Memories are Made from Moments

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I was reminded yesterday that it’s the moments that make up our memories. Yesterday, we took a field trip to a science factory for school. As a part of the day, we also stopped at a park because the weather was so nice. I had the kids do a writing assignment while we were there. While I was doing the assignment with the kids, Matt snapped a picture and sent me a text saying, “This right here is why we do what we do.” He also sent me some thoughts, some of what I’m sharing in this email.

So often, we get so busy. Life comes flying at us from all directions. I find myself with a to-do list every day that’s daunting, and I find myself constantly saying to my kids, “I’m busy right now; I can’t do that right now. We can do that later, another day.” I tell myself it will be better after I finish this project or this deadline, but that’s not necessarily true. Because after that deadline, there will be another one and another one.

Yet, for all my busyness, life doesn’t slow down. My kids aren’t getting any younger; I’m not getting any younger. If we’re not careful, life will pass us by in the blink of an eye. We can either let it pass us by, or we can choose to grab ahold of it, force it to slow down for us.

How do you slow time?

For me, slowing down time is accomplished by simply spending time with the people I love and creating memories with them. We measure life in moments. Those moments add up to be memories, and we treasure those memories. Those moments create the memories we will tell for decades to come. If we miss those moments, we can never get them back.

How do you create memories?

How do we create those moments so we can be assured of memories later on? This is something I constantly struggle with. Matt is much better at it than I am; this is a constant struggle for me because my mind is always busy. Left to my own choosing, I will always choose to work. So I have to remind myself of these principles:

Be present. When it’s time to do something with those you love, choose to simply be present. For me with my kids, I have to choose to do the activity with them, paint the picture, throw the football, chase them through the field, laugh with them, etc.
Create moments. There won’t ever be any special moments that will turn into memories if we don’t intentionally schedule time into our calendar. Plan for special days—trips to the park, day trips to special places, picnics, read-alouds, craft and art projects, cook-outs with friends, special dinners, coffee dates, etc.
Take pictures. Pictures will be my memory of this day when I forget. Pictures will remind me that this day was special and worth it.

How do you make it work?

Maybe you, like me, struggle with this concept. Maybe you find it hard to take a break, to cut loose when there is so much to do. I hear you. Here’s a quick assignment. Answer these two questions:

What are the things I can do anytime?

What are the things I can only do in this time?

If we’re honest with ourselves, answering those two questions will remind us of what’s important right now. If you’re in the midst of the child-rearing years, remind yourself of this principle:

The days are long, but the years are short.

Choose to be Intentional

Too soon, our kids will be gone from our homes, moving on with their lives. We have to choose to be intentional about our time with them. This applies to anybody in any life stage. Maybe you don’t have kids, but this still applies to your friendships and relationships. We only get one shot at this life; let’s make it count.

Remember this: The moments we spend today will be memories we reminisce or missteps we will forever regret.

More Encouragement

A great book on this topic is Hands-Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford. I really felt convicted reading this book but also inspired and encouraged. You can also check out my post My Reminder from a Heart in the Sand.

3 Ways to Turn Discouragement into Hope

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We all go through times of discouragement. It can happen any time, but one of the times people get most discouraged is in the months of January and February. The sun isn’t out as much; it’s generally colder, depending on where you live. Especially for those of us in the North, it’s sort of a depressing time of year.

What do you do to combat that discouragement? How do you find hope? What do you when you feel defeated? Matt and I were having a discussion about this topic this week. The next few days in my morning time, God brought these verses and thoughts to mind that can help turn our discouragement into hope.

1. Believe.

My word for this year is believe. It sounds cliche or simple, but there is nothing cliche about believing, about taking God at his word. When life feels like it’s falling apart, and you don’t know what to do, turn to God. Choose once again to believe, to have faith that he can make good come from the bad and the ugly. Trust him to bring you through this time. Understand that he’s still at work.

You can read my full post about my word for the year, about believing, HERE.

2. Be Still.

One of the most well-known verses in the Bible is from Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!” There’s something about that verse, about those words. It brings a sense of peace and calm to our hearts, even in the midst of chaos and confusion.

When the Israelites stood on the opposite side of the Red Sea after crossing all night on dry ground, they turned back to see the Egyptian army coming after them in full force. Chariots riding hard, generals shouting commands, soldiers in gleaming armor, piercing weapons…it made quite a picture, a terrifying one. Yet, Moses tells the people to stand and watch.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I would have been able to stand and watch. I would have turned and ran in fear. But Moses tells them to stand still; see his words from Exodus 14.

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.”
Exodus 14:13

Those were powerful words coming from their leader. The Israelites obey; they stand still and watch. They watch as God releases the hold on the walls of water on either side of the Egyptian army, and those waters crash down, drowning the entire army. I can’t imagine the shock and silence that followed in those first few moments before they erupted in cheers and praise to God for saving them.

It seems so counterintuitive when you’re in danger, in a trial, in trouble, to be still. Yet, that’s what God wants from us sometimes. Sometimes, when we’ve done all we can do, we have to be silent and wait and watch God work.

3. Be Thankful.

The third thing to do is to find something to be thankful for. Sometimes, we have to just look at our day and find something to be thankful for. Then find something else. Maybe it’s simply to look at the sunrise and be thankful for another day. Maybe it’s to look at those closest to you and be thankful that you don’t have to go through life alone. Whether it’s one thing, or ten, choose to find something to be thankful for.

Jon Gordon says this, “It’s actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time.”

The Psalmist wrote this in Psalm 50:

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
Psalm 50:14

But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.
Psalm 50:23

There’s something that happens when we choose to be thankful. Our minds are changed when we choose to be thankful, choose to find something to be grateful for. Why? Because at least for that little bit, our mind focuses on something that brings us joy. We focus on something that makes us content, and that draws our attention away from our problems. Gratitude has a way of lightening our load. It often helps us to remember that we don’t really have it that bad; there are others who have it so much worse.

If you find yourself struggling with discouragement today, with being hurt, feeling like God’s not pleased with you, then try one or all three of these things this week and see if it doesn’t turn your discouragement into hope.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life or check out my post, The Key to Unlocking Hope.

3 Things I do Every Night Before Bed

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A successful day starts the night before. We’ve all heard that saying so many times; but what does that look like? For each of us it looks a little different. I love to hear what’s working for others and love to share what’s working for me.

Getting in the Right Head Space

For me to get up and be ready to start my morning time routine, my head has to be in the right frame of mind. If I come downstairs, and the living room is a mess, there’s clutter on the table, or dishes in the sink, I can’t focus. Or if I’m exhausted because I went to bed super late the night before, I’m not in a good spirit to start my morning time routine. I’ve sabotaged my day before I’ve even started.

So over the last few years, I’ve tried to get really focused on sticking with a bedtime routine. It’s really made a big difference for me in my productivity and the overall “success” of my days.

3 Things I Try to do Every Night Before Bed

Here are three things I try to do every night before bed that help set me up for success the next morning.

Clean up the house before bed. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I at least try to wash the dishes and start the dishwasher for the night. I sweep the floor. I make sure the table is clean and ready for my morning time routine the next morning.
Write the next day’s to-do list on my phone. I do this so that I don’t have to expand extra energy the next morning trying to remember what I need to do for the day. The next morning, I just look at my phone and write everything down in my planner.
Get to bed at a good time. This is probably the one I struggle with the most. But when I go to bed at a good time, it is so much easier to get up early the next day and be in a good head space to start my day.
*Bonus: I’ve been trying to drink a cup of sleepytime tea each night before bed. I’m not sure if it makes a difference in my sleeping, but I like the calming effect of it.

What is your bedtime routine? What do you do before bed to set yourself up for a successful day the next day? I’d love to know!

For More Encouragement

One of my favorite books on routine and household chores is Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley.

If you like the idea of a bedtime routine and want ideas for a morning time routine as well, check out my free morning time routine course.

What It Means to be Surefooted as a Deer

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It’s an interesting comparison that the prophet Habakkuk makes in Habakkuk 3:19; he says that God gives us strength and makes us surefooted as a deer. The King James Version says it this way:

The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
Habakkuk 3:19 KJV

What is a hind?

A hind is actually a female red deer. I did a little digging this week to better understand this verse. Here’s what I found out. A hind won’t step on anything that is not sure and steady under its feet. What’s so interesting is that she will place her back feet exactly in the same place her front feet went. She is exactly sure footed, not off by an inch. Because of these two abilities, she is able to scale mountains and rocks without any fear of falling. It’s no wonder God told Habakkuk to use a deer as an example of sure footedness.

I haven’t seen too many deer up high in the mountains, but I have seen goats and mountain sheep high on the tops of mountains. It’s amazing to watch them. They are so sure footed, even on the side of a mountain. It’s the most amazing sight! Below are a few pictures I took from the road of big horn sheep climbing the mountains in Colorado.

They are so fearless as they traverse up and down the sides of mountains.

What does living like this look like?

When I see a picture like this with this verse in mind, it helps me to understand more clearly how God wants me to live my life. He wants me to so trust in him and in his goodness that I can literally bound around even dangerous places and not feel an ounce of fear because I know “God’s got this.”

I’m not sure how close to bounding you are right now. You may be the furthest thing away from that, and that’s okay. It just gives us a picture of how God created us and wants us to live. It gives us something to strive towards.

How do we live this way?

How do we live this way? What’s the secret? The secret lies in the preceding verses:

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
Habakkuk 3:17,18

If we want the surefooted confidence of a hind, we have to hand over the control of our lives to God and choose to rejoice no matter what comes our way. We can not control the circumstances in our lives, but we can control our response to those circumstances. And the response every time, according to these verses is supposed to be joy. It’s a choice. A choice to choose joy and to be as surefooted as the deer as we make our way through this life, or a choice to choose despair and frustration and find ourselves doubting, questioning, and stumbling on our difficult journey.

What does it mean to choose joy?

These verses are some of the most encouraging yet challenging verses in the Bible. How do we choose joy when life is so hard at times? I think we have to remember that joy doesn’t mean “happy” necessarily. It doesn’t mean we slap a smile on our faces when our world has just fallen apart.

It simply means that in the midst of the heartbreak, we choose to acknowledge that God is still good. That’s where our joy comes from. It comes from this deep place in side of us that goes deeper than simply “happiness.” It’s a deep understanding that I choose to still trust God and not let my circumstances determine my response.

So the next time you see a deer, stop for a moment and just watch it bound effortlessly away and remember these verses and let it remind you to choose joy every time.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post Enjoy the Stage of Life You’re In.

I would be remiss to not mention a popular older book called Hind’s Feet in High Places that gets its name from these verses.

Finding Freedom from Comparing Ourselves

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Comparing ourselves to others is so easy; in fact, it’s too easy. Social media channels make it the easiest thing to see the perfect moments in somebody else’s life and feel the pressure that we don’t measure up. Do any of these thoughts feel familiar?

Comparing Ourselves

My house doesn’t look like that. I don’t know how she does that. She looks really good. How does she dress like that and look so good all the time? How are their kids so smart? Why doesn’t my husband say those things about me? I wish we had that kind of money. I wish we had a house like that. If we had more money, we could do that too. How do they make enough to get that car, that vacation, that….fill in the blank.

Have you ever found yourself spiraling with thoughts like these after being on social media? It doesn’t just have to come from social media, either. It can happen after going over to someone else’s house, after meeting with a friend for coffee, after seeing a commercial on tv. We find these thoughts pinging at us constantly. Satan knows just how to show us something that makes us want more than we have or make us think we don’t have enough.

Shaming Ourselves

Usually then, we take it one step further. We begin to shame ourselves for not measuring up to another person or idea. We feel completely inept and imperfect, and we begin to doubt ourselves. Then come the thoughts that paralyze us and keep us from moving forward.

I can’t do this. This isn’t working. I am a complete failure. How can anybody love me or stand to be around me? Why can’t I figure out life like everybody else? Why am I the only one who doesn’t have their act together?

I am so convinced that this is one of the greatest weapons Satan uses to keep us from doing what God wants us to do. He uses these doubts and questions to keep us side-lined or at least distracted. If we don’t feel good about ourselves, if we constantly doubt ourselves and feel shame, how in the world can we be of any use to God? The answer is we can’t be.

Emily Freeman, in her book, Simply Tuesday, says this:

The best way to sabotage my own success is to be obsessed with someone else’s.
Emily Freeman

Focusing Ourselves

The surest way to not succeed and not move forward in life is to focus on other people and their successes. Paul tells us how to combat this problem in the book of Galatians.

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Galatians 6:4,5 NLT

And we’re reminded of the foolishness of comparing ourselves to others in II Corinthians.

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
II Corinthians 10:12 KJV

Freeing Ourselves

So how do we free ourselves from the trap of comparison? Here are a few ways to get you started:

Don’t compare yourself to others. Refuse to compare yourself or your work to other people or what they are doing. Keep your head down and stay focused on your own work.
Take a break from social media, or limit your time on social media.
Spend extra time each day practicing gratitude. Gratitude is a great way to combat envy.
Start each day with God and get consistent with a morning time routine.
Spend some time writing down your successes. What has God allowed you to accomplish? Then thank God for those successes.

Above all, remember that God created you uniquely you and gave you the talents and abilities needed to do the work he wants you to do. That’s all you have to focus on.

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out Sandra Stanley’s devotional Comparison Trap. It’s a 28-devotional and has a free accompanying app with corresponding videos.

You can also check out my Finding Free Products.

The Key to Unlocking Hope

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I wrote last week about my word of the year—believe. If you missed that post and want to read why I chose that word, check out my post , My Word for the Year. The more I think about belief, the more I am beginning to see how belief and hope are tied to each other.

Abraham Held Tightly to His Hope

One of the greatest examples of hope in the Bible is the story of Abraham and Sarah. Romans 4 tells us that even when there was no reason to keep hoping, Abraham held onto his hope.

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
Romans 4:18,19 NLT

Abraham knew how old he was, and he knew how old Sarah was. He had every reason to give up hope that they would have a baby, but he stubbornly clung to hope.

How? How did he not lose hope? And how do we get that same kind of hope, a hope that doesn’t give up no matter what?

The Key to Unlocking Hope

The key to unlocking hope is belief. Abraham believed when there was no reason to; he kept hoping when it was long past time to give up hoping.

If you’re still alive, then it’s too soon to give up. If your heart is still beating in your chest, then there is still hope. There is still hope for your marriage. There’s still hope for your finances, for your unsaved loved ones, for your wayward child, for your health, for that impossible situation. Whatever it is, it’s not too late. There’s still time for God to work. The key is to believe that God can do whatever it is you’re asking him to do, and trusting that he will do it.

Don’t Give Up

Maybe you just need to be reminded today to stay in the fight. Don’t give up. Get back out there. Keep believing. Keep hoping. Wait with anticipation for God to work and to come through for you.

I can tell you this. If you stop believing, then it won’t come to pass. God cares too much about your faith. Faith is everything to him.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 NLT

If You’ve Lost Your Hope

If you’ve lost your hope, here’s what you have to do. Go back to when it was that you stopped believing—when you stopped believing in God’s goodness, trusting God to come through for you. Go back to when God let you down. Start there. Have a painful conversation with God; write down your thoughts and pray them to your Father. You’re not going to hurt his feelings; he can handle it. Be honest. Tell him everything you are thinking and feeling.

Then, ask God to help you start believing again; that’s on him. The next part is on you. Now you have to choose to start believing again. It’s going to take some work at first. Just like strengthening any muscle that’s weak, it will take time. But if you keep doing it, if you keep exercising faith, you will find hope begin to bloom inside of you once again.

Here’s my prayer for you…

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NLT

For More Encouragement

If you enjoyed this post, consider sending it to someone else to encourage them. For more encouragement, check out The One Guarantee if You Quit.

A great book to read about increasing your faith through prayer is Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears. I highly recommend it!

My Word for the Year

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I can’t believe it’s January of a new year. Where did the time go?

A Look Back

Every year, Matt and I spend some time in December reflecting on the year. We write down all the good that happened. I’m always amazed at God’s goodness when we wrap up the year. 2022 was no different. We can see God’s hand and faithfulness all over our family this year.

After we finish processing the year, we move on to the new year. We write down our goals for the new year, what we want to accomplish, things we want to change, dreams we want to go after, and more.

My Word for the Year

Then, we choose a word to focus on for the year. Last year, at the beginning of the year, I chose the word fulfilled. I wanted to remember all year long that God was enough, and that I have all I need. My verse for the year was psalm 23:1.

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Psalm 23:1

The word I chose for this year is believe. It’s a pretty common word. In fact, I saw it on so many Christmas T-shirts this year. The simple fact is I want to increase my faith; I want to take Jesus at his word. No more doubting, second guessing, stutter stepping, questioning…I want to believe. Like the disciples, I want to say, God, increase my faith.

Choosing to Take God at His Word

The older I get and the more I grow in my faith, I realize how weak my faith is at times. As a child and then into my teen years and college years, I had no problems with faith. I had more faith than the next person, or at least I thought I did. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how much I don’t believe—how much I doubt.

This year, I am choosing to take God at his word. I am going to choose to believe that God will come through for me this time, just like he did last time. I will believe that God loves me, and I can rest in that love. It has nothing to do with whether I deserve it or not. I am choosing to believe that God will be enough when I fall short in my kids’ lives. I’m choosing to believe God is not done working in my life; and that he is going to use me in this new year, in spite of my failures. I will believe that I am doing the work he wants me to do, and that he will strengthen me and guide me in that work. I have some personal things I am choosing to believe God for this year as well.

Believe.

It’s a simple word, but it’s power? Not quite so simple. The word believe is tied to faith, and faith can move mountains. I’m excited to see what mountains are going to move this year! Want to join me on the journey?

That’s my word for this year.

What’s yours?

For More Encouragement

If you want to find a word for the year but need help finding one, check out Day Spring. That’s how I found my word for 2022. You can also read my post, The No-Stress Way to Find Your Word for the Year.
Also, if you want to start January strong with a morning time routine, check out my morning time routine training videos. And be sure to visit Manney Resources. We have everything you need to get started—journals, devotionals, books, etc.

Thanksgiving Prompts for Each Day Next Week

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The Busyness of Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving next week, preparations are underway to prepare for this special holiday. There’s so much that goes into Thanksgiving, making it a special holiday for everybody to enjoy. You’ve got to buy the right size turkey and remember to thaw it on time, peel the potatoes for mashed potatoes, bake the pie, thaw the dinner rolls, cut up the bread for stuffing, set the table, and more. We prepare all week to make Thursday the perfect day.

In the midst of the craziness, we try to spend a few extra minutes being thankful. God has so richly blessed us in so many ways, and this is the perfect time to spend some extra time thanking him.

No Time to be Thankful

What usually happens though, is we simply run out of time. The week passes by in the blink of an eye. We miss our chance to spend some extra time in gratitude. We promise ourselves that next year it will be different.

This year, carve out a time each morning in your morning time routine to spend just a few extra minutes in gratitude to God. Use these prayer prompts and verses below to make it easy this next week!

Thanksgiving Meditations for each day next week

Just using these simple prompts each day can transform your week this next week into a true week of Thanksgiving.

For More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post Don’t Cancel Thanksgiving Just Yet. If you need help getting into the habit of writing down something you are thankful for each day, check out my Faithfully Stepping Journals. These journals have a section each day for gratitude.

The One Guarantee if You Quit

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Wanting to Quit

Have you ever wanted to quit on something, but you didn’t? You pushed through and were rewarded when you did?

We were walking this week as a family on some trails. We’re past the peak of fall, and there’s not much color left. We’d been walking down this one path for a while and just not seeing anything worth seeing. Honestly, I was about ready to tell the kids to head back when all of a sudden, we turned a corner and this beautiful scene opened up before our eyes. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. We almost missed it. If we hadn’t kept going, we would have missed it completely.

One Thing’s For Sure

What do you have in your life right now that you want to give up on? What’s just not working? What are you ready to say enough to? You’ve tried and tried, and it’s just not working. You’re exhausted from trying so hard. You’re ready to be done. You feel overlooked, underappreciated, undervalued. Everybody else is making it work, but you just can’t! What are you so close to giving up on?

Here’s the next question: What will happen if you quit? One of my favorite quotes about not giving up comes from Steve Harvey.

“Everybody has a turn-back moment. You have a moment where you can go forward or you can give up. … [But] if you give up, the guarantee is it will never happen. … The only way the possibility remains that it can happen is if you never give up, no matter what.”
Steve Harvey

If you quit now, you can know for sure that you will never know what would have happened if you hung in there, if you waited it out.

So I’m coming alongside you today saying, “Don’t quit. Not yet. Hold on just a little bit longer. Keep at it just a little longer.” What might be on the other side if you just don’t quit?

Exercise to Try

Here’s a great exercise to try. Write down what could happen if you don’t quit.
Now write down what will for sure happen if you do decide to walk away? Now compare the two lists. Which one could you live with? Which one could change your life? Why?

The writer of the book of Hebrews understood a little something about wanting to give up, about growing weary and losing heart.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:3

The writer tells us to consider Jesus. Why? So that you won’t grow weary and lose heart. How does that work?

When we stop and consider or think about Jesus and all that he went through for us, it helps us to remember what’s really important.

Turning our Focus to Jesus

Why does that work? Why does focusing on Jesus help us to keep going? That’s because focusing on Jesus does four things for us.

Focusing on Jesus…

Gets the focus off of ourselves.
Makes our problems not seem as big.
Reminds us what’s important and what’s at stake.
Reminds us that Jesus knows and understands.

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15

So if you’re feeling tired today, if you feel like you just want to quit, like you can’t do this anymore…turn your focus to Jesus. Consider what he did for you. He gave everything for you, so that you could in turn live for him. Remember his amazing gift of love and let that challenge and encourage you to serve him today and not give up.

He knows what you’re going through, and he will get you through. Only God knows what’s on the other side if you don’t quit! But you’ll never know if you choose to give it all up.

More encouragement

For more encouragement, check out Matt’s book Breakthrough or check out my post It’s Too Soon to Quit.

When You Can’t Feel God in Your Life

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a cloudy day when you can't feel the sun

When You Can’t See or Feel the Sun

The other day, Matt and I went for a walk early in the morning. I eagerly anticipated the sunrise; sunrise is the best part of the day! The closer we got to sunrise, the more I realized it was just not going to happen. It was too cloudy and overcast. A depressed sort of feeling came over me; I’d really been looking forward to the sunrise. I looked at my phone to see the weather for the day. Not only was there no sunrise, but there wasn’t going to be any sun all day long.

As I walked, I looked up at the sky. I knew the sun was up there; it had risen as it does every single day. Yet, I couldn’t see it or feel it because it was behind the clouds.

Knowing but Not Seeing

It made me think about our relationship with God and how it’s similar to a cloudy day. We know God is there, but we can’t see him or feel him. So it feels like he’s not there. When we’re going through a difficult time or a hard season, it feels like God is nowhere near us. Yet, those facts aren’t based on reality. The reality is that Jesus is right beside us. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He’s kept that promise to his children for hundreds of years, and he’s not going to go back on his word now.

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
Hebrews 13:5 NLT

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 NLT

Our Reality isn’t Based on Feelings

We have to remember in difficult seasons that what we feel is simply that—feelings. We can’t base our reality on our feelings. If we did, we would make a lot of really bad decisions. Instead, we have to base our reality on what we know to be true.

Here’s a few facts that we know to be true:

God is good.
He loves me.
He is for me.
God will never leave me.
God watches over and protects me.

Just like we know that the sun still shines even when it’s behind the clouds and we can’t see it; we know that God hasn’t left us, even when we can’t see him. So base your reality today on what you know to be true, not on what you feel.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post Getting Through this Season of Rainy Days or try our 30-day devotional, You Are Not Alone.