~Love Letter~
My dear one, I, the Lord your God, am brighter than the brilliance of a sunrise! Wrapping Myself around you like a shield, I am so generous with My gifts of grace and glory.
 
Those who walk along My paths with integrity will never lack one thing they need, for I provide it all. I am well aware of all that you need. Let go of any anxiety and trust that I will care for you. All your worry produces nothing and as you learn to rest in Me and just relax, I will work everything out for your good.
 
As you learn to walk in trust, in your faith, you can focus on what I desire and not what you need. That is why I have given you promises that I will supply and take care of you. Come and spend time with Me and surrender all anxiety.
 
Let Me care for you!  Beloved, practice walking by faith, learn to relax in My goodness, let everything you are continually be thankful and you will rest and have sweet peace.
Debra

Oh, my goodness, I just know you’re going to enjoy this post from a former pastor of mine, Scot Elgersma from The River Church. Such a great reminder
I think I’m allergic to exercise.
At least it feels like it every time I do it or think about doing it.
This past Sunday, Troy asked me to play tennis. How do you say no to a kid who wants to play with you? We went to our local courts and played.
Here are 2 things that I learned:
I’m really competitive and I don’t want my 14 year old to beat me.
My 14 year old son is way more athletic than me in every way.
We played and now here are my allergic reactions.
I hurt. In many ways, I hurt. My shoulders hurt, my hamstrings hurt, my knees hurt. I think my spleen hurts, but I’m not sure. For hours afterwards I sat sweating and out of breath. Kristin wondered if she should call the ambulance. I may or may not have seen a bright light in the distance.
Oh boy, I’m out of shape.
Yet, I know how good exercise is for me. A daily regimen of physical activity makes me feel better, look better, and probably extends my life.
I know these things. You don’t have to tell me. I get it. Daily exercise is good.
But I still rebel against it.
“There’s no time!” “It takes a commitment of energy I don’t have.” “I’m fine. It’s not like I’m going to have a heart attack tomorrow or anything!”
The list of daily excuses is as long as the list of daily benefits that are abundantly clear to me.
And then there’s this;
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” That’s from Matthew 16. By the way, this is a command of the one who created the universe.
So my knee...
So I’m tired because...
So this is hard when...
So my heart...
The excuses begin to fade.
Not just physically, but spiritually.
It hard to exercise, and some days, it’s hard to follow Jesus.
In the same way that I can rationalize my laziness, I can rationalize my lack of faith.
In the same way that it’s hard to exercise, it’s hard to ‘take up my cross’.
“My cross is heavy Jesus. My kids are all over the place, my finances are a wreck, my job is hanging on by a thread and there are those medical tests I took a couple weeks ago.”
And Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
Into bankruptcy? Yep. 
Into hard things with my family? Yep. 
Into the doctor’s office? Uh-huh. 
Even into the mortuary? Especially there.
Taking up our cross daily is like exercise; it’s a present commitment for a future blessing.
I’m going for a long walk now. It’s not just for my body, it’s for my soul.
If I can be obedient to Christ with this old, flabby, balding body, perhaps I can be obedient with my life; a life that can be changed while it changes those around me.
Scott

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or

We believe we will never be truly happy
Because we are always wanting

Lacking motivation
Sleep deprivation

Seeking
But not finding
Are we really trying?

Going through the motions
Clinging to a notion
That one day it will come
Our dreams and life as one

This is true if we believe it
Yet depression builds when we cannot see it

Giving up
Letting down
All of those around us
Because our human minds are drowning
Can’t grasp something so astounding

Stand up
Get up
and believe…
Believe in what you cannot see
Keep that dream
Whatever it may be, or how wild it may seem

Your excuses are useless
If you really want it
Then BECOME it
Live it
Breathe it
Scream it!

Your dreams are not dead
It’s those thoughts in your head
That entrap you and entangle your desires
Feeding off of your fire

Plant kindness wherever you go
No matter what the wind may blow
Those seeds when planted are just the beginning
Bringing fruition to the meaning of your dreaming

Don’t give up
Don’t lose hope
This is your story, and it’s your time to write your show.
Abi

Oh what a great reminder, that HE truly cares about EVERYTHING that concerns us!!! Don’t leave Him out of it.
~Love Letter~
My dear one, run with purpose in every step. Do not just be shadowboxing. Be direct, be focused, go into everything with the knowledge that you WILL bring Me into it, thus success. Look at every situation and ask Me what I see, what I desire and then do that. I am ready to help you with everything you do, in every situation.
 
Whatever concerns you My love, I care about, for I desire you to succeed at everything you do. Come and spend time with Me, talk to Me about the private things, the hidden things, the suppressed things. Talk to Me about the fear that keeps you from the success I desire for you, then I will talk to you about My love, about My healing, and about My deliverance. For I didn't give you a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. Beloved, I will place your feet on the solid Rock, make you surefooted and I will make you to shine like the noonday sun.
 
Debra

It was that time again, time to gather and pay bills. This is not my favorite time of the month but it does bring a few things to the surface…
Thanks for joining me for Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.
As I was pulling all of the bills out and beginning to record them in the register, both online and hard copy – I know who does that anymore? I do! 😊
Anyway, there are times when it gets to be a bit overwhelming, and this was one of those times, where there was almost too much month compared to our money. I glanced thru the two credit card statements and conviction washed over me as I realized I didn’t even remember what half of the Amazon charges were for! That’s a problem. I thought back to when I had gone on a spending fast and realized it was time to do that again, to be content with all that we have instead of reaching for more.
I determined in my heart to pay off the credit cards, only keep one, and truly go for the whole debt-free thing…but then again, rising utilities, house payment, HOA fees, car insurance, health insurance, life insurance, insurance for insurance 😊 😊 it all adds up, and let’s not forget about gas for the car to get to work to pay for it all.
As if pulled out of a trance, the words of a worship song that was playing beckoned me to look up and let go and just press in to the truth that Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe…and I remembered where my provision comes from, financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually and that with His help we would get it all paid. Just as sin leaves a crimson stain, spending can leave us with remorse. Thank you Father that You paid it all and will continue to be my provider, my protector.
Love,
Kim-Evinda

If you want to learn how to love and live more healthily, join us for our next series, Learning to Understand and Be Understood…coming to a trench near you. 

Earthly love does not complete us
Even more so we find it can defeat us
Thinking it is the answer we are searching for
When all along He’s been standing there 
arms open wide waiting at our heart’s door
Yet we beg for more…
more love
More life, more money, more time
Why waste what little life we have thinking about things that shall pass                                        
and will never fulfill our hearts, souls, & minds true asks
Give me HIS love
Because He gave me HIS life
Give me His time 
That is more precious than gold
Let me sit in his presence as His story unfolds
I pray my life, love, and worth all come and flee in His time
Not mine
His will be done 
His Kingdom has won
No earthly love can complete us
and I pray no earthly desire come between Us
Only His love can fulfill us
and it’s up to us to 

How many times do we hesitate to come to Him, sit in and soak up His presence because we haven’t been our best, or done our best? Oh you are going to love this week’s love letter from God’s heart to Debra’s to yours!
 
~Love Letter~
 
My dear one, come freely and boldly to Me, where love is enthroned, and receive mercy's kiss. Discover the grace needed to strengthen you in your time of weakness.
 
Come and spend time with Me that you may be strengthened each day. Come and be empowered to walk through each thing you are faced with, for it is My good pleasure to walk with you through each thing.
 
When you are feeling overwhelmed or tired, My love, retreat to the arms of your Abba Daddy, and let Me hold and comfort you. There are times for everything, so come for a time of refreshing as you receive My love and mercy.
 
Let everything that concerns you be drowned in My love this morning, for nothing but Me should dominate your mind. Beloved, be strong and courageous for I will fight for you, and you can rest in My love, in My care that is like nothing you have ever known.
 
Debra

​Wednesday’s Word

 Ouch! If I had a dime for every time I’ve said that in my lifetime, I’d definitely be further ahead financially! 😊
Welcome to Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United. Come on in for what I hope will be an encouraging message from my heart to yours.
Recently there have been a series of things that have hit my wall of faith…hard, and as hit after hit pounced on my heart, shooting attack arrows at what felt like almost everything I was doing, I wanted to duck and hide, to find a rock and just climb under it and not come out until it all stopped. I wanted to just quit!
But that’s not how life works, is it? We must face the attacks, allowing our faith to help us dodge the fiery darts that threaten to pierce through and weaken our faith, casting down everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ. Not always easy to do, right?
The good news: WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THE FIGHT!
I was reminded of this well into what was feeling like an endless attack thru one of my devotionals and that day’s word was like an arrow of encouragement for my weary soul. It was armed with truth that helped to dispel the lies that were coming at me, from others as well as from my own private-party logic.
It was from John 15:1-2. These are the words spoken by Jesus Himself to His disciples that splashed that perspective just in time…right on time:
“I am the vine, and My Father, the vinedresser.” (in other words, the gardener.) “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”
The good news is we’re not being chopped off at The Vine; only pruned to have others join us on The Vine, our resting place.
Think about this: when you walk by a tree, and you see all of its branches, do you ever see a branch white-knuckling it to hang on? No, they are just there, in The Vine.
In the pruning process, I need to remember that growth is rarely pain free!
Love,
Kim-Evinda