Good Morning World! I know… It’s been a while. Almost a year exactly! But I am back…
I first started this blog because I wanted to bring hope, encouragement, and love into the world. I wanted to try to brighten this world a little bit. But I ended up letting my fears of rejection and my insecurities get the better of me. I was saddened by my lack of support by family and friends, save a few. I allowed myself to get discouraged and stopped posting. I actually have four drafts that I never completed because I allowed my negative thoughts and feelings to convince me that no one would care whether or not I posted them. The devil has many tricks and boy did I fall for them! Well, I’m done throwing myself a pity party and I am done being afraid of whether or not anyone cares – or whether or not I annoy any of my non-Christian friends on Facebook when my posts are shared.
My lack of fear can be linked to a few things. While I haven’t been posting for a year, I’ve continued to serve faithfully in my church, developed wonderful relationships there and I’ve continued to listen to WBGL. Just yesterday, I spent some time (while serving) with some amazing ladies from my church. A fun conversation about how it would be nice to start a Mom Blog for our church got me thinking about my own blog. My poor neglected blog… I started opening up to these amazing ladies about how I started the blog, posted a few times and then gave up because I felt that I had very little support. Just like that, it was like I heard a voice say to me, “Are you doing this for others? Or for me?” It was as though everything made sense in that moment. It’s funny how you can know something, but lose sight of it. It can become too easy to let all the distractions and noise of life get in the way of remembering the simple fact that EVERYTHING we do in life, we should do to honor God. I’m not blogging for approval, appreciation, or popularity… I’m not trying to impress anyone. I’m trying to be a good representation of Christ. I’m trying to help others in any way I can – in the ways God has equipped me. Right now, I can’t do much more than give my time, whatever resources I have and words of encouragement. I’m happy to live a life of service, whether I’m serving at church or helping at my daughter’s preschool so that they may be blessed. Through my actions, conversations, and blog, wherever they take me, I want to overflow with love and grace. I seek a life of service because it is the example that Jesus gave us. So, through encouraging words from a brave and blessed woman, God spoke to me and encouraged me to not give up and to remember why I’m doing this.
I just want to thank you, Zina, for being so positive and encouraging to me. I’ve been considering starting up the blog again for months now, but your positivity and light was so encouraging and refreshing… Maybe you thought it wouldn’t have as profound of an effect as it did, but guess what? It did.
There are so many lessons to be learned from this. For now, I’ll just focus on this one: Realize that every single encounter you have each day can have great significance in peoples’ lives. You can make the difference between someone having a good day or a bad one. You can speak light and love into a sad heart and completely change the trajectory of their day or their life. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. The sermon at church this past Sunday was wonderful. One of my biggest takeaways was that you may be the only Bible anyone ever reads……… Let that sink in for a minute. If you were the only Bible that someone read, what would they think of Christianity? What kind of representation of Christ would you be? I can’t get that out of my head.
With every word that you say, every gesture you make and every action you take, fill it with love and grace. Every single encounter you have with another human being on this planet is an opportunity for you to share God’s love and truth.
“You are the light of the world……”
Matthew 5:14 NIV
If you aren’t confident because you don’t know a lot of scripture or you don’t necessarily feel familiar with God’s promises, that’s OK! We’ll dive into those topics over time. Here are a few basic truths: God is good and everything good comes from God. God loves you. God made you. God doesn’t make mistakes. God is always with you. God hears your prayers. God’s plans are perfect and are always for our good.
You are loved. You are a child of God. And with you, He is well pleased.
God bless you and please, if you’re reading this, find a way to share an encouraging word today. Your kindness may help more than you’ll ever know.
Thanks for reading!
Whispers After The Storm 