I think the beautiful and amazing thing about being connected with other bloggers is in some shape or form, we all experience the same kinds of things.  When we’re afraid to make ourselves vunerable to the blogging world, someone else does it for us. And through their words, we can express/release what we are feeling.  Alece, from Grit and Glory did that very thing for me and I encourage you to take a look at her post, very moving, yet honest.

A couple of things that affected me…

And I’m tired of not getting things right. Of not being enough.

Faith isn’t as easy as it was when I was a kid.


I don’t think I could have said it any better.   Somedays being a Christian, yet alone being myself, are more than I can handle.  But just as she expressed my feelings for me, I can rest assured that they holy spirit will act on my behalf through prayer.

“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”  Romans 8:26-27 The Message

I think it is ok to be tired and not knowing the exact step to take, as long as we have the right person by our side.

Last Friday, I had an unannounced visitor show up at my door.  His name is Unemployment.  This was a visitor I was not ready to let back into my life.  It had only been a year since he left.   To make a long story short, the company I work for does not keep contractors after a year; something they failed to tell me.  Basically I received a phone call last Friday afternoon to not report back to work on Monday.  I’m sure you can imagine the sheer panic that set in.  I made a few phone calls to verify and found out that I could come back to work on Monday, but Tuesday would be my last day.  A few extra days is nice, but still leaves an unsettling feeling in your stomach. 


While praying for favor and direction, I found this scripture. “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” – Psalm 112:7 (NIV)  Oh how I wish I had no fear towards bad news and could literally laugh at the days to come! But that is simply not the case with me.  I do worry, I do play out all the “what ifs”, which clearly shows I don’t completely trust the Lord. 

I received two daily devotionals on my “last day” and their messages could not have been more on time.


This is an excerpt from Joel & Victoria-
No matter what today has in store, as a believer in Jesus, you can approach the day with boldness and confidence. Why? Because the Lord is with you, and in Him is everything you need in this life. That means that if you need provision for something today, provision is with you. If you need wisdom today, wisdom is with you. If you need strength, joy or peace today, it’s with you. You can be confident today knowing that all of your needs are supplied spiritually, physically and emotionally because the Lord is with you.


This is a prayer from Os Hillman’s Prime Time with God-



Dear God, Thank you for your beautiful words of life, your Holy Bible full of wisdom, examples, guidance, instruction, promises, enlightenment, and life-giving knowledge. Thank you that your Word is such an encouragement at times, and a chastisement at other times. It helps me find answers to life questions that arise and gives me peace when I am confused. It teaches me about your power and love and reinforces the importance of following Jesus, my Savior, and of being a living testimony in this world. Please forgive me for not spending as much time in your Word as I should. Give me a thirst for more of it. Instill in me that desire for studying and learning and appreciating your Word. And please, ingrain your Word in my heart and mind that the Holy Spirit might bring passages to my remembrance whenever they are needed. Thank you, so much, for caring enough to provide your Word in print. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

After reading that beautiful prayer from Os Hillman, I realize that the more I meditate on His word, the more peace and trust I develop.  Eventually, my heart will no longer fear bad news.  As it turns out, I received a four week extension on my job.  I could have saved myself a lot of turmoil, if I would have simply trusted.  A valuable lesson learned at the cost of my joy.

“God doesn’t call us to be comfortable.  He callus us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.” 

So I ask you, “Do you fear bad news or do you simply trust?”

In January of this year, I entered the Women of Faith Writing Contest. I had high hopes of winning the grand prize – a chance to have your book published by Thomas Nelson and being carried under the Women of Faith name.  I took a chance, along with 749 other women.  For whatever reason, I did not win, nor did I come in the top 30 finalists.  Even though I was deeply disappointed, I still felt a strong urge to keep writing. 

God spoke to me through a dear friend and said, “You’re telling the wrong story.”  I was thinking to myself, “What?? What does that mean?”  My story is my story and this is the only way I know how to tell it.  But God went even further and the very next day I read this on one of Beth Moore’s blog.

So by God’s favor, I have been given an opportunity to improve my craft, expand my writing and speaking skills, and hopefully discover my real message.  Proverbs 31 Ministries is hosting their annual She Speaks Conference.  They are offering up two scholarships to attend and I, like so many others, have entered.  Even if I don’t receive the scholarship, I am believing that God will provide the means and way for me to get there. 

This post was shared by another fellow blogger, and I’m glad she did.  It moved me, made me think, and eased some of the frustrations I am currently experiencing. 

This was my favorite part. 

My walk with Christ is as uniquely mine as my personality. I’ve spent a lot of time believing I should be more like this Bible teacher or more emotional like this person or hear from God in a certain way or adopt a child from Africa or sell all my earthly possessions, but He’s made me to be me. And He’s made you to be you. If God was only after one type of relationship with one type of person, it probably would have been a whole lot easier for Him to just create one person and be done with it.

I highly encourage you to slip on over and read it for yourself.

We live in a society where happiness derives on the more you have.  Better education equals better job opportunities, better job opportunities equal more money, more money leads to bigger homes, nice cars, closets spilling over with shoes, clothes, and accessories, and elaborate trips.

While I know all this is essential for living, I believe that we get ahead of ourselves, move too fast, and miss out on joy because we never stop and feel the moment.  What I am discovering through reading One Thousand Gifts and my own personal journey, less is truly more, and furthermore, joy is found in the small.  Joy is found through the senses – what you see, what you hear, what you smell, taste, feel and experience. 

I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Los Cabos, Mexico for a few days to celebrate a friend’s birthday and some of my own successes. I emptied myself of all the noise, stress, the desire to achieve more, have more, and the hustle and bustle that life can bring and filled myself with the small – the infinite beauty right at my finger tips. 

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.” – Philippians 3:7