Oh the kindness of our God.
The faithfulness He has shown is infinite. It was His goodness that brought us to repentance, His love that cleansed us, & it is His mercy that keeps us.
In our struggle and our fight, He is rest.
In our pain, He is healing.
He is joy.
He is hope.
He is every answer to every question & He is ever faithful as we work out our salvation.
From the wobbly steps of a new Christian, to the stubborn & prideful thoughts of the aged. He is there to prune. He is there to bring us into the right places, to bring us into strength & humility. He will never stop loving you, & He will never stop growing you.
Oh the kindness of the One who took our place & Who, regardless of our failures, declares that we are His beloved.
With a love that never fails, He loves us.
With a salvation that makes us completely new, He has saved us.
Oh the kindness of our God that never gives up, never lessens, never changes. He is the One who has saved us, He is the One we are trusting with our lives. He is God & we are His,
Now let us rest in the kindness of our God.
Showing posts with label heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heaven. Show all posts
Monday, December 7, 2015
Thursday, September 10, 2015
happiness
There is a happiness in His presence & no circumstance of life is able to cast a shadow on it.
It wells up inside of you & carries you forward.
The longer you remain in His presence, the deeper the well goes.
It's Him & only Him that causes me to grow.
He calls us to prayer & to His word because He knows the result. He understands the process. He has all the answers. He is the answer.
In all that life throws your way, find yourself in His presence & you'll find yourself covered.
Life affects us all, but He is our shield & our buckler. He is our foundation & our source. He is our stay when everyone else fades away.
Being a Christian doesn't make you exempt from bad things in life, but it does make you invincible. You can be hurt & knocked down, but you know your future is secure. You can go through the trials of Job & know that your end will be better than your beginning. You can go through the persecutions of Paul & know that even if they take your life, you have eternal life with the Master.
He chose you for this time in eternity, trust that He knows what He's doing & live in obedience to whatever He says. That is where your happiness is.
It wells up inside of you & carries you forward.
The longer you remain in His presence, the deeper the well goes.
It's Him & only Him that causes me to grow.
He calls us to prayer & to His word because He knows the result. He understands the process. He has all the answers. He is the answer.
In all that life throws your way, find yourself in His presence & you'll find yourself covered.
Life affects us all, but He is our shield & our buckler. He is our foundation & our source. He is our stay when everyone else fades away.
Being a Christian doesn't make you exempt from bad things in life, but it does make you invincible. You can be hurt & knocked down, but you know your future is secure. You can go through the trials of Job & know that your end will be better than your beginning. You can go through the persecutions of Paul & know that even if they take your life, you have eternal life with the Master.
He chose you for this time in eternity, trust that He knows what He's doing & live in obedience to whatever He says. That is where your happiness is.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.
Psalm 91:1-2
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
take. hope.
Life is big & full of overwhelming things.
Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Isaiah 26:3-4
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
There is nothing to big for Him to get your through & bring you out victorious. Life is not too big & overwhelming for God!
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Take hope today in Someone who is much stronger & bigger than you. Even if you don't feel it, TAKE it! God is our hope & He has freely given Himself to us!
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Matthew 7
Matthew 7
This chapter, I tell you what. It's been a real eye-opener.
It's funny how you think you know/understand something & then life shows you how much you don't.
Back-story:
I was pregnant with Abigail & got the chance to preach at my church. I believe God spoke to me to talk on this chapter because He knew I was going to need it.
I went ahead & preached about not being shaken when the rain hit & how your house won't fall when it's built on the Rock.
All good & true stuff.
Yet, as the next week began - there I was laying in the hospital fighting for my life, while my little girl got whisked off to a neonatal intensive care unit to fight for hers.
As the story goes, I obviously got better & if you've read any earlier blogs you'll know that my sweet girl went to Heaven after 45 days.
I can honestly say now, I didn't even know the depth of what I was preaching. I can't tell you how many times I've read those Scriptures, heard them preached about, & talked about them myself & never EVER realized what they were saying until now.
Somehow, I would always gloss over the part about the rain & wind - like those were just poetic phrases & didn't really have any meaning. Somehow, I always thought that the only thing of importance in those Scriptures was that my house was standing because I'm built on Christ....and somehow that translated to me that NOTHING BAD WOULD EVER HAPPEN.
When in all obviousness (hindsight is 20/20 as they say!), He was speaking right at me about the storm that was about to come & I completely missed it.
Why am I sharing this? 2 reasons:
1. bad things will happen, BUT if you are built on the ROCK your house will stand. It's going to be hard & painful, but you'll last. I did. My husband did. My family did. God is faithful.
2. we can't go into the Scriptures with rose-colored glasses or preconceived notions that cause us to gloss over things. They are God's words, not just a poetic book to make His children feel good. It's a map to life. It's the key to surviving in this world. It's a guide to knowing about His promises for a happy & blessed life & how to walk in victory after the battles.
Without the Word of God we're left to our own understanding to deal with life. NO THANKS! Serving God doesn't mean a life without problems, but it does mean that I have His help getting through them & I'll take that EVER SINGLE TIME!
-Amie
This chapter, I tell you what. It's been a real eye-opener.
It's funny how you think you know/understand something & then life shows you how much you don't.
Back-story:
I was pregnant with Abigail & got the chance to preach at my church. I believe God spoke to me to talk on this chapter because He knew I was going to need it.
I went ahead & preached about not being shaken when the rain hit & how your house won't fall when it's built on the Rock.
All good & true stuff.
Yet, as the next week began - there I was laying in the hospital fighting for my life, while my little girl got whisked off to a neonatal intensive care unit to fight for hers.
As the story goes, I obviously got better & if you've read any earlier blogs you'll know that my sweet girl went to Heaven after 45 days.
I can honestly say now, I didn't even know the depth of what I was preaching. I can't tell you how many times I've read those Scriptures, heard them preached about, & talked about them myself & never EVER realized what they were saying until now.
Somehow, I would always gloss over the part about the rain & wind - like those were just poetic phrases & didn't really have any meaning. Somehow, I always thought that the only thing of importance in those Scriptures was that my house was standing because I'm built on Christ....and somehow that translated to me that NOTHING BAD WOULD EVER HAPPEN.
When in all obviousness (hindsight is 20/20 as they say!), He was speaking right at me about the storm that was about to come & I completely missed it.
Why am I sharing this? 2 reasons:
1. bad things will happen, BUT if you are built on the ROCK your house will stand. It's going to be hard & painful, but you'll last. I did. My husband did. My family did. God is faithful.
2. we can't go into the Scriptures with rose-colored glasses or preconceived notions that cause us to gloss over things. They are God's words, not just a poetic book to make His children feel good. It's a map to life. It's the key to surviving in this world. It's a guide to knowing about His promises for a happy & blessed life & how to walk in victory after the battles.
Without the Word of God we're left to our own understanding to deal with life. NO THANKS! Serving God doesn't mean a life without problems, but it does mean that I have His help getting through them & I'll take that EVER SINGLE TIME!
-Amie
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
***Be full***
One thing I've learned is that life doesn't stop.
Life doesn't care what you're going through, it will keep chugging along. On top of that, it doesn't care how much of a load you already have to carry, it will add more.
Time is relentless.
So what's the answer? Be full!
It might seem like a cop-out answer, but it's been the "realest" truth in my life. It never fails. When I'm full of God's Word, prayer & worship it causes a chain reaction. The troubles of life don't disappear, but they aren't as big & I can see the victory! My emotions are more Godly - I don't PMS (let's just be real!), I don't cry over a hang nail, I don't get discontented. My body is more "alive!" I have the desire to eat healthy, exercise, & take care of myself. All of this happens BECAUSE my spiritual life is full.
& then there's the opposite...when I'm empty. It's not pleasant. You can pretty much guess it's the exact opposite of the above.
So why in the world do I stop?? Why do I keep shooting myself in the foot? Why do I put down my Bible? I've come to determine that the "flesh" or the thing that connects us to this world doesn't care if it suffers as long as it doesn't have to deal with God. Human nature isn't anti-suffering, it's anti-God. My flesh would rather have me miserable, than have me running on all cylinders & full of God!
Thank God He's given us the victory! Romans 7 & 8 tell us that, yes we're warring against a sin-nature, but that we've been given the power over it! God in us is stronger than any desire to sin! But if we're not full of God, how can we hope to defeat our enemy? We're not strong enough on our own, BUT HE'S GIVEN US THE ANSWER!! Himself!
Stay faithful - reading, praying, worshiping - and see that even though life won't be perfect, you'll have the victory!
*photo by Caleb Willoughby
Life doesn't care what you're going through, it will keep chugging along. On top of that, it doesn't care how much of a load you already have to carry, it will add more.
Time is relentless.
So what's the answer? Be full!
It might seem like a cop-out answer, but it's been the "realest" truth in my life. It never fails. When I'm full of God's Word, prayer & worship it causes a chain reaction. The troubles of life don't disappear, but they aren't as big & I can see the victory! My emotions are more Godly - I don't PMS (let's just be real!), I don't cry over a hang nail, I don't get discontented. My body is more "alive!" I have the desire to eat healthy, exercise, & take care of myself. All of this happens BECAUSE my spiritual life is full.
& then there's the opposite...when I'm empty. It's not pleasant. You can pretty much guess it's the exact opposite of the above.
So why in the world do I stop?? Why do I keep shooting myself in the foot? Why do I put down my Bible? I've come to determine that the "flesh" or the thing that connects us to this world doesn't care if it suffers as long as it doesn't have to deal with God. Human nature isn't anti-suffering, it's anti-God. My flesh would rather have me miserable, than have me running on all cylinders & full of God!
Thank God He's given us the victory! Romans 7 & 8 tell us that, yes we're warring against a sin-nature, but that we've been given the power over it! God in us is stronger than any desire to sin! But if we're not full of God, how can we hope to defeat our enemy? We're not strong enough on our own, BUT HE'S GIVEN US THE ANSWER!! Himself!
Stay faithful - reading, praying, worshiping - and see that even though life won't be perfect, you'll have the victory!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
~friends~
I don't at all want this blog to only be about the hardest days of my life, I want you to see that joy really does come in the "morning." & even though my "morning" seemed to be a few months coming, it has come & joy is here.
I know that God is working in me a healing that no one else can do, but I also see the importance of surrounding yourself with people who will encourage you & hug you & yes, even challenge you.
When you're in the middle of quicksand you can't pull yourself out, you need friends! The man in the Bible who was crippled needed friends to take him to Jesus so he could get healed!
There were so many days I wanted nothing to do with friends or joy or laughs, but it was the people God had put around me who helped me walk through it all.
I'm not sure they really even realize what they did for me. But in the moments where I felt like God wasn't near, I had everyone around me telling me He was, helping me along, praying for me - how can you say thank you for that? It's life.
Isolation will destroy your life, but so will surrounding yourself with wrong people telling you the wrong things. The relationships you create will be life or death. The Bible tells us to guard our heart because it is the wellspring of life. If I had surrounded myself with people who only ever felt sorry for me (even though their intentions were only good), sorrow would be the only thing my heart could produce. But because I have an amazing husband, family & church family - people who are full of faith, & people that don't quit - my heart was filled with that same faith & determination, so that's what came out of me (eventually!).
I'm not trying to make it sound like it was easy, but it was right & it was life. God's Word doesn't promise a perfect life, but He surely promises victory over the junk that does happen in this life. I'd rather have victory over the bad things that happen in my life, than just go on living with them for the rest of my days.
I guess what I'm trying to say is - GET IN A CHURCH! Surround yourself with faith-filled people, fill yourself with the Word of God that's preached from the pulpit, & believe that God is doing His work!
-Amie
I know that God is working in me a healing that no one else can do, but I also see the importance of surrounding yourself with people who will encourage you & hug you & yes, even challenge you.
When you're in the middle of quicksand you can't pull yourself out, you need friends! The man in the Bible who was crippled needed friends to take him to Jesus so he could get healed!
There were so many days I wanted nothing to do with friends or joy or laughs, but it was the people God had put around me who helped me walk through it all.
I'm not sure they really even realize what they did for me. But in the moments where I felt like God wasn't near, I had everyone around me telling me He was, helping me along, praying for me - how can you say thank you for that? It's life.
Isolation will destroy your life, but so will surrounding yourself with wrong people telling you the wrong things. The relationships you create will be life or death. The Bible tells us to guard our heart because it is the wellspring of life. If I had surrounded myself with people who only ever felt sorry for me (even though their intentions were only good), sorrow would be the only thing my heart could produce. But because I have an amazing husband, family & church family - people who are full of faith, & people that don't quit - my heart was filled with that same faith & determination, so that's what came out of me (eventually!).
I'm not trying to make it sound like it was easy, but it was right & it was life. God's Word doesn't promise a perfect life, but He surely promises victory over the junk that does happen in this life. I'd rather have victory over the bad things that happen in my life, than just go on living with them for the rest of my days.
I guess what I'm trying to say is - GET IN A CHURCH! Surround yourself with faith-filled people, fill yourself with the Word of God that's preached from the pulpit, & believe that God is doing His work!
-Amie
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
God knew.
"This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice & be glad in it."
It's a tough verse to accept when you're going through the worst day of your life. I can't say I thought about this verse at all the day my sweet Abigail went to Heaven, but as I heal & as I look back I see the hope.
How is it possible to see hope in times like these?!
God knew.
& that's where I find my hope. He knew what was going to happen & He knew that if I didn't have Him, all hope would be lost.
I don't know why she didn't get healed, but I know I'm being healed now. If I continue to live looking back & wondering why this happened to me, I'll miss life.
The hope of the Christian is that, I will see my little girl again. She's in Heaven & that's where I plan to go because I confess Jesus as my Savior & Lord of my life.
He didn't take her away from me, but He's holding her for me now. I miss her, but I'm going to see her again.
So as I continue to live on this earth & accomplish the call that He's placed on my life I can say, "today is the day that He's made & I'm going to rejoice in it."
There's no pain or sorrow that He cannot heal. It might not feel that way now or even for the next weeks or months of your life, but please if you believe nothing else, believe that if you keep turning to Jesus - He will fix what is broken.
~Amie
It's a tough verse to accept when you're going through the worst day of your life. I can't say I thought about this verse at all the day my sweet Abigail went to Heaven, but as I heal & as I look back I see the hope.
How is it possible to see hope in times like these?!
God knew.
& that's where I find my hope. He knew what was going to happen & He knew that if I didn't have Him, all hope would be lost.
I don't know why she didn't get healed, but I know I'm being healed now. If I continue to live looking back & wondering why this happened to me, I'll miss life.
The hope of the Christian is that, I will see my little girl again. She's in Heaven & that's where I plan to go because I confess Jesus as my Savior & Lord of my life.
He didn't take her away from me, but He's holding her for me now. I miss her, but I'm going to see her again.
So as I continue to live on this earth & accomplish the call that He's placed on my life I can say, "today is the day that He's made & I'm going to rejoice in it."
There's no pain or sorrow that He cannot heal. It might not feel that way now or even for the next weeks or months of your life, but please if you believe nothing else, believe that if you keep turning to Jesus - He will fix what is broken.
~Amie
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