A Hope for the Homeless: Speak Life

A Hope for the Homeless: Speak Life: Have you ever noticed how the words you speak can change the attitude of someone? How if you tell a girlfriend you like her outfit or that ...

Speak Life

Have you ever noticed how the words you speak can change the attitude of someone? How if you tell a girlfriend you like her outfit or that she's having a good hair day, it kinda puts a pep in her step. Her head sits a little higher on her shoulders and she smiles. This in return warms your heart. You've just been an encourager. Someone who speaks to the heart, who brightens the day, someone who speaks life.  That is exactly what God wants. He wants us to speak life. He wants us to be an encourager. If we are not speaking life than we are more than likely speaking death. Not purposefully of course, but when we speak harshly to our husband or snap at our children we take from them. We can crush their spirit. We can rob them of something they need, self -worth. We want our loved ones to know the truth about who they are and not believe the lies right? Well then, how come to often I find myself planting seeds of lies? When I yell, scream, nag, or criticize I am telling them that they don't meet the standard; that they aren't good enough. Children especially over time start to believe this. They turn it inside and start to believe it must be true, they think that since my own mother is never happy or pleased with me, I must be a failure.



We are defiantly not doing any favors for our marriages when we nag and complain constantly. We desire for our husband to want to come home to us. To look at us in love and to be pleased with us. How can this be if we are telling him over and over again how unhappy we are with him? God created us to be one with our spouse. We wouldn't ever think of talking to ourselves the way we talk to our spouse...or would we? Maybe that's the root of the problem. Maybe we so consistently speak death to ourselves that there's no possible way we can speak life to anyone else.



Maybe we don't know who we are in Christ.  Maybe we don't know we are a child of the one true King. A conquers conquer, the apple of our fathers eye, the righteousness of God in Christ. Maybe we don't know how loved we really are. Maybe our self talk is all messed up because we believe the lies too. The ones that say were not good enough or that we ourselves don't measure up. These are all seeds that the devil plants. Lies he tells us and we fall for them over and over. Yes, we are a messed up people and we have all sinned and made some very bad choices but the truth is our mistakes are never to big for God. We have never out sinned His grace. God is in the business of taking our broken mess and turning it in to something beautiful. Beauty from ashes. The next time we start to tell ourselves we don't measure up remember just who we are. We are HIS. Made in His image. We are loved by Him. We are forgiven and we have His grace. If we can receive His grace and love then we should be able to give it and speak it. Give it freely. What if the words we spoke to a stranger. a single mom, a broken person, a non believer, a drug addict, or a homeless man could change their lives? What if encouragement and love is just what they needed? Speak life, especially to our loved ones. Our kids and spouses deserve to know that they are worthy and that they are loved.



If you don't know the love of Christ, I personally invite you to find out who He is, and through this you will find out who you really are. LOVED!

My beloved, you are loved!
Edie

In every situation...

There is a season for everything. Currently outside our season is changing. We can see and feel many things happening. It’s getting colder; we can feel the wind brisk upon our skin. The air even smells different. We see the leaves turning brilliant colors; bright orange, red, yellow and purple. Bushes so bold they look like they are on fire. The amazing thing is, though they look so beautiful they are actually dying, but just for a season. 

Our lives are very similar to this. God allows us to have seasons. He allows things to come and go. He allows change to happen. He allows things to die off. Through this process for the most part we learn to love and trust Him more. But what about the time when the change doesn’t make sense. When the change or dying off period actually hurts. God gives us strength. He comforts our hearts and heals our hurts. We have to have faith and trust in Him. We may not always feel that we trust our faith but we have to be very careful. We are not called to have faith in our faith. We are called to have faith in God and never doubt Him. 

See we have a very real enemy. Someone who would love nothing more than to destroy us. He likes to ruin families, break down marriages, poor lies into the lives of the believer and bring about doubt. We have to be very careful to discern the lies and the attack of Satan. We have to know the truth of God so we know how to fight our enemy. God has given us a great tool in His word for doing just this. Ephesians 6:16 says, "In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one". 

There are a few terms I love. Warrior chic is one. I love this term because to me it speaks of being in battle. I feel that as men and women of God we are always in battle. God has given us that shield so that when Satan’s flaming arrows come we are there to extinguish them. Were always fighting the good fight. No matter what season we are in, what unexpected event has occurred, or what Satan tries to through at us, we are ready for battle. See, we are called to live on mission. On mission for the gospel, ready and willing to go, ready to fight. 

Even though at times we may not understand what Gods plan is for our lives. We need to trust that it’s for our better. So, if He calls us to move, downsize, make financial adjustments, take a new job, forgive, love through the hurt, speak kindness when everything you receive is harsh, let go, move on, grow up, or go beyond, we need to realize He is in control. This to is only for a season. 

Weather its trusting God or fighting the doubt that the devil throws at us. God has given us the privilege of standing in the victorious space He desires for us. Right beside Him. I've heard the saying that mans demotion is God's promotion. I believe this to be true. A pastor recently told a story of a man who worked for a hardware store for many years. He helped build this company, poured many years of his life into it. He helped to grow this company to be very large. One day the company decided they needed to downsize and they had to let him go. He was very upset by this. All of the time he spent, the years, and the hard work, all felt for nothing. But that man decided not to be the victim but instead to get right back up and keep moving. He and his friends got together and opened up their own little hardware store. You may have heard of it before. It's called The Home Depot. See mans demotion is God's promotion. 

Remember although we are at war with Satan, we are at peace with God. Fight on; choose to be the victor not the victim. Trust God; allow Him to do a great work in your life, even in this season. May we continue to learn while we live, and fight while we have the strength. 

With His Love,

Edie

Some of my all time favorite warrior chics

How to be the best

So, I know what all of you are thinking. How does she do it? How in the world is she so good at so many things? How does she have time to do what she does and always with a smile. She makes it look so easy. Always put together and never with a hair out of place.

Stop, no really, you're so flattering.

Ok whatever, so I thought I would blog and let you know how to be awesome at everything you do and to show you exactly how I do it all. Be sure to get out your paper and pen. Take notes. So, here it is. Here we go. Are you ready for this?

How to have the best blog ever.

Let "them" whoever they are to say what they will about blogging several times a week to increase traffic and views. I like to mix it up. Blog everyday for awhile, then once a week, then once a month, and for the big cliff hanger. I like for them to hear crickets for a couple of months. Just enough time to where they almost forget about me and the mission. Then BAM!!! I'm back at it. Oh yeah back in business baby. Keep them guessing. What else do you have to do than waste time pulling up the blog just to find out that the last post you see is reminding you what Easter is all about? Good times right? No, not so much? Well, glad to know that I'm successful at the purpose of blogging all together.

Okay, moving on.

How to be the best at homeschooling

Just when May turns to June and the weather gets warm and the days become longer and your eleven year old son doesn't feel he can go solve one more problem in algebra, go ahead and break the news that he actually has two weeks of school left. Try and cheer him up by telling him that while he's sitting in the school room learning how Alexander the Great, even though a very evil man, was extremely instrumental in translating the Bible into Greek, he can always look out the window, point to all of his little friends and laugh because they are wasting their days playing basketball when there is no way in the world that their future 5ft 3inch self is ever going to the NBA.

Then after those two weeks pass go ahead and realize that you are missing a reading assignment. Be sure to throw your heard back and laugh in hysterics when he tells you he cant find the book. So spend an extra week wasting time looking for the book that is no. where. to. be. found. Go ahead humble yourself, swallow your pride, watch your homeschool teacher of the year dreams fly right out the window and call and have them email the assigned reading over to you in a matter of literally three seconds. So fifth grade made have lasted almost a month longer than it should have and your child may have the shortest summer break ever, but hey you have to give him something to talk to his therapist about later in life.

Moving right along.

How to have a garden that people envy

The first thing you have to do to have the best garden, is beg your husband for 3 plus years to plant one. When he tells you NO, and yes that's with a capital N.O. Because he says he knows exactly what will happen. It will quickly turn to a weed garden and it will take over our entire acre of yard. So he thinks. The next step is to start juicing. That way you have to buy an extreme amount of fresh produce on a daily basis and he will get tired of the constant trips to the store, the amount of money spent of fresh fruits and veggies, and the fact that he has to move all of the green stuff out of the way to get to the salsa gets old real quick. (not to mention that juicing is amazingly healthy for your body. Its just an added bonus)

Anyways, so after all of this and after your gracious husband agrees to finally plant you a garden. You need to be sure to employ as many family members as you can. Be sure to not just include the members of your household but also your father and your elderly grandmother in law with COPD as well. Make sure you have five people telling you what to do at a time (husband included). Also don't forget to pay very close attention to everyone else's garden planting tips, stories, and shenanigans. Oh the stories! Be sure to start planting very late in the evening so that you will have to play the fun game of beat the clock. Right when you see the last bit of light fade away quickly grab the last of the seeds and shove them in the ground and yell finished. Say a quick prayer and sweetly look over at your husband, give him a cute smile to say see this wont be that bad.

Wait a few weeks and then take in all that is yours. All of your hard work and the past three years of begging has finally paid off. Beautiful kale and cute little baby cucumbers. Ok, so our green beans and spinach didn't do so well but you could use it to toss a small salad. Brag to everyone on how your garden grows. Thank your husband for all of his hard work and tell him how we should have done this three years ago.

 Here's the part that gets good. Go crazy and stretch yourself as thin as possible. Make as many plans as you can, as a matter of fact go ahead and double book some. Be sure to attend every child's birthday party known to man, so that you have absolutely no time to pay any attention to your garden. Every morning when you go out to the garden to grab your kale and cucs for your juice, go ahead and remind yourself to add weed the garden to your todays-to-do-list. So after feeling like everyday is Groundhog Day when you look out the window at the garden, succumb to the fact that your husband was right all along and the weeds are to much for you to handle. Be honest with yourself, they are taking over everything! That's okay though because you can still get to your kale and cucs, and the juice taste just as good.

A cute little picture of our bounty. Our sons smile seems to fit my excitement a little more and our nieces smile seems to fit my husbands. Aren't they too stinking cute?

Kale/Weeds/Dirt



 

So there you have it. Just a few quick ways to be the best at all you do. Okay so the jig is up. I'm not the best at everything or even close to it. I fail a blogging, homeschooling sometimes and even gardening. There are many other things I fail at, but I'm trying. The best news of all is that even though I am not a perfect person, I serve a perfect God. One who loves me unconditionally. It still blows my mind that Jesus, who knows all of my flops, faults, and fears still loves me. Loves me enough to die for me. To have thought of me while hanging on the cross at Calvary. The God and creator of the whole earth still, still wants my heart. He owns the skies and still desires me. And you. Next time you are feeling as great about yourself as I do sometimes, remember you are loved. You are never alone. God is with you always. He will never forsake you. You are not forgotten. Your struggle and strife is not for nothing. God will work good for all who love and are called according to His purpose.  No matter if you are punching keys on the computer at the office, working road construction in the heat of the summer, running a small nation, caring for a dying family member or rocking crying babies in the dead of night, God hears you call. He knows your heart and he knows how hard you are trying. He sees your struggle. Call on His name. The name above all other names. The name of Jesus.

 

Have a blessed week and be sure to check back often. :) he he

 

Edie

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

God Is Love

My Jesus My King

Have a blessed Good Friday!

What fills your void?

Why is it that we struggle so? Why do we hold on so tightly to things that we know are no good for us? Why would we be willing to go down in ruins knowing that we could stop it all from happening? Why can't we give up the control we think we have, when in reality what we are struggling with or addicted to, is really controlling us? I'm not just speaking of drugs or alcohol, but also money, things like possessions, work, eating, exercising, not eating, fame, glory, attention, security, shopping, fear, or even people. Why is it that we keep trying to fill a void that only He can fill? Why do we keep piling in all of this when we know it will never do the trick.

It starts out innocently enough but eventually it takes over. It grows and manifest and becomes the thing we think we cant live without. The tolerance grows higher and higher and we are left needing more. It becomes our secret sin that we think no one knows, but in reality everyone knows. It makes a fool out of us. It turns us in to something we never wanted to be. It can take us from the on top of the world to living on the streets homeless in no time flat. It can rob us of our relationships, spouses, kids, homes, jobs, it just wont stop until we stop it. When is enough enough?

The struggle isn't really the addiction, its what we fill the void with that we all have. We can search and seek and pour in and consume all we find, but if its not Jesus it will leave us empty. I have been there. I still struggle. We all do. The important thing is we have a God who has not left us alone to fight our battles but is there fighting for us. I may not know what it is like to struggle with a serious drug addiction but I know what it is like to struggle with your thoughts. I may not know what it is like to struggle with alcohol but I do know what it is like to struggle with  be held captive to fear.

Beloved I have been down in that pit and without Jesus it wouldn't be long before I was right back there. He is the only thing that can fill that void. He created us with the void so that He can be the one you put in its place. I just want to encourage you today know matter what struggles or hardships you are enduring. Relationships in trouble, addictions, bandages, brokenness, or even illness beloved just cry out to Him. He was sent to bind up the brokenhearted and aren't we the brokenhearted? My love, He is healer!

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.