When My Expectations Fall Flat

Expectations in life are a huge platform for hope.
I hope for the best and give God the rest.
Well , I do have my times when I think I have given my daddy God the rest but truth is, I still hold tight to the things I should release.
Sheeeshh.....

My life's expectations do not seem unrealistic to me.
My expectations in life are truth, honesty, loyalty, respect and unconditional love. 
I want  what my heart gives in return. 
I hope through my expectations that others will see my heart  and see me for who I truly am from the inside out. 
I expect my kindness to not be taken for granted nor my love for others taken advantage of. 
I expect (want) to be treated as I treat others. 
Doesn't seem like much, but I have learned there are times it is.....
In turn my expectations fall flat.....
My feelings are hurt....
My heart is broke.....
And my hope becomes squashed.

My down fall,I have to come to recognize,is me putting so much hope in others and their actions or lack of.
I  never wanted to believe that  two hearts did not love the same....
Give the same....
Hope for the same.....
Or even care in the same manner.....
But I do believe in finding the best in a person or circumstance.

 I know we are all created differently in some aspects but the truth is we ALL have been created in the imagine of Christ  and my expectation is we ALL show the same compassion and love that He does. 
Can you imagine our daddy God showing us the same love and compassion we show others?
Or not show others I should say??

Granted I know we all fall short, and I know I fall daily.
However my lesson is this....
I am learning again not to put all my hope in others...
To use wisdom in how much I invest emotionally in a situation...
 Believe in the work my daddy God is doing in all things and love with the heart He has given me.....
Be constant in my prayers.
 Not to expect others to see the way my heart sees.....
But believe in the power of prayer that all things work for the good for those who love Christ.....
And see them through the eyes of Christ.
To see my expectations  manifest in His time, not mine.....
My hope should always, without fail, rest in my daddy God. 
My ways, expectations, thoughts and vision is no where near my daddy God's.
Thank you Jesus they are, for I have discovered I tend to place my ways in a small box where as His ways are out the box. 

Isaiah 55:8-9
" For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the Lord
" As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

I do not know how certain things in  life will play out.
I try to see beyond the here and now....
To find the good in all things....
To love without reserve.....
To encourage with grace.....
To extend mercy without judgement...
And above all......
To rest ALL my hope in my daddy God.

Even though I fall short, it's in the getting back up and pressing in, I am restored. 
It's good to have expectations, even better to have hope.

Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes a heart sick, 
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. 


Where are you placing your hope?

When my expectations fall flat~


xoxoxo

Stacey

Romans  15:13 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 

Winding Roads

Life would be so much easier if every road we traveled was straight and our view never became obstructed, however that is not always the case. 
Our roads in life will at some point will began to curve and twist. 
Some may be sharp and narrow ones while others may be wide and large.
It seems the winding roads come out of no where.
They appear when least expected and tend to, at times, present an unwelcome surprise.
A jolt to the tranquil .....
A bang within the peace......
A disruption of the joy.

Over time I have learned when I can not see what is in front of me or what is around the next bend, it is then my trust in my daddy God must be unwavering . I can not simply trust him just in the times of joy in my life, I must trust him in every area of my life.
 And that includes winding roads. 

I  am coming into a new season of  change.
 A shift I can not quite understand. 
I have not had any major catastrophic events.
 Nor have I had anything happen that has knocked me off my feet.  
 But my road has become somewhat winding. 
For me this can be an unsettling feeling. 
For those who know me, know I like to know what is next in my life. 
OCD syndrome???
Maybe....
 Impatient???
Probably....
Stating the obvious???
Absolutely. 

What I have learned and continue to learn is to heed the voice of my daddy God when my road becomes winding. 
To recognize the lessons in each curve....
To apply Godly wisdom with each step.....
To take notice of the scenery and focus on the beauty instead of the struggle......
To embrace hope.....
To exhibit unfailing trust......
To extend unconditional  love......
And witness victory through each one. 

I do not know what this new season holds for me or what new changes are on the horizon.
I may not always get it right....
Or even understand the reasoning. 
 I do know I am learning to lean more on my daddy God.
 I am learning to find the beauty in every curve.....

To tune out the unnecessary banter of the world...... 
And recognize his wisdom in the scenery.

Winding Roads......

xoxo

Stacey

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. 

Loving Them Through The Pain

For years I have asked God to use me as an instrument of his love. 

A love that is never failing.....

One that sees past the wounds and jaded scars.....

A love that will shine into the darkest areas of a heart and heal the brokenness....

A love that covers unconditionally and without reserve.....

To be able to love them past their pain. 

But how does one do that when the one who is living in such a forest of pain continuously throws up walls? 

They shut down and shut out .....

They will stop any real healing just to avoid the process of restoring.

Their mind set has become " out of site, out of mind"

They believe if they do not talk about the pain, confront the situations, and express their emotions it will all just disappear.

( Their walls of pain just got bigger)

Their fears have become greater than the love sent to restore. 

The enemy wants to keep them buried in their pain. 

He knows if the pain remains the healing love of the Father will not be seen.

He knows by living in constant pain, their hearts will forever be broken and they will live without true peace, joy and happiness. 

At times it is hard to love someone through their pain. 

It becomes difficult when I see the scars, wounds and tears their hearts will not release. ....

When I can feel the emotions they have locked up deep inside....

The " I don't care" attitudes they portray to hide the fear of rejection.

The hand they use to keep real love at bay.

And yet I still continue to ask my daddy God to use me as an instrument of His love. 

Why????

Because..........

It is His love that has healed me of past pain....

His love that has carried me through some very difficult times in my life....

His love that has restored me in areas I never thought possible....

His love that continues to hold me up and walk me through when hardships drop in my world. 

There is nothing I (we) go through in life that is in vain.

I have learned He will use my trials, my pain and my brokenness to show others there is hope. 

There is healing.....

There is restoration...

There is victory. 

Romans 8:39 

Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I know it can become disheartening when loving someone through their pain tends to be rejection for what our hearts are offering. 

When our words fall on deaf ears....

 A heart that is un-receiving......
And walls that are so thick there seems to be no way through them or around them.

John 15:12
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 

It is then I am reminded how many times my daddy God had offered me the same love only to have me throw my hand up as I did not want to face my giants. 
I ran from anything and anyone that represented truth and healing. 
And I was hard to love....
So very hard.

For that reason alone, I continue to love the way He has called me to love. 

Regardless of how uncomfortable it becomes....

How difficult it may be at times.....

No matter if they push me away or take my hand... 

How frustrated in the natural I become.......

Just as my daddy God has loves me through my pain in life.....

I will love then through theirs.
Whether it's by prayer only, or physically standing with them....
His will not mine be done.

Loving them through their pain.............

xoxoxo

Stacey

When I Am UnCertain

I am not immune to uncertainties in life. 

I have my share just as the next person does. 

Times when I have no idea what step to take......

What decision is for the best........

When my judgement is clouded by circumstances.....

And I feel as though I am drowning in my situation.

The misconception that is viewed upon those in the body of Christ is we never have bad days....

No doubts, uncertainties, fear or feelings of weariness and despair......

When we do have those days, we are to smile and act as though nothing is wrong because that would mean we have no faith.

 Or the painted picture of the world is to be a woman or man of faith  we walk through life all sunshine and roses without struggle one. 
I have even had some mock me with their words " Where is your Jesus now?"

Wrong answer..... 

I have learned the stronger my faith becomes, the more battles I have.

Therefore I have times when I become so  weary in my flesh, I have my own uncertainties as to how I will overcome the task ahead of me. 

Even Jesus himself cried out to God when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying before he was arrested.

Luke 22:42

'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

He knew what his fate was and the task that laid ahead of him.

But look what happened after he cried out.....

Luke 22:43

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

It is when we cry out to our daddy God he sends the help we desire

The answers we need.......

The peace we long to have wash over and in us. 

My uncertainties do not come from the battles or decisions ahead of me. They come from my own lack of strength and wisdom. 

They will manifest when I lean to my own abilities and not those of my daddy God.

Today I  read these words......

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 

Proverbs 24:14

Know also wisdom is like honey for you:

If you find it, there is a hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off. 

Being a woman of faith does not mean I will not have trials and tribulation in this life.

God's word tells us that we will have those. 

He also tells us he will never leave nor forsake us. 

Being a woman of faith  does not mean I will not fall in life, make mistakes or sub-come to the pressure of life. 

What it does mean......

I know who to lean on.....

I know where to turn for wisdom....

I know where my strength comes from. 

There is no shame in having uncertainties.
It's is through my weakness  His power is made perfect. 

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 

When I am uncertain..........

Xoxox

Stacey

Getting To The Root

I love yard work; cutting grass and planting flowers. 
I do not however like pulling weeds. 
There are some that are easy to remove....
One tug and they are up and out, root and all. 
But then there are those weeds whose roots are so deep and intertwined through out the dirt, it is almost impossible to get them and all of their roots out of the ground. 
These roots will take over, strangle and smother the good roots causing the pretty flowers to die. 

The same goes when we allow bad roots to grow within our hearts. 
The weeds of our hearts have many different names. 
They come in the form of anger, bitterness, rejection, unforgiveness, jealousy, malice, prejudice, slander, gossip, selfishness and the list goes on. 
These roots will smother our peace, joy, happiness, love and grace. 
They will strangle our compassion and mercy. 
They will hold us hostage within the mire and muck of our inter being.
Slowly destroying our heart and souls.

I did not realize I had a particular root that has been holding me captive  from within. 
My root's name is un-forgiveness.
Strange, as I have never been one to hold a grudge. 
But never the less it is a reality, one that I must deal with. 

I will not get into the why and how's this root came to manifest deep inside of my heart.
I will not justify my reason's or emotions.
Two wrongs do not make a right and for my healing and peace I must take care of this root.
To move forward as my daddy God wants me to I must seek forgiveness from the other person for my forgiveness for them to be complete and my heart healed.
In the natural for me to ask to be forgiven (for not forgiving them) can taste like vinegar if I allow it to or I can remove this ugly root with the love of Christ and feel the peace of my daddy God as he fills the hole where this root resides. 

I heard my daddy God say to me " How can you show others to forgive past hurts if you yourself are not doing it?"

" Good question Lord" is my reply
And my answer........

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness

I am thankful he never leaves me where I am in life...
I am grateful for his constant love for me, a love that is unfailing and never ending. 
Correction with love allows us to grow.
And growing I am....
Daily.

Today I choose forgiveness....
Today I choose to remove the root......
Today I choose the peace of my daddy God.

Getting to the Root.....

Xoxo

Stacey