3/26/2016
Don't Hold On To HurtToday I just have to be honest with you. On beautiful, sunny, spring like days it can be very easy to have the words I want to post about forgiveness tucked neatly in my head. And then the ugly weather comes, and along with it someone says something or someone does something (or doesn't do something) and my heart turns gray and my spirit drops and suddenly my day is ruined. If I let it fester, if I think on it and don't stop~ one day can turn into many days, even weeks, months or years. I can be so defensive of my own sin~"well Lord, I know I wrote all that last week about looking at others through your eyes...BUT..." And then the excuses come. "You don't know what they did to me, you don't know what they said, you don't know how they treated me and hurt me. I don't deserve this" And ladies~ Satan will keep whispering that in your ear. And our Savior will be whispering back~ "I do know, my child, I do know" but we allow Satan's whispers to turn into shouts that drown out our Savior and we wallow in our self pity and refuse to forgive. Tomorrow is Easter but three days prior we remember Christ's death on the cross. We remember that God loves us so much, He sent His Son to die on that cross for us. We should never forget how our Savior was treated. The punishment, the beating, the agony, and yet His very words were "Father forgive them." If we are honest with ourselves and look into our hearts, if we truly want to be like Christ, we know that's exactly what we should be doing. Forgiving. Even when there has been no apology. This might be an area that you desperately need Gods help with. As women we tend to hold on to hurt, I know I do. I'm not saying it's easy or it will happen over night but I know we have to keep asking our Savior to help us forgive as He forgave. Don't let Satan's shouts suffocate your joy and the victory you can have in Christ today. If there is unforgiveness in your heart~ ask the Savior to take it away and to help you forgive. Let your Heavenly Father give you the gift of a brand new life of joy, peace and victory. What a day to celebrate new beginnings. Easter!! Praise God today for His gift to us. Praise God that our Savior knows exactly what we are going through and praise God for my precious Savior who forgives.
3/19/2016
See Each Other Through Christ's EyesWhat if your friends and family were asked to describe your words and actions with one word? What about your coworkers and acquaintances or the women in your church? Would that word be LOVE? It’s very sad that women have a reputation of being catty, gossipy, hormonal and witchy. We have a bond in Christ and yet it comes so easy to gossip, to put down, to judge, to be the very picture of “unlovable”. We often even justify it. Our gossip turns into a false guise of “concern” and our spirit becomes self- righteous as we look down our noses at other women. We talk about the way they look, the clothes they wear, how they act, how they raise their children and how they are doing everything wrong. We FORGET about Christ’s LOVE. Christ’s AMAZING LOVE. We forget about all the ways we fail Him, every single day, every hour and yet He loves us and forgives us. He shows us grace and mercy. Christ, who gave His life for us, forgives us even as we spit out nasty remarks about others or think our self- righteous thoughts. He loves us still. He is the very picture of love. He alone should be our goal. He is Who we should strive to become. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, by your love one for another.” Do your thoughts, words and actions shout Christ’s love? I recently read that 92% of Christians at a Bible conference admitted in a survey that feelings of loneliness were a major problem in their lives. All shared a sense of despair at feeling unloved and a fear of being unwanted or unaccepted. How sad is that? Think about how simple it is to love others and the huge impact it could make. When we love others we are living God’s love out loud. When we choose to offer love, we are choosing to let Jesus shine from us. When we choose to allow the “reputation” women have to govern our actions, Christ becomes hidden and true love is nowhere to be found. Ladies, as Easter is approaching and we think about the magnificent love of our Heavenly Father in giving His only Son for us, choose your words and actions to reflect that love this week. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. Make a conscious choice to not be like the multitudes who praised Christ one week then shouted “crucify him” the next. Remember Christ’s words- “as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” On our worst day, on our hormonal days, on days when everything goes wrong, remember the agony and pain Christ endured on the cross because He loves us, because He wants us to have a home in heaven with Him someday. This week, every week, choose to make everyone feel wanted, accepted and loved. Choose to see each sister through Christ’s eyes. Eyes of LOVE alone.
3/12/2016
Praying For Their FutureI can remember when my children were little, like it was yesterday. There are moments that I wish I could just go back for one day in their life when they were younger and hold them tight again. My little babies. I remember older women telling me how quickly time goes by, how they won't be little forever and to cherish the moments with them. And I thought I was, but now that I'm 50 I wish I had so many more baby moments to stop and cherish with them again. My last baby, Kathryn is getting married in August. Time does go by fast and it's going by even faster with my grandchildren. I remember sitting in this very house, listening to Kathryn talk to me in her little baby voice, not understanding half of what she said and how she would look up at me and smile and hug me. I used to wonder what it would be like to talk to her as an adult, what she would be like and how fun it would be. Now Jessica's babies are here in this same house, every day. Clara, the same age Kathryn was when we moved here, with the same color hair, talking to grandma. Half of which I don't understand, smiling and snuggling. And the joy of seeing Ellie get off of grandpa's school bus at the door and run to me and hug me and how every single day out of the blue she will say "grandma, I love you" Now I get to see Andrea's boys, little Ethan running down the street towards grandma's house with his huge smile, so proud of how quickly his little legs are taking him, towing his daddy along side. Baby Gabe trying to eat off his mama's spoon, in all his precious, chubby sweetness. I used to imagine my grand babies laughing as they ran up and down in our new church foyer. And just like that, now they are. And I am soaking these moments in. Trying to memorize their little faces and every minute with them. Just like I did with my babies. I love this season in my children's lives just as much. My daughters are my best friends (besides my Mike) and I'm so proud of the man and husband my son has become. What I have learned is not only to cherish each moment but to pray every single day for your child. You may have days like I do where you would love to hold them again. You may have days when you are holding them and wish you could never let them go. But we have to. They are only on loan from God, and we have to strive to raise them as He would see fit. To try to envision them as an adult and the heart ache that might come their way but also the amazing moments. To pray for all of this, asking God to be with them every step they take with every decision they make and don't ever stop praying, even after they are married and have their own children. They will always be your babies no matter how old they get. A mother never stops worrying about her children. She never stops hurting when they are hurting or crying with joy over the happy moments they experience. So pray mom. Pray for protection for your child, not just physically but also spiritually and emotionally. Pray for wisdom to know their hearts. Pray for their future, even if they are still inside your womb. Give your child over to Christ and never stop praying for them in every season of their life. If God gives me 100 years, I will still call out to Him for my children and their children's children. Don't take a single moment for granted and don't let a day go by that you don't bring them before the Savior in prayer. ❤️
3/5/2016
The God I KnowI cannot imagine my life without my Jesus. He is my Father, my Comforter, my Protector, my Savior, my Friend. He is my Everything. My Jesus is Love. I could not make it through one day without Him. Twice in the past week I have heard references on TV to God as an "angry" God and it brought tears to my eyes. How could anyone talk about my God that way? And yet I am afraid that many people see Him as just that. A God who is ready to strike at the slightest offense. That is not the God I know. The Bible tells us "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." He is a Father who loves us dearly and is ready to forgive and have mercy on us, no matter what we have done. God's love is a gift. A gift He wants everyone to receive. He loves us so very much that He sent His only Son to die for our sins on the cross. If we have accepted His perfect gift, when God looks at us He sees only His precious child through the redemptive blood of His Son. I read a quote once that said, "The question is not- why would a loving God send anyone to hell but why would anyone choose hell over a loving God." He gave His Son so that someday when we die, we can spend eternity in heaven. He loves me, He forgives me. I fail Him every day and yet He continues to love me, with no anger but only mercy and grace. I want everyone to know Him as your Father, your Comforter, your Protector, your Savior and Friend but most of all, I want you to know His love for you. If there are any questions in your heart about where you would go if you were to die, or how you can know for sure that you would go to heaven, please message me. I want you to know today that He is not an angry God, but my God who gave EVERYTHING for you and for me.
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