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When God Walks Beside Us Wearing Someone Else’s Shoes
Have you ever wondered why it feels like God isn’t there when you are going through your most challenging seasons? Do you ever wonder if He notices you struggle when life is hard and you are holding on to your faith by a thread? Let’s talk about the possibility that God is there all along. He is just wearing someone else’s shoes. On a cold and blustery winter’s day, I spotted a solitary bird nest peering through the barren limbs of my Dogwood tree. I passed by the tree at least a thousand times during the summer and had never once noticed it was there. The foliage of summer completely…
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When You Are Tired of Waiting
The word “wait” was appearing in scripture again when I honestly didn’t want to wait again. I was tired of waiting. I felt worn out, frustrated, and disappointed from all the waiting for unpleasant and uncomfortable things to change in my life. My life was totally off the rails of any plans I had wished for, and I couldn’t see any hope for change as far as my eyes could see. So, I allowed my tears to fall and boldly cried out to God in prayer, “What does it truly mean to wait on You? What will it mean for me if I do?” In a moment when I honestly…
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God Is Never Too Busy To Care
It wasn’t the news I wanted to hear. My first thoughts were of my family’s needs and how I could possibly manage something else penciled in on my already overloaded calendar. My schedule was packed full of days spent caring for others to have time to take care of something that involved me. When I finally had time to go to God in prayer and His word, I was amazed when the scripture I landed on seemed so relatable to how I felt. It comforted my heart, and a peace settled over me. Even though I hadn’t received the good news I longed for, God wasn’t short on good news…
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Trusting In The One Who Is Stronger Than The Storm
“We are stronger than the storm.” Words I saw on a Christian tee that landed on my heart after having just prayed for a deeper understanding of the story in Matthew 14:22-33. Jesus’ disciples had just witnessed a miracle. Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a multitude of over five thousand counting women and children and still had twelve baskets full of leftovers. The disciples were no doubt tired from all the excitement of the day and from actually serving that many people. But without any time to rest, Jesus sent them ahead to cross over to the other side of the lake, and He…
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Learning What is Most Important
Do you find the most spiritual growth often comes from your most painful seasons? Have you ever felt you have learned more from your mistakes than what you have gotten right? Let me be the first to raise my hand. I relate so much to Habakkuk. There is so much we can learn from this book tucked within the pages of the Old Testament, but some of the lessons God doesn’t sugarcoat are painfully hard. We learn that God doesn’t always remove the difficult things that come into our lives. Some will come simply because we live in a fallen world. Others will find us because we choose to follow…
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Finding Hope Even When Life Brings You to Despair
Do you ever feel cast down while walking through a hard season? Do you find it helps to know you aren’t alone in how you feel? I get it. Sometimes, I get anxious, wanting to control all my outcomes. Times when fear floods my mind, and the “what if this” and “what if that” scenarios want to march around inside my head. I can quickly start to feel down and out, thinking about things I fear might happen and wondering how those things will actually play out in my life. I have lost count of the times I have fallen on my knees before God, pouring out all my worst-case…
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Waiting on God is Never a Bad Idea
Do you ever question God when it seems all you do is wait for Him to move? Do you ever feel like just answering your prayer would be a much better idea than spending so much time waiting out the hard seasons in your life? Recently, my new puppy took advantage of my quick exit before I took the time to put my ink pen out of reach. When I returned, she had chewed a hole in the ink casing and spilled ink on my brand-new throw that was a gift from my daughter. In a heated rush to see if I could salvage the throw, I hastily decided I…
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Chosen for the Best
As a girl who often battles comparison, I have often felt drawn to the verses in Acts 1:22-26. In this passage, we read of two men who have both faithfully served God and walked with Jesus during his earthly ministry. These two men are each considered to take Judas’ place as the twelfth disciple. I am sure the suspense built as the eleven apostles gathered to cast lots to see who God would select for this special place of service. After each was carefully considered and prayed over, only one would be chosen. “And they put forward two; Joseph called Barsabbas, also called Justus and Mattias. And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord,…
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Learning to Pray and Believe
Have you ever wrestled with the whole thing called prayer? Have you ever sincerely just wondered how does it work? Maybe you have prayed and prayed for something and find yourself still waiting. Maybe you see “her” prayer answered but not yours, and it has you struggling to understand. Acts 12: 1-17 tells us that while Peter was sleeping in a maximum security prison cell chained between two prison guards, the early church prayed for him. Peter’s situation looked hopeless to change, yet the early church prayed. There was no way out of his sentence. Death was imminent, yet the early church prayed. There was no way of escape,…
