Spiritual Life Archives

November 25, 2015

Hearts of Thanksgiving

“Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.” – 1 Timothy 4:4

First off: We want to say Happy Thanksgiving to our American sisters. We pray that your time together with family and friends will be blessed. I’m not sure if we have readers from different countries, but comment below to let us know where you’re reading from.

Second: We want to say THANK YOU! We are so incredibly blessed by you, the reader. Your support is ridiculously amazing. When we started off, we had no idea the impact we could make. We are so thankful for your comments, emails, and the love on Instagram. There are late nights phone calls with Haley or Ashley in which we talking about all of you! So thank you…we love that we are both in each other’s lives. May God continue be glorified through all of this.
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Merriam-Webster defines Thanksgiving as a prayer expressing gratitude.

I’m sure in your homes you have a prayed a prayer like this:
Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this meal. Thank you for my family…

I’ve felt for so long that my prayers have been weak; like they have been this memorized prayer that I just recite so that I can eat without feeling like a terrible person.

I know God doesn’t look at me like a terrible person and I shouldn’t lie to myself, but I have felt in my heart that I’m not fully expressing gratitude.

I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful and that my prayers sound like a voice of an adult on Charlie Brown, but I’ve always struggled with a prayer life.

I can feel God revealing in my heart that I haven’t been acknowledging the little gifts He has been giving me.

See, God is doing. He is an active God. He is doing things in our lives everyday. He is moving, paving ways, setting up situations. He is showing Himself in nature, laughter, friendships, etc. He wants us to see Him. He wants us to love Him by expressing to Him our acknowledgment. But wow, aren’t we a distracted bunch?

A few years ago I read One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. It changed the way I looked at life. It made me see that God was DAILY giving gifts. These gifts came from giggles from my younger cousins, letters in the mail from old friends, and the taste of jasmine tea.

Those little gifts were a way of God saying, “I see you. I know you. I know what you like. I love you dearly. I have more gifts to give.”

Ann says this in her book:
“And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me.”

Don’t you love that? Even in the smallest thanks – thank you Lord for the trees, thank you Lord for laughter between my grandparents – we make a place for God to grow within us. We view God as an intentional God – as a lover of our soul. Woah, our lover.

As we sit down as our Thanksgiving tables to thank God for this incredible life He has given us, ask Him to reveal the little gifts that He has only set out for you. He wants to be pleased by your enjoyment. Once you see, hear, or feel the little gift, thank God. Thank Him for being intentional with you and that He was able to express His love to you in such a unique way.

May our hearts become full and grow with having a thankful heart. May we recognize Him every single day. May a product of our acknowledgment instantly turn into an expression of gratitude.

“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” -Psalm 95:2-3

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As a way to thank you for joining our community and supporting us, we are having a little giveaway. We want to bless you with Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. The giveaway starts today and ends on Monday, November 30th. We are using Rafflecopter for our giveaway. There are a few ways to gain giveaway points – the most is by commenting on our giveaway photo and tagging 3 friends. Come back each day (if you’ve commented on it) and get your point. You have been a HUGE blessing in our life.

We also want to let you know that starting November 29th, our Advent bible study starts. Everyday up until December 24th we will be sharing from our hearts. We are excited to bring in 4 guest bloggers, too! Looking forward for this Sunday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

November 19, 2015

Get in His Presence

Earlier this year, on my personal blog, I wrote everyday in a series titled: “Taste & See”. Let’s just be honest…I didn’t write everyday. Most title posts looked like this: “Day 24-25” or “Day 17, 18, 19”. But it was a cool little goal that I created to help me discipline myself (I am not that great with discipline).

I want to share “Day 23” with you.

“…I feel dissatisfied.”

After a day of coffee, delicious Italian food, and ending the night with froyo, I sat on a bench with my friend Hannah staring into the night sky.

“I just feel weird today” Hannah blurted. I was glad she said something first because I was afraid to express that same feeling. Why do I feel dissatisfied? Nothing wrong happened today – it was a good day.

But I felt dry inside – I didn’t feel happy.

It was in that instant that I knew I needed to get home, go into my room, and talk with God. I didn’t want to talk about how I feeling right then and there. There would of probably been tears in my froyo cup. There was a heaviness that pushed me down and caused cracks in my soul.

So as we drove home, we listened to worship music. The need to start receiving whatever the Lord was going to give was extremely desired.

The song “Crash over Me” by Bethel Music started playing.

I have come to this place in my life
I’m full but I’ve not satisfied
This longing to have more of you

It was as I wrote this song. The song was my heartbeat at the moment.

I can feel it, my heart is convinced
I’m thirsty my soul can’t be quenched
You already know this but still
Come and do whatever you want to

I ached for this. Lord, please come.

I’m standing knee deep
But I’m out where I’ve never been
I feel you coming
And I hear your voice on the wind
Would you come and tear down the boxes
That I have tried to put you in
Let love come teach me who you are again

I’m a big cry baby, but I didn’t want to cry in my friend’s car. It would just be messy. As we drove on, I sat motionless trying to figure out what God was trying to tell me. But I grew restless not knowing because I heard nothing.

Would you take me back to the place
Where my heart was only about you
And all I wanted was just to be with you
Come and do whatever you want to

& then I heard it: Be with me. Don’t try to look for answers. Come be with me.

There are many times in my life where I am seeking the Lord to get an answer or a sign, and I never receive it. But that night, I realized something. He just wanted me to be with Him. Cling to Him. Cry and sit with Him. No words. Nothing. He knew that being in His Presence was all I needed. I needed Him. I needed to sit with Him. I needed to cry, sit on the corner of my bed, and raise my hands. I needed to be in His Presence.

His Presence is where I find peace. His Presence is where I find joy. His Presence calms the wild sea in my life. All of that is done in His Presence. I don’t need to complete a list of things to get into His Presence – no, I just walk in and sit down.

Do you need to get into His Presence? Do you need peace? Do you need hope for tomorrow? Sit with Him. You don’t even need to speak. His Presence is powerful and you will be changed just sitting in it.

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:16

This post was originally posted by Sarah Sandoval her personal blog –bytheirfruit.wordpress.com. There have been edits from the original posting.

November 10, 2015

She Looks Like Her Dad

“Yep, she’s Miguel’s kid.”

My aunt instantly said that when I was born. I looked just like him. If someone asked who my parent’s were, their response to my answer would be, “Wow! You look like your dad.”

We both have squinty eyes when we smile. Light olive skin. Blue eyes and a gap in the middle of our teeth. Our personalities are the same, which sometimes can get us in trouble. Our humor is alike, but I try to deny it because his jokes are definitely “dad jokes”. He jokes with his coworkers that I look just like him but my mustache is bigger (thaaaaanks, Dad!).

As much as I love when people say “You are totally Miguel’s kid”, I want them to talk about my other Dad.

This Dad I’m talking about is our heavenly Father.

“When God created human beings, he made them to be like himself.” – Genesis 5:1b

This year I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be the image of God. For so long I confused image with looks.

“Yes, I look like Him. I’m sure we have the same nose.”

No, no, no Sarah.

God has been teaching me throughout 2015 that image means many things. I’ve learned that we are creators like Him. The way we serve can display His image. Our love is the image of Christ. Compassion, too. Humor (have you seen the Kiwa Hirsuta aka Yeti Crab? It’s the strangest/most hilarious crab I’ve seen!) When you sit down and ask God, “How do I reflect You?” He will show you.

I want people to say that I look like my heavenly Father.

Wouldn’t what be amazing to hear from someone?

“And the Lord, who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18b

Daily I want to look and act more like Him. Surrendering myself and asking God to fill me up.

“Lord, take away anything that doesn’t look like You. May I become more and more like You.”

Let that be our goal everyday. May we strive to look more like Him.

May we work on those talents that He has given us. Do you enjoy painting? Work on that. Master it. Your artistic talent reflects the most amazing Artist. Are you a writer? Great with kids? Good with money? Who are YOU?

Maybe you’re having an identity crisis. The best thing to do is talk with Him and ask Him, “Who am I in Your eyes?” Then dive into the Word. He will tell you who you are.

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator, and become like him.” – Colossians 3:10

You look like your Dad. Right here, right now. You reflect Him. I challenge you to be more like Him.

Be blessed, sisters.

November 3, 2015

An Undeniable Faith

Working in a skilled nursing facility is an adventure. I have always loved seniors and thought they were “adorable”, but I never thought that I would work full time with this population.

Now, the seniors at my facility are a fun bunch. We have seniors who very alert and oriented, and others who tell you every day that they are taking a trip to the moon after their wedding on the Queen Mary. You also have seniors who become your favorite. You would do anything for them to make sure they are well taken care of and are happy with their “home”.

I can give you a list of my favorites, but that would take too much time. Instead, I am going to focus on one. Her name is Mrs. S.

Mrs. S has become one of my favorites for many reasons. For starters, she reminds me of my grandmother. Books everywhere, so-called “organized” piles of random items, and a faith and love for God that is undeniable. Mrs. S is the epitome of what it means to be a woman of God. God is moving through her and she is not afraid to let people know who she stands for. Her love languages are quality time and words of affirmation. She makes her own greeting cards, which will never have the same design, and sends them out to friends, family, and staff with beautiful, encouraging messages. Her spiritual gifts are wisdom and prophecy. Her knowledge of the Word and who God is will blow you away. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and an understanding of who God is in comparison to us (Psalm 111:10). Mrs. S knows how loving, powerful, and merciful our God is! The wisdom she posses goes into play with her spiritual gift of prophecy. Whenever I go to visit her, she speaks words of truth and wisdom that resonate in my mind and heart. It is as if she knows what is going on in my life.

I was walking past her room with one my coworkers, and she called out my name. I went into her room and she had this concerned, caring smile on her face. “There is something I need to tell you,” she stated. “I believe God wants you to know this.” Now before I tell you what she said, let me give you a little back-story. The coworker I was walking with just happened to be the coworker I agreed to go with to our facility’s Christmas party. I went on a couple dates with him, knowing that he did not believe in God, but I was feeling incredibly insecure at this point in my life and believed that no man found me attractive. At that moment, it was nice to be noticed and pursued by a man. I lead him on and will always feel terrible for doing that to him (if you are reading, you know who you are and I am sorry). Mrs. S paused for a moment and began to say these words that I will never forget:

“You are a beautiful, strong woman of God. All you need is Him. God has that perfect person planned for your life, so do not rush His timing. The man He will bring you will be a honest, loyal, and faithful man of God. Trust in Him and continue to live out your life for the Lord.”

I was in complete and total shock. On the verge of tears, I told Mrs. S that what she said was very touching and was an issue that I have been struggling with. We ended up talking for another two hours and she ended the conversation with this: “I don’t know why, but I am now stuck here in this facility. But, I believe that I was placed here for a reason. God is using me and I am here to be a witness. The words I say are not mine. They are from Him. So I am happy that I am staying here, because now I know that they are hearing the truth from our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ladies, this is a true woman of God. She is indeed a woman of God. She is a woman with undeniable faith.

October 22, 2015

Fall is Life

Fall.
Scarves, sweaters, beanies.
Pumpkin spice everything.
Light rains and picnics for lunch.

There are so many reasons why I absolutely love fall. I’m a person who loves action and getting things done. Fall, for some reason, feels like that for me. A time of winding down the year and really accomplishing all those long to do lists that were left behind for beach trips and summer fun. It doesn’t hurt that fall also brings my birthday.

Apart from all the amazing things that fall brings, God tends to use this time of year as a refocusing for me. He beckons me back to a routine with Him that was crushed by my summer calendar. This year has been no different for me. God is bringing me back to Him, and back to one of my favorite Bible stories: Mary and Martha.

Luke paints the story perfectly in Chapter 10 of his Gospel. Jesus entered into yet another village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home along with her sister, Mary. While Mary sat and listened to Jesus telling stories to the other guests, Martha was distracted by all the serving that needed to be done. Not only was there a lot that needed to be done, but Mary was not helping her at all.

I always put myself in Martha’s shoes at this point in the story. The SON OF GOD came to her village, where she grew up, and wanted to come into her house. No matter how clean her house probably was before Jesus got there, I imagine her thinking that it definitely was not clean enough for the Messiah and all these guests. Oh, all the guests! Better start cooking a four course meal for them and make sure they have something to drink. Like right now! Where is Mary? She said she would help, and now she’s just hanging out? Not. Fair.

Mary goes a little further than I would, and she calls out her sister -in front of everyone.

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” (Luke 10:40, ESV)

And Jesus is so kind to Martha, telling her that she is anxious about so many things, but has forgotten the most important thing: spending time with Him.

What? Not doing things was better? That doesn’t compute with my checklist loving, to the minute planning brain. But it’s what Jesus wants. Time with me.

So, every fall I have to refocus, and I have this feeling I’m not alone. This time around, Jesus is reminding me to be more of a Mary, less of a Martha. With my long list of to-dos, I still need time to rest in Him. I need to be intentional, but it will so be worth it.

What has God been teaching you this fall? Anything exciting? Share with us!

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