Category Archives: Hope

Want to be a Princess?

Christ's rest, Christian encouragement, Discouraged Christian, Encouragement for Women, Freedom in Christ, Grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, Love of God, Spiritual Encouragement, To Rest in Christ, Who I am in Christ, , , , , , ,

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I wonder if every little girl wants to be a princess at some point in her life?

 

I know I did.  I did not want to be an ordinary princess though.  I wanted to be a “tough as nails princess”  The kind that rode horses, participated in sword fights, and really didn’t need a prince to save her from anything.  I wanted to be the type of princess that was beautiful, yet didn’t really care if all her gowns sparkled.  I wanted to be that type of princess that people liked because she was kind and helpful, not just because she was a princess.

I think my vision of “princess-hood” came from my experiences as a child.  My parents divorced when I was young and I was the oldest, thus the “caretaker” of my brother and sister (or so I thought).  I had a tendency to protect and hover over those I loved….and no one, I mean no one could mess with me.  Not that I was mean….I just didn’t take any junk from anyone!

As I grew up I realized that I wasn’t a princess at all.  I feel like I fought for a lot in my life.  I am not complaining, it made me who I am today…but princess, naw….no need.  I was my own woman.  I did not need anyone, or so I thought.

Once I got married, I didn’t really act like I needed my husband either.  I did not have a good relationship with my dad, thus the tough exterior.  Well, that did not work so well.  I did not know who I was….nor how much God really loved me. Then I found out I was treasured…I was a princess.

James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

Isaiah 62:3 “You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

I needed to know that then, and I need to know that now.  I love God with all my heart, and He loves me. And I am still a princess!

Be blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

 

*google image, NIV Bible*

Dandilions! Every Year!

Christ's rest, Grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Encouragement, , , , , , , , , ,

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Dandilions!  Every Year!

 

As every spring begins, there is a lot of yard work to go along with it.  And with the long winter that has been hanging around, it is indeed a pleasure…even though every muscle in my body will be yelling at me tomorrow!

The goal this day:  Remove the dandelions from the back patio.  They grow in-between the division in the bricks every single year.  The task seems so daunting.  But, I will admit, the sea of yellow really is pretty!

Now yellow is one of my favorite colors, so the question runs through my mind every year.  Do I really want to pull them?  They really are just pretty little flowers.  Ah, my reasoning really doesn’t hold up, so seeing the patio does become a priority.  But there is not a year that is different.  Every year.

I lean down to pull out the first one.  That was easy enough.  Oops, the green leaves seem to remain. Strange.  And even more curious is that every year I go through the motions of pulling these things!  One more try…just the yellow flower head!!

I decide that whether I like it or not, I am going to have to resort to the way in which I end up doing it every year.  Pointed blade of one of my garden utensils…first dig deep to the right, then the left….then pull!  Aha!  The entire flower came out roots and all!  I go for another one….great, two…super, three…I am on a roll!  Four…ooops, what happened?  The root was only removed in part.  

At this point it hits me…every year….these pretty little flowers are…..weeds.  Now I know to some they have value, but to me their value is nothing when they are coming up on my brick patio. They do not belong there.  The battle continues…every year.

What does that sound like?  It sounds a little like sin to me.  Sin is “missing the mark” and the result of sin…sins…”the fruit”.  That cute little flower was missing the mark, it was in the wrong place.  These weeds would soon take over and cover my patio.  Sin is so deceiving.  It can appear pleasurable and beautiful and good.  Then you see the root of it.  The consequences overtake you, they are inevitable at some point.

The deception is the key.  It can appear good, even beautiful.  It is pleasurable for a moment…then…

Hebrews 8:12 is one of many scriptures that give us hope.  “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Do you have dandelions in your life?  I sure do.  I have to ask myself if I am pulling them by the root so that they have no more life?  Or because they are “cute”, do I leave them there to simply overtake my life?  The decision is mine…the decision is yours. Every year, every day.

The Father wants us to live our life abundantly.  He has His “best” for us because He loves us.  Once we discover that truly those dandelions aren’t the best for us…we can replace them with lovely day lilies…and it will happen every, single year.

Be Blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

 

 

*google image, NIV Bible*

Simple Grace

Discouraged Christian, Freedom in Christ, Grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Encouragement, Trials, Troubles, , , , , , , , ,

*This is the same post on my other blog, Teachermomalways.com, but I wanted to share it here as well, thank you for reading today*

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Simple Grace

I must be on a “simple” kick. My last blog was about “simple lessons”. All day today I have thought of the simplicity of God’s grace and how I have complicated it many times in my life.

If someone asked you to explain your faith, could you? What is faith after all? What is grace? Oh, I know all the scriptures. I could send you to them or quote them for you. But if you don’t believe the Bible is the word of God, what good would it do?

My faith is simple. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as my Savior. My one and only Savior. I am dependent on Him. I believe in His existence in my life right now, and tomorrow.

I cannot argue in apologetics, I cannot prove He exists. I cannot do anything but tell you about my life and how I have felt Him and seen Him work over and over.

My parents argued over and over in ugly ways and then divorced. I seemed to be right in the middle of them protecting my mom. Even when I was 12 and dealing with those issues, I really felt that “someone” was watching out for me. God was.

I was not sure of my future, and others around me doubting my ability to become anything with the circumstances that I was in…but there were two teachers who believed in me, and guided me and encouraged me. HE used them to love on me at a crucial time in my life. I went on to school and became a teacher myself. He was there.

I married and although I could fill a volume of books on how God was faithful, I will share only a few. After six years of marriage we had children. I had some issues the second time around and could have lost him. We did not. At one point one of them was not moving in the womb. We were close to delivery and I had to make a quick trip to the ER. It was a scary time, but the stubborn child finally moved and was born by c section days later. It was hard.But He was always there..

We lost 12 people to death in four years in the 90’s. I did not think I could survive through many of these deaths. HE was present. HE brought me peace. A supernatural peace that cannot be explained.

We raised our children. Many times while on my knees in prayer…He showed up. His presence was heavy, palatable, felt by me. I cannot explain it. But I know HE was there…

We personally went through the destruction of two homes in individual storms. In one, I felt that I should look at the window and step on the porch. That is when I saw the tornado. Inside, I would have not seen it and since our home was destroyed, we might have been also. The second storm I heard a voice, not audible mind you, but a feeling that I should get under the table. I did and seconds later a tree fell in on our table right where I had been sitting. It destroyed our home. He brought peace to me in a situation that I did not understand, we lost our home..again!!

It hasn’t always turned out the way I thought it should. Sometimes I have been disappointed and even mad. I have plenty of questions. We have had many rough times in our through these last 35 years, but, He never leaves me…even when He has every right to do so. I still trust Him.

I could go on and on. I cannot convince anyone that Jesus is real…anymore than anyone could convince me He isn’t. I am just afraid He has been given a bad rap. He simply has a gift to give. He wants us to have eternal life. He wants to be with us as we walk through this thing called life. He knows we are not perfect. He just wants the best for us. Sometimes we think that it is just a bunch of rules to follow. It is not. Moral codes maybe, but not rules. That is where the grace comes in.

I cannot get good enough, nor do I have to do so. His grace is for me, for us. “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” I have heard it said before. This is true.

I cannot prove He loves me, except for what I believe and what I have felt…..once you are in His presence, you know it is real. And you never want to be out of it. And I am in love with Him.

So that is it. Simple grace. His gift. I can accept it, or not. But I know it is real. It is that simple.

Be Blessed~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9