Beauty from Ashes - A Continual Process

The story behind the story of what God is still doing in my life is in the post titled "The God Who Heals!"  (to read it, click on the label The God Who Heals at the end of this post)  That post is a summary of part of my healing journey.  If you are new to this blog, it is simply a collection of vulnerable moments met by a personal God.  He met me   through songs, friends, being alone, and passages of Scripture .  No matter your story, God wants to bring healing to you through His love for you, His Word, His forgiveness, His acceptance, and His character. As I look back over nearly 10 years, I can see that God was preparing me for not only my own future, but so I could encourage others.  Right now I have several suffering friends.  The same truth from 10 years ago comforts me now, and I hope it will comfort you. I am different now, a testimony to God continually pursuing me.  His grace has lead me to His Word and His promises.  O...

The sun is shining in Kentucky this Labor Day weekend.  But it doesn't feel like it to some.  Do you see them?  Are you that person? "Do you know someone who needs encouraging in their faith today?"   The reply  of  the unknown reader was "yes, me."    I froze for a moment. I have been there, have you?  That place where you can't encourage your own heart?  You are too numb to think.  You pray to God, you read His Word, you listen to worship, and yet it's so dark.  You're screaming, but it's silent..., you feel no one would want to hear it. It's just not true.  We care, there is someone ready to listen.  We are meant to be here for each other, to help share the load, better yet, to shift the load to God's shoulders. "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.   But exhort one another every day, as long as it is...

When HOPE is a blur, when it feels elusive, then what?  In my quest for answers, many of which I will never have until Heaven, I have leaned on faith.  But surely faith is tested!  Then what? Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 I challenged myself to read the book of Mark this Christmas season, and I can honestly say it was God who challenged me .  For many years I have talked about the Bible, the Word of God, as He describes it Himself in Hebrews 4:12, "full of living power."  I believe that with all my heart!  It's not a magic book.  It's a book, a letter, that God encourages us to read as a GIFT from Him.  He is the GIFT.   He. Is. The. Gift. What a gift then to read about WHY Jesus was born as a baby!  What a gift to see the HOPE that lies beyond the manger!   I even thought as I challenged others to read Mark along with me, that much of it would sound unbe...

Please do not carry your pain alone.  You are not alone.  I too carry grief.  So many carry a quiet pain.  Part of it is a new normal that will always be there.  I'm learning to live with loss.  But often still,  that new normal can surprise me and hit hard without warning.  It’s  especially true for many during holidays.   There are many stages and time frames for grief, but one thing is true, it often hits harder at Christmas no matter where you are in your grief.  I say "holistic grieving" because grief affects the mind, body and soul.  Emotional, physical, and spiritual health are a package deal.  I/we need help in all areas. I've shared many times that I've take a maintenance anti-depressant for years because I'm predisposed to anxiety and depression (MIND), and I run to keep my fybromyalgia at bay  (BODY) .  Please don’t feel shame if you need a doctor, or counselor, and or medication. ...

Things often seem dark in January through March - The middle!  The fall crisp colors are gone, and there is typically no pretty snow here in Kentucky.  Spring feels so far away!  Honestly I'm not a fan!  It can make all that's already hard seem even more so.   If you're fighting your way through I'm just sayin', yeah me too.  We all have stories, and we all know people with hard stories, and we all know the news.  But I won't stop there, not today. Yeah. Life. Hurts. But! Recently,  my spirit has been reminded in the most gentle ways, that God, the Creator of the Universe humbled himself as a man ( Philippians 2).  He suffered to the point of death, so that even in our suffering, we can have LIFE!  So He too says, yeah me too!  "He sees, He knows, He is making a way." He did this so you and I would know there will be an end to suffering. Jesus is the reason we can fight FROM VICTORY not FOR VICTORY!  Easter...

I write my heart.  I write of pain and beauty.  My Blog title, Beauty from Ashes, is not about my beauty at all!  It is taken from Isaiah 61 where the Isaiah was telling of a God-man to come.  Jesus.   Jesus was going to come,  now Jesus has come, and the full healing of Jesus is to come.  But God wanted Isaiah to give us hope... The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, ... to proclaim good news to the poor. ... to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Today at church we read Psalm 130.  David writes of pain, mercy, and waiting, and hope. A year and 5 months after my brother's death, I have grown and healed, and at the same ti...

Illumination and light are words that I am attracted to in the Bible...John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." But to those who are grieving, you are not alone, and I do not offer simple answers.  There are none.  I am just walking with you.  Lets press on. In my study group this week we have been encouraged to choose a verse from the Sermon on the Mount to meditate on and memorize. I chose Matthew 6:22-23.  "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" The context of this verse is more about "seeing" things (STUFF) you desire in order to make you happy.  But I immediately interpreted it as "seeing" THOUGHTS, WORDS.  Thinking about Jesus and His Word to illuminate my mind, and to replace dark thoughts.  I ...

This picture is blurry on purpose.  The tree is so beautiful when up close.  But from outside, the view is still beautiful, but unclear and distant.  Life can be that way.  Running in the dark at night, I am hearing God more clearly.  Sometimes the dark times are the times we hear Him the most.  Everything else fades...He is there, always there. Her companions were named Suffering and Sorrow.  Her name was Much Afraid.  She lived in the Valley of Humiliation and she longed to go to the High Places where "perfect love casts out fear." I'm talking about the little girl in the allegory, Hines Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.  I've mentioned this book several times over the years.  I haven't read it in a few years, but I have a friend who shares the love of this book.  She is re-reading it now and I decided to as well, to journey it again with her. Our God is so good.  I can not say it enough.  I thought the tim...

​ Edges terrify me. Not heights so much as the lack of a fence or railing.  Well, there are emotional edges too.  We've all experienced them, not a comfortable place.  Just like the edge of a roof, an emotional edge sends me in the direction of safety.  Specifically, I run to Jesus.  Yes, I'm the one who writes about fear.  The one who says there's hope! We can overcome!  I'm the one who writes to encourage those who battle fear because I've been there, and I've literally felt the hand of God deliver me.   God is a personal God, and I've quoted  Psalm 34 many times.  It says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." And yet, if you check my pulse, sometimes it's off the chart!  I know it's wrong, I know when I'm letting tomorrow rob me of today.  I also know I'm not going to stay there.  But, just so you know, it blind sides me! "We're not ready...