Fear – Encouragement for you!!

Phl 1:6: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Rom 12:1: And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Rom 12:2: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

When we look at these scriptures, we can see, that we are God’s work–but we are not His puppets—He wants us to respond to Him and what He is doing in and through our lives, by trusting Him, and offering our lives to Him. This is when we really start to see the transformative work of God in our lives. This is when Hope is born.

Rom 5:5: And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Offering ourselves to God is an act of faith, just as beginning a relationship with Him is an act of Faith. Faith can be expressed through prayer. If you want God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, you can ask Him to do this. Here is a link to click on that will explain more about being filled with God’s Spirit.

As always, May We Be Encouraged!

The Feast

Published on July 10, 2022 by katiesencouragementforyou2 Comments

Once upon a time, there was a girl who had a peanut butter sandwich. It had a few ants in it, and there were a few smudges of dirt on it. However, it was her sandwich–and in her mind–it was the thing that was standing between her and starvation.

While she was sitting there with her sandwich, hanging unto it, but not really eating it, she was approached by the King of her country. He told her that she was invited to a fabulous feast. He described the delicious, well-crafted food at the feast. It all sounded so, so very very good.

However, the King told the girl that she had to give Him her sandwich. If she gave Him her sandwich, then she could go into the feast.

The girl thought and thought, she wanted to eat the feast, but she was afraid to give up her sandwich. She had the sandwich, the feast was still a promise. Did she have enough faith to let go of the sandwich and walk into the feast?

I think in many ways, I am that girl and I’m holding unto the sandwich because I’m afraid to let go and walk into the feast.

This story is an illustration of faith. It is an illustration of God promising us His feast, but first we have to let go. We have to let go of the things we turn to for comfort—and everything we think will feed us–and turn to Him—-our true comfort, and our Feast, our Food—the bread of life.

Let me further illustrate with a story from my life. I have turned to food for comfort for most of my life. I remember when I was 9 years old, and a package arrived for me in the mail. It was a present from a favorite Aunt. I was hoping it was a box of chocolates. Instead, she had heard me talk about how my older siblings had a baby book, but I didn’t–so she bought me a baby book, so I would have one too. Presently, I treasure that baby book, and the thoughtfulness of my Aunt in thinking of me. However, at the time, I was disappointed that it was not a box of chocolates. I tell this story to illustrate my problem with sugar.

One might even say that I even have an addiction to sugar—it is what I turn to for comfort, and it is what I crave. For a long time, the Lord has been speaking to me about this issue, He has asked me to give this addiction to Him. I ignored Him.

I gained weight, and could not lose it. I developed a problem with my sugar levels. Finally, I turned to Him, and gave Him my “sandwich” so to speak. And My King has given me a feast.

It has not been easy to hand over my “sandwich”, in fact, it seems like each day, and many moments a day, I am faced with a decision to hand over that sandwich.

There are some verses from Romans 12 that have helped me so much: Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

In offering my life to God, I have seen God transform me. Physically, I have lost weight, and my blood sugar levels are good. Mentally, my mind seems clearer. Spiritually, I am seeing the truth more and more about who God is, and who I truly am in Him.

Just as a baby grows to be able to walk and talk, but that growth is a process, so too, my growth and faith have been and will continue to be a process. However, God’s love remains constant each step of the way.

May we be encouraged!!

What do I write about?

Published on August 12, 2021 by katiesencouragementforyou4 Comments

What do I write about? Who do I write to? These are questions that writers ask themselves.

For years, God had been telling me to write, and I would start writing but lacked the conviction to continue to write.

Finally, I said to God, “If You really want me to write, please tell me what to write, and tell me what to write about.”

God said, “I want you to write a blog. Write it to younger moms. Tell your stories, so that they may have the encouragement to love their husbands and love their children.”

When God said that, He was restating one of an older woman’s purposes in Titus 2:4 to encourage the younger women to love their husbands and their children.

Finally, I had direction. Finally, I had conviction. I could do this. I was still fearful, but I knew what I was doing, was in direct obedience to God, and that has helped me write this blog.

I have been writing this blog for just over 2 years.

I don’t have very many followers. 14 people liking my blog on WordPress—is a lot of likes for me. My blog has been read in many countries—which is really exciting to me—and I am becoming friends with other bloggers across the globe-which is also exciting to me.

But why do I write this blog? It’s pretty simple really. I write to encourage. I write to help. I write to obey.

Most of my blogs, I ask God—what do you want me to write about? And He tells me.

Almost always, my blogs are to show through my life stories—God’s faithfulness, God’s love, and God’s filling.

Here’s what happens after I write. I am almost always tested in the area I write about. My last blog was about, “Repairing the damage of your words.” Guess what happened?

My husband and I argued. There was a point, where I could have ended the argument — but no, I did not control my tongue, and instead poured more fuel onto the flame.

After our disagreement, I turned to the Lord and said, “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” I’m not sure what I meant by that—but that was how I felt.

God was very specific with me: “I will not fail you, however, whatever or whoever, you are putting your worth, your belonging, your significance in –will fail you, and you will fail whoever is putting their worth, belonging and significance in you.”

” I will not fail you. You belong in Me. You have worth in Me. You have significance in Me. ”

After God spoke those words of encouragement to me, something tight and hurt inside me, was lightened. I realized that the needs I had to be loved, to belong, to have worth, to have significance–were already mine in the Lord, and nothing could take them away from me.

My husband and I were able to speak honestly with each other, and it was a healing talk—the kind that feels as if something pivotal has happened, and some old sore wounds were starting to heal.

Today, when I was going to share someone else’s blog for your encouragement, God said—“Don’t do that today. Share this instead.”

So, I’m sharing this—because God does not just love me—He loves you, and He wants you to know—

“You belong, you have worth, you have significance!” You belong in Him! You have worth in Him! You have significance in Him!!”

Praying that you are encouraged and have the courage to obey the One who loves you as no one else does and as no one else can!

The Storms of Life

Published on June 3, 2021June 5, 2021 by katiesencouragementforyou3 Comments

One of the biggest lessons that God has been patiently teaching me, is how to live by faith, and not by my feelings. What do I mean by this? I mean that my feelings dominate everything in my life, and can many times lead me down the wrong path. I have learned to doubt my feelings, and double check them, before I act. I’m not always good at this, and many times God has to get my attention to listen to Him, when I come to a fork in a road.

Let me tell you a story that illustrates this point. I homeschool. I have homeschooled for over twenty years. My husband and I made this decision together—to homeschool our children. For the most part, it was a good decision. Our oldest is an IT guy—he started building his own computers when he was 14. Our second oldest is a Mechanical and Bio-Medical Engineer, working in his field of study. Our third is studying Music Performance and was on the President’s list all last year. I have one more child at home just starting high school.

My philosophy of homeschooling is that it is a relationship where God is in charge, and I just need to listen to Him, not my feelings, but God.

When my second oldest child was going into his junior year in High School, God was leading us to join a homeschool co-op about 40 minutes away. Most of the parents that taught in this co-op were engineers or spouses of engineers.

I was terrified. I felt inadequate, and my plate was already so full—I was afraid of failure. We went through the interviewing process, and we were accepted into the co-op. This was in May, and the co-op started in September. I was given my assignments of teaching two classes and helping with a committee. Again, I felt completely overwhelmed.

My feelings were telling me to withdraw, to not go into this co-op. I then looked at what I knew with my mind—my son was clearly gifted in engineering. He was on our communities’ Robotics’ team, and he wanted to study how things were made. He needed more challenges and accountability—this was the direction God was leading us.

Yet my feelings of terror persisted, until…..

I was driving during a torrential rainstorm. I had been praying in my mind, to the Lord, telling Him of all my fears and anxieties, and then, I was driving in this storm, that came out of nowhere. I could feel the car start to swerve and I could not see a thing. A weight descended upon our car, and it seemed as if the tires clung to the road. The presence of the Lord settled upon me. The Lord spoke to my heart, “I am with you. I will never leave you. I will walk with you through this.”

I thought the Lord was referring to this co-op, that He would be with me and help me through this time—and He was, but it was so much more—this happened a year before He took my son Sean home. In hindsight, I realize that this is what our Lord was also referring to—He would be with me through the storms of life. He would get me through. This is what it means to live by faith—knowing that we don’t have to go through this life alone—God will be there for us, helping us take one step at a time-in His power, and through His grace, to do His Will.

So Let Us Be Encouraged!!

** Picture is of my dad, his brothers and a friend. Men who have weathered the storms of life with God’s grace.