#SheSharesTruth: Named by God

The book of Ruth reminds me of the blessed Hope I have through my Redeemer. So often our perceptions of ourselves (and who God sees us as) are fueled by our circumstances.

 Failure. Hopeless. Forgotten. Abandoned. Lonely. 

Seeing only the bitter cup in our hand, we lose heart. Begin renaming ourselves. Redefining our own lives based on what we perceive to be the only possible way. There is no hope for change. No hope for healing. No hope for life and joy to possibly enter our reality again. How could it? Don't you see the heartache? Don't you see the very things that made life joyful- that made life worth living- are gone? Injustice and fear seem to be overtaking so we give up. Settling in to this new existence. The new normal. The bitter cup. 

Many circumstances are capable of leaving us feeling like every piece of anything that meant anything is shattered into a million pieces on the floor with no hope of ever being restored. To settle here would be to rob ourselves of the blessings our precious Redeemer came to give. And even though all we may be able to see at the moment is heartache and pain and anger--He is working. The Redeemer is working on our behalf. On YOUR behalf. And the blessings are great because His blessings are always great. 

And I will give you treasures hidden in darkness- secret riches. I will do this so that you will know that I am the Lord God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. 

Isaiah 45:3

Out of brokenness, he creates something more beautiful than we could have imagined. It is true, somethings will leave us forever changed. We can never go back to who we were last year, last month, yesterday... hours, minutes, seconds ago. And we might be broken. Shattered even. The precious thing about our Redeemer is, he doesn't attempt to fasten us back to who we once were. He takes those broken pieces and creates new life. New beginnings. Abundant blessings. He sets us on a path that leads us straight to Him. Straight into his loving, gracious, gentle arms. The arms where peace and rest and joy are found. In this place, circumstances will not define us but truth will.

 Child. Worthy. Justified. Royal. Blessed. Loved. Whole. Redeemed.

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To My Daddy

Dad, this post is for you...

It is fitting to fire up the old blog to share a post for my Daddy because he always posts (and/or reposts) a special blog for each of us on our birthdays not to mention, he just got his own domain (Running With the Footmen) and is blogging regularly. 

When we were young, my dad prayed that God would protect us from his mistakes. He desired that we not be stunted by his own shortcomings. I'm learning that as a parent, no matter how hard we try, our kids tend to reflect us in one way or another. However, I believe that rather than completely shielding me, God chose to shape me (and my siblings) through those less desirable traits. For he is made strong in our weakness. Our falling short reveals an absolute need for a Savior. Thankfully, our heavenly father saw fit to gift us His grace and cover us completely through His son. 

Dad, thank you for always pointing us to Jesus. Thank you for being our guiding light. You aren't without fault and our life hasn't been roses without a few thorns but my faith is firm because I you and mom helped to build a foundation in Christ. You have so much to be proud of- and so do we <3

My sister shared something on fb this morning that was the perfect sentiment for our Dad. I am so glad we all share similar memories because sometimes your sister just puts the words together better...

Today I am thankful that I get to see and spend time with my Daddy. So many are without one today and I do recognize what a special thing it is to have a Dad that loves me, loves his wife and loves Jesus. 

I love you, Daddy.