We've all had trials in our lives, tough times where a lot of us have probably asked...why me? Why is this happening to me?? Or, why is this happening to the person that I love? I know I have asked that of God many times in my life. We tend, as humans, to focus on the trial alone and wonder why. Why me?
I sit and watch as beautiful pastel colors seep and blend into the canvas of the dark morning sky, like watercolors spilling onto a blank piece of paper, and I think about the blank canvas of this new day. And I wonder what the Master Artist envisions for me today. For my children, for the … Continue reading The Blank Canvas of a New Day
"BUT, I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously." Psalm 13:5-6 Why do these verses of praise start with a "but"? Before the Psalmist gets to the praise, some wrestling was going on. I get that. I … Continue reading The Wrestling Before the Praise
The verse "Be still and know that I am God" encourages us to release our worries, anxieties, and control, and to embrace stillness in God's presence. By experiencing and recognizing Him, leaning into His plan, and trusting His character, we find peace, healing, joy, protection, and rest. This trust allows our minds to rest freely in Him.
O Lord, You have searched me and known me!Psalm 139:1 Do you remember the excitement of new love?! Do you remember how it felt in the discovery stage of one another...when you began to realize that this new person in your life might possibly be "the one" that you've been waiting for and praying for? … Continue reading Search and Know…Reflections From Psalm 139:1
We all love a Christmas tree, all lit up, decorated...it smells wonderful and brings life to the Christmas season. That's what it represents...Life. Christ, and the new life that He brings to us. We all love posting and sharing pictures of our trees looking all pretty. Today I was taking my tree down...it was ugly … Continue reading What I learned from my dead Christmas tree…
I've been forgetting to look up lately. This morning on my run, listening to a song about God's faithfulness, I looked up and the sky was stunning. I had to stop and take a picture...even though pictures never do the real thing justice. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims … Continue reading Look Up
It's a battle down here, Father. I'm feeling anxious. I feel like I'm always battling. Things seen, things unseen, it feels like a constant struggle just to exist. You say rest and trust. Why is it so hard sometimes? When I focus on Truth I see clearly that I can rest and stop striving when … Continue reading The Best Kind of Struggle
 "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable-if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise-dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8 I love how the Lord strings His truths together like lights on a wire. His Word is alive … Continue reading Grieving in the Lovely
I normally do really intense and in-depth studies of God's Word...if you've been in one of my small groups, you know this to be true. But lately, I keep sitting down at the table to where my Bible is flipped open in the Psalms and don't get any further. I've been rubbing the Psalms in … Continue reading The Rock
Nicole Dotson 