Where Do You Look For Your Peace?

On whom do you rely? Most people I know would initially say God. Now really think about it. When you need someone, do you go right to a friend, or do you go right to the Lord?

It is easier to go to a friend to fulfill one's needs. Many times a friend will say what one needs to hear, and give us the physical affection that feels so good when we're in need. We can get the instant gratification that we long for. The problem is that we can't rely on people like we can rely on God, in fact people can't even come close. Even the best people are fallible. We're all human with our frailty and weaknesses, with our own needs.

God on the other hand, doesn't change. He isn't human, He is so much more and so much bigger. Sometimes we forget how big He really is. He created everything around us, every single blessing that each of us has was made and formed by Him. Every good thing in us, was created by Him. He knew how many hairs were on our heads before we were born. He is our God of wonders.

So why would we ever rely on anyone but Him? I found myself asking the same question some years ago. I still rely on people to a degree, but now I rely on Him first and foremost. When people let me down, I'm not devastated like I used to be. My God is in control and He carries the weight of the burdens that I lay before him each day. What a relief! When I do that, He gives me a peace that knows no understanding; a peace that cannot be found anywhere else.

I hope and pray that if you don't put Your hope and trust in God already, that You will start. He doesn't break His promises. He is so caring and giving, and He always does what is best for us. He will always be there for you, no matter what. There is nothing like experiencing joy in the midst of the storm. This can happen when God holds us steady and takes our worries from us, it's so amazing! And I would love to see you experience His incredible peace and joy that only He can give. I pray that, for every one of you.

Song Of Hope

Have you been in that place? That place where you can't get back up again? I wrote that poem way back when I was in the middle of a nasty divorce, my teen-aged children were thoroughly confused, and each one had problems of their own on top of trying to deal with a sick, alcoholic father and a mother who finally realized she couldn't fix him. The abuse that came in drunken episodes triggered memories of my own childhood trauma and I was overwhelmed with so much more than I could deal with. I was told I had PTSD-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had come to the end of myself. I had run out of everything.

God met me there. In the middle of being broken in a thousand pieces. Instead of giving up, I surrendered and my new life began. I had given my life to Jesus many years before that, but this was something different. I let Him in to the deepest parts of myself that had been locked up for so long. I let Him! I had been holding on to all the wrong things and I had no idea until I sat there on the floor, a total mess. I had tried so hard to keep control of everything as I watched myself lose control of so much. Now here I was admitting I had no control and trusting someone other than myself. It was like a light bulb went on. A light, finally after the longest, darkest night! I didn't feel alone anymore. I couldn't explain it, but now I had hope. Nothing had really changed, except my heart.

All of these things I had read, studied, heard, and even said to other people had finally gone from my head to my heart. I didn't know how but I knew things would get better, and that I was loved by Him, the Sovereign God, who moves mountains. I knew He would take care of me and my children- and He has. My life and theirs have changed for the better and we have been blessed immeasurably. That doesn't mean more trials didn't come along, they have. I am so much better equipped to handle the trials now, especially since I am not the one handling them, but He in me. And He has taught me to focus on the blessings, ones that I never take granted.

Do you remember when God met you in your mess? Did you ever come to the end of yourself and completely surrender to Him? Have you let go of trying to control things and given the reins to the One who reigns? Please share below and join me in this prayer:

Father God, Thank You for being my Heavenly Father. You are the one who is in control, not me, please forgive me for trying to control what isn't mine to control. Forgive me for not surrendering my life and will to You. I surrender myself to You right now Lord, and ask that You help me to align my will with Yours. Thank You for having a perfect plan for my life. Help me to trust You and to have the faith of a mustard seed. You have never broken a promise to me Lord, and You have blessed me. Thank you for all the blessings. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Fresh Hope

 

A friend of mine has chronic illness just like we do. She has Addison's Disease and severe Lupus. She is currently in an episode- struggling to make it through each day. She shared what she wrote here:   

They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. ~ Isaiah 61:4

I'm revisiting a few of my favorite verses. The thing is....God knows exactly when our own walls fell and were devastated and why. 

But the amazing promise is....HE is going to rebuild them. Maybe not in the way we feel or demand them to be. But better. Perfect for whatever is going to give us unexpected joy, strength, hope....change. 

The walls for some of us needed to come down. 

They were probably hurtful...destructive and crippling...a comfort zone of chaos.
HE only desires the BEST for HIS Children. 

And sometimes we just need to start from scratch. A complete redo. A fresh new beginning. 

Well, we all started a new year on the same day...a 365 day blank canvas. Not tainted. Fresh and new.

So there is my resolution. Making better what was broken. But allowing God to build it. So it won't be as difficult to accomplish. And to truly trust HIM, believe HIM.
HE promised it...HE'LL do it. 

The passage in Jeremiah below is one of my favorites, one I pray to be.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit. 

~Jeremiah 17:7-8 

What do you hear when you read this? I hear surrender, trust, renewed faith and hope. Everything may run out and we may feel like we have come to the end, I have before, more than once. So when the walls in your life have come down, remember it's when you're at the end that 
you find a new beginning. It's when we die to self that we are born again. If you aren't familiar with God's promises, or you need a reminder, I am including a printable copy at the bottom of this post. He has never broken a promise to me, has He ever broken one to You? 

My Bible Study group God-Living Girls begins our new study "Discovering Hope" tomorrow. Maybe 2017 is your year to discover fresh new hope.

What Did You Learn In 2016?

As this year comes to a close, I reflect on the year that has gone by. I find myself thinking about the events of the last year, experiences good and bad, and my spiritual journey as well. All of these things have come together with the help of the Lord and shaped me into part of the new woman I am becoming. 

And so the question is this: What have I learned in 2016? At the beginning of 2016 I decided I wanted to learn as much as I could about myself, about living life to the fullest. I feel I have come away with much. Loss, health scares and new disease among family and friends taught me to cherish my loved ones and to let them know how much I love them. I'm learning to overlook the little things that used to be big things to me because in the end they really don't matter. I don't want them to take away from my time with the people I care about. Today becomes yesterday too quickly and we will never have today again. 

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  ~Colossians 3:12-15

I encountered so many with so much less than I and so much worse than I that I learned how very grateful I really am for blessings great and small. My "small" blessings would be big blessings to some. It is this mindset that I want to keep. Holidays for me were much more joyful when I minimized and simplified- I made things easier for myself and concentrated on what was really important, my people! It took me many years and a lot of energy to figure that out!

This year I did multiple online Bible studies and read the Bible all year with my husband. This created a much deeper intimacy with God. It also broadened my journey and has been teaching me so much about myself. I have opened my heart in a way that I don't think I have before and God has been working in me, changing me. He is forming me and shaping me. I find myself thinking in ways that I haven't before, and hearing that still small voice. I truly know how much I am loved by my Creator.

As I walk toward 2017, I know that I can do it without fear. I have diseases that are scary, and many unknowns in my life right now. There is one thing that never changes, and that is my God. No matter what comes along, I can depend on Him. He is my rock. He has never let me down, so I need not be afraid. I will never have too much to bear, because I can lay my burdens at His feet, and all that weight is gone. So I look forward to 2017, with happy thoughts of possibilities and what "might be" and dreams of taking my ministries farther than ever before.

My word for 2017 is "become." I found a simplified version of a few Bible verses which is mine for this next year, "Become all God intended you to be. Love life, love people. Love the life you've been given." ~Matthew 22:36-39. And I realize that God has brought me here, none of this was learned or done on my own. Maybe this was the greatest thing I learned- to let God be God, to let go and give it to Him! 

What did you learn in 2016? What are your thoughts about 2017? Please share in the comments below.

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The Gifts Christmas Is About

‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?  “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’  Matthew 25:35-38,40

A sweet young woman named Alex was diagnosed with the same disease I have when she was eleven years old. I haven't had a lot of trouble with my disease. At 25, she passed away on December 4th. Many of us are still reeling in shock.

An older man my husband and I know from our church is not fully able to take care of himself and is alone. At 73 years old, he suddenly lost almost everything he has, which isn't much, and he doesn't know what to do. I encounter people begging for money and food every few days and I live on the nice side of town.

When I get down about Christmas and the things I can't do anymore or what is lacking, it doesn't last very long when I think about the gifts that I have--the gifts that many take for granted. I have the gift of life. I have the gift of provision: a roof over my head, all the food I need, clothes, a warm bed, heat, even the phone and the internet. I can go to the doctor when I need to. There are so many basic needs that many are without.

Then I think about Jesus who was born in a manger with animals and grew up poor in a lower class working family. His father was a carpenter. He lived in a farming community in Nazareth. He chose to be poor all of his life and spent a good part of his life on the road serving others.

When I think about my Savior coming into the world in such a humble way, living the way he did and then going through torture and death for me, I see life in a different way. The basic needs that are met are gifts and something to be thankful for.

Not only that, but when I see people who don't have those basic needs, I know that God would want me to help how I can. He extends grace without question to us and wants us to do the same for others. Isn't that how we show Christ to others? Isn't that how we bring them in from the storm?

Luke 3:11 John replied, "Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same."

Maybe Christmas is about gifts, but not gifts under the tree. Christmas is about the gift of Jesus coming into the world and us celebrating by giving the gift of ourselves to share the light of God's love.

Whether you buy someone a meal, something to drink, pray with them, adopt a family, or say "God bless you", God's love is to be shared.