Cypress And Myrtle

Tag: daily bread

  • Ours Triggers Need to be Surrendered

    As moms, we naturally wear many hats; cook, chauffeur, home organizer, timekeeper, peacekeeper, counsellor, motivator… and the list goes on.

    Recently, when my eldest turned 10, I decided to put on a new hat: tutor. I was confident I had the knowledge to help her with her school subjects. What I didn’t realize was that knowledge alone doesn’t equal aptitude.

    As the days went by, my patience grew thinner, my voice grew louder, and irritation quickly turned into frustration. To my great shame, I became a monster mom. There were moments when it felt like all nine fruit of the Spirit had completely abandoned me. Not one fruit left in me.

    Revision time every night became stressful for both my daughter and me. I realized it had become a trigger for me.

    Something had to change. We couldn’t go on like this.

    So, I apologized to her and promised to be a calmer tutor. The look on her face told me she wasn’t convinced.

    That night, I prayed, specifically for just three fruit of the Spirit: self-control, patience, and kindness. I was desperate enough to cling to just these three.

    And at the start of every session, I prayed for just these three fruit of the Spirit. The days that followed were better than I could have imagined. Our revision sessions became calmer, lighter, even enjoyable. We shared many peaceful and meaningful moments as she prepared for her exams.

    We are not perfect moms. There are moments when we’re triggered, when we react impulsively, emotionally, even angrily. But often, the very things that trigger us are the things God is inviting us to surrender to Him.

    So, here’s my challenge to fellow moms: don’t run from your triggers. Face them. Bring them honestly before God. Name them. Surrender them. Ask Him for the fruit you lack in that moment.

    As Scripture reminds us:

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
    Galatians 5:22–23

    When we lay our triggers at His feet, He doesn’t shame us. He transforms us. And in the very areas where we feel weakest, His grace shows up strongest – because His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

    But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
    2 Corinthians 12:9

  • The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us

    The more I ponder John 1:14, the more I am left in awe. Words begin to fail me at what God has done for humankind.

    The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

    Why would a God who existed before beginning began, who created time and eternity, the cosmos and galaxies, choose to clothe Himself in human flesh and live among us?

    The mystery is almost unbearable in its beauty. The infinite stepping into the finite. The Creator entering creation. Not from a distance, but close enough to be seen, touched, known.

    The word dwelt in the original Greek is σκηνόω (skēnoō). It literally means to pitch a tent, to tabernacle, to take up residence. This is not the language of a passing visit. It is the language of presence.

    He entered our dust and our days, our meals and conversations, our friendships and fatigue.

    A God who makes His home among us, inviting us through Christ into communion with Him.

    This is the greatest event in history. The moment when eternity stepped into time.
    When God did not merely speak to humanity, but came to dwell with us.

    And this is why every human heart should take heed. Every ear should lean in and listen.

    For this is not simply a story of the past, but a declaration of what God has done, for us. A God who draws near. A God who enters our world so we might draw into Him, our source of true life.

    The Word became flesh.
    And nothing has been the same since.

  • What My Yes Year Taught Me

    December 2024, a curiosity began to stir in me. I wondered what a year of yes might look like. A year of saying yes to God, to whatever He placed before me, both within church ministry and beyond its walls.

    So, that was how I stepped into 2025. With curiosity more than certainty. I was eager to see what I would learn about God.

    Needless to say, it became a very full year. A year of showing up. Of diving deeper into community life. Of saying yes when it would have been easier, and more comfortable, to say no.

    Now, as I look back on 2025, here’s what I learned. I’ve learned that every yes led me to people, meeting new people and connecting deeper with others. And each connection, enriched my journey of faith.

    Through these people, I was encouraged. Inspired. Spurred on to go deeper with God and to love His people.

    Was I surprised by what I learned? Yes.
    Should I have been surprised? Not really.

    Here’s why.

    God is interested in people. He has always been interested in people. From the very beginning, Scripture reveals a God who walks with humanity, speaks with them, and dwells among them. “It is not good for man to be alone,” God said (Genesis 2:18), not because Adam lacked productivity, but because he lacked relationship.

    God Himself exists in community. The Trinity – God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, living in perfect communion with one another. Relationship is not something God created for us; it is something that already exists within Him. And He invites us into the community of the Trinity, to partake in the joy and love of His fellowship.

    So, it should not surprise me that a year of saying yes to God would draw me deeper into relationships. That growth would happen not in isolation, but in community.

    From Genesis to the Gospels, Scripture tells the same story: a God who walks with His people, dwells among them, and invites them into life together. A God who calls, gathers, sends and also meets us again through one another.

    Jesus did not minister alone. He called disciples to walk with Him. He ate with people, touched the outcast, met people in homes. And when the early church was formed, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship” Acts 2:42). Faith, from the beginning, was meant to be lived together.

    Perhaps the greatest lesson of my yes year was this: when we say yes to God, we are often saying yes to people. And as we grow deeper in our relationship with God, we find ourselves loving people more deeply.

  • Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

    In my previous post To the Introverted Woman Walking with God, I referenced Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

    But as I reflected more deeply on the verse, I realized that the word “fearfully” might need a closer look, especially in today’s context.

    When we hear fearfully, we often think of anxiety, dread, or something negative. But the original Hebrew meaning reveals something very different. Something full of awe, reverence, and deep intentionality.

    What Does “Fearfully” Mean in Hebrew?

    The original word translated as fearfully comes from the Hebrew word “yare” (יָרֵא). It doesn’t mean fear in the way we use it today. Instead, yare speaks of standing in awe before something great, powerful, and majestic. It describes a holy reverence, the kind of deep respect you feel in the presence of greatness.

    So when the psalmist says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” he isn’t saying we were created with fear or hesitation. He’s declaring that we were made with sacred intentionality. God crafted us with awe and reverence, like an artist stepping back to marvel at His masterpiece.

    A Look at Bible Translations

    Each Bible version brings out a different nuance of this truth:

    NIV: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

    NLT: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”

    KJV: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

    ESV: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

    Each one points back to the same truth: you were not made casually but with divine care.

    What Does “Wonderfully” Mean?

    The word wonderfully comes from the Hebrew verb “pā·lāʾ” (פָּלָא), which means:

    • To be wonderful or extraordinary
    • To be set apart or distinguished
    • To be beyond human understanding

    This word is often used to describe the miraculous and marvelous works of God.

    So, when we bring the two Hebrew words together—yare and pā·lāʾ, the psalmist is saying:

    “I have been made with awe-inspiring reverence and set-apart wonder.”

    You were crafted with deep intention, not as an afterthought. Your design carries dignity and divine purpose. You are a reflection of God’s wisdom and creativity.

    But Can We Really Understand This?

    In truth, our human minds and emotions can’t fully grasp what it means to be “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We can study the words and unpack their meanings but the full weight of it is hard to comprehend.

    We’re talking about the Creator of the universe, all-knowing, all-powerful taking time to shape each of us personally. That kind of design, that kind of love, is something we’ll never fully be able to wrap our minds around.

    And yet… we can rest in it.

    Even when we don’t feel worthy. Even when we question our value. Or when the world tells us otherwise, remember; you were made with awe and wonder.

    A Bold Challenge

    So here’s the challenge:

    If God sees you as fearfully and wonderfully made, crafted with reverence and set apart with purpose how then will you begin to live it?

    Will you stop measuring your worth by the world’s standards?

    Will you speak to yourself with the same care your Creator used in forming you?

    Will you step into each day with the confidence that you are His masterpiece?

    Psalm 139:14—should shape how we think, speak, parent, work, and worship.