Walking His Call

Hi Friends, UPDATE: I've removed the chapters of the book and just left you the Introduction and Epilogue. :-D The rest will remain a mystery until its published. Hugs!  The last few months have been rough - a whirlwind, a roller coaster ride - not too much fun at all. But in the midst of it all He (my Father) has been there cheering me on, guiding my steps and bringing me beautiful, grace-filled encounters. He continually brings me reasons to stand in awe of Him, and the story He gave me to write (over the last few weeks) is one of those reasons. I'm working on getting it illustrated (think Max Lucado's "Crippled Lamb" meets Pilgrims Progress) - then published, but I wanted to go ahead and share it with you here. It's not been edited yet, so my apologies to my grammar loving friends. I'd love to hear your thoughts. My Once Upon A Time By Jacquiline D Lochridge INTRODUCTION Jasmine: a very fragrant flower, a symbol of elegance and grace,

I broke down into tears at the doctor's office yesterday.  Poor guy.  All he did was recommend I see a podiatrist for my foot (I slammed 2 toes into a chair and they now longer point in the direction the rest do), but I couldn't take ONE MORE THING. This appointment (I hope so earnestly) finds me and mine on the tail end of a very long and difficult last few weeks. Let me take you on a bit of a journey. It's not to whine or feel sorry for us, but to give you a glimpse into why my poor doctor got a weeping bundle of mess this week. To save some time I'm going to quickly and (hopefully) succinctly give you the run down of the last little bit of our lives.  - My husband (we hope) is wrapping up a 15+ month journey to get a CPAP machine for Sleep Apnea. He stops breathing every four minutes, and therefore hasn't had a good night's sleep in well over a year. Can you imagine??? We FINALLY received the machine a few weeks ago, and began the process of finding the ma

Throughout my adult life (I've officially been an adult for 29 years!) I have been given MANY opportunities to "take the high road" in situations. I've been told "take the high road there's no one up there - no traffic". Taking the high road means you've made a choice to be a "full grown adult" about something. It means that your integrity is in the front seat, not the back. It means that you have character running out your nose. Do I sound a little jaded about it? Maybe. You see, taking the high road always comes at a price - always - and you have to decide if it's a price you are willing to pay. More often then not it is a high one. The question you have to ask yourself is: Are you willing to damage or sacrifice completely a relationship for a moment of being on the low road in a situation? What's being on the low road? It's letting your emotions get the better of you. It's choosing to turn left when you should tur

VULNERABLE: Capable of being physically or emotionally wounded; open to attack or damage.  Unguarded | Open. Some say you can't truly live unless you live at the heart of vulnerability; that when you do you become fully alive; that if you don't you live in a place of shut down emotions. I wonder... I'm processing this today because recently one of my deepest rooted insecurities was hit right in the heart. When this happens I go into full on awareness, protective mode. My armor goes on and I hide behind my walls. This particular insecurity has been a part of me since I was a little girl.  I have learned, over the years to master it - instead of it mastering me - but there are days (sometimes weeks) when it does its best to get the better of me. PLEASE NOTE: Before I go any further I feel like I need to let you know that I've already done the heart-work in this area.  I know why it is there, and that why is not a topic for a social media post (which this will soon

I'm reading this book (Grace//Truth 1.0) that is challenging my thought processes, and is constantly reminding me of a song my honey introduced me to - "What Would Jesus Undo?" (click the link below to listen). As I was putting down the book today this is how it ended, "If you show no love, no concern, no compassion, no empathy, no willingness to understand another person's point of view, you will rarely, if ever, convince them of the truth. Your attitude carries more power than you arguments... You may win the argument, but you'll probably lose the person." Losing the person is an UNACCEPTABLE outcome when we remember that the Sovereign Lord - Creator of Heaven and Earth - IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE. My heart cries at the number of times I have gotten it so wrong. I confess that I have sinned against HIM in thought, word and deed, by what I have done and what I have left undone. Repentance starts