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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~ lswaney5 ~ 2 Comments

TODAY IS “TRUTH BOMB THURSDAY…” 

Wait, how did I miss TUESDAY?

I have been writing my Blog for over 5 years now, and in that entire time I have never missed a “TRUTH BOMB TUESDAY!”

There have been events, vacations, Illnesses, weddings, funerals, dark days and days full of light. There have been early morning posts and late night posts and every time posts in between. But never in my 5 plus years of writing my Blog have I ever missed a “TRUTH BOMB TUESDAY,” until COVID!

When I looked up the most used word in 2020, guess what popped up?

You guessed it, COVID!

COVID has been on everyones mind since the day we were told to, “shelter in place!”  It has consumed our thoughts, curiosities, worries, fears and doubts! It has been on every channel we turn to and has turned face masks into a fashion statement. We dread it, we fear it and we strive to understand it. Whether you dread COVID or think it to be a hoax, there is no denying, it has been the topic most talked about in 2020!

I dwelt with COVID pretty much like everyone else did…learning new ways to “do life,” live out ministry, and maintain relationships with COVID restrictions. As 2020 was coming to an end I felt pretty good about “Surviving the year of COVID!”

Then it came knocking at my front door!

A family member contracted COVID and we had all been in contact with each other! So, the tests were ordered, the quarantines maintained and our family Christmas plans were destroyed.

If you know me at all or if you don’t I’ll fill you in, I do not need a gift at Christmas or anything really at all for that matter, I just need to be with the ones I love! I’m not being a martyr, or trying to sound humble, it is just simply the truth! I just want to be with the people I love! 

We scrambled, we prayed and we just had to realize that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would be spent alone and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it!

My Christmas Eve plans with my sisters, Christmas morning breakfast with my mom, our trip down to Southern California, and our eggs Benedict with my mother-in-law on December 26th, were all not going to happen! 

CRAZY COVID CHRISTMAS had hit us hard and we found ourselves waiting for test results ALONE!

Had Christmas been ruined? Would Christmas come?

In my head I knew the answer, but in my heart, I needed The truth to penetrate my spirit!

So I sat on my staircase with a cup of coffee in my hand and tears rolling down my cheeks and I began on day one…

JESUS IS:

1.The word 

2.I am 

3.Son of God

4.Redeemer

5.Light of the world

6.Lamb of God

7.Meditator

8.Emmanuel

9.Corner stone

10.Bread of life 

11.The vine 

12.Glory of the Lord

13.Man of sorrows

14.Alpha Omega 

15.Prince of peace 

16.The way

17.Lord

18.Morning star

19.Good shepherd

20.Messiah

21.Son of man

22.Christ 

23.Savior

24.Jesus

As I got to Day 24, I repeated day 22, 23 and 24 over again out loud…

CHRIST, SAVIOR, JESUS!

JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD! Christmas is here and has come and will never be stopped, altered or changed because of Covid or any other problem or circumstance this world will ever face!

As I pondered the fact that the most used word of 2020 was COVID, I realized I could turn it around in 2021!

This crazy Covid Christmas may have caught me off guard and had me post a Truth Bomb Tuesday on a Truth Bomb Thursday, but it did not have to stop me from ending the year 2020 and beginning the year 2021 with the most common word I will use, CHRIST!

Christ is the title given to the Savior of the world! He has saved us from darkness into light! He will save us from COVID or any other struggle we face!

May we not waste another year, another month, another week or another moment focused on anything more than CHRIST alone!

MAY THE WORD CHRIST BE THE WORD WE USE MOST IN 2021!

As we end possibly, the worst year of our lives, may we begin this new year with HOPE, POSSIBILITIES, and FOCUS as we pledge to make it all about CHRIST JESUS, OUR LORD!

TRUTH BOMB

The greatest word we could ever use is Christ!

May we use no other word more frequently than CHRIST in this New Year!

GOOD BYE COVID 2020.

HELLO NEW YEAR OF CHRIST 2021!

Speak Truth Love

Plans Interrupted

~ lswaney5 ~ Leave a comment

It hurts so bad when God’s plans are not mine! Problem is, that’s backwards.

My plans need to be God’s!

That’s the way it is meant to work!

We are such planners. That is a nice way of saying “control freaks!”

We want everything to go according to our plan. Afterall, we have planned it all out!

Then comes in the nasty but true truth about us, SELFISHNESS! 

We are born with a human nature that yearns for what we want, when we want it, and how we want it! That can be the “not so pretty” part of our control. We do not want anyone or anything changing or interrupting our plans!

How do you think Mary felt when the Angel Gabriel came to her and said, “The Wedding is off?”

All your plans and dreams that you have been creating since your engagement to Joseph, they’re over. Cancel the venue, tell the caterer you won’t need them, call the guests and let them know they don’t need to show up, and that white dress you have longed to wear, you won’t be needing that, you will be pregnant by the Holy Spirit!

WOW, my head is spinning at the thought. My heart is broken by the disappointment she must have felt at her plans falling apart around her!

What did Mary do when her plans unraveled in the blink of an eye, or more accurately, in the breath of an angel’s announcement?

She did not throw a tantrum, demand her way or hold onto her control…

SHE LET GO AND SHE LET GOD!

“Let it be to me according to your Word.”

Luke 1:38

What is our response to God when our plans are interrupted? Do we throw tantrums, stomp our feet, and get upset that things didn’t go our way? Do we pout, feel sorry for ourselves, or even worse, do we get angry and allow our emotions to rule the day? In this year, 2020, we’ve had lots of practice…little, if anything, has gone our way.

Our response should be like that of Marys. Lord God, let your plans be my plans, and not the other way around! 

Truth Bomb

God’s plans are always best even when our plans are interrupted!

Christmas is in just three days, we celebrate God’s GREATEST plan coming to live among us! Immanuel, God with us! I pray you are wrapped up warmly in His love this Christmas!

Speak Truth Love

A Beginning AND An End

~ lswaney5 ~ Leave a comment

You’ve heard the saying, “All good things must come to an end.” I hate that saying. I know hate is a harsh word, but with all my heart, I hate that saying. I have allowed that saying to ruin far too many wonderful experiences in my life. I have driven on a vacation trip when thoughts flood my mind, that soon I will be returning home. I have almost had a “deja vu” experience driving to see my grandkids thinking, “Oh no, before I know it I’ll be on the opposite side of the highway heading home, and my time with them will be over.”  I have headed into Disneyland ready for a great day of adventure, when the awful thought hits me, “Soon I’ll be walking the opposite way through this gate.”  Worst of all, I have wasted too many wonderful Christmas days, fearing it would be over, and I would have to wait a whole year for Christmas to come again. 

While it is true that all good things must come to an end, the end of something does not need to be tragic. Actually, the end can simply be the closure to wonderful memories, fantastic activities, and heartwarming times spent with those we love the most. 

It is day 14 in the countdown to Christmas. As I turned over the card for today’s countdown of Jesus’ names, it read “Alpha and Omega.”  I found myself with a catch in my throat as I tried to get the words out to thank my Savior for being both the Beginning, and the End!  Within these two words is held the tremendous truth that Jesus is actually EVERYTHING!

He is the beginning, He is everything in between, and He is the victorious end!  

In this year of uncertainty, doubts, fears, and what I quoted last night at our “Cocoa and Caroling” event at church, this is the “year to get dumped on.”  It has been trials with some triumphs, but certainly a beginning with no end in sight. Yes, there is a hope of a vaccine, but we still have the uncertainty of what it will accomplish, and if we will ever go outside again without a mask. Will we be able to experience gatherings where we are not fearful of being near to our neighbors? But in these words, “Alpha and Omega”, the end is very clear.  

In the last book of the Bible–the end of God’s word–Jesus said,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13

As we near the day when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, marking the beginning for man’s reconciliation with God, do not neglect to see the Truth and the power in Him not only being the beginning, but also being the end. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. My prayer from now to Christmas as I thank Jesus, for who He is, is to include thankfulness that He is not just the beginning of my story. He is also the end of my story. And as a matter of fact, He is there with me through every moment of my in between!  

TRUTH BOMB

Jesus is our beginning AND our end!

As we continue through each day of our lives, both with certainties and uncertainties, may we live confidently that the God who began a good work in us, will indeed carry that work to completion in our lives, until the very day Jesus returns!  

That, my friends, will be the perfect ending!

Speak Truth Love

WHAT’S IN A WORD?

~ lswaney5 ~ 2 Comments



On my BIG birthday, this is the sight I walked down the stairs to!

WORDS, written on snowflakes, simple pieces of paper with printed out messages.

At first glance it may have looked like a scene from one of our favorite Christmas movies.

Not the one that sings about snow, White Christmas, but the one where Buddy cuts out hundreds and hundreds of snowflakes and hangs them all over the place, Elf!

But, at closer examination, you could see each snowflake had been cut by hand and held a unique pattern all its own! They glistened as the light from the window landed on them and caused the silver gems on them to sparkle! As you stepped even closer you saw THE WORDS!

What’s in a WORD? 

Appreciation, gratitude, loyalty, laughter, memories, joy, commitment, passion, enthusiasm, friendship, sisterhood, family, kindness, generosity, inspiration, blessings, faith and most of all LOVE! 

These WORDS and more jumped off of these snowflakes and into my heart and soul forever!

“Gracious WORDS are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Proverbs 16:24

TRUTH BOMB

OUR WORDS HAVE THE POWER TO HEAL WHEN THEY ARE GRACIOUS AND WISELY CHOSEN!

If our WORDS can hold so much power, is it no wonder that JESUS CHRIST is THE WORD!

“And The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and Truth.”  John 1:14

Our WORDS matter as we reflect THE WORD, Jesus Christ, with the WORDS we say and the lives we live!  

I was inspired by the Words on my snowflakes to give this same gift to my Savior on His Birthday!

I hung a string on my staircase banister, and found printed cards online with numbers 1 – 25 on them, and a unique name of Jesus on the back. For seven days now I have read each name and thanked God for the way He has blessed my life with that attribute.

Day 1, was THE WORD!  

My WORDS to God on Day 1, “Thank you God that you are THE WORD! Thank you that Jesus Christ has been and always will be THE WORD! Thank you that His WORDS are TRUTH! Thank you that you have given your Son, Jesus, to the world and I have Him as my Lord and Savior!”

“In the beginning was THE WORD, and THE WORD was with God, and THE WORD was GOD.”  John 1:1

THANK YOU JESUS!

THE WORD! Jesus Christ is THE WORD, the WORD of God, sent to Earth in human flesh. He walked, talked, slept, ate, listened, got hungry, got tired, felt, understood and lived on this earth just like I do! Just like you do!

As we are one week closer to the birthday of Jesus, I pray we will continue to use our WORDS to show THE WORD our love, gratitude, and appreciation for who He is!

I love and appreciate and pray for all of you! 

I want to use my WORDS to tell you so!

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU ANTICIPATE HIS BIRTHDAY!

Speak Truth Love 

PRESENTS!

~ lswaney5 ~ 1 Comment

Today is the first day of December! It’s the mark on the calendar that puts the thrill of receiving PRESENTS into us, and the chill of giving PRESENTS into us!

The second the calendar flips from November 30, to December 1, our minds are flooded with thoughts of what we will receive and what we will give! It is “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” afterall, and PRESENTS are a big part of the reason why!

I would love to take a survey sometime and discover just how much time, let alone money, we spend on finding, selecting, and purchasing gifts for Christmas. We have already been bombarded with “Black Friday” deals that have gone from one day of the year to an entire month! Cyber Monday hits us on the Monday after Black Friday and the overload of what to buy and how much to “save” or spend on it has caused us to spiral into a frenzy of overload!

I am not suggesting that we not buy gifts, and I truly love receiving gifts as much or more than anyone. I love finding just the perfect gift for someone and I love getting it at a discounted price.  

The theme of PRESENTS comes to me from a much different place this year.

I have a really BIG birthday this week! For the past year I have not looked forward to celebrating it. Actually quite the opposite! I would have been very happy to just let it slip right on by with no acknowledgement or celebration and with no PRESENTS at all.

I am not being a martor, and If you think I am kidding or exaggerating, you do not know me!

I would have been very happy to go to bed on December 4, and wake up on December 6!

I am going to be bluntly honest with you, not that I am ever anything but, and tell you about my year! I did not find myself as overly concerned with COVID, Social Unrest, or the Presidential Election, as I did with turning 60! I have done almost everything this year to try and prepare for it…healthy eating plans, keeping up with exercise routines, taking care of my skin, taking care of my hair, reading more to keep my mind sharp, taking vitamins and supplements etc…etc…etc…

Now all of this is great and I believe God wants us to take care of the temples He gave us, but guess what all of this could not do? It could not stop me from turning 60!

My focus had to change and I had to do what was the most important thing of all to turn 60, put myself in God’s hands and realize that turning 60 is a PRESENT and a gift in and of itself!

Every day is a gift from God. Every year we have the opportunity to look at the next year, learn from what we went through and grow to be stronger and flourish more.  

As I came to this resolve in the month of November, God affirmed my choice and gifted me with the best PRESENTS that cost the givers no money at all! They could not be bought on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. They could not be found at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale or Macy’s Holiday Gift Guide!.

On my 60th Birthday, the most precious gifts I received were WORDS and TIME!

The TIME those I love and do life with, spent on me to write WORDS to me about me!

The morning of my Birthday Celebration I woke up to walls covered in exquisite snowflakes! One of my favorite things in the world is snow and snowflakes! Yes, I am one of those…A cold weather person! I cannot wait until the mornings turn frosty and cold, and you cannot step outside without mittens and scarves! I love walking in the frosty air where you can see your breath in front of you! I love bundling up in every kind of winter sweater and I am convinced that UGGS were created just for me! My favorite place to be is on a ski slope blanketed in pure white snow! And nothing brings a smile to my face faster than watching snowflakes fall gracefully and uniquely to the ground! 

I LOVE SNOW!

My LOVE Language is WORDS OF AFFIRMATION!  When I realized that each unique and beautifully hand cut snowflake hanging on my walls were covered with Words to me from those I love, I realized that I had received PRESENTS on my 60th Birthday that would become priceless treasures!

These are truly priceless PRESENTS that will never tarnish or fade. They will never go out of style, never break and need to be replaced. I will hold onto them for however many birthdays God gives me! They will stay in my heart and mind forever and I will remember them and hold them dear!

Proverbs 16:24

“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

God taught me a lot on the Big Birthday of mine! He taught me to hold every day He gives me life as an opportunity to flourish and make a difference for Him! He taught me to take none of the days He gives me for granted or to wish them away! He taught me that aging gracefully is possible as long as I trust in and rely on Him to define beauty and worth and not the world around me! And more than anything else, He taught me that PRESENTS are to be given and received and the price does not determine their worth!

So, on this first day of December as we enter into the Christmas season when God gave the GREATEST PRESENT we will ever receive, His Son Jesus Christ, I want to give back to Him!

I want to give PRESENTS to Jesus on His Birthday, like the ones I received on my Birthday! I want to give Him my TIME and my WORDS!

I have decided to make an ADVENT CALENDAR of TIME and WORDS to my Savior this December. Spending time with Him each day and telling Him what He means to me, as I count down to His Birthday Celebration! I am going to write them on cards and number them 1 – 25. Each day of December I will hang them in my house as I offer up my PRESENTS of TIME and WORDS to the One who is my greatest PRESENT of ALL!

TRUTH BOMB

OUR TIME AND OUR WORDS CAN BE THE GREATEST PRESENTS WE GIVE!

My Blog posts for the next three weeks of December leading up to Christmas will be on this theme. Will you join me in GIVING PRESENTS TO JESUS THIS CHRISTMAS? 

It will cost us nothing but TIME AND WORDS, but it will be priceless and precious.

HAPPY DECEMBER EVERYONE!
LET’S GET GIVING!

Speak Truth Love

Happy Thanksgiving!

~ lswaney5 ~ 1 Comment

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.”  Psalm 107:1 

Whether truth is masked, manipulated, distorted, or tainted, it is still the truth. Truth is not relative. Truth in and of itself, at its essence, is fact. It does not depend on someone agreeing with it, or liking it. Truth does not depend on someone getting their way. Truth is truth. Truth does not depend on someone even liking it or not. Truth is truth!

The Word of God is Truth, with a capital “T.” We are celebrating this week a day set aside once a year in our country to give thanks to God.  Despite contradictions to the truth, this day was originally deemed a holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864, to allow the American people to pause and reflect and give thanks for the blessings God has given. This year has been dubbed the year that needs a do-over. The year 2020 has been wrought with one struggle and frustration after another! Yet, the Truth remains. We have more to be thankful for than most, and less to complain about. At times like this, when to quote my granddaughter, “The struggle is real,” I find my mind reflecting on the simple truths taught to me by my grandma. When times are tough, and you feel discouraged, disappointed or beat up, remember to “count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done!” God’s word of Truth promises us that He is faithful. We give thanks to him because He is good, and His faithfulness remains forever!

TRUTH BOMB

God’s faithfulness is not dependent on our gratitude!

This Thanksgiving, as you sit down to gobble up your turkey, and chow down on that delicious pumpkin pie, instead of complaining about the year that needs a do-over, I hope you will, along with me, count your many blessings, and truly see what God has done! God is faithful, my friends. His word is Truth. We have more to be thankful for than to complain about!

Happy Day of Giving Thanks!

Speak Truth Love

Who do you trust when you don’t know who to trust?

~ lswaney5 ~ 1 Comment

In this world we’re living in right now it almost feels like we can’t trust anyone!

We are told that numbers are down and things are opening up. Then the next day were told numbers are up and everything is shutting back down! We are told the system is just and people are honest. Then we turn on one television station and hear one report. And yet we turn on another television station and hear an opposite report!

We make a new friend at school. She says we will be friends forever! She calls us her BFF! We exchange necklaces, 1/2 of the heart for her, 1/2 of the heart for us. And then, a cuter, more interesting, prettier and more popular girl moves into school. And our friend has changed sides and is no longer our friend.

We have a business partner who says he is committed, then pulls out of the deal and takes his clients with him. We have an employer who promises us the promotion, but gives it to someone else.

We have a parent who makes us feel like the queen of all the world! Who tells us we are beautiful, strong and can do anything we put our mind to. They tell us that nothing or no one can stop us from accomplishing our dreams! They tell us “Can’t died in the poor house. You CAN do anything you set your mind to! Nothing is impossible for you.”

You believe them! You put your trust in them! Then one day they walk out your front door and crush all your dreams and aspirations with the slamming of a door!

I was sixteen years old when I learned who I could trust when I did not know who to trust! The voice of God spoke clearly, softly and comfortingly to a shattered teenager lying in a pool of her own tears on her closet floor!

Hebrews 13:5

“I Am Your Heavenly Father! I Will Never Leave You!”

I learned that day who I could trust when I did not know who to trust!

My Heavenly Father!

I had a choice to make that day. I could trust Him even though so many others I had put my trust in failed me. I could pick myself up off that floor and trust in my Heavenly Father to keep His Word! 

Or, I could stay on that floor, crushed by those who had broken my trust over and over again. 

That day, I got up! I put my Trust in the only one who is Trustworthy!

My Heavenly Father has never left me, no matter what! Through the good times, the bad times, the doubtful times, and even the times when I have let Him down! 

My Heavenly Father  has stayed true to His Word!

When My Heavenly Father speaks to me it’s not in an audible voice. Although I am sure He speaks that way to some. When He speaks to me I hear it clearly, my soul is flooded with a peace that is unexplainable, I know it is Him! He never says anything contrary to His Word of Truth!

Hebrews 13:5

“…I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is The Lord Your God who goes with you.” HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU.”

Who do we trust when we don’t know who to trust? Our Heavenly Father, that’s who! He is Trustworthy! He will never leave us when someone better comes along! He will never walk away and slam the door! He will never promise one thing and do another! 

TRUTH BOMB

TRUST IN THE ONLY ONE WHO IS TRUSTWORTHY, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!

He is now and forever will be our TRUSTWORTHY Heavenly Father!

When you do not know who to trust or which way to go, trust in your Heavenly Father, the Lord your God!

“Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Speak Truth Love

WAKING UP EACH DAY

~ lswaney5 ~ 1 Comment

Last week I posed the question, “How are you going to wake up the day after the election?”

Little did I know THAT DAY would go on and on and on and on… It feels like that day may never come to an end! I have seen, like I know you have, posts, comments and commentary on both sides positive and negative. So, I ask you a new question, one I have been asking myself for the last seven days…

“HOW DO YOU WAKE UP EACH DAY?”

Friends, I know this question is easy to answer on some days and very difficult to answer on others! We have ailments, aches and pains that cause physical suffering and can make it hard to get out of bed. We have heart aches that hurt worse than physical pain. We have worries, fears and anxieties that debilitate. But greater, Oh so much greater than all we go through, is the strength, power and grace of Jesus Christ!

He calls us to get up each day and consider it a gift! To realize that as long as we have breath in our lungs we have the ability to display love instead of hate, joy instead of despair, and hope instead of discouragement!

We are called to not take a stand for a cause or become a platform for anything other than the cause of JESUS CHRIST! And that cause and that cause alone should determine the way we wake up each and every morning!

“This is the day The Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:24

TRUTH BOMB

OUR DAY IS NOT DETERMINED BY ANY CANDIDATE IN OFFICE BUT BY THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST ALONE!

The answer to the question we all must ask ourselves is this…The way I wake up every morning is determined by who I put my trust in!

I chose to put my trust in Jesus Christ alone!  He is the hope of the world and He is the answer to every problem the world faces.

I chose to display His Love and not to hate those in opposition to me!

I chose to wake up each morning and say, “This is the day the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!”

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

I am praying for the faith and strength to choose Him each and every day. I am praying for His power to love like He loves, for He loves those who agree with Him and those who do not!

Speak Truth Love

WAKING UP THE DAY AFTER

~ lswaney5 ~ 1 Comment

Today I wake up thankful and hopeful because I have freedom! I have freedom to listen and to learn. I have freedom to research and study. I have freedom to take any book I select off of a shelf or pull it up online and read it. I have freedom to turn to any channel of my choosing and watch or listen to any pod cast of my choice. I have freedom today, Election Day 2020, to vote for anyone or any policy that I deem best!

I live in America, land of the FREE and home of the brave.

If you live in the United States of America, then like me, you are free to vote!

I hope that you will exercise your freedom and vote. It is a privilege that many others around the world do not freely possess.

Because the Truth about FREEDOM is…

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE! Someone paid the price to gain that freedom. Many brave men and women have fought and continue to fight, for our freedom in the USA! Because of their sacrifice, I live in a country where I can vote. For that freedom and privilege I am so thankful!

My challenge for myself and you today, is not weather or not you will exercise this freedom and vote, but instead, it is the question of, how will we wake up on the morning after the votes are counted and the results decided?

This to me is the biggest challenge we face! This to me, is when my true character is revealed.

I have a FREEDOM that is greater than my national freedom!

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32

I am a Christian. I am a Christ follower! My life is eternally FREE, regardless of the number of days I have on this earth or in this nation! My freedom was bought with the highest price of all. My Savior, Jesus Christ, paid the price for sins, with His very own life. I am free, because Jesus Christ sacrificed His perfect life for my sinful one!

I am not a Christian because I live in the United States of America. I am FREE because Jesus Christ has set me FREE!

If that is true, then the way I wake up after Election Day is EVERYTHING! 

If I have prayed, and God’s Word tells me to…

“AND PRAY IN THE SPIRIT ON ALL OCCASIONS WITH ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS AND REQUESTS.” EPHESIANS 6:18

Then I am to trust…

“YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE THOSE WHOSE MINDS ARE STEADFAST, BECAUSE THEY TRUST IN YOU.” ISAIAH 26:3

The way I wake up the morning after the election is not based on my national freedom, but on my freedom in Jesus Christ!

GOD IS IN CONTROL. He is on the throne the day before the election, the day of the election, and the day after the election! 

How will you and I demonstrate the True Freedom we have the morning after? Regardless of our candidate winning or losing. Regardless of our policies passing of failing. Regardless of our national freedom, we are FREE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD!

Will we wake up on the morning after trusting in the very One who paid the price for our freedom?

The choice is up to us! 

I believe we have an amazing opportunity to show others love, kindness and forgiveness and demonstrate Trust and confidence in the only FREEDOM that will last forever eternity.

TRUTH BOMB

The morning after gives us the opportunity to show others love and kindness, and trust in God!

We are Christians first and foremost friends. We have a Nation watching and waiting to see how we will wake up the morning after!

Speak Truth Love

So Help Me God

~ lswaney5 ~ 2 Comments

Adversity! That is not a fun word to hear! Most of us do not run toward adversity. It is not some thing that we hope to wake up in the morning and face! It is actually something most of us try very hard to avoid. But avoid or not, adversity finds us!

So the question becomes…What do we do in the face of adversity?

I love Hero stories! Sure, the superhero kind are fun to watch. But I am talking about the true, real life, regular human being, hero stories! I eat them up! I can’t get enough of them! They are in the books that I love to read. They are in the movies that I love to watch. And they are throughout the pages of the Bible I cherish.  Every hero story, ancient, past or present, all have one thing in common…the hero faced adversity! 

Most of the time they were doing something with their life that made someone else take notice. Eventually, they were faced with adversity that would challenge them to hold fast to their beliefs and values, or shrink back, compromise or flee.  

The reason I love Hero Stories is because every time the hero musters all the courage they have and stands their ground in the face of adversity, no matter how great!

Their courage gives me courage!

Recently, I have been encouraged by a woman who has stood her ground in the face of adversity! 

Today was a great day in history for Christian Woman. A strong woman who is willing to stand up for her values in the face of criticism, attacks, unjust slander, differing opinions, and not cower in fear or desire public approval, won the day. Judge Amy Coney Barrett became supreme court associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. 

In a world where it is becoming increasingly unpopular to take a stand for your Judeo Christian beliefs and constitutional values, she stood her ground as a strong, intelligent, accomplished woman and took her place as a member of one of the highest, most responsible positions in the country!

Isaiah 33:22

“For the Lord is our judge;  the Lord is our lawgiver; The Lord is our king; he will save us.”

Legislative, Executive, Judicial!

The system we all live under and have liberties and freedom within, was founded on this verse in Isaiah. 

As Christ followers our days of adversity are not over! Paul tells us to fight the good fight for the faith. Are we willing to stand up in the face of adversity when it depends on us? Will  we stand our ground firm for righteousness, Truth and justice?

The final words Justice Barrett said as she raised her hand and pledged her allegiance was…

SO HELP ME GOD!

Those need to be our words also! In the face of adversity it is only God who can help us stand firm and be the hero He’s called us to be!

I take heart and my courage grows when I witness people like Justice Barrett. I also am encouraged when I study the heroes throughout the pages of God’s word! This is where I find my hope and my courage! Will you meet me back here the next couple of weeks as we look at the heroes in the pages of God’s Word? 

Friends, I believe God is calling all of us to be His Heroes. Through the encouragement we gain from the heroes who have gone before us combined with the strength and power we get freely from God, we too can stand firm in the face of adversity!

TRUTH BOMB

With God’s help we can stand firm in the face of adversity!

Speak Truth Love