One day, in the middle of heavy tears and feeling like a piece of my heart was collapsing, I got an email.
That email invited me to contribute to an upcoming book by a community of encouraging and hope-filled writers. 80 authors altogether, and every one of them beautiful with hearts I adore. Some are close friends. Their words inspire me. Their view of God encourages me.
I didn’t feel encouraging myself that day, more like my hope ran out. How could I contribute when I was in the midst of something pretty darn messy myself?
All the ups and downs of dreams collided in a mix of emotion. One seemed to be dying and another coming true. A conundrum of feelings played out concurrently and sometimes that’s overwhelming. Isn’t it?
Life is never linear, clean, or free of hard. Whether our unpleasant circumstances are crazy tough or momentarily frustrating, we all have them.
Everyday messes.
What if we paused a moment in the middle of them?
If we did, would we see Jesus as our source of hope, because He is Hope with us?
What if we knew that joy didn’t have to be forced in hard circumstances? We can feel the feelings, grieve our losses, and find comfort in the one who knows suffering well. Jesus.
The more I’ve experienced the power of Jesus’ presence with me, the more I’ve come to know what joy is like. Not a forced facade, but something rooted in love and adoration for my Savior. I don’t make it happen. It’s the result of going to Him when times are dang rough. It’s the fruit of faith that grows because of Him.
In faith, I remember…
Everyday messes are never outside the love and grace of Jesus.
God’s been hard at work in my life for some time, but these last few years have been exceptional. Both for the duration of challenging things and the freedom God brings. As I’ve despaired and persevered, felt stuck and walked free, I’ve come to be OK with the way life isn’t perfect.
I am comforted, strengthened, and loved by the One who is perfect. His perfection covers all my failings.
I’m a recovering perfectionist for sure. Dang. It catches up with me. I look back at things I say and do and cringe because I later realize a “better” way to do it. It stops me short at times. I’m tempted to quit and stop doing the work I know God’s called me to do.
But, God.
He keeps pressing in and nudging my heart. When all I can do is ugly cry, He still listens.
When I got the email invitation to join these amazing writers, I felt unworthy, unwelcome, and unable.
Lies. All of them.
When the lies come, they must be fought. Lies come from the enemy of our souls and take us away from the healing, empowering love of our Father.
To win the battle of lies, we must find God’s truth present in our lives.
Nothing compares to digging into His Word directly. His Word is alive and penetrates our hearts in ways we cannot understand. It helps us know God more.
Even so, we are blessed to have devotional books that help us see a portion of scripture applied to real life. When we hear stories and insights from other people, we are given the gift of their perspective. That’s one of the things I love about this book by (in)Courage, A Moment to Breathe: 365 Devotions That Meet You in Your Everyday Mess.Â
80 authors. 80 beautiful voices sharing different stories, different kinds of hard, and different messes. All of them pointing to Jesus.
One thing I remembered as I battled my own lies; we all have messes. It’s OK to admit we have them, and it’s a good, good thing to look for hope in the midst of them.
In the middle of my mess, I said yes.
Did you get your FREE 10 Day Sampler? Find out more about this fabulous devotional and all 80 authors here. Then watch the video below for my review. I’d love to say Hi.Â
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Oh this would be such a great devotional to do together with my Mom!
Yes! That would be wonderful, Abby!
Thank You for your Work for the kingdom.
Jolene, I loved your honesty in this post. Congratulations for being a part of such a beautiful devotional book! I can’t wait to read it! We need to listen to the Lord ‘s truths when the enemy is whispering in our ear. I loved “To win the battle of lies, we must find God’s truth present in our lives.” So very true!
Thank you, Susan! You have been a beautiful encourager and support for writing sisters. I appreciate you. Let’s keep fighting the lies so we can rise up every time the enemy tries to knock us down. Blessings, beautiful.
You’re so kind Jolene! Thank you! You’re so right about rising up against the enemy. I love what you’re doing and I applaud all your accomplishments. When we rise up against the one who tries to defeat us we fight from a place of victory.Blessings to you beautiful sister in Christ!
I have been seeing this book everywhere I turn lately. It sounds so good! I would be blessed to share this with my daughter and friends.
What a great idea, Bettie! Best wishes to you on your entries.
Can’t wait to read this one. Congratulations again on being a contributor! I’m sure your words will bless many!
Thank you, Kate. Your encouragement means a lot. 🙂 I appreciate your voice in the writing world.
I’d be sharing this with my friend Sarah Jo for sure!
Yay! Books with friends are such a treat.
I’d be sharing this book with my daughter, Amber.
Her husband of almost 9 years left her, out of the blue, last October. She’s been having a rough time.