Month: September 2019

Our Messy Move – Grace. Glory. Gratitude. – Part 3

Posted on by Sheryl Richard

Last weekend, I posted Part 2 of this three-part series which I invite you to [re]read at my howdareSHEryl blog website. I share in this article important aspects of it all coming together.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
God will do what He says He will do. You also have work to do. Having said that, don’t sit around waiting for God to do everything. He’ll do His part. YOU do your part. God will have others undergird and support you as He did for us. As you’re praying, meditating, and believing, begin using what you know and doing what you can do. Take even the smallest of steps. You’d be amazed at what could result from the simplest effort or action. Know that you sow a seed for what you desire each time you take a step.

Who said it would be easy?
Just because you know that something is of God, don’t expect that it’s going to be easy. If you could do it all in your own ability, or if it’s always easy, then where’s God’s glory? It’s in His strength and capacity that we can do or achieve the unthinkable. His grace is sufficient for you. He will reward your obedience, ensuring that you have all the resources needed to fulfill His will for you.

Ultimate Opportunities
Life challenges are opportunities for us to trust and have faith in God, allowing Him to do His marvelous work while helping us to navigate through life’s challenges. We can view challenges as failures, allowing them to break us down. Or, we can view them as growth opportunities, allowing them to build our character as we change. I have heard and find it true that the grace experienced from failure is far greater than the pain (author unknown), especially when the experience increases us in Christlikeness.

ANTICIPATION – BLESSINGS GALORE!
Slow and easy might have been nice but going with the flow was just as well. I couldn’t resist the amazing transition from being excited about what “could be” to becoming excited about what “would be.” I reminisced about “the” home that would become “our” home. We would come to love the beautiful, serene mountain view along our drive “home.” It would be move-in ready in a new master-planned community and including major appliances, beautiful flooring, textures/painted walls, window coverings, front landscaping, a subsequent lower sale price, an even an unexpected premium lot! Sum all of this up, and we have a lovely home with equity before move-in! Another blessing is that we were among the first to close in the development so we have the benefit of the home values continually rising. I couldn’t have made all this happen if I tried. I obediently heeded Holy Spirit leading in this situation and received the blessings. BUT GOD!

BROKE THROUGH!
We hung in there and BROKE THROUGH our challenges! We’re grateful to have closed on our new home one month after unexpectedly beginning the process. Though elated, we had only weeks to wrap up packing and move after closing. Thank God for family and friends who were able to help. We are happily settling into our new home, which is Our Haven for sharing of God’s love and grace with others.

Months later, I still see God’s hand upon the situation with our new home. You may wonder how it could be of God when it was just messy. Reality is that that life is messy. God avails grace in those messes. The bigger or more unusual the mess, the greater the opportunity for us to change and for God’s goodness, grace and glory.

Joy, Joy, Joy!
I can’t even express the joy experienced with sharing the wonderful news about becoming home-owners with my children, other family members, and friends, all of whom have been encouraging and supportive and were absolutely elated. I know that life comes with ups, downs, and turn arounds. Even so, sharing my story gives me faith and courage to continuously follow Christ and pursue my dreams no matter any hurt, doubt, shame, mistakes, or imperfections.

I appreciate this opportunity to declare a triumphant, JOYFUL victory shout, “Look what the Lord has done!” I did my part yet will not take credit for miracle received. ALL glory belongs to God Almighty. He is no respecter of persons. He blessed me and my children. He will bless you and yours, too!

Do it Again (by Elevation Worship)

I do not have/own rights to the Elevation Worship song or video but want to include it as a sweet reminder that God rewards those who diligently seek Him.

He did it once and HE WILL…
Do It Again (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0B_lnQIITxU)

Your turn. I would love to hear from you.
Please share with me what has been the effect of your reading this article (series)? What else would you like to share?

Learning from mistakes and messes, while loving your magnificence and successes!

Triple Threat: Transparency. Transformation. Transition.

Faithfully, Sheryl

Our Messy Move – Grace. Glory. Gratitude. – Part 1

Posted on by Sheryl Richard

This is Part 1 of a three-part article series, with posting of Part 2 next weekend then Part 3 on the following weekend. From my heart to yours. You are destined for greatness. Don’t allow fear of the unknown, lack, feeling unworthy or less than enough… or anything else keep you from the beautiful blessings God has in store for you. I speak from personal experience when I say that this could mean getting out of your own way. I pray that you are encouraged and inspired as you read this three-part blog article series.

ENOUGH!
I initially wrote this blog article months ago as I embarked upon a totally unexpected journey. I mentioned in my social media post on September 1st, I had been dealing with challenging situations and suddenly thought, ENOUGH! Having been through and lost so much that I had worked for over the years, I drew closer to God with my most heartfelt prayer being that He would change me, making me more like Him.

BREAKTHROUGH!
I have worked hard and diligently pursued a healthy, peaceful lifestyle for me and my children while supporting and encouraging others to do the same. ONE day, ONE particular word came to mind, BREAKTHROUGH! I knew that I was on the verge of breakthrough. For me, this was largely a faith test. I could choose to give up or hang in there believing and trusting in God, expectantly awaiting unfolding of His promises. I chose the latter.

For years, I begrudged the possibly unbearable finding of the state of my credit. For this reason, I was afraid to run my credit. Then, ONE day, I decided I would no longer be bound by that fear. Still recovering from the after-effects of divorce and awaiting passage of the “seven-year” recovery mark, which was about a year away, I suddenly decided to act. I ran my credit but didn’t attempt to process the information.

Instead, I reached out to someone who had been recommended to me years ago to help me through some of the recovery process. I had avoided contacting him because, at that time, even help felt overwhelming. I let him know that I had run my credit and wanted to begin repairing so I would be prepared to ONE day pursue home ownership. He subsequently ran my credit and, surprisingly, told me that I qualify to buy a home! Glory to God! I could not (and did not) believe what he said, especially while knowing I am still in that seven-year period. I am thankful for his encouragement and support

Leap of Faith
I emphasize that this wasn’t planned. My intention was to break the ice by taking a step toward what I want in my life. I was led by the Holy Spirit and obediently took that baby step, which turned out to be a leap of faith. My prayer is that you would choose to take a step of faith rather than remain bound by fear.

God’s Grace
I wanted to reach out to my dear friend, Tiesha, a Realtor, but decided not to do so because she had many irons in the fire and I didn’t want to influence decisions she was making. I say this because I know that no matter what she had going on, she would likely have considered being my realtor. Despite my effort not to say anything, Tiesha found out. This was no coincidence and I knew God was up to something. As I had anticipated, she switched gears so to speak, graciously agreeing walk alongside side me as my realtor in pursuit of a home. I’ll spare you details but will say she agreed that God orchestrated what needed to occur for her to be my realtor. He had a plan.

An interesting part of this amazing story has to do with another dear friend, Catherine, who is also a realtor and had blessed my daughter with a 16th birthday gift. I called Catherine about picking up the gift and briefly shared with her what I learned about my credit. She was excited and shared with me about some homes, which had nothing to do with my calling her. Needless to say, the three of us visited ONE home development. Again, God had a plan.

Watch for Part 2 of this blog series next weekend!

Learning from mistakes and messes, while loving your magnificence and successes!

Triple Threat: Transparency. Transformation. Transition.

Faithfully, Sheryl