From the Archives. When you have to let go... and let grace take hold this season.

"In every situation God is doing a thousand things that we cannot see and do not know."

-John Piper

Lately life’s blows have left me speechless.

If you know me then this is a feat in and of itself. (Wink, wink.)

At times it's been over-whelming and yet we have been quietly trudging forward. The verse that says,

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 has never been more poignant. (Matthew 6:34)

And while I could go on and on about our own families “stresses” my heart is more heavy laden for those dear hearts of my friends and family around me.

One dear young friend who is grieving the loss of not only her mother, but the grandmother who raised her. Both passed only a week apart.

A mother who is grieving the gut-wrenching loss of her baby.

A brave heart who is fighting the attacks of the enemy as she heals from the damage left by childhood abuse.

A few of my friends who are about to celebrate their Christmas season for the first time without their loved ones. 

A friend who was told his place of work would be closing at the end of the month when he has 4 little mouths to feed.

One who is about to undergo another barrage of medical tests as the Doctors search for a diagnosis yet again.

Another in debilitating pain, still trying to work and support the family.

And more than one of my friends are dealing with the pain of affairs and divorce.

Yet still, there’s more my friends, so much more.

I am sure you have been there because life is not always rosy, and every rose has its thorns as well.

 I am reminded of something the Lord revealed to me on a cloudy, rainy day as I sat in the airplane awaiting the take-off. The rain dripped down the windows of the plane and carried the heavy cares of the day downward to the ground.

The heavy clouds hung low, dark and gloomy, but as the plane made its decisive turn  on the runway and began its ascent. As it continually pointed its nose upward towards the heavens something amazing happened.

Onward and upward we plunged into the dark clouds. They grew so thick around the plane that I found myself unable to see through the masses of gray apparitions. 

Suddenly a flash of blinding light broke forth searing my eyes. I blinked several times and had to look away, but yet there it was…The blue sky, the sun, they were still there even during the storm.

The deep azure expanse of bright glowing sky was all the more alluring after the hopeless pallor of the storm clouds. The rain drops that were being pushed back across the window pane from the ascending winds, sparkled in the suns bright and blinding light. A light that caused the once gray clouds from below to almost glow, stretching into fluffy white rolling plains here above the storms.

And then I heard the Lord whisper to my heart,

 “You see my daughter? I am still shining even during the storms of life. I am still working good things for my children. I am always here.”

And so my friends, in our dark nights when our questions and "whys," pour out in a torrent into our tear stained pillows, this I cling to...

This I absolutely know.

Our God never grows tired or weary and He never ever stops working for our good.

Isaiah  40:28-31

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Romans 8:28

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.

So like a sweet friend encouraged me the other day, I will let “grace take hold” for I have nothing left to offer and in the end I know the result will be His masterful craftsmanship.  A life's work that will point gloriously to the Lord because it is showered in His beautiful finger prints.

When you have to let go... and "Let grace take hold."

"In every situation God is doing a thousand things that we cannot see and do not know."

-John Piper

Lately life’s blows have left me speechless.

If you know me then this is a feat in and of itself.

At times it's been over-whelming and yet we have been quietly trudging forward. The verse that says,

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 has never been more poignant. (Matthew 6:34)

And while I could go on and on about our own families “stresses” my heart is more heavy laden for those dear hearts of my friends and family around me.

One who found her daughter has wandered into the dark and dangerous territory of a cult.

A mother who is grieving the gut-wrenching loss of her baby.

A brave heart who is fighting the attacks of the enemy as she heals from the damage left by childhood abuse.

Another that is planning her sweet Daddy's funeral after he was taken too soon.

A friend who was told his place of work would be closing at the end of the month when he has 4 little mouths to feed.

One who is about to undergo another barrage of medical tests as the Doctors search for a diagnosis yet again.

Another in debilitating pain, still trying to work and support the family.

And more than one of my friends are dealing with the pain of affairs and divorce.

Yet still, there’s more my friends, so much more.

I am sure you have been there because life is not always rosy, and every rose has its thorns as well.

As we sit here with a silly flooded basement and a hubby who has been ill, sick kids and some of our own life’s plans thrown up in the air, it really all seems minor in perspective.

 I am reminded of something the Lord revealed to me on a cloudy, rainy day as I sat in the airplane awaiting the take-off. The rain dripped down the windows of the plane and carried the heavy cares of the day downward to the ground.

The heavy clouds hung low, dark and gloomy, but as the plane made its decisive turn  on the runway and began its ascent. As it continually pointed its nose upward towards the heavens something amazing happened.

Onward and upward we plunged into the dark clouds. They grew so thick around the plane that I found myself unable to see through the masses of gray apparitions. 

Suddenly a flash of blinding light broke forth searing my eyes. I blinked several times and had to look away, but yet there it was…The blue sky, the sun, they were still there even during the storm.

The deep azure expanse of bright glowing sky was all the more alluring after the hopeless pallor of the storm clouds. The rain drops that were being pushed back across the window pane from the ascending winds, sparkled in the suns bright and blinding light. A light that caused the once gray clouds from below to almost glow, stretching into fluffy white rolling plains here above the storms.

And then I heard the Lord whisper to my heart,

 “You see my daughter? I am still shining even during the storms of life. I am still working good things for my children. I am always here.”

And so my friends, in our dark nights when our questions and "whys," pour out in a torrent into our tear stained pillows, this I cling to...

This I absolutely know.

Our God never grows tired or weary and He never ever stops working for our good.

Isaiah  40:28-31

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Romans 8:28

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.

So like a sweet friend encouraged us the other day, I will let “grace take hold” for I have nothing left to offer and in the end I know the result will be His masterful craftsmanship.  A life's work that will point gloriously to the Lord because it is showered in His beautiful finger prints.

Sharing with Inspire Me Mondays, Mercy Ink

Good to the Last Yummy Drop...From the archives

Greetings! I have missed you my friends. I hope your new year has started well. Ours has started out a bit rough, but God has amazing plans and sometimes they require us to go through the valley for a bit. 

We are however, being careful to not stop off at the "pits of despair" , but trudge on with God leading the way. (Did you catch that Princess Bride fans?;) I am sorry I could not resist.

Anyways, I was making some jam the other day and it reminded me of my very first post. It's a good reminder in hard times and in great times. God's love never fails and never runs out on us.

I hope this encourages you today.

Mmmm...mmm...mmmmm

Finger licking good.

Have you ever had this moment?

I was watching my son drink his hot cocoa and trying very hard to not giggle and call attention to him, but he was so intent. We were having a special treat and had ordered some yummy peppermint hot cocoas at a coffee shop. 

He was definitely having a "good to the last drop" moment... 

And we can add "finger licking good" to it as well. 

He had drained every drop from his cup, but upon noticing the reticent creamy foam and peppermint pieces stuck to the edges of the inside of his cup, he proceeded to stick his finger into the cup gliding it around and then licking the delicious remnants from it. 

 He was one sticky happy mess. (I mean it... There was a whole lot of mess stuck to his happy face.)

Now, mind you, this is not proper behavior at home or in public, but my goodness he was so intent. I just smiled and watched him enjoy his moment of cocoa glee. 

It's good to have those moments as a parent.

Today just a few days later, I found myself scraping the bottom of a pan with great fervor. I had made a batch of four berry jam and it tasted so good that it was frustrating me when so much was still stuck to the sides of the pan. I am telling you friends, I was a woman on a mission. 

I did not want one bit to go to waste.

And then it hit me.

How would my relationship with the Lord be different if each day I approached Him like the peppermint cocoa or this batch of four berry jam?

I know my Lord is the most wonderful person in my life. His love is sweet. He is my only source of strength and life with Him has been the best I could have ever imagined. 

Before Him my life was full of empty pursuits. Depression, loneliness, and disappointments plagued me. 

It was empty. 

No matter what I tried I could never fill it or keep it full of joy or peace.

Now I am full. My life is full. “He completes me.” Yes, I just used the cheesy Jerry McGuire movie quote, but it’s true.

Knowing all of this. Why is it that I have times in my life where I do not pursue Him with the same fervor, of “Good to the last drop” ?

Why am I not scraping each day for every extra moments of praise or prayer time like I did with that jam pan?

Or digging into my Bible to glean every new morsel from the Lord that I can like my son did with his cup of hot cocoa?

You see the deeper I dig into His word and the further I experience and learn about who He is, I find Him all the more sweet. He is absolutely amazing! 

More full of depth, more satisfying, and never ending in His supply to my needs. 

Just a quick read of Psalm 103 and we all should be in awe of everything that He does and is to us. 

Would you take some time today friends and read Psalm 103? 

Grab some paper and a pen and write down every action He takes for us and the different character traits listed about Him. 

Won't you taste and see that He truly is "Good to the last drop"? 

The best part is... His supply of love, power, and grace for us never runs out. 

By the way...Love this song! Give it a play while you read Psalm 103.

And if you feel led, share in the comments the character trait or action that you see God working in your life right now. 

Let's encourage each other friends.

God Bless

You can handle this right!?!

God does not give you anything you cannot handle... Really?!

So I was thinking the other day, dangerous territory I know hahaha. ;) Have you ever been in the midst of something really rough in your life? Whether it was an illness or the loss of a job etc. and someone says to you,
 “Don’t worry! God doesn’t give you anything more than you can handle.” 

They even might say it with a smile. Since I have had a few hospital stays and issues in life I remember having either one, of the following reactions. The polite/hopeful reaction where I would say, 

“Yes, you are right. He does not give me anything I cannot handle.” 

And I would smile weakly and nod with them hoping they are right. 

Or there was my not so pleasant, but still outwardly polite reaction which equated to; I silently nodded my head with the person, but in my head I am thinking…

”Really!? REALLY!?Because this REALLY STINKS! I am scared to death and I just cannot do this on my own!! I clearly cannot handle this so stop telling me I can!”

 Now sadly, even though I have experienced this side of the fence. I too have fallen guilty to saying this phrase to others. 

It comes out when I am so at a loss of what to say to them. I am relating to their pain, wanting so badly to offer some hope and then out comes that lovely morsel that even as I say it, the phrase sounds so… hollow.

I want to share something a friend of mine posted.  She has a confounding concoction of illnesses that keep her homebound most of the time. A while back she posted a great point that has never left me. It was in response to that often quoted phrase, 
"God never gives you more than you can handle." 

She had heard it often in response to her illnesses and I am sure each person said it with good intentions. I think, as I shared earlier, often we as people do not know how to respond when someone has continuous struggles with physical ailments. 

People gloss over the area where their doubts form about why God would allow this to happen, and yet He loves us and is all powerful.


I loved her response to that phrase. Her response was this.

 That she does not believe this often quoted phrase to be true. She pointed instead to the fact that God wants us to utterly depend on Him.

Maybe instead of God giving us little trials, He gives us ones that push us beyond ourselves into utter dependence on Him. In His infinite wisdom perhaps He chooses to give us the things "we cannot handle on our own." so that we have to turn to Him and allow Him to handle them.
 Isn't that what is meant by 2 Corinthians 12:9?

“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Well I loved it when she pointed it out. It seemed like a silly fog cleared up in my head. These were all things that I knew, but I had not made the dots completely connect so to speak, between what was accurate to God and what had become a Christian catch phrase. 

The best part is, God is completely dependable. He will never fail us. His mercies are new each morning and he promises to never leave us nor forsake us. So when you are experiencing those hard times whether they are your own or someone’s close to you, REMEMBER...

You have the Creator of the universe ready to meet your every need. Your times may be hard. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust. Good times and bad will come to us all. You may travel through a painful and rough terrain in your life, but He will give you the strength and peace if you are willing to keep your eyes on Him. 

He will bring great purpose and healing from this experience and everything is an opportunity to grow closer to Him. Each day good or bad is another chance to experience His amazing and everlasting grace, wisdom, peace, love and power. It’s also an amazing opportunity to live it in front of others who are so desperately seeking the hope that is found in Him. 

Last of all, remember that even though some of these painful moments in life may be a surprise to us when they occur, they are not a surprise to God. He already has a plan set forth. If you are following Him then cling to it. Trust in His promises,

Romans 8:28
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.

Isaiah 41:10

 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen  you and help⁾ you;
I will uphold you  with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:29-31

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.