God Has Not!!!

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.(2 Tim 1:7)NKJV

This is probably the first verse that comes to my mind when thinking of fear or being afraid.
"God Has not!!!" so powerful but do we actually believe it, have it ingrained in our heads and in our hearts.
When something rocks you to the core are you firm in your faith...are you firm in your Heavenly Father?
I am and I would love to hear the same from each and everyone of you.
Am I saying that I am never ever ever afraid!?!
No, that's not what I'm saying because it would be a lie.
What I am saying is my hope, my trust, my faith is built on nothing less then Jesus blood and righteousness.
Did you see that....see how I put a song in there :) That's one of my favorite Hymns but now I'm just getting distracted.
I have moments when I am afraid.......fleeting moments because almost immediately my gaze is brought back to my Heavenly Father who holds the whole world in His hands.
Another few verse's come to mind....
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.(Matthew 10:29-31)NKJV

The verse at the beginning is not the only one in the Bible encouraging us to not be afraid....nope, telling us to not be afraid.
There is verse after verse after verse after ver......and I could go on. Are we getting it then. It must be super important if God felt it necessary to repeat himself soooo many times. Here are just a few more.
Do not be afraid, little flock.....(Luke 12:32)NIV
Do not tremble; do not be afraid....(Isaiah 44:8)NIV
....he will calm all your fears....(Zephaniah 3:17)NIV
....I will fear no evil,  for you are with me....(Psalm 23:4)NIV
.....So don’t be troubled or afraid.(John 14:27)NIV
This is my command—be strong and courageous.....(Joshua 1:9)NIV    And I will end on this one because now He is commanding us.....well actually He was commanding Joshua but isn't that command for all of us too?! Yup, yup it is :)
When troubles come, and they will, don't let them shake you! Plant your feet on a firm foundation and hold fast to the creator of all things, the lover of all things, the healer of all things, the giver of all things.
He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.(Isaiah 33:6)NIV

God Has Not Given You A Spirit Of Fear!!!
Xo TinaMarie

All Things All Things

I don't believe that life should be a struggle.

"Excuse me, seriously, what did you just say!?!" But let me explain....

I know we all go through struggles, difficulties and hard times, those are unavoidable, but I believe, with ever fiber of my being, they can be amazing times.

Why do I believe this......because I have lived it, I have experienced it.

God has carried me and my family through hard times and life has felt/been easy.

 I believe that through God all things are possible, all things are Joyful, all things are peaceful....all things all things :)

My life started with what some would believe to have been a hard start.....I was born to a woman who would not be my mom. I was adopted at 3 weeks and grafted into a new family tree. The family that God chose for me. The rest of my childhood/adolescence was completely blessed. Never did it bother me that I was adopted, in fact, the thought barely crossed my mind. I was as much a part of this family as any baby born into another. I grew up surrounded by love, joy, hope and a relationship with my heavenly father. My teen years, early twenties, late twenties and even into my thirties stays the same course....I have lived a blessed life.

God turns sadness into joy, mourning into laughter....he allows things to happen in our lives that mold and shape us....he refines us but those things don't have to be hard. He is the giver of all good things and what I've learned is the importance of letting go. Letting go of control, letting go of family, letting go of one's self.

I have come to a point in my life where everything that I am and everything that I have belongs to the Lord. My life is in the best hands and I know it.

Why would I try to hold it all together on my own when there is someone who does it so perfectly. He knows what is the best for me and come what may I will trust in him, he has never failed me before.

                                                                                                   Xo TinaMarie

He Give's Me Peace

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

    Last Summer our family went through one of life's "little" storms. We were in it before we had even realized it. You know the tale of the frog in luke-warm water and how it keeps heating up, but it's so gradual the frog didn't notice till it was too late. Well that's pretty much how it happened with us. When it all hit us we were able to look back and see that it had been building.

    You're probably super curious what happened, I know I would be if I was reading this so lets jump into last Summer.....  

    The big stuff all started in early July, that's when my husband started to lose mobility of his right leg. It was the weirdest thing, he just couldn't straighten it out all the way. He limped everywhere and me being the super sensitive and caring wife that I am ;) told him....well for starters to get himself to the doctors....but that he shouldn't let his leg control him, it's probably a muscle issue or something and if he doesn't start trying to straighten it there will be bigger issues coming. Boy was I wrong.

    So, he did start going to the docs.....and yes that came out right, he went a lot. They were having a very hard time figuring out what was wrong. Meanwhile, N8(my hubby), was getting worse....less movement in his leg, losing weight(a lot!!!), missing work(also a lot!), not sleeping well, fevers and chills....just a whole bunch of crazy things, so at one of his appointments the doc was so concerned he called an ambulance to take N8 into a bigger hospital. Once there, it was discovered that my hubby had an abscess in his hip area and that is what was keeping his leg from full movement. So they put a drain in it. Thus began the next three months of major storm-age because you see, that wasn't the issue, it was just a part of it.

    I'm gonna condense all the craziness for you because this could be long but the next three months looked sorta like this....N8 was off work for all of it(thank goodness for a good disability package), 3 separate stays in the hospital, a few trips into the emerge for incredible back pain, Lot's of drugs(and good ones), doctors scratching heads, seeing a specialist from the States, having surgery to remove part of his bowels, having a drain in his abscess the whole time....it was a CRAZY time let me tell you.

    But, and boy do I love buts, we had some great times together in that storm. Some amazing times in fact, I would have to say I look back upon that time and I am thankful. You guys probably think I'm crazy for saying that but how often in life do you get 3 and a half months together as a family. And the craziest thing is I never got sick of N8 being around all the time...in fact I loved it. Even now I can't say that. If he is home sick for a couple days I am like, get better and go back to work you are driving me nuts, but God blessed our little family with the best time ever. The Joy and Peace and Love that surrounded and engulfed us was absolutely incredible.

    The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.....the God of me, my husband......and you is so perfect in everything that he does. He truly carried us through a storm, that in the eyes of the would was big but, through his eyes was so small. That is why when I look back at our Summer I am so grateful for every moment because we spent it so close to our heavenly father and he brought us through unscathed.

    So, I can testify to this, if you are going through a really rough time......a storm.....please, please let God carry you through it. I'm not saying you wont cry or feel pain or be worn out but those moments will be just that, moments. For me I remember those "moments" and they were few and far between. Our God is bigger, our God is stronger.....
   

   In the end my husband was diagnosed with crones and what had happened was a hole had formed in his intestine and that was what caused the abscess. He takes some pills everyday(the lowest form of the many treatments out there) and has appointments with a specialist, I think, every 6 months. We have also changed a lot of our eating habits and it's been really good. Eating more natural, trying to stay away from anything processed(can be hard). But life is a gift, and a precious one, so enjoy ever moment of it......the good and the bad!
Xo, TinaMarie