“My heart has heard You say,
“Come and talk with Me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.””
Psalm 27:8 NLT
“Speak Away”
Written by Taylor Agan & Hunter Leath
Sung by Maisen Smalley
ABCs of Jesus’ Love
Visit this page anytime and let me know if you’d like to add to the words describing Jesus’ love along with a verse supporting it. Remember, there is also a print-out of the original list.
This month I have added another “R” Word:
❤︎ Reconciling Love ❤︎
“But all these things are from God,
who reconciled us to Himself through Christ
[making us acceptable to Him]
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation
[so that by our example we might bring others to Him]“
2 Corinthians 5:18 AMP
Books
I am not always able to keep up with the abundance of books that promote hope, healing, and freedom, so I haven’t always read every one I post here and on the Books Page. Though many are on my long wish list. 🙂 Many will be from recommendations of online friends. If you ever know of a book that is not listed and that supports this website’s mission, please let me know. 🙂
Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa Teurkerst
“The enemy wants us to feel rejected . . . left out, lonely, and less than. When we allow him to speak lies through our rejection, he pickpockets our purpose. Cripples our courage. Dismantles our dreams. And blinds us to the beauty of Christ’s powerful love.” (Amazon)
With gut-honest vulnerability, Lysa shares her own deeply personal experiences with rejection. She inspires us to give our hurts to Jesus and to live from a deep assurance that we are fully loved in Him.
I have really been blessed by this book. In case you missed it, here is my blog post that discusses it further: Rejection Hurts and Living Loved.
Hope Harbor
♥ Links That Inspire Hope and Healing ♥
♥ Perfectionism and Claiming Shame (Article by Brene Brown) – “Feeling shamed, judged, and blamed (and the fear of these feelings) are realities of the human experience. Perfectionism actually increases the odds that we’ll experience these painful emotions and often leads to self-blame: ‘It’s my fault. I’m feeling this way because I’m not good enough.’”
♥ How Shame Contaminates Our Lives – and a Path Towards Healing (Article by John Amodeo) – “Whenever shame enters the picture, we inhibit the free expression of emotion, with the exception of anger … shame is the emotion most difficult to admit and to discharge.” – “As the saying goes, we can’t heal what we cannot feel. Healing shame begins by recognizing how it feels inside.”
♥ Leaving the Lies of Shame Behind – A hope-filled blog post by Terri Fullerton who grew up in a home riddled with domestic abuse – “Christ didn’t shame me. He knows why we are where we are. He reached out his hand to grab hold of me. Like the woman at the well, he called me to a place of honesty. For me, an important part of my healing has been naming the lies and replacing them with the truth.”
Nature Retreat
“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence.
See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence…
We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
~ Mother Teresa
➺ 50 Cute Baby Wild Animals – Video of adorable photos of baby animals
➺ Lirralirra: The Magical Mystery of Birds -A gallery of intriguing images of wild, unbaited birds in natural light by Kim Wormald
➺ Insects and Spiders Photo Galleries – Thousands of spectacular macro photos in various categories of insects and spiders by M Plonsky
Quotes
❤︎ “God is too good to be unkind; He is too wise to be mistaken. When you cannot trace His hand, you can always trust His heart.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
❤︎ “Courage means not allowing your limitations to eclipse God’s possibilities.” ~ Christine Caine
❤︎ “The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.” ~ Max Lucado
Freed to Fly 
As usual, your quotes are really speaking to me today, Trudy. Hugs, sweet friend!
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I’m so glad the quotes speak to you, Lois. May we always trust God’s heart even when we can’t trace His hand! Hugs to you, too, friend!
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Trudy, these are such beautiful photos and thoughts today! Exactly what I needed. I had no idea that Charles Spurgeon was the originator of that quote; so I had to go hunting to hear the Babbie Mason song , “Trust His Heart,” as soon as I read your post. Her song was so important to me in the ’90’s when my family and I were in a very hard trial. Thank you for reminding me today of God’s great reconciling Love for us! Blessings and Hugs to you my friend!
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Oh Bettie, that song brings tears to my eyes. I had never heard of it before. It’s so comforting. Thank you for sharing it and what it meant to you in the ’90s. That quote is meaningful to me, too. Something I need to remind myself often. May we trust His heart and believe that like a tapestry He is weaving us to be more like Him! Hugs!
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Trudy, what a fun post. And I loved the quote by Mother Teresa. And those pictures! Beautiful. Thanks for giving my soul room to breathe today!
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Thank you, Jeanne. I’m so glad it gave you soul room to breathe today. 🙂 Yes, isn’t that quote by Mother Teresa just so true? We can get so distracted and sidetracked in busyness and noise. May we be silent so we can hear God’s whispers! Hugs!
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This is another great collection of resources, Trudy. The pictures are beautiful and the baby animals on the video are adorable! The quotes are great too- I especially love the Spurgeon one: “When you cannot trace His hand, you can always trust His heart.”
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Thank you, Lesley. I’m so glad you found some refreshment in them. 🙂 I love Spurgeon’s quote, too. I often have to remind myself to trust God’s heart. May we together learn to more deeply trust His heart even when we can’t see Him! Hugs!
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I just added the Spurgeon quote to my blog post for tomorrow- it was the perfect thing to round it off! Hugs!
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Awesome! 🙂
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Was that picture taken on the block you live on Trudy? Just lovely! I have to leave my residence to get a view like that but it is worth it! I’ve read quite a bit of Brene Brown. She nails shame so well and really like how she doesn’t shame you for feeling shame. And how to embrace and accept which is always necessary before change can occur. Thanks for all the links you have here! Uninvited seems to be a pretty popular book right now! My reading has been more fiction than Christian Living lately, although I have Brene Brown’s earlier works by my bedside that I am slowly getting through! Happy reading!
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No, that block is about two blocks from here, a street we often use. It’s one of my favorite ones in the fall. 🙂 I love Brene’s insight into shame, too. I have seen videos and articles from her, but I haven’t ventured into her books. Sometimes I was so close to buying one, but they remain on my Amazon wish list. Is there any particular one you would you recommend? I read a lot of fiction, too. Sometimes it’s a good stress reliever just to lose myself into someone else’s world. 🙂 I have to read nonfiction books more slowly. May we rest in the amazing truth that Jesus never, ever shames us! Hugs to you, Lynn!
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Hi Trudy…The first book I read of Brene’s is still my favourite, I think. The Gifts of Imperfection…she keeps it real… Hugs back!
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Thank you, Trudy, for the beautiful photos, reviews, and reflections. Blessings!
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You’re so welcome, Martha. I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂 And thank you for wishing me blessings! May God daily guide us more deeply into His beautiful truths! Hugs!
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Hi Trudy,
I hopped over to look at the bird photo gallery and they are amazing! Occasionally I see those barn owls here in the trees and their eyes are so piercing and so beautiful! I wondered if the fall photos were from your area and I see in the comments you said they’re of your neighborhood — so pretty – -what a treat to look at those trees! Psalm 27:8 that you shared is one of my favorite verses — I feel it speaks straight to me — and I’m so glad you included it since I needed to read it again today! xoxox
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I am awed by God’s leadings, Valerie. I had a quote there, but my soul felt restless. The day before this post came out, I felt God wanted me to write a verse there instead, something about us listening to His call. I searched for some time, and when I came upon Psalm 27:8, I knew in my heart that was the one I needed to share. It spoke to my heart, too, and I rejoice that it’s exactly the one God wanted you to read today. 🙂 May we daily hear God’s call and follow Him wherever He leads us!
I’m glad you enjoyed the bird photos. That would be so cool to see an owl! The street photo is from nearby. The other ones are from Outdoor Campus, a place across town that has nature education, a trail, a pond, etc. I love to walk the trail in the canopy of the trees. 🙂 Hugs!
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Trudy,
I just love it how you listened to the restlessness of your heart and wrote that verse instead! It speaks so powerfully to me since it’s so beautiful and tender, isn’t it? What beautiful areas you have nearby! I somehow envisioned you in the middle of the prairie but I must be thinking of Laura Ingalls! 🙂 More photos please, Trudy!
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Yes, it certainly radiates with God’s tender loving care. It really spoke to me, and it’s one I need to remember. Nope, I’m not in the middle of the prairie, Valerie. 🙂 I remember you once said around the time of the hurricane that I’m probably in the middle of dust storms. Nope. 🙂 I think in Laura’s time there was a lot of untilled land. I think parts of SD can get more dry than others, but we’ve been blessed this year. The farmers are getting a big crop this year. I live in Sioux Falls, the biggest city in SD, and we still keep growing. I think our population is over 250,000 now. You’re welcome to stop in sometime. 🙂
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Hi Trudy! I wrote down several of your articles on Shame so I could look them up later. It really is a bad thing, and robs us of our self esteem. I’m writing a little on ‘negative self talk’ and it’s much the same thing. Confidence goes down the drain.
I can’t believe it’s the end of another month…where does the time go?
Have a wonderful Wednesday my friend,
Ceil
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Oh yes, where does the time go? Only a few more weeks until Thanksgiving! I hope the shame articles will speak to your heart, Ceil. Yes, that negative self talk really does rob us of our self esteem and confidence. I think it’s my default mode. I have to constantly and intentionally refute the lies and replace them with God’s truth. It’s hard and wearying, isn’t it? May God pull that negative self talk up from the roots and plant His truth of how valuable we are in Him! Hugs!
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Such a great collection here, Trudy! I keep hearing amazing things about that book… Oh and those fall photo’s! Gorgeous!
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Thank you, Karrilee. Autumn trees are so vibrant and beautiful, aren’t they? Yes, Uninvited is an amazing book. It has helped me a lot. May we cling to our God who openly invites us into His loving arms and never, ever rejects us! Hugs!
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I love the quote from Mother Teresa and your photos are beautiful!
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Thank you, Deborah. I love that quote as well. I’m glad you were my neighbor at Holley’s. I’m looking forward to seeing some farm photos at your site. 🙂 I am a farm girl at heart. May God us to be silent so we can hear His whispers to us! Hugs!
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Love that quote from Max Lucado!! And your photos – we don’t really get to see the changing of seasons in Southern California, so I love those gorgeous glimpses of fall! Hugs, Trudy.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the fall photos, Tiffany. It is a beautiful sight. I used to worry that if I had fear that meant I didn’t have faith, but now I know both can be present, so I love that quote, too. May God help us not to let fear become a resident in our hearts! Hugs!
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Hi Trudy- Such a pretty song and I love the quotes you have here too! I need to write them down so good! I am getting a lot out of that book too! So nice we are reading it together ! 🙂 Such a treat for my soul here today and so much richness with all you have to explore! A feast for the eyes and heart! Thanks so much Trudy- Thankful for you and your beautiful site- It has been a resting place for me tonight! hugs! xo
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Thank you, Susie. I rejoice that you find a resting place here. I love it! I’m so thankful for you and your site, too. Your poems always resonate in my heart and speak peace to my soul. They remind me of the Psalms – starting out with truthfully laying out the troubles of our hearts and ending with leaning into our Father who cares so much for us, resting in His promises for us, and praising Him for His faithfulness. Your artwork, too, refreshes my spirit. 🙂 May God help us to daily lay all our cares on Him and to trust His heart with any trouble that comes our way! Hugs!
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Those pictures! Oh how I love Fall and changing leaves. So beautiful, my friend. I love that quote on courage by Christine Caine. I feel like I should post that somewhere in my house :). Thanks for introducing it to me, Trudy. Always so much to learn in your ‘new this month’ posts!
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Thank you, Candace. The colors of fall are so amazing, aren’t they? I love that quote, too. May God give us courage to move forward trusting that nothing is impossible with Him! Hugs!
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Trudy,
I love that you shared Terri’s post on shame from my “What Is Your Something Better?” series! Terri is a treasure and her story is so powerful! Love you, friend!!!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
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Thank you for the blessings and smiles, Lori. 🙂 I purposely put the link from your site instead of Terri’s, so readers can also see all the other hope-filled posts you share. 🙂 I love you, too, my friend! May God dig deep and root out all the shame in our hearts and help us to cling to our identity in Jesus! Hugs!
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