You have Not been Forgotten

Have you ever wanted, needed, or been promised something? Yet in everything, it didn't come. This is a waiting season and I've been there too... or have I been forgotten?

No one knows what being forgotten is like more then Joesph.

God gave Joseph dreams that one day he would be so great his family would bow down to him. (See Genesis 37:1-11) All of this caused jealousy among Joseph's brothers who sold him into slavery.

Joseph was bought by one of Pharaoh's officials, Pontifar. The only problem, Pontifar's wife wanted Joseph for her earthly pleasure. Joseph wasn't having any of this. So she gave false witness toward Joesph. She plain and simple lied because things were not going her way. This lead to Joseph being through into prison.

How could God take a slave, thrown into prison, and bring forth his promise of being great one day? God was working things out. Just because we can't see it doesn't mean God isn't working it out.
While in prison, God showed favor on Joseph and all he did, so much, that Joseph was put in charge of other prisoners.

After some time, the Pharoah's cupbearer and baker were thrown into the prison with Joseph. Each had a dream, but they didn't understand their dreams.  They told Joseph, and God gave him the answer. Joseph explained what each dream meant, one good and one bad. What Joseph said came true, but the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph when he went back to work for Pharaoh.

 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. - Genesis 40:23

 Just because people forget us doesn't mean God has.

Pharoah had some dreams, but the wise men of Egypt didn't know what they meant. This reminded the cupbearer about Joseph and what he had done for him. So he told Pharoah, who had Joesph brought from prison. Once again God showed Joseph the meaning of the dream.

A famine was coming, and God also gave Joseph wisdom on how to prepare. Pharaoh took this as a good sign and put Joseph in charge of collecting and distributing food. This was the position God had promised Joesph in his dreams, and would lead to his family bowing to him.

Though he waited years, God took the seemingly impossible circumstances and used them to work out all his plans for Joseph.

If God can do this for Joseph, why would he not do the same for you?

While waiting, keep holding on to the promise that God will provide your needs, He will provide what He has promised.

What part of this story do you find  yourself in? Are you hearing about your promise, waiting, or receiving your promise? What part of this story is the most encouraging to you?

5+ Bible Verses for the Lonely

February. A time of year that brings to joy to some and amplifies loneliness in others.

As we approach Valentines day, the loneliness in some will grow, and sadness will make them weary. Know that God loves you, whether you are single or married, widowed or divorced. It doesn't matter, the one who created you, knows how you feel and so He put hope for you in his word.

God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. - Psalms 68:6

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. - Psalms 147:3

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. - Psalms 9:9-10

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ...But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. -  Psalms 13:1, 5

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. - Psalms 27:13-14

 I hope these Psalms help give you hope. I want to offer a few extras to help you through this month as well.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6

If you are in the midst of waiting, then I hope you will find this next verse as a will to continue to move forward and to seek God.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

 As we end, I want to offer you a prayer for Psalms asking God to be gracious to you and me.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. - Psalms 25:16

This is a prayer I have been praying all day and one I will keep praying through.
What helps you when you feel lonely?

Is it time to Burn that bridge?

I once had a pastor tell me not to burn my bridges. The strange thing is that in a relationship with people, he didn't always follow that advice. I haven't seen or heard from him much since I left that church.

It was an odd situation, where my church didn't have evening services but this church did. When my church started evening services again, I felt called back to my home church. At that point, he couldn't understand why and in his own way burned a bridge that linked me to him and his church.

Fast forward 10 years and I'm still at my home church. Our lovely grace-filled pastor gave a sermon that caught my attention. It starts with God using Elijah to defeat the Baal prophets and bring his people back to him. Elijah won that battle but immediately came under attack. He feared for his life, so he ran.

God revealed himself to Elijah as that tiny soft voice, and I know that is the voice I need to listen to. See I have been going back and forth on this normal desire for community in a specific way. Yet God seems to have failed me in this area and so I run to what I believe to be safe.

The only difference is I am still standing there listening for God to be the earthquake or wind.  But God has chosen to speak to me in a still small voice, and I can't hear him. Why can't I hear him? It is because I'm still looking for the earthquake and the wind.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. - 1 Kings 19:11-13

God told Elijah to go anoint Elisha to take his place as the prophet of Israel. Elijah found Elisha plowing the fields, and he went and laid his cloak on Elisha's shoulders. Elisha knew what this meant, and  ran after Elijah. He ran to get permission to say his goodbyes, and this request was granted.

Elisha went back to his plow, killed his oxen and burned his plow to cook the meat. He gave this as food to for the people.

Elisha burned his bridges so to say. He didn't just burn the bridge. He made sure he couldn't cross that bridge anymore by slaughtering and cooking his oxen. Wow, that is some great faith. I'm am not sure if I am Elijah in this story or if I am Elisha. I want to have the faith of Elisha but fear takes over. 

God has called me to live fearlessly, and for me, burning that bridge doesn't seem to be what I wish it was. I have been living the safe life. So for me, God says to stay where I am, don't burn the bridge until he guides me to.

You may be in a different spot, maybe it is time for you to burn that bridge. Well if that is the case, and God has been calling you to burn a bridge, then here is a song that speaks to me.

On Friday I will be making a special announcement for the future of Grace 4 Me & U on my subscriber list. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. Believe me when I say, this is unexpected, but so exciting. 

Becoming a thankful Job; when things are falling apart

It is November. The thankful month, but what if you have nothing to thank God for?

My falling apart

My life feels like it has been in shambles the last few years. We moved out of the house I had lived in throughout high school. We moved to an awesome house in the middle of nowhere. Then we found out that the house didn't have a septic tank and everything was backing up. Luckily we were only renting, but that meant we had to move right back out. 

With nowhere to go we spent a week at my grandma's house, while we looked for a new place to live. My mom found an apartment, but my sister and I couldn't move in with them. Which is fine in the fact that we are adults, with good jobs, but sad in the fact that we still would had nowhere to go.

Job's life falling apart

This stories reminds me of Job from the Bible. Job was blessed, he had great wealth, a large family, and literally God's blessing.

One day the angels and Satan came before God. God and Satan had an exchange. This led to Satan being allowed to take everything from Job except his body and health.

Wealth gone. Family, gone, except his wife. Servants, mostly gone, except the few who brought word of these trials. 

Do you know what Job did? 

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. - Job 1:20-22

May the Name of the Lord be praised! What great faith. 

A Christians fight mode should start with praise and prayer.

What a great example. I wish I could tell you that I was as good of an example through my trials. But I didn't even come close.

Falling into Place

My parents took that apartment. The landlord had an apartment across the hall for rent. So we stayed with my parents for a month, while he finished getting the apartment ready. 

That was the beginning. I know that what I felt was horrible at the time, moved me closer to where God wants me. My trials are far from over, but lucky for me I am learning to Praise God throughout. It isn't easy, I fail at it all the time, especially when I don't see God moving on my timetable.

God's timing is never our own, and his plan isn't always what we want. Even Jesus dealt with this.

Have you come through great trials and testings? I would love to hear about how God used those moments to help you grow. If he blessed you even more afterward, I would love to hear that as well. Maybe it will help my faith grow.

If you are looking for what to praise God for, check out my post from last week. 

This post was linked up @

Discover a way to Unlock Faith in your Waiting Season

I am not a sit still and wait kind of person. I seem like I might be, but I am far from it. So what do you do while you wait?

Most of my life I have wanted to be an entrepreneur. I have about 3 maybe 4 business plans in the works. I have plans for youth group and I'm working on plans for the blog.

I'm a workaholic and since I have ADD and anxiety my brain doesn't stop. Since the almighty has

1. made me this way and
2.  given me these dreams he should be keeping up, right?

Well he isn't. Right when I think everything will work out. God says wait. This waiting is hard, as I am positive your wait is. I feel so alone, but I have good company. I have you and most of all I have God.

When stuck you're still in good company.

I have people from the Bible who waited as well. One of those people was Hannah.
Hannah was married and her husband loved her, but God had shut up her womb. Hannah's husband had another wife and she was able to have children. This lady tormented poor Hannah.

I've felt like God has put people in my life for this purposes. To torment me because they have been given what I'm waiting for. Can you relate?
Those who wait are in good company!

Hannah was sad, but her husband loved her the most. He tried to encourage Hannah. While in Jerusalem, Hannah prayed. She poured out her heart to God. So much that Eli thought she was drunk. She wasn't but God used Eli and blessed Hannah.

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” 15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” - 1 Samuel 1:9-17

God wants your heart, so pour it out to him.

God gave Hannah the son she longed for, in fact he blessed her with more then just one son. The wait had a purpose.

In Luke 11, Jesus taught a parable that reminds us when we ask it will be given to us. This serves to remind us to pray as we wait.

Pray for God's will, not our own. Jesus even prayed as he waited.

If Jesus prayed while he waited. Taught about asking God in confidence for things, and Hannah prayed. Why not follow these examples?

I hope that through your waiting you know that God loves you. He hasn't left you, or forgotten you. There is a purpose for the wait.

Have you been waiting, do you have a special prayer you say? Do you have a prayer buddy who is praying with you? Do you have someone to encourage you?

As a way to encourage you, I want to offer you a prayer printable. Download these, pray them, and be encouraged.

4 Lessons we can learn from an Overwhelmed Jesus

My grandma has the gift of prayer. When grandma prays I know without any doubt that God is listening. One day I had the hiccups, I get them bad, and sometimes they are painful. I was visiting with grandma. Next thing I know, I hear her whispering under her breath, immediately no more hiccups, no more pain. It was a God moment.

I want to talk to you about another person who had the gift of prayer. This person was the son of God, Jesus. He was a prayer and like when grandma prays God listens. When Jesus prayed, God listened.

Last Friday I posted a blog about 4 attitudes to be Aware of when You Pray. Today I want to talk to you about prayers Jesus said. I want to look at a specific time that Jesus prayed and what we can learn from his prayer.  This was a time when Jesus in all his human flesh became overwhelmed by what was to come.

 First let's read Matthew 26:36-44

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. - Matthew 26:36-44

What can we learn from this story of Jesus praying?

1. When we're overwhelmed we should gather those we trust to pray for us, (it is okay to ask others to pray for you). While they pray for us it is okay to pray for ourselves.

I know that I deal with feeling overwhelmed, as part of my ADD I have a hard time shutting my brain off. Sometimes I lay in bed praying for God to hold me until I fall asleep because I feel like everything is going to crush me.

Do you ever feel this way? Sometimes when this happens I catch myself praying multiple times for the same thing. Which leads me into what I learned next.

2. It is okay to pray for the same thing multiple times, especially if you are praying for guidance and God's will. 

God loves us. The Bible reminds me that he guide our steps. Sometimes I wish he would respond to me via email, texting, or even lightning. Have you been there, too?

I have been struggling in the same trial for years. I have prayed for guidance and for God to reveal his will for me, but he has been quiet. I started to wonder if it was okay to ask God to take this trial away from him, and I learned that it is okay.

3. It is okay to ask God to take the trial away, but sometimes his answer will be no. (Trust in his plan in those cases).

Jesus asked if the cup he was to drink from could be taken away.  It wasn't Jesus' will that was important, it was God's. Just like it isn't my will that is important. It is God's will for my life, it is the faith strengthening through those trials that are important. Grandma dealt with God saying wait to her, it was hard, but she survived.

I know that I will survive as well, because God has called me to follow him in faith.

4. Jesus himself became overwhelmed, so don't beat yourself up when you are overwhelmed.

I know that Jesus lived in human flesh, he dealt with the same pain and fears that we deal with but he lived courageous. God strengthened him, and we can pray that God will give us the same strength as we continue through our lives.

When we become overwhelmed we should prayer. We should trust in the people God has giving us. Most of all we should trust God.

When you're overwhelmed do you find yourself praying like Jesus? Let's try it. Check out this printable for your prayer closet, your War Room.

3 Tips to Surviving when you're Waiting on God

This weekend I watched as my grandma cried out in prayer for God to take away her pain. Watching her in agony, hurt me. Grandma was waiting on God. Watching this all happen; I learned 3 things you should do while waiting.

While my grandma was laying down it finally came time to put on a cream pain reliever. We had already tried different positions in bed to no avail. So after my mom put the pain reliever on her shoulder, I laid down next to grandma.

Grandma relaxed, you might be thinking it was the pain reliever. It may have been but part of me believes it was because she didn't feel alone anymore. She wasn't in her room by herself. She had company.

Don't avoid Community

I've been waiting on God to open multiple doors for me. I'm trying to be patient, but it is hard. Why, because I feel alone. I see others around me who have what I've been praying for and asking God to give me. Yet here I stand, hands open, but still empty.

So the first thing I learned is that we need community. I have a tendency to want to lock myself away in my apartment. The Bible reminds us that it is better to be in community.

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Praise God

Before Grandma finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep. She did something that I know was hard for her. Despite her pain and that God wasn't answering her prayer for the pain to go away. Grandma praised God for his goodness.

As I was replaying the weekend in my head, I started wondering how often I have praised God, while waiting. How often have I actually praised God because he is good and worthy of our praise? The thing is, I know that when I praise God I feel better. Even more so when I put my whole heart into it. I love singing "You are Holy", it just reminds me of how great God is.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. - Psalm 48:1

 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. - Psalm 136:1

Don't give up

You know something else that happened this weekend. We prayed and we prayed, but we didn't give up. We did finally talk grandma into going to the hospital. They gave her pain medicine and checked her out.

I don't believe that was giving up. I believe God wanted grandma to have some relief and that is the way he choose to give it to her. We are still praying that the pain stays away and that the doctors can continue to help her. (She has a torn rotary cuff, please keep her in prayer).

This reminds me of Hebrews 11.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. - Hebrews 11:39-40

The faith chapter is full of people who stuck it out. Even when they never had the opportunity to see God's promise's revealed on earth. We must trust God's timing and never give up.

Can you relate to waiting on God? What do you find helps you through the wait?

In the Valley of Hopelessness: God's strength is there!

Standing in the valley, as I look around all I see is death and destruction. Surrounding me are bones. Not just any bones, these are dry bones. If I touch then they will fade away like dust. Dusty, dry bones, I've been there. I've been in situations that seem completely hopeless.


This reminds me of what Satan has been doing in my life. He is stealing my joy. He is killing my hope, and in doing so he is attempting to destroy the relationship I have with Jesus. Jesus told us this would happen.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10

You are Not alone! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been there. Joy disappearing more each day.  My hope on life support and they are threatening to pull the plug. My desire for a relationship with the one who is watching it happen, going down the toilet.

Well if we look at the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones we find some hope for the hopeless.
God asked Ezekiel if those dry bones could live again. I'm going to ask you the same thing. Is there any chance your joy can live again? What about your hope?

Ezekiel had some smart words here in response to this question.

3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” - Ezekiel 37:3-6

Only God knew if the bones could live again. So God told Ezekiel to prophesy that the bones would become whole, having flesh on them again. The rest of John 10:10 promises that Jesus came to give us life. I'm not talking about a hopeless life. No, he came to give us a full, hope filled life. 

This may take some faith, but God knows your future and he doesn't want you living dusty and dry. He wants to give you hope. Water filled hope!


How does God breath power into your Valley?


How do you regain your joy, your hope and your relationship with Jesus? I'm going to venture and say that you need to work this backwards.

Let's start with your relationship. You need to find your love for God, you do this by praying and spending time in the Word.  You need to trust him and his great love for you.


Next you need to pray for God to help you see His plans to prosper you. Ask him to open doors that no one can close, and close doors that are leading you away from him.

Now that you are back to building your relationship, pray that God will give you joy. That he will take whatever it is that is stealing your joy away. Ask him for strength and courage to stop following that path anymore.

The Reminder in the Rainbow that God is There!

Rainbow by Beverley Goodwin

Sometimes the rainbow shows up as the rain starts, between rain showers, or even after the storm. It doesn't matter when it shows up it is beautiful.  The same is true of God, while he is always there sometimes we miss his presence.  It doesn't matter where we are in the storm. We should welcome God's presence.

Sometimes things in this life are tough. When this happen we think God doesn't have control or that he is mocking us in the quiet.



Rest assured he is there. Remember Job who lost everything. He had troubled friends who could only blame him for what he was going through and had a wife who wanted him to give up. Job didn't give up and be never cursed God.

Now remember that God always had a plan and that plan can sometimes help us in our future. God has been dealing with me about this. I feel stuck because I take two steps forward and 50 back. It stinks seeing the same walls over and over again.




I have to remember that God can see the big picture and he is ever present in my tests and trials. A perfect example of him seeing the whole picture was when Judas left to betray Jesus. Jesus knew what was going to come, but his disciples didn't know or understand. They thought Judas was going to buy something or help the poor. It wasn't until they were in the garden that everything came together.

The same is true of me at work. Today a few of the appraisers left for an afternoon of relaxation . They asked me to let them know if anything came in. Well I sent texts to two of the guys, letting them know about some new jobs.  Even though one of the other guys with them was next in rotation.  I skipped him.  What he couldn't see was that I had another job that would be better for him. So when he returned I gave him the job I had waiting.

God is the same way. He can see that what is coming up. Either he is protecting me from the bad, or he is preparing me for the what he has in store for me. I need to trust in what God has for me. I can't do this on my own, I need Christ to do it in me.

I need to participate, don't anticipate!

Dear Lord, 
Please open my heart to what you have for me know, open my eyes to see the blessings. I know you are walking with me, and never leave me. Help me to participate in the life you have given me and not anticipate and try to figure it all out. I am incapable of doing this, I need you to do it in me. Please dear Lord, help me!
In Jesus Name,
Amen

Boy was I wrong.

At the beginning of the year I really felt the word God wanted to work on me this year was free. Yeah I was so very wrong. How about the words, faith and patience. Yep those pretty much ruled my year.

The sad part is it hit me, like running into a wall, just a week ago. How could I have missed it for all these months? Yes, Jesus wants to free me, and he has. The chains I wear of fear don't come from him. But really the chain are from lack of faith and not being patient.

I recently read where faith was defined as love in action. That is where I fail. Faith in the unseen and things hoped for and I fail in the action part. Add in the fact that God keeps telling me to be patient.

The best example of what I am talking about is Abraham and Sarah. In Hebrews we have an awesome review of this story. Hebrews 11:8-12. Abrahm took his faith in what God had promised and set out to follow where God sent him. He went to new places, he laid with his barren wife, in hopes of having a the child he was promised. Faith in action. He isn't the only one to take faith in the unseen, following through on promises with great hope.

Patience is hard, it was never meant to be easy. If patience was easy nobody would need it. Sarah waited years before having her promised child. She even took matters into her own hand and things didn't end so well.

Which reminds me of Psalms 127:1-2

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early, and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves. "

Patience helps us appreciate the things we receive more. I dislike being patient, but I look forward to the joy at the end of the waiting. May God pour his blessings down.