Category Archives: Personal Growth

Advice, Wisdom, and Avoiding Heartbreak

Asking for Advice

Have you ever had somebody ask your advice on something, and you readily give it only to find out later that they already had their mind set on what they wanted to do? How did it make you feel? Frustrated, right?

We had this happen recently. Somebody asked Matt and I how we felt about a decision they were going to make. Matt and I both agreed it wasn’t a wise decision. We talked to this person for at least an hour or so and felt confident in the fact they had heard and would heed our advice.

Rejecting that Advice

However, a few weeks later, that same person came to us and told us they had done exactly what we advised them not to do. We both just sat there for a moment, stunned. What do you say? We didn’t agree with the decision, but they already knew that. Yet, they ignored our advice and went ahead with their decision anyway.

Situations like these are so disheartening. We can foresee a decision someone is about to make and the heartbreak it’s going to cause. Yet, we are helpless to do anything to change it.

There’s a story in the book of Jeremiah about a group of people that had a plan in mind; all they needed was for the prophet to give his blessing on their plan. Reading the story and knowing all the details now, I wonder why they even bothered asking the prophet for his advice anyway. They were going to do what they were going to do whether he told them they should or not.

The People’s Request

We pick up the story in Jeremiah 42. Judah has been seized by Babylon. Most of the people were taken into captivity, and the city has been burned and destroyed. There was, however, a small remnant of people left in the city. Jeremiah, the prophet, is part of that remnant still in Judah.

The few people that are left come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray to his God to show them what they should do next.

They said, “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before. Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”
Jeremiah 42:2,3 NLT

Jeremiah’s Response

Jeremiah agrees and tells them that he will tell them everything God says. Ten days later, God gives Jeremiah the answer. God tells them that they need to stay in the land, even though they feel like they’d be safer going to Egypt. Furthermore, if they do move to Egypt, they won’t survive.

Yet before the words are even out of Jeremiah’s mouth, they argue with him.

When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lordtheir God to all the people, Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The Lord our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt!Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.So Johanan and the other military leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah.”
Jeremiah 43:1-3

Their Rejection

The word from God conflicts with what they want to do. They were hoping that Jeremiah would tell them that God said to go to Egypt. Instead, God tells them that if they go to Egypt, it will be to their demise and utter destruction.

Even though the people asked Jeremiah for God’s answer, they didn’t really want it. They basically wanted God’s approval on the plans they had already made. As you can probably guess, the people don’t listen to God’s words. They decide to go ahead with their own plan.

Forging Ahead without Asking God

We sit back and criticize these people, yet how many times have we done the same thing. We get into our mind what we want to do, and we pray and hope that God will bless those plans. We forge ahead with our own plan and hope it all works out.

But Solomon reminds us that our plans won’t prosper without God.

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Proverbs 19:21

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9 NLT

Our Response

We have to be careful that we don’t make our plans and just hope that God blesses what we are doing. Too often, we jump into something without asking God if it’s something we should pursue or not. Then we get frustrated with God when it doesn’t work out. In reality, it’s not God’s fault. We never stopped to check with him.

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
Proverbs 19: 3 NLT

The best way to stop making foolish mistakes is to ask God first before we jump into something. Spend the time now asking God what direction we should go before we make a mess of things. Ask God for wisdom first; follow that up with asking advice from a few wise counselors. If we do, we can spare ourselves a lot of heartbreak.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post You Can Avoid Making Foolish Decisions. A great book to read is The Best Yes by Lisa TerKeurst. The paperback is currently on sale on Amazon for $8.72.

Peach Picking and Sticking with It

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Peach Picking in Lancaster

two girls with peaches — Maggie and Macey on the wagon with our peaches

We had an amazing day yesterday. We got to go peach picking at a farm in Lancaster yesterday. Well, first we had to play on the giant hay bales; then we went peach picking.

I’ve never been peach picking before. I thought it would be similar to apple picking, but it was a little different.

When we go apple picking, we hit a few trees and get more apples than our box can hold. It doesn’t take very long. When we went peach picking, however, it took much longer. The peaches were much harder to find and were few and far between. We might walk past three or four trees before we would find a peach hiding in there.

The peaches are amazing, so much better than the ones from the grocery store! They’re beautiful and so flavorful and juicy. We cut up a bunch of them and froze them for smoothies and for baking, and this morning I made a peach crumble for the first time.

peach crumble — Peach Crumble: I took out some before I remembered to take a picture

Enjoying the Fruit of Somebody’s Hard Work

I got to thinking about the peaches and the peach trees and all the work that has gone into that little piece of paradise we got to enjoy yesterday. The trees gave us shade and brought relief from the hot sun. The peaches were fun to pick but are also going to provide great snacks and desserts.

Somebody spent hours and hard work and sweat to produce what we got to partake in yesterday. All we had to do was show up, walk around a little, and pick a few peaches. We got to enjoy the fruit of somebody else’s labor. (literally)

Working at Our Craft

For so many of us, that’s sort of the way life is. We work so hard at our craft or at our job. Somebody shows up to partake in our work. They spend a few minutes engaging with our life’s work or business, and then they move on. It’s simply a transaction for them. For us, however, it’s our life’s work. It’s a representation of our blood, sweat, and tears. It represents our dreams and goals and aspirations. It’s a showing of everything we’ve sacrificed to get to where we are today. Yet to others, it’s simply an experience, a product, a sampling. They will enjoy it and move on.

As an author and blogger, I spend so much time writing. I pour myself into my work, run on little sleep, race against deadlines, try to keep up with everything, and give everything I’ve got into my writing, my books, my blog, and my other products. Then somebody comes along and buys one of my books, spends a few hours reading it (or doesn’t finish it) and leaves a review for how well they think I did. They move on with their life. Meanwhile, I’m still there working on the next book, giving everything I’ve got to make it the best it can be and to get it out on time.

Building Resentment

If I’m not careful, this entire process builds resentment. It creates feelings of frustration and annoyance. I can get pulled down into thinking I’m not good enough; I’m a failure. I can get frustrated with people who didn’t live up to my expectations.

Living like this is exhausting and frustrating. I’ve got to learn to treat it like some farmer in Lancaster does. He works the ground, grows the trees, produces the fruit and doesn’t get an ounce of credit for his or her work. Why do they keep doing it then? For the joy it brings to others. Because this is what God created them to do, and they feel incredible fulfillment in living out their purpose.

Stick with It

I don’t know what Your purpose is, but I want to encourage you not to give up on it. Don’t get weary and discouraged and walk away because you feel like nobody is noticing. Here’s the thing: they are noticing. You made somebody’s day today, because you showed up and did your thing. I had an amazing experience with my family because somebody has been taking care of those peach trees.

I rolled out a book this week. It hasn’t gone crazy; my books never do. If I’m not careful, I get discouraged and want to give up. Yet this week, I received this text from one of my readers.

Book 2 might be my favorite book you have written so far. I definitely love this new series!

That was enough to put wind in my sails and remind me of why I’m doing what I’m doing.

Don’t Quit

I say all that to say this: whatever you’re doing, working at, creating, performing, serving…Keep at it. Keep showing up and doing what you do best. Continue to create the best product or service you can. Don’t give up even though you may not see the fruit of your labor.

I can guarantee you that there are people who absolutely love what you are doing or creating, and they would be lost without it. So keep drawing, writing, serving, baking, creating, caring for, tending…keep on doing whatever it is you do that makes you, you. Because there’s somebody out there that needs you to keep doing it.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post Don’t Give Up on the Dream God has Given You or check out Matt’s book, Breakthrough: Transforming the Death of a Dream to the Birth of a Breakthrough.

The Eight-Step Process of Faith

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Our Crazy Heat Wave

We just came out of a heat wave here in the Philadelphia area. The temperatures have been soaring, and so has the humidity. A few days ago, I was driving and looked down to see the dashboard said the temperature was 100 degrees. A glance at my phone showed the heat index was above 107. Basically, it was hot! It’s the kind of heat and humidity that you just walk outside and instantly get soaked.

And then this morning, I opened the door to take out the trash and was shocked to feel a cool breeze. The heat had broken and so had the humidity. I opened the front door, the back door, and all the windows. I can’t keep the smile off my face because it’s the first hint of fall coming.

Getting a Break

Sometimes life is like that. It’s so hard and heavy, and it feels like you’re just never going to get a break. Then one morning, you wake up and realize that your heart is lighter. The worst has passed, or has begun to pass. You begin to feel hope for the first time in a very long time.

You look up and feel God’s presence, his goodness for the first time in a long time. He’s been there all along, but you just awakened anew to his presence.

Walking on the Water and Our Faith

I think that’s similar to how Peter felt in his famous story of walking on the water. He went through the process in a few seconds of what we go through for weeks and months at a time.

Peter’s Eight-Step Process of Walking on Water Compared to the Faith Process

Peter got excited about the possibilities—walking on the water. How could you not? Similarly, we get excited about what God has for us.
We trust God and step out in faith, and it feels really good…for a little bit.
Then reality hits. The waves come and threaten to wipe you out. All you can see is the storm and the huge waves.
Our trust wavers, and we falter. We question God and question why we even stepped out in the first place.
Instead of reaching out to the one who can save us, we look at everything around us, trying to work it out by ourselves.
Finally, at the end of ourself, we look up and ask Jesus for help. Jesus reaches out and pulls us back up.
We stand on solid ground again and look around, surprised that God got us through it.
Then Jesus asks, “Why did you doubt me?” Read Jesus’ response to Peter.

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
Matthew 14: 31

The Process of Faith

The process of faith is pretty comparable to the process of walking on water that Peter did. I don’t know which number in the progression you’re in today, but the fact of the matter is that you are in one of those phases, or you’re getting ready to go back into that process. That’s just how life is, how God works. I’ve seen it over and over and over again.

We could speed the entire process up if we skipped the not having faith part, not trusting God to get us through. If we just went right from stepping out to do something great for God to asking Jesus for his help and trusting him to get us through it, we could save ourselves some heartbreak. Maybe a lot of heartbreak. Sadly, it’s just not the way most of us process things. We usually skip right to the stage where reality hits, and we begin to question God’s goodness and faithfulness.

What if we didn’t? What if when the hard times come, we didn’t waste energy on doubt and fear, on doubting God’s goodness and faithfulness; and we didn’t spend time questioning our faith? Maybe we could get through the process in half the time. Maybe God could trust us with more. More blessing, more opportunities, more relationships…just more.

Commit to Skipping Right to the Faith Step

For as many years as I have been a Christian, for as many trials and hard times God has gotten me through, my default when hard times come is to doubt. I doubt God’s goodness, I feel like he’s forgotten me, and I’m convinced that this will be the one time that everything comes crashing down around me.

Let’s commit to choosing to skip those steps in the middle. Let’s just skip right to the part where we call on Jesus and trust him to get us through. We will save ourselves a lot of heartache in the middle. I am committing to do the same.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post Developing a Faith that’s Strong Enough to Stand On, or check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life.

You Can Avoid Making Foolish Decisions

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Making Foolish Decisions

I was talking with somebody recently who made a really foolish decision, one they can’t come back from. It’s permanent, and nothing they can do will change it. Matt and I spent a lot of time thinking through the situation. Why? Why did they come to this decision? What motivated them to do it?

This isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with a situation like this, and it won’t be the last. We spend a lot of time wondering what we could have done differently or said differently. Most often, it comes back to the fact that a person simply didn’t use wisdom to make the decision. They made a rush decision; they didn’t think through the consequences. Maybe they didn’t see the full picture. Whatever the case may be, they made a poor decision.

Paul’s Prayer for His Followers

Paul hits this issue head-on in Colossians. He writes a letter to the church in Colossae and tells them that he prays for them without stopping. Why? Because he had the same issues back then that we do today. We all have a tendency to make foolish decisions.

Paul prayed for the believers; he tells them that he prays for God to give them knowledge of his will and wisdom and understanding. In return, their lives will produce fruit.

I broke it down into a graphic.

Asking God for Wisdom

If we want our lives to honor God, we have to have his wisdom. There’s no way around it. We can and will really make a mess of our lives if we don’t get ahold of this principle: We need wisdom, the wisdom that is from God.

So how do we get it? How do we get God’s wisdom? We find the answer in the book of James.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
James 1:5 NLT

We have to ask for it. The only way to avoid making foolish decisions, mistakes that we can’t come back from, is to ask God for wisdom. Continually spend time seeking him and his plan for our lives.

If we have wisdom from God and continue to seek Him and become more like him, then our lives will produce good fruit. We won’t bear the consequences and scars of a life lived foolishly.

More Encouragement

If you find yourself in a place where you have made a foolish decision, don’t give up hope. We’ve all been there; we’ve all made foolish decisions. That’s why we need God. Here’s a video from my husband to check out that will give you hope and encouragement. How to Reset Your Regrets and Start Over.

Staying Resilient in the Midst of Life’s Hard

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Resilient Trees

Trees are resiliant; that’s for sure. A few months ago, we had to have a tree company take down one of the trees in our backyard. When the guy came out to give us a quote, he told us that the tree at some point tried to uproot itself. The entire thing twisted but managed to stay rooted. Now, we’re talking about an eighty-foot plus tree here. The thing was massive. Somehow, it managed to stay upright, even though most of its roots were above ground and the entire thing had twisted.

Verses about Trees

Trees have the ability to stand strong during the worst of storms. I read some verses in Jeremiah this week during my morning time routine that reminded me of the tree we had taken down.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Staying Resilient, No Matter the Circumstances

Trees that are healthy can weather the storm and can grow no matter the circumstances. God says that when we trust him and make him our hope and confidence instead of ourselves, that we are like a tree. Not just any tree—a tree that has deep roots, is settled next to water, and stays strong no matter what.

When we trust God no matter what, we become like one of those strong trees. We are able to weather the storms. No matter what circumstances come our way, we are able to stand strong and still produce fruit. What does it mean to still produce fruit? It means we still love others in the midst of our storm, continue to grow in our faith, and choose joy.

Poem about Resilience

I love this poem about resilience by Douglas Malloch.

Good Timber

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees,
The further sky, the greater length,
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

Choosing to Be Resilient

We don’t become who God wants us to be by skating through life without any problems. No, we become strong, faith-filled women by enduring trials and still choosing to be joyful, to love God, and to love others.

If we fail to learn to be resilient, we aren’t going to be able to accomplish what God wants us to. In turn, we will miss the blessings God had for us. If we give up now, the only sure thing is that we will have missed out on what God had in store.

So choose to be resilient. Choose to stand strong in your faith, no matter the circumstances. Keep loving, serving, and choosing joy even when you don’t “feel” like it. Then watch as God grows your faith and makes you like one of those tall trees—able to withstand the storms and always bearing fruit, no matter the circumstances.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Developing a Faith that’s Strong Enough to Stand On. Or check out Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis Majors. Katie’s life is a perfect example of being resilient and continuing to love people, even when life is hard.

What LJ Taught Me about Praying

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Have you ever had somebody keep asking your for something over and over and over again until you finally give in and give them what they want? If you’re a mom, the answer to that is probably yes. I used to think I was so strong…then I became a mom!

Our Neighbor, LJ

One of our neighbors is an eight-year-old boy named LJ. Almost every day during the summer, LJ shows up at our house multiple times a day and opens the door. “Hey, is Malachi in there? Can he come out and play?”

For the first couple weeks after we met LJ, we tried tirelessly to get LJ not to open the door without knocking first. He would stand in the doorway and ask what the kids were doing and when they could come out to play. We would tell him he needs to knock first and can’t just open the door and stand in the doorway. Honestly, it was more stressful than just letting him come in. So, we finally gave up one day after it had happened at least ten times and just said, “Sure, LJ. Come on in.” It’s pretty much a standing invitation now; he comes over whenever he wants to and comes inside, even if it’s 7:30 in the morning and the younger girls are still asleep.

What LJ Taught Us

Matt looked at me the other day and said, “I think LJ is the perfect example of what God has in mind when he tells us to keep asking.”

I laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

LJ never gave up; that kid has tenacity. He wore us down over time until we finally just gave him a standing invite to come in whenever. Jesus teaches a story about prayer that reminds Matt and I a lot of LJ.

Jesus’ Story about Prayer

When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, he gave them an example of what to pray. We know it as the Lord’s prayer. Right after that, he launches into a story to help illustrate how to pray.

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Luke 11:5-10 NLT

Importunity

There’s a word that describes this type of prayer. It’s called importunity. Importunity is defined as: persistence, especially to the point of annoyance. It doesn’t sound like a very flattering word, and yet this is what God wants from us when we come to him in prayer. It’s not giving up after the fourth, fifth, hundredth, thousandth prayer. It’s persevering and not giving up until God says, “Okay, because of your shameless persistence, I will answer you.”

LJ Wore Us Down

When I think of all the times we told LJ not to come in, I just laugh. He wore us down, and we changed out minds out of sheer frustration.

What would happen if we took that same attitude towards our requests to God? What if we didn’t give up once or twice or even after a hundred times. If we just kept praying and asking and believing that God is going to answer our prayer, what would happen? I believe we’d see more of our prayers answered. We can all learn a lesson from LJ. Don’t give up. Keep asking, seeking, knocking. Keep praying until God answers that prayer; it’s always too soon to give up on prayer!

For More Encouragement

If you enjoyed this post, check out Finding the Tenacity to Wrestle with God. A great book to read on this topic is Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker.

Handling Hard Better

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Handle Hard Better Video

Matt showed me a video this week on Youtube from the Women’s basketball coach at Duke. It’s been labeled Handle Hard Better. It’s a great quick video that all of us can learn from. Take a quick minute to watch it; it’s worth the time.

The simple fact of the matter is that life is hard. It’s never going to get easier. Instead, we have to learn how to bear up under that hard, handle the hard better. The better we handle the hard we’re dealing with now, the better we make it for the next thing we have to deal with.

Life Doesn’t Get Easier

Matt has a saying. “Life doesn’t get easier, but it gets better.” I don’t know that there ever comes a point and time in life when we say, “Wow. This is so easy right now.” School is hard. College is grueling. Having babies is exhausting. Raising children is no joke. Preparing teens for life is not for the faint of heart. Building a career is no easy feat. Choosing to stay married requires love and sacrifice. On and on the list goes. Life never gets easier, but it can get better. Why?” Because we learn how to handle life as it comes our way.

We can choose to live under our circumstances and let them crush the life and joy out of us, or we can choose to live above our circumstances. I like to think of it this way. We can choose to be a Tigger or an Eeyore. Except for Eeyore’s tail that always fell off, Tigger and Eeyore faced the same daily problems. But Tigger faced them with zeal and excitement, whereas Eeyore faced them with dread and depression.

We can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose our response every time. We have to find joy even in the midst of bad circumstances. If we give ourselves permission to live without joy, to be depressed and discouraged, hopeless and defeated every time we face a hardship, our entire life is going to be like that. Because let’s face it. Life is hard! But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can find joy, no matter the circumtances. But it’s our job to find the joy, even in the midst of life’s hard.

Choosing to Find Joy

Shauna Niequist says in her book, I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet, that we are responsible to find joy. It doesn’t necessarily just come bubbling up. No, we have to chase it down; we have to choose to find it.

We also put ourselves in the path of joy, and sometimes, frankly, it takes a little muscle. I no longer wait for joy to rise up unbidden. I put myself in her path every chance I get, and extending myself in that direction delivers me to gratitude, to hope, to a cascade of things that tumble out after joy but don’t show up without a little effort on our part.
Shauna Niequist

Choose today to bear up under whatever hard it is you are facing. Choose to find joy. Learn to build some “muscle” with what you’re going through. If you do, it will make the next hard that comes your way just a little easier to deal with.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out You Can’t Wait Until Life isn’t Hard to Be Happy or read Lysa TerKeurst’s book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. The hardback is currently on sale on Amazon for $12.85.

Huge Amazon Sale on Books

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Huge Sale on Amazon

For whatever reason, there’s a lot of books that I love that are on sale on Amazon right now…maybe because Prime Day is coming. Anyway, it’s a great sale to take advantage of.

The Hidden Pain (my book) $9.65

Finding Free (my book) $12.87

Most of Lysa TerKeurst’s Books

Falling Free by Shannan Martin

The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippitts

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis Majors

Love Does by Bob Goff

Find Your People by Jenni Allen

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

The Super Mom Myth by Becky Kopitzke

The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell

When Women Pray by T. D. Jakes

Plus sooo many more! Even some of my A. J. Manney Books made it into the sale!! Head over to Amazon and check out all your favorites!

It’s a great time to stock up on books that you’ve been wanting to read and books for gifts. Christmas will be here before we know it!!

Check out my Summer Reading Guide, 2022 for more book suggestions!

Getting Stuck in the Dark and Waiting for the Dawn to Break

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the light of the sunrise after the dark — sunrise at the beach

Watching the Sunrise

One of my most favorite things to see and experience is a gorgeous sunrise. There is something so breathtaking about watching the sky go from dark to a little bit of light. Eventually that light begins to grow. Colors begin to streak across the horizon. Brilliant pinks and oranges and yellows break through where once the darkness stood. Then, if you wait long enough, a huge burning ball of light rises and slowly begins its ascension into the sky.

It’s an amazing process to watch, one that takes my breath away every single time. It’s the most spectacular to watch on the beach. The crazy thing about it is that it seems to go slow when you’re watching it. It seems to take forever for the sun to get in the sky if you are a bystander watching. However, if you’re at home, not paying attention, or still sleeping, it’s over and done so fast. If you don’t plan to watch it, to get there early to see it, you will wake up and it’s gone. The sun will be in the sky and there will be no signs of the brilliance that took place just a few minutes or hours before.

watching the sun come up after the dark — Matt and I watching the sun come up

Watching God Work

Watching God work in our lives is kind of like watching that sunrise. Only you get the front row seat to watch what God’s taking you through. Nobody else can fully see your pain, can understand the hurt, or imagine what you’re going through. To everybody else watching, they will simply see you in a season of darkness for a time until you come out on the other side, and they see the sun shining brightly. They miss the process; they miss the beauty of it.

Waiting for the Dark to Dispel

In our own lives, if we’re not careful, we miss it as well. God takes us into a season of trial, and it gets dark. Really dark. It’s the kind of darkness where you can’t see your hand in front of your face. In a spiritual sense, your hand becomes God’s goodness. In a season of dark, you can no longer see God’s goodness. It feels so far away. Further away still is his love. We can’t see anything but the trial in front of us.

Like the sunrise, if we wait long enough, if we hold on to faith and keep believing, the sun will slowly begin to rise. It will take some time, but the process of coming out of the darkness and into light—coming out on the other side—will begin. It’s a slow process, but it’s a beautiful one. Along the way, we will begin to see traces of God’s faithfulness, his love, his goodness. It’s been there all along, but we just couldn’t see it. As God begins to work, we will see his hand once again. Eventually, we will be on the other side of the trial, out of of that season of darkness. But if we’re not careful, we will have missed the beauty along the way.

The Morning Always Comes

Shauna Niequest puts it this way:

Because this is how life is. We get stuck in the dark, sometimes for a long time. We ache for morning. And sometimes it seems like it will never come. But this is also how life is. Dawn always breaks. Morning always comes.
From I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet by Shauna Niequiest

David put it this way:

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13 KJV

God’s Goodness and Unfailing Love

If you are in a season of dark right now, if if seems like your hope is gone, let me encourage you with these words.

For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation
Psalm 100:5

God has not forgotten you; he sees you and hears you. His unfailing love and faithfulness still wrap around you today. You may not be able to see it right now; your faith may not be strong enough to feel it right now. That’s okay. You can borrow some of my faith for today. When your faith isn’t strong enough, lean on somebody else’s faith until you can stand back on your own. I’ve done that so many times. So lean on my faith and hear me when I say, God is still faithful. He still loves you, and he is still right beside you. You continue to do what’s right; don’t quit. He’s going to get you through this. Don’t miss the beauty in the journey.

Seeing Past the Dark

Watch for the light. You will begin to see little signs of him working in your life after a long season of nothing. Don’t miss the little flashes of color along the way. Keep hoping, keep believing, keep growing, keep trusting. Because if you do, there are great things on the other side of this dark season.

For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!
Psalm 64:4 NLT

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my posts, When You Feel Like God Has Forgotten You and Choosing Hope—the Best is Yet to Come. You can also check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your life. It’s currently on sale on Amazon for $9.65. Another great book is Kara Tippetts’ book, The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life’s Hard. That book is also on sale on Amazon. It’s currently $9.84.

Our Trip to Colorado

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4,000+ Miles to Colorado

We’ve had a great start to our summer. We started out June by driving over 4,000 miles across country to Colorado. We left Pennyslvania and drove to Illinois where we stayed with my younger sister and her husband overnight. Somehow, I didn’t get any pictures of us all together. Not sure how I did that! I did manage to capture a picture of Culver’s, though. What can I say?

Estes Park, Colorado

After an amazing time there, we traveled the rest of the way to Colorado where we stayed with my parents. We had such an amazing time out there visiting family, relaxing, exploring, and more. We got to go to Estes Park, our favorite place to visit and had breakfast at our favorite restaurant up there, The Egg and I. Acting like tourists, we walked around and looked at all the shops, and the kids bought hats and t-shirts. We bought some taffy, the best snickers caramel apple, and dipped our feet in the freezing mountain creek water.

Family

We got to visit my parent’s church, and we got to spend time with my grandma and my dad’s side of the family while in Colorado. We always have a great time with them. On Saturday morning, we did our annual breakfast. My uncle brings his outdoor griddle and cooks up a feast—pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and so much more. We have so much fun sitting around the table and talking. It’s always one of the highlights of our trip.

Amazing Food

Matt and I discovered a new restaurant that was amazing! It’s called Oreganos and serves Italian food with a Southwest twist. They had the best gluten free food, which is nearly impossible to find at an Italian place. We had the best gluten free pizza I’ve ever had and an amazing bowl of what they call Alfredo the Dark. It’s Alfredo pasta, but they put a spin on it by mixing in poblanos and a blend of Southwest cheeses and top it with diced tomatoes, cotija cheese, and a jalapeño. It was to die for!

This is actually us at Nordy’s- a bbq place that we all went to as a family

Beauty of Colorado

We had an amazing time. Of course the scenery everywhere in Colorado is simply amazing. No matter where you look, there is something beautiful to see. Add in the low humidity, and it’s pretty much perfect!

Our Time in Kentucky

After our time in Colorado, we began the long trip home. We stopped in Kentucky to see my older sister and her family. We haven’t gotten to see them since before Covid, so we were super happy to see them. Our kids were so excited to see their cousins.

Our kids plus my niece Meya and my nephew Nate

They took us to this place called Rec Bar. It was a restaurant that had three rooms of arcade games. So after you ordered your food, you could go play arcade games. It was perfect for the kids. They had so much fun! I had the best meal there. It was totchos. it’s basically nachos, but they use tater tots for the base. Then they added amazing bbq pork on top and all sorts of other amazing toppings. It was soo good!

We had an amazing two weeks! We’re so thankful for God’s safety and for family.

Other News

In other news, we recently released our newest devotional, You Are Not Alone: Promises from Psalms. I have a book coming out on Tuesday. It’s book one of my next series. Bound by Protection pre-order is available on Amazon.

I also created a summer reading guide if you’re interested and a fantasy/romance reading guide as well.

All in all, I’d say summer is off to a great start! Happy Summer!