Have you ever felt yourself at the right place at the right time?
Where you knew without a doubt that God was behind the scenes strategically opening doors to help you fulfill His purpose for your life?
You can clearly see the hand of God in the book of Esther when she became Queen and was faced with helping to save her people, the Jews, from being annihilated by the King’s head-honcho, Haman.
Hey friend, I know that things are hard right now. You feel lost and directionless. You feel lonely and unwanted. You project a strong, organized exterior, showing everyone how you have it all together, but when you take down those walls at night, you feel heavy and sad.
And it's left a gaping hole inside of you. You've convinced yourself that as soon as that hole is filled, you'll be invincible; no one and no thing will be able to break you. But nothing can break you now, either, because you already feel broken.
Worth: the value equivalent to that of someone or something under consideration; the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated.
What are you worth? Or to be a little bit more real, what is the level at which you deserve to be valued and rated?
Erin Weidemann, creator and author of Bible Belles, is a five-time cancer survivor and a total warrior for Christ. The heavily popular book series she created is everything your 5 year old self would adore, as it highlights women in the Bible who were strong, confident, and inwardly beautiful in the eyes of Christ. Erin does a fabulous job of narrating the stories to present the women (Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Ruth, Deborah) as the perfect role models, which is ironic because Erin is one of OUR role models!
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Indeed, I count all things as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, of Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ…and be found in Him…that I may know Him…” Philipians 3:7-10
For the longest time I thought I needed to be more organized. Then I realized I just needed less stuff.
Feeling worn down? Stressed? Overwhelmed?
Fortunately, there is a legitimate cure: cutting away the excess! We, as God's precious daughters, need to learn to narrow our choices. How often do we choose things we think are absolutely essential in this life when they’re not? Few things the world tells us are mandatory actually are mandatory!
I'm guilty of ignoring calls on my iPhone. Sometimes I don't recognize the number, sometimes I'm busy at work, sometimes I'm with someone else... Often it's a legitimate reason, but a handful of times I've simply been too tired/overwhelmed to answer.
"For if you keep quiet at this time... you and your father’s house will be destroyed. You likely became queen for such an opportune time as this!" Esther 4:14
God has a divine calling on your specific life; a call to love, serve, laugh, play, and work... the very things Jesus did during His 33 years as a man. God places each of us into a particular situation (through our family, circumstances, country) culminating into our sphere of influence. We can all reach a different people group, be it our friends, neighbors, parents, etc.
Life = seasons of change.
Currently, I find myself in one of these seasons. I have just moved to a new state (Iowa), I am about to embark on a new journey through doctoral school, and essentially everything is new here in Iowa. I have found this unsettling feeling of being foreign is isolating and challenging. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t feeling the familiar pang of homesickness in my new “home.”
I’ve always enjoyed games. I mean, who doesn’t?! Monopoly. Settlers of Catan. Chutes and ladders. Code Names. Charades. Spicy Uno. The options are endless! Growing up, my personal favorite game was Hide n’ Seek, with an added element… in the dark.