Tag: Freed to Fly

March Hope Whispers

Trudy Den Hoed24 Comments

Truths That Breathe Hope

❤️ God’s Love Faithfully Remains With Us ❤️

“Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the Lord your God goes with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV

❤️ God’s Love Graciously Forgives Us ❤️

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, 
the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
Ephesians 1:7 NIV

❤️ God’s Love Fully Frees Us ❤️

“Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah,
His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross,
we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments
chalked up by all our misdeeds.
And not just barely free, either.
Abundantly free!”
Ephesians 1:7 The Message

“When I’m kicking and screaming
When I struggle believing
God, You are always faithful
No matter what
When my eyes cannot see it
And my heart doesn’t feel it
God, You are always faithful
No matter what
No matter what…”

Spring Breathes Hope

The robins are here! Yes! Even though we’re still having cold days, it’s a sign that breathes life and hope. We so need that in these troubling times, don’t we? What part of spring breathes hope in your heart?

🦋 “And springtime rallies at the touch of the breath of God.” – Unknown

🦋 “Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it’s a rebirth of the spirit.” – Toni Sorenson

🦋 “A life without love is like a year without spring.” – Octavian Paler

Our Suffering Matters to God

All the violence, abuse of power, and painful losses in this troubling world is devastating. So many are suffering loss and pain at home and abroad. Because of this, we may tend to beat ourselves up when we murmur over our own troubles and struggles.

Do you ever minimize your own troubles because others have it worse? Do you ever feel selfish when you feel complaints in your heart over your own suffering? This month God used this blog post to remind me our struggles are always valid to Him. And it’s both necessary and healthy to acknowledge and grieve our own suffering. – Your Suffering Is Valid, Even When Others Have It Worse by Shannon.

“I understand what we are trying to do when we play down our troubles because they are small in comparison to what others are experiencing. We’re trying to put things in perspective so we can be grateful, avoid feeling sorry for ourselves, and be compassionate to others. However, I think minimizing our troubles can sometimes be harmful. It leads us to ignore our feelings, which can increase our stress, cause feelings of self-doubt, harm our self-esteem, and heighten our anxiety.”

“We’re not required to choose between acknowledging either our suffering or their suffering; we can acknowledge both our suffering and their suffering.”

Shannon from Of The Hearth

Nature Retreat

“Perhaps the butterfly is proof
that you can go through a great deal of darkness
yet become something beautiful.”
– Beau Taplin –

“Just when the caterpillar
thought the world was over,
it became a butterfly.”
– Chang Tzu –

I’ve been thinking lately of how a butterfly must struggle first to become beautiful and freed to fly. So this month my heart feels nudged to share some of the butterfly photos I took in 2012 at the butterfly house and to remember why I named this site Freed to Fly.

From Darkness and Captivity to Light and Freedom to Fly

Trudy Den Hoed13 Comments

The caterpillar certainly identifies with the feeling of loss and lack of control as his body slowly scrunches into a pupa or chrysalis. Darkness engulfs him, and he can no longer move.

His old self slowly dies but transforms into a beautiful butterfly that slowly emerges from captivity through a tiny opening. A struggle is necessary to push the fluid out of his body into his wings. If the struggle is hurried, the result will be shriveled wings and no ability to fly. After he stretches and dries his wings in a world of light, he is freed to fly.

“Perhaps the butterfly is proof
that you can go through a great deal of darkness
yet become something beautiful.”
– Beau Taplin –

“Just when the caterpillar
thought the world was over,
it became a butterfly.”
– Chang Tzu –

“And we all, who with unveiled faces
contemplate the Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into His image
with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord,
who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18
“I am here to bring light in this world,
freeing everyone who believes in Me
from the darkness that blinds him.”
John 12:46 VOICE

Nothing Is Wasted
by Jason Gray

“The hurt that broke your heart
And left you trembling in the dark
Feeling lost and alone
Will tell you hope’s a lie
But what if every tear you cry
Will seed the ground where joy will grow

And nothing is wasted
Nothing is wasted
In the hands of our Redeemer
Nothing is wasted…”

Soul Longings to Know Jesus More

Trudy Den Hoed26 Comments

“My goal is to know Him
and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death.”
Philippians 3:10 HCSB

Lord Jesus Christ,
I Want to Know You

I want to really, truly know You. Deeply, personally, intimately. In the depths of my soul. To believe in You, not just about You. I want Your desires and Your passions to become mine. I want to “know” You so well that I will live and breathe You with every step I take in this life.

I Want to Know the Power of Your Resurrection

I want to not only believe You rose from the dead, but that it was personally for me. That You left my sins buried there in the grave, and now I am truly free. I don’t want to live weighed down with a heavy burden of my own sins and the sins against me. I want to be freed from the chains of shame. I want to inwardly experience that same power that rose You from the dead, to be saturated in and fired up with Your resurrection power in me that I will live for You with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. That I will live in and through You and Your power with every fiber of my being. That I will fly freely for You.

I Want to Know the Fellowship of Your Sufferings

I want to grasp more deeply how much You suffered for me. How You suffered such excruciating pain out of Your deep love for me. But Lord, sometimes it’s so hard to ask to know more of the fellowship of Your sufferings, because I know that means I, too, must learn what it is to suffer. But You have said that if I want to share in Your glory, I must also share in Your suffering. And Lord, I know You have taught me more about You and the bottomless depths of Your love through sufferings. It is through sufferings that I learn to be more like You. It is through sufferings that I experience more of the power of Your resurrection. But oh, Lord, no matter what kind of sufferings I go through in this life, it will never, ever be even a speck of what You have suffered for me. What body, mind, and soul anguish You endured! Thank You, Jesus, for Your unconditional, fathomless, faithful love!

I Want to Become More Like You in Your Death

I want to continually be conformed to Your likeness. In the inward depths of my soul. I want to die to myself and live for You. I want my selfish desires to fall away. I want You to increase and me to decrease. I want to be so planted into the likeness of Your death that I will willingly take up my cross and follow You, no matter what the cost. I want to be ready to suffer for Your sake. Please, Lord, make me strong in You and for You.

“Jesus Is Alive”
by Fellowship Creative

“Captured By Your Love
That You Would Give Your Life
Oh I Stand Amazed that
Jesus Is Alive”