What To Do When You Are Waiting For Your Life To Bloom

I waited every spring for the peonies to bloom.

Tracing the edge of an earlier autumn sun, I remember so carefully digging a home for them in the soil.

I waited, anticipating their gracious blooms.My heart was desperate for their beauty.Sometimes we need beauty to remind us that our journey has a purpose, that weeds won’t ultimately betray our pain, and that life will spring forth from the dust.

Each year I tended the soil, removed any weeds from their surroundings.I watched the greenish-red shoots as they shot up from the ground.And yes, the plants grew big, though year after year they yielded no blooms.

It’s as if the night brought no morning, and these heavy labor pains bore no grace, no fulfillment for this awful stirring in my soul.

Something inside me wanted to uproot these delicate, brave stems, to find the soil of validation and comfort for my meager plants to grow.I saw other bushes in the garden swell with blossoms and desired my fragile gifts to unfurl brightly and boldly.

The purposes that God plants in our heart sometimes feel barren and fruitless.It can feel painful to hold onto unseen and often unrealized dreams, to miss the watering of tender soul-roots or the birth of their expected harvest.

I am learning, sometimes slowly, sometimes with an ache in my step and a strain on my brow, to surrender my expectation for the harvest, to reclaim my steps beside the Master.Yielding to His ways, His timing, His process for this cynical and stubborn heart of mine, forces me to remember this sacred pilgrimage is not even in the tiniest way about me.

Just as I can never force or cajole tender blossoms from my peonies, I can never coerce or demand my own vision or destiny for my life.

God knew finding my destiny would pale in comparison to finding His presence.Exercising His joy in each and every moment.Pursuing holy.

Henri Nouwen describes, Joy and laughter are the gifts of living in the presence of God and trusting that tomorrow is not worth worrying about.

He knew I’d have the tendency to rush the miraculous, to manage this internal metamorphosis that is transforming me into His image.Perhaps that is why He so loving spoke to me,

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? (Matt 6:25-30, NIV)

He understood the most beautiful of nature’s gifts could not satisfy the eternal cravings in my heart.He gave me the one thing He knew would fill me, heal me, mold me, and complete me.He gave me Himself.Utterly and completely.Arms spread open wide.

Practicing His presence, I’m discovering He is enough.Period.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that the subtle surrender of our ways, our wants, our hopes and dreams, frees us to settle in and enjoy the surroundings.

And on that lovely, bright, spring morning when I stepped into my garden, I discovered the most brilliant, beautiful peonies had appeared right before my eyes.

When I least expected it.Right on time.

I wait every year for the peonies to bloom.

---

About This Community

Don't we all want a little peace?  My heart for this community is to provide just that - a needed refuge from all the burdens that weigh us down, some encouragement and inspiration to keep us weary travelers moving forward on our journeys, and some practical advice to help each of us navigate the challenges of life and relationships.  Whether in our parenting, our marriages, our faith, or the broken places in our hearts, this place is for anyone who dares to reach beyond the hopelessness that surrounds us and embrace a lifestyle of emotional abundance and peace!  

About Peace for a Lifetime

In my new book, Peace for a Lifetime, I share the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Through personal and professional experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I've discovered how to take the broken pieces of life and find indestructible peace with myself, God and with others. Through my story and other’s stories you’ll realize that you can experience the life for which you long. You can experience abundance beyond anything you can imagine. You can experience peace, not just for today, not just for tomorrow. You can experience peace —for a lifetime!

Peace for a Lifetime is available on Amazon.com.

Book Trailer: https://vimeo.com/155392891

My Prayer For New Things and New Dreams In 2018

Revelation 21:5 (ESV)And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Sometimes it is the hardest thing to stay as clay, soft and supple. Sometimes the cold is so bitter the safest thing to do is to bury wounds deep enough we never have to risk them seeing the light of day, of being exposed.

But buried wounds only grow more brittle and cracked with time. Buried wounds never feel the warmth of tender hands leaning in to lovingly caress weary soul-sores.  Nor do they feel the fire of life as blood flows in and covers the most broken and raw aches that have left us limping for so long.

Yes, in many ways we’ve grown accustomed to our limp. We barely recognize the unconscious compensation, the halting steps, the fatigue. The wound is ours and along our path it has somehow become our identity.

So when the Spirit sweeps into our heart and whispers, behold I am making all things new, we feel certain He doesn’t mean that.

Surely there are other areas for Him to mature or meddle, whichever end of the emotional scope we perceive He is peering.

Dear one, you can be sure He means that.

Don’t run away. This time, this year, be kinder, more intentional with yourself. Don’t busy yourself with other’s growth, other’s healing so that you distract yourself from your own.

Healing is where the plow is laid for a harvest of life, of love to grow.

[clickToTweet tweet="Healing is where the plow is laid for a harvest of life, of love to grow." quote="Healing is where the plow is laid for a harvest of life, of love to grow."]

Ann Voskamp describes, New life happens in you when you aren’t afraid of the deaths that happen before resurrections.

Don’t allow the enemy to steal your next resurrection. Don’t allow him to keep you wandering in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) encourages us, See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

So as you enter this year, risk a little more. It takes courage to go with God into our soul spaces and allow Him to reveal areas He wants to heal in you.

Where is He leading you this year?

What are the areas of your life He wants to bring healing, to breathe life?

What is the old He is calling you to make new in 2018?

It may get a little messy. That’s okay.  The deepest meaning is cultivated from the messes He has made beautiful.

More than anything, keep your eyes on the prize. Can you not perceive it?, the verse asks. Don’t let the enemy lull you into a dim vision of your future, your destiny. Hold onto the freedom God has for you.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) reinforces God’s truth when He says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I am excited to walk with you to encourage you along your healing path, to comfort you in your sorrows, and to cheer you in your successes. I am excited to see how God takes a little healing from each of our lives and uses that to bring healing in the lives of those around us.

Full circle.  Yes, full circle.

If you have a specific prayer, a goal, a place that God wants to breathe into this year, please email me, message me, PM me. It will always be confidential, but I would love to pray with you specifically this year!

About This Community

Don't we all want a little peace?  My heart for this community is to provide just that - a needed refuge from all the burdens that weigh us down, some encouragement and inspiration to keep us weary travelers moving forward on our journeys, and some practical advice to help each of us navigate the challenges of life and relationships.  Whether in our parenting, our marriages, our faith, or the broken places in our hearts, this place is for anyone who dares to reach beyond the hopelessness that surrounds us and embrace a lifestyle of emotional abundance and peace!  

About Peace for a Lifetime

In my new book, Peace for a Lifetime, I share the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Through personal and professional experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I've discovered how to take the broken pieces of life and find indestructible peace with myself, God and with others. Through my story and other’s stories you’ll realize that you can experience the life for which you long. You can experience abundance beyond anything you can imagine. You can experience peace, not just for today, not just for tomorrow. You can experience peace —for a lifetime!

Peace for a Lifetime is available on Amazon.com.

Book Trailer: https://vimeo.com/155392891

When You Feel Like God Has Forgotten The Desires Of Your Heart

Sometimes maybe dreams don’t come true. 

I held tightly to Psalm 37:4b (NIV) that He will give you the desires of your heart. I had memorized that verse as a little girl and recited it faithfully as I dreamed of what my life would be.

Month after month I prayed, I waited. To be honest I spent much of my time begging and pleading with God. The dream of having a child was not an easy one to get past. Strollers, babies, blankets, loom around every corner. They are usually joyful experiences, witnessing the miracle of new life. Yet these were not joyful experiences for me. Each was a reminder of the dream. The vacancy in my heart that had never been filled.

How do I fill this? I wondered. How do you get past this most primal, basic human drive, a dream that you have carried with you since you were a little girl?

I didn’t know. I endured, carrying this pain with me wherever I went. Some moments were filled with a deep and wearying sorrow. Some moments, anger. There were people who didn’t understand. How could you feel the loss of something you never had? they questioned.

But I could. I did.

I could never get past God’s words to me. I believed Him when He said that He would give me the desires of my heart.

I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when.

I understood Sarah’s laughter at God’s promise to her (Genesis 18) as she could feel her body aging, as she faced the window of time slowly closing in around her. I laughed, too.

In time I relented to the grief I had for so long held at bay. I gave in to the waves of pain that engulfed me. Silently, loudly, deeply, desperately – I grieved.

In the midst of my grief I somehow wondered if God’s words were true. I questioned whether He saw me right in the midst of my brokenness. Whether He had a miracle for me, like He did for Sarah.

As I healed, I began to discover that God’s miracles were all around me. His provision had been there all along. I began see my stepchildren as God’s gift for me to love, to invest myself. I saw my nephews and nieces as His blessing of little miracles and joys in my life. As a professional therapist, I see each and every client I have the honor to work with as my children. I love them. I delight in them. I get to pour out God’s love to them and walk with them as they build their lives, as they heal, as they grow.

My healing grew as God cemented in me my identity as His beloved. As He showed me my value and worth. My healing birthed in me new passions and purposes. My healing allowed me to discover and build a life full of hope, full of wholeness, full of abundance. Above all, full of peace.

In my new book, Peace for a Lifetime, I not only share bits of my journey toward peace, but I also share other individual’s stories of how to cultivate a life of healing and wholeness in whatever circumstances life brings.

If you have ever experienced the loss of a dream, God has not forgotten or abandoned you. He loves you. He is with you right in the middle of your circumstances. He has a miracle for you. He had one for me.

[clickToTweet tweet="He loves you. He is with you right in the middle of your circumstances. He has a miracle for you!" quote="He loves you. He is with you right in the middle of your circumstances. He has a miracle for you. "]

No, God didn’t give me a baby. Yet He has been faithful. He has fulfilled every desire of my heart. He will fulfill the desires of your heart, too.

I have many children. My heart is full. Abundant.

Whatever you dream is, with God dreams really do come true!

What are the desires of your heart that have not yet been fulfilled?  Leave your comment below.  I'd love to hear your journey!

About Lisa

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, author, coffee lover, and wife. My desire is to provide a compassionate place in the midst of the stresses and struggles of life. At heart, I am just a Southern girl who loves beautiful things, whether it is the beauty of words found in a deeply moving story, the beauty of a meal cooked with love, the beauty of a cup of coffee with a friend, or the beauty seen in far away landscapes and cultures. I have fallen passionately in love with the journey and believe it is among the most beautiful gifts to embrace and celebrate. While I grew up in the Florida sunshine, I now live just outside Nashville in Franklin, TN with my husband and 16yr old Shih-tzu, Sophie.

About Peace for a Lifetime

In my new book, Peace for a Lifetime, I share the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Through personal and professional experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I discovered how to take the broken pieces of life and find indestructible peace with myself, God and with others. Through my story and other’s stories you’ll realize that you can experience the life for which you long. You can experience abundance beyond anything you can imagine. You can experience peace, not just for today, not just for tomorrow. You can experience peace —for a lifetime!

Peace for a Lifetime is available on Amazon.com

I'd love to have you join the Peace for a Lifetime community on Facebook: Lisa Murray

Twitter: @_Lisa_Murray

Book Trailer: https://vimeo.com/155392891

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Three Questions That Will Empower Your Peace

How To Stop the Chaos and Embrace the Life You’ve Always Dreamed 

Life just keeps coming at us. With all of the demands and distractions, it can be tough to focus, to find our way, to discover the things that matter most.

Most of us tend to live reacting to whatever crisis is thrown at us. We can’t even envision a life where we get to experience the fullness and abundance we’ve always dreamed. We’ve learned to settle.

There are three questions that I believe hold the keys to empowering your peace.

1. Are you living the life you’ve always dreamed?

What are your hopes and dreams? What does your ideal life look like? Have you buried your dreams in a faraway place because they seem too unrealistic or just too painful to resurrect?

God gave each of us dreams. He wants to give us a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) We will never get anywhere if we are not heading somewhere. I’m not channeling my inner Anthony Robbins, but what I am asking is where are the areas that you’ve given up, settled in, stopped living?

[clickToTweet tweet="We will never get anywhere if we are not heading somewhere. #PeaceforaLifetime" quote="We will never get anywhere if we are not heading somewhere."]

Perhaps some of those areas or dreams are places God wants to bring healing, passion, and purpose to your life. Perhaps He wants to give you more of your dreams than you ever imagined. We will never live our dreams if we have stopped dreaming them.

[clickToTweet tweet="We will never live our dreams if we have stopped dreaming them. #PeaceforaLifetime" quote="We will never live our dreams if we have stopped dreaming them."]

2.  What steps are you taking to build the life you want?

Many of us started out young and idealistic, ready to change the world. But as life wielded its gravitational pull on our hopes and dreams, we gave up and settled in.

Our dreams for our life don’t have to be big. You may have always dreamed of learning how to garden or paint. You may have the dream of becoming a writer, or a Bible Study leader. You may have always wanted to return to school, or build a business. What steps are you taking to achieve your dreams and create the life you want?

Our dreams are rarely accomplished in one step or one moment. Don’t give up on your dreams. Begin to take small steps toward them. It is all of the small accumulated steps that ultimately lead to big changes in our hearts, our lives, and our relationships.

3.  What prevents you from taking steps forward toward your dreams?

There will always be obstacles to our dreams. Insecurities, past hurts, challenges to our time and resources can interrupt or stall even the best laid plans. Yet it is more about what we do with the obstacles than whether or not we will experience obstacles in our lives that will ultimately determine the outcome.

God wants us to learn how to face the obstacles in our paths, to lean into them in order to grow our faith in Him, develop our own inner resources, and along the way discover the path to our greatest hopes and dreams.

When we’re empty, overwhelmed, and distracted, we tend to drift along, reacting to every situation life throws at us.  Some of us try to control every detail of life, but both ways of dealing will leave us exhausted and stuck.

My new book, Peace For A Lifetime, presents a powerful and proven alternative that will empower you to remove the obstacles, heal the wounds, and develop the tools to live your dreams.

Click Here To Learn More About The Book

You’ll learn:

• How to recalibrate your relationship with emotions to get them to work for you in your life

• The reasons you may feel “off,” stuck, or hopeless to move beyond your present circumstances or past pain

• How to discover your authentic core self so that you can grow the investments you make into yourself and your future

• Specific tools to maximize your relationship success

• Powerful applications that will help give you the courage, the clarity, and vision to begin taking steps forward on your journey.

Peace For A Lifetime is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble Online.

You can begin to reclaim the hope, wholeness, and harmony God desires for your life. You can begin today to build the life of your dreams.

Click Here To Order

What would happen in your life if you were able to remove the obstacles and live your dreams? Leave your comment below.

Blessings,

Lisa

You can also JOIN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST and enter to win a $100 Amazon Giftcard!!! Post a picture of your book cover, use ‪#‎PeaceforaLifetime, and tag @_Lisa_Murray. That's it!! Plus, you can enter as many times as you want before March 25, 2016!!!!

I'm so excited to announce the winners of my new fragrance, PEACE!!

Jamie M.

Rachel G.

Timothy K.

Katherine P.

Monica O.

Please email with your address so we can get your gift to you!!!

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