This morning I was reminded again of how much God cares about the little things in our lives. I was getting ready for a two-day adventure with the hubby where we get away and do some of the things we enjoy while having an appointment he has to go to.
It started last night with me being all cozy in bed for the night and all of a sudden I was reminded of where a receipt I needed might be. So up I went to go look. But it wasn’t there. So I just prayed that God would work it out so I could find that for a return, or work something out and went back to bed.
This morning I get up and I couldn’t find an item I needed. I knew I had seen it somewhere and but couldn’t find it anywhere. I prayed and told God I knew I had seen it somewhere but He needed to show me again. I opened a draw, the very drawer I had already looked in maybe a couple of times. But I had prayed so I thought I would open the drawer and look again. There it was!
Then I misplaced my comb as I was trying to do my hair this morning. I just had it in my hand a few minutes ago. Now where did I set it? Ok, JoAnn. Get with it. Yes, I was in a hurry to get out of the house on time, and sometimes I am not thinking as I lay something down. So now I had last night miss, and then this morning. I asked God if He could give me my thoughts back to get things these taken care of.
Response? He told me one more time to look in an unlikely place and there was my comb! AND then later as I got to the store without a receipt, I gave her my card and she looked it up that way. I got credit back on my card. Praise the Lord!! He did it again!
Why do I share these things with YOU? Because if God cares about these little things on my heart, He will surely care about the big things in my life just as much and more. I felt like I should share that with you. It may seem inconsequential but it isn’t. Don’t think the small things are not a big deal. They are just as important to Him where you are concerned.
The exciting and peace giving part of this message is this: He hears; He listens. We don’t want to miss seeing the little things He does for us that builds the trust to leave the big things with Him also. He if cares about the little stuff, we can trust Him with our biggest life challenges too. Don’t miss it!
Just a fun thing today… He did something fun and showed me a place I don’t usually look in a thrift store and there was this purse! I mean a new red leather purse (I’m a red kind of gal) and it was only $6.99!!! See? I never think these little nods are just chance. I believe God cares for things that I care for and He leads me to find great finds because He knows I KNOW it’s Him reminding me He cares and loves me. I believe, He leads to me see what brings joy to my heart. It is what makes my days more exciting and joyful to see Him lean toward my heart and say, “JoAnn…did you see this??”
Look for His leading. He loves to shower you with His love. And if it is in hard times you are going through, than He leans closer and whispers,
“Don’t give up or give in my child. I hear prayer for your circumstance and I will guide you through on this journey. You may not see the good in this now, but trust me to lead you through.”
Remember all things work together for those who love Him. That is in everything. If I cry through it, that’s ok. If I feel angry sometimes, that is ok. He says to remember that He is a prayer away and wants to bring joy, peace, comfort each day IF you will leave it His hands and not take it back.
So I keep looking for the joyful moments in the little things that God does in my life because it is part of my lesson to remember if He cares for the little things that bring me joy, He will definitely be there for the big difficult experiences I go through.
Find your joy today. Be a Noticer! You don’t want to miss out on seeing His love shining in those little and big things in your life. What will He show you today?
Hello my friends! It has been a long while since I have written, but I got a previous post out and wanted to get my New Year post out also. So let’s go!
Hard year last year…anyone else? Lots of great things happened, which my Gratitude Jar shows, but it was a hard one emotionally and in many cases, physically for me. My mind was a bit scattered and my emotions were rather all over the place, and I found it difficult to concentrate to do the things I would normally do to pull myself out of those places. I wasn’t too forgiving of myself as I struggled to admit there might be a bit of depression going on. So…I thought I would hop on here and chat a while about what I have learned, and where it might take me in this New Year of 2024. Also to tell you that re-reading my previous post, helped me to get in the groove to get this post out to you!
Because of the above circumstances, I hadn’t prayed about my word for the year as I usually do starting in November, which is my birthday month. So here I am days before the new year started (and now late in sharing it but that is ok) and I had to admit in my prayer time that I hadn’t asked the Lord for my word this year. I then asked Him if he would show me what it should be. Well when we ask, there is an answer. It may be what you are looking for, it may be something He wants you to work on, or it may take some time to answer. In my case, the next day I felt the answer…it was not what I really was wanting to acknowledge… PEACE. Yep. That was my word. Oh boy! I knew I had been having issues through the year because deep down there were many areas I was NOT in peace about. Oh… I can make a peaceful environment around me, in fact, I love doing that for myself or others who enter our home. But God was talking about MY peace; my INNER peace. And…I knew He was right. I wasn’t so peaceful inside. I was having a hard time walking that out, which of course, had been my problem in sharing the real stuff with God anyway. Funny part about that??? Like He didn’t know that already, and patiently waited until I would come to Him about it.
So once I had that word, I asked myself the usual question that helps me learn what is going on inside my head and heart: What is taking or stealing your peace?We have to be willing to be honest with ourselves. In my case, I recognized I am letting not just my life challenges grab a hold, but also those that are in the lives of my friends and family. The kicker for me was that I wasn’t turning them over and letting God work it out. I get involved; I get upset about their challenges, I go into recovery mode for them, I want to fix it… and I can’t. There are times I can help, but there are times and reasons that I might need to just listen. Satan will use any circumstance to lead us away from what helps us most…staying in close relationship with Jesus, pray and let Him take it on. Leave it with Him. Trust it with Him. Because I know that if I do that, I won’t be kept from the very special time and regime that I need to continue down the path God has for me. You see, my Bible reading and study was NOT what it should be. I would try and read and get nothing out of it, which is not like me. I love to read and learn and apply it to my life. I have also had to admit to a very short fuse…that is my inner self not doing well. I felt isolated which is the first sign that satan is playing with my head and heart, because, he wants me to feel this way; like there is no hope to feel better or get back to what I love to do.
I also learned that what I listened to in my home is important. So I have to spend more time in The Loft. Eyes off the world, and on what brings joy and peace to my heart and mind. That is where great things happen. It is ok set aside alone time if that is what it takes. I need to do that and use that time alone, not as isolation, but a time to listen and really hear anew what God has to say to me. Listen to the whisper. We have this idea that we need to go, go, go, and always be busy/sucessful. We are trying to accomplish everything and look successful and we are literally tearing down our bodies; and maybe our family and relationships with us. I don’t mind being alone because I know that is where I learn the most. So this whole way of feeling was very foreign to me. But by asking these hard questions, I can get more honest about the deep things that have changed in me.
I also remembered there was a natural product I was using that I had used for many years and I didn’t think I needed anymore. Well…to the ladies that follow this blog, if you have had a have had hormone difficulties, going through or gone through menopause, or you have had a hysterectomy as I have had, you may know that just because you get to a certain age, does not mean you might not need hormone support. Maybe too much information here, but I want to be transparent in sharing so you might recognize something that may help you. So my next step was to order it and start that this year. This decision also included consistency with vitamin regime. Do what you know to do. In my case, I believe these steps were answers to the question I asked myself. I felt better once I recognized them and took steps to change it.
So peace is my word for the year. I have made a logo for it (as you see as the cover) to use at various times through this year. I have made a scrabble tile with the word on it and it’s on my desk. I have that logo on my phone and watch. I am a visual person. The circle reminds me of life moving on. The heart is about me having the peace in my inner being…the heart reminds me that from the heart the mouth speaks. And the cross in a reminder to leave my problems and challenges at the cross. I loved finding the cross that looks a little like hardanger; a nod to my Norwegian heritage.
I have a list of goals for the new year as I always write. They are not resolutions, but just goals I have asked God to oversee. I love watching how God works them out in my life. I am never disappointed in the results and I love to see what He accomplishes from that list when I turn it all over back to him. I had almost 3/4 of my list to celebrate last New Year’s Eve when I read them, and that happened even amongst the hardship of the year. But sometimes we are more focused on what we think we don’t have rather than what we DO have. My daily prayers will be written in a little Prayer Journal given to me by a long time friend to pray over. I will also put my gratitude hearts in my Gratitude Jar. This year I expect to have more than last year because my heart is more at peace.
So it is my hope that you all will have the same kind of revelation in your hearts and minds as you walk out your 2024. May you have the courage to ask the same question that I asked and see what God lays on your hearts. Should that happen, or you have a word for YOUR year, I would love to hear from you about it. Leave a message on the blog by scrolling down a bit after the sign off and leave it there. I will respond and certainly pray for those that do, so that, you too may experience God’s divine purpose in your daily walk this year.
Hello Friends! I hope this finds you all well, and that you are finding staying at home has been good among the challenges of it. Challenge means we are changing in some way. May God help you to do just that for His glory. Let’s take a few minutes together over some coffee or tea! Got it?? Let’s dig in!
Sometimes, we have to get our heart right in order to be able to help others. But it is also good for you to know that we ALL have those times, and it’s ok. I have especially been called to study prayer during these last few months. So my online study group has been looking at prayer. I thought I would share some thoughts on prayer with you here on the blog.
Our emphasis on prayer should not be about how eloquent we are, or that we can recite recitation scripture, but instead it should be the heart behind the prayer. There is no formula or right or wrong way to pray. BUT there are some things we need to consider BEFORE we pray. In the last few years, God has changed my approach to prayer, in that, I come to Him asking for forgiveness first. I know, some say Praise first. Nope. I come to Him asking for forgiveness. Why? Because the Holy Spirit it convicting me through out my life of areas that I need to change, come up higher in, orchange my thought life, attitudes, anger, critical spirit…whatever it is. God also tells me if I have issues with something or someone, I am to take care of that first and then come to prayer. Why? Because our prayers can be hindered by those very things. When I pray in my quiet time, I ask for forgiveness so my prayers aren’t hindered. I don’t have to do that every time I pray because I pray all the time, but I want a clean heart before God as I bring my requests and those of others, to God in my quiet time. Another point God makes is that we are not to think we are “heard for [our] much speaking.” We are not fill our prayer with lots of extra words, or repeating words. Simple words to God in prayer. It can be called fluffy prayers so we sound more spiritual. Not necessary. Enjoy being in God’s presence and hearing His quiet voice in your spirit. Prayer is a dialogue with God, not a monologue of only you talking to God. Listen for His whisper.
In prayer times we can, and we need to:
pause for reflection
think about what was said
ask what God may be speaking to us
listening to God’s Holy Spirit
worshiping Him in our own way
seeking to experience God’s presence.
Why not spend time opening your soul and spirit to listening to God, to experience His presence, and to hear what the Spirit says. Yes indeed… prayer is a dialogue. God wants to hear from you. However, it is also important for you to hear from Him. Be open and honest with Him. Honesty with God is so important to our growth. I had a dear friend that was a pastor’s wife. Wow! I learned a lot from her about prayer. That lady could pray about anything and it was like she had a hot line to heaven. As I have gotten older, I understand that she had established such a personal and deep relationship with God, that she lived it out, where she could ask God for anything, and she would get answers. I understand that relationship now. I remember thinking I wish I had that kind of prayer life. But she kept telling me it is all about relationship. Then, you trust Him with more and more. She prayed down to specifics of the homes they would move to when they would relocate. She would pray for a ride from town back home and I would “happen” to come along. She would get in the car and say that I had just answered God’s prayer for her. There was no happenstance with her.
THAT is what I want, and I want that for you. Trust Him with everything! Know that He loves you so much more than you know and nothing pleases Him more than to hear your voice, crying out, yelling out, whispering, or pleading with Him. Come before Him with a clean heart. Growing up I would sing this liturgy: “Create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit with in me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit it from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit.” I pray that each time I come to God in prayer.
Let me ask you a question I asked the study gals. What kind of father figure do you think about when you think about your Heavenly Father? Was your father figure growing up one that had no time for you? Detached? Overly strict? Loved you only when you were good or did good? Manipulative? You see, that matters how you see God. So your experience with God may come from a place of distrust. You may have to escavate your thoughts and heart to see how you are seeing God. Are you willing to give up everything to have relationship with Jesus? Weed out what is keeping you from an exciting time with Him in prayer? Let it be so in our hearts. The longer our acquaintance is with Him, the closer our fellowship is with Him. Our spiritual health depends on our pursuing the Lord and His presence. “He says, ‘Come to Me to stay with Me’.” (Andrew Murray)
We can make real messes at times in our lives when we try to control things instead of trusting God with it. Our pride can get in the way. Evaluate your heart. Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Ps. 34:
Describe which phrases below would best describe how you view God’s goodness.
I always trust that God is good.
I believe that God is good when life is good.
I have a hard time trusting that God is good.
It’s easier to believe that God is good to other people than to me.
I say, “God is good”, but my thoughts and actions don’t always reflect that.
I have had some great opportunities to practice better thinking and approaches to circumstances, while learning more about myself. Such things as times when I have counted on something, desired something, dealt with frustration, and even a “I don’t want to hear that”, response. And then, I have to go back and apologize to a friend who was trying to be an encouragement to me, but instead my response was, “I really don’t want to hear that”. So what do I know? I know and have learned that I process things by talking about them. It helps me work through them, even if I’m mad. I do that with God in prayer. But then the Holy Spirit convicts me of my attitude and I have to deal with that in myself, or with the person I may have been less than kind to. The Holy Spirit reminds me that God’s thoughts are NOT my thoughts. I have to leave it all in God’s lap…all of it. Then, I trust that He has taken care of me in the past and he will take care of me in the future. Jesus overcame the world so that I have peace and courage no matter what I may be going through. I have to rest in Him…abide in Him. STAY with Him. When I acted like I did above, I certainly wasn’t resting in Him. I acted more like a little kid trying to wrestle myself free of His will and the encouragement He was trying to give me through my friend. So…He dealt with me, and He set me on higher ground to boost my courage to face it all. He renewed my trust that He knows where I am to be and how it will play out.
Your view of God will change as you learn and let God chip off those areas that may be keeping you from God’s best for your life. What chips are you needing to have trimmed off? There is a great quote I heard the other day, “We have the privilege of trusting God.” ~Joyce Meyer
Maybe sometimes as we think about prayer, we have this idea of God as our buddy, a friend, a feel good sense in our life, all makes sense kind of person, a giver, provider, and all of those feel good feelings toward God. But what happens as we grow in our life and other things happen that don’t make sense to us? It might be the loss of a child, someone you love getting this virus, or death from the virus, or an accident that leaves someone with serious life challenges, or things aren’t turning out the way you thought they would? Then who is God to you? Has He changed because of something that has happened in our life? He is a different God than before?
You see, we can lose sight of who God is, by what we think He is now after we have questioned God about these difficult occurrences in our life. We lose out on that closeness we could have because we are kind of stuck with who we think He is in difficult times. Maybe before you thought God fit in to your life really well and you even talked about what He has done in your life to others. But things happened, and you can’t quite fit Him into the same vision as God was before this happened. So in essence, we are trying to fit God into what He has or hasn’t done before. He was good before this happened. Now THIS, whatever it is, happened and you think differently about God. Before, He was all cool like that. He did for you what you expected, like the fun giver, the helper, provider…all of that. But all of a sudden, you aren’t thinking about Him like that anymore. So our relationship suffers because our prayer has suffered. We lose confidence and less prayer = less relationship.
It is like when we take a trip, we use a map or maybe we use our phones, but we use those tools to help make our trip easier. So if that is the case, our map is the Bible, and our Compass is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If we use our spiritual guidance through God, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, then we are assured that we can accurately reach our destination; the life that God has promised us. It may not look like you thought, but it IS God’s best for you. It will be the most important gift we receive.
Could this true of you? If so, then you might need to hit the prayer chair or prayer floor, and ask God to begin to show you who He is right now in your life and renew that “right spirit” with in you. BECAUSE…He IS the same yesterday, today, and forever. That means just because things happen, and the devil gets his digs in, that He is still the same powerful all-knowing God who gave up His Son, so that you could always have God just a prayer away. Ask today for God to direct your thoughts, actions, and reactions. Get your tools working for you. Look up, and then look at your map so God can show you the way. Stop and ask directions.
Are you ready for 2020? When you think about the new year, what thoughts come to mind? Are you thinking, “THIS year HAS to be a better year!” Or maybe you are thinking, “I can’t wait to see what this year will bring!” It may even bring sadness to think of a new year because of what you have lost this year, and that feels like if you are happy for a new year, then you are leaving that behind and you relive the lost all over again. You might also find that thinking of the new year also means that you have made it through this season and feel proud that you have hung in there!
From this…
to this in 10 weeks
For me, I can say that this year has been fantastic in so many ways! I have seen God provide, answer BIG prayers, settle us, and guide us on some rocky roads. But you know what? I have also had some real hard times. I have lost life time friends, I have lost relatives, and have watched several leave this world for heaven because of cancer and other health problems. I have dealt with skin cancer myself at the beginning of October, and still dealing with the aftermath of three total surgeries to my face. I didn’t have much time to process that, it was like one step after another and then here I am with scars to my face. My scars can be seen by everyone. But many of you have scars that can’t be seen from the outside, but you carry them with you every day. I have the emotional ones of looking at myself in the mirror everyday, but I also see how God is slowly healing my face. I can see Him working. I have learned that God is with me during these times. Just because I am going through something tough, doesn’t mean God has changed and isn’t still there for me. It may be hard, I may have some strong feelings about my situation, but God is there none the less, and He hasn’t changed because of my circumtances. He is there no matter what we are going through! He never leaves us. That should give us great comfort. I may hurt, but God loves me and He is there to comfort me and bring healing to my mind, body and soul.
Here’s my take…I could have had the surgery (and yes my surgeon was great), but I could have just gone about my daily life and washed my face, put some moisturizer on it and called it done. I know what he told me to do, but hey, its a hassle and I don’t feel like it. And I’m kind of mad that I even have to do this because God let cancer come to my body. Here’s the point: He didn’t make it come to me. My body, my genetics, my life style, and many other factors played into getting skin cancer. Difficult things happen in our lives. That doesn’t mean that He isn’t there with us IN the hard times. So yes, I could have just done the minimum of daily care because I didn’t FEEL like doing the rest. Would my outcome be as good as it has been? Would I see the healing that is taking place because I take care of the regime every day two times a day and sometimes in between? I don’t think so. I can even cover a lot of it up with make up that makes it easier to go out and not have people stare or wonder…but it is still there in the mirror when I wash me face at night. You see, we will live with our scars every day if we don’t allow God to do the healing. God helped me to see that I have to trust it Him with it all. I can’t give him part of me. I have to surrender it all; even the most difficult parts of my life. Every time I look in the mirror, I tell myself what God has kept me from, and what He is bringing into my life.
It is like that in our walk with the Lord. We can believe there is a God and go about our life, but we don’t allow Him in because we are really upset about the fact that things didn’t go how we wanted them to go according to what we thought God should do. I don’t feel like reading the Bible. I can’t seem to get myself to pray. Even going to church seems difficult. Because really, I may be upset with my plans not going as I thought my life would. Here is the kicker…God has His plans for our life. He knows what will happen in your life from the beginning to the end. It is what we choose to do with what happens in our life that makes it all worth while. We can go on in our life living in black and white, but there sure is a lot more joy when we begin seeing in color again as we allow God to direct us in His plan for our lives. We have to learn again to be in the present moment. That is one of my goals for the new year. I am still working on my list. I can’t believe how many of my goals God has graciously allowed to come to fruition this year. Live in gratitude my friends…it changes everything.
I’m looking forward to a new year with great expectation. But…I’m taking some scars I didn’t previously have, into the new year. What?!?!?? Are you thinking we should leave them behind because its a new year? We can’t. Not without Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us. If we try to heal on our own, we will be frustrated to no end. It doesn’t work. Instead, I asked Him, “What is Your purpose in this, and what are You trying to teach me through it?” If I can turn it over to Him, THEN He can begin to work. I have seen Him answer so many prayers in my life since October! He has given me support in ways I would never have expected. Do I get discouraged and sick of not breathing correctly and getting colds on top of everything else going on with my nose? Of course! But then the Holy Spirit reminds me of what God HAS DONE, and I can’t help but thank Him. It took a year and a half of asking doctors about my concern for my nose to finally get someone to listen. And listen she did, and so did the next one and the next one, and the next one. God ordered the steps and just in time to catch it all. It meant a big changes, dealing with the shock of it, but I got clear margins. And…it may not be done. I may have to have a scraping done on the other side yet. I will know in January. I will trust Him in that also because again, it is about what He is possibly keeping me from.
You too, can step into the New Year with clear margins. Surrender. Less of a busy life. Quiet time. Relationship with God. Family time. Less social media. Ask Him to help with that. My word for the year 2020 is wisdom. I got this as I went into my third surgery. I believe because God knew I would need it to walk this out. I wanted to be an example of how to walk a tough road. I have had many, many of them, but this one was way different. It was going show up on the outside. No hiding this one. And…it was a bit scary. So when He gave me this word, I knew that it was right for me. I pray for wisdom, but I know I am to seek it on a deeper level than ever before. We make the mistake of trying to operate with our own wisdom. God tells us our ways are not His ways. We need to accept that as truth if we believe God’s Word is truth. Just to remind me, for my birthday I was in a Scandinavian Shop and saw a necklace that I really liked. It’s name? It meant Wisdom. I have a great reminder. I have the word in scrabble letters as I do each year and put it in my studio. Here is a scripture to go with the word:
“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without critizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.” James 1:5
Our lives may have broken places like broken pottery, but it can be made beautiful by the experience, which is the gold that gives it new beauty.
You see, if I am asking God for something, I need to ask in faith and believe! No room for doubt. When I feel weak, God is Who I turn to and I ask the Holy Spirit to bring the scripture to mind or a person to encourage me. He answers when we give it to Him first. God is just waiting for us to ask. Surrender is a beautiful thing and it certainly takes away the weight of the world off our shoulders. Don’t carry it with you. Turn it over this next year. In fact, just start again and hit the Reset Button in your life. Make the change with God’s help. Don’t try it on your own. Don’t just know about it, go to church on Sunday, hear a pastor speak, and then not seek relationship the rest of the week. Don’t just put it out there on social media, begin living it out! Take action!
I and my scars on going into 2020 with Jesus healing me like gold holding pottery together to make something beautiful from something that has been broken. You don’t know how God wants to use that in your life or in the life of others. I’m leading an online study on Hitting the Reset Button that will start in January and that is just what we are going to do. We are going back to the basics of what God tells us to do and live by, and then by the grace of God, we live it out. It’s online and you can come in at any time. Join me if you would like. Just leave your interest in the comments below. If we aren’t Facebook friends, you would have to request that in order for me to invite you because its a closed group.
May God give you the desires of your heart this next year. But be willing to go where He asks you to go, deal with what He asks you to deal with, and be obedient to His calling. You won’t believe the difference it can make in your life! That is the best testimony you can share with anyone…a life with joy and well-lived for the Lord. That is my prayer for each of you in 2020! Blessings…
Journeys of My Heart 