Tag: self-help

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Learning To Lament: The Example Of David

Some situations require us to lament. To lament is also known as grieving with passion. God hurts when we hurt and our hearts should grieve when we sin against him.

David was a prime example of this. In fact, most of the Psalms he wrote were laments. Another example of this you can study in 2 Samuel 11 & 12.

David sinned against God through adultery, drunkenness, and murder. His response when confronted with the weight of his sin was to acknowledge it. As David acknowledged what He had done and the consequences that would follow because of it, he lamented. He weeped on the floor and did not move  and refused to eat.
After David’s son had passed away, he then changed his clothes and went to the house of the Lord to Worship.

God doesn’t expect us to not grieve or mourn. In fact, he desires us to invite Him into the places that hurt the most. He does not stand in a corner while we weep but mourns with us. He bandages up the wounds of the brokenhearted.

Come before Him today with your laments. Grieve with him and welcome in the great comforter in the midst of suffering. There will soon be a day where it will be time to rejoice and dance. But there is also a biblical season of weeping and mourning.

••Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord ’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat. So they served him food, and he ate.  His servants asked him, “Why have you done this? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”  He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’  But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”
2 Samuel 12:20‭-‬23 CSB

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The Truth About God In The Midst of Grief

I did not realize how much God is a God of order. My life has felt like there has been trial after trial with absolutely no breathing room. Life has felt messy, really messy. But when I have been able to take a step back and see things from a different perspective I can see that God’s hand and love has been in the midst of the mess all along. I never thought in a million years I would say this, but, I am thankful that my miscarriage happened when it did. I am thankful for the miscarriage in March because little did I know, a month later I would lose my Grandmother and feel completely forgotten and forsaken by God.

You see, in both events I have pushed myself deeper into the presence of God. Not out of religious duty, but out of necessity for my savior, my counselor, my comforter, my perfect helper. I need grace for the irritability that no one told me would come with losing so much back to back. I am in desperate need of peace, strength, and most certainty mercy for all the times I have missed the mark. Grief over a 4 month span tests everything in you. It tests the foundation you stand upon, what is in your heart, and has a way of humbling you in realization that life is futile. I honestly think that even one event to grieve over is enough. As I said before, he is a God of order. Can you believe that there is purpose in your pain? I know it is hard to see, isn’t it?

If I would have never lost our child in March, when I have been feeling forsaken and forgotten, these verses would never have came so alive to me.

Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
the Lord has forgotten me!”
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me. -Isaiah 49:14-16 CSB

Have you ever felt abandoned by God? As you press yourself further and further into his presence, it seems rather like things were in the beginning (dare I say easier), he seems oddly distant. You are enduring trials, maybe like my husband and I, for months on end. You are tempted to say, “God didn’t you just see what we went through last month and the month before?”. The truth is that God was right there all along when we lost our child and he is right here in the middle of the grief of losing my Grandmother. Whatever you are going through, he is right there with you too.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?

Just like a woman who has lost a child, God could never forget us as his children. His love is so much more abundant than we can think or imagine. Our minds are just too finite to understand. How could God forget you? How could he forget me? He is the one who created us. He is the one still breathing life into our very lungs. He is the one who sent Jesus, his own son just so he did not have to be without us. That is love.

God does not expect you to forget the loss you have endured. He does not expect you to push forward in the newness of life without allowing him to come and help. His desires are that you to put your hope and trust in him through the grief. God desires you to remember that all he does is done out of who he is. While much of what we go through does not make sense and sometimes really hurts, it may even break your heart. You and I can always go back to trusting in who God is.

While I did not understand WHY I had a miscarriage. I do know that I am thankful that it has prepared me to understand the meaning behind Isaiah 49. I could never forget our baby. The short time he was in my womb is something that I will cherish forever. Just like I will never forget our child, God could never forget or abandon us.

If you are in a season where you feel unheard, unloved, and forgotten. Rest assured, you are written on the palm of the Lord’s hand. There is not a moment that you have left his mind or his ears have not heard your prayers. There has never been a moment that he has not actively been working everything out for your good. How could he possibly forget the one he so beautifully created, his masterpiece? Our feelings are valid and he sympathizes with all we have been through in this season. He meets us there as we are transparent with our feelings. He will meet us there with his truth. That is exactly what happened when I admitted I felt abandoned and forsaken, he washed me in his word-his perfect truth.

What are you having a hard time with today? Confess it to our loving father. Just like me, he will meet you there with grace, mercy, and love.

I will never forget this awful time,
    as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!” -Lamentations 3:20-24 NLT

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Desperate For Change-The Way

Have you ever been desperate for change? You have thought to yourself if things don’t change, I do not think I can handle this much longer. It feels like no matter what you do, it never seems to pan out and things seem to be getting worse, not better. I have been there personally. In the year 2016, I could not take the abuse, thoughts of depression and suicide, or the anxiety that went along with it any longer. I needed things to change but no matter what I did, it was so temporary. Things always seemed to go back to how they were and most of the time they felt worse. Did you know that there is a woman that was desperate for change in the bible? We do not have a name for her, but we do know her story. 

This woman had a physical ailment of blood for 12 years of her life and no matter what physician she went it continued to get worse. Not only was the physical a burden, but so was her mental health. In these days, because of her physical ailment she was isolated. Whatever she sat on or touched became unclean. This would leave someone alone, a lot. Taking a step in her shoes, she felt like a burden to everyone, she was constantly rejected, and looked at as an outcast. People looked at her with disgust and nothing seemed to change year after year.  

The woman with the issue of blood was desperate for change. She was so desperate for change that when it came time for Jesus to come through the town to heal someone’s daughter who was dying, she left all concern of what others thought and left her confinement, into a crowd, probably pushing others aside, just to touch him and be healed. This woman did in fact touch Jesus’ garment, which is also a big, dare I say, no no during this time. An unclean woman touching a Rabbi? But this did not matter to her, she needed something to give, something to radically change her life. She touched Jesus garment and he asked who touched him because “he felt the power leave him”. We are told that she comes before him, fear and trembling, fell at his feet, and told him the whole truth (everything not missing one part).  

I can relate to this woman. I needed change. I was sick of going through what the doctor’s called cycles. As I would get happy, I would soon realize that on the flip side of things, I would soon be hit by depression and suicidal thoughts. I tried to stay sober. I tried to get better. I tried and tried again. But the new medications made me a zombie, or they would make me attempt suicide yet again. I did not want to go through this anymore, I wanted to be healed despite what the doctors said. I wanted to feel whole. I wanted to desperately to not go through the abuse I was enduring. I needed a way out. 

What I did not know was that Jesus was about to change everything. I called out to him that cold February day in desperation of change. I, just as the woman with the issue of blood, told him the whole truth. I asked him why, I confessed all that I could remember I had done wrong, and I told him I could not do this any longer. I asked for help, I asked for change, I asked for wholeness, and to truly feel loved. I did not realize what I was going to get in return was a relationship with him. 

The woman with the issue of blood came to Jesus with boldness and a need. Jesus response to her was one of compassion and love. The first thing he said to her was who she was, his daughter. In that moment, just like I was, she was scared because of how she had been treated by others but so desperately needed to be loved. After he called her by who she was, he told her that her belief and trust had made her well and to go in peace and be healed in her affliction. The phrase go in peace that Jesus spoke means, proper wholeness that is a gift from God and to be healed of your affliction meant to be healthy in body from a disease that is painful and debilitating. Jesus response to the woman who was rejected by everyone, and no one had answers for was that he way the way, he was all she needed. Little did I know when I called out to God, he was all I needed too. 

What Jesus did for us is something no one could ever do. Just based off of this passage of scripture we see that he heals our mind, soul, and body. If we just touch the hem of his garment in desperation for change, pouring out our hearts before him in faith, he meets us there. He meets the outcasts, the drug addicts, and the mentally ill. He met the woman with the issue of blood, he met me, and he is willing to meet you there too. What people try to use against you, God will use for good. He will heal your broken heart and show you how beautiful things can be in time spent with him. With Jesus you will feel love that you have never felt before, total acceptance, unrelenting forgiveness, and hope and excitement for the future. With Jesus you will realize that nothing is impossible and nothing you do or say (now, later, or back then) can change his mind of how much he loves you. He is love and you were created to be loved and to love God and others. 

If you are desperate for change, I ask you to follow the example of the woman with the issue of blood that is no longer an issue but walked in freedom, wholeness of mind, soul, and spirit. One moment spent with Jesus changed everything. As a person who needed change because they could not see to live another day, I ask you to pour out your heart before the Lord with expectation that he is going to meet you there with love and compassion. I do not know your story, but he does and is calling you by name. When we go before the Lord, touching the hem of his garment, pouring out our hearts before him we can expect for the thing we so desperately need, love and change. Jesus changed everything for this woman, for me, and wants to change everything for you too. Will you lay your heart at his feet today? 

Further Scripture Study: 

  • Mark 5:21-30 
  • Jeremiah 31: 3 
  • John 3:16-17 
  • Psalm 139:17 
  • John 14:6 
  • Matthew 11:28 
  • Isaiah 40:28-31 

Have a prayer request? I would love to pray with you and for you. Please submit all prayers here:

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Everybody, Always~Bob Goff (BOOK REVIEW)

Everybody Always (Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People)~Bob Goff

ISBN-10: 0718078136 Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (April 17, 2018)

Wow! Where do I even start with this book review!?

Everybody, Always, is one of those reads that everyone can read and get a deeper revelation of love, how Jesus is the perfect representation of love, and how he has called us to love EVERYONE, ALWAYS. Bob Goff’s writing style of authenticity, humor, and vulnerability leaves you awe struck throughout this entire book. I leave this book changed by the power of his testimony of how “Love Does”. I had a hard time putting this book down. With every single page, Holy Spirit used Bob Goff as a vessel to transform my heart from someone who misinterpreted what the love of Jesus was into actively doing what love does.

How God has shown Bob through others what love is from the “croc drop” to the Witch Doctors in Uganda. This book along with the nudge of the Holy Spirit had me step back and really look at my heart. Am I truly loving and serving like Jesus? How can I do what love does starting now?

There were tears that were shed, conviction, and laughter with every chapter that I read. I am so thankful for the way God has used Bob to write this book. I give this book a 5/5, as in, stop what you are doing right now and read this book!! If you are looking to love like Jesus, which we all can learn to love more like him, this is a great read. Everybody Always taught me where I was wrong and where I need to do what love does. God used Bob’s life and voice to help me understand where I have went wrong and why I thought the things I did. I learned that I am not alone, and was gently reminded we are learning to love like Jesus together, so be abundant in grace because we all need it. Simply stated, we are to love Everybody, Always.

((This book review was not sponsored! I wanted to share because of how much this book has changed my life and heart! But, if you would like to buy this book and help me as an amazon affiliate, click the link below 🙂 ))

https://amzn.to/2KWesd7

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Poverty, Riches and Wealth: Moving from a Life of Lack into True Kingdom Abundance-Kris Vallotton~Book Review

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While I would love to start this book review off by saying it was sponsored, Kris Vallotton and Bethel Church did not sponsor me to write this. (Not yet, anway!) I read this book for pure enjoyment. I have read several of Kris’ books and listened to his sermons and I really enjoy the content that he puts out.

Poverty, Riches, and Wealth changed my perspective on the way I run my small business, the way I look at being a good steward, and has given me a biblical perspective of wealth. I think it is important to realize that there is difference between having money and money having you and wealth is so much more than money! One of the most altering points of the book for me was when he pointed out that the streets in heaven are paved with gold. Therefore, God must not have a problem with riches. I am not sure where it came from, but I had a poverty attitude when I read this book. But, by the end I realized that the more I have, the more I am able to give and God gives out of his abundance to us and we should give out of the abundance from what he gives us. This book also helped me see what is a good investment, a godly investment, and how important it is to have different avenues of income. Overall I love this book and wish I had it in my book collection rather than just on my kindle. I give this book a 4 out of 5 only due to the fact it was more business related, however still very helpful and beneficial to read. It was not what I expected but still was great! I recommend this book to anyone who deals with money on a daily basis, soooooo….everyone!

More book reviews are coming soon! I was just offered two more books from pusblishers to review. So stay tuned 🙂