Knit your way out of an eating disorder...kind of.

Most of you all know that I struggled with eating disorders, bulimia in particular, for a long time. It's a tough foe to beat, but the hope is, YOU CAN! And this little post is about one of the hobbies that helped keep my mind and hands busy so I didn't think about what was in the fridge to binge on! Say hello to...

Knitting!!!

And the Bible backs up my "busy hands, are good for anyone struggling with anything"... just look at Ecclesiastes 4:5 "The fool folds his hands and ruins himself." Yikes, hands with nothing to do will ruin us! I'm living proof of that, I nearly ruined my whole life with my own hands. So instead of making myself throw up with my hands, I put them to work! And they made me some of my favorite scarves! Ha ha ha!

Now I didn't know how to knit before, but I stopped in a little knitting shop and asked the circle of old ladies with their needles a flyin' and colorful balls of yarn bursting from quilted purses for help. They gladly gave me lessons and soon I was purling like the best of them, not really, but I was doing it, unevenly, loosely and with a few dropped loops in between.

I found this wonderful "old world" kind of peace as I sat knitting, it has a relaxing and comforting element to as you are constantly making progress with each new loop. Progress is something I LOVE, so it also satisfied my hunger to be accomplishing something with each loop and pull of my hands.

And if you are like me, which is a lover of all colors and textures...you'll adore shopping the walls of a knitting store! Some of the yarn is so velvety soft and delicious you'll just want to make a whole shawl!

PS: The scarf I'm modeling is the first one I ever knitted, and looking at it, it's a reminder of how far I've come, the faithfulness of God, and of how grateful of where I am now.

Hope you try this little helpful hobby, if you are in the battle with food, past the battle or never even saw that battle!

A huge knitted heart blanket,

Tiffany

VIDEO: What's love got to do with it?

What's love got to do with it?

There is something so beautiful about the extension of love beyond those few, who we call our "loved ones." By this I mean truly having love for the little old lady who is walking across the street, the little boy playing at the park near your own child, the woman at the store who checks out your groceries every week. A genuine feeling of care for their well being, a concern for their situation, a draw to know and help where we can, and a sense of urgency to share with them of hope and salvation we have. It’s not if we should love, but it’s required of us.

Jesus said, in John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

People cannot do this apart from God, because it is God’s love flowing through us that makes it possible. Jesus Christ is our example, He loved us first. The cross marks the day, He said to each one of us, I love you. Before you even took a breath, He loved you first. Before you could even crawl, He loved you. There is no limit to God's love. It’s wrong for us to put limits on our own love, or just loving those who are easy love. We get a stern warning in the Bible for loving in the shallow end…

Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.

As children of the Most High, we are required to love well. Love when it’s not easy. Love when it’s not convenient. Love when it’s the last thing we want to do. Love at all times.

I recently had the opportunity to visit a friend of the family who was in her last few days of a long life. I had prayed before hand, that God would give me the boldness to pray with her and offer the salvation I have in Jesus, and for God to give me love for her. When I walked in to see her, my eyes filled with tears and I was truly overwhelmed with love for this older lady who I had only spent a few holidays with. I held her hand and brushed her hair back and told her I loved her, just as if she was my own grandma. I prayed with her and I believe she accept Jesus into her heart, even though her recent stroke had made it impossible for her to speak. I believe that even if our lips can’t form the words, we can accept Jesus in our heart and mind. After all, God sees beyond our physical abilities and into our very heart, even the thought you have right now is open to Him.

1 Samuel 16:7 “…The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

She passed a few day later, and I am so thankful that God gave me an opportunity and for His love to lead me to her bedside. We never know how little time someone has left in this life, it’s always best to share our Hope now and worry about what they will think about us later.

So loving well is a must. And it’s NOTHING like what the world says, whose anthem is filled with “self-serving, me-first, I deserve it, ‘don’t you know who I am’ and ‘how dare you make me wait’” kind disgusting behavior. Being around someone with that kind of attitude is horrible, yet we see it promoted on tv, in movies and music.

If we are to overcome the constant pressures to seek our PERSONAL needs first, it must begin with God’s love in us. His love heals us, fills us and then allows us to LOVE others well.

I’ll never forget when a lady saw a picture of Sydney when she was about a year old and she simply said, “I love her!” I was so shocked and delighted that she would love this baby who was so precious to me, but that she would call her loved too. Her words were such a blessing to me as a new mom, that all of the hard work I was doing was bigger than me. And she called her loved.

Pray and ask God to give you His love, His eyes to see others and for your love to go beyond the limits of only those who love you, but rather to extend to those who may never even be able to say back.

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

HUGE LOVE,
Tiffany

A Personal Praise Report

I just wanted to let you all know and thank you for your prayers: I got the results back from some lab tests that had some VERY scary outcomes if they were positive. I was trying to stand in faith but at times overwhelmed by the possibilities.
I just received a call from my doctors office that all of the results were normal. I'm thanking God for this outcome, and thankful to all of you for standing before the Lord and praying on my behalf. You are all truly more precious than rubies!

So many times I think we pray as a "last resort" attempt, after we've tried everything else. But I know that God is teaching me to pray first, always. Now it's up to us to make it a good habit. After all, prayer is the most powerful form of communication. Think about it, it's direct communication with the Great "I AM." It's astonishing to truly consider!

Prayer is truly our life line and how powerful it is, we may not even realize until we are able to stand in Heaven, but what an exciting day when we can see clearly all that is hidden from us in this life.

1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (New Living Translation)

My heart is filled with thankfulness to and for each of you.

Huge love and Huge hugs,
Tiffany

What level of faith are you at?

I know for me, my spiritual development has at times regressed and other times progressed. But the one factor that seems to change the direction from regression to progression is where I've put my focus.

This is most easily seen when we are faced with a challenge or trial. Where do you put your energy and your focus? I always tend to stare at the problem. And I've noticed that the longer you stare, the bigger it gets! Then worry, fear and a sense of hopelessness creeps in. It's like standing on quicksand, one minute you are wondering if you'll get sucked in, and the next your up to your eyeballs!

Instead of staring at the trial, we need to get our focus locked on to our Lord and Savior, who says "nothing is impossible." Wow. God is the ultimate problem solver, life re-organizer and ever present HOPE in any and all situations we face.

So where are you when it comes to your level of faith? This is important because just as I explained, it has a huge effect on how you will fair the trials and challenges of life.

1) Less than a mustard seed of faith:
We are struggling to believe God. We aren't sure if He hears our prayers. We don't know enough of His Word to actually stand confidently upon it. Maybe we have sin that is in our life that we haven't repented of (asked for forgiveness and turned away from it). This always makes us feel guilty and far from the Lord. Sin separates us, that's why we need to forgive others and also ask the Lord to forgive us.

2) A mustard seed of faith:
We are growing in our faith by believing FIRST in who God is, FAITHFUL, UNCHANGING, LOVING, GOOD, JUST...and that His ways are HIGHER than ours. This allows for trust when we can't see our way out, we trust the leadership of our Lord. We stand on the promises of God where we are not easy shaken. This is stable ground as our faith is anchored in God, despite what the reports say, the experts say, the notices say or what WHOEVER said. We are able to hang on MORE to what God says.

3) More than a mustard seed:
So this is where we can rest confidently in the Lord and where we can pray and expect God to be working already on our problem. It's also a time when we can look back in our life and see God's hand guiding, protecting and moving us toward where we needed to be. These past experiences with God's faithfulness strengthen us for the current trial. We are not so easily shaken as before. I want to live here permanently, rather than only have short glimpses. But the glimpses have given me hope I CAN live here. You can too! We all can!

I heard this example, when you are headed for a storm on the open sea, you'll want a captain that has made it through a few storms before. This is just like us, the more storms we have made it through, the more confident we can be that God will see us through THIS one as well.

I want you to rest assured that even if you FEEL like you are regressing in your faith, KNOW this verse, Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The Holy Spirit is a work within us, we don't have to do this alone. Whew!

And stand on this promise... 2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

With God on our side, who can stand a chance? Nobody and Nothing! Isn't that great news? No even death stands a chance!!!

Watering my mustard seed to grow grow grow,

Tiffany

Long time no posty...

Sorry everyone if you have wondered where my typing fingers have been... I've been having some health issues and spending most of my time trying to find a good doctor, going to some bad ones (there are A LOT of those) and also researching all my symptoms. Yawn. How boring right? I think so too. Ha ha ha.

And yes, I'm accepting any and all prayers for healing! A girl can never have too many prayer warriors on their knees! It's a powerful thing, prayer.

So back to my "long break" story...this weekend we went to L.A. to visit my big sister before she attended the Emmy Awards. Which was like an old people's prom, lots of big dresses and little purses! Ha ha ha! But fun to see since I usually only see glimpses on TV. And she was a vision of beauty if I do say so myself!

And now back home at my desk top computer...is a little word of encouragement for your heart. Now I don't know what kinds of challenges you might be facing, or to what extent, but I want you to know that I am praying this scripture over everyone who will read this post...there is no need that exceeds the riches of our Lord!

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

I pray that illness is healed, financial problems solved, relationships restored, broken hearts healed, empty wombs filled with life and fears demolished...all by the Name of Jesus.

Which is the NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I just love thinking about the God we serve, it's amazing to me that the God of the universe, loves me and cares so much as to save every tear I've cried and number every hair on my head! What detail! What incredible love.

Pink fuzzy slippers and plaid jammies,

Tiffany

Peace Out?

Sometimes it seems like everything is trying to steal our peace. There are so many challenges, heartbreaks, scary things, maddening things and plain old annoying things that all stand on the corner of life and call for our PEACE to come out. But don’t let your peace go, refuse to let it walk out the door when the YUCK of the world comes knocking.

Hang on to these verses and commit them to memory. Why memorize them? Because sometimes we are caught in situations where we need God’s Word immediately and our Bible isn’t with us. So chose to wisely hide God’s Word in your heart, so that you’ll never be defenseless against the arrows of the enemy! That’s my plan!

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

Isaiah 32:18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Don’t let your peace out!

Huge love,

Tiffany

Facing A Scary Medical Report Or Illness

Facing any illness or health issue can be one of the most terrifying experiences we have in this life. I think because we come closer to the realization that we are not invincible, but actually very fragile and really have little control over disease and the mysteries of the body.

And when you DON’T feel normal, ALL you want is to feel normal again. It’s like all of the previous years we may have had where our health was intact, then becomes our envy and we desperately want the health of our past. But we all have to live in the parameters “now”…whether we like it, or not.

So what the Hair Bow do we do? We face these things by standing on the Word of God, speaking His promises and speaking life over our situations. And find a good doctor that will do the hard work of research, diagnosis and treatment! The doctor finding is up to you, but I’ll share with you some of my favorite healing scriptures. And if you, or a loved one is facing a scary health report or symptoms that are still undiagnosed… right now, I’m praying for God’s healing hand to be upon that life.

For when your peace leaves like a bullet train:

Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.

For when the “worst case scenario” thoughts want to dominate your thoughts:

Romans 8:6 To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace.

For when you’re totally freaking out while waiting for the lab reports:

Psalm 62:5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

For when it seems like it's too much:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.

For when it seems like this could never produce ANYTHING good:

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

And lastly, when it seems like God doesn’t love you and has forgotten you in your suffering:

Jeremiah 31:3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Malachi 4:2 "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall."
(now if you've never seen a baby cow finally get free, they jump, twist and kick up their little feet in total joy and it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen!)

PS: My credentials, I grew up on a little ranch and I bottle fed a baby cow who lost his mama. I loved him so much that I kept him as a rather large pet and he would come when I called him, just like a pup! Sort of a silly side note, but worthy I think! ha ha ha!


I’m praying that no matter what health challenges you might be suffering from right now, that God’s peace gives your heart rest, that God is healing you down to the last cell and making disorder into order again. And know that you have a friend here, and I will pray for you specifically if you would like to leave a note or message me. One of my greatest joys is to serve a brother or sister in Christ, so don’t hesitate to ask.

Huge Hugs, Get Well Cards, and Big Happy Flowers,

Tiffany

VIDEO: What the Tithe?

What the tithe?

So what is tithing? It’s what we call giving back to God from what He has already given to us. All good things come from above…even if you only have a dollar. This giving amount is to be a tenth of your income, but you can always give more, consider it just a jumping off point. And we are called to give it as First Fruits, which means we give the first portion of our paycheck, not only if there is enough left over.
So those are the basics, now lets dig in and get to what really gets me excited!

I just love Malachi 3, read the whole thing, but here’s what I want to cover for this topic.

Malachi 3:6-12
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’

“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Not tithing your money (or harvest) is actually ROBBING God. Yikes! There is always that motivation of “scaring yourself into doing what is right” and I think that works for me!

But the PROMISE God makes to us will blow your hair back straight! If we give as He has required of us, His promise is to pour out a blessing that is so big we won’t have enough room to contain it! That’s what I’m talking about!

And do you want your things, home and other valuables protected? God says that’s He will prevent those things from wearing out, and being devoured! And that it will be so unusual that others will be so amazed that that will actually call YOU blessed!

I want that kind of blessing upon my life, family and things we work hard to have. God always offers us way more in return that we can ever give to Him. Because that is His nature, He even loved us first.

I encourage you and pray that you will choose the blessing of Malachi 3!

And just to clarify, we must give to the church first. We can of course give to other organizations but I believe the only organizations serve the Lord, should receive your hard earned dollars.

You can’t accuse me of trying to “get your money” because I’ve NEVER asked. And that’s not why I’m writing this, I’m writing this to you so that you will know of the incredible blessing God promises us when we obey Him, and I want you to live in His abundance and prosper!

I pray that God blesses you, even if you think that what you have to give is too little, God sees our hearts and that is what this is really about. Our heart attitude and whether we are living in gratitude or greed. Is evident to God, every last thought we have is like an open book to the Lord, so we can’t hide!

I can’t remember you said it, but the saying goes “you can’t out give God” because it’s not one sided, He ALWAYS blesses back more and in ways we don’t expect!

Huge love,
Tiffany

Where did all of the PERFECT solutions go?

So many times I’ve faced difficult choices where there seemed to be no “perfect solution” no matter how much time I spent analyzing every possible option. This can be a frustrating, nerve wracking and even infuriating place to be.


Things like: I could choose this college or that college, I could marry this guy or not marry him, I could take this job or try for another one, we could move or stay here…the tough choices that we face in life are rarely met with “perfect solutions” that solve every problem, answer every question or put our every fears at ease.


But when we have a relationship with the Lord, who is outside the time and space limits we are all confined to in this life, we can actually seek His help and His direction because He sees our whole life at once.

My favorite analogy for this, is that God’s view our life is like watching a parade from a hot air-balloon. The people on the ground can only see the beginning of the parade, then the middle passes, then finally they are able to see the end. But if you are in a hot air-balloon, you can see the beginning, middle and end all at once.

Somehow, knowing this helps me to remember to trust God with every decision in my life because His view is much better than mine. This is scary, for sure. I’ve always been one of those people who hates surprises and always wants to know “whats going on.” So as you can imagine, as life is FULL of surprises and I rarely get to “know” what’s going on, I have spent days, months and years in total frustration. It’s like mentally running back and forth until your brain collapses! It’s usually followed by headaches, stomachaches, and fried nerves!


So what hope DO we have? God tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.


Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.


We need to say Lord, “I give you all of my worries, my hopes, desires and fears. I trust you to show me and guide me in the way of your good plan for my life, because I know that you have a good plan for me.


Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.


God even promises to give us wisdom when we ask, so we are not limited to our own smarts, but we can get Godly wisdom, if we ask! James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.


Summary: TRUST in the Lord, with every last detail and choice in your life. COMMIT your life and choices to God first, not allowing them to commit you to the looney bin! And remember God has a plan to PROSPER you, give you HOPE and a FUTURE!

Isn’t that the most comforting news? It sure is to me. It’s like a warming blanket straight to your heart and mind. Ahhh. Don’t let your heart be troubled, trust in the Lord.


PS: My mom always reminds me to “make the best decision with the information you have.” Which is exactly what we should all do after we’ve sought God, asked for His wisdom and then…make the decision. We can trust Him for the outcome when we’ve gone to the Throne Room of God first!

Pink Fuzzy Slippers,

Tiffany

How do we get to know God?

This is a great question because it’s not like you can give him a call on his iPhone. But it’s actually EASIER than dialing a bunch of numbers and waiting to see if someone picks up. It doesn't even cost a penny. Universally affordable and Universally available.

My suggestion: Go somewhere you can be alone, this is for yourself, so you won't be distracted or embarrassed by the presence of other people. And then talk to God. Most people call it praying, but I think it’s okay to call it talking to God. Either way, when you are alone and able to honestly ask God to reveal Himself to you in your life, I know He will. Why am I so confident? Because I know and I believe God’s Word, look at what Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

This means that if you seek God, you will FIND Him. Wow!!! Isn’t that amazing to think about? God of the Universe will answer little old us? Astonishing to consider and so incredibly wonderful that it makes my little heart just leap with joy! He loves us! He loves you! He loves me!

He has seen every deed we have ever done, things done to us, struggles, triumphs…and not a detail is lost among the millions of people who are living at the same moment right now. He knows you more than you know yourself, after all, He planned for you to be born even BEFORE the foundations of the earth. Your mom can’t even compete with that! Ha ha ha!

So go after God with determination, and be confident of the promise He has already made to us:

Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

I can’t help but think that God loves to hear His children call out to Him. My little example, as mama now, one of the most precious sounds in all of the earth is to hear my daughter’s voice say “Mama.” At the sound of it, I will leap buildings to get to her. Her little call is louder in my heart than any rock concert. My love for this tiny little girl is bigger than she will ever be, and I will risk life and limb to get to her.

I think my example is only a small portion of the love God has for us, because He IS love. God’s love is true and without all the impurities that our human love carries. I think that is why when we experience God in those moments when we seek Him, we are overwhelmed with emotion and tears flow like a summer rain. It’s the awareness of His love and goodness coupled with a glimpse of how unworthy we are in His presence yet knowing He loves us still. And in that very moment you’ll feel more alive than if you had 12 cups of coffee!

I encourage you to seek after God, get really honest in your heart and call out to Him.
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Next is getting to know God, which is done just as we do with people…spend time with Him. Read His book, the Bible.

I’m praying for your heart to be open and for God’s love to rush in.

Huge love,

Tiffany

Whatever you feed grows and Whatever you starve dies.

Imagine you have a little thorny weed growing in your yard and next to it you have a beautiful and fragrant plant. Now whichever one you spend time watering and fertilizing…will grow. And the one you don’t spend time watering and fertilizing will eventually die.

This is my attempt at describing how we can overcome “weeds” or sin in our life. Whatever it is that trips you up and has a hold on you can be starved to death. And here’s the formula…1) Get the Jesus, the Savior of the world, involved.

Look at the promise of the Lord in Isaiah 57:19 "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners, Creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "and I will heal him."

God will do the healing. But we have a responsibility as well. We need to choose to what we will feed, the weed or the flowering plant? And don’t worry, thinking “I can’t help myself, when my flesh desires that thing (insert whatever you are struggling with) it’s FEELS too strong to NOT do it. It’s almost like it has power over me.”

And at that point the sin does, you’ve yielded yourself over to that desire. But it’s really not in charge, you can ALWAYS pray right in the heat of that desire: “Father help me, make a way out for me! Quick too!!!”

And KNOW that God always makes a way out for us when we are being tempted, even tempted by our fleshly desires.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

God offers the escape door, but we have to do the walking or RUNNING out! God always gives us a responsibility of WHAT we will choose, it’s also called free will. He never turns us into mindless robots, but we actually become MORE alive and MORE aware of His grace, presence, forgiveness, love and even correction.

So next time you are tempted to sin, think about which plant will grow when you spend that time participating in that area. And don’t allow worry to build as you try to “stop” doing whatever sin addiction it is…remember this verse:

Psalm 94:19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Seek God right then, even if you feel too guilty to ask for His help…do it. He will forgive you, He loves you and He wants you to be free of the sins that entangle us and slow us down from reaching the potential that God has planted in each of us.

If you try to fight on your own, you lose every time. But remember that God ALWAYS wins. That’s how we can claim victory, through Jesus Christ who reigns victorious over all sin, and even death.

I’m praying for everyone who will read this that God will bless you and strengthen you in your inner man/woman!

Huge Huge love,
Tiffany

VIDEO: Whatever you feed grows and Whatever you starve dies.

September Joke of the Month

Hips in the larvae stage...ha ha ha!


I hope this made you laugh!

(PS: I got a card with this on it, too funny not to share)

Proverbs 17:22 "A joyful heart is good medicine..."

Fuzzy slippers,

Tiffany

More Than We Can Handle

I’m sure you’ve heard that old saying, “God will never give you more than you can handle,” and I think people are trying to extract that from:

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

This is referring to TEMPTATIONS, rather than TRIALS. And these are two very DIFFERENT things. When we are experiencing heart breaking circumstances as in a trial, it’s almost a hurtful thing to say to someone “you can handle it, because God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

The truth is we CAN’T HANDLE it. There are things in this life that we might experience that are WAY MORE than we can handle alone. That is where God comes in, right at the very fringe of who we are, He comes in and extends the very fabric of our heart, mind and spirit in His strength. Even when it seems like God is far from our pain, the Bible has a very different message for us…He is NEAR. And He will SAVE us, even when it’s a saving from our own selves, thoughts, guilt and destruction.

Psalm 34:18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

He is not only near, but He bandages our bleeding heart and causes healing where there would be none without Him.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

And the promise of our life to come, I love the book of Revelation for this reason…we have HOPE that is not deferred, but He is COMING AGAIN!

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Every tear you’ve cried, every pain you’ve experienced, every hurt you’ve ever had will be remembered no more because Jesus has made all things right again.

When you are right in the middle of suffering, most words fail, but God's Word never does. And when it’s more than you can handle, know that it’s not more than you and God can handle together. He loves you so much and He knows the depth of your pain more than any other human on earth.

I pray for God’s comfort blanket of love to wrap around your heart right now. Please Lord heal every aching heart, be near to them and bless them.

Big comfy blankets and poofy pillows,

Tiffany