Automatic Doors Ahead - Just Keep Moving!

Automatic Doors - Just Keep Moving!

Ok...So I recently heard a minister talking about Automatic Doors, so I totally cannot take any credit for this. It really got me thinking. You know you've always heard things like "when one door closes another door opens". "If God closes a door He opens a window". Well I guess what I've found out in my own life, is that there are some doors that just won't open until you knock, knock, knock and keep on knocking. Some doors that are locked and you must have the key. Others though, are automatic..and sometimes I think these are the ones we miss the most.

I think it's the automatic doors that are triggered by us being in a certain position. All we really need to do is just place ourselves in the right position and that door just opens. Ever just knew you weren't in position? I know the feeling well. In many areas, I still feel this way. Here's the deal....sometimes we just get tired. There's a reason for that. 1 Corinthians 16:9 says "For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries." There will be many things that try to keep us from the very things God has for us. Sometimes, after having to press through so much, and being disappointed, our step slows, and sometimes it comes to a crawl, and then before long, we just want to sit down for awhile...many times just sitting MUCH longer than we expected...now not even knowing if we have the strength to get back up at all let alone keep moving. I want to encourage you (as well as myself) to remember that sometimes you are literally inches from being in the exact position that triggers that automatic door....That door to the next atmosphere, dimension, level....whatever you want to call it..The one where you suddenly see things from a totally different perspective. The one where even the people around you act differently. There's a new level of peace, hope, joy, strength, new vision for what's ahead. The automatic doors close behind you and there is simply no going back to the way things were....it's only forward momentum from here! "Never going back to the way it was!" Really, the way it was wasn't so great..you know..Think about the "Best is Yet To Come!" God has the door ready to open...all you need to do is don't stop, keep moving, and get in position and everything can change in a moment for your good!

I can almost feel some people saying, I just can't do this anymore. I feel crippled by life and the situations I've had to go through. Well good news for you...you are not alone. You are not the only one who has gone through things in life that make you feel like you cannot recover, that you will never be able to walk again. This is where you simply admit where you are, recognize you might need some help, ask for it, and then even you can enter through this automatic door. Sometimes it's crying out to God for help, sometimes it's being willing to share with a pastor, friend or counselor, that you are tired of where you are at and you are ready to move on to the next level in life. Everyone needs a little help sometime.

The automatic door is there for you too! Believe it!

God has a timing for things in our life. Believe it or not, we really do not know it all. Many times it seems like He is

definitely too slow in helping us, like it is surely time for these good things to come to us! Ever think you were ready for something only to find out you really weren't. You ended up messing it up, because you weren't ready for it. Trust God for His timing. If you rush ahead, and try to force doors open, you never know what might happen. Think of the automatic doors on the Metro. As the train is stopping, they are closed for a reason and they open at a particular time for a reason - it's for your safety or possibly the safety of others waiting as well. Don't force doors to open...almost always, you will regret that decision. I love this prayer and I do pray it often..."God don't take me where my character in you can't keep me". There's nothing like "making it big", only to fall hard and in front of many. I want to be ready for whatever it is He has for me. "Please wait for doors to fully open before passing through".

And lastly....you know those revolving doors? Know when to step off and not go in circles. How frustrating it is in life to just go in circles...watch for the open door God provides, and walk out into it. While on the subject of those revolving doors...ever had someone try to squeeze their way into that some door opening with you? How uncomfortable and rude is that?!

Don't try and tail-gate your way in on someone else's open door. You really don't want someone else's dream, or someone else's destiny. God has had one created especially for you since you

were created. It's better for you than any one else's could be...so don't crowd in on them, and try to take whats theirs. Don't try and take someone else's promotion, someone else's position...what's up with that?! You must not have any faith in yourself or in God, that you have your very own position that won't be taken from you, if you didn't take it from someone else! No Tailgaiting!!

There is a door. It is the access to your next level of success, joy, peace, strength...the next level of perspective. In your life there will be many access points that depend on the choices you make. Some require keys, some require diligent knocking, and others simply require you not giving up, and walking in the right direction for that right position to trigger your automatic door. Heart position is so key. Check yourself. What is the position of your heart? Ready for the next level? Ready for the door to open? It's now up to you to make the decision....God already has everything in place...just position yourself and keep moving!!!

Ride The Waves That Tried To Crush You

Ride the Waves that Tried to Crush You

^{2 Corinithians 4:8-9} We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Ever been here? Trouble on every side, perplexed, knocked down....

You are not alone. Seriously....I think so many of us have felt this way at least (and I mean at least) once or twice.

I watched this movie one day, a movie that I never would have normally watched. It was about surfers, and truthfully, I would avoid a movie where everyone is in swimsuits...however, something really intrigued me about this one and I stopped to watch.

Here's the basic gist of the movie. This girl loved to surf. She was very good at it....however, one time while surfing one of those awesome big waves, the wave slammed her down underwater, where she hit her head, board got caught on a rock and she nearly lost her life. Fast forward a year or so, and she is surfing again, but not competitively, she's just hitting the small waves, having fun, but never putting herself in that same position again.

She finally is encouraged to brave THE waves again in competition. Guess what...almost the same thing happens again. Fear causes her to misjudge the wave, and it crashed down over her, and her board is stuck again on a rock underwater and her ankle is fastened by a strap to the board. It's getting harder to breathe and she's trapped....she finally gets free from the board...she tries to swim to the surface, gasps for air....when suddenly another massive crushing wave crashes over her and sends her back under again, deep into the water. She barely had enough air to begin with, now she fights back to the surface, and gets one quick breath, before again...one more unrelenting wave...uncaring crashing wave sends her forcefully back underwater, deep, deep into the black water. By this time, you wonder does she even have the strength to fight her way back up again, and if she does will it even matter. You're on the edge of you seat, (realizing that's ridiculous because this is only a movie, ;o) hoping praying that she fights her way to the top once more . She does and this time there's enough of a break that someone is there with a jet ski to get her out of there.

Fast forward a little bit, and she is recovering in the medical tent...when she realizes...she will always be bound by fear if she doesn't get out there and ride that wave...... everyone gasps. She's out there now...she watches one, two, three waves come and go.....she stays afloat on all of them, just letting them pass. Then there's one that's coming that's gonna be huge...powerful...She starts swimming towards the shore getting ready for this wave....she stands...and...she rides that wave perfectly...it pipes around her providing a type of silence that is beautiful, the crowd of course can't see her, but she comes out of the wave on her feet with the most beautiful experience of her life. She rode the wave and won!

Long story, but if you're still with me...thank you. God showed me so much in this movie...How many times have the waves of life battered us, crashed over us...how many times have we felt like we were fighting for our lives, just fighting to catch our breath, when just as soon as we can breathe again, something else hits us and sends us crashing down again...

Too tired to fight...too tired to try again. But something...something says..Oh you might be knocked down, but not knocked out...you might pressed down, but not destroyed, ... discouraged, but never with out hope.

I'm telling you there's something that God does that even when things begin to appear "hopeless", He allows even just that glimmer of hope to guide us to the surface....

I can't even swim in the natural, but I know this...I'm tired of just coming up for air...tired of feeling like all the energy is used up in existing.

Things are changing. I'll say that again...This time things are changing....

This much I know...it's time to ride the waves...to the other side.

2 Corinthians 1:7-9 (New Living Translation)

⁷ We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. ⁸ We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through...We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. ⁹ In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.

Thanks for reading. Love to know if you did.

Just had to add this link to this post...not normally my type of music...but the lyrics....come on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRJAHaOrYg&feature=av2e

FireFlight - "Unbreakable"

Where are the people that accused me?
The ones who beat me down and bruised me
They hide just out of sight, can't face me in the light
They'll return but I'll be stronger

God I want to dream again, take me where I've never been
I wanna go there, this time I'm not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Sometimes it's hard to just keep going
But faith is moving without knowing
Can I trust what I can?t see to reach my destiny?
I want to take control but I know better

God I want to dream again, take me where I've never been
I wanna go there, this time I'm not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Forget the fear it's just a crutch
That tries to hold you back
And turn your dreams to dust
All you need to do is just trust

God I want to dream again, take me where I've never been
I wanna go there, this time I'm not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it?s unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

God I want to dream again, take me where I've never been
I wanna go there, this time I'm not scared
Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me


© ALLEN VAUGHN AND RAY; MEADOWGREEN MUSIC COMPANY;

Divine Appointments....Don't Miss Them.

So, I totally believe in Divine Appointments. Basically this where the timing and location and people involved are just "too coincidental". You know what I mean...you're running late, and

you swing by a store you normally don't go to, and lo and behold, you see "Sally". You haven't seen her in years, and you start talking, and she has a position open at her company that is

exactly what you've been looking for....coincidence? No. Divine Appointment.

You're early for an appointment, and you're never early. When you arrive, you see "Mike" leaving as you are coming in. "Mike's" son has been in the hospital, and you know he's going through a hard time, and Mike just opens up and starts talking real with you, and even lets the tears flow. You tell him, that you'll come by the hospital with his son's favorite ice cream, and give Mike a hug...You can tell that you've made Mike's day....and yours. Coincidence? I think not. Divine Appointment.

I can't tell you how many times in my life, there has been something that has happened and I have known beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was a divine appointment.

Today was one of those days...running late for church, wondering why I can live so close and still be late...beating myself up for not getting up earlier and getting there on time...then when we get there, there are no seats left, and since the teens will leave after praise and worship is over for their service, an usher goes ahead and moves 4 teens to a new location and as I walk into the row....I am placed right beside a boy I have been praying for and who I had been communicating with this week. He hasn't been to church in months. Coincidence? Again, I think not. Divine Appointment. I was able to remind him how much God loved him, and that God has an amazing plan for him...it was beyond awesome what God did in that meeting. He took a huge step coming today, and an even bigger step to allow God to heal some deep hurts. Then on this very day, Stevie Wonder shows up and reminds us in song, that if God's eye is on the sparrow, then we know He watches us. Divine appointment.

I remember one day I got very sick at a concert I was working, and had to leave. As I left, I suddenly began to feel better. Strange. The next strange thought was...well, I suddenly have an extra hour to myself...I need bras. Yes you read right. The strangest thought, but it was true and so I decided to go shop for bras while I had this unexpected time. At this store, me and another lady struck up a conversation and found out she was a minister, and we shared how God had brought us through some tough times...conversation didn't last longer than 5 minutes. What I didn't know is one of the sales clerks was listening to every word. She approached me later and said..."I'm so glad you came in today. I really needed to hear what you guys were saying. I feel like I just need to get closer to God and I really needed to see some strong women" She then starts crying right there in the store. I told her that God must sure love her a whole lot, to take someone from a concert, plant the strangest thought in their mind to go buy a bra, and have them there at the exact time as someone else, for her to hear that conversation. I asked her if I could pray with her for a moment, right there in the middle of all the bras...and she said yes...As I prayed a quick prayer, she really started to cry. I gave her a hug and my e-mail address, and reminded her of how much God loved her to rearrange schedules just for her....Coincidence? I think you know by now...no. Divine Appointment.

So here's my point. Whether you're running early or late, whether you are going to the same places you go everyday, or for some reason take a detour....keep your eyes open for those divine appointments. You never know whether God has someone who can bless you or someone he wants you to be a blessing to...all you need to do is be willing and keep your eyes open.

God has a divine appointment for you...can you fit it in?

Smile, with tears in my eyes.

Today I had the incredible pleasure of watching a young couple start their life together as man and wife. The groom had tears in his eyes as he watched his beautiful bride coming toward him. The father, brought tears to my eyes as well, giving away his oldest daughter, to a man that has pledged to love her, and be faithful to her, and be a Godly husband and leader all the days of their lives. It was an absolutely moving, beautiful wedding!

Not only was this day so beautiful because of the love and commitment of this young couple, it was beautiful because there were families there to help them celebrate that had overcome some of the greatest obstacles in life.

I watched as twin boys probably around the age of 3 walked down the isle of the church, each carrying a wedding ring...one for the groom and one for the bride. I watched as a beautiful little flower girl, threw rose petals as she walked, smiling the biggest, most genuine smile in the world, and did her job proudly and perfectly.

Here's the beauty of this day....This young couple is dedicating their lives to ministry, just as her parents, and grandparents have done.(I'm sorry I don't know more about the Groom's family). The grandparents started a ministry working with men who had life controlling issues like drug and alcohol addiction. They started this ministry in Capital Heights, MD many years ago...raised their own children while giving others the opportunity to have their lives restored. Then their son stepped in and decided that God had called him to that same work. He too raised his family as he did the work that God had called him to do.

Through what God has done in this ministry, I have seen men whose families have all but given up on them, and who many times have all but given up on themselves, find a place to allow God to truly heal them, re-create them, free them...It's something that just can't be described.

Today, those beautiful twin boys who were ringbearers, were also trophies of a couple who had endured much and survived. A man who allowed God to take the very addiction that robbed him of so much in life, to bless him with his wife, and the blessing of those two boys. It was a picture of a restored life and a restored family, and to see these two boys, all I could do was smile with tears in my eyes at how far God had brought this family.

That beautiful little girl, smiling the whole way as the flower girl, will be a little girl who will never have a reason not to smile, because of the changes that God made in her daddy well before she was born. She too was a trophy of what God had done in her daddy's life. See I knew him when many wondered, including himself, if there even was hope for him. Now, he too has allowed God to take away the very thing that tried to kill him, his dreams his future. I saw him with his beautiful wife, and kids, and again all I could do was smile with tears in my eyes. I felt as if I had a movie camera and was capturing wonderful sites.

I saw this same dad, stoop down and allow his young son, not yet even two years old, try and drink from daddy's big cup. When the son had gotten his little drink, daddy stuck his hand out to let his son give him a "high-five". The little boy will never have to know the life his daddy has been freed from. Again, all I could do was smile, with tears in my eyes.

I watched the father of the twins, discipline one of the boys, take him and seat him on a bench with a stern reprimand, and a time out. I saw this man loving his boys enough to discipline them, and train them, and develop them, and they too will never have to know the life their daddy has been freed from. I watched as he and his wife shared a dance, with tears in their own eyes, and I marveled at how far God had brought them.

So you see, although two days from now, it will be 4 years since my own husband's death, and this wedding was already an emotional time for me....it made me smile with tears in my eyes, as I remembered a man who had also experienced freedom from a life of addiction, a true personal relationship with God. I smiled as I remembered the love we shared and the way he loved his children, and I just couldn't help but smile with tears in my eyes.

Now this young couple begins their lives, and for now they will continue on with the ministry to hurting men who need another chance. What lives will God allow them to touch? Will they too raise their children as they minister God's healing and freedom?

All I know is that today was beautiful...painfully sad at moments as I missed my own husband, but so beautiful. And as I look back on today....all I can do is smile, ...with tears in my eyes.

"UnDone" - The next level

If you are like me, there has been at least one time in your life where out of hurt or frustration, or simply defeat...you say 'I am DONE'.

It's really a form of just giving up. Being too tired to fight, and just giving up and saying "That's it. I'm DONE"....Done trying, Done Caring, Done Hoping, Done Believing, Done.

Ever been there? Like you've hit the wall...can't go any farther?

I guess what I really want to tell you is that God wants to help you be "Un-done".

It's interesting....I heard the phrase "In His Presence I Am Undone"...then I felt it...In His presence All things are new....so new in fact that there was suddenly an awareness that I was "Un-Done".

Suddenly some of those things that had made me feel like I had hit the ceiling and could go no further....things that made me think and say "I'm done..." were gone. There was a new energy, a new hope, and new determination. Suddenly that phrase was so true. I was no longer done. I was "Un-Done".

It went right along with a word I had heard about breaking through the ceiling that seemed to limit us with the mindset that there's nothing more for us. To begin to believe that breakthrough is on the way, and when you breakthrough that ceiling, it becomes the floor of a new dimension, a new level... In His presence, breaking through that ceiling no longer seems impossible, it seemed probable.

If you need strength for another day...joy.... if you need to feel "un-done" instead of done....It all happens in His presence.

Our picture of God has been so warped by religion over the years, that sometimes we only see God as someone ready to punish you for all the wrong you've done, someone who wants to keep you from doing anything fun, someone who wants to make your life boring or sad. This is such a misconception...let's be real...that is such a lie.

Could you, would you, dare to believe that He is a God who has such amazing plans for you... a God who desires to give you hope, and desires to take you to the next level. A God who wants to help you breakthrough everything hindering you...To breakthrough that ceiling and let it be the floor of your new level.

It all starts with Hi God. I could finish a sample conversation about what you can say, but the reality is, I have a feeling, once you just say "Hi God", you already know the words that will follow. There is so much that happens in His presence....take some time today to find out what that is for you. He's got something great for you....find out what it is.

Time To Make A Change

It seems like many people are hearing the call to step into a new level. Almost a sensing that change is coming....The question is, are we ready to embrace it? I hear the call to a higher level in many areas, some as simple as getting rid of clutter, and keeping a cleaner house. Some a little more complex, some very foundational things...but all telling me it's "Time For Change".

For those who know and understand what I mean about going to the next level, you also understand, that you cannot go there as you are now. There are weights and baggages, and sometimes people who cannot go with you to the next level. There are mindsets that will keep you in your current level if you do not allow them to change.

Years back, the Winans had a song that I loved....called "Time To Make A Change" and I can hear those words so clearly in my mind now.

I think most of us have felt like we have simply existed long enough. It's time to start living. Time to step into our gifting, our calling....Our Destiny.

You can stay where you are at if you want to...but for me...I know...It's time...Time to make a change, and we are the people who can do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBqNN0M_Xg

Here are some awesome and some very thought provoking quotes on change. I'm on a journey. Sometimes my steps may be baby steps...but thank God He planted my feet on the right path and gives me strength for the journey, and we all know that baby steps eventually lead to running!

The key to change....is to let go of fear. - Roseanne Cash

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. - Maria Robertson

Growth means change, and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.

When you are finished changing, your finished. – Benjamin Franklin

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.

You change your life by changing your heart.You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” Mike Murdock

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers and decided to go forward anyway."
— Joyce Meyer (I Dare You: Embrace Life with Passion)

"You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are."
— Joyce Meyer

"Don't just learn from God's Word, but believe it will change your life."
— Joyce Meyer

No Matter What

There comes a time in each one of our lives, when the question comes, "Do I trust in God, and that He is good, no matter what?" The time and circumstance is different for each one of us.

I have found that knowing that God is good, no matter what the circumstances look like, is so important on how you get through the storms of life. When you realize that there is no evil in God, and that He truly does only have plans for our good, even though the situation may seem anything but good, then you always know you can run to Him in the storm. In fact you can lean on Him, Trust Him, rely on Him to either calm the storm, or bring you safely through it. Yes, there might be some loss along the way, but you find that even through it all, the struggle has made you stronger.

One night during a particularly bad storm, I was very concerned as to whether my daughter and I should go to the basement for safety. I paced for a few minutes weighing in my mind whether I was being irresponsible by not heading down, or just being overly fearful.

I glanced in my daughter's room and saw her sleeping so peacefully right in the middle of a truly TERRIBLE storm. It was in that moment that I heard God say, "If you trusted me, you'd be doing the same thing."

That reality hit me so strong...I was so "worried". I had already prayed, and yet I was still worrying. If I truly trusted that God had heard my prayer, and would take care of me and the kids, then I would be resting. That's when He gave me the most beautiful acronym that I will never ever forget, and I actually fell asleep repeating it over and over; it was an acronym for TRUST.

To Trust means To Rest Undeterred by Storms or Trials.

There is such an amazing correlation between Trusting and Resting. If, as you read this, you have needed Rest from your worries, then I encourage you to ask yourself if you are really trusting. God really is a good God. He is not a man that He can lie. There is no reason at all not to trust Him. Try giving everything to Him and trusting Him with the results.

I've done it and it's wonderful. It's those times where my thoughts are so consumed with what's going on and the things that hurt and that are unfair, and that are frightening and confusing that I suddenly don't have that peace. It's when I am looking at God and telling Him how big my storm is that I am so stressed. BUT...when I tell my Storm, how Big my God is....that's a totally different story!

Wounded but not Conquered

Great sermon yesterday about being wounded but not Conquered.

My take on it was not to be ashamed of the scars. Take them as an opportunity to tell the story of where God has brought you from.

I know that I have a very large ugly scar on my left forearm. It is so dramatic that people do say, "Oh my goodness! What happened?" "Car Accident" would be enough of an answer, Right? Not if I want to seize the opportunity to share a wonderful life lesson, and talk about the goodness of God even though I was wounded.

You see I was praising God, just singing to Him, when apparently I sang myself to sleep. Next thing I know I'm off the road and bouncing on an embankment, right as I am about to hit a tree. I screamed "Jesus", and then in seconds it was over.

The top of my car crushed in, no windshield left at all, driver side of car crushed in....Grace in the passenger seat, with blood coming out of her ears. I knew what that meant, and immediately I began declaring every scripture pertaining to healing over her, speaking it with great authority! I also declared that she would live and not die, and would declare the works of the Lord, she slowly looked over to me and said "Mom...what happened". Someone immediately came to our "rescue", Called 911, family, and my pastor at the time to begin praying.

To make a very long and wonderful story short, Grace was perfectly fine, with just a couple of cuts on her chin. Why the blood from the ears? Nothing there anyone could find!

I was cut out of the car, and now have two plates in my arm, spent 9 months in physical therapy getting the use of my hand back.

Why is this a good story? Why wasn't I angry at God for not "watching over us"? This is why....I had felt for a while like there was going to be an life or death situation that was going to happen...I even told my pastor at the time that I thought it was a matter of life and death that I was attending his church. I was learning that death and life are in the power of our tongues. (Prov. 18:21) I knew to speak the word and watch it work.

I believe with all of my heart, that this day, was a day that my life was literally at risk for being taken. I know with everything in me, that God had his hand of protection over me, and what was meant to take my life, was only able to wound me. Wounded but not Conquered.

How will you choose to look at your scars. They don't have to be physical scars. Are you only looking at the pain inflicted? Are you consumed with the questions of "Why"? Have you been so angry and blaming God for not taking care of you? I challenge you to look for the bigger picture. There may have been something far worse that you could have endured, and were saved from, even though what you did have to endure was horrific. I've recently been hearing this phrase, That God Uses, but never Abuses! Would you dare to believe that God is good? Even if something bad has happened in your life? Would you? Believe that maybe there are things you have been kept from that you may never know. Yeah, I know you were wounded. But you know what....It's really up to us most of the time, whether we're conquered on not. You are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. I have more than this one ugly scar on my arm. Life has left me with many battle scars. I have been Wounded, BUT NOT CONQUERED!

The Journey of 1,000 miles, begins with just one step.

The journey begins....

I am embarking on a new journey, stepping out into things one at a time. I believe that every journey starts with the first step, and as I have been so often reminded, the next step does not come into view often until we take the first step. So, I start this blog. Where it will lead, only God knows, but I feel I have at least taken that first step of faith.

I know that God is challenging us to come up to the next level. At the next level we see things differently, more clearly. Rising to the next level also requires that we Dare to believe that He can and will accomplish the things He has told us. Dare to believe that He has such great plans for our lives, that we simply could not possibly understand the full picture all at once. Dare to believe that we could truly be one with Him.

One of my greatest prayers actually comes from a song many years ago, by Amy Grant. I heard the words again recently and was surprised, that what I sang to the top of my lungs and to the best of my ability at the age of 10, was in fact the cry of my spirit, and a part of where Destiny was calling me.

Here are part of the words....but before you read them, what is the cry of your heart? Ask God to remind you of that. Ask Him to remove the veil that hurts, and disappointments have placed there. Dare to believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4eiL9CZTgs&feature=related

I may not be every mother's dream for her little girl,
And my face may not grace the mind of everyone in the world.
But that's all right, as long as I can have one wish I pray:
When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say,

She's got her Father's eyes,
Her Father's eyes;
Eyes that find the good in things,
When good is not around;
Eyes that find the source of help,
When help just can't be found;
Eyes full of compassion,
Seeing every pain;
Knowing what you're going through
And feeling it the same.
Just like my Father's eyes.....
.

Seeing things with God's eyes, seeing past the person to the hurt, seeing past the problem to the purpose. Seeing everything not as a snapshot, but as a whole picture. Realizing that the storm you are in for the moment is not a storm that will last a lifetime. Believing that "This too shall pass", regardless of how long the storm has seemed to go on. Trusting that He sees and knows the big picture and all I need to do is love Him, rest in Him, follow His leading, and ENJOY the journey!