God

Can God sustain us in the waiting?

Encouraging, Faith, Uncategorized

 

When I’m waiting on God for something, there are moments when I get tired. Shocking, right? In all seriousness, I think we all get a little tired now and again especially when we are waiting on something big. Our energy drains and we become overwhelmed by the reality of the situation we are in. 

My children can be impatient sometimes. They want to go go go and my timing isn’t always quick enough for them. They want me to do everything at the speed of light but I’m almost 30 and my knees crack just getting out of bed. I don’t always have the energy to keep up and I’m also guilty of sleeping on the job (of course when they nap…if they nap.)

If you have children, you probably know that they can eat like no tomorrow. My kids can eat way more than me some days. As you can imagine, their lack of patients sometimes spills over to dinner time. They cry and complain about how long the food is taking to be cooked even when I’ve just turned on the stovetop. To help them during the waiting, I tend to offer them a snack. Whatever is quick and can keep them calm, this may include sweets—don’t judge me! By the time dinner is done, no one was overcome by starvation and we all enjoyed our meal.

Did you know in the same way, God sustains us with spiritual food?

 Matthew 4:4  But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
God sustains us.

I too can be impatient when I’m waiting on God. I’m well aware of what he promised me and I know he’s working on it but waiting can be crippling. While I’m not opposed to waiting on the Lord, I do sometimes ask him to sustain me during that time. I need something to hold me off until what he has for me is ready.

Philippians 4:19 says,  “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” God has the ability to sustain us.  It can be hard when going through a difficult situation to want something that will simply hold us over for a little while. We want our breakthroughs, miracles, and promises right away. But that’s not how God works. He chooses to give us what we need in his own timing. Luckily, God doesn’t live us hanging.

At times, how he chooses to sustain us might not be how we imagined it. Sometimes he uses scripture, a person, or a small victory to remind us that he is still with us and moving on our behalf. I can assure you that as much as I want my miracle, getting any kind of reminder that God is still working helps me to keep going.

He’ll sustain us when we worry.

Honestly speaking, I often need God to sustain me mentally. The battle in my mind can be a lot more taxing than what’s going on in reality. Whatever the worse scenario is, I’ve probably already thought about it. I worry and panic. “God I need your help. I need you to calm me down“, have been words I’ve said to God on a few occasions.

Scriptures like John 14:27(Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.) and Isaiah 26:3 (You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You Because he trusts in You.) help me when I feel fear setting in. God doesn’t want us to be afraid, he wants us to trust him.

Our minds need to stay on God so we don’t become overtaken by our worries. If we trust that God can help us in every situation, when we find ourselves in difficult times we won’t be filled with fear. We see from the bible that people like Moses, Paul, and Job were faced with things that tested them mentally and physically but they believed in God’s ability to help them. Even Jesus needed God’s strength to fulfilled his mission.

God will never let us face our problems alone.
 Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Have you ever felt that you were alone in the moments you needed God the most? Maybe he went silent after he convicted you to make a huge life change. Perhaps you felt him call you to a certain job, ministry, or community and in the middle of your transition, you questioned if it was even him because you begin to face conflict.

Scripture reminds us that God is always with us and he will never leave us. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” So when we find ourselves in the middle of chaos and need God’s help, we can simply give him all our worries.

God has the power to sustain us in the waiting. He does it in ways that allow us to know without a doubt that it was him. While it is challenging sometimes, the fact remains that we have a Heavenly Father that is always with us. During our waiting, we can rest assured that we will have everything we need to endure the process. God will not abandon us to our own devices, he is our ever-present help in times of trouble.

If you are in a waiting season, trust that God will sustain you. I hope you found this encouraging and as always, Hugs and Love.

 


It takes courage to have faith

Encouraging, Faith

 

It’s what I’m supposed to do.

I often wonder how my children trust that I’ll always provide for them. And when I say provide, I mean way more than the essentials to keep them alive and comfortable. They have a laundry list of things they pray I’ll get for them. “Mommy, can you get me…” is something I hear regularly. They believe with everything in them that I’ll be able to get them what they’re asking for. Honestly, their confidence in me is both humbling and comforting. 

I’m their mommy, so of course they expect me to provide for them. If not me, then who? It’s inspiring to think that no matter what, they believe in my ability to take care of their wants and needs. I then relate that to my relationship with God. He’s my father, so if I don’t believe he’ll provide for me, then who? And God is so wonderful that his perversion can come in so many different forms. Many times in ways we never imagined. 

 

God is able

Whenever I pray for something I have to remind myself that God can do anything. Often times I think about my circumstances and put limitations on God. “How can you do this if things are going so bad, Heavenly Father?” God’s ability to answer my prayers has nothing to do with my situation and everything to do with Him being a Mighty God. I have to give Him free rein of my life and stop putting training wheels on His power. 

Seeking earthly logic with an illogical God is a waste of time. Not one miracle in the Bible was logical in the natural sense. Truthfully speaking, if everything was done logically we wouldn’t need faith.  Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. With faith, there is no formula and the only step you take is believing that something is possible. 

 

You just gotta have faith.

All God needs is a little faith, faith the size of a mustard seed. He can do so much with that. He isn’t concerned with how much you have in the bank, your education, or your work history. There is literally nothing that God needs you to have outside of faith to act on your behalf. For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 

Understand that having faith isn’t always easy, especially when you’re desperately waiting on God for something. It takes courage to have faith. Not even every believer has a limitless faith. Some assume that there are some situations God just can’t help with. Learning to trust God’s plan and timing is something that might seem crazy to some but for me, it’s how I remain hopeful.

 

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” God wants us to believe He can do anything. He wants us to be like little children that trust their parents can give them the world. How beautiful is that? God wants us to release our doubt and have faith in Him.

Are you struggling with having faith? Is it due to a situation that seems impossible to overcome? Mark 9:23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Jesus was addressing someone who told him “If you can do anything…” and Jesus gave a response that shows us that the first step to seeing our miracle is believing it is possible. Do not be overwhelmed by fear and doubt. Use Joshua 1:9, (“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”) as a reminder to remain in faith for God is always with you.

I pray that this was an encouragement to you and as always, Hugs and Loves.

 

When words are not enough

Encouraging, Faith, Mental health, Motherhood

I don’t always know what to say

At times I can’t put into words how I feel. There’s no amount of explaining I could do to express myself fully. I’m a mom, so you can imagine I use words daily…every waking second it seems. Yet, there are moments where I find myself speechless. 

Maybe it’s the rollercoaster of life or the intensity of motherhood—maybe none of the above and it’s simply my overthinking that throws me through loops time and time again. It’s not easy to admit that I tend to panic during difficult moments. I worry and create scenarios in my head that I fear might happen. Thoughts about life, family, friendships, and parenting are always wrapped up in a chaotic imaginary bow.

My mind has a lot on it but I can’t speak a word

Sometimes I have no words because I’m trying to figure out how to stop the scenarios in my brain from happening. I know as God peeks at my thoughts he probably thinks to himself, “I didn’t give her creativity for this.” I’ve honestly asked him what did he expect when he gave me such a wonderful imagination? I doubt it was to create make-believe tragedies but here I am.  

Image by Steven Arenas

There have been moments where even with a million things going on in my mind, I have nothing to say. God has found me on quite a few occasions fumbling over what to utter. When that happens, I think about Romans 8:26, KJV: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”


Even when all I can do is ugly cry, I’m still heard. It brings me such comfort to know that God had thought about us in such detail that he knew there’d be points in our lives when words are not enough. He knew that we’d be faced with situations that would knock the wind out of us and bring us to our knees with barely the ability to breathe. He was prepared. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we are at a loss for words. How humbling!

When you have no words, God can still hear you. He knows your heart. Don’t get caught up worrying about not being able to pray, go before God anyway.  Even if you have the words but you can’t fully express them, God knows your heart. Psalm 44:21 Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

Whether it’s under a moment of pressure or an ongoing struggle, I pray you find peace in knowing that God is fully aware of your needs even when you don’t say a thing. As always, hugs and love!

 

 

I believe in miracles

Encouraging, Faith, Motherhood

Bad things happen to us sometimes

Life has a way of throwing things at you when you least expect it. While good things happening are always welcomed, the thought of anything negative happening to us can be paralyzing. I’ve had my share of disastrous experiences but nothing could have prepared me for the challenge I’d face after surviving a horrific car accident. 

January 27, 2020, is a day I’ll never forget. For some reason that entire day I felt like listening to worship music and thanking God for all he’d done for me at that point. After leaving work with my twin sister and three young children, my sister and I kept talking about how blessed and grateful we were. We headed to the grocery stores to pick up some much-needed groceries. I got some stuff for my friend who had pneumonia and I also saw a jobless single mom that I’d helped from time to time and bought her a few things as well. I was happy to be in a position to give than a position of need. 

We can be in need within the blink of an eye

On the way to deliver the things I had gotten for my friend, once again my sister and I thanked God for everything and I do mean everything. We thanked him for our family, the food we had just bought, for the car I was driving, for the ability to give to others as much as we could. The entire drive was filled with praise. There was a level of peace that we felt. 

 

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About nineteen minutes into our drive, police cars went blazing down the street. We were in the right lane about two minutes away from our turn. A van that was all the way on the left lane slowly came over, slowed down, then stopped in front of us. We sat there for a couple of seconds before we heard what sounded like an explosion. At first, I felt disoriented. Everything looked hazy and I could see white and red around us. A few seconds later, another explosion. I had come to the realization that we were rear-ended and the impact caused us to then hit the van in front of us. My sister went into a panic and after I hopped out of the car and couldn’t get my kids’ doors open, I started screaming and calling on God. I thought to myself that there was no way God could allow us to be seriously hurt or worse, not after how much we were thanking him for everything, including life. 

Fear began to creep in

I knew at least one of my kids was hurt because she was bleeding. She was behind me on the drivers side. When we were hit she flew foward hitting her face against the back of my seat. I rushed to remove my four-year-old from her car seat. As I did this, a man tried to open the back passenger door to free my one-year-old son. I saw his attempt fail, then he frantically tried to break the glass, which he also wasn’t able to do. Another man came to the passenger side and waited for me to pass him my oldest. My three-year-old daughter, who was in the center of the backseat was next to get handed off to a complete stranger. My son was the last one to be freed from his car seat and once I got him out I ran around the front of the car into a ditch next to the crash. 

I couldn’t believe what was happening

There were so many people there helping us, giving us blankets, praying for us. The driver that we hit after being rear-ended was an EMT in training and he came over and checked all of my children. The cops and ambulance were there in no time. Part of me thinks that they might have been some of the crew that was already on their way to another emergency.

While being rushed to the ambulance, I saw the back of my car and thought, Thank you, God!  The trunk was gone and the backseat was so close to the front seat. I later found out that the backseat was pushed at least eight inches forward. The EMTs were shocked that we were alive, even conscious.

At the hospital, my three kids and I were all in a room together. My sister was rushed to the adult side of the hospital in an entirely separate building. Our bosses were at her side in less than thirty minutes. My coworker and friend, who we were taking food to, drove her beat-up car that hardly ever worked to the hospital to see us. She was there in about fifteen minutes. She looked weak from fighting off pneumonia but hey, she was in the right place if she thought she’d pass out. 

I believe in miracles

Going through something like that, you’d think it would be discouraging but it wasn’t. I believed, through faith, that we were going to be okay both physically and mentally. Almost instantly we were seeing blessings come. My boss bought us some groceries the day after the crash. Thirty minutes later my friend, who lived near us, brought us a care basket, and later that night we got food from the outreach center my sister volunteers at. We never lacked a ride to get important things done because someone was always offering to take us wherever we needed to go. My cousin even lent me her second car. We were never in true need. 

I feel that every bad thing can be turned into a blessing. We got to see how valued we were by the people around us and by strangers. One of the men that helped us even said he thought about not stopping, which people around here normally never stop to help victims of an accident. I believe the prayers of my sister who had jumped out of the car and dropped onto the grass to pray redirected him. I don’t think I’d be able to process the trauma of the accident, the loss of my vehicle, or the realness of mortality if not for my faith.

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In every situation, I pray and believe that all things are working out for my good. I don’t worry or let fear affect my beliefs. Faith has really been my coping mechanism and the only way I stay so optimistic even when things seem impossible. I can look back on my life and see how believing in good outcomes instead of being fearful has helped me to truly overcome all the negative experiences I’ve had. It’s not easy sometimes but I stand on a firm foundation of believing that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. If I have nothing else, my faith will be enough to carry me through anything. I believe in miracles and the goodness of God.

My confidence is sure

Whenever I feel mentally exhausted, because that does happen, I put on worship music and dance around with my kids and sister. I create joy in situations where there is none because weeping may last the night but joy comes in the morning(Psalm 30:5). I grip on to that hope. I’ve learned that even if I can’t control the chaos around me, I can control how I react to it.

The same way grapes are crushed for wine or olives are crushed for olive oil, I believe the moments where we are crushed is not the end but the beginning of a new and beautiful us. I’ve learned to find strength in times where I’m expected to be weak and frail. Giving up or caving into the pain of this world is not an option for me. Not because I think I’m undeserving of going through it but because I know that I’m not the first or the last and I’m going to make it out. 

There’s a certain level of confidence I have because of my faith. It’s not arrogance or a sense of entitlement. I genuinely believe in either a reason for things happening or a miraculous outcome from such events. It’s not easy to always see the bright sides of things but it is possible to. Everyone faces challenges and hardships in their lives, some more than others. Having a positive and optimistic outlook on life through faith is my driving force.

People always ask me how I manage to keep going and I simply say, “God.” Even the people that believe in God wonder, “That‘s it? There has to be something more.” With all the things I’ve been through it seems unfathomable to some that faith is the only thing I rely on to fight depression, anxiety, insecurities, and even hurt. Believe me, it’s a mental battle as much as it is a spiritual one.

I stand firm like a stubborn child who refuses to drink out of the wrong colored cup because I know sitting and wallowing in pain and sadness is the wrong cup to drink out of. Instead, I choose to be happy despite my circumstances. I choose to celebrate all the good I’ve been blessed with and overlook the bad. Sure, I have to fight the thoughts that say I shouldn’t be happy right now, that I shouldn’t rejoice. But I rebuke those thoughts and smile anyway; I press on. I have gained immense strength from a faith that says I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me(Philippians 4:13). That is all I need to know that I can and will make it through every difficult situation. 

As always, Hugs and Love!

 

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Looking in the rear view

Uncategorized

Today marks 1 month since my faith was seriously tested. On January 27, 2020 around 7:30pm I was driving with my sister and three young children. We were rear ended and then we hit the van in front of us. I can still remember the  disoriented feeling, the sent of intense heat and fumes. I cringe and shutter every time I think about it because it’s so vivid in my mind.

I remember looking behind of me and seeing my 4-year-old face full of blood, my 3-year-old looked fine, and my 1-year-old’s rear facing carseat was slightly elevated and his legs were dangling up in the air a bit. I later found out he had a bruise and cut on his forehead.

I couldn’t get the door behind me open and as I frantically began to undo my kids’ carseat buckles, a panicked man furiously tried to pry the other backdoor open. When that didn’t work he banged the glass in attempts to free my baby boy but nothing. I eventually handed my daughters one by one to strangers who waited by the passenger door. I held on to my son.

We huddled in a ditch next to the wreck. There were so many people there, helping, coving my kids with blankets, PRAYING OVER US. My son began to go limp in my arms. From crying and clutching me tightly, his grip loosened and his eyes began to roll back into his head. I thought, no God, NOT MY SON. I prayed, that was the only thing I could do in such a helpless moment. Some of our rescuers began to join me and my son gained back his strength.

Shortly after that, the man we hit came over and began checking my kids. He was an EMT in training. He checked them for any signs of trauma to their neck, ribs, and stomach. There was none. I just remember feeling so grateful that when the police arrived and asked if we were ok, I walked off and began shouting, “In Jesus name we are fine. God is good!”

I didn’t feel fear in that moment. Nothing in the world seemed to matter. All I could think about was how blessed we were to be alive. Seeing the car and feeling like we were hit with an explosion, I knew it wasn’t anything short of a Miracle.

My faith kept me sane in the crucial moments after the crash. So many questions come up after seeing the car. There was a lot of impossible things that happened that night.

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Check out photos of the car Here

Hear more details Here

Please drive safe and NEVER drive distracted. We were blessed to literally walk out of that car alive.

We are all doing okay. Driving now does get me anxious but I can’t be afraid of being behind the wheel or even in a vehicle. Mentally, I have to pray everyday about the crash because I am traumatized. It’s a lot more mentally taxing than I anticipated. You never get over the event.

I just wanted to make a quick post so as always (HUGGZ & LOVE)

Drowning

Uncategorized

 

Hold your breath

There’s no help for you at this depth

Who will be your helper

As you struggle under the pressure

Searching for hands that aren’t stretched out

You can’t scream, you can’t shout

There is  no rescue

So who will save you

Call out his name but no need to speak

He’ll hear you even when you’re weak

Alone, you never were

The water was just to help you grow

When you feel like giving in

Think how close you are to winning

When you feel you might drown

Turn to the father who’s always been around

*came up with this just now. Really going through a lot and my faith continues to be tested. Hope everyone is doing good.*

((HUGGS & LOVE))