The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 4:4-7
And slowly, very slowly a peace settled over me.
Recently, I have been experiencing some anxious moments when it comes to writing and this space. What to write. When to write. IF I was even SUPPOSED to write! What in the world was I to do???
Would I EVER get an answer?
YES! I would get an answer. But only after I LET GO of the problem.
Only after I opened my hands and gave the problem to him. LITERALLY.
I prayed and said, “Lord, what DO you want me to do? I will give up the space. I will walk away from the blog. I just need to know what YOU want. Whatever that is, I will do it.”
The answer was a resounding NO! Do not walk away.
“Ok, then Lord…please tell me what you want me to do with. Please tell me what you want me to say.”
And he did. It took another month, but then the message was clear.
I have already told you what the plan is for this space is here. This post isn’t about telling you the plan, this post is about telling you HOW I figured out the plan.
It was only after I let go of the problem, that I found peace and an answer. And that is very much how it is with many of the big decisions that I have faced in my life.
And when HE takes over, things go much more smoothly than when I am in charge.
But it is the letting go that is so hard. Hard for me anyway. But I am getting there…nothing like taking half a century to figure something out!
Lord, I am so thankful that you gave me direction for this space. Please continue to guide me and continue giving me the courage to let go. I don’t need to try and to this on my own, I know you can handle it all…I just need to let you. Thank you for the peace I have experienced so far.
Is there something in your life you need to let go of so you can continue holding on?
On Wednesday I will be back with my second installment of my weight loss journey.
In the meantime, need a special Christmas gift or want a special serving dish for your holiday table? How about this beautiful casserole dish for your favorite holiday casserole?
Check out my online store. If you see something you like, let me know…I am offering free shipping during the month of November. E-mail me for details.
FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER,
I AM OFFERING FREE SHIPPING ON ANY
BLESSINGS UNLIMITED ORDER
FROM MY ONLINE STORE.
CONTACT ME AT mbonner1021 at yahoo dot com FOR DETAILS.
I have removed Disqus and I am no longer using it for comments. I am also not using word verification. I am hoping this makes it easier for you to comment. Thanks!
Mary, I can certainly relate to your feelings about your blog. I've been in sort of an little turmoil myself. I know that God will work it out as I walk with Him. Oh I love that casserole dish. I keep meaning to sign up as a consultant for Blessings through a friend. Just can't seem to find the extra $100 cash! I got rid of Disqus too!
You are right, Barbie…he WILL work it out, but the waiting can seem like torture sometimes! The Blessings Unlimited thing was absolutely something I felt led to do even though it is out of my comfort zone. Praying for you friend!
You are welcome, Jessica! And thank you for stopping by. I am humbled that my writing encouraged you. I'll be praying for you as you deal with your something.
This has been one of the hardest lessons to learn for me: To let go and let God lead. I'm such a control freak! I've even asked Him repeatedly why He made me this way, but I'm beginning to see. He's teaching me that dying to self…and I'm learning. growing. stretching. striving. Just like you. So proud of you! I'll be back tomorrow, friend 😉
I am also a control freak, Nikki. That is why letting go is such a challenge. I wonder how many times I have written about that on my blog; I know it is something I continually work at! Thank you, friend, for taking the time to visit!
The verses from Philippians 4:4-7 are one of my favorites. The comments and the photos also enhanced the meaning of these verses. You have touched my spirit and know that your ministry through words will bless and inspire many others. I enjoy the analogy of letting go of problems and giving them to God for Him to work out the decisions that He wants us to pursue.
I love watcing you contnue to grow and I learn so much from you….always have! Thanks Mary!! BTW; I just followed you on twitter too…new to that, but trying to figure it out, lol
it is so true what you wrote…when we let go, He gives us peace…I relearn that one over and over, sometimes..so glad you have peace about your blog, Mary 🙂
You know something, Dolly…I relearn this over and over too!! Or maybe I don't LEARN it, maybe I just practice it for a while, then go back to my old ways and have to be reminded again! 🙂
As the weeks have drug on it has been easy for me to lose hope.
Will things ever get back to some type of normal? People were not created to live in isolation.
Will we be able to see someone smile or will we always look at them and only see their eyes?
Will people gather without having to sit 6’ apart?
I don’t know the answer and I’m not posting this to debate the news media’s portrayal of the pandemic.
I’m sharing this today because I spent some time with the Lord thanking him for the things I DO have and not focusing on the things I don’t have. The things I have lost since March.
I looked up scriptures about hope.
I made a list in my prayer journal of things I’m grateful for.
Life goes on. Life crisis continues even during this pandemic. People die naturall and tragically. And babies are born. And weddings happen and new lives begin.
This crisis in our world isn’t a surprise to God.
And my hope and security is in Him.
If you scroll through the photos, you see things that made me smile this morning and reminded me of the goodness of God - even now.
With all the grief and sadness in the world I wasn’t sure how I would handle today. How I would allow myself to grieve this loss? Today when there has so much WRONG in our world. In a post @deidrariggs shared today she reminded us that life goes on. And I realized that today this is my life. And I can grieve this loss. My life goes on... I am thankful for the 4 days we had her. On Friday I will remember each event of her last day and I will remember her dying in my arms.
And I will be both sad and grateful. #infantloss #trisomy18 #stlouischildrenshospital
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Mary, I can certainly relate to your feelings about your blog. I've been in sort of an little turmoil myself. I know that God will work it out as I walk with Him. Oh I love that casserole dish. I keep meaning to sign up as a consultant for Blessings through a friend. Just can't seem to find the extra $100 cash! I got rid of Disqus too!
You are right, Barbie…he WILL work it out, but the waiting can seem like torture sometimes! The Blessings Unlimited thing was absolutely something I felt led to do even though it is out of my comfort zone. Praying for you friend!
Yes, I do have something like that in my life. Thank you for the encouragement!
You are welcome, Jessica! And thank you for stopping by. I am humbled that my writing encouraged you. I'll be praying for you as you deal with your something.
This has been one of the hardest lessons to learn for me: To let go and let God lead. I'm such a control freak! I've even asked Him repeatedly why He made me this way, but I'm beginning to see. He's teaching me that dying to self…and I'm learning. growing. stretching. striving. Just like you. So proud of you! I'll be back tomorrow, friend 😉
I am also a control freak, Nikki. That is why letting go is such a challenge. I wonder how many times I have written about that on my blog; I know it is something I continually work at! Thank you, friend, for taking the time to visit!
The verses from Philippians 4:4-7 are one of my favorites. The comments and the photos also enhanced the meaning of these verses. You have touched my spirit and know that your ministry through words will bless and inspire many others. I enjoy the analogy of letting go of problems and giving them to God for Him to work out the decisions that He wants us to pursue.
Kat, thank you. I am humbled by your words. If the Lord can use my words to touch anyone, that is all I can ask.
Letting go – one of the hardest things we human can do. We always wants to make sure we are in control. Great post!!
I agree Susan, letting go is probably one of the hardest things we can do! And it is something I am constantly working on!
I love watcing you contnue to grow and I learn so much from you….always have! Thanks Mary!! BTW; I just followed you on twitter too…new to that, but trying to figure it out, lol
Oh, Kathy…if the Lord uses my words to minister to someone that is all I can ask. I'll have to find you on twitter!
it is so true what you wrote…when we let go, He gives us peace…I relearn that one over and over, sometimes..so glad you have peace about your blog, Mary 🙂
You know something, Dolly…I relearn this over and over too!! Or maybe I don't LEARN it, maybe I just practice it for a while, then go back to my old ways and have to be reminded again! 🙂