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A time to break down, And a time to build up.

In order for us to know if it’s a time to break down or a time to build up, we need to know what season we are in. We need to reflect on the past (where we have been) and where God is leading us. To reassess requires us to prayerfully seek God.

I know that I am in a season of rebuilding. I have more alone time than I like but it has allowed me to spend countless hours reassessing my life. I had a vision of how I thought my life would end up and unhappily ever after was not the plan! Lol

Now that I am in my rebuilding stage, it is so overwhelming that it is paralyzing some days. I feel like God is opening a door somewhere and it’s immediately shut and the rethinking begins. Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel and give up. But thankfully each day is a new day to start again and allow God to take the wheel.

One thing I know for sure in life is that you can’t force things. So I’ll continue to open doors to only have them close until the right door opens. All I can do is continue to pray that He will work out the details. My trust is in Him.

The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!

What doesn’t kill me, will only make me stronger! 🙌🏻

-Erin

I skipped over Chapter 3 because I didn’t realize that the study broke up the first part of Ecclesiastes 3:2 in two chapters.

“a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,”

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So Chapter 4 talks all about the second half of the verse, a time to plant and a time to uproot.

I am usually a creature of habit and not big on changing things up. I say that as I am in the middle of transition after going through my divorce. But normally I don’t like change that’s why I get the same exact latte at Starbucks every single time I go, I have tacos every single Tuesday, and depending on which restaurant I’m at I get the same exact meal I get every single time at that particular restaurant. If I find something I like why would I risk trying something different?! I don’t want to spend money on something I hate and then end up being hot mad the rest of the day. Nope, not gonna do it!!

So here I am now going through a transition season. I’m living by myself half the time and a single parent the other half. So my whole world has been completely turned upside down and as much as I know it needed to happen, it’s been hard at times. I worry for my girls, I worry about finances, and I worry about how I will find the perfect full time job that will fit best with my girls schedule. It’s scary and overwhelming all at once.

I know some of you love change, everyday is a new adventure and it’s exciting for you. But I am not that person! I have found ways to make this time exciting like decorating my new place, going to the movies by myself, and sleeping in past 9am! Lol

Change isn’t easy for most people. But rest assured that whenever you face a time of transition, God is with you. He longs to see you to a more fruitful life in Him.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13

On top of everything else that I am going through, I also wrecked and totaled my car about a month ago. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, I totaled a car that I had only owned for a solid month. So the worrying began, what will insurance cover, what will I drive until they figure that out, etc. I had to completely put all my trust in God because He is the only one who can work those type of details out.

If we believe, truly believe that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End then we need to start loving change, embrace what life throws at us, and know that everything will work out in His perfect way.

After two weeks of not having a car and fighting with a really crappy dealership I have a car again. I have a cute little apartment that I got to decorate the way I like and my girls see me being the best me during the storms of life. I am really trying hard to keep a positive attitude no matter what life throws at me because I know that the One who created me will be with me from the beginning to the end. I will rest in Him.

-Erin 🙏🏻🙌🏻

“a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This chapter is all about how God uses us to share the love of Christ with others. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, or what you have done God can use you to spread His Love and bring Him glory. God loves to work through us but sometimes the work He is doing is within us.

‘ One of the most exciting things about being a Child of God is that God is always up to something new.’

When Elena and I decided to start this blog we both had a lot going on. We both had lost friends, made friends and my almost 14 year marriage was coming to an end. We were excited to share with people our likes, dislikes, and our love for God. But we were also and still are super nervous about sharing and getting personal about our lives.

I feel like my life is a wreck most days, that I have failed, and that I have nothing to offer. I know that’s not true but we all have things happen in life. So instead of thinking I’m a failure because of things coming to an end, I know that God is doing something new within me. I am not the same person I was, I have learned from my past and I am becoming the person God has called me to be. I still have a long way to go but I’m excited about the new things happening around me.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

It’s comforting to know that even if I have failed today that tomorrow is a new day. That my story isn’t over and the best is yet to come. My hope is that by us sharing our stories we can help others to not feel alone.

God is good y’all!

-Erin

For our new study we have chosen the Women of Faith series study guide, A Time For Everything: Discovering the Beautiful Rhythm of Life. I love the layout of this series. We don’t have to flip back and forth to answer questions and I feel as though the questions make us reflect more on our own lives without being repetitive. I love reading Bible excerpts and comparing them to my own life, but I also want the study to help me better myself. As a parent we go through so many stages all different in their own right. So I’m really excited to get started and reflect on the seasons of my life as a parent, wife, friend, etc. as we go through this study.

“God’s timing is not our own. Rest assured that God has a time for everything under heaven. And He is with you every step of the way.”

Chapter 1 tells us to reflect on the seasons of the year as in comparison to seasons of our lives. I love the seasons, all 4 of them. I’m always ready for a change when they near the end….change of clothes, temperatures, holidays, decor and activities. Each season has its pros and cons but they all have something special about them. I have to admit I don’t feel the same way when I think about seasons in life. In life, change scares the heck out of me! I love order, schedules and routines. Changes in life are often preceded or followed by the unknown. The unknown makes me anxious. I don’t like to play out scenarios because there’s too any variables. So all too often when the possibility of change is near me I avoid it. I don’t want to talk about it or think about it. But once I come through whatever the life change is I realize it’s all good. I made it and no doubt God carried me through.

“Every season of life provides an opportunity to learn something more about God. Though we don’t always get to choose our season of life, we can always choose to call out to God and worship Him in the midst.”

Right now we are knee deep in summer. Hot, humid days here in New England, we’ve had some days approaching 90 degrees. But in the season of my life I would probably say I’m currently in winter. I’m in a bit of a hibernating stage. Not really looking to be social but instead focusing on my family & myself. For me that’s not hard because I’m a bit of an introvert (ok really a lot of an introvert 😬). Some seasons have been harder than others and when my kids were littler, my husband at work and me home taking care of them I felt lonely at times and wished for more adult social interaction. But I managed and became a better parent because I focused on them at the time. Now socializing is the farthest from my mind and my priorities have shifted a bit. So although some of the seasons seem harder than others for various reasons, looking back I can see how God uses them to make us better and bring us closer to Him.

What I’ve taken out of this chapter is to trust that whatever season we are in or phase of life we’re dealing with, God has us there for a reason. Trust in Him. He knows what He is doing and in due time we will reflect and say ‘oh, I get it now!’

💗Elena

This is the last chapter of our bible study. I want to start by thanking everyone who has followed along with us. This study was so much different than our last study and although it hasn’t been our favorite we have been able to take a few things away from it that will help us on our journey of becoming less anxious.

Meyer ends this study sharing how we need to be less independent when it comes to our relationship with God. ‘The root problem of independence is trusting ourselves more than we trust God.’ God wants us to trust Him in all areas of our life. But we want it done our way in our time, that’s just how we are. We need to stop being such control freaks and trust God and his timing.

Our High Lights:

‘What we fail to realize is, God has a plan for us too- and His plan is much better than ours.’

Our Plan Versus God’s Plan

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Jeremiah 29:11

‘I believe it is wise to plan our work and work our plan. But we must not become so rooted and grounded in our plan that we argue and resist if God tries to show us a better way.’

I think that is the hardest part in life. I have big plans and big dreams that I will pray about and I will tell Him exactly how it should be done. Lol like who do I think I am? 😬

Jesus Was Not Independent

‘We should realize that anything we do independently, apart from God, will fail to bear any good fruit either for Him or for us.’

She goes on to explain that a lot of us don’t like to have anyone help us. We think we should take care of things ourselves for it to be done right. How many of us know people like that? 🙋🏼‍♀️ I am totally not like that, I know for it to be done the right way then someone else better do it. 😂

Overcoming A Spirit Of Independence

‘God expects us to walk by wisdom, but He also expects us to be aware of and care about what we are doing.’

‘If we want to do the will of God, we must be willing to get involved with people.’

A Broken Wall

‘The more we depend on God, the more He can do through us. But sometimes we go through a brokenness before we enter into blessings.’

‘When an avenue in our life is blocked, before we start trying to kick down the door, we need to back off and consult the Lord.’

‘Sometimes God has to block one avenue so we will be open to follow another.’

Trust The God of Justice

‘Do you know what God means when He says He is the God of Justice? He means that sooner or later He will make everything right.’

‘As Christians, it is not our job to seek vengeance, but to pray for our enemies, for those who mistreat is, abuse us, and take advantage of us. If we will do that, God has promised to take care of us.’

–Erin

This chapter was totally meant for me, as I’m currently going through a period of change. Change isn’t always a bad thing. Things change and it’s time to move on. I feel like some changes are exciting….like moving to a different state, buying a new house, taking a new job, or cutting your hair off! But it’s the life changing, painful changes that are hard to go through.

This Chapter reassured me that this too shall pass. We all go through seasons in our lives. We may have a bad season which helps prepare us for our good season. Let’s face it, if we only had good seasons we would think highly of ourselves and become prideful. It’s good to go through bad times because that’s when God humbles us and transforms us.

Here are Elena and my highlights for Chapter 8:

‘In this life whatever exists now, or will exist in the future, is not permanent, but temporary.’

…and it shall come to pass… Genesis 4:14 KJV

‘God wants us to enjoy all of life-not just it’s destination, but also the trip itself.’

‘Since we are going to spend our entire lives waiting for something, we should learn to enjoy life as it unfolds. If we don’t, life will pass us up and we will never enjoy where we are right now.’

‘We have to realize everything we are going through at the moment will one day pass and we will enjoy the fruit of our labor.’

‘These trying times help us get more deeply rooted in God. They work humility in us and cause us to be very thankful when the blessings come.’

‘God doesn’t always change those people we want Him to change; instead He often uses them to change us.’

Meyer explains that the devil offers us two lies.

1) The forever lie– that negative things in our life will be that way forever.

2) The never lie– that if the positive things ever do change, we couldn’t stand it.

The truth is that sooner or later everything changes. We have to put our trust in Him because bad things don’t last forever, they often lead into way better things.

There is a reason that Elena and I live by the words ‘it is what it is‘! Things change, people change, surroundings change. It is what it is because we know that God doesn’t change and our hope is in Him. God is good!

-Erin