Who Inspires You?

This prompt doesn't take much thinking on my part. I have three wonderful friends that bring such inspiration that lifts up my spirit just thinking about them.

Friend # 1 is just a bit older than I am and I have learned a great deal from her. She has shown me how to welcome all into a group. There is no one that remains a stranger when she is around. She also has shown me that just because we grow older doesn't mean that we have no usefulness any longer. She is a champion of people that have lost a spouse. She is the pioneer that is leading the way for those so overtaken by grief that it seems impossible to go on. She has first hand experience and hasn't let it overwhelm her but strengthen her to help others.

Friend #2 is a little younger than I am but so much wiser. She  has such a heart for the children others consider unteachable. We worked together for many years and she taught me not to be afraid of children with disabilities but to see their inner beauty. She is so in love with God that it draws you in and you have a new look at God through her eyes. She is a friend that I don't get to see very often but who I have shared my inner most thoughts, pains, and joys with. She always has a listening ear and a wonderful word of encouragement.

Friend #3 is about the same age as I am but has lived life in a very different place than  me. She has had more pain in her life than I think most of us will experience in 2 lifetimes. She has the knack of making you want to be better and to know God like she does. When asked how she is, she is always "blessed" even when things are closing in and life seems difficult. She is a person that is always ready to pray for and with me. When I am feeling like I want to pity myself for what is going on in my life I just have to get a text from her and I am reminded that God is in control and working all things for my good.

These 3 wonderful ladies are such an inspiration to me. They mean more than just the few words I have shared. I believe God always knows what we need and he gives us "skin" to help us see Him. That is what these three friends have done for me, help me see God with "skin" and help me want to come closer to Him. I pray he give you that same "skin".

Coffee For Your Heart



What Brings You Joy?

As I write this my life is in such upheaval that sometimes it is difficult to breath. So when I read the prompt for this week it made me sit and think, really think.

I know happiness. That seems to be something that I can laugh with or when a friend calls or greets me with a hug. But too soon that passes and I am left to my thoughts or myself.

No the prompt was what brings me joy? I think that what brings me joy is when a friend reminds me that God is working all things for good in my life even though I can't see it right now. This fans the coals that are just embers in my heart. It brings that joy back to me that I belong to a God that NEVER fails in anything He does. {another puff to those embers that are now starting to burn within me}

I am reading a wonderful book that was a present for my birthday called, His Princess, Letters from Her King and it takes the words that are written in the Bible and states them from God to me in such a way that if feels as if God just wrote them and they are to me personally. They set the embers into a full out fire. They bring rapturous joy flooding me.

It seems that when I focus on me and what makes me happy isn't the same thing that makes me joyful. It is when I am focusing on what God has said to me and about His love for me that fills me with a joy that even the hard times I am going through right now can't seem to steal away. There are always those embers that will not die because of the truth that lives in me. The truth that God is working all things for my good, that He NEVER fails, and that His steadfast love endures forever!

Yes that is what brings me joy. A never ending joy even when it seems there are just embers, can so easily be fanned into a brilliant flame just remembering whose I am. 

Thanks Holley for helping me remember this!

 

 



Encouraging Word

What encouraging word or words do you want to hear when you are having a bad day? I have thought about this prompt for the entire week. I came up with a few observations.

1. It depends on who is doing the talking.
1. If you are having a bad day and a well meaning friend quickly says its going to be OK or
2. God says: "I will act on your behalf as you wait for Me." Isaiah 64:4
2. How much does the person know about you?
1. Your friend, that you share MOST of your ups and downs with or
2. God who reminds you: "I will NEVER abandon you." Hebrews 13:5
3. How the words are spoken.
1. You are in great need and you can hear the quiet sighs of impatience on the other end of the phone or
2. God listen with such patience and love telling you, "I will restore and refresh your weary soul" Psalm 23:3

I can remember feeling like the world was on my shoulders and a friend listened,  I mean really listened and when I could finally be still enough to listen to her she offered her love and then pointed me to God and shared the most appropriate verses from the Bible. I can not tell you how that refreshed my spirit and gave me the courage to walk through another day. Words like, forgiven, grace, love {this one is a bit overused such as "I love that spaghetti."}, understand, been there, you can do it, I am here for you are all helpful. But to hear your Father in heaven tell you things like; "I will keep you safe because no one can snatch you out of My hand." {John 10:29} when things around you feel like they are closing in for the kill, are like a breath of fresh air in a stale room.

I don't know about you but when someone speaks words of life to me that is when I am most encouraged and lifted up. I think this song says it all!

 

Let your words be life and truth and you will never go wrong!