Peace in transit

The other day I opened the door to Jackie’s linen closet, and the fragrance of Tide, and Bounce, and Downy enveloped me in a cloud. The woman’s laundry smelled amazing. Sometimes I could smell her fabric softener out in the driveway on big laundry days. I made a mental note to check out what flavors she used and to duplicate them. I want my laundry to smell like Jackie’s.

Since she passed away, I’ve been wearing Hypnose, a perfume by Lancome. She wore it for years and it makes me feel close to her. Smell is such a powerful sense. The memories it evokes can stop me dead in my tracks.

Transitions like these can be brutal. Moving, divorce, death, job changes… all these things can feel like a slow drowning. But they don’t have to. God can help us during these times. And He wants to. We have only to ask.

Psalm 46:1 says He is our ever-present help in time of need. And if we seek Him, He will envelop us in His presence, like Jackie’s cloud of Tide and Downy. If we seek Him, He will whisper our names into the ears of those He can count on to listen and pray. If we seek Him, He will give us peace in transit.

Jackie Mize and throwing stars

I’m sitting on Jaxon’s bed, and it is covered with knives, guns, throwing stars, and every other device of hunting, fishing, and general maiming of the animal kingdom. The bed is covered because Jaxon has been ordered to de-weaponize his room for pending houseguests, which include a one-year-old toddler with curious hands.

My mother-in-law went to Heaven last week and now I’m putting away throwing stars, listening to the Cowboys game in the other room, missing my Nana, and being so thankful to God who knows the intimate and unspeakable hurt that this kind of event leaves behind. He knows every word that’s in my head, He knows every tear that has fallen, and He knows the tears that have yet to fall.

God is so good in the midst of absolute hell. He is the One who does the special thing that you didn’t know you needed, but it was exactly what you needed. His faithfulness astounds me.

The next few days will be hard, no doubt. But without the Comforter, they would be unbearable.

Don’t let another moment pass without knowing Him.

My turn at the mic

I’m having so much fun doing the audio version of my mother-in-law, Jackie Mize’s book, Supernatural Childbirth. The book has meant so much to me over the years, and not just in the area of childbirth. The book is not singularly a baby book, it is a faith book, and it is powerful.

If you haven’t ever read it, you’ve got to. (You can order it here: www.terrymizeministries.org) It is a live-by-faith refresher course. It will light a fire under you that you don’t have to put up with the junk the devil throws at you. It will make you mad at the devil for being so dadgum persistent, and it will make you mad at yourself for letting him.

We have got to stand up to the devil. We have got to stand on God’s Word. We have got to stand up, get off our rears and fight.

Anyway, the reading will be on Audible.com soon… I’ll keep you posted.

PS: Julimize.com is 2 today!