InstaEncouragements Blog

Embracing Your Past

6/19/2020

Regret’s Role in Redemption

Thank God we don’t have time machines!

I don’t know about you, but if God had allowed some scientist out there in the world to invent a time machine, I would probably spend the majority of my time inside it, rewinding to countless scenes in my life that I would greatly love to “do over.”

And that’s why the God who exists outside of time and space has seen fit to make us humans here on earth live a very chronological existence.

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The Things We Tell Ourselves

5/15/2020

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How Our Inner Monologue
Determines Our Outward Actions

Whether you’re a dramatic Disney villain ranting about insufferable princesses or a stressed-out mom picking up after your cyclone of children passing through the house, you’ve probably been caught talking to yourself at least once in your life. The truth is, we all find the idea of talking to ourselves rather funny. We have pictures in our minds of those people that usually take the form of absent-minded scientists or psychotic mental patients. Either way, they’re slightly insane.

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Learning to Stand Still in the Midst of Uncertainty

4/17/2020

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This world is a crazy, unpredictable place. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled with the fear of the unknown more than I have in the past few weeks. We are all going through a time when our natural reactions and even our solid spiritual responses to life are being turned around.

In times of crisis, our thoughts naturally turn to our loved ones, but in a pandemic, we cannot visit them.

In times of loneliness and fear, we are guided by the Spirit to turn to the body of believers to bring us comfort and point us to truth, but we can’t even attend church services.

In times of uncertainty, we fall back on our comfortable routines and schedules to keep our minds off of the hard questions, but right now many of us are left with little to occupy our time.

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The Power Within: Are We Helpless Against Temptation?

3/13/2020

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The Power Within: Are We Helpless Against Temptation?

This is not the start of another self-help book. I’m not trying to tell girls to wash their faces or trying to empower women to reach their goals and fulfill their dreams.

Goals and dreams are nice. They are a big part of what makes us human. We are creatures bearing God’s image, and we are never satisfied to stay the same. We are always striving to grow. We want the next promotion at work, the next baby to make our family complete, the next financial milestone to be reached. Our goals and dreams can be very good things.

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From Tongue Up to Tongue Down and All the Heartache in Between

2/14/2020

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From Tongue Up to Tongue Down and All the Heartache in Between

Sometimes I feel like my tongue has a mind of its own. No matter what truth about God I’m meditating on that day, or how much grace I have to be thankful for in my own life that week, I always find it monstrously difficult to hold my tongue still when people and circumstances give it an opportunity to dance. After all, I’m entitled to my opinions. Expressing what I know and feel about other people falls under free speech, right? It can be so liberating—so gratifying to allow my words to flow uninhibited.

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“Are We There Yet?” The Question God’s Children Need to Stop Asking

1/17/2020

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“Are We There Yet?” The Question God’s Children Need to Stop Asking

This past Christmas, my husband and I traveled for 15 hours in a car with my 3-year-old nephew, Jackson. The repetition of all variations of the phrase “are we there yet?” still rings in my brain. Parents of young children laugh at how often their kids ask this question. Only now do I realize that they’re laughing to avoid tears.

In a way, the question “are we there yet?” defines the perspective of a child. If they aren’t wishing away the hours of a road trip, they’re wishing away the days until summer begins, the months until Christmas, or the years until they can move away from home. That all-encompassing desire for the next “big thing” in life fuels a child’s excitement. Lately, I’ve been wondering if any of us really outgrow this mindset.

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