TRUTH.  This morning...reading over facebook posts, I came across one with a video clip that stopped me.  It was a news clip on a Florida school teacher who told a fifth grade student that he couldn't read his Bible during free reading time in the class.  The teacher even went as far as to call and leave a message on the parent's phone saying that the student would not turn in his "religious" materials even though it was prohibited for him to have it in class.  

I'm smh this morning... with all the crime and catastrophic events that are occurring in our schools and in our world today, you'd think that people would wake up, smell the coffee, and stop fearing and bashing the Almighty but rather cling to Him.  I know in Romans 1:28 it says, "And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;" ...But to SEE it actually play out just sickens and saddens me.  

Despite the rising movement of popular belief that this country...the land of the free and home of the brave...America... was not founded on Christian principles, I know and will stand upon the reality that it was.  Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, said this, "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."

Our freedom...freedom so many continue to fight for...is truly a gift from our God!  If we continue down the path towards Godlessness...attempting to remove Him from everything that we can... we will see how quickly those freedoms we enjoy are removed.  ...In fact...we can see it playing out before our very eyes even now.

Matthew 10:33 says, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."  It's time People of God to Wake Up...Smell the Coffee...And RISE UP.  Do not be ashamed of the One who gave His life for you...proclaim Him. Proclaim what He has done in your life.  Be strong in your faith...knowing this...that they hated Him first.  RISE UP and declare the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Do not falter in your beliefs or give in to the popularity movement.  Stand strong in the Lord and the power of His might.  This country will have lost all hope and all freedom if we as believers in Christ do not RISE UP!  DECLARE HIM TODAY...Be SALT...Be LIGHT... Be His LOVE...and RISE UP!

The past couple days have been a rollercoaster of emotion for me...grieving, preparations and celebrations.  Mother's Day was on Sunday, and amidst all the preparations of ordering corsages, flowers and gifts for mothers and celebration with my own children, it was a hard day for me.  You see...my little brother passed away a little less than a year ago, and as a mother of three, I knew this was not only a loss for the whole family...but so much more for a mother. My heart all day went out to a mother who every year on Mother's Day would receive a box of candy and a dozen roses (and sometimes two if he forgot he ordered it already) from a son who loved her more than life itself.  My heart grieved all day for that loss of my mother's...and for the loss of so many other mothers who were unable to celebrate with the children they had lost throughout the years. It was a hard day...

Then my oldest son Joshua's 21st birthday was yesterday... It was a wonderful thing to be able to celebrate and spend that time with him reminiscing and just laughing over the different aspects of the past 21 years. We sang happy birthday to him over cake and Honest John's chicken wings. ...And then, I don't know what possessed me or why things pop in my head the way they do...I have a lot of "squirrel" moments...smh...don't mind me...but the words...Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo popped into my head and out my mouth they came.  For some reason, that's all I could remember to the song so I stopped singing, struggling to remember the rest...Josh and Stephen, however, remembered the rest. They finished singing the song for me ...and when the realization of what the song was about hit me, we just laughed and laughed.  I thought I was going to die from laughing so much. It was a fun day.

The rollercoaster of emotions, preparations, and celebrations from the past two days makes me think about when Jesus left the disciples....How much they must have grieved to lose Him.  He knew they would, so He sent them the Comforter... the Holy Spirit. And He said in John 14:2-3, "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."  We can rejoice because He's gone on to prepare a place and a homecoming celebration for us. We may grieve a little while, but we will not only see Him again, we will see and celebrate with all our loved ones who have gone on before us as well... Amidst all the emotions and preparations through the years, on that day, what a celebration it will be.

Last night, I was able to spend the evening with a great group of ladies.  We went to see the new movie put out by the creators of "Courageous," called "Mom's Night Out."  I give that movie a 4 and 1/2 star review. It lost 1/2 star with a bit of a cheesy ending. ...Anyways, I laughed...well pretty much the whole theater auditorium laughed... literally from beginning to end.  The movie was about a group of extremely stressed, overworked moms who just needed a night out while the husbands cared for their children.  Why was it so hilarious?  Every mom could relate to everything that was happening...from children drawing on the walls to trying to get the kids ready and out the door to go somewhere, and husbands wildly texting....How do I do this?  From tattoos to bowling...Did the Pastor's wife really get caught on the Dance Cam?...And does Trace Adkins really use Pinterest?

The prevailing message in the movie was that most mom's give all that they have...every ounce into being the best mom that they can be for their children and the best wife they can be to their spouse, and through it all sometimes still feel like a complete and total failure.  Like they should have done more or been more.  ...but the truth is, we have to be just who God made us to be, rest in the fact that He loves us, and will complete the good work He started in us.  We don't have to be perfect supermom and superwife...we just have to be who He made us.

To all the moms out there who are just downright tired and feel like they are failures because they didn't do everything just right... trust in, rely on, and wait on Him today because He promises...""The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands." (Psalm 138:8) ...And, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)  Hold onto Him and rest.  He will perfect His work in you.  He will give you strength.  He will wash away the weariness.  He will do all He said He will do in your life and in your children's lives as you learn to lean on and follow Him.  Trust Him today.  As tomorrow comes and goes, Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there.  One day your children will rise up and call you blessed...and one day, you will look back, smile, laugh at and cherish all the experiences you had with them.  ...And DON'T forget to once in a while refuel your tank, and take a "Mom's Night Out!"  You deserve it!

This morning as my husband and I were going to have coffee together, he opens our bedroom door, and yells, "INCOMING."  Sure enough here comes my Brittany Spaniel, Bella, bounding through the house, jumping with a huge plop onto my bed.  She then proceeds to sit on me...waiting to see what he is going to do about it.  Every morning the same thing happens...I'll give her some loving, and then he'll go stand by the door pretending to throw a treat out, or he'll walk out as if going to get a treat.  I'll say..."Go Get Him Bella." ...and she will.  Out the door she'll run after him or the pretend treat, and he'll quickly shut our door so that we can drink our coffee together without her spilling it in her hyperactive state.  Even though there's no treat...she falls for it every time.

We are not that much unlike Bella.  We too will fall for it every time if we are not careful.  The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  He wants nothing more than to get us distracted, following our own ways, our own paths.  ...And he'll continually use the same methods to trick us.  Look...it's on the internet, therefore it MUST be true... or pushing the same buttons that will make us angry, upset, depressed...get us easily distracted with the shiny things of this world.  Sometimes we wonder why we are continually going through or believing the same thing over and over again.  It is more than likely because we haven't learned to recognize the trick or temptation that is being set before us and used the weapons He's given us to stand strong against it... Until we do, we'll continue to fall for his tricks... Every...Time... 

How do we not fall for it?  Use the Word...when Jesus was in the desert for forty days and forty nights, the enemy came and tempted Him three times.  He had been praying and fasting all that time, and each time the enemy came with temptation, He used the Word to stand strong against him. Resist the Devil, and he WILL flee.  That's the Word.  Stand strong my friends.  Learn how to resist so you don't circle that mountain yet again.  Watching Bella fall for it every time is hilarious, but it's not funny when we find ourselves in the same situation over and over again...a situation that we probably could have kept ourselves from had we recognized the deceiver and the method that was being used to put us there. 

I've always been a defender and confronter...I remember when I was about four years old, I was pushing my favorite little stroller with my giant stuffed lion as the baby.  I was following my older brother as I always did, and along came a group of older kids that told my brother they were going to beat him up.  Why...I have no idea...but I remember getting so angry I got in their faces.  I remember shouting at them to leave my brother alone.  Ready to take down the first one that came near him.  Here I was, this little four year old kid standing up to some bullies...not even considering what might happen in the face of that.  Well instead of beating up my brother...they beat up my stroller, kicked it in, and ruined it. 

You see, when you come against wrong...wrong doesn't like it. 

To this day it is in my nature to defend people and confront wrong.  Because of this, I have to deal a lot with criticism and hate from not only people who want to follow any new movement, wind, or doctrine that sounds good in the world today and who try to get others to follow too, but also from people who are wise in their own eyes, say they are a follower and representation of Him, but will post or speak a Joyce Meyer quote one minute and then post or speak a New Age, "I'm one with the universe you can be too" comment the next... The backlash I receive happens because I speak up against the false teachings they speak or post about.  Not because I'm out there looking for it, but because when I read it or hear it...I can see, "This is not true, and this is going to hurt someone."  I've been told I'm not loving.  I'm hateful because I'm stirring up strife by pointing out the incorrect teaching.  I'm a head hunter.  I'm judgmental and critical.  I'm apparently an awful lot of things lol. ...and my stroller is getting beat in all over again.

Well...let's talk about love.  In this day and age...if you don't agree with something someone is saying, you apparently don't love them.  If you don't let someone just do or say whatever they want to do or say knowing it will hurt them or others, without saying anything against it, you apparently don't love them.  Someone recently said to me, "Let them be, when the blind lead the blind they both fall in the ditch."  The reality is that a good and true friend or shepherd isn't going to let his loved one or sheep just fall in a ditch.  A good and true friend or shepherd is going to do everything in his ability to not only protect the loved one or sheep but keep them from falling in a ditch.  If I see someone I care about heading for a cliff... my first reaction is ...STOP... DON'T DO THIS... DON'T BELIEVE THIS... DON'T SAY THIS... THIS LEADS TO DEATH... THIS LEADS TO A WORLD OF HURT AND PAIN... STOP. 

When my daughter was just two years old, we went to a friend's house to visit.  I took my eyes off her for just two seconds, and she was gone.  I was frantic.  I searched the whole house in a panic.  I could hear her little voice though, so I followed it.  I ran to the front door where it was coming from and looked out...and to my horror, there was my little girl toddling right down the middle of the road as fast as her little legs could carry her.  I ran out into the road, heart beating out of my chest and grabbed her up into my arms in relief.  ...I can assure you though, she wasn't relieved.  She wasn't the slightest bit happy with me.  She was downright mad, throwing her little self every which way as I carried her to safety.  She wanted to continue down that path...a path she thought was freedom and fun but one in which I could see would harm her.  

I want to tell you today, pointing out an incorrect theology, a teaching that is false and doesn't line up with the Word, is not hatred.  It IS love.  It is not judgmental of the person or their heart...but rather uses righteous judgment of the theology rightly dividing the word of truth and lining it up.  Love doesn't let someone keep believing a lie.  Love tries to stop anyone else from seeing or believing something that is a lie.  Love will look down the path and see that what is to come if continued down will hurt that loved one...and will do everything in its power to stop the loved one from continuing down it.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."  You see, love can believe the very best in you...but still say don't believe a lie.  Love can hope the very best for you...but still say don't believe a lie.  Love will take the blows...if it means that you will be saved and protected in the process.  I'm not perfect, no one is, but I can say without a shadow of doubt in my mind that I love and care about the people that God has placed in my life... and if it means I have to get my stroller beat in to help them safely run the race and win... then I guess my stroller gets beat in.  Let's talk about love...real love!  That's the heart of this "Wife of a Pastor."

My husband brought home some "California" Strawberries yesterday.  They were so huge, one almost encompassed the whole of the palm of my hand...and so sweet. I think I can safely say they were the best strawberries I ever tasted. This morning, I've been pondering this. When Moses sent the spies into the promised land of Canaan to search it out, they found some pretty ginormous fruit.  It says in Numbers 13:23, "When they came to what is now known as the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also took samples of the pomegranates and figs."  How would you like it to take two guys to carry in just a cluster of grapes you bought from the store? It'd be amazing, right?

You see, God was preparing to bring the Israelites into what was the very best for them...yet only Joshua and Caleb recognized it for what it was at the time.  The rest of the spies could see that the fruit was huge, but instead they focused on the people of the land.  The words out of their mouth were words of fear...there were giants in the land.  This, in turn, made the Israelites fearful and angry that God would bring them to a place to be slaughtered.  They didn't look at it from the perspective of Joshua and Caleb...they looked at it from the perspective of fear.  If they had only remembered what God had done for them in the past, that He was on their side, and that He would provide their victory, they would have seen victory that very day.  ...But they didn't see it because of their unbelief...because of their complaining.  They went into the land on their own strength and met defeat.  

I look back at my own life and realize how many times I could have had the very best, but instead I suffered defeat because I chose not to remember what God had done for me...because I chose to believe and trust in my own strength rather than the strength and protection of the Almighty God. Have you been there?  

However, not all was defeat.  There were times when I did remember who my God was...and in those times, I saw His victory...my victory.  When my son, Josh, was born a month and a half early, it was one of the scariest times of my life. Here was this tiny little man that God had given me...so handsome...so perfect.  The best moment of my life up until the doctors said he had something wrong with his blood.  Something wasn't filtering out the way it was supposed to.  That giant was scary for me...so I called on God for a miracle. I remember God fought the battle that day...God healed my son instantaneously. The next blood test the doctors took, my son's blood was completely normal, and he is now grown into a healthy, almost six foot tall young man... strong and mighty.  That's what my God does.  He not only grows us, but He prepares the very best for us along the way.  A word for today...Take your eyes off the giants and focus on God...It is then you'll see not only the victory but the GINORMOUS fruit He's laid out before you!

Was talking with some folks the other day about ministry...and sharing the Gospel with others.  It might seem like glorious and easy work...but that's deceiving.  There are so many frustrations that come with that ...and sometimes very little rewards.  Almost two years ago, I remember holding an event and there were many people at that event, but than nothing seemed to come of it.  It appeared to me that I had spent my time just creating a fun event...but almost two years later, one person who was at that event...just one person... actually came to check out the church. It took almost two years for me to see any impact from that night.  

I'm sitting here now thinking how easy it can be to give up and give in when you don't see the fruit of your labor and how it's so much harder to press on and press in even knowing that God is the one who brings the increase.  Reaching out and pouring into people and yet seeming to have little to no impact or results is a hard thing to keep doing.  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.…"  We may not see the impact here.  We may not see the fruit of our labor here.  ...but we will one day see it if we continue in the work He's called us to.  It reminds me of the Ray Boltz song, "Thank you." There is a part that really speaks to me.  It says, "One by one they came, far as the eye could see.  Each one somehow touched by your generosity. Little things that you had done, sacrifices made.  Unnoticed on the Earth, in Heaven now proclaimed."  

We are called to do His work.  That's our purpose...to love Him, love others, and share Him with everyone we meet.  This one plants, this one waters...and then God grows those whose lives we've poured into.  When we all work together in unity side by side encouraging one another, supporting one another, and holding each other up, much is accomplished even if we can't see it.  Growth in lives can take years...and we have to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.  It was built brick by brick layer by layer.  My friends...Press in...and press on. One day you will see the harvest!