Behind the Scenes

"Wait for the Lord;

    be strong, and let your heart take courage;

    wait for the Lord"

psalm 27:14

Wait. That word alone evokes all kinds of unwanted feelings doesn't it? We don't like to wait. For anything. We want what we want and we want it NOW. Waiting requires the one thing that makes our face twist into a very unattractive cringe... Patience.

We went to eat the other night for my aunt's birthday. Now there's a strange fact about me. Most people probably don't do this but I like to look in the kitchen of a restaurant. I'm not saying I sneak in there like some food creeper I just mean if it's one you can see into the kitchen from where you're sitting, I always look.

It's not because I'm worried about them spitting in my food (not really) it's because I like to see behind the scenes.

When I look around at the people carrying on their conversations I realize they have no idea how hard the people in the kitchen are working to prepare their food just right for them. Some of them get anxious, annoyed, or even rude waiting for their food.I'm sure you've never done that;)

How often do we do the same thing with God? We pray for something and have faith it will come but then when it doesn't come right when we hope or expect we start to lose patience. We start doubting it's ever going to come. We start getting anxious and frustrated wondering what's taking so long.

It's so easy to forget that we can't see the whole picture.We think we have it all figured out how we think it should go.We are so hungry for what we're craving that we feel nothing but disappointment when it doesn't come. It often feels like God isn't "doing his job"...at least not the way we'd like. Like somehow he's there to serve us.Wrong.

The truth is God is always working. HIS way.For HIS Glory. He doesn't take a break. He's not purposely trying to hold something from you to be mean, he knows how much it means...better than even you do.

He's making things happen for you. Even when you can't see it, even when you don't feel it, even when it's not evident. He's working on your prayers. because we know he has a much bigger and better plan than we could ever imagine. Don't give up.

One thing I have learned is that God works on you while you wait. He's building your faith, strengthening your character, developing your perseverance.Those are things that last a lifetime.

I don't know what it is you've been praying for. Maybe a loved one, a financial situation, healing. In our family it's been health and a baby. I can't tell you how many times Jeremy and I both have been heart broken when it hasn't happened how we hoped. But if we say we trust God that means trusting his timing. As hard as that can be.

Only he can see the Big picture.He knows what's best and we can have faith that even though we can't see it he's working behind the scenes.He's getting everything just right, making sure no components are missing and in the right time He'll answer and it will be better than you ever hoped for!



Prayer Starter: God I feel like I've exhausted myself praying for the same thing for so long now. Help give me rest and peace knowing you're working behind the scenes even when I can't see it. I might not understand what you're doing but help me to trust in your timing.No matter how long it's been I know nothing is impossible for you.

God's skilled to handle the skillets.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble. 

But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Life sure can be unexpected and painful sometimes can't it?

The other morning I was getting some stuff done around the house and it was going good...until I was putting dishes away.We have a hanging rack in our kitchen that the pots and pans hang from.

On my tippy toes I reached to hook one of the skillets. It looked like it was hooked so I looked away, it felt like it was on good so I let go....Can you guess what happened next? Yep.

Skillet came shooting straight down making direct contact with the top of my dome.

Unexpected? YES. Painful? Absofrigginlutely.

I had no choice but to fall to me knees. I grabbed my head and tried to keep myself from face planting straight into the tile.

All I kept picturing was the cartoons where the character gets hit in the head with a skillet and their eyes bug out and a huge knot rockets up from their noggin. I was convinced I'd look over at the skillet and see an Amber's head sized indention in it.

A painful experience I could have done without but isn't that just life?

We can be going along just fine and then BAM... skillet to the skull! Maybe a loved one gets sick, you get an unexpected bill in the mail, a friend hurts you, you receive bad news from the doctor.The list goes on.

The truth is painful situations are going to come just like this verse says.It doesn't say 'you may have trouble' or 'there's a very good chance you'll have trouble.' Nope, it says 'you WILL have trouble.'

Jesus knew how hard this world would be. He knew the pain, the struggles,the temptations, the heartache.He experienced it all.

Knowing trials are coming may not make them any easier to handle when they get here. We're still human, we still react on emotions.But the thing is, we don't have to handle them!

The peace Jesus is referring to in this verse is the peace that He wants us to have in him and him alone not in circumstances that can change. And the reason we can have that peace no matter what happens is because everything we face or could ever face he has already overcome on the cross!

That sickness, He already overcame. That financial struggle, He already overcame. That diagnosis your loved one just got, He already overcame. That hurtful relationship, He already overcame. That fear, He already overcame. That worry, He already overcame. That past hurt, He already overcame. That future struggle, He already overcame!

Don't you see? What Jesus did on the cross covered it ALL. Not some, ALL. Jesus isn't thrown off by the unexpected and painful things that come our way. He hurts with us but he's not worried about it because he's already taken care of it. That's why he says we can have peace. He's got it. All of it. Let Him handle it.He's way more capable anyway.

Whatever painful situation you are in or that may come your way know it's already covered by grace. FREELY given grace.

So when life hurts, just hit your knees and trust that God is skilled to handle the skillets!

Prayer Starter: God I'm hurting. I never saw this coming. It's painful and scary. I don't know how to handle it so help me give it over to you. Help me to focus on the power of the cross instead of my circumstances.Remind me that Jesus overcame anything I am and will ever face and give me peace in that. Thank you for sending your son to die on a cross for me so that I could have hope in a hurting world.

One of THOSE days...

"God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God.
    He’s all I’ve got left."

Lamentations 3:23 (MSG)

You ever have one of those days?

You stub your toe.You wash your phone in the washing machine.You search for your car keys for an hour only to realize they mysteriously ended up behind the eggs in the fridge.Your car battery dies.You get a bill in the mail.You step in dog poop. Some thief steals your parking spot.

I'm sure if you have kids you can add about 50 million and one things to that list.

Days where your emotions run so rampant that you literally cry over spilled milk.

You feel like God must have skipped over you when He was handing out mercy portions that morning.

All you keep thinking is "I can't wait for this day to be over!"

It's one thing after another, like a domino effect. And not the kind that's cool to watch either.

And by the end of it you're surprised you survived. That the pets survived.That your children survived.

I hate to break it to you but "bad days" like that are going to continue to happen. That's life. We can't really change that. We can however change the way we look at them.

A bad day doesn't mean a bad life. God has enough mercy to cover anything that happens.Yes, ANYTHING. You may be beating yourself up for the way you handled a situation or two that day but LET IT GO.

So you kicked the cat, it's still alive right? Besides it's a cat, it probably deserved it.I'm kidding....sort of.

You can't change the fact that unfortunate stuff happened or the way you may have handled it but you can learn from it and move on to a new day.More often than not you'll look back and realize the "bad" stuff wasn't really that "bad". And the mercy you thought was missing was there all along, keeping things from being even worse.

God's love and mercy doesn't run out when our energy and patience does. I LOVE that about Him!You can rest in the fact that God will have new, fresh mercy for you in the morning and every morning after that.  Not because we deserve it but because He's faithful. The circumstances that may happen throughout the day don't change that, no matter how "bad" they seem!

Prayer Starter: God I know frustrating things are going to happen in life. Help me start my morning focusing on your faithfulness and mercy. Keep me mindful throughout the day of who you are and your ability to handle whatever comes my way. I know I'll screw up but help me remember your mercy isn't based on my actions but on your unfailing love.Thank you for new days and fresh starts.

Banking on a Sure thing!

"Depend on God and keep at it because

 in the Lord God you have a sure thing." 

Isaiah 26:3 (MSG)

What are you depending on?

Seems like a simple enough question right. If you believe in God the "expected" response would most likely be "well on God of course." But if there's one thing we know as adults it's that sometimes saying something and wanting to believe it doesn't always make it easy to act out.

Before my health problems started I thought I had a strong enough faith. That's easy to do when everything's going well though, isn't it? To say you trust God and know He's in control of your life.

Then as soon as something bad or unexpected happens, we get bad news, or pain comes, the faith we thought we had is shaken to the point that we're not even sure we can stand. And it makes you wonder what were you really depending on.

The amazing thing about faith though is that it's a continual process. The bible says faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains.(Luke 17:6) That when we're faithless he's faithful.(2 Timothy 2:13)That He is refining us through testing it.(2 Timothy 2:8)

I've felt unending pain for a long time now.I used to not want to talk about it but I've realized it's part of my story and a huge part of my faith God's giving me. It's not always easy and there are days I still question why but it's through those situations that God tests and develops our faith.

At the beginning I used to have anxiety about every test the doctor did and let me tell you I've been through my fair share of pokes, prods,scans, and stealing of my blood. (scavengers)

But when I went to the doctor yesterday to get my results from my sonogram I wasn't in the least bit worried about what could happen.That right there is a GOD thing for sure. Not by my own strength but completely by His strength through me, I wasn't scared. And thank God they didn't find any masses!:)

To be dependent on who God is instead of what may or may not happen in a situation is what truly gives us peace.

If we're depending on our circumstances, our feelings, or even the people around us for our hope and happiness we'll always be disappointed. Those things are a huge part of our life but they aren't flawless and they aren't mean to sustain us.

There aren't a lot of sure things in this world but God is.Always.You can take that to the bank of your choice!

He doesn't change. He is always in control, always stronger, always bigger, and always has a plan to use everything we face for our good. He wants us to depend fully on Him because He knows when that happens it won't matter what news we get or what happens because we'll be banking on a sure thing...Him.


Prayer Starter: God I admit it's hard to always depend on you, especially when tough circumstances come my way.Help me to know that you are a sure thing. That even when I don't understand I can always trust you completely because you don't change even when things around me do. I may not have huge faith but what I do have I put in you. Give me your strength and help me depend on who you are instead of what I'm going through.

Embrace the discipline!

"My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
    but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
    the child he embraces, he also corrects."

Hebrews 12:10

I think as adults sometimes we forget that we aren't excused from needing to be taught. That even as wives, mothers, career women, grown adults there are still things that we need to learn. 

It's easy to get mad or frustrated with God when we're facing something difficult. We forget that life is growing and learning and God is the ultimate teacher.

Whatever you're going through may feel like punishment but it's not, it's training. 

I'm not a parent but I would think it'd be pretty irresponsible to leave a child to fend for themselves.You wouldn't tell your two year old,  "Mom and dad are going to leave you to figure out how to do everything on your own.There's food in the fridge.Peace out,See ya in two weeks!" Right? Why would we want God to do that to us? 

I tell you when I was young I didn't understand a lot of the discipline from my parents.Not that i got in trouble a lot....;) But now that I'm older I have so much more respect for it and for them.

Good parents discipline their children out of love, even when it isn't easy. They do what they think is best.We are God's children and He loves us more than we can imagine. He is doing what he knows is best for us, even when it's painful. He knows spoiling us won't teach us. It may feel good for awhile to have it all, for things to be easy but later on when trials hit we'll wonder why He didn't train us to handle them.

He wants to mold us into the best possible version of ourselves so we can bring Him the most glory. So we can reach our fullest potential. 

Discipline isn't always fun, but it is necessary. He has such a bigger purpose in mind than we can fathom.You might not understand why you're having to face the trouble you are but one day you'll see it will pay off, BIG time.

It’s the well-trained who become mature in their relationship with God and strong enough to face anything that may come their way. Be encouraged in knowing if you face hardships you're among good company of the most influential and faith-filled people in the bible. So embrace the discipline big or small and know even if you don't understand it, God is using it for an incredible purpose!

Prayer Starter: God I may not understand what you're doing or why at this time in my life but I know you have a plan. Help me embrace what I'm going through and trust you. Even when it's painful, even when I want to give up I believe you're strength will help me persevere.I can't do it alone though. I feel weak and beat down but I know in my weakness is when you are your strongest. Help me keep my eyes focused on you and help me remember that I am your child and all you do is out of unfailing love for me.

Let go, press forward, and Enjoy!

"Beloved,I do not consider that
I have made it my own;
but this one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead"
Philippians 3:13-14 (NRSV)

"Ouch!" Life sure is painful sometimes, isn't it?

Yesterday I warmed up some soup in the microwave that my mom had sent home with me.Yes my mom is awesome, I know.

Well in my state of hunger I didn't do the first cardinal rule of microwave use...Eager to taste the deliciousness that is my mom's cooking I didn't check to see how hot the soup was before I put a whole steaming spoonful in my mouth. BIG mistake according to my scorched tongue.

"I wish I could change it." Was only one of the many thoughts that popped in my head in the midst of my childlike "ouchie" dance.

How often have we said that in our lives? Whether because of the consequences we face or the guilt we feel, we replay our screw ups over and over. All it does is exhaust us while we waste so much time and energy trying to reenact what we'd have done differently.

The truth of the matter is we can't change what happened.All we can do is learn from it.

God's grace is AMAZING. It's undeserved favor regardless of the circumstances! We don't lose it when we screw up, big or small! Take a minute and think about that...While we're beating ourselves up, God is saying "let it go, I have something bigger and better to show you!"

This verse is from Paul, a man who at one point in his life would torture and sometimes execute Christians! Yet God used him as one of the most influential people in the bible!

The fact is,as humans we'll always make mistakes.But it's through those mess ups that God is preparing us for something better.As hard as it can be to wait God has a big plan for each of us and just like my soup we have to be at the right temperature to be ready to enjoy it completely.

So, that thing you're holding onto that you wish you could change, let it go so you can press forward and enjoy the amazing thing God will replace it with!

Prayer Starter: God, I pray that I will let go of the past, all the hurts and mistakes. I know I can't do it without your help. I can't change it but help me to learn from it and move on stronger and better than ever. Help me to push forward trusting that you're working in my life even when I can't see it and that you are using my past and present circumstances for my good. Thank you for your grace and for not giving up on me even when I give up on myself. My future is in your hands and I'm ready to see what you have for me.  

Gettin' with it!

So awhile back I had several people tell me "you should start a blog." And being an avid lover of writing since I could form letters, I jumped at the chance and started this one. I love it! But I have to admit I've become somewhat of a slacker with it. Reasons are not important what is important is that I'm baaaaack!:)

But this time I'm going to do things a little differently. I've realized more and more how crazy busy people's lives are and while I've enjoyed writing the blogs I've already written I have to admit they've been a tad...shall we say...Long.Just a little. And I realized 'aint nobody got time for that!' I think it's because once I sit down to write if I don't have one area of focus there's no stopping me.My fingers get a mind of their own!

So awhile back I had a few ladies tell me I'm good with words and should start a bible verse devotional. Now while I was so crazy humbled and appreciative of that in all honestly I didn't really think anyone would really read it. So I didn't really give it another thought.

Well I've been praying a lot lately about a lot of things and one thing is how God wants me to use the things I'm passionate about.  Writing is a BIG one! And I realized it's not up to me to worry about who will read it or even if people will read it. It is up to me to be take the first step with what I feel he's gifted me with.

God blessed me with a compassionate heart since I can remember. I just love people and I can't help it! I love encouraging people and I love writing so who am I to say what God can or can't do with that? I'm just a tool, well you know what I mean...;) It's up to Him if and how he uses my writing. So starting tomorrow keep an eye out for my first devotional! I can't wait to see what God will show me through it and if he uses it to encourage even one person than all the better!

All I do know is life is short and there's too much hardship and pressure in the world today to not encourage others any way we can!I'm in a trial at this time in my life with my health so what better time to encourage than through that.And what better thing for encouragement than the B.I.B.L.E.?With God's help our problems can have purpose. So I'm gettin' with it!