hope – A Woman Standing

You Never Know

Nearly a year ago, I received a phone call from an old coworker and friend I had not spoken to for several years. It had been so long I was surprised to see their name pop up on my caller ID.

The conversation began lighthearted, with lots of details about all the ways our lives had changed since we last saw one another, but soon the individual began telling me about frustrations and disappointments they had been dealing with, from work to personal life. We ended up talking for over an hour. Eventually, I asked if I could pray for them.

Over the past year we have text back and forth a couple times and had one or two short phone calls. Several days ago they text me asking if we could catch up so we set up a phone call for the following day.

Like any call, we started by just talking about our lives, but the individual soon told me they wanted to talk because they had something to tell me.

“When I called you a year ago, I was in a bad place,” they said. “The Lord put it on my heart to call you,” they paused. “I feel like I can tell you this now since I am in a much better place, but that day I called you I had multiple thoughts of suicide.”

Casting You Cares

Last night, I became entangled with concerns for my company. One of our clients hasn’t been responding to emails, has missed meetings and hasn’t done a single thing we’ve asked of them in order to properly fulfill our contractual obligations. Payment is due Friday, but we haven’t received a reply to any of the three emails we’ve sent regarding their invoice.

As I thought about this while trying to fall asleep, my mind began to wander to other clients and soon thoughts of “what if” crept in. What if this client isn’t happy with the work we’ve provided, what if that client is frustrated with what we suggested they do, what if they decide not to extend their contract, what if my company falls apart…on and on my mind circled around all the things that could possibly go wrong. Pretty soon I was in such a state of anxiety I was nearly in tears and knew sleep wouldn’t come any time soon.

Right as I was about to reach for the lamp, the Lord said to me, “you aren’t casting your cares on me.”

I Believe

Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is the individuality of our relationship with the Lord and how none of us can condemn someone else based off of what they do, or do not, believe when it comes to the Word.

One of my clients is a global Ministry. They believe in what many would call “extreme” Christian beliefs, such as speaking in tongues, baptism of the Holy Spirit, supernatural healing, God led prosperity, even, dare I say, raising dead back to life. Many claim them to be a cult and the media absolutely loves to diminish and demean everything about them.

I also have others in my life who don’t believe in any of these things. Who believe God is a creator, but that is the extend of His relationship with His children. They claim prayer makes us feel good, but the fulfillment of prayer is completely up to God. God may choose to listen and provide, or He may not, the decision belongs to Him alone.

The Power Of Our Words

Sometimes, God shows us just how powerful our words are and how important it is to cover every aspect of our lives in prayer.

Recently, my husband, who owns his own company, has had an awful experience with one of his sub-contractors. The project his company has been working on since May, one of the biggest projects they’ve done so far, was supposed to be finalized by June 21. Unfortunately, the sub-contractor was unable to provide the promised materials by the agreed upon date, so the project was pushed back 5 days, then 7, 10, 15…finally, the sub-contractor said they will not be able to provide the materials until sometime in August!

Clearly, this has caused stress for my husband, and myself. This project was more than just one single job, it was the beginning of multiple opportunities with the client, a very valuable, and influential, resource in the industry my husband works in. Since my husband is the primary contractor it’s his name on the line and his company is the one suffering and whose name has been tarnished. To be weeks late has truly been devastating.

The Lord Healed Me!

As I have written before, I’m currently pregnant with my first child, a healthy little girl. Although I am overwhelmingly grateful for this blessing and love this baby fully, pregnancy for me has been, for lack of a better word, a challenge.

Instead of getting into all the symptoms I’ve faced and the emotional roller coaster those symptoms have taken me on, I’ll just focus on the most recent one.

For the past four weeks I have been battling some sort of eye infection/allergic reaction/allergy that has resulted in the area around my upper and lower eyelids to be bright red, swollen, itchy and flaky. For weeks I have looked like I’ve just stepped out of a bout in the boxing ring, a bout I clearly lost.

Being a strong proponent of natural remedies, because I truly believe if the devil brought something into this world God has a natural way to heal it, I tried all the therapies I could think of – ice, heat, coconut oil, olive oil, cucumber slices, potatoe slices, honey, stopped eating gluten, stayed away from dairy, changed my makeup, got rid of my pillow, switched toothpastes and deodorant etc, but nothing was making a dent. I am not a fan of western medicine (although I must say I do have several wonderful people in my life who are doctors and nurses), but I finally set up a consultation with a doctor after talking to the nurse at my prenatal clinic.

Simple

We live in a very complex and confusing world. What was once right is now wrong and what was once truth is now purely opinion. Different perspectives and beliefs bombard us on all fronts making it difficult to know what to believe, say, think. This bombardment of false information and new “truths” has complicated things to such a degree it is truly overwhelming.

Lately, I have been faced with frustrations and disappointments, resulting in my attitude not being what it should be. I was shorter than usual and found myself getting annoyed with even the smallest things. I realized something was off but just didn’t know how to deal with it. One morning in prayer, I asked God to help me, for Him to send me to a verse that I could stand on and make my own. I opened my bible and sure enough God took me exactly where I needed to go. I began reading the verses He gave me every day and since then everything has been – simple.

My attitude is lighter, my perspective is cheerful and my overall view on life and all that is happening around me is far more optimistic.

One More Lap

I have had many conversations with different people who are all experiencing the same thing: a frustration with the waiting. Waiting for a career change, waiting for an answered prayer, waiting for their special someone, waiting for the door to open, waiting, waiting, waiting for God to move.

Yesterday, while talking to a friend about this topic, I said something that struck me so much that I have been thinking about it ever since:

Sometimes, God needs us to take another lap around the desert before we are ready to go into our promised land.

You see, God isn’t going to let us walk into a land we are not ready for, even though we may feel like we’ve been ready for a long time. The Israelites had a year long journey from Egypt to Canaan. God had them take a longer route in order to purge them of everything Egypt had tainted them with. When they arrived, Egypt was still very much in them, and they weren’t ready to enter. They felt ready, believed they were ready, wanted to go in and eat of the fruit, but God told them no, therefore they walked around the desert for an additional 40 years.

It Is Finished

[Repost]

The weight of the Lord’s sacrifice does not escape me. I feel it now as I
sit here. He gave everything for us, for me, people He did not yet know but
already loved, loved enough to hand over the most important thing in not only
the world, but in all the universes and all the worlds, in all the ages and all
the eras.

When Adam and Eve fell, God watched the fall from Heaven, His heart falling
alongside them. How could they do it, He probably wondered. I
created them to be above all, yet they desired to be beneath. They want the
world more than they want me. In a moment, He made a plan, for there only
was one way to get humanity out of the problem they created for themselves.

Continue reading “It Is Finished”

Truth

It’s been over a year since I wrote anything. So much has happened since the last time I sat down to write in this blog, both in the world and in my own life.

Since my last post, I moved cross country for a job, got engaged, planned a wedding, moved back to DC, got married, started my own company, moved cross country (again), bought a house, and am just beginning to settle down a bit.

Sometimes, life seems to be passing at a pace I can hardly keep up with. My relationship with the Lord has often been put on the backburner throughout the past year. It seems there is just so much, too much, going on for me to know what to say to God when I sit down with Him in the morning.

My primary frustration and what has been increasingly bothering me is the spiritual attack on Truth.

About To Arise

No devil can stop us

No enemy can stand in our way

No weapon can penetrate the armor God has placed upon us

We have been called forth for such a time as this

This day and this season belong to us, belongs to the Remnant

Though the devil may have had a win during the night, our victory is arising with sun

Get Thee Up

It’s been several weeks since I’ve written anything, but this morning I felt inspired to finally pull out my laptop and write what God has placed on my heart.

While praying for the Remnant I saw a camp with soldiers resting throughout. Some were sitting up, others were laying down, but it was clear everyone within the camp was recovering from an exhausting battle.

I then saw a Captain begin to walk throughout the camp and tell the soldiers that the time of recuperation was about to end and they were going to be sent back into the fight, for the battle was still raging not far away.

I then thought of Joshua. Right in the beginning of the book God tells Joshua,

“My servant Moses is dead; now, therefore, arise.” -Joshua 1:2

God Is Good

Lately, hearing the Lord’s voice and seeing His plan has become every increasingly more difficult. There is a heavy blanket of weariness and sadness upon the Remnant, myself included. We have prayed, we have fasted, we have fought, we have stood, we are still standing, yet it seems our actions bore no fruit, as if the enemy won and the Lord’s children will disappear silently into the night.

While going to God with these feelings and concerns a single thought pierced through the chaos which has lately become my mind: God is good.

We, as Christians, all know these words and repeat them with little thought of the power within them. But, when we are in the middle of the fire, walking through the waters, bombarded by the wind and the waves, surrounded by darkness and can’t see the light, we have to ask ourselves if we truly believe in the sincerity of those three simple words, if we, individually, honestly believe God Is Good.

Remnant Rising

Yesterday was one of the craziest days of my life…actually, it was THE craziest day of my life.

While standing amongst several million conservative patriots downtown Washington, D.C., I realized that regardless of what happens on January 20, 2021, there is a Remnant who will continue to stand.

There is a Remnant that bows their knees to God alone and never to man.

There is a Remnant that believes babies deserve the right to life.

There is a Remnant that will not concede to the communist and socialist agenda.

There is a Remnant that refuses to accept the normalization of the LGBTQ ideology.

There is a Remnant that stands for the freedom God gave us when He blessed us with this beautiful country we are so fortunate to call home.

But God: Re-post

This morning, while praying for the impossible to become possible, the words, “but God” came to mind.

Not two minutes ago, a friend text a prayer group and ended her message with, “but God!”

I vaguely remembered writing a post not long ago, of course, named But God.

After reading it, I felt encouraged and hopeful that although the waters are rising, the waves crashing, the lightning striking and the thunder rolling, and although the impossible seems to only be becoming more impossible, I have one clear thought piercing through the darkness…BUT GOD.

I Hear The Sound: Re-post

Two years ago to the day I wrote the below post. It is just as inspiring and encouraging today as it was when it was originally written.

I hope it helps you today. Know the rain is coming.

~~~

The world shouts to the skies when it becomes desperate for rain. The world waits, never knowing when the waters will come, but knowing they must come.

The winds dance, the trees sway, the flowers bloom, the birds sing, the tides rise, all in reverence to their Maker, in obedience to His word.

If all of the world bows to His word, so will I.

If everything around me believes the sun will shine, the moon will rise, the rain will fall, then so shall I.