Surrendering Fear. Exercising Faith. Living Free.

The Holy Spirit has been strongly convicting me in regards to my tongue lately. If you know me, you know that I talk...a lot! I also talk very fast (some claim I don't actually have to breathe when I talk). I'll tell you, I always thought my ability to talk fast was a gift. I figured I would wind up as a radio broadcaster, an insurance salesman, or hopefully a motivational speaker one day, simply because of my ability. When I became a yoga instructor and was responsible for memorizing and reciting 30 pages of dialogue to talk practitioners through a 90-minute class, no one was surprised. I've always loved to communicate, particularly through writer (my dream has always been to become an author and speaker), but I don't know that others have always loved it. Most people laugh at my "ability," but I've also hurt several people with my tongue. Over the years I've become aware of the fact that those who talk more not only have a tendency to say too much, ...

I'm currently reading the book of Exodus. Today during my time in the Word, God revealed something pretty amazing to me.  I was beginning to read the story of Moses - how The Lord called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and what happened when Moses went before Pharaoh with God's order.  I admit that I was frustrated and confused as I read. I was confused by several references to God hardening Pharaoh's heart to not listen to Moses, and frustrated as I read about each plague and all the suffering that came down on His people. Why didn't God just kill Pharaoh? Why did he "harden" Pharaoh's heart, making the whole process harder and longer on everyone? It made no sense to me at first, just as God's ways here on Earth don't make sense to us at first, if at all. I had to keep reading to understand. Exodus 10:1-2: "Then the Lord said to Moses 'Go to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perf...

This Christian walk is not always easy. Many people think that Christians experience "the good life" and are exempt from suffering but that isn't true at all. Christians live in the same world as non-believers, a fallen world full of sin. The only difference is that we go to God to help us in times of trial, to grant us his grace, his strength, and his faith. We rely on him rather than ourselves, and that changes everything. In times of trial and tribulation, God wants us to stop focusing so much on our circumstances and more on him. If we seek him and approach him with both prayer and thanksgiving, he will help us. That's a promise. And this past week, I really needed some help. Since I gave my life to God I have been made fun of and mocked in his name, which the Bible tells me to expect and actually rejoice in, but this past weekend I was full-blown attacked for it for the first time. I was blasted as "Little Miss God" and attacked for speaking one way a...

God has been teaching me so many things lately. Where do I start?! The Holy Spirit has been witnessing to my Spirit very strongly in the areas of humility and loving others, particularly those who make it the hardest but need it the most. I have been struggling to overcome my sinful tendencies. "For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 2:21). Oh Lord, this has been me. I stumble and fall a lot these days, back into sin, but now I get back up, pray for forgiveness, and ask God to help me do better next time. I don't tell Him I'm going to do better like I used to, because now I know that I cannot. I ask Him to help me, because that's the only way I stand a chance. By His grace. My walk as a new Christian has been very humbling so far. God is really working on getting me to understand that without Him, I am nothing and can do nothing. But "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Wow, wh...

A little boy named Ben Sauer was just taken home to be with The Lord.  Ben had a very rare kind of cancer, a kind that took him from a healthy, happy four-year-old to death in just a few months.  Most of Buffalo was praying for a miracle, begging God to heal this young boy. His mother Mindy blogged about Ben's trials and her own so eloquently and faithfully that most of us felt like we knew her. Most of us, those who never met Ben, felt like we loved him as our own. I sobbed last night after I found out that he had passed and I cried myself through songs of worship and then to bed, which might seem strange since I never met Ben. But since I am a Christian and so was Ben and his whole family, they are my family. Ben was my brother in Christ and Mindy is my sister, and right now, I am grieving right along with them. Yet even in the midst of such suffering and saddness, I know Mindy is staying close by God, strong in her faith. Her faith in Him is what will get her through this. ...

I started going to a new church several months ago. I was raised Catholic but recently started going to Crossroads, a Christian church close to where I live. This church offers something called The Journey, which consists of three courses that help Christians better understand and grow in their faith. I am taking my first class, Spiritual Development, right now. This week's class was about the Bible; understanding its significance, how to read it, and ways to study it. We talked about how to know what to read on any given day, and praying for the Lord to reveal whatever you will need (ahead of time) for your day. I've tried to "find" passages that were what I needed at the time before, but I did it on my own. That was before I was saved and received the Holy Spirit. Greg, the man teaching our class, talked about how the Bible is alive (the living word) when we read it with the Holy Spirit. I've been starting to crave reading the Word and understanding it in ways I...

I gave my life to The Lord several months ago and have been experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit ever since. He has been convicting me left and right of so many of my sins. This week I received a lesson in true trust and gratitude, and thought it might be worth sharing. So many of you have been inspiring me lately, so perhaps God will speak through me today to touch one of you. On Wednesday night my 11-month-old baby Caleb, started throwing up as soon as we got home from church around 8 p.m. I was shocked and didn't know what was happening at first. Caleb was totally fine one minute and then suddenly vomiting repeatedly the next. As soon as I realized what was going on I held him and hugged him, trying to comfort him as much as possible. By the time I got him upstairs to change his wet shirt, it happened again. And again. I felt fear rising in me, especially after reading online about some warning signs that Caleb seemed to be exhibiting, so I turned to God in prayer. I prayed...