Grateful Heart

When I woke this morning, eyes still closed I begin to pray. My heart desperate for God. I reflected over a few circumstances present in my life right now and my thoughts wandered to a place of gratitude. My words mumbled, "Thank you that nothing can take you from me. Nothing can prevent me from having a relationship with YOU." With everything else in life uncertain... Jesus is always present! This meant something different for me this morning. The power in having a relationship with HIM, gives me the confidence and power to do ANYTHING through Him! This blog message  is very simple... I'm grateful for the hand, heart, peace, relationship and unconditional love from Christ. I pray that you find that peace in Him or if you already have..... enjoy Him!! #GratefulHeart❤


God never changes!

"By the grace of God, I am what I am."- 1 Corinthians 15:10

Love,
Dot  

Lock Your Knee in 2013 (Guest blogger: Natasha Fowler- my sister ;)

“Lock your knee!” I’m repeatedly told to do this in my Bikram Yoga class. It’s not something you’re normally told to do since locking your knee cuts off blood circulation thus causing you to faint. Bikram is anything but normal. For those of you that don’t know it’s a very intense 90 minute yoga session in 105° with 40% humidity. 20 minutes into my 2nd first session (I tried it with my sister once 5 yrs. ago but that doesn’t count) I began to ask, “Why anyone would put themselves through this torture?”.  I then began to plot how I was going to make my getaway. Something kept me in that room. I don’t know if it was pride or will power. And knowing that I would get to spend 90 minutes totally focused on myself kept me going back for more! Over a year later I’m still there and fully grasping the concept of locking your knee.

The first 20 minutes is just the warm up and if you’re new to the practice when you hear “Party Time! That completes the warm up!” you’re thinking “WHAT?! That was just the warm up!” The warm up prepares you for the rest of the class by warming up your lungs, major muscles, bone joints and party time is your only official water break leading you into the balancing series. I don’t know why but this particular part of the class has always been my favorite.

The first posture in the balancing series is the standing head to knee pose. It’s been over a year since I started practicing and I’m just at the point where I’m meditating on God’s word during class instead of begging him to help me through this. It occurs to me one Thursday evening that my knee is the Word of God. The first goal of this posture is to lock your knee and the first rule in my life is that I should lock in the truths that God has given me through his word. Once you have locked your knee you will eventually bring your elbows down past your calf muscles while never taking your eyes off of the knee. I get to this point and I’m thinking “Ok, God! I’m focused on your word. I’m focused on your truths. What is it that you want me to hear?” The last step is to bring your head down where it touches the knee and look at your stomach. Once your knee is locked this proves to be the most difficult part of the posture. I find it hard to stay in b/c I am no longer looking at my knee I’m looking at my stomach and trying to focus on one leg. It is then that I began to hear the Lord say “Trust me, you may have only one leg to stand on but it’s my leg. I’m holding you up. Let go.” I began to breathe knowing that he is fully capable of taking care of me. I can let go because I know the plans he has for me will not harm me, they give me hope and the promise to flourish in ways unimaginable (Jeremiah 29:11). As I come out of the pose I’m asked to stay still and continue to breathe while focusing on me. I hear God say again, “be still, focus on my word, believe what my word says; that you are amazing and wonderfully made!” I wish I could say that every time I do this posture or any other posture I’m this focused and never fall out. But that would be a lie. The truth is in life we fall down and sometimes we don’t know if we can get back up. His word says we can. His word says he will uphold all of those who fall and lift up all who are bowed down (Psalm 145:14). As you go into your new year determined to be better than you were before, remember this, he wants us to trust him and lock “our knee.”

Trusting in the Lord and locking in all of his truths...

richn(God’s)luv -Natasha

We love you and pray that you have a God-centered and God-filled 2013... Lock your knee!!! 

Love,

Dot 

Director #GOD

Tonight I watched the famous movie, Sex and the City again. So intrigued and wishing it was longer, I clicked on the directors commentary. The entire movie was showing with light sound playing in the background. The directors voice talking over each scene. I am watching and listening to the director give his thoughts play by play; from why Carrie was carrying the Eiffel tower purse in the beginning of the movie to flipping through wedding magazines to find the perfect place that Carrie and Big would marry. "Somewhere fabulous," he says. This director is truly amazing. All of the little details that he so eloquently carves, making the characters lives fall into their perfect place. I can't help but wish in my imagination that I could pick up a DVD "Dot and the City" and listen to my Oscar winning directors voice...my God. God's voice atop of my life. Him saying "this is what happens here and as a result of that...this is going to happen" and "This is going to go this way because", and so on and so on. Picture watching your life and God speaking of the strategic design he has set forth. Wow!! What a movie that would be.... #1 in the box office for sure! In the meantime and in our reality, God calls us to have faith in Him. There is no DVD on the shelf, but there is His word that we can always pull down. He's given us insight into the life of Mary, Esther, Ruth, and our favorite, Jesus. I encourage us to listen for his whisper, pay attention to the small details in our lives and study the guide he has set before us. God is the director and our lives are scripted. As the leading actresses, we just have to show up and trust Him. Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Love, Dot

You are God's BIG PRIZE!

Just a quick nugget for the day: YOU ARE GOD'S BIG PRIZE!

This day is as great as your mind can make it! Remember God is on our side and he has equipped us with everything we need. Fight the urge today to sulk or feel defeated. Think happy thoughts and ask God to transform your mind right in the middle of your thinking pattern. He will meet you right where you are because you are God's big prize and He LOVES YOU!! Just think when we receive a prize... we protect it, we make sure it's shining bright and we marvel at the beauty of it's presence. This is exactly what God does to us. He protects us, he makes sure we are shining and he marvels at the beautiful woman he created. The mere thought that Jesus looks at me in that way brings tears to my eyes and comfort in my heart. 

I sent this scripture out to a few friends last week and each time I look at it, I'm so empowered. I hope it will do the same for you. 

"She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future." -Proverbs 31:25 ❤

Love,

Dot

Ocean of Hope "Isaac"

While in the Virgin Islands on vacation with my sister, I saw some amazing things and had a beautiful experience. My prayer while on the plane headed there was for God to show me His presence each day. I wanted to relax and experience more of Him. The first night I sat on the balcony, gazing at the stars that seemed to shine so brightly and just prayed to our Father. It was a breathtaking moment and I wanted to stay there forever. However, God in all his majesty, gave me another moment that I will truly never forget. 

We all boarded for Lady Lynsey and took a sail from St. Thomas to the next island, St. John. While laying on the deck, I overheard two men talking. The one father begin to tell his story to the other man, "Yes we adopted my 5 year old son Isaac a few years back and it's been the best thing to happen to us. His mom had no idea she was pregnant and when she found out she immediately gave him up for adoption. There were ten families in line to adopt him, but once they found out that he had severe birth defects, they didn't want him. So, we took him, and let me tell you he has been more of a blessing to us than we could ever be to him, he has changed our lives forever. I often think about his biological mom and just think to myself she has no idea how cool of a kid he is and what she is missing out on." My heart wept and smiled in that same moment. I was in awe of God and the courage of that family. 

All of a sudden I hear a knock on the glass I'm leaning on and it's the cutest little boy ever and I thought, this must be Isaac!!! He laughed so hard and kept knocking as if he was scaring me! He decided to come out on the deck, he mainly used his arms to move around because he has problems with his legs. We laughed and talked all the way over to St. John. Meeting him made my day. I thought about him the rest of the time I was there. Right as we are getting ready to board our flight home, I see Isaac's father pushing him in his wheel chair. I yelled his name, we both smiled so big, he rolled over, threw his arms out and gave me the biggest hug! We talked and laughed about our trip. He is so clever and oh so charming!! He begin showing me the ant bite on his hand and I told him I had some on my legs too. He says, "really, let me see", as he leans down to look at my legs. I tell him my jeans are too tight and I can't lift the pants leg up. He laughed so hard, throwing his head back! His laugh is infectious and his personality is contagious. He is a very brave and confident little soul. 

I am so thankful that God allowed me to experience more of his glory through Isaac. To the person that is hopeless right now, the same thing that God did and is doing for Isaac, he can do for you. Because of God, though Isaac was not wanted by ten other families...ten other fathers, he was blessed with one amazing father. A father who is faithful, protective and has an unconditional love for his son. That's exactly who God is to us. Friends, we are all Isaac's! Be encouraged!!

P.S. My prayer is that I get to see Isaac again!

"Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God's dear children. And that's what we are." -1 John 3:1

Love,

Dot

Anti-Freeze

I had the opportunity to go to the Aquarium with my family a few weeks ago in Long Beach, California. Who knew it would be so much fun!! Experiencing all of Gods beauty and greatness as we walked around and looked at all of the fish. The beautiful colors, the different shapes and sizes. Down to the details in the fish's eyes, it was breath taking. It brought so much joy to my spirit to see God even through just a trip to the Aquarium! As we walk, I'm reading and I see the Toothfish. It reads "toothfish have a special protein in their bodies, that acts as anti-freeze to keep the fish from freezing, enabling them to live in the icy waters of the Antartica." Amazing!!! 

Just like these fish, God gave us a special protein to sustain life in the challenging circumstances that could possibly kill us... the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we are in freezing waters and it feels like we could freeze or drown at any moment. We are ready to give up and it feels like we can't make it through. Remember beloved, we too have anti-freeze that nurtures our souls and empowers us each day. We are not alone. The Holy Spirit is our comforter and he keeps us alive. He enables us to make it through each day, no matter how difficult and we are sure to freeze to death without Him. 

Love,
Dot 

"......and He will give you another Comforter, that He may remain with you forever." -John 14:16

In HIS Arms......

There's this song I really love right now called "In Your Arms," by Meredith Andrews. 

Such strong lyrics... 

And I'm in Your arms 

Where I belong 

There's no other place for me 

Than right where You are 

Some things just don't change 

When I call Your name 

You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace 

When I'm in Your arms 

I was sharing my faith with someone and decided to send them these lyrics. As I'm reading and typing the words to this person, tears start to roll down my face and my soul is just overjoyed. To know that Gods arms are outstretched for us, gives me so much comfort. In a world where we search and search for loving arms, God's arms are constantly wrapped around us. These arms are like no other arms you've ever felt. Arms of unconditional love, arms of protection, arms of security, arms of endless grace. These are arms you don't have to fight with nor fight for, these arms fight for you. His arms are our hiding place, our safe haven and they never, never, never let us go. Take a moment to breathe, feel his spiritual arms holding you and remember that you don't have to walk this journey alone. 

Love, 

Dot

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect...you stoop down to make 

me great..." -Psalm 18:32-36