Balanced & Blessed Yoga by Kathryn (2026)

30/05/2024

Hola from Punta Cana! Gracias to Jose for an excellent class!

https://www.instagram.com/snacksbar15?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

22/02/2024

For the month of February, our devotional series is focusing on God’s love as it relates to the “5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. Within each of these love languages, we can explore how God loves us in that way, how we reciprocate our love to God, how we can show that type of love to others, and check in to make sure we are also loving ourselves.
Today we will focus on words of affirmation. “When words of affirmation is your love language, words build you up. You thrive on spoken affection, praise, encouragement, and compliments. Harsh words and criticism can bother you for a long time.”
Kind Words to Self
Our internal dialogue can hugely affect the direction our lives go. Atomic Habits author James Clear explains it this way: “The questions you ask yourself will largely determine the answers you get. "Why am I not successful?" You'll get answers that berate you. "How can I succeed here?" You'll get answers that push you. Be deliberate in the questions you ask yourself."
Several years ago, I learned the importance of speaking kindly to myself as I battled anxiety. Those unkind things that we say to ourselves build up over time and can manifest in physical ways through our health. Solomon, known for his wisdom, taught that, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Last week we learned that our bodies are a gift from God, so let’s take care of our minds, hearts, and bodies by saying kind words to ourselves.
Kind Words to Others
My aviation friend and author, Angelia Griffin, frequently reminds her readers to F.L.Y. or “First Love Yourself”. When an airplane has trouble and oxygen masks drop, the flight attendants tell us to put the mask on ourselves first before helping those around us. If we take time to help others first, our oxygen will be depleted and then both people will be in trouble. Similarly, if we don’t love ourselves well, how can we expect to love others well?
We touched on this last week as we saw Jesus add clarification to an existing commandment. Rather than “Love your neighbor as yourself,” Jesus taught us to “Love others as I have loved you.” This was a clear message from Jesus and the early church: that we should love others with both our words and actions. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29) “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col4:6) “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thess 5:11)
I love the way Paul explains the importance of showing love with words: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 cor 13:1)
Words of Praise to God
We cannot forget the ability to speak, connect, and love others is a gift given from God. As such, we should perpetually offer him thanks and praise for all that he has given us: our lives and bodies, connection with others, and most importantly his Son.
I am always inspired by the Psalms, many of which were written by King David. David was a busy guy. As a young boy he was in charge of herds of sheep, frequently fighting off predators like lions and bears, and tending to the needs of his older brothers. As he got older he worked for the king, then fled for his life as the king pursued him to kill him. And even once he was king, he was constantly fighting battles with neighboring kingdoms and dealing with family drama. And yet, he still found plenty of time to praise God with his words, and thankfully recorded them to inspire future generations to do the same.
Let’s take a page from David’s playbook and make this our prayer today: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

10/02/2024

“Jesus is both our provider and our paradigm for showing love.”
Several years ago a movie called “Fireproof” came out. It was the story of a firefighter whose marriage was in shambles. In an effort to save his marriage, he read a book called “The Love Dare” which instructed him to shower his significant other with unconditional love. The main character begins doing extra chores around the house, running errands for his estranged wife, bringing her fresh flowers, generously providing a much needed gift, and generally going out of his way to meet her needs. I won’t share any spoilers, but you can probably guess how that works out for him.
This month we are learning how to love those around us better and seeing how God loves each of us in different ways to meet our needs based off of “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. Our main character in the movie mostly utilized “Acts of Service” and “Gift Giving” to strengthen his relationship with his wife. It is widely known that “Love is shown more in deeds [actions and gifts] than in words.” (-Saint Ignatius)
GIFTS
If gift-receiving is your love language, “a thoughtful gift shows you that you are special. In contrast, generic gifts and forgotten special events have the opposite effect.” (familycentre.org)
Thousands of years ago, God made a special promise that he would send someone to save this world from it’s darkness. He didn’t forget his promise. He came through on that promise because “"God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) By grace alone we have been saved. And there is nothing we can do to make it happen on our own; it is the GIFT of God (Ephesians 2:8) What a treasure to know that he keeps his promise and that he values you enough to pay the ultimate price!
But God doesn’t stop there. He loves us extravagantly and continues to shower us with gifts: some are obvious like family, financial security, and food on the table, and others are gifts straight to our hearts. Jeremiah tells us that God plans to help us succeed in life (spiritually) and GIVES us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11) Jesus GIVES us peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:11) Whether tangible or not, we can know that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” (James 1:7).
Another awesome gift from God is our bodies: “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Whether you love the skin you are in or not, it was a gift from God. We can show our appreciation of that gift by using the eyes, ears, hands, and feet that he has given us to show love to those around us through Acts of Service, which is anything we do to ease the workload of someone else.
SERVING
In the beginning of the Love Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul emphasizes the importance of loving others by saying, “if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2-3)
Years earlier, Jesus was acknowledging when people had clothed him, fed him, and visited him in prison. Perplexed, the crowd asked, “When did we do these things for you? We never saw you hungry, thirsty, or imprisoned.” And Jesus replied, “Here’s the truth: “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35-40 MSG)
We should always seek out a way to make someone’s day better, even in the smallest of interactions. Not so that we can be proud and brag about how nice we are. But because if we have the heart of Jesus, and we know that he created and loves each person uniquely, we should want to love others like he does.
In Leviticus 19:18, God gave the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As Jesus was preparing to leave this world, he told his disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Though these commands were similar, one difference stands out. No longer are we to simply love others AS YOURSELF. As imperfect humans, we cannot love others adequately in our own power. Half of the time, we don’t even love ourselves very well. Instead, we are to demonstrate love AS JESUS LOVED. Jesus loved to dig in with the outcast of society, the difficult people, the people facing heartbreaking challenges. He loved to get his hands dirty. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but TO SERVE, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
God will never stop taking care of us. “Look at the birds in the sky. They do not store food for winter. They don’t plant gardens….and yet, they are always fed because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you.” (Matthew 6:26 Voice)
God told Isaiah, “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” (Isaiah 41:13) There doesn’t exist much more of a confidence booster than that: the God of the Universe is walking side by side with you ensuring that you don’t feel overwhelmed.
We can love others through service by easing their workload in some capacity. But we also have tremendous hope knowing that Jesus himself told us to come to him when we are tired and our workload is too much. He will carry our burdens and give us rest. (Matthew 11:28-30) He is both our provider and our paradigm for loving through service.
Take a moment to meditate on the following scripture, taking note of the physical provisions/gifts as well as the service of easing a burden: (Psalm 23 VOICE)
“The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
He provides me rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water.
He soothes my fears;
3 He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.
4 Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness,
I am not overcome by fear.
Because You are with me in those dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance,
I am comforted.
5 You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies;
You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil,
filling my cup again and again with Your grace.
6 Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, everywhere.
I will always be with the Eternal, in Your house forever.”

SOURCES:
Bible Verses: www.Biblegateway.com
FireProof Movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1129423/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_stry_pl
The Love Dare Book: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Dare-Stephen-Kendrick/dp/0805448853 #:~:text=The%20Love%20Dare%2C%20as%20featured,journey%20you%20need%20to%20take.
Five Love Languages Book: https://5lovelanguages.com/
5 Love Languages Definitions: https://www.familycentre.org/news/post/5-different-ways-to-show-love-and-improve-your-relationship

God’s Love Shown Through Acts of Service and Gifts
By Kathryn Mills, 2/9/24

05/02/2024

Welcome to February, the month of love. We would be remiss to not acknowledge and dive into the powerful force that is love. Countless authors, philosophers, and psychologists have studied and written about this abstract, yet tangible, concept of love.

In 1992, a pastor and counselor wrote a book detailing his observations on love regarding couples he had been counseling. Over 20 million copies of that book have been sold, making “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman part of common American culture.

As indicated in the title, Chapman purports that people generally respond best to love demonstrated in one (or more) of five categories: physical touch, acts of service, words of affirmation, receiving of gifts, and quality time.

Here’s a quick explanation of how the 5 love languages plays out using one of my favorite foods: tacos. Quality Time – “Let's make tacos together.” Receiving Gifts – “I bought you some tacos.” Acts of Service – “I made you these tacos.” Physical Touch – “I want to hug you like a taco.” Words of Affirmation - “Your tacos are delicious.”

The beauty of this philosophy is that it can be applied to any relationship - spouse, children, co-workers, friends, and even the in-laws. Once we identify how a person needs to experience love, we can cater our efforts to be most effective.

This month we will take a deep dive into each of those areas to see how God is pursuing his love for us. But before we go too far, let’s define what love is;
“4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs. 6 Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. 7 It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

When most people picture the word love, they envision the romantic variety with a happy couple all huggy/kissy. But remember, love is applied to every relationship we encounter. We hug a friend, high-five a co-worker, snuggle a sleepy child.

“DePauw University psychologist Matthew Hertenstein…demonstrated that we have an innate ability to decode emotions via touch alone. In a series of studies, Hertenstein had volunteers attempt to communicate a list of emotions to a blindfolded stranger solely through touch. The results suggest that…we come equipped with an ability to send and receive emotional signals solely by [touch]. Participants communicated eight distinct emotions—anger, fear, disgust, love, gratitude, sympathy, happiness, and sadness—with accuracy rates as high as 78 percent.” (Psychology Today: The Power of Touch)

We can probably agree that this makes sense for human-to-human contact, but how does our invisible, untouchable God fit into that? The Bible holds many instances of God touching people.

The very first time occurred in Genesis when, “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7). The Psalmist speaks of how God continues to mold each of us by hand, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;.” (Psalm 139:13). Later in Genesis, God spent hours wrestling with Jacob, knowing that Jacob needed to work things out using physical touch, and connected with Jacob in a way that impacted him for the rest of his life. (Genesis 32).

But it is in God’s Son, Jesus, that we see the most tremendous use of a loving touch in the 37 recorded miracles of the New Testament. When a man approached him with leprosy, Jesus was, “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him….And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.” (Mark 1:41) Many more accounts just like that one demonstrate God’s willingness to reach out a loving hand, even when - especially when - we are at our lowest points.

The gospels also tell us that the people tenaciously pursued an opportunity to touch Jesus. “And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.” (Luke 6:19). The most well-known being the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. She wasn’t legally allowed to be in that crowd, but she pressed through every obstacle to reach Jesus, fully trusting in his power and love. (Luke 😎

This begs the question: Are we tenaciously pursuing a physical connection to our Savior? Do we open the Bible on our laps? Raise our hands in worship? Reach out to show love to those in need?

God is still in the business of connecting with us through physical touch today. Perhaps that comes in the form of a well-timed hug from a friend, the skilled hand of a doctor in providing healing, or simply the warm sunshine on our cheeks (after the cloudiest January ever!).

Take a moment to thank him for the joys that you experience through the sensation of touch. If needed, ask him to show up for you in this area. And lastly, consider how you can demonstrate God’s love through physical touch to those you encounter today.

Source:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/the-power-of-touch

"5 Love Languages: Intro and Physical Touch"
By Kathryn Mills, 2/1/24

26/01/2024

"Our lives are not intended for stagnant existence, but of an active trajectory of growth!"
One of mankind’s deepest questions is “Why am I here?” And “What is the purpose of life?”

Thankfully, we can look to the Bible for these answers. There we learn that we were made not just to aimlessly wander through life, but to thrive through a relationship with our Creator. As we deepen that relationship, we can’t help but offer our appreciation and adoration through worship. We also learn that his intention for our lives is not one of stagnant existence, but one of an active trajectory of growth - physically, spiritually, and communally.

PHYSICAL GROWTH
It requires nothing more than casual observation to acknowledge the constant state of physical growth in nature. From the movement of giant tectonic plates in the earth's crust to cellular proliferation at a microscopic level, creation is constantly changing. God’s design was one of growth: “So God created mankind in his own image….God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth." (Genesis 1:28) We begin as infants, relying on others to provide nourishment and safety, then growing into adults ourselves, eventually offering the same assistance to the next generation.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Our physical growth is an outward expression of the inner transformation that God desires for us to experience. 1 Peter 2 offers an interesting illustration: Just as an infant can only process milk, when we first enter into a relationship with Christ our understanding is limited. But as we get to know him deeper, our spiritual understanding is also enriched.

Paul speaks of his own maturity in one of the best known passages of scripture, 1 Corinthians 13 (aka “The Love Chapter”, when he says, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” And while we can appreciate this surface level obvious statement, Paul was also alluding to his own deeper spiritual comprehension of God’s love for us.

One of the most exponential areas of growth is found in hardship. A community of people living in Iceland were recently studied. Iceland is such an inhospitable place - tremendous cold, undeveloped agriculture, poverty, etc. At some point in their history some of the community migrated to Norway. However it was discovered that the Icelanders, living in the rough conditions, lived to an average of 82 years, nearly 10 years longer than the global average! It was determined that their hardship actually made their DNA stronger! (Source: Stronger to Strength by Arthur Brooks)

The book of James offers this encouragement to those facing difficult circumstances: “Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NLT)

COMMUNAL GROWTH
When we are rooted in Christ, we experience peace that surpasses understanding during hardship (Phil 4:7). We also serve as a mirror of Christ to others, producing fruits, or attributes of God, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. We should be intentional in growing these traits so that they are evident to others (1 Tim 4:15). In Matthew, Jesus tells his followers to, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Just like in the garden when God told us to go forth and multiply, in Acts 1:8 we are told to go out to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth to spread his love and good news as we grow the kingdom and give others the gift of a relationship with him.

Take a moment to thank God for how he has helped you grow, or is helping you grow where you are currently. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18)

We Were Made To GROW
By Kathryn Mills, 1/26/24

19/01/2024

“Our DNA is hardwired for worship!”

Last week we were encouraged to learn that God has a plan for us to thrive, not necessarily in riches, but in spirit and through connection to our Creator. As we learn about and grow closer to Christ, our soul’s desire is to share its abundant appreciation for all of the beautiful intricacies of life - from the incredible creation of earth, to the attributes and gifts he has given us, to his loving nature.

We were created to WORSHIP. This is a word that is mostly only used in religious circles. According to Dictionary.com, it simply means, “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration.” It can also be anything that we give excessive attention to or appreciation of.

We naturally do this with LOTS of things! For instance, millions of people wake up each morning with an emptiness inside, until they experience that first sip of coffee that brings the soul alive. Think of the pedestal on which we place our favorite musicians or sports figures. Our DNA is simply hardwired to worship.
The book of Revelation exclaims, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (4:11)

While worship can be conducted singing songs in the pew of a church, it can also be accomplished in many ways and limitless places. In John 4, Jesus told the disciples that God was seeking people to “worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23). And the apostle Paul encouraged followers to, “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1).

God has given each of us unique traits, skills, and circumstances that we can use to worship him. Yes, that can be done through a ritual, but his greatest desire is for our worship to come from our hearts. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)

Without our intentional worship, nature itself will express worship to the Creator. In Luke, Jesus tells the Pharisees that if they stop people from worshiping, “even the rocks will cry out!!” (Luke 19:40).

Sometimes we need it spelled out for us. I love the bluntness of Job (who had every right to be a little salty at this point). He basically tells his friends, “If you can’t figure out who to worship…ask the beasts of the fields, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, even the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you!”, “Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

God created humans with intelligence and intention so that we could have a special connection with him. When we meet someone new, we introduce ourselves by offering our name. When God first spoke to Moses, he introduced his name as “Yahweh.”

This is a very holy name. When the Hebrew scribes made copies of the Bible and came across the name “Yahweh”, they performed a cleansing ritual so as not to tarnish God’s name, but instead to offer the reverence and worship deserved. For my math people, God’s name is written 1,606 times in the Torah (Old Testament), causing the scribes to perform this ritual up to 20 times a day. At this rate it took approximately a week to write 1 page. What amazing reverence for Yahweh.

In the Garden, God formed mankind from his very breath. (Take an inhale and exhale through the mouth). And with every breath we take, we offer praise back to him as we repeat His name. Yah (inhale) - Weh (exhale). “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6).

References:
Writing God’s Name: https://gracetranscendingthetorah.com/scrolls/writing-gods-name/
Other Inspiration: https://scripturesavvy.com/bible-verses-about-man-made-to-worship-god/
More Inspiration: https://harvest.org/resources/gregs-blog/post/we-all-were-created-to-worship-but-thats-not-all/

We Were Made to WORSHIP
by Kathryn Mills, 1/18/24

12/01/2024

"We were not just made to survive. We were made for more than this. We were made to thrive!"
We love a good success story! Especially the dramatic ones where the main character faces and overcomes a major challenge. But most of us will never experience that level of cinematic transformation.

We trudge through the daily humdrum of life, distracted by busyness, entranced by screens, and longing for a deeper purpose. Every year, around this time, our subconscious need for accomplishment rises to the surface as we optimistically make a new list of resolutions.

Our souls long to reconcile to the idea that we were not just made to survive. We were made for more than this. We were made to thrive!

God’s original blueprint staged us in the perfect, flawless Garden of Eden, where there was organized structure, nutritional provisions, and most importantly unbroken relationship with the Creator.

Unfortunately, we tried to take control of the script and it didn’t work out. In one instant, we broke our word with God, resulting in permanent separation from Perfection and our souls’ never-ending magnetism to return to Right.

As with any relationship where trust has been broken, God set boundaries. But in his love for us, he left us breadcrumbs to healing and reconciliation so that we can once again THRIVE as we were created to do.

He gives us a User’s Manual in the form of the Bible where we can learn his best plan for us, observe the stories of those who have gone before us - some who did well, and others who did not - and rest in hope for how our story ends.

As our Creator, he knows that while some of us have the ability to process written information easily, many of us need a full kinesthetic experience in order to learn. So he sent Jesus for us to pattern our hearts and behaviors after, and to bridge the gap for us. Jesus came so that we “may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10).

To be clear, when the Scripture says, “We were made to have life abundantly,” It is not referring to prosperity. There is no promise in Scripture that if we follow God, we will get awesome stock returns, instantly lose 20 pounds, or finally beat the infamous Joneses.
In the book of Luke, Jesus was speaking to a rich man who was seeking advice, and said, “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions…” He went on to describe the care that the Father takes of the birds and flowers, emphasizing that God cares even more for us and will meet our needs. He finished by cautioning that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12)

The apostle Paul found his “abundance”, but he found it in his contentment. He said, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:12-13) No matter what befalls us physically, good or bad, if our hearts are tuned to God, we will thrive.

God invokes our hearts back to the intent of the Garden, where our spirits can rest in his structure and wisdom as he provides nourishment to our souls. The Psalmist expresses it beautifully: “Let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. (Psalm 5:11)

When we reconcile our relationship to our Creator, only then can we truly experience abundance and “thriving” that no one can put a price tag on.

We Were Made To THRIVE
By Kathryn Mills 1/11/2024

05/10/2023

I’m yoga-ing away from home this week! Fridays yoga class is still on with a surprise instructor!

18/08/2023

I love this! “Where your treasure is, there your heart should be also.” Is our treasure on the things God has given us or on God Himself?

11/08/2023

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I had several requests to share this devotional thought from this morning's session. I hope this is helpful to someone going through a rough season...

Yoga Devo - Joy in Trials
By Kathryn Mills, Spring 2018

1 Peter 5:10 says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”

God did not call us into an easy, posh life. To remain in His will we will continuously encounter obstacles along the way.

We find ourselves in good company with countless biblical figures who have walked in our shoes. Take, for example, the Israelites as they were exiting Egypt. They reached the Red Sea with an angry enemy army following closely on their heels. God rescued them from that obstacle by parting the Red Sea.

Shortly after, they find themselves starving in the middle of the desert. God again provided for their needs with water, Manna, and quail. Over and over again throughout their journey they would reach a dilemma, but were met with God’s provision at just the right time.

In God’s life journey for us, we, too, will face continuous trials that may at times seem hopeless or like a dead end. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. But it is not our job to justify this. God is sovereign and has a plan.

We can rely on God’s character without knowing his plan. And what we do know about God is that “He has made everything beautiful in it's time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) And, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

This can be a deep, deep well to wrestle in. It is a concept that I believe will always challenge my faith. A few years ago, I reached a point where I could choose to let this struggle continue to erode my faith leading me to bitterness and selfishness, or I could choose to accept the truth about God in Isaiah 55:8-9:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

I chose instead to focus on the attributes of God that I knew in my heart and in His word to be true: He LOVES me. He relentlessly pursues me even when I’m headed in a bad direction. He even loves that “unlovable” person that drives me crazy in the same way that he loves me. And he desires for me to share that love with Him and others.

He has a much bigger plan and can change the most terrible things into the most beautiful. Think: Saul to Paul, Death to Life, HopeLESS to HopeFUL.

God is a God of grace. He sometimes leaves us in sticky, uncomfortable places to give us an opportunity to grow in Him and to trust Him. He is all knowing, and when the timing is right and we have ripened for the harvest, He will restore us and strengthen us.

In our trials, we have HOPE because God has proved Himself to be our Rescuer and Trusted Guide time and time again! 1 Peter 1:6 reminds us that, “There is wonderful JOY ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a little while.”

So take heart, friend, for Christ has overcome the world and is overseeing your journey carefully and will guide you through the trials to the other side where JOY is abundant!

Balanced & Blessed Yoga by Kathryn

30/05/2024

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10/02/2024

05/02/2024

26/01/2024

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