Monday Morning Encouragement - I will Fear No More

Welcome Cottage Friends,

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog post about how we can experience peace in times of trouble. If you haven't read it, you can find it here

This morning I discovered a song  by The Afters entitled I Will Fear No More that speaks so beautifully of the courage we can find in Jesus when we are fearful and anxious; when we worry. I hope you will take some time to listen to it, as I believe it will be an encouragement to you.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Hugs,

Monday Morning Encouragement - Storms of Life

 

Welcome Cottage Friends,

Last week I shared some thoughts on forgiving others. I've been thinking more about that and I feel compelled to touch on an aspect of forgiveness that's outside the bounds of the ordinary, and that's if we're in an abusive relationship. An abuser will often ask for forgiveness and then turn right around and continue to abuse. I'm not suggesting that we allow that to continue under the guise of forgiving the other person as the Bible teaches. I want to say to anyone who is living in an abusive relationship -- whether it's physical, verbal or emotional abuse -- Get Out! Yes, there will be a need for you to release your hurt to the Lord and eventually He will help you to forgive your abuser. But first you must protect yourself (and your children if they are still at home) and remove yourself from that situation. In no way does God want you to live with abuse. I can't say that strongly enough. 

Okay, I just felt I needed to make that clear. 

Today I want to share some thoughts on trusting God based on a devotional I wrote 10 years ago.

I suspect there's no one reading these words who can say they've never experienced trouble of some kind. Life is full of hard times, what Bible teachers often refer to as "the storms of life".  In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 8:22-25 we read the account of the disciples and Jesus crossing the lake. As they were sailing, the Lord fell asleep. Suddenly a storm came upon the lake and the boat was swamped with water.

"They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing!' And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

And He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, 'Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?'" (Luke 8:24-25)

Sometimes storms come into our lives through disobedience to God's word. If we fail to follow His instruction, the result can be tumultuous. But far more often storms come so that God can deliver us and increase our trust in Him. The disciples were on the Sea of Galilee because Jesus said, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." He said let's go, and they went. Now do you suppose for a moment that Jesus had no idea a "fierce gale of wind" (v. 23 NASB) was about to rack their boat and threaten to drown them? Of course He knew. He was God in the flesh. He knew that a life-threatening storm was brewing. It's very telling that with this knowledge the Lord then went to sleep. He had no fear of the coming storm, for He had control over it. He would allow it to appear, and He would calm it. This was the first time the disciples lives were in danger. They had seen their master perform many miracles, but this was personal. Their faith had not yet been tested to this extent. They cried out to the Lord in desperation and He immediately saved them. He rebuked the "wind and the surging waves" and they stopped. All became calm. And then He asked His disciples, "Where is your faith?" From the text we don't see them answer His question. Only that they were filled with fear and amazement, and wondered who it was who had that kind of control. I certainly can look at my own life and see how God allowed storms to come and then calmed them. Through these events He taught me more about who He is, and my trust in Him increased. No longer do I ask, "Who is this Jesus, then?" I know who He is.  .  .the all-powerful Living God.

After my late husband's passing I played a song from Casting Crowns over and over again. I'd like to share it with you here. I hope it will be an encouragement to you, whether you are in the midst of a storm right now, or not.

Hugs,

  

Joy List Monday - Language

"Coffee is a language in itself" 

~ Jackie Chan

"This is the fruit of my confessions of what I am, not of what I have been, to confess this, not before Thee only, in a secret exultation with trembling, and a secret sorrow with hope; but in the ears also of the believing sons of men, sharers of my joy, and partners in my mortality, my fellow-citizens, and fellow-pilgrims, who are gone before, or are to follow on, companions of my way."

~ Augustine of Hippo

Matthew 22:36-40

It's simple.

Love God first and foremost.

Then love each other unselfishly.

"We need the Spirit of God whose fruit is joy in God. We need to have the law written on our heart, not just written on stone, so that  when it says, 'Love the Lord with all your heart,' the Word itself produces the reality within us. In other words, we need the gift of joy in God.  Left to ourselves we will not produce it.  That's what Christ brought for us when He died and shed the blood of the new covenant. He bought for us the gift of joy in God." ~ John Piper

 When I Don't Desire God - How To Fight for Joy

-- Love your neighbor as yourself --

A gift to me from Susan

My new friend Susan Nowell at My Place To Yours sent me her husband David's new book

Dirty Faith

David is President of Hope Unlimited for Children

an organization that ministers

"to the physical, intellectual, and spiritual needs 

of some of the world's most desperate kids - the street children of Brazil."

Dirty Faith is next up on my reading list.

I know it's going to inspire me to

put my faith into action.

Susan's latest blog post is about

W O R D S

She writes about the importance of words

About speaking love this Valentine's Day

with the

Valentine Project

Susan writes:

"This year, when you sit down to write Valentine cards for family and friends, write an extra one—or more!—for a girl at Hope. Cards can be store-bought, handmade, made by your children… doesn’t matter. Feel free to write a note of encouragement if you wish. Don’t worry; it will be translated for you."

I'm going to be participating in this wonderful project.

I hope you'll consider participating too!

Here's the link to Susan's blog and more information about Valentine Project.

Girls as young as 10 come to Hope Unlimited from the streets and slums of Brazil, where they are constantly threatened by abuse and exploitation.

Hope Unlimited

Are you looking closer at the beauty around you today?

What have you discovered?

Joy List Monday was prompted by Anne of My Giant Strawberry. I love her idea of "taking a few moments to jot down bits of beauty that I've noticed or any little details in my day that are bringing me joy." 

The Art of Homemaking    

#BringBackOurGirls - What If She Were My Granddaughter?

NIAMEY, NIGER - DECEMBER 09: Student writing in her exercise book at a Nigerian school on December 09, 2013, in Niamey, Niger. Photo by Ute Grabowsky/Photothek via Getty Images)***Local Caption*** via Adotei Akwei of Amnesty International Nigeria: Bring Back Our Girls! 

On April 14 more than 230 Nigerian girls were abducted from their Chibok boarding school by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram.  A man claiming to be Abubaker Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, said in a video that the schoolgirls were "slaves" whom he planned to sell in the market.  "I will marry off a woman at the age of 12. I will marry off a girl at the age of nine," he said at another point in the video.

Chilling, isn't it? 

I've spent most of today reading up on the horror of what happened.  I won't repeat the details here.  If you're interested in learning more,  Adotei Akwei of Amnesty International has blogged Nigeria: Bring Back Our Girls!  You can find out more there.  Or do a search on Google and check the news services for reports of the abduction.

The above photo of a girl bent over her school work is on Akwei's post.  She appears to be my granddaughter's age.  That could be my Emma -- young, bright, focused.  Dedicated to her schoolwork and hopeful of her future.  There were 200+ girls like Emma ripped from their beds and thrown into vehicles the night of April 14.  They vanished into the forest with their abductors and haven't been seen since.  Their families are sick with worry and overwhelmed with fear. 

Too many days it's easy for me to detach myself from the reality of evil like this.  To say "It's terrible, but there's nothing I can do."  Today is different.  I can't go and rescue those Nigerian girls, but I can pray and ask God to do so.  I'm a woman of faith.  I believe in the power of prayer. 

Today I think:
What if one of those girls were my Emma?  What if she were my granddaughter?  Wouldn't I want someone to care?  Even if it was someone on the other side of the world, wouldn't I want that person -- that grandmother -- to pray for my girl? 

Today I'm praying as if all those missing girls are my granddaughters.  I'm praying that God will crash the gates of Hell and save those precious girls.  That He'll bring them back home to safety and the freedom to see their dreams come true. 

And this will be my daily prayer until my granddaughters are free.

I'm sharing this with