Happy New Year! Can you believe that the first month is already over? This is my first blog this year because we have been working on getting the new, amazing and totally scary-putting-myself-out-there website up. I hope you like it.

Dean and I had a year last year. God has been doing a deep work in us. It reminds me of what you see when people go down a cave. It’s quiet. It’s dark…only a flashlight to see what is ahead of you. You can hear your own breathing. You need to deal with your fears: real or not, rational or not. You need to trust the rope.

When you are in a deep, quiet place you come out of it more attuned with yourself, your abilities and weaknesses.

One thing that God showed me was that I was living a small life in some areas. I allowed the uncertainty of my two companions: MS and Lupus to take the lead. Yes, there has been loss of what I used to do. Yes, I need to plan ahead for everything. But No, I do not need to shrink back because of the fear of not knowing. I don’t have to live afraid of a flare up. I can choose to walk in the freedom of believing God when He says His grace will cover me. Every one of us has something that threatens our wholeness. We each fight a battle for the life we were made to live. We each make a decision to stay where we are or take the leap into a dream. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small. The question is: what is holding us back from that and what can we do to change it?!?!

I don’t want to live small. I want to live with my arms open and my eyes seeing all the beauty and possibilities. There are so many things around us that God is doing and He is asking us to join Him. He wants to bring life in all we do, from the mundane to the exciting. In all the things we do each day and with all the hats we wear are we living fully present or are we holding back?

Last year was about being…with Him, being with me, being with Dean. I always knew God is huge, powerful and I know He loves me, but I now know that I belong to Him and can call Him Abba (Daddy). My validation comes from Him, my identity is who He says I am. I can take His lens of grace and look at my past. I can call on His strength to get up and walk into my next step.

Let’s give Him today. Let’s make a choice to not be controlled by the unknown, the fear, the quiet -dark places we sometimes need to go. Let’s remember Who we belong to and how much He loves us.

I would love to hear from you…about your dream, how you are choosing to live in freedom or how I can stand with you and pray for you. I’m cheering you on!

All My Love ~ Jodi xoxo

“What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭MSG‬‬