God

Plans and Purpose

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Proverbs 19:21 NLT “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

Are you a planner? I am. I love plans and lists. I like to know what’s coming. It makes me feel safe and secure, as if my plans and schedules can keep blindsiding circumstances, conversations I’m not prepared for, or situations that require a quick response at bay until I can rehearse, plan, and plot how to circumvent or control it all.

I love this verse, but it’s also challenging and it is hard to wrap my mind around it. Of course I want the Lord’s will to prevail in my life and the lives of those I love. I know all the reasons why His will is best. He’s omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He knows the number of hairs on my head, the deep, inner workings of my heart, and the wounds I carry in my spirit. He had a plan and divine purpose for me before I took my first breath. He is never far from me and I am deeply loved. Yet…

My need for control and protecting myself from chaos is strong and tightly woven into my heart. I have experienced quite a few blindsiding situations and each was devastating in its own way, leaving scars and fear in the aftermath. However, through these situations, I have learned and embraced that God’s presence never left me in those times. His will and ways were always perfect, shaping me into who I am now. These things allowed me to live out my purpose albeit with scars; reminders that I pushed through things meant to derail, wound, and cripple me.

I treasure in my heart the lessons learned. Above all, I discovered that Jesus is safe. He is good, He is compassion, He is my Warrior and Protector. I learned, and am still learning, that I can trust Him with me and that is a lesson I would not trade for a smoother life-road. His ways and thoughts are higher that ours. His plans are good and perfect, but not without scars that are a constant reminder of our healing. We can plan, be wise, and discerning as we look ahead, but ultimately His plans and His purpose for you and for me will prevail and it does bring comfort, peace, and rest for a plotter and planner. Trust Him. He won’t fail you. You are loved. Peace be with you.

Overflow of the Heart

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Psalm 141:3 NIV “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

The imagery of words bubbling up and out of my mouth from what is stored in my heart has always been fascinating, yet convicting for me. I like to think that my words are always lovely and inspiring, flowing from kindness, but they aren’t always. I don’t like to envision my heart filled with poisonous words and thoughts that leak and spill over onto other people, but I know that they have and they do. They likely will again.

The only way I know to keep these knife-sharp words at bay is to ask Jesus to examine what’s in my heart. It’s not pleasant. Most of us don’t relish having our hearts and deepest thoughts laid bare before God.

There are things deep inside these hidden places in each of us that are not nice, not kind, and in desperate need of healing, and cleansing. Secret things and painful wounds that we have tried so hard to heal, clean up, and bandage on our own with weak, frail bandages that are temporary and fleeting. Our self-made bandages never stop the seep and stain that taints our hearts and souls with pain that spews up and outward. That depth of exposure and healing can only come from Jesus and His mercy, compassion, and power to bind up and heal our soul deep wounds. He will do it, if we invite Him in to do that hard work.

As we go about our lives and intersect others life-travelers, I hope we keep fresh in our minds that our words contain so much power – the ability to heal, lighten, inspire, and spread kindness. I want to be known for that – kindness, acceptance, compassion. Everyone we set eyes on is deeply loved by God.

Father, please keep a guard over our mouths. Let kindness, mercy, joy, and compassion be what bubbles up from our hearts, out of our mouths, splashing all whom You place in our path. Keep watch, Lord, on the door of our lips, so that hatred, condemnation, judgement, and cruelty have no room to pierce and wound those we come into contact with daily. Let us not give the Enemy a foothold to weaponize our words. Fill us with Yourself – Your name is enough to silence all thoughts and words that are not of You. You are good, You are love, You are peace. In Your name, Jesus our Healer, amen.

You are so loved. Peace be with you.

Unfailing

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Psalm 143:8 NLT

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.”

This pond in my neighborhood is one of my favorite places to walk and get a bit lost in nature. I love how the trees and flowering bushes change with the seasons. It’s something constant in an ever changing, rushed, and often chaotic world. I have had many conversations with God here. It feels a sacred and holy. I know I will find Him here under these sweeping, sheltering trees with the beautiful filtered light that shifts and shades.

How comforting and safe it feels knowing that every morning Jesus has a new, unchanging, unfailing love for me and for you. It hasn’t diminished overnight or faded away. He hasn’t moved on to the next best thing or lost interest. Every morning without fail He is there and He always will be. Through stormy seasons of doubt, fear, anger, and unexpected changes, and through seasons of peace, calm, and joy. Unfailing.

If we trust Him with us, if we give ourselves, and our plans into His hands, He will be faithful to hold, guide, and deeply love us. He will show us where to walk. His staff clears the way of obstacles that tempt us to give up, go around, or follow the wide, easy way. In the freshness of the morning, we can hear His voice calling out to come and talk to Him, and walk with Him along the pathway He’s laid out just for us.

I pray you will find a sweet place where you talk to Him, listen to Him, and choose to trust Him as your guide and best friend. Unfailing love. It’s yours, if you choose to lean into it. You are so loved. Peace be with you.

His loving eye

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“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV

The loving eye of God on me. Let that soak in for a second. The Lord of Heaven, God of Creation, King of Kings – His eye is on you and me. Tight, tense shoulders can drop. Fast, shallow breathing can slow and deepen. Overwhelmed, exhausted minds can let go and rest.

His eye is on you. He sees what is swirling around you, holding you captive to fear. He feels the heaviness of heartbreak in your wounded heart and spirit.

He will counsel you. He will show you the way to go, how to move forward, and how to let go. He sees the beautiful way ahead that He’s set up and planned just for you. Imagine His joy in knowing what is coming for you just around the next bend in the road, twist in the path, and over that next hill. He sees it and He is leading you toward it.

Right now the way He’s leading may not feel good, happy, or safe because you aren’t in control of it. You can’t see around the bend or over that hill, and that is so frightening. But remember, He can see what’s coming. Don’t miss the part of the scripture that says His loving eye is on you. Eyes full of love that see you exactly where you are on this life-road. Eyes filled with compassion, mercy, and love so great you can’t fathom it. Eyes full of hope, healing, and so much joy. He won’t let you miss it and He won’t take it away. He already set in motion the blessings, the good, the rest, the victory, and the peace. He’s got you.

Do you have that tiny bit of faith to trust Him? I think you do. It’s in there. He sees it. His spirit is fanning that tiniest of sparks into a flame with holy, eternal breath scented with heaven, joy, and His presence. His loving eye will never look away because you are His and you are so very loved. Peace be with you.

Kindness

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“Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” Proverbs 16:24 NLT

The words that we speak have a profound impact on the hearer. Our words literally hold the power of life and death. What we say to others and to ourselves creates eternal ripples with consequences that we will have to answer for. How we use our words will come back to us, as is said in Proverbs 18:21 NLT “… those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

Some of the words I read and hear on social media are heartbreaking. The way certain groups of people are spoken about, the names they are called, and the things assumed about them are deeply disturbing. Those words and names are not from God, but directly from the father of lies, the enemy of our souls. God created these exact humans in His image and called them masterpiece and beautiful. His breath was breathed into their lungs exactly the way it was breathed into mine and into yours. How He must feel when mere humans in pride, fear, and arrogance speak hate, judgement, and terrible things about those He took time to create in His image.

Don’t we understand by now that God is not on one side of man- made political parties? Isn’t He so much more than that? He is King of Kings. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the Son of Righteousness. He is the beginning and the end. Vengeance in His. Isn’t it His job to convict of sin and bring forgiveness and healing? It isn’t my job and it isn’t yours. He said to take the log out of our own eyes.

It is holy, beautiful, and so healing to witness someone speaking kindness to another – spreading healing, love, acceptance, and acknowledging their existence as one so loved by God that He sent Jesus to die for them. One act of kindness, one kind word, one selfless decision to help another, stand up for another, and love another simply because Jesus told us to, sends ripples of hope, healing, and belief that there is still good here. I want to be on the side of good, of healing, of hope. I want to be on Jesus’ side.

Lord, help me put kindness at the forefront of how I act and speak. Help me to understand the full impact of the words I choose and how I treat those I cross paths with today by your divine plan. Forgive me for the times I wasn’t kind and my words wounded one that You deeply love. Holy Spirit, guard my mouth and fill me with Your words and actions so that I uplift and heal rather than divide and wound. Keep judgment from my heart and blanket me with peace as I walk with humanity today. Please let Your presence and love be the things I leave with those I come in contact with today and each day. Amen.

Unshaken

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“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 NLT

It’s hard to wait quietly when there are pressing questions that need answers and God seems to be taking His sweet time. When that certain situation, relationship, or issue is taking up more and more space in your mind, and your heart feels like it can’t expand anymore to contain the constant thinking, feeling, and waiting. When self-sufficiency rears its head and invites unbelief and diminishing trust that God’s got this, He’s got them, and He’s got you. The belief that you have to fix it, manage it, and predict the outcome by incessant rehearsing and overthinking. It’s just so hard to wait on Him.

But…

God says that the victory, the answers, the rest, and the fixing come from Him. Just Him. It is hard to wrap our minds around it; that He already knows the outcome, where the bend in the road leads, how that hard conversation is going to end. It’s hard to trust when the wait time seems too long and it feels like we have been forgotten in the mass of humanity calling out to Him non-stop.

I suppose this is where we decide if we truly believe He’s for us, sees us, loves us, and we decide to trust Him with ourselves. We either do or we don’t, right?

He is our safe place. He is our strong tower and our fortress. We will likely feel the wind, the waves, and the uncertainty of living life on this planet. But maybe today, we can try to trust Him, believe Him, and relax our white-knuckled grip on that “one thing” holding us captive to fear and doubt. Maybe we can release it to Him and simply see what happens. Maybe we can do our best to live in the moment and enjoy being in His presence, looking for the good, the joy, the hidden delights, and the victories. Those things are all right there waiting for us to change our perspective from one of striving and self-reliance to humble dependence on the One who created us and envelops us in His peace and protection. Give it a try. You are so loved. Peace be with you.

All the cares…

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1 Peter 5:7 NLT

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

The world feels like a heavy place. So many of us are carrying deep cares, worries, fears, and uncertainty. Our worries take so many shapes and hit on so many levels. Each person we come across is carrying something so heavy. They just want someone to take it and be reassured that all will be well. Most of these worries are out of our control. What a helpless feeling that haunts and taints our thoughts, actions, and reactions. I’m just tired. Are you tired, too?

God asks us to give Him all of those things that smother and suffocate. All the things that we can’t name, but that stick to us and hurt. How do we give Him these things?

Maybe we simply talk to Him and tell Him about the weight, the exhaustion, and the worry. We aren’t too much for Him. He already knows the burdens and the toll they are taking. Maybe we say His name, ask Him to take it, and trust that He has, He is, and He will. He will.

We may not feel instantaneous relief, but we might. We may not see the issues immediately resolved, but they could be. What I do believe is that we will feel some room to breathe again. The shroud of dread and numbness will lift a little and the mist of anxiety will ebb, so a bit of sun can filter into the grey. Maybe there will be a shift in perspective and the filters in our vision will be exchanged for hope, gratitude, and trust in the God who created us. He loves us deeply and daily invites us to take what hurts and stresses us, and place those things in His scarred hands where He transforms them into peace, rest, answered prayers, miracles, divine intervention, and hope. So much hope.

Will you think about talking to Him today and finally giving Him those things you were never meant to carry? You are deeply loved. Peace be with you.

Book Release! Divine Appointments…

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DIVINE APPOINTMENTS…IS LIVE – published and ready to go on Amazon as eBook/Kindle or paperback! It will soon be available at Barnes & Noble online, Books a million, Thriftbooks, Walmart and other online retailers. I cannot wait for you to get a copy in your hands and let me know what you think!!!

Please share and help me get the word out 🙂 You can visit my author page on FB @MelissaGiomiauthor and IG: @melissa.giomi

I am thankful and honored that so many of you have been on this author journey with me for the past 2 years. It means more to me than you know to have support, encouragement and prayers for this book and Divine Encounters…to accomplish what God has planned for them. It has been such a fun and exciting journey and I’m hopeful there are more books to come 🙂

Cheers and happy reading!

Nostalgia

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It’s going to be another hot day, so I’m up early.  I head to the patio and warm coffee comes with me. There is a slight chill, oh so slight, but I can feel it on my skin.

There is something vague and wistful in the way the air feels this morning. The hint of the warmth that’s to come, mixed in with that slight chill. It feels so familiar.

It’s the way the light is coming up over the apple tree, shadows from the branches falling just so on the green grass and touching the edges of the 3-tiered fountain. The yellowy-white light pulls at my memory; I’ve seen this light before. I know it.

I hear it in the way the finches, bold blue jays and grey titmouse call and chatter. Fuzzy squirrels scampering and digging in the grass and garden tug at something hovering in my mind.

The scent in the air has a subtle, comforting, reminiscent quality to it that dances on the fringe of memory. It’s happy and calming; stirring up a sentimental longing and wistful affection for something… Is it a specific memory or snippets of various memories stirred up by the sight, sound, scent of this peaceful morning? I wonder…

Sitting here at the pine table I allow my thoughts go where they will.

The scent in the air, the light and the creature sounds call up memories of my grandparents’ house in Lakehead, CA. I loved this place! It was nestled in and around pine trees with squirrels and birds galore! I recall the warm, safe scent of those pine trees, the dusty earth, and bubbling excitement of walking through the wooded area to the little market with my grandma. Exciting!

In the warm afternoons, the blue kiddie pool was set up in the backyard under some shady pine trees. Buckets, cups, Barbies, and various other toys made for a fun and easy afternoon. I think time stood still for a bit. My grandma sat in the shade on her 70’s era lawn chair with a sweating glass of sweet tea and chatted with me. Always the safe, old, lovely scent of warm pine and earth.

I remember the thrill and exhilaration of hurtling down a big hill near their house in my little red wagon with the pine-y wind in my face – what a memory of freedom and adventures. I looked forward to the summer-night strolls to visit neighbors and see a few deer as we walked along. Pleasant and friendly.

The sound of scampering squirrels on my fence reminds me of hearing pattering squirrel feet run over the roof of their house and my grandpa’s garage in the early mornings. The garage was a wonderful place. It was full of gadgets, boxes of nails and rakes, the fishing gear, and all sorts of fun things to play with and examine. It had the distinct smell of cars and a tangy scent of oil and gasoline. Order and routine, everything in its place.

I can smell the fishy, earthy, watery scent of Lake Shasta where my grandpa, my Dad and I spent many hours on his boat fishing and motoring around the lake, stopping in the small, quiet coves to cool off and swim. Even in the summer heat, there was the distinct lake chill that danced above the water. Dinner of fresh caught fish back at the house gave me such a warm, cozy, homey feeling. We sat and ate on the enclosed porch at the picnic table, talking and laughing about the highlights of the day. As the adults talked on into the summer night, I would drowse and day dream.

Yes, these are cherished memories. Interesting how a subtle scent on the air, a ray of sunlight and nature sounds have the power to trigger the mind and bring these memories flooding back.

I wish I could go back to relive those parts of life to recapture the feelings and sensations. Happy memories of pleasant times where life seemed simpler, sweeter, and not so complex. I often feel this way around the holidays as I look at old pictures of my family gathered around a festive table, carving a pumpkin, or sitting by the Christmas tree.  When I look at paintings of the holidays in times past, there is a wistful, yearning feeling of wanting to be there. Nostalgia.

Life can be chaotic and unpredictable. I wonder if our adult brains unconsciously seek out the sights, scents, and sounds of those times where things were ordered, reliable, safe, and predictable. I think God wired us to treasure and preserve those moments. We can pull them from our heart-memories as a comfort and break from the monotony and loneliness of life. Blessings.

I think I will pray that nostalgia visits me often, like an old, dear friend; full of comfort, comradery, and memories to make me smile. What a gift!

Where are you?

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Life is filled with questions on a daily, sometimes minute by minute basis. Sometimes, for me, questions make me prickly and feisty. I don’t always like them because sometimes, the question I’m being asked forces me to think or re-think my point of view or assess my current thoughts, actions, ideas. It makes me take a hard look at where I am.

I recently started a Bible study by Beth Moore called The Quest. The very first week, Ms. Beth asked four “recalibrating questions” that have the ability to transform our walk with Jesus and to greatly increase our intimacy with Him, our prayer lives and boost our trust. They are designed as an opportunity for us to talk to Him, to be as raw and real with Jesus as we are willing to be with Him. According to Ms. Beth, “These divine questions have the potential to recalibrate and reignite a walk with God that has gotten off track, stuck in a cul-de-sac or has lost steam or our interest.” These questions are actually questions that God Himself is asking us and are found in the Old and New Testaments.

So, here is a challenge to you, if you are game, over the next four weeks:  find 5-10 minutes per day to take the question God is asking you and answer Him. You will get out of this, as much as you put in.  Journal the answers, pray it out, meditate on it; however you are lead. We are all in different seasons, so do what you can and trust that God will respond back to you, as you pour out your heart to Him. He is faithful. He loves you. Your voice in His ear is beautiful music.

I hope you will find healing, hope and intimacy with Christ, as you honestly talk Him and answer the question below. Remember, He already knows the answer. He wants intimacy with you. Not who you wish you were or dream about being; not who you compare yourself to or act like you are when others are watching you.

Question #1! Here we go!

This question comes from Genesis 3:9 (NLT) “The Lord God called to Adam, ‘where are you?’” If you need a quick context refresher, please read Genesis 3:1-9. In the Bible study, Ms. Beth asks us to switch places with Adam and let this divine question, from the very mouth of God, land on us. I firmly believe He is asking us this question over and over again. Hear Him ask you…

“Where are you, child?” Are you in a relatively good spot right now, with things humming along like a well-oiled machine, all the parts of your life working pretty well? Is your family, your job, ministry, hobbies, all moving forward at a good pace? If this is where you are, tell Him and rejoice and be thankful for that blessing! Pour out your gratitude and tell Him about all your hopes and dreams for what is to come.

“Where are you, child?” Are you in a valley that seems a bit monotonous and, dare I say, boring? Does life seem to be plugging along with the same-old/same-old things, without much excitement? He sees you in this place that appears to be a long and predictable holding pattern. Tell Him about it. Tell Him your desire for something new and exciting. Talk to Him about giving you bravery and courage for what is coming. He can give you peace and patience that you need for this season.  Remember, He is ALWAYS working on your behalf; organizing, shifting, and setting good things in motion.

“Where are you, child?” Maybe your season is one of pain, disappointment and heartache and you wonder if He is even there or even cares. Maybe it feels as if He has forgotten you, and your desperate prayers seem to float and drift, never landing at His feet. If this is you, tell Him! He reads your thoughts and knows every hurt and every wound. He can handle whatever you pour out to Him. Tell Him all of it, the raw, the ugly, the desperate; all the anger and deep disappointment. Nothing touches you that has not first been sifted through His hands of love, goodness and healing. It’s ok to turn the question around and ask God, “where are You?”

Now, go and get with your Father! May this scripture from Psalm 139 encourage you and powerfully remind you how very known and loved you are!
Psalm 139:3-5 and 17

You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!