Gratefulness By Laura V. Hilton

"Just Breathe" Coloring Sheet

Thanksgiving is approaching in a couple weeks. I’m kind of excited for it – my daughter will be home from college – and kind of dreading it as my husband will be working two different jobs and I have to work, too or else I’ll never reach my deadlines. 

I was thinking about what to say in my second to final post for this blog (I think) and God brought to mind the verse from Philippians 4:11: 

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

At the end of September, our church had its Fifth Sunday Singspiration and we were told that in order to request a favorite song we had to give a testimony. I think it was designed to work so that no one would request a favorite. 

And then we have me. I am a pastor’s wife. I may hate speaking in public but I can do it. If God gives me something to say. And I have a favorite song. (Insert big smile)

So the song leader looks at me after I request my favorite and says, “You have to give a testimony.” He had a look in his eye that said, “Yeah, she’s going to back out.”

I might have smirked as I stood and made my way to the front. 

The song leader told me I didn’t have to go up there. He knows me so well. 

I said, “It’s sort of an object lesson.”

Sort of, because I didn’t have a clue what I was going to say, just that I had some coloring pictures and God said, “Go.” 

So I went forward and shared how we were having money problems and didn’t know how we'd pay our bills past mid-October. I talked about how it worried me that we'd have to tell the girls that we wouldn’t have Christmas and how God said something to me that my husband always says, “Breathe. Just breathe. I got this.” 

Then I held up the coloring picture that said, “Just breathe.” 

Sure enough, God provided my husband with a second job so we would be able to meet our expenses. 

"As for me, I will always have hope." Psalm 71:14

Then I held up the second coloring page. 

“As for me, I will always have hope.” Psalm 71:14 

And I am still clinging to that HOPE, giving thanks for His provision, and in this time of not-plenty, I'm being content with what He provides. 

God is in control. Breathe. He’s got this. With God everything is possible. Nothing is impossible. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Let’s give thanks to God right now for providing for our needs. As you pray the prayer below, share with us in the comment section.

Lord God, You are powerful and You are good. Please protect my relationship with You, keeping out anything that would take my eyes off You. Today I give thanks for _____________ Amen.


For more posts by Laura V. Hilton, click here.

About the Author

Award-winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and three of their children make their home in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom, and home-schools. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor. Laura also has two adult children.

Laura V. HIlton

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts (winner of the 2012 Clash of the Titles Award in two categories), and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love (finalist for the 2013 Christian Retail Awards). Surrendered Love and Awakened Love followed by her first Christmas novel, A White Christmas in Webster County, as well as a three book Amish series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Jamesport series, The Snow Globe, The Postcard, and The Bird House in September 2015.

See below for information on Laura's latest, The Christmas Admirer. Other credits include Swept Away from Abingdon Press. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer.

Connect with Laura

http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q
visit her blog: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Laura_V_Hilton or @Laura_V_Hilton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

Firestorm

Firestorm by Laura V. Hilton

    

Bridget Behr and her family migrate from the bustling Amish community where she grew up in Ohio to the mostly unpopulated Upper Peninsula of Michigan after a stalker breaks into their home. While her father and brother try to find work in the area, the family is forced to reside in a borrowed RV until the house and barn are rebuilt. While Bridget is hoping for a fresh start, she’s afraid to trust anyone—even Gabriel, the overly-friendly Amish man who lives nearby. Bridget thinks he’s a flirt who serial dates and doesn’t even remember the girls’ names.

Due to not enough construction work in his Florida community to keep him out of trouble, Gabriel Lapp has been sent to Michigan to work. His father is desperate for his son to settle down. When the family walks into Gabe’s home in the middle of a thunderstorm and he discovers their circumstances, he offers to help with construction. For Gabe, the beautiful girl he teasingly calls “the recluse” once he discovers she doesn’t attend youth events, confuses him like none other.

As Gabriel and Bridget grow closer, they realize there is more to a person than meets the eye. Just as Bridget is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding love, tragedy strikes. Now Bridget and her family must decide if they should move to another Amish community, or dare to fight for the future they’d hoped for in Mackinac County.

Castles, Gratefulness and Why You Might Kiss Your Carpet by Holley Gerth

Holley Gerth

My heart has been so blessed to follow Holley Gerth for almost a year now and I wanted to share her encouragement with you. I was so thrilled when she agreed to let me re-post this wonderful piece about dreams and gratefulness on Seriously Write. Be sure to follow the links to Holley's website and don't forget to subscribe to her newsletter so you can smile every day, too. ~ Angie

Every little girl grows up dreaming about living in a castle. So as I flip through channels and find a home tour in a renovated castle I pause for a moment. It’s gorgeous–high walls, timeless floors, winding staircases. The hostess explains a local architect and his wife have brought new life to this old place. The wife nods and then replies, “Would you like to see a picture of it before we began?”

What she shows the camera next almost jolts me out of my seat. It’s nothing but ruins. No roof. No windows. Just jagged pieces of wall stretching into the sky.

I shake my head in wonder. How did they even have a vision for what that place could be?

Just seconds ago I thought, “It would be really cool to live in a place like that someday.” Now I take it all back. No way would I be willing to do that much work. I landed on the “happily after” part of that castle’s story and completely missed how arduous the process had been to get there.

I thought about how I often do the same in other ways. I look at an area of another woman’s life that I admire – maybe a talent, skill, strength or dream that has come true – and I think, “It would be really cool to live in a place like that someday.”

But I don’t see the whole picture. I don’t know how much renovation happened in her life to get her there. I don’t have the back story that shows God gets all the glory. I haven’t counted the tears or uncovered the cost along the way.

"You are loved. God has a purpose for you.
He is working out his plans for your life."
- quote and graphic by Holley Gerth

Jon Acuff shared, “Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.”

I’d take it one step beyond that and say, “Never compare your middle to someone else’s happy ending.”

And know that if we’re longing for someone else’s “castle” we’re also asking for all the effort, energy and emotion it took for that to be built in their lives. Do we really know what we’re asking for?

Writer Kathryn Stockett received 60 rejection letters before a publisher accepted The Help, which became a runaway best-seller and popular movie.

Olympic athletes train in obscurity and make significant sacrifices just for one shot at seeing their dream come true.

The Apostle Paul experienced being beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned and more in order to fulfill his calling.

By the time the television segment on that renovated castle finished I felt ready to kiss my carpet.

I had a new appreciation for my realities.

So next time we see a “castle” in someone else’s life that’s complete let’s close our eyes for a moment and try to imagine not just what could be but what may have already been. And then take a moment to thank God for being wise enough not to give us everything we think we want–and all that comes with it.

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Never compare your middle to someone else’s happy ending.
I landed on “happily after” & completely missed the process to get there.
You're loved. God has a purpose for you. He's working out his plans for your life.

About the Author

Holley Gerth 
"I’ve loved Jesus, words and ideas ever since I was a little girl in my grandparents’ bookstore, where I curled up with stacks of books tall enough to touch the sky. God grew the dreams He planted in my heart and I served as a writer and editorial director for DaySpring for over a decade. Then He led me in a new direction and I’m now the best-selling author of You’re Already Amazing as well as several other books with Revell."

Connect with Holley
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/HolleyGerthPage
Twitter - http://twitter.com/HolleyGerth
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/holleygerth/

You're Going to Be Okay
by Holley Gerth

You're Going to be Okay
You really are going to be okay. And it truly is possible to live with joy, resilience, and strength no matter what life brings. Yes, there will be hurt and hard times. But God wants to help you find ways to survive, grow stronger, and even thrive--no matter what happens. For every woman who has been disappointed, who has watched a dream disappear, whose life isn't what she imagined it would be, bestselling author Holley Gerth has a heartfelt message of hope.

With her trademark positive encouragement and probing questions for self-reflection, Holley encourages women to spend less of their lives regretting and more of their lives truly living. She shows them how to guard their hearts against despair and look to the future with confidence, remembering that they are part of a greater plan and nothing can stop God's purposes for them.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD.com, DaySpring, Givington’s, Family Christian, LifeWay