God’s Plan For Our Life During Change

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Coffee

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“Is that so?” Retorted Pharaoh. “I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
~ Exodus 5: 2 NLT

In this verse I see a stubborn, cocky man who is stuck in his ways. He knew of the Lord but he did not have a relationship with Him. You see, Moses was called out and chosen to save the nation of Israel and right before this extremely sarcastic comment that Pharaoh made, Moses had asked him to free the people so that they can go worship God.

I can just picture it in my head… Pharaoh, a wealthy ruler who could do whatever he wanted with his head high and intimidation blaring as he stood above a Shepard counted as nothing at all in the land of Egypt.

I can see him sneering at Moses, thinking to himself maybe even saying it out loud, “who do you think you are?”.  Pretty awful right?

Here’s the kicker… The way that Pharaoh acted can sometimes come out in me. 

When life is going wrong and things don’t seem to go my way,  I am that girl that is very real with God and will stick up my fist and say, “You shouldn’t be doing this!” 

When my husband doesn’t do something right, this hot headed woman can easily overwhelm the poor man and get all righteous.  It’s not intentional but my sinful nature just comes out sometimes. I can sit here and pretend to be the Moses in this thing we call life but sometimes I am not.

I am the sinner.
I am the cocky, yet insecure little girl that wants to do things my way.
I know the Lord, yet I don’t want to give my situation to Him.

Where does that get me? ABSOLUTELY NO WHERE.

The cool part of this is that even though Pharaoh was stubborn, Moses was persistent and the people did end up going free it just caused a lot of destruction to the land of Egypt in the process. 

In the same way the Lord is persistent with me too. He drags me kicking and screaming, never leaving my side. When I am finally done with my little tantrum of bad choices and mistakes, He is still there and His plan for my life never changed.

As I go through a season of completely unknown I am learning to have grace with myself and I am remembering that even though I can’t see it, The Lord is at work in my life. Friend, I hope you know I am praying this over you too.

What we do doesn’t define how God sees us. In the midst of chaos and change it’s so good to know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8.)

~ Lovelle❤

 

Instead of Asking Why Ask How

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Sunflower Seeds

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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❤

 

Skating Through Failure

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Be Used

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My husband was super awesome and decided to take me ice skating for our anniversary. All is fun and games until you step out on that ice skating rink and expect one slender piece of metal on each shoe to keep you balanced.

As much as I tried, the only thing I could think about was how much my booty would hurt if those little metal pieces failed me. It seemed like the more I worried, the more I wobbled, and the closer I came to falling down.

After a few minutes of struggle I finally just gave up not trying to fall and embraced the fact that I may end up hurting myself on the ice. Here’s the irony;

When I embraced the possibility of failure, I actually ended up skating really well.

I feel like life is a little like that slippery ice skating rink. This world tells us that perfection is a necessity and because of that, we end up focusing a little too much on failure.

What if we just embraced the fall?

What if we asked God how He could use our mistakes?

The fact is, we are sinners and as long as we are on earth, WE WILL Fail.

God did not give us a spirit of fear {2 Timothy 1:7} so don’t be scared of failure. Sometimes, even our hardest falls can make the biggest difference and teach us so much.

~ Lovelle❤

Speaking and Believing Truth

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Made New

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It seems like everyday we battle with lies the adversary tries to make us believe. Between comparison and hurtful comments we hear, it’s easy to think the battle is lost. Our hearts are captivated by thoughts like;

You’re not smart enough.
You can’t do it. 
You’re not loved.
You’re not good enough

Don’t believe it. It is so important to listen to God and allow Him to speak truth into the lies that the adversary tries to fill you with. Guess what?

You are wanted (Romans 5:8).
You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
You are enough (Ephesians 2:10).

God knitted you together and he lovingly made you for a reason. In whatever messy, confused, and hurting place you may be in, God sees a purpose in you and He know’s it’s good.

Believe it.
Read it.
Most importantly…. please, please know it deep within your precious heart.

You are not the things people say. You are not what you have done in the past. You are not defined by the situation you are in right now. What you are my friend, is loved.

~ Lovelle❤

 

The Christmas Present That Matters

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God's Gift

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I don’t remember the exact day, but I certainly remember the moment. I was homeless on a cold winter evening crying my eyes out to my grandma in my 1993 Chevy Cavalier.

I was sick of life being so hard. I didn’t ask for abuse, pain, or misery but it seemed like it followed me everywhere. 

As I got off the phone with my grandma, who promised to figure something out so that I didn’t have to sleep in my car, I got a call from a friend telling me that her mother felt like God wanted them to let me live in their home.

I will never forget that moment… In a matter a few minutes I went from being homeless to having a home. In that moment I realized just how big God was and how He can provide in even the most dire circumstances.

Late that year I celebrated my first Christmas and the holidays had a completely different meaning than they had ever had before. That Christmas I realized that Jesus was really the best gift of all.

That was five years ago and it’s something I will never forget. I am so thankful God plucked me out of my brokenness. He was the first person to ever see something good in me and He gave me hope.

He gave me a purpose. He gave me parents and an amazing husband. Everything that was taken from me, God redeemed.

I don’t know about you, but as I celebrate my first Christmas married, and enjoy my new parents I will rejoice in the most important gift that I never deserved… My salvation. God’s presence in my life.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas…:-)

~ Lovelle❤

 

You Are God’s and so is Your Career

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{These graphics are free for you to enjoy on my “seeds to sow page! This photo was taken by Marina Bromley.}

I once had a friend who wanted to be a police officer. He did all the right things, worked jobs to gain experience, and even got a bachelors in Criminal Justice with hopes that he would be able to have his police officer training paid for.

His heart was great, and the job he desired to do was needed but whenever the testing or application process came up, something else that was way more important came up on that exact same day at the exact same time he was supposed to go in.

After months of being stuck and no where close to his career he said to me, “Nothing is going right. It never seems to ever go my way”  I looked at him intently and gently said, “It’s going God’s way though.”

This world seems to hold this stigma that if we do the “right” things and take the “right” steps then we will get to where WE want to go but it’s never about us.

Our life is Gods. It’s as simple as that.

It’s okay to have dreams and goals. The desire my friend had wasn’t wrong. It was a very sacrificial and honorable career he wanted but obviously God had a different one in mind.

If something isn’t going right, ask God what you are doing wrong. God guides the steps of the righteous {Psalm 37:23} and He will guide you too. You just have to step out and let Him.

~ Lovelle❤

What it Means to Be Thankful

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I had been up since 4:40am and was in the midst of a ten and a half hour work day. My legs felt like they were on fire and, because of the craziness at work, I hadn’t even had a chance to take a break for lunch.

As I walked out to head home I felt irritated. My legs hurt and I was exhausted. Being thankful was the last thing that was on my mind in that current moment.

I started to complain to myself and in a matter of seconds I managed to completely forget how God had blessed me with this unexpected internship at a company that I absolutely love and can see myself working with long term.

I had lost sight of the fact I had a group of amazing bosses that cared about me and took good care of me as an employee.

God commands us to be thankful in all circumstances {1 Thes. 5:18}

I don’t deserve have the job, I am blessed with one.

I don’t deserve to be alive, God gave me another day on earth.

Being thankful means doing more than simply posting our thanks for thirty days on Facebook. Being thankful means praising God in all circumstances, all the time.

Yes, we should rejoice in our creator when we feel confusion, loss, and pain. In hard times and the good times we should lift our hands high to our God because no matter what this life brings, we are blessed to be in community with the one who is in control and who’s love is never out of reach.

What does being thankful in all circumstances mean to you? From my family to yours, happy thanksgiving!

~ Lovelle❤