Sweet Blessings from God
The following are special reminders from God that are near and dear to my heart.
Have you ever heard the phrase “doing it afraid?” Jesus tells us in so many places in His Word: Do Not Worry, Do not Fear ~ For I, the Lord God, am with you.
Sometimes our emotions do not follow what we know to be true of God. But let’s not let our emotions rule us: Lean into obedience knowing that Jesus has gone before, and is with us as we walk whatever path He has allowed in our lives.
He will never leave us or forsake us!
Do you ever find yourself trying to jump to take care of the impossible? I have learned that the impossible is God’s job alone. Try as I might, I don’t have the authority in anyone’s life, my childrens’ or otherwise, to do what only God can do. We can’t be the Holy Spirit for anyone and, my friends, when we come to that place of acceptance, oh how freeing it is!! We cannot thwart God’s plans for good or for evil, no matter how much we love someone. Some things are to be dealt with by God alone. Rest in this truth ~ God is in control, His ways are higher than ours and He has a plan for every single one of our lives. This is the sweet spot of abundant living: Trusting Him in ALL things. <3
This is such a loved and often quoted verse. I think sometimes that these familiar verses lose their meaning when looked upon.
I love taking the women in my bible studies and the women that I am coaching back to these “basic” bible verses.
I am a student at heart and love to dive deep into the word of God but even I can overlook the sweetness and power of these much loved verses. My heart always melts at the familiarity of these words from God.
If we take this verse apart, we are reminded that we are called to trust a loving God , with ALL of our heart. We are not to rely on our own limited understanding of any given situation. Remember that we do not have the view of any situation that our sovereign, all knowing God has. In everything we do we are to acknowledge Him and His work in our lives, we are to KNOW Him. And when we trust Him, stop trying to figure things out on our own and acknowledge that “He’s got this” THEN He will make our paths straight as we walk with our eyes, hearts and minds set on Him each day!
As I have led bible studies over the last 30 years, I have had one question asked of me over and over: “what does it mean to Pray Continually?” and over and over again I think to myself: “how do you NOT pray continually?”
I have a constant dialogue going with Jesus, I sometimes wonder if He tires of me talking to Him all day long. But I need it. He is my friend, my advisor, my daddy, my Father, my guide and I need Him in every circumstance, in every minute of my daily life.
Make an appointment with God ~ will it be first thing in the morning, right when you lay your head on your pillow at night, or, like me, will you have a constant dialogue with Him? Whatever works for you, make the appointment and keep it ~ your life will be better for it!
Have you ever found yourself worried about the future: what if THIS happens or what if this DOESN’T happen?
Matthew 6:34 tells us not to worry; that today has enough trouble of its own and tomorrow will worry about itself.
We find ourselves anxious and not able to enjoy the precious moments that we have right in front of us for fear of what the future holds.
If we could lean in on this verse and remember that Jesus gives us the grace we need for EACH day. Each day is a gift from Him to us that we can joyfully and confidently open to give right back to Him, trusting that He will give us what we need to not only survive, but thrive.
In trusting that He will give us exactly what we need each and every day, we can take each moment of our lives knowing that in His sovereignty, our lives will unfold exactly as HE has planned and He will give us the grace we need for each step of the way ~ never more and never less.
In doing this, we can live enjoying the beauty of each day: being present with our loved ones, enjoying our children, our families. We can literally stop and smell the roses! Enjoy a long walk and listen to the sound of the birds chirping or enjoying the beautiful deafening silence of a newly fallen snow, the roaring of ocean waves.
If you are feeling stuck somewhere in your life: maybe you are filled with fear and anxiety; maybe your children have left the nest and you don’t know what God has planned for you next. Maybe you are struggling with your physical health, your finances, you want your marriage to THRIVE or you simply want to go deep with Jesus ~ keep coming to this page. In the next few weeks we have some exciting things to share with you! Until then, enjoy the grace God is pouring out on you right this minute.
It is that time of year again, time for reflection and renewal.
Christmas is a flurry of activity in the secular world and in a believer’s world. But the Christian is also trying to find time ~ time to slow the craziness, time to breathe in the meaning of this season.
I find that I fight hard for time with Jesus. To sit, with my bible open, by the Christmas tree lights with a cup of coffee in my hands desperate to soak up the warmth from my steaming cup and the warmth radiating from Jesus who is waiting for me to listen, to hear what He has to say to me and to walk in a way that glorifies Him in my daily life.
In my devotions recently a couple of things have struck me: Hopefully is a word that we use all the time: “hopefully I will get that job, hopefully my test results will come back negative, hopefully this relationship will work out, hopefully _______” (insert your “hopefully”).
What if we take a step back from that word and insert one little space: Hope Fully: I hope fully that God, in His sovereignty, has ALL my “hopefully’s” already worked out.
When we allow room for Jesus to speak to us, when we slow down to really listen to Jesus’ voice, we open our hearts and lives to His whispers, His commands, His simple yet profound love for us. In that sweet space, we find strength to face the day. He gives wisdom
whispering to us “This is the way, walk in it” Isaiah 30:21 I pray that as you listen to His voice and walk in His way, that you will feel Him guiding you in every step you take each day.
We’ve just had our 8th grandchild. The birth of a sweet baby and the death of a loved one makes us ponder life. God made us, He is the one who knit us together, (Psalm 139:13) gave us our personalities, gifts and talents ( 1 Corinthians 12:7-11). He placed us in the families He created for us and placed us exactly where we are supposed to be on this timeline called life. Nothing is wasted. He doesn’t just create and forget about us. He walks before, behind and beside every step of the way drawing us closer to Him. Just think about it: we were made WITH purpose, ON purpose because He delights in us We are the perfect parents for the children He has blessed us with. If we are walking with Jesus consistently, He will use our gifts and talents to draw others to Him: even when we don’t get it completely right, He uses us! Thank you Lord for Your sovereign work in each of us. Thank You Lord that You take all the bitter, all the sweet, all the successes and all the times we miss the mark, the times we follow hard after You and the times we fail in our sin (that you so graciously redeemed us from) (Psalm 103:4) and make it into a life that can somehow glorify You. Let us ever follow hard after You and may You be pleased with the whole of our lives as we strive toward You Jesus - asking for forgiveness from You when we fail (because we all do) but living a life worthy of you even in that sin. Thank You that there is never a day when You are not in control of our lives from the moment we are born until the moment You take us to our eternal home.
Jeremiah 29:11
In a book that I am reading it said: I need to quit messing my mind up with worrying about the future and concentrate on being present (and grateful) in the moment trusting that God has everything planned out exactly the way He planned it” ️
Does this resonate with anyone else?
I find I love better and live a more joy filled life when I take one day at a time and simply do the next right thing that God has put in front of me, how about you?
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Christmas happened because God always keeps his promises. Do not let what didn’t happen yesterday make you live like it couldn’t happen today.
*from the book Behold a Christmas Advent Journey
Psalm 46:10
Being still does not mean to do nothing. It means to do the work that God has put before you this day while you choose NOT to manipulate or try to control the circumstance that has you hurting, worrying over and bound up. Be still in your heart before Him as you go about your day. Pray, bringing your requests before Him and then choosing to trust Him for the very best outcome. His way will always be for our good and His glory. He loves us lavishly! He wants to give us our hearts desires, but He is also after the core of our hearts. Trusting in His sovereignty in our lives ~ that is where we find peace. 💞
Running the Race
How sweet is it that we are given this beautiful life to live, glorifying Jesus and having Him as an example to run this race.
No matter what you are facing today, may you run with endurance knowing God is behind, before and right beside you.
Hebrews 12: 1-2
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
Sweet Relationships
I had the privilege of having my grandson two days this week and I will have my granddaughter with me for the weekend.
As I was playing with Jackson, cuddling him as I was putting him down for a nap and just simply delighting in him (as I do with my granddaughter) I was praising God for family. I am blessed with an incredible relationship with my husband, children, their spouses and my grandbabies.
This got me thinking about different types of families: my close relationship with my sister and her family, my and my husband’s fathers, who faithfully pray for us every morning. We are blessed that we are close with our kid’s spouse’s families. I have a family at work that I adore, my church family. Close friends that I think of as family. I am blessed indeed!
As I was pondering all of this and thanking God for these sweet blessings in my life, I came across this verse: Romans 8:15-17 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)
Lest you think that all of my relationships are perfect, let me assure you that I have had many hard relationships, many heartbreaks, many times left wondering if it is worth it to put my heart on the line. If you find yourself in a relationship that is tender, hurting. If you have been hurt by people who are supposed to love you, I pray today that you would be encouraged by these verses.
We are children of God! We have an Abba Father ~ Daddy! I pray for you today that no matter how sweet or hard the relationships in your life, that you will know that you have a Daddy that you can cry out to, depend on, rest in and rejoice with!
As dear and sweet my earthy families are to me, the One I delight in most is my Heavenly Father and I pray that you will find Him to be the One who you can find comfort, peace and delight!
He will never leave you
Tomorrow my nephew is entering the hospital because he has been battling leukemia for a year now and finally can have a bone marrow transplant. Today my daughter in law had to go into the hospital to have surgery for a wound that hasn’t healed after 5 weeks from a farm accident and this morning I found out that my dad had a heart attack.
My sweet blessing for today is that God is with us, behind us, before us in the storms of life and no matter what I am facing, He is faithful to draw me closer to Him through these trials.
Whatever you are facing today, I am praying that you find sweetness in Jesus in the midst of it. In the words of my Pastor to me, I pass them to you: “Life is unfolding under God's sovereign will, these events are not directed towards you. But through this He will deepen your trust in Him”
May God greatly bless you and deepen your walk with Him in whatever you are facing today. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
Anointed
II Corinthians 1:21-22 tells us that: “It is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee”
These words, anointed, sealed, guarantee ~ they have great meaning in and of themselves but in relation to our faith; these words are richer and deeper than we can ever imagine!! To be anointed is to be set apart, Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We are anointed and gifted by God to carry out the perfect plans He has laid on our lives!
His seal marks us, He owns us! And we have the Holy Spirit as a down payment living in our hearts as a guarantee that Jesus is coming back for us!
When you are wondering who you are in Christ, remember that you are HIS! Anointed, sealed and you have an incredible guarantee of eternal life in Him!
Praying blessings on you as you go through your week remembering what He has done for you.
God is with us
I have a sweet plaque hanging in my home that says: "God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow nor sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way"
I cannot tell you how many times I have sat in a chair by that plaque with tears running down my face, bible in my lap needing to feel His presence. Through finding out something devastating happened to one of my children to wrestling with demons from my past, through satan's lies about who I am.
I have also sat in that same chair praising God for healing from all those things, praising Him for strength and comfort and light which He gives freely, abundantly, lavishly!
God is with you today. In your past, in your future, right beside you. Always. I pray that you would feel His strength, find comfort in your tears and that you would seek His light for your path no matter what you are facing.
Matthew 1:23 says: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call Him name Immanuel (which means, God with us)
God with us...... there is nothing sweeter.
When I rise, you are there!
Psalm 5:3 says: O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Rising and seeking Jesus first thing in the morning calibrates our hearts to Him from the moment we wake up. By doing this we allow Him to guide all of our decisions, to protect our hearts from whatever the day may bring and to bring to Him our hearts desires. We leave our lives in His capable hands trusting the He is in the details of and has a plan for each of those details. It's the sweetest way to start our busy days. Yes, Lord, in the morning when I rise, give me You! 💓
Creation
Don't you just love the summer?
Walking in the early morning hearing the birds chirping, seeing the squirrels scampering. Feeling the warmth just before the day gives way to the sizzling heat. And just when you think you can't stand it any longer, the sun goes down, and God continues to show Himself in the brightness of the stars and coolness of the night.
In the busyness of our lives, my prayer is that we don't miss God's creation, that we don't miss the opportunity to praise Him though His beautiful creation!
Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!