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Alright friends, I'm off to vacation! See you in two weeks! Have a safe and blessed memorial day!
xx,
Erin
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Anxiety to Joy
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:19
“Eight dollars! That’s it?” I asked the teller. “But there was plenty of money in the account this morning. What happened? I’ve not spent it!”
The teller shrugged. “What would you like me to do?
My stomach turned and my face grew warm. I wasn’t sure what to do. I only knew the feelings of terror and panic that crept into my mind. This was a place God knew I hated. I’d spent seven years in under the darkness of loneliness and fear when I had nothing–scrapped to feed my boys. This spot, the place where survival kicked in, was a territory I didn’t want to visit again…ever! Memories flooded back. Days when eight dollars was the equilivant of $8000.00. I pleaded that God would pull me out of poverty and place me into peace.
Fear squeezed the joy from me and replaced it with guilt and unworthiness. Until today, God had not let the ministry account dip into single digits. He knew my fear. So why today? Why test me today?
My anxiety dragged me to a place of faithlessness instead of faithfulness. The love and joy I’d found in this ministry suddenly dissipated. I was hurt, angry and a little disappointed God would put me in this situation again especially since this was HIS ministry. We were just the tools.
I starred at the last $300 in our savings account then instructed the teller to move it to checking. Walking out of the bank, l leaned against the wall and cried. With over $2000 in bills hovering over the ministry, the small $300 would be gone end-of-day.
God tests us–tries us even pushes occasionally to stretch beyond our immediate knowledge of Him. He invites us through hardships to explore His peace that passes understanding and to claim His promises of consolation, joy and the plan He has to prosper us not harm us. It’s not easy and He brought me to my knees kicking and screaming.
“Just trust me,” He whispered.
I crawled in the car and headed to the post office. Slipping my key into the box I looked up and cried, “God provide.” Twisting the key, I opened the door, an envelope lay tilted to one side. A smile parted my lips and when I opened the letter, a sigh of relief came over me.
God promises when our anxiety is the greatest, trust it to Him, we’ll receive consolation and joy. That day, I learned it wasn’t about me but did I have a willing heart to learn, to stretch, to see a new side of Christ, and when I said yes, the elation of peace was immeasurable.
When anxiety overwhelms your heart seek the promises of His consolation and joy. There is peace in handing over the worry.
The envelope…contained a check for $300. God matched what we had and we paid the first bill.
Devotional by: Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles
images via here
via here
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Outfit Post : Summer Sunshine
Coat - Double Zero via Maude Shoppe, Dress - Maeve via Anthropologie (similar here),
Shoes (similar here) and Sunnies - Charlotte Russe (similar here)
Make sure to follow my new instagram account @ashesoflaughter !
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Fear He Who Quiets the Storm
By Jill Briscoe
“Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.” ~ Mark 4:36
There was another storm on Galilee. Jesus and the disciples were in a boat together. According to Mark, “other little boats” went along. We do not know who was in those other vessels; all we know is that they wanted to be near Jesus.
“And a great wind storm arose, and the waves beat the boat, so that it was already filling” (v. 37). This time, even Peter was afraid of the storm. If the big boat was in trouble, can you imagine what was happening to the little boats?
Jesus, meanwhile, was asleep in the stern (see v. 38). His frightened men woke Him up and accused Him of not caring for them properly. “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (v. 38) they asked Him. Jesus didn’t answer that question, but He stilled the storm, and He told them He cared about their lack of trust! “Why are you so fearful?” He asked them. “How is it that you have no faith?” (v. 40). The Bible says the disciples “feared exceedingly” (v. 41).
It always makes more sense to fear the power of the One who can still the storm rather than to fear the power of the storm itself! The other little boats were helped when Jesus stopped the wind and hushed the sea to sleep. Our faith, or lack of it, always affects the little boats that sail by our side. We mother should remember that!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Settle Yourself In God's Plan
Sometimes we become so accustomed to our everyday blessings, that we begin to build our lives around our earthly possessions. Earthly possessions do not bring contentment, faith in Christ does. Below is a great devotional on the matter {found here}.
2 Thessalonians 5:16
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.”
Stuart and I were halfway through a two-month tour of ministry in Africa. Every four days or so we set off for the next conference, traveling by small plane, car, truck, or even bush taxi; arriving at new compounds; and having every meal with a new family. We slept in different beds, met different bugs, ate different food, and drank different water. All of this did not make for a particularly settled feeling!
The “listening” was hard. Being an outside ear meant we were there to do a lot of loving listening. The new missionaries were struggling with culture shock, relational problems, the absence of mail for eight weeks at a time, or the unsafe feeling of living miles away from a hospital (one country didn’t even have an ambulance!). They needed someone to talk to.
There were desperate needs on every hand—lepers, crippled children, ignorance, and apathy. Add to this the militant march of Islam and you get the picture. This was certainly not the sort of environment to make anyone feel secure.
But watching and listening to those missionaries, I learned home isn’t a little box in a safe subdivision. Being settled isn’t a car in the garage, membership in a club, or even model children making model grades. Being fulfilled does not consist of a husband’s climb up the corporate ladder or paid vacations to Hawaii!
Home is the will of God, and if you are settled into His will, you will be settled into whatever way-out situation you find yourself. The God of Peace will see to that!
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