Have you had friendships fall off, change, drift apart, face conflict that you just can't get through?

Was there someone who you always called first with news? Someone who you'd always ask for advice? That one person you trusted to talk you off the ledge?

And now they're not there for you anymore?

Whatever may have happened, you just don't have that same relationship any longer. 

Have you mourned that loss? Have you asked God why He allowed this person to no longer be in your life? 

Do you feel like you're all by yourself? Like you have no one?

This can be really tough. Even if nothing traumatic has happened to cause conflict, relationships change. 

And when that happens, we often find ourselves feeling like we're on an island. Alone. With no one to confide in, no one to offer us advice or guidance. 

And that is very likely when we find that we have some choices:

1) Step up and be willing to be brave enough to walk on our own, trusting that God is the only confidant we truly need, or...

2) Continue to seek a person who wil never ultimately fulfill the need to feel like we aren't alone.

It is true that God wants us to have companionship. Just as He created Eve for Adam because "it is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18, NIV), God olaces people into our lives for different reasons and different seasons. Sometimes these people are to encourage us, to teach us, to be mentored by us, and sometimes they are with us for the long haul. 

However, God never meant for another person to become our everything.

And there are times in our lives when we are "on": The curtain rises, the music begins and the spotlight is on us. This is when we have the opportunity to step up. We can either trust in the Lord to guide us, and not worry about what man says or does, or we can shrink into the background and run off stage.

The choice is ours.

Have you found yourself in a season like this where you no longer, for whatever reason, have that someone to confide in, to cheerlead or guide you?

This could be you on stage!

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,

In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

When we feel alone and, sometimes, abandoned, we always have God to guide us, to see us through. 

When we feel we are up against an insurmountable (and scary!) task, God says, "I'm here. I'll lead you."

It can be painful when relationships change, but let's not forget that the relationship that matters most never has to. 

"Come near to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:8, NIV)

Father, it's so hard when relationsgips change and friends drift away. We want so badly to feel loved and cared for, that we sometimes forget that You have promised to always be there for us. You are the only One who can fill the need we have for support and companionship. Please give us courage when it's our time to step up. Please give us patience and wisdom in those times when we're involved in tricky relationship situations. We thank You so much for always being there for us. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3


It had been an eventful six days.  First there was nothing, then before we knew it, there was a sky, oceans, land, birds, trees, and finally...humans were sighted.  Oh, sweet humanity.  Made in God's image.

It was a lot of work, but God got it done in record time and with an insane amount of creativity.  In His perfection, even God knew it was time to take a rest break. There could have been a whole host of reasons for this.  Perhaps He wanted to have a break, joke around with the angels, kick up and watch a good football game of the Wings vs the Halos.  Or maybe He knew He wanted to role model for us what would be best for us - to take a break and refresh ourselves when we needed it.   But no matter why, He RESTED.

Jesus not only modeled rest for us in The New Testament but also even instructed his disciples to rest:

"The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves."- Mark 6:30-32

The point is, whether we have time for it or not, we need to make time to rest.  We need it to renew our strength, mind, and spirit.  We need time to heal, time to reflect, time to think.  God knows the importance of it, and it is written about time after time in the Bible.

We cannot use the excuse that we are too busy.  God created the world for goodness sakes but still took time to rest.  Jesus was in the midst of a very active ministry where there was much to do in very little time, but he still modeled rest.

Today, let us find time to rest.  MAKE TIME to rest.  Some days, all I can manage is locking myself in the bathroom and breathing for a few minutes before getting back into the grind.  Other days, I am blessed to have the chance to leave the kids home with my husband and go to the local bookstore and read.  As someone who grew up an only child, being alone rejuvenates me.  Others may want to hit up a coffee shop with a friend and enjoy a beautiful conversation over a café mocha.  One of my friends has a glass of wine while enjoying a bath.  There might be a toy truck near the lit candle next to her tub, but that is easy to smile at when you are able to just sit for a minute without little ones asking for everything on the planet in your ears.  Everyone is different and will find her rest in different ways.  But no matter how we do it, we must rest.

We are made in God's image, and if He made rest a priority, then we must do so also.  
What is your plan for rest today?

Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS, who FORGIVES all your iniquity, who HEALS all your diseases, who REDEEMS your life from the pit, who CROWNS you with steadfast LOVE and MERCY, who satisfies you with good SO THAT your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

As I (Mia) read this passage I am reminded of a term many people use, a term that really does not have the best connotation.... Friends with Benefits (FWB). But, if God in John 15, says that we are friends, then I would like to submit that we are indeed FWB. 

John 15:15 

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends.

So, my thoughts on FWB? I think it's wonderful!!! Wonderful, that is, when that friend is the God of Jacob, the God who sent His son Jesus to die for our sins and to bear the wrath of all mankind. Yep, I'm all for it!

You may have heard people say "But, it's not about what God can do for you."......... but isn't that the heart of it. It is about what God can do for you and me. He can save us because we can't do it ourselves. Call me selfish, but I think it's all about what God can do for us. And with that, there are some definite benefits to being a follower of Christ, His son......No Hell! No eternal separation for all of eternity!..... "Forget not all His benefits!" Pretty sweet!

Ok, so if only it ended there.......

There is this little thing (HUGE THING) in  Luke 9:23 about daily taking up our cross daily and dying to self.

Luke 9:23

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

The Word of God teaches us about loving God, loving others, trusting in the midst of pain, doubt and fear, professing His name even when faced with death. 

For me, remembering His benefits turns my heart continually toward him SO THAT I can love Him because He first loved me, SO THAT I can love and forgive others, SO THAT I can trust Him even when I can't fathom a way out, in or through. Remembering His benefits, singing His songs satisfies me so that I am renewed like the eagles and I can soar. I can run the race marked out for me for the glory of my Lord and Savior! 

Today, take time to remember (and tomorrow and the day after that..and everyday.) Remember all that He has done in your life and all that He is willing to do. There is a song by Matt Redman called 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord). How about today we start with finding and remembering just one reason for our hearts to keep singing "Bless The Lord". Let's create a habit of praise, a habit of blessing, a habit of being thankful and blessing His holy name.

The book of Daniel gives us a wonderful glimpse into walking through fiery trials-literally!

King Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden statue and ordered everyone to bow before it at certain times of the day. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down and were brought before the king. The king, wanting to give them a second chance, told them if they would bow down before him, they would be spared the painful death of being thrown into a firey furnace (which-- YIKES!-- was a common practice in those times). 

They refused. they told him, "...we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:16-18). 

The king was furious and ordered that the furnace be turned up 7 times hotter than normal. 

It's so hot, in fact, that the guards who were ordered to tie them up and drag them to the furnace were killed from the heat! 

As the king watched, he noticed that there were 4 men instead of 3 in the furnace. The kings said that the 4th man looked like "a son of the gods." Jesus is with them! He noticed that they were moving around unharmed and they were now unbound!

The king called the men out of the furnace and as they exit, it's noticed that not one hair of their heads is singed, nor is there even a hint of smoke on their clothing.

We can all take comfort in this account:

We will ALL face firey trials. We will all be called to walk through terrible, trying and difficult times. 

And, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we can rest in the knowledge that God will deliver us from our firey trial...but sometimes that means by delivering us THROUGH the firey trial. 

And, also like Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, we will likely find that when we emerge from our trial, the only thing burned will be those things that bound us. 

God is with us. We can rest in His assurance that He will be there for us, even in the hardest times. 

Do you take Jeremiah 29L:11 to heart?

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

He is there for us. We may not always feel Him or see Him--and His "prosper" may not fall in line with ours, but He's there.r I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”

-1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Do you ever feel discouraged by who you are? In a world that places so much emphasis on beauty, wealth, degrees, pedigree, and so many other superficial and fading things, it’s often very difficult to measure up. When you are rather ordinary, it’s easy to be discouraged by simply being ordinary. When you don’t have what the world says you should, it’s easy to feel like you are nothing and that you have failed before you have ever started.

I {Alayna}lived a lot of life feeling like I “counted as nothing at all”. From the outside, I was doing just fine, but inside I felt like I never measured up. I’m not even sure I could articulate the standard that I wasn’t measuring up to, but I know that I felt unimportant, uninfluential, and more of a bother than anything good.

The culture and media tell you that beauty and wealth reign supreme, and people who buy into their rhetoric tell you more of the same, but the reality of God’s economy is so much different than the reality of the world we live in. After God saved me, He had a lot of healing in my heart and mind to do. He had to change how I saw myself in light of His Son’s sacrifice for me, rather than in light of how I didn’t measure up to the cultural standard.

The verses in 1 Corinthians quoted above are some of my favorite when it comes to obliterating the cultural standard. Yes, I may not be wise, powerful or wealthy in the world’s eyes, but God intentionally chooses that which the world finds powerless, despised, and foolish to do His purposes. He intentionally chooses me, knowing that I am powerless and foolish. He intentionally chooses me, even though I am not the world’s favorite darling. I am nothing in the economy of this world, but in God’s economy – I’m chosen, and God will use me.

What a beautiful thought. What a beautiful truth. What a beautiful way to toss out the world’s standard of beauty, wealth and wisdom, in favor of God’s status of being foolish, powerless, despised in the eyes of the world and yet chosen by the creator and sustainer of the universe.

Are you struggling with feeling less than? Do you feel despised and foolish, never measuring up to the wealth, beauty and wisdom that the world holds in high esteem? Read and meditate on the verses cited above, and thank God for being chosen by Him to shame and bring to nothing the things the world holds dear.