He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Psalm 40:3
God calls us into new beginnings, sometimes several times in our life.
It could be a HUGE new beginning.
Marriage, baby, divorce, death, moving, or a new job.
Or, it could be a small new beginning such as resolving to eat healthy, initiating a new devotional time, determining a new year’s resolution, or updating your children’s chore chart.
New beginnings can be scary, especially if they hit you by surprise.
An unexpected job loss.
A sudden death or divorce.
A child moving out.
It’s all scary and frightening.
But God is in the details.
What?
He cares about my daily struggles, my new beginnings, big or small?
Yes, He absolutely does.
Not only that, but He wants to hear your heart and help you.
He wants your trust – your unwavering trust in the Provider of Life.
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34
Are you stuck in the mud of life swirling around you?
Dwelling too much on plans, disappointments, or perfection?
You will only have this day one time.
One time.
How are you spending your time?
Obsessing with the nitty gritty life details?
Or doing your best while allowing God to work through you?
A year from now will you remember what you did today?
Will you remember that situation that wrecked your day?
Unless it’s a truly tragic situation, which does not happen often, you won’t.
You won’t remember that specific annoyance.
So why are you letting it invade your thoughts now?
My grandmother loved to remind us that not much matters when you look down from the balcony of heaven.
The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way. Psalm 37:23
I was deeply reminded the other day of how God holds everything in His hands.
Yes, He gives us free choice, but He is ultimately in charge.
Of everything.
He allowed Adam and Eve to sin.
And us, too.
Because we sin, we become separated from God, who is holy.
Yet He always provides a way back to Him.
When we choose Him, He’ll even walk alongside us. If we’ll let Him.
Imagine that. Allowing God, who created all things, to walk beside us.
As if it should ever be our choice. But it is.
He desperately wants us, but on His terms – which is for us to freely choose Him.
No bullying or taking against our will.
Even Paul, I mean Saul, when he encountered God.
Paul could have chosen to say no to God.
He would’ve been blind the rest of his life, but he had a choice.
This brings me back to us.
Daily submitting and really giving everything to God.
All things.
Teeny tiny things like parking spots, ugly hair, or stubborn pounds.
Big huge things like wayward relationships, divorce, or death.
Everything else seems to fall in between.
Working on my book and launch party comes to mind.
God literally handed it to me through His faithfulness and mine.
But little anxious worrying thoughts have been popping into my mind.
Honestly, they’ve had the ability to take over, making me question my course.
But then God whispers into my ear, “Why are you even bothered about that? Remember My faithfulness, which will never run out. I’ve cleared My path for you. As you continue to walk with Me, I’ll have your back. Forever.”
That’s for you, too. Stop worrying. Like ever.
Worrying removes your focus from God’s truth, which is this: He will never leave us or forsake us.
He’s got big plans for all of us.
Allow Him to use you and enjoy letting Him take care of the details.
Because He holds everything, including you, in His capable hands.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12 (ESV)
Do you find yourself surprised when our faith seems to be tested?
Really, are you ever surprised?
I am and I’m guessing you are, too.
But stop and think about something: Jesus allows trials to refine us.
To make us stronger. Finer. More solid.
Doesn’t that sound like a positive outcome?
Let’s flip it to the other side. The dark side.
Does the devil want to cancel you?
100%. If he can cancel you, you’re done. Finished. Don’t matter no more.
If the devil can succeed at tempting you to give up, he wins.
If you pass the test of faith from God, you win. And so does God.
Either way, it really doesn’t matter why you are entering a trial of whatever it is.
Matters how you come out on the other side.
Take God’s wisdom, love, grace, and mercy with you on the way.
Your maturing will enable you to face the next test with some of the answers.
After all, you’ll have one more detail of your life under your belt. A detail God orchestrated in your life.
Expect trials and tests. You’ve got the answers, so sit down and pass. With God’s help you will faithfully pass each time.
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
God is waiting to walk you into your beautiful life.
Already there?
That’s awesome.
Truly a gift.
Some of us aren’t.
We want to, but we can’t.
Why?
Because we are holding onto remnants of the past.
Ashes.
Broken pieces we cannot seem to drop.
These burdens from the past beg us to cling to our old ways of thinking, of acting.
We cling because they are familiar.
Painful, but familiar.
Why is that comforting?
Because it’s the known vs the unknown.
Do you trust me?
God is asking that of us this day.
Do you really trust me?
Because if you do, you’ll give Him those ashes.
The deepest darkest places in your heart.
You’ll grab every last drop of darkness and pour it out into God’s open hands.
He wants your sadness.
He wants your burdens.
He wants your cares.
But do you trust Him?
Does He really have your back?
Has He planned the best for your future?
Yes.
Don’t believe me?
That’s ok.
Look to your details- your blessings in your life.
God is there, was there, and is here yet today.
Oh, and He’s in your future.
Whether it’s job loss, broken relationships, yearnings of your heart, recovery from surgery or anything else, God is waiting to take the worry from you.
He can see far beyond your vision.
Place it all into His hands.
Lean back, and trust Him.
And allow your precious smile to brighten your stunning face.
Welcome to your beautiful life.
Photos by Victoriano Izquierdo & Peter Hershey on Unsplash
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and hour justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:4-7
Keep going.
Pressing forward.
There is a plan – God’s plan.
He will reveal it in His perfect timing.
His timing, not mine.
Not yours.
In the mean time – trust.
Look back at all the details He has put together for you.
Shown you.
Proved to you He notices and is fully present with you.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Sometimes I ask myself what is God doing?
Why this or that?
We picture life a certain way.
Then our picture changes.
Why?
I remember we’re not supposed to know why yet.
We’re not supposed to know all the answers.
Yet.
We don’t hold the future.
But God does.
His mercy and grace are all around us when we trust Him to lead us through the steps of life.
The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. Proverbs 10:28
Life is full of promise.
Possibilities are brimming at every turn.
Are you cheerfully anticipating God to work in your life, delivering His plan for your days?
Or are you planning things yourself and expecting God to work your plan?
One surrenders, the other demands.
Works in other relationships too, not just under God.
How bout your spouse?
Are you cheerfully anticipating love or blessings whenever they happily fall into your lap, or do you have impossibly high expectations your spouse will continually fail to reach?
Do you expect your spouse to celebrate you in a certain way, or do you allow them the freedom to bless you from their heart in their own way?
How much do you expect your girlfriends to do for you?
Or do you have the attitude of cheerful anticipation void of your measure?
As parents, we must have certain behavior expectations of our children.
That’s our called and sacred duty.
But speaking of giving love, children are notoriously low on the giving scale as they creep up in years.
Are you cheerfully anticipating their love in their time, or do you hold them to high expectations certain to fail your standards of showing love?
There’s a big difference.
It’s grace vs legalism.
Unselfish vs selfish.
Peace vs strife.
When we hold God, our loved ones, our friends, or anything in our life to our own expectation, we will be disappointed.
Guaranteed.
100%
But if we allow God to bless us when we least expect it, our hearts will brim over with joy.
I remember praying about my birthday a few years back.
It was the first one as a “divorced” woman.
I prayed to have zero expectations, to be pleasantly surprised with each little detail God provided.
The first child to greet me at school loudly proclaimed, “Happy Birthday!”
Then she ran over for a hug.
I walked into my classroom and the sweetest boy began serenading me, personally singing the entire Happy Birthday song in his precious soft voice.
Be cheerfully expectant.
Anticipatorious as my father would say.
Your days will be peaceful, your heart will be filled with love, and your mind will stay at rest.
For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands, decrees, and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. Deuteronomy 30:16
God uses us.
Little old us.
Almighty God wants to use us for His work of bringing everyone into abundant life.
To salvation through His Son.
Through us.
We are part of His plan for the salvation of the world.
The world He created.
We are witnesses of His goodness, mercy, and grace.
When people are hurting or confused, we are called to encourage them, offering hope.
God can show Himself however He sees fit.
But He is a personal God, touching people in the details of their lives.
We are those details.
We are the hands and feet of Jesus.
Drip onto others the fragrance of God.
His living water will flow freely from you to them, forever transforming their lives.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
To regain.
Recover.
Exchange.
God is our Redeemer.
He exchanges our sinful selves for a pure soul worthy of heaven.
Nothing we can do on our own merit.
It’s through trusting in His saving grace.
He redeems our souls, but what about life here?
Does He redeem our situations?
Can He?
Is He able to pick up our mess and exchange it?
Does He make all things new in His timing?
Absolutely.
God is not only the Redeemer of our souls, but He is also the Redeemer of our lives here on earth.
He recovers lost years.
He helps us regain our strength.
Our trust.
He exchanges our brokenness for new life.
When tragedy strikes, He is more than willing to redeem our situation.
How?
By trusting Him.
By placing everything back into His precious lap.
By remembering His goodness and believing He has the very best for us.
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8
Make a list of your blessings.
I know you can, even if you are in the deep dark pit.
Physically write them down.
You’ll need to refer to the list often until you can remember them on your own.
If you honestly believe you have zero blessings in your life, if you can’t see the beauty past your own nose, just look harder.
You can start small: sunshine, flowers in the spring, hot coffee, the beach, newspaper on my doorstep, my grandmother’s quilt, pearl earrings, the color pink.
See, it’s not so hard.
Write down things that make you smile.
That’s how you know.
When you are down in the dumps, look at your list.
Jog your memory of how God has blessed you.
His faithfulness to you is written all over your blessings.
And remember all those details too?
Of How He’s been there for you in daily life?
Have you written them down as well?
These two lists will help you when you are pulled down into the pit of worry or despair.
In those moments, pull out your blessings or details list.
The process of worry will begin to reverse in your mind.
Little smiles will erupt on your face as you choose to remember God’s faithfulness.
That in turn will provide peace for your future.
God’s faithfulness to you needs to be continually on your mind.
And then, worries which creep into your brain, will become less and less.
The effects of worry will slowly die away.
Purpose your mind and surrender daily to God, choosing to remember His faithfulness.
“You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” Genesis 16:13
Pulled the chicken out of the oven and assembled the many dinner plates.
Peas, macaroni & cheese, and chicken on my blue dishes looked appetizing.
As I said out loud to thin air, “Good job, Amy”, I knew at that moment God had heard me.
I felt His smile.
Then it hit me.
I work for God.
Who do you work for?
Ok yes, your boss who signs your paycheck.
Your sweet spouse as you help each other tackle life.
Can’t forget the little people who depend on you for continuing their very existence.
We could add friends, church, volunteering, and society.
Let’s face it – we work for many.
Lots of people depend on us.
Too bad the amount of work we do doesn’t equal the thanks flowing to our ears.
What?
Most of what we do is unnoticed.
Unsung.
No thank you’s.
And that’s ok.
Why?
Because God sees it.
He notices.
And He’s the One we work for.
Every time you pull dinner from the oven
Fold sweet smelling laundry
Wipe up spills you never created
Greet a lonely neighbor
Go the extra mile at work
Cut out box tops for your child’s school
Soothe a crying baby
You are noticed.
Next time you do something for someone, remember God is well pleased.
Very pleased.
You helped God smile.
And that, in the end, is all that matters.
Because we work for an audience of One.
“….but as we go on in grace, we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, in the present minute. If we have God’s say-so behind us, the most amazing strength comes, and we learn to sing in the ordinary days and ways….” Oswald Chambers
(This guest post is my sweet daughter Linnea’s senior legacy paper)
When thinking about how to sum up what I’ve learned in high school, I struggle to find the words. There’s so much I’ve learned. Really, there are like ten different things I could talk about. But when thinking about what to say, it kind of hit me. My experiences – everything I’ve gone through in high school – it doesn’t really matter. It’s not the point.
Everyone has their stories. I have mine. I could go on and on about how my depression, self-harm, and parent’s divorce affected me and what God has taught me through all of it; but honestly – that’s not the point. God has brought me through so much. He’s slowly shaping me to be the person He created me to be. He’s preparing me for the next life. In the end, everything that we’ve done on earth isn’t going to matter. There will be a day where the only thing that matters is whether or not you know and accept Jesus Christ. High school drama will be completely forgotten.
High school is a very instrumental time in a person’s life because it is then people start discovering themselves. It’s the perfect opportunity for God to wreck your life for Him – and that’s what He did to me. I went from being terrified of anything remotely spiritual, to constantly having my heart broken for those who don’t know Christ. God put this burning desire in my heart to know Him more and share His love with others. It was almost as if I had been blind and now I could see.
But it’s not always that easy. Truly trying to follow God is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. But it’s so worth it. Satan will do everything he can to distract you. He’ll try to re-open wounds and taunt you with temptations. But don’t be discouraged! John 16:33 says, “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.”
One thing I’ve learned is that so many people get stuck at the cross. I know that sounds funny, but let me explain. God wants us to lay ourselves and our burdens down at the cross and receive His grace. But we aren’t supposed to stay there. We are supposed to go forth and spread His news once we’ve been forgiven. Sometimes you’ll have to go back to the cross and lay more burdens down, but you aren’t supposed to live there. Sadly, it seems as if that’s where most Christians are today. They are all about giving their problems to God and being forgiven, but they don’t actually doanything with it.
I believe God has so much more in store for us than just wiping away our sin. He wants us to experience the fullness of His love and be rooted richly in His spiritual blessings. He wants us to go out and share His love with urgency. Going into high school, I had the Great Commission on my mind because I had just gone through confirmation and that’s what I had picked for my verse. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I wasn’t really sure why I picked that verse, but I knew it felt right. Now I can see that God has been changing my heart and how it is a perfect verse for my life – because it describes the desire He has put inside my being.
If I had to leave one piece of advice, I’d say that no matter what, trust in God with all of your heart. He created you and knows you better than you know yourself. Life is full of unexpected things and you will never be able to go through it all and come out stronger without leaning on God. There’s no time to put God on hold. If you were to die tomorrow, would you be ready?
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. Jeremiah 17:7-8
Smiling eyes
A helping hand
An opened door from a stranger
A handsome lunch date
Money for groceries
A giant beautiful Christmas tree
My warm cozy house
Baking cookies from my grandmother’s handwritten recipes
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me cup again. Psalm 71:20
Ever see God work?
Witness His marvelous plan unfold?
Take a breath and look around.
He’s working in your children’s hearts.
He’s organizing your thoughts.
He’s ordering your steps.
He’s revealing nuggets of wisdom just when you need them.
He’s providing a way through life.
He’s solving your mini issues which can overwhelm any person.
Your precious life is in His hands and He’s actively showing you the way.
You knew He would.
Come through.
Deep down, you knew.
Yet you still allow stress to step into your mind, completely distracting you.
Did you catch that?
We allow stress to literally step inside our mind and take over.
Completely distracting.
Hmmmmm…….
Oswald Chambers is one of my favorite authors.
Been reading his devotional for years.
His words are steeped with truth:
Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret. and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.
I want my family to be stamped with the presence of God.
Imagine if we all submitted to God and asked Him to work through us each and every day.
How blessed we and our families would be.
Not to mention everyone else God places in your path.
Amy Linnea 
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