In God’s Hands!

The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him,
but his grate anger is against all who forsake him.
Ezra 8:22b

We serve an awesome God! He is always there to guide and protect, to keep you in His refuge, and to graciously supply all your needs!

There are numerous verses in scripture that refer to God’s hand being upon you, and as I read the book of Ezra, I found six verses about God’s gracious hand being upon them (and there are only 10 chapters!).

When you trust in God and call upon His name, you can fully trust that he is with you! It is His hand alone that leads you out of trouble and into safety. It is His hand alone that protects you from the enemy, from the principalities of darkness! It is by His hand that you have courage to stand on the Word of God and speak it into the lives of others. It is by the Lord’s hand that you are provided wisdom. All this just in Ezra…10 small chapters, with so many reminders that God has you! Imagine if you did a study on “the gracious hand of God”, how inspiring that would be! Hmmm….I think that may be my next writing!

Blessings to each of you and may you feel the hand of God moving in your life!
In God’s love ❤

Nevertheless….Surrender! Held in Your Hands ~ Rush of Fools

Nevertheless! It is all Yours God! All my yesterdays, all my todays, all my tomorrows are Yours! All I have, all I have had, all that is yet to come is Yours! My son, my family, my friends, my job, my hopes, my dreams, my finances, my everything are Yours God!

May you trust in the unseen, knowing God has you always! Constantly surrendering my life and all that is in it to the Lord!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
Hebrews 11:1

Nevertheless

In my reading time this evening, I was led to the devotional within Biblehub.com for the morning of July 29th (which is technically tomorrow, but is up now…go figure.)  Anywho, I really liked the message, so I figured I would share it with y’all.  Never are we alone….no matter what we do, no matter our sin, no matter our brokenness, no matter how we feel….we are always held by a God who is bigger than us!  Hallelujah!

Nevertheless I am continually with you:
you have held me by my right hand.
Psalm 73:23

“Nevertheless,”–As if, notwithstanding all the foolishness and ignorance which David had just been confessing to God, not one atom the less was it true and certain that David was saved and accepted, and that the blessing of being constantly in God’s presence was undoubtedly his. Fully conscious of his own lost estate, and of the deceitfulness and vileness of his nature, yet, by a glorious outburst of faith, he sings “nevertheless I am continually with thee.” Believer, you are forced to enter into Asaph’s confession and acknowledgment, endeavour in like spirit to say “nevertheless, since I belong to Christ I am continually with God!” By this is meant continually upon his mind, he is always thinking of me for my good. Continually before his eye;–the eye of the Lord never sleepeth, but is perpetually watching over my welfare. Continually in his hand, so that none shall be able to pluck me thence. Continually on his heart, worn there as a memorial, even as the high priest bore the names of the twelve tribes upon his heart forever. Thou always thinkest of me, O God. The bowels of thy love continually yearn towards me. Thou art always making providence work for my good. Thou hast set me as a signet upon thine arm; thy love is strong as death, many waters cannot quench it; neither can the floods drown it. Surprising grace! Thou seest me in Christ, and though in myself abhorred, thou beholdest me as wearing Christ’s garments, and washed in his blood, and thus I stand accepted in thy presence. I am thus continually in thy favor–“continually with thee.” Here is comfort for the tried and afflicted soul; vexed with the tempest within–look at the calm without. “Nevertheless”–O say it in thy heart, and take the peace it gives. “Nevertheless I am continually with thee.”

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

Just be Held ~ Casting Crowns

And this I pray,
that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve the things that are excellent,
in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.
~ Philippians 1:9-11

When everything is chaotic and the storms rage, keep your eyes on the Cross, knowing God has a plan for good, for hope and for a future! Surrender what you cannot control and let God move in your life and the lives of those you love

I give you my son Lord, I surrender him to you, trusting that you will strengthen and protect him from the evil one. I give him to you for he is not my child, but Yours! I am letting go…letting you hold me, asking you to hold my boy as he becomes the man you created him to be.

Finding His Faith Midst the World!

Train a child up in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6

I have only one child and he is my pride and joy. My life is so full with him in it and I am delighted that he is becoming his own man. He is 15, with 16 approaching quickly, and desiring to assert his independence more so now than ever before.

I have been divorced for over 13 years, and though I have a great relationship with his father and we keep our son as the central focus, I am still a single mom without a dad in the house! My son has been brought up in church with me and has just recently proclaimed that he does not want to go to church anymore. The reasons are varied, and I have been praying greatly about this as there is a delicate balance to encouraging him to go to church, thus continuing to build his foundation in Christ, and to making him go to church, which would cause bitterness and resentment about church and create fights weekly in our home. Yes, I am the mom, and yes, I can “make” him go, but that does not foster his faith and his journey; it merely sets the stage for warfare in our home. After much prayer, God has made it abundantly clear that my son is NOT mine, he is GOD’S! In that one resonating statement, God is asking me to let go, and let him lead my son, which I will admit is hard. This is not hard because of my lack of trust in God, but because I know the journey will be hard, painful, and difficult for me to watch. After all, who wants to see their only child, or any child suffer in order to find a deep and meaningful relationship with God?

With all that said, herein lies my struggle: how do I continue to build on the foundation that has been built thus far without appearing critical and nagging, but at the same time holding true to my convictions and Scripture?

For example, just today, I came home from church and he was watching a show called “The League” which I must say leaves little to be desired and leaves nothing to the imagination. I sat, watched with him and then began a discussion about pornography, as that was blatantly displayed in this episode both visibly and verbally. I reminded him that it was inappropriate to watch this show as it promotes porn. His response, “How is it promoting porn?” My statement back to him was that by showing pornography and making it a normal part of these people’s lives (both married and single), the show was promoting it, saying it is okay for men and women to watch and discuss pornography. He then stated that it was something normal guys do. My response was that in the real world, a normal guy, a gentleman and Godly man would not find pornography normal, but in the show it makes it appear thus, to which he responded that he was done discussing it and going to go work out. So here I sit, wondering how to walk the line of showing him God and reminding him of God’s expectations in scripture to becoming a nagging, hypocritical, holier than thou mom (not that I see myself that way, but that is quickly becoming my son’s perception!)

I am reaching out to you all as brothers and sisters in Christ to find out what has and has not worked for you and your family when it comes to raising a child up in the way he or she should go. I know every child encounters a battle within to find his or her own faith, and I know that battle is different for everyone and can occur at varied times in life for each person. My son is there now, and I want, no, I desire with a great passion for him to grow and blossom in his walk with God and to become the man God created him to be. With the world screaming that what was once wrong (morally and Biblically speaking) is now right, I am finding myself in the midst of his battle, in the middle of the battle for my son’s soul!

I am really curious and would like some thoughts from my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Prayers are also welcomed as I know the power of prayer can availeth much! Encouraging personal testimonies, things that have and haven’t worked when reaching your teen. Anything will help!

Yours sincerely! With love and blessings from a God that I know can work ALL things for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose!

Mansion in Your Mind (NF ~ Mansion)

Peace I leave with you;
My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
John 14:27

Coming from a background of abuse and chaos, secrets which have passed away with those who have left this world, I find myself trapped inside my own mind at times. For years I have covered up the pain, anguish, guilt and shame, but as God has shone his glorious light into my heart, the darkness has fled. There are times where satan reminds me of my past, brings up fears and fantasies that don’t belong in rooms within my mind! Thank you Lord that you have overcome so that I too can do the same, in your strength and power! So blessed to have a God that is bigger than me, a God who loves me in spite of myself, a God who knows me inside and out and chases after me anyway!

“Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered,
each to his own home, and to leave Me alone;
and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:32-33

NF ~ I’ll Keep On

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 3:13-14

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
~ Romans 8:28

For those moments when the oasis of life seems so distant. For the times when the desert seems to go on and on forever. For the moments where darkness is consuming. For the times when hope seems to fade with every hour. For the times you think you are too tired to press on. For the moments when you feel there is nothing left and the thought of death sounds peaceful.

Just listen. Close your eyes, and listen. Listen to the lyrics. Listen to God call to your heart. Listen for the strength of God to keep you going.

You were not meant to traverse this world on your own. It is exhausting. It is a struggle. In fact it is a battle everyday (Ephesians 6:12).  But you are not alone (Deuteronomy 31:8). God is with you always my friend.

All my love and may his peace surround you, his joy fill you, and his hope renew you.

Toby Will – Wake Up Call to Christian Living

There are just some times when a sermon resonates and shoots right to the heart! Today was one of those sermons for me–a call to WaKE Up and stay FoCUsEd on scripture rather than the circumstances surrounding. I have been struggling in the desert of my walk with God recently and just doing surface prayers and daily devotions, but not really SinKIng into the WORD and mEdiTAtiNG on it in a way that I can walk away completely fed and spiritually renewed.

Our guest pastor today, Toby Will, brought my heart and mind back to the core of Christian living–actively, passionately seeking a deeper, meaningful relationship with my Lord and Savior and being a light in a sea of darkness. Since it struck me so strongly today, I decided to post Toby’s message for anyone else who wants to have their FIrE ReGNitEd. One caveat…it is not a feel good, light-hearted message, but rather a convicting, God breathed message to draw you back to the fundamentals of your walk with the Lord.

May it bless you as richly as it has blessed me! All my love ❤

Click the image below to hear the sermon

Stand! –A Writing on Freedom

Written last year this time….it still stands true as we approach 4th of July! Blessings and may the Lord keep you always!

Journey with God

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.” Matthew 5:10-123

Fourth of July is a day in which our freedoms are celebrated in the United States of America; a day in which we honor those who fight bravely for our country, for our rights as American’s, including free speech and beliefs that comprise this great nation. I am so very blessed to have been born and raised here, in a place where I can speak my mind freely.

However, it is with great concern that I pray for this nation, for our freedom, for our rights to believe and…

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