What Makes You Smile?

Lately, on Facebook, I’ve been asking a question—What’s making you smile today?

It’s not just a question I’m posing for others, but one I’m asking myself every day…because sometimes, no matter how our day is going, we just need to make sure we can still smile.

It’s easier when everything is happy and going well, but on those hard days? Not so much.

The smile on my face doesn't mean my life is perfect,

it just means I appreciate what I have 

and what God has blessed me with.

– Unknown

During this winter which seems very long—we need to smile, even on the days that make us weary of the cold and snow.

During the difficult days when we don’t know what’s going to happen or what we need to do next—we need to find something to make us smile.

Especially when we don’t feel like smiling, we can make a conscious effort to find something that makes us smile. {Tweet this}

                                                                                      

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,

but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Once we’re in a non-smiling mood, it’s easy to stay there. It’s comfortable to dwell on everything that’s bringing us down. And it’s all too common to spread that negativity to those around us.

But smiling when we don’t want to? Some days that can be a real challenge—one that’s worth the effort.

What if your smile is the only one someone else sees today?

What if your smile is what helps turn someone else’s day around?

What if we fan into flame a positive outlook instead of the downbeat way we might feel? {Tweet this}

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

– Mother Teresa

A smile won’t fix every situation or change undesirable circumstances, but it won’t make them worse. It has the potential to change our focus for a few moments causing us to look at something other than what we can’t fix. {Tweet this}

And after a while of working to find a reason to smile, it will become a habit—a good habit. One that we’ll want to continue.

I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite.

– Buddy (from the movie Elf)

What’s making you smile today?

In Christ,

Laura

[Photo credit: Unsplash.com]

Linking up with: Purposeful Faith, #TeaAndWord, Trekking Thru, #TellHisStory, #RechargeWednesday, #porchstories, InstaEncouragements, #HeartEncouragement, Moments of Hope, #DestinationInspiration, #TuneInThursday, Faith ‘n Friends, #FreshMarketFriday, Grace & Truth, #FaithonFire, Spiritual Sundays, Let's Have Coffee, #WriterWednesday

The Ache of Surrender

Last November, I was happy to have read and shared a review of my friend Lori Schumaker’s book Surrendered Hearts. Today, I’m super excited to have Lori here sharing a bit of her story…

Letting go always hurts. It hurts when the thing we must let go of appears in every way possible as something good and wonderful. It also hurts when it’s something unhealthy, but where we felt comfortable in its familiarity.

As Christians we are called to trust God. Without doing so we simply will not experience the abundance of His love nor will we experience peace.

Surrendering, or in other words letting go, doesn’t happen without trust. We can say we are doing it, but to really lay it down at the foot of the cross, giving back to Christ what is rightfully and originally His, takes trusting Him. Real trust—not the half-hearted stuff.

So, I must ask …

Are you holding onto something that’s not yours to have?

Is there an experience, memory, or resentment taking up space in the recesses of your heart?

What is it that you can’t seem to surrender? That thing that may be holding you back from moving forward into all God has planned for you?

In my book, Surrendered Hearts: An Adoption Story of Love, Loss, and Learning to Trust, I share my story of learning to surrender. Not that it’s something we learn once and then move on. Instead, it’s learning in layers–bit by bit and experience by experience. But our adoption story was one of the great big heavy layers of learning for me.

A point had come where I had to give up the little girl I believed was ours. Convicted, I felt with everything in me that God gave her to us. So, when what I believed to be true and what appeared in every way possible to be right and good, didn’t go that way, devastation consumed me. I grieved for months. I held onto what I thought was mine.

As much as I didn’t want to accept it, the truth was that this child was God’s long before she was mine. I had to surrender her because my desperate attempt to hold on was creating a wall between my Savior and me. I wrote about it in Surrendered Hearts.

When we enter true relationship with the Father, the scales fall away from our eyes and the weight of bitterness melts away. It is then, as we trust enough to surrender, that we find real relationship. It is then, through our moments of prayer, worship, and praise, that we find the hope, peace, and joy we were longing for.

And just maybe it’s what God was waiting for all along. Maybe that’s what it takes to move into the next chapter of life. I know it was for me. – Lori Schumaker from Surrendered Hearts

He is a God we can trust. We are given the opportunity to pour our hearts out before Him. He grieves with us, understands our anger, and holds us while we mourn. And He patiently waits for us to surrender what is not ours to hold onto.

O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.

2 Samuel 22:29–37 NLT

Friend, I don’t know what it is that you are holding onto today. I can promise you, though, that our Father is willing and capable of taking it over. He will take the ashes of your situation and make beauty rise from them.

After I surrendered, God took the ashes of my grief and wrote a new story. One I couldn’t have imagined for myself or our family. And as I get the opportunity to share that story through my book, I see how God continues to use what I surrendered in the midst of my grief.

I leave you with a prayer for surrendering:

Lord, please be my strength in weakness, my wisdom in ignorance, my patience in frustration, my love in anger. Lord, I ask for Your Holy Spirit to permeate my being, to be all that I am not. When the surrender aches, I ask You to propel me forward in trust, reminding me that You will not fail me. I thank You for being my solid rock—my strong fortress. Thank You for loving me when I’m not that lovable. In Your perfect name I pray. Amen.

Lori, thank you for sharing here today!

In Christ,

Laura

As wife, adoptive and biological mom, teacher, writer, speaker, and coach, Lori’s heart is to encourage others to meet the challenges of life with the hope of Christ. Wherever you find yourself today—walking through the difficult, longing to find your identity and follow your purpose, or simply experiencing a season of beautiful chaos, Lori’s blog, found at www.LoriSchumaker.com, is a place where you can find the encouragement you need today. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

[Photo credit: Lori Schumaker]

Linking up with: Purposeful Faith, #TeaAndWord, Trekking Thru, #TellHisStory, #RechargeWednesday, #WriterWednesday, #porchstories, Let’s Have Coffee, Moments of Hope, #HeartEncouragement, #DestinationInspiration, #TuneInThursday, #FreshMarketFriday, Faith ‘n Friends, Grace & Truth, #FaithonFire, Spiritual Sundays, InstaEncouragements

3 Steps to Stop Comparisons

The feeling was quick. Instant, really. I had just seen that an author I was reading about is the same age as I am. And I immediately (immediately!) thought of all that she's accomplished. And all that I haven't.

Fortunately, I quickly recognized what was happening. I was comparing myself to someone I've never met. Someone with a different story than me. Someone with whom I've never crossed paths with outside of reading her written words.

I was comparing myself to someone whose accomplishments don't add to or take away from anything I've done or not done. And yet, for a moment, I was ready to give the enemy that power over me.

I'm convinced that the enemy loves when we compare ourselves to others. Why wouldn't he? When we let comparisons take over our thinking we do his work for him.

I imagine him standing back, whispering his encouragement...That's right. Look at her. You're the same age and look at all she's been able to do.

Meanwhile, disappointment in myself is starting to stir. Satan tosses a little fuel to the fire and I let it really get going. To the point of ruining my mood and my day, leading me to the "why even try" discouragement and wanting to quit.

Oh yes, he has that ability. But we don't have to give him that power over us!

Jesus stops Satan in his tracks, and through Jesus, we are able to stop the comparisons that lead us down that negative path. {Tweet this}

3 Steps to Stop Comparisons

1 - Recognize when we’re starting to compare ourselves to someone else.

Maybe it’s how we look, our education, whether or not we’re stay-at-home moms, our accomplishments, our families, our kids’ behavior…the list goes on. We can be quick to compare ourselves in any and every way to what we see around us. But what we see rarely tells the entire story.

These comparisons can sneak up quick and have lasting effects. The quicker we recognize when we’re comparing what we know of ourselves to what we see of someone else, the quicker we can try to stop it.

2 - Know and understand how these comparisons affect us.

If seeing someone’s achievement motivates you to keep trying or to do something you’ve been wanting to do, then by all means, let it motivate you!

But, the effects I’m talking about are jealously, envy, dislike, discouragement, and wanting to give up. (These emotions have physical effects as well, like headaches, depression, anxiety, digestive issues, etc.) You know what I’m talking about, right?

If we can recognize when we’re comparing, and acknowledge what it usually does to us, then we have a better chance of stopping it before we start down that negative path.

3 – Stop comparing.

I don’t say this flippantly. This step is often the hardest because it takes a conscious effort to put the breaks on something before it spins out of control. It means closing the social media screen or ending the conversation, changing focus, and telling ourselves to stop. Not easy, but it is possible, and with practice, it doesn’t feel quite so challenging.

I was able to stop it in my experience above because I’ve been working on not comparing myself to others for years. (years!) I’m no expert, nor do I have a 100% track record, but I know what it will do to me if I let myself stay in comparison mode.

God’s plans for each of us are different, but they are good. We may eventually meet up in the same place, but no one gets there in the exact same way. He designs different paths and timing for each of us. {Tweet this}

If the author I was reading about knew I was comparing myself to her, I imagine she might say, Please don't. That's not why I write. I know that's what I would say if someone was comparing herself to me. I don't want to write so people look at me. I write with the hope and prayer that my words point to Jesus.

And that’s exactly what the enemy doesn't want.

In Christ,

Laura

[Photo credit: FreeImages.com]

Linking up with: Purposeful Faith, #TeaAndWord, Trekking Thru, #TellHisStory, #RechargeWednesday, #WriterWednesday, #HeartEncouragement, Moments of Hope, #DestinationInspiration, #TuneInThursday, #FreshMarketFriday, Faith ‘n Friends, Grace & Truth, Spiritual Sundays, #porchstories, Let's Have Coffee, #FaithonFire

Quiet Courage

Courage feels like a big word. By definition, courage is mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. (merriam-webster.com)

Sometimes, courage is loud and obvious like when David fought Goliath. Right there in the action, everyone around saw how he defeated the giant. And those not there to see it definitely heard about it.

But courage isn't always showy. Sometimes it's quiet. You might see it but not be able to identify it at the time. But it's courage nonetheless.

I think of Mary who probably heard the whispering of others as she walked by and Joseph who took Mary as his wife, even though she was already pregnant. Although the angel confirmed what the Lord wanted them to do, I imagine they still faced the town’s gossip and rumors. And they had to have had courage to face what others said without starting to doubt themselves and maybe even what they heard the angel say.

But what about us? What does it look like to be courageous?

I don’t know what you’re going through, but I know sometimes it’s hard to feel courage within ourselves. Disappointments and setbacks make us feel like courage is something for other people and that our lack of courage is too great.

But don’t be fooled. Even when we can’t see our own courage, others can see it in us. {Tweet this}

What does courage look like in our everyday lives?

* Courage is getting back up when we feel like we keep getting knocked down.

* Courage is trying again when nothing is working out or we don't know what to expect.

* Sometimes courage is just getting up again in the morning and facing the day. Maybe it will be just as hard as yesterday was. Maybe it won't. But we won't know if we don't keep trying.

* Courage is persevering when we don’t like our circumstances. It's looking at the hard day ahead and putting one foot in front of the other to keep moving forward. It's saying, I don't want to do this, but I have to, and I know I'm not alone—God is walking with me.

* Courage is knowing what we can't do alone, we can do in God's strength.

* Courage is crawling out of bed to face the day when we'd rather stay buried under the covers.

* Courage is making the decisions we don't want to make and taking that next step we don't want to take.

* Courage is sitting with someone in their difficult, heart-breaking circumstances so they won't have to sit alone.

* Courage is continuing to dream when our dreams seem unrealistic or someone says they can't happen. Courage is finding a way around the doubt.

* Courage is walking through the known and the unknown with eyes focused on Jesus. {Tweet this}

Courage doesn’t look one specific way. It's different for every individual and every situation.

And sometimes we don’t even know what our own courage looks like until we can see it in hindsight. Then we look back and wonder how we made it through a particular season of life. {Tweet this}

There’s no shortage of verses about courage in the Bible, but here are a few to think about.

Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.
Job 11:18

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Psalms 27:14

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13

So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!
Psalms 31:24

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

And because we so often need God's strength to have courage...

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

In Christ,

Laura

[Photo credit: Unsplash.com]

Linking up with: Purposeful Faith, #TeaAndWord, #TellHisStory, #RechargeWednesday, #WriterWednesday, #HeartEncouragement, Moments of Hope, #DestinationInspiration, #TuneInThursday, #FreshMarketFriday, Faith ‘n Friends, #FaithonFire, Grace & Truth, Trekking Thru, Spiritual Sundays