Ever since I was a little girl, I was just a naturally glass-half-full kinda person.  Even the blood coursing through my veins is like a genetically programmed motto:  “B Positive!”  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s the way I was raised.  It might be because I learned about Jesus when I was very little and just always trusted that verse that says If He is for me, who can be against me?  Whatever the reason, being a naturally positive person has been a blessing in my life.  I certainly know my share of glass-half-empty people.  Inside or outside of Jesus relationships, there are just those people who see the glass as half-empty, smudged, out of style, etc.

Whichever you are today, you can switch to my blood type (figuratively speaking) by simply choosing to do so.

Below is a journal article that I wrote  just a couple of weeks ago for the WOMANITY 2015 conference journal and I thought it would be a nice reminder for all my special moms out there, and anyone else who might have woken up to a glass that was half-something 🙂

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 I’ve often wondered to myself “how do non-believers survive in this world?”  Without Romans 8:28, there are days when I cant imagine one good reason to get out of bed! If I didn’t know that things were absolutely, positively guaranteed to work out for my good in the long run, certainly I would just stay in bed and cry all day. Hebrew 6:19-20 says “But We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” I emphasize the word “but” there because it is actually one of my favorite words in the Bible. (super weird, let me explain)

I love how the authors of the Bible used that litte conjunction over and over again: they spell out a dire situation, a negative prognosis, a disaster waiting to happen, and then they write my favorite three letters “but”. Everyone from David, to Queen Esther, to the new testament apostles had their “but” moments. I like to think of having Hope as always having a “but”!  Praise the Lord,  I can recite for you endless stories of how things looked bad, but God.  My marriage was really over, but God somehow redeemed it. My child was given a life sentence of despair, but God substituted it for a life filled with joy. Our financial crisis was about to drown us, but God made a way for us to overcome. Because ALL THINGS work together for the good of those who Love God. So that marriage crisis actually made us so much stronger.  That genetic disorder that should have stolen my child actually gave me one that was so much more wonderful. Financial rock bottom worked in us a new understanding of being good stewards and brought us to a place of financial freedom.

There is always hope in Jesus, because we are guaranteed that every situation has a “but”!  Whatever you are facing today, try writing it down in your journal not with a period at the end of the sentence, rather conclude with these three letters and a few leading, promising, hopeful dots: but…..

here’s me, so honored to speak at Womanity 2015 a few weeks ago