Words of a Belle

2023 has been tough. It’s challenged me in ways I never expected.  It’s gotten me thinking. We often blame God for bad circumstances and praise Him when things go right. I think there are 3 things we often forget easily:  1. God gives and takes everything with a bigger purpose in mind.  Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 2. Trials are promised, not something we’re exempt from as Christians.  James 1:2 Testing of Your Faith Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3. Jesus does understand  His death was the most painful kind possible in His time and He was tempted just as we are.  Matthew 4:1 The Temptation of Jesus “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” That doesn’t mean that trials are fun to go through. It means we need a mindset shift. Instead of being surprised by them we should expect them.  Instead of looking

 “Flourish: To grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.” There are a lot of observations I could take away from that definition. What stood out to me reading it today was that flourishing is the result of a favorable environment.  We all are affected by our environment negatively & positively, even when we might not realize it. Some of the factors are out of our control. Others, we choose.  We can choose to have a friend group that either tells us the hard truth even when it’s painful to hear, or pick ones who tells us we’re “all good” when the opposite is true.  We have the ability to choose if our lives will flourish based upon what we bring into our inner circle.  How will you be intentional about flourishing?

  Last year around this time, I wrote about how 2021 had been a year of learning. I said, “2021 has been a year of learning for me. Learning to trust, learning to let go, learning how to grieve with Christ’s hope, and learning how to have grace on myself while walking through these journeys.“ This time last year I had no clue what 2022 would be like for me. If I had to assign a word to its experiences as I did last year, I’d choose growth. Not only because I’ve grown through what I’d coined as the year of learning. But I’ve also become more aware of the growth in others as well as myself.  Growth in character, in the understanding of The Word, in willingness to learn new things, and more.  Training myself to recognize growth in others takes practice for me. It’s one of those things that usually requires me to sit back and observe without saying anything at all, instead of my default. AKA get up and go extroverted self. However, it’s one of the most rewarding things that are 100%

Today I had an unnamed person (we’ll call Jane) ask me if I wanted coffee. At first, I kindly declined. A little while later she asked me a 2nd time. However, this time I could tell she wanted more than me to just have a cup of coffee. ☕️  She wanted me to spend the time with her it took to drink that cup of coffee to talk with me. To ask me questions, learn about something she had been wondering about and gain better insight into a particular situation.  I think that’s why in the American culture when someone asks us to coffee, it’s either a quick yes or no answer because maybe we don’t want to spend time asking deeper questions of someone.  Our motivations might be different in each scenario but what if we said yes to coffee more often even if it’s not convenient for us? We might have assumptions or fears surrounding the other person’s motives. However, there’s no better way to gain clarity about them than asking vs assuming.  Trust me. It’s wayyyy easier said than done but in the l

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared my thoughts—  I wanted to share something that’s been showing up everywhere for me lately!  Proverbs 16:9 ESV 9  The heart of man plans his way,  but the Lord establishes his steps. I’ve been thinking on this verse A LOT. We can only have steps established by the Lord if we’re willing to submit to His plans.  Being willing is defined as ready, eager, or prepared to do something. 🙌🏻 We’re never forced to submit to His plan. (I know it sounds cliché) if we were forced into it, then we wouldn’t have a choice either way—we’d be living miserable lives.  I know if I were forced to love my neighbor as myself it wouldn’t be sincere love. It’s something I have to work at. Not something that comes naturally.  We have to choose a relationship with Him before we can see the fruits of established steps by the Lord.  ~K

These 2 words have been a reoccurring theme In my life lately. Remembering how important it is to live by FAITH & not by sight is definitely more easier said than done. However, when urs done right amazing things happen!  I was recently reading Not Part of the Plan by @krstnclark + & @bethany.beal. One of the chapters focuses on the importance & results that the Bible gives to us about living by faith.  Hebrews 11 is such an encouraging chapter. It never says by feeling Noah built the ark or by feeling Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born. It focus on the fact that those people didn’t always know what the end result would be. However they did take steps of faith.  My Saturday thoughts. 💭