The month of Love. For some, it's a blissful month of chocolates, cuddles, oodling, dating, intimate moments, extravagance and flowers while others feel heartache, loss, jealousy and loneliness.
We were created with a need for True Love. We spend our days searching to fill that space, trying so many different things, and will until you find Love Who Fills.
The media is so good at showing us ways to fill this need. Eventhough Love Himself fills and holds my whole heart, blessing me with a Man to share life and love with for over 30 Valentines, I catch myself oodling at the beautiful diamonds and romantic getaways on all the commercials.
In my every day life, I am simple. I enjoy a coffee on the couch in pjs, simple gifts, simple meals, simple outings, a simple way of life. I am not a glam girl. Do I love pretty things? Beautiful clothes? Nails and hair done? Nice food out? Luxurious spas? Sure! But I don't need them or chase them.
A few years ago, I decided to start hosting a Sweet Love night at my home. I was so nervous because I hadn't ever hosted a party for friends before, an Introvert, yes, but also...fear of rejection. There it is. What if no one came? What if I was boring? What if they thought it was stupid?
But God! I dumped the lies and pursued True Love and did it anyway. I invited a group of women from my church over, in the Name of Love. In the room were woman who had recently lost their spouses, who were struggling to feel loved in their marriages, some who were too exhausted to experience love - Sisterly or Intimately.
These were soul satisfying nights of introducing these Sisters in Christ to each other, sharing stories of hope and love, and for those who don't know me yet or been to one of my events...yes, we enjoyed some serious coffee & chocolates!
As much as we need to embrace Love, some of us need to break up with false idols who keep us from receiving and giving love.
Today, what do you need to dump in order to have True Love?
Insecurity?
Fear?
Anxiety?
Control?
Addiction?
Perfectionism?
Feelings of lack, envy, hate, jealousy, greed, addictions, pride, immorality?
Lust?
Now that you have broken up, let's pray for Love's return and filling. Ask for blessings of Grace and deep soul satisfying wholeness. Open your heart to receive again.
Whatever barriers have been placed around your heart, will you allow Jesus to be the new Gate Keeper? Will you trust, let go of control and surrender to Love?
May it be so.
I pray this month brings you such deep joy as you remember the Love The Creator, Your Father, the Great I Am has for you. His Love is unconditional and of the purest kind that no human on this earth, no matter how wonderful they are, can match.
He is the Ultimate Lover of Your Soul.
You can trust Him.
He's got you in His heart.
Will you allow Him in yours?
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
Anyone else walk by the mirror and think, “ohhh I wish I change this?!” I have a long list of my attributes that I wish I could trade out, such as my nose, my ears, my eyes, my hair, my gut, my skin, my legs...just to name a few. No one wants to admit it but for many of us, its a painful truth.
Growing up, I was shy but friendly. As a pre-teen girl, the insecurity was compounded when severe cystic acne began, keeping me out of school for days at a time depending on the flare up or treatment days, (oh, and don't forget...with braces). I hated seeing myself in the mirror, and never let people take my picture.
I spent hours in front of the mirror every morning before school, tears in my eyes and anger in my heart, trying to mask my full self, so I could feel normal enough to go in public. I was terrified to cry or sweat in fear the make up or hair would shift out of position.
While I didn’t want to be starred at, on a deeper heart level, I believed if my appearance was less than, they would see me as less than. And who doesn’t wish they were popular in middle school, even though you knew you didn’t really wanna be, but dreamed you could be!?
This is where the Great Cover Up began…dressing up the outward to compensate and distract from the mess underneath. Home was the only place I felt safe and relaxed. No wonder I am such a home-body!
I am thankful for the words of Samuel: 1 Samuel 16:7
“But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
It’s been a long journey of healing to no longer be consumed by the need to hide my mess or prove my value. In fact, it fuels my encouragement ministry.
Here are some ways you can comfort and encourage your friend who you see struggling with this too…
- Speak to her heart: “I see you,” “Your heart is so strong/beautiful,” “God Loves You!”
- Scoot close and sit next to her and let her feel seen and still safe
- Look her in the eyes when she’s talking
One of my favorite things now is the ability to hug without fear. No fear of being closely seen or touched, and no fear of make up accidentally wiped off! What freedom and joy!
God has fearfully and wonderfully made us and is looking at the beauty of our hearts. The King of the Universe, the Creator of all things, knitted us together with intricate and Divine details and we are precious in His sight.
Who needs your safe hug today?
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
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.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 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
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
Growing up, my physical appearance crippled me. I thought my legs were wonky, my nose was too big for my face, and my ears were too similar to Dumbo's. Everyone else was beautiful and I felt ugly. There was a point in my life I had braces and severe cystic acne. My skincare routine was as long as applying make up beginning in 5th Grade through....college.
I wish my healing journey of acceptance wasn't as long as it was but this is why I am here...to hopefully inspire others to work out these insecurities and fears now because the life God has created is abundant and beautiful.
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