Serious About Faith. Light-Hearted About Life.
I always know that moment is coming, but yet it still surprises me when it shows up.
Sweat is running down my nose. I glance at the clock and wonder how much longer. My heart pounds. My muscles quiver.
It is the point of “almost done” in a super intense work out.
On my good days, I ask myself just how far I can go.
On my not-so-good days, I am glad that I went. [Read more…]
Last month, I shared the first half of what I deem as a rather epic list of “backwards” PCSing tips. (And yes, I am biased.) My Facebook friends contributed to the humorous list, and now I would like to share the second portion of the how-not-to-PCS strategies. (To get caught up and read the first post in this series, click here.)
Got your chocolate in hand and ready to laugh? Let’s dive into to the rest of our Backwards PCS adventures. [Read more…]
Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
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So yeah. It’s no secret that I am stubborn.
And one area of stubbornness God has been working on me in the last few years is this area of having “The Last Word.”
Fortunately, I don’t have the last word– and neither does the enemy. Check out the following video blog for a little something something to encourage your heart today.
Reading via email? Click here to view the video.
So friends… How does this “Last Word” concept strike you? How can we make it more of a truth in our lives as we walk with Jesus? Join the conversation and leave a comment.
Remember, no matter how hard we are fighting or how defeated we feel, the enemy doesn’t have that last word.
Jesus does.
Finalized by Christ,
” ‘The word of my master, the king, will be the last word in this, for my master is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil.’” ~1 Samuel 14:17 MSG
Loading InLinkz ...Not going to lie… Sometimes the events of this world make my hope begin to falter.
It is just too much. Things are falling apart at the seams and I am like “Seriously? Enough already. Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
But hey. We are still waiting.
It is ridiculous how the enemy of soul will do everything in his power to poke a hole in our hope. Our courage to keep on believing slowly leaks away like a deflated balloon a week after the birthday party.
“Why try? It’s not like things are changing…”
“See, your efforts mean nothing… it is just too hard.”
“Go on. You have worked hard enough. Live out your frustrations.”
“You know how to fix this. Do it.”
Lies. Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies!
But do you notice something about these lies? They aren’t blatant in-our-face lies like an arrow popping a balloon. They are an almost invisible pin-prick. Barely noticeable, but oh-so-capably of draining our courageous faith.
Sometimes, the only remaining element to our courageous faith is that deep well within our soul where hope is found.
That place that Jesus Christ gently whispers, “Just hold on to me.”
Scripture speaks to hope in numerous places:
“But in spite of this, there is still hope…” ~Ezra 10:2
“You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.” ~Job 11:18
“No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame…” ~Psalm 25:3
“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.” ~Psalm 25:21
“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” ~Psalm 33:20
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” ~Psalm 43:5
“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hopewill not be cut off.” ~Proverbs 23:18
“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. ” ~Isaiah 40:31
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11
Friends, I could go on and one and one. So much of God’s word about HOPE. Courageous hope.
That hope that still flickers even when the rest of the world is pitch black.
On a scale of 1-10, where does your big picture hope fall? Please, I ask you to share below in the comments (and feel free to leave a prayer request as well if you need to!)
Think of the devastation the disciples felt after Christ’s death. They thought their beloved friend, teacher and leader was gone forever.
Hope was snuffed out.
Until that stone rolled away.
Today, we live in the moment after the stone and wait His return on the White Horse.
So no matter how deflated we might feel, regardless to the lies whispered in our end, that cross on the hill far away gives us hope.
Hope to keep going. Hope to try again. Hope to breath in and out again. Hope to run after Jesus with our courageous faith.
Hoping in Him,
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him…” ~Lamentations 3:25
Linking up today with my friend Kristin over at Three-word Wednesday and having a little Coffee for your Heart with Holley. Oh! And be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
Since becoming an adult, I do everything I can to avoid the F-word.
Wait, wait– not THAT F-word. (This is a Christian blog, for crying out loud! Avoiding THAT word is surely implied.)
This F-word:
FAT.
For some reason, back when He was drawing up plans for heaven and earth, God saw fit to make me struggle with physical fitness. For as long as I can remember, I turned to food when I am stressed. Or happy. Or lonely. Or… you get the picture.
Food and I were BFFs. 2-gether, 4-ever. Until… [Read more…]
Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
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On most occasions, I like surprises. Specifically the kind that involve one or more of the following: Inky pens, chocolate, journals, books, Jesus memorabilia or free childcare.
(For those of you who love giving gifts, please take note. #KiddingNotKidding.)
However, some surprises are less than well received on my end. Those “surprises” like army schedule changes, someone jumping out from behind a corner to scare me, cars that don’t start, or checking account balances that somehow are way lower than anticipated.
Also in that category are unwanted testimonies. [Read more…]
I recently went through the hardest day of ministry since I answered this call over four years ago.
Actually, it was a very hard couple of weeks. Phone call after phone call, text after text, message after message– filled with tears and brokenness.
This particular day, I was just so sad about how fallen our world truly is. After several hours of walking with my friend though a very hard life experience, I did see the blessing that I was no overwhelmed by all the junk.
God was with us. And sometimes, in our darkest hour, He shows up in the most surprising ways.
In this instance, it was humor. [Read more…]
I am relatively certain we have about twelve rolls of duct tape lying around the house.
Our rolls go by several different names and appearances, like the classic silver duct tape, colored duct tape, Gorilla tape, and my personal favorite, the military version “100 mile-per-hour tape.”
But all serve essentially the same purpose– put things back together or hold something into place.
I love duct tape. I love it so much in fact, that I wore a duct tape outfit to senior prom.
Over the years, I have used duct tape for a variety of quick-fixes, and my husband will attest the same. But with that strategy, I have also learned that duct tape is only a temporary fix. [Read more…]
Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!
***
I have shared this with you before: I am a doer.
When things fall to pieces, blow up, or anything in between, my nature is to come barreling in, guns blazing ready to fix whatever the problem is.
Sometimes, that is a blessing. Other times, this sister has got to check myself.
Because sometimes, God wants us to just be still and let HIM do His job.
And that is hard for me. [Read more…]
My heart was pounding. It was air-conditioned, and a temperate fall day but I was still sweating. My stomach was churning and my mouth was dry.
I was clad in white, hair done up, make-up applied meticulously.
The music began. And it was my turn. Just one step in front of the other.
This year, we celebrate five years of marriage.
I would love to tell you that I practically floated down the aisle on Cloud Nine, tasting a slice of heaven with each step towards the altar.
But really, I was terrified. I loved my almost-husband, was confident that God had chosen us for one another, but I was scared.
Did I really have the courage to say yes? [Read more…]
It's been awhile since we have posted a fresh Factor of 7 here at 7 Days Time. We've done a few small ones over the last several months, but we wanted to share one of most recent random acts of kindness with you. Because it was fun. And hey, who … Interested? Read on...
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