Which will you tune into?

I am trying the best I can, but my best isn’t good enough. I am too grumpy or uptight or controlling. I’m not smart enough to understand, not strong enough to handle it.

I wish I was better, I wish I wasn’t here right now. Whether I try or don’t try, I still lose.

If someone could only understand the me I am trying to be, why I try so hard, why I act the way I do. If only they could see inside my head, because I can’t put it into words. Then, someone would understand...

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I am God’s child, I am beloved. I am wonderfully and perfectly made in His image. I am strong. I am worth it.

I am here for a reason, I need to keep trying. I am casting my cares on Him, for He cares for me. He loves me no matter what the outcome. He wants effort, not a perfect performance.

He understands that I am trying, and He understands that I will fail sometimes. But He is still there, and He knows what is going to happen even before I do. When I can’t put it into words, He still understands, because my God is powerful and His knowledge is beyond all measures.

I hope the answer is obvious, and through this realization, your mindset is renewed.

I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there too – your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful – I can’t take it all in! ~ Psalm 139:5-6

Can you even go one day without…

Standing in awe of His beautiful creation?

Seeing Him through the good deed of a neighbor?

Feeling His presence through the kind words of a stranger?

Speaking the words, “I love you”?

Being grateful for loving friends and family?

Asking God for strength?

Pleading with Him for healing?

Relying on Him for help?

Submitting to His Word with doubts?

If we can’t even go one day without doing any of these things, why should we?

We cannot go a day without falling to our knees in surrender.

Our health, doubts, struggles and the hardships of day to day life can get us down, and these are the times when we find ourselves falling to our knees in surrender. Sometimes knowingly, sometimes unconsciously, like it is the last option we have. Although, falling to our knees in surrender shouldn’t feel like our very last option, what we do when all else fails, because God is always there. We need to surrender to Him with our worries, doubts and struggles on a daily basis. He will comfort us.

We cannot go a day without throwing up our hands in praise.

As much as this life is hard, it is also beautiful. We can’t but help to see His beauty all around us – through the Earth under our feet and the people we interact with day to day. Too often we give the glory of what seems our creations – a job promotion, our children, our home – to ourselves, when it is ultimately God who did the heavy lifting. We are His handymen, and He is the creator, creating good works for us to do. Give God the glory, for He is the creator of all good things.

Combine both of these elements into your day to day life, just like this verse combines praise and comfort.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 1: 3-5

Our God is good. 

Surrender to Him daily, and praise Him just as much. 

I just want to fix it

Isn’t there always something in our lives that needs to be fixed?

A broken relationship…A sinful habit…A lost passion…An unforgiving heart

When something goes wrong, my first instinct is to want to fix it; right away. But a lot of things don’t work that way – they can’t be fixed in an instant.  So instead, I think of the long process that needs to happen in order for it to be fixed, and I plan it out exactly how I want it to happen. What can I say, I am a fixer and a planner.

But life doesn’t work that way either – a lot of the time we can’t fix it, but God can. Not by my work, but by His. Not by my doing, but by the doing of my Heavenly Father. And by pressing into Him, maybe you will have the privilege of seeing God’s divine miracle, his marvelous healing, unfold in your life.

You can’t fix it – but God can.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:6

So I know He can fix it, but when is He going to do it? When will He mend the wound? When will he restore your relationship, help you turn away from that sinful habit, rediscover your talents or renew your heart?

Only He himself knows.

So when the battle just doesn’t seem to end soon enough, keep pressing on. God already picked the time you, and ultimately He, will win it.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. – Micah 7:7

Don’t Shatter God’s Gifts

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. – James 1:17

We all have those gifts in our lives that are more important to us than any material object could ever be – a family member, best friend, good health, job or place.

I could name multiple gifts in my life that were given to me by my Heavenly Father…relationships, family, a place to call home, a summer job…but more often than I would like to admit, I take these gifts for granted, forgetting to thank Him for giving me so many special gifts that I am far from deserving. And even at points, I break these gifts. I get angry at a friend, wish I had a different job, or get jealous of someone else’s home. They begin to fall apart, and yes, sometimes even shatter.

But after realizing what I have done, God, with His oh so great mercy and faithfulness, peacefully puts the gifts back together. He makes them new again. He restores my relationship with my friend, gives me hope and patience at my job, and helps me to be extremely grateful for my home. He fixes them up so that I don’t ever want to break them again.

And even though we ought to break our gifts from time to time…we may doubt, we may get jealous, we may get angry…God will always put them back together.

But with God on our side, let’s try the best we can to keep God’s gifts He has given to us from shattering in the first place.

FIRST: From Ephesians 6:13-17: Put on the “full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.” When doubts begin to fill your mind, put on the “belt of truth” and the “helmet of salvation”, to remind you of what God’s Word says – that His gifts are precious and perfect, and He will make all things new. When things begin to get shaky in your relationship, take up the “shield of faith”, in which you can fend off all temptations. And when you just feel overwhelmed at your job, don’t forget to put the “gospel of peace” in your back pocket.

SECOND: Don’t let sin creep in and tear you away from keeping God at the center of your interactions with you special gifts. Do not become proud or boastful, jealous or rude. Pray that God is at the center of your family, relationships, job, home, and all the special gifts in your life.

THIRD: PRAISE HIM every single day for the special gifts only He could give you. Give thanks always. 

You changed me without even knowing

You came into my life at a time I wasn’t expecting it. But the funny thing is, the timing was perfect.

From the moment you swept in, you began shaping me, molding me, and changing me into someone new, someone better. You were changing me from the very beginning, and you didn’t even know it. That’s because you didn’t have to try to help me become better, you just had the ability to do it from the get-go.

You taught me things I could only learn from you. You showed me places I didn’t even know existed, places I didn’t even know we could travel to.

Without you, this blog may not exist, since you were the one who inspired me to start it. You have encouraged me to take up new hobbies such as painting and cooking, and to continue to dig deep into writing, to become a writer. You showed me that doing the hobbies I love don’t only benefit myself, but also those around me.

I find myself taking on new challenges, laughing like crazy, and feeling pure joy when I am with you.

Around you, I am the me I want to be. 

Surprises

I celebrated my birthday last week; and as we all know, with birthday celebrations come lots and lots of surprises.

“Life is full of surprises” is a common phrase, and isn’t it the truth! If you think about it, there is one mini surprise after another each and every day. Bumping into a friend at the grocery store, getting off of work 30 mins early…But what about those big surprises that really throw us off guard?

God puts things in our lives we aren’t expecting, things that aren’t in our plan. Sometimes we feel called to do something that we feel a little uncomfortable with, something new. So what do we do? We pray, take God’s hand, and walk the path He has put in front of us. Our life, our journey with God, is full of surprises.

And here’s the thing about surprises: Although they may make you feel confused, anxious and uncomfortable at first, they are always good. Has anyone ever walked into a surprise birthday party and after taking in the sight of a room filled with family and friends felt lousy and sad? I would hope not. In most cases, the person being surprised feels loved and happy! And that is how God surprises us and that is how He wants us to feel. Because in the end, ultimately, it is always going to be good.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29::11

So what we need to do is embrace God’s surprises, and trust and truly believe in the fact that His plans are good.

With that, I would like to encourage you to go outside your comfort zone today. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into situations where you might feel slightly uncomfortable, and see what surprises God has in store for you along the way.

Everything is going to be ok

My heart hurts, for both the good and the bad.

It could be a friend going through a rough time, or even the opposite – witnessing a loved one go through a really proud moment. Either way, my heart feels it.

And it always seems like I turn to others for comfort or to celebrate before I turn to God. Sometimes, it seems I don’t put my trust in God until the very end of the day. I grow tired during the day, and the end of the day is when I am ready to fully surrender it all to God. But what would happen if I put my trust in God at the beginning of the day and then sustained that trust throughout the day? Isaiah 40:31 reveals the answer: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will sour on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

But do you know what the cool thing is about having the Holy Spirit inside of you?

Every night as I lay down to sleep, no matter what I am feeling, no matter how much I talked to God that day, no matter how much I surrendered -  I know for a fact that everything is going to be ok.

As I lay my head on the pillow, I can hear Him whisper – “everything is going to be ok.”