Have you ever been broken? When you were younger, I’m sure you sprained your ankle once or twice. Then there are those of us who endured more than a sprain and broke a bone. Then there were those whose break was so severe that a bone shattered and required surgery.

Yesterday while I was at church, my Pastor shared a message about obedience and consistency. One of the things he said that truly stood out was that your character carries the weight of your calling. Think about that for a minute.

What does it mean to abide? In the Bible, to abide means to remain, dwell, or continue in a close, unbroken relationship with God. The keyword here is unbroken. I think we all have to ask ourselves: Do we ever break away from God?

I heard a pastor say, “Once you’ve been exposed, you cannot be unexposed.” This can refer to holiness as well as sin. When I experienced the loss of my two boys within a 30-day period, I felt like I died as well. Their deaths led me to a full surrender to God, by choice, because I honestly couldn’t breathe a natural breath. I threw myself at God’s feet and asked Him to breathe for me.

If you’ve ever witnessed someone having an anxiety attack, the first thing you do is tell them to take a deep breath. Breathing deeply allows you to center yourself within yourself. I think it’s like you reminding yourself that everything’s okay, you’re actually standing still, and you’re actually breathing.

When I drive into my driveway, at first, all I see is the road ahead of me. When I enter my home and go upstairs and onto my deck, my entire view changes. I see an entirely new view of a valley landscape. I’m in the same home; the difference is my viewpoint. I encourage you to see life the same way.

What does the Bible say about sin? The Bible defines sin as any action, thought, or attitude that disobeys or falls short of God's perfect standards. Ultimately, sin separates people from God. Because God is holy and righteous, sin is completely opposed to His nature and separates humanity from His presence.

When something shifts, it means it moves, changes, or is transfered from one position, direction, or state to another. Anyone who operates a business understands what happens as things shift. There’s a transitional space of adjustment and that space can be temporarily difficult.

Whenever I think of the word tender, a very sweet emotion rises up within me. The Bible highlights tenderness often, encouraging us to model the compassionate and gentle nature of God. The truth is, that sounds easier than it actually is.

Wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place if we as a people understood the true meaning of harmonious? What would it mean to live in harmony with one another? It’s easy to say love, but love means different things to different people.

We always hear, “Don't take life for granted,” and although that is true, what does that actually mean? In my opinion, it means live life with purpose, practice daily gratitude, and be very present, appreciating every small miracle.

People say, “Just forgive them and you will feel better.” Personally, I’m not sure I agree with that. You don’t necessarily feel better when you forgive a person who hurt you, especially if it’s a deep wound. Forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment, anger, and vengeance toward someone who has wronged you.

I attended my granddaughter's graduation from preschool to kindergarten yesterday. The theme was emotions and it was the cutest thing ever. Being an emotionally mature individual will serve you well in life.

What exactly is faithfulness? The Bible speaks about faithfulness in two ways: God's unwavering loyalty to us and our call to be faithful to God and others. Faithful means being steadfast, loyal, and unwavering in your devotion, promises, or duties.

Let's be clear: we serve a generous God. He gave His son for our salvation; clearly, there is no greater selfless act. Generosity is part of God's design. He expects us to move selflessly with our money, our time, our love, and our resources. We are supposed to share and share spontaneously with little effort.

Have you ever pressed the reset button on an electronic device? You know, the button you press when something stops working and you softly begin to panic? Then you remember there’s a reset button that turns things off and reboots them so they can work properly again. I believe God designed a rebooting mechanism for us to access freely.

Captivate is a beautiful word. It basically means to be enthralled by beauty or excellence. I believe it’s God’s desire to captivate our hearts with His beauty and His excellence. To be captivated by Jesus is to be held in a positive way. It does not mean to be imprisoned by Him but rather to be free because of His love and grace.

God has been ministering to me recently about releasing all old wine skins from my life. In essence, He is saying, “Out with the old and in with the new.” Matthew 9:17 says, “Nor is new wine put into old wineskins that have lost their elasticity; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the fermenting wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, so both are preserved.” We can't put new ideas into old mindsets.

Choose peace over drama and real over fake. Remember that not everyone deserves access to your life. You have to care about yourself enough to protect what’s yours. Your heart is your prized possession, so be careful with it. Guarding your peace is wise. Know your worth and try to remove toxicity from your life.

There are moments when I just sit with myself. I think about my past, and surprisingly, I don’t think too much about my future now. When deep suffering crosses your path, there’s an opportunity for something beautiful to happen. There’s this place within you that becomes so reliant on God, that it almost feels like you share one breath.