The Heart's Song Is Never Silent

I’ve been thinking of Hannah a lot lately...you know, the mother of Samuel one of the prophets in ancient Israel? Well before she was known as Samuel’s mother,  she was Elkanah’s barren wife. I’m convinced that too often we place premature titles on ourselves, based on our current circumstances, or prior experiences. Here are a few of my observations on Hannah that I believe we can all learn from: Firstly, she persevered in prayer. Though her heart was filled with sorrow, and she was overcome with grief over her long awaited desire to have a child, she brought her sadness to God. “She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”  ‭‭1 Samuel 1:10 ESV I don’t believe it was by happenstance that Eli saw her, and interceded with God on her behalf. I believe Hannah was in the right place-the house of God- and displayed the proper posture. She knew of the loving kindness of the Lord, had possibly heard of His great exploits for His people Israel, and she expe...

The joy of the Lord is our strength...it is not contingent on outward circumstances, feelings, or what we can readily see. God is strong, He is mighty to save, and like the good Father that He is, He cares about every area of our lives. He desires that in all things we would prosper, even as our soul prospers. He is never far away from our cries, no matter how isolated we may sometimes feel, He is closer than our very breath. No matter what raging sea lies before you threatening to engulf your very life, remember that we serve a God who can still the waves. No matter what furnace you find yourself standing in, remember that we have a Lord who walks in the fire with us, and keeps us from being burned by the flames . Is anything too hard for God? Trust Him, at the appointed time He will move on your behalf. “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬ http://bible.c...

Sometimes the things you don’t see coming in life can blindside you the most: such as a family member being diagnosed with one of those scary words, that somewhere in the back of your mind you thought was reserved for TV medical dramas. I’ve learned that God is so much bigger than any fear that may try to creep into our heart. We’re human: flesh, and blood, God remembers our frame that we are dust...but He is eternal, our God who gives strength to the weak, and power to the powerless. I remember at what felt like my most hopeless moment, in a pit of disbelief at what was happening around me, and feeling so utterly alone, suddenly I could feel God’s Presence, palpably...it felt like I was surrounded totally, in His arms. The angst, and worry flew away, and I was completely at peace, and felt I could get through the rest of the day. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and is available to give us this comfort if we will come to Him. We don’t have to have it all together. Perhaps in your momen...

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I’ve always loved to read, and writing just always seemed to come naturally to me. As a child I would write short stories, and I attempted to complete a novel when I was around 12. I kept a notebook of poetry all throughout high school, and would read my poems to anyone with a willing ear. Although I had this desire, and God given talent to write, I didn’t see how I could ever use it in a career...so I kept the dream of one day writing a book kind of hidden away in the trophy room of my heart, and only stopped by to occasionally stare at it wistfully, and brush the dust, and cobwebs away. In 2016, I began to have an intense desire to share encouragement with believers, and non-believers alike some of the things I wish I had known when I was younger...such as just how much Jesus loves me, and desires me to give my heart freely to Him; recognizing and believing this fact changes everything. I began to write a book called Dear Younger Me which consists of letters to my younger self, and s...

Praise is a weapon, and it’s so important that we learn to use it appropriately. We all have challenging days, and it’s those very times that we need to cling to Jesus. The Bible tells us that God inhabits our praise; Inhabit  is defined as: ‘to exist or be situated within; dwell in’ I don’t know about you, but when I encounter difficulties or trials, there is nothing better than knowing that God is in the midst of it with me; moving and working on my behalf. I’m not going to say that my flesh doesn’t fight against this, and that there aren’t times when I want to ‘clap back’ as they say...after all they deserve it right? You hurt me, so I hurt you? It’s the way of the world after all, and we have so many sayings that attest to this...that speak of revenge, and payback...but God doesn’t agree with the things of this world.  Psalm 22:3 KJV 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Something starts to happen when I begin to praise God for who ...

Today I finally had a chance to get outside and tend to my garden. I've been working a lot lately, and unfortunately the neglect was evident, based on the overgrown vines, and plants barely hanging on to life. Though my garden was looking pretty pitiful, I still had hope because I had revived failing flowers in the past. As I stooped in the dirt, with what sounded like a million mosquitos singing in my ears despite the repellant i was covered in, I started to think about the garden of my soul. It's so easy for troubles, and cares to creep in to our hearts like vines if we're not careful, and choke out the Word of the Lord. I'm sure you've been there, so concerned about a certain problem, or situation, that your fears -also known as the lies of the enemy- begin to drown out those things you know to be true about God. You even begin to forget those miracles He's done in your life previously, the giants He has slain, and His all sufficiency. Before you know it, yo...