Don't Let Your Wipe-Outs Become Your Cop-Outs

Ever feel like your day is a complete wipe-out? Maybe you are feeling beaten up by waves today; sinking in the storms of life. Some days I need strength just to hold my head up.

When waves of fear, insecurity, discouragement or stress hit, we are only human, and tend to take our eyes off of Jesus too. Our human nature causes us to worry or fret over big and small things, and we may begin to sink in our reality.

Many people give up far too easily when things don't go their way or they face adversity. Instead of persevering, they get down and discouraged, which is understandable, especially when they've struggled with a problem for a long time.

Our circumstances in life may occasionally knock us down, but we must not stay down. Even if you can't see up on the outside, get up on the inside.

God is big enough to do the things you have labeled impossible. - Kathy Troccoli

For every set back, God has a major comeback.

There is a blessing to be found in our darkest moments. So don't allow yourself to wave the white flag of surrender. Ride the wave. Be determined to persevere.

"We all ride the waves of life. Some waves come crashing down on us. And some take us high above the horizon. But we wave riders all have one goal in common and that is to reach the shore before we drown. I don't know about you, but I can't ride the waves without my surf board." - Dalinda Powell

Sometimes waves hurt, and reality isn’t always fun or stress-free - but we do still have to live there. Fortunately, the peace of Jesus can live in reality with us too, and His Presence will always master the waves.

Blessings,
Dalinda

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God's Spirit In You Makes A Difference

While I never seek out pain in order to grow closer to God, I’m thankful He can use pain to reveal Himself to me.

I know a lot of us are facing some really hard things today. We live in a broken world filled with broken people. And while I can’t even pretend to give you an easy answer, I can tell you with confidence that God’s Spirit in you makes a difference. Maybe your circumstances won’t change, but God can change you.

Following God is really hard if we are going to follow God fully. There’s just so much self-sacrificing that must happen and so much faith that it requires.

But there is a good side to all of this hard stuff. God is just waiting for us to admit it’s hard. And I imagine He kind of sighs in relief too, that He finally gets to step in and help. Because God created us to have a relationship with Him and to show His glory. For He only uses the willing.

God does not answer vague prayer. God knows the desires of our heart but He wants us to verbalize it to Him so WHEN He answers, there is NO DOUBT that He is the cause of that answered prayer.

When things are going smoothly, we deceptively think we have life under control. At those times, we neglect to seek God’s help and miss tremendous blessings.

Blessings come in many guises, but sometimes we fail to recognize them!

You see, I have not learned to trust God in the good times. Oh, I love Him easily in the good times. I’m thankful in the good times. But I have learned to trust God in the bad times. It’s in the hard times, when I cry out for help, that I experience His miraculous intervention. It’s in the lonely times, when I cry in despair, that I am comforted. It’s in the fearful times, when I pray for peace, that I am overwhelmed with His protective presence.

I haven’t learned to trust God by listening to an amazing sermon. I haven’t learned to trust God by hearing how my friend trusts God. No, I have learned to trust God by experiencing something difficult, by stepping out in faith and obedience, and finding out for myself that He is trustworthy.

I have learned an important lesson through my hard experiences....God keeps His promises! If He said He can bring good out of something that looks bad – He will do it!!!

Today, I had my doctor's appointment with the Rheumatologist. She did a series of blood tests along with some x-rays. She is not sure about my rash because it is not in a sun exposed area, so I am being referred to a dermatologist for the rash. I go back to the Rheumatologist in 3 weeks for my results. She is going to consult with my Neurologist and my Neuro Opthamologist in the meantime. She said, "We will figure out what this thing is!" My family and I feel like we are headed in the right direction with this doctor. Praise God!!!!

Through all of the unknown, sometimes all I think about is how much I’m going to miss this or that. But what I need to think is “God, what wonderful thing do You have for me next?”

So I’m choosing to think that now. I don’t know what’s coming next. But I’m believing that God has something great planned. I just don’t know what it is yet.

The God who parted the Red Sea, who closed the lion’s mouth, who lit the soaking wet wood on the altar, who turned water into wine, who made blind eyes see, who helped crippled men walk, and who raised the dead....That is my Heavenly Father!

God's purposes WILL be accomplished! He is at work behind the scenes. He will never send you where He's never been. For the road to greater things is not marked by easy answers.

Let's forget what it looks like, how impossible it is and do what He's called us to do in spite of it. When we act in faith, He will credit our account.

Sometimes the only way God can teach us something is to allow circumstances in our life to lead us to and through the very thing we need to discover. One of my favorite authors, Joyce Meyer, says "There's no such thing as a drive-through break-through."

Blessings,
Dalinda

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Everything Has Beauty - EVERYTHING

Everything has beauty - even our messy days, but not everyone sees it.

I have never looked so forward to a doctor's appointment as I have the one I have on Monday. This journey has definitely been a long, frustrating, and painful one, but there is beauty in my mess...Jesus. These days, only He carries me. And because only He carries me only He can receive the glory. I will forever adore Him and give Him all of my praise whether my day is a messy wreck or not. So whatever mess we are in, we can do the impossible (today and everyday) because the sweetest name we know is constantly and ever-presently with you and with me....For He is the beauty in our mess. ♥

The hardest part in my journey, sometimes, is making the choice to step forward when I don’t have a clue where that step might end up. The past six months have been very frustrating for me and my family, going from doctor to doctor and not getting any answers. I've gone from thinking I had MS, to thinking I had a pseudo tumor, to thinking I had a sinus blockage. But after many tests, an MRI and a spinal tap, they diagnosed me with optic neuritis.

On Monday, I will see my seventh doctor....a Rheumatologist. I am sooooo praying that this doctor will be the one to figure it all out. I haven't feel well since April. I was diagnosed with optic neuritis in June, which is inflammation of the optic nerve. This caused some partial blindness in my right eye. My central vision is okay, but my peripheral vision is what I lost. I'm now wearing glasses.

Over the past few months I have developed all the symptoms of Lupus. Up until about a week and a half ago I had all symptoms of Lupus but one....the skin rash, which I now have. I have been doing a lot of research on WebMD because it is scary knowing something is wrong with you and none of the doctors I have been to can figure it out. In my research, I found that Lupus can cause optic neuritis.

My family has had a hard time with this also, especially my youngest son, who is eight years old. He has already lost both his Papa and Nana (my parents) in the past 5 1/2 years. My Dad's passing was the most recent. It will be two years in December. My son is afraid that something bad is wrong with me and I am going to die too. Poor little guy! Prayers for him please.

My husband and I have talked to both our boys and they seem to be handling things a little better. We just need answers so we know what our next step will be.

With that next step there is always a chance I will hit a wall or fall on my face…but I won't know until I take the next step. The one lesson I keep learning over and over as I journey down this road is:

The fear of starting is always worse than the act of doing.

This isn’t new news. This is just one reminder that I need all the time.

And the act of doing, whether you fail or whether you succeed, will always reap growth. Growth through the beautiful, intimate relationship you develop by depending on Christ. There is always a lesson tucked away in the doing. Always.

If we never get out of our comfort zones, we can’t grow into the places God has prepared for us. And that growth brings beauty.

The turning point in our journey through brokenness comes when we stop trying to control the pain and move to greater dependence on God. For He is our strength.

Please continue to keep me and my family in your prayers. Whatever my next step may be, I know that my Jesus will be right there to take it with me.

Blessings,
Dalinda

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Do What You Can With What You Have Where You Are

Your journey is unfolding exactly as it should be. Even when things are looking bad, there are still so many positives in our lives, so instead of focusing on what our lives are missing, we have to be grateful for what we do have. We should never look back with regrets, or always be looking for greener grass on the other side. He has a plan for us to follow from this day forward that is absolutely perfect, and if God wants us where we are right now, there are no greener pastures! ♥

Today, I will remember that it is not about what is going on around me, no, it is about the Lord and only about the Lord. In changing my focus to Him, I know all that is around me and my perspective on it will change too.

And you know what? When you mentally let go of stuff, God can start working on it. The longer you mind wrestle, the longer the wait because God gives us free will. He will take your problems - when you give them to Him!

I have come through the things I have been through in life because of others God has placed on my path, and now I am being placed on the path of those who need encouragement or a prayer warrior. My blog has been such a blessing to me. God has used this small tool to bring encouragement, wisdom and peace to my life and I pray - to yours as well.

Today I'm praising God for being reminded of what really matters and the blessing that comes from encouraging and praying for others.

Two of the most dominant forces in our lives are kindness and encouragement. Not only for the person who receives it but also for the one who gives it.

So remember, the Lord has us right where we are meant to be and we should never shade the light that comes from our faith and trust in Him. For God never stops teaching the willing heart.

Blessings,
Dalinda

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Christ's Mission Is Our Mission

God doesn’t test us to be mean. He tests us to see if we are ready for what He has next. Once the Lord has given us great faith, He has been known to test us with long delays.

Christ's mission is our mission. God never sends you where He's never been.

But God will not accommodate our doubt by bending His promises. Our disbelief doesn't affect Him, it affects us. The promises are already ours, we just have to claim them.

We are the ones who make life so complicated. God (the teacher) tests us after He has given us all the answers to every question in life through the Bible, but we (the students) don't take the time to study and believe what the Bible says. The Bible is our Study Guide, we just have to utilize it in order for us to benefit on God's tests.

The Israelites failed their test. They murmured and complained and ended up turning an 11 day journey into a 40 year journey. Abram was tested. God asked him to give up the thing, the person, that meant the most to him in the whole world. Abram passed the test. Even Jesus was tested, 3 times by Satan in the desert before the start of his public ministry (He passed too).

Even if we fail a test, God gives us the opportunity to pass another. If you feel God is testing you, it is not a sign that you have done something bad or that you are being punished. It is an opportunity for you to prove what you are made of. God's tests: Strange and difficult indeed we may find them, But the blessing that we need is behind them.

The center of trouble is the place where He preserves us, not the place where He fails us.

Blessings,
Dalinda

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Struggling To Reach The Top Of The Mountain?

A good life does not necessarily mean an easy life. And the things we worry about tend not to happen.

It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that is wearing you out, it's the pebble in your shoe.

So many times the trials of life can cloud our perspective and the way we see things.

Nearly everything in life has a good side and a bad side, and everyone gets to choose what they will focus on. It’s easy for us to always look for what’s wrong. It takes more effort to look for what’s good and positive in every situation. If you look hard enough, you can find a positive in any situation.

The little hands and the big hands are both involved in what happens on earth. The little hands are the human hands (the free will of man) and the big hand is God's hand (the sovereignty of God). When the little hands are doing their dirty work, it's hard to see God's hand being in charge. Many times what looks like ordinary circumstances to us can be events directed by the big hand of God.

Stop looking at what the little hands are doing and keep your eyes on God's big hand.

No challenge is ever easy! God is going to give you some unwelcome assignments, but He blesses those who endure.

Rather than complaining about your problem (the mountain you face), teach your mouth to speak positively about what God will do to fix it. Recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever before experienced, and accept it with delight as an opportunity of receiving a greater measure of God's divine grace.

In this way, even the Adversary becomes a help to us, and all the things that seem to be against us turn out to assist us along our way.

Your attitude and the way you talk about people affects others in the same way -- either positively or negatively. God wants His children to be positive and encouraging. Ignore those who try to discourage you.

Blessings,
Dalinda

It's In That Second Mile Where The Miracles Happen

Jesus asks us to do many things that don't make sense, but if you will just obey, you will begin to see Him act on your behalf. It's in that second mile where the miracles happen!

I believe the longer we have to wait, the better the answer will be. Take Zacharias and Elizabeth for instance. They had no idea that their prayer for a child as a young married couple started a chain reaction of events that would change the world. And so if you've been praying for something and God seems silent, just remember your role models, Zacharias and Elizabeth.

How we manage the little things indicates what we would do if we had more. Why would God give dynamite to someone who can't handle a firecracker?

Oh, how we love to see impossible things accomplished! And so does God.

Therefore may we continue to persevere, for even if we took our circumstances and cast all the darkness of human doubt upon them and then hastily piled as many difficulties together as we could find against God's divine work, we could never move beyond the blessedness of His miracle-working power. May we place our faith completely in Him, for He is the God of the impossible.- L.B. Cowman

Nothing is impossible with God. - Luke 1:37

Blessings,
Dalinda