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Understanding Someone Else's Perspective

Taking the time to understand someone else's perspective means being willing to recognize that we don't have to debate everything they say, especially when something affects them more deeply than it affects us.

Being humble enough to listen isn't always easy, but it can make such a big difference in someone else's life.

Sometimes it's about being willing not to point out someone's shortcomings or cause them additional pain. It's about choosing not to dismiss their experiences or, in some cases, their humanity. Instead, it's taking the time to understand what they have been through or what they may currently be facing. Showing a little empathy and compassion can make all the difference in someone's life.

It can be utterly game-changing for them and maybe even for you as you realize that you don't always have to debate someone or have the last word. Sometimes, you just need to be there and listen.

A verse God has kept ever before me, because let's face it, I need it, is James 1:19, which reminds us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

For me, that's easier said than done. I miss the mark on this more often than I'd like to admit and find myself having to ask for forgiveness quite frequently.

When I look at the quote above, I'm reminded of three things:

1. Empathy.

Just because something doesn't affect me personally doesn't mean it doesn't deeply affect someone else. I don't always understand the weight someone else is carrying.

2. Perspective.

We all experience circumstances differently. What might seem like a simple discussion or disagreement to me could touch a very painful part of someone else's life.

3. Humility.

Being able to remain calm doesn't automatically make me more knowledgeable, objective, or right. Sometimes I simply haven't experienced what someone else has.

God is continually challenging me to grow in empathy and understanding. He's reminding me how important it is to be slow to judge others because, truthfully, I don't always know what someone else might be going through.

I think we could all benefit from being a little more mindful of how we approach others, especially when their experiences are different from our own.

We don't have to agree with everyone to show them compassion. We don't have to understand everything someone has experienced to acknowledge that their feelings and experiences matter.

Sometimes the greatest thing we can offer someone isn't an opinion, an argument, or an explanation. It's simply a listening ear, a compassionate heart, and the willingness to understand.

After all, we never know just how much our words can affect someone else. Sometimes, choosing to listen instead of debate can make a difference far greater than we'll ever realize.

As we head into the holiday season, may we all be a little more mindful of others and what they may be going through. We never know when simply being present, taking the time to listen, and showing a little empathy might make all the difference in someone's life.

Love Yourself

Loving yourself is easier said than done.

Sometimes we're so busy taking care of everyone else, meeting expectations, trying to get everything done, and dealing with whatever life throws our way that we forget something pretty important: We need to take care of our own hearts, too.

We need to learn to appreciate our own efforts, celebrate our own progress, forgive ourselves for our mistakes, and give ourselves the same kindness and grace that we so often extend to others.

We need to remember that our worth isn't determined by how much we accomplish, how many people approve of us, how we look, or how well we measure up to someone else's expectations.

Our worth was established by the One who created us.

You are valuable. You are loved. You matter. And you don't have to earn your worth because God already considers you worth loving.

God accepts you right where you are. He loves you just as you are, but He loves you far too much to leave you there. He desires so much more for your life than simply getting by. He wants you to grow, to heal, to experience His goodness, and to become the person He created you to be.

Think about that for a moment.

God knew you before you were ever formed in your mother's womb. He knew your days before you lived a single one of them. He knows your struggles, your hurts, your mistakes, your dreams, and even the things you have difficulty seeing in yourself.

And yet He loves you!

His plans and purposes for your life are greater than anything you could ever imagine for yourself.

Why can I say all of this with so much confidence?

Because I'm living proof that God can take a life that feels completely broken and turn it into something beautiful.

I've lived it. I've experienced it firsthand.

There was a time in my life when I didn't know how to love myself, didn't recognize my own worth, and couldn't see a way forward. I had been through more trauma in my younger years than I knew how to process. I didn't have the help I desperately needed, and eventually I found myself in a very dark place.

Before God truly changed my life, I was such a mess. I couldn't see straight, and honestly, I had lost my will to live. I had even made a plan to end my life.

But God!

He placed some wonderful Christians in my life who became instrumental in helping me find the path toward healing. Their willingness to be there, to care, and to help opened doors that I couldn't have opened on my own.

What began with local counseling close to home eventually led to residential counseling away from home. It was there that some of the deepest work of healing began. God used the people He had placed around me, along with the help I received, to put me in the right place at the right time.

It absolutely rocked my world!

My life changed in ways I never could have imagined. I went from being someone who didn't want to live to someone who genuinely loves life. Someone who loves her family, appreciates the blessings God has placed in her life, and loves God more than anything else.

Do I have everything figured out? Absolutely not! I'm still growing, still learning, and still discovering things about myself along the way. But I'm no longer the person I once was, and I am forever grateful for what God has done in my life.

If not for Him, there is no telling where I would be today.

And that's why I want to encourage anyone who struggles with loving themselves or recognizing their own worth.

Don't let your past define you. Don't allow the mistakes you've made, the hurt you've experienced, or the opinions of others to convince you that you're somehow less valuable.

You are not your past. You are not your mistakes. You are not the things that have happened to you.

You are someone God created, someone He loves, and someone whose life has purpose.

Sometimes learning to love yourself means giving yourself permission to heal. Sometimes it means accepting help when you need it. Sometimes it means forgiving yourself and moving forward instead of continually beating yourself up over things you cannot change.

And sometimes it simply means looking in the mirror and reminding yourself that you matter, even on the days when you don't feel like you do.

If God can take someone like me, who had reached a point where she no longer wanted to live, and help her discover a life filled with love, purpose, and hope, just imagine what He can do in someone else's life!

So the next time you question your worth, remember this:

You don't have to wonder whether you matter. You don't have to earn God's love. You don't have to become someone else to be worthy of love.

God already knows you. God already loves you. And He has a purpose for your life.

So give yourself a little grace. Appreciate the person God created you to be. Keep growing, keep healing, and don't give up on the life He has given you.

Because you matter. Your life matters. And the answer to whether you are worthy of love is a great big YES!

Healing Takes Courage

I've had the opportunity, and probably you have too, to walk this quote out in my own life and alongside loved ones.

Life has certainly had its share of ups and downs for me. I've had plenty of curveballs thrown my way over the years. I'm sure there are some people who go through life with very few interruptions to their routines, but I'm definitely not one of those people! 😂

More recently, though, I've found myself walking alongside loved ones as they've gone through their own physical healing journeys. My mom with her more recent surgeries and Tim with his elbow surgery are two examples that come to mind.

I'm here to tell you that healing most definitely takes courage. And we all have courage within us, even if we sometimes have to dig deep to find it.

I've watched my mom more than once as she's worked through the healing process following surgeries related to her arthritis. It takes a special kind of courage to face those challenges time and again. She's a trooper, for sure!

Then there's Tim and his most recent elbow surgery. There's just something about watching your child go through the process of healing from an injury. No matter how significant the injury might be, the feelings you experience as a parent are much the same. You just wish you could take it all away from them. You wish you could twitch your nose like Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched and magically make everything better. Wouldn't that be nice? But that's not real life.

I've been there every step of the way with both my mom and Tim as they've navigated their healing journeys. For Mom, as she gets older, it sometimes seems like her healing journey never ends because there's always another challenge to overcome. For Tim, it's been more of an injury-by-injury situation, with some downtime between the challenges he's faced.

I've walked through so much of it with them, though, and in some ways, I feel like I've experienced a little of their healing journeys myself. When you love someone, you don't just watch what they're going through. You feel it right alongside them.

Of course, I've also had my own physical healing to deal with recently. I've been healing from an infection following a tick bite. It's been a little scary because there are so many things that can potentially happen as a result of tick bites. Having to keep a close watch on my health for 30 days to make sure there aren't any additional issues is a bit of a pain. It means being more aware of things than I normally would be and paying attention to changes I might otherwise overlook.

And then there's emotional healing.

That's the kind of healing that isn't visible to others. It often has a depth to it that's difficult to put into words. I've experienced that kind of healing too. Sometimes things from our past, or circumstances we've walked through, have a way of resurfacing. Just when we think we've moved beyond something, we find ourselves having to work through it again.

Emotional healing can sometimes feel like a never-ending process. There aren't always visible signs of progress, and sometimes the hardest battles are the ones nobody else knows we're fighting.

But here's something I've come to appreciate: Healing takes courage, no matter what kind of healing we're facing.

It takes courage to get up and face another day when your body is hurting. It takes courage to keep going when recovery feels slow. It takes courage to face the things that have hurt us emotionally and allow ourselves to work through them rather than simply push them aside.

And sometimes, it takes courage just to admit that we need healing in the first place.

I believe that God gives us the courage and strength we need to walk through these seasons of life. He doesn't promise that every journey will be easy or that healing will happen on our timetable. But He does promise to be with us along the way. We don't have to figure it all out on our own.

God can use even the difficult seasons of our lives to grow us, strengthen our faith, and draw us closer to Him. He can take the things we've walked through and use them for our good and His glory.

More than anything, I give God the glory for all He's done in my life and for everything He's brought me through to bring me to where I am today. I'm thankful that I'm walking with Him, continually growing in my relationship with Him, and doing my best to live the way He wants me to live and do the things He wants me to do.

I'm so thankful for His goodness and mercy toward me. I'm thankful for the time I have to spend growing in Him through His Word, prayer, Bible studies, and reading Christian living books. We have so many wonderful resources available to help us grow in our faith and navigate the different seasons of life.

The more I grow in Him, the more I realize just how much I need Him. And that's okay! We were never meant to walk through life in our own strength.

So, whether you're facing physical healing, emotional healing, or walking alongside someone you love as they navigate their own healing journey, remember that it takes courage.

Sometimes that courage is easy to find. Other times, we have to dig a little deeper.

But, it's there.

Healing takes courage, but we don't have to find that courage all by ourselves. God is right there with us, every step of the way!

Your Faith Voice

"Your faith voice is what brings true adventure into your life!"

I saw this quote posted by a man of God whom I have so much respect for. I have grown tremendously in my own faith walk through his teachings over the years.

I've been pondering this quote for several days now, and the more I think about it, the more I realize just how much meaning there is behind those few words.

Your faith voice.

What does that really mean? Is it simply the words we speak, the things we say about God, or the encouragement we offer to others? Or is it something much deeper?

I believe it's all of those things, but I also believe our faith voice is reflected in how we live our lives. It's what comes out of us when life doesn't go according to plan. It's how we respond when things are uncertain, when we're faced with challenges, when we don't have the answers, and when we have to trust God with things that are completely outside of our control.

It's easy to talk about faith when everything is going well. It's easy to say God is good when we're standing on the mountaintop and everything seems to be falling into place. But what about those valleys? What about the seasons when we are waiting, praying, questioning, and trying to figure out what God is doing?

That's when our faith voice really matters.

Over the years, I've learned that walking with the Lord doesn't mean having everything figured out. In fact, sometimes it seems like just when I think I have things figured out, God reminds me that I'm not the one in control!

And honestly, that's part of the adventure.

When I look back over my life, I can see so many times when things didn't unfold the way I expected. There have been seasons of uncertainty, unexpected circumstances, difficult decisions, and things that required me to trust God beyond what I could see in front of me.

I've also learned that faith isn't necessarily about knowing what the next chapter holds. It's about knowing Who holds the next chapter.

I think sometimes we get so caught up in wanting God to show us the entire picture that we forget He often asks us to trust Him one step at a time. We want the roadmap, the timeline, and maybe even a little reassurance that everything is going to turn out exactly how we hope it will.

But that's not always how He works.

Sometimes He simply asks us to take the next step.

Sometimes that step requires obedience. Sometimes it requires patience. Sometimes it means letting go of something we've been holding onto. And sometimes it means standing firm in what we know to be true about God, even when our circumstances are trying to tell us something different.

That's where our faith voice comes into play.

I don't want my faith to be something I only talk about. I want it to be evident in the way I live. I want my first response to life's challenges to be prayer rather than worry. I want to be someone who encourages others, speaks life, and points people toward the Lord. I want my decisions to reflect that I trust Him, even when I don't understand what He's doing.

Does that mean I always get it right? Absolutely not!

I'm human, and there are times when worry, frustration, and questions get the better of me. There are times when I have to stop, take a step back, and remind myself of what I already know about God's faithfulness.

But that's part of growing in our faith. We learn. We mature. We recognize those moments when we need to shift our focus away from what we see and put it back on the One who sees the whole picture.

One of my favorite reminders is found in 2 Corinthians 5:7:

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Think about that for a moment. Walking by faith means we don't have to see everything to take the next step. We don't have to understand every circumstance to trust the One who is leading us.

And perhaps that's where the adventure really begins!

I don't believe God calls us to live a life consumed by fear, constantly playing it safe, or needing to know every outcome before we're willing to move forward. He calls us to trust Him. He calls us to grow. He calls us to step out in faith and believe that His plans and purposes are greater than anything we could come up with on our own.

That doesn't mean every adventure will be easy. It doesn't mean there won't be detours, disappointments, or unexpected challenges along the way. But it does mean we don't walk through any of it alone.

The older I get, the more I appreciate that my relationship with the Lord is not about reaching some destination where I suddenly have everything figured out. It's about continuing to grow, continuing to learn, continuing to listen, and continuing to trust Him with whatever comes next.

I want my faith voice to be stronger than my fears. I want it to be rooted in God's Word rather than influenced by the circumstances surrounding me. And I want the way I live my life to reflect a genuine trust in the Lord.

So, here's something I've been thinking about, and maybe it's something worth pondering for yourself, too.

What is your faith voice saying?

When life gets difficult, do your words and actions reflect fear or faith? When God opens a door, are you willing to walk through it? When you don't have the answers, can you still trust Him?

Our faith voice isn't just about what we say when things are going well. It's about who we are and how we respond when life gets challenging.

I don't know about you, but I want to keep growing in my faith. I want to keep saying YES to God, even when I don't know exactly where the road will lead.

After all, the greatest adventure isn't knowing where you're going. It's knowing Who you're following! And that, of course is what brings true adventure to your faith voice, don't you think? 

Busy Times

This week has seemed like a whirlwind!

We went to Kentucky last weekend and were able to accomplish so much in the way of getting things taken care of at Nan and Pop's house. Our hope is to get the house on the market as soon as possible, so every trip up there brings us a little closer to that goal.

This weekend has gone by quickly too, especially after a week of dealing with a tick infection on my right lower calf and Tim battling a viral infection that had him quarantined upstairs.

We also had a commercial project in an empty building on Friday, and Tim was able to help manage the hose line. Getting out of the house, enjoying some fresh air, and working up a sweat felt good after being cooped up for a few days. Sometimes a change of scenery and getting back to a little normalcy can do wonders for your spirits! 

With everything we've had going on, it's easy to see why there's been a little lapse in my posting like I usually do. But I didn't want the day to get away from me without welcoming in a new month.

I still can't believe it's November already! This time of year always seems to fly by so fast💨. Before we know it, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving, then Christmas and heading into another new year.

I have some ideas for new posts that I hope to share throughout the week ahead. I'm always looking for things to share that might encourage someone along the way, but I also want to share more about my faith and my own growth in my walk with God.

One thing I've come to realize is that no matter how long we've been walking with God, there is never a point where we've completely "arrived." There is always room to grow, learn, be challenged, and draw closer to Him.

And that's something I want to continue doing, both in my life and here on the blog❤️.

For now enjoy my heart in the sharing of the image above. Love to you all and I look forward to sharing more with you soon.

Jesus, the Bread of Life

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to look for fulfillment in all the wrong places?

We look for happiness in the things we own, satisfaction in the things we accomplish, and comfort in the people around us. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God has given us, but none of these things can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts the way Jesus can.

In John 6, Jesus had just performed the miracle of feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Can you imagine witnessing that miracle? People had seen Him provide food for a multitude, and they continued looking for Him.

But Jesus knew they needed to understand something much greater than the miracle of a meal. They were focused on what He could provide physically, while He wanted them to recognize who He was and what He came to offer them eternally.

That's when Jesus declared that He is the Bread of Life.

Just as our bodies need food to survive, our souls need Jesus. We can fill our days with responsibilities, surround ourselves with people we love, work toward our goals, and enjoy the blessings of this life, yet still feel an emptiness that none of those things can fill.

Only Jesus can satisfy the deepest hunger of our souls.

I think it's easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life. We have things to do, places to be, responsibilities to take care of, and people who depend on us. Before we know it, we've spent more time tending to everything around us than tending to our relationship with the Lord.

Yet He is the very One we need most.

I've learned that life doesn't always go the way we expect. There are seasons of joy and seasons of uncertainty, times when we feel strong and times when we need to lean on the Lord more than ever. Our circumstances may change, and the things we once depended on may not always be there, but Jesus remains faithful.

This verse reminds me that I don't have to look to the world to find what only He can give me. I can come to Him in prayer, spend time in His Word, and trust Him with the things I don't understand. I can bring Him my worries, my disappointments, my questions, and my gratitude.

Coming to Jesus doesn't mean every problem will disappear or that I'll never experience another difficult day. It means I have a Savior who offers me something this world cannot: a relationship with Him, the hope of eternal life, and the assurance that my circumstances don't have the final say over my faith.

I don't want to become so focused on the blessings in my life that I forget the One who blesses me. I don't want to seek His hand without seeking His heart.

I want to know Him more, trust Him more, and make spending time with Him a priority, not just when I need something, but because He is my source of life.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is not simply a temporary source of comfort for a difficult season. He is the One my soul needs every day.

What about you? Are you looking for satisfaction in the things of this world, or are you turning to the One who offers you life that lasts forever?

My prayer is that we never become so busy searching for what we think we need that we overlook the One we need most.

Because the things of this world can never take the place of Jesus.

Learning to Bear With One Another

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't always been very good at this. I'm pretty much a black-and-white kind of person. When someone does something or behaves in a way that doesn't line up with what I believe or how I choose to live my life, my natural tendency is to distance myself and move on.

I've never been one to feel the need to keep people in my life just because they've always been there. And when someone hurts me or someone I love, it's especially hard for me to want to have anything to do with them.

You see, I learned at a young age that sometimes you have to put distance between yourself and people who cause you harm, whether through their words or their actions. Over time, I learned to protect myself and the people I love by keeping my distance. And honestly, there are times when boundaries are necessary. Not everyone needs to have a place in our lives, and forgiving someone doesn't mean we have to allow them to keep hurting us.

But as I've gotten older and continued to grow in my walk with the Lord, I've realized there's a difference between protecting my peace and allowing my own way of thinking to determine how I respond to people.

That's where this verse gets personal for me.

Forgiving others has become easier for me over the years, but bearing with them? That's a different story.

I've worked long and hard on forgiveness. When someone has wronged me or my family, I have to remind myself of how much God has forgiven me. When I really stop and think about the grace and mercy He's extended to me, it puts things into perspective. I know I haven't always gotten things right, and I'm thankful that God doesn't give up on me every time I fall short.

You would think that remembering His forgiveness would make bearing with others easier, too. But if I'm being honest, this is still an area where I struggle.

I can forgive someone and still not want to deal with them. I can choose not to hold on to an offense and still find myself frustrated by someone's behavior. And when I see things as right or wrong, it's hard for me to be patient with someone whose actions I believe are wrong, especially when those actions have caused pain.

But Colossians 3:13 doesn't just tell us to forgive one another. It tells us to bear with one another, too.

I've been thinking about what that really means for me. Maybe part of it is learning to be patient with people even when I don't understand their choices. Maybe it's recognizing that not everyone is going to see things the way I do, and that I don't have to agree with someone to treat them with grace. Maybe it's learning not to let someone's behavior dictate the condition of my own heart.

And that's not always easy for me.

I know what it's like to be hurt by people, and I know how easy it can be to decide that keeping your distance is the best way forward. Sometimes it is. But I don't want my past experiences to make me so quick to walk away that I miss opportunities to show the patience and grace God has shown me.

The truth is, I'm still learning. I know God has helped me grow in forgiveness, but I also know He isn't finished working on my heart when it comes to bearing with others.

And maybe that's the point I need to remember most. God continues to be patient with me while I'm learning, growing, and getting things wrong. He doesn't expect me to have everything figured out overnight, and I need to remember that other people are works in progress, too.

I'm not saying this is something I've mastered. Far from it! But I want to be more mindful of how I respond when people disappoint me, frustrate me, or do things I don't agree with. I want to be willing to ask God to help me respond differently instead of automatically choosing to distance myself.

After all, I can be thankful for the grace God has extended to me while still learning how to extend that same grace to others.

I may not be where I want to be in this area, but I'm thankful God isn't finished with me yet.

Next Gen Different

Next Gen Different 

Scot and I both feel this way when it comes to Tim. Our desire is to see him surpass what we've accomplished in our own lives and build an even better life for himself and the generations that will come after him.

Don't get me wrong. We've lived a great life so far! God has blessed us in so many ways, and we've been able to support Tim, not only emotionally but also financially, in the things he's pursued throughout his young life.

One of the greatest blessings Scot and I have experienced is being able to show up for Tim in ways that our own families weren't always able to show up for us. It wasn't for a lack of love or trying. They simply didn't have the same means or opportunities that God has allowed us to have. We're grateful for what they did give us, and we're equally grateful that we've been able to build upon what came before us.

That's what we want for Tim. We want him to have a stronger foundation, greater opportunities, and the freedom to pursue what God places on his heart. We want him to dream bigger, work harder, grow in his faith, and become the man God created him to be. We don't want him to feel limited by where we've been or by the things we may not have been able to accomplish ourselves.

We want him to go further.

And as he builds his own life, our hope is that he'll continue building upon what we've worked so hard to establish. Not just financially, but in his character, his faith, his relationships, and the way he treats others.

Because this isn't just about Tim. It's about the generations that will come after him.

The more we can build, steward wisely, and pass along, the more we can leave for those who follow us. An inheritance isn't just about money or possessions. It's also about the values we teach, the faith we live out, the work ethic we demonstrate, and the foundation we leave behind. We want the next generation to start from a place that allows them to go even further than the generation before them.

Proverbs 13:22 tells us that a good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children. That verse reminds me that what we're building today can reach far beyond our own lifetime.

That's what Next Gen Different means to us.

It's not about thinking we're better than the generations before us. It's about recognizing what we've been given, being thankful for how far God has brought us, and doing our part to make the path a little easier for those who come after us.

God has been faithful to us, and we want that legacy of faithfulness to continue through our family.

Our prayer is that Tim will take what we've given him, build upon it, and one day pass along something even greater to his own children and grandchildren.

Not because we expect him to follow in our footsteps, but because we want him to have the opportunity to go further than we ever did.

And if the generations after him can do the same, then what we're building today will have mattered long after we're gone.

That's the goal. That's the legacy. That's Next Gen Different.  

I Will Restore the Years the Locusts Have Eaten

In Joel 2:25, God was speaking to a people who had experienced tremendous devastation. He was calling them to return to Him and promising restoration after a season of loss. Their circumstances had been devastating, but their devastation would not have the final word.

Imagine working an entire year, planting the seed, tending the land, and looking forward to the harvest, only to watch it all disappear before your eyes. Everything you had worked for was gone in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

That was the reality for the people in Joel's day. The locusts had devastated their land, leaving them without the crops and provisions they depended on.

But there was more to this than the loss of a harvest. Joel used this crisis to call God's people to repentance and to return to the Lord with their whole hearts. He also warned them of the coming Day of the Lord, a time of divine judgment.

I think it's important to understand this context because Joel 2:25 isn't an isolated promise that every loss we experience will automatically be repaid. God's promise of restoration came within a message calling His people back to Him and reminding them of His mercy.

That doesn't mean every hardship we face is punishment for sin. We live in a fallen world, and painful things happen for many reasons. But we can take comfort in knowing that God is merciful, faithful, and present even when life doesn't unfold the way we hoped it would.

For the people in Joel's day, restoration meant more than getting their crops back. God promised to provide for them, remove their shame, and remind them that He was among them.

I tell you all of that to say this: God's restoration is not only about what we receive; it is also about knowing Him more deeply through the process.

What really stands out to me about Joel 2:25 is that God speaks of restoring the years the locusts had eaten. The devastation had consequences that reached far beyond a single growing season. The people had lost food, income, and the fruit of their labor. It would take time for the land to recover.

Yet God promised that those years of devastation would not define their future.

And that is where this verse speaks to my heart today.

How many of us have looked back over our lives and wished we could get certain years back? Maybe there were years spent in painful circumstances, years filled with fear or regret, or years when we felt stuck and couldn't see a way forward. Maybe we spent years waiting for prayers to be answered, or circumstances took opportunities we thought we would always have.

We can't go back and change the past. We can't reclaim every opportunity or undo every painful experience. But we can trust God with the years behind us and the ones still ahead of us.

He can bring healing where there has been hurt. He can give us a new direction when we feel lost. He can open doors we never expected and bring purpose out of experiences we would never have chosen for ourselves.

Sometimes restoration doesn't look like getting back what we lost. Sometimes it looks like becoming stronger in our faith, learning to trust God in a deeper way, or discovering that He was with us even when we couldn't see what He was doing.

And sometimes, restoration means realizing that the difficult years were not the end of our story.

I want to be careful not to suggest that God has promised to give us back every lost year in a literal or material way. That isn't what this passage guarantees. But I believe we can hold on to the truth revealed in this Scripture: our losses do not limit God's ability to work in our lives, and our past does not place Him beyond reach.

When I think about God's faithfulness, I'm reminded that He sees the whole picture when all we can see is the part we're living through right now. We may not understand why certain things happened or why some seasons lasted as long as they did. We may never have answers to every question.

But we can choose to trust the One who holds our future.

Maybe you are in a season right now when you feel as though the locusts have eaten away at your years. Perhaps you're looking at something you lost and wondering how anything good could possibly come from it.

I want to encourage you not to measure God's faithfulness by what you've lost. Instead, look to who He is.

The same God who called His people back to Him in Joel's day is still worthy of our trust. His mercy has not changed. His faithfulness has not changed. And even when restoration looks different from what we imagined, we can continue to seek Him and trust Him with what comes next.

We cannot rewrite yesterday, but we can give God our tomorrow.

Our past may be part of our story, but it does not have to determine how our story ends.

The Power of Prayer

When I read this verse of Scripture, I am reminded of just how important prayer is in our lives and how blessed we are to have a God who hears us when we call upon Him.

But to truly understand the meaning behind this verse, I think it is important to look at the circumstances in which it was written.

James, who is traditionally understood to be the brother of Jesus and a leader in the early Christian church, wrote his letter to believers who were scattered among the nations and facing various trials and difficulties. His letter offered practical instruction on how to live out their faith, not just in what they believed but in how they treated others and responded to the challenges of life.

In the fifth chapter, James speaks about patience in suffering, prayer during difficult times, and calling upon the Lord when someone is sick. He encourages believers to pray for one another and to support one another in their faith. Then he gives us this beautiful reminder in verse 16: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

James wanted believers to understand that they were not meant to walk through life alone. They were to be a community of people who encouraged one another, confessed their wrongs, offered forgiveness, and lifted one another up in prayer.

I believe that message is just as important for us today.

Sometimes, we may feel that we have to carry our burdens alone. We may be embarrassed to admit our struggles or feel that we should be strong enough to handle everything ourselves. There may even be times when we hesitate to ask someone to pray for us because we don't want to burden them with what we are going through.

But God never intended for us to live as though we have to do everything on our own. He gave us the gift of prayer, and He gave us one another.

There is something special about knowing that someone cares enough to take our needs before the Lord in prayer. There is comfort in knowing that when we are struggling to find the words ourselves, someone else is faithfully asking God to give us strength, wisdom, healing, and peace.

And just as we need others to pray for us, we have the privilege of praying for them. We may not always know what someone is going through behind closed doors, but we can offer encouragement, extend grace, and lift their needs up to the Lord.

The part of this verse that says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” is especially meaningful to me. It reminds me that prayer is not simply a routine or a collection of words we speak. It is an opportunity to bring our hearts before the One who knows us completely and loves us unconditionally.

Being righteous does not mean being perfect. We all make mistakes, fall short, and have areas in our lives where we need God's correction and guidance. It means seeking to live according to His will, turning to Him when we fall short, and trusting Him with the things we cannot control.

James goes on to use Elijah as an example of the power of prayer. Elijah was a human being just like us, yet God worked through his prayers in extraordinary ways. I love that reminder because it shows us that prayer is not reserved for a select few. We do not have to be someone extraordinary to pray to an extraordinary God.

We may not always understand God's timing, and our prayers may not be answered in the way we hoped. But that does not mean our prayers are meaningless. We can continue to trust Him, even when we cannot see what He is doing.

As I think about this verse, I am reminded that one of the greatest ways we can love others is through prayer. We can pray for their struggles, their healing, their decisions, their families, and their walk with the Lord. We can also be willing to humble ourselves, admit when we are wrong, and allow others to encourage us in our own faith.

We may never know how much our prayers mean to someone else, but we can always know that bringing someone before the Lord is an act of love.

I am thankful that we serve a God who invites us to come to Him, not only with our own needs but also with the needs of those around us. What a blessing it is to know that we can turn to Him at any time, for any reason, and trust that He hears us.

May we never underestimate the power of prayer, and may we never underestimate the difference it can make when we faithfully pray for one another.

God hears our prayers, God knows our hearts, and God is always worthy of our trust.

Our Worship Must Come From the Heart

(Aiden Wilson Tozer was an American Christian pastor, author, preacher, and magazine 
editor associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. He became one of the most infl-uential devotional writers of the 20th century.)

Our Worship Must Come From the Heart

When I read this quote by A. W. Tozer, it made me stop and think about how important it is that our hearts line up with the words we speak to God.

It is easy to bow our heads in prayer, lift our hands in worship, and speak about the goodness of God. But are we allowing that same love we receive from Him to flow through us and into the way we treat others?

God knows our hearts. He sees beyond our words, our outward appearances, and what others may see in us. He knows what we hold inside, including the bitterness, resentment, anger, and unforgiveness that we sometimes struggle to let go of.

We cannot ask God to fill our hearts with His love while deliberately choosing to hold on to hate. Our walk with Him should make a difference in the way we see people, the way we speak to them, and the way we respond when we have been hurt.

Jesus made it clear that loving God and loving others go hand in hand. In Matthew 22:37–39, He tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Notice that He did not tell us to love only those who agree with us, treat us well, or make it easy to love them. Loving others can be difficult, especially when we have been hurt or disappointed. But as Christians, we are called to let God's love guide our hearts even in those difficult moments.

That does not mean we will never struggle with anger or hurt. We are human, and some wounds take time to heal. Forgiveness does not mean pretending that what happened was acceptable, and loving someone does not mean we must allow them to continue hurting us. We can establish healthy boundaries while still asking God to help us release bitterness and keep our hearts from becoming hardened.

I believe this is where we must be willing to look honestly at ourselves. Are we asking God to help us love as He loves? Are we willing to forgive as He has forgiven us? Are we allowing Him to work on the parts of our hearts that we would sometimes rather leave untouched?

1 John 4:20 reminds us that we cannot claim to love God, whom we have not seen, while hating our brother or sister whom we have seen.

Those are powerful words to consider.

Our worship is about more than what happens when we gather in church or spend time in prayer. It is also reflected in how we live when we leave those moments behind. It is reflected in our attitudes, our conversations, our compassion, and our willingness to extend grace to others.

If we truly desire to draw closer to God, we must be willing to let Him change us from the inside out.

This brings to mind Psalm 139:23–24, where David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (KJV)

I love this prayer because it begins with our own hearts. It is easy to recognize the faults of others, to see where they have fallen short, or to remember the ways they have hurt us. But are we just as willing to ask God to examine us?

Are there things we are holding on to that He wants us to release? Is there resentment that needs to be surrendered, forgiveness that needs to be extended, or an attitude that needs to change?

When we sincerely ask God to search our hearts, we must also be willing to listen and allow Him to do His work in us. We cannot change our hearts through our own strength alone, but we can surrender them to the One who can.

I know I need His help in this, just as we all do. My prayer is that God will continue to search my heart, show me anything that does not reflect Him, and teach me to love others with the same grace and mercy He has shown me.

May our prayers be sincere, our worship be genuine, and our hearts be filled with a love that others can see through the way we live.

Because in the end, it is not enough to simply speak about God's love. We are called to live it.

Lord, search my heart. Show me anything that does not reflect You, help me release what I need to surrender, and teach me to love as You love. Let my life be a reflection of You, not just my words. In Jesus Name, Amen.

He Knows What We Can Bear

(taken from the Bible App)

He Knows What We Can Bear

When I see this verse, I often think about how God knows how much we can bear.

How often have I been in the middle of something and thought, I can't bear this. I don't know how I'm going to get through this. God, please just take it away.

And more often than not, He doesn't.

Not because He doesn't hear me. Not because He doesn't care. But because He knows something I don't know—what's on the other side of it.

This verse reminds us that God is faithful. He knows our limits, even when we don't. He knows when something feels overwhelming to us, and He promises that we will never face temptation that is beyond what we can bear.

But there is another part of this verse that I think we sometimes overlook.

It tells us that when we are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that we can endure it.

More often than not, our way out of temptation may be as simple as saying NO.

No.

I don't need to go there.

I don't need to say that.

I don't need to respond that way.

I don't need to give in.

But sometimes saying no isn't enough. Sometimes the way out is to turn around and run in the opposite direction.

Joseph is a great example of this. When Potiphar's wife tried to tempt him, Joseph didn't stick around to see how strong his willpower was. He ran. He literally left his garment behind and got himself out of there.

Sometimes wisdom looks like running.

I think we can be guilty of believing that being strong means standing there and proving that we can resist temptation. But maybe sometimes the strongest thing we can do is recognize the temptation for what it is and get as far away from it as possible.

God promises to provide a way out. But we still have to choose to take it.

And that applies to more than just the obvious temptations. Sometimes the thing we need to escape is our own thinking—the thoughts that tell us we're alone, that we can't handle this, that God has forgotten us, or that whatever we're facing will never end.

Those thoughts can be tempting too.

When I'm in the middle of something difficult, I may not be able to see the way out. I may not understand why God hasn't simply removed the situation. I may even wonder how much longer I can keep going.

But God sees what I can't see.

He knows what is on the other side.

He knows what He is doing even when I don't understand it.

And maybe that's part of what faith really looks like—not always knowing how God is going to get us through something, but trusting that He will.

Sometimes He removes the temptation.

Sometimes He gives us the strength to endure it.

Sometimes He tells us to say no.

And sometimes He tells us to run.

Whatever the way out looks like, we can trust that God is faithful enough to provide it.

We just have to be willing to take it.

“God is faithful.”

Those may be some of the most comforting words in this entire verse.

Because when I don't know what to do, He does.

When I can't see the way out, He can.

And when I think I can't bear it, He already knows what I'm capable of bearing—and He is right there with me through it.

Where Is Your Faith?

(taken from an illustration from a sermon my Pastor taught)

Where Is Your Faith? 

When I saw this illustration that our Pastor shared, I knew I wanted to share it here.

It immediately made me stop and think about where my faith is placed.

The illustration says that our faith should be in three main areas:

The blood of Jesus.
The name of Jesus.
The Word of God.

The more I thought about those three things, the more I realized how beautifully they work together.

Faith in the blood of Jesus reminds me of what Jesus did for me.

Romans 3:23-25 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but that we are justified through Christ Jesus and His sacrifice.

There is nothing I could ever do to earn salvation. I cannot be good enough, work hard enough, or make myself worthy enough. My hope is in what Jesus did for me on the cross.

His blood paid a price I could never pay.

Faith in the name of Jesus reminds me of who I am trusting.

Acts 3:16 tells us that it is faith in the name of Jesus that brings healing and restoration. There is power in His name—not because the name itself is simply a word, but because of who Jesus is.

When I pray, I want my faith to be in Jesus.

When I am afraid, I want my faith to be in Jesus.

When I don't understand what God is doing, I want my faith to remain in Jesus.

And then there is faith in the Word of God.

Romans 10:17 tells us, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

God's Word gives us something solid to stand on when everything around us feels uncertain.

Our feelings change.

Circumstances change.

People change.

Life changes.

But God's Word does not change.

There have been many seasons in my life when I didn't understand what God was doing. I couldn't see what was ahead, and sometimes I didn't even know what I was supposed to do next.

But those are the moments when I have learned that faith isn't about having all the answers.

Faith is trusting the One who does.

When I look at these three areas, I see a beautiful picture:

The blood of Jesus reminds me of what He has done.
The name of Jesus reminds me of who He is.
The Word of God reminds me of what He has said.

And those are three things I never want to forget.

My faith isn't in my circumstances.
My faith isn't in my own strength.
My faith isn't in what I can see.

My faith is in Jesus—His blood, His name, and His Word.

And when I find myself struggling to trust, perhaps the question I need to ask isn't, “Do I have enough faith?”

Maybe the better question is:

“Where have I placed my faith?”

Because when our faith is placed in the right One, we can face whatever comes knowing that God is faithful.  Always. ❤️

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The Treasures That Fill Our Home

The Treasures That Fill Our Home

When I read these verses, I don't think about a physical house. I think about a home.

Wisdom and knowledge build a strong house. What I take that to mean is that through wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, everyone in a home has a part in making that home stronger. Everyone has a special place to fill.

A house can be beautiful. It can be filled with beautiful furniture, decorations, pictures, and things that we have collected over the years. But none of those things are what truly make a house a home.

The greatest treasures in our home are the people who fill it.

In our home, the rare and beautiful treasures that fill our rooms are our loved ones. Each person is unique and holds value that only they can hold. Each person is rare and beautiful—and I'm not talking about outward beauty.

I'm talking about the beauty that comes from within.

The kindness.
The love.
The laughter.
The wisdom.
The strength.
The compassion.
The faith.
The memories.
The experiences that have shaped each of us into who we are.

These are the things that fill a home with treasures that money could never buy.

Every person brings something different into a family. We each have different personalities, different gifts, different strengths, and even different weaknesses. And yet, God can use all of those differences to build something beautiful.

I think about our own home and how grateful I am for the people God has placed within it. The people I love are not simply occupants of our house. They are the reason it is home.

They are the treasures in the rooms.

And just as Proverbs says, a strong house doesn't happen by accident. It is built. It is established. It takes wisdom, understanding, patience, forgiveness, grace, communication, and most importantly, God.

Because homes aren't perfect.

Families aren't perfect.

People aren't perfect.

But a home built on God doesn't have to be perfect to be strong.

There will be difficult seasons. There will be disagreements. There will be misunderstandings and moments when we don't get it right. But when we allow God to be the foundation of our home, He teaches us how to love each other through those things.

He teaches us to listen when we'd rather speak, to extend grace when we'd rather hold onto hurt, to forgive when it isn't easy, and to value the person in front of us more than whatever disagreement we may be facing.

And perhaps that is part of what makes the treasures in our rooms so rare and beautiful.

They aren't valuable because they are perfect.

They are valuable because they are ours—and because God entrusted them to us.

When I look around our home, I don't want to see only what we've accumulated. I want to see what God has built.

I want the walls of our home to hold memories of laughter, conversations, celebrations, tears, prayers, hard seasons, answered prayers, and ordinary days that we didn't realize were actually some of the most precious days of our lives.

I want our home to be a place where the people inside it know they are loved, valued, safe, and accepted.

Because one day, the furniture will be old. The decorations will change. Things will break, be replaced, or eventually be gone.

But the people God has given us?

They are the treasures.

And if I have learned anything, it is that the most beautiful things in life aren't things at all.

They are people.

They are relationships.

They are memories.

They are the love we give and receive.

They are the people who walk beside us through every season.

And when God is the One building the house, He doesn't just fill its rooms with possessions.

He fills them with rare and beautiful treasures.

I pray that our home will always be a place where those treasures are recognized, cherished, protected, and loved.

Because to me, that is what makes a house a home.

Taking Every Thought Captive

Taking Every Thought Captive

Paul wrote these words as he was defending his ministry and his authority as an apostle.

In this verse, Paul tells us two ways he wages war on behalf of the gospel. First, he demolishes arguments and pretensions that set themselves up against “the knowledge of God.” Second, he takes every thought captive and makes it obedient to Christ.

Demolishing arguments and pretensions seems easy enough, doesn’t it? After all, who doesn’t like to battle over what they believe to be true? Almost no one backs down when they wholeheartedly believe in something strongly enough.

The last part is more tricky, though, isn’t it?

That’s the part that is much harder to do.

Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Doing that means we have to think and live the way Christ would have us think and live. I don’t know about you, but I mess up on this a lot.

My thoughts are all over the place on any given day. Reeling them in and bringing them into obedience to Christ is not a natural thing for me to do—and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I’m always thinking about what has been, what I’m dealing with currently, and what’s to come in the future.

None of us can see the future. We can look back at the past and know what we do and don’t want in our lives. We can look at what is happening right now and think about ways to make things better, hoping and praying for a better outcome when all is said and done.

But what if we thought about all of it through the lens of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ?

That is something I sometimes struggle with—especially when I want to control the outcome myself.

I'm sure you understand that because you may struggle with the same thing.

I can pray about something and then, not long afterward, find myself trying to figure out how I can fix it. I can give something to God and then start taking it back with my thoughts, my worries, my plans, and my attempts to control the outcome.

Maybe that's exactly where taking our thoughts captive becomes so important.

We have to recognize the thought, hold it up against what we know about God, and then decide whether we are going to let that thought control us—or surrender it to Him.

No one ever said living our lives in obedience to Christ would be easy. It most certainly isn't.

My flesh is always fighting with my spirit in a tug-of-war, with one wanting to win out over the other. I'm thankful that, more often than not, I give way to my spirit. But sometimes it takes me realizing that I've allowed my flesh to get in the way before I finally surrender that thought, that worry, that fear, or that desire for control back to God.

And I'm just glad that Christ wins out in the end.

Maybe that's what I need to remind myself of more often:

I don't have to win every battle in my mind. I just have to surrender every thought to the One who has already won the greatest battle.

Walking with Him is what truly matters.

Giving my thoughts to Him makes all the difference—not only for me, but for my family and the way I live my life.

Will things always go the way I think they should? No. We are living in a fallen world, and difficult things will happen. Disappointments will come. Plans will change. Some things will hurt.

But I know Who is with me.

I know Who holds my past, my present, and my future.

I know Who sees what I cannot see.

And I know that when I surrender my thoughts to Him, I don't have to carry the weight of figuring everything out on my own.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

That's more than just a verse to read.

It's a way to live.

And for me, it's a daily reminder that when my mind starts running ahead, behind, or in a hundred different directions, I can stop, take that thought captive, and bring it back to Christ.

Because my thoughts may not always be under control—but they can always be surrendered to the One who is.