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Perseverance Part 3 – When Prayers Remain Unanswered

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“Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.  Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.” Psalm 22:2 NLT

Have you ever found yourself in the same place as the Psalmist, feeling abandoned and hurt over prayers that have gone unanswered?

I firmly believe that God delights in answering our prayers and yet . . . when the answers are long in coming, and the situations more painful than I feel I can bear, I’ve been known to ask the big “WHY?”  How do we cope when God remains silent in response to our cries? Click To Tweet

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A Less Than Perfect Christmas Giveaway

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The fragrance of fresh cut Christmas trees, sounds of laughter from the party house, chilly scenes of winter wonderlands.  These are the sensory experiences we’ve come to expect of the Christmas season. 

My own house appears to be merry and bright too as I’ve trimmed the tree most carefully and gone  room-to-room preparing for guests.  But even with all the glitter of the Season my heart hurts.

It’s been a rough year for many of my friends and family.  A dear friend’s loss of her only sister, too soon, too young; a precious family watching as their husband and father battles cancer, all the time believing for his healing;  the unexpected loss of a job; alcohol addiction; depression; mental illness; friendships broken; people of faith who have walked completely walked away from their long held beliefs; and marriages ended while young children are left crying for their daddy.

As you know, I haven’t been here on the blog much lately.  I love to make people laugh and smile.  I love to offer hope to those who have no hope because God has done so much to change my life and I know that if He can do it for me He can do it for anyone.  He can do it for you.  But for the first time ever I’ve felt like I have nothing to write, nothing to give back to my readers for their faithfulness in coming here regularly to read my words. 

In slight admonition, Mr. OTN said to me the other evening, “How can we NOT share our hope with others when it is what causes us to most come alive?”  Yes, we know through experience that when we give ourselves to others, even when our own hearts are hurting, God blesses us with such joy that we have even more to give.

Yet this year, a year of great pain within my own family, it is that very sharing of our hope with the many that has caused such anger to erupt within those who are closest to my heart.  How do I prove to someone that I love them more than any of the people we’ve reached out to in the past?  How do I continue to reach out to others when it causes such feelings of jealousy in those I love the most?

The pain ebbs and flows within this heart of mine due to hard happenings within my own family, and when I hurt deeply, nearly every day, I feel like I have little to give.  Then God reminds me that the giving doesn’t have to be BIG.  I can give in little ways.  I give back when I am faithful to pray for the many who’ve asked me to keep them upheld through tough times.  I give back when I make our home a refuge for my hard working husband.  I give back even in the decorating of our home for Christmas to make it warm and inviting for those who are coming for the holidays.

Yesterday I watched my elderly dog Cozy slide off her bed, feet splayed out around her on the hardwood floor as she tried to stand and I was reminded of when she was just a little puppy learning to stand and walk. 

“Cozy, it’s been 16 years since you were just a pup.  How did you come so soon to this place of failing health?”

Tears fell as I thought of how quickly life passes by. 

I cannot waste a moment of my God-given allotment of time. 

Even if I am not being used in big ways I will give what I can.  A card, a hug, a text, a call.  A message to you my beloved readers.

I have great hope in God.  No matter what the circumstances, no matter what it looks like around me, I know that He is with me every step of the way.

“Hope builds faith.  Faith trusts that God still moves and that He is good.” – Pastor Jeremy Havlin

Prayer:  Father God, please be with each one who reads this post and bless them richly this Christmas season and beyond.  If any are lacking hope please show them that their only hope is in You.  Not in the provision, not in the healing of relationships, not in the whatever . . . but ONLY IN YOU.  You are enough and in You we have everything we need.  Amen.

And now, because I want to share this awesome new Bible by Joni Eareckson Tada with one of you, here is the Giveaway.  There are three ways to enter and the more ways you enter the more chances you have of winning. 1. Answer a question  2. Follow me on Twitter (I’d love for you to follow me here too but that isn’t a requirement. 3. Tweet about the Giveaway.  Let’s go!:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and may the JOY of the Lord be your strength this Christmas!

Blessings to you dear friends,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:

IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired,  InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStoryMaking Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking,SmallWonder, LifeGivingLinkup, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends

Tuesday:

TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles,  Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story, IntentionalTuesday

Wednesday:

SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday

Thursday:

ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty,  The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy,  Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday, PartyAtMyPlace, 100HappyDays, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays

Friday:

FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme,  TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration,  Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents,  SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet

 

 

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Freedom Friday – Throw off Those Clothes!

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My oldest daughter recently came home for a two week visit carrying 53 pounds of clothes in her suitcase.  She is a little girl (at 36 years of age) so THAT my friends is a lot of clothes!  You should’ve seen us lugging her gigantic suitcase up the front stairs.  Pushing, pulling, falling, laughing.  When we finally got the suitcase to her room I sat on the bed and watched as she hung one pretty thing after another in the guest room closet.  It was so good to have her home.

This got me to thinking about the spiritual clothes we wear.  Especially me.  Especially lately.

9-Vintage Suitcase After and Bdrm Bench Before 040

Welcome to FREEDOM FRIDAY – A devotional, emotional, spiritual and sometimes hysterical series that I will be sharing on occasional Fridays, in addition to my regular Old Things New posts. Why?  Because though once bound in chains Christ has set me free –  FREE to live, to love, to dance, to sing, to be who God created me to be!

Much has been going on in our lives these past few months that I haven’t shared here in my hopefully upbeat blog space.  A slew of medical tests for myself, heartbreak with family members, ageing in-laws across the country, and seeing my husband so ill that he was admitted to the hospital for 30 hours of testing symptoms that still haven’t fully resolved.  Stress seems to be a constant lately.

Trials or disappointments in life can cause us to put on cloaks that we as Christ followers have no business wearing.  Robes of fear, insecurity, worry, inadequacy, angst.  I don’t know about you but sometimes the cloak becomes so heavy on my shoulders that it distracts me from hearing God speak and prevents me from being able to find the words to cry out to Him when I most need to.

This is where I found myself the other day when I picked up my Bible and my journal and cried out to God.  His answer?

Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters.  As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure.  And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line mature, complete, and wanting nothing.  If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need.  He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking.   James 1: 2-4 The Voice

“Embrace hardships,” or as the KJV version reads, “Consider it pure joy, . . . whenever you face trials . . .”  Really? I knew this passage was speaking to me and to the discouragement, worry, and pure overwhelmedness (spell check tells me this is not a word but I like it) I was feeling.

Right then and there I knew that I had to surrender, ask God to forgive me for picking up and putting on the dark cloak of worry and anxiousness that was weighing heavy upon my shoulders.  I had to tell Him how sorry I was for not trusting Him when I know, that I know, that I KNOW He holds the future and He cares deeply about every detail of my life.  I agreed to let go and trust Him with the thoughts and feelings that consumed me.

He met me right where I was as the dark robe of the enemy fell away and His mantle of peace covered me. Click To Tweet I don’t have full joy in the trial yet but neither do I have the anxiety.  Just for today I can say with confidence that I trust Him completely.  No matter what is going on in and around me I know that He is doing a new thing and I’m excited to see what He has in store as I step forward with boldness onto the path He is clearing before me.

Do you wear the weight of the world upon your shoulders?  Are you trying to control circumstances to no avail?  Do you feel depressed or anxious?  If you have given your life over to Jesus He loves you and He will walk with you through the hardships, feeling every hurt right along with you.  He will grant to you all that you need for the battle as He “gives lavishly” to those He calls His own.  If you haven’t yet accepted Jesus as your Savior He is waiting to lift off those garments of insecurity, sadness, or fear of the future and clothe you in perfect peace.


[He will] provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.  Isa 61:-2-4 NIV
 
 
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  Isa 61:10 NIV

Hope Prevails cover-medium

I am reading a book right now called Hope Prevails by Dr. Michelle Bengtson.  She writes from a doctor’s personal perspective about depression.  While this book is written for those who are depressed or have people they care about who are suffering depression it has also helped me to stave off the heaviness I feel as I face some of  my fiercest spiritual battles in years.  Dr. Michelle’s book releases on August 16th and I will be sharing a complete review with you soon. Right now though, you can pre-order the book and receive a free gift by going to Dr. Michelle’s website.


God’s richest blessings to you sweet friends,

My Signature

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:
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Freedom Friday – Embarrassed by the Serenity Prayer

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When I was a little girl I used to love looking through my mom’s catalogs.  They weren’t like the catalogs I receive today, Pottery Barn, Ballards, or Front Gate.  Nothing that high end.  My favorite catalog was Lillian Vernon because it always had affordable trinkets that even an unemployed child of 10 could afford.

One Mother’s Day I found the perfect gift for my God-fearing mom.  I couldn’t have paid more than a few dollars for it because that would be more than I ever kept in my piggy bank.  I don’t even know how I ordered it but it must have been by putting cash in an envelope and mailing it off to the company.  Master Charge (now Master Card) hadn’t become a part of our family dynamic at that point in time.

God grant me the serenity

via Pinterest

Soon the little wooden plaque with the brass plate inscribed with these words arrived in the mail.  I wrapped it for mom and proudly presented it to her on Mother’s Day.

She was so pleased that I would order a gift for her.  She beamed and hugged and kissed me, and then she said, “Did you know that this is the alcoholics prayer?”

What?  I barely even knew what an alcoholic was except that I knew we had some in the family and it wasn’t a good thing. 

Though my mom meant no harm I was so embarrassed to have made such a stupid mistake.

Now, on the other side of middle on this birth-to-old age timeline I look at this prayer not as the “alcoholics prayer” but as a prayer that is valuable for anyone facing difficult circumstances.

Serenity to accept the unchangeable - Peace in knowing God is sovereign. Click To Tweet

Courage to change what's changeable - Boldness to step by faith into what God calls me to. Click To Tweet

Wisdom to know the difference - Discerning when I should move and when I should be still. Click To Tweet

Feeling grateful for an awesome God who has used the “alcoholics prayer” to change my life.

Blessings,

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I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:
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Winter Decor in the Winter of Life? HA!

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Winter Decor 012

Anyone who knows me and has been following this blog for awhile knows that I’ve had just a few internal struggles over growing older.  Indeed, turning 60 in November was a bit of a shock to my system!  No other entry into a new decade brought with it the same feelings that this birthday did. Winter Decor 013

  Looking back, I think that my feelings of being old were intensified  by the cross country move at the end of 2014, when I left everything behind that I’d ever known, coupled with the end of the ministry my hubby and I were involved in that (though extremely difficult) gave me such great purpose.  Other than writing, I’ve yet to find what my purpose is here in SC.  In addition to that I’ve also had some changes in health (less than perfect labs for the first time in my life), new aches and pains, weight gain, more body fat, less muscle, etc.  Nothing serious and all things I can and AM changing with diet and a new fitness routine. 

Hooray for New Year’s resolutions!

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As I’ve seen the changes taking place in my body and on my FACE, I’ve tried to bravely stand against the temptation to nip, tuck, cut, and lift (don’t worry, I’m not going there), but I really don’t enjoy seeing my mom’s face superimposed upon my own.  Nothing against my mom, but she was OLD!

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Well, leave it to God to call me on my negative self talk!  Standing in the shower the other day (the place where all of my greatest thoughts seem to manifest), I was thinking, once again, about this age thing. This is what I heard,

“Patti, you are only 60 years old.  You could very well live into your 90’s!  Do you want to spend the next 30 years complaining about being old?”

The answer of course was a great BIG, “NO!“

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Funny how life changes can cause the enemy of our souls to go on the attack in an attempt to take us captive in our thoughts, whispering words intended to take us out, to thwart God’s plan for our lives, to cut through the very foundation upon which we stand, and cause us to tumble to the ground in a great big heap of self pity.

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Not.  Happening.  Here.  There is nothing in the Bible that talks about retirement from doing the work of the Lord!  In fact, in the Psalms King David’s prayer is to be allowed to continue to tell of God’s greatness well on into old age, even speaking of God’s wonders to those yet to be born!

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    “Do not set me aside when I am old; do not abandon me when I am worn out . . . I will keep hope alive, and my praise to You will grow exponentially.  I will bear witness to Your merciful acts; throughout the day I will speak of all the ways You deliver . . .  I will come with stories of Your great acts, my Lord, the Eternal.  I will remind them of Your justice, only Yours.  You have taught me since I was young, O God, and I still proclaim the wonderful things You have done.  Now as I grow old and my hair turns gray, I ask that You not abandon me, O God.  Allow me to share with the generation to come about Your power;  Let me speak about Your strength and wonders to all those yet to be born. God, Your justice stretches to the heavens, You who have done mighty things!  Who is like You, O God?”  Psalm 70: 9, 14-19 (The Voice)

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Pastor Jack Hayford says this about age, “God calls us to capture His possibilities for each season of our lives. Reject the world’s thinking about your age. With age comes increase, significance and substance . . . With change, some people’s worlds come apart and they begin to lose their sense of value and self-worth. But with each season of our lives, God desires to sharpen our focus if we will answer His call to turn to whatever it is He is doing right now.”  The link to Pastor Jack’s full article is HERE.

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As you see the pictures I’ve taken of my home adorned for winter notice beauty and light.  See how the light SHINES (my word for 2016 by the way)!  There is no darkness and decay here, but only a temporary stillness before new things break forth with the freshness of Spring!

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I am refreshed and renewed by God’s Word daily.  My light SHINES as I choose to laugh (snicker, giggle, snicker, snort, and whoop!) when looking toward the future.  How about you?  Will you join me?

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. Proverbs 31/25 (ESV) Click To Tweet

Blessings,

My Signature

Shine 002

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, NiftyThriftyThings, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, Sunday Stillness

Monday:
Tuesday:
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Thursday:
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Saturday: