So many of us find ourselves BROKEN. But God can make all things BEAUTIFUL if you will let Him. Don’t hold on to your broken heart.
I picked up Gwen Smith’s book because I am writing a series of devotionals on emotional trauma.* I wanted to find out how others dealt with their own broken hearts and other traumatic events and how God helped them recover.
*My series can be received weekly in your email box! Click here!
We have all found ourselves broken and unable to fix it. Only God can restore our broken hearts and make us whole again. Gwen brings to mind how this life can beat us up and break our tender hearts. Each chapter tells of someone she knows personally and links her together with a Biblical woman. She then shows us that “God can use each and every person who surrenders her brokenness into His hands…no matter what.” It doesn’t matter if we are broken from past sin. Sometimes, we ourselves have sinned. Other times, those around us have sinned and we became the object of the sin. Either way, God CAN use the brokenness and turn it into something beautiful. The key is our own surrender of the heart. We must allow God to do the work in our hearts and lives. Then and only then will the beauty shine through.
Gwen reminds us that Satan would like to take us down for the last time. He wants to defeat us and convince us that God does not care. These crafty lies of the evil one can hold us back and keep us struggling in the hurt. We must let the lies go. Stop believing the lies and begin believing in the God who created us. Gwen tells us that “when we invite God into our circumstances, He will faithfully respond to our needs”. And then we will experience His peace, his presence, His power!
At the end of each chapter, Gwen leaves us with lyrics to one of her songs
With a delicious scone in hand, I hop back into the car and stuff it into my mouth. I look over to see you’re still right where I left you, in the passenger seat. I give an affirming nod and put the car into drive and we are off to continued adventures. We drive out into the wild world of coffee and its ever-percolating interest in today’s article, The Crema Revealed.
Where will our caffeinated beverage lead us today? Well, if you missed my article from two weeks ago, you can catch that right here. But today’s adventures lead us to a coffee shop barista sharing secrets as well as a long list of how we can make different coffees! Woo! Are you excited?
Here we go again. I am making a small pit-stop on our coffee journey. We are pulling over to the side of the road to share a beautiful scone recipe. People talk about being in a “zone”, well I am in the scone zone. Brace yourselves because this is the ULTIMATE scone recipe. No, I am not joking. This is the best scone recipe for ease, taste, and quality. EVER! E V E R!
Welcome back to Time in the Word. We are further into our adventure with Moses, and this week we wrap up the discussion of The Making of Moses: God Speaks Through the Burning Bush with part two. You can catch Part One right here.
Grab a Bible and turn to Exodus 3:7-22, or you can look up the scripture digitally here.
Last week Moses encountered God in the burning bush. The burning bush was significant because God revealed:
Through the fire, God revealed his HOLINESS.
The burning bush represented his GLORY.
God showed his CARE for the Israelites.
A NAME representative of who God was, was given to Moses by God himself.
He gave the revelation of GRACE and the CROSS.
Last week we talked about God’s HOLINESS, which is his standard. This standard separates him from any other god. God is also the only TRUE God. In regarding God as holy, we should be reverent in approaching him. Pride is man’s biggest downfall. In our reverence toward our holy God, we recognize he is set apart from everything that he has made. Our sin further separates us from him.
My Word of the Year is Intentional. As I began looking for a verse that I might claim, I kept finding verses where messengers of God said, “But as for me…” I thought, “These people are intentional in their lives. I want that”. So we will start looking at these scriptures. I have some friends helping me out and they are already stepping on my toes.” So here we go… Introducing Deborah Rutherford.
It would be sacrilege not to drink at least two cups of coffee to kick off this second article on the history of coffee. I do love a good pun. I pulled another “punny” by using the word “brew-haha”. I’m just going to bask in that for a wee moment. There. That was my moment, marked by a space. This will throw off Grammarly, Microsoft Word “review”, and the Editor(s) at the paper.
Welcome back to Time in the Word. Almost there! The Making of Moses: The Desert Years, gave us great insight into God preparing Moses for the tasks ahead. Have you given thought to any “desert years” in your life? What did they prepare you for? What did you learn? Today we move with Moses through his “desert schooling”. We will listen in on God speaking to Moses through the burning bush and other conversations!
Join me by turning in your Bible to Exodus 3. Click here for a digital version. This is an exciting time for Moses. He probably doesn’t see it that way. Your 40s can come with a pretty jaded very of life. There he is, tending his flock, and he catches sight of a crazy sight. A bush on fire. WHAT!?
A burning bush? This I have to see
There is a great deal of insight to unpack in the burning bush, which may take two posts! Bear with me as I share them.
Moses has caught sight of a burning bush. With his curiosity piqued, he walks over to the bush. This gives us a clue that a “burning bush” wasn’t a common occurrence. God revealed several things to Moses by using a burning bush:
Through the fire, God revealed his HOLINESS.
The burning bush represented his GLORY.
God showed his CARE for the Israelites.
A NAME representative of who God was, was given to Moses by God himself.
He gave revelation of GRACE and the CROSS.
God is Holy
God is a Holy God and he revealed his holiness through the fire. The fire represents refinement and purification, which are actions of God’s holiness. This holiness (his standard) makes God distinct from all other gods.
His holiness was made evident by asking Moses to remove his sandals. The ground Moses was standing on was HOLY. Everything God touches responds to his holiness.
Moses was to remove his sandals as an act of reverence toward God. The removal of Moses’ sandals also offers us another clue of what Moses represented; the Law. We can’t reach heaven by the Law. We are imperfect people. No amount of rule-following, good “deeds” done, can EVER make up for our sinfulness.
With planet earth as Satan’s home, he seeks to mar any representation of God and his goodness, along with the plan to destroy God’s best creation, his people.
Satan was able to steal dominion over the earth away from man through deceit. A consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin of pride as well. I guess we all need to take note of how damaging pride really is!
Friends, my word meter is beeping at me. I’ll have to stop here. We’ll pick up next week to continue speaking about God’s holiness represented in the burning bush and many others as well. Till next week. Thank you for joining me here today, in Time in the Word.
I noticed that it was National Sleep Day or something and it’s common knowledge that Fibro warriors have trouble sleeping. So I thought I would share some information from different fibro warriors that have written something. My friend Glenna Norton recently purchased a My Pillow mattress topper. She was raving about how her sleep has improved so I asked her to write a review. Her review is here and then you will find some other fibro warrior’s blog post about sleep.
All images created in Canva.com for free
Fibromyalgia? Have trouble sleeping?
So do I, or should I say did I! About a month ago, I went to eat breakfast with a good friend from church. She told me how, for years, she had trouble sleeping until she ordered a MyPillow 3-inch mattress topper, and boy was it a game changer! She has slept like a baby since ordering it two years ago.
No More Couch Sleeping
In turn, I told her I had a lot of trouble sleeping, too, mainly due to Fibromyalgia. I spend at least half my time sleeping on the couch so I decided to give MyPillow a try. I love their pillows, have had them for years! Love that you can wash and dry them! And a 10-year guarantee is a great selling point!
I ordered the MyPillow mattress topper and a set of the Giza sheets. They came sooner than expected. I have had GREAT sleep for over two weeks now! All in my bed, no more couch sleeping!! The sheets are soothing to my skin, as well!
Guess now, I’ll order us all a pair of the house shoes! Woohoo! Glenna
Information about the MyPillow mattress topper:
They consist of three unique layers: 1) contains patented foam for support and durability; 2) has transitional foam for comfort, weight distribution and relieves pressure points, 3) a removable zipper cover that’s machine washable and dryable, which consists of straps to hold in place. This is made in the USA, has a 60-day guarantee and a 10-year warranty! Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a new mattress!! I highly recommend this product to anyone suffering from Fibromyalgia! It is definitely a game-changer!!
P.S. Order straight from My PIllow for better discounts!
And Now From Some Fibro Bloggers
Get Your Weekly dose of Sleep Info every Sunday
Bar McLullich from the UK writes about sleep nearly every Sunday on her blog, Back Pain Blog.
If you are in chronic pain, the last thing you want is to not get a good night’s sleep. I have suffered from more pain and chronic fatigue due to my sleepless nights and I have tried a myriad of different things to help me get a better night’s sleep.
Melissa Reynolds at MelissaVSFibromyalgia has done a lot of research on sleep and fibromyalgia. She has created a workbook that you may find helpful.
The paradox of chronic insomnia and chronic fatigue is a mean one. How can I be so exhausted deep down in my bones, yet still not able to sleep? – every fibromyalgia fighter ever. Sleep research, sleep hygiene, sleep tips, and all the things I have been learning about combating chronic insomnia and fibromyalgia.
Melissa offers video posts on her site. You may find that more helpful than reading through information.
Some Deeper Research & the Fibro Blogger Directory
Lee Good at Fibro Files has written several times about sleep as well. Her posts are more in-depth research which will give you lots of information on what is being studied. I was interested in this article about vibrotactile stimulation. I had not heard of it before.
Lee also offers a place for all Fibro Bloggers to share their information on anything about fibromyalgia. That post comes out every Friday. You might want to look into that.
Michele here on the blog has been talking about the Science of Eating this year. Her posts will wake you up to some of the eating problems in our society.
I recently found this video by a health coach, Joe Reed, at Train Outta Pain. Again, I have never heard of Circadian Rhythm, but this sounds logical. He says that food, sleep, and brain fog may all be related. He is on Facebook. Circadian Rhythm Matters.
REALLY! THIS IS THE LAST ONE!
Cynthia at My Inspired Fibro Life has some great things that may help your get your ZZZZ’s.
Well, there. Was the “Bob’s Red Mill” detour all that bad? I say that as I hop back into our car, and we continue our investigative journey into the world of coffee. Today we are going to hear about the history of coffee. I never miss an opportunity to educate you about food history. It helps us appreciate how it came into being.
You, dear reader, will astound your friends and family with the knowledge that you impart. Tea drinkers, I will get to your side of things later in the year. Stay tuned. I am about to give a “tip of the hat” to the tea realm, and if you yawn, you are going to miss it!
Welcome back to Time in the Word. Not only is Moses on a journey, but we are too! Maybe, like a little kid, you’ve asked yourself, “Are we there yet?”. The Making of Moses: The Desert Years will give us some great insight into how God prepares us to do the tasks he has before us.
As we age, we become more and more aware that God never sends us to do His work without proper preparation. I can testify to His prep work. Some of which were years back to prepare me for some things right now. You often don’t realize it till something jogs your memory, and then you have an “Aha!” moment. God showing up in tangible things makes my heart skip a beat.
Turn in your Bible to Exodus 2:15-25. I have also linked the scripture digitally right here.
Run Forest! Run!
Not to make light of Moses’ bad judgment, by using a line from the movie “Forest Gump” but running is indeed what Moses needed to do. Last week’s devotional focus had us watching Moses growing up Egyptian but with knowledge of his Hebrew heritage. Then we witnessed him commit murder as he felt there would be no one who would fairly judge what went on between the task-master and the slave.
For murdering an Egyptian, Pharaoh tried to kill Moses and Moses ran for his life. This run led him into the desert country of Midian, which is south of Judah. Here, he wanders to a well (wells seem to be a great place to find a wife for Bible folks) and meets his future wife, Zipporah. Zipporah is the daughter of Jethro, a Priest of Midian. Jethro is chief of a large tribe of people, which incidentally is a distant cousin of Moses.
Moses saves the day for Jethro’s seven daughters, who have taken on the tending of Jethro’s flock. Sounds like the girls had trouble with certain other shepherds who brought their flocks to the same well. These shepherds like to take advantage of the girls by letting them draw water for Jethro’s sheep and then push out Jethro’s sheep, and bring in their own sheep to drink from the troughs. What’s a girl to do? Go home and cry to your dad about it?
Family Man
Moses hit it off with Jethro and lived with Jethro’s family for a period of time before being given Zipporah as his wife. So began Moses’ new life with a wife, soon to follow- two boys, his own tent, and a flock of sheep. All the while Mt. Sinai (Horeb), the mount of God, surrounded him.
For forty years Moses learned the ways of a shepherd tending sheep. Moses had no idea God was developing shepherding skills that soon would transfer over to the shepherding of the Israelites out of Egypt. Can you find a desert in your life where God developed skills to prepare you for something else?
God never sends us out without giving us the proper training! Till next week, when Moses encounters the burning bush and God asks Moses to return to Egypt to lead his people out of bondage. Thanks for joining me here in Time in the Word.
This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience.
Privacy settings
Privacy Settings
This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit.
NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.
