Category Archives: life lesson

Dec29

Day 363 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…God Taking My Heart of Stone

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Day 363 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…God Taking My Heart of Stone

Yesterday at church, I read a verse that I am sure I have read many times before, but it felt like the first time I had truly seen it. The verse is from Mark 6:52. However, before I write the verse, let me give some backstory: Jesus had just finished feeding over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. He then told his disciples to get in the boat and go ahead of him, while he spent some time in prayer. As the disciples continue their journey, a storm begins, and they struggle to keep control of the boat. Jesus sees this and comes to meet them by walking on the water. But upon seeing this, the disciples are afraid, mistaking Jesus for a ghost. We will pick up in verse 50b as we make our way to verse 52. “Immediately, He spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for THEY HAD NOT UNDERSTOOD ABOUT THE LOAVES; THEIR HEARTS WERE HARDENED.”

You see it too, right? “They didn’t understand about the loaves, their hearts were hardened.” I have read the book of Mark more than once, and I have never noticed this verse before. The disciples lived with Jesus, ate with Jesus, journeyed with Jesus, and witnessed every single miracle FIRSTHAND and STILL DID NOT UNDERSTAND. It made me think about my life, about all the ways I see God move in my life and in my world daily, and how, despite all He’s done, I still struggle to trust Him with 100% of my heart. It can feel discouraging, can’t it? Like a hamster on a wheel, only the hamster knows where the food is, has all the tools needed to get off the wheel, yet speeds up its pace of going nowhere. We complain about the disciples and declare that we’d have done it differently, yet here we are doing the exact same thing in real time.

Here’s the hope, friends, Jesus didn’t leave the disciples; He continued with them because He knew that one day He would lead them to understanding, one day their eyes would see fully, and when that day came, they would change the world in His name. Here’s a promise to hold on to when you feel like your heart is hardened: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Today, I am thankful that God will take away my heart of stone.

Dec21

Day 355 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…My Weakness

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Day 355 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…My Weakness

Do you sometimes feel weak, have feelings of inadequacy? Times when you’re fearful that if you move, you will fall flat on your face? Our weakness can be crippling, keeping us from moving forward, worried that if we do, we will fail for everyone to see. Here’s a truth that we often find hard to believe: don’t fear your weakness. Embrace it. Yup, I did say embrace weakness. Why? Because in our weakness God is strong. When we look at weakness through the lens of our humanity, we see it as less than or not good enough. However, when we look at weakness through the lens of God’s love and grace towards us, we, too, like Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, can hear God say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” To us, weakness, for the lack of a better word, is, well, weak. But God sees it as an opportunity for His power to be made perfect.

If the road you are walking seems to have more pits and potholes than paved paths. Don’t let fear of being too weak to make it keep you from taking that first step. God is there walking with us, and if we trust and believe, we will see His power being perfected in us.

“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40

Take heart, friends, God wants to show us beautiful, glorious, perfected power, so don’t fear your weakness. Embrace it.

Today I am thankful for my weakness.

Dec18

Day 352 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…(NOT) Failure

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Day 352 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…(NOT) Failure

This year has been a year. We have been dealing with the pain of loss and the repercussions of bad decisions made. Making the year feel like one failure after another. If you are anything like me, that feeling of disappointing God and your loved ones is the most horrible in the world, and wallowing in that devastation becomes a playground for the accuser of our faith to remind us of our failures, faults, and flaws. But God has been teaching me that our struggles and shortcomings do not equal failure. Not to God. Where we see the bad we’ve done, our limitations, and mishaps, God sees opportunity.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

Let me say it again (for those in the back): struggling and falling flat on our faces does NOT mean we are failing. It means we are being refined and molded into the image of Him whose thoughts toward us are good. Struggles suck (yeah, I did use that word), they are painful and uncomfortable, and they make us feel like horrible humans. But, praise be to God, who tells us our struggles are momentary and working in us to achieve eternal glory. Don’t despise the struggle, friends, it’s a sign that God loves us.

Today I am thankful for (NOT) failure.

Dec16

Day 350 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Sympathy

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Day 350 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Sympathy

Are you like me and need to be reminded that God doesn’t need your “help”? It’s a struggle every day to leave things in His hands, in His care. To let Him do what He chooses to do. Is it because I don’t trust that He can handle it? No. I believe with my entire heart and soul that God is who He says He is and that He can do ALL that He says He can do. Is it because I think I can do a better job? Oh, absolutely not! I know that I will mess things up, break things, and inevitably make the situation worse. Yet, somehow, I still feel the need to assist God. You know, run back up, in case He needs help. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? We all do it at one time or another when we try to fix things using our strength instead of God’s.

Praise be to God that He is patient with us. That He understands our humanity. He sees our weakness and our struggles and has compassion. He’s walked in our flesh, suffered temptation, sadness, and anger all without sin. He doesn’t need our help, friends, and thank goodness for that.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15

Today, I am thankful for a God who sympathizes.

Dec11

Day 345 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Mess and Filth

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Day 345 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Mess and Filth

Feeling like you need to clean yourself up, be less ungodly, or make better choices for God to hear your prayers, love you, or accept you? Well, check this out. King David killed a man and took his wife. Abraham lied and said his wife was his sister and sent her off to another man. Moses killed a man, then ran away. Peter denied Christ, not once, twice, but three times. Paul persecuted and put to death followers of Christ without remorse or guilt. Yet, God calls David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), praises Abraham for his faith in Him (Hebrews 11:17-19), and allows Moses to glimpse His glory (Exodus 33:18-23). He makes Peter the rock upon which His church is built (Matthew 16:18), and Paul the doorway by which Gentiles find Him (Acts 9:15). Killers, liars, and deniers, these are the people God uses. Seems crazy, right? It’s not. You see, in God’s economy, our mess and filth don’t define us. Christ is not afraid of our dirt. In fact, it’s the reason He came.

Mark 2:17 (ESV) “And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'”

Take heart, friends, you can be a mess, the messiest mess to ever mess. But you can NEVER mess up God’s plan for you.

Today, I am thankful for my mess and filth because God isn’t afraid of dirt.

Dec10

Day 344 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Flood and Fires

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Day 344 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Flood and Fires

Today God said lock in, and follow His way, His will, His desires, and make Him the number one in my life. I thought about what that meant and wondered if it was something I could really and truly do. The answer: on my own, no. But in the strength that I have access to through the blood of Christ, absolutely! Does that mean I will suddenly be perfect, or that all my problems will dissolve into the wind? No, no, it doesn’t. Does it mean I will always make the right choices, right decisions, and always be in line with God? No to that as well. What exactly does it mean then? Well, I am glad you asked. It means, Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.“

God doesn’t promise to remove the water and floods of our lives. He doesn’t say He will quench the fires that threaten to burn everything we hold dear. What He does say is, “I WILL BE WITH YOU.” He promises that the rivers won’t overflow us and the fire won’t scorch us, because He will be there wading through the rivers with us. He will stand with us in the midst of the flames. In this fallen world, life will never be perfect, but that does not mean disaster. It means we get to walk with God and let Him
turn our ashes to beauty like only He can. So, LOCK IN friends, hold on to Christ and let Him be your fourth man in the fire.

Today, I am thankful that Christ is with me in my floods and fires.

Dec4

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought…Today I Am Thankful For… STRUGGLES (DAY 388 of 2025)

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Random (hopefully inspired) Thought…Today I Am Thankful For… STRUGGLES (DAY 388 of 2025)

Do you struggle? I do. Every second of every day (in my humble opinion) is a struggle to do what’s right, to choose humility, forgiveness, understanding, patience, kindness, and love. We want vengeance on those who mislead us, lie to us, or hurt us. We want vindication of the movie variety, where the bad guy gets what’s coming to him, in all its Technicolor, high-definition glory. But life isn’t a movie, and God allows us to struggle not for the fun, but to build in us things that will not be shaken. Don’t believe me? Check out Hebrews 12:11-13, “No discipline/trial/struggle seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

I am learning (very slowly) that my struggles make me stronger, build in me the attributes and character that God wants to instill in me; that even when I can’t see it (with my limited human sight), God has a purpose, a reason, a lesson for me to learn and then use to encourage others. The author of Hebrews is right: it is not comfortable, not pleasant; it is painful. If we’re looking at the waters around us instead of the God and Father who loves us, we can feel like we’re sinking and failing. And guess what? That’s OK. It’s OK to fail, it’s OK to struggle, it’s OK to cry out to God, and yes, even to whine. God can take it. BUT, He won’t leave us (you or me) there; instead, He will pick us up, dust us off, and make our feet like deer feet and enable us to tread on high places (Habakkuk 3:19). Don’t be discouraged as you struggle, be thankful that God is working in you. He loves you, and His thoughts towards you are good.

Sep12

DAY 255 (2015)

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Fill in the blank...

Fill in the blank…

Mmmm, been a while, huh? Sorry about that. Life has gotten busy, but that is not an excuse. But if there is one thing I have learned it is that when it comes to being thankful it is better late than never. So, here goes.

Since we last interacted many things have changed. For one I have relocated both state and job. The change has been good in many ways. My mom is happy, we are closer to my brother. Life on a whole has improved. My job is fun and offers a lot of opportunity for growth.

However, there still are struggles. Such as once again I still bear most of the financial burden, and the worst one, I work on Sundays (no church). Wait, no that’s not the worst the worst is that due to lack of time, and an inability to not interact with people of like minds and hearts. I have for the better part of this entire year found myself in a spiritual funk to say the least.

Not backslidden per say, but not moving forward either. I feel that for a Christian, this is the most horrible state to be. It is the place where God has said, “I will spew you from my mouth.” Let’s be honest no one ever has aspired to be spewed from anything much less God’s mouth. But that is where I found myself in the land of the lukewarm, not hot, not cold, and not just right.

Two days ago I took a hit, a bad one. My first reaction whine and complain and inevitably ask the, “Why’s it always me,” question. But then I realized the hit wasn’t meant to hurt me, it was meant to wake me up.

Yesterday was the first in a long time that I took time in my devotion. Not just skimming the words so I could say I spent time, but reading and taking to heart what was being said. Reading to see what God was teaching. I prayed that morning for a better financial situation and to not have to work on Sundays.

Almost at the end of my work day I receive an email from my supervisor it read, “you qualify for this you should apply.” I finished up what I was doing and on my break read the email. It was a job posting in the company one that would give me my Sundays back and raise my pay exponentially. What floored me is that I hadn’t mentioned this to anyone, not the need for more money nor the desire to not work on Sundays.

God heard. God answered.

What’s my point? God hears. No matter how far you stray, no matter how hard you fall– God hears. ALWAYS.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you”  (Isaiah 54:10).

The lesson: With God you can always go back home, it’s never too late, and our Father is waiting at the gate with open arms.

So what am I thankful for today, repentance and a God, who hears, always.

Mar25

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 25. “And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around” (Verses 8-10). Lately God has been bringing me to scriptures that show the consequences of a life without God’s grace. Israel had taken their faith from God and placed it in “stuff”. They felt safe and protected because of the wall around their city. Invincible, if you will. Not realizing that it was not the wall that kept them safe, but the God who instructed its construction. They had forsaken Him and put their faith not in CREATOR, but in creation. So God allows the destruction of the wall. He allowed the destruction of their city, He allowed the enemy to come in and take them captive. ALLOWED. Sometimes in trials and tribulations it feels as though God has forsaken us, as stepped aside and left us to fend for ourselves. But that’s not the case. He allows opposition so that we can do what needs to be done: turn back to Him. He broke the wall, and they became captives, but captivity reminded them of their freedom in God. Many times trials are there to remind us… THERE IS A BETTER WAY. 

Mar23

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart. (Picture by Lisa R)

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 24. “ Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah” (Verse 17). This verse hit me today. Very simply God asked me, if I had allowed the world to change my name? Not in the literal sense, but in the sense where the title Christian could me everything, but what God intended it to mean: follower of Christ. The world has changed the meaning; nice, friendly. boring, goody two shoes, goodhearted and while none of these are bad they are also not what the word means. I have been reflecting lately on what I have allowed in and what I have put aside. Here is what I have concluded only God can change my name. Only God can give a different meaning to something. So today if you have allowed the world to change your name. Allow God to change it back.