Healing after a miscarriage #2

This is the second in a series of posts on parts of my healing through the grief of miscarriage.  I am writing these as my heart is healing through the pain.  Today I would have been to 20 weeks.  Post 1 can be seen here. 

On Friday, April 26 I was scheduled to have an ultrasound to look at our baby for the first time. I had asked my aunt to cancel this appointment earlier in the week after finding out the previous Friday I was having a miscarriage.  So on this Friday I was feeling down thinking how I would have loved to be at the office seeing our baby and wondering why this was happening to us again.  I went to check the mail and had a box in the mail box.  It was from my cousin.  Enclosed was a card with a wonderfully touching message.  Then my cousin had written something that has stuck with me every day since....

Just a reminder to keep doing the things you love to do.

Along with the card she had put in a package of pens and several boxes of note cards.  She knows I love to send cards and how much I love colorful pens. 

This has been a part of my healing as I have realized how important it is for me to continue doing things I love even though my heart has been hurting.  Taking each day a step at a time has helped me see that I can still enjoy the things I like to do and that it is important to do them and not just stay home and do nothing (which is what I felt like doing the first few weeks). 

I truly believe it has helped me in my grief process to remember this every single day, and I'm thankful for my cousin for this sweet reminder. 

Have a day of blessings!

Election Reflections

This morning I was pondering the election results, feeling disappointed in the outcome.  I was doing some things around the house and thought I'd listen to Pandora.  Guess what song came on first thing? 

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Here are the lyrics.

What a great reminder!  MY hope is not in any government official, leader, or country.  MY hope is in Jesus! 

If you do not have this wonderful hope, you can! 

Have a day of blessings!

Song: Arms That Hold the Universe

This is a song I heard yesterday on the radio. It is very encouraging. I hope it will bless you today as you listen to the words. It is a great reminder that God is with you, He cares, and is holding you.

 


Also, a reminder about the giveaway I'm having.  You can read about it on this post. 
Have a day of blessings!

"God Is In Control" by Twila Paris

****It won't play here, but if you click to watch at youtube it will play there. It played an ad before the song when I tried it, not sure if you can skip the ad or not.

This song is really more of a reminder for me today, but I hope it blesses you too! I like the line at the end that says "He has never let you down Why start to worry now?" You can read all the lyrics too here if you'd like.

Yes I know God is in control and His timing is best. It is hard to wait right now, but I will and trust Him to know best as He always does.

Have a day of blessings!

Fully Believe!

I am reading from the book of Joshua right now. Something in chapter 14 encouraged me, and I wanted to share it today in hopes that it will encourage you right now too.

"Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.' "

The version I was reading was NCV and it says it this way:
"So that day Moses promised me, 'The land where you went will become your land, and your children will own it forever. I will give you that land because you fully believed in the Lord, my God.' "

Fully believed....That just made me stop and pause. Do I fully believe? I have some things right now that I will admit scare me. I can't see down the road. I know God didn't give us that ability on purpose....if we could see down the road, would we learn to trust Him?

In this passage Caleb fully believed God. It took a long time but he kept believing. We don't know all that happened to Caleb in the middle of all those years waiting. We do know he fully believed God, with all his heart he belived. That's what is important. God didn't let him down.

Do you fully believe God? I shared this passage with my husband and told him that even though there are many unknowns for us right now, I do fully believe God. I know He has the plan and will take care of all the details. I can look back and see where God has brought us through the years and am encouraged. I fully believe that He will continue and we will give Him the glory.

Have a day of blessings!

"Safe" by Phil Wickham

Today I'd like to share a song I've been hearing on KLove called "Safe" by Phil Wickham. Here are the lyrics too.



I hope this song encourages you today. Whatever you are going through God wants to help you and keep you "safe in His arms." It doesn't matter where you are, He is with you.

Have a day of blessings!

"Sometimes He Calms The Storm" by Scott Krippayne

Today I'd like to share a song called "Sometimes He Calms The Storm" by Scott Krippayne. Here are the lyrics.




One line that sticks out to me is "He has a reason for each trial." That is so true. You may not be able to see it today or next week, but someday you will be able to look back and see how God used the time of trial to help you grow in Him in some way.

I pray that today God gives you peace in your heart in knowing that He is with you. You are special to Him and He cares about whatever storm you are facing. Lean on him and seek His face.

Have a day of blessings!

"Jesus Will Still Be There" by Point of Grace

This is an old song from the group Point of Grace. I hope the words bless your heart today.




Whatever you are going through, Jesus is there with you. If you are rejoicing today, He is there. If you are weeping today, He is there. He loves you and He wants you to lean on Him through everything you face.

Have a day of blessings!

"How Much" by Mandisa

Just in case you are feeling down today, I have a song that will hopefully remind you just how special and how loved you are by our Father. This is "How Much" by Mandisa. Here are the words for you.

Turn up the volume and be reminded just HOW MUCH God loves you today.



The line that sticks out to me here is the chorus describing God's love for each of us: "Take the best day that you've ever had Try to imagine better than that." Even imagining the best, highest, tallest, greatest thing we can think of in our human minds doesn't compare with how much He loves YOU.

Have a day of blessings!

Blog Hop: Encouragement

I posted the entire Psalm on August 1 here on my blog. This is a particularly encouraging Psalm to me right now. I know the Lord is my Helper, Maker, and Protector. I'm so thankful He is watching over me all the time.

Psalm 121:1, 2--"I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."

You can read the entire Psalm here.

I hope you are encouraged today!

Song: "More Beautiful You" by Jonny Diaz

This morning as I was washing dishes I turned on KLOVE. The morning show was talking to new artist Jonny Diaz, and he played his hit song "More Beautiful You." Here are the lyrics. I wanted to share it here today in case you haven't heard it.

This is a message that teen girls and women in general need to hear. This song is the opposite of what we hear everyday from every show or commercial we watch or magazine we read. This is what YOU need to hear today. YOU are beautiful. God created you and loves you just as you are. He put you here for a "purpose that only you could do." Stop listening to the lies that you aren't good enough or you don't look right. You are beautiful.
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"I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139:14

Prayers and encouragement

I'd like to ask you to visit Kristi at Kiki's Corner and leave her some encouragement. You can read her daughter Rachel's story also. I know some of you already have but wanted to post the link for others too. I believe you will be encouraged as well as you read how they've continued to see God's hand and direction in their circumstances the past couple of weeks. Say a prayer for Rachel and this sweet family I've gotten to "know" lately through blogging the past few months.

Book #43: Beyond Casseroles....

I was recently the winner of Michele's giveaway. One of the items I received (the other item I already told Michele was a prize for my Mom so I won't post that picture here until I give it to my Mom!) was the wonderful book Beyond Casseroles 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend by Lisa J. Copen.

I read this book Friday afternoon. We went down to the deer lease, and I sat in the camper to read while the boys walked around on the "look out" for deer. I highly recommend this book. It would be great for a personal library as well as a church library. It is a valuable resource that shares 505 ideas of ways to help someone besides just taking them a casserole dish. I wrote down a few that I wanted to remember. I think I'll reread it sometime with a pen or highlighter to mark the ones I want to do. One I wrote to remember says:

Give her a jar of encouragement. Fill a jar with slips of paper each bearing encouragement, such as verses from the Bible or positive sayings. Tell her whenever she is feeling down to pull out a word of encouragement.

Included in the 505 ideas are things you should ask and things you should never ask or say to someone who is chronically ill, like "Oh, you're much too young to have that disease."

Thank you so much to Michele for this great little book. There are so many things we can do to be an encouragement and this really is a valuable resource.
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"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." I Thessalonians 5:11

Quilt of Holes

This week I received this little story called Quilt of Holes in an email forward from my Mom. I liked it and wanted to share it today.

Do you ever feel that your life is just a mess? Do you ever wonder how anything beautiful can develop of your life? Or how God can love you when you've messed up so much, so often? Do you compare your own lives to others and what they are doing and think you'll never be good enough or measure up to them? As I think of these questions, I am reminded that we must listen to the voice of Truth.

The point of this little story should be our goal each day....that our lives should be a shining light of Christ to all around us. His love shines through us when we give our troubles and problems to Him. He wants to carry our load. When we try to solve our problems on our own, we're usually not fun to be around. We get grumpy, whiny, and irritable. We worry and feel stressed all the time. When we let Him help us though, His light shines through and others notice something different about us.

I hope you are blessed by this little story.
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"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge

I don't think there is a little graphic to go along with this yet. I found this yesterday on a site I visited for Thankful Thursday and decided I'd like to participate. Today is Day 1 of encouraging our husbands. You can read more by visiting Speaking from the Heart or a site called Reviving Our Hearts. The main idea is:

* You can't say anything negative about your husband ...to your husband...or to anyone else, about your husband.
* Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband...and to someone else, about your husband!

Day 1--The heart of her husband safely trusts her.

I was excited when I found this because I like to find new ways to encourage my husband. I look forward to participating and hope you'll want to also. I'll keep you updated.
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"The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life." Prov. 31:11-12