Are you on the mountain or in the valley today? No matter where you are, ask yourself these questions:
-Has God changed?
-Is God strong?
-Does God love you?
There really isn’t a right or wrong answer. Don’t be afraid of your answers. As you wrestle with these questions, watch how God will grow your faith.
I’ve been battling poor sleep the last few nights. After finally coming to terms with why, the Lord blessed me with truths in both Job and Daniel today.
Can you bring your worry to God today and face the trial?
Isaiah 61:7 Instead of your shame there will be a double potion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their pot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
We all carry around shame. The Lord wants to take your shame and give you a new name! Delight! Holy! Redeemed! Sought out! Not Forsaken!
We are promised trouble in this world and we are promised God’s faithfulness! Think about and store up God’s faithfulness in your heart to get you through your trials. 
Sometimes the bathroom is the only quiet place to go when you are a mom trying to make short videos to encourage others.
Mary tried to understand what the angel was telling her. She tried to understand what God was doing through her. Eventually she just needed to trust the words, “Nothing is impossible.”
What if the trial you are in holds opportunity for growth for you as well as every one around you?
Joy is a choice. Happiness just kind of happens. But God’s people have a choice to remember his faithfulness and look forward to the future he has for us.
God called me to begin sharing what He’s been doing in my life through a different outlet. It’s taking a lot of courage but here I go!
Hope = Power
God’s past faithfulness motivates hope for the future!
Do you ever wonder why peoples optimistic reassurance really doesn’t reassure you at all? Those optimistic well wishes are just based on what that person wants or what you want. But true hope is based on God’s past faithfulness.
Oh, beautiful cherry blossom tree. You do not hide your condition. The winter has taken its toll on your beauty. On your branches. On your shape. On your structure.
The broken branches strewn about the ground. The sharp, ruggedness of the fracture, left on your trunk. Your dead leaves scattered around your base.
But, yet, God’s work in you is not over after the harsh winter. No.
Fall came and went. Your leaves changed. Dried up. Fell to the ground. The wind played a game of havoc on you.
And, then the cold of winter came and finished off what life was left on you.
But, deep inside, underground in your roots and in the marrow of your branches, life remained.
God protected and nourished that life deep within you all through the brokenness of the winter.
And now, in all your glory, you blossom your purpose, your fruit, your God-given beauty. Life is emerging on each branch. In each bulge brimming with life. In each blossom, opening for all to see. In each branch, stretching out further than the season before. You show your healing. Your life.
Through the trial of the winter, the tree remained. Through the harsh reality the tree faced, the Creator’s plan never changed.
Winter still holds on. The bitter cold of the night still remains. The frost still appears each morning. The temperature and shorter days still threaten the growth of the tree. Yet, the Creator’s plan remains.
The evidence of the plan is seen in the tree: new life, new growth, new beauty.
Are you looking for the evidence of the Creator’s plan in your life? Even in the trial, the evidence is there. Sometimes it’s deep within. Like the sturdy roots of the cherry blossom tree, holding it in place, securing it through another trial. Yes, the evidence is there, Dear One.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Lisa Louise 