I’m on my way to the airport this morning but I had to stop and write to you. I was overwhelmed yesterday by the personal emails I received. Many of you are going through great emotional pain due to your circumstances. And yet, you’re choosing not to let Ole Smutty face steal your peace and your joy.

As I read each of your stories, I couldn’t help but wonder--God do they know how much you love them--right now this every moment? You see, I've discovered lately that God not only loves us but He's lovesick for us! Have you ever been lovesick before? If so, then you know that you just want to be with that person. You want to hug'em and kiss'em til their neck falls off. You love them so much you can't hardly stand it. Well, my friend. The same is true of God. He is head over heels in love with you!His love is unquenchable.

Then there is ole Smutty Face. He uses painful situations to try and convince us that God doesn’t care. It’s hard not to listen when you have that hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach. Do you know that sick feeling? It’s like someone has punch you and taken all your strength. I know that pain, and I could sense that you do to.

No matter what has occurred in your past or what you feel right now, the Father’s love certain. That's hope we can cling to. Isaiah tells us that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Even though the Lord may seem far away and uncaring, the truth is God has a higher purpose for our pain. Even though we don’t understand why he’s allowed our suffering, trusting Him enables us to keep our joy.

Sometimes, in my mind’s eye, I’ll crawl up in the lap of my heavenly Father and just let Him love on me. By this I’ve learned something about His love. God pours His love upon us without exception—no ifs, ands, or buts. He did not begin to love you and me at the moment we invited Him into our life. Nor did He begin to love us when we first started going to church or reading the bible. No. He loved us from the beginning. Way before we ever knew Him—God knew us and loved us.

Let the truth of God’s love wash over you today. Let it put a song on your lips and peace in your heart.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

God loves you and me. And nothing or nobody is coming between us. That’s something to be joyful about.

Labels: According to Micca

I have to be honest. Ole Smutty face, our family name for Satan, can steal my joy faster than I can flick a tick off of the dog. Boy, did that sentence show my southern roots or what? (I’m cracking myself up here!) Anyway. It’s true. The enemy’s number one job is to steal and kill what God has given us. And God has given us joy! Do you remember that childhood song you sang in Sunday school way back when?

“I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart!”

Second Verse: Sing it with me…

“I’ve got the peace that passes understanding down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart!”

Even though I sang that song as a child, I didn’t get the true meaning of it. How could I? There wasn’t anything in my childhood that induced sadness. Oh, sure I had my moments of displeasure, and I knew how to throw a fit about it too. (Translation for those who live in other countries and northern states: to throw a fit is to have a tantrum.) But most of the time, I was happy.

I think children are just naturally happy and content with their circumstances. That’s because their circumstances are arranged to meet their needs. When hungry, their tummy’s are filled; when downcast, they are encouraged; when bored, they are taught to play; and when their tiny eyelids grow sleepy, someone tucks then into a warm, soft bed to rest for the night. It’s also natural for a child to be happy because she doesn’t have to face facts.

It’s not until we reach adulthood that we face facts. It’s then we realize that happiness is associated with circumstances. When all is going well, we are happy—but when our circumstances go sour, so do we.

Joy is much different than happiness. It doesn’t come from our circumstances. Joy comes from doing God’s will. Jesus said, “My joy is made full when I’m doing the will of the Father.” You and I were created for purpose; for service. When we are doing what we were created for than joy fills our hearts and peace rules. On the other hand, when you and I attempt to live life apart from God’s purposes, it’s like a coffee mug trying to fly.

Wouldn’t it be strange if I got up this morning, reached for a coffee cup, and proceeded to fill it with hot coffee when all of a sudden it protested? “Hey!” Don’t put that coffee in me. I’m not a cup. I’m a Frisbee.” (Okay, I know this is a strange analogy but hang with me for a second. It is early, you know.)

Let’s say I buy the mugs argument, open the back door, and attempt to fly the coffee mug as if it were a Frisbee. I dare say the results would be tragic. Upon impact, the mug would shatter into a million little pieces and scatter across my patio. The first thing my kids would say after running down the stairs to see what crashed is, “I’m not cleaning that up.”

It’s usually while we’re trying to clean up the broken pieces of a life lived apart from God that we wonder where has our joy has gone. For others, we’ve found ourselves mixed up in the circumstances of family or friends and we’ve allowed that situation steal our joy. We know our joy is there somewhere—but where?

Something happens when the easy flow of life is interrupted by chaos. We switch something off. Most of the time, it’s our faith we turn off. We stop following God and walking in light of truth because of what our circumstances are telling us.

Oh sure, you and I are fine when God is blessing us, but when the blessings stop—we stop. The problem is our aim. We are aiming for happiness instead of joy. Joy is only achieved in following after God and fulfilling our created purpose.

So, where are you today? Has Satan stolen your joy?

If so, how has this affected your witness; your life; and your service to the kingdom?

What do you plan to do about it? I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to keep following Christ. And as I do, you’ll hear me singing… “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart!”

Come on...sing it with me! "Down in my heart to stay!!"

Labels: According to Micca

"God does not demand of me that I accomplish great things. He does demand of me that I strive for excellence in my relationships." —Ted W. Engstrom

It’s true. God never calls us to do great things, although He does great things in and through us. The Lord calls us to Himself. It’s out of our ongoing relationship with Him that true ministry is received and accomplished. The thing God commands of us is to walk worthy of our calling by serving with excellence. Even that requires dependence on Him.

God-sized tasks are big. They feel big because they are something only a big God can do. If you and I can accomplish the task at hand, then it’s probably not from God. In fact, anything you and I do apart from God is insignificant—motherhood, wife, disciple, etc… That’s why we often fail at our own attempt to serve God and others by our own efforts. On the other hand, anything we do by the power of God, we can label as Greatness.

I’ll never forget a certain lady I met at our Annual She Speaks conference—which is held for those who feel called to be God’s spokesperson through the written and spoken word. She was amazed at the number of others who also felt called of God. She just knew that she was going to be the next Big Name in Christian ministry. Her question to me was, “If that is true, why are there so many others who feel the same way?” Good question.

Do you remember the time Christ was preparing His disciples for His home-going? The guys were distraught and full of questions like, “Where are you going, Lord, and why can’t we come with you?”

Jesus gave us great insight into heaven that day as well His plan to go and prepare a place for each of us. But Christ also explained to His followers that He was limited on Earth. By Himself, He could only reach a few, buy by the Holy Spirit living in each of us He could reach more! Therefore, it was good for Him to go.

There is a great big world out there. It takes many workers. God needs all of us to fulfill His Great Commission. That, my friend, is a God-sized task. It feels big because it is big and requires dependence on God.

You see, we are all running in the same race striving for the same goal—to build God’s kingdom. The winner is the one who keeps her eyes on Christ. I have my personal race to run and you have yours. They will not look alike. But if I’m tempted to look at your race and compare it to mine, then I will eventually trip and fall. If I keep my eyes on the goal, then God will be able to accomplish His purposes through me.

The call of God is BIG! Accomplishing it involves maintaining our relationship with God so we’ll know where and when to run. It takes dependence on Him to do what only He can do. It takes commitment to work WITH God not FOR God with excellence. If we forget these things, we begin doing great things for ourselves rather than the Kingdom of God. Tom Holladay agrees.

He wrote, “There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to do great things for God — and accomplishing great things for him. The problem is that it's just too easy to start doing the great things for yourself and not for him. It can happen in the blink of an eye. Service is then replaced with selfishness. We all struggle with selfishness, so how do we protect ourselves from letting our ego take center stage? That's where the priority of relationships comes in! A healthy relationship with God and healthy relationships with others have the power to keep our commitments to the things and the tasks in our lives from getting out of balance.”

It’s simple. True ministry is birthed out of our relationship with God. It’s where we are called, kept, and maintain a heavenly perspective. When He is our vision, success is always certain.

Labels: According to Micca

Ministry, like life, can be messy. Our flesh can get into the mix and cause “not-so-good” consequences. When the “flesh” questions the call, doubt takes over.

While I was certain of God’s call, I had all kinds of doubts about serving Him. I struggled with my insecurities and my inabilities—not to mention my deep southern accent. I thought, “Most need an interpreter when speaking in a foreign country. With my accent, I’ll need one in order to speak in the north!” What’s funny—I speak mostly in the North!

When I first realized that God was calling me to serve beyond what I was already doing at my home church, I sought the advice of a wise counselor—my pastor. But not before I went through extreme agony for about a year. I brought this agony on myself by doubting God instead of trusting Him.

You see, I was very shy growing up. While I had a deep faith in God, I never dreamed I’d grow up to be a speaker and author—NEVER! English was my worst subject in school which you may have already figured out by reading my blog. And I use to get sick and run a fervor if I had to make an announcement in front of my Sunday school class. Public speaking was never on my “what I want to do when I grow up” list. Therefore, I wanted to be certain God had called me before I approached my pastor. I spent long hours each day in prayer and in the Word.

When I finally made an appointment with my pastor, my worry instantly ceased. Taking that first step was validated by peace. At the time, I wished I had been obedient from the start. It’s tough living with doubt and conviction.

The first lesson I learned about ministry is that it’s not something we decided to do. God does the choosing. That was my question exactly. I wanted to know for certain that God had called me. Otherwise, I’d only be wasting my time, my family’s time, and others who needed to be gleaning from a true prophet of God.

My pastor gave me a simple answer to my question. “Wait.” He told me to wait on God. We already knew that I had heard from God. Now, understand, I don’t claim to have heard the audio voice of God, but it was the loudest, clearest thought I ever had—one that wouldn’t go away—not even for a year. It’s important that you and I have a clear sense that God has called us. There should be a time in your life and mine where we can pin point that call. After that, we wait and trust God to lead us.

I was reminded of this lesson from my pastor when during my conversation with Beth Moore. She shared, “The key to ministry is never get ahead of the anointing.” When we’re running ahead of God, we can’t be in the center of His plan. We simply spin our wheels trying to get somewhere while God spends His time chasing us down.

It’s like trying to chase down a hungry toddler who wants his lunch but runs from his mother who is trying to place him in his highchair.

After we are certain that God has called us, we wait. My pastor told me that God would make His plan crystal clear in unmistakable ways. This meant that I didn’t have to promote myself. I didn’t have to develop an agenda. I didn’t have to network with others in the same ministry. I didn’t have to knock on doors and ask God to open them. I didn’t have to pray for opportunities or for the expanding of territory. I certainly didn’t have to worry about the competition. No. I simply had to wait and trust that God would show me the way in His timing. This was my experience time and again. In fact, I’m still experiencing miracles that confirm God’s favor and direction on my life.

The cool thing is God also made my call unmistakable to my husband as well. Since I didn’t know how to use a computer and needed to brush up on my English skills along with others, my pastor thought it was a good idea to return to school while I waited on God.

Taking his advice, my husband, who is an accountant with a personality, accompanied me to the state’s school where I filled out the necessary papers to enroll. When the office worker return, he informed us that my tuition had already been paid and I was free to pick up my schedule.

This sent my accounting thinking husband’s head spinning. He questioned the young man as to how the tuition had been paid. The officer worker told us that their records showed I had enrolled 18 YEARS ago but never came to class. This was correct. I had met a really cute guy and ran off and got married. Now, it was 18 years later and the school was honoring their records.

To my husband, this was unlikely. He knew that he accounting department would have returned the check to my parents or after all these years written it off the books. The young boy agreed, and yet, there it was and they were honoring it. Cool huh? God leaves no detail or worry undone. From that moment on, my husband was certain in his heart that God was indeed leading us.

With each miracle, God illuminated the path I was to walk. As I took each step with obedience and trust, He’d uncover more of the path—and continues to do so today.
What freedom! I don’t have to worry and work. I don’t have to compete or contemplate. I just simply trust and obey. As God leads, in life and ministry, I find myself where I truly long to be—the center of His will.

Are you trusting God or trying to work out your own life and ministry? You and I can say we are trusting God, but our true beliefs will be revealed in our actions. Let me leave you with these thoughts from John Ortberg.

“I have three different kinds of convictions. We might think of them in this way: what I say I believe; what I think I believe; and what I reveal I really do believe by my actions.

The best indicator of my true beliefs and my true purposes are my actions. They always flow out of my mental map about the way things really are. What I say I believe might be bogus. What I think I believe might be fickle. But I never violate my idea about the way things are. I always live in a way that reflects my mental map. I live at the mercy of my ideas about the way things really are. Always. And so do you.”

Labels: According to Micca

There is just something in me that has to do something when a problem arises. I don’t care how much I’m making a mess of things, I’m driven to either fix it or find a solution. Are you the same way? Maybe it’s a woman thingy.

I’ve learned over the years that God can do in a small amount of time what may take me years to accomplish if I’ll just surrender it in prayer.

It’s true. Prayer is the key that moves the hand of God in our lives. (I need to repeat that several times a day!) It’s not me begging God, or demanding of Him with my hands on my hips. Striking a deal with God isn’t what moves Him to work in my life either. It’s quiet trust after making my request known to Him.

Prayer not only moves the hand of God, but it replaces my anxious worry with peace and contentment as I wait on God to do what only He can do. I’ve experienced this throughout my life and ministry.

When I lost my husband in a tragic accident, prayer became a source of strength and stability for my life. When there was no one else to talk to, cry on, or lean on at 2:00am in the morning, God was always there. Each time I cried out to Him, God would meet me in my pain and replace it with the peace that comes from abiding in His promised presence.

Then, my children came along. Whoa! Talk about increasing your prayer life! I’ve had to trust God to work in their lives, because believe me, they don’t always listen to mama—especially during times of rebellion! It’s during those times that I want to “talk God” to them most. It doesn’t always go over well. When kids are in this state, my Granny use to say, “Don’t talk to your kids about God. Talk to God about your kids.” She was a wise woman.

I’m amazed at how God orchestrates my children’s lives when I pray, get out of the way, and trust Him. Besides, God loves them too. Because of His love, I KNOW that God always has their best interest at heart—even when I attempt to “fix” them myself instead of relying on God.

I’ve also seen this truth in my ministry. However, because I have an appointment to keep this morning, I’ll have to finish my thoughts tomorrow. So as they say…stay tuned! And in the meantime, trust God today. Let Him carry the thing you’ve been carrying. His shoulders are much stronger and able than yours and mine. Go ahead. Hand it off. You’ll be amazed at how light and carefree your steps can be.

Labels: According to Micca

Fall is my favorite time of the year! In Nashville, the trees are beginning to turn as the temperatures outside become cooler. In the North however, the trees are already a glow with brilliant colors. This past weekend I had the privilege of speaking in Hershey, PA. The trees were beautiful, but the chocolate was awesome!! Here’s a picture of me and some of my new friends standing in front of the Hersey Chocolate factory after our tour during free-time on Saturday.

The wonderful thing about Hershey, PA is…you guessed it…the chocolate. The minute you enter town, you can smell chocolate in the air! The street lights are made in the shape of Hershey kisses, and they have a great Hershey Amusement Park! My family and I love amusement parks. We like the old fashion wooden roller-coasters and they have two! To top it off, if you’re directionally challenged like me, you can never get lost because the town is built in a circle! I’m definitely coming back and bringing my family!

The retreat was held at the beautiful Hershey Lodge. Again, the aroma of chocolate filled the air inside of the Lodge. Throughout the day, it would smell of chocolate-mint and other mouth watering mixtures that the nose recognized and the appetite desired.

To get you started, each guest received a chocolate bar as they checked into the Lodge. That’s not all! The nicely decorated rooms came with complementary hot chocolate and Hersey kisses on the pillow.

Yep, if there were ever a town built for me, where you can drive round and round and never get lost—where chocolate can be found on every corner—Hershey, PA is it!

The women of Mid-Atlantic church were a treat, too! This is my second time to be with them. It was nice to see old friends and make new ones, too. Even though I came down with Laryngitis, the Lord spoke in a powerful way. His spirit moved mightily on Saturday night as the women nailed their fears to the cross. It was a time of release and liberty like only the Lord can do. Praise His Name—for whom the Lord sets free is free indeed!

Now, lets go drink some hot chocolate and stay warm!

Labels: According to Micca

I thought this was fun....

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, and the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, .. and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)

As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat!

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors! We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it. But we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushs a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. NO CELL PHONES!!!!! Unthinkable!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surroundsound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them. We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.

We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. Because they were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen,we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade. Horrors! Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law and the teacher! Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And if you're one of them! Congratulations!

Labels: According to Micca

Howdy! (That’s both Tennessee and Texan lingo!) I love that Texans speak a lot like Tennesseans. I felt right at home there!

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Texas lately. A few weeks ago I was in McAllen, TX located at the bottom of the state just 9 miles from Mexico. This weekend I was at the top of the state in Perryton, TX.

What an awesome conference! Women surrounding this area look forward to this conference every year held by Community Church in Perryton. They drive hundreds of miles to be there. I was honored to be with them and to share God’s truths. Many received Christ for the first time! Others were encouraged and strengthened in the faith walk. The Women’s ministry team, led by Debbie Symons, goes all out to love on these women. If you’re looking for a church home in this area, this is one to visit!

This weekend I was reminded how God calls me to live out what I write and speak about. I had just written a devotion on pruning that ran this weekend as I spoke on the subject fear and faith in Perryton. It amazes me how God can simultaneously use me as a vessel to grow others and grow me at the same time. But, He can!

I was supposed to fly home Sunday out of the Amarillo airport, but thunderstorms and heavy fog grounded all planes. I had to stay over an extra night and fly home yesterday. It was a real bummer.

My kids were home on fall break and my husband had taken Monday off from work as well. I longed to be home with them especially since I’ve been traveling non-stop for the past several weeks. I felt anxious and unsettled.

Flying into Amarillo was no breeze either. I boarded my connecting flight in Dallas, settled into my seat, and prepared for takeoff when the stewardess informed us that our plane was broken. We quickly de-boarded the plane and were escorted back into the terminal. We were told that it would only take 15 minutes to “fix” the plane.

I don’t know about you, but I rather not fly on a broken plane that’s been fixed in record time as if it were a race car in the pit. So, I began to pray that they would exchange the broken plane for another plane. About 30 minutes later, that’s what happened. We were assigned to another plane. Tension seemed to ease a bit among the travelers. We gathered our belongings and headed to our new gate where we waited an additional 2 hours for takeoff. Tension, once again, heightened.

Oh, the joys of traveling! They are as unpredictable as life. I realized that God will use anything and everything to shape and prune our characters—even as I go out to minister. I could feel Him craving patience into my being as I waited and waited for a new plane to Amarillo. God was/is also working out contentment in my life. I discovered this as I sat alone in the Hotel Sunday while wishing I were home with my family. God’s sheers were also at work removing fear and anxiety as I trusted the broken plane situation to His care.

I appreciate all the comments made about my devotion, “A Set-back or Cutback” over the weekend. I can identify with them all! While this weekend appeared to be full of “set-backs” for me, I was able to see the reality of it all. My “set-backs” were actually “cut-backs” in God’s pruning process. Pruning is not an easy process, but it’s a worthy one. How can I say that—because I want to be like Jesus more than anything!! I know you do, too!

Labels: According to Micca

The Weaker We Feel, The
Harder We Lean On God.
And The Harder We Lean.
The Stronger We Grow.
-Joni Eareckson Tada

Progressing through life is risky. Sometimes it’s downright painful, and we all must face it at one time or another. It’s like the rose. Life contains both beauty and thorns. Think about it.

When my children were learning to walk, one minute they were filled with pride as they toddled a few steps ahead. The next minute they would risk a painful fall. But they never gave up.

Life got riskier has they grew.

I’ll never forget when my eldest son got his driver license. Oh, what a happy day it was. That is until he backed out of the driveway, went down the road, and out of sight for the first time. Fear struck my heart—and with good reason! It’s taken a few fender benders for him to learn to drive.

Even on my wedding day, I counted on the joyous times my spouse and I would share, but I never considered the heartaches that would also come our way. It’s apparent that life is a mixture of the two.

If that’s true and life has such potential for pain, why try? We try because it also has the potential for great joy!

Yes, God uses the hardships of life—not to set us back, but to cut back the things in our lives that prevent us from growing, becoming stronger, and more fruitful. These are the ways of God. If you and I are smart, we’ll allow Him to use His master sheers so that we can bloom as He intends.

When the thorns seem to sharp and painful, God promises to strengthen and guide us through the thorns until at last a beautiful rose has bloomed. It’s worth the risk, my friend. Besides it takes both beauty and thorns to make a rose.

Labels: According to Micca

What is it about shoes that attract us girls?! Purses and shoes are my favorite accessories. When the season changes, it’s a sign to me that it’s time for new shoes!! In the fall and winter months, I love the mule shoe. You know, it’s sort of a slip on boot. This causal shoe can be worn with anything from jeans to dress pants. The place that I often purchase my seasonal mules is Target. They have some really cute mules.

In honor of me being their number one shoe fan, Target did something grand this year. They named a shoe after me! Seriously, it’s called the “Micah.” They may not know they name a shoe after me, but they did! Even though they spelled it wrong, how cool is that! It’s so cool that my husband tried to take credit for it.

Monday was my husband’s and mine anniversary. We’ve been married 18 years! I can honestly say I love him more now than when we first got married. I think it’s because of all we’ve been through together. We’ve got history. Some of our history is packed with good memoires while other parts are not so good. I believe it’s the “not so good” parts that brought us close together and developed an undying love for one another.

At dinner Monday night, tucked away in a romantic corner both, Pat agreed that our marriage has been a good one. Then he added, “If you were to die, I wouldn’t remarry.”

Ohhhhhh, wasn’t that sweet?! That’s what I was thinking until he added, “Because I don’t think I could take anymore training from another woman.”

I considered throwing my water on him but I knew he’d throw his back at me. I also knew that my husband is a jokester and he didn’t mean a word of it! At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Every year he gives me a card with money tucked inside for our anniversary. He knows how I love to shop for shoes.

After I found the “Micah” shoe, I was excited to tell my husband about it. Do you know he took credit for the name? He tried to convince me that he had the shoe named after me for our anniversary. Now, I’ve heard of people naming stars after their beloved, but never shoes. I wasn’t buying it.

The truth is, no matter how it came about, I have my own shoe! The “Micah” shoe! If you have these same shoes, I’d love to know and get your review about them. Perhaps I’ll come to your town for a speaking engagement and we can all wear our shoes. How fun!

Labels: According to Micca

I was so blessed to spend the weekend with about 1600 girlfriends at the Hearts at Home Conference in Grand Rapids, MI! If you’ve never been to a Hearts conference, I invite you to go!! You’ll be blessed!


We stayed in a beautiful, historic hotel!!


I loved serving along side of their staff. Trisha Hufnagel is a jewel! The first time I spoke at Hearts, my dear friend LeAnn went with me. Anything and everything that could go wrong did. We missed our plane and had to take a later one. Mother Nature came to visit and since I was unprepared, Trisha graciously went to the store for me! My room didn’t have a hairdryer and when you have thick hair like mine, a hairdryer is necessary—trust me! Otherwise, I’d look like a bad imitation of Donna Summers hair-do in the 70’s. While I didn’t care for her 70’s hairstyle, I do love her songs! The girl and SING!! …Anyway….despite it all, it went pretty well!

This time, I had the privilege of ministering along side of many friends in ministry. Marybeth Whalen and Karen Ehman are Proverbs 31 gals like me. I also had the honor of serving with Julie Barnhill, Trish Berg, and Cheri Keaggy, singer and song writer. I can’t forget to mention Jill Savage. She truly has a heart for women and the struggles they face in marriage and parenthood.

Me and Marybeth.

All that was good, no doubt, but the best part of the conference was laughing, sharing, and crying with all the women who attended. Sure, we all had our own look and style that distinguish us from one another. But on the inside we were all the same. We were real women with real struggles looking for real hope. Since God is faithful, many found that hope this past weekend. Several in my session, “The God of All Hope,” trusted Christ as their personal Savior and Lord for the first time!

He’s the only One who can make a difference. In this world, Christ told us that we would encounter trouble. Boy, was He right! I’ve sometimes feel as if I’ve had my share of trouble and someone else’s too. Christ told us this so that we would have peace—peace in the truth that no matter what kind of trouble we face, he has overcome it! In other words, financial troubles will come, our health will falter, children will rebel, and loves ones will die. One thing or another will touch us all, but our God is bigger; He is trustworthy; His is faithful.

Hope isn’t something we do; it’s something we get. When we put our trust in God by faith, we receive hope in return. Hope that says, I believe God will do what He says He will do as I trust Him.

As women shared their struggles with me, I shared my hope with them…which is secured and kept by Jesus alone.

I'd love to meet you at the next Hearts Conference, Nov 7-8 in Rochester, MN!

If you attended the conference last weekend, be sure to say "HI!"

Sending 10,000 Blessings Your way...

Labels: According to Micca

Happy Friday! I'm off to Grand Rapids this morning to speak at the Hearts at Home confernece. Please pray that God will touch hearts through me! He is the true communicator!

God is also the Good Shepherd who cares for [ us ] His sheep. When we think God is being too hard on us, we must remember His unfailing love and care. This fact is seen throughout God’s Word. These verses reveal what the Good Shepherd does for His sheep. As you read, allow these truths to sink deep into your heart!

1.) He learns all about us. “I know my sheep.” “He calls his own sheep by name.” The Good Shepherd knows our names, our dispositions, our desires, our aims, our abilities, our faults, and all there is to know about us.

2.) He loves us. “I lay down my life for my sheep.” This tells us of the extent of God’s love for us. It’s like no other kind of love. It’s a divine love; a supernatural love; it’s an amazing love in that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

3.) He leads us. “He leads them out.” “When he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them.” What a joy and satisfaction to follow such a leader! He leads us by his presence; by his voice; and by his impression. His own follow after him.

4.) He longs for us. “I am known of mine.” He longs that we should know him. “Learn of Me.” God desires that we be near him. He longs to love and protect us from dangerous enemies. He longs to lead us to green pastors and feed us rich food from heaven.

5.) He lives for us. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The Good Shepherd gives us life so that we will not perish nor shall any one snatch us from his hand. He lives in us so that we may live forever.

I pray you have a good weekend in the love and care of your Good Shepherd.

Labels: According to Micca

I hope you’re having a great week! I am--mainly because it’s my “Beth Moore” week. That’s what I’m calling it anyway. The privilege of spending time with her was like getting a shot of joy in the arm. You can read about my divine appointment with Beth in my post, My Rondevu with Beth Moore.

I told my children that I will not allow any grumbling, fighting, or anything negative to bring me down during my “Beth” week. I’ve found that there seems to magic in that phrase. When I asked my daughter to unload the dishwasher, I added---“it is my ‘Beth Moore’ week. She did it without complaint! When I asked my son to fold the towels and added the tag line---“it is my “Beth Moore’ week. He did so without grumbling! When I asked my tried and weary husband for a back rub, and added, “it is my ‘Beth Moore’ week, he was glad to serve.

Yes, there’s some kind of magic in a famous name—even though Beth would disagree. However, there is one famous name that holds supernatural power that’s undeniable. In His Name, we find life. Not just any kind of life. We find life to the fullest. It’s a life filled with joy, contentment, purpose and true satisfaction. It’s the life we all seek after.

Paul found the secret to that life in Philippians 4: 11-12. “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” In other words, Paul is saying that contentment is NOT in found in our circumstances or in what we have, but who we know.

Like the Israelite children, I get that confused. As they journeyed through the desert to the Promise Land, they did a lot of grumbling and complaining about their circumstances. They even grumbled when God wouldn’t give them what they wanted. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 that because of their attitude God was not pleased and in one day 23 thousand of them died. You may not have a problem with grumbling and complaining, but I do. Bottom line, it robs me of my contentment—and worse—it displeases God.

Paul has a secret we need to know. He is talking about true joy—true contentment in ANY circumstances. He’s found the secret, but notice, it’s not something we get. Contentment is something we learn. Look back at the first verse. Paul said, “I have learned to be content.” The secret he learned is found in the word “mind.” True contentment is found in how we think. Look at verse 8 of Philippians. “Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

Paul had 3 mind-sets that we need to adopt in order to learn contentment.

1.) Paul had a single mind. He had a clear purpose. His mind was set. He knew for whom and for what he was living for. You and I were created by God for God. We were designed to live for Him. Living for too many things leaves us empty, but fulfilling our God-given purpose fills us with satisfaction beyond our imagination.

2.) Paul had a growing mind. While he had experienced much hardship in his life, shipwrecked, hunger, jail, Paul didn’t allow his past pain to rob his peace for today. How did he do that? Paul grew from his experiences. He allowed the adversity in his life to fulfill its benefits. Yes, there are benefits to our misery. Trials mature us, they make us more Christ-like, they make us stronger, they produce endurance and patience, and they give us compassion for others. Although God doesn’t always cause hardships, He uses adversity in our lives for good. When you and I can see the benefits, we can also experience contentment in the midst of it.

3.) Paul had a rejoicing mind. Verse 4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice!” It hurts us sometimes when we do things for others--when you do things for your children and they don't say thank you. They don't recognize all those behind-the-scenes things that you're doing just to keep their lives going. There are times as a mom when you feel, "If somebody around here would just express appreciation, that would make my job a little easier." I think God is asking us "Have you thanked Me for the things I've been doing behind the scenes for you?" I find so many times that God has done dozens and scores and maybe hundreds of things for me that I haven't stopped to recognize, much less express appreciation for. God’s word commands us to rejoice in all things. Cultivating the attitude of gratitude will help us in developing a contented heart.

Contentment is not in what you have, but who you know. God is the only one who can truly satisfy our soul. I encourage you to read Ps 63 today and ask God to fill you with Himself.

Labels: According to Micca