Then Jesus explained, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”
~ John 4:34
I’m not a mom but I have a dog and work with 10-15 teens 40 hours a week so that must count for something right? I’m hanging out with my friends at Raising Generations Today. I would love for you to join us! For your daily dose of encouragement click on over here.
If that doesn’t work the short link for this article is: http://wp.me/p39Ehj-1qT
~ Lovelle ❤
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“You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst…”
~ Nehemiah 9:20 NLT
Nehemiah 9 starts out solemn. The people of Israel realized they had fallen away from God again. They confessed their sins and worshipped their God. Then together in unison, the Israelites prayed to God and thanked Him for everything He had done for them.
Here are some of the things that they thanked Him for:
God literally provided everything for the Israelites. Here’s the thing; in the midst of the miracles listed, they still managed to sin a lot:
“Whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times.”
~ Nehemiah 9:28
It may be 2016 but sometimes I feel just like the Israelites. Life is like a roller coaster. Some days I feel like I do really good, while other days I feel like the worst human being on the planet. It’s an up and down ride of trial and error.
It’s in my darkest moments that I see God the most.
It’s when I am flat on my face crying out to God because trials come from every direction that I feel His presence more than ever. It’s in those moments that I can stand up and thank Him for every single thing that He has gotten me through and forgiven me for. I may forget sometimes but let me tell you friend, He’s done a lot;
Every single time I mess up He’s been there holding me. When I say, “Lord, I’m just not good enough.” He says, “That’s okay. That’s why I died on the cross.”
Nehemiah 9 was my reminder that every trial is a testimony. Every mistake holds an opportunity for growth. I can rejoice in the hard times because those are the moments that God holds me ever so close…
~ Lovelle ❤
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For the past 5 years I have had an air freshener on my rear view mirror. It’s a cross with big blue letters that read, “Be still and know that I am God.” The smell is long gone and age has definitely set in but every time I think about taking it down I just can’t bring myself to do it.
You see, my high school librarian gave me that air freshener as a graduation gift and it was with me in some of the toughest situations I have ever endured. I would look at it when I was homeless or driving to one of my many jobs.
I would glimpse at that cross when I was in pain wondering why I had to go through life alone. It was my reminder that He was with me through it all.
This air freshener would tell me that God was in control and I need not worry. I still look at it daily and it means more to me now than it ever has. I have walked through the wilderness and God has brought me to my promised land.
I am writing this story because I want you to know a very important truth: You never know who you impact.
It took me years to truly understand how much my librarian helped me and it took me even longer to voice it to her. My librarian and quite a few high school teachers walked along side me in some pretty tough mud that I’m sure they weren’t certain I would get out of.
But guess what??? They also walked with me through my promised land too. One of my favorite memories is when three of my teachers crowded around me for a picture on my wedding day.
They believed in me and that is the faith that God has called us to live. Being still and knowing who God is doesn’t mean that everything is perfect and it certainly doesn’t mean we are in control.
It means that we trust in a God that knows the end result even if it takes years to fully develop. My job is a hard one. I see kids in some of the worst situations. Some leave to a happy place while others leave in handcuffs.
No matter what, I don’t know what the end will look like for any of them. When I drive home I look at that cross and remember that I serve a God that knows every one of my kids’ situations.
What situation are you dealing with today? What uncertainty do you see? Trust in God and know that He has everything taken care of.
~ Lovelle ❤
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I had just graduated college. I worked so hard to get to that place and I was finally done. I thought to myself, “surely I will get hired quickly. I will figure out what to do with my life. I love speaking so God will open up doors for me to speak again right?”
I had these dreams and goals that I wanted to achieve immediately but God doesn’t work in our timing and life happens so I found myself in-between jobs. It seemed like God was completely silent. I had no offers to speak, and doors to potential jobs closed in every direction.
To make some money and occupy my time I began working at a thrift store where I had previously been employed. As I sat there cleaning the dusty area filled with trinkets and vintage items I couldn’t help but cry out to God.
“Surely I am called for more than this God?”
I asked that question a lot. Every time I cleaned the bathrooms and sorted through clothes I would ask Him again. As time went on God started refining my heart. He whispered into my heart. “Lovelle, I am enough.”
It doesn’t matter where I am. If I am a garbage person, a cashier, the CEO of a prestigious company, a stay at home momma, or a speaker. I can do anything and everything my heart desires but if God isn’t my contentment then nothing I do will ever be good enough. My life will be completely worthless.
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”
~ Philippians 3:8
HE IS ENOUGH
As time went on I did in fact get a job offer. It’s not my ending point but it is going to give me tools I will need in the future and I get to make a difference. Where God has placed me now is enough.
When I get discouraged and lose contentment I will hold on to those words. Will you join me? Friend, He has you right where He wants you. A God that knows every hair on your head is surely putting you where you are for a reason.
~ Lovelle ❤
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“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!”
~ Psalms 139:17-18
We all know that words hurt, and that includes words we say about ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I am my biggest critic. The word says to give grace, love, and mercy, and I do it to everyone but myself.
It’s hard to speak life into what we do and who we are and it’s awfully easy to talk bad about our weight, body image, mistakes, and sins.
How amazing is it to serve a God that thinks precious thoughts about us? He is crazy about us. Once we ask forgiveness we are as white as snow.
Oh how easy it is to forget…
He never leaves us and even in our darkest moments He walks beside us. Today, let’s take a step back and remember what God thinks about us. Remember friends… His thoughts for us are only good.
~ Lovelle ❤
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Then Jesus explained, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”
~ John 4:34
I finally got home. It was one in the morning on a Monday and boy had it been a long day already. The day before I had taken four eighth graders on a four hour long car ride and spent the whole day with them so that they could attend a christian concert.
Two out of the four of them had spent the night at my house the night before that so I guess you can say my weekend was packed and exhausting. There was a lot of bickering, yelling, and at times arguing but as I tucked myself into bed that morning, my body may have been tired but my heart felt so full.
Our nourishment comes from using the gifts God has given us to do exactly what He has called us to do.
It’s those moments when we put everything we have into a particular person, job, or hobby that we fully understand those words in John 4:34. You see, Jesus had a job and He loved every single minute of it. It wasn’t work to Him.
It may have been hard but every single time He healed someone and gave them the gift of salvation, He was nourished and that’s exactly how He created us to live our life.
I love those girls.
I need those girls just as much as they need me.
Every time I drop them off and am so exhausted that I can hardly get myself into bed I know that being involved in their life is exactly where God wants me to be. Today I am encouraging you to find your sweet spot. God has given you one so be involved in it as much as you can.
P.S. if you aren’t sure what God’s called you to do then I would highly recommend the Strengths Finder Test and the Myers Briggs test. They both helped me find my “sweet spot” and it really showed me that some of the things I didn’t think were so good about myself actually are an asset in the Kingdom of Heaven.
~ Lovelle ❤
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I walked to the stage in amazement. I never thought I would get here but I did. They announced my name and gave me my diploma. I could hardly hold back the tears.
I worked so hard for this.
I almost gave up so many times because it was so hard.
I shed so many tears trying to get to this place right here, right now.
6 years ago I was isolated and alone. I had dropped out of high school for over a year but managed to graduate on time by the grace of our Heavenly Father. College seemed to good for a girl like me.
That’s where the smart people went. You know, the ones with parents that believed in them and actually prepared them for it. I got shoved into a community college and until the first day of class, I didn’t know that college had a different schedule.
I didn’t realize that you didn’t go to school from 8am-3pm. Talk about a wake up call.
I felt so different and stupid compared to the other kids who actually seemed somewhat put together. There were so many nights with little sleep because school and working full time didn’t always mix.
I continued on and pushed myself forward, looking toward the finish line, uncertain of my future. The Lord is so faithful.
Now I have parents and a huge support system cheering me on. Somehow they knew I could do it even when I didn’t think I could. They never let me give up. They listened to my cries and cheered me on all the way to the finish line.
As I held that bachelors degree as tight as I could with my cap and gown on I was so full of thankfulness. I am thankful that the Lord took a broken girl and did the impossible. He managed to make her a graduate not once, but twice.
He saw something in her that she didn’t know she had. He pursued her with everything He had and He constantly reminded her that His ways are no limit to her circumstances.
He gave her healing.
He gave her parents.
He gave her an amazing husband.
He proved to her that she wasn’t as stupid as she thought she seemed.
He showed her that she was worthy.
Everything that was taken from her, God in His gracious love redeemed. That my friends is what my college degree means to me.
~ Lovelle ❤
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I stared at my computer screen in disbelief with tears rolling down my cheeks. I got an email telling me that I got turned down from a job I really wanted for what seemed like the millionth time. With this many devastating blows, the rejection seemed almost unbearable.
I was so confused. It seemed the more I tried, the more the world told me I wasn’t good enough. I have had a job (or two) since I was 16 years old. How can it be this hard to get one now. Especially when I have a degree?
In that moment I was very real with God. By that I mean, I cried and yelled at Him for the confusion and another closed-door. I then began to cry some more and once I pulled my emotional self together, I apologized for being a know it all when really, God’s ways aren’t mine (Isaiah 55:8).
After some TLC from my amazing husband, chocolate, and a call to my wonderful parents who prayed for me and filled me with tons of encouragement, I hopped into bed and forced myself to open my bible. My eyes immediately found this verse:
When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the promised land… God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.
~ Exodus 13: 17-18
Windy roads and closed doors are sometimes part of journey. If it was easy then how would we grow? I can be irritated and upset or I can be thankful that God is putting me in a position of growth where I am forced to depend on Him.
Sometimes, it’s not about where we are going. It’s about how we get there.
I am writing this today to hopefully encourage anyone who is going through a wilderness. Is it a job situation? Girl, I feel you. waiting is always the hardest. An adoption process? Salvation for a family member? Maybe even an illness that won’t go away or doesn’t have a good prognosis…
Waiting is difficult and walking a roundabout way is sometimes hard too. I don’t know about you, but I am going to try to embrace the journey because God is going to grow me. I know that I will come out on the other side as an overcomer and you will too.
~ Lovelle ❤
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Last week I talked about the Egyptians and some character flaws I tend to have that make me similar to them. I learned the importance of consulting God before acting on anything but most importantly, I truly understood the importance of Mathew 7:7 for the first time.
In this verse God showed me a three step process that I can go through to seek His guidance in any situation. It has helped me so much I want to share it with you too!
The first step is to ask. Simple enough right? Well that’s what I thought until I looked up the definition. Asking is defined as saying something in order to obtain an answer or some information. The key here is to ask and not do anything until I get a clear answer from God. Let’s just say it’s easier said than done because sometimes it means waiting a really long time.
The second step is to seek. This step is different because it involves actually stepping out and doing something. This means acting out on what the Lord has asked me to do whether it’s through active prayer or putting a staff in the nile river and turning the river into blood- highly unlikely but hey, you get the point 😉
The third and final step is to knock. This means making a loud noise or doing something to get your point across. It means being bold and letting someone know you are there. As I look back on the word “knock” I understand why God used that specific word in this bible verse for the first time. When Moses struck the water in the Nile I doubt it was quiet. I bet you it involved a pretty big bang that got the Egyptians attention- even if it was just for a second.
As I look back at all the stories in the bible, I don’t see a single miracle that occurred quietly. Daniel got thrown into a pit with some pretty scary and loud lions, Elijah called down fire, and Jesus was crucified on a cross where people were yelling at Him the whole time.
The most important thing I will take away from this lesson the Lord has taught me is this:
If Moses hadn’t asked and sought God then he would not have had the confidence to stand before Pharaoh and perform that miracle.
In the same way I must follow this three step process in order to truly allow God to be in control and to make sure I am making the right decisions.
~ Lovelle ❤
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As I find myself looking back on my past and all the things that have happened to me, I can’t help but wonder why things had to go the way they did.
I can sit here and pretend I’m not at least a little bit frustrated, but that would be a lie and it wouldn’t help anyone. Why did it take so long for me to get parents? Why hasn’t God told me what to do with my life?
The list Goes on and on…
But here’s what I have realized- I shouldn’t be asking God why. I should be asking Him how He wants me to handle the situation I am in.
I need to be asking God what can I do in this exact moment to really take advantage of the time I have in the place that He has me.
I may not be able to see it but I know that God is working in the background. He WILL work everything out (Romans 8:28).
I shouldn’t be questioning why things happen the way they did. All I want is to do what God want’s me to do and I am writing this because I am pretty sure you do too. It doesn’t matter where we are. We have the ability to be used.
Are you frustrated with the way your life is looking right now? Are you losing your grasp on contentment? Are you trying to read too much into how God is working in your life?
I want you to know that God doesn’t waste anything. Even if you are doing something you feel is useless, God has a plan and it will come to pass. That’s the promise I am believing today and my prayer is that you do the same.
~ Lovelle ❤
Lovelle Gerth-Myers 