I love finding a quiet moment in a place where I can be still to read and pray. With a big family and busy lives, it may never be truly quiet but on the inside, I find that peaceful place!
This is a beautiful time of my day and needful! If my children came to me and said, "I am hungry" and I responded, "Oh you ate yesterday, just remember what the food tasted like, you'll be fine!" You would think I was nuts and unkind! It is like that for us spiritually... our spirit needs to be nourished by feeding on the Word, daily! We are told in the Word "taste and see the Lord is good"!
The Lord desires to walk with you through this journey called life! Take time to sit with Him and hear what He has to say!
Hopelessness
I have been there and not just once. I found myself there this past week. It has been years since my brother and dad passed, years since my divorce and job loss. Life has moved forward and here I am again. One day I was just tired, tired of being like this. I cried out to the Lord to stop being so silent. He answered me. It was not an audible voice but He was talking to me, I just had to listen.
In the midst of this the word hopeless just rang through me. I even told the Lord that's what I feel, nothing, numb, my hope is gone. That morning I looked around the house for a journal to write in, I was pushing through. I wanted to be over this hump and knew I needed to pray. I was a loss for words and often writing helps me form my thoughts and prayers. I found one with a few pages left, but really could not bring myself to write.
I went on Facebook and there was a beautiful snowy picture looking out a friend's window with an ornament with the word hope on it. It made me pause for a moment. Later that evening we celebrated Christmas with my two stepdaughters. They had a gift for me, and it was a journal with Jeremiah 29:11 on it. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans for Hope and a future." It brought tears to my eyes! It was a hug from God! They did not know I needed a journal nor that I was wrestling with anything. When they come to visit, I pray that the Lord will give me words to share the Love of Christ yet this time I just was at a loss and didn't, it grieved me after they left. As I pondered all that happened, I realized I had to share with them how God used them to make a difference in my life. What a powerful word to share with them, way better than anything I could have forced into a conversation just to "share Jesus". Now they can ponder they were used by God to make a difference in my life!
It doesn't stop there, even though all that was encouraging. This week I started a new Bible Study, I finally got around to start Chapter 1 which I came to find out is entitled Hopelessness! One illustration after another of God's faithfulness and provision through scripture and life experiences that are faith building.
Circumstances have not changed but my hope has. It is impossible to hear from God and read through His Word and not be changed.
I pray whatever you are going through right now that your hope will be rekindled.
If you have experienced grief and loss pray you find a peace that passes all understanding.
The God of HOPE Loves you!
Heartbreak Reapir
Heartbreak is right up there with hopelessness. They seem to travel as a pair. The pain of heartbreak seems at the time, unfixable, a devastation beyond repair. Yet there is One who can take what has been shattered to a million pieces and recreate something new, that is Jesus! He can take our broken dreams, hurt feelings, mistakes, failures, losses , all of it and what looks like shards of life and put them together in a way we have something whole. Our sight is limited but His is eternal. As a Creator that is what He does! Allow Him to recreate in your life despite what things look and feel like. There is a movie scene that sticks with me, where the woman lost her husband in a car accident and she was crying as her life was ruined. She took a crystal bowl and threw it on the ground which now lay many tiny pieces of glass. Later a man who represented Jesus in the movie, had taken all those pieces and made a beautiful crystal figure of a woman. It was something new and whole! My prayer is for you is that you lay the broken pieces at the feet of Jesus and let Him make your life whole again!
Revelation 21:5
New International VersionHe who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
I have been there and not just once. I found myself there this past week. It has been years since my brother and dad passed, years since my divorce and job loss. Life has moved forward and here I am again. One day I was just tired, tired of being like this. I cried out to the Lord to stop being so silent. He answered me. It was not an audible voice but He was talking to me, I just had to listen.
In the midst of this the word hopeless just rang through me. I even told the Lord that's what I feel, nothing, numb, my hope is gone. That morning I looked around the house for a journal to write in, I was pushing through. I wanted to be over this hump and knew I needed to pray. I was a loss for words and often writing helps me form my thoughts and prayers. I found one with a few pages left, but really could not bring myself to write.
I went on Facebook and there was a beautiful snowy picture looking out a friend's window with an ornament with the word hope on it. It made me pause for a moment. Later that evening we celebrated Christmas with my two stepdaughters. They had a gift for me, and it was a journal with Jeremiah 29:11 on it. "For I know the plans I have for you, plans for Hope and a future." It brought tears to my eyes! It was a hug from God! They did not know I needed a journal nor that I was wrestling with anything. When they come to visit, I pray that the Lord will give me words to share the Love of Christ yet this time I just was at a loss and didn't, it grieved me after they left. As I pondered all that happened, I realized I had to share with them how God used them to make a difference in my life. What a powerful word to share with them, way better than anything I could have forced into a conversation just to "share Jesus". Now they can ponder they were used by God to make a difference in my life!
It doesn't stop there, even though all that was encouraging. This week I started a new Bible Study, I finally got around to start Chapter 1 which I came to find out is entitled Hopelessness! One illustration after another of God's faithfulness and provision through scripture and life experiences that are faith building.
Circumstances have not changed but my hope has. It is impossible to hear from God and read through His Word and not be changed.
I pray whatever you are going through right now that your hope will be rekindled.
If you have experienced grief and loss pray you find a peace that passes all understanding.
The God of HOPE Loves you!
Heartbreak Reapir
Heartbreak is right up there with hopelessness. They seem to travel as a pair. The pain of heartbreak seems at the time, unfixable, a devastation beyond repair. Yet there is One who can take what has been shattered to a million pieces and recreate something new, that is Jesus! He can take our broken dreams, hurt feelings, mistakes, failures, losses , all of it and what looks like shards of life and put them together in a way we have something whole. Our sight is limited but His is eternal. As a Creator that is what He does! Allow Him to recreate in your life despite what things look and feel like. There is a movie scene that sticks with me, where the woman lost her husband in a car accident and she was crying as her life was ruined. She took a crystal bowl and threw it on the ground which now lay many tiny pieces of glass. Later a man who represented Jesus in the movie, had taken all those pieces and made a beautiful crystal figure of a woman. It was something new and whole! My prayer is for you is that you lay the broken pieces at the feet of Jesus and let Him make your life whole again!
Revelation 21:5
New International VersionHe who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Strength in Home
I woke up every day with a heaviness that drove me to my knees. I often found myself wanting to go home, immediately the question comes to mind, where is home? I now live thousands of miles from that house. Before I made the move the Lord prompted me in my heart to start cleaning the house as if I were to move, that was nine months before I knew I would move. I continued to do what was in front of me as I sought the Lord. This story started two years prior, I was approached by a friend’s husband who prayed often for our little family and encouraged me to seek the Lord if I desired to remarry. I took that advice, fasted, and went to the Lord in earnest prayer. As I prayed the Lord showed me a man, I repented and asked the Lord to forgive me for my mind wandering. This was someone I knew from my youth; he went to a small Christian school where my father taught. I was not in touch with him or know him well, but this is who came to mind. Over a year later we connected through a mutual friend! I now sit here writing as Mrs. Love, married to the man I saw as I prayed! The year after we married, we welcomed a little blessing! To be in my late forties and raising a little one is amazing, crazy, and wonderful all wrapped up in the best package! I moved far from my adult children and the life I knew. I found myself sad and missing where I was and most of all my family. It is not that I would trade one for the other but the pain is real. God knows this! I wish I could tell you I never feel that way but that’s not true. The Lord gives me peace when my days feel stormy and when my heart hurts. He walks with us every day in every way!
In Genesis and Exodus, we read about Joseph’s life and how God brought him through challenging times and into a place of blessing, in one day he went from prison to the palace! I encourage you to read the account of Joseph and Moses in Genesis and Exodus, this amazing story of God’s sovereignty helps us to understand who He is! God divinely led Joseph to a safe place, with provision and purpose for God’s plan. We see this continue after Joseph passes with Moses now at the helm. Yet years later the ancestors found themselves driven from that very place. They were on the road to a better place and delivered from a life of slavery, yet they could not see what God was doing. They began to long for the way things were. They kept looking back taking their focus off God. God never left them; He was always leading! It is the same for us, sometimes it does not look or feel like we think it should or how it once did. Our deliverance lies in trusting a sovereign God. Trusting that He will lead each step of the way. It may be years down the road when you get the go ahead. He wants us to find our security and comfort in Him not the things of this world! We often define our home as the house we live in, a town or people that are close to us. Home is where the heart is, right? Matthew 6:21 says, “for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” That encompasses your wishes, desires, where you center your life. What is your life centered around? Pursuing the American dream, a house, family, job, success, in themselves these are not terrible things but are they your focus? Do they possess a more prominent place in your heart than God? Where do I find my home? My home is in the Lord, wherever He guides me and directs me! I want what God wants for my life! My favorite verse, I will share a few times in here I am sure, “A man’s mind plans his way, as he journeys through life, But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” (Proverbs 16:9).
The Lord delivered me from a life of wandering and gave me a life with Him. Yet along this road I have wandered here and there pursuing my own ideas, having attitudes, at times, that were less than honoring to God. I am not being dismissive; it is sin and separates us from God. He knows this about us and offers us His ever-abounding grace and mercy. When the Hebrews were delivered from the hand of the Egyptians they sang unto the Lord. They praised Him for bringing them into the land of promise and planting them on the mountain of His inheritance. “The place, O Lord, You have made Your dwelling among them, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established,” (Exodus 15:17). The Lord provided food for them daily, He did it in a way to evaluate if they would obey Him, and ultimately trust Him! From our perspective we read the accounts of this story and wonder how they could see all these miracles, the very hand of God and question if He was going provide necessities. How does that differ from our lives? The earth points to a masterful Creator, He has given us a Savior who rose from the dead and saved us from our sins, He gives us life and breath! If you are reading this book right now you have that! Can we not trust that same creator to meet our needs? Can we trust God to provide the house and home where He wants us to live? Can we trust God to create in our life the purpose that He designed for us? Can we trust He will give us direction and answers? In Exodus 16:8, God hears the people grumbling and complaining because they had grown discontent. Are we grumbling and complaining as we look at the circumstances around us, or are we praising God because we trust Him and who He is? What if we keep our eyes on Jesus instead of what we see! What if we choose to trust Him? In Exodus 14:14 it says the Lord will fight for you while you only need to keep silent and remain calm. Sometimes we need to keep our mouths shut! God provides a way and tells us to trust Him and remain calm! When we look at circumstances that are beyond our control it is easy to allow feelings to dictate and complain about the situation. When we look to Jesus for the answers, we find peace and contentment. He is our foundation, our dwelling place, and our source of provision. We can stop wandering about like the Hebrews, stop looking back and wondering. We choose Him and enter a place of contentment, a knowing that Home is found in Him!
In Genesis and Exodus, we read about Joseph’s life and how God brought him through challenging times and into a place of blessing, in one day he went from prison to the palace! I encourage you to read the account of Joseph and Moses in Genesis and Exodus, this amazing story of God’s sovereignty helps us to understand who He is! God divinely led Joseph to a safe place, with provision and purpose for God’s plan. We see this continue after Joseph passes with Moses now at the helm. Yet years later the ancestors found themselves driven from that very place. They were on the road to a better place and delivered from a life of slavery, yet they could not see what God was doing. They began to long for the way things were. They kept looking back taking their focus off God. God never left them; He was always leading! It is the same for us, sometimes it does not look or feel like we think it should or how it once did. Our deliverance lies in trusting a sovereign God. Trusting that He will lead each step of the way. It may be years down the road when you get the go ahead. He wants us to find our security and comfort in Him not the things of this world! We often define our home as the house we live in, a town or people that are close to us. Home is where the heart is, right? Matthew 6:21 says, “for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” That encompasses your wishes, desires, where you center your life. What is your life centered around? Pursuing the American dream, a house, family, job, success, in themselves these are not terrible things but are they your focus? Do they possess a more prominent place in your heart than God? Where do I find my home? My home is in the Lord, wherever He guides me and directs me! I want what God wants for my life! My favorite verse, I will share a few times in here I am sure, “A man’s mind plans his way, as he journeys through life, But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.” (Proverbs 16:9).
The Lord delivered me from a life of wandering and gave me a life with Him. Yet along this road I have wandered here and there pursuing my own ideas, having attitudes, at times, that were less than honoring to God. I am not being dismissive; it is sin and separates us from God. He knows this about us and offers us His ever-abounding grace and mercy. When the Hebrews were delivered from the hand of the Egyptians they sang unto the Lord. They praised Him for bringing them into the land of promise and planting them on the mountain of His inheritance. “The place, O Lord, You have made Your dwelling among them, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established,” (Exodus 15:17). The Lord provided food for them daily, He did it in a way to evaluate if they would obey Him, and ultimately trust Him! From our perspective we read the accounts of this story and wonder how they could see all these miracles, the very hand of God and question if He was going provide necessities. How does that differ from our lives? The earth points to a masterful Creator, He has given us a Savior who rose from the dead and saved us from our sins, He gives us life and breath! If you are reading this book right now you have that! Can we not trust that same creator to meet our needs? Can we trust God to provide the house and home where He wants us to live? Can we trust God to create in our life the purpose that He designed for us? Can we trust He will give us direction and answers? In Exodus 16:8, God hears the people grumbling and complaining because they had grown discontent. Are we grumbling and complaining as we look at the circumstances around us, or are we praising God because we trust Him and who He is? What if we keep our eyes on Jesus instead of what we see! What if we choose to trust Him? In Exodus 14:14 it says the Lord will fight for you while you only need to keep silent and remain calm. Sometimes we need to keep our mouths shut! God provides a way and tells us to trust Him and remain calm! When we look at circumstances that are beyond our control it is easy to allow feelings to dictate and complain about the situation. When we look to Jesus for the answers, we find peace and contentment. He is our foundation, our dwelling place, and our source of provision. We can stop wandering about like the Hebrews, stop looking back and wondering. We choose Him and enter a place of contentment, a knowing that Home is found in Him!
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