This One's for the Kids.

Dear Jesus,

I'm thinking about the home that I want to cultivate alongside my husband someday... the home that welcomes Your little ones, and delights in their souls.

You did not forbid them. They were welcomed. You embraced them, knew them by name. You genuinely loved them. They never inconvenienced You.

Does my heart embrace? Are children welcome past the entry way? Children with their mess-making abilities, sticky fingers, and knack for breakables? I love to picture how You would've set up Your home, Jesus. Children would be welcome to sit on the "good furniture." They would be more than welcome to put their hands on the windows to peer outside at Your creation.

My heart... and I mean the deep, passionate pieces of my heart... longs to invite little ones to an atmosphere of grace. May they know they are wanted in my life, loved in my life. Eyes that can’t yet see over the counter, doors too heavy, knobs too tall- May I use stepping stools, Jesus.

Help me not to hold them back, but let them grow, explore, create, have space to breathe. May they have a place to play, where toys can come out without frustration, have a place to belong.

May there be space for laughter, a place on the wall for their pictures, cups they can reach if they are thirsty, books at their fingertips to grow on.

May they have a comforting, soft and clean place to sleep, inviting them to the blessing of rest. May they have boundaries which protect, but not so many that quench their spirit. May I let them help stir up dinner, roll the color on their bedroom wall and pour the soap in the washing machine. Help me slow down when they are following and listen to their conversation with both ears. May they not just have fingerprints on the window, but fingerprints in the atmosphere. May I help them see where they belong, and Who they belong to.

Above all, may this home have an attitude of grace. May accidental spills, and I-didn’t-mean-to messes, and I'm-so-sorry breaks be easily forgiven. May they hear “yes” from my lips more then they hear, “no” when asking for outside adventures, finger painting, and imaginative dress up. May discipline be handled with love, given for their best, not my state of happiness. May I have a heart to enjoy the moments shared, and a home to embrace them. May the children always know I love them...always.forever.no matter what. May I treasure their presence always, for You did not forbid them.

Matthew 19:13-15
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
And He laid His hands on them…

So thankful for children today, Jesus. Thank you for placing a passion in my heart for their souls and their lives. Use me, Jesus. Let them know I love them.

Oh so much.

Love,
Lyss

Victory.

I often think about what it must have been like for the Israelites, as they traveled around the desert for forty years.

A generation that was once full of hope, chosen and set apart, with a promise from almighty God, had seen miracle after miracle occur as they were delivered from slavery. But this same generation was never able to experience the fullness of life God intended for them to have in the Promised Land; they were still filled with doubt and unbelief.

Their journey through the desert should have taken only a few weeks, but ended up lasting for 40 years. God always provided for them, and was always there in their midst leading them cloud by day and fire by night. Yet the people chose to remain in doubt of God’s faithfulness, and an entire generation that had once been marked by God for greatness, died with an unfulfilled promise in the desert.

How many times have I allowed my circumstances, feelings, hurts, and pains replace the promises of God’s Word in my life? How many times have I chosen to settle and be comfortable in my current state, instead of trusting God and stepping out in faith, believing that victory is found on the other side of my obedience?

I'm not giving up. I will not give up on the promises of God. I am choosing to trust that God will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5), and I'm believing that He is a good God, who has good plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). I'm deciding today to be a part of a generation that is full of faith, and take possession of the “Promised Land” God has already given to me~ health, wholeness, promise, blessing, favor, and breakthrough.

When I (and you, too!) trust in Him, you and I WILL walk in victory and no weapon that is formed against us will prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

I hope you feel extra loved today.

~Lyss

Big.

I read a quote today which I loved.

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ~Lewis Carroll.

I stopped and mulled this one around in my head for a little while. I love it. I thought of one of my favorite verses in the whole world- Ephesians 3:20. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us."

My God is able to exceed my wildest expectations in every area. I have determined that I'm going to live in the high expectation zone when it comes to my amazing God.

God is a BIG God.
He is big in favor.
He is big in grace.
He is big in love.
He is big in mercy.
He is big in forgiveness.
He is big in goodness.
He is big into doing the impossible.
He is big into using the unlikely.
He is big into doing the unimaginable.

There is no problem He cannot solve.
There is no sickness He cannot heal.
There is no heart He cannot mend.
There is no need He cannot meet.
There is no mountain He cannot move.
There is nothing my cannot do~ That's true!

I'm not going to shrink God in my life. I'm not going to expect less than what He wants to do in me and through me.

Whatever it is I think God wants me to do, I'm going to remember that He able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond anything I can ask for, hope for, or think.

So.

Think big.
Dream big.
Expect big.
Hope big.
Ask big.
Pray big.

Because we serve a BIG God.

Whoa. What a life.

Voices.

Sex trafficking and child slavery is happening all over the world, including in the United States. It is a clear and present reality and danger for women and children, and it hurts my heart.

Today, in an anthropology class, as the topic was being discussed and statistics were thrown around... a hand was raised at the back of the classroom and a question was asked. "Why should I care?"

My blood was quickly boiling, but then I got to thinking. Why DO I care so much? Why has this cruelty affected the way I view my world and the people in it? Why do my eyes well up just thinking about it? Why?

So, as I prayed for the bruised and tattered, broken and lonely girls who are enslaved today... I got some answers.

Here's why I care. Here's why I care deeply and passionately about these sweet girls living in bondage.

1. Because... 300,000 is not merely a statistic. Each one is a person with a name and a face, a soul, a heart, and raw emotions.

2. Because... God commands us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.

3. Because... I have been given freedom to speak, so I will use my voice to be hers.

4. Because... less than 1% of sex slaves are rescued.

5. Because... everyone is valuable, knitted and formed by the hand of God.

6. Because... whatever is costs to make a difference cannot be greater than that of a life.

7. Because... she isn't just a victim, she is loved by God.

8. Because... now that I have seen and I have heard, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead.

9. Because... God uses the ordinary but willing people to bring hope and freedom.

10. Because... I can plan and hope and dream about tomorrow, but she can't.

11. Because... my purpose for being on earth goes way beyond me.

12. Because... He came to set the captives free. We are His body. I am called to do great things in His name.

13. Because... my heart breaks for her broken heart.

14. Because... I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.

15. Because... as long as there is ONE victim of sex trafficking, freedom has not fully been achieved.

16. Because... Godly men don't treat women like objects. Godly men don't buy girls.

17. Because... if she was my daughter, I would beg someone to care.

18. Because... everyone deserves a childhood.

19. Because... people are not a commodity.

20. Because... seeing ONE girl's life changed is worth it all.

21. Because... even if I pretend slavery isn't happening... it IS.

22. Because... each and every girl was created in the image of God.

23. Because... so often worth and value is determined from words spoken, whether the words are true or false. I want to be a voice of truth.

24. Because... my legacy is being written by the life I am living. What will I remembered for?

25. Because... God makes beautiful things. Out of dust. Out of us.

THIS is why I care. THIS is why I desire to love extravagantly and be daily dying to myself.

Our lives are essentially the story of whatever voices we choose to listen to and trust the most.

I spent many years of my life listening to my own voice and the voices of fear, doubt, and negativity from others. As a result, I was more often than not defeated before I had even started my day.

I seemed to always feel less than, not quite enough, inadequate, unable, and insufficient. And because I felt that way about myself, I acted and allowed myself to be treated accordingly.

It was not until I made a conscious decision to listen to and believe God's voice above all others that I found freedom.

Daily, I must choose to trust the voice of the One who knows me best, to believe the One who says I am "fearfully and wonderfully made," and to put my faith in the One who "knows the plans He has for me, plans for good and not evil, plans to prosper and not harm me."

What is the loudest voice speaking into your life?
Who are you listening to?

Are those listening to you hearing truth about who God has called them to be?

Perhaps today is a good day to change the dial to a new frequency...

The voice of hope.
The voice of life.
The voice of courage.
The voice of love.
The voice of grace.
The voice of compassion.
The voice of purpose.

The voice of God.

It starts with me. and you. let's go.