mollieh02 | Faith In Plain Sight

Embrace {Five Minute Friday}

March 25, 2017 By mollieh02 3 Comments

Change is simply a fact of life. There is nothing that can be done about it. While some changes are expected, the ones you plan for or those you work towards, others come unbidden and strike when we least expect them. It’s those unexpected changes that I find the hardest to deal with most often. I know you’ve probably heard the phrase, ’embrace the change’, but let’s face it, sometimes you just have to work through your feelings before you can even begin to adapt much less embrace a life change. Let me tell you about that sweet spot where all the feelings and fears and the expectations that went unmet fade away. That beautiful place where you don’t necessarily embrace the change you went through, but you embrace the new place life has brought you to.

I went through a giant life change around 10 months ago. On that day everything that I expected for my future was suddenly different. It took me a long time to come to terms with that. But now, I am able to embrace the new opportunities life has thrown my way. I am enjoying building deeper friendships and spending better time with my kids. I am embracing this new stage of life and whatever it has to throw at me.

God works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I promise you, that scripture applies to unexpected changes as well.

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday link-up. FMF is where bloggers gather together to form a writing flash mob where we all write on a one word prompt for 5 minutes with no editing! Sound like fun? You can learn more by clicking on the button below and/or join this week’s link-up here!

Safe {Five Minute Friday}

February 16, 2017 By mollieh02 1 Comment

SAFE

What does that word mean to you? The meaning has changed for me recently. If you had asked me a year ago what it meant to be safe I would have undoubtedly thought of the person who’s arms I felt safe in. He was my safe place. But that is one of those fairytale kind of fallacies we tell ourselves or that we are taught when we are growing up. Even if I found my perfect guy tomorrow, there would not be true safety and security in that relationship. Now when most people think of safety they think of physical safety. That’s not what I’m referring to here. When I think of safety I think of having the safety to fall down and knowing that it’s ok. Being secure in the fact that I am loved, even when I fail. Having the safety to be truly and authentically me and know that I am loved completely and unconditionally. Knowing that there is one place I can go, one relationship I can cling to, and find all the security I need therein. As a friend said today during our weekly Bible study time, “People are broken.” That applies to all people. Even the people who love you the most can make you feel insecure in your own skin. People will fail you. That is about as clear a fact as they come. But God never will. He is everything you need. I urge you to fall into Him for your safety and security. Fall into Him to see yourself clearly. Fall into Him to feel the pull of unconditional love.

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Control {Five Minute Friday}

January 26, 2017 By mollieh02 4 Comments

I never thought I had control issues until I had kids. And still it wasn’t until fairly recently that I recognized that need for control within myself. Let me tell you a little bit about my control issues. I have two little boys that are all boy. Which means they are loud and rambunctious and never ever stop and fight constantly, because that’s what brothers do. I however am an introvert by nature and I like quiet. There is a constant struggle where I am trying to get them to sit down and be quiet for a minute, which never works. You know what I have found that works? Letting go of that control. When I let go and just let them be and try to embrace the loud craziness of having boys, that’s when the peace seeps in.

God will sit back and watch us as we try to control every aspect of our lives. He will stand by and whisper in our ears and wait. It’s not until we let go of that control. Until we let go of the very tight grip we have on everything in our life in an effort to get everything just how we want it. Until we surrender. It’s not until then that God comes in and moves in our situations and brings peace along with Him. It’s in that moment, in that sigh of relief that we often realize that we were the only thing standing in the way of our own peace.

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Middle {Five Minute Friday}

January 19, 2017 By mollieh02 Leave a Comment

Sometimes I feel like I’m standing in the middle between the future and the past, with both pulling at me. It’s an ever changing story which one is pulling harder. My thoughts drift to events and people from the past daily, because that’s just where my heart is. It can be a hard road, when you’re walking forward while still looking back. Someone I used to know well used to say, “You have to just glance in the rear view, because if you stare at it too long, you can’t see what’s in front of you and you’re likely to wreck.” (At least that’s the basic gist of what he used to say.) My take on it is this: God has great big things for me that I am likely to miss if I keep my gaze fixed on what’s behind me, on what is no longer present in my life. So here is to telling the past where it belongs and reminding it that I’m not going that way. Here’s to the great big plans God has in store for me and being tuned into the present so that I notice them when they are in front of me. Here’s to walking away from the middle and taking that leap of faith that walking into the unknown requires.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. –2 Timothy 1:7

Godspeed,

Mollie <3
This post is part of the Five Minute Friday link-up. FMF is where bloggers gather together to form a writing flash mob where we all write on a one word prompt for 5 minutes with no editing! Sound like fun? You can learn more by clicking on the button below and/or join this week’s link-up here!

Connect {Five Minute Friday}

January 9, 2017 By mollieh02 2 Comments

I’m on day three of being snowed in, with no discernable end in sight. Seven months ago I went through an awful breakup. I’m a stay at home mom. All of these things create this feeling that I don’t really have any connection to people outside my house. There has been a new nagging feeling that has just popped up in the last week or so that I can’t trust people. Specifically people who know my ex. Although I don’t know why he would care about anything I say or do at this point, still I have this nagging feeling that people go back and tell him everything I say to them.

But a louder voice comes in and reminds me that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). The devil wants to destroy our connections to other believers. He wants to isolate us so that his voice is the loudest one, and the only one we can hear. My God created me to be in community. To connect with His children. To connect with His lost children. I believe in God ordained meetings and that soul connections are often forged in the quiet places of life where they are least expected and when you aren’t looking for them. The next time the devil is telling you that you are all alone, you just tell him who you belong to and that you are never alone.

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Faith and Love in 2017

January 5, 2017 By mollieh02 1 Comment

When the clock struck midnight a cascade of balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling, flying everywhere. Then God’s people sang out in worship to the King of Kings. There is no better way to ring in the new year than at a late night church service with my church family! So there is was, 2017 began with a bang and a burst of pure joy! It was a beautiful night!

No resolutions. No lists of things that are wrong with me and need to be fixed, or things that I want to change about my life. Just a goal to set my eyes on Him and to walk towards Him each and every day. A goal to be active in my faith. My one goal for 2017 is this: At the end of each day I want to be able to look back and know that I did something to actively walk towards God that day.

Faith, much like love, should be active. How do you make faith active? I’ve thought on this a lot for the last few weeks. When you love someone you want to learn everything you can about them. You want to please them and make them happy, and you want to spend time with them. How does all of that translate to my faith walk? Reading my Bible, praying, resting in His presence. Loving and serving His children. Faith and love are much the same thing in my humble opinion. Our faith was built on a foundation of love after all. Everything He did, He did because He loves us.

I have never done the one word for the new year thing before, but as I thought on my one goal, my one word was birthed out of that. My one word for 2017 is ACTIVE. Active faith. Active love. Active body.

Actions speak louder than words. This year I’m not just going to speak of faith and love, I’m going to prove it by putting some action behind my words.

If you would like to share, I would love to hear about your goals and resolutions for 2017! You can share in the comments below.

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

When Jesus Was A Green-Eyed Brunette {Review & Giveaway}

December 21, 2016 By mollieh02 2 Comments

About the Book:

When Jesus Was a Green-Eyed Brunette weaves heartwarming and miraculous stories of Jesus showing up in ordinary people, revealing that He knows us and is fully present in our everyday circumstances, especially in our difficulties. Those hurting and weary from worn-out religion are longing for a fresh touch from the living Jesus. Best-selling author Max Davis challenges us to do more than simply receive God’s grace–we need to allow grace to soften, change, and shape us. As you read this book, you will laugh, cry, and come face-to-face with the living Jesus, much like Davis did, when he found Him living in a green-eyed brunette.

As Davis puts it, “Jesus is very much alive today and still does incredible things–sometimes supernatural things–through us!”

About the Author:

Max Davis is the author of over 20 published books and has been featured in USA Today and Publishers Weekly, and has appeared on TODAY and The 700 Club. He holds degrees in journalism and biblical studies and is a much-sought-after speaker for churches and organizations worldwide. He and his wife, Alanna, live on forty beautiful acres, under an umbrella of oak trees, in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana.

My Thoughts:

I love this book! I love how Max Davis challenges you to rethink how the experiences we walk through every day shapes us and the world we come into daily contact with. Did you know that you can be an international missionary from the comfort of your own home? Do you know that every hurt you go through can bring healing to someone else? Take a minute to think about that. Let it soak in.

Have you ever heard ‘The Voice’? And no I don’t mean the reality TV show. The voice of God comes to us in many ways. Join Max Davis as he tells his story, and some others too, of how God speaks. How God revealed his purpose in life to him. How God used his own pain to shape him and to help others as they walked through similar seasons of pain.

This book will give you hope. This book will challenge you to push through your own boundaries.

The Giveaway:

I’m thrilled to be able to offer one of my winners a chance to win a copy of When Jesus Was a Green-Eyed Brunette! To enter follow the directions in the Rafflecopter App below. The giveaway will run until December 25, 2016 at midnight. Winner will be displayed in the Rafflecopter App as well as emailed. Must have a valid email address to win. Open to US entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Note: I received a copy of When Jesus Was a Green-Eyed Brunette for free in return for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. {Full Disclosure Policy}

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Joy {Five Minute Friday}

December 8, 2016 By mollieh02 14 Comments

Show me the joy!

Take me to the deepest darkest parts of your life and I’ll bet there are moments of unspeakable joy to be found there. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine. But then I already did show you mine. Everything I’ve written these last six months has been dripping with my pain. I laid it all out there for you to see. The good the bad and the ugly. In that, in the writing of my story, there was joy. The joy of finding the inner strength to be vulnerable and transparent. The joy of hearing you all say thank you and me too. The joy found in the act of being obedient to the work God called me too. He called me to write the hard things of life. The joy of finishing something that was so very hard to do. My 31 Days series is the piece of writing I am most proud of. I even wrote about finding joy in the midst of my brokenness. There is joy to be found if you will just open yourself up to it.

So, go ahead, show me the joy!

–UPDATE–

I want to say a heartfelt thank you to each of you that walked alongside me during these last six months. It has been my honor to share my story with you as I walked through a painful season of life. I would like to report that two people this week have asked me how my wedding plans are going. The fact that I have not fallen to pieces over that simple question gives me hope that maybe I have reached the other side of the pain. The enemy has been fighting hard this week to keep me bound by pain, but joy has prevailed. I love you, each and every one of you!

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Crave {Five Minute Friday}

December 2, 2016 By mollieh02 16 Comments

I crave the beautiful parts of life. Sunlight and laughter, friendship, flowers, and love. Deep soul friendships where you can laugh together and cry together with equal devotion. Love that withstands the test of time and weathers any storm. The things that make the painful parts of life pale in comparison. I’ve been walking in those painful parts of life for the last six months. The part where the love I thought was forever failed me fantastically. Where pain and tears were an everyday occurrence. Where I tried desperately to see the sunshine through the rain. So yes, I crave the beautiful parts of life where life isn’t so hard. Where trust isn’t broken and dreams live to go on for another day.

In the spirit of that I am not going to dwell on what this weekend isn’t, the anniversary of the weekend I got engaged last year. I’m going to celebrate what it is, the weekend my family grew by one more last year. We got this little fur ball a year ago tomorrow!

He’s a little bit bigger now! This picture doesn’t really show how big he is. He can put his head on my kitchen table without trying!

So, this weekend I’m going to celebrate the anniversary of Norris joining our family and celebrate my youngest son’s birthday and try to forget the rest. Wishing you all a beautiful weekend full of light and love and laughter!

Godspeed,

Mollie <3

Bible Journaling Kit {Review & Giveaway}

December 1, 2016 By mollieh02 6 Comments

I love my journaling Bible. It’s pretty with a flower print on the outside covers. I’ve had it for nearly a year. It was a Christmas gift last year. I find Bible journaling intriguing. The act of art as a part of Bible study just makes sense to me. Still the pages of my Bible were unmarked until recently. I do a little bit of instructed painting, but I still don’t consider myself an artist by any stretch of the word. I was afraid to try to make pretty pictures in my Bible as they would inevitably not match the picture in my head. But then I got the chance to try out this Bible Journaling Kit!

About the kit:

Create a work of art in the pages of your favorite Bible. Draw, color, or journal your thoughts, dreams, and prayers. Highlight your favorite verses or the encouragements that speak to your heart with pencils, stickers, and tabs.

Kit includes:

4 sheets of word stickers

4 sheets of alphabet stickers

24 tab stickers

8 colored pencil twists

1 journaling pen

1 pouch with adjustable strap to fit Bibles of all sizes

1 ruled page protector mat with tracing lines

My thoughts:

This kit takes some of the guess work out of Bible journaling. It gives you the freedom to work at your skill level, and to develop your skills at your own pace. I love all the stickers! FYI: They are easy to take off the super thin Bible pages if you don’t like where you place them. You can go super simple and just use the stickers for a page.

Or you can get a little bit more complex with the tabs and the pencils. I used my tabs a little unconventionally on this page.

Note: I always see people coloring whole scenes over the scriptures in their Bibles and I never quiet got that because why would they make it so they couldn’t see the words? So, I bit the bullet and colored over a scripture I know well and have pretty well memorized just to see. I even colored over it a second time to make my picture a little darker. You can still see the words just fine.

This kit gave someone who wanted to try Bible journaling, but was a little afraid of it, the tools to dip my toes in. I love the results I got. I think I might even try drawing some pictures in the future. FYI: I still practiced on notebook paper before I actually wrote in my Bible.

The Giveaway:

I’m thrilled to be able to offer one of my winners a chance to win a Bible Journaling Kit of their own! To enter follow the directions in the Rafflecopter App below. The giveaway will run until Monday December 6, 2016 at midnight. Winner will be displayed in the Rafflecopter App as well as emailed. Must have a valid email address to win. Open to US entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don’t win my giveaway you still have a chance to win! The publisher is giving away 5 sets over on their site. You can enter that giveaway here. There are also some printable coloring pages available there for you if you would like them! You can also purchase a kit here.

Note: I received a Bible Journaling Kit for free in return for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. {Full Disclosure Policy}

Godspeed,

Mollie <3