hope – Page 2

March 1, 2017

Singular Trust

My prayer list is too long. I can no longer remember all the wonderful people in need of prayer. Using my go-to memory technique, I write out the list and it feels even longer. Friends and loved ones with medical issues and/or life crises are seeking hope while enduring loss. The weight is overwhelming to pray for, let alone live. I find myself asking God, why? Why must your people go through this?

Maybe you’ve asked God this same question.

A few weeks back, I was asking God a different question-How? How am I supposed to do, manage or change X, Y and Z? One word kept coming back to me. I think it answers both my questions of Why and How.

Trust.

Whatever we have on our plate, are walking through or have to climb out of, may not be all about us. Maybe it’s for us to learn to trust in Him, or for others to see our faith. Or it may be for another purpose altogether.

At least once a day for the last few months, I sense God asking me to surrender something to Him; to trust He’s got it. Just writing those words seem silly. Of course, God’s got it. He’s GOD! He’s got everything.

But still, I worry, wonder, and question.

God’s got it covered, so what use is my questioning? Seeing the onslaught of bad circumstances all around me, I need to DO something. I’m learning to pray, surrender and trust more instead of question.

But it’s hard for me to just let go. I want to know how to better surrender. I want to know exactly how to trust all my everything to Him.

But God doesn’t always give us the full picture.

Therein lies the essence of trust and faith. We act without fully understanding.

We step out in faith.

We do whatever the next thing God is asking of us. Even if it’s scary, unknown, uncomfortable or unrealistic.

God’s here. He’s with us. We can trust in Him as we act in faith, which may mean not knowing how or not understanding why. We may never know the answers we seek, but we’ll always know Who’s with us.

Are you in a difficult place? Are you asking why or how? Lean in close so these words sink into your soul:

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 paths straight. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

This is one of my favorite verses yet I read it with fresh eyes again this week. Our faith, our following God isn’t about our understanding.

It’s about our submission and trust in Him.

Faith isn’t always about understanding, but it is about #trust in God’s plan.

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Yes, my prayer list is long and the issues in it concern me. But with each prayer, each breath, each moment, let’s submit them all to our God who’s got it. Let’s trust He’s in control even when we don’t understand the why or the how.

Let’s share our trust in the One, true God with others this Lenten season. He has redeemed us, is with us and will make our paths straight when we submit and trust in Him alone.

Linking up with Crystal Storms at #HeartEncouragement and Kelly Smith at #FridayFive and Kelly Balarie & Friends

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December 14, 2016

When We Need Help Anticipating Advent

I’m thrilled to welcome my friend Crystal Twaddell as our guest today. Crystal’s warm heart to encourage and uplift is obvious here in her beautiful words on anticipation. Enjoy as we anticipate our King!

Anticipation is such a gift!

Every year we join the world in celebrating Advent and counting down the arrival of Christmas…the arrival of the King of the World. We offer up our very best in preparing our homes and our families for the celebration of the One who holds our future. Through busyness of the season, we do our best to anticipate and grab hold of the meaning of Christmas.

In years past, I’ve often felt as if I’m missing some aspect of this anticipating. As though there’s an unidentifiable disconnect, separated by distance and time. It’s as if there’s been some small void in wrapping my head fully around the coming King – until this year.

For the past 4 weeks I’ve been in a state of anticipation and counting down more than Advent. In fact, as you read this I’ll be 3 days from picking up my son from the airport, which to some may not seem all that exciting, except that he’s arriving all the way from China. And the anticipation of his arrival has my heart about to bust with excitement!

It was about this time last year when anticipation resembled dreading his 4-year departure. I simply couldn’t fathom the distance between us, not seeing him or the void his absence would create in every facet of our close-knit family.

I began asking God to prepare my heart for the adventure – over and over again. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been a precious time of growth for all of us.

And in a short time, I came to appreciate this gift of anticipation. That regardless of which side of the spectrum I fall on, there are sweet graces waiting on the other side of allowing God to carry me through both.

Maybe this advent season leaves you experiencing a bit of a void also.

When the thing we’re anticipating is the one thing we really don’t want. When remaining in our safe place is much sweeter than any grace awaiting us on the other side of hope. When expecting disappointment is easier than believing in a promise.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is ask God to prepare our hearts. We ask Him to teach us a new way of thinking and we invite Him to lead us down new paths. Because even though we know there’s something better waiting, we simply can’t get there on our own.

And in return, He asks us to fully embrace the anticipation…for the sake of the gift.

He calls us to surrender our heart full of anxiety and our need to control. He urges us to release earthly expectations and empty ourselves of all that can go wrong.

In return, He wraps our heart in peace and binds our thoughts in hope until our soul overflows with gratitude for all that is good…in the midst of all that is unknown.

In the midst of the unknown, allow God to wrap our hearts in #peace and bind our thoughts in #hope @CrystalTwaddell #Advent

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In a short time, we realize anticipation is a gift of faith that makes us more alive with joy. We grasp that our life has meaning and purpose. All because we accepted the invitation to fully embrace the journey of anticipating.

So as we continue celebrating Advent and counting down the arrival of Christmas, it’s my prayer that we commit to living fully in this beautiful space of anticipation. That we tuck hope deep within cracks of our heart to sustain through uncertainty and that God will fill any voids of our soul so we can experience the true joy of the season.

It’s my prayer that our hearts will bust with excitement…

For the coming of our King!

Crystal is an advocate of living outside of comfort zones as a means to unlocking hidden potential and experiencing God’s wild and uncontainable love. Mother to a professor, a worship leader and a budding biologist, her greatest joy has been having a front row seat to God gathering up all the little pieces of a broken past to create a beautiful legacy of hope through the gift of motherhood. She writes on combining a little bit of intention with a lot of passion to create an overwhelming legacy of hope. She’s also a lover of fresh markets, lattes and all things French. You can connect with Crystal through her Blog and also on Facebook , Twitter and Pinterest.

Linking up with Crystal Storms at #HeartEncouragement, Holley Gerth at #CoffeeForYourHeart, and Deb Wolf at #FaithnFriends

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December 6, 2016

Who to Follow

I knew where I was going, I thought. The incomplete map used to arrive was difficult to follow. So on the way home, I decided upon a more familiar path. But a few wrong turns made me increasingly uncomfortable. Neck hairs standing at attention, nothing was familiar and the map was useless. Every turn increased my anxiety. What was supposed to be easy and well-known was again difficult and confusing.

Ever follow a path which doesn’t seem right? Everyone else is there or it seemed okay at the time, but now it just isn’t. Deep down we sense there’s something better, a different path. Yet that path is unfamiliar, uncomfortable and illogical. But this is what God often calls us to-the incomplete and unknown path.

This path of following His footprints is not meant to be familiar. We are not supposed to see the whole map. God sees it all and asks us to follow. He asks us to trust He’ll lead us home. Following Him can be a hair-raising, anxiety ridden, uncomfortable journey at times. We can’t see more than a step or two in the distance. But that’s the point.

It’s not about what we see. It’s about Who we follow.

It’s not about what we see. It’s about Who we follow.

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If I could see what was coming, I probably wouldn’t follow. I’d covet the easier, well-worn path. The fun, downhill glide of smiles and happiness, not the grueling uphill climb of frustration and worry. While following Jesus isn’t always a struggle, it also isn’t always easy. He calls us to stretch and mold ourselves, our minds and our actions to His will, not ours.

It’s as simple as following Him. But often I trip and stumble along the way. Distractions lead to detours or wrong turns. But God always brings me back.

In reflecting on where I’ve been and where I should go next, I realize following Jesus will always be an unknown path. I don’t have the complete map and wishing I did won’t make it appear. Offering my frustration, fear, and uncertainty to God is all I can do as I follow. Choosing to cast my cares and navigation on Him will faithfully lead me to each next step.

The road God calls us to is not always simple to see or follow. It has curves and bumps and turns we can’t anticipate. But in the following our faith flows. We learn to navigate by His lead, not our own. We faithfully follow the Map Maker.

I’m praying for direction these days, friends and wondering if you are too? Chime in below and let me know how I can pray for you as you seek to faithfully follow. Let’s keep following our Map Maker on His path to the life and the home He’s created especially for us!

Linking up with Suzie Eller at #liveFree, Kelly Balarie at #RaRaLinkup, Holley Gerth at #CoffeeForYourHeart, Crystal Twaddell at #FreshMarketFriday and Crystal Storms at #HeartEncouragment

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October 19, 2016

Even if the Healing Never Comes

I’m interrupting our Holiday Wellness Plan for a very special guest post from my pastor, mentor, and friend, Rev. Kenton Wendorf. He embodies my approach to wellness: we can be well, whatever our circumstance. His inspiring faithful walk through a difficult situation has inspired me and many others. I’m thrilled to share his wise wellness observations that fit right in with our wellness plan.

This song title has a profound message as we think of health and healing. In John 5 we observe a man at the pool of Bethesda, a pool with healing properties. We can learn much by observing what happened. An angel was believed to stir the waters of the pool each day and the first one in the pool would be healed. We can just imagine the many waiting to jump in! One man, paralyzed for 38 years, was at the pool.

The obstacles to his healing were huge. Everyone was waiting to be healed. What were the chances his paralyzed legs would allow him to jump in the water in time? Nonetheless, he was there! He did not give up doing what he could do. He did not lose hope. And because he was there and had hope, his healing was about to arrive, though not from the pool.

I have a voice issue that makes talking extremely difficult and it is often impossible for others to understand me. Nothing has worked thus far to help and my specialist is frustrated with my lack of progress. Your situation may be better or worse, but my observation based on this story is to keep on trying! Do not give up. The man at the pool did not give up for all those years and neither should we.

Back at the pool, a man walked up and asked if the paralyzed man wished to be healed.

When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” ~John 5:6 NLT

Then this man told him to get up and walk! What? Just get up? Why not give it a try? He got up and walked.

Sometimes healing and encouragement come from unexpected directions.

Sometimes healing & encouragement come from unexpected directions #Wellness

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Many things in life happen when we least expect it. Notice he was not looking for this man. In fact, he did not know until later it was Jesus who healed him.

What a lesson. This miracle was not dependent on what the paralyzed man did, how faithful he was, or even on the basis of a pleading request. His healing took place solely based on the mercy of God.

Sometimes we are told we have to do more…pray more…trust more…hope more…but at the end of the day this story reminds me that it is not up to us, but HIM. So as you and I battle situations in life, we struggle but are not without hope. For our hope is in Jesus!

My prayer for the healing of my voice continues. This is my daily prayer. I want to jump into the pool! But even if the healing never comes, my hope is in the Man who comes to us with His love, His forgiveness, His peace, and one day His healing.

Rev. Kenton Wendorf is a retired pastor living in Grafton, Wisconsin. He is married to his wife Janice for 39 years and has 10 grandchildren. Before retiring, he served as Senior Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grafton, WI.

Linking up with Crystal Storms at #HeartEncouragement, Deb Wolf at #FaithnFriends, CrystalTwaddell at #FreshMarketFriday, Kelly Balarie at #RaRaLinkup and Holly Barrett at #TestimonyTuesda

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August 3, 2016

Sensing His Presence

The tangerine color caught my eye among all the gray. I glanced past my daughter in the passenger seat to glimpse a beautiful sunrise amid the fog. Brilliant hues of peach, pink and orange turned to yellows as we traveled for a few hours the other morning. The majesty of the colors was a grateful reminder of God’s presence.

Valleys of dense fog quickly enveloped us so I could barely see the car ahead of me on the interstate. I knew the way but in a sudden moment of uncertainty, I made a wrong decision and turn. In this moment, my faith was in my GPS. It struck me how this is just like when God asks us to do something and the path ahead is foggy. We must walk in faith. Follow amid the fog. I knew the sun was present above the fog as I know God is with me as I follow.

This reminded me of when God asked me to go across the world on a medical mission trip. I had been grieving losses and sought to reset my attitude. It was then I saw an ad for needed medical personnel to go to Cambodia. I sensed God telling me to go. “Surely not me, God-I don’t even like Asian food!” My feeble reply was no match for the strong sense of what God was asking of me.

I had never done anything like this before. Never traveled alone. Never went on a mission trip. Never listened to God like this. After thoroughly researching, praying and discussing with family, I went. Before, during and even after, I never quite knew why God wanted me to go. But it was a lifetime experience I’ll never forget.

Months later, I was asked to join a newly formed mission/community service group at my church. They knew of my medical mission trip. I was unsure. We were going through some heavy medical issues with family. I wavered but followed because I felt God leading me. One thing led to another and from that I have found a new career path, help facilitate others’ mission trips at church and am writing here today.

All those moments of following over the last ten years happened because of the time God asked me to go and serve across the world. It was so much like driving in the fog yesterday. I knew God was with me even when I couldn’t see Him. I sensed His presence.

God is again telling me something. It doesn’t really make logical sense to everyone else. Many may not understand. But as someone recently reminded me, I know what I know. God asks us to do things and sometimes we think it doesn’t make sense or isn’t logical. But God is God and I am not as Hillary Scott reminds us in her song Thy Will. He knows all and I need to follow Him, even when I can’t see through the fog of this life to where He’s leading me.

One thing I know for sure: He has never left me. His beautiful presence is just like the sunrise that graced us the other morning. Following through the fog of life can be unsettling. We may make wrong decisions. But we need to keep following. When we do, we are graced with even more of His presence. And sometimes even a beautiful sunrise.

*Photo credits go to my daughter 🙂

Linking up with Suzie Eller at #liveFree, Susan Mead at #DanceWithJesus , Crystall Twaddell at #FreshMarketFriday, Dawn Klinge at #GraceandTruth,, Holley Gerth at #CoffeeforYourHeart Crystal Storms at #IntentionalTuesday and Kelly Balarie at #RaRaLinkup

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Singular Trust

When We Need Help Anticipating Advent

Who to Follow

Even if the Healing Never Comes

Sensing His Presence

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