F2F - Fear to Faith

What do you do when your circumstances are unbearable?  What if you received a diagnosis that was life changing or even worse life threatening?  What if your spouse suddenly left you?  What if you suddenly lost your job?

"I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights."  Habakkuk 3:16-19 (NLT)

The prophet Habakkuk found himself in a terrible situation that was out of his control and in the natural brought fear.  In the midst of his catastrophe, however, Habakkuk decided - made an on purpose choice - to turn to God and release his fear to Him.  This can actually be a very challenging thing for me.  To be honest, I have been struggling with this for a few weeks now.  We have a situation that has the potential to not end well.  However, truthfully, there is really nothing I can do about it.  And that is extremely hard for me as I tend to have a controlling personality.  I spend hours trying to figure out how to change it or fix it, but every time God speaks to me and tells me I can't.  It is truly out of my control.  And when I try to control it, I end up hurting myself by stressing, hurting my relationships by not being the loving wife, mother and friend I should be and hurting God because I am not giving it to Him.  Cast you care! 

When you find yourself in a situation like Habakkuk where everything around you seems to be falling apart, do what he did - rejoice in the Lord.  Remember that God wants only the best for you and if for some reason your problem does have a bad outcome, know that God has something better for you if you just put your trust in Him.  God loves you.  He never, ever leaves you or forsakes you.  So even in the midst of your circumstances, praise Him, thank Him and give Him your situation.  The Lord is your strength - stop turning to everyone else for the strength you need and look up!  God has got you - now and forever!

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

The Day Before

I am so excited for this week!  My daughter is coming home from college and every moment spent with her is a blessing.  I consider myself one blessed lady.  Blessings that would take up hundreds of pages if I listed every one.  But I made a habit years ago of celebrating those blessings everyday of the year, not just the 4th Thursday of November.  This is one of the reasons I have no issue with listening to Christmas music now and singing at the top of my lungs.  Because I have made everyday Thanksgiving Day. 

Thanksgiving for many is about Black Friday shopping and all of the deals you find - I do love a good deal and usually that is what my blog post is about this week.  For many it is about seeing family that you haven't seen in a really long time.  And for some it means deer season is just a few days away.  All of those are great and all of those are fun, but I wanted to focus this week on helping you see the many blessings you may not know you have.  When asked "What are you most thankful for?", most answers are the same - family, specific people, animals, and food. 

But I want to take a journey with you to another part of your town, city, state where people actually have less than you.  Many of us talk about all the things we don't have and all the things we can't afford.  Many of us are stressing over finances right now because we have bought things without having the cash to back it up.  But I want you to please read the list below of just a few of the things I am thankful for everyday because I know that there are people on my street, in my town, and in my area who don't have what I am blessed to have.

• Food - there are children everyday whose only meal is at school.
• Clothes - there are women with just one pair of shoes and they have holes in them.
• Water - there are people who do not have running water right here in the U.S.
• Toilet - there are people who have to use outhouses and buckets even in 2016
• Heat - I remember when my grandmother would heat the living room only and when we went to bed, we used an electric blanket.  The whole house was never heated.  My husband deals with clients everyday who choose to use their ovens for heat because they do not have any.
• Jackets - many kids go to school with just the shirt on their back, many times a t-shirt in the middle of winter.
• Transportation - a pet peeve of mine is when people say they need a car to justify a huge car payment they can't make.  There are many people who would love just an old used car to get somewhere without having to walk.
• Bible - I have many Bibles all around my house including on my iPad and phone.  There are people who would love to have just one.
• Electronics - we all say that we "need" computers, internet, phones, TV's, tablets, etc.  These are actually the last things we need. 
• Washer/dryer - I am washing clothes right now in my heated house - doing 4 loads.  Do you remember the scene in "The Blind Side" where Mike would go to a laundromat at night, hand wash his "other" shirt, slip it into someone else's dryer and then spend the night there?  That is not fiction.
• Income - you may not like your job (and I hope you will pursue your passion), but be grateful you have some source of income.  Many people, more than we realize, are one check or emergency away from having nothing.

The biggest thing I realized years ago was that even at my bottom - in debt with 5 zeros and making $10,000/year, I still had way more than other people.  I want to ask you today - don't ever say you are broke.  Don't ever say you aren't blessed.  Don't just be thankful for family and people.  Take a look around, focus on things you never saw as blessings, and start being thankful for everything.  There are treasures in every trial.  There is something to be thankful for in every situation.  2 1/2 years ago, my dad had a massive heart attack and basically left us - until God stepped in and saved his life.  Not for one moment did I focus on the heart attack and what could have happened.  Until this day, I focus on every blessing that came out of that and make sure I tell God and my daddy everyday that I love them to the moon and back.  I don't know why daddy had to go through that, but I know that for me, only good will come from it. 

You are blessed.  You have someone who loves you - God and me.  You are an awesome person!  I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and from my family to yours - thanks for everything!  We love you!!!

The Past is the Past

Have you ever wondered why this year isn't any different than last year?  Or the year before?  You may believe it has to do with your circumstances or your job or the people in your life.  But the odds are you are living in the past each and everyday. 

God tells us in Isaiah 65:16 "For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes."  So if God can forget the past, why can't we?  The reason it is so hard can be many - we believe that we were just born this way, other people keep us there by their judgements and expectations, maybe we believe this is "just who we are."  But we can't move forward into the great life that God wants us to have if we continue to live in the past.

In my 20's, I can't think of hardly anything that I did that was good.  Oh, I was a good person, but I was making mistake after mistake after mistake.  I was trying so hard to be what everyone else wanted me to be that I lost myself.  At the age of 30, I found myself a single mom, making $10,000 a year and $200,000 in debt.  That was about as low as I was willing to go.  I had a major aha moment.  I realized I could keep making mistakes and keep living for other people or I could forget the past and become the person that God put me here to become.  And that is what I did!  I started over at the age of 30.  And everyday of my journey, I have had to remind myself of Isaiah 65:16.  I've had to remind myself that God has forgiven and forgotten my past.  I will learn from my past, but it will never define me.

I know where you have been.  Odds are I have been there too (or something similar).  And I am here to tell you that the past is the past.  You are not your past and do not ever let a decision you made in your past define the awesome future God has for you.  Whether you are struggling with an addiction, are a single parent, are up to your eyeballs in debt, or simply haven't been the kind, Christian person you know God wants you to be - no matter what your past is, leave it.  Learn from it what needs to be learned and leave it at the feet of God.  The past is the past.