Feeling overwhelmed? Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year and the world is shooting out the gate, but does anyone else feel like they are still putting their shoes on? No worries, I will wait for you to tie your laces....
As an Introvert who has struggled with a lifetime of anxiety and insecurity, the comparison trap is an easy one the enemy tosses out there! Do you ever feel defeated that your pace in life feels much slower than everyone else? I sure have and the overwhelm comes from the hustle to try and catch up!
This feeling of overwhelm is a result of looking too far ahead and not seeing where the energy or ability will come from. Depending on your personality and life experiences, you will feel yourself charged and ready to go, or feel frozen, stuck to your seat, unable to get up, at all. I get that! In my 50 years on this earth, I have felt both!
I lived too many years looking way out infront of me and way behind me, rarely beside me. One day God tapped me on my shoulder and said, Hey, look to your side. I saw entire teams of people lacing up their shoes too, stretching in preparation. I wasn't left behind after all.
My encouragement to you is this...take time to look beside you! Here's why:
- Your heart realizes you are not alone (even though you always have Jesus near)
- You stay present in the current moment, season, emotion, task at hand
- Preparation happens in the present
Too many of us are living lives in defeat because we have excused ourselves from the proverbial race seeing everyone strides ahead of where we are, allowing the enemy to whisper in our hearts, You won't ever catch up! And that's okay! Who said we were supposed to catch up!? Let those who have gone before you become iron sharpening mentors, a cloud of cheering witnesses in your race. And those beside you, the locking of arms to walk alongside you as lifters when you grow weary. We need Beside You Sisters.
While there is a time and place to walk in solitude just as Jesus did, you were absolutely created for community. Sisterhood is an key ingredient to a life of strength, endurance and peace. And last thing, look behind you. As you see how far you've come, be blessed knowing you are a cheering witness to those looking forward towards you!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our affliction,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
â€â€2 Corinthians‬ â€1:3-5‬ â€ESV‬‬
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
We live in a world where our culture is training our hearts and minds to become reaction and defensive, rather than hopeful and possible. Anxiety and busyness seem to be the new norms and as Christ Followers, we are struggling to fight against this and it's exhausting to be met with unrealistic expectations of hustle to achieve and believe. There is not a place you can go in person or online where you won't come up against a debate, challenge, news alert of tragedy or massive hurt. It feels like the entire world is suffocating and our air is shrinking with it. The only place of refuge and strength is the place our soul rests, in prayer. God knew this world would be challenging, no wonder He instructs us to seek first His Kingdom and never forsake gathering together. We need each other in the Body.
What a weird place we find ourselves in, looking back how far we have come, forward at unimaginable virtual worlds, we aren't even sure are safe as we sit bewildered in the now, of fear and doubt, and yet still, the desire for peace, knowing greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world but our minds wonder how it's possible. Our souls feel anxious, in the prosperity of panic, depleted of peace.
What's sad is our children are stuck in the middle between our training them up in the way they should go and the worlds' reality of hopelessness. Our kids feel clueless and confused. I can't blame them, so are most of us adults!
This world of pressure and expectations, void of peace, leads us into anxious decision making and busyness. As parents, as church members, how much more diligent and zealous we must then be to shine our light and lead with love in a world so desperate for it. Our prayer time is the real battleground.
Friends, we are set apart for such a time as these! It takes great strength to resist following the crowds of hustle and expectations to keep-up with the presumed norm! We won't conform to what the world whispers is the best way and instead choose to be in it as we seek first the Kingdom agenda and life we have been called to. The Way is our Way.
So what does our peaceful "pushing back" look like?
It looks like leading with consistent love, peace, grace, mercy. It looks like honoring and respecting those around us regardless of agreement. It means asking, praying and waiting for God's direction before we move. Pushing back against the norm means we stand alone in some places, understanding we stand winthin an army in Heavenly Places.
We have the choice to choose panic or peace, chaos or Christ. We wake up every day with the choice to be consumed by all the negative things and allow fear to take root, or we choose faith, hope and love which produces life and leads us towards blessings and Our Father’s heart.
When we wait on God's direction and provision, we shall be renewed...because He is faithful, steadfast, a Promise Keeper, Able, Mighty King, Ruler over All, All Knowing, Just, Prince of Peace, the Great I Am. He holds everything together when it looks like it's falling apart, including you!
Let's Go in Peace.
"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:1, 6-9
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
Our lives are an intricate balance of burdens carried and burdens lifted as we strive to both give and receive in this world, working together for a common good in humility, honor, submitting ourselves to the cause of Christ over our agenda and purpose.
There is a season for everything and our response to those seasons are crucial to the Kingdom of Grace. We a;; carry burdens and have the opportunity to impose them on another but also seeking a prayerful partnership to carry them to the set of Jesus. The imposed burdens we place on others destroys relationships if not confronted. Our sin hurts those around us whether we see it or not, or want to admit it or not. Can we ask for help in sharing our burden? Yes! Ask! God places people in our lives to walk alongside you for such a time as this. The problem comes when when our selfishness and pride keeps us from admitting we are burdening those around us, and causing hurt.
Equally, we will never fully realize how impactful our blessings can be to the ones we serve and love on in the Name of Jesus. May we continually strive to live humbly, serving and loving our Lord first, above all others, confessing our sins to one another that the King of Glory reign in our lives, lifting every burden.
May we set aside our pride and consider how our actions (burdens and blessings) affect others. These simple choices change our world.
Here’s what that can look like:
Burdens Unaware:
Something so simple as the one who took the last square of toilet paper and didn't replace it, or left the milk out all day, or forgot to turn off the hose or bring in the wet towel from the car, ask them. It mattered. It does.
For the one addicted to drugs or alcohol and doesn't think their spouse is impacted, ask them. It does.
For the husband who says his pornography doesn't impact his wife or family, ask them. It does.
For the one who chooses self and assumes others will pick up the slack and not think twice about it, ask them. It does.
For the one who demands their way as the way it has to be, ask them. It does.
For the one who ignores, yells and curses, ask them. It does.
For the one burdened with guilt, shame, fear, insecurity, ask them. It does.
The burden we bear and the burden we cause, affect those around us even when we don't think it does.
Inside Blessings:
For the one who bless their spouse with loving care, consideration and help, ask them. It does.
For the kids who's parent help them and pray for them, ask them. It does.
For the neighbor ill, you've blessed with a meal or yard help, ask them, it does.
For the friend receiving our prayers, encouragement and support, ask them. It does.
For the person who dropped all their items, and you helped, ask them. It does.
For the ones we honor and salute their sacrifice, ask them. It does.
For the hurting friend who we simply hug or share a laugh or cup of coffee with, ask them. It matters.
For the one hungry and we feed them, ask them. It does.
For the hopeless one reminded they have Hope in a Savior, ask them. It does.
For the ones in authority, in military, law, co-workers and church, we take time to honor, ask them. It does.
For the one who realized they once were lost, but now have been found, ask them. It does.
For the one afflicted in the flesh, but consoled by The Healer, ask them. It does.
For the ones we shared our testimony with, restoring faith, ask them. It mattered.
The blessings we give and the ones we receive, carry an eternal weight of glory we cannot imagine this side of Heaven.
Do our actions matter? Yes they do.
For the one caught up in sin, yes, it is hurting you and yes, it is hurting those around you. Ask them. It does. But praise God Almighty, His blood is thick and fresh enough to cover all your sins and cast them far off, to mend your broken places and restore you to the plans and purpose He has created you for.
For you walking alongside another, bearing the burden of another, bless your heart for the love you are showing in Jesus' Name. May He continue to grant you renewed energy, compassion and empathy for them. He is faithful to sustain you in your care for them.
Be careful though, you do not bear more than you ought and get in the way of what God may be doing in their life. Us Encouragers and Peace Makers have a tendency to enable. You will end up hurting yourself in the process and healing will take longer for the both of you, extending the burden further to others.
For the one with the thorn in your flesh, remember for everything there is a season and God's grace will be enough to sustain you during this down time. Be willing to allow others to minister to you or on your behalf as hard as that might be. Check your pride and stubbornness at the door and come rest.
"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
Do we really need friends?!? I didn’t used to think so. Jesus was enough of a BFF for me, so I thought. Then I wondered why I felt unseen and unbelonging.
As an Introvert, we keep a little more tucked in than those extroverted souls in our life, making the establishment of friendships like finding a needle in a haystack. Sure, we can make Virtual Friends who feel real world to us, and it’s so fun, but there's something different and special about physically close, in person, feel your energy, pray together connections.
Friendships take a lot of trust and energy and if I was honest, I just didn’t have either one to give.
Once I opened my heart to trusting God’s plan of community living, understanding the importance of iron sharpening iron, Titus 2 relationships, I began to pray for like-minded, spiritually bound, authentic relationships. These are thrilling but still scary prayers when you invite someone into the sacred space of your heart. You fear judgment, betrayal and rejection which is why not having friends seems safer.
This is the twisted truth the enemy would like you to believe.
Truth is, we were built for community and instructed to serve as one part to the many. Will everyone enter the chambers of your inner heart circle? No. You filter through prayer asking God to show you who is meant to be there for such a time as this.
Friends are important because they are the few who reach into the daily grind of life and spotlight the things in our world, calling us out in the good, and sometimes not so good. Without them, where does our heart release it’s joys and sorrows? How are we sharpened if there is no other iron?
Friends help us navigate seasons of life. A Good Friend will armor up to fight alongside you. They will sit with us beside still waters and remind us to be still and know God is near when our world feels chaotic. They share in our victories and help us laugh when we just want to cry.
Near hearted friends touch us with love and pray for us in the knowing and seeing. Genuine Sister Friends sharpen our dull edges and buff out the rough ones.
Let’s be real here too. It is work, and hurt happens. The enemy will always come against covenant connections. Keeping Christ at the center and simply being aware and honest about it guards, restores and continually binds the cord of 3 strands, not easily broken.
Good Friends are gifts from God and this requires your choosing to get out into the real world so your heart can connect with real love. Let not your heart be troubled my Introvert Sister. Let your walls down to the ones God brings into your life. You will recognize her by her boots and shovels ready to dig in, coffee and soft blankets for quiet moments, as she walks in through doors prayer opened with her love in her hand and His Love in her heart.
May this new year bring you the blessing of community and good friends! Pray for the energy and trust to not be scared or shy. It’s essential you do!
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11,19
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
"I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again." - Philippians 1:23-26
This was the essence of my conversation with the Lord beginning December 2008. Better is one day with Him than thousands without. An entire lifetime wanting to be used by God to bless, love and encourage others yet here in this desolate place. While fear taunted me my whole life to think I wasn't good enough for Kingdom work, here in my weakened flesh I sat struggling with my hope that perhaps the end of any ministry was now the reality.
Today marks the 12 year Anniversary of what would be the beginning of a pruning season that would lead to a life of Peace & Grace. A season of redefining, refining, and heavy sifting. It was an intense, painful and terrifying season but growth for a lifetime! In that season, I was madder than I had ever been at God in my life only to fall more in love with Him than I had ever known to be possible. December 2008 would be one of the times I am thankful God doesn't answer exactly what we ask, but chooses to allow what is for our good, that He may receive all the glory.
Satan may be whispering in your ear...give up...you don't matter...no one will miss you if you're not here...you have nothing to offer...you're unqualified and average in every way...God doesn't really love you like He loves others...you won't ever get over "it"...God won't remain patient with you...you'll never be good enough...there's plenty of others more capable...etc. LIES!! These are lies from the Father of Lies, the great deceiver.
You are loved, cherished, covered, forgiven, necessary and instrumental to the glory of God! He wants you, others need you!! God has planned a purposeful life for you and only He knows how many days that will be for each of us. It is not up to you to decide the number of those days. As His creation, we are called, designed and purposed to live each day fully, without regret, without fear, without worry. We are called to live victoriously! Even in trials, we are being refined and strengthened as we are walking through Fires which don't burn away our spirit. In fact, the fires refine the soul.
So today, especially, I count it all joy for the season of despair for while I would not have asked for it, it was there I walked out of the fiery prison without those chains of fear, and a heart refined. I learned the importance of Grace and Worship. Grace to set boundaries, Grace to worship with every breath, as my breath. Grace to set my mind on the things from above and not from earth. Grace to surrender and walk by faith and not by sight which was a tough one for this recovering perfectionist. It was this season God empowered me to walk away from the constant bullying of Goliath and his entire squad of troublemakers who taunt and tease, BUT GOD! I simply pick up my slingshot Cross and remind him he's already been defeated.
Oh how the blessings of seeing the heart of God these past years floods my soul with such humble joy and peace. So many Believers are suffocating in their perfectionism, anxiety, insecurity, enoughness, longing to be accepted and belong somewhere, not realizing they are part of such a Divine and Royal Family with a Kingdom no man can conquer or exclude them from. God's Kingdom is unshakable!
I am forever grateful to know Real Peace. Peace hushes chaos. Peace settles trembles. Peace soothes aching bones. Peace regulates the heart and mind. Peace is beautiful.
Here's my challenge for you: First get honest with yourself and have the courage to tell someone. Pray, Ask, Seek, Surrender and Praise! You are equipped for the battle. Fight the war with weapons unseen knowing Who stands fighting your battles with you. You cannot do this alone. Ask God to show you those He has placed in your path for such a time as this who are willing to walk through fire with you, courageously anticipating a beautiful refining when you're out the other side. You will rise up from the ashes stronger not weaker. Memorize and meditate on His promises and worship in all you say, do and think. Guard your heart and mind and worship! Praise is a powerful weapon to bear!
Many people don't talk about synergy healing but I do because that's what I had to do, maybe you don't need to look at all areas but be sure to look honestly a body, mind and spirit. Where are the areas of attack? Where is there massive pits and traps? Where are the fires simmering? We are looking for contained fires before the become raging out of control fires that take much longer to get under control.
I know these extra things may sound impossible but they are not. Remember the enemy wants you trapped and chains. We are here to fight back in the name of love. Do an act of kindness. Get out of the house. Go for a walk, invite a friend to join you. Drink lots of water, eat a good meal and watch your caffeine intake. Do not just sit around and hear only your thoughts while trying to make sense of them.
Most importantly, pray without ceasing and count your blessings!! When you pray, pray with expectation and in courage. Understand the Love your Father has for you!! Wrap your mind around the the fact He has created you to be His Light, His hands, His feet, His witness here on this side of Heaven. He sees you right where you are. Nothing escapes Him. Together, we are a city on a hill for the nations! Stay strong and rebuke the lies of the enemy. Satan is not for you. He wants to destroy you! God saves!! God is our joy, peace and hope forever!
May every day be a day we count it a joy to be loved by The Great I Am, for His mercies are new every morning and His heart bleeds for ours. Rejoice always. Give thanks in all circumstances! May YES LORD, I AM HERE be our battle cry!!!
Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. We are more than conquerers! We are His!
Our healing and help begins with Love Himself. Seek Him. If you need more help, reach out to a Professional Christian Counselor or Pastor and ask for it! It's never too late. Mercies are new every day!
Don't let today's pain keep you from all the tomorrows' blessings!! He's making all things new, opening and closing doors no man can control!! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!! Thanking God tonight for the grace that soothes our grief and His sovereignty that covers our sorrows.
God knows. God hears. God sees you and He is very near...even in the fire, He is the Fire. God loves you!
Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly more than we think or imagine.....Here's to another year of Grace upon Grace.
Thankful for Love!! God, You have my heart!!! Thank You for Yours for me!! In you I trust, rest and surrender, amen.
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
