James 3:14 Kings James 
But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
I find when I get focused on a situation and my feelings have been hurt and my hurt turns to strife, it usually escalates in my mind. I find I began to play out a scene in my mind that’s never happened. Yet, in my mind I'm predicting it to fruition. Have you found yourself doing this? Thanks for joining me today for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-Filled Friday with Trench Classes United.
James 3:14 instructs us on what to do with our strife or bitterness that seems to go straight to our heart. We aren’t to cover up. We are to address it, and I believe God is instructing us to place it before Him because out of bitterness stems actions that do not bring glory to our Lord.
I've realized that by allowing this strife, bitterness, and/or jealously to take hold of my mind, it opens the door to a downward spiral, and a mall issue becomes far greater in my mind and heart than it really is. Could it be that each situation occurs, He wants to use it to help build our endurance, keep us looking to our Abba? These trails build our character in in Him.
Romans 5:3-5 New Living Translation (NLT)
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Without these trials of hurt, strife, and jealousy we would never see that there's still so much in us that needs to change. It humbles us, brings us to our knees, helpless for our Abba’s help, for we are helpless without Him.
Be encouraged through these trials, knowing that God will never give us more than we can handle. Praise God for His new grace, mercy, and forgiveness for our sins every second of the day. Take courage, beloveds; He is making warriors of us so He can use us for far greater things.
Humbled,
Ashley

Knowledge unlocks the door to the mysteries of our mistakes; wisdom guides us away from repeating them. el
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Proverbs 26:20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
Have you ever said you’ve forgiven someone for an offense only to find that the next time that anything that even remotely reminds you of it, resentment re-ignites the flame of un-forgiveness? Thanks for joining me today for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.
If there’s one lesson I seem to be forgetting more than I’m getting, especially lately, is that the more I talk about a problem, the bigger it gets and before you know it, I’ve overwhelmed myself! Or what about when someone offends us; do you ever notice that the more you talk about it the more resentful you are? Oh, but this truth reveals the need for some scriptural sanitization of the mind!
Look at the words in this verse. They are certainly more quiet and gentle than my resentments that can build as fast as a freight train headed to its destination!
What a beautiful way of saying let go, let God, and of gently but quite firmly reminding me that I don’t need to keep adding wood to my tough circumstances by talking about them – in the name of venting – and I definitely don’t need to participate in a disagreement by continuing to disagree! That only makes resentment rise and our spirits fall.
Let’s have some fun with the NIV version of this verse:
Without wood a fire goes out – think about it; can a fire burn without wood? Of course not! This part of this instruction is telling me to minimize what I tend to maximize, and it can be applied to relationships and circumstances!
Let’s look at the second part of the verse: without a gossip a quarrel dies down. Ah, can a person fight all by themselves? What a funny picture, right, to leave a person standing there arguing by themselves because we refuse to participate. J J  But this verse is also telling me that many disagreements happen because of un-truths, aka, gossip! If you can’t say it to the person, you shouldn’t say it about the person! OUCH!
Maybe it’s time to minimize what I maximize, and let Him make it go away!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve tied me a few knots to remind me of these truths in the journey! I pray you’ve been able to do the same!
Much love,
Kim-Evinda

Faith is not a denial of painful circumstances; it’s the ability to trust Him to work in and through them EL
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​Monday’s Mantra

1st Peter 5:6-7: Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your cares on Him for He cares for you.
What’s the first thing you think or feel when you read/hear this word, humility? My guess is your first instinct may not be so positive, at least not as beautiful as humility was meant to be. Years ago, I prayed for this virtue…whew, what a season! J J  Thanks for joining me for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Monday’s Mantra with Trench Classes United.
I’ve come to learn that this fruit of the Spirit is one that tries to sneak away…often, and I do mean often!  Why is that? Because we have this house of flesh that consistently needs to be shushed!  It’s not something that you just tweak your nose, snap your fingers, or push a 30-second button and voila, we are humbled! I mean, we can be humbled that quick; but the problem is pushing the pause button so humility stays with us and in us through all circumstances. Yes, I have learned, albeit the hard way, that humility is like salt to a tasteless meal; it adds flavor; it makes everything better!
In fact, humility helps me to hang on to my Christianity and prevents me from getting on my broom and rising above others as I take a fast spin around my circumstances.
What does “humbling yourself” look like? Let me share a God-given picture of humility:
I’ll never forget an experience I had when I read 1st Peter 5:6. The crazy thing is I had read it a year prior, even wrote a blog on it as I was struggling with wondering why my first book wasn’t being picked up by an agent/publisher so I thought He was saying in due time. But months later, when I was brought back to it, He gave me another meaning that spoke much louder than the first one. What He was speaking this time literally rendered me humbled: In due time, through this season of seeking humility, He would lift me up and out of… myself! Yes, the scriptures are God-breathed and useful for teaching and correcting. The only way we can know this is by showing up each day to have our eyes and ears opened, offering up a sacrifice of time.
The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines humility in this way: “The quality or state of not thinking you are better than others.”
I have learned firsthand that God will humble us not to hurt us but to help us. He is more concerned about our humility than our happiness… and He will do what He needs to do to achieve this virtue in us. Join me Wednesday for a sort of redemption of my mistake and Him giving me a “retake”!
Humbly,
Evinda

Think about things of heaven, not of things of the world. Colossians 3:2
Easier said than done, right?!
Thanks for joining me for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-filled Friday with Trench Classes United.
This is a guideline from God on how we need to be thinking throughout our today. We must keep our sights fixed on God and on heavenly things. As we do this, the desires of this world fall at our feet.
When we get lost in the things of the world, darkness begins to overcome us. Our vision is dimmed and we begin to hunger for what our friends and family have and we don’t. As we hunger, it causes a spirit of complaining and questioning of why we don’t have what others have, for example, why is it that our lives are so hard and others seem to have it all together? Sound familiar?
All of these thoughts are from the enemy taking advantage of our vulnerability. The enemy seeks to kill, steal, and destroy us by any means necessary. He always wants to keep our thoughts fixed on the confusion swirling around in our heads, the hurt that our hearts can’t seem to recoup from. With each new stab someone may throw at us unknowingly or deliberately, he echoes us our hearts are broken forever.
Yet, we have hope. He bestowed unto us a helper, the Holy Spirit to come and live in us, so when the lies of the beast fix our vision on the things of the world, the Holy Spirit can gently move our chins up to the clouds in the sky, to chirping and singing of the birds who even sing our Lord’s praises, to the cool breeze on our face, or a beautiful rainbow in the sky. This is reiterated and confirmed in Romans 1:20: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
 Everywhere we look is a reminder of all God has done for us.  Oh, how He loves us! Keep your eyes fixed on Him and listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit and all of your confusion and hurt will begin to slowly fall away. We learn to lay all these wants, hurts and why’s at His feet, and trust He knows and has the very best for us.
Oh, what hope and joy I have in my Lord, for he makes my days that are difficult bearable.
Love
Ashley

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There’s something so beautiful about a child’s heart and mind untouched by the world’s ugliness, such innocence that has the power to render me in awe, quiet, without words and full of such humility and thankfulness to be able to experience the world her way, to see it and all of its creations as flawless.
Thanks for joining me today for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.
Last week we were given a gift: a day at the beach with my stepson, daughter-in-love and their three children, our grandchildren: Bryden, who is 8; Kinsley, who is 3, and Presley, who is 9 months. This is in and of itself a miracle, the beginning crossings of a bridge of reconciliation long prayed for, a story for another book. 
Watching little Kinsley, it was obvious this was her very first trip to the beach, and I immediately was drawn into her world, captured by her sweetness. My joy was immediately stirred up by her silliness and my soul revived by the sanctity of her innocence. Watching her feeling the sand between her toes and on her skin – which she wasn’t a fan of – was adorable, especially when she asked me to get the two specs off of her arm.
I loved watching her stare at big brother while he ran towards the waves and then turned around and ran fast and furiously away from them so as to not get completely soaked. She was mesmerized by it all. How easy it was to enter her world and bend down to build sand castles. We worked together to fill the pail up each time. I practically held my breath as we turned it upside down and each patted it just enough to loosen the pail’s grip on the sand and then we closed our eyes and counted to three while I tried to slowly lift it completely up. I don’t know who was more excited to see a little castle all intact each time, her or me.
When I saw her chase a seagull with such sweet wonder, it took my breath away, literally. She did this a couple of times and each time I just stood there, mesmerized by her innocence. Her brother had been trying to get her down by the water for over an hour…unsuccessfully, but the seagull, unbeknownst to her, captured her attention without her fears as he led her here and there closer to the water…until he took flight and she realized her limitations.
Looking for seashells is one of my very favorite things to do so I decided to take her on a seashell journey. We walked and I taught her how to look for them, which at times required that she use her little shovel to scoop the sand away…keeping it away from her hands of course. Within minutes we were both exclaiming over our discoveries. “Oooh, wookit,” she’d say, with such joy. I’d reply with “oh, My lanta, that’s beautiful.” 
“Oh my wanta,” she echoed.
As she filled my hand with these shells, broken and whole, it hit me: little Kinsley didn’t see broken, she just saw the beauty…in the colors, the textures, and she did not treat the broken shells any different than the whole ones. She exclaimed over each one as she placed them in her nana’s hand to hold.
The simplicity of this truth is mind-boggling, especially for those of us who have a hard time seeing ourselves as our Creator does, through the eyes of love. As I sit here writing this blog, another truth flashes bright into any dark crevices of my mind and soul: on this day I had, for the first time ever, experienced with all of my being the joys of innocence found in a child.
Oh, may we learn to see beyond one’s brokenness and view them as Jesus does, with love.
Love,
Kim-Evinda

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When you have a roadmap of all the things you need to take care of and your first stop throws the whole thing out of whack, what’s your first response? Thanks for joining me for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Monday’s Mantra with Trench Classes United.
The other day I went by the drive-through ATM at my bank only to find it out of order. I pulled around to the other side of the building to park and use the walk-up ATM. One space over was another car with a lady sitting in it talking on the phone. As I got out of my car, she jumped out and said, "Ma'am, I was next in line." Mind you, there we no other cars or people there. I motioned for her to go ahead.
I built time into my day to do errands so I was not in a rush. However, her tone and attitude did rub me the wrong way. I was tempted to snap at her and in my head I thought of a couple comebacks. Instead, I took a deep breath and reminded myself to be patient. In the meantime, her transaction was not working, and she was getting frustrated. She stepped back and said, "You can go ahead; I am having trouble getting this to accept my card."
"Ok. That’s frustrating!"
I could feel her frustration in her answer: "I can't wait here until 9 when the bank opens and this is my first time using this ATM. I have so much to do today, and I have to be in court. This is so upsetting!"
When I heard the word “court,” I immediately understood why she might be feeling anxious, and I told her so. We chatted for a couple minutes, and then we both went on our way.
I couldn't help but think how important it is to take a step back when we feel annoyed by someone else. We can't know what they may be facing that day. If I had snapped back, I would have made the situation worse, and would have missed an opportunity to really understand life from her side.
I feel this is a gift that God has given me through the trials I face. I have had to learn how to step back and not fire off a response to comments that are hurtful or rude. My first inclination used to be one of self-defense (I am still a work in progress mind you). Now I know I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
I read two Bible verses this week that speak to this topic and are very relevant in the world we live in:
"Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin." Proverbs 13:3
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
In a world that is in constant defense mode, filled with those who will say anything to anyone regardless of the consequences, I am called to be counter-culture. God help me.
Jenn