Expect

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I shared.  So many things have come my way in the last two weeks.  So many things I don’t really know if I was ready for;  things unexpected.  Through it all I can tell you God has been so incredibly faithful.

The things that have happened lately are very personal and involve not just me, but those I love.  I cannot share them with you at this time, but I did want to share a few things that have been so very helpful.  

I mentioned a few posts back that I was reading Unexpected by Christine Caine.  It is such an awesome book and it holds so much wisdom.  While I give God all the glory for His faithfulness, I truly believe He used Chris to impart insight that I needed to get through the past two weeks.  The stuff I learned, or was reminded of in this book, was so good that I thought I would take a few posts and share it with you.  However, I am going to highly suggest that you read this incredible book for yourself : )

So many unexpected things will come our way and each day we get to choose what we will do with them.  We can choose fear and worry or we can learn to expect good things.

Expect-verb-to look forward to, anticipate, await, hope. 

Here is the list of things that Chris shares on pages 34 & 35 that we can expect, look forward to, await, hope for, count on, according to God’s Word.

We can expect that his grace will be sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We can expect that he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)

We can expect that he is working all things together for our good and his glory (Romans 12:28)

We can expect that no weapon formed against us will prevail (Isaiah 54:17)

We can expect to be more than conquerers through Christ Jesus who strengthens us (Romans 8:37)

We can expect that greater is he that is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)

We can expect our God to be for us ( Romans 8:31)

We can expect God to be our very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1)

We can expect God to care for us (1 Peter 5:7)

We can expect Jesus Christ to be consistent (Hebrews 13:8)

We can expect streams in our desert (Isaiah 43:19)

We can expect impenetrable walls to come down (Joshua 6:20)

We can expect God to make a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43:16)

We can expect our mourning to turn to gladness (Psalm 30:11)

We can expect our sorrow to be turned to joy (Psalm 30:11)

We can expect our broken heart to be bound up (Psalm 147:3)

We can expect deliverance from our enemies (60:12)

We can expect our giants to be defeated (1 Samuel 14:47)

We can expect that no temptation will be more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13)

We can expect that he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)

II Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) says - All scripture is inspired (breathed out ESV) by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

God’s Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:21) and it is able to take you through the darkest of days and bring you joy in every season.

I would encourage you to read God's Word, memorize it, and hide it in your heart.  I believe with all of my heart that reading and receiving His word is a decision you will never, ever regret!

Pray!

Pray!!

Have you ever had an overwhelming feeling that someone must be praying for you?!  It’s like the enemy is coming at you so hard and fast, but somehow you’re still standing.  It’s songs on the radio, messages from your favorite speakers, calls and texts from friends, telling you everything is going to be okay.  You should be completely falling apart, yet you have a fight in you that feels supernatural.  

I am right there, on the inside I am scared and crying, but everyday the Father keeps moving me forward.  I hear a voice in my spirit that says - you’ve got this and everything’s going to be just as it’s supposed to be - don’t give up, and keeping smiling.

I know in my heart that it’s the prayers of someone or maybe someones, that have me in this place.  I have so many friends who are prayer warriors so really it could be any one of them lifting me up right now.  I don’t know for sure who it is, but I know for sure that it’s working and I am so thankful!

Whoever you are, I thank you from the depths of my heart.  I know without your love and faithfulness, my battles would be so much harder.

Please know that I am praying for you all just as hard.  I am committed to lifting up the people I love everyday and it seems like the Holy Spirit is constantly putting people on my heart to pray for, even ones I haven’t seen in years.

He is good y’all and He loves us so much! 

His Word says…

Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Psalm 102:17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.

I could go on and on with these verses, there are so many.  He is definitely calling us to pray and prayer draws us closer to Him, which is right where we want to be.  

So, again, I say thank you to all my faithful warriors, you know who you are!  And to everyone out there reading this post I am just as committed to you and I would love to be lifting you up!  Please feel free to email (1611baestreet@gmail.com) your prayer requests any time!  Together we are better!

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.

It Is Well

Psalms 121:1-8  I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let me stumble;  the one who watches over me will not slumber.  Indeed, the one who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.  The Lord stands beside me as my protective shade.  The sun will not harm me by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord keeps me from all harm and watches over my life.  The Lord keeps watch over me as I come and go, both now and forever.

I am up, it’s two am, and I cannot sleep.  A million thoughts are running through my mind, but You Lord know them all.  You are wide awake and here with me.  All that I worry over this night you have already taken care of.  I am beyond thankful. I have no idea why you love me like you do, but I rest in knowing that you do.  

Before I was born you knew me.  You placed me in the exact time and place you designed for me.  The circumstances of my conception, and of so many others, go completely against your Word and what you would have for us, yet you choose to come into the midst of them and somehow make them beautiful.  You are the giver of life, and life can be really hard, but it is also divine.

I hung out with one of my very favorite people on the planet tonight. It wasn’t planned, it came together very last minute, but I know it was you, because it was exactly what we both needed.  We talked for two hours about you, about us, and about all the crazy that comes with life on earth.  We talked about the condition of man, the condition that Adam and Eve left us in.  We talked about our parents, and what it was like for them as children, and what it was like for us as children, and there is so much disfunction in both of our families;  so much disfunction in most families, yet there you are, right in the middle of it all. You see everything Father, all the times we win, all the times we lose, and all the times we want to give up completely.  In all these times you stand with us and cheer us on! 

I love Hebrews 12!  In verse one it says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses to the life of faith, and because we are, we are able strip off every weight that slows us down, and leave behind the sins that trip us up.  We can run this race you have set before us with endurance.  It says in verse 12 and 13 that we can take a new grip with our tired hands and strengthen our weak knees.  We can mark out a straight path for our feet so that those who are weak will not fall, but will become strong.  And how do we do this?  Verse 2, we do this by keeping our eyes on you Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. The champion of heaven who endured the cross, for all that any of us will ever go through.  In Christ there is so much victory!

And so I sit here tonight, with my thoughts and my worries, and I lift my eyes to you Lord.  I can go back to bed and rest my weary head because you have taken care of it all.  You are fighting my battles, you have conquered my fear, and you love me with a love I cannot even understand.  

Thank you for leading me straight to this song after I wrote this post.  I am undone by the way you choose to speak to my heart!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqo4Un2uZI

Oh How He Loves Us!

As I write this post this morning tears are flowing down my face.  I tell you now, if you don’t know God you are missing out!  He is truly the lover of our souls!!  He is the creator of the universe and the designer of your heart.

His Word says in Psalms 139:13

For you formed my inward parts;  you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are you works;  my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;  in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

And in Ephesians 2:10

You are God’s workmanship (the NLT says God’s masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God LOVES us!!!  All day, everyday, He loves us!!!

If you do not know this God who loves like no other, I would love the chance to introduce you to Him.  Please comment below with your email address and I promise to respond.  It is my greatest desire to share His love with others, and I would love to share it with you.

Back To Work!

The kids go back to school on Tuesday so it’s time to get back to work!  I thought I would share a few pictures of a piece I recently finished and see if I could round up some business.  From unfinished wood to driftwood fabulous!!  

Give me a shout if you have a piece that needs new life.  Also thinking about teaching a few classes in the fall.  Would anybody out there be interested in learning a few paint techniques??

Life Is Hard!

Because he bends down to listen, 

I will pray as long as I have breath!

Psalm 116:2

Life is hard!  Really, really hard sometimes!  I am going through some terribly hard life right now! I’d love to pour out all the details, however in this moment the details involve people I love very much, and I am not sure they are ready for the details to be spilled.  In these seasons, I am so very thankful for a God who is faithful to listen.  I can pour it all out to Him, all the deep, scary, ugly emotions, and He never runs away.  In fact, His Word says, “he bends His ear to listen when I pray”.  How amazing is that?!?!  The creator of the universe bends His ear to listen when I pray.  I am completely overwhelmed!  

As I poured out my heart this morning I asked the Father to show me who He is.  Often when I pray I think of Jesus, but this morning I wanted to concentrate on the Father.  I asked for a picture of His character, and He reminded of all that I already knew in my heart.

I believe even when we know a thing deep in our heart, we still need to be reminded from time to time.  So with that, let me remind you.

Psalm 86:5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Psalm 86:15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalms 145:8-9 The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

Psalms 103:8-12 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect.  The Lord’s word is flawless;

he shields all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 16:5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

Micah 7:18-19: Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Father, today I thank you for all these promises. I thank you for being a faithful God and friend.  I love you with all of my heart, and pray that every person who reads these verses will know deep in their heart that you are madly and deeply in love with them.  In the sweet name of your son Jesus I pray, amen.

Sweet Friendship!

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.  Proverbs 27:9  I had not read this verse until my friend Ashley shared it along with pictures from a weekend that was dear to my heart.  It is such an awesome verse and oh the truth it holds!  I am so blessed when it comes to precious friends; I have many and they all hold such a sweet spot in my heart.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a few of them and I wanted to share a little about what I took away from it.

Someone in the bunch (who I happen to hold especially close to my heart) opened up her heart and shared her feelings and it really shook me up.  This precious one told me she feels unloved and unwanted in several friend groups and even sometimes with family.  Well, I could hardly believe my ears, because she is truly one of the most loved people I know.  I couldn’t name one person that knows her that doesn’t adore her!  So where do those feelings come from? Straight from the pit, that’s where!  After she shared that with me I made her confess it to our group (and I do hope she forgives me for that), but as she shared with the girls I realized the sad thing about it is this, so many of us feel this way on a daily basis!  For some it may not be feelings of being unloved, but maybe you’re more like me and have feelings of being the dumbest one in the bunch or like me you are an over thinker.  Sometimes I will spend hours replaying conversations I’ve had over and over in my head;  afraid I have hurt someone with my words or been careless with their feelings.  How about you?!  Does this happen to you?  What are your struggles?

Let me tell you just a few verses that I cling to when these feelings come and I can’t shake them.  Let me also remind you feelings cannot be trusted!  We must stand up everyday and hold on tightly to the truth, over our feelings!

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded (keep your mind on Jesus); be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your sisters and brothers throughout the world.

James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, (and all of his nasty lies) and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

Psalms 62:1-2  I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

Romans 8:1-2  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  Hallelujah!!

Romans 8:37  In all things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us!

And this is one of my very favorites …

Romans 8:38-39  And I am convinced that NOTHING can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed NOTHING in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I hope these verses help you as much as they help me.  And that reminds me of another …

Psalms 121:2  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  He will not let my foot be moved;  he who keeps me will not slumber. 

And just one more … 

Jeremiah 15:16 You Words were found, and I ate them, and Your Words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Please feel free to share any thoughts, struggles and verses that help you.  I would love the opportunity to pray for you so please share any prayer requests as well.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my heart and remember sweet ones, YOU ARE LOVED!!!

Unexpected

I am a reader.  I LOVE to read!  I like a pretty large variety of things, but in the summer I love to crush some fiction.  There’s just something about getting carried away to another place.  A whole nother world, where the people are new and their lives are not mine.  I believe it’s probably good for the soul to let your mind drift off every once in a while.  However, you cannot live there forever.  At some point you have to sail back to real life, and in my real life I need all the wisdom I can get.

So far this summer I’ve read three books.  One was really bad, boring & no real point.  I won’t even bother to tell you the title or author because you know what they say, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, just leave it alone”.  Next, I read a really good book by Mitch Albom called The First Phone Call from Heaven. I totally enjoyed this one.  It’s a story of hope lost and found, and the importance of friends, family and community.  I’ve started one more fiction book that I hope to finish this weekend at the beach.  The beach is my absolute favorite place to read!  Nothing like the sun and waves to help with that whole “getting carried away” thing.

Along with my summer fiction I also decided to start my very first book club this week, which is the real reason I am posting today.  Having never been in a book club I have no real experience, but I would imagine the whole point is to share with others what you are learning, so I thought maybe this would make for a few good posts.

The book is called Unexpected and it’s by Christine Caine.  I love Chris! She is a really good writer, and one of the best Bible teachers I have ever heard.  She is FULL of passion and it is so contagious!  I highly recommend looking her up if you are not familiar with her yet.  She has a spot on TV, and tons of YouTube videos.  

I started the book on Monday and I haven't even finished with chapter one yet, but already the Lord is working on my heart.  I love this quote from page 17 by Tom Robbins:

“True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced.  A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed.”

I pray that my heart and the hearts of all who are reading this book with me will be transformed over the next few weeks.

So in chapter one, Chris starts the book with some things she’s gone through, and the faithfulness of God in it all.  It pulls you right in and let’s you know you are not alone in your pain, suffering and often pure chaos.  She tells you in chapter one exactly what she did to get through it all.  First, she purposed in her heart to trust God. On page 26 she says, “I also called on a few faithful and faith filled friends whom I could trust to pray for me - friends I knew in the coming weeks would speak faith to me when I might not be strong enough to stand alone in the face of fear”.  This is where I was first convicted.  Am I that friend?  Do I pray for my friends? Yes, of course I do.  Do I pray for my friends enough?  No, I have to admit that I do not lift them up nearly as much as I should.  I hate admitting that, it breaks my heart, but I know I can do better.  We are a needy people everyday, so we need to be lifted up everyday.  There is so much power in prayer. Not only does it move mountains, but it brings you in close to the King of the universe, and there is no better place to be than in His presence!  Next, am I speaking faith to my friends?  Not always, that’s for sure!  Those of you who know me, know I tend to be a glass half empty girl, a negative Nancy so to speak, but you know what?!  I can do better here too.  From this day forward I am going to do my best to speak life and encouragement, but I might need help.  For all of you who are in my life, I ask that you would encourage me in this.  If you hear that negative hobunk coming out of my mouth, call me out on it, please!!  The bible says in Proverbs 18, “the tongue can bring death or life” and I pray that mine would bring life.  

Chris also says on page 27 that she stayed in the Word and found key verses to pray and believe.  She kept them on her phone so that she could read them throughout the day.  She said she would read them aloud and committed to only speak the Word.  She said we can either “feed our fear or feed our faith”, and she chose to feed her faith.  I choose to feed my faith too, and commit this day to helping my precious friends and family choose faith as well.  Will this be hard on some days?  Of course it will, but like Chris says on page 29, we can choose hourly and sometimes minute by minute to fight and stay focussed.

We can do this y’all.  We can love and pray and encourage one another every singe day!  

Today I choose God. I choose life. I choose my friends and family!

I would love the opportunity to pray for you.  I would love for you to pray for me.  Please comment below if you have a need, or if you just need to pour out your heart.  

Father, I thank you for this day, I thank you for this book, and I thank you for incredible writers who help us understand how pleasing this journey can be when we are surrendered to you.  Be with all of my friends and family this day.  Let them KNOW your presence and feel your love deep in their hearts.  Help us be committed to you and to each other in all that we do.  In the sweet name of Jesus I pray amen.

Second Chances

Second chances are good for the soul.  The Bible says in Lamentations 3:21-23, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;  his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning;  great is your faithfulness.

Today I am starting again.  As I said in my About Me page, I tried blogging once before only to get super busy and forget about it completely.  

So today I am starting fresh with the hopes of sharing my life and my heart.  

The verse above is one of my very favorites, but today I went to google to find more verses about starting over/beginning again and this one popped up.

Job 8:7 says, “Though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will increase greatly” (NASB) and the (ESV) says it this way, “And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. “

I really love that verse.  I love that we can start each day fresh and do our very best, to be our very best.  And with that I start again.  

Thank you so much for your patience, and your grace.  I look forward to where this will take us : )