LeeAnn G Taylor - Embracing the Mosaic Life

Trusting our broken pieces to the Ultimate Artist

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A Reflection on Rest & Recreation – Psalm 62

August 6, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

This week I’m away with my extended family for rest and recreation.

I’m in the middle of reading the book Simplify by Bill Hybels and he shares a perspective on recreation that I just love.

Recreation is a time to re-create energy in your life. If what you consider to be “recreation” is draining your energy instead of adding value and energy to your life, you may want to reconsider your choices of entertainment and recreation.

Note: I received a review copy from Tyndale House Publishers. The book doesn’t release until August 19th, but already I’d highly recommend pre-ordering it. He shares 10 practices to unclutter your soul and so far it’s fabulous! He shares wisdom from years of experience and gives practical suggestions for real life change. This is my kind of book for sure!

reflection on rest and relaxation - lake

photo credit: mclcbooks via photopin cc

So…as I pursue re-creation of energy in our lives, we’ll be sharing some time together as a family at the lake, taking the kids (5 kids ages 5 and under!) to the pool, trying out our hand at fishing and boating, playing lots of Ticket to Ride, reading, and just enjoying one another’s company.

My sister lives in Nashville (a 7 hour drive with no potty breaks), so my kids are thrilled at the opportunity to spend quality time with their cousins.

And my sister? Well she’s the best a gal could ever ask for so I’m pretty pumped about spending a week with her too!

my sister Meghan

As the summer winds down, I’d encourage you to take some time to reflect on how you can incorporate regular times of rest and recreation in your life. For Worship Wednesday, center your heart on this message and allow your soul to find rest in the security of our salvation.

My soul finds rest in God alone, my rock and my salvation. And I will not be shaken.

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If you’re reading in an email or reader, click over to the blog to view today’s Worship Wednesday video and allow your soul to breathe.

Aaron Keyes – Psalm 62

My soul finds rest in God alone, my rock and my salvation

A fortress strong against my foes and I will not be shaken
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse
And lies like arrows pierce me
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness, I’ll look to Him who hears me

O praise Him, Hallelujah, my Delight and my Reward
Everlasting, never failing, my Redeemer, my God

Find rest, my soul, in God alone amid the world’s temptations
When evil seeks to take a hold I’ll cling to my salvation
Though riches come and riches go, don’t set your heart upon them
The fields of hope in which I sow are harvested in heaven

O praise Him, Hallelujah, my Delight and my Reward
Everlasting, never failing, my Redeemer, my God

I’ll set my gaze on God alone and trust in Him completely
With every day pour out my soul and He will prove His mercy
Though life is but a fleeting breath, a sigh too brief to measure
My King has crushed the curse of death and I am His forever

O praise Him, Hallelujah, my Delight and my Reward
Everlasting, never failing, my Redeemer, my God
O praise Him, Hallelujah, my Delight and my Reward
Everlasting, never failing, my Redeemer, my God

O praise Him, O praise Him, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Note, this post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, our family receives a small percentage of your sale (at no cost to you). We’re in the middle of radically trusting God in our finances, and every little bit helps toward our goal of financial freedom so we can faithfully follow God’s lead in our lives. Thanks for your support!

Digging Deep Roots & Living in the Light {Worship Wednesday}

July 23, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Sometimes we forget.

Not the kind of forget where you head to the grocery store without a list (again) and run in for a couple of things but forget the milk…even though your 5 year old reminded you that she doesn’t like to eat dry cereal and mommy, would you please please please get milk.

No, not that kind of forget.

The kind of forget where we live out life separate from what’s true. Where our reality and our perspective totally and completely misses the mark of the truth.

And the result? We end up grasping for the light and living instead in the darkness.

great are you lord - outstretched hand

photo credit: and12ey via photopin cc

Sometimes it happens only for a moment and our minds swirl with untruths that scatter our thoughts and erupt into frustration or outright anger. Other times, well, we live life like the truth doesn’t exist at all.

And friends, living life outside of God’s truth, outside His protective covering, well it surely doesn’t make for a joy-filled life.

And yet we try to figure out life on our own, seeking solutions in the next self-help book on Amazon or our friends on Facebook or the magazine on the rack in the grocery store checkout line.

But what if the solution to our longing is right in front of us?

Proverbs 119 tells us to hide God’s word in our hearts and when we do, His word will lead us into truth.

So today, dear friend, I’m sharing some truth as we seek to plant deep roots in God’s word so our lives will be lived out in the light of His truth instead of the shadows of the darkness.

“LORD, there is no one like you!

      For you are great, and your name is full of power.”

Jeremiah 10:6

And so, we read truth. Take a moment to soak it in.

It’s God who is great. It’s God who has the power in our lives. There is no one like Him. There is no need to seek power and truth in other places. It He who teaches us, corrects us, and guides us into truth.

Jeremiah 10:6 Great are you Lord!

photo credit: L. Asuncion via photopin cc

Lord, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. #WorshipWednesday

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Today for Worship Wednesday, reflect on the words of God’s power in your life. Let the words and the music wash over your soul to remind you of truth you may have forgotten along the way.

If you’re reading in an email or reader, you may need to click over to the blog to view the video.

Great Are You Lord from All Sons and Daughters {LIVE}

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken
Great are You, Lord

It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken
Great are You, Lord

All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord

Do you have a song of worship that’s speaking to you right now? Share in the comments and it might show up on another edition of Worship Wednesday. (A special thank you to Karrilee for suggesting this song.)

For today, let’s pour out our praise to the One who brings light to our darkness, restores our broken pieces, and gives hope in the middle of our hopelessness. Great are you, Lord!

Home Chef Groceries Delivered $30 Credit Discount

I Need You: A Challenge to Radically Trust God

July 16, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

At midnight last night my husband Chuck quietly arrived in our bedroom after a long day of work. He scooped up our 5 year old, who had managed to snuggle up next to me close enough that I had just a sliver of our king sized bed to myself, and he deposited her back into her bed.

As usual, as he was getting ready for bed I asked about the highlights of his day because, let’s be honest, what else am I going to remember at midnight about his day? Midnight, especially for a pregnant momma just awoken from a deep sleep, is not the time to be having deep conversations.

Except that last night, we did.

In the middle of sharing his daily highlights, he remembered a text he got from me yesterday:

“Can we have another money conversation? I need some help talking out a mindset & cash flow change please.” 

So, at midnight last night Chuck and I had one of “those talks.” Dave Ramsey calls them “budget committee meetings” and I call them frustrating.

In our house, I’m the saver and Chuck’s the spender, meaning I do the budget and pay the bills and pay attention to all things money, then we talk once a month about how we’re doing. Except that lately, there’s not been much to talk about. It’s the same thing every month.

The budget doesn’t balance. We use the credit card to “float” gas, groceries, and other expenses not otherwise drafted from our account. We try to pay it off each month. And we pray God provides to cover the gap and any unexpected expenses.

Because it’s been like this for at least 18 months or longer, we don’t have much to talk about in our budget meetings. But around the 15th of the month (not coincidentally my payday) I at least am looking at the expenses and trying to figure out if we can pay what we charged on the credit card that month and whether or not by some miracle (literally) we are able to pay on the balance we’re still carrying from 2013.

This is why budget meetings frustrate me. It feels like we’re stuck. We have dreams of financial freedom & of opportunities to serve and bless others in big ways.

Chuck’s business is doing well, but at this point, it’s just paying for itself. I got a promotion and a raise at the beginning of the year, but it’s still not enough to make the budget balance. I even got a side job working as a virtual assistant at night a few hours a week and that has helped some. But in the end, the amount coming in doesn’t match the amount scheduled to come out. It’s a frustrating place to be.

budget

photo credit: kenteegardin via photopin cc

So back to the mindset change I mentioned. For months and months our plan of action has been the same.

  • Get paid.
  • Tithe.
  • Pay autodrafts with checking account.
  • Use credit card to “float” other expenses.
  • REPEAT.

Through it all, Chuck has challenged me to trust God on his promise to provide:

“My God will meet your every need out of his riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

My God will meet your every need out of his riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

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Over and over again I have seen proof of God’s faithfulness. The stories of blessings we have received at just the right time are numerous. But through it all, my heart has not been quite right. Yes, I’ve grown in trusting God to provide for our needs, but in the back of my mind, there was always the “safety net” of the credit card, floating along our expenses for a few weeks until I got paid again. As a result, I’ve not been trusting Him fully. 

And so, our midnight talk last night involved me trying to explain the math to Chuck while laying in the bed instead of showing him on the computer (bad move on my part…he’s a visual guy) and then sharing my heart about needing to trust God fully…meaning no more credit card.

Dave Ramsey would be proud!

Practically, this will mean those expenses we put on the credit card for this past month won’t get paid and we’ll instead start only using my income for all expenses starting tomorrow.

No more floating. No more trusting in a piece of plastic instead of the God who created me. 

Instead, I will hold onto this:

Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEB)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    don’t rely on your own intelligence.
Know him in all your paths,
    and he will keep your ways straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord

photo credit: duncan via photopin cc

God says he will provide for our needs and TELLS me not to use my own intelligence. The credit card? Yep, that’s using my own intelligence. 

Instead of spending my time using my own intelligence to try to “figure things out” with our budget, maybe I’d be more successful if I obeyed His word and instead trusted in HIM with all my heart.

This next month, I’ll be focusing on knowing Him in ALL my paths and trusting that the path before our family will be kept straight.

My job? Trust Him.

His job? Provide for our needs.

So here it goes. I’m jumping all in. No more credit card. No more relying on me.

As seems appropriate, I’m sharing this song for Worship Wednesday:

Lord, I Need You – written by Matt Maher and performed by Kristian Stanfill

If you’re reading in an email, click here to view the video. The 3 minutes you spend allowing this message to resonate in your heart will transform your day. Promise.

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You’re the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Sharing this post at Three Word Wednesday {Simply Beth}, Wedded Wednesday, Wholehearted Home, Coffee for Your Heart, #TellHisStory, Works for Me Wednesday, and Recommendation Saturday.

What about you? Are you struggling to trust God in all things like me?

Share in the comments so we can encourage one another or if you feel more comfortable, email me at contact(at)leeanngtaylor(dot)com. I’d love to hear your story and pray for you as we journey together in learning to trust God more.

 

Worship Wednesday – Fall Afresh

July 9, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

It happens to all of us. And maybe to some of us more often than others.

This season of wandering, floundering, seeking, and wondering.

A dry season of our soul.

dry season of the soul

photo credit: Corey Holms via photopin cc

A time where we walk through life not sure how to connect with the God who created us, even after years of knowing and loving Him.

Am I alone?

When nothing else speaks to me during the dry time, music will. Worship in the form of powerful lyrics combined with a soul-stirring melody is the catalyst I need to awaken my dry, empty soul.

And so tonight I share. I share a song of worship that’s speaking to my soul, pulling me out of the desert and into life giving waters again.

I pray it is a blessing to you and that God’s Spirit falls afresh on your heart, waking you from your soul’s sleep as I’m awakening from mine.

awakening from a dry season of the soul

photo credit: Tom Haymes via photopin cc

If you’re reading in an email or reader, you may need to click over to the blog to view the video.

Fall Afresh by Bethel Music (featuring Jeremy Riddle)

Awaken my soul, come awake
To hunger, to seek, to thirst
Awaken first love, come awake
And do as you did, at first

Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul, pour in me to overflow
To overflow

Awaken my soul, come awake
To worship with all your strength

Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul, pour in me to overflow

Come and fill this place
Let Your glory now invade
Spirit come and fill this place
Let Your glory now invade

Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul, pour in me to overflow
To overflow

Do you have a song of worship that’s speaking to you right now? Share in the comments and it might show up on another edition of Worship Wednesday. Thank you all for sharing this journey with me, dry season and all. 

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