Tag Archives: stress

Testimony Tuesday

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Red Sea

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side — let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124 1:8

Temptation and testing seems to be the way of my life lately. My emotions have been challenged when I am not in a place where I can just roll with them. I thought I had them under control, then one comment on Facebook, one text message, one phone call causes me to be in tears. I finally realized that my grief is not gone, it is simply at another level now. I am finally moving onto the more of an acceptance level. But make no mistake my grief is there.

I read comments from some of my friends yesterday about how they felt about me. The comments sent me into a crying fit because I did not understand how someone could feel that way about me when I did not feel that way about myself. I did not understand how someone could feel certain things about me when at many points in my life I was not the nicest person. So the things they said touched me in a way that I am sure they did not expect. Plus on top of that my feelings about everything is on my shirt sleeve right now. But as I cried uncontrollably I stopped and thought, if it had not been for the Lord on my side where would I be? If I had not decided that Jesus is the way, the death of my nephew and the loss of my job would have sent me into something worse then a crying fit. But because I believe in Jesus Christ I am not swallowed up by my grief and anger. Do not get me wrong I am silently angry about everything but it is controlled because I have given it up to God. I trust that He is working everything out for my good.

I understand more and more that temptations and testing will happen the more that you are closer to your blessing. I have been tempted to cuss people out, seek revenge because of things someone has said or done to me and I have wanted to just do a time out from the world. But everytime I go to do any of that, I remember that the Lord fights all my battles and protects me. There is nothing that comes to me that God will not bring me out of.

Please remember things may look tough right now but you are more than a conquer. You are victorious over all that worries or concerns you. God made you. God made you perfect. Stay calm and trust God for everything. Stand strong.

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Throwback Thursday

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imagesGKKI0OND

But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak. Isaiah 40:31

I remember sitting in church with my grandmother Garrett and the choir was singing “I Will Trust in The Lord”. I clearly remember the part where my grandmother would sing a smidgen louder, “I’m going to stay on the battlefield until I die.” I thought that was a bit much. I did not understand as a child what that meant to stay on the battlefield until I die. As a child, if things got too tough I would run from the battlefield! No way was I going to stay and fight. I valued my life too much. But now as an adult, I get it. And boy do I get it!!

I do not believe that anyone will get the true meaning of that song until you have really experienced some things. I have been in church singing:

Trust in the Lord
I’ll trust in the Lord
I will trust in the Lord
Until I die

I’m gonna stay on the battlefield
I’m gonna stay on the battlefield
I’m gonna stay on the battlefield
Until I die

I’m gonna treat everybody right
I’m gonna treat everybody right
I’m gonna treat everybody right
Until I die

Not truly understanding what it meant to stay on “the battlefield”. The battlefield has been defined for me within the last year, the last month, the last day. The battlefield is your mind, your spirit, your body, your relationships, and whatever else causes us to put our trust and confidence in the Lord. It may seem like things are happening to us and around us but we have to remain faithful that the power and protection of God is present. Whatever negative experience we have had IS the battlefield. We just need to know what weapon to bring to the battle. That negative experience was put there to take our life, our mind or the use of our body. But remember no weapon formed against us will prosper as long as we use our weapon of faith and hope. As soon as we lose hope we go running away just like I thought I would when I was a little girl sitting next to my grandmother. Then the battle is over.

Today remain faithful throughout whatever you are going through. Do not lose hope. There is no time for that. The battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s. Release your worries and concerns to the Lord. Keep this in your head all day today and tomorrow, “I’m going to stay on the battlefield. Until I die.” Be blessed my brother and my sister. The Lord is with you today and will be with you always.

Love you with the love of Christ!

Kelly

Trials & Tribulations Thursday

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Perserverance

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Today I did not want to get out of bed. I was about to go down that road of why should I, it does not matter. Then my clock radio went off. As you may have read yesterday, I was having issues with my radio. Yesterday it would not do anything but play static. It interrupted my morning. Today it was clear and loud. It played as though yesterday did not exist. I had not moved the radio nor had I adjusted the antennae. It played like yesterday did not happen. What was more interesting was what the DJ was saying. He said, “there are no problems just a process”. That stunned me for a second because I thought about all my “problems” I am/have gone through. I believe that everything happens for a reason that will be disclosed at a later time if we are open to really knowing. But I had never thought about exchanging my “problems” to my “process”. So I hit the snooze. 10 minutes later the radio went off again. Clear and loud. This time it played the exact same song as yesterday. The song sang to me, “This is your season for grace and mercy. This is your season to reap what you have sown”.

I have come to the conclusion that things that make us uncomfortable and challenge our faith will happen. It is how we handle the discomfort. Will we cry uncontrollably? Will we become a monster to everyone around us? Will we become detached from the world? Will we start doing self-destructive things? Whatever we choose to do in a time of trials and tribulations is up to us. God gave us free will. But in our free will we have to think, do any of those self-destructive ways help us through the trials? Do they change what has happen to us or around us? The answer is no. It still happened. Yesterday is gone. Yesterday cannot be changed or altered. Just like my clock radio, today is a new day that is clear and you can make it as you wish.

Perhaps you have to make some of adjustments of your life because of your trials and tribulations, but do so with thanksgiving. God did not create you for failure. He created you for greatness. It is only up to you as to how long you want to operate in defeat or sadness. It is up to you of how long you want to take to discover your destiny. But know you will discover it. You can take the quick way or the long way. It is all up to you and your attitude. Will you allow today to be clear? Or will you still be disturbed by the interruption of yesterday? You decide.

God be with you. Grace and Mercy.

Love you,

Kelly

Fantastic Friday

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Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Psalms 37:4-7

From my reading it states that to take delight in someone, you have to know that person. So in order for us to take delight in the Lord we need to get to know him. How do you get to know someone? Well, there are numerous ways to get to know someone now. But the most effective way is talking. When you talk to someone you get to know their desires, hopes and dreams. You get to know the soul of another person. God wants you to do the same to him. He wants you to bear all you hopes and your burdens to him. Let him become that trusted advisor.

It’s interesting that with everything that has happened in my life over the last 90 days, I’ve found myself more and more by myself. I don’t feel like talking on the phone or being out with people right now. I don’t want anyone to ask that dreaded question, “how are you”. Because then I would have to answer honestly……..”I’m not ok. I’m functioning.” So I’ve been communicating more and more with the Lord. I’ve been telling him the desires of my heart. I’ve been trusting him with everything that is happening and with everything that is going to happen. I know that he knows the plans that he has for me and those plans are to prosper me in every area that has been affected. For everything that has been taken from me it will return tenfold. So that means that I will shine like the noonday sun soon. But in the meantime, I need to be still. Accept being by myself and wait patiently on the Lord to act.

We all face tough times. Things we have no comprehension of will happen to us. The key to surviving is giving up. Give up worrying, wondering and trying to fix our problems. Take delight in the Lord. Trust that he has our best interest at heart. Where man has forsaken you, the Lord will not. He loves you like no one else can or ever will. Rest on his promises and take heart that he is moving on your behalf. Matter of fact, it’s already done. Believe that!

Keep the faith my friend. The Lord loves you and so do I!

Kelly

Thought Provoking Thursday

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Storm

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Yesterday I was totally caught off guard. The organization that I work for told me that they are letting everyone in my department go. I can reapply for my job and perhaps I will be rehired. If not, my last day is in about 1 month. And to add insult to injury, they said please do business as normal until then. Business as usual.

But it is not business as usual when your world has turned upside down. It is not business as usual when your heart has been broken. It is not business as usual when you feel so beat up from life that you can not get out the bed. It is not business as usual when you just do not have a clue of what you are suppose to do next. What do you do? If you are a believer, you stand.

Let nothing move you. Remain steadfast in praising, petitioning and expressing gratitude to our Lord and Savior. He is a ever-present help in a world that is topsy-turvy. What we experience God already knew it was going to happen. Which means he already knows how victorious we will be on the other side of our trials. We just need to remain faithful. Never lose hope because for after every storm there is sunshine. It may seem so tough at times but bad times do not last.

For me, I’ve decided to give myself to the Lord’s work. I’m going to try something new. I’m going to listen to that small voice and allow that voice to guide me. If the Lord says my work will not be in vain, then I believe it. Today I step out on faith fully even though my heart is broken because I loss my nephew to suicide. I step out on faith fully even though I am a divorced. I step out on faith fully even though my son has sickle cell anemia. I step out on faith fully even though they said I’ve loss my job. I step out on faith fully even though………

I encourage you today to step out on faith. Do what is in your heart today. Let go of whatever is holding you back. Release whatever is troubling you. Let God take over. I promise you your labor will not be in vain.

Love you with love of Christ,

Kelly

Wonderful Wednesday

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Psalm 27:13-14 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord ; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord .

In a world of “gotta have it now” waiting for things to happen is difficult. We want immediate gratification. Waiting can almost be tortuous. It has gotten to a point if I text someone and they take 5 minutes to respond, I’ve made up in my mind at least 5 terrible things of why it took so long. That’s only 5 minutes. What happens when we have to wait for a breakthrough and its been 24 hours or 1 week or 1 year? If you’re like me, it can feel like an eternity.

We’re constantly told that our sufferings, our trials and tribulations are strengthening us. It builds up our faith in Jesus Christ. It allows us to experience the wonderful miracle making God. If we stay faithful and do right we will inherit the kingdom. Our suffering will be awarded in heaven. But if you’re like me, I want a piece of heaven on earth. I refuse to believe that after I have endured setbacks, disappointments, heartbreak and death, that I have to wait to see the glory of God after my death.

Today’s scripture answered my question. We will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That means we will be rewarded on earth as it is in heaven. The key is patience. We have to be patient and wait on the Lord. Don’t take matters into your own hands. Wait on the Lord. Don’t grieve like you have no hope, wait on the Lord. He will never leave you or forsake you. Praise him. Pray with petition. Then wait. Patience is a virtue.

Be great today!

Love you with the love of Christ,

Kelly

Why I Blog?

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Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Ephesians 4:15

I found that the last year of my life has been filled with the most trials and tribulations that challenged me as a Christian. I experienced the type of pain that I did not discuss with anyone. I kept the intimate details of my emotional state to myself which in turn caused my hair to fall out, made my stomach to hurt, have headaches and grind my teeth to a point of where I had to wear a bite guard. I then started to really read other people’s post on Facebook. I noticed a trend. I was not alone.

I decided to gather people together just so I could research how people deal with their issues. Some turned to church heavily. Some got involved in activities that would refocus their thoughts elsewhere. Some self-medicated with food, drinks or people. No matter how they got through their issues, the common theme was not talking to other people with similar struggles.

I decided to stop the cycle. I decided to talk about the trials I am experiencing and have experienced. I want to share in love so I can hopefully let others know, who may be experiencing something similar, we can be overcomers and be victorious!

I hope my blog helps you through your life journey. Enjoy Where I Enter.

Kelly