“And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

This verse.  I couldn’t get it out of my head last week.  In light of the recent catastrophic and devastating tornadoes that ripped through our state and through conversations with others who are hurting because life is just hard, I have needed something to hold on to.  I’ve needed something to remind myself that nothing goes without purpose, nothing is ever wasted and that God is sovereign and knows the good He has prepared for those who love Him.

I once wrestled with this verse and didn’t know if I really believed it or not; it was in 2006.  My heart wasn’t necessarily in the best place to begin with, nor was my relationship with the Lord. That May I experienced our first miscarriage, the unexpected death of my brother in October, and a second miscarriage in early 2007.  I will be honest, I was a mess, nothing was well with my soul and I didn’t know how God could do this to our family.  I grieved a lot, ended up angry and stayed there for a little too long (ever been there?).  I focused on all the bad that had happened, questioned God and lost faith for a while.  But, I got to such a point in that pit that all I had were His promises, the hope of Him and His Word so I turned to Him and let Him pull me out of the pit.

I can now look back at that time and see God’s hand weaving things together for my good; using pain and loss to refine me, bring me good and bring me closer to Him.  And I can praise Him.

I can also look back and know that leaning on my own understanding is a sure-fire way to end up in a pit.  Trusting in Him and the Truths He has given us in scripture is the only way to hang onto His anchor of Hope while walking through life’s deepest depths.

The world we live in now is not our forever home.  Although beautiful and full of blessings from God, it is also full of sin, sadness, loss and injustice.  I think that helps us long for Heaven but I also know that God can take these things, the things that break us, and use them for good while we are here; for His glory, His purposes and our good.  Sometimes we bring things on ourselves, and other times, the Lord allows things to happen.  We have to believe that He loves us, wants us and can see the whole picture, from beginning to end.  Our sight is so limited but He knows the good that can come from things.  All we have to do is love and trust Him in the process; it’s His design to do good for us in the end.  Don’t ever doubt this (I’m talking to myself here too!)!

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Write it on a sticky note, memorize it, meditate on it, believe it to your core.  In the big things and the small things, He is able to work them together for good; He wastes nothing.

I would love to hear how you have seen God work things together for your good!

If you want to study this more, look up the following! 🙂

• Genesis 50:20
• Deuteronomy 8:16
• Ephesians 1:11
• Ephesians 3:11

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

I would have to say that this is my life verse.  The one verse I have repeated in my head, out loud and brought to mind more than any other verse in my entire life.  The one verse that has brought me through a lot.

I can first remember using it when trying out for majorette my 9th grade year of junior high.  You see, I’d tried out the year before and not made it which made me determined to try out again and make it.  Anyone else strong willed like that? 😉

I was a nervous wreck the day of tryouts but clung to my God and my verse.  I’m sure during the 20 or so minutes of me being out there by myself I repeated my verse over 100 times.  What I remember most about those minutes is the joy, calm and confidence that only came through Christ.  I also remember He was there with me the whole time, carrying my little 13 year old self through something very nerve wracking and something I wanted so very badly.

Little did I know how many other tryouts and situations in life that verse would carry me through- and still does.

Bedtime at our house (with a 2.5 and 5.5 year old) is hard more often than not.  It’s probably been the most challenging thing for me as a parent (please tell me I’m not the only one!?).  The last two nights have been especially rough and this morning as I remember my life verse, I’m reminded that I didn’t cling to it either night.  Yes I cried out to God to help me stay calm and get through this without raising my voice at my kids but both nights I ended up reaching a boiling point.  Ugh.

This has reminded me of the importance that Scripture plays in my life.  It’s not just to read and to know, but to be tucked away in my heart and soul so I can know it and live it when I need it (which is daily!).  When we memorize and meditate on Scripture, the Lord will bring it to mind when we most need it.  To help ourselves and also to help others.

So now, before bedtime even starts, I’m going to recite my verse.

Actually, both kids are up and ready to go and I’m reciting my verse.

Through Christ, we can do ALL things if we allow Him to be the One to strengthen us.  No matter what is on the agenda today, big or small, let’s focus on this verse, not on that overwhelming sense of all that needs to be done (because, I’ll be honest, I’m feeling it!).  Write it down on a sticky note and put it on the dash of your car, or on your computer; I promise you will see it just when you need it.

Jesus wants to be our strength.  He wants to carry us through life and rely solely on Him.  Are we relying on His strength or our own?

“My power works best in weakness.”II Corinthians 12:9

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Corinthians 12:10

Let’s rest in the verses and know through Him we can do all things.

Have a Happy Friday! 🙂 .

Good morning friends!!  I woke up thinking of Psalm 27:1 and wanted to share!  It’s a beautiful Psalm of King David.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation”

What is the purpose of a light?  To make it to where we can see…to see what we are looking for, to see what we need…I’m loving all of the definitions I’ve found too:

• the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible
• a source of illumination
• enlightenment
• ignite
• not dark
• a device that makes something start burning

These are beautiful when thinking of them in reference to God!  Isn’t this just what He is and what He does?

When Saul, a Jesus hater who killed Christ followers, was on his way to Damascus, he literally saw light and saw the Light.  He was blinded by this for 3 days and then, with the help of a friend sent by God, he regained his sight.

“Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight…”    Acts 9:18

After this, he was no longer Saul but Paul- Jesus lover.  The scales were removed from His eyes and for the first time in His life he saw Jesus for who He truly is.  He saw the Light.  He saw the Lord.  He saw and experienced Salvation.  His life did a complete 180 and he was ignited, enlightened and he shined brightly for the Lord and the Lord only.  He wrote the majority of the books in the New Testament and was amazing.

Now not everyone’s story is as extreme and radical as Paul’s, but if we are Believers, we were once blind and through Christ, our Light and our Salvation, we are able to see.  Are we allowing Him to illuminate, enlighten and ignite us?

One thing I find interesting is that the use over time of the word light has remained constant…just as our God is constant. 🙂

I couldn’t go to sleep last night…my (amazing) husband was out of town on business and every little noise I heard startled me.  You know, right??  I used to lay in bed awake for hours when he was gone but have (thank you Lord) been so much better about it, until last night.

“Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” Phillipians 4:6 (NASB)

Oh worry…how many hours do we spend worrying?  As women, our brains rarely shut off.  We are always thinking of something and oh my how our thoughts can take us to places we don’t want to be!  And once there, it’s hard to get back to reality.  Anyone else know what I’m talking about?  I would say 99.9% (maybe more!) of the things we worry about never even happen.  What a waste of thoughts and precious time!

“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Luke 12:25 (NLT)

Worry kills our joy; it steals our faith and makes us weak.  So what do we do?  We pray.  We trust.  We seek.  I promise you God answers prayer on worry.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7

The second you start to worry I pray the Holy Spirit reminds you of what God’s Word says on worry.  Use your worry as an opportunity to turn to Him.  Turn that wasteless time of worry into a time of prayer.  He is listening and is always there!

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 (ESV)

Memorize these verses and they will be hidden in your heart the next time worry comes.  Another great thing to do is look in the index of your Bible on “worry” or “anxiety” and write down every single verse pertaining to it.  I did this when I was experiencing a season of doubt (looking up the word “doubt” in the index) and I cannot tell you the peace and faith that came out of searching for these scriptures, writing them down and memorizing some.  It was amazing.  It purged me of my doubt and really helped get me past that awful season.

Here’s to trusting God with everything.  Every fear, every worry, every doubt and concern!  He loves us so very much and wants us to trust Him.  Have a wonderful day friends! 🙂

PS~The Rizers, a kids Christian band that sings Scripture, has a beautiful song on this verse…it’s one of my favorites that they sing.  Click here to hear it!

I love Sundays! For my family, it’s church and family day and a day I cherish and look forward to all week!

This morning I am reminded of Hebrews 10:24-25:

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”

How busy life can get sometimes and often the first thing to go is church…sometimes it’s so much easier just to sleep in on Sunday mornings.  For us, it’s my (amazing) husband’s only day off of work so I am very tempted from time to time to just stay in our PJ’s all day and hang out but I know how much God desires His children to meet together.

The main definition of church is “a building used for public and especially Christian worship.”  Wow it is so much greater than that right!?  In researching more, I finally found a definition worthy of more (Merriam-Webster):

church: a body or organization of religious believers; the body of Christians

Oh how church is more than just a building we enter once or twice a week for worship!  It is the body of Christ.  WE, as Jesus followers, are the body of Christ. His hands and feet.  It’s not just for us (although there is so much to drink from the well of a Bible believing, Bible preaching church!); it’s about joining together with other believers and worshiping our Maker.  This brings Him so much glory!  It’s about encouraging other believers in their walk with Christ, growing in our own walk and strengthening our faith which also brings Him great joy!

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4

I hope you are encouraged on this beautiful morning!  There’s so much more to our meeting together and being one body, I’ll have to save that for another post so we aren’t late for church 🙂

Happy Sunday friends 🙂

OK wow this is my first post and I’m a little nervous! But so excited about this journey!  I hope you will join along! 🙂

A verse I want to focus on this morning is 2 Timothy 3:16:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (NIV)

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach is what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (NLT)

I love both of these translations of this verse…The Bible is a book completely inspired by God; breathed into by God.  It’s not a book of stories or myths, nor is it a book of strictly law (because Jesus fulfilled the law), but a book of GRACE and Love.  There’s an amazing love story throughout the pages of this Book- the best one ever written!

If God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, surely His Word is too??  But do we treat it as such?  There are so many awesome books out there about the Bible, so many great Bible studies and devotionals- and not that there is anything wrong with these- but when they take the place of our reading the actual Bible, we are missing out!  There is nothing like turning these pages of Scripture for ourselves and unfolding God’s great love for us.  It is so beautiful!  He uses it to not only speak to us but to teach us how to live.  Verse 17 says:

“God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.” 2Timothy 3:17

We can’t forget the purpose of the Bible– to equip us to do good, to do Christ’s work in the world and to strengthen our faith.

The Bible, like God, is solid.  It, like God, is as firm as a rock with it’s words lasting through all of time.  This is so amazing if you think about it!  There is no one greater than our God; there is no book greater than God’s Word. There is no one like our God; there is no book like His Word.  If God is good and God is love, this Book is too!

There are so many beautiful, amazing words in this one-of-a-kind book!  The only standard of truth, it’s a wealth of knowledge and a sea of unfailing love, mercy, hope and strength.  I hope you will join me as we journey through it together! 🙂