The Quiet Place

My Aunt gave me this picture a few years ago right around the time that I found out I was sick. She had heard about the symptoms I had been suffering and everything I was going through and so she sent me this sweet gift. It says, "Faith Makes Things Possible". Her gift touched my heart SO much! I felt seen and SO loved! There have been several times this year that I have looked around my room and just counted the things that have been given to me. God showed me just how much he has provided me, blessed me, and favored me. My cup truly runs over!!! Just like my aunt probably didn't realize the meaning her gift to me would have, I believe we often miss how deeply meaningful our generosity to others can be. God has a generous heart, and he loves a cheerful giver!!! It truly is more of a blessing to give than to recieve. Scripture says, " Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. " 2 Corint...

Living in the midst of pandemic is hard.  Tonight the Lord led me to read about Noah. And it made me think so much. Yes, a pandemic is difficult to live through, but imagine being Noah! He was THE only man on the earth that found favor with God. Imagine how hard it was for him to stay encouraged and not give up and give in to the ways of his culture and surrounding world. Imagine how difficult it was for him to remain obedient in the face of such backlash! I often picture Noah being called crazy and being cruelly mocked for his ways, especially when building the ark. I couldn’t imagine going through that! It would be SO difficult!  Then, even after all of that, he finds himself in a situation so grieve - worthy. Living on an ark in a ridiculously long storm, with imaginably smelly animals, while knowing everyone (minus his wife and children and their wives (praise God!)) he’s ever prayed for, hoped for, loved, was being washed away in judgement. What a great sad silence it mus...

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things;  do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland. About Three and a half years ago, after getting my heart broken, God gave me a word. God's word to me was Isaiah 43:18-19, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland". This word gave me great comfort. It also instructed me to work on leaving behind what I wanted to bring with me. You see it took me a long time to stop dragging around the grief and memories of an old relationship. Ever been there? I'm sure I'm not the only one. Anyways, at that time I had absolutely no idea what new thing God was doing. Though I hoped, dreamed, and knew that he had a Husband out there for me somewhere and I still know...

God has blessed me so much lately. I have an amazing church family and an awesome church who is able to provide us with great learning opportunities. The past three weeks I have been attending School of Prayer at my church. It has been such a blessing to sit with my brothers and sisters and learn how to pray. Last night to finish the end of the three weeks of School of Prayer our Pastor shared with us what he knows about prayer and how he prays. It was so VERY valuable to me that I want to share that information here with you.  This is the Pattern of Prayer my pastor shared with us...  Start with Thankfulness: First list reasons you are thankful for the Father, then the Son, then the Holy Spirit, then Angels then your church, then your pastor, then the local churches, then the Word of God, then your family. Next is a prayer of submission (Think Living Sacrifice) After that pray over your mind and thoughts, for protection, removal of distractions, that our minds would...

This is a good time of year to re-evaluate, to step back for a moment and look at how our relationship with God is and what we can do to grow closer to him. Though the blog has been quite, I have been learning and growing a lot these past few months. So today I would like to share with you some of the most important things I have taken away from church sermons, bible studies, and Holy Spirit reminders.  Recently my pastor spoke on Intimacy with God. He described Intimacy with God to be like a newly married couple driving in an old car. The Husband driving and the wife sitting as close to him as she can. Then one day when they are old, the wife asks her Husband why he is sitting so far away from her. Looking over from the Driver's seat he responds, what do you mean? I never moved. The lesson being that if we are from from God it is because we have moved away from him, not him from us.   We can draw near to God by maintaining Keystone habits. Keyston...

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:7-9  Photo Credit Hillary Read 2 Corinthians 4:1-18   Even in the midst of the darkest circumstances God is good.  That is exactly what this passage tells us. And I love how that last part brings the point home... "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.   For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.   So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." I have learned that even in my darkest places God's hope is there shining through, providin...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have guest post from Samantha on this month's theme Gratitude. You can learn more about Samantha and her blog in the bio at the end of the post.  It’s true what they say, “the grass is always greener on the other side.” I’ve found myself countless times, wishing and hoping for things I don’t have. Some days, it’s so much easier to be unappreciative or ungrateful of my life. Some days, I wish for a more expensive home, a supermodel body, and a generous paycheck. I make a fuss about the little things, like where the toothpaste should go (I say cabinet, my husband says counter). I can get swept up in my own emotions, my wants and desires, so I start acting greedy and selfish. “Be joyful always, pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thessalonians 16:18 It isn’t often, but when I have these moments, I feel completely disconnected with God. For a while, I questio...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have one of are monthly contributors Courtney, she is sharing her heart on this  month's theme Beauty in the Brokenness. You can find out more about Courtney and her blog on the about page.  When I was 12, I was horse CRAZY. Every item of clothing that I owned had a horse on it. Shirts, pants, sweatshirts, and socks were plastered with horses. I spent hours studying horses. I could tell you how many teeth a horse had and where each breed descended from. I was especially fascinated by horse training. If you are not familiar with equestrian lingo, training a new horse is called breaking it. It does not hurt the horse, but the horse is introduced to things that are very scary to it.  Unfamiliar things are put in its mouth and on its back. At the end of the training process, you have an animal that is gentle and ready to ride. As I was thinking about this month's topic, I thought how the Christian life is a bit like bre...

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’   The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.” -  Mark 12:30-32 Pride is something that I really struggle with. I was reminded of this tonight as I laid in my bed reading day 14 of the she reads truth "Sermon On The Mount" study. Tonight's reading was about not judging. And while being nonjudgmental is a strength of mine, I'm not perfect. Sometimes I can be really harsh on people when I think about them in my head. It's definitely not something I'm proud of (no pun intended). The problem is, not only is it unfair and wrong for me to judge someone for what they think or the way that they behave, but it can come out in the way that I treat that person. That is even worse. While we do need to use judgement in life to make good decisions, that doesn't give us the authority to co...