Tag: christmas

Still…

Still…

by misschellash ♥ 2 Comments

I’ve been working over the Christmas holiday stretch (Friday thru tonight) and before you put an ounce of sympathy or empathy on, that’s what is making me uncomfortable. I don’t want to minimize anyone who came into my place of work and gave a gift or their love BUT God chose to place me here and give me a heart for this line of work during this season of my life. The truth of the matter is I celebrate Jesus everyday. Christmas is no different in my heart. I can love Him and celebrate Him no matter where I am! Sure, I miss my family, but again, I miss them every day and I treasure the time I get with them when God blesses me with it.

Every sentence that was a version of “I’m so sorry you have to be here on Christmas”, as kind as it was meant to be, hurt my heart. I am never sorry to be where God calls. Being in His will is what I want, all I want for my life! I want what He wants!

And I was never really alone. Although, at times, I was alone in the police department. I am constantly surrounded by the love of my coworkers and most importantly God’s love. Plus, I got a surprise visit from my best friend. More proof, God has blessed me, those -pathys would be such a waste!

However, it does lead me to another thought… I’m no stranger to loneliness. I’ve been single for almost 4 years. I’ve been living alone, or with a roommate for the past 3 years. I’ve lived over an hour or more away from my hometown for even longer. Silence, it makes loneliness even more real, even louder, and sometimes, very painful.

In this “lonely” time, down time, I can find myself mindlessly scrolling through social media. Over Christmas, I was excited to see pictures of family and friends together celebrating, in matching pjs, opening gifts, being silly, and just loving on each other! But in my scrolling, I started thinking about my friends, family, and strangers alike who would be hurting. The ones who aren’t quite there yet. The ones who would find everyone else’s joy painful, or who hide behind false smiles. Picture after picture of announcements. Engagements. Pregnancies. Love. Love. Love. God’s grace, His goodness from here to there. But still, I couldn’t get past the tugging in my heart, there are His children who STILL feel lost, hurt, lonely and helpless even in the middle of this holiday. There they are, STILL WAITING for their promises to be fulfilled. Wondering why God has “forgotten” them. Like a child who feels like Santa got lost on the way to their house Christmas Eve. The waiting gets tiresome. The waiting gets hurtful. The waiting gets old!

 

Everytime that you feel alone… He is STILL there.

Everytime that you feel let down… He is STILL there.

Everytime that you feel hurt… He is STILL there.

Everytime that you feel lost… He is STILL there.

Everytime that you feel forsaken… He is STILL there.

Everytime that you feel confused… He is STILL there.

 

So maybe none of us are like Thomas, and actually got to touch the holes left by the nails, but we still believe. We see the evidence of Him in our lives every single day. So we keep on keeping on. Moving forward into the future and the life He has promised, on this side AND ultimately what we all really want the life with Him in the great beyond!

If you are still in that waiting period, I really want to encourage you. I’m still there too! Waiting for the love of my life, waiting for my dream job, waiting for my answer. Does that sound all too familiar? It took me a long time to understand that God’s goodness, His grace, His will, and His love will always SUSTAIN me. Wanting what He wants for my life will be what truly fulfills my destiny on this side of the blue. If I do not live in His will, something will always be missing.

Open your heart, let Him in. Let Him fill your loneliness. Let Him fill your voids. Let Him heal your hurts. Let Him love you. I promise it will be worth it.

My dig in deeper for the bible, Isaiah! Don’t you have like 15 favorite scriptures from Isaiah?!?! It’s right there in the chapter titles… 40 – Comfort for God’s People, 41 – God’s Help for Israel 

Isaiah 40:28

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

Isaiah 40:31

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 41:13
For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
Isaiah 43:18-19
But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
I want to pray with you guys:
Lord, I thank You for this platform, this life, and every blessing that comes with it! I pray to surrender my life to You. I want what you want for my life. I want to hand everything in my life over to You. I want to give it all FREELY to You and not attempt to pick it back up. Once I have laid it at your feet, no take backs. I pray Your comfort over every reader, over every loved one, over every enemy. I pray we can all be more like You in our every day. Many of us are still in our waiting seasons. There is a reason and goodness for that waiting, and we must be in peace for it. I pray we all learn to be thankful for it. Lord, thank You for NEVER leaving any of us alone.
In Jesus’ Name.
With Love,
Michelle
Beautiful Beginnings

Beautiful Beginnings

by misschellash ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

My very FIRST blog post!

I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m feeling countless other emotions, BUT I know God called me to do this. I hope through this blog I am able to connect with other believers on their journeys, and we can have a community, a church right here on the interwebs. I also hope that maybe I can reach someone who hasn’t quite found the way to Jesus, and give them a path to Him, or at least show them the light is there, He is there, and He simply wants to love them.

It would be fitting that I would start my blogging journey around one of my favorite times of year, Christmas! Christmas is so full of wonder, beauty, and love. And it is Jesus’s birthday! Hallelujah!

Gifts… Probably my favorite part! Who doesn’t love a gift?!?!?! I’m a giver and not such a good receiver but that’s really what I want to talk about. Christmas marks the beginning of the most perfect gift ever given. God sent His son to us, so we could forever have a life with Him. Nothing else can ever compare. As believers, we receive this as truth, but do we actually receive what Jesus did in His life here on earth as our “gift”. I’m serious when I say I’m not good at receiving gifts, so why would God’s grace be any different. Most of my life I would shy away, turn my eyes downward, and believe I was never going to be good enough. But do we do that with our Christmas gifts? Do we open them and hand them back? Saying we aren’t good enough, walking away with guilt or shame? So why do we do that when God opens His arms to us and invites us in, or chases us down with His grace, His forgiveness, His everlasting love? We try to give the gift back, believing we cannot receive it! But I am here to remind you, receive it because He loves you and NOTHING can ever change that! Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice so you and I could be made clean and although always sinners, loved by the Almighty.

Let’s make an effort to be the best receivers we can be for the Lord! I believe He wants nothing more than for us to just openly, wholeheartedly take in His gifts, His blessings. Can you imagine all of the crazy love we are deflecting because we doubt ourselves or our standing in His eyes? Shake that thinking off and understand, just know you are enough. No matter what you have done, when you surrender your life to Him that gift has you covered.

 

Some scripture I’m am studying related to this time of year :

John 3:16

For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Mark 10:45

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as ransom for many.

Galatians 1:3-5

May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Jesus have His life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!

 

 

So here it is! My first post! Beautiful beginnings… Mine to the blogging world, and honoring Jesus in His!

 

In closing, here is my prayer…

Thank You Father for a new platform and the words to glorify You! Thank You for the life You have given me, and the gifts You send every single day. I especially want to thank You for the greatest gift, Jesus. Without Him, we could not receive all good things from You! I thank You for the readers of this blog and I pray You bless them beyond their wildest dreams. Lord I pray You allow this blog to grow and honor You.

In Jesus’ Name.

 

With Love,

Michelle

 

 

 

I’m going to put the link for my day’s playlist here:

(I will do this with every post, my Spotify and playlists are public)

(This playlist was created after attending the Big Church Night Out Tour a few times. The tour is over now, but the memories are forever!)

Spotify is my go to for music!