Calming the Storm Inside of My Heart

Verse of the week:

I will praise you O Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. Psalms 9:1

Calming the Storm Inside of My Heart

A storm was begining to stir inside of me. Panic, hopelessness, worry, and fear had taken hold of my heart. I began to cry out to God for help over the current situation, but the storm in my heart was turning into a hurricane. How many times do we pray to God and ask Him for help in a situation, but still feel scared, hopeless, and fearful after our heartfelt cry out to Him?  We tend to focus only on the problem as we pray, and even though we are crying out to God, we still feel that storm. People say to turn to God for help during our troubles, but oftentimes we end up just telling God our troubles, and not truly looking to Him. As a result, the same worries, panic, and stress remain inside of us. 

I love this verse in Psalms 9:1
I will praise you Lord with all of my heart; I will tell you of all your wonders.

Thank you Lord that you are in charge. Thank you Lord, that I can trust you in this current situation. You have been faithful to me in the past, Lord, and I thank you for your faithfulness in this situation. No matter what happens, Lord, you are sovereign. Thank you that you love this person more than I ever could. Thank you that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.....the storm begins to quiet down. Instead of focusing on just the problem, we turn our eyes to the one who has every good and bad situation under control. The thank yous replace my panic with trust, my fearfulness with peace, and my hopelessness with hope in the One who knows what He is doing even if we don't understand.

Present your problems to God but don't forget to thank and praise Him  whole heartedly throughout it all. It can calm the storm raging inside of your heart.

Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and you will see things through the eyes of our heavenly Father. No, the situation may not have changed yet, but your heart has.

Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding , shall keep your hearts  and minds through Christ Jesus. Philipians 4:6-7

According to the World's Standards, We Don't Have Much...What I am Thankful for....

Verse of the Week:

My lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalms 136

According to the World's Standards, We Don't Have Much...WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR!

I have always been a simple person.  My wedding was small on a 1,500 dollar budget, with an already used wedding dress, and my old prom dressed sewed and made into a bridesmaid dress.  It wasn't my wedding that mattered,  I was thankful for the man waiting for me at the front of the church.  I was thankful for the life we were about to share, not just our wedding day.  Our wedding day was one day of our life together, I was thankful for the many days, weeks, months, and years we would have together.  I was thankful for his heart for Christ and his passion for the things of God.

When I became pregnant with Brayden, the simple part of me came out again.  Our baby room/space consisted of a nice used crib, Brian's old chest of drawers from college, and a few homemade pictures and frames made lovingly by me. We didn't spend 6,000 dollars on our baby's nursery (the average cost today) or buy brand new furniture or paint our walls.  It wasn't the baby's room I was concerned about.  I was thankful for a healthy baby boy.  I am thankful for the privilege God has given me to take care of Brayden. I am thankful for the opportunity to LOVE Brayden.  I am thankful for the sleepless nights, poopy diapers, teething days, and for every boo boo I get to fix.  I am thankful for our sweet boy's laughter and joy in the simple things in life.  I am thankful for the opportunity to learn more about how to trust God and trust him with Brayden.  I am thankful Brayden belongs to Him.

While someday I look forward to owning a nice house, I am content in our little home at the present moment.  While we do not have the newest furniture, updated technology, or a lot of room, we are content.  But it is not the home that matters to me.  I am thankful for the laughter shared, tears shed, prayers said, memories shared, and Christ-like love shown within the walls of this home.  

We are now mostly a one income family.  While we are thankful that money helps meet our needs, it is not money that I am the most thankful for. I am happy to sacrifice our double income to be with our boy.  I am thankful for the opportunity to stay at home with our son and to see every stage  Brayden goes through; from discovering his hands and feet,  to sitting up, crawling, and now walking.  It has been a joy to watch our son grow up, and see that little boy that God made grow and transform. I delight in watching our baby grow up.

According to the worlds standards, we may not have much, but when I look at my life through God's eyes, I am richly blessed! I am thankful for the things of God, not the things of the world. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying having a 50,000 dollar wedding, a 5 bedroom house, and a large salary is wrong, but I do believe the motive behind it matters. Lets face it, we do live in a materialistic society, where it is important to have everything, but is that what truly matters?   Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)   Possessions are nice, but I am thankful for God and his AMAZING LOVE because that is ultimately what lasts and matters the most. Jesus says in Mark 8:36, And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?  What matters the most, your 500,000 dollar home, or your eternal destination? If I lose everything in this world (which I will someday whether through death or something else) including all my possessions,  my family, and my friends, I am still thankful, because of the one who lives inside of me and loves me so much. I will never lose Him. I will be with Him forever.  My soul is secure because of Jesus.


Author, Steve McVey once wrote an amazing letter in his book, The Grace Walk Experience. Using verses he had underlined from the book of Psalms in the Bible.  He strung all of the verses together and wrote an amazing love letter from our Heavenly Father.  

This is what I am thankful for.....

I am thankful for the things of God, not the things of the world.  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Do You Realize How Blessed You Are?

Verse of the Week:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Do You Realize How Blessed You Are?

I absolutely love spending time with my in-laws.  My father-in-law in particular is a funny guy that makes people laugh all the time. You never know what is going to come out of his mouth. His crazy sense of humor, keeps everyone smiling and laughing. However, in the midst of all the humor, he will also surprise us with some very serious profound thoughts that are whirling around in that head of his.  I was talking with him one afternoon, when he said something that got me to thinking.  He said, "Suppose whatever you thank God for today is what you would receive tomorrow."  Or to put it this way, whatever you forget to thank God for, you won't receive tomorrow. Now I know that if I forget to thank God on stuff that He is not going to automatically take it away, but it got me to thinking about how there is so much more for me to be thankful for than I ever realized.   I decided to try out this thought process and began to thank God for things in my life with the idea that if I didn't thank Him for it, then it would not be there tomorrow.

So I started with the obvious.  Thank you, Lord, for Jesus, Brian (my husband), and Brayden (my little boy).  I then proceeded to thank him for food, shelter, clothing, and money to buy the things we need. 

 I had started with the basic stuff you always hear, but somewhere along the way I began to get specific.  Thank you Lord, for the toilet that actually works, a sink to do dishes, for running water, electricity, for carpet on the floor, a soft bed.  Thank you for legs that can run, for arms that can carry my son, and for fingers to hold a pen.  Thank you for pens, pencils, paper, and photos. Thank you for trees, flowers, soil, lady bugs, bees, and birds that chirp. Thank you for ears to hear with, hands to feel with,  eyes to see the beauty around me.  Thank you for sunlight, the air I breathe, and for clouds in the sky.  Thank you for Brayden's pacifier, for his milk bottle, for a healthy baby boy, for his toys, and for his laughter.  Thank you for a car to take us around town and to beautiful places far away.  Thank you for yummy vegetables from our garden. Thank you for air conditioning, heaters, blankets, and towels.  Thank you for razors, soap, washcloths, and a tub to keep myself clean.  Thank you for white blood cells that work to keep my body healthy, for a strong beating heart, and organs that function. Thank you for family, friends, laughter, and conversation.  Thank you Lord, for you faithfulness, love, and grace. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you....

I realized that I couldn't even begin to thank Him for all that I had, but I learned one thing.  I am EXTREMELY BLESSED!  There are so many good things in life that I take for granted.  Every good thing in this world comes from God...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Sometimes we get so caught up with negative thoughts, problems, and worries that we forget all the good things that God has given us.

Do you realize how blessed you are?

Give Thanks in All Circumstances

Verse of the Week:  

"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

Give Thanks in ALL Circumstances

It had been one of those days in school that all teachers face at one point or another.  I had lost my cool and screamed at one of my students.  I kept telling him to get on task over, over, and over, to not interrupt when I was talking over, over, and over, and to stop clowning around over, over, and over.  I sounded like a broken record saying the same thing to him OVER, OVER, and OVER!!!!  I had reached the end of my rope, and I turned into his worst nightmare.  The poor kid's ears must have gone deaf as I yelled as loud as I could,  my eyes were shooting fiery darts, and I must have looked like I was ready to go to war.  I was tired, fat (I was pregnant at the time), and stressed out that day, and had lost it.  

To make things worst, I went home with that kid in my mind, and continued to fume over what he had done.  Why was I teaching again?  Why didn't I get an easier profession that didn't involve 12 year olds? I should have been a military commander, because I spent the rest of the evening strategically planning out my next battle I was sure I would face with him the next day.  I went over every possible scenario of what he might do  and thought of every possible action I could take for each scenario.  Sound familiar fellow teachers? Well, after I got a good nights rest, I rolled out of bed that morning, and got myself ready for another day of school all while dreading to see that particular student and class.  As I was driving to school, I started to pray like I always do, and I was thanking the good Lord for my husband and our child in my womb.  But then I did a very difficult thing,  I THANKED God for that kid, and for the privilege of teaching him and my other students.  My heart began to soften and I was able to pray for that boy. I didn't solve all my problems with him, and he continued to give me fits on some days, but because I was praying and thanking God for him, my own perspective began to change. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,  "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." Did Paul really say give thanks in ALL circumstances?  Maybe Paul made a typo when he wrote ALL?  Really?  ALL circumstances? 

I have learned over the years that you truly can be thankful in all situations.  Sometimes it isn't easy to find a blessing when you are drowning in a pit of despair, but when we do, we find out that we begin to view the situation differently.  We begin to look at our circumstances through Christ's eyes.  

"There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still." Corrie Ten Boom, one of my heroes said that.  She and her sister Betsie were placed in a concentration camp during World War II and despite the horrible, brutal devastating situation, they found a way to give thanks in ALL circumstances. In her book, The Hidding Place, she and her sister Betsie talk about this while they are being assigned to their barracks. Here is what Bestie starts off saying...

"That's it Corrie!  That's His answer. 'Give thanks in all circumstances!' That's what we can do right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!"

I stared at her, than around me in the dark foul-aired room.

"Such as?" I said.

"Such as being assigned here together."

I bit my lip. "Oh yes, Lord Jesus!"

"Such as what you're holding in your hands."

I looked down at the Bible. "Yes! Thank you dear Lord that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank you for all the women here in this room, who will meet You in these pages."

"Yes," said Bessie.  "Thank you for the very crowding here.  Since we're packed so close, that many more will hear!" She looked at me expectantly, "Corrie!" she prodded.

"Oh, all right.  Thank you for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds."

"Thank you," Betsie went on serenely, "for the fleas and for-"

The fleas!  That was way to much.  "Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea."

"Give thanks in all circumstances,'" she quoted.  "It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us."

And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for the fleas.  But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.

As I read on later in the book, it turns out they found a reason to be thankful for the fleas.  NO guard or officer in the concentration camp would enter the barracks because of all of the fleas inside.  The fleas helped to provide a safe haven for all of those women.

Give thanks in all circumstances.....