spiritual Archives - Authentic Simplicity

This year I accidentally took my own advice and sent New Year’s cards instead of Christmas cards. (OK, to be perfectly transparent… I haven’t actually sent anything yet. It’s on my to-do list!) I say “accidentally” because I actually wrote the blamed thing back in December, but then never had a chance to print it out, sign and address the cards, and get it in the mail. Henceforth and therefore, it is now a “New Year’s” card/letter.

Here’s the blogified version. It’s worth a read, if I do say so myself.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21

What if the greatest blessing is not found in the gift that is given, but in the gift that is taken away?

Consider for a moment: the arrival of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was a Gift that prompted the glorious praise of men and angels alike, and continues to be marked in celebration annually centuries later. Yet those who witnessed the coming of this precious Gift were stunned and dismayed when He was seemingly snatched from them before their eyes just a few decades later, apparently without having even fulfilled His purpose on earth. {Or so it seemed to them at first.}

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform, and often, His greatest blessings come not when the gift is given… but when it is taken away.

My DH and I have experienced this firsthand! In March of last year, God gave us what we had been asking for a long time: a better job for my DH, with significantly higher salary, and a security clearance to boot! His direction in our lives was quite clear, and we moved excitedly – and with a little trepidation – to Northern Virginia, after having spent our entire married life thus far in Maryland.

Barely two months later, through no fault of his own, my DH lost his new job. We spent very little time wondering if we had misread the signs leading us to Virginia because God quickly strengthened the conviction in our hearts that He had given us this job for the express purpose of taking it away.

Doesn’t make sense? The mysterious ways of God do not make sense to our human mind, but both Jonathan and I can honestly say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” We cannot explain to you the joy and the peace that flooded our hearts after the initial shock wore off. We have seen God work in our lives in an amazing way that would not have been possible otherwise. We have experienced God’s grace more personally and tangibly than we ever had previously in our lives, even though we both grew up in Christian homes surrounded by the teaching of the Word.

We are ever so grateful to God for His provision for us (not the least of which is Jonathan’s PT job and my job as a K3 teacher) and His love for us, and that He has not discarded us to live our lives as we wish, but continually draws us closer and closer to Him.

We know also, that just as Jesus – the Perfect Gift from Heaven – was not taken away from us forever {No, He is alive and well and will return in power and glory one day!), and therefore endured the suffering of death and the cross for the joy that was set before Him; so we can endure our temporary suffering here on earth, knowing He has a greater purpose to fulfill within us and through us. We look forward to being useful as clean vessels in His service, wherever that may be and whatever it requires of us.

~~Merry Christmas!~~

~~Happy New Year’s!~~

Uh… ya know… have a good life and stuff!

(Next Christmas, I promise I’ll be on time!)

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One cannot speak of wellness without consider emotional and spiritual health. After all, we are not just a body - we are a spirit and a soul, too! And the three work together, inseparable. I am so honored that Leigh Ann of Intentional By Grace is sharing with us about spiritual and emotional wellness today. You will definitely enjoy her post!

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The beds lay unmade for the fifth day in a row. Laundry piles atop the kitchen table waiting to be folded. Men’s work shirts call from the corner chair begging to be ironed. The work sits by the computer waiting to be finished. The checkbook lies open on the counter with the rent check still in place. It should have been mailed yesterday. A lot of things should have been finished yesterday, and yet today is almost gone.

Sometimes, things are just hard.
Sometimes, everything around me just feels out of place and chaotic.
Sometimes, I just wish I could crawl into a closet, plug my ears, and sing Jesus Loves Me until the cows come home.

Hide and Seek 112/365

Recently, the hard days have far outweighed the easy days. The days filled with tears take first place in my mind while the days filled with laughter feel like a distant memory.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5b

In my own strength, I am failing. In my own strength, I fail to believe God’s promises, and I fail to rest beneath His wings.

Sure, I am in His eternal rest, Heaven, because of the blood of Christ, but I am not able to experience His earthly, spiritual rest that He has offered me because I’m working out of my own strength.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

Canaan was the earthly rest that was offered to the people of God in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, an entire generation did not get to experience it because they hardened their hearts, even after going through Egypt, the Red Sea, and Sinai! They rebelled against God. They tested God. They failed to believe Him, and as a result, they perished in the wilderness and were prohibited from entering God’s rest.

What’s sadder than this Old Testament story is how many of us come right up to the edge of entering into freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ, and then our hearts are hardened. We look at giants. We look at our circumstances. We quiver in fear, and we say, “We’re not going forward. We’re not believing God.”

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12

As a wife and a mom, I have found the days are hard sometimes, and more often than not, I fail to believe that God is capable of providing me with the much needed rest that I long for. But, I must put off unbelief. Instead, I need the shield of faith, faith that holds firm to Jesus Christ all the way to the finish line. I cannot accomplish my goals on my own accord, with my own plans, with my own ideas of success. I must instead say that Jesus Christ is enough. My greatest need has been met, and because of this, God has promised me a present rest, a life of freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ.

The life of rest is a life of faith, faith in Christ and Christ alone. We will not experience rest here in this life - the peace, the abundance, the freedom, the fullness, the fruitfulness –as long as we are striving in our own effort to be who God wants us to be. It has to be Him at work in us for us to experience peace that surpasses all understanding.

So I must ask you. Are you resting in the peace that God has offered you today, or are you striving to accomplish all of your work in your own strength? My friends, Christ longs to carry the burden for you. It’s hard enough being you without carrying that which was never meant for you to carry.

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? Psalm 18:30

Leigh Ann’s life goal is to create a home where it is impossible to not think about God. At Intentional By Grace, she blogs about her journey of intentional living in order to make this goal a reality.

She is the wife of three years to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to a loveable little boy, Samuel. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her husband, conducting kitchen experiments, researching every natural alternative known to man, and making her little boy laugh. She does it all by the grace of God.

You can follow her on twitter @n10tionalgrace or by liking Intentional By Grace on Facebook