Author: loribooker

We’ve moved so many times in our marriage. Last count was five. We’ve always bought the fixer-upper, moved in and given it a whole new look, settling into our new home. Our last move proved a little different. Before pulling the trigger we actually paused to think on why we were moving and it really was a good idea. Our ideas in the past weren’t all bad, but we both admit now that we were often chasing down dreams that we see now didn’t deliver. The brick and mortar just didn’t fill us the way we thought. The best move we ever made was when we made a move in where we sought to be filled. It was when we … Continue readingMake A Move

Oh, I love to sing. Just ask my family. An ole’ favorite took my heart to deep places this week with just this one line ~ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Most all of us are familiar with this song, but do we rest in this word? A wretch? Whoa! Do we realize what we’re admitting? We are saying we are messy miserable rascals apart from Jesus; poor, pitiful and without hope. This song goes far, deep and wide. I am captivated by what this is saying and what this is inviting us into. Admitting who we are so that we can receive who Jesus is ~ Mighty to save, full of grace, … Continue readingAmazing Grace in Full Color

I have so many notes; throughout my journal, on notecards, necklaces, framed, typed, taped up, on chalkboards, you name it. Think on all the notes you post as motivators. They are reminders, positive suggestions, words of comfort. All of them, an effort to lift you up and keep you going. Right? Today I hear the higher call, the reminder, the invitation, as I type “footnotes”— Y’all, footnotes have feet! They take action. Only in walking them out do we experience the power of them. He said to me, “My grace is sufficient and My power is made perfect in weakness.”“When I am weak, I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-11) This footnote, forever a favorite. It tells us to remain dependent … Continue readingFootnotes

I found this nugget in scripture that covered my heart with such comfort. I can’t help but share the goodness. Do you love the beach? Well, travel with me to the shores and see if you leave refreshed like I did upon hearing this! Grab your beach chair for a front row seat with your feet placed in the sand and your eyes toward the rolling waters and hear this from Jeremiah 5:21-22. “Do not fear. I’ve placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass. Though the waves toss and break, they cannot prevail. I’ve ordained the sand to hold them back. The waves and billows roar, … Continue readingBreathtaking Barrier

Do you have concerns that try to win, to gain ground and take over? My concerns can cause competition. The competition for my heart. Will my heart win or will my concerns consume me and take me down? We all have concerns, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34) Some concerns are huge, others are the every day kind. It made me think of God’s concern. He is concerned too. His highest concern is that we’d draw close to Him with all our concerns. That we’d believe He has us covered no matter what. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) Lord, our concerns compete, they try to sweep over us. … Continue readingCompeting Concerns

I arrived late to class at the gym. My friend knew I had arrived, but not because I had said anything. He had only seen me. Walking up to me, he said these words; “You announced your presence with a groan.” Wait, what did you say? (pause…..) His words fell like living water and my heart lept inside. I know, crazy right? But it was because it had been just as he said.  You see, a groan was all I had that morning as I had sat with the Lord in prayer. “I had announced my presence with a groan.” The Lord was reminding me that this was enough. He had seen me and had heard me. Did you know that He hears … Continue readingIt Was All I Had

It was the exchange of peace during our church service, a time to pretty much say hi to the people around you. We always sat near the same people, in our unspoken assigned seats. I reached my hand out to a very familiar face I’d met before, one I saw on a weekly basis. He reached for mine, too, but with his other hand he quickly covered his nametag and put me to the test. “What’s my name?” My heart hit my toes. My friendly smile and kind gestures lost their impact as I searched for his name and blurted out the wrong one. I wanted to sink into my seat. My face was hot and I was red with … Continue readingNo Nametag Needed

To be still is to be motionless and unmoving, it’s a picture of a place of deep silence as I see it ~ and this was the kind I was seeking the other day. But me, be still? If you know me, you would know I go a mile a minute, it’s no joke. Yet, in recent years I’ve found strength in stillness and have made every effort to find it. But, can I be honest? In the quiet sometimes things are still super loud. I just can’t get my mind to hush and be still. Do you know about this? Sitting there, my mind raced. If I had to pick a word, it might have been worry or even … Continue readingBe Still