Hope

 This morning I was walking and reflecting on this past year,its something that I do each June as its the month i turn 21 again.

I love to reflect not only on  how I have grown but on  how I can grow...

The good times, The sad times,
  The desert times, The fruitful times.

This year i have seen the dross of who I am come to the surface,yet I have also seen the Gold in me shine ..
I have trudged through a seemingly long valley, yet also managed with the help of some beautiful people to run to the mountain top.

I have felt so many dreams have been lost, Yet I stepped out in rediscovering new ones.

I have cried yet laughed.
been angry yet loved.

This year has not been a bad year when I think on it, its been a teaching year a stripping year .

A year were i have learned things i believed i already knew.
A year i accepted that I am free to be me and that's ok (not 100% there yet)
A year were I have let go of things that were not good yet held on to our Good God …….

 Like all of us i still have some questions that I  bring to God which can be powefull and yet very confronting.

 Why iam i writing this ?

I am doing so because if one ounce of my journey can illuminate a way for someone else then its all been worth it.

There were  some days when my feet felt they had been nailed to a roundabout,and I could not seem move forward.

Grief would come in like a wave, followed by a massive  rip called shame and guilt.

No matter how hard I tried to lift my head these feelings would overwhelm  me time and time again.

However my questions that i was asking God kept receiving the same answer "you are mine ,You are called ,and I love you "and in my desperation to hear more specific answers i began to feel frustrated.

I wanted to hear Go left, then right,left again, type of answers.

Yet all HE kept saying was "you are mine ,You are called ,and I love you "

You see the truth is that this is the only answer we need ..I am not saying God doesn't speak to us about anything else because he surely does.

 But so many times i know for me was searching so hard that i would miss what he is saying.

Often we are so busy searching for the answer to end all our pain and heartache,or give us the direction on the way forward  that we miss what he is truly saying and  he part called resting.

 If today you are in that place can i assure you that hope does come,pain does fade and you will smile again.
As i write this trust me i am still on the journey but the beauty is I am not the same as i was last June.

If pain and greif surround you this morning dont give up your healing is on its way.
 Don't rush allow God to do  deep work in your heart.
 Grief has no time limit, what may take a few months for some can take years for another.
 Sometimes we hide our pain because we fear others will see it as a lack of faith in God as we should be strong.... that my friends is a load of baloney....

Cry out to God Scream out to him and allow his clock to tick.
He knows just whats needed to restore you back.




































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Empty jars

I have recently been challenged about giving God what is in my hands ,not because i don't want him to have it, but because in all honesty i don't know what i have to give

Have you ever felt that way?

Its almost like for years and years what you have and who you are has been consumed by maybe what you do, and somewhere along the way your talents and gifts are buried under a mountain of lies from the enemy that tells you your a empty vessel with nothing to give.

It got me thinking about the widow in 2 kings 4vs1

We don't even know her name all we know is she is known as "a certain woman" a widow who was poor and broken.
A women whose surroundings were desolate
She is in great need when Elisha asked what does she have in her house, she replied nothing but a jar of  oil,so he tells her she must go and borrow empty vessels from her neighbors ...now can you imagine what she was thinking.

 I mean empty vessels what good are they?
Why not vessels that have something in them?

But she trusted and obeyed and went.God uses everything we have even when we think its little or insignificant he never wastes anything.
When she brought the empty vessels home she was told to pour the oil in them.
Now i know for me I am not that good at math, but even i know that the small jar of oil is by no way going to fill the vessels that she had borrowed.

 But she again obeyed and began to pour and the oil kept pouring out and pouring out until every vessel was filled
As i meditated on this I imagined her being in awe as she saw the miracle before her eyes as she saw Gods amazing provision before her eyes for herself and her sons
Yet that is also what he longs to do with us
our lives empty and surrendered and he shows up and asks us what do we have?
 ....and like the widow we may only have a little oil left, or we may not even know what we have, However God does
So the challenge is what do we have, that HE can multiply and use
even in a season of lack we still have something to offer and that something is our life

A piece of old fabric

Down in the fabric shop 

that's were she lay 

a piece of old fabric 

that was starting to fray 

She wasn't like the others
 neatly stacked in to a pile 

she was thrown on the floor 

 she had been there for a while 

She was dirty and dusty 

as she laid on the floor 

covered in footprints 

That no one would pay for 

Then early one morning 

some one came to the store 

as soon as they entered

they looked on the floor 

And there lay the fabric 

all dusty and worn

not neat like the rest 

but crumpled and torn 

the old man bent down 

and with a smile on his face

he picked up the fabric

'ahh Iam in the right place'

He proceeded  with joy 

to the cashiers desk

this torn dusted fabric 

 no longer grotesque 

How much for this piece 

i love it so much 

the colours so vibrant 

and so soft to touch 

oh that's not for sale sir

the cashier said 

its just an old scrap 

that's worn with no thread 

oh no my dear 

you don't understand

scraps are not scraps

 when there inside my hand

                                               Copyright © 2013 [Deb Matheson]. All Rights Reserved.

No matter what has happened

 in our lives, we may feel torn and worn battered and bruised 'but in the hands of Jesus he sees potential and beauty and makes everything new 

doing today and not waiting for tommorow

Ok girls, time for  a little bit of transparency.

How many of us if we are truly honest, have woken up on a Monday morning and realised that you had  forgotten  to wash the school uniforms due to a hectic weekend?

How many of us have heard the  words .."where are my socks and where is my  undies"...due to an overflowing laundry basket, that is now like a make shift wardrobe

I know I have, on more than one occasion

I guess for some of us we have more in common than we think.

Things can often get away from us.

The busyness of life can come, and take over the things that are a priority in helping us have a smooth running household.

Its Like the pots we have left to soak in the sink, with the hope that some one else will come along and wash it them for us ...

Or the full load of towels in the washing machine that we forgot to hang out, and now have to re wash as they have gone a bit smelly ...

Then there is the old vegetable at the back of the fridge, the one that is now growing enough penicillin to source a chemist,(I mean we have been meaning to throw it out,haven't we )

And last but not least, the morning you wake and realize there is nothing for school lunches, your  already running late and apart from giving them salt on toilet paper as that is all that seems to be available, you run frantically to the local store and nearly spend your whole life savings on a bread and peanut butter

Yep these are Just some of the things that slip unnoticed until we have no choice but to deal with them

If the truth be known, we or should I say most of us have experienced one or all of these things.

We swear  that next time, we are going to wash the uniforms the moment the kids get home from school.

And as for laundry baskets, well as soon as its off the line your going to fold and put away in every ones draws.

And never again will you soak a pan,or forget to hang out the washing.

And as for your fridge, well from now on that's going to be sparkling with only the freshest of veggies.

and your pantry well that will be filled to overflowing with home made items so school lunches are always on hand.

Phew !!!

Until the moments of change turn in to hours, then days, then months, and before we know it we are back again swamped with overflowing laundry baskets and moldy veggies.

Like anything in life to be organised and take hold of the things that will make our lives run smoother  takes effort.

I am reminded of   The healing Pool in John 5

One man had laid there for 38 yrs, the fact that he was at the pool you can see he desires healing, but being at the pool and getting in the pool are two different things.

 Its like knowing you need to wash uniforms and actually washing them.

 They are not  just going to jump from the ground themselves in to the washing machine.

So many of us today know we need healing and we believe with sincere hearts that we are sitting at the pool waiting to be healed  and Yet we feel God is doing nothing.

We can so often let the hustle and bustle and Pain that life throws at us steer us away from making our own healing a priority,  so we put it of for another day.

However we cant just sit by the pool, we have to get in to it

When Jesus approached this man he asked him "Do You Want To Get Well"

the man replied and said "I cant sir as i have no one to help me in to the pool while iam trying to get in some one goes in ahead of me'

We can sit at the edge of the water so to speak, waiting for the tide to turn on our situation and whist waiting we can grow mouldy like the old carrot in the back of the fridge.

We can remain for years in the same situation, whist we watch others running forward to receive their freedom ,but not us we some how cant move ahead.

 So its often easier to sit and blame others for why we lay at the edge of the pool paralyzed ,lame or blind especially if they have genuinely contributed to your pain. Yet when we live this way it stops us from taking ownership.

Only we can step in to the water and move forward.

Next thing Jesus said to the man was "pick up your mat and walk"

some of us have been sitting on the same mat for years and years, its felt comfortable

Yet frustrating and painful ..
I was pondering Jesus words and I thought how amazing that he doesn't say "Leave your mat behind and walk."
The man would still carry his mat but it would now be cleansed and new.
 Even once we are healed we can still carry the scars of our past, but they are now healed and whole and now have the amazing ability to show the world of Gods amazing power.
As i thought on that I was thinking of how our own pain can bring healing to another life, instilling hope and freedom, as we carry what ever it is that's held us back and walk in to the healing pool of Gods amazing presence.

When others see our scars they will listen to our story

HIStory

So the challenge is  Do we want to get well?

 If so what mat have we been sitting on.

 Is it Anger, Depression,Fear,Rejection, Pain, Abuse, Unforgivness, Self esteem, Eating disorders, Addictions, ..
What ever mat it is  Jesus is calling to us to not wait till its all out of control, but today pick up your mat and move forward.
He knows our fears and he will guide us each step of the way .
Hope I see you alongside me at the waters edge ready to emerge  ourselves fully in the healing of The King 

be blessed  love Debs x

Travel Light

Can you imagine what it would feel like if you had just arrived at your dream holiday destination in the snow only to open your suitcase and find it packed with bikinis and summer outfits. 

Just the sheer thought makes me feel uneasy. The entire holiday could be far from pleasurable, and somewhat uncomfortable

Yet so often our lives can be just like this.

 Sometimes we can find ourselves in a new season and we are still carrying an abundance of last season’s junk, plus the season before that, and the one before that.
Making our current season heavy and weighed down. Which makes  it very hard to move with the freedom that God has given us?

Imagine your life like a big huge suitcase, as the years have passed the case becomes heavier and heavier, you have been meaning to de clutter but things just get in the way.
Not only that it can also it can feel quite scary to get rid of the things that you have held on to for years. I mean everything has a memory attached whether it be a good one or a bad one.

We can be fully aware that our life is overflowing with too much unnecessary baggage, we know that no matter how much we try to ignore it eventually the zip will break.
And what we thought was a “Neat, compact nobody can see what’s in my case kind of life “eventually will spill out, causing us to now have a suitcase (life) were the handle has fell off and holes have appeared and all the stitching is coming apart.

Every new season we enter we need a spring clean. There is no point if you’re in a summer season to continue to wear your winter outfit, or vice versa.

We need to begin to learn the art of traveling light. Some of us we are carrying pain and hurt and grief around. For others its addictions and anger and the list can go one.
only we know what’s in our case and only we can unpack it 

why not join with me, and open up our lives before God and allow him to De clutter and spring clean our hearts enabling us to walk in the freedom that is ours love Debs xx

Daughters of the King

Just recently as i was inflicting some pain on myself, commonly known as exercise,I saw the most precious moment take place.

A little girl was standing at the oceans edge with a huge hat on,which she had it pulled over her face and continually shouted "Daddy Daddy can you find me iam hiding ".

Her dad played along with her game for a few moments, until all of a sudden he just swept her up and said "I have found you".

The little girl was hugging her daddy and laughing.

as i continued my walk it got me thinking.

I don't know were you are all at.

However i believe that God wants to minister to your heart today

I believe that God wants to talk to two types of women today.

Firstly those that are scared and still filled with shame your finding it hard to move forwarded .

Secondly those who feel like they have been left on the shelf, as your dreams and desires have never surfaced and your afraid hes forgotten you or lost you in a crowd............

Girls the bible is so clear, God knows and sees everything.

you cant hide from him no matter what your past has been.

No matter what your scared he will ask of you.

No matter what your present situation is.

He knows it all.

And he never overlooks his children.

We sometimes can find ourselves like the little girl on the oceans edge covering our faces with a variety of hats in order to hide ourselves away from our Heavenly Father

Yet just like that little girls daddy,Our hevenly Father runs towards us and picks us up, spins us around and says "My daughter of course i have found you i never took my eyes off you,you stand out in a crowd so unique one of a kind i took your past and transformed it in to beauty you no longer need to hide your face from me".

He then turns to his beautiful daughters who feel left out and forgotten and he lifts the hat of your face and speaks to your soul saying "my beautiful one i have not forgotten you, my timing is perfect I see the beginning from the end and sometimes delay is your best friend.

We serve a king who loves us just as we are.

He knows the right time for our dreams to be born and knows every intricate thought that we have

lets trust him with our all much love debs xx

©Deb Matheson

ITS ALL PART OF THE JOURNEY

Lately i have been thinking on how its so much easier to want to change the world,yet when it comes down to changing oneself the hard work begins.

Things we didn't want to address or simply didn't even know was an issue come to the fore front, giving us two choices lie down and ignore or accept the challenge and trust and live free

I would have to say that i have chosen to accept the challenge but my goodness its been one of the hardest things I have had to do

This past 2 weeks I truly have been challenged in my faith

Not as in do I believe Jesus is Lord,

but in do I truly believe He is Lord over my seemingly impossible situation.

As i have thought hard and long on this, I have been deeply moved. 

 See it can be easier when you have your surroundings in a secure spot.

Regular income,Secure home life ,Secure job/ministry,to be able quote all things are possible and a myriad of scripture

 However it can be a very different story when all is stripped away and its just you and him and a humanly impossible situation.

 When we are facing new territory it can be overwhelming and quite  frighting.

Not knowing what is around the corner can be scary  and finding that your wavering in Gods promises can be devastating.

Especially when your exhausted from the journey

Yet I am learning its through the wavering and the struggles that a deep strength comes one that is impossible to find on the mountain top.

Its in the massive wrestles we can have as we climb back up and fall down again, that teaches us amazing wisdom and enables us to press on

I don't know were your all at this morning, but I do know that God will never leave your side as we surrender our lives He picks us up and even though we may still have to walk some rocky roads he is our guide and protector