Sometimes I feel like giving up. Sometimes I’m not sure I can withstand. And then, I remember, I am stronger than any fear that comes my way.

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

We don’t have to live in fear. We don’t have settle with worry. God has granted us the power to fight for what is right, to fight for what is good, to fight for a better life.

I started my journey with Beachbody again in 2020. This was for myself. This time it was to gain control, to gain self-discipline, and to find the power to overcome life’s obstacles. Throughout this journey, I have learned that God grants us his promises if we set our intentions and work hard for what we want. I have realized, I can do hard things. I can overcome. I can grow and I can learn if I fight harder.

God did not create me to be anxious or overwhelmed. I was not created to live in fear or with burden. God created me to have a spirit of power, and love, and self-discipline. It is in these words, that when I feel like giving up, when I feel like I’m losing control, when I feel like I just can’t do anymore, God is telling me—Fight Harder!

Fast forward 18 months, and I am ready to take that power, that love, and that self discipline to another level. I am ready to help others overcome! I want to motivate you and teach you, that you have the power and the strength to Fight Harder too! You were not create to struggle. You were not created to carry the burdens of the world. You were created with purpose and intention.

There will be days that we all struggle, but in those dark moments, remind yourself Fight Harder. Fight harder to overcome the obstacles, fight harder to push past the anxiety, fight harder to take the next step forward, because each step is another step closer to your goal!

Don’t give up! Don’t live in fear! Reach out and FIGHT HARDER than you ever have before!

Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time;…though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”

Let’s just skip right to the punch line and then track back. Our God is always in control and always on time. Though we waiver, God is still there waiting to answer our cries. Many times, the pain comes in the wait. We find ourselves asking, “Why me?, Why this?”. In our hearts, we know we must endure and continue our journey.

Habakkuk 2:1 reminds us submit our request to the Lord, then wait. “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how He will answer my complaint.”

Although it is difficult, we all face times that we must wait on the Lord. We are impatient. We want it now. Just like a kid wanting candy, we want that job promotion, that new car, a friend to be well, a friendship to be mended, financial stability….the list goes on. God hears our cries, but sometimes the answer is WAIT.

I know, not what any of us want to hear.

When the waiting is hard, I remind myself that God always comes through. I look back at the miracles of my life, the blessings I never thought would occur and yet they did.

Have you thought about that? Can you think of times when God answered your prayers? The real question is, was it as you planned or did God show up and exceed your expectations? For me, it’s always the later. When I find those times where I struggled to wait, the times where I couldn’t withstand anymore; the times where I finally gave it to God, our God showed up. Not only did He show up, but He showed out!

Many times the wait is hard. Many times we can’t see that the best is yet to come. We can’t see God’s plan, but I am certain that it is better than we ever imagined!

Habakkuk 2:3 “…if it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”

It will happen, but it will be in God’s time.

I hope this encourages you today!

God Bless,

-Holly

Pondering… “to think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.” I find myself pondering more and more these days. Maybe it’s because life is passing by so quickly; my children aren’t babies any more; the world is busier again. Whatever it is, I sit and think frequently. I try to break life down into meaningful decisions. I weigh benefits and risks continually in my mind. Maybe that’s just part of me or maybe it’s because I’m a mom or a woman, like a bee, my brain constantly buzzing trying to figure out the next best thing. I enjoy the thrill, the fun things, the busy. But some times I just want the quiet. Some times I like to sit and ponder.

In the quiet, I find that my pondering becomes clear. I can sit and think or sit and read. I can spend time diving into God’s word and I find that I ponder more and more. Each day there are new lessons to be learned. Today, I even think why me. Why do my thoughts need to be laid out on paper? Sometimes pondering doesn’t give us all the answers. However, God’s word provides us with direction. Each day that I read, I find God has created me to ponder; to look at his word, and find a way to apply it to life, to use it as direction not always knowing the answer.

Today, as I ponder my purpose, God’s word tells me to speak truth. I feel lead to create that spark in others so that He can cause their hearts to ponder also. God’s word is truth. It tells us that things may not always be easy; it tells us that temptations exist. Even as he hung on the cross, Jesus, the strongest believer was tempted, being told to save himself from his death. If the strongest believer was tempted, even we as Christians will face temptations. If we sit and ponder though, our thoughts and connection with God can help us work through those overwhelming decisions. We can think clearer, we can think more carefully. As I write these days, sometimes I feel those thoughts and temptations creeping in, the what if’s. But, I know that God is power and his power to me is to be encouraging.

Today, my devotions with God not only lead me to ponder my purpose of writing, but how it will reach others. Today, I constantly hear, EVEN ONE. If God’s voice reaches even one, then my pondering and writing was worth it.

Matthew 18:12-14

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out and search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish”

Even one…I ponder, even ONE! Even one is important. Even one can be helped. Even one can be saved. What if my pondering only helps one? If I am so fortunate that God uses these words to speak to even one, then I am blessed.

My prayer today, is that even if only one hears this, my prayer is that God speaks to them. Temptations are real. We can let them stop us from continuing on, or we can stop and ponder. We can come to a conclusion or decision that even if what we do only helps one, only reaches one, only speaks to one, IT WAS WORTH IT. You, the one person that’s reading this, you are worth it. God is putting a spark in you that can move mountains if you believe. Ponder that! Then, let God speak to you and use you so that you can reach Even One as well!

God bless,

Holly

How many times have we wanted to fit in? How many times have we wanted to be a part of something but didn’t know where to start?

1 John 4:11

“But you belong to God, you have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

He loves us. Even when we don’t feel like we fit in, WE BELONG. We belong to God. We belong to Him. Even when we feel our loneliest we can count on our belonging to God.

Recently, my husband and I have been reminded many times, that we should not be normal. Being “normal” means being like everyone else. The Bible says people who “belong to the world, speak from the worlds view point.” 1 John 4:5. We can fall in to this, because it’s easy to be swayed or we can be weird. When you feel like you don’t belong, lean in. Lean in to not belonging to the world. Be different, belong to God.

Love others no matter who they are. “Let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.” Even in the hard times, even when we don’t feel loved, love back. Lean in to the hard. Show others that they can belong to God too. Make them wonder why you are weird! Make them wonder why you are different. Love because you know that You Belong! You belong to God!

May God bless you today as you stand tall, knowing, YOU BELONG!

I’m not even gonna lie, I have been obsessed lately. This quarantine/pandemic was getting to me. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. I felt myself drifting to a place of fear and anxiety. I was scared for my family and for myself. I was overwhelmed at work. Everyone knows this last 6 months has been nothing less than difficult. Lots of choices that we’ve each had to make without knowing what the final outcomes would be. Let’s be real for a moment the world has seemed very out of control lately.

In my head and my heart, I knew I needed better for myself. I knew I needed an outlet. A way to find some control in my life so that I could let go of the things I can’t control. If you know anything about me, you know I’m a little type A…okay maybe a lot! I like things right and I like them done well. I’m an all or nothing kind of girl. I decided it was time for me to focus on me for a while; that’s one thing I can control. I decided to become obsessed!

Galatians 5:22-23

One of my dad’s favorite verses. It’s only just now that I have found so much meaning in it. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Y’all, these are the things that will make you happy! Finding these feelings…well, finding these feelings helps you let go of what you can’t control and focus on improving what you can.

Three months ago, my friend Meridith and I started a journey together. We committed ourselves to finding self control. In that, we found so much more! Meridith and I committed to Beachbody’s 80 day Obsession, we committed to good nutrition, to focus on self-care, and to finding joy.

Y’all we did it! Today was day 80!

In our 80 days we found it. We found the fruit of the spirit. We learned how strong we were. We learned that self-control is like any other muscle, you have to practice working it daily. We learned that even on the hard days, you stay committed and you will feel better because of it. We learned that we need only to compete with ourselves in life. Focusing on ourselves lead to ripple effects all around.

In finding me, I found happiness. I found peace and patience, joy and gentleness. I found my limits. I found self-control! I’ve found that I really enjoy getting up early to spend time with God and be alone in the stillness. My family is happier and they have become healthier. In my commitments, Jason found time to commit to himself as well. Together we found enjoyment in working on our family’s health and well being.

Overall, we’ve learned that we are stronger than we think, we can achieve anything we commit to, and we can be happy even in a world of chaos. Y’all, our minds and body’s are powerful things. If we focus on something and work at it long enough, we can achieve it. I can honestly say that through my commitments, I have been obsessed, obsessed with finding the fruit of the spirit, and I have found it.

80 days may have passed, but I know I’m only still at the beginning of this journey!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.”

God’s word says that for everything, THERE IS A TIME. And God’s time, IS EVERYTHING.

We sing praises to God about his time. I am reminded of the song “In His Time.”

“In His time, in His time. He makes ALL things beautiful in His time. Lord please show me every day, as you teach me your way, that you will do just what you say in Your time.” So it says, God’s timing is perfect!

Verse 1- There is a season for everything. As we pray to God for the longings of our hearts, we must understand that patience is required as we wait on God’s perfect timing. The passage continues on by saying there is a time for everything, referring to both Good and Bad.

As we go through this time where we can visibly see so much fear, death, and sickness in the world, we too must try to understand that this is also in God’s time — and so we wait.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-15

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.”

We are but a moment in time. For this reason we cannot see all of God’s plan, neither before or after our lives. We must trust that God sees the big picture and that we are to be part of his plan. God wants nothing more than for us to be happy and enjoy the fruits of our labor. “Eat, drink, and enjoy” it says, “for these are gifts from God.”

We also learn that God’s word is final. Final, what a powerful word. We cannot change God’s plan. But we are given the knowledge to understand God’s word. It says history repeats itself. What is happening now has happened before and it will happen again.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

For these reasons, we should take time to enjoy life! Surround yourself with those you love! For two people are better than one and can help each other succeed. They save each other from trouble and watch each other’s backs. Three are even better! For a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. God wants us to surround ourselves with those we love. He wants us to be Happy! Pray daily. Know that we are all in God’s plan and His time is perfect! Take time to enjoy life — for we only get one!

God bless, Holly

Proverbs 3:1-28

My child, never forget the things I have taught you.
Store my commands in your heart.
If you do this, you will live many years,
and your life will be satisfying.
Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
Then you will find favor with both God and people,
and you will earn a good reputation.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good wine.

My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,
the one who gains understanding.
For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
and her wages are better than gold.
Wisdom is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
She offers you long life in her right hand,
and riches and honor in her left.
She will guide you down delightful paths;
all her ways are satisfying.
Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
happy are those who hold her tightly.

By wisdom the Lord founded the earth;
by understanding he created the heavens.
By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth,
and the dew settles beneath the night sky.

My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment.
Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.
They keep you safe on your way,
and your feet will not stumble.
You can go to bed without fear;
you will lie down and sleep soundly.
You need not be afraid of sudden disaster
or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security.
He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it
when it’s in your power to help them.
If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say,
“Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” – New Living Translation

Keep God’s word with you always; store it in your heart! For this, God will give you MANY satisfying years.

Good will follow you, if you follow God!

Verse 4 says that because of this, you will find favor with both God and man. If you only trust in the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, He will guide you. This guidance and wisdom comes from God and is not just within us. He inspires all of us. He is that still small voice – speaking to each of us!

God will give you healing and wisdom if you honor Him. Do not be afraid in time of disaster and destruction. Live knowing that God will protect us. Our God will give us wisdom. He will guide our footsteps. We need not understand what or why this is happening, only trust. Know that, GOD HAS GOT THIS!

Verse 27-28. For now, give good. Take time to show others God’s love. Now that we have the time…help others, do for your neighbors, develop community. God will be our security and will help us give love and security to those around us.

If it’s in your power to help others around you…why not???

Giving to those around us will only increase our inner joy. God loves us and wants to see us joyful and happy. Let’s take the time we have now to share and inspire joy in others. Remember, don’t let anyone or anything steal the joy that God gives us!

God Bless, Holly

Jeremiah 18:1-11

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Then the Lord gave me this message:“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.

“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”

I find myself seeking God. Can He heal me? Can He heal this land?

We find ourselves today in an unknown world. For many of us, today’s world is a place we have never even dreamt of experiencing. But what if this is all part of God’s intricate plan to rebuild our nation and bring his people back to him?

Verse 6 – “Can I not do as the potter and remold this clay?”

What if this disaster is for God’s purpose of “re-making” us? Will this help us take time to seek God?

Verse 11 – “I am planning disaster for you instead of good so that you will turn from your evil ways and do what is Right!”

In these times, God is calling us to do good, to serve each other, to serve Him, to bring light to a dark world and above all to DO GOOD!

Psalm 66:1 says “Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!” Let’s find the God who is waiting for us! Let’s find the good in these moments of fear. Let’s let God take our lives and remold them just as the potter took the clay and remolded it. Together, we can be the good that others see.

For it says, (Jeremiah 18:6) “You are in My hand.” God can take each of us, no matter how broken, torn, or worn, and remold is into something BEAUTIFUL!

God Bless, Holly

God has spoken to my heart and led me to share his word. As a busy mom, wife, and nurse, I am finding time to get with God daily and share with those I love. We all need hope. We all need prayer. My hopes for this blog is to help others find God and prepare wellness within their souls!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton