When My Heart Cries...

Mark 5:25-34 is a passage that needs to fill our souls with gratitude as we catch a glimpse of the heart of God for women. He shows His love in a very profound way. If you relish the care Jesus displays in this story, you may be moved deeply enough to rest more securely in the knowledge of how valuable you are to Him. Remember, in Jesus’ day, women were not even acknowledged as people. Simply put, they didn’t count.  

Refresh yourself with the story. It’s the one about the woman with the 12 year bleeding (ugh...just imagine having your period for TWELVE straight years)!! Now imagine that because of this gynecological problem your family had spent all the money they had and were totally broke (forget having gas money, seeing a movie, getting that prom dress, new school clothes, and did I mention no hopes for ever going to college)! Also think about how you’d feel if after spending every bit of savings that you had, you found yourself worse off then when you first started visiting your doctor. Simply put, this was the sad state that this woman found herself within in Mark 5. Can you say...desperate!!??

Here is what I don’t want you to miss when you look at this passage...the healing occurred amidst a throng of clamoring people. Imagine being at a Taylor Swift concert! People are screaming and pushing and trying desperately to see, right? The Bible tells us that people were pressing in on Jesus. It is safe to assume that there was shoving and audible crying out as people sought to get His attention.

Now get this...in the midst of this chaos, the heart of a hurting woman cried out to Jesus. The Scriptures state that Jesus is able to know a man’s thoughts (Matt 9:4; Luke 9:47) and therefore the heart cry of this woman would not have escaped His notice. When she touched His cloak, He felt the healing power go out from Him immediately!! He could have let it go. He could have moved on. But that was not His choice. He says some amazingly life giving words....“Who touched me?"

The beauty of the passage rests in Jesus’ intentional pursuit of this woman. He heard her heart cry for hope and healing and He desired to connect with her. Although the crowds continued to throng about Him and press in on Him, and the disciples encouraged Him to focus and keep moving, He would not let the faith of the woman nor her heart cry toward Him escape His notice. His desire was to seek her out and speak words of hope and healing into her life.

The depth of grace within this story rests in the simple yet profound truth; the compassionate heart of God stopped to connect with a scared, hurting and desperate woman. He took the time to look into her face, listen to her story, call her daughter, and thus affirm her worth, value and dignity. He wanted to know “who touched Me?”... “who is crying out to Me?”...and He is still asking those questions today. Be encouraged... reach out to Him... He hears your heart cry oh woman of God and He will stop and listen to your story.

Sidewalk Prophets

These are the words I would say if I could sit with you face to face right now. When you listen to the song you should hear me singing to you. Yes YOU! Whenever this song comes on the radio I see you...in all of your wonder and beauty...the amazing young woman that God has made you!

It always brings tears to my eyes when I sing to you. I can't imagine you giving up on yourself. It saddens me to think that you may not feel loved or valued. It's hard to believe that you would ever walk away because you felt as if God just did not listen or care about the deepest hurts or joys in your life.

My Life as an Avocado video

My Life as an Avocado

Enjoy my first ever video devotional! You are a masterpiece!! Your story is awesome!!

A Star Fell from the Sky...

Channel surfing is fun when you haven’t had a TV in over 5 years. I feel like I’m entering another world where the people all know each other and I’m the new kid on the block. I’ll admit I am usually pretty impressed with myself when I actually recognize an actor in one of the movies…and when I know their name without having to Google the show….I definitely have to tell someone.

Today, however, I did not feel that same “yea me” attitude as I surfed past a movie with a beautiful blonde actress, giggling and fighting with her handsome new husband…Ashton Kutcher. I’m sure you know the movie…Just Married. And it seems like only yesterday I enjoyed seeing the movie Uptown Girls. Brittany did a fabulous job drawing you into her screwed up life, as well as highlighting the lonely  life of that poor little rich girl.

All of my reminiscing about Brittany reminded me of the sadness I felt the day I heard the news…Brittany Murphy is dead at aged 32. I am sad whenever I hear of someone dying needlessly or young. But the more profound sadness I felt over Brittany’s death came because of what I heard friends and media personalities say about her.

Of course, everyone spoke of her beauty and talent. Naturally, the media highlighted her age and let the world know that she died so young. Yet, in all of the hype, what caught my attention were the many comments about her insecurity. People talked about Brittany being a wonderful and caring person, but in the same breath talked of her insecurity and belief that she was not very talented. The comment that pierced my heart was that Brittany “felt like she had not reached her potential and had not done with her life what she hoped.” Remember…she made that comment while still alive!

So today, I thought of you…beautiful Ephesians 2:10 masterpieces of God…and I wanted to remind you that life is a journey and you are still in process. You are beautiful and talented, and sometimes or a lot of times, struggle with insecurity. And yes…you are young. But, unlike Brittany, there is one thing you are not…you are not without hope for an amazing future. No matter how you feel, what mistakes you make, how badly you struggle to see yourself as the beautiful and special young woman you are, God deeply loves you and is shaping your awesome future! As long as you have breath, don’t ever give up. You are exactly who you are supposed to be…a child of God! God is walking alongside of you, helping you discover the wonder of who you are in Him and the fabulous plan He has for your future.

Someday in Heaven…when the books are opened and your name is called…I will listen intently to what is said about you! I am confident that the news I hear will make my heart very happy.

Philippians 1:6

And I am certain (confident) that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.