Letting Go of Worry

It is hard to let go of worry. It seems to be embedded in me to worry. I'm not sure why, but I know that it has been a part of me ever since I can remember. 

Whether it is worrying about school, work, or getting things done to worrying about baby C or the future - worry seems to be the one thing that I struggle to give to God. I want to. I want to give Him this part of me, especially because it affects me the most. 

This week I have read about worry and depending on God. I have read countless texts about giving worries to God and casting burdens onto Him. I have even been singing "Cast All Your Cares" to baby C. It soothes him. But I can't seem to just let it go. 

So this next week I am working on letting worry go. I will need lots of prayer and reminders, but I want to finally learn how to do this. I want to really learn how to trust God for everything. Even all the little things. I need to really understand the words He says, "do not worry about anything". I want to learn this and live this. 

Choosing Joy

This week I studied a few things to begin my new year:

• His love
• Joy
• Faith
• Attitude
• Trials
• Worship
• Trust

Each day I studied up on these with the help of author Sarah Young in her book, "Jesus Lives". I have read her first book, "Jesus Calling" and wanted to read her other devotional books. This one is turning out to be just as good and I am enjoying reading it every morning. 

I love the way that she writes her books - it is as if Jesus is talking to me. The way she writes each devotion is as if they are His words. It is so comforting reading a passage that I need to hear, and it being as if Jesus is telling me these things Himself. So wonderful. 

~*~

This is the first year that I have started as a mother. So many things are different in my life and the way I see the world and my relationships are so different. Reading about life is from a different perspective. 

Reading on His love is something that I see as a model for my love as a mother. Steady, strong, unconditional. I can relate now. 

The rest are all put into perspective as well: joy, faith, attitude, trials, worship and trust. I was reminded that joy is a choice. I can do this moment-by-moment and must choose to do so. And faith, attitude and trust is a choice as well. I can choose to have faith in God even when things seem uncertain. But having faith in Him that He can make sense of the confusing...I choose to hold onto that. 

Today I am working on attitude. It has been a hard day with baby C. He fights sleep and is needing mommy a lot. I am trying to choose joy. After all, it is a wonderful thing to have a baby need you. It is wonderful to cuddle and hold him. I know there will be a time when he won't want that anymore. Choosing joy today is a tough one, but I praise Jesus for my precious bundle! 

Happy 2014: A New Year, A New Beginning

A few weeks ago I came across this bible verse, Isaiah 63:1-3. As I read this I felt a strong passion to make this one of my goals in the new year.

Now it is 2014 and it is the first Sabbath of the new year. I felt that it was time to pick back up where I left off. I wanted to start this blog up again and have been waiting for the perfect chance to do so. This is it.

Isaiah 63: 1-3 says, 

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. ² He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies. ³ To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.

I took this as a challenge in my own life in 2014.

• To bring good new to others.  
• To comfort the brokenhearted.
• To announce liberty to captives.
• To open the eyes of the blind.
• See the beauty instead of ashes.
• Feel the joy instead of mourning.
• Always praise.

This is my challenge. This is how I want to live the next year of my life. Seeking opportunities to offer these things to others and to my family. I know that with God's help I will be able to focus my life around these goals and He will provide me with the chance to do so. 

My plan is to blog once a week about the opportunities I was given. To discuss the things that God has opened my eyes to, and to openly talk about the beauty of God's word and what He has shown me through it. 

I can't wait to begin this journey. I pray that you will join me! 

Saving a Terminal Heart

This blog post is based off of Jeremiah 17:5-14 from the "New Women's Devotional Bible". 

There are plenty of ways that we as humans suffer from "heart disease". We are selfish, stubborn, cocky, liars, etc. We think we can "go it alone" for a lot of things and we forget that we need Jesus in our lives! 

God gives us many orders in His word - physician orders! He is the great physician and is asking things of us to keep our hearts healthy. Time spent with Him and His word, giving to others, and many other ways we can keep our hearts healthy. 

How can we entrust our whole heart to God and His care. What ways can we make sure that we are keeping our hearts as healthy as possible? Spend time today dwelling on these thoughts and know that Christ is the great physician! He will heal!

Isaiah 58:6-14

Matthew 15:18

Acts 15:8-9

Hebrews 4:12-13

"The bad news: You have a broken heart. The good news: God can cure the incurable." 

Intimate Doubt

This blog post is based off of Jeremiah 15:1-21 from the "New Women's Devotional Bible".

Reading today's passage was a bit shocking for me. Reading about God's anger and wrath isn't my favorite thing to do - or any one's I would assume. It was so different from the God I know and trust and understand. It was hard to get through the passage. 

In the last few verses there is a change of pace. After a whole bunch of scary words directly from God, Jeremiah cries out to Him. God hears his cry and the whole situations changes. The emotions are no longer wrath and anger, but love and forgiveness....finally, the God I know!

This passage teaches us that there will be hard times in our walk through life - whether we are walking with God or not. There will be situations where we don't want to face the truth, or the facts. I know that I've been placed into some pretty ugly situations that I wasn't thrilled about. I didn't quite understand why I was led to that place.

Maybe you are in a place right now that is discouraging and feels impossible. It may be affecting you greatly...your mood is always down, your temper may be out of control, you may feel abandoned. Whatever it may be, we all experience intimate doubts that we can share with out heavenly father. He will hear them and His attitude will adjust to meet our needs. Just like Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah 1:4-8; 12:1-3; 20:7-12

Jude 22

"God knows your limits; he realizes that he calls flawed people to enormous tasks. Yet his promise to stay with you is forever the same." 

Why Do the Wicked Prosper?

This blog post is based off of Jeremiah 12:1-17 from the "New Women's Devotional Bible".

There have been plenty of times in my life when I have wondered why the wicked prosper? Why is it that the cheaters get ahead, the mean people get what they want, and the manipulators always seem to get the better end of the bargain?

I'm sure that many people can relate to this! 

Jeremiah reassures us of a couple things. One, we all have felt this way! Even the people in the passage above are asking God why it is unfair? God answer with His just answer and reassures that, again, His ways are higher than ours and we must trust Him. 

God's wisdom is far above anything else. To question Him isn't worth it. He knows what is best and make everything right in His time. 

Job 21:7-21

Psalms 73:1-28; 145:17-20

Proverbs 11:21-23

The God of All Comfort

This blog post is based off of Isaiah 40:1-20 from the "New Women's Devotional Bible".

Throughout the above passage, God is comforting His children in their time of need. Even though they know that their sins will cause great trials and tribulations, God still brings comfort to them and wants them to feel cared for. 

Some of us have painful sins that we need comfort from and forgiveness for. We may feel that we are not in the presence of God because we have caused ourselves to slip farther and farther away. But the truth is that God is always a comforter. He will provide care and forgiveness to all His children. Even when we have done wrong. 

This life teaches us that we burn our bridges and we can't get back over them. When we do wrong, we pay for it. But God is not like this. The bridge can never be burned and He will always come for us and comfort us. 

Lamentations 3:19-26

Hosea 2:14-23

John 1:19-28

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"The God of all comfort longs to take us in his arms and comfort us."