Hi Friend!

Our church Mercy Culture's Word for 2025 is: Radical Love. I love the explanation our pastoral staff gives of Radical Love: "God loves us for no reason! When we love God for no reason, no reason can take our love from God." Ironically, yet not surprisingly, my word for 2025 is: Radical Obedience and the beautiful thing about this is you cannot have Radical Love without Radical Obedience!

When I took my break in December, I had full intention of returning to this space with frequency and purpose in 2025. However, it was during my break the Lord revealed some things that prompted me to lay down my MBSR™ practice permanently which gave me the opportunity to choose Radical Obedience right out of the gate!

Friend, these past four months have been filled with the goodness of God at work in my life as I walk out Radical Obedience. When the Lord asked me to lay down my MBSR™ practice, I thought, great, this will allow me to shift focus to my Christ-Centered Life Coaching program and get that going. I immediately started praying for the blueprint for my coaching program, yet all I kept hearing from the Lord was "pause".  So that's what I've been doing the past four months. I've been working on the blueprint, praying and planning, practically speaking, however, I do not have the release from the Lord to move forward (yet).

Can I tell you something kind of shocking (to me at least)? It is in this pause that I have grown the most!

This pause has...

...created space in my heart for more of Jesus and less of me.

...allowed God to reveal the crooked ways in me He desires to
make straight for His glory and the good of others.

...revealed areas of my life I never realized I hadn't fully healed.

...revealed areas of my life I never took to the Lord in prayer,
much less acknowledged my need for His healing, deliverance and freedom.

...created a breaking within me, in the most beautiful ways.

...become a place I never want to leave.

I honestly cried writing this, but that last line actually made me smile because anyone who knows me, understands I've always been a mover and a shaker, not comfortable sitting still; constantly pushing to do better and get more done more effeciently. However, God has done something within me that is so sacred, I never want to forget it.

He has given me JOY in the pause.

Instead of hurrying off to the next adventure I'm living my current adventure.

Instead of taking on more, I'm taking on less.

Instead of striving, I'm surrendering.

Instead of learning the next new thing, I'm sitting at His feet and gleaning all I can from what He's placed right in front of me.

Instead of pushing, I'm pulling on the hem of His garment - for more of Him and less of me.

Instead of holding tightly, I'm releasing all into His hands.

I am in a PAUSE.

It's kind of funny to me, because I've spent the past 46 years of my life holding on tightly to all God has entrusted to me, in an effort to steward well what He gave me. However, what I failed to realize all these years, was the tighter my grip was, the less He could actually use the thing, or me!

It has only been through my releasing and surrender that He has begun to work the most in my life; this has yielded results far more amazing than my wildest dreams!

I'm not sure where you are today, my friend, but if you're in a pause of your own, may I lean in and whisper some encouragement I've been clinging to, from God's Word?

• Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV says He makes all things beautiful in His time.
• Psalm 40:1-3 says when we wait on Him He hears us, lifts us up, sets our feet on solid ground and puts praise in our mouth!
• Psalm 46:10 says be still and know that I am God.
• Romans 15:13 says He fills us with joy and peace & the Holy Spirit gives us hope!
• Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength.
• Psalm 30:5 says joy comes in the morning!

Sweet friend, please know that I really do understand how it feels to be in the pause; to feel stuck between what was and what will be. It's natural for us to long for familiarity, but may I caution you that familiarity is the gateway to complacency. The devil wants us to remain comfortable so we are lulled to sleep, forsaking the call God's placed on our lives in this season, while embracing the creature comfort of familiarity.

This pause is not simply a season of sitting still, rather it is a warroom, a quiet battlefield God is entrusting to us for such a time as this.

To steward this pause well, we must fight daily to:

Encounter Jesus daily; how we best connect with Him (learn how you best connect with Him HERE!)

Express gratitude daily; we have so much to be grateful for - telling God daily is so important, as it postures our heart to receive JOY from Him! (This Gratitude Journal ROCKS!)

Extend love to others; whether it's someone we know, or a complete stranger, reaching outside of ourselves and extending love to others gives us the opportunity to show Jesus' love to others and keeps us excited about what God is doing in us right now!

Friend, may I challenge you to find Joy in the Pause? We cannot simply muster joy up ourselves, it's something that comes from God alone!

If you are currently in a pause, I encourage you to ask God to help you see it differently. Ask Him for joy, for a new lens, for the strength to surrender. I promise—He will meet you there, because He delights in you, and His mercies are new every single morning.

If you need an ear just reach out, I'm here for you, praying and lovingly encouraging you.

With Love,