Even If

'Even If ' is a song written by MercyMe and was released on February 17, 2017. It is a beautiful song and a reminder that God is worthy even when we are broken. I was unable to post the entire song because of space, I encourage you to listen to this song in its entirety. It will move you.

They say it only takes a little faith

To move a mountain
Good thing
A little faith is all I have right now

But God when You choose
To leave mountains unmovable
Give me the strength
To be able to sing
It is well with my soul

Chorus:

I know You're able
And I know You can
Save through the fire
With Your mighty hand
But even if You don't  
My hope is You alone

I know the sorrow
I know the hurt
Would all go away
If You'd just say the word
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone

Refrain:

It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul

MercyMe-"Even If" on Amazon Music

Love in Christ,

Tera 

When We Look At Life Through HIS Eyes

Some things in our lives will never be the way we want them to be.

We cannot make things perfect. God and only God can do that. There are always going to be things we want to "fix or turn back time on," but we can't. What God can do is change our perspective on a situation or even a person. He lets us see what He sees.

We know this doesn't happen overnight and it isn't easy to learn. It takes time, effort, and many prayers on our part. God lets us see the good in the situation and in a person. He gives us the courage, patience, endurance, and love to do this. God puts all things in perspective for us."The eyes of your understanding being enlightened..." Ephesians 1:18.

When we look at life through HIS eyes, we see clearly and can start living each day in peace.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Prayer Is More Than Asking And Receiving

How many times have we said, "Why are my prayers not being answered right now?!"

We live in such a fast-paced world. We are spoiled and want things right now. When we call or text a person, we want them to respond back right then. We zap our food in a microwave so that we can eat it right now. Technology has put us living in an "I want it right now" world. Now don't get me wrong, I like and use technology, I appreciate having it, and I am very grateful for it. I would not be able to do this blog if it were not for technology.

What I want us to remember is, when we pray to God, He will answer according to His will and according to His timing. We may not get an answer right away. There may be a prayer we will pray years for before God answers. We also need to recognize and accept when God closes a door (stop beating on it!) especially when we asked, "Your will be done in this, Lord."

Prayer is more than asking and receiving. It is praying and giving it over to God and believing and trusting with our faith that God hears and He will answer...in His time, not ours.
Love in Christ,
Tera

CHANGE. Oh My! or Oh Yay!

Most of us when we think change it brings fear to our thought process doesn't it? Some people do not like it and cannot deal with it at all. It is definitely out of their element. Others have no problem with it. They can make a change without even thinking about it and will have an attitude of "Bring it on!"

We know each one of us will have some type of change during our lifetime. It's a part of life.
There are changes we look forward to. Some make no sense. Some break our hearts. And then there are those we have no control over. No matter what the change may be, sometimes it takes time and effort on our part to accept it, understand it, and have joy in it.

 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed [changed] by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2

May God bless us with the strength to make whatever change we need to make to live the life He has for us. To be in His perfect will and to be happy!  

Love in Christ,
Tera






  

The Lord Is My Shepherd; I shall Not Want.

The 23rd Psalm is a beautiful, comforting, and soothing psalm for our soul. We have heard it many times and probably can recite it by memory. I have always loved the first verse. To me, it says it all. The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. 

We do not need anything else when we have the Lord in our lives. He watches over us and takes care of us just like a shepherd watches over his sheep. His primary concern is to do everything to ensure the well-being of his flock. To the sheep, the shepherd is a constant companion, to the point that they recognize his voice and heed his calling.   

God has dominion over the whole earth and all of us who dwell in it. He knows each one of us. He provides and meets our needs with His presence, provision, protection, promises, power, and peace. 

We will face difficult times, deep valleys, unstable footing, but as a child of God, we can walk with confidence that He will guide us, protect us, and provide for us as long as we are on the right path with Him. How beautiful! 

When the Lord is our Shepherd, we have all we need.

Love in Christ,
Tera

God's Light Is All We Need

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105

The Word of God is such a blessing to us. It gives us light to overcome any darkness that we may have in our life. There is no brighter light than God's lamp to guide us and keep us on the right path.

No matter how big our situation, or what's going on in our home, our job, our children, our grandchildren, our families, God's Word can help. There are promises, psalms, and truths that can give us comfort, peace, and strength. God's lamp will also provide the clarity and direction we need to walk daily on the path He has for our life.

Meditate on this beautiful little verse today. God's light is all we need.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Young At Heart

It seems the older we get, the younger we would like to feel. Once we become a "senior citizen" everything from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet becomes a new ache every morning.
No matter how our bodies feel, God wants us to be young at heart and live each day to the fullest...physically, mentally and spiritually.

We choose how we are going to start and end each day. We determine whether it will be a good and positive day or a day of being down and discouraged. To stay young at heart, we have to challenge ourselves to do the things that make us happy. To celebrate each day God gives us with a sense of meaning. We still have a purpose on this earth to serve God and be in His plan. Let's enjoy spending time with those we love, and that care about us but let's also share our hearts with those who need encouragement, kindness, and love.

Getting older doesn't have to be all about doctor appointments. If we have a heart that cares and loves we will forever stay young no matter how old we are.

Love in Christ,
Tera

That's What It's All About!

How many times during the day does someone cross our paths that needs encouragement? What do we do? Do we move on or stop and take a moment to pray for them?

As a Christian, we should want to be an encourager. There are broken and hurting people all around us. It is our responsibility and should be our desire to give a helping hand, a word of encouragement and to pray for them. We need to remember most everyone we meet is fighting some type of battle. A word of care and love may give them the hope they need to get through today.

"For they have refreshed my spirit..." 1 Corinthians 16:18

Lord, help us to be aware of those around us that are suffering. Give us the strength and courage to be an encourager and to share Your love and Your goodness with them. To refresh and comfort their spirit. Sharing and giving. Loving and caring. That's what it's all about!

Love in Christ,
Tera

How Do You Talk To God?

I remember my mother telling me many years ago how to talk to God. She said, "You talk to God like He's sitting right beside you." It has taken me years to understand what she was saying, but I can tell you today that is precisely how I pray and talk to God. I have my time with Him first thing in the morning, in a quiet place. I love my time with Him. Some days I am very talkative, some days I have a heavy heart, and I cry instead of talking. God knows. He becomes your best friend because He knows everything about you.

In writing this, I was thinking about how loving, compassionate and understanding God is. He listens to our heart as we talk to Him and sees the tears, the sadness, and concerns. God also enjoys hearing our thankful hearts for His goodness and faithfulness to us. He gives wisdom and endurance for the trials and peace for our weariness. And if we are still, we can feel His Presence. "Be still, and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10

Do you have a quiet time to talk to God? I pray that you do and if not it is never too late to start. It's important and an excellent way to start your day and end your day.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Rejoice In This Day!

It's Monday again, and for some, it's a hard day to get going. Bring on the coffee!

God wants us to be thankful for this new day that He has given us."This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

A new day for being positive, giving, helping, kind and patient.
A new day to look at all of God's blessings that He gives us and share those with others.
A new day for loving and forgiving.
A new day to be thankful.
A new day to press on toward the goals we have set for ourselves.
A new day to be an encourager.

Rejoice in this day! Let's be glad in it and glorify the Lord in all we do and say.

Love in Christ,
Tera

To Know God Is To Love God

During our lifetime we witness over and over God's love. How blessed we are to be able to know WHO God is and talk to Him. But some of you may be asking, how can I love someone I can never see, or talk to? We set our hearts and souls to seek Him. "Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God..." 1 Chronicles 22:19.

Our hearts become anxious about finding out everything we can about Him. We read and study His Word. We learn to talk to Him through praying. We find ourselves falling in love with Him the more we spend time with Him. We also realize we can see God. He gives us the wisdom to make the right choices. He directs our path. He gives us strength when we are weak. We also see God through His beautiful handiwork in nature, sunrises, and sunsets. There are so many ways we see Him. We just need to take the time to recognize that it is God.

To know God is to love God. May today be the day you put your trust in Jesus Christ and start an everlasting love with Him. It is an incredible feeling!

Love in Christ,
Tera

Generation To Generation

Some of us have traced our heritage back to our great great great grandparents. Some of us have boxes or albums of pictures of our families. I was very fortunate to have Christian parents and Christian brothers and sisters to grow up with. I am blessed and grateful for that. I gained wisdom and Christian values from each of them that I have and continue to pass on to my children and grandchildren.

I am saddened and concerned about our world today. It is troubling. It is corrupted. It is scary for us as parents and grandparents to deal with the issues of today...hatred, turmoil, safety, corruption, natural disasters, economic crisis, non-believers, the list goes on and on. So how will the next generation and the generation after that deal with it? Will our prayers over them today be "grandfathered" in for them years from now? Will the Christian values that we teach them today be passed on from generation to generation?

Lord, please grant us all wisdom in what we say and how and what we teach our families. Help them to stay in Your Word, to pray, so that generation to generation can carry on Your love, Your goodness, Your faithfulness in times of need. Bless us O Lord. Bless our families and their families.  Bless our nation. Help us to stay strong in You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Did You Pass Your Test?

Now that school has started back parents and grandparents will soon be asking the words, ''Did You Pass Your Test?" I was never one that liked a test, especially written test. It brought fear and was a real struggle for me.

How many of us feel the same way today when we are tested by God? He will test us for different reasons. We are tested to persevere, to trust, and grow in our faith and dependence in Him. We try our best to get through it without fear and discouragement, but it is hard and often a struggle. Through it all though we learn to trust God. We see His faithfulness until the end of the test. 

We will be tested over and over. What we have to remember is God loves and cares for us. He gives us the strength, understanding, and the confidence we need in those hard times. He makes it possible for us to say. Yes, I passed my test!  

Love in Christ,

Tera

Our Plans or God's Plans?

Have you ever had a plan crushed? You had your heart set on this plan for your life for months maybe even years, but it didn't happen. Did it leave you broken? Were you in a place where you were done with dreams, plans, thoughts?

Think about this. Were the plans God's plans for us?  Did we pray about them or over them? Did we tell God, Your will be done in this? "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11. This is such a beautiful promise that we should memorize and keep on our hearts and minds every day.

If we could just understand how God wants to bless us. How He has the perfect plan for our lives that has peace and hope and is rooted in His grace and faithfulness. I believe in my heart that if we claimed this verse while making our plans, dreaming our dreams, we could eliminate a lot of grief and pain.

God's plan for our lives is perfect. Why? Because HE knows us. They are HIS plans for us. We are in HIS will. And the best one of all...HE will protect us and give us a future and a hope.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Stop Looking Back!

How many of us keep looking back at our past? The things we wish we could change especially the pain. I read a slogan the other day that said, "Don't look back, you're not going that way."

When we start thinking about our past where does it take us? I mean really? Why do we keep going back there, to that pain? What is the point? Can we change what happened or a situation? Why would we want to keep going back to that sadness?

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." Isaiah 43:18

No matter what it is we are trying to forget in our past or how long ago it happened, we have to remember if we have asked God to forgive us, then we live knowing that He has and we stand firm in His forgiveness. He freed us from that sin or situation. The Bible tells us when we become a Christian we are a new creation in Jesus Christ. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold all things become new."  2 Corinthians 5:17

We have a new life in Him now so let Him be in control. Stop looking back! We don't live there anymore! Move on and move forward. God has something beautiful planned for each one of us. Don't rob yourself from letting Him bless you.

Love in Christ,
Tera

This Is My Story This Is My Song

Praising my Saviour all the day long. I love the old hymns. The words, meaning, and melodies soothe the soul. Be blessed today!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Lord, We Need Peace

When we have troubles and situations around us that causes stress, hurt, and heartache, we want relief. We need peace. A feeling of peace that warms us like the sunshine. A sense of peace that takes our hurt and heartache away like the power of a wave in the ocean.
When we try to solve and/or fix our troubles and situations, we usually make things worst. We are not capable or able to give us the peace we need that is perfect and everlasting. We can only find this ideal peace in scripture and through our faith in the Lord.

We cast all our care upon Him. 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."

We pray Lord, give us peace and help us to trust You. Isaiah 26:3,4 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

We thank Him. Philippians 4:6,7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Be still. One of my favorites. Mark 4:39 "And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

Lord, we need peace...Your peace. Help us to be still and cast our hurt and troubles upon You because You care about us. We love You and thank You. In Jesus name. Amen

Love in Christ,
Tera

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

How beautiful is the love of Jesus Christ! Not only is He the same every day but so is His Word and His faithfulness. The promises, the protection, the miracles, the healing, the provision He did for those we read about in the Bible are the same for us today. Jesus Christ still heals and performs miracles. He knows all and sees all. He gives us strength and courage when we are weak. We can always depend on His promises, His protection, and His provision. He is never changing.

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8

What a friend we have in Jesus...a lifelong friend! He is always there for us. He stands by us and with us in times of need. His love, mercy, and grace are shown to us every day. He was committed to us yesterday, He is committed to us today, and He will be committed to us forever.

Shouldn't we have the same commitment to Him? Shouldn't our love for Him be unchanging?

Love in Christ,
Tera

HE is our life!

"When Christ, Who is our life..." Colossians 3:4.

Wow! What power is in this verse! Can you imagine if our lives were focused entirely on Jesus Christ how different it would be?  If He controlled every thought, every word, everything we do, and we lived by His Word how transformed our lives could be.

I believe it starts with our mind and what we keep our focus on, what we think about 24/7 and how we handle situations that affect us, our children, and our homes. Colossians 3:2 "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

The real center of Christian life is having and living a new life with Christ. We set our minds, hearts, and souls on things above. Heaven. We strive to live a positive and peaceful life with ourselves and others. We clothe ourselves with love, kindness, gentleness, and patience. What a wonderful world this would be if everyone were in perfect harmony. Amen? 

Think about this...Christ is Christ. He surpasses all others. He is over us and everything about us. Let Christ fill us with His richness, after all; He is our life! 

Love in Christ,

Tera

Spiritual Gifts

What are spiritual gifts? They are unique gifts given to us by God and to be used for His service.

Spiritual gifts are not sought after but are divinely given not for our glorification but for strengthening and helping others.

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord." 1 Corinthians 12:4,5.

"So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us..." Romans 12:5,6a

Although opinions are very different on how many Spiritual gifts there are, the following are Spiritual Gifts that are mentioned and talked about in the Bible. 

Prophesy, Serving (Ministry), Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Leading, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Discernment, Evangelism, Hospitality, Speaking.

As a Christian, we are to serve God in all we do. The Spiritual Gifts God blesses us with, whatever they may be, or however many they may be, we use them to the best of our ability, for God's glory and to bless and strengthen others. 

Love in Christ,

Tera

And He Walks With Me, and He Talks With Me

I woke up this morning with this beautiful song on my mind. Love this old hymn and the words of encouragement. I am sharing this as the devotion for today. Be blessed!

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me,
Within my heart is ringing.

Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

Love in Christ,
Tera

It Is A Battle

How many times have you cried out to God to take away your sickness? To mend your brokenness? To revive you spiritually?

Some days I feel like the whole world is crashing down on me. I know God loves me, I know He is with me always, but I become so overwhelmed that it overtakes my thoughts then I become disheartened and weary. It is a battle...a physical, emotional, spiritual battle...to take our thoughts away from how we are feeling and focus on God and His Word.

To have a life of contentment, we have to remind ourselves how big and how great our God is and that He is our refuge and peace. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." Psalm 91:1,2

Lord God, heal us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Help us daily to remember that You are the Great Physician, and in You, we will trust. Amen.

Love in Christ,
Tera

GRACE

Grace definition from the dictionary is elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action. 

Grace definition from the Bible is God's unmerited favor. 

When that last button has been pushed, they are now on our last nerve, how can our words and actions be with grace? Well, there's a verse for that. Proverbs 15:1 "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." 

Before we explode and blurt out how we really feel, say words we can't take back, stir up more anger, take a moment (count to 10 or 20!) ask God to help us, to give us the grace to speak in a tone of softness, kindness, calmness so that it will end on a good note for everyone. It doesn't matter if it is our child, spouse, or friend, take that extra time to extend grace. God gives us grace each day. How many times do you think He has had to count to 10?! 

We can't earn God's unmerited favor, it is a beautiful gift from Him. Let's pass that gift to others. It starts with us and within us...our heart, our actions, our words. 

Love in Christ,

Tera