Persistence not Perfection This week I was reading and came across one phrase that really struck a chord with me and I have pondered on it all week. It basically stated that God is looking for persistence from us not perfection in our walk with Him. That persistence part is what really stood out to me. I long to be closer to God and pursue Him in my daily walk. I desire ALL that God has for me. I want Him to fill me, lead…
There is Power in HOPE!In what or who are you placing your hope in? HOPE is such a small word yet has so much power in it. When you think about HOPE you understand that this powerful word means that your human soul can turn to God in every situation and live in the expectancy that His promises are going to come to past because you believe the word of God that says, “Be strong and take heart, all you…
FIND THE BLESSINGSHave you ever been going through a storm and just felt like your world was shattered? Have you ever wondered if the blessings of God would ever flow again in your life? If you said yes, let me share something about finding the blessings even in the small aspects of this life. I remember sitting in a small, cold little room watching Addi fight for her sweet life and although it was the hardest time of our lives,…
BE THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS How can we be a light in a dark world? In the bible, Jesus taught His followers how to treat people. John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” So that means he has commanded us to love everyone! When you disagree with someones view, your nature is to show animosity toward them. When someone hurts you, your human nature wants to hurt them in return. When someone doesn’t like you, your…
TIME DOES NOT HEAL A BROKEN HEART On this day 6 years ago my baby sister passed away and went to be with the Lord. The hardest day of my life and one that I felt I would never recover from. I heard more than once, “Just give it time Leanne…time will heal your broken heart and it will get better.” Heartbreak, grief and the pain does not come and go in an orderly, confined timeframe….sorry. Do you really think time can heal something…
Overcoming Bitterness This week has been a struggle for me in many ways. It has been 6 years since my sisters’ accident and it just never gets any easier. Over the past 6 years I struggled with some things. It made me realize something….regardless of how much we pray, how much faith we have….sometimes bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to Christian people. Bad things happen to young people. Bad things just happen! When you lose someone so tragically, so suddenly, you realize you…
Making difficult choices while following Gods will! I think we can all say that some time in our lives we have faced making difficult choices and in making those choices, they could take us on several different paths. One path could bring us to our purpose and to happiness or the other path could bring us to living outside of Gods will for our lives. It can be very overwhelming and bring confusion to our hearts and minds on WHAT choice should…
JUST BE KIND……. During this time, I have seen so much kindness in the world. I have seen people come together and help those in need. I have seen so many amazing things that people are doing for our healthcare workers. I have seen people giving, loving and being the hands and feet of God and showing kindness in a time when we really need it. But guess what? I have also seen the ugly and unkindness in ways I have never seen before. I have…
BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN…… When I was a little girl and into my adult years, my mom made the most amazing tea and she made it in this brown ceramic pitcher. This pitcher was perfect and beautiful. One day, my little sister picked it up to pour some tea and it slipped from her hands and slammed to the floor and busted into a hundred pieces. This pitcher was special and a symbol of our family and childhood. My entire family was mortified. Yes, over an old…
JUST BREATHE It’s been a week, I’m just going to tell you. Some things have happened this week that have brought me to an emotional breaking point; I’ve felt like a failure, I’ve felt overwhelmed and I’ve just not understood how life, with its ups and downs can be so exhausting and unpredictable. Then you have this virus on top of everything else….oh my goodness it’s turning people into crazy humans. With some things I’ve dealt with this week, I’ve…
MAKING A DIFFERENCE AND BE THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS: Have you ever thought….How can I make a difference in this world or in the life of someone else? God made you to make a difference with your life even when you feel confused and unusable. If we can just remind ourselves everyday of this greater purpose we might see life differently and might see the calling God has for us to make a difference in the life of others. It…
DEVOTIONAL: ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE The bible encourages us to cultivate a heart and spirit of gratitude even in the most difficult of times. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 There is so much despair and hopelessness in these very difficult times but if we can focus on having a heart of gratitude, it gives us the power to have hope even in the most difficult of…
There is Hope because I am HIS! I woke up a few days ago very emotional. I was hundreds of miles away from home, going into the epicenter of a national health crisis where a virus is running ramped with a medically fragile child, taking her for treatment and scans to see if her cancer has returned, away from my children and family on my birthday and just feeling the emotions of it all. My faith is very strong but…
Be anxious for nothing…… Many times the unknown and challenges of life can cause anxiety. Are you experiencing anxiety due to past hurts, future uncertainties, health issues, financial problems? The bible tells us to be anxious for nothing. OK….so that means nothing! Reality is….because we live in uncertain times, there will be times of worry and a sense of nervousness that can lead to anxiety. I believe God knew we would have bouts of anxiety because the Bible says in,…
Disappointments can be opportunities….. We have all experienced disappointment and discouragement at some time or another in our lives. Are you in that place right now? Have things just not worked out how you wanted, are your prayers not being answered the way you had thought they would, has someone let you down, were promises broken? If you are, one thing you must remember is that disappointment is a place we pass through, not a place where we stay. God wants us engaged in…
The scars do not define me….. When you think about a scar, you think about a wound on your body that hurt so badly that it left a mark as a reminder of that incident forever. Then we have the emotional scars left behind that are deeper and hurt worse than any physical scar ever could. Scars on the outside, we often try to hide because we don’t like how they look. They are ugly and we just want to hide them. That is…
THIS IS WHAT GOD CAN DO…..One year ago today Addi went into liver failure and was in critical condition and not expected to live. Every year going forward I’m just going to call it her miracle day because it’s a miracle she made it through the day! This is a video of photos from the 47 days she was in the hospital fighting for her precious life. Now look at her! These pictures are so hard to look at but…
RIDING THE WAVES OF GRIEF Grief——I could right an entire book about grief. In my life, I have lost many. I lost my precious daddy and stepmother, my cousin who I loved dearly, other family members and friends and most recently my baby sister who was only 28 years old. My grief has been deep and at times I couldn’t breath when the realization that she was gone hit me. After her death in 2014, I began to sink deeper and deeper into a…
Peace During the Storm Do you want to have peace regardless of what you are going through? Is your life, heart and mind in a stormy place? Has it been hard to act like everything is good in your life when you are struggling and the storm you are enduring feels like the waves ‘are going to drown you? If you are saying yes, that is me….just know that you are not alone! I know that is hard to fathom…
Knowing God’s Will There have been so many times in my life I have prayed for Gods will in certain circumstances….job, relationship, purchases, my dreams, etc. Then sometimes what I really wanted to say was, “Ok God here is what I want, this is the plan I have, now I need you to put your stamp of approval on it and make it alright.” What I know now is that I will never live in Gods will and know Gods…