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Posts Tagged ‘Trust God’

Knowing God

Posted in My Daily Life, tagged , , , , , on May 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

 

This week, I have started an online Bible study for women dealing with fear and anxiety (https://lovegodgreatly.com/) and I have started reading a book written by Nancy Wilson, Learning Contentment: A Study for Ladies of Every Age. I am reading a chapter per week in it and this week, both studies dealt with the subject of knowing God. They delved into the miracles of God and the fact that we can trust God to work miracles today on our behalf.

I have “known” God since I was a little girl. I was raised in church, baptized at nine and have loved the Lord all of my life. I know all about the miracles that God performed in the Bible. It is one thing to have “head knowledge” of who God is, but it is a completely different thing to “know in your heart” who God is. I think this might be it for me. Because of my tendency to build walls and my inability to really connect with people on an intimate level, I think I have been shutting God out of my life on some important level. Anxiety and fear are NOT from God. When we choose to worry and allow fear to keep us from God’s best for us, we are telling God that we don’t trust Him with our lives, or with our future. This is hard for me to deal with, because I love God with all of my heart and the last thing I want is to live in disobedience to Him by living in fear.

God has performed miracles in my own life as a single mom. I have been on the receiving end of His providence. I know that He will provide and protect always and yet, I still let worry and anxiety keep me imprisoned. I guess I just have to take this journey one moment at a time, one situation at a time and CHOOSE to trust God instead of worrying about the future. It is a choice. When we feel the fear and anxiety grip our heart, it is up to us to acknowledge it, do what we need to do to prepare for a possible situation, and trust God with the outcome.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This is a journey. It is my decision to tear down the wall and allow God in. I have lived within this prison for 47 years and I want to be free. It isn’t easy. It means being vulnerable and transparent. It means opening old wounds so they may heal correctly. It means being refined and pruned. Healing is painful, but so worth it.

Stay with me as I update you on the ups and downs of this journey and as always, if you need prayer to start or continue your own journey to healing, please contact me. I am always here to travel through this life with you.

God Bless!

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When God Calls, How Will You Answer?

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , on March 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

 

 

Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Exodus 4:10-13

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind?Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” 13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

There is such a contrast between the responses of Isaiah and Moses to God’s call on their lives. Isaiah was eager to be used by God. He enthusiastically answered YES! when God called for mission volunteers. I can picture Isaiah jumping up and down, waving his hand yelling, “me, God, me! Pick me! I want to go!” On the other hand, Moses was a bit reluctant when God spoke to him from a burning bush. He gave God excuses as to why he couldn’t answer the call God had on his life. Moses even went so far as to tell God to send someone else. If hiding from God was an option, I’m sure Moses would have done it.

I have had to ask myself how I will answer when God calls on me to a Godly mission. Unfortunately, I have been more like Moses than Isaiah. Yep, I completely understand Moses and have repeated his excuse verbatim when called on by God. Being an enthusiastic volunteer is not me and if I do say yes it is in a quivering voice, shaking in my shoes. How I wish I could be more like Isaiah, ready to answer God’s call with a willing YES! instead of with excuse after excuse as to why God should choose someone else. Something I am working on for sure.

What about you? When God calls you to answer His call, do you answer eagerly, like Isaiah, or do you make excuses, like Moses? If you answer like Moses, why? What makes you a reluctant servant? Is it fear? Is it something else? Whatever it is, turn it over to God and ask the Holy Spirit to help you become an enthusiastic servant.

The most important thing to remember is that even though Moses made excuses, he still obeyed God. God may have been frustrated with Moses, but he never gave up on him and He won’t give up on you either. Give your excuses and reluctance over to God and trust Him with the outcome of the mission He calls you on. God will give you the courage, strength and power to do His will. Be willing to move your feet and trust God to guide your footsteps. Being a volunteer on a Godly mission is always an adventure! Be an eager servant and hang on for the ride!

If you need encouragement along the way, let me know and we can pray through it together. I know the awesome power of prayer and am always here to pray for you, whatever the need. Be blessed, my friend!

 

 

 

 

 

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Trusting God With Our Kids

Posted in My Daily Life, tagged , , , on March 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

 

I heard today that a mom is only as happy as her saddest child. As the mom of five, I know how true that statement is. My heart broke when my oldest daughter announced that she was pregnant at 19, and dropped out of her first semester of college. I watched with concern when she jumped into marriage and moved away to live life on a military base and I was waiting to help her pick up the pieces when she returned ten months later with my granddaughter, and pregnant with her second child. Life as a divorced single mom at 23-years-old was not the life I wanted for my daughter. I lived the emotional roller coaster with her for those years of her life. About the same time, her little sister had decided to join the Air Force. She has been in for 3 years now. My heart was overwhelmed with worry this past November when she called and said she was hospitalized for severe anxiety. She was in another country and hurting. I felt helpless as a mom. I was filled with anxiety, as well.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we agonize over our children, instead of trusting God to protect them? If I am only as happy as my saddest child, then I am missing out on God’s blessings for my life. God does not want me to live in constant anxiety about my children’s lives. He wants me to trust Him completely. Worrying about my children does not help them, and it doesn’t help me. I have to trust God to protect and provide for them in all situations. I do not have to look on, feeling helpless. I have to choose to surrender my children to God and know that He loves them even more than I do. When we surrender our children to God, it lifts the huge burden off of our shoulders and places it where it should be. On God. He can handle it. It is such a relief not to have to live with the anxiety of trying to carry the burden alone. Our kids will deal with difficulty. It is a part of life, but God is in it with them. Don’t worry mom, your kids will be okay.

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Following Through

Posted in Lessons Learned From My Kids, tagged , , , on November 22, 2016| 1 Comment »

kiowa-race

 

 

Kiowa is my 22 year old daughter. Kiowa has never been one to turn down a challenge and she has never been one to quit, even when the road got rough, she was always determined to follow through. She ran her first half marathon when she was 14. She finished in the top 4% out of 35,000 runners. By the time she was 18, she had run 6 half marathons and she finished her first marathon just 2 weeks before her 18th birthday. She finished that marathon just 8 minutes shy of qualifying for the Boston marathon. Running these races always took months of training. I remember the pain, the ice baths, and pulling her in the driver’s side window of the car when a dog started chasing her on a training run. Even in 0 degree weather, with ice on the ground, she ran. She never gave up. She never quit. It was the same way, when she was preparing to enter the Air Force. She was scared. Her nerves were on edge. She wasn’t sure if it was the right thing, but when she made up her mind to do it, that was it. When we dropped her off at the hotel, the night before she left for basic training, she had tears in her eyes. We all did. When the time came to say good-bye, she squared her shoulders and walked down the hall, never looking back. We knew she wanted to run. We could tell. But, she didn’t. She followed through.

How many times have I started something, just to back out when the going got rough? To many times to count. I always have some excuse not to follow through. I can’t do this anymore. I have to start following through. No more excuses. When I don’t follow through, I could be missing out on God’s blessings and I will never know it. Not that my life is bad, it isn’t, but could it have been more, if I had followed through on some of the things that I quit? Did I settle for mediocrity because I quit?

From now on, when I know God is leading me in a certain direction, I will follow through. Even when it involves change. I know it may cause discomfort, but where God leads, I must follow. I am taking a lesson from my amazing daughter. I will NOT quit!

I am challenging you to follow where God leads, even when change causes discomfort. Follow through! Do not quit! Do not miss the blessing that God has in store for you. Do not let the rough patches cause you to back out on what God needs you to do. Do not settle for mediocrity! Trust God’s plan for you and follow through.  Don’t look back. Keep your eyes on what’s ahead of you.

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Being Grateful Amid The Chaos

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , , on January 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

gratitude

 

Ephesians 5:20

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Exodus 16 and 17, we find the Israelites beginning to grumble. They were hungry and thirsty. Instead of trusting God to provide, they complained to Moses and grumbled against God. Never mind, that God had just delivered them from the oppression of the Egyptians by performing miracle after miracle and parted the Red Sea, so they could walk across on dry ground. They had already forgotten what God had done for them. Instead of being grateful to God for hearing their cries and delivering them from slavery and oppression, they continued to whine. Instead of trusting God to make a way, they chose to complain about their current situation. They chose not to trust God for their future. They were forgetting that God had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey.

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to  being grateful, I sometimes miss the mark. I will admit that I do find myself complaining more than I would like. In all honesty, I can be a bit of a whiner. It’s not one of my best traits and the Holy Spirit has really been convicting me on this heart issue. God has done many wonderful things for me. He has always provided for me and my kids. If I know that He has always provided, then why is it so hard to be content in my circumstances? Why do I find it so hard to trust God for today and tomorrow? Why is it so hard for me to give thanks in EVERY situation? I guess the simple answer is that I am human and it is in my nature to want to know that everything will work out. It is in my nature to want to control the outcome. It is in my nature to want to change my circumstances and fix my problems on my own and in my own timing and when I can’t, I whine and complain like a child.

If I look around me today, I see that I have a house with heat. I have food in the cupboards. I have 5 AMAZING kids who will do great things. I have 2 grandchildren, who are the light of my life. I have a job that pays the bills. Is everything perfect? No. Life can be tough. I struggle, but I choose to trust God for the future. I choose to be content in my circumstances and know that God has a plan for my future.

How do you deal with tough circumstances in your life? Do you whine, grumble and complain like the Israelites, or do you choose to trust God with the future? Are you content in your circumstances? Can you give thanks, even when things are tough? My challenge to you is to reflect on your life right now and find 5 things that you can give thanks for. Make it a habit to give thanks in EVERY circumstance. Choose to be content with the way your life is, right now. Choose to trust that God has a plan for your future.

 

 

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