My mission is to provide you with inspiration and encouragement to live everyday to it's fullest. I do this by sharing the simple things in life such as recipes to the most difficult of things such a life. We all know life is a struggle and many days a balancing act, but I am here to inspire you to do it well. Everything I write about is designed to inspire as well as encourage you to be a "better" you that you can be. Everything I share is raw and real. I do not cover up or sugar coat what I write about. This would benefit no one. My goal is for you to walk away feeling uplifted and encouraged after leaving my page. Lastly, I am here to remind you that you are… enough and beautiful… just the way you are.
Friendships and sisterhood are bonds that are never broken.
When you are too tired to hold your arms up in praise and worship,
“I am here to hold them up for you. God sees your tears and hears your cries.”
Unknown Author
He sees your smile and hears your laughter. Just as He sees and hears you, so do I.
Together we stand, forever we live.
#sisterhood
Today’s Encouragement is a simple and straight forward reminder that God is able.
God is able to…
No matter where life finds you, God is there and He is able.
If he can create all He created out of nothing, then He can help you with whatever struggles you may be facing.
Besides, remember this… He created you. If he created you out of nothing, does He not know you intimately already?
Cling to these simple words to get you through today… He Is Able.
Motivation Monday
Do you ever feel like you are wandering around aimlessly in the forest? No matter what turn you take or what path looks right, the view is still the same. It never changes. It never looks different.
Eventually, you take the time to look around and you conclude you have only been walking around in circles, going nowhere.
Have faith in these words,
“God will meet you where you are, in order to take you where He wants you to go.”
Tony Evans
My friend, today’s words of motivation are to stop walking to be just walking. This is why you are walking in circles.
Instead… stop, look up, and seek God’s direction.
He holds the road map you do not have, in His hands. He knows the direction you are to take to get out of the forest and He knows what forks in the road you are to be taking to live out the plan “He” has for you.
Stop, look up and seek God for your directions today and your journey will begin to look different. Your circles will begin to straighten and you will begin to see the clearing of trees leading you out of the forest.
Enjoy your journey, Friend. Now you have access to the “Man” with the map and you have the assurance the route will be clearly marked out. You will no longer walk aimlessly, but instead you will be walking with purpose.
The purpose is the plan God has for you. Now you can enjoy the journey as well as the view along the way out of the forest.
Trust in His road map and your journey can be done with confidence and surety.
Have A Great Day! 💜
Living with chaos is extremely stressful to me. It takes nothing to blow me off course. Let the winds shift and my sails change direction, and away I go, in totally the wrong direction.
For anyone who has followed me for a while, you can tell, based on my writing and how often I post as to whether my life became chaotic and whether it shifted courses.
My Friend, does this happen to you as well?
Do you just plug along doing everything the same way, but one day you wake up and your spouse or your child is sick?
Maybe one day you go to work and you find out your position is no longer needed or you have been fired, but you have no reason or clue as to why.
I have had similar situations happen to me, but the later happened to my husband. These life events rocked my world and have the power to still shift my sails sending me in the wrong direction.
I want to encourage you today, if you too have experienced life changing events that left you feeling like you are treading on the water just praying you will survive, I am here to encourage you with this truth, you will survive.
I found three keys to this survival are God, family, and home.
God will give you the strength to sustain you during this difficulty. He promises to never leave or forsake us in Deuteronomy;
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread offor it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.””
Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV
No matter how tough you find your life to be or how chaotic it has become, God will give you the strength to sustain you circumstances.
I also found that despite how stressful our life becomes, it is imperative to keep your family together. I know how strained your relationships can become, but you need to remember the importance they are despite the difficulty of your situation.
Do not allow the wedge of difficulty to damage or destroy your family relationships. They will be there when life calms down and the chaos resolves.
Be sure to take the time to still invest in your relationships. Take the time to talk (and listen) with your heart. Take the time to hear how they are affected or impacted by your circumstances.
Take some time to reconnect on a regular basis and they will be there when the winds blow you back on course again.
Lastly, a lesson I recently learned was the power your home has to giving you a safe haven to be when chaos tries to consume you.
I found by investing in cleaning, organizing, and decorating, it has given me a renewal for finding my place of contentment when life spins out of control.
My friend, if you invest love and energy back into your home, it will offer a healing of your mind and body because it will help to distract you from the stress and chaos you may be living and will offer a safe haven from the world as well.
I found tremendous truth to this quote by an unknown author;
A house is built by hands, but a home is built by heart.
Invest your heart today into building your home. You will experience a release of the stress and pressure you have been carrying. In turn you will also be investing back into your family because they will have a safe and loving place to live in.
It is my hope and prayer if you find yourself in a season of chaos and difficulty that you will find some peace today.
Do not allow your circumstances to consume you. Give your every concern to God today and allow Him to carry the weight you have been carrying. You will be thankful if you do.
Enjoy your day today!
I am sharing a guest post today from a sweet friend over at Trophy of Grace / DON’T LOOK BACK & DON’T GET STUCK IN THE MIDDLE — TROPHY OF GRACE . I shared and linked you to her page as well. It is my desire you will be inspired by this wonderful post, especially if you found yourself stuck in a place or season in life where you are constantly looking backwards to what you know or what you have been through, instead of looking forward to what God has waiting for you.
If you go over to her page via mine, please leave her a comment saying I sent you (Heidi from Home. Life. Encouragement.)
Enjoy her encouraging post today.
Good morning beautiful TOG readers! Just a little reminder today to “Not look back.” Don’t camp where you were once hurt. It’s important to deal with our brokenness and pain but NOT to camp there. Don’t get stuck in the middle my friend. The middle has nothing for you. “Don’t get stuck in the middle. […]
Don’t Look Back & Don’t Get Stuck In The Middle — Trophy Of Grace
Good morning beautiful TOG readers!
Just a little reminder today to “Not look back.” Don’t camp where you were once hurt. It’s important to deal with our brokenness and pain but NOT to camp there. Don’t get stuck in the middle my friend. The middle has nothing for you.
“Don’t get stuck in the middle. We have to learn to go the full journey. Someone needs us on the other side of the shore line.” Charlotte Gambill
In Genesis, God reveals to Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah are to be destroyed for their grave sins. Abraham pleads for the lives of any righteous people living there, especially the lives of his nephew, Lot, and his family. God said He would spare the cities if 10 righteous people can be found. So the LORD sent two angels to Lot in Sodom but are met with an angry, wicked mob who are then struck blind by the angels. Finding only Lot and his family as righteous among them, the angels warn Lot to quickly leave the city and they said “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won’t be killed.”
But Lot’s wife did, and she became a pillar of salt.
Have you stopped in the valley?
Do you keep looking back?
I don’t know about you but I sure don’t want to be a pillar of salt, lol. Nope! Nope! Nope!
Don’t look back and don’t get stuck at the point of your pain. That my friend, I have done, and it’s not a fun place to be. I have been stuck from things of my past and present hurts.
Just a side note, the Bible has amazing accounts and stories in it from murder, hate, jealousy, and even sex. Yep! Sex is in the Bible. Get in the Word
Another cool story is the man at the Pool of Bethesda, John 5. “Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem. Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, called Bethesda, with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people; blind, crippled, paralyzed were in these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?”
The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”
Sounds like a pity party to me….I’ve had a few of those myself.
Jesus said, “Get up, take your bed, and start walking.” The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bed and walked off.
That’s what I’m talking about…he was healed and he got about His Father’s business and he told of what Jesus has done for him.
That man sat there for 38 years!!! I’d like to think that in 38 years I could’ve wiggled myself to that pool and just fell into it, LOL. I mean that’s a really, really, long time! 38 years???
But isn’t that what we do sometimes, we get stuck somewhere at the point of our pain and we become paralyzed. I know I’ve been there. Truth is I’ve been there to long myself with some things. But you don’t want to be that man 38 years later and your still camped there.
So I’ll ask you, “Do you really want to be well?”
Bethesda means “house of mercy,” or perhaps “place of flowing water.”
That’s where I’m headed….to Bethesda! The house of mercy, the place of flowing water.
How about you?
God says,
“I know it hurts precious one. I know your wounds. I know your disappointments. I’ve seen the betrayals. I’ve seen your tears. I see your brokenness. But what you didn’t realize all along is that I was with you through the pain, and I am here to make it right. I will work it all out, all the pain, the hurt, the disappointment, the betrayals ALL for your good because your are precious in My sight and I love you. I will give you beauty for ashes. But you have to let go of those ashes, leave them behind so I can resurrect you with newness of life. All those things the enemy tried to steal, kill, and destroy, I got your back. I and the God of restoration. No weapon formed against you will prosper. Remember Lot’s wife, and Don’t look back and don’t get stuck in the middle at the point of your pain. Your destiny is ahead, and I am leading you toward your dreams. I have a hope and a future for you. I am able to do immeasurably more than all you can ask, hope for, or imagine.
~God
Hope y’all have a blessed and wonderful day! Remember, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, YOU ARE AWESOME, YOU ARE CHOSEN, AND YOU ARE AN OVERCOMER! YOU ARE A TROPHY OF GRACE!
Praying for you!
Big hugs,
Nicole
My Friends,
No matter how your week has gone, today’s encouragement is to remind you surround yourself with this inspirational quote;
“Courage is one step ahead of fear.“
Coleman young
Courage serves as a preventative measure from becoming paralyzed by the fear of your circumstances. Do not allow these difficult circumstances to mold you into a person consumed by fear and anxiety.
Today, I challenge you to take a step back and lean on the words and promises God gave us,
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Ps 27:14 (ESV)
God has control over everything in your life. Look to Him for the strength and courage you need to sustain you throughout today and into the weekend.
“Wait on Him, My Friend!”
Happy Friday, Everyone!
Today’s Encouragement is to remind you no matter how difficult life may seem, remain hopeful there are brighter days ahead.
God uses these hard times to grow us just as parents do as well.
How many times as a parent have you allowed your child to learn a difficult lesson only because it was something you could not save them from?
I, for one, have experienced this a lot over the past couple of years as I have stood back and watched my daughter struggle with her multiple health issues. As her mom, I can’t do anything to take away the pain she suffers with, but what I can do to encourage her is to, pray for comfort for her, hold her when the pain is unbearable and just let her know she is not alone. I can’t do anything to fix this problem or even take it away, but I can promise to encourage and comfort her during her greatest difficulties .
My friend, God is the same way. He can’t take our circumstances away, but He does promise to never leave us. He is always with us during our darkest of hours.
In a bible study over the weekend we were addressing a topic on pain and how God uses our pain to prepare our journey for something beautiful. I heard this great quote which was so inspirational and encouraging;
” God may have allowed your suffering, but He didn’t cause it.”
– stacha Ashburn and Lisa Dolinger
My friend, even in your darkest hour our God is still there. He has not forsaken or forgotten you.
Cling to this hope,
“Some changes look negative on the surface, but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Hang in there dear friend, if you are hurting and if your pain is deep. Please know there is hope for brighter days ahead. I do not know how long this will take, but I can personally vouch for the fact the pain does eventually go away and the sun comes back out. Cling to the hope of knowing your darkness will turn back into light. Your tears will dry up and be replaced with the smiles you have longed to experience again.
I am sharing a gentle reminder that no matter what your circumstances are, it is never to late to look at them in a positive light.
Every season in life comes with it’s joys and sorrows and is made up of ups and downs, but I want to encourage you to see how God will use them in an inspirational manner.
If you are in a season of struggles, look to the fall season and be encouraged and inspired that good things are to come.
Consider this quote from F. Scott Fitzergerald when he says…
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
If you are in a season of difficulty be encouraged knowing it is never to late for something good to come out of this time.
My friend, hang in there and be patient while you wait for this season to flow into the next and find joy knowing God will use your circumstances for something good.
The weekend is behind us and a new week is upon us.
If you are like me, it is scheduled to be a busy one, but no matter how difficult it may become, I am encouraged by these words,
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3.
My friend, go into the week knowing God has your back.
You are not alone. Trust Him with your every decision and the direction you will take in your life and at your job.
You’ve Got this! Rock your week!
Today’s Encouragement is to remind you how important you are.
Do you question your value or your worth?
Do you struggle with the difficulties life offers?
Do you ever question, if this is how life is going to be, then why did God create you?
My Friend, I am here to remind you God doesn’t make mistakes. He created you with a specific purpose, one which is specifically unique to only you. He knows what you can handle.
This is why no matter how familiar your story could be to someone else, it is still only yours, uniquely yours.
God reminds us in Jeremiah 1:5 that,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Today’s gentle reminder is that you are not a surprise to Him. Your circumstances are not a surprise to Him. He knew you and what you would be doing long before He created you.
My Friend, find peace today in the assurance that if God brought you to your pain or crisis, He will bring you through it. He created you for this situation. Nothing is a surprise to Him.
Be encouraged My Friend. God will strengthen you today and will provide you a peace that passes all understanding.
Accept His grace to conquer your battles and rest in His peace today.
Breathe today My Friend! You’ve got this. Walk in the peace and assurance today that God is with you. You are not alone because the same God who formed you in the womb is the same God walking with you through this storm.
