Dear Friend,

​My feet pounded the treadmill as my mind pounded my soul about that thing that hurt me. Offense has its way of burying its ugly head into our internal lives until we feel all at once trapped by it's claws without an easy escape.

Mercy triumphs over judgement, I hear His still small voice interrupting my race of self-defense. I do not keep a record of wrongs. "But you are Jesus," I hear myself flatly respond to God through my panting, followed by a quick look around to assure no one is in earshot. Yes, I am Jesus. And, I do not keep a record of wrongs.

Conviction.

If He does not keep a record of wrongs, the One who stands in perfection, holiness, and purity, who am I to assume the right to hold unto a judgement?

Friends, we must let it go.
Can I let it go?
Can you?

Judgement will eat us alive, while convincing us that it deserves to be fed more. We don't have a right to hold judgements against others, we lost that right when we received Jesus' gift to negate the judgement we deserve. Mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13). We are the beneficiaries of that truth, and it is our honor and joy to freely give it away to others.

Grab a pen: Is there someone you have been counting their wrongs against you? Are you willing to stop keeping that record, and give it to Jesus? What does He have for you instead?

May the unspoken burden of judgement fall off of you this week as you courageously repent and find love again in that space within. Have a great week!

Katie.

Dear Friend,

Sometimes our relationship with God feels dark.

Dark is an invitation.
Quiet is an announcement.
Focus is a choice.

"Songbirds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light." Oswald Chambers

Maybe ... this time in your life is more about listening than talking.
Maybe ... the clarity is not in another round of processing.
Maybe ... the people around you know even less than you.

If He seems quiet, you may want to become quiet too.

Shhh ... He is speaking.
Teaching you how to sing.
A new song.
Like, a songbird.

​Katie.

Rushing.
Delaying.
Reaching.
Stressing.
Pressing.
Collapsing.

Not the best way to spend your morning.
 
Complaining.
Quitting.
Counting.
Arguing.
Grumbling.
Procrastinating.
Working.
 
Not the best way to spend your evening.

In a tail spin of activity, I am reminded that the way that I spend my mornings and evenings determines the culture of my days and nights. When my morning hosts prayer, purpose, and intentionality, it pours over my whole day like a pitcher of brewed tea prepared for enjoyment. When my evenings hosts connection, reflection and rest, it undergirds my nights like a soundtrack designed for renewal.  On the other hand, when my morning and evening rhythms are clouded, noisy, disorganized, or lost,  my personal culture feels quite the same - clouded, disorganized, noisy, and lost.
 
One very simple way to get your life back from a spinning disorientation is to re-order your morning and evening routines. This is your invitation, yours and mine:

• How do you want to spend your mornings?
• How do you want to spend your evenings?
• What is keeping you from either or both?

 
When the sun peaks up over the horizon at the break of day or bids us farewell at its closing, it is an announcement of prime time. How we utilize that prime time sets the tone for the other time we have. Days and nights are both designed to be gifts, but how we approach them instructs them on how to approach us. 

Grab a Pen: Write out your desired morning and evening routines. Dream with God. Scale it back (if needed) to something realistic and attainable. Push-restart on your morning and evening routine this week.

Let's do this!
 
Katie Luse

Dear Friend,

I am reflecting on the experience of public ministry. It’s all a big experiment. You stand up there with the offering of weeks of preparation and God strips you bear in response. You stare out at the audience silently and they think you are praying. If you are praying, it’s the panic lane prayer. You forget what you were going to do, and why. Everyone stares at you waiting for something profound to come out of your mouth. You wonder if you will ever have a helpful thought to share again. Humility.
 
And then, His glory.
 
It is always improvisation on some level, and more often than not a performance of divine grace more than anything else. The supernatural never stems from a natural performance, but a gritty natural preparation does serve a profound supernatural demonstration - if the former can be surrendered wholly. Most often, your precious performance dies a painful death, and then … the supernatural takes the stage. In simple terms, step aside.

Grab a pen: What are you leading right now? How can you "step aside" and make more room for the Holy Spirit in it?

Have a great week, let's be carvers of space for God!

Katie