1 Kings 17:7-16 NIV Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread–only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it–and die.” 

A jar and a jug. That’s all the woman had left. Empty vessels that only contained just enough to make one last meal…if that. And of course, that’s what God would ask of her. God is asking her to give her last, her pitiful, her nothing left to give. Is God asking the same from you today? 

When my marriage was falling apart, I had nothing left. I had no husband. I had no kids. I had no job, because I’d just left it to hopefully begin the adoption process, since we’d been unable to conceive for 10 years. Therefore, I had no money. I had a nice house, but just like that jar and jug, it was empty with no family to fill it. I had nothing left to give. That’s when God showed up asking for my everything. I showed Him my empty jar and jug and told Him that was all I had left. 

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’ ” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. 

That day, God looked at my sad jar and jug, but I don’t think He saw what I saw. I saw the impossible. I looked around and saw the same drought I’m sure that widow saw, but God saw something He could work with. After I showed God my jug and jar, just like the widow, God gave me a promise. To the widow, He promised that jug and jar would never run dry. To me, He promised He would restore my marriage to a husband who no longer wanted me. Later, He would promise me children after 10 years of infertility. If I would give Him all that I had, He was promising to fill my home with a family. Through my perspective, I was giving him nothing, but to God, I was giving Him everything. 

So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

Just like the widow, God fulfilled His promises to me. Her jar of flour never ran out, and her jug of oil never ran dry. God did restore my marriage, and God did bless us with 4 biological children.  Imagine that, I never did have to start the adoption process. God had different plans. He saw what I couldn’t. He turned my nothing into my everything. Now, it’s been almost 13 years since God filled my jar and jug, and it still never runs dry! However, I wish I could say that it was smooth sailing after God filled my jug and jar, but, just like the widow, He wasn’t done building faith and performing miracles. 

1Ki 17:17-24 NIV Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”

In 2018, our 3-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Just like that widow again, I couldn’t understand why God would take away my child after seeing the impossible He could do. I cried. I questioned. I prayed…just like Elijah in that upper room. And just like with Elijah, God met me in that hospital room. God made me another promise. He told me that no harm would come to our daughter, if I would trust Him to take care of her. It wasn’t easy. It was so hard watching our little girl lose her hair. The difficult journey would include numerous doctors, too many needles, surgeries, and hospital stays, but God held our hands every single step. Now our daughter is a healthy, vibrant 10-year-old girl busy with school, church, and ballet. Looking at her, no one could ever tell what she’s been through. No one would know the miracle she is…TWICE! First, her birth, then her healing. So I write about it. 

I try to tell others that if you just give God an empty jug and jar, He can do amazing things! Just trust Him…He’ll never let you run dry!

John 7:38 NIV Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Haggai 2:3  ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

Picture this: Exiles come back to Jerusalem 70 years after its destruction to rebuild the Temple just as God promised, except this Temple is nothing as grand as Solomon’s Temple. The people who remember the first Temple are completely distraught by this. But God sends two prophets, Haggai & Zechariah, to encourage these people. He tells them through these prophets to not despise these “small beginnings.”

Zechariah 4:10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

God promises the latter glory will be greater and He will fill it again with His presence. Then, He tells them their only job is to work on it and be strong, i.e. trust Him! Finally, He motivates them to do just that!

Haggai 2:4-7 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while…I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.

Looking back through my journals of those early days of restoration, this was the same for my marriage. The pain was unbearable. The ups. The downs. The confusion. The recovering from rejection. Some days it was all too much. I couldn’t understand why my returned prodigal wasn’t more changed, more humble, just more. So many days I begged God to release me from my stand, because, yes, I was still standing for my marriage even in restoration – even when I didn’t want to anymore. 

Probably the most poignant memory I have of those early days is after a fight with my husband, I go outside to sit on the porch alone to vent to God about how unfair it all was. I hadn’t been the one to leave. I hadn’t been the one who’d committed adultery. I hadn’t been the one to seek a divorce. Yet, I was the one hurting! Why wasn’t my husband more? Why hadn’t he changed enough? Why Why Why? Then the Holy Spirit whispered, “Do you believe God works on the other side of the mountain?” I said, “yes.” “Then trust that God is still working on the other side of the mountain…all that you see are just circumstances. God’s not done with JW/y’all yet.”

He had to change my perspective. I thought the return home of the prodigal was the end of a painful chapter in our marriage, but He was telling me it wasn’t the end, but the beginning. He was encouraging me to not be frustrated about that, instead be hopeful, strong, and expectant of what He’s going to do in us! “Don’t despise these small beginnings.”

It’s been over 13 years ago since those tumultuous and painful early days of restoration. I look back over those words in my journals (yes, there were many) and realize we’re not those same people. It’s not the same marriage. It’s not the same emotions. He really has filled this latter house with His glory and it is so much greater!

Haggai 2:9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.’”

Let this be an encouragement to you. Don’t despise your small beginnings. Don’t give up in your restoration. What you see now are just circumstances, too. God’s got greater plans! Be strong and do not fear!

Isaiah 63:9 (NLT) In all their suffering, He also suffered. He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

I’ve been reading through Ezekiel with The Bible Recap plan and Bible Project video overviews. I learned that when God sends His people into Babylonian exile, His glory departs the Temple and He leaves it to its fate of destruction. His Glory heads east to Babylon and His Remnant. He tells them that He will be their sanctuary for this time in exile.

So picture all of this: The Temple was supposed to be the special home for God, made with the treasures King David had stored up for this project his heart longed to build. His son King Solomon is the one to build it, this elaborate building no one had seen before or since. God fills it with His presence as a visible cloud! Imagine the stunning vision! However, time moves on and the people’s sins increase. They forget their God and pursue other idols, selfishness, and evil. God warns them for centuries to come back to Him, but they never do. Finally, it’s too much to ignore. His presence leaves the Temple, and He destroys it and His people just as He said He would if they continued in their sin.

Yet Ezekiel sees in visions that God still doesn’t give up on His people. He promised He would save a remnant of His people. This remnant He sends in exile to Babylon. And it’s this remnant that God follows into exile! Even in exile, God is there! Even in our pain, God is there with us!

But here’s the heartbreaking point of the story. Ezekiel 10:19 says that as God is leaving the Temple, He stops at the East Gate. Tara Leigh Cobble from The Bible Recap says it’s like He takes one last longing look at what once was, what could have been, and what was lost. Then He moves forward…but He moves toward His people.

This resonated with me. I broke down and cried for a long time. God truly does know how we feel. In my mind, I was flung back in time when I discovered my husband’s infidelity. We were in the early days of restoration, and it destroyed me. There was a part of me that hated my husband after this revelation. I hated what he had done to us. There was a part of me that didn’t want him anymore. I begged God to release me from him, from our marriage, from the pain. He wouldn’t do it. He just let me cry and rant and rave. God knew exactly how I felt. I mourned the loss of purity in our marriage. Our marriage bed had been defiled and we could NEVER go back! It could NEVER BE UNDONE! The Lord let me grieve. He had done the same with His people, Israel. He even compared them multiple times to adulterous wives! But, He wouldn’t let me give up on my marriage or my husband, just like he NEVER gave up completely on His people. In spite of His sadness and grief, He had a plan through it…eventually, He would send His Son to make the ultimate sacrifice to not only redeem Israel, but make a way for ALL to come to Him! There was beauty in His plan, purpose in His own grief!

There was beauty and purpose in mine as well. I’m so grateful I didn’t give up on my husband. I’m so glad I didn’t walk away from my marriage, because it could no longer be what it was! It ended up being better! My marriage today is strong and intimate and blessed. We’ve still gone through some awful, terrible things since, like poverty, house loss, and especially our daughter’s leukemia, but we’ve done it together in trust, love, and with the Lord.

As a side note, I also remember a time after leukemia when I kept looking back at pictures before cancer struck our family. I’d long to go back in time before our daughter’s diagnosis to simpler days, to less painful days; days that weren’t so hard. God knows this pain too. He truly understands. He’s not so big, He can’t feel. He’s not so great, He can’t hurt!

In all our suffering, we forget God suffers too. It’s never hit me like it has today, just how much God suffers when we hurt Him, when we walk away, when we choose to sin. But regardless of His pain, He’s still merciful; He’s still faithful. Our minds can’t conceive how wonderful He truly is!

Remember, He is right there with you in your pain and He knows exactly how you feel.

Last week, I had the fortunate opportunity to learn all about the timber industry, from the tree farms to the mills to the products we depend on daily. I got to visit a working plywood mill. It was fascinating! Not once in all my life did I ever realize they take a tree, lie it on its side, and unroll that thing (using a massive blade by the way) like a roll of toilet paper!!! They are able to transform that single tree into one solid roll of thin wood veneer! Then they cut sheets off from the roll and begin drying them out to apply industrial adhesive. Then they stack layer upon layer of veneer and adhesive to a standard thickness to make what we call “plywood.” Some’s first thought might wonder why go to all this trouble? “Isn’t a solid board enough?” However, testing and research proves a laminated beam (layered board) is 7-9 times stronger than a solid wood board!!!! So get what I’m saying here: The process is separating veneer from the tree with the purpose to bind it to more veneer using adhesive strictly to make a stronger product…👀

Now I’m thinking about God’s word saying:

Ephesians 5:31 (NIV)
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

So I picture the tree would be the parents. The veneer layers are the husband and wife. I also picture the adhesive as the covenant made between husband and wife. Marriage is the plywood that is so much stronger than the wood alone!

But here’s the kicker. I’ve seen a lot of demolition in my time of house remodeling. Have you ever seen someone try to separate a sheet of plywood? No matter how young or old…no matter what it’s used for, once plywood is made into a solid product it can’t be separated without destroying all the pieces. It shreds and splinters. It chips and peels, but it will never be just a solid piece of veneer again.

That’s what divorce does to the covenant marriage. It destroys all pieces. That’s why it is so painful. No matter what, those two people will never be the same. That’s why God’s intention was for a lifetime.

Matthew 19:6 (NIV)
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

I thought it was a really great representation of what we experience in marriage, separation, and divorce…and why we must stand so strongly for our marriages to be restored!

God bless,

Jennifer

Job 42:12 (ESV)
And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.

Today, I was listening to Ricardo Sanchez’s song “It’s Not Over,” and it reminded me of the very first days of my marriage restoration. I remember the sadness of my marriage not being what I thought it should be. My prodigal was home and I was grateful, but I was so upset that his return didn’t look like I thought it should. We argued. We disagreed. He struggled with being with me, when he really didn’t want to be. I struggled with him not being the strong Christian man I desired after all the work God had done in me during my stand. We both struggled with trust. Did he trust me to not change back into the shrew he left? Did I trust him to not leave me for another again? Honestly, the early days of restoration are brutal.

One day, I was so overwhelmed and frustrated with my husband, I remember walking outside to sit on the porch ready to pull my hair out! I told God that I didn’t understand how all my standing could end up here. Haha. That was when God set the record straight. I had the completely wrong perspective. God told me my restoration wasn’t the end of my standing. It was the beginning!!

Now I look back almost 12 years later and I see what God saw: restoration was the beginning of my brand new marriage between brand new me and my brand new husband. We had to have a lot of patience with each other as we worked through so much, but it was worth it! I wasn’t standing for my old marriage. I was standing for the new thing God was creating. I just needed my eyes opened to realize it was the beginning of a thing…a great thing!

Let God work His power to make your marriage brand new. And have patience that “It’s Not Over!”

Revelation 21:5 (NKJV)
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NKJV) I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does [it,] that men should fear before Him.

Rejoice Marriage Ministries encouraged me to cover myself, my spouse, and my children daily with the armor of God since we are daily in a spiritual battle. Here is a prayer I’ve been working on to have posted around my house. It’s filled with cross-referenced passages to fully immerse ourselves in God’s word as we pray it in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. I hope it helps! I’ve included a PDF file at the bottom to print.

Cover Yourselves with the Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-18

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth: Wrap around me Your belt of Truth. Do not let me be deceived, but to know Your voice and follow You alone (John 10:4-5). Your truth brings freedom (John 8:32). Lead me in Your truth and teach me (Ps. 25:5a). Open my eyes like Elisha’s servant to see how You are for me and truly greater than the enemy! (2 Kings 6:17)

…having put on the breastplate of righteousness: Cover my heart and emotions with Your breastplate of righteousness. Let them never supersede You and Your authority (Rom 6:12). My heart is deceitful & wicked (Jer. 17:9), therefore I need Your righteousness to make it fall in line to Your sovereignty. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Ps. 61:2). Cover me with the robe of righteousness (Ps. 61:10). Above all else, guard my heart, for everything I do flows from it (Prov. 4:23). Hide Your word in my heart that I may not sin against You (Ps. 119:11).

& having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace: Put on me the gospel shoes by making me prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks me to give the reason for the hope that I have (1 Pet 3:15). Help me preach the word; to be ready in season & out of season to convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching (2 Tim. 4:2). Make my feet like the hind’s – to walk the high places (Hab. 3:19). Let my feet bring good news, proclaim peace, bring good tidings, and proclaim salvation, and say to all: Our God reigns (Is. 52:7/Rom. 10:15)!

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one:
Father, give me strength to hold up my shield, to hide behind the faith You have instilled in me when the enemy attacks. Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head (Ps. 3:3) Lord, let my faith be spoken of throughout the whole world (Rom. 1:8). Let the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20). Never allow me to depart from the faith (1Tim. 4:1) Let my faith have works so it is never dead and be made perfect by my works (James 2:17, 22). Let our faith be the victory that overcomes the world (1 Jo. 5:4). God, be our shield and exceeding great reward (Gen. 15:1). For by faith we stand (2 Cor. 1:24b). Help me see what’s not seen which is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18), to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

And take the helmet of salvation: Lord, cover my head with Your helmet of salvation. Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble/honest, just, pure, lovely, are of a good report; if there be any virtue and worthy of praise – let me think on these things (Phil 4:8). Destroy every argument and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and take my every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5)! Lord, keep these desires and thoughts {to surrender and please You} in the hearts of Your people forever, and keep our hearts loyal to You (1 Chron. 29:18). Do not let me be the wicked man who in pride does not seek You; in whose thoughts there is no room for God (Ps. 10:4)! Let Your higher thoughts and ways be my thoughts and ways (Is. 55:7-8).

The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Father, grant me wisdom to wield Your Word as the sword to fight the enemy. Let us overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11). Your word is as sharp as a double-edged sword – it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb. 4:12). Give me discernment to never use such a powerful weapon to hurt Your people, only the true enemy. May I live by every word that proceeds out of Your mouth (Matt. 4:4).

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds prayers & requests: Lead me to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) Help me give myself continually to prayer & the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). Make me instant in prayer (Rom. 12:12). Let me be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make my requests known to God (Phil 4:6).

Finally, never let me leave in haste or go in flight {of surrender}; for You go before me, the God of Israel will be my rear guard (Is. 52:12). Let the glory of the Lord be my rear guard (Is. 58:8) so that I am completed protected from the enemy. I ask that You, Yourself, be a wall of fire around me and You be the glory within (Zech. 2:5)! Encamp about me and let no oppressor pass through (Zech. 9:8). Setup Your hedge of protection around me that the enemy cannot penetrate (Job 1:10). And cover me with zeal as a cloke (Is. 59:17) to fight for You all the days of my life. Amen.

I feel like being silly this evening and sharing this.

In The Warroom, toward the end of the movie, the main character is showing Ms. Clara’s house to an older couple. The husband looks at the closet then walks in. He walks out, looks at the closet, and walks back in. The main character asks him what he’s doing. He looks at her and says, “Somebody’s been praying in here.” Astounded, she replies, “Yes, that was her prayer closet. How did you know?” He says, “It’s almost like it’s baked in.”

I’ve always loved that scene.

In 2012, as I’ve shared before, when my husband left our marriage, I was recently unemployed because I was planning on starting a family. I had no job, no children, nothing to do but sit and pray to God. That sounds so pious, but it wasn’t. I was a desperate woman, and God had placed me in a position to just depend on Him. Well, the chair I tended to sit in to have these long talks with God where I would journal and cry and rage was a solid green chair with a built in ottoman. This was my Craigslist find and it was a seriously stout chair. There’s nothing special about the chair other than I like the color and it’s comfortable for my short frame. Before my husband left me, we always called it the “Green Chair” for obvious reasons. However, after he came back home it was forever called the “Prayer Chair.” I explained to JW that chair was my Warroom for him and our marriage.

Fast forward in time to us having to move into the tiny camp. There was no room for the Prayer Chair or most of our stuff for that matter, so off to storage it went. Earlier this year, after adding on to the camp to build our house, we began pulling stuff out of storage. Sadly, a lot of furniture and clothes were ruined by mold and rats. Amazingly the Prayer Chair was one of the very few items not covered in mold or rat mess. The only evidence of anything was just some kernels of corn the rats had squirreled away in the seat cushion!

I was so amazed by that; I thought of Ms. Clara’s prayer closet and the power of her prayers had been baked in. Since that day I say the same about my chair. My prayers were so baked into that chair no mold or rat could mess with it! 😁 I’m so proud to finally have my prayer chair back again. I’m sitting in it now writing this.

I know this is just a silly little story to so many and people would call me crazy, but I believe prayer has power. I believe my prayers went to the very throne of God and He touched my husband’s heart to lead him back home to me and that silly chair. I believe our prayers change things, but most importantly, I believe prayer changes the person praying them! So let me indulge and share my little baked in prayer chair story. Maybe it’ll find listening ears of someone just as crazy as me! 😉

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose.

After 10 years of infertility, God made good on His promise that we would have children. One month after our marriage was restored, we were pregnant for the first time ever! Halfway through, we find out we were having a boy. We seriously considered the name Isaac, because this baby was promised. However, when I found out one of the meanings of Ian is “God forgives,” we knew that was it. We knew God had forgiven each of us for our parts in the destruction of our marriage and we had forgiven each other.

Fast-forward to finding out we were pregnant with our fourth child and second son. At this point, we’ve miscarried two babies prior and were so heartbroken over the losses we were unwilling to keep trying. I’d given all the baby equipment away, and although we’d wanted a second son and fourth child, we’d accepted we were done and were grateful for the three kids God had blessed us with. Now, we were headlong in the leukemia treatments for our second child and had just lost my husband’s father to cancer a few months before. So, to discover we were pregnant while we were reeling from all of this was difficult. My OBGYN said I had PTSD and needed to do whatever I could to remain calm, because, honestly, I was terrified I was going to lose this baby as well. I had been 3 months pregnant when I lost the last baby. Normally, during a pregnancy, every week would bring excitement for how much the baby has grown and the stage of development the tiny fetus is entering. Not for me. I worried if this would be the week the baby’s heart would stop beating. Would I see another ultrasound with a still and silent baby inside my belly? I tried to trust the Lord, but I’d lived through Him taking away the previous babies and I was living through Him taking away the health of my daughter. I just didn’t know what else I was expected to live through.

I remember sitting on the stairs in my house in a daze worried about the pregnancy when I heard, “Rejoice.” Since the restoration of my marriage this has been a trigger word for me. When my husband was busy spouting his devotion to another woman, the Holy Spirit was in the background telling me to rejoice. I would cling to that like a lifesaver in the middle of a storm in the ocean. I learned then, when God tells us to rejoice, we can trust He knows what He’s talking about. It wasn’t about a week later, my husband came back home. So now God was telling me to rejoice about this baby. He was relieving my worried heart and mind. From that day on, I’d cling to His command to rejoice. I wish I could say I was worry free after that message, but nope. I had to cling and constantly remind myself.

Even though we loved the name Isaac and knew we were having another boy, we just didn’t have the heart to name him that. We felt like we had lost too many possible “Isaacs” before. But after that message from the Lord, I looked up what name means “rejoice.” I couldn’t believe it. “Isaac” popped up meaning “I will rejoice; I will laugh!” God, in His way, was telling me so many things that day. He was telling me the baby was going to be okay. He was telling me it was okay to finally name this son Isaac (almost like it had been waiting on him), and He was promising me in all those dark days at that time of leukemia treatments and loss, we would laugh and rejoice again! It was so hard to see that future at that time, but I had to daily choose to believe it.

This August, Isaac will be 4 years old. We just came from Ariel’s oncology check up. She’s doing perfect! Our house is finally built where we finally have enough room to breathe and no longer be on top of each other in the tiny camp. We’ve still had so many hurts and losses since that promise to “rejoice,” but I can honestly say the laughter is slowly returning. I have journeyed through these things grateful for so much, but not rejoicing. I believe that’s coming soon too.

I was looking back through pics of the kids growing up so fast these past few years. I’m gonna confess something. Might as well, since God knows my heart better than I do. There’s a part of me that feels like time has been stolen from me. Time to enjoy my kids while they are little, because they’re growing so fast! Instead, we’ve suffered through anxiety, pain, losses, and cancer treatments. We have been so busy fighting for the survival of our kids, we haven’t always had the luxury to just simply enjoy being their parents. But, what I have learned from God is this: God NEVER steals from us. He only GIVES. It’s been chaotic and crazy at times, but God has a plan for it all. And it’s a plan for our good. God will return that time and heartache 100 fold and way BETTER than what it would’ve been. I know it. He will do it for you as well!

God bless,

Jenn

Here’s a list of a few things to do to help get through bad situations. This list is not comprehensive. By all means, if you have any to add, I’m fully open to suggestions and recommendations! Anything to help being overwhelmed!

1. Pray like mad.

2. Breathe. Take lots of deep breaths.

3. As long as it doesn’t trigger you, look at pics of what you do have, what you’ve been blessed with, good moments in time.

4. Talk to a trusted friend to vent. Sometimes we just gotta blow off steam.

5. Recite verses that pertain to your struggle. Mine is anger, frustration, and impatience. So I am actively studying the word of God about those topics to focus my mind on truth to keep me out of the pit.

6. Time & space. Those things do wonders!

7. Repeat a mantra. Currently, mine is: God allows bad things to happen for a reason. God allows bad things to happen for a reason. Say it with me: God allows bad things to happen for a reason. 😀

8. Don’t let it escalate! If you feel the frustration rise, take a step back to remove the strong emotion. Once emotions get too big, there’s little left to control them.

9. It seems basic, but get plenty of rest. Our fuses are shorter when we are exhausted or sick. My mama taught me growing up: “Prevention is worth a pound of cure!”