It's Okay

Thursday, March 27, 2014

It's okay if it feels like things get worse before they get better. 
It's okay if you don't know why things are so hard. 
It's okay if your struggle isn't perfect. 
It's okay if you cry yourself to sleep sometimes. 
It's okay to admit when you're having a hard day and ask for a hug. 
It's okay if you feel broken.
 

Choices

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

I had the pleasure of getting to hear Dr. Eva Olsson speak last night. She is a Holocaust survivor and last night shared many of the experiences that she had during World War II.

She has a really powerful story, and if you'd like to hear more of it, you can visit http://jewishottawa.com/page.aspx?id=221245. 

One the things she said really stuck out to me. 'You can't blame God for the choices man makes.' 

And I've been thinking about it a lot since then. When we were born, we were born with the free will God gave us. We ALL have a free will and are able to make our choices.

We have the option, the power, the choice to act as we will. 

God did not build Auschwitz. People did. 

God did not drive under the influence and hit someone. A person did. 

God is love. He is light. He is good!  1 John 1:5 says 'This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (NIV)'. 

There is no evil in him. 

We cannot allow ourselves to blame God for what people do. God lets things happen for a reason and he promises to give us enough strength to get through it. (James 1:2-4 & Joshua 1:9)

~Moriah 

Grace Part 2

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

So then, if God's grace covers our sins and mistakes, what then?



God gives us the greatest gift. Those mistakes no longer have power over you. You don't have to remember every mistake, every regret, everything that you wish you could change, for every moment of your life.  That shame is NOT your identity any more. 

So what is the point then?  Every mistake covered by grace serves a purpose. 

Maybe it's to connect someone who's struggling. You can use your experiences to help someone else get through a tough time in their life. 

Maybe it's to be an example of how God's grace is powerful enough to cover anything! It's hard sometimes to believe that God could and/or would  forgive everything that you've done. You can be an example of that for people who feel like they're too far from God. 

Maybe God wants to teach you something about him or your relationship with him.  Be open to learning what he wants to teach. 

God works everything together for the good of those who love him. Hurts, sins and mistakes are no exception. 


~Moriah

Grace

Thursday, March 20, 2014

It's okay to not be perfect. Really!

Everyone is human, with a sinful nature and makes mistakes. Everyone. 

But the great thing about that is, God's grace will cover all of our imperfections if we only accept his forgiveness and allow Christ to be our savior. 

http://sunnyskiies.tumblr.com/post/56739777491/spiritualinspiration-for-by-grace-you-have-been

Ephesians 2:8-9 says 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.'
The dictionary definition of grace is 'a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior'. (Www.dictionary.com)

God shows us his favor in forgiving us freely. Why on earth would he do that?  Because he loves us sooooooo much and wants to repair the relationship between God and man that were broken by sin. (John 3:16) He is willing to grant us favor in order so that we can know him better. 

He says 'I know you're a sinner. You've messed up. A lot. You aren't perfect. But I know that and I love you anyway. Please let me fix things! I'm the only one who can.'

But when we accept that grace, we have to leave it at that. We can't continue to try to get to God through our works. There is absolutely nothing that we can do to bridge the gap between us and God by ourselves. We can never be strong enough, good enough, loving enough, hard working- whatever it is that we try to be perfect at, we can't do it. We can never be perfect and trying to be perfect will only lead to a lot of hurt, discouragement and pain. 
Romans 11:5-6 says 'So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. (NIV)' 

We have to let grace be grace. We can't continue to live as though we are the ones that make the relationship right once we've accepted God's grace. Let him take care of making things right and just do your part- accepting his love and grace. 

~Moriah

Where is God?

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Poem loosely based on 1 Kings 19:11-12 written 3/18/14



Where are you?

In the wind?
Whirling round and round
Filling ears with the lonely sound

In the earthquake?
Dizzying destruction and pain
Bringing nothing to gain

In the fire?
With it's dancing, burning flames
Not to be toyed with, not for games 

Wait! The quiet whisper
That I hear
Softly in my ear

Reassurance
When I fall to pieces
And the day ceases

Great love
The arms holding me
Gently, softly

The presence 
That is always there
Any place, anywhere

Is that you?

A thousand sleepless nights

Monday, March 17, 2014




That's a really long time to be patient! A thousand sleepless nights? That's the equivalent of 3 years of sleepless nights. 

Blessings asks what if that's what it takes for is to know that God is near. What if we have to be awake all that time to truly trust him and rely on him?  How you spend those nights plays a big part in how they affect you. Do you let the your mind go crazy and quickly get overwhelmed by the thoughts? 
Or do you spend that time talking to God, and taking every thought captive for him?  

It's a very hard choice, I know from experience! It's so much harder to choose to fight the thoughts and choose God over the thoughts that drag us down. 

2 Corinthians 1:9 has been one of my favorite verses lately. 
When things get bad, even to the point that you think you're at the end, God is there. He has the power to raise the dead!!! Everything that God puts in our lives is to teach us to rely on him. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that God's power is made perfect in our weakness. He uses our imperfections for his glory, that other people may know and love him as well. God can use the sleepless nights to teach us, the bad things that happen to help us connect to someone else- the point is God is in complete control and everything is in his plan, and that plan is for the good. 

Our God is life and through him we can have life as well (John 10:10). 

But part of that life is being able to have faith in God and know that he uses the sleepless nights (Hebrews 11:6). 

Just hold on! God is there:)

~Moriah 
Isaiah 41:13

Theme by: Pish and Posh Designs