The Question

I love to ask questions to anybody about everything. I love asking serious questions, funny questions, pointless questions, and really any question that comes to my mind. Here are some of my favorite questions I like to ask and maybe you would like to answer: "If you had a dinner party, what 5 people would you invite (no friends or family and they can be dead and alive)? If you were on death row, what would be your last meal? If you could follow anyone around for one day, who would it be? What event in the Old and New Testament would you like to have been at? Why do I like questions? It's not the questions I like, but the different answers people give. It tells me about their personality, their likes, their passions, etc. Questions provoke thought and discussions and though you may be talking about nothing, you really are talking about something: you. I love questions! And even though I ask other people questions all the time, there is one question that I ask myself almost every day.... Is Grace Enough? Knowing that God saved me from what I deserve, is that enough? Knowing that because Jesus was beaten, hung on a cross and died a painful death so that I could have a relationship with His Father, is that Enough? Knowing that Jesus went through rejection from man so that we would never have to go through rejection from God, is that enough? If God never did anything else for me again while on this earth, would the Grace He gave me on the cross be enough? I ask this question to keep my emotions in check for if I focus on what He did do, it's harder to focus on what I "feel" he's not doing. I ask this question to keep my mind on the eternal perspective and not the momentarily happenings. I ask this question to thwart off any thoughts or ideas that I am entitled to more than what He has already given me. Does asking myself this question work in every single one of these areas every day? I would love to say yes, but the answer is No. There are days when I throw my child-like temper-tantrums and answer the question with...No it's not. And it's these days that I find out a lot about myself and my relationship with God. I realize that I am a sinner who still needs that Grace everyday. It is my prayer, that no matter what trial or circumstance I am facing, I can answer everyday,with complete humility.....Yes! Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." ~2 Corinthians 12:9 Today, Is Grace enough for you?

God speaks through Twitter?

God speaks through Twitter? That was the question I asked myself this weekend and my answer was....Yes! He can and he did!

I was having a rough week in the ministry. I was so burdened and overwhelmed by the hurt, struggles, and pain those I was visiting with were facing. I was meeting, this particular day, with a female athlete who was struggling with hurts and sin. My heart broke for her as she shared her background and the fact she struggled with the homosexual lifestyle. (I would like to say this was my first time with this kind of conversation, but it was far from it.) As we sat there, I could just feel the spiritual battle that was going on and man, did I have my full armor of God ready to go:) For the next two hours, I shared with her how much God loves her, how he wants to have a relationship with her, and that God had plans for her. We prayed, cried, laughed and I believed God wanted to do something in her and through her (and still do:)) Physically and Spiritually exhausted I got into my car, I listened to a voice mail message that I had received. It was from someone questioning FCA and our judgement in bringing former First Lady, Laura Bush, in to speak at our FCA All-State Event. I went back to the office and found out we had received some of the same questions at the office, some were even down right mean and hateful. Unaware of some of the things that she had been quoted, I sat there beat down because the very thing I was just battling with this young lady was the same thing FCA's integrity was being questioned for: Our stand on Homosexuality. On one hand, I was angry because maybe we shouldn't have brought her in because we could be sending mixed messages, although I knew she was coming to encourage these kids by sharing her faith in Christ. On the other hand, I was angry with these people's emails because they had no idea how much I minister to girls on this very issue. We ARE fighting this battle in the trenches. Not with hateful emails or picket signs, but with the Love of Christ. I was torn.

Then God used Twitter. I follow Rick Warren's tweets and he posted this:

"U don't have to dislike someone because u disagree with them! Love is

NOT a compromise of convictions. It's Christlikeness!

Wow!!! That says it all right there! It was so powerful for me! Maybe you dislike someone because you disagree with their politics or beliefs. Maybe you feel like you would be compromising if you became friends with someone who lives a different lifestyle. How will they ever know Jesus? We don't just tell people about Jesus, we show them Jesus. We talk like Jesus talked. We walk like Jesus walked. We loved like Jesus loved.

He ate with sinners, he talked with sinners, he walked with sinners, but He never left them the same. The tax collector paid back all his debts and followed Jesus. The prostitute gave up the industry and followed Jesus. The Samaritan woman who worshipped pagan gods and had lived with 5 different men left everything and followed Jesus Why? Because of how He loved them

John 1:17 says, "For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." We sometimes forget that we need both GRACE and TRUTH when sharing Jesus and I believe there is a reason GRACE is mentioned first because it must be given first in order to share TRUTH.

People don't here the "Good News" of Jesus Christ by picketing outside the state capitol or yelling at young girls going into abortion clinics. They hear the "Good News" of Jesus Christ when we show them the Love of Jesus Christ.

How does God want to use you to show His Son's Love today?

Submitting to your Husbands

Yep! I am going there!

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands."
~Ephesians 5:22-24

For the longest time this verse made me cringe due to my stubborness, thick-headed ways. This always seemed like a power-trip to me, but God has used this verse to teach me some amazing lessons about me, my husband, and above all HIM!
First of all, I am so glad I only have to submit to my "own husband" and not anyone else's:) Can I get an AMEN?!!
Second, after almost 13 years of marriage I am still learning to submit "in everything." I love my husband and he is a great leader, but Everything is a lot! Can't I just have something? What if he's not leading the way I thought He should? What if I am hearing God and He isn't? What if I could do it better? Aren't these the questions we, realistically ask ourselves in the heat of the moment?
I had one of these moments just a couple of weeks ago. We have been living in our duplex since August and life in the duplex is cozy with the 5 of us. I just knew whenever we sold our house we would finally get to move out of the duplex, immediately. Not that I am not grateful for the place to live, I am just ready to stop living out of boxes. Well, we finally sold our house. Yay!!! And I was all ready to go looking for the new Roberts' family home. Chris said he felt that we should not get in any hurry, stay in the duplex, and save up our money for awhile. Well, that went in one ear and out the other for me. I had a realtor, pre-approval for a loan, and house visits set up. He would go look at them with me, but he still felt this was not the right time. And so the tension began....There were frustrations, silent dinners, and more frustrations. Until.....God showed me I was not submitting in "everything." So, I went to Chris, humbly, and shared with him what God was showing me and that I submit to where God was leading him in leading our family. The tension, frustration, silence was immediately gone. Our circumstances hadn't changed but my heart had. It wasn't that I didn't trust my husband, it was that I didn't trust God to lead my husband. We think it is about laying our individual selves down to her husbands, but it is actually laying down ourselves to Christ.
If your husband is not leading the way you think he should, I have one piece of advice for you: Shut up and Pray!! We think we can change our husband when we didn't create our husband. If you want a change in the man, you can't go to the man, but to the one who created the man. And I promise if you commit to shut-up and pray you will see a change in him and you. Our calling as a wife, is to submit to the leadership of our husband so that we can come along side him and help him be all that God is calling him to be as a man of God.
And because I have committed to submit to my husband's leadership of this family, I have seen him step-up and seek God more and more. One of my favorite parts of my day, is when I walk into the living room or kitchen in the morning to catch my leader in his quiet time with His leader.
Will I give my opinions? Absolutely. Will I share my mind? Sure thing. Will I like everything? Probably not. But ultimately I trust my God with everything including my husband's decisions for our family. So, here is to the crazy journey of wife submission......and ultimately to God's plans for the Roberts' family!

God's Game Plan For You

What is God's plan for you life? Isn't that the million dollar question? We all want to know what God has created us to do, where he has created us to go, what purpose am I for etc. We all want to know God's will for our lives. Much like everyone else, we too, ask those questions as a coaching family. Is this the job God has for us? Is this where we are suppose to be? If this is the plan you have for us, then why is it so hard? Can you relate to any of these questions?

We know that the Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Give you hope and a future."

I love that verse, but it is missing one thing....the part about filling us in on the plan. Don't you just wish God would lay out the blueprint for you life and say this is your PLAN. Here is where I am going to teach you this and this happens so I can teach you that, but Nope he doesn't.

So....where do we go from here to find God's Game plan for us? The Bible...of course:)



I have found two places in the Bible that have helped me when asking these questions.

First, "Be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Ummm..he does lay it out there in pretty plain and simple terms: Be Joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. This is God's plan for our lives, but we try to complicate things by expecting God to micromanage our lives. God can use us wherever we are and we don't have to worry about where we are and where God wants us to be because as long as we are being joyful, seeking God in prayer, and giving him thanks for where we are, then we are in the will of God. If God wants us to make a move then He will open the door, if not then he will give us strength and power to stay where we are. Now, doesn't that take the worry, stress, and fear away? Well, for a little while anyway.



Second, I was reading in the book of Acts and I came across a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel. I had never heard of this guy before, but, man, he was wise! After Peter was arrested and questioned for speaking the name of Jesus to the people of Jerusalem, he was preaching before the counsel and as the counsel was getting more and more enraged with Peter, Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the law and "held in honor by all the people" stood up (after giving some examples vs 36-37) and said, "if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail, but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God."

We must ask ourselves this question whenever we are searching for God's detailed plan in our lives, "Is this plan that I am wanting to happen for God's Glory or for mine?" Because when it is for God's glory then it is a God plan, not just a good plan and God plans will not fail and nothing will be able to overthrow them.

So, if you are searching God today and feeling a little lost in this great big world-know that you were created for plan and with purpose: Being Joyful, praying continuously, and giving thanks. And when we follow this plan your eyes begin to open, doors begin to open, and a clear-path begins to take shape that God is leading you on and you just enjoy the journey.

Praying that God is leading your families today:)

Who are you?

Our church is doing an awesome series called "Who do you think you are?" It really has opened my eyes to who I am in Christ. You should check it out at lifechurch.tv!
I have noticed that there are many times, my view of myself does not match up to how God views me.
I had the to opportunity a while back to give the prayer at the Lakers/Thunder basketball game. It was a really neat experience, but something happened during the experience that has stuck in my head ever since. My husband and I were walking down the tunnel to the court where I would wait until they called me to center court. This tunnel was also the tunnel that the Lakers players walked through as well. As we were walking through we heard fans above us say, "Wait, Wait here comes somebody." I was feeling pretty good about myself-yep! I am somebody.....that lasted for about 5 seconds. As we were coming out of the tunnel, we then heard them say, "Nah-it's nobody." Wow! I just went from somebody to nobody in the matter of 5 seconds. What changed in that 5 seconds? Was I really a nobody? Well, yes to the crazy Laker fans I was, but to the King of Kings I was still somebody!!!
We all go through those times of identity crisis of Who am I? Our identity can get wrapped up in being a mom, wife, teacher, friend, supporter, cheerleader, and sometimes feeling like a nobody. These are not who we are, they are what God has called us to do.

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons (or daughters) of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you

have received the Spirit of adoption , by whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children of God then heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..."

Romans 8:14-17

We are loved, beautiful, and above all.....somebody!! Oh and not just anybody, we are daughters of the King of Kings-princesses if you will! We are co-heirs to the throne with Christ Himself!

Last night, I was at an FCA event where Landry Jones, quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, shared his faith and there was one thing he talked about that hit me like a rock. He was explaining that when Jesus was baptized, the first thing God says is, "This is my son." Jesus then when into the wilderness for 40 days. After the 40 days, Satan came to him to tempt him 3 times and the first thing the enemy said was, "If you are the son of God..." If our enemy can make us doubt our identity then he can make us doubt our purpose. And if we doubt our purpose, we miss out on all the things God want to do in and through us. Jesus came out of the wilderness defeating the enemy because He knew who he was and therefore, knew his purpose. The bible says he then came out of the wilderness filled with the Holy Spirit. How we respond to the wilderness determines if we come out empowered by the Holy Spirit. Isn't that powerful?!!!!

Do not let the enemy make you doubt who you are! You are God's Daughter and you do have purpose!! Be excited...You are somebody!!!!!

Day of Love

Happy Valentines Day, girls!!

I woke up this morning so excited about Valentine's Day-I love Valentine's Day because it is a day set aside to celebrate those we love! Ready to start my day of love, I turned on the radio to hear people talk about how they hate Valentine's Day. I then get on facebook and read post after post about how they hate Valentine's Day too. People hate it because they are single, they hate to buy stuff, they hate it because their spouse will once more disappoint this Valentine's Day. I've been awake 3 hours on this day of love and I am depressed! What!! This is crazy!

We are suppose to celebrate LOVE today and the Bible says God IS Love so why are we not celebrating God today? Girls, it is time to change the focus on this day to the way St. Valentine first intended-celebrate the love God has for us and that we have for others!
The bible says in 1 John 4:19, "We love each other because God first loved us." And how did he love us? Well...."God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. I don't care if you are single, married, divorced, or separated, you have something to celebrate today: You have a God that LOVED YOU so much that He was willing to die for you! Jesus gave his life so that you could spend eternity with him. Does love get any better than that? You are loved! Celebrate!

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11

Notice it didn't say since God loved us, we should sit and wait for others to love on us too. No!!! We are to go out and show each other the same love that God shows us. You may not get flowers today, but you can sure send some. You may not have big dinner plans, but you can sure take some one to dinner. You may not feel loved today, but you can sure show love today. I am super excited to show love to a friend today who lost her husband to cancer 6 weeks ago by taking her to lunch. I want to love on her because she needs it. There is someone in your life that could use some love shown to them today and you could be that someone.

In the letter to the church of Ephesus in the Book of Revelation, Jesus tells them they have abandoned their first love-Him. This day is not about flowers, chocolates, or cupid etc. It is about returning to our first love, Jesus. I do love my husband, but He is not my first love. I do love my children, but they are not my first love. I love my friends, but they are not my first love. This Valentine's Day, lets return to our first love, the one who laid down His life for us. Then, let's show others how much we love them! This is the day of Love! And God is Love so let's celebrate by loving others!!!

Oh and last thing.........

I Love You!!!

The "Times" and "Seasons" in our life

Good Morning, Ladies!

Do you know how excited I am to write to you all today? Super excited! Why? Because that means I am not snowed in my house in Oklahoma! Last week was crazy and not the crazy that I am used to. This was stir crazy. As much as I loved the time I got to hang out with my family roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, getting my rear kicked in the Dora Matching game, and watching countless movies-this snow storm was not letting us do what we wanted to do. This storm was not letting us keep our schedule. This storm found us asking,at times, "is the winter season almost over yet?"

Isn't this what we do when we go through storms of life? We want to ask God why this is happening because this was not in the plans that we had. This storm in our life is not letting me do what I want to do. Is this stormy season in my life almost over, God?
The disciples asked Jesus a similar question in Acts 1:6, "So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?"

This was their way of saying, "Jesus, is our storm over yet?" They had waited a long time for Israel to come back into power. In their mind, that is what the Messiah was suppose to do. Jesus was suppose to restore Israel into a great nation once again. The disciples wanted and thought they needed to know if this time in their life was going to be over, this season was going to pass. "Is it now Jesus, is it now?"

We might be asking Jesus, "Is it time for my season of having a struggling marriage, over?"
"Is it time for my season of having a rebellious child, over?" Is it time for my season of having a job I don't like, over? "Is it time for my season of struggling with depression, over?" Is it time for my season of having sick kids, over?

Let the answer Jesus gave to his disciples be the same answer He want to give us today:
"It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."

If you are like me this is not really the answer we want, but it is the answer we need! He is asking us to trust Him with our entire being and that means with our questions, our hard times, and yes, our stormy seasons.
Here is the encouragement....
Being married to a football coach, I have to get ready for the season mentally, spiritually, relationally, and physically because I become single mom, my husband's number one fan, confidant, cheerleader, and his water girl. As hard, fun, and crazy as it is, there is always one thing that I can count on...off-season. The season does end and there is always an off-season. A time where we get to reconnect, re-energize, and re-load.

We need to be reminded that we may not get to know when the stormy seasons in our life ends, but just that they do and until they do God will give us the Power to sustain and become stronger! I read this statement in a book I was reading and loved it: "We are promised in the 23rd Psalm, that we walk through the valley of the shadow of death-we don't set up camp there."

So... as we prepare for another snow storm this week in Oklahoma, I know this too, will pass and Spring will come. You may not know when your storm will pass, but trust that Jesus does and will see you through to your Spring Time!