“Burn the ships, cut the ties, send a flare into the night. Say a prayer, turn the tide, Dry your tears and wave goodbye.” I just recently discovered this song and it felt so powerfully my ANTHEM as I step into a new year, new decade, I felt I had to share some of that hope and power!

I wouldn’t take any of it back. As you guys all know pretty well, I like to say God has put me through the ringer. I’ve experienced more heartache and what some would call tragedy in my 37 (almost 38) years of life than some well into the end of their years. A while back, I started praying this prayer, “God, use me and waste me on your Kingdom.” and now that I know what that means for me, I see that He truly answered that prayer in ways I never thought. I didn’t know when I started praying it that it would mean pain, but the crazy thing about it all is that I wouldn’t take any of it back. I wouldn’t take losing a baby, the miscarriages following, the agonizing wait, the pain or heartache involved, the brokenness I felt or even my marriage almost falling apart back because the oddest thing is that I feel honored. A friend reminded me recently that God doesn’t do that for everyone. He redeems His CHILDREN’S pain. He gives us a purpose beyond ourselves which brings us joy that nothing in this world could ever give. But I forget that He doesn’t do this for everyone. What an honor it is that I can say He literally has put me through the fire to burn away the things of this world and the parts of me that don’t look like Him. How special am I that God would use the broken things, even things I caused, to bring about MY good and ultimately His glory? He loves me THAT MUCH to not leave me where I was 10 years ago.

Worth It. I know now with full confidence that He always works out our own painful situations, whether we caused it, someone else caused it, or it was just the brokenness of this world that caused it, for His glory but also for our good. I’ve seen it so many times to be true in my life that it’s almost hard for me to look at another believer going through a painful situation and not just feel joy for them, because I KNOW what it looks like on the other end of the pain. I know the joy that comes in the morning. I know the growth and the deepened faith that happens. And most of all, I know that even though it sucks to go through it, you will look back and say, “Worth it.” You will soon be on the other side of the pain, looking back at it with a new song in your mouth. I hope that no matter where you are as you step into the new year, this gives you hope for whats to come. I hope it gives you strength to dig deep into the Lord in the pain because you know there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

My 2020 Battle Cry: I wanted to share this new 2020 anthem with you guys today because it’s a cry of HOPE. I’ve seen a lot of #battlecry stuff on Instagram lately, and well, this is my 2020 battle cry. Whether or not you’re in the fire now, coming out of the fire or about to go into the fire, you can look into that fire with a fierce confidence that your God is bigger than the fire. He will redeem your pain, set you free, and put a new song of joy and hope in your heart. God allowed me to go through all that we have because He knew it was ultimately for my good. He knew the kind of strength I would have, the kind of faith I would deepen, how my eyes would truly be opened to the fact that He is more than enough. And when you experience that kind of Truth, you really are set free because you know Who’s hands you are in. You know that you can laugh without fear of the future because of who He has made you to be. So as we leave last year and the past decade behind, shout it out with me, ladies: (I picture myself on top of a cliff with the ships below, holding a match, and the wind is blowing my perfectly blowing hair, and I might have on a warrior outfit too)

Bring it on 2020!! We’ve got this! 

As I was listening to this song, Scripture I’ve read a ton kept coming to mind too. Every time we’ve been in the fire, this gave me hope that He would bring me out of the pit I was in and set my feet back on a secure foundation in Him. I may be weeping for the night but He would bring joy in the morning. This too shall pass and I would sing a new song of joy in the end.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.

Psalm 40:1-3

Burn the Ships – King & Country