The Quiet Place

Tonight as I sat in the light of my freshly decorated "halls", I couldn't help but think of all of the things that 2020 has brought (and has yet to bring!). This year has been quite the challenge to say the least. For me, 2020 has been year of great streching. God has pulled this clay of mine and folded it over and over again. This year God also brought me to my knees in humility, literally. Everyhting He did in me was SO needed! And I'm extreamly grateful for all of it. God's word says, " No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace  for those who have been trained by it. " (Hebrews 12:11). I'm grateful to now have a measure of experience in God's discipline. His discipline though painful at the time, has brought me SO MUCH JOY, PEACE, and fruit from His throneroom. I am a much better person today than I was before 2020, and I know that as I continue to yeild to God...

God is at work in me constantly. I am feeling that truth right now more than ever before. He continues to baffle me with his love and mysterious ways. He continues to speak to me things I feel unworthy to know, teach me things I am most grateful to learn. Today I wanted to take some time and share with you what is happening in my heart right now. The past few weeks or maybe even before that, I have been dealing with a big bear called anxiety. Anxiety started to grasp me so much that it was difficult for me to get through the work day. At one point I even debated cutting my day short a few times. I never did leave the office but the consideration of it because of anxiety was definitely a red flag. You could say that this anxiety was brought on by a plethora of things but generally speaking it seems that my current life challenges were overwhelming me. Even though walking through this challenge of anxiety has been completely not fun and at times extremely hard; I am grateful for what ...

Today has been a crazy day. But tonight as I sit in my quiet home in front of my pretty Christmas tree, I am feeling very thankful. I am so thankful for God's grace and love for me. I am thankful that he meets me right where I am. I am thankful he looks at me as his beloved daughter, imperfect but beautiful. I'm very grateful that in the chaos God is my peace and focus. I'm thankful that he is teaching me more of who he is every day. I am thankful of his great love for me and each one of us. I'm grateful that he loves everyone more than I love them. I am thankful he is deeply compassionate and abounding in love. I am grateful he gives me everything I need exactly when I need it. His provision is perfect and he does not fail me. I feel so blessed that God has done so much in my life that I could not remember it all to write down.  God is our Hope. God is enormous Blessing. God is true.  God is faithful. God is compassionate. God is full of mercy. God is ...

Though the blog has been quite, this past year has been a season of growth for me. God has met me in ways I never would have imagined. I continue to learn how his love abounds for me and yet I still can't grasp the depth of it. Even when my life circumstances are unsteady God is sovereign; he provides exactly what I need when I need it. He is transforming my heart to be even more compassionate, empathetic, forgiving, and merciful. I don't know yet what he has in store for me but I know it is something quite large and unimaginable. It's terrifying yet exciting to think of what the future might hold; I have found that I continually need to remind myself of God's great love as I shudder at his mightiness. Even though the Lord has revealed to me that he has great plans for my life, I tend to get lost in worries when I see that circumstances and resources don't seem to be adding up in a way that would promote success. I struggle with a very real fear of suffering and di...

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...

Today on the blog I wanted to take some time to share with you what my good friend Katy is up to. In the past couple of years God has called Katy on missions to Ireland, India, and now to Puerto Rico. (You may remember Katy from her guest post ) Currently, Katy is working as a social worker in Puerto Rico as well as living on a YWAM (youth with a mission) base. It looks like she will pioneer a ministry there called Kings kids as well as participate in events on base, which are passionate about evangelism. She just moved there about a week ago and needs to buy a car so that she can get to work. She has been renting a car in the meantime, but will run out of money for that very soon. Please consider making a donation to her Go Fund Me account to help her buy a car and pay for other expenses while in Puerto Rico. Any amount you can help with would be a huge blessing to her and greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute funds, please consider sharing her Go Fund Me on social m...

"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...

He says, “ Be   still ,  and   know  that I am God; I will  be  exalted among the nations, I will  be  exalted in the earth.” Silence is SO not overrated. As I reflect over my restful morning and think of how good all of this quiet time to myself has been, I remember how much I love the quiet. Taking time to rest in a quiet house is just what I needed and I had no idea. The past two weeks have been really busy and even though they were filled with exciting life moments, I am still in need of replacing the energy they took from me. So today I am soaking in these quiet moments and resting. Allowing my mind to contemplate things I don't usually have time to ponder, and allowing my hands to get everything off my to do list so I can further rest this evening.  Something else that I know that I really need to do today is to take this quiet time and spend it with God. These past few weeks I haven't spent much time in the word and I know t...

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...

Happy August! This month's theme is... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26  This is one of the first verses that I came across when I started out to write this post. At first I wasn't sure how I would relate it to this month's theme, but after some thought, I've realized that this verse is perfect for August. If you've been keeping up with the blog, you have probably heard me mention about a thousand times this year that life has been a bit hard for me. A lot of that has to do with what God has been doing in my heart. During my time at Grad school, God brought me out into the wilderness where I was alone. And as you can imagine, being alone is a really difficult thing. Some say that loneliness is the worst feeling in the world to live with. But what I realize now is that God brought me to that broken place so that he could ...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have are Monthly Contributor Beka. She is sharing her heart on this month's theme, Joy. You can find out more about Beka on the "About" page.  I don't know about you, but I definitely struggle with keeping my emotions in check and my thoughts focused on Christ. I'm pregnant, and my hormones have been all over the place! Although that is no excuse, it does make the battle a little harder to fight when I'm already prone to fall in this area. Emotions are a tricky thing when it comes to us as women. It is so easy to be controlled by them and to lean toward thinking thoughts of loneliness, misery, and depression when there are actually so many reasons to be joyful!  But what do you do when you really can't find reasons to be joyful ? When everything seems to be falling apart in your life? Sometimes our circumstances are less than ideal. When a friend passes away, when the bank account is empty, when ...

Nehemiah 8:9-11 New International Version (NIV) 9  Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites  who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the  Lord  your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10  Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing  prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy  of the  Lord  is your strength.” 11  The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” Joy as strength? What an intriguing concept don't you think. Yet, how amazing is it to think about how the Joy of the Lord really is our strength. I have to be honest, a lot of times I find myself using my own strength. I utilize all of the tools in my bucket, sometimes it works pretty well, other times...

Happy July! While it's a little hard to believe, it is the 1st of July. Our theme for this month of Sunshine and Thunderstorms is... Today I would talk to you about joy, but I haven't been feeling very joyful lately. While I'm thankful for what I have and who I am, joy seems to be lacking. I've found myself these past two months being frustrated more than anything else. Frustrated with my circumstances, yet at the same time I don't seem to be in a big rush to undergo another life change anytime soon. Life change takes a lot out of a person, especially if you are like me and dislike undergoing major life transitions. I realized the other night what may be the root of all my frustration. I realized that I was looking to other people to encourage me and fill my heart up. I may have even expected it of some of them. This is where I fell down. Instead of abiding in Christ and asking him to help me as I deal with my circumstances, seeking HIM to fill my heart...