Tag Archives: contentment

Give Up!

Christ's rest, Discouraged Christian, Encouragement for Women, Freedom in Christ, Grace, Hope, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Encouragement, Surrender, To Rest in Christ, Trials, Troubles, , , , , , , , , , ,

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I had to Give Up!

I have told a number of “storm stories” due to the fact that: a.) we’ve lost our home twice to storms b.) there are great analogies about storms and life, c.) everyone experiences them at one time or another.

That being said, spring has sprung and with it those lovely spring storms, (note my sarcasm ). We have a funny story from our 25th Wedding Anniversary, and I hope we don’t have one from our 35th coming up, but I do have one from last Thursday!

 It was our son’s birthday and we were at his home celebrating. We had to drive from his home in another town, to ours.  We had kept track of the storm system, or so we thought, and knew we were in the clear.

Well, we weren’t in the clear.  We drove down back country roads with water covering them and the rain was falling so hard my husband couldn’t see 2 feet in front of him.  I know, we should have turned around, or pulled over…but we were concerned that with the rain falling as hard as it was we had better keep going!

Now, people who love us are understanding of my apprehension in storms, so my text messages began to arrive in the midst of it all!  Basically to ask how I was…only to find out rather than taking refuge in our closet,  we were driving in the area where a “rain wrapped” tornado was aloft.  And since all the power was off in this area…the only light we had was the horrible lighting and our headlights.

So what do all good storm watchers do?  I scanned the sky for that rain wrapped tornado!  And of course, with every flash of lightning I saw one!!( not really) Although we both appeared and acted very calm, my heart was sending me another message.

“Give Up” was what I heard in my spirit, and what I said out loud.  We began to laugh and figured that “third time might be a charm” and there was not a whole lot we could do about it anyway.  We just kept driving through it and gave it up.  

A peace fell over us like I cannot describe.  It had not stopped, but our fears were surrendered.  We laughed.  We got home safely, only to see our poor pup at the window of a very dark house. He seemed no worse for the wear.  

But we gave up….I gave up.  I surrendered.  

All was well, but even if something had happened…it would have been ok.  It always has been, no matter what the storm brought before, it was always ok.  I didn’t say it was easy, pleasant or that I wanted to experience it again…but it was ok.

 Ecclesiastes 3:1-4: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance..”

So what do you need to give up?  What do you need to surrender?  Might as well do it, it might be the season for laughing!

Blessings dear ones~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

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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

Worldwide Club Membership

Christ's rest, Freedom in Christ, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Encouragement, To Rest in Christ, , , , , , , ,

 

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What Happened??!

I think that I have thought of a problem that is worldwide.  It crosses every line there is to cross.  Disappointment.  True frustration and sadness. Have you ever been disappointed in someone that you thought you could trust?  Have you had someone treat you in a way that you never thought possible?  Have you done your very best, only to be yelled at by your boss?  How about your spouse raising his voice when he found out you forgot to pay the electric bill? Do you try and try to please everyone only to find out that you can’t; they just complain more!!….(Added bonus here…you aren’t supposed to try and please everyone…can’t happen).

If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions…Welcome.  You are now a member of the “International Disappointment Club”. Of course there is no such club, but don’t you feel there should be?  Membership dues are self explanatory!

Disappointment happens to everyone.  People disappoint each other.  It just goes with being human.  A couple of hours ago I was really disappointed by someone.  I have always went over and above the call of duty for this person, only to be hurt.  I cried.  I could have had an everloving fit and really bought in to the flesh pattern that was being exhibited.  But I chose to be quiet.  I was hurt and a bit ticked off!  Once I admitted to the Father that I felt this way…I waved the white flag…and good stuff came out of my mouth…instead of my flesh!!  Then once I quit talking on the phone…I cried. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t think that there is anything wrong with being honest with the person.  And I have done that…later…after I thought about what I would say in a loving way.

We have to make the choice to not allow the enemy to have a foot hold in our lives.  People are people and sometimes make mistakes.  Sometimes that make the same mistakes over and over. Some people will not change.  They choose NOT to change. That’s not my problem.  I can pray, love…but I cannot allow bitterness, anger and hurt to permeate my very soul.  Those feelings can fester and be like a cancer, eating away my joy!

Wait for it……Yep, I will disappoint people myself!!  Eggads, not me!  I don’t deliberately set out to do so, but I do disappoint people.  As one of my dearest friends says..”No expectations, no disappointments.”  I like that.  

The good news is simple.  We are loved by the ONE who will never disappoint or let you down. You might think He is letting you down, but He always has your best in mind.   

“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

He is always there, He will never talk behind your back, yell at you for not paying a bill.  He won’t try to make you feel guilty about anything. Jesus will just love you where you are and offer hope to you when there appears to be no hope!

“And hope, does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” Romans 5:5

Now I am wondering if we should change the name of the club?  How about the “International HOPE Club”? Sounds cheesy, but I certainly like the sound of it better than the prior!

Be blessed dear ones~

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

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