When You Think No One Hears You

I felt totally disabled. I couldn't think straight or get it together. I was completely exhausted from interrupted sleep the night before. I think all I got was about an hour of straight sleep along with a few minutes here and there.

The morning was so chaotic. It was all too much and I was completely overwhelmed. I prayed and tried to get to stillness, but it wasn't working. I gave up. Why keep on trying. I wrote a quick note to God in my journal,

"Do you really hear me, Lord?" 

A few more words made it on to the page. 

"No more please." 

"What more?" 

"What else?" 

"I need help. 

Will you help me?"

I lifted my head out of my hands and peeled myself off the floor. I opened up my devotional and this was the verse for that day:

"... Because I your God, have a firm grip on you and I'm not letting go. I'm telling you, Don't panic. I'm right here to help you." Isaiah 41:13

I lingered in those life words. He actually heard me and answered!

I read it over and over out loud until I felt my soul stand up again. My spirit now a little less dampened. I left the page open and went back to it every so often throughout that day.


Finally, I said aloud, "Okay, Jesus. I believe you. It's all going to be okay. You're holding my hand. Give me what I need to live out today."

Today, I pray you'll lift your head out of your hands and peel yourself off from your floor, bed, chair. Jesus wants you to be honest about where your heart and life is at. It's safe to be who and where you truly are with Him. It's safe to have real feelings, good and ugly with Him. 


Soul Refreshment:
Isaiah 41:14 ~ Do you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob?
                            Don't be afraid.
                         Feel like a fragile insect, Israel?
                            I'll help you.
                         I God want to reassure you.

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If you've quietly slipped in to slip out - thank you more than you know. So glad to have you here.

"Reactions" buttons have been added above the comments. These keep you anonymous. Cool right?! Another fun and creative way to take part here.

You Are Perfectly Loved - Review

And so here is the surprise mentioned in yesterday's blog post... A DaySpring product review of Holley Gerth's Perfectly Loved Mug and Ploque. It'll make a wonderful gift for yourself or a woman in your life that could use a daily dose of inspiration.


Time-off, pause, slow-flow, quiet, still -- all of these help to nurture peace and calm. Being with God in even one of those moments brings peace and calm that strengthens us for anything ahead. Now, add life-words to the beautiful mix and we soar!

Life words: 
I've written here before, about how even one word can lift or bend us. Maybe even break us. So to have life-words at hand and all around us is vital. It can be fancy or like we do -- hand-written on plain paper. As long as the words breathe life into you. Life words bring joy, peace, encouragement, and love. All the good stuff.

Holley's words are always filled with so much encouragement. Telling us who we are matters. That we truly are loved. So when these words "perfectly loved" face me every morning as I sip my latte, I'll be starting my day with truth.

The words on the mug say it all "She didn't have to be perfect because she was...Perfectly Loved." I've been repeating them back to myself before each sip. Personalized, of course.


In a few weeks, I'll be doing a Dayspring special review on Holley's new book -- You're Already Amazing. It's the next book in Bloom Book Club's read and videos! The pre-fun has already begun. Details here. 

I have her ploque sitting out for everyone to see. I'll be quoting that aloud too. The reminder that we are loved just as we are, right where we are is a wonder that pours on the joy. How much more to know that we are part of God's plan - Wow! Not only does he have good plans for us, we are part of His universal plan. Woohoo!!!

Soul Refreshment:


1 John 4:10-12 ~ This is the kind of love we are talking about—

     not that we once upon a time loved God, 

but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins 

     and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, 

     we certainly ought to love each other. 

No one has seen God, ever. 

     But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, 

and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

With You in Mind:

Know that you are perfectly loved by a God who only sees you as becoming and yet loves you right where you are now, today. 

Nourish your spirit with His truth and repeat those quotes out loud to yourself. He wants you to become confident of it. He believes it of you. 

Your heart will fill as you say the words aloud, "I don't have to be perfect because I am perfectly loved." 

click here for a special offer on Holley's Perfectly Loved Mug.

*Hi there and thank you for coming by. If you missed my 3/6/11 post, I'm on a two-week R & R. 

I'll be back on Thursday, 3/22/11. God bless You.

Gifts that Encourage (Dayspring Review/Giveaway)

Update: and the winner is....Jennifer Adams of 

This is the Story of a Girl. Picked by random generator.

Thank you for participating ladies.

We've been unwrapping Jesus all month long with Bonnie over at her amazing blog home. Unwrapping the heart of Christmas. Unwrapping the miracle of Jesus' birth. Some writings unwrap the pain this time of year holds for many and the hope of connecting in and through that pain ... onto healing.

Today we're unwrapping the tangible and the material. These also point us to Jesus and keep our minds on things above. Gifts with meaning and messages to keep us mindful and conscious. Gifts that encourage us to reflect and ponder. Especially when the days aren't as bright or cheerful. Gifts that comfort and realign.

A Few Days Ago:
David got online at the Dayspring store and put in his black Friday order. I watched him and he was having some kind of fun there. The box arrived the other day and He had an awesome surprise in it for me. I had been wanting the bird cage card holder. It just so happened to be on sale at the time. Right on time. He bought for himself to decorate, the nativity trio light holder.

Yesterday:
My product for review arrived. One of the things I love to do is recall the Names of Jesus that speak strength back into me when I'm drained or speak joy into me when I want to celebrate. Dayspring's Names of Jesus - Wooden Letter Block will be doing that for me this season. I've already set it out and slowly turned it to look at each name -- Immanuel, Jesus, Messiah, and Saviour. I love that each name has a verse attached to it.

Just What I Wanted:
The extra touch is the little gifts the tucked into that shipment. I couldn't believe it. I was just telling David that I wanted to buy these particular mugs for us and there it was! I had to step back. Shilo had stopped by and was here when I opened the boxes. He had a smile on his face that celebrated with me. It's from the Love Came Down Collection -- which is Dayspring's 2011 Christmas theme. It's the Names of Jesus latte mug which is perfect for me... and the Love Came Down Christian Mug perfect for David!

Today:
We want to share a $20 giveaway for you to spend at Dayspring's online store. All you have to do is leave a comment below and/or on our facebook page about a gift you received that holds special meaning for you...even you bought it for yourself.

The entire Love Came Down Collection is on sale right now. Have fun shopping all those gifts with a message. You'll leave their store completely uplifted. If you like, you can order through my Dayspring website as well. I just became a consultant last night. Thank you in advance.

Deadline:
Giveaway will run until Sunday, December 19th, 12a.m. and the winner will be announced on Monday, December 20th.

Gods Dreams For Me is ... Encouragement

Who is that one person that stands out most in our lives? The voice cheering us to move forward with our dreams. Every word they speak makes us feel like we can do anything.

It's so awesome to be encouraged. You open up that email, get a phone call, or a card in the mail and it's  filled with unexpected life-giving encouragement.

Words of inspiration strengthen our inner selves.  It helps us to know what we're doing is making a difference. When careless words or deeds are directed at us, a few kind words can empower our spirits again.

Spoken words and written words of appreciation, admiration, acknowledgment...Oh, they can be worth so much to a soul hungering to do well and feel significant.

Gods Dreams For us all is to be graced by an encourager, drink it all in and be filled.. so we can speak or write words of life into someone else.  The cycle of encouragement is so powerful.

Psalms 119:105  By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

God Bless Us All

GodsDreamsForMe is Writing From My Heart

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart" - William Wordsworth

One of my favorite things to do on a peaceful day/night is to grab my guitar, songbook, and be with God.  Just being still and calm in His presence fills me with gratefulness for His love, the people in my life, and the world around me.

Songwriting and journaling are my expressive outlets. There are no rules and I'm free to express who I am, what I'm feeling, my thoughts, and my heart.  Writing from my heart opens me up to the largest spaces. I can abandon all expectations and the days living.  It's just me, the quiet room, a fresh page, and creativity. It's so rejuvenating.  My only audience is God and it's so freeing.  I can be thankful, angry, hurt, excited, however, I want to feel and be.

It's the same with blogging and articles. I'm passionate about the subject and issues and I really want to share them. Before I do that, it's just me and God. I make sure it's what I really want to share.  And I pray it'll make a difference and encourage someone.

So write, share, encourage, lift someone up. It might be a card or a letter. That would be so awesome for you to do.  God Bless and hope you enjoy what I share below. 

Here's one of the songs I wrote in a rough time...I sat with God to pray and ...

"Try A Little Thankfulness" copyright RagingFire4Christ Music

V1
How did I get to this place
I'm stuck inside this awful mood
How did I get here

I don't understand Just yesterday
Everything was fine, it was going so smoothly
What did I do Lord?

Br1
Everything inside me wants to stay here and cry
But You call me Lord
And I hear You

Chorus:
I try a little a thankfulness
Takes me to remembering Your faithfulness
and knowing that one day I'll be with You, Lord
In spite of my reality I think on all You've ever done for me
and I believe heaven waits for me.

V2
In the middle of this craziness
I just wanna get right back to You
How do I get there

Soothe the painfulness of this tired heart
Help me Lord I wanna get through this
What do I do Lord

B2
When everything inside me wants to stay here and cry
You call me Lord
And I hear you