It's Christmas Y'all...

Christmas time has to be one of my most favorite holidays ever, just after Thanksgiving.

Homes get all decked out in their finest decorations, people get sentimental over special ornaments, and ordinary places get a little bit cozier than usual.

I love decorating my tree- it stands as a ‘trophy’ of my Christmas-y abilities and I proudly display it for all to see.  My second pride and joy is my village that my mom adds to every year. 

I love to see the unique kindness and gentleness that we tend to show each other during this time of year.  Society deems this as the season of giving.

There’s some truth to that.  This is the season of giving- it’s when the ultimate gift was given to the world.  Jesus.

Let’s talk about Christmas Carols for a minute- most of us know them all, and probably a few of us know all the verses to our favorites.  Have we ever taken the time to really listen to the lyrics?  I mean, like, really think about what they’re really saying?

“Hark the Harold Angels Sing” is one that comes to mind immediately- it literally talks about how the angels in Heaven rejoiced at the birth of the King.

“Silent Night” speaks of the humbleness that the King of the world was born into.

“Little Drummer Boy” talks about a young boy who has come to see the King of Kings the only thing of real value that he possesses, his raw talent.  This young man recognizes that this is no ordinary baby, the humble position that he finds himself in, and desperately wants to show his adoration in the best way that he knows how.

I’ll be honest, until the other day when I saw the video posted below, I never gave much thought to that song and it wasn’t one of my favorites.  I see it differently now and it speaks powerfully to me.

Christmas is a difficult season for me now that I’m divorced and find myself without a family of my own.  I usually get pretty depressed and tend to dwell on the thoughts of how things ‘used to be’ when I was married.  We, (my ex-husband and his girls) would spend hours decorating our beautiful tree and watching Shrek  and listening to the Shrek Christmas CD and laughing and all getting along.  It was so precious to me.  Up until I left, we did it every year and I treasured that time together.

Now, I put my tree up myself and it’s just not the same.  There’s a certain amount of emptiness that comes with doing that.  Even if I have help, it’s an emptiness that only a family of my own can fulfill.

So, that being said, this year I asked the Father to help me by giving me a different outlook, help me to see this holiday in a different way.  I’m so grateful I did.

I heard “The Little Drummer Boy” in a new way and it spawned the whole Christmas Carol thought process.  It took me back to that miraculous night, where my Savior was brought into this world to a young woman who found favor with the God of the Universe.

You see, there were people that God sent angelic messengers to that believed this was the Messiah, knew that this was the Savior and Redeemer that was sent to save the World.

Wise men, royalty, shepherds, came to bring a baby- the King of Kings, their most treasured belongings as gifts, and bow before Him.  See, they knew He wasn’t just a baby, I firmly believe they recognized exactly who He was.

Can you imagine going before the One who was promised to save the world?  To save you?  To be close enough to Him that you could see the fleshy tones in His skin, to see Him smile for the first time?  Can you imagine what it was like to literally kneel before the One who would change the course of history forever?  Can you imagine?

I challenge you as you decorate your homes, cook that magnificent Christmas feast, snuggle in on snowy/icy days with your loved ones (even if those loved ones are furry), and send out Christmas cards to those you love; to ask the Father to help you really see this holiday for what He intended it to be.  Ask Him to reveal just a little more of His heart to you.  My prayer for you is that you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was when I asked.

I pray that you’re blessed beyond measure this holiday season and that you are blessed with new revelation of just how much the God of the Universe loves you; after all, He did send His most treasured gift to you, because He delighted in you, even before the foundations of the earth were laid.

From my heart to yours, Merry Christmas!!
 

Blessin’s Y’all!

Pamela

 

Running For My Life...

If someone wants to do this for me in the mornings, that'd be great...

**One thing I'm known for in my blog is my transparency; when it comes to spiritual things, it's pretty easy for me to show you my heart, even the ugly parts because I firmly believe that relation is the best tool of encouragement and ministry.  However, when it comes the physical stuff, well, that's a little more difficult for me, mostly because it's a hot-button issue for me.  My prayer is that through sharing this 3 things happen:
1) I stay motivated and held accountable for this new endeavor of getting healthy and fit
2) You're encouraged that you're not the only one that has ever felt this way about yourself
3) We all get to experience what happens when you trust God with the 'impossible'
Your thoughts of encouragement are always welcomed and I'm going to do my best to stick with this project and bring the funny!**

So I've decided that I'm tired of being fat.  Say what you want to about me being beautiful (duh) but let's face it, I've let myself go- in a huge way.  When the biggest clothes I've ever worn in my life are too small, we have a serious problem, and it's time to get drastic.
I've started the infamous 'Couch to 5K' program because I thought it'd be the easiest way to get into without dying.
I was wrong.
See, I have this problem.  I used to be an avid runner.  I ran every day- at least a mile (which was rare), rain, snow, sleet, or hail, me and that postman were out running.  I loved it- it came fairly easy, and it was therapeutic.
That was 80lbs and 16 years ago.
Yeah, that's like a whole person.  Talk about humbling and a little humiliating.  I think for some reason, I believed that it wouldn't be as torturous as it actually is because I did it so well before.
Yeah, even that skinny girl back then would've struggled carrying a full size (albeit unhealthy tiny) adult on her back.
With every step on the pavement, I feel every single pound.  Over and over.  Yet, as much of a struggle as it is, I'm motivated. 
I'm motivated because I don't want to be this way and I don't want it to be a struggle.
I want to be able to run the whole minute, every time it comes around instead of having to walk the last few intervals because I feel like I might die.

I run in my neighborhood, in the early mornings, while it's still dark out.  One street in particular is covered in trees- normally, during the day, it's nice and relaxing, in the dark, it's a fun-house full of spiders.  You know you're in bad shape when you actually don't care if spiders jump on you (they'd slide right off and probably drown from all the sweat anyway).  Did I mention that I have a paralyzing fear of spiders?

Running also used to be my 'quiet time' with the Lord. I used to spend that time sorting out the struggles I was facing that day.
My prayers are now fairly simple and go something like this:
Start of warm-up:
"Father, thank you for this day and the ability to drag my butt out of bed and do this!  I just love being out here alone with nothing but me and you."

After first interval of running...
"Father, thank you for helping me do that- it's a little painful, but thank you that I have the breath to do this!"

After the first 10 minutes of intervals (running/walking)...
"Oh *gasp* My *gasp* God! *pant, wheeze, pant, gasp* Please don't let me die out here, *deep breath* I'm so sorry *wheeze* for all the stupid crap *pant* I've ever done.  If you let me live, I'll do less stupid crap."

5 minutes later...
"*ragged breath* When I die, *pant* please let it be in *wheeze, gasp* front of someone's house *pant, struggle for breath* that's already awake. *dry-heave* Lord, they're not going *gasp* to find me for *gasp* another hour!  Please help *almost run into parked car, don't care* me not die... *intense revelation* I think I'm having a heart attack *clutching chest and gasping* and my leg is probably *pant/wheeze* broken.  Please send someone *pleading and gasping* that knows CPR my way..."

At the end...
"Well, Father, I'm home now and I didn't die.  Thanks."

Oh believe me, I was grateful, I just didn't have the energy to really express my thanks properly.
I'm so excited that I didn't die that I'm doing it again tomorrow.
Anyone that's available is welcome to camp out along my route and cheer me on or give me life-saving CPR when necessary.

I'm pretty sure this is how I look when I'm

running...but hey, at least I'm doing it!

Next time, I'll tell y'all about the homeless guy that I crossed paths with...

Blessin's y'all!

~Pamela

Ecard found here

Dog picture found here

So, Come Here Often?

I'm the one in the back with the glasses and hot stud!

 

No, thank God, I don’t.

And no, I’m not at the DMV.  I’m at a country and western dancing class at TWU with my “friend” Sandy.  We’ll see if she’s still my “friend” when these 8 weeks are over.

I tease, she’s alright and we did have fun.

She’s in this phase of life where she wants to try new things and meet new people and let’s be honest here, I’m SO NOT.

I’m pretty sure I’d been drinking when she proposed this idea of going to this class and I agreed to try it.  I think.  Or maybe I was just distracted.

Last night was our first class and I should’ve started drinking before leaving the house. 

See, we had this big plan of leaving early so we wouldn’t make a grand entrance.  It didn’t quite work out that way.  Oh, we left early, but we still made an entrance. 

We went to the wrong building.  Twice.

By the time we finally ended up where we were supposed to be, we were nice and sweaty, I mean, glowing with excitement to be there.

We walk into a room full of…couples!  Like boys and girls all posed neatly in a circle waiting to start dancing. 

Then we come busting into class, all two girls all dressed up and no boys to dance with.

Cause this wasn’t supposed to be a ‘couples’ class.

So, instead of being all depressed and single, we danced with each other, taking turns being the boy.

Now, get your minds out of the gutter, it wasn’t gross (mostly) but it was sweaty.

Sandy couldn’t figure out that the boys hands always go on top and she kept asking me not the fling her across the room for some reason.

I think the instructor got irritated a time or two because we kept laughing hysterically.  I’m also pretty sure that the other couples were somewhat annoyed- psh, like we’re supposed to take this all serious and junk?!  Please!

HELLO?!!!  We’ll be dancing at BARS… not like at a Catholic Mass or anything…

Anyway, I’m sure there will be much funni-ness that comes out of this new adventure that I find myself in.  Just the fact that I’m dancing… in a classroom… probably with a girl for the rest of my days… will have to bring some hilariousness.

I love my comfort zone- and I hate to brag, whatever, I love to brag, it’s pretty awesome up in Pamela’s comfort zone- but it’s healthy to be pushed from it occasionally.

I admire my friends that just seem fearless and anxious to try new things all the time when I dread it.

Oh yes, I’m sure there’s some deeper wounds going on there on my part, but still, it’s just not my nature to enjoy any kind of change in my world.

Lately though, I’ve been in sort of a rut and this was a good opportunity to change that.
Thank you, Sandy for helping me stretch and grow a little.

We’re still friends, for the moment. ;)

I can’t make any promises until after next week’s class.

Blessin’s y’all!

 

Pamela

Picture found here.

 

Where's Waldo? I Mean, Mr. Right?

He rescued me because He delights in me… Psalm 18:19

Today, I’m having a tough day being single.

It might sound foolish to some- and those some would be ones that are probably not single, but for those of us who have been single for a significant period of time (and a couple of months does not count here), you probably know exactly what I mean.

Some days being single are a breeze, even a preferred way of living, and other days, it’s just a drag.  Some days, you just long for companionship.  You just long to not come home to an empty house and no one to kiss goodnight.  Sometimes, you just want someone to eat dinner with and watch crappy TV.

Every day is not like this for me, today just happens to suck a little bit.  These days tend to come whenever I have some catastrophe at home, like right now, my a/c is out in the living room.  It would be nice to have someone else to suffer with ;) and to have to deal with the fiasco of repair people and the landlord so the burden doesn’t fall on just me.

Have you ever felt that way?

I want to tell you something about myself, because if you don’t know me, and you don’t know my heart, you’re starting to have thoughts like the following about me:

·         The right one will come along, you won’t be single forever, you just have to find him.  (The last I checked, he wasn’t hiding in the bushes or at Wal-Mart and if he’s a missing person, then we should really call someone about that.)

·         Maybe you’re meant to be alone (Maybe so, but man, that stings a little!  Is it really necessary to say this at all?)

·         This too shall pass (one of my favorites, so vague it could take on many meanings)

·         At least you don’t have any drama (uh, excuse me, no a/c in 100 degree heat creates drama!)

·         You don’t have to share the remote control! (Hello, I don’t share it otherwise)

·         You can eat out every night if you want to! (Right because take out all the time is awesome and cheap)

·         Remember how miserable you were in your marriage?  Do you really want to re-live that? (This one was stated to me recently and I honestly couldn’t think of a not smart-eleck-y way to respond to this.  God has promised me a healthy, happy, and God-centered marriage.  They’re not all bad!)

·         At least you have two precious puppies who love you and are excited when you come home every day! (My dogs freakin’ rock and they’re beyond adorable, but let’s be honest here- if you think dogs equate your God-Custom-Made husband, you’re delusional and have bigger issues than you are admitting.)

·         Just be patient, it’s all in God’s timing.  He knows what’s best. (Yes, He absolutely does, but it’s still okay for me to feel a little sad that that moment isn’t now.)

Here is something really important to know about me:

I absolutely, recklessly trust my Father to bring my husband into my life.

I know that my husband is out there, and God knows exactly where he is (he’s not a missing person or Waldo) and His timing is perfect.  I also know that I’m a human being, with human emotions, and it’s only natural that we’ll feel a little lonely from time to time.

It’s not an everyday feeling and for that I’m grateful.  I can see how it would become and obsession, and at one point in my life, it was- I was on a mission to find a husband.

A husband.  Not the husband.  Not the one that God created just for me.

So I’m a little lonely these days- I have an ex that’s getting married soon and several others that are settled in satisfying relationships.  Know what?  I’m exceptionally happy for them!  I’m not jealous at all, maybe a little sad that I’m not also getting married or expecting any children soon, but certainly really excited for them.

Like I said, I’m human, and that’s my soul talking.  (Note: Your soul is actually your mind, will, and emotions)  I will not be run by my emotions.

Something else you need to know about me:

I absolutely, recklessly trust my Father with my life.

I trust Him in every area of my life.  When I choose to, I can be in His presence any time.  I don’t want or need a husband to satisfy my loneliness.

I have a Heavenly Father who cares for my every need and want.  He delights in me.  He longs for me to be in His presence and He is completely fulfilling to me.

I trust that my Father only wants good things for me.

I know that my God is for me, not against me.  I know that it hurts His heart when mine is broken.  I love my Father and I know that this time that I have on my hands right now, is completely His time.  Not to say that will completely change once I am with my husband and family, but it will some.  There are only so many hours in a day and so many demands that a family brings- my relationship with my Father will not diminish, but the amount of time that I’ll have available to spend with Him will change.

I guess you could say that I have a love/hate relationship with singleness right now.  I love that I have so many opportunities to share infinite and unique love for me; I love that I have time to take advantage of those.

I’m grateful that I don’t have the distractions that a family can sometimes bring- I have the attention abilities to actually plan out times when I speak at events. 

I’m grateful that I have friends that I can spend time with if I want to and that they will point me to spending time in my Father’s presence when I’ve had enough of feeling this way.

I am not looking for a man to make me happy- Jesus has already done that.  But having someone to take me to dinner and a movie and mow the yard once in a while would be great.

To sum up, I’m not unhappy being single but it has it’s downfalls.  I know that God has my very best interest at heart.

I also know that if one more person quotes Jeremiah 29:11 to me, I might actually scream.

Blessin’s y’all!

~Pamela

 

Where's Your Focus?

Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.

 Philippians 4:8 (HCSB)

What takes your focus away from the Father?
I'll be honest, I really believed that my whole focus was on God- I mean, I adore Him and love Him with my whole being and I truly only want to go where He takes me.  I only want to hear His voice and I only want to do His will for me.
However...
There are still things that pull my focus away from Him and back onto myself.  They're subtle and we all do it at some point or another.
Here's some things that I personally allow to deter my focus:

• The way I look at my own body.  Ugh, this is a tough one and I believe that many women struggle with this.  There are days that I flat out hate my body and the way I look.  I end up pouring all my attention into self-loathing rather than focusing on His purpose for my body.
• My own thoughts- like anyone else, my thoughts race, constantly.  I always dream because my brain never just shuts down.  I have more thoughts in a day than I feel like I can control.  The truth is, I can control them, and I don't have to let them walk all over me.  I need to practice 'capturing' my thoughts more often. 
• Money. This is another tough one- when an unexpected bill shows up, or even when I have a little extra money coming my way, I still tend to obsess and worry about it. 

What are some things that pull your focus? 

• Maybe you have a sick child (I have several friends that are dealing with this right now) that you're more focused on than the Father.
• Maybe you and your spouse aren't getting along lately
• Maybe you're in a rut
• Maybe you're lonely
• Maybe you're stressed out at work
• Maybe your kids are demanding your attention
• Maybe you're working so hard to control every little detail of your life and everyone in it just to keep it from 'spinning out of control'
• Maybe you're wondering how much more you can handle

My point is that we shouldn't allow anything to pull our focus from God.  After all, He's everything and everywhere, in every situation, in every circumstance and He holds you and your circumstances in the palm of His hand.
He knows all the balls you have in the air, kids, work, finances, and He's already got it worked out, He's just waiting for you to just trust Him.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
and the Lord answered me and set me free.

Psalm 118:5

A pretty common lie from the enemy is that God won't put more on us than we can handle.  Folks, that's a HUGE lie- no where in the Word does God tell us to carry all the burden we can and then cast the 'rest' of our cares on Him.  No, it says to cast ALL your cares on Him and HE will give us rest.  (1 Peter 5:7)
God doesn't want to test you and see how much you can deal with; He doesn't continue to give you more junk to handle- that's not His goal. 
In fact, He wants you to stop trying to handle it all and trust Him to take care of it.  He wants to release you from the responsibility of trying to take care of everything and the hurtful feeling of failure when you just can't. 
See, when we put our trust in Him and focus our thoughts towards Him, He takes care of everything, even when we don't see anything happening. 
We're completely off the hook.
So, the next time you're bombarded with things that are demanding your attention and pulling your focus away from God, stop, and take that moment to just say, "I trust you, Father." 
It helps keep your focus where it should be.  You're re-directing your thoughts from what you can't control to someone who can. 
The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) - if he can steal your joy and your kill your ability to trust God, he will destroy you.  Jesus came so that we'd have life more abundantly.
Put your attention and trust where it belongs- on the only One who can handle and change your life.
Sit back, trust Him and just watch and see what He does.  He only wants good things for you- no matter what your circumstances may look like.

For the Lord delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.

Psalm 149:4

Be blessed!!!
~Pamela

www.ACreativeWord.com
Pamela@acreativeword.com



 

 



An Old Post About Zumba...

A good friend of mine asked for me to re-post it.  I'll be honest, it has a couple of cuss words in it, so if you think you might get offended, maybe you shouldn't read it.
I will say this though: it's pretty dang funny.  This one's for you, Alicia!
Happy reading!

Published 2/22/12
Whatever you do, keep moving…or they’ll run your ass over!
Tonight was my very first experience with Zumba. I survived. That’s important. And believe me when I say it was touch and go there for a while... ;)
Here’s a quick recap of the evening…


The Cake…


• I’m going to kill my "friend" Pam. She’s the one that suckered me into going in the first place.


• This particular Zumba class is located in the mall. It costs Pam (not me) $5 each to get in and be tortured. With music.


• I was a nervous wreck. Like to the point of shaking because I hate trying new stuff like this in front of folks. Especially folks I don’t know.


• Once things got started, it wasn’t so bad. And by ‘wasn’t so bad’, I mean, crap started happening so fast I didn’t have too much time to freak out.


• It was fun. I will admit that it was fun- at times.


• I almost kissed a complete stranger as we were twirling about or stumbling around like a drunken idiot, depending on your personal perspective.


• Twice I fell into the wall.


• A third time, on purpose- because it was cold.


• At one point, I tried to convince my ex-husband that we needed to take salsa lessons ‘for fun’. I no longer feel that way.


• About halfway through the second song, I was pretty sure I was going to fall down. We still had 52 minutes left.


• Pam kept telling me what time it was.


• By song number 3, I thought I think I cracked a rib.


• By song number 6, I was pretty sure that I was actually having chest pains.


• By song number 8, I was positive that my lungs were about to explode.


• By song number 12, they were collapsing.


• Song number 13 brought the first Charlie horse of the evening. I look forward to many more throughout the night.


• By the time we got to the ‘cool down’ song, I thought I was going to die- and I couldn’t imagine how in the world I was going to make it to the truck. Much less drive home.


• The room reeked of sweat and some other funk by the time we were done with our hour- I’m not even going to pretend that I wasn’t ‘that thing you smell’.


• I had sweat in places I didn’t know you could sweat in. Those parts now hurt.


• The bottom of my feet hurt.


Now, for the icing…


• The tanning bed and I got a little too friendly yesterday. I’m sunburned.


• All. Over. My. Body.


• My sports bra has a little tag on the front that scrapes my skin every time I move.


• In Zumba, you move CONSTANTLY.


• So every time we were gyrating, I wanted to scream in agony.


• I did a couple of times. No one noticed.


• At one point, the lady that I almost made out with my accident, accidently hit my stomach (again, while twirling/stumbling about). I thought I was going to cry.


• Pam was going on after the class about how she couldn’t wait to get in to a hot shower. I almost hit her again because I couldn’t go home and take a hot shower.


• Ever taken a hot shower with a sunburn?? Ever taken a lukewarm shower with a sunburn?


• Firey needles is what that is.


• So yeah, when I finally summoned the strength to crawl into a lukewarm shower (I was scared to take a bath, mostly because I didn’t think I’d be able to get up and out and then Jenna or my mother would have to come ‘discover’ my sunburnt ass in the tub and no one wants that. No mother should have to see that). It was not a relief, it sucked.


• I took 5 Motrin and a melatonin and 9pm and was out cold by 10pm. It was an uneventful night to say the least.


• Until about 4am when I got a cramp in my foot. I started to call Pam.


• My arm hurt too bad to reach for the phone.


And here’s the cherry…


We’re doing it again next Tuesday night… Oh. My. Hell.

Picture found here.

Worry Much?

Did you realize that worry and trust actually go hand in hand? You can't have one without the lack of the other.

If you worry a lot, then you have little or no trust; if you trust a lot, then you have little or no worry.

Some would like to fool themselves and say that they're the 'middle of the road-ers'; well, the Word states that you are either one or the other.

Psalm 62:8 tells us to put all of our trust in God- if we do that, then we can't worry.

I think that worry is simply our fighting with our own lack of control.

I like control, but I've also learned that I don't really have control over anything in my life or my environment except myself.

There was a phase in my life where I fought to control everything in my life, everything in my environment and everyone in it. Needless to say, I failed miserably.

When you live a life of being controlling, you will constant battle a feeling of failure and frustration.

I'll be honest, I'm great at worrying. I can work myself up with the best of 'em!

Currently, I'm dealing with this in my life.

I mean, right this second, I'm battling worry and the stress of having little control.

Being a survivor of rape, I have this intense need to control my environment- in this case, I'm talking about my home.

My current landlord, is a jerk. He's inconsiderate, cheap, and kind of a bully. Did I mention he's a tad chauvinist in that he thinks he can intimidate young women using their own ignorance against them?

See, just this week, the Father blessed me with an opportunity that I hadn't even really been praying for but secretly really wanted. I currently live in an old duplex that is in bad condition (I do the best I can to make it nice) with a slummy landlord that quite frankly, doesn't give a damn. I wanted to live in my own house- I didn't care of it was a rent house, as long as the landlord was good to me. I'm an impeccable renter so I felt that I deserve to be respected and treated fairly by my landlord.

I was blessed with a house this week! I get to move in June 29th (because I walk in the Favor of my Father) and it just so happens to be right across the street from my current establishment. It's bigger, more up-to-date and I've known the landlord literally, all my life. God's pretty amazing that way.

I gave my notice on June 1st along with my last month's rent check. Man, it felt good! Unfortunately, that feeling was short-lived. Two days later, he starts texting me that he wants to show my house to potential renters. Uh, huh?

I knew that he had done that to my neighbors and he was pretty obnoxious about it and most of the time, he didn't give them notice, just showed up. That does not fly well with me at all, I don't like surprises and to be frank, I don't like surprise visitors at my house.

Well, he texted me about one appointment this morning- I reluctantly agreed and forced Daisy and Chester outside for the morning. I came home at lunch (like I always do) and let them back in and sat down with the remote with my lunch and some down time.

All of the sudden, there's a knock on the door- there he is with another potential renter. The dogs are going nuts and I end up putting them back outside while they peruse through my home.

I hate this.

Then, about 3pm, he texts me with: "I have someone that needs to see your house at 4pm".

This time, I was all, 'No. I can't get home to put the dogs up, I can be available at 6pm tonight.'

Nada.

No. Response. Whatsoever.

This stresses me out more than one can imagine. My co-worker has dogs that are her children and insisted that I go drive by my home and see if he ignored me (like he has in the past). Luckily, he didn't.

Still, this has kept me in knots all day long. Now, I'm concerned every time I leave my house that he's going to text me (or not) and just show up anyway.

To make matters worse, I have neighbors that are meth-addicts. I'm so not making this up- I live in a desirable, almost non-existent neighborhood and these new people move in.

Needless to say, they're having issues- domestic issues a couple of days ago, where I was tempted to call the police, and then last night- banging on the walls in the middle of the night, ripping me and the dogs from a dead sleep wondering what in the world was going on.

Between my neighbors, my landlord, and just the general stress of moving- my stomach is in knots and my hair is wearing thin.

Then, in the midst of my turmoil, I hear that still, small, voice say: "Do you trust Me?"...

Hhhhmmm, "Yes, but, You don't realize...." I can't even finish the statement because there's this resounding "Do you trust Me?" bouncing around in my spirit.

Ugh... If I ignore it, it will go away. Right? No. At least, not yet. I go on Pinterest to distract myself, what do I run across?? A picture with 5 "Trust Him" quotes on it.

Okay- fine, I'll stop trying to control my world and I'll, ugh, trust You.

What specifically do I need to trust Him with right in this moment?

· Wisdom (on responding to my neighbors and my landlord)

· Favor (that he'll realize this is huge invasion of my privacy and unacceptable; I'll get my deposit back with no worries, and just generally respect me and my space that I'm paying for and stop trying to show it beforehand)

· Instruction (What I should do if he doesn't do the above)

· Discernment (This applies mostly to mine and the dogs safety and general dealings with my neighbors)

· Peace (because, I need it. Badly. Right now.)

· Just that He's going to do what He said He'd do, which is HANDLE THIS SO I DON'T HAVE TO.

When am I ever going to really grab a hold of that knowledge?!

I find myself asking God to help me trust Him. I want to. I know it's in MY best interest to do so. I know that just getting alone in His presence is what will give me the peace that I am in desperate need of. So why do I fight it?

I hate the lack of control. Thankfully, that's an area that the Father is healing me in every day. I'm learning to let go and just let Him handle it. I'm not totally there yet, but I'm getting closer and closer every day.

If you're still with me- and I wouldn't blame you for jumping ship a few paragraphs ago; I pray that you find comfort and reassurance in what the Father says about worrying and trusting Him.

Here are 5 things the Bible says about worry:

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:26-27 (NLT)

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Give all your worries and cares to God, for
he cares about you.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Psalm 62:8 (NLT)
O my people, trust in him at all times.

Pour out your heart to him,

for God is our refuge.
 

I pray that you are encouraged and that you learn to really trust Him; that you really learn that He really does have it all under control. He hasn't forgotten you. He knows how dire your situation or desires might be. Give Him a chance to show you something really beautiful.

Please join us over at A Creative Word and get the HELP that you need to you know, just do your life!

Blessings!!

Pamela

I can be reached at Pamela@aCreativeWord.com.