Aways Have Hope!

Always Have Hope!

Psalms 39:7 says, “And now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.”

What sticks out to me the most in this scripture is where it says, "My hope is in you."

The scripture reminds me of where my hope is not. It is not in myself, my husband, my family, my friends, or money. My hope is in the Lord- only! Everything else is sinking sand. Everything else can fall through and let me down. People and things can disappoint, deceive, and hurt me. Nothing or no one else can support me, or bless me like the Lord. My hope has to be in Him and Him alone. This is why I cling to this scripture. This is why I remind myself that I have one real solid option in my life who I can always depend on no matter what the circumstance is at any given moment in my life.

It is easy to run out of worldly options; when things happen- "What’s next, or now what?" These are the questions I used to ask myself. My questions to you are: Do you look to man for your answer, or do you take a hard look at yourself? Do you wait on outside help, or are you on your own? What do you wait for? Who do you wait for? Who do you lean on? 

Life can turn on you at any given moment. Life can drain you physically, emotionally, financially, and even spiritually. Life can literally make you or break you. When life presses hard on you and causes you to question yourself and your life, I say turn to the Lord. You must realize there is always room in your life for hope. Scripture says in Psalms 46:1 that God is an ever present help in times of trouble. 

Billy Graham Library has more encouragement to say about this topic. Click the link below.

https://billygrahamlibrary.org/blog-5-things-the-bible-says-about-hope/#:~:text=Hope%20is%20Never%20Lost&text=But%2C%20the%20Bible%20says%20that,It's%20just%20that%20simple!

A glimmer of hope is all the strength you need to pick yourself up and put one foot in front of the other. Hope is God’s Grace! Hope is God’s Love! Hope is God’s Peace! Our hope lies strictly in the Lord. There is no one else who can give us hope like He can. Only God can give us the hope, faith, and  energy we need to turn the course of our life around. Join me in saying and believing this, "My hope is and will forever be in the Lord!"

I Am a Witness!

 I Am a Witness!

John 1 6-8 "There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light."

What was John's main message? John's theme of life- eternal life, comes up again and again. One could argue this is his main purpose to demonstrate Jesus as the source of eternal life. 
I wanted to know more about John the Baptist, so I read a little more about his background to find out he was the cousin of Jesus and he was around before Jesus. He was sent by God to be a witness to testify concerning the Light (Jesus) so that through the Light, man might be saved.  My question to myself is this. Am I supposed to be a witness to the Light? The Light is Jesus, the one and only Savior of the world. The light of my life, Jesus Christ, the one who saved me and gave me eternal life. I can definitely testify to who the Light is to me.
I realize that my testimony about the Light of my life might help someone searching and looking for light, or someone who is ready to come out of darkness to embrace real change. Someone whose willing to believe there is Someone greater than humanity, someone who can make a difference in their life, someone who can shed or dispel all the darkness and help give meaning and purpose to their life. 
There is Someone who is pure Light and pure Love. Jesus has made a difference in my life and He has kept me sane when I felt I was going insane. He has been my Comforter when I needed to feel comforted and consoled. He has been my Friend when so many times in my life I have felt friendless and alone. 
I too, am a witness to the Light. My Light, my Savior is like no one I have ever seen or encountered before. I have come to depend on Him more than anyone or anything else in this world. There will never be anyone greater than the Light- the Savior whose name is Jesus! For those of us who will believe in Him, He gives us the right to become children of God. I suggest you read the book of John in the New Testament and get to know the Savior for yourself; do it while you still have time. 

A Fresh Start to Stay Focused!

2023 Start Fresh to Stay Focused!

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight” (NIV).

I was reading the article in the link below today after looking into Proverbs 3:5-6. The article is packed full of good practical information to help grow my trust and faith in God. I thought I would share the link and write from my personal thoughts, reflections, and meditation about Proverbs 3:5-6, which by the way, is my one of my favorite scriptures to govern my life by.

 https://deepspirituality.com/really-trust-in-god

Everyone knows life is uncertain; unexpected things happens all the time. I try to figure stuff out and make sense of things on my own, in my own mind, heart, and soul. I try to be accurate and appropriate in my responses and reactions when crazy things happens. I try to figure people out and why they act the way they do. I can’t!

For me, some things are just the right thing to do despite the feelings I feel. I don’t always like choosing the right thing over my feelings. Sometimes, my feelings feel right to me and sometimes they feel wrong. Then, I am left with a choice. Sometimes, I want to roll around in my feelings and go with my feelings. The human side of me want to be led by my flesh and not by my faith. I am being honest. I know there are consequences to every choice or decision I make. I want good consequences not bad ones. Realistically, this is why I have to fight everyday to make the right decisions and choices. I don’t know everything, so I lean and depend on Someone who does.

                                                            

                                                     A Fresh Start in 2023!

Everyday I try to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and not to lean on my own limited understanding. I am mere human with flaws and limitations. God is everything- I am not; He is Perfect and Knows things I do not know. In 2023, I want to completely govern my life by Proverbs 3:5-6. I don’t know what 2023 holds, but I do know who holds the new year.; the God I trust with all of me holds 2023!

I believe I will be blessed with a fresh start. I will push myself to stay focused on important things and important people in my life. I will stay focused on my personal and spiritual goals.  I will stay focused on gaining strength in His power. I will elevate my mind and not feel unworthy of his blessings, because His promises are for me. 

I want the new year to be a new and fresh year for us. I want it to be a season of empowerment and enablement for me and you. I want to see us progress spiritually, relationally, health-ally, and financially. I know God has so much more in store for me and you in 2023.

I look  forward to 2023 and our fresh start!  

Happy "Blessed" New Year Family & Friends!

                                      

Only You!

 Only You! 

Psalms 147: 3 says, “God heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.”  

Who does not want their broken heart healed and their wounds bound up? Who does not want relief from a broken heart? It is a blessed kind of freedom only God can provide? When life happens in the worst kind of way, and leaves my heart broken and leaves me bound up in my emotions and fears, I turn to my Bible and search the scriptures for comfort and hope. 

I take in what I believe the scripture is giving me, at the exact moment that I need it. I think about the words on the pages, a lot. I see past them; I internalize them; I repeat them out loud and silently. I think about them until I understand what is taking place on the inside of me. I feel and  understand the peace overtaking me. I began to feel a sense of calm and inner strength.

I emerge myself in the scripture because I want my broken heart to be put back together again. I want healing from the aching pain I feel in the pit of my stomach. I want wholeness again. I want freedom from sorrow. I realize my answer is established inside the scripture. I read and pray the scripture back to Him, the author of these comforting words.

I say to Him, "Father God, I know You will heal my broken heart and You will bind up my wounds. The sorrow I feel is real. The loss I feel is real, and my hurting heart is real. But I know You are my Healer and I trust You."

I also say, "When I feel all these things, I feel the strong presence of You- my Lord.  I know Your presence is real. I know Your promises are real!

                                        

God loves each of us and He does heal our hurting broken hearts, but we have to let Him into our lives so healing can take place. At that moment, the feeling of peace and calm I receive lets me know everything is going to be fine. I realize that my life is meant for me to live in peace with a blessed freedom from the worries and cares of this world. 

When I feel like I am going through the storms all by myself, I know that I have someone walking by my side during the turbulent times.  I know that I am not alone during the times that I feel all alone, because I have You Lord- and only You!

 

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Faith in What's Next

 

Faith in What's Next

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." NKJV

        This scripture is another one of my favorites in the Bible. I particularly like this version, because it speaks to me personally. In my mind, He calls me by name and says, ever so gently, come here Tammy; let me talk to you for a minute. As I read this scripture, I am reminded of the truth, and this is how it plays out in my mind when I meditate on Jeremiah 29:11.   

        I imagine Him saying, "Daughter, listen to me. Do you still not know that you can trust me and you can put your hope in me?  Do you not know you can trust my plan? Why are you dismayed? Why are you anxious? Why is your head cast down? Why do you worry; and- why do you listen to your flesh before you listen to me?" In my mind, I hear Him saying that I do not have anything to worry about. I hear Him reminding me that He has known me from the very beginning when He created me with a blueprint for my life.  After all, He did strategically form me in my mother's womb. He reminds me that He is still "Present" and  He has me in the palm of His hand. 

        I need to repeat this part. "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord." At this point, I feel utter amazement towards Him. I am thinking, "Wow! He has thoughts of me?" I truly believe that God has the blueprint for my life; He has the final draft to my book. Better than that, He wrote my book! His plan for me is peace and not evil. His plan for me is to give me a future and a hope. Why should I worry about the next chapter of my book? I know the Author, and I trust His plan. He is the same One who formed me in my mother's womb and created a plan for my life. He is "Present" and He is Hands-on. 

        I marvel at His Awesomeness. My faith in what's next, is my choice to walk by faith and not by sight. Faith is my spiritual gift; sight is my natural gift. Faith is my supernatural ability to believe in the intangible things around me. Sight is my natural ability to recognize the tangible things around me. I believe faith is far better. I need the ability to see in the natural, but I also need the ability to see in the supernatural (the spiritual) as I walk by faith. 

        My sight can grow weak, and it can even fail or deceive me, but my faith can only grow stronger and bigger when I exercises it. Also, when I nourish my faith by praying, meditating, believing, reading His word, and communing with other believers, it will grow stronger. 

        I believe this is my truth and the truth for all believers. My faith in what's next, is this path that I am on- which is to walk daily in faith and to trust God's plan for my life.

Why Not?

Isaiah 54:14 says, "I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me."

         I am on a journey to see the fruits of my labor over the past several years. I have been laboring and toiling for quite some time now. Like anyone else, I have made my share of mistakes in life, but I have  never given up on trying to get to my dreams. I have always held onto the God given hope inside of me. I am sure over the years, I have messed up some opportunities that were provided for me to step into my dreams. I know now that I gave into the fear of not knowing. If I am to be honest, I did not have the  faith to walk towards my destiny when I had a chance. 

          Oppression is not just physical, it is mental as well. It is a mental state of being or sense of being that I put in my own mind. I thought I had more faith since I had been in church for many years and was taught about the Word at a young age. As a teenager, I was still attending church every Sunday for five or six hours a Sunday. My lack of faith in God's grace, hope, and love meant that I was not where I thought I was. Now, I often reflect to try to figure out why my choices and decisions were grounded in senseless fear. 

       The truth is during that time, I did not have enough faith in God, but now I do. Looking back, I am so glad He never let me go. My upbringing taught me more than I realized. I am grateful to my parents for keeping me grounded. I was raised up in the church, so when I got older, I never gave up on hope. 

        Here I go again. I ask myself why stop trying? My failure or delays are not reasons to give up on my dreams. Here are the questions I ask myself. Why not finally take God at His Word and see where my, "today faith," takes me? Why not get out of my head and get out of my own way and trust the God of grace, hope and love? Why not walk in faith and obedience while God has given me another opportunity? Why not stop wearing the badge of fear on my chest and embrace faith? Why not free my mind and continue to grow? Why not believe the scripture when it says that I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me? 

        God's word tells me that I will not be disgraced or put to shame. I know God is my Redeemer and He is my hope for today and every day. He is my everlasting kindness. He tells me that in righteousness, I will be established and have no fear. I believe Him.

        I have spent too much time trying to do freelance writing for other people. Today, I am stepping out on faith and writing for myself. God said write; start your blog. Today, I am doing it; I am obeying Him and I truly love it. I only hope my story resonates with someone reading this post and it blesses you.