Quiet in His Love

When situations get tough, waters get rough, challenges come, and it's easier to withdraw and hunker down, how do others see us? Truly see us... Being seen matters in those moments. A fellow human being stepping into your world to check on you...to make sure you're okay...to encourage you...to pray with you...to tell you you're missed...cherished...important...can go a long way to helping you in being seen...knowing that you are seen. Rather than falling into the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality that so often litters the days, months, and years of our lives, wouldn't it be better to know that you are lovingly seen, kindly cared for, attentively checked on? The world is a hard place, full of mishaps, hurts, trials, and valleys, yet knowing that there is another person, a fellow church member, a loyal friend, reaching out to you, keeping you in their prayers, making sure you are still fighting for peace makes a significant mark on the life you live. Being s...

I began something today that I should have started in earnest many months (even years) ago.  Truly, I regret not starting this important prayer work sooner.  I began to prayer for our nation.  In this time of confusion, unrest, and, for some, fear, I feel that it is beyond necessary to pray like we have never prayed before.  Our Lord is for us!  We need to come to Him, kneel before Him, reach out to Him...as never before. In 2 Chronicles, we find a powerful call in verse 7:14.  One you likely have read, or heard, many times over the last several months and years.  If you have a Bible handy, turn there now with me.  It says, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  Wow!  Isn't that verse compelling?  If no one else does, I need to do what this verse says.  Take ...

The end is here!  It feels sad sometimes to reach the end of something.  Doesn't it?  The end of a great book.  The end of the baby stage with your children.  The end of your courtship before you marry your love.  Other times the end of something is heralded throughout the land far and wide (at least your "land").  No more diapers!  Yahoo!  No more lost pacifiers!  Yes!  No more feeding your children only one food they're willing to eat for what feels like months on end.  You started to wonder if your child would turn into a macaroni noodle covered in cheese.  But thankfully now they are willing to eat...french fries too!  Glory! The end can be both final and renewing.  You can clearly see the line marking the end of something good or bad, yet there is something else on the other side of that line.  Adventure?  Excitement?  Wonder?  Worry?  Stress?  The unknown?  So many things....

Date nights can be a challenge when you don't have a sitter nearby.  My honey and I enjoy our date nights and look forward to 2 a month, but our regular sitters (my parents) have been unable to watch our 4 kiddos since April 22nd.  The other week it became obvious that with the stress of all that has been going on in our lives in the past 2+ months, we needed to make a way to have a "date night."  My honey and I were snapping at each other and stressing and just not really enjoying each other's presence too much.  I needed to go out for some reason, so I sent my honey a text asking him if he was available for a date at 9:00pm that night (after the kids were safely tucked in bed). I bought cheese, crackers, meat, juice, dessert for 2 and headed home to do some last minute prep work.  I got the basic idea from the Dating Divas website for our activity and then made it my own.  I found a blank bingo board template and printed it out and then added spaces w...

Life is hard.  This is not new information for many of you.  I pray it's not your life motto right now.  Instead, I hope your life motto is more along the lines of: God is good even when life is hard.  That's something to hang onto and embrace.  You can count to ten and then remind yourself: God is good even when life is hard.  It's a simple thing to acknowledge the truth of that statement, and remind yourself that it doesn't just have to be: life is hard.  God's goodness flows over the hardness of life and smooths away some of the jagged edges. This is a good reminder for me right now as some struggles are happening in my family.  I try hard to not put my family's concerns out in the public eye because I don't feel that's necessary.  However, with one of our recent struggles, I have turned to five dear ladies for prayer.  They are my prayer warriors, and I am beyond thankful for them.  If it weren't for my Abba Father, my handsome...