Things to Be Thankful For

In no particular order...

My wonderful and hard-working husband; my loving God; my supportive family; my encouraging friends; a roof over my head; clothes to wear; shoes on my feet; a more mild day outside during this brutal winter; my cat; the Well; wisdom; a warm bed to sleep in at night; answered (and unanswered) prayers; food to eat; unexpected blessings; grace; the kindness of people; books; dark chocolate; Reese's cups; growth as a person; Young Adult Bible Study; photography; thoughtful gifts; safety; kind neighbors; coffee; good health; God's Word; the Holy Spirit inside of me; hope; perfect peace; writing; a hot shower in the morning; Netflix; Pinterest; the opportunities that I've had to travel; God's financial provision; music; comfy clothing; flowers; fragrant candles; mountains; beautiful sunrises and sunsets; fuzzy socks; laughter...and I will keep adding to this list. It helps to lift me up when I'm feeling down. :-)

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Victory in Jesus

"Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. 
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

~Isaiah 41:10

He Lifts Me Up

                        

As I was driving home from work yesterday, the perfect song come on the radio while listening to my favorite station, K-Love. I would like to share the lyrics of this song and how God used them to encourage me after a long day. The song is by The Afters and is called "Lift Me Up."

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

Waiting for the sunrise
Waiting for the day
Waiting for a sign
That I'm where you want me to be

I am grateful for my job, but it is certainly not my dream job. However, God is using this time and place in my life to shape me and to grow me. I was reminded of this as I was listening to this song. I had asked God for help and strength for my projects, and He had given it to me. It was the first time in a while that I could truly say that I had experienced victory over my struggles

You know my heart is heavy
And the hurt is deep
But when I feel like giving up
You're reminding me
That we all fall down sometimes
But when I hit the ground

It had been a difficult day. I made several mistakes, which I HATE doing. I am a big perfectionist, as well as a people-pleaser. These are areas in which God is actively refining me. I had fallen down--made mistakes, messed up, fallen short--but I didn't have to stay on the ground, because God was lifting me up.

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go
You lift me up when I can't see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I'm letting go

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

The burdens were too much; I couldn't carry them any longer (Matthew 11:28-30)! My desire to be perfect, and my inability to accomplish this, was causing me great stress. But in my weakness, God is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). And His love and grace were enough to keep me moving forward.

I know I'm not perfect
I know I make mistakes
I know that I have let you down
But you love me the same

And when I'm surrounded
When I lose my way
When I'm crying out and falling down
You are here to

Lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go
You lift me up when I can't see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I'm letting go

Again, I HATE making mistakes. But God is showing me that I don't have to contort them into big catastrophes, as is my natural inclination. Ok, so I messed up; I made a mistake. But this doesn't mean that I can't move forward, learn from my errors, and try to do better the next time. God's love for me doesn't depend on my performance--praise Him! I can rest assured that He will catch me when I fall, wrap me in His arms of love, and give me the strength to keep going.

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with your love
With your love
I don't know what I can offer
In this moment I surrender to your love
To your love

God's love for me is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). I don't have a lot to offer the Author of the universe, but when I surrender to Him, to His grace, and to His perfect plans for me, I will truly be living a purposeful and satisfying life. Because He lifts me up and supports me, I can let go and let Him take control!

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go
You lift me up when I can't see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I'm letting go

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with your love

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

Joy in the Journey

In my parents' garden

Today was a rough day. I started out by oversleeping, getting stuck in traffic on my way to work, and arriving at my little cubicle with a feeling of defeat. If this was how my day was beginning, who knew what the remainder of my shift would be like? Nevertheless, I asked God for help and settled into my routine.

It just kept getting worse. I had leftover work from the day before, more work given to me in the morning, and before I was able to make a dent in any of that, even more kept piling on top. I started feeling anxious. How was I going to get all of this done? Would I be able to complete each of my tasks with excellence? I worked right through to the mid-afternoon mark without stopping, but finally realized that I was so overwhelmed that I needed to take a break. I heated up my frozen meal and headed out to my car. Blasting the air conditioning and getting comfortable in my car seat, I was at long last able to relax a little. I said a prayer: God, I can't do this. Please help me! I'm trying my best, but I feel like that's not enough. Thank you that it IS enough for You, and help me to continue to work at it with all of my heart, in order to please You, and to not worry about what other people think. I called my husband--he told me to take a few deep breaths, and he read to me a devotion from Our Daily Bread. What an amazing husband I have! Even though his day wasn't going any better than mine, he took the time to encourage me. I texted my mom to ask for her prayers, gobbled down my food, and headed back inside.

The afternoon proved to go better than my morning. I focused on my work, knocked a good amount of it out, and even though I didn't get everything done, I felt like I could breathe again. As I walked out to my car that at the conclusion of the day, I thanked the Lord for--once again--carrying me through.

Our God is good! In the difficult times, He teaches us to rely on Him more fully. He shows His strength in our weakness. He displays His glory through our feeble attempts at obedience. And all the while, He shapes us more and more into the people that He wants us to be.

There is joy in the journey!