Saying Goodbye is hard!

My husband likes to say that no one likes change but a wet baby! I think he’s right! Most of us like waking up in the morning and knowing the way things are. We check our weather apps to make sure we anticipate the kind of day we’re heading into. We check our calendars the night before and schedule our day accordingly. If an unanticipated need or call arises we simply can’t fit it in. After all, we’ve already planned our day! And if at the conclusion of our day, things did not go “as planned“ then we chalk it up to a “Bad Day!”

If we are being totally honest with ourselves we have to admit that at the core of our being we don’t like change!

So what happens to us when we have to say goodbye?

When someone we love moves away and change is inevitable!

In our search to find contentment this cannot only rock our boat, it can capsize it!

Is contentment even possible when life throws hard changes our way?

The answer is yes!

Contentment may not come easily, but it is available to us when our trust is in the Lord!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1

Did you catch that? It’s not an option when we follow Jesus to have our hearts be troubled! There is a period after the first statement in this verse,

“DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED.”

Period. Do NOT let your hearts be troubled!

It is a direct statement from God to us.

When we trust in Him our hearts are to be at peace, and at rest. We are not to live in a troubled state. The Bible goes on to say, as those who have no hope. We know where our hope comes from! Our hope comes from the Lord not in our circumstances and not in our world where things are changing on the daily!

But God does not leave us hanging! Right after this statement is the answer on how to not let our hearts be troubled…

“TRUST IN GOD; TRUST ALSO IN ME!”

When you put your TRUST in God first, then

Entrust you’re loved ones to God, you find CONTENTMENT!

There is no candy coating it, when we have to say goodbye to those we love, it hurts! It also brings CHANGE that is uninvited and very disruptive!

Not only is our schedule disrupted, but when our loved ones are no longer near us, our hearts are disrupted!

I can say with a pure heart that a mother’s heart finds true contentment when she entrusts her children’s hearts to God!

He is TRUSTWORTHY!

Knowing your loved ones belong to God eases the goodbye and brings true contentment to your soul!

So in this season as we say “goodbye“ to our son, daughter-in-law and precious granddaughter, we are content in knowing they are in God’s hands and there is no better place to be!

TRUTH BOMB

TRUSTING IN GOD, EASES THE PAIN OF GOODBYE!

Trusting in God with all of our hello’s and Goodbye’s brings true contentment and is the only path to travel down!

Mark that down in your Travel Journal!

Trust in God, and believe me, you will find contentment!

Speak Truth Love

On the road to contentment, it is often necessary to get directions! 

Have you ever taken a trip, planned a trip, or found yourself debating on whether to take a trip or not?  And then realized, you had no directions!

You have thought about, dreamt of, and even seen pictures of this destination, yet never looked up or mapped out the directions.

Now assuming you are not a 19 year old reading this, deciding to backpack through Europe with nothing but your backpack, I would imagine the directions and mapping out a course would be vital! It is no different when we chart a course for contentment.

Jesus charted the course for the most important assignment of his life on earth: He had just three years to impact the world with the truth of the gospel message! The very first thing He did was was to put in place the direction for the next three years His vital ministry would take.

He chose His disciples! 

It was the biggest and most important decision He would make.

We read the process He took in finding his direction:

“One day soon afterward, Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak, he called together all of his disciples (aka followers) and chose twelve of them to be apostles.” 

Luke 6:12-13

There were five distinct steps Jesus took in finding direction:

1. He got direction by seeking God the Father in prayer. The first place we must go to find contentment is at the feet of our Father in Heaven, through prayer.

2. He dug out relevant information. He asked himself, “Who are these men? What knowledge, gifts and talents do they have in certain areas to carry out the mission? Who is most likely to have a willing spirit and obey me?

 We need to dig out information regarding our current circumstances, and find relevance in the Truth, regardless of what is swirling around us.

3. He was deliberate. He chose twelve out of all his disciples/followers, and reflected on the pros and cons of each person.

We need to be deliberate, and spend enough time reflecting and examining pros and cons as we move forward.

4. Jesus made a decision. Jesus chose the twelve and moved forward with assurance and confidence in His decision.

We must put our decisions into motion. Delaying too long causes discontent anxiety, and eventually more worry.

5. Jesus evaluated His decision, and stood firm. Jesus is truly God, and we are not. His decision would not require the evaluation and adjustment that our decisions will. We must evaluate our decisions, observing the consequences, and make the necessary adjustments to achieve contentment. It is often the second decision–for us, not Jesus–that is just as important as the first decision!

TRUTH BOMB

FOLLOWING GODS DIRECTION WILL ALWAYS BE THE RIGHT WAY TO GO!

“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 direct your paths.”   Proverbs 3:5-6

Speak Truth Love

TODAY AS I SIT TO WRITE ABOUT CONTENTMENT, I FEEL ANYTHING BUT!

What felt like solid ground 4 months ago, feels now like sinking sand! What came easily like breathing, has been turned upside down and made difficult. What felt “known” has become unknown, and what felt secure has become unstable!

I find myself uttering the words to God…

“Why such struggle?  Why such unrest?”

As I strive to find contentment, I seem to feel less content than ever!

And the response comes right back to me in the form of my own question…

WHY?

WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR CONTENTMENT IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND YOU? 

WHY DO YOU FAIL CONTINUOUSLY TO SEE THAT MY WILL IS PERFECTED IN STRUGGLE? 

My heart is convicted and my spirit is pierced!

And so my question turns to…

“How?”

How can I find contentment in the chaos and the calm?

How can I trust your will in the struggle, and be used by you in it to bring about your freedom?

The response is clear and sure…

FOLLOW NOT JUST MY WORDS BUT ALSO MY DIRECTION!

“JESUS REPLIED, ‘YOU MUST LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR SOUL, AND ALL YOUR MIND.  THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT. A SECOND IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’”
MATTHEW 22:37-39

I am to love God with every part of my being! To read His word of Truth and to let it fill me with compassion and cause that compassion to move me into action!

My mind reads and focuses on God’s Word!  My spirit fills to overflowing with God’s compassion for all His people.  My heart moves to LOVE OTHERS, seeing no righs and wrongs, just differences!

Suddenly I feel CONTENT knowing that God had the plan all along!  I just need to do my part in it!

I learned this formula today and I believe it applies beautifully to this scripture…

LISTEN

LEARN

LEAD

If we are willing to LISTEN to hear the heart and pain of others we are expanding our minds.

If we are willing to LEARN what we do not know or understand we are exercising our spirits.

If we are willing to LEAD (MOVE) into action and do something in Jesus name we are displaying our hearts.

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN WE LOVE LEARN AND LEAD LIKE JESUS WE LIVE OUT THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT!

Jesus is the answer friends!  He always has been and He always will be!

LOVE ONE ANOTHER IN JESUS NAME!

I Love you!

XO

Speak Truth Love

The Road to Contentment…

It feels like a roller coaster!

Contentment can feel like a roller coaster, up and down, up and down, upside down and all around until your equilibrium is so thrown off that you feel like you are going to be sick!

What is the biggest, scariest roller coaster you have ever been on?

I’m talking about the ones that really mess you up!  Not the ones that send chills up your arms or put a thrill in your belly. I mean the ones that rip you apart inside as they soar high, crash low and spin from side to side and upside down!

That’s right, got the picture?  Stepping off that ride, rushing to the nearest bush and grabbing your stomach as you double over and let it fly!

It’s that feeling that you are no longer in control and your body has taken over. You are in pain, cramping up and heaving at your bodies whim!

I believe that many of us are experiencing this same feeling of sickness and loss of control during this current season of the Corona Pandemic and Racial Tension. 

We feel like things are simply ‘Out of Control!’ That our world has been shaken up so hard, turned upside down, side to side and up and down, that we feel sick and nauceous! We would almost feel relief if we could throw up!

WE NEED DIRECTION!

This week in our Travel Journals we need to record Godly Direction by which we can find contentment in the middle of the storm.

I have shared openly and honestly with you that Hope and Encouragement are my jam!They are my natural go to!  CONTENTMENT to me is the “C” Word!

This comes to me quite naturally. I was raised by a very strong Dad who had a very strong work ethic and passed that down to my sisters and I. One of my responsibilities growing up was to feed the horses in the evening. I was raised in the city, but was blessed to live on an acre and 1/4 of property zoned for all kinds of animals, including horses. One night when my dad returned home for work we all sat down at the table to eat dinner. My dad looked at me and asked if I had fed the horses. My eyes got huge as I replied that I had not yet fed them. I jumped up out of my chair to run and feed them when my dad called me back and told me to sit down. He said that he heard them neighing as he pulled in the driveway and he fed them. He then told me that I would not eat dinner with the family that night so that I could understand how they felt when they did not get fed. He reminded me that unlike myself, they could not go get their own food when they were hungry!

Now, before you report my Dad for child abuse, I need to let you know that I did not starve, I had eaten plenty that day, and I did learn a very valuable lesson! I learned that when I did not put the work in it was not only I that suffered! I guarantee you, I never forgot to feed the horses again!

Is it any surprise that my favorite verse in the Bible is Philippians 4:13?

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.“

I was raised with that ‘All American Value’ to “pull yourself up by your own boot straps” and get it done!

Problem is, life does not always work out that way!

WE can find ourselves in a world that is not practicing the “Love One Another” commandment from the Bible. We can find ourselves in a job loss that was not our fault! We can find ourselves in a relationship that does not seem to heal no matter how hard we try!

Truth is, we can be practicing Philippians 4:13 to the greatest of our ability and our world can remain a Roller Coaster Ride!

That is why God always includes the verses before and after one another to accomplish the entire meaning.

A great Hero of the Faith, The Apostle Paul, just two verses before writes, “I can do all things…”, writes the direction we must follow to achieve true contentment in Christ!

“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty,  with plenty or little.”  

Philippians 4:11-12

The problem was MY HEART, MY MINDSET and MY DIRECTION!

I was reading Philippians 4:13 with that “Can Do” spirit. In actuality it was the entire reason for CONTENTMENT!

If Paul can say it from a prison cell, I can say it from right here…

Regardless of my circumstances, regardless of my full or empty stomach, regardless of my financial situation, regardless of my employment status, regardless of my positive or negative relationships, and regardless of the state of the world around me,

“I can do all things (and be content), through Christ who gives me strength!“

TRUTH BOMB

God is our direction no matter what we or the world around us is going through!

Let’s log that in our travel journals!

God is our direction no matter what we or the world around us is going through! We can learn to be content in any and all circumstances when we trust in the strength of Christ in us!

Speak Truth Love

Have you ever been traveling and found yourself completely off the road you thought you were following?

No GPS guidance to direct you.

No map.

Nobody to ask directions.

You knew your way when you started out in the morning, and by noon you were completely lost. Maybe even teetering on hopeless.

You feel that as sure as your destination was in the morning, now you feel lost, confused, and even scared.

I set out on this journey to contentment with you two weeks ago. My path was clear. Sure, it would take commitment and perseverance, but the trail markers were laid out before me.

This week, I have felt that my trail markers have been knocked over, that my confidence has been shaken, and that the society I knew and trusted has been rocked to its core.

There is no way that we can live through the events our nation is currently facing and not feel pushed off our path. Our hearts are broken and our stability is shook, when we see racial injustice and people treated inhumanely.

I found myself laying in a heap on the side of the road, with my head in my hands, crying out to God and saying, “I thought your children had gotten past this. I thought we were better than this.”

How can human beings treat other human beings made in God’s image as less than themselves?

As I picked myself up off the ground with skinned knees and a few bloody scratches, I tried to find my way back onto the path.  However, I felt knocked back off my path again as the decision came down that the “opening” of our churches and businesses was so full of restrictions that it didn’t seem like an opening at all. Our national leading Dr’s, our state leaders, and our county leaders, are all saying something different and contradictory. “Let’s get back to work!”  “No! Let’s keep shelter in place!”  There is dissension and disunity everywhere we look.
How could I possibly find my way back to the right path that leads me to true contentment?

I have to remind myself of some important Truths:

All lives matter to us because each person matters to God.

We are all created equal in His image.

We live in in a fallen world where social injustice is prevalent.

WE live with the Truth, and the Truth is that we are the light and the hope of the world.

We need to be vocal in calling out injustice based on hate.

We need to stand together as one in Christ, red, yellow, black, brown and white.

Everyone matters to God, and every person matters to us!

Jesus is the hope of the world. He reminded us,

“In this world, you will have tribulation. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  

John 16:33

We are more than overcomers through Him who loves us!

Sometimes finding contentment is trusting in the Truth I know, even if I can’t see it in the world around me.

“So we keep our eyes, not on what I seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, But what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:18.

As troubles come and we are knocked off our path, the Truth of God and His word is the only true map we should follow.  No matter how dark it may seem, following God’s word is the only light that can direct our path.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Psalm 199:105.  

  Truth Bomb

We shine God’s hope and light to the world when we treat each other as equals!

Speak Truth Love