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
Who even thinks about praising God in the midst of a crisis or more specifically, a panic attack? Panic/anxiety attacks are no joke.
You literally feel like you’re having a heart attack....tight chest, pain shooting down the left arm, shallow breath, echo chamber with static in your head and swirly mental balance, ready to fall down or run you aren't sure.
What you are sure about is feeling like you are about to die and you can't help but wonder where is God!
If you suffer from these I’m so sorry. I did too. While I wouldn’t wish it on anyone and I pray I never return to it, I am grateful for the new life birthed. God our Redeemer showed me how to turn my life of worry and panic into a life of praise.
The tears sowed in this season were the seedlings God used to grow my personal growth and writing journey.
God set me on a path of healing in my life I didn’t even know I needed healing from.
This is the grace of God. He won’t stand by and let us dwell helpless in a pit, playing small, thinking we are insignificant when He has created us for a fruitful life with Divine purpose.
So how do we praise God in the midst of a crisis or panic attack? How do we worship in our worry?
Eventhough I grew up in church and knew all the Bible Stories and participated in every Bible Study on a Tuesday night, served on Church Staff for years…I struggled in the beginning to praise and worship. I was scared, mad, sad, confused.
Day by day, God graciously chiseled at the thick brick wall fear and I had co-built around my heart for so many years. I was blind, but then I began to see.
Could I trust Him to be my shield?
Could I trust Him to never leave me or forsake me?
Would His grace ever run out?
Am I worth His time?
Every morning at 3am, I woke up with my heart racing and mind spinning. My soul cried out every morning, “Why have You forsaken me Lord, I have lived my entire life surrendered to You, desiring to serve You, live life happily with You my Best Friend, the only One I trust in all the world. I need You. Is this it?! Am I done serving You here? Are You done with me?”
In these morning cries for answers, His voice became more clear to me and with every breath, I felt The Be Still and Know hold me. It was this season, God showed me His heart's hug.
My healing wasn’t just one thing that “fixed” me. There are no magic pills, prayers, potions or lotions, but there are amazing resources, the main one being Jesus, but also healing helps through people and products.
Alongside seeking outside help, here are some of the simple every day life things I did. Maybe they will help you too as you seek your next best steps.
- Pray without ceasing, rejoicing always, giving thanks in all circumstances.
- Wake Up and Go To Sleep every night with Gratitude, blessings proclaimed (worship)
- Ask God to bring supporting Sisters to you who will cover you with wisdom, prayer and strength
- Research healthy lifestyles - nutrition, exercise. mindset, daily habits, boundaries, journaling, worship, etc
- Limit sugars and caffeines, get good sleep, honor your Temple
- Find calm moments in your day, every day to be still and breathe
- Practice acceptance, surrender, trust and meditation
- Embrace Grace!! Create space for grace in your heart and home!
I no longer panic, praise God my Healer! I pray that for you too! Friend, because He lives and created all things, we have everything we need, we just need to let Him lead us to it.
You’re not alone and today is a new day full of mercies and grace, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Friend, God does not waste your tears and trials. They are refining fires, seedlings with purpose. Trust His heart is for you and He loves you!
In Jesus Name, you are soooo held, loved, seen, sealed and protected by the Blood. Trust Him by His Word and worship that devil out as you rest, read, trust and surrender in the power and peace of Christ our Savior. Amen.
God loves You and He’s Got you!
Heart Hugs,
Michele
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
Not every person handles stress the same so be brave and have compassion enough to ASK!!! Don't assume they can handle it alone and don't need you. if it's YOU, ASK for some Love to diffuse your stress ball!
It's really really hard to ask for support or a simple hug in the name of All Togetherness when you are the Peace Maker in the Home but I am challenging you this time to seek it out and let God bless you with Love through the hands and feet He has placed around you for such a time as this. Don't stuff your feelings.
Pray, Praise and Pause!!! Receive the LOVE for the health of your soul. Tis the season to REJOICE! You've Got This!!!
Read more...When life feels out of control and our insecurity begins to grow, our ability to fight back against it depends on the things we allow into our hearts and minds.
It’s time to surrender and letting go to allow God to build us up. Our firm grip of control doesn’t actually strengthen us. Trusting His Love is our strength and joy!
If you are a women who struggles with insecurity, this may be especially hard for you because you are probably asking yourself in the closet of your heart, "Am I doing this Mom Thing right?! What did I do wrong for them to act this way? Am I going to totally screw them up?!" I get it. I was that Mom! The enemy knows our weakest buttons and pushes them right into our side where it hurts the most. Insecurity amplifies our fears.
Read more...
