Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

  I am so excited to share my new book with you!  It is available on Amazon now.  Read it and be blessed!  Here's the link:   Holy Habits Love, Elizabeth

Is your purpose aligned with God’s purpose?  You cannot answer this until you know what His purpose is. We have all sorts of ideas about what our purpose in life should be.  We may think that simply setting goals and achieving them is our purpose.  We may think that caring for our families is our main purpose. We can have the highest and most noble goals in life possible and still miss God's purpose for our lives. The Lord makes it very clear to us what He desires for us.  He has not left us in the dark on this point. He has one overarching purpose for each Christian: to form the image of Christ in us. That is the bedrock of our purpose.  If we are not building on that, making that our main purpose and aim in life, it matters not what else we "accomplish." The world is never going to applaud our becoming more and more like Jesus.  The world is after its own set of goals, its reason for being, its purpose.  And the ways of the world should not be the ways of the Christian.

What does doing the works of God mean to you?  If you are a Christian, it can mean any number of things. I have walked with the Lord long enough to realize a few things about doing His works.   I fully believe that the Lord's works are done first and foremost in our hearts.  Out of this connection, or as Oswald Chambers puts it, "comradeship," His works flow outward.   What I mean is, it is much easier to put the proverbial cart before the horse, the cart being outer good works.  The true work, what Jesus is after, lies within our hearts.  When the Lord takes up residence in our hearts, via the Person of the Holy Spirit, He comes to rule and reign there.  When we allow Him to rule in our hearts, that is how His works are accomplished through us. Now this is actually the harder work, because it is not tangible or quantifiable.  And Lord knows, we are a results-driven society! But remember, the Lord is after our hearts.  Always.  This is Scriptural (see I Samuel 16:7).  The

Jesus never once kowtowed to the Pharisees.  They were who they were.  And He didn't mince words about who they really were when He spoke to them!   The Pharisees appeared to have it all together.  They knew the law inside and out, and they let everyone know that they did! Only problem for them was that when Jesus came into their sphere, He embodied and fulfilled the very law which they took so much pride in knowing.  But He embodied it in such a way so as to get their goat - with true authority. After all, they were the know-it-alls, so who was this Jesus (from Nazareth, of all places) to tell them  what was what?  How dare He? He dared.  And they hated Him for it. How does this apply to us for our lives today?  There will always be those who are opposed to the Gospel.  Get used to it.   But if you ask me, I would rather go head to head with an atheist any day than a Pharisee.  It is sooooo much harder talking with someone who thinks they know God but is really only a rule-keeper.

Oh Lord. For all who are reading this right now, I pray that whatever or whomever is trying to steal their identity, that they would resist them all and come back to you.  I pray, Lord, that they realize that when they belong to You, that their core and truest identity, source of meaning and life, is found in You and their relationship with You. I pray for the one reading this, Lord, that he or she would feel Your Presence and love right now.  May he or she release all that weighs them down with a false sense of worth so that they may be found securely in You and Your love instead. Keep them in Your love, O Lord, and remind them every minute that their identity as Your child is all that truly matters. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Is it hard for you to trust God?  To believe that He has your best interest at heart?  To be able to bear what you thought you never could because He allows certain trials to go on and on?  None of us knows the future, no not one.  But God does.  He knows the beginning from the end.   A friend once told me that all of the chapter titles in the book of our lives have the same title:  Trusting God. The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I believe what she said. The trick is to make sure that we are trusting Him and not only in what He can do for us. Yes, He is our Provider, Deliverer, Protector, and so much more.  But when we trust Him for the provision, the deliverance, the protection by looking to those things rather than Himself, we will get tripped up.  Why?  Because the provision rarely comes as we’d anticipated.  The deliverance rarely happens as quickly as we’d like.  And all kinds of stuff still happens to us that we feel like He hasn’t protected us from.   No, our trust has t

  My latest Scripture song based on Psalm 28, "Blessed Be the Lord." Enjoy!

Hi friends. I thought you might be interested in downloading the PDF sheet music to my song, There is a River. It is one of my most popular reels on Facebook and also  on YouTube. If you play guitar or piano, you will love this score.  Or maybe you would like to download it for a musician friend. Here’s where you can download the song:  There is a River PDF Enjoy! ❤️ Elizabeth 

In the age of "unfriending" and "ghosting," divisiveness and polarizing, it is more crucial than ever that we be grounded in God's personal love for us. It is very easy to fall into the trap of comparing God's love for us to people's love for us. God's love is unlike human love in every possible, imaginable way.  The love we give and receive from others is but a taste, a tiny glimpse, of God's vast love for us.  They really cannot be compared at all, if we are honest with ourselves. People can be very fickle.  People change.  People have issues of their own that they are either dealing with or in denial of.  People can be looking more to get love than to give love.  Most wait to give love until they get it from another first.  It is the rare person who gives love freely without expectation. That is exactly how God loves us.  We love because He first loved us (see I John 4:19). While the world seems to be spinning out of control, resulting in a so

The big buzzword these days is "toxic."  Everyone is supposedly toxic or knows someone who is toxic.  Our workplaces, we are told, are toxic.  Our relationships are toxic.  Where is all of this poison coming from?!  And did it always exist? We have become so hyper aware of other's issues, and the issues of our day, that we carry loads we were never meant to carry. Now I know that it is easier said than done to not let said issues get under our skin.   If we truly believe what the "experts" say about toxicity and its prevalence, then where are we supposed to go to escape it?!  I mean if it is everywhere , then what's a girl to do? Get with God. I know. I'm a broken record.  My solution is always to go to God.  But that's because He is the only One who has the solutions!   When we take time to get into God's Word about life, our situations, emotions, other's issues, and our own issues (which, let's face it, are really a matter of sin), we c

This or better. I read this in a book years ago and it stuck with me.  Whenever I pray it over a situation or person or place, I am free inside. We cling too tightly to a desired outcome at times.  All I know is that controlling people - those who try to control everything and everyone in their midst - are miserable people.   They may even appear happy.  But deep down, they have no real peace.  How do I know this?  Because there can only be one God or god on the throne of our lives and hearts at any given time.  And if it is not the Lord, there will be turmoil and uncertainty. If we persist in trying to keep juggling stuff we have no business juggling, there is always a price to pay.  The price is stress, anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear. Is it really worth it?   Wouldn't you rather have that deep, abiding, nothing-can-touch-it peace of Christ ruling in your hearts instead? It seems like the answer should be obvious.  Everyone wants to know real peace, right?  If not, there is much