Author: thischicksinpeace

Let’s be honest…probably not too many of us can quote a passage from the book of Malachi, can we?

It is one of those Old Testament books that we read as we’re making our way through the Bible.

For me, I can honestly say that I have read through it a few times now and I know there are parts I read and it feels like the first time.

That is the neat thing about the Bible and the awesome thing about the Holy Spirit…

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that

The word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

That means, as the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 that the

Gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.

My point is that the Bible is the living word of God that is given to us to be used by the Holy Spirit to move us.

So, when I read the book of Malachi – or a portion of it like I did today – it can be like I am seeing it with fresh eyes.

Simply amazing.

Malachi 3:13 is God speaking and telling His people that they spoke rudely and harshly to Him when they said it doesn’t do any good to serve God: “What do we get out of it anyway?”

How many times have I been guilty of that? I may not say those words, but my lack of action in doing something for the Kingdom can certainly speak louder than words.

How easy is it to not do something because we do not see the benefit for us in it? Perhaps, in Covid-19 days, we see only the risk or annoyance of intentional effort…

How easy is it to think that what I do doesn’t matter so why bother trying?

Malachi 3:17 encourages us to do something in service to the Lord…God’s response to our action is this~

He claims us as His own!

In Malachi 3:18 the world sees this of our efforts~

Once more you’ll see the difference it makes between being a person who does right and one who doesn’t; between serving God and NOT serving Him.

What can we do in these days?

Encourage each other… don’t sit and wait to be encouraged. Make that call first. Send out a text. Write a letter. Be encouraging with truth on social media.

Make a meal for someone and drop it off on their porch. Don’t wait for them to ask for your help. Do what your heart is leading you to do.

If you have the means, buy groceries for the person behind you in line or for your extended family members.

Put hearts up in your windows for the neighbor kids to see.

Open your curtains and blinds to see who is outside your windows instead of blocking the world out for your “privacy”.

What we do in these days matters. It matters for today and into eternity.

It resonates.

Let the glory of the Lord be among us and let Him shine into those who live in darkness!

If you are a believer, NOW is the time to show the world, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors who you serve.

Is it fear or the fear-maker?

We need to look deeply into ourselves.

Are we serving God?

Serve the Lord by beinging honest with your emotions to those around you. Your honesty allows them to be honest in return…sharing each other’s burdens is serving the Lord.

Serve the Lord by bringing hope and grace to those we come into contact with and let His Peace rule in our hearts…not fear.

Be safe. Be responsible. Stay distanced physically NOT emotionally from people. Read the Word and share what you read. That encourages me.
Remember that you are loved. You matter to me and to the One who created you.

Isaiah 54:10

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My loving kindness (mercy) will not be removed from you nor will my covenant (promise) of peace be shaken”~ says the Lord who has compassion on you.

What are the mountains (the unmovable, stable things) in your life that SEEM to be be suddenly moving?

A sense of financial security or a sense that you knew just what direction your life was going to go either through college plans, high school things, or career advancement~ and NOW things are extremely uncertain?

What hills in your life are shaking? A sense of accomplishment, confidence in who you are in this world, a sense of purpose~ suddenly some may be asking “who am I now”, “what should I do”, “who will I become”.

It’s important to remember through times of uncertainty and adversity, that God promises to NEVER take His peace from us (our job is to stay in His presence) and that He WILL remain merciful to us for that is His character (mercy is NOT a removal of an uncomfortable situation but the grace we receive IN it).

He IS compassionate to us for He loves us.

Cling to that truth that never waivers.

#isaiah54 #donotfear #yourenotalone #hangon #purposedrivenlife #anxietywarrior #fightthegoodfight #fightdepression #fightthedarkness #endure #compassion #mercy

What on earth is happening in our world today???

If these aren’t the craziest, surreal, unbelievable, never before in my lifetime, circumstances then I don’t know what to tell you!

Never before in this century has there been an experience that encompasses the world that does not involve a war.

Except it almost feels like a war, doesn’t it? The difference from the other World Wars we have lived through is that we are all on the same side facing the same enemy!

Hard to wrap my brain around it all.

I live in the state of Michigan and we “shut down” yesterday: stay home,stay safe is our mantra.

I also “shut down” yesterday.

The reality of the impact COVID-19 is having and going to have on our world as we know it settled on me.

It was a heaviness on my heart and in my spirit that I found difficult to bear.

Have you felt that weight before?

Have you felt the heaviness of grief on shoulders it felt difficult to stand?

Have you almost buckled from the pressure of others pain?

That was where I was yesterday.

I have a confession to make:

I

Am

Not

Superwoman.

I cried myself to sleep at noon.

There. I said it.

Guess what?

Being real helped.

Feeling my feelings instead of suppressing them helped.

I woke up with some tension gone from my shoulders and was ready to get back at it.

Today, I found some advice in answer to the question many of us are asking right now:

What am I to do???

What am I supposed to do?

What can I do?

What should I do?

I turned to the Word of God to find some counsel and this is what I found…

Ready?

1)rejoice always

2)be unceasing and persistent in prayer

3)be thankful in every situation

4)do not ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit

5)do not reject words of instruction

6) hold firmly onto that which is good

You guessed right if you thought I was reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-21!!

If you are wondering what to do to get through these difficult days of isolation, a good start would be to follow those 6 steps!

What can you rejoice in?

How about that God is always with us!

What can you pray about without stopping?

How about saying “help me Lord”,I need You God”, “be with Me Father”!

What can you be thankful for?

How about the power of technology that keeps us connected to people in ways previous generations never would have been able!!!

How can you hear and then obey the Holy Spirit?

How about that instinct, that gut feeling, or that sudden thought about someone? Act on it! Do something and trust that it is from the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

How can you follow words of instruction?

How about stay home, stay safe!

How can you hold onto what is good?

How about share the goodness of God with your neighbor! Write down what is good in your life! Facebook good things! Watch good things on TV!

It’s not a fix but it’s a start!

We are in this together folks and I’m thankful for the company!

Psalm 9:10 ~

Those who know Your name – who have experienced Your precious mercy- will put their confident trust in You for You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

I have experienced the mercy of God- in my personal life where I’ve received forgiveness, in my marriage where it has been restored, in regards to my past where it has been redeemed, and toward my future where it has been renewed.

I DO put my trust in God…for my health, my family’s future and well-being during COVID-19, for my own anxieties and insecurities.

The Lord “not abandoning me” does NOT mean a magical removal of the situation…

It means

He sustains me through it; He provides resources and strength so I can endure;

He comforts me in it;

He gives me peace;

I gain wisdom.

I gain MUCH more than if my circumstance were to be changed…as hard as that is to imagine as we are all stuck indoors away from those things in life that help us feel “normal”. I gain a relationship with the Lord to carry with me in the other days to come.

I’ve learned that HE is what and all I really need.

#inthistogether #covid19 #socialdistancing #quarantined2020 #endureandsurvive #endurance #perserverence #redeemed #renewed #restored #ivebeenchanged #peacethatsurpassesallunderstanding #psalm910 #trustthelordwithallyourheart

Psalm 8:4-6

What is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You care for him?

You have made him lower than God and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put things under his feet.

Who am I?

What am I?

What am I to do?

Does what I do matter?

Do I matter?

When I focus on me, I get confused over my next step. I begin to question my choices. I wonder about my place in this world and if I can really make any kind of a difference.

When I quit being me-centric, I realize there is a whole world out there that does not revolve around me.

If I’m not the center of even my world, then who is??

My spouse?

My children?

My job?

My skills?

All those things can be taken from me in an instant.

In a blink, I can be stripped of all that matters and all that I am good at…what is left now?

I find comfort in knowing that I have a Creator. I was made for Someone. I have a purpose for which I was made to accomplish. And He is my center.

I think we need to hear this…we need to say these words to ourselves.

These are scary, lonely, isolating days where we LONG to be with people, but know we need to stay apart in order to stay safe from the spread of COVID-19.

All the more reason for us to really question, what or who is at the center of me?

A second question to reflect on is does my life reflect that center or I am only speaking words?

Say this with me:

I have been made in the image of God.

I have been created because He wanted to creat me.

My purpose is the love God and to reflect that love by loving my neighbor.

I have been created to be a steward over the things I have been given: my gifts, belongings, family, this world we live in.

I am created to bring glory to God by how I care for His creation.

Even separated from family and friends, we have been given a beautiful gift called LIFE. We can still share it with each other albeit in new and creative ways.

We can appreciate God’s creation by going outside and thanking Him for it.

We can call our family and friends and appreciate the few minutes of distraction by that call. We can refuse or rebuke the spirit of discontent that it could not be more than it was as we are all longing for contact as we social distance.

In this time of solitude, we can learn to enjoy who God created us to be as an individual …uniquely and wonderfully made.

Who is God that He is mindful of me??

He is faithful.

He is loving.

He is good.

He is with us.

“Healing is a process”….but it sure isn’t one we like waiting on, is it?

We want to be better now.

We want things to improve now.

We want this situation to be changed now.

We want this to be over now.

In addition to all that, IF WE ARE BEING HONEST, we certainly don’t want to be inconvenienced by whatever “this” is either now~ in the present~ or later on~ in the future~ do we?

As a person with a chronic illness, I can honestly say that I wish the treatments that I have to undergo would work quicker.

I also get frustrated with the inconvenience of being immunocompromised…with trying to finagle my work schedule around my infusions – my treatments…

I also am hopeful that treatment in the present does not cause me further issues in the future.

But, healing is a process though, right?

We are living in a most unusual period of time with this COVID-19 pandemic concerns, aren’t we?

Here, in Michigan, the school systems across the state have officially been closed starting this past Monday.

NATIONWIDE, all professional sports activities have been suspended.

Concerts are being cancelled right and left.

There is an international travel ban.

Restaurants are closing to eat -inside customers.

Fear is rampant.

Anxiety is everywhere.

Uncertainty is lurking.

Panic is waiting at the threshold.

The question becomes

WILL WE LET IT IN THE DOOR AND ALLOW IT TO CONSUME US??

People are scared of the idea of contagion – enough to empty our stores of surplus – and yet are worried over cancelled sporting events, concert venues, and child care due to no school.

Many of these, especially weekday meals for kids and child care, are legit issues…but many other concerns are the inconveniences of the healing process.

As an immunocompromised RN who works in the hospital (while already battling the tail end of a two week long cold), I am concerned over how we will deal as a society if this social distancing is not effective enough.

We complain over the treatment – in this case it is PREVENTION THROUGH TEMPORARY ISOLATION – but how much more will we suffer if this illness spreads?

What do we do in the meantime??

Simply put, I cannot help but recommend Philippians 4:8

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable, if there is any excellence, anything worthy of praise ~THINK CONTINUALLY ON THESE THINGS.

We all have things we wish were different, but this is how things are for today.

Think on GOOD things,not on things that disappoint us.

Think on things we respect and admire, not on things that frustrate us.

Think on things that are lovely, not on things that bring us fear.

Think in things that are right in front of you that is worthy of praise,not on things that have not happened yet.

We are in strange times but we are not left alone in them.

God does His best work turning what was planned for evil into good.

Recall His promises.

Cling to His faithfulness.

Rest in His love.

We are in this together.

I’ve had a few interesting weeks where waiting has been the big theme.

The idea of waiting can bring about feelings of eager anticipation, frustration, fear of the unknown, anxiety over the uncertain, hopeful expectation.

In both situations, I’ve been forced to just sit. There was no way I could hurry the circumstance along. I had zero control over what direction the answer would be when it finally came.

I knew what I thought the outcome would be but I did not know for sure…

so I had to wait.

Have you been there?

Sitting in the waiting?

Trying not to wonder too much?

Trying to just be in the moment?

There is nothing passive about that experience.

In fact, it could quite possibly be the most active I’ve ever been…active in doing nothing

As I waited I had time on my hands.

I don’t know about you, but that could be dangerous….too much time to let my mind wander into the worst case scenario of the unknown and sit in the abyss of anticipated anxiety.

Good times, huh?

The Lord is teaching me something different though.

I do not believe He is causing the scenarios of which I wait, but I do believe He is working on me in them.

Panic, fear, anxiety, despair are from the enemy and keep me immobilized.

The Lord wants me to overcome that. He wants me to see Him and trust Him even when life seems uncertain or scary or out of my control.

It is in the waiting where He teaches me how to do that.

Isaiah 30: 18 tells us that the Lord waits and longs to be gracious to you…He waits on high to have compassion on you for the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who long for Him.

In the waiting is where God is waiting for me …He is longing to shower me with His compassion that will sustain me.

It is in the waiting where I long for God to show me His compassion.

If I am spinning my wheels, fretting, worrying then I am in no position to receive His blessing …it is when I still myself in His presence that I am blessed.

What does that look like?

Trust me…I know what we wait for and I know the news we expect to hear can be life changing for the better but we fear for the worst…I know.

So what does it look like for me when I wait?

I breathe.

I do the next right thing.

I pray.

I choose peaceful activities when I can.

I simplify life where I can.

I rest if I can.

Quiet music.

Limit my talking.

Be intentional with where my thoughts wander toward.

Take captive my thoughts.

I told you~ it’s not passive at all.

The Lord is longing to show His compassion…we need to position ourselves to receive it.

Patience is accompanied by the peace that passes all understanding …trusting is allowing your hurting heart to be held by the One who knows you best and loves you most.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit~ Psalm 34:18.

We often wonder what people think of us….worry about it even…

We probably assume people think the worst of us because we focus on our own imperfections~assuming others do as well.

In Numbers 13 we are told of the Israelites who were sent to look at the land promised to the people by God. The land was everything they ever dreamed of having ~almost too good to be true.

God promised them they could and would have it but they were afraid to go take it from those living there already.

Numbers 13:33 speaks of how deep negative perceptions can run even in spite of an awesome God that had already shown His might through a multitude of miracles:

We were like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sight.

The assumption was that because the Israelites felt weak, small, incompetent, and incapable so thought the Canaanites .

The fact was that the Israelites had a growing reputation that they traveled with a powerful God leading the way and clearing the path….but they did not see themselves as powerful and so assumed others did not as well.

That assumption cost them the Promised Land until another 40 years went by…

On the other hand~

Doesn’t it feel good when we find out someone thinks positively about us???

Isn’t it empowering??

Our Father in heaven does 100% of the time…and He knows every little thing we have ever done or thought about doing.

Even while knowing our innermost thoughts, HE LOVES US.

Why?

BECAUSE HE CREATED US.

Psalm 139:17 tells us this~

How PRECIOUS are Your thoughts to me, O God! How VAST is the sum of them!

Rest in knowing that your Maker is thinking loving thoughts about you today and let that encourage you to step forward in faith to do what He asks of you.

Have you ever felt that the effort of pushing fear, pain, worry to the wayside in order to keep moving forward is like trying to swim up current?

It takes a lot of effort to make any progress while the fear, pain, worry comes right back around at you anyway…

It’s exhausting.

Makes my arms feel like Jell-O.

And the heaviness is worse due to my efforts.

Perhaps that’s the key….the effort of pushing it away is exhausting, but flowing with the current is not.

Where will the worry take me if I let it carry me, I ask?

Into the arms of the One I say I trust in~ who is always waiting to catch me…

Deuteronomy 33:27 says the eternal God is your refuge…and His everlasting arms are underneath you.

Psalm 120:1 is an all surrounding me theme this morning~

I took my troubles to the Lord

– I cried out to Him-

And He answered my prayer.

Being honest with the Lord about my concerns is like floating with the current…I am not trying to avoid them…I am not trying to push those thoughts away…I am not feeling sorry for myself while I acknowledge them…

I am giving them to the One who can hold all that I care about and still hold me too.

That’s what I need.

Strong, righteous, everlasting arms underneath me.

Psalm 16:8 I HAVE SET THE LORD CONTINUALLY BEFORE ME; BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.

#anxietysupport #worryless #findstrengthinmyweakness #everlastingarms #trustthelordwithallyourheart #hope #hangonthroughthehurt #hangonpainends #deuteronomy33

To my readers…thank you for giving me a place to express my inner thoughts.

For those who don’t know me, or to those who think they do, I wonder if I am perceived as being a fairly normal person or someone who lives her life spreading scriptural platitudes…

I am as normal as a person gets folks.

I sleep through Bible studies on accident.

I don’t want to go to work on Monday’s.

My feelings get hurt super easy.

I overanalyze phone calls from loved ones I haven’t talked to in awhile.

I write about Bible Passages because I choose to lean into and apply God’s Word to my daily life…

~kind of like nourishment.

I need the encouragement for myself every day.

So, I post on Instagram… Facebook…Twitter….write a blog…

I do it to encourage me.….and in the hopes others will be encouraged as well.

That being said, seeing all those Valentine’s posts from yesterday has got me thinking….

Those can be hurtful to people who do not think that they have those so-called “perfect” lives.

It could really trigger some raw emotions of the “if only I had….”

Yes, I confess, I posted an obligatory lovey-dovey collage I made of me and my hubby about him being my Valentine for 23+ years:

But, how about this:

I wasn’t the recipient of flowers at work (or at home), chocolates, or card…no Facebook announcement in affirmation of his great love for me…

I left little sweet treats on the table for my darling sons…I sent them a Snapchat picture of the treats with a Happy Valentine’s Day and a suggestion to do something for their Momma- to please clean the kitchen while I was at work and they were home for the day…

No response.

No kitchen cleaning.

No “thank you”.

No “Happy Valentine’s Day” in return.

Just blah teenage boys whose interest in their Momma has waned with puberty.

My husband and I did go out to dinner (yay!), leaving the precious duo to fend for themselves after they cleaned the kitchen…only to have my evening interrupted with a sharp, stabbing pain near my C-section scar…

Too painful to walk and too uncomfortable to try to “make the best” of the evening: home we went with me heading to bed with hot tea and medication to attempt to alleviate the distress..

That’s life with a chronic illness for you…it rears up when it wants to no matter the day or event: one simply has to live with it.

See? Fairly normal life stuff.

Here’s the truth:

My children do love me: they call (not just text!) to say hi once in a while, they laugh at my “mom-ness” in between their eye-rolling, and they let me kiss them good night most nights.

My husband doesn’t believe a card shows his affection for me on a “holiday”~ instead,he makes my bed for me almost every night so I can slide in comfortably.

So~
If I focus on how my Crohn’s ruined an evening, then I really will be miserable.

If I think my men don’t love me because of rare overtures of affection, then I really will be miserable.

If I let what I see played out for me on social media dictate how wonderful other people have it, then I really will be miserable due to the comparisons.

Who I am resides in the One who made me, not the ones who surround me.

That is a huge difference folks:

who is in me versus who is around me.

I am easily overtaken by anxious thoughts that try to pull me outside myself…instead of focusing on the Spirit inside me.

Outside of me, I feel I don’t measure up….that I am not loved….that I should be better.

Inside of me, I am loved…I am chosen…I am forgiven…I am made new…I am enough…I am a work in progress that is given sufficient grace every day.

Outside there is turmoil, chaos, brokenness, hurt, comparison, worry, stress, anxiety.

Inside there is peace. Patience. Goodness. Joy. Kindness. Self-control. LOVE.

So, if you were hurt or hurting on Valentine’s Day, I would encourage you to look inside yourself.

Find the One who offers all comfort, wisdom, and grace there…He is sufficient. He does provide all we need.

Our job is to stop looking elsewhere to find what can only be found in Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity (a sense of divine purpose) in the human heart (a mysterious longing, which nothing under the sun can satisfy, BUT GOD).

We are loved.

We have value.

Our lives have meaning.

Our lives have purpose.

No matter your age, your mistakes, your health, your relationship status, your dreams, your failures…

None of those can satisfy what your heart is longing for…those are the distractions from the outside…

LOOK INSIDE FOR MORE.