by Alaina | Jan 15, 2023 | Sunday Scripture
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
This year has not started off quite like I wanted. Then again it might be more accurate to say that 2022 didn’t end like I wanted it also. It really was not in the plans, as far as I was concerned, for my husband and I to get the flu right before Christmas and be sick over Christmas day. It was really not my plan for my 7-month-old to get sick with the flu just as my husband and I started to recover, to then have a sick, fussy baby to worry about when I wanted to get a few projects crossed off my to-do list and play with my happy, smiley baby—not anxiously be holding my baby as I watched his fever climb higher and higher despite the Tylenol we had given him. But such is life sometimes….
Sometimes we have weeks like this, sometimes we have days, and sometimes we have years like this. This past year did not go as I had planned for it to either. In some regards it did; we had a healthy baby in May as was the plan. Other things though, did not go as I wanted it to and it messed up the plans I had for us.
I don’t know about you but when I came up with the game plan for my life, it was a pretty straight line going up without a bunch of ups and down, certainly no loops where we find ourselves back at the beginning. I remember being very little, I was still in daycare, and someone brought in Monopoly… several of the “older” kids teamed up with us younger ones and basically played the game for us. I really had no clue what the game was about, I just knew that if everyone else wanted to play it—I did too. So I sat at the table while one of the older kids moved my piece. At one point she turned to me and told me I had landed in jail. I had no idea that jail was part of the bargain of this game and I remember thinking what that cold jail cell would be like, when would the police come to get me, and would my mom be coming too or would I have to be alone. Thankfully I did not have long to ponder these thoughts as it was our turn again and I was able to get out of jail. What a lucky break! I got up from that table and have not cared for Monopoly since getting that fright of my little life! Since then I have done my utmost to stay out of jail!
Staying out of jail in Monopoly is pretty easy—just don’t play it! I like cause and effect, if you do X then Y happens. What I’m not a big fan of is the unpredictable. Which is exactly how life operates!
Life is a lot like Monopoly in some ways—we go in circles slowly making progress rather than just in one straight line. As we make our way through the circuitous journey, it is full of ‘go back to start’ and seemingly pointless loops, making slow progress toward our end. Life really isn’t about the destination—death is the final destination every single one of us will reach.
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Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
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by Alaina | Jan 8, 2023 | Sunday Scripture
Happy New Year! We have made it through yet another year and we have a fresh new year stretching out before us! I have seen a lot of highlight reels depicting everyone’s favorite everything coming through my social media feed. I’ve seen favorite books, best meals, best restaurants, and highlights of vacations—everyone’s best moments of their lives from 2022. It seems everyone cannot wait to show off the very best of their lives from the past year.
Isn’t it interesting that it’s usually not the best moments of our lives through which our characters are most impacted? Rather, it is those hard seasons, the really hard times when we are forged in fire that fundamentally transform us the most. Yet, those moments are the ones we are least likely to share. We not only don’t want to dwell in the hard season but we want to act like the hard seasons don’t exist. However, to dismiss the hard seasons of our lives is to dismiss the tough work God is doing in our lives.
Take the story of Ruth in the Bible—we like that story! We like that Ruth is loyal and loving to her mother-in-law and follows Naomi back to Naomi’s homeland where Ruth has to work very hard to scrape out a living for them. Ruth’s hard work pays off and she ends up catching the eye of the town’s most eligible bachelor. They get married and she never has to worry about how she will provide for Naomi or herself ever again. This is a lovely story but it’s not the full story of Ruth’s life. When we rewind a little bit further, we get to the part of the story where Ruth was young and she married. If her devotion to Naomi is any indication, then Ruth was a woman who loved deeply and had to have been devastated when her husband died. The life she thought she was going to have was shattered. She had a bad year, followed by another as she tried to put the pieces of her life back into some sort of shape that made sense. We don’t know exactly how long elapsed between her husband dying and her new marriage to Boaz.
We live in a world where everyone is rushing around trying to “live better” than they did the year before. But that may not be how your life was—it’s okay if you felt as though you just survived 2022. I’m praying this will be the best year yet for you, but it might not be. It might be a year when, like Ruth, your character is shaped and refined. Even if it’s not something that looks good on social media, this might be the year in which God forges the character traits in you that you will be remembered for in years yet to come—just like we now remember Ruth’s character all these years later.
Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
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by Alaina | Dec 11, 2022 | Sunday Scripture
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings
Hebrew 10:22(a)
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear
Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and
Error pining
Till he appeared
and the soul felt its worth
Have you allowed your soul to feel its worth lately? Have you really soaked in the fact that you were made one of a kind, the only you that has ever been or will ever be. You are the only you there is, and God wanted you here for a reason. Have you felt that lately, or are you feeling like just another person on a crowded planet?
I’ll bet that’s how the shepherds felt all those years ago. They were not of the upper echelons of society. Shepherds were necessary and people were grateful that shepherds existed, but they didn’t really want to invite them over for dinner! They were lowly people in society, and yet, unto them the angels came:
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your kees
Oh hear the angel voices
The Shepherds heard and saw the angels- it had to be the highlight of their lives, angels filling the night sky- even more than the stars filled the sky!
God could have sent the angel to tell the coming of His Son to the high priests and rulers of nations. He could have sent them to the people that got stuff done and could make a big impact quickly. No, true to His nature God sent the angel not to the ruling class who could force others to worship this new baby but instead He sent them to the shepherds. Shepherds! Normal everyday people! Not even middle class citizens by today’s standard! But God sent the angels to the shepherd because the shepherd’s souls mattered. They had worth to God, not because they were anyone special or important but because they were people created in His image. And He loved them.
I don’t know who has told you that you don’t have worth, but I’m sure that someone, somewhere, in some way has told you that you don’t measure up. That you aren’t enough, but you are. Your soul has worth, so much worth that the God of the universe went through years of miserable life here on Earth, to be tortured to death to save your never ending soul. These verses of the bible were not just written to a people long ago; they were inspired to transcend time to be applicable in your life too, these words were written for you! How would your life change if you believed The All Powerful God of the Universe was saying these following verses to you?
For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whosoever, shall believe in Him, shall not die but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-7
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
Hebrews 10: 35
The King of the universe sent his Son to die for you because he loves you. He wants you to draw near to the throne of grace and receive all the grace and love He has to offer. He knows how many hairs are on your head, and He want you to live out His love and plan for your life confidently.
I hope these verses encourage you that you have worth, that your soul has worth, and you are loved beyond measure by God who knit you together in your mother’s womb and then sent his son to earth, as a little baby in a manger, all those years ago!
Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
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by Alaina | Dec 4, 2022 | Sunday Scripture
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Luke 1:28 NIV
As it is the Christmas season I have been reflecting on Christmases past… and how nice it must have been to plan a schedule for my day and have it go, well, according to the schedule! How did my days ever not go as planned prior to having a baby? It was just me and my husband—how did the schedule get messed up? Now don’t get me wrong—I love our little baby! As I just said, I can’t remember what life was like before we had him. But…the one thing we can count on now is that pretty much nothing will go according to plan.
Our son is a pretty good little baby; he’s a little on the fussy side but he has a schedule that he more or less sticks to and that makes things a little bit easier. But it never fails, the day we have plans or that we’re hosting a holiday party and my husband is busy with his own things, is always the day that my son decides not to nap! I do talk to my son about following his schedule. He insists that 30 minutes is plenty of time for a 6-month-old baby to nap! I don’t like it when he doesn’t follow his schedule because that reminds me that I don’t have total control over this child, and I rather like having some control over my life.
Having a little baby boy at this time of year I can’t help but be reminded of the Christmas story of Christ’s birth. How must it have been to be Mary? She had to give up control over her life. There Mary was, a young woman in a day and age when women had very little value or rights apart from the man to which they were married. She most likely didn’t know Joseph very well and he was also most likely quite a bit older than she. Mary was probably at least a little nervous and apprehensive about her upcoming marriage. Then she gets the shock of her life.
An Angel tells her she has been chosen to be the earthly mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. What an honor! But also what a weight to carry. Even though the Jews knew that eventually, someone would immaculately conceive the Messiah they were still about as likely to believe that she was the one, as you and I would be if someone tried to sell us that story today. Mary had to tell her family and Joseph, and pray that they believed her. She had to have great faith. At first, Joseph didn’t believe her; he was going to quietly break off their engagement—until an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him not to. Thankfully Joseph listened.
God interceded on Mary’s behalf with her family but what faith she had to have! Faith that she could only have by giving up control and trusting in God. He had chosen to bless her above all women as the one who would carry and bring Jesus into this world. Mary could have argued. She could have asked not to be the one to have her life complicated by this blessing. She could have been like Moses and asked God to choose someone else, but she didn’t. Mary received, what I would argue to be the biggest blessing anyone in this world could have, but it wasn’t easy. She had to accept it and the weight of all that came with it. She had to give up caring about what people thought of her. She had to let go of whatever plans she had for her life. She had to give up control and have faith. What would we have done in her place?
Would we have so gratefully accepted God’s will in our life? What blessings would have been robbed from Mary if she had argued! What do we miss out on because we are not willing to step out in faith and give up control over the plans we have for our lives?
Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
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by Alaina | Nov 27, 2022 | Sunday Scripture
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
Here in America we just celebrated thanksgiving; the holiday that commemorates when the Pilgrims and the Native Americans came together to have a feast celebrating that the Pilgrims had made it through a tough winter, had been befriended by the Native Americans and now they were giving thanks to God for bringing them through…
The Pilgrims were no strangers to suffering. They had moved from England to Holland to worship as they chose; only to find that after rooting up their lives that Holland was not a great place to worship as they chose. So they had started to look for other options… After being cheated out of their fair by one captain, they finally found another Captain of a ship who agreed to take them to the new world. They stepped out in faith trusting God would see them safely through. He did; despite sailing at just about the worst time of year, none of the pilgrims lost their lives on the voyage over.
However, their trials were not yet over. The Pilgrims arrived in America at the onset of a brutal New England winter. It was very cold, and their food stores were running low. Malnourishment caused many of them to fall ill and die. Still, the remaining ones persevered. That was when God brought Squanto, an English-speaking Native American into their lives. Squanto and the other Native Americans in his tribe befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to wrest a living from this new land.
Can you imagine being one of the Pilgrims? Here you are just trying to put your faith first, trying to build a new life to worship God in the way you feel is biblical and setback after setback occurs. The pilgrims had to have taken to heart the verse, “In this world, ye shall have trials and tribulations but take heart for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
The Pilgrims had to have questioned God that first winter, while they watched loved one after loved one perish; but instead of turning their backs on God, and trying to find the quickest boat home, they continued to build the life to which they believed God had called them. God rewarded them. He blessed their efforts. A while later they were able to celebrate a bountiful harvest and a friendship with new people. The pilgrims had lived Paul’s words in Philippians 4:11&12, where Paul says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (NIV)
It is so easy to praise God when things are good, but it is much harder to genuinely believe that God is still the loving father He professes to be when your family is starving and dying- but He still is! Could the Pilgrims have truly built a new life if they hadn’t been put through the refining fire? Would they have had the grit to handle the rest of the challenges they would face building a new civilization? God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. The pilgrims believed this- do you?
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Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
by Alaina | Nov 20, 2022 | Sunday Scripture
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Psalms 139:23
It was a beautiful labor day, the perfect kind of day to go biking with family! My husband had to work on this particular Labor Day, but my parents, aunt and uncle were biking on a beautiful stretch of trail with lots of little bridges over creeks and streams still lush with green summer foliage along their banks. I decided to meet them at the trailhead for a day filled with biking fun. Or so I thought…
We arrived at the trailhead and were busy unloading our bikes from our cars when I realized that along with these beautiful little bridges there were lots of cement poles (designed to keep motorized vehicles off of the trail). I am not a fan of those kinds of poles. Why must they be so narrow? They are intimidating. I think they work great to keep cars and 4-wheelers off of trails but they very nearly keep bicycles off too—you really have to make sure you are lined up before going through them so as not to hit one of the poles or scrap your leg on one.
We had biked quite a distance and I had made it successfully through all of the poled entrances without incident, and we had just turned around and were on our way back. I had gained some confidence over this ride and was now sailing right through those poles with hardly a second thought! Slow down for them? Please—that is for amateurs!
As we headed back to our cars there were two poles that I had to ride through—I confidently lined up my handlebars and without slowing proceeded through them. Almost. I remember having the fleeting thought that these poles were higher than the others and I just might hit my handlebar as I felt a huge jolt go through my body as I went flying over the handlebars, landing painfully on the ground. My knee and wrist broke the fall, and I landed face down on the trail. I laid there, very closely observing the asphalt trail and started to laugh. It was not because I had not gotten hurt—I had skinned myself up pretty well but rather because here I was a young 20-something biking with four geriatrics (they were all over 60) and who got hurt? Me! I should have been the fast one without balance issues but no, I was the one to misjudge and went flying over the handlebars!
We see instances of pride tripping people up all throughout scripture. Saul becomes proud and when the women sing David’s praises. It literally drives Saul crazy. We see Judas Iscariot, the respected treasurer, betray Jesus for 20 silver coins. We see Hamman build a scaffold to hang Mordecai, only for the tables to turn and instead Hamman himself is hung from this scaffold. The Bible is clear about these messages: pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Just like I went flying over the handlebars of my bicycle so each of these people went flying and landed face down on the proverbial ground as well.
It is, of course, good and healthy to take pride in certain things in life; our family, the way we do a job, and so forth, but the harm comes when we make any of these good things an idol. Let us always have the heart David did when he wrote, “Search me oh God and know my heart.”
Disclosure
Please remember that this post contains affiliate links; that means if you click on the link, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s a way to support my blog! I will only ever share an affiliate link if I love the product and think that you just might love it too!
