Journey of Worship

Living in God's abundance means you recognize that you don't just have "enough", you have more than enough, you have surplus.  God wants you to see how He works in this way.   How?  You may be saying, "I don't understand how I'm supposed to get there when what I see, what I'm experiencing, is that I don't have enough!" It starts with your belief, He already provided, you just don't see it.  That's a pretty bold statement, but that's coming from someone who had the scarcity mindset and has experienced lack... and acknowledged abundance and am on the journey of experiencing it.   I spoke with a lovely woman yesterday, who shared her testimony as well, "change your perspective on who the Heavenly Father is, and you will live in abundance."   When you see Him for who He is, you will see the abundant life He has given you. It may seem awfully meddling to suggest you need to examine what you believe, but that's what I'...

A Kingdom mindset says: “Everything I have came from God.” “There’s always enough to bless others.” “If I give, God multiplies.” “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” — Psalm 24:1 When you shift your focus from what’s missing to Who provides , peace floods the spaces where fear once lived. John 15:1-17:  When we live connected to the vine, we will always bear much fruit.  Verse 8, this glorifies the Father, that in bearing much fruit, we show ourselves to be His disciples.  We must obey God's commands, living and giving in love, out of belief that we will never be empty, for it is in this way that (verse 16) "the Father will give whatever you ask in my name." The Overflow Principle In God’s Kingdom, overflow always follows obedience. John 6:9–13:    Think of the boy who offered his small lunch of bread and fish. Jesus didn’t multiply it until it was surrendered. Once placed in His hands, it became enough to feed thousands—with baskets...

   Breaking the Scarcity Mindset Adoptive families often live with tight schedules and tighter budgets. It’s natural to start thinking,  “We don’t have enough—time, money, energy.” Scarcity is not a reflection of reality; it’s a reflection of focus. When we fix our eyes on lack, we lose sight of the Giver. Check out this blog on what Jesus taught about scarcity, generosity, and abundance:  https://rachelstarrthomson.com/2017/05/16/free-full-light-jesus-taught-scarcity-generosity-abundance/  Rachel explains this mindeset well. A scarcity mindset says: “I must hold tightly to what I have.”   “There’s not enough to share.” “If I give, I’ll go without.” Examples of a scarcity mindset in the Bible: Adam and Eve (Genesis 3): Their choice to eat the forbidden fruit is seen as a moment where they doubted God's goodness and felt he was withholding from them, leading them to do what they had been commanded not to do.  When they took and eat, doubting G...

Chapter 3: The God of Abundance “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” — John 10:10 When you walk through adoption, your world expands—more children, more needs, more love, more stretching. It’s easy to see what’s increasing and feel like you’re decreasing. But God never intended for you to live out of fear or scarcity. He calls you to live in the flow of His abundance—an abundance that isn’t measured by what’s in your bank account, but by what’s in His heart. He is not a God of barely enough. He is the God of more than enough. Abundance Is Who He Is God’s abundance doesn’t mean luxury; it means sufficiency with overflow. Everything He does—He does generously. Look at creation: oceans spilling over with life, skies filled with stars, trees bearing fruit every season. Nothing about God’s nature is stingy. When He gave His Son, He gave His best. When He gives grace, it’s “grace upon grace” ( John 1:16 ). When He fills your life, He does it until it overflo...

  Opening our hands to receive, and to keep giving is operating as a true child of the King.  It's the way He wants us to live: as if we have access to everything, because He does, and He's our Father. It’s easy to live in survival mode, scanning every corner for the next solution. It's easy, but it's exhausting, and ultimately, it's deadly.  When you stop striving out of your own strength and understanding, and start seeking your Heavenly Father and His ways, your perspective shifts. Instead of asking, “How will we afford this?” Ask, “God, how are You going to show Yourself here?” That simple shift turns worry into worship. He’s not just providing things—He’s providing Himself. And that’s always enough. Reflection & Prayer Reflection Questions: When you think about your family’s needs, what do you tend to rely on first—yourself or God? Can you recall a time God provided for you in an unexpected way? What would change in your heart if you truly ...

 The most amazing thing about adoption, is the giving and receiving of legacy, a name, and an inheritance.  When we truly consider what it means to be adopted by our heavenly father, we must think, "Wow." He calls us His child, in whom He delights and sees as precious. We become brothers with His perfect Son. We receive all of the same inheritance that the perfect- Son receives, not a portion, all. God sees us the same as He did the perfect Son, who was willing to sacrifice all for relationship with the Father, and so that we could have relationship with the Father. The same power that God has, we are given. Everything God has is ours (we get a complete inheritance- beyond a "share"). When we might feel betrayed, we can know that He will never betray us, and we can keep seeking Him. God's love, forgiveness, and provisions for us never run out, we just have to keep seeking Him. He allows us, wants us, to draw near to Him, to find rest in His presence, to know we ...

 Sanctification: The work of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us and we surrender to the loving hand of the Father to be renewed, remade in His image, and we look to His Son, Jesus Christ for our redemption and commission.  He continually convicts, prepares us for the journey, and gives us opportunity to trust Him. The Spirit renews a person's heart, transforming their desires to be more aligned with God's.  Our desires become more and more aligned with God's as we trust Him and engage with Him.  We experience God and grow in faith; our lives look different, our countenance reflects His presence.   Our adoption in Christ is much like our adoption of the child He brought to us.  It starts off looking frantic, and may take years of little by little trust, but if we reflect the patience of the Lord, seek His guidance through the process, and trust He is working, we will have victories to celebrate.  Our little fledgling will in time learn, that he can...

Have you ever been with a group of friends (probably when you were school-aged), and went to sit in a seat that disappeared, only to crash on to the floor?  I'm not sure I've experienced that, but I have done that to a friend.  What a good way to show them they can trust me, eh?  I've always enjoyed a good prank, even those that were played on me.  But the repeated absence of something we put our trust in, especially when it comes to people, can be crippling to our growth.  Have you ever sat in a chair, expecting it to hold you, and then it breaks?  We start to doubt ourselves and our surroundings, and maybe even God, when things don't work out as expected.  Jadedness, bitterness, and seclusion can come over us- all feelings that are not of the Lord. Now, faith is the belief in something unseen (Hebrews 11:1), while trust is the active reliance and dependence on that belief (James 2:14-26), often demonstrated through action, or a calm recognition of Hi...

Have you ever watched a favorite something run out, and not know if you would be able to get more (maybe a seasonal treat)?  It's something that we experience over and over again from the time that we are babies.  In a home with parents that are able to provide, we often find out, that even those things that we only get annually; we will get again, and there is a trust that is developed.  We have gone through a revamp of our budget and our diet as a family; seeing things disappear and not come back on a "regular" basis is unsettling for the kids, but I reassure them there will be another opportunity.  (Since they are kids, unless that's tomorrow, or the next time I'm at the store, it gets a little scary for them.... will I really?)   It's healthy for them to go through these experiences of scarcity or loss of items with safe people, and knowing they are still going to get their needs met.  Our consistency; physically, relation-ally, and emotionally bei...

Have you ever gone to the store and bought something lavish, taken it home, regretted it, and couldn't return it?  Some form of buyers remorse comes over you and there's a panic....what am I going to do with this, what was I thinking, I can't buy something else now, oh it's all ruined....  Truth be told, I have done that and then tried to justify by thinking of someone I could gift the item to, maybe I didn't know that I had really bought it to bless someone else, right?!   I must confess that I've had those thoughts with my spouse and with my children, and I must immediately lay them at God's feet, and say I trust Him, I believe what He said when He brought me into this relationship, and I will see it through.  Further, the seeing it through, means, that I will not come at them with a pick-axe trying to form them into what I think would be a better fit for me, but that I would allow God to change me to be a better fit for them, a better mom, a better wife, ...

 Adoption and Sanctification- understanding what it means for you, and for your child In the Bible, "adoption" is a spiritual term for God making believers his children through a gracious, chosen act. Through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are brought into God's spiritual family, gaining all the rights, privileges, and inheritance of sons and daughters of God, which is a key theme in the New Testament. It's a metaphor for being chosen and brought into a permanent, loving relationship, distinct from both physical birth and slavery. Why our adoption in Christ is such a big deal: A gracious act of God:  It is a choice God makes, not a result of human worth or fitness, but it does require our agreement to enter.  God has been pursuing us, as He has pursued mankind since He first created Adam and Eve and gave them free will.  His desire is reunification with the children who were, are, and always will be His desire.  Our adoption as God's children is rooted in God...

Foster Care and Adoption is an attack on the enemy of this world, which is the spiritual forces of evil that are Satan's attempts to destroy God's children. Ephesians 6:12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore, put on the full armor of God! You have stepped into an arena to care for what Satan wants to be overlooked.  When Satan is able to devalue children, tear apart families and find his way into good-hearted people's homes, he thinks he's won.  When we step in to offer healing, to be the hands and feet of the Healer, he is threatened, and he will start to pull out all the stops of doubt. Remember your journey into the Family of God.  He doesn't want those he's pulled out for destruction set into families, and you are defending those as if they're your own.  This is your story: ...