The Quiet Place

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have Melanie from Running to the Father sharing what is on her heart. You can find out more about Melanie in her bio at the end of the post.  Photocredit: Watchdog.org Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope...( Zechariah 9:12) This past week has been hard. Far too many reasons to count. The lies have been stronger than the truth. Scripture has danced before vacant eyes and bounced off my hurting heart. My hands have been open and longing. My soul desperate and tired. Prayers have been sighs and moans. I could go on and on about frustrations. We've had a new social worker for almost each month we've had Little Bitty-- 4 workers in 5 months. Confusion, chaos, dropped balls. We've gone to court 3 times-- arranging for my gracious mom to come from out of town to keep the kids. Each time we've returned home with no trial. Court has been rescheduled 4 times. I hate family court. My fractured past colliding wit...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have are newest monthly contributor  Buife Nomeh. She is sharing her heart on this month's theme forgiveness. You can find out more about Buife on the about  page. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ( I John 1:9, KJV). 'I am a sinner' Eww! Okay, I know how we love to be humble about our salvation and honestly, we should be remembering that we are saved by grace, not by our own doing (Ephesians 2:9). Having being saved by God through grace in Christ Jesus, I think it is unfair to God and to Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross to still call ourselves sinners. I will understand it when we say I was once a sinner but I AM?...no, no, no. Let's read a few scriptures. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17,  KJV). For w...

This weekend I took my roommates to my hometown to show them around and have some time away from school. Last night when we got back we were greeted by our roommates and friends sitting at the dining room table. After we settled in, we joined them for apple cider, pie, and good company. We got to talking and the Lord used my new friends to tell me a few things.... Namely... Hillary, YOU ARE LOVED! <3 God As a perfectionist, getting past my sins to where grace lives is quite a challenge most days. Grasping grace is difficult for me. I think it's because it isn't a logical concept. Logically, by earth standards, no one would let someone hurt them over and over and over and over and over and over and over again AND still say I love you, I forgive you, come home to me. YET, that is is EXACTLY what Christ says to us. It is incomprehensible that the God who made me would let me treat him that way and then forgive me. I just don't get how he has that much love...

I AM  in His hands. In His  hands I am FORGIVEN . I am SET FREE . I HAVE PURPOSE . I have a place. I am VERY  loved.  Ephesians 2:8 - 9 For it is by grace  you have been saved,  through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—   not by works,  so that no one can boast. THIS  is my identity through Christ.

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have Vanessa who is the founder and writer of the blog   A Journey To God . She sent us her post via email and once we read it we told her we were definitely going to use it! Today she is sharing her heart on this months theme Identity in Christ. Be sure to check out her blog at the links below!  When I consider who I am in Christ, the first thing that always comes to mind is how he renamed me with his Mercy.  Throughout my adulthood, I had carried with me the guilt of my sin. I wore shame like a badge of honor. I believed I must do this so that I could atone for my failings. I often said that my greatest disappointment was not being perfect. Being that I thought I was suffering my sins in private, meant that I also made terrible choices. Who could make a good choice while covered in guilt and shame? Who could be kind, when you are constantly beating yourself up? Having burdened myself with guilt, I had little room for f...

The verse above so beautifully captures our theme for this month: Identity in Christ. And it also captures the mission of this blog,  "encouraging young women to find rest in God". When I saw this verse the other day, i was reminded of the importance of finding rest in God each and every day.  The world tells us that that we should find our identity in things and the people around us. It tells that we should strive to find our worth in peoples opinions. But sisters, those are all lies.  As we as christian women strive to find that rest in God it is important that we remember that when we rest in the shelter of his arms it a "safe place" and that is where we find our identity in him. The song, "Oceans" by Hillsong united has resonated in my heart this week, The words--" Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander  And my faith will be made stronger.  In the presence of my Savior"  These words encouraged me to take my faith deeper ...

  Founders Note: Today on the blog we have Courtney from  Titus 2 Minutes . She sent us her post via email, and once we read it, we told her we were definitely going to use it!  She is also one of our sponsors this month, so be sure to check out her blog at the links below! Today she is sharing her heart on this months theme Identity in Christ.   The other day I had lunch with my grandma and she asked me what new lessons the Lord has been teaching me  and what sweet mercies I have been experiencing since being married. (For those of you who don’t know, I have been married to the most wonderful man I know for eight lovely months now!) After pondering that deep question for a minute, I replied that what I have been learning is that my identity is found in Christ. You see, for the first time in my life, I am not working toward anything specifically for me. I am not working at finishing college, I am not working to build my savings, I am not trav...

Psalm 102:25 As I read this verse earlier this weekend, i was encouraged that we are all the work of his hands. In Genesis it says that we were formed from dust. Think about that for a minute, God made you and I out of dust. As it says in Isaiah 64:8, "Yet you, Lord, are our Father.We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." The world tells us that constantly that we aren't good enough, or we don't measure up. But those are all lies. Because God tells us we are the work of his hands. We are the work of his hand. think about that for a minute. God formed us just like a potter forms clay, he formed us into something beautiful, despite our brokenness or our sin, he calls us his, he says-"you are mine" As I was thinking about that verse this weekend, I was reminded just how precious we are in his sight. We are worth it to him, and nothing we say or do can change that. God continually shapes us into the women that he call...

[This photo was taken the other day with my i-phone, and yes I do live here!] (Do not copy) The verse above reminds me that no matter what I can always find my hope in him. As women we are told to let others define not only us but our happiness as well. We are told to find out worth in the things of this world: success, money...etc. We are also told that without these things we cannot be happy. But God is telling us something completely different in the verse above, he tells us that our hope is an anchor for the soul, and that we can find ourselves in him. God calls us to be anchored in him, just as Hebrews 6:19 says. When we are "anchored" in God, then we do not drift off into the water, we are safe, we are secured in his love. When we are anchored in our faith we are able to put him first. Because let's face it, without him we would just be drifting off into the middle of the water not knowing where to go next. So sisters, always be anchored in him and rest in ...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we one of our monthly contributors Kiki, from In it's Time . Be sure to find out more about her on our about page  here . She is sharing her heart on this months theme Identity in Christ. So we hope you are encouraged! And be sure to check out her blog, cause it's awesome!  When I first heard that this month's topic is on our Identity in Christ, my mind immediately went to this poster I found on Pinterest a few months ago. Created for Donald Miller's blog, Storyline, this poster is full of just a few of the identities we can claim as children of God. We are beloved, we are His children, we are forgiven, and never alone. We are wonderfully (and beautifully) made, we are whole, we are new, and we are adopted, too. That's quite a long list, isn't it? But it's such a good one. One filled with hope, with encouragement, comfort, and security. Sisters, we are all of those things in that list and so much more. It...

Merriam Webster dictionary defines identity as: the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others. We are all in seasons of life, and while we are in those seasons we often define ourselves by them. Especially those of us who are in a season of singleness, the world says that we should not be ashamed of our singleness, but, we should see this time in our lives as a gift. As a time to grow in our relationship with God, and to keep on putting him first. Psalm 139:14 is a great reminder that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in him and that our identity should be found in him and not the world. But the truth is sisters, that no matter what season of life God has us in, we are still fearfully and wonderfully made in him. No matter the season we are in, we are there for a purpose. And while we are in that season, we should find joy in it even if it's hard. For me, my current season of singleness has been hard at times, and yes, som...

But God, with the  unfathomable  richness of His love and mercy focused on us,  united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin—and saved us by His grace. Ephesians 2:4-5 (The VOICE) For the month of October our theme here at The Quiet Place is Identity In Christ. When I first began writing this post, it was my intention to share with you how we are to find our identity in Christ. However, as I searched for verses and other articles on the topic, it isn't my own words that I want to share with you all tonight. Instead, it is the words of a woman who has overcome, who has fought many battles, and yet owns her victory through Christ every single day.  Tonight soak up the words and testimony of this faithful women... Find Her Story Here

According to dictionary.com,  Self Worth  is  the sense of one's own value as a person.   In other words, self worth is how we see our personal value.  How do you see your own value as a person? Do you feel that you have value? What gives you your value? How do you define your value?  After answering these questions for yourself, maybe you feel the need for some assistance in the area of Self Worth. Then you came to the right place ;) Below are just some of the verses that demonstrate how much God values you.  Titus 3:5 He came to save us. It’s not that  we earned it  by doing good works or righteous deeds; He came because He is merciful. He brought us  out of our old ways of living  to a new beginning through the washing of regeneration; and He made us completely new through the Holy Spirit, God brought us salvation because "He is merciful" meaning that God brought us salvation because he chose to show us me...

So as we begin this next month of focusing on our Identity in Christ, sisters I hope you are all reminded that your identity is found in him and not the world. As i was thinking of this topic, a song by Tenth Avenue North played in my head, called You are More , it says: "You are more than the choices that you've made, you are more than the sum of your past mistakes. You are more than problems that you create. You've been remade" This is a great reminder that we are more than the lies that the  world feeds us, We are made new in him. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Sisters let this verse be a reminder that your mercies are made new each day, and that no matter what we are going through, God is right there guiding us in his love. Multiple times throughout scripture  we are reminded that we are hidden in Christ. W...

 Philippians 2:14-16  "Do everything without grumbling or arguing,  so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain." This month as we have talked about self worth, we have talked about what self worth is, that we are precious in his sight, bought with a price, and how we are worth more than many sparrows to God. Today as I read the verse above in my devotional and I was reminded that when I hold firmly to God's word that is when he shines in me.   When we hold firmly to the truth in God's word instead of the lies that the world feeds us about our self worth, that is when we shine. The second part of Phil. 2:14-16 says it best, "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the wo...

I certainly can't let the month of August pass without mentioning this passage for our self worth theme. So read on my friend... Luke 12:1-12 (VOICE) The crowds at this time were packed in so tightly that thousands of people were stepping on each other. Jesus spoke to His disciples,  knowing that the crowds could overhear . Jesus:  Guard yourselves from the yeast that puffs up the Pharisees—hypocrisy,  false appearance, trying to look better than you really are. Nothing is covered up that won’t be discovered; nothing is hidden that won’t be exposed.  Whatever a person says in the dark will be published in the light of day, and whatever a person whispers in private rooms will be broadcast from the housetops. Listen, My friends, if people are trying to kill you, why be afraid? After you’re dead, what more can they do?  Here’s whose opinion you should be concerned about: the One who can take your life and then throw you into hell! He’s the only One y...