Tag Archives: journey

Sep3

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Contagious Grace

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Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Contagious Grace

Today I read 1 Corinthians 15. Verses 8-10a stood out to me. I can’t lie, I am going through a moment in my Christian life- a valley moment, a painful, very NOT fun time in the valley of life. If it can go horribly wrong, it has. Some of it has been due to choices that I have made, decisions that were not God’s best for me, and some has just been life, being life. Whatever the reason, it makes me feel as though I am the worst human to ever human. But then, like today, God reminds me that He is God, and that His thoughts toward me are good.

“Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” I Corinthians 15:8-10A (ESV)

There are days when I wonder if I am truly a Christian, if I’m disappointing God to the point of no return. I feel (on most days) as though I am a living, breathing example of the Scripture that says: the things I don’t want to do, that’s what I do (paraphrase). I am sure I am not the only one, but here’s something to consider: Paul persecuted God’s people, God’s sons and daughters, and EVEN in that God showed him grace. God moved Paul from darkness to His glorious, beautiful light, because His grace is contagious.

Here’s the truth, friends: the Christian walk is hard, and it should be because of what it cost Christ for us to gain it. His life. All of this to say, you can’t out bad God’s grace (not sure if this is proper English, but I’m not fixing it). In the midst of your failures and falling, hold on to God’s hope, peace, and love. Because He loves you, His promises are true, He never fails, and His grace is contagious.

So, what am I thankful for today? God’s contagious grace

Feb21

DAY 51 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Choosing God.

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DAY 51 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Choosing God.

Lately, the state of the world and America have been heavy on my heart, for lack of a better description, what I am seeing grieves my heart. It scares me to think about where we are heading, especially as I watch people I respect and some I love fall into the trap of the world and its traditions. If we, who are called to be salt and light, look like the world, what hope is there? This question has been an ever-present fixture in my heart and mind for a while now. Sometimes it leads me to a sweet time of reflection and growth as I seek God and His words for direction and wisdom, and other times, it leads me to deep sadness and near depression because instead of looking to my Lord and Savior who walks on raging seas, I focus on the darkness I see engulfing us.

Here’s a reminder from God’s word of who we are and what God has given us, but most importantly, it’s a reminder that sin is subtle, it sneaks in, like satan in the garden, and distracts us with half-truths and tries to redirect our hearts and minds with questions like, “Did God REALLY say…” How do we combat this? By KNOWING WHAT GOD DID SAY.

“That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments…See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ…Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch,” (Colossians 2:2B-4, 8, 21).

Our hope is Christ, our guide and the director of our path is Christ. Christ is who we look to when the world is upside down. Christ is where our hope and safety are found, NOT religion, NOT man, and NOT the world. God says DON’T handle, DON’T taste, and DON’T touch. We are God’s representatives to the world. Our call is to represent Him correctly, and God takes this charge seriously; we should, too.

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.” (Joshua 24:14-15A).

Here’s the truth, friends, we are going to serve something. Whether that be self or God is our choice to make. I hope, like Joshua, your answer is, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15B)

So, what am I thankful for today? That we can choose God.

Jan28

Day 28 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Is Not Afraid Of My fears

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Day 28 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Is Not Afraid Of My fears

For the last fourteen days, I have lived like Peter on the water with Jesus, only his eyes were not on Jesus, but on the circumstances he was in, the waves rushing, the ocean that he was most certainly (in his mind) not meant to be walking on, the boat that he was NOT in bouncing back and forth. Like Peter, I have been sinking in my sadness, fear, worry, uncertainty, and yes, anxiety. However, at my core, deep inside my heart, that place that knows God is still the same God who called Peter out of the boat and the same God who stood on the water and allowed Peter to do the same. Even as I sink, I know that my hope is in a God who controls the waves. I completely understand that if I took my eyes off the circumstances surrounding me and focused on Him, He would lift me up and keep me from drowning.

Today, after talking to my brother and admitting openly that I was not okay. God opened a door in my heart, a door I had stood in front of desperately wanting to walk through, but for reasons I could not or maybe would not reach out my hand to grab the handle. But God (my absolute favorite two words in the Bible) flung it open for me. I cried out to Him, I told Him everything, every fear, every worry, and every disappointment. I dropped the “Christian” mask, you know the one, it smiles and says everything is okay, God’s got it, even as you wonder if He really does,

He does. He always does, and always will.

“I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:5-6a

You see, friends, courage is not the absence of fear; it’s the presence of trust. Trust in a God that walks on water and calms the storms of our lives and the world around us. It’s okay to have fears; it’s human. It’s okay to ask God, “Do you have this?” He’s not afraid of our fear or our questions. So, if, like me, you have been living like Peter sinking in the seas. Look up and cry out to God; He will lift you up.

So, what am I thankful for today? A God who is not afraid of my fears.

Jan10

Day 10 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Sorrow

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Day 10 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Sorrow

Yesterday was a hard day for me, emotionally, to the point that I did not post on day 9. In 2024, my mom died suddenly, and even though it’s been almost two full years since her passing, the pain still feels like it happened yesterday. Yesterday was not a traumatic day by any means. Nothing that should have thrown me into the depths of pain and loss that I experienced; it was, from all accounts, a normal day, and as weird as this sounds, normal days are the hardest. Why? Because on normal days, I am more acutely aware that she’s not here. I can’t just walk into her room for a hug. She’s not here spontaneously singing at the top of her lungs, or saying words wrong and doubling down that her way is the correct way, and everyone else is wrong. On normal days, I simply miss her more.

There is no cut-off time for grief, and there is no proper way to handle it. We each experience it differently, and that’s how it’s meant to be. So, if you need to cry, cry, let grief wash over you, don’t run from it, don’t hide from it, and don’t ever say “I should be over this by now.” God promises to be close to us when our hearts are broken, when the pain we feel is so deep that there are no proper words to describe it.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalms 34:18).

Here’s the truth, friends: grief is real, as are loss and pain; there is no getting away from them or pretending them away. So don’t hide or run from the hurt, let loss have its moment in your life, and the God who is acquainted with our sorrows will be by your side to walk you through the pain and pour out His love and peace and joy on you that no one and nothing will be able to take away. Just as He promised, “You have sorrow now, but I will give you joy again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” John 16:22.

So, what am I thankful for today? Sorrow that leads to joy.

Jan8

Day 8 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Lessons.

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Day 8 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Lessons.

Today, part of my devotions took me to Deuteronomy chapter 8. The entire chapter is a call to the children of Israel to remember the Lord their God. Not because they’re prone to forgetfulness (although history proves they are), nor because God was going on a trip to a faraway land and wouldn’t be around (our Father is forever beside us). No, it was a memorial, an understanding of why those forty years in the desert were necessary and what the consequences of forgetting and repeating the same mistakes would be.

Moses charges them to remember that their clothing never wore out, their feet did not swell, and when they were hungry, God provided them manna, which literally fell from heaven. All so they would understand that He could meet every single need they had. As I read this chapter, I thought to myself, forty years is a long time to learn one simple lesson. The truth is, in our humanness, we often want to rush the lessons, learn things quickly, so we can get to our promised land faster. But God doesn’t skimp on time, because the lessons are necessary, the waiting, the hurting, the pain, and the discomfort are all necessary. Why? So we don’t believe the lie of pride. So that when we enter our promised land, we know it wasn’t due to our own strength but to God’s.

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth'”(Deuteronomy 8:17)

Don’t try to hurry the lessons, friends, let God have His perfect will in your life, “that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.” (Deuteronomy 8:16)

So, what am I thankful for today? All the lessons.

Jan7

Day 7 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A Constant God.

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Day 7 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A Constant God.

Today I feel, well, blah. That honestly is the only way to describe my current condition. I am awake, walking, and moving, but I feel off. Not sick, just blah. Ever felt like that? There is nothing wrong; you have a roof over your head, food to eat, and most importantly, God is still on the throne. However, you just don’t feel like yourself, don’t feel like talking, smiling, or even like (dare I say it)—praying. There are days like this, and today is one of those days for me. I’ll be honest: I dislike it. It makes me feel as though I don’t love God enough, don’t trust God enough. It makes me feel messy and yucky, and yeah, blah.

So, what do I do on days like these? I do what I always do: I get up, I tell God good morning, I have breakfast, I do my devotion, and I pray. Being a Christian doesn’t mean I feel happy every day, nor does it mean I feel like a sparkly, happy firecracker of joy every second of every day. Being a Christian means that no matter how I feel, I understand whose I am. That even when I feel like I’m walking with a dark rain cloud of unhappiness following me around, I can still trust that God is who He says He is and that He is doing all He says He will do. You see, being a follower of Christ isn’t about us; it’s about Jesus, and thank God that He never changes.

So, friends, if you’re feeling blah today, it happens. But know that Jesus is still the same, and He always will be.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

So what am I thankful for today? A God who remains constant.

Jan6

Day 6 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Gifts and Talents.

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Day 6 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Gifts and Talents.

Had an interesting conversation with my dad recently. He said God gives gifts and talents, and that those are two very different things. Gifts are spiritual and for the advancement of the church and the strengthening of the body of Christ. Examples include pastors, teachers, and prophets. Talents are physical human abilities that God grants you, such as being good at science, math, writing, or photography.

I’m on a journey of using the talents God has given me with my photography (site coming soon) and this blog (Journey of Thankfulness). What I’m learning is that God will bless the gifts and talents He’s given us when we are willing to use them for His glory. My mother always told me that I have the spiritual gift of discernment, and I can genuinely say that that gift has saved me and others on more than one occasion. Photography allows me to see the beauty in everything God has made, while writing allows me to express what He’s showing me and to share it with others. Here’s a truth: the enemy of our souls does not want us to use our gifts or our talents. He wants us to feel useless, as if we don’t have a purpose or a reason to exist. Here’s another truth: we are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

So, friend, if you’ve put your gifts under the bed or your talents on the shelf, pick them up and dust them off. God’s not done with them or you yet. He has a purpose for giving them to you. So don’t be afraid to use them.

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

So what am I thankful for today? God-given gifts and talents.

Jan5

Day 5 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Hears.

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Day 5 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Hears.

I have had an annoying and debilitating crick in my neck for the past three days. It’s not a life-altering issue for most people, even though it is inconvenient and irritating. A crick can happen from sleeping poorly, overuse, and even bad posture. All very normal, natural, and dare I say mundane reasons. However, for me, a crick in the neck can be a sign of stenosis (a narrowing of the veins) or of the vein expanding, which could lead to rupture. It sounds very dramatic, and I guess in a way it is. What looks pretty average on the outside can mean life-threatening results for me.

As I struggled to move my neck while doing my devotion today, I had this thought: this crick in my neck is a lot like sin (no, not that I have it because of sin). But just like a seemingly mundane pain in the neck, there are sins in life that seem so normal and uneventful. At times, we do them without thinking, because it’s the norm in the world we live in, yet at their core, these “sins” want to steal our joy and peace, narrowing our view of what God is doing in our lives and expanding our hurt, pain, and weariness. Things as simple as a wayward thought, sarcastic words, and doubts can lead to devastating outcomes.

What sets the child of God apart from the world is not a lack of sin, but hope in a God and Father who forgives our sins and hears us when we call out to Him in surrender. So, cry out to God, friend; He will hear you and rescue you from your troubles. He will take your broken heart and crushed spirit and give you His peace. Now that’s some good news!

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of their trouble. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).

So, what am I thankful for today? A God who hears.

Jan2

Day 2 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Eyes That See.

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Day 2 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Eyes That See.

This morning, my devotion took me to 2 Kings 6. It is a glimpse into the life of Elisha, the prophet. The chapter, at its core, is about faith, not just the “I believe” kind, but the kind of faith that gives sight to what is unseen. The type of faith that takes God at His word without question and moves in whatever direction he says to move. The kind of faith that has no fear, because it understands that fear is not of God. This is the faith I desire, the kind we all hope to have. In verse 15, Elisha’s servant wakes up and finds that they are surrounded by their enemies. Horses, chariots, and armed men, everywhere, in fear, he runs to Elisha and exclaims, “Alas, my master! What shall we do!” (verse 15b). Elisha’s reply is eye-opening, literally.

“He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (verse 16-17).

God is not hiding His might from us, even when we’re in our valleys, walking through trials, or facing immovable mountains. There are horses and chariots of fire all around us, ready to stand in battle with us and protect us. God’s love for us is immense.

In my life, I don’t always perceive or feel God’s presence when I am walking through the fires and floods of life, and that isn’t because I don’t love God or believe in Him. It’s because, like Peter on the water, my eyes are on my circumstances instead of the Lord who has power over my storms.

Here’s why Elisha’s story is beautiful: he never asked God to remove the problem. Instead, he asked for eyes to be opened, so that God’s power could be seen. It lets me know that, like Elisha’s servant, when we ask God to show us His presence, He will. Here’s the great news, friends, God is always with us, always fighting for us, always walking with us, even when we don’t feel it, and if we ask Him to open our eyes. He will.

Today, I am thankful for eyes that see,

Jan1

Day 1 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For… A God Who Never Fails.

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Day 1 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For… A God Who Never Fails.

Happy New Year, everyone! The past year went by like a whirlwind and, to be very honest, at times felt like a fever dream. I missed so much of what God was doing last year, plagued by fear and uncertainty and not putting my complete trust in Him to do what He said He would do. However, every time without fail, God met my needs, every last one of them. Shocker, I know.

I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, mostly because I find them to be unrealistic and grandiose. This year, however, I am not making a resolution so much as stating a hope. As I start this new year, my hope is that at the end of it, I can look back and see clearly how much I have changed and grown in my walk with the Lord. That I can look back and see a renewed me. That I can be a living example of Romans 12:2.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

If you want to join me on this journey of thankfulness and renewal, then come along and let’s grow in the grace and might of God together. God never promised rose petals at our feet or a perfect life. What He promises is to be with us in the fires and floods of life (Isaiah 43:2). He also promises that His plans for us are good (Jeremiah 29:11). Life happens; and will seek to choke out the promises God has made to us, but He also promises that if we seek Him with our entire heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). Today let’s join hands together in a journey toward trusting, hoping, and believing the promises God has made, because He never fails.

“For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37).

Today, I am thankful for a God who never fails.