Good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pomqj7acJc4

King of My Heart ~ Steffany Gretzinger & Jeremy Riddle

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ~ Romans 8:28 KJV

The enemy will use anything to crush us physically, mentally, and emotionally. For the past 2 ½ months, it’s been with severe migraines, vertigo, and huge drops in my blood pressure. Several tests and doctor appointments haven’t explained it. Two weeks ago, I decided it wasn’t going to beat me. Despite the pain, I began exercising. The first day, I paid with even worse migraines. But I persevered. When the enemy saw I wasn’t going to back down, he moved on to something else. This time, it was old lies that shake me to the core.

I’ve been hiding my fears, afraid someone will tell me they’re not lies, but truth. But I’m not hiding any longer! The enemy likes to tell me I’m a bad mom and I’m going to screw up my kids. Due to traumatic events from both childhood and in my late teen years, I was in counseling a long time. Unfortunately, a counselor once told me history would repeat itself and the ugliness that I experienced would be felt by my kids. That’s a major factor in why we put off having kids for so long. Even though I’ve battled the fear – the lie – of being a bad mom, and often thought I’d put it to rest, it seems to rear its ugly head when I’ve been weakened by something else (migraines and vertigo, in this case). But God is good! This morning, as I listened to King of My Heart, I heard Steffany Gertzinger say, “The only thing in my entire life greater than my fears was my conviction…I knew He was who He said He was… Sometimes we sing something because we believe it, because we’re sure. And sometimes we sing it until we’re sure, until we know.”

Good: excelling in any aspect; distinguished.

The truth is, I’m a good mom because I have a good Heavenly Father, who is teaching me, by example, how to be the best mom to my girls. And I have a wonderful husband, who battles on my behalf, against these lies and for me to walk in the truth. I also have wonderful friends who pray for and remind me of God’s truth.

My prayer for you, is that whatever lies have been plaguing your life will be squashed, today! That you’d battle on, reminding yourself that God is good, and He called you on purpose, for His specific purposes. I pray you’d remember that your future in Him far outshines anything in your past, and that even though the past may have been traumatic, He’ll use all things for your good and His glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2018

Washed in Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1srs1YoTVzs&list=RD1srs1YoTVzs

Fear is a Liar ~ Zach Williams

So no weapon that is used against you will defeat you. You will show that those who speak against you are wrong. These are the good things my servants receive. Their victory comes from me,” says the Lord. ~ Isaiah 54:17 ICB

We've all experienced the hurtful sting of someone speaking ill against or to us. But sometimes we let those hurts define us. When Savannah was one month old, they called her "failure to thrive" because she never regained her birth weight. At All Children's Hospital, they wanted Savannah to eat formula. We offered it to her, but after she threw up the first one, she refused the others. The next morning, the student doctor told me I was a bad mom. The words hit me harder because someone had already commented that "failure to thrive" refers to babies who aren't held enough. Those two comments crippled me, right there. I wanted so desperately to be a good mom, but right out of the gate, I was told that I was a bad one.

Has that ever happened to you? Did you recover? Or are those words, is that lie, still spinning in your brain? 

Savannah's story ends well. The "real" doctor came and gave her Similac Alimentum, which we later discovered is the only gluten free formula. After that, Savannah went from failure to thrive to the 90th percentile, where she still registers. 

Why do we allow hurtful words and lies to define and weigh on us? It's time to cast off those hurtful words and lies! God says you are a beautiful masterpiece that He created, (Ephesians 2:10). Sometimes when we've believed a lie for so long, it's hard to believe something else, even though we want to believe the Truth. That's why Jesus said He's washing His Bride in the water of the Word, (Ephesians 5:26). He's going to continue to speak, sing, minister, and as gentle as water, pour it over you until His Truth replaces old lies.

If there's a lie you've believed, it's time to give it to Jesus and let Him wash you in His love until you believe it's true. 

©Heather Potts 2018