The Quiet Place

Something I've been learning this week is that amidst the struggle, God is sovereign. God used a brave young woman from my church to help teach me that. Last night I watched this sermon from a favorite series my church did back in January. On the link I posted, this sister of ours shares her testimony and struggle. The most powerful thing for me from that sermon was that she dared to share her struggle while currently in the midst of it. And though she is struggling, God has used her life to teach and transform the lives of a great many. If that is not a testimony to how great the grace, mercy, and power of our God is, I don't know what is. Moreover, it shows the unlimited grace given to us for our struggle through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. "But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us." Romans 5:8 VOICE Dear sister, God's grace is suffic...

Today I am linking up again with  Jenna of Dearest Love  and  Ann of In Residence  for their currently linkup. You can read my post from last time  here  and another currently post  here.  So here's what I'm currently, smelling, loving, planning, baking ,celebrating, and encouraged by. Smelling : loving the autumn smells, and the mango candle that is currently in my room, it reminds me of summer! Loving :  this girls blog , and this girls blog , I have so enjoyed getting to know them through emails and reading their awesome blogs, the blogging community is truly a blessing! Planning : hopefully doing a girls night with some of my friends, and I just found a bible study to join, which is something that I have been wanting to do since I moved here to VA in January. Baking: I made these brownies last week, they were good. But I must say that I do like my from scratch recipe better. Also I really want to make these , they look so goo...

Listening to | Rivers in Wasteland, Needtobreathe . Loving this album, I love driving in my car turning it up, So good! If you haven't listened to their newest album you should check it out! Watching | Criminal Minds, I've been watching it on Netflix since all of the current seasons are on their right now. I love the psychological aspect of it and since I am working towards being a professional counselor, i love how it focuses on why people are the way they are. If you like that kinda thing you should watch it. Encouraged by | She Reads Truth Hosea study , I know I mentioned this in my last currently post but it's just so good! And it has totally spoken so much truth into my life, I love how all of their studies just really challenge me and help me to grow as a christian women.  Excited for | Meg and Amy's fall Etsy swap, I just signed up the other day and I am so excited to participate for the first time! What's on your currently list? 

Today I am linking up again with Jenna of Dearest Love and Ann of In Residence for their currently linkup. You can read my post from last time here on my personal blog , then go over to Jenna or Anne's blog and linkup your post! I usually linkup with my personal blog but I figured I would change it up a bit and also add a bit of variety to the Quiet Place. So here's what I'm currently writing, anticipating, wearing, craving, missing, and encouraged by. Writing: a ton of notes, cause I am currently in Grad school. Anticipating : Fall. I love how the leaves change and temperatures get cooler. Although, It's been pretty hot here in Virginia this week, so hopefully the fall weather will come soon! Wearing:  I have been loving my "love Michigan" t-shirt lately, it reminds me of home every time I wear it and I'm loving this fall outfit that I found on pinterest. I am hoping i can recreate it. Craving: these crispy fried chicken sliders with bu...

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.  Matthew 4:4 If you’re looking to dig deeper, you can find the original context of this verse here   Deuteronomy 8 The other night I watched an online church sermon that spoke to my heart in so many ways. Today Matthew 4:4 came to mind and I have to say that I have really been feeling that hunger for Jesus lately. I've been so hungry to understand him more, to seek what he wants from me.  This is one of the passages that was shared in that Sermon... Do you not know? Have you not heard? The  Lord  is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,     and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary     and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and wea...

Tonight I would like to take a moment and rave about one of Britney and mines favorite things, She Reads Truth . It's an amazing website where you can learn and grow in Christ with your fellow sisters. They have really awesome reading plans (devotionals) and I have been trying to keep up with them, but wasn't very successful until now. That is because they have a new App ! I just downloaded it and I am SO very excited to read through the devotional plans. If you haven't heard of She Reads Truth I highly recommend that you take a moment to check it out. THEN you will fall in LOVE with it and have to download the new app for your iPhone. :D The thing that I love about She Reads Truth is that the plans are relatable, applicable to life, scripture based, short enough to have time for, AND long enough to dig deeply into. So what are you waiting for! Head on over and check it out! 

Something today made me realize how terrible our would be without forgiveness. Could you imagine a parent refusing to care for their precious child because they did something wrong, or a daughter not willing to accept the apology of her brokenhearted father. The truth is, this world wouldn't survive without forgiveness. Without forgiveness, families wouldn't stay together and friends wouldn't last long, because humans aren't perfect, we make mistakes. We need forgiveness so that we can have relationships, keep families together, and enjoy life-long friendships. God is well-aware of are need for forgiveness. In fact, forgiveness is SO important to God that he weaved his teachings about it throughout the entire Bible. One of these lessons is found in 2 Corinthians Chapter Two. Read it here...  2 Corinthians 2 This passage is a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth. In this section of the letter, Paul addresses the recent scandal which, concerned a man who had be...

Happy June! This month we're focusing on Forgiveness , so get ready as we dig into God's word and explore all that he has to teach us!  According to the World English Dictionary, to forgive is to cease to blame or hold resentment against someone. In other words, to forgive is to free someone from the punishment they deserve. This is exactly what Christ did for us, and also what we are called to do for one another. Below are some great verses on forgiveness that we will be exploring this month.  But the one whom God raised from the dead  did not see decay.  “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.   Through him everyone who believes  is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Acts 13:37-39  In him we have redemption  through his blood,  the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches ...

Founders Note: Today on the blog, we have Dianna from  Adirondack Girl @ Heart , she is sharing her heart on when she feels distant from God. We contacted her via email to do a guest post, we hope you are encouraged by her words as much as we were. Be sure to check out her blog at the links below! Do you remember the day you responded to the drawing of the Holy Spirit, the day you sensed God calling you to turn from your old life to receive his new life and follow him? I remember it vividly. At first I wept with sorrow over my sin, and then I wept with joy because I had received immediate almost tangible forgiveness. I had such a powerful sense of God's love for me; it was overwhelming.  And I felt that joy and love for days, even weeks. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God , explains that "the moment the Holy Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration, our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyful recognition." It's as if we are finally receivi...

Blogger's Note: Happy Friday Friends! Today I wanted to take some time and dive into Purity month with you here at The Quiet Place. The topic of purity is something that is close to my heart. I realize that the daily battles fighting to stay pure are difficult ones. It isn't always easy saying no to the things that we know we should, especially when all are friends are participating in the same things. But living pure IS possible, and SO SO Good! Dive into scripture with me this month as we take a journey to discover what purity is and what that means for us as Christian women. Today we'll begin with... Ephesians 4:17-32 Instructions for Christian Living 17  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer  live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.   18  They are darkened in their understanding  and separated from the life of God  because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hea...

Can you believe it is almost April? I sure can't, especially with this snow still falling outside of my window, but ah yes, it is true. The month of thunderstorms and flowers is upon us! A new month also means a new theme for us here at The Quiet Place. The theme for April is.... This month we will be addressing all things having to do with purity and explaining what it means to be pure in God's sight. We also want to take this time to remind you that with every new month comes a new opportunity to guest post! So, if you have something on your heart you'd like to share with your sisters send it to tqprest@gmail.com. For more details on Guest Posting don't forget to check out the tab above!  Also... if you have a favorite blogger or writer you would like to read a guest post from let us know! We love to connect with other writers and are always on the lookout for great opportunities. Just send us an e-mail tqprest@gmail.com or message us on Facebook...

Happy Sunday! This evening I just wanted to take a moment and give a shout out to a good read. Today I was talking with one of my roommates about good devotional books and remembered one that I had read when i was in my undergrad. I was reminded that it was SO good, I wanted to share it with you here.  So... Here it is! :D  The One Year Daily Grind by Sarah Arthur In addition to a good read shout out, I wanted to take a moment to remind you about the resource page.  If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, you can find it here:  RESOURCES .  There are some really great reading suggestions there for you, as well as links to awesome Bible study tools, other blogs, and causes. If you know of some other wonderful tools we don't have linked on our resource page please let us know so we can add it! Just e-mail us at tqprest@gmail.com and we'll get on it as soon as we can.  Enjoy! <3 Hillary

Founders Note: Britney & I were recently contacted by Cameron Von St. James who shared with us his family's experience with mesothelioma (a rare lung cancer that kills most people within two years of being diagnosed) and asked us if we would help raise awareness for "LungLeavin' Day". The purpose of LungLeavin' Day is to encourage others to face their fears. So today on the blog we're sharing their story and talking about fear. The Story Eight years ago, Cameron's wife Heather, was diagnosed with mesothelioma. She had just given birth to their daughter Lily, and was only given 15 months to live. After a life saving surgery that included the removal of her left lung, LungLeavin' Day was born. This is the eighth year that we celebrate on February 2nd! Today we invite you to celebrate LungLeavin' Day with us.  Each year the Von St. James family sits around the fire pit in the backyard with friends and family, writes their biggest fe...

Hey ya'll!  I just wanted to take this time to let you know about the great resources Bible Gateway has to offer. I'm on there website pretty much every time I write a blog post. It is a great Scripture resource, but it has so much more to offer as well. As frequently as I visit their sight, I am still finding new and helpful tools. There are many different tools you can use for blogging such as passage lookup (in many translations), footnotes,  commentary, topical index and more. In addition to all of that good stuff, they also have audio Bibles, devotionals, reading plans, and a really awesome app you can download for your iphone! Currently Bible Gateway is offering FREE  Advent and Christmas email devotionals. If you'd like to sign up you can visit their sight here.  http://www.biblegateway.com/holiday-devotions To access all of the other tools that Bible Gateway has to offer be sure to check out  www.biblegateway.com

This is a time of year where we are thankful for our family, friends, relationships, etc. It is a time where we think about those little things that we may take for granted, and thank God for the many blessings that he puts in our lives. As i think about being thankful I am reminded of a hymn that we sing that church called, " Give Thanks ". "Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son.." To me this song, is a great reminder of what it means to really give thanks. Sometimes it's so easy to take those little things for granted, so sisters this week I encourage to give thanks for those people and the things that we so easily forget, "Give thanks with a grateful heart" That's what it's all about, rest in the truth of the words of this song this week. "Give Thanks" Give thanks with a grateful heart Give thanks to the Holy One Give thanks becaus...

Today God reminded me again about Job's life and his battle against the question "why" with God. Job cried out to God asking him the tough questions about why he had lost everything in his life. God answered Job with at least two chapters of questions. God's answer humbled Job. Job was asking "Where is God when it hurts?" but God was asking "Where is Job when it hurts?". Faith isn't only for the good times, it's for the bad times too. When bad times come we need to not lose sight of God. Rather we need to trust him, even when things don't make sense. "Faith is believing in advance, what only makes sense in reverse." Job 38   Job 39   Job 40 The  Lord  said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty  correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Then Job answered the  Lord : “I am unworthy —how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer — twice, bu...