Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

The Moment It All Changed

As I sat at my desk, the wind outside is whipping. First one way and then another. I look out my window and see the leaves flying through the air. They can’t seem to find a solid place to land. One moment our lawn is filled with leaves and when I look again, they are gone.

That is what this season in my life has felt like.

For months I’ve been craving a solid place to land but it felt as if everything was blowing and changing around me, preventing me from landing.

One day the sailing on the wind was too much and I knew it had to end. For months on end I had craved change, prayed about it, blogged about it and then tried to change it. Trying, time and time again, to put my feet down and land. Not realizing the power wasn’t in me to change it, but in Him.

This was, until the day I decided to have coffee with Jesus. Later that morning I was heading to have testing done. Testing that mattered. Mentally the “what if’s” were driving me crazy. Over coffee that morning, I gave it all to Him. Not just the testing, but everything. He knew my feet were ready to be firmly planted on the ground. That morning, over coffee, He planted the seed of resolve in my heart.

I’ve realized this season in my life was necessary. The whole only comes after broken. Healing only comes after wounds.

I am embracing the change. That in itself is a ridiculous statement. I’m Amy, the girl that gets all twitchy, cranky and nervous at the thought of giving up the known for the unknown. Which confirms again, it’s not me but all Him. For the first time in months, I feel grounded and centered. I know in my heart that I am exactly where He wants me to be. And that, my friends, is an amazing feeling. A feeling that is so welcomed!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7

For some reason, I’ve always been drawn to this verse.  I always thought the jars of clay reference was beautiful, but I didn’t understand it.  In my mind, keeping treasure in a jar of clay was an odd place.  Clay pots are fragile and easily broken.  When I looked at the clay pots I have (crocks) they are full of flaws, chips and cracks.
That’s when I got it.
We are simply empty jars of clay, fragile and full of flaws. Until we have God. Then kept inside that broken, fragile, ordinary jar of clay is a treasure, a priceless treasure of immeasurable worth!

Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

As we travel through this messy, unsettled, always changing journey of life, God gives us the choice to become clay in His hands. I am so thankful that He loves us so much that He gently molds us and makes us into a vessel of honor. We can come to Him with our cracks and brokenness and He will meet us right where we are and love us. He will transform something beautiful out of our life. He doesn’t wait for us to “clean up our act”.  Thank goodness because this girl is a slow learner!  He can see into the deepest depths of our hearts and He knows exactly what it will take to restore Hope into it. He showers us with his amazing grace. With God we are never too spoiled, too cracked or too broken. With him there is always hope. With him there is always a another chance.

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Spoken For {Book Review}

Spoken For
by Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke
About the book:

Say Yes to the Love Story of Your Life

A great romance was set in motion before you were born. A relentless Lover is pursuing you, and He has made His intentions clear. He wants you to be His forever. How will you respond to the One who longs for you to be His with your whole heart?

In Spoken For, Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke speak to your heart about what it means for you to belong to Christ, who you are because of His love, and how that affects the way you live. Drawing on biblical promises and their personal experiences, these two friends share what it’s like to live out God’s unfolding love story.

You are not up for grabs. You are spoken for.

This book came at a time when I really needed to hear the message it held. God is pursuing me. He loves me. I’m not up for grabs. I am loved. I am His. I was made in His image. I am precious to Him. I am spoken for. Oh how I needed to hear that.

This book is told from both Robin and Alyssa’s point of view. The reader goes back and forth between both women, like you’re listening to their conversation. It’s super easy to understand and pick up who is saying what.


The main purpose of this book is to tell women that they are deeply loved by God. It’s easy in our society to forget that. We get rejected, lose our self worth and get wrapped up in things that don’t really matter. Before we even realize it, we’ve lost our focus. We can easily become consumed by worldly things, hoping they’ll fill the gap, but truly only one wants to fill the gap.

This was an amazing book. It’s soul lifting, spirit rejuvenating and each chapter you walk away feeling like you were created uniquely. I think any woman, no matter her age, can relate to the need to feel loved, or wanted, or called. This is an easy-to-read, more simplistic format that everyone can enjoy.  And with each chapter ending with reflection questions, it could easily be adapted for a small group study.  

You can visit Robin’s website HERE and Alyssa’s website HERE to find out more about them.    

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review as part of their Blogging for Books program.

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Pray More, Worry Less {Thanking}

Welcome to the third week of the study Pray More, Worry Less. Sorry it’s a few days late. I’m so super excited for this weeks subject, being thankful.

Throughout our lives, we’ve all faced struggles. We’ve all made a mess of our lives at times. We’ve all had seasons of storms when it seems you can’t even see the shore. No matter what form this season of your life comes in, we all know what struggling feels like. Every single one of us. And it’s not a good feeling. And normally (in my case), it’s not pretty. What makes the struggles a little easier to bear? Knowing we have someone to lean on. It’s so comforting to know that during those times, we are never ever truly alone.

It is not easy to be thankful in every circumstance. But when we choose to thank God in the midst of difficulty, it defeats the forces of darkness in the spiritual realm. When we thank God for every gift He has given us even when things are hard, the enemy loses the battle against us. He is stopped in his tracks when we come to God with a thankful heart.

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound, Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and hungry, both to abound and suffer need.
Philippians 4:12

Most of us are familiar with the trials and tribulations of Apostle Paul as he traveled and spread the gospel. At one point, Apostle Paul was in prison along with Silas.

Even in this situation–jail–Apostle Paul still resounded with joy. He and Silas had a devotional service right in their prison cell. You see, Apostle Paul lived for Jesus and for no other reason! And, Paul was grateful–even while he was in prison. In the darkest days of his life, he wrote Philippians, the most positive book in the Bible.

Paul knew the power of a thankful life. He was thankful in good times and bad. He knew that God was conforming him to His image through every trial he faced, if he handled it correctly. He knew that a heart overflowing with thanksgiving could turn any situation around for good.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanksgiving is defined as the expression of gratitude, especially to God. Giving thanks to God for all of His blessings should be something that sets believers apart. We can’t allow a spirit of ingratitude to harden our heart or change our relationship with God.

Be thankful for where you are! Be thankful for the job that you do have! Your house may not be as fancy as some others, but it’s yours. You may not even own a house–be thankful that you have somewhere to live–a place of rest. If there is nothing else to be thankful for, be thankful you have Jesus! It’s not about getting things in life, it’s about having a relationship with Jesus!

No matter what this hard season is, throughout pain and despair and when things are at their worst, there is always always always something for which you can thank God.Paul had been through so much, more than we could ever imagine. Yet, he was thankful. When asked how he did it, Paul replied, “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

We tend to forget how blessed we are and focus solely on the problems we have. We need to switch our focus to how much the Lord has done for us, how good it is to still have joy, how good it is to be alive and well.

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