Roseline ;)

just a little kiddo loved by an amazing God ❤ ❤ ❤ His princess 👑

[free-my-mindd]

[weltenwellen]

Stephanie Foo, What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma

[wetheurban]

[kingdomreigns]

[redeemed-renewed-restored]

[semperreformanda]

people don't say this enough, but the Christian life is hard. denying yourself is hard. mortifying sin is hard. resisting temptations is hard. i look at this world which is so antichrist and in my down moments i have thought, it's like you're being set up to fail in your pursuit of holiness.

and it's easy to be discouraged when:

you're not a member of a good biblical church (aka the gospel is proclaimed, there is expository preaching of the Word, the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism)

you don't make diligent use of the means of grace (aka you don't pray often, you don't read the Word often, you don't partake in the sacraments often)

you don't have frequent fellowship with the saints (and i don't mean you just chitchat after service, i mean you share your life with one another. bearing one another's burdens and rejoicing with one another. crying about a struggle over brunch, inviting a family over, making meals for a newly postpartum mom...)

these things are game changers. God ordained these means for us to thrive in our Christian life. we need other believers calling us out, keeping us accountable; rejoicing with us; crying with us and exhorting us. we need the tangible means of the Lord's Supper wherein God communicates with us the Gospel in the language we understand, where we can "taste and see that the Lord is good"! we need baptism to remind us that He has claimed us for Himself and His promises will prevail. we need the Word preached in all its fullness, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. we need to pray and pray with/for one another. we need to read the Word until we feel better and stronger.

God gave us these blessings, beloved. why do we struggle so hard? because sometimes we forsake these means of grace. (not to say you won't struggle anymore when you partake of these, but we are missing out on extraordinary blessings when we forsake them).

yes, the Christian life is hard. but we make it extra hard on ourselves when we don't partake in these means of grace. it's good and encouraging to remember that God has given us all that we need for life and godliness.

and one of the best things He gave us is this: His Church.

[woodsandhearth]

[redeemed-renewed-restored]

[woodsandhearth]

2024 has been such a weird year; and we're barely halfway through. However, it is nowhere as difficult as last year was. Last year was brutal with a succession of difficulties; this year, there's resilience and joy and turning everything "hm not so great" into gratefulness. So much deliverance and protection over and over again. Last year was being face-to-face with the dragons, whereas this year is seeing they can't hurt me at all and I simply go on my journey.

It doesn't mean there hasn't been difficulty, but it's all been overcome.

[woodsandhearth]

[gratitudechangesthings-deactiva]

“It’s one thing to know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, it’s another thing to be embraced by this truth in the secret place before the Father.”

—

[gratitudechangesthings-deactiva]

you just need that closeness

[woodsandhearth]

Found

[lovechristianity]

[redeemed-renewed-restored]

[upliftourday]

[kosmogrl]

go outside and sit in the sun, your problems won't disappear but you might gain a little hope

[ihopeinjesus]