It Isn't Easy

Recently I was at a meeting where a younger woman confessed that she had been under such guilt of not being able to forgive herself for her past. As the ladies around the table began to nod in agreement that yes this was a real stumbling block for all of us. I was so encouraged with what one of the beautiful women had to say.

She talked about struggling with this same issue and then shared what the Word has to say about forgiveness. She said that Christ died on the cross to take those sins from us. {Yes we all nodded in agreement knowing this part already, just not quite able to apply that truth to ourselves}

She noticed that we all believed that part but our faces must have shown that yes, we can forgive others but not those horrible things that we have not shared with anyone because, as we look back we can't believe ourselves that we have done those things.

So she continued as we sat on the edge of our seats to finally know how to move beyond our past and to have it gone. She told us "trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on you OWN understanding in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE Him and He shall direct your path." {Proverbs 3:5-6}

Then she sat back and we all just sat still for a few minutes to take in what she had said. Sure I had heard that one also but I started to think about the words and to soak them in. Was I leaning on my own understanding of my past? Had I really acknowledged that God had taken away all the gunk that the enemy flings in my face when I least expect it? If not, then how will He direct my path to the freedom from those sins that I long for? Hmmm, I think you could hear the wheels of our minds grinding away as we really heard the words that have been spoken to us many times before but glazed over in our hurried state to get to the end.

If you are like the ladies sitting around that table longing for the solution of how to give your past sins to the only One that can really remove them from you aching shoulders, then reread those words and sit still and let God do exactly what He has promised, to remove yours sins from you and separate them from you as far as the east is from the west. Trust Him. Acknowledge Him! He adores you! He WILL direct your path.

Coffee for Your Heart



Words

A small thing that makes a big difference is the post prompt for today's writing. I would have to say that words even though they seem small or unimportant at the time are something that make a big difference.

Take a birthday card. The ones that have that handwritten note inside that let's you know the heart of the person it came from. {I don't know about you but my eyes race to the handwritten words and skip the poem.} How about a letter that comes in the mail? {those are so few and far between that I rip open the envelope to read what someone took the time to say. Awesome!}To think that a friend would take the time to pick out the writing paper, nice pen, and sit down and send those words of love to me, makes a difference in my day. I must read it over and over in my mind a thousand times.

Then there is the email. {yep, I am up to date knowing that it is a sign of the times} When I check my inbox and there is something there besides spam and companies that seem to think I am their new best friend, and spy a note from a friend  that has moved away or a relative that I am not able to visit because the funds are not available, and they are sharing some news about themselves that is a small thing {I am sure to them} but it makes a big difference in my day.

There are the words "I love you" spoken from a granddaughter, for no reason, other than to express her feelings at the moment. Just 3 words, small in number but have a HUGE impact on the Nana that hears them. Oh yes, my day has taken flight and I am soaring for a week!

So I guess I am saying that the small things in my life that make a huge difference are the words that are read and spoken. Words that bring love and sweet joy into my life. Even words from a book can bring such hope and peace. Words like: "I will keep  you safe because no one can snatch you out of My hand" John 10:29, or "The good things that I have planned for  you are too many to count," Psalm 40:5, maybe this "I will never abandon you!" Hebrews 13:5. These are the words my King says to me. Don't they just make you want to dance and shout.

 Yes I think the small things of WORDS that are spoken with such a great love behind them make a HUGE difference. Choose them wisely and say them often.



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!

 

 

You Are Not Alone

I have a sweet granddaughter that is growing up too fast. She is going through a time when the dark frightens her. Guess we have all been there. I remember the basement in our house being the most frightening place on the planet. It was ok during the day, but night was a whole different story. I could have been in the Olympics track and field with the speed I was able to achieve getting down the stairs and back up them at night when I was asked to retrieve something from the basement!

My granddaughter has a new game she likes to play, called Hide and Scare. {when I played the game it was called hide and seek} We went to visit this past weekend and she asked me if I wanted to play said game. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my daughter shaking her head no. I changed the subject and we did something else. Later I asked my daughter why I didn't want to play Hide and Scare. She informed me that every time my granddaughter tries to play the game she ends up crying. What! Why would anyone want to play a game that made them cry or scare them? Sure enough her cousin arrived later and we heard her ask her cousin if she wanted to play Hide and Scare. {she wasn't close enough to my daughter to see  her shake her head no}The game began and it lasted a total of 1 minute before we heard her scream out and begin to cry.{well, check that off the list of games to play with her!}

It got me thinking about today's prompt of not being alone. Have you ever felt so alone that it was scary? Have you gone through a time when you were sure that no one on the planet has felt like you were feeling at that moment? Have you been in a place filled with people and felt invisible?

I want you to know that God has promised you that he will never leave you or forsake you! I also want you to know that the things you are going through, that you feel like no one else has ever gone through, is more than likely not true. You can reach out to God and He will calm your frayed nerves, or comfort the aching in your heart. He has also placed others in your life that are waiting to be asked to come alongside you {as they have been in your shoes}. Sometimes we need to have someone give us a hug or tell us that God has this in hand. He even tells us in His love letters to us:

Deuteronomy 31:8

 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

If  the Lord goes before you and he is with you, that means you ARE NEVER ALONE! Think on this and keep it in your heart.



You are Beautiful!

If I had would have had to write this post a few years ago I would have been speechless. I was the "girl with the great personality" and you know what that means! I was the girl that didn't have a date {nope not even one} in high school. Not because I didn't want a date, but because I was the "girl with the great personality". I even had to ask someone to take me to the senior prom! Not feeling too beautiful here. My fiancé even decided that we should see other people and broke off our engagement. Now the word ugly is looming large.

I went on to college where I met Jesus face to face. I began to read the Bible and some words started to leap from the page like the ones from Psalm 139:14 telling me that God made me and His works are wonderful! Hmmm, God only makes wonderful things! Something to think on. Then I learned that the more we learned about Jesus and the closer we grow to Him we start to think, and act in the way that will please God. He is living in me helping me to become the woman he created me to be, beautiful inside and out.

Have you ever noticed when you meet someone that is a Christian they seem to glow and you can tell right away without saying a word that they are a fellow believer? Are they not beautiful? Don't you want to be around them? That is what Jesus does to each of us as He lives inside of us.

The word ugly has been removed from my vocabulary. Genesis 1:27 says that God created us {you and me} in His image. I don't think of God as anything but beautiful, glorious, wonderful. That means so are you!

Are you thinking you are not beautiful? You were made in the image of God, how can you not be the most beautiful woman. If God created you and you have Jesus living on the inside GORGEOUS is the word for you . Trust me on this I know first hand that you have never looked more beautiful! God only makes wonderfully beautiful things. He even declares us "Very good!" So take Him at His word, believe what He tells you is true, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

 

Coffee for Your Heart

 

 

John 15:4

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Psalm 139:14

 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well 

Coffee For Your Heart