It’s Not About Appearance- It’s About Position

It’s Not About Appearance- It’s About Position

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The other night in prayer I felt God telling me “rest and reset.” Life has been kind of crazy and I have been dealing with a lot of different health frustrations and just plan stressful situations. Through it all the Lord has been really highlighting inner healing to me as well as complete dependence on Him for those things. When He told me “rest and reset” I knew I had to do some things differently. I’ve really been trying to focus more on God, especially praying more and giving myself more grace. I know we all struggle with the fast paced culture of go go go! But when do we make time for God to show up? Do you even do that at all? So, I’ve been trying to slow down and listen to my body and allow God the space to work in me and heal. I know He is showing me that He is asking us to turn to Him. He wants to do a work in us a “reset” and we must rest on Him in this time because what He wants us to do might look a little different.

God has been showing me it doesn’t matter what it looks like from the outside or what others might think. I felt God impress that things need to be done differently. It doesn’t matter what you think because God works in ways we don’t expect. Which brings me to the next point that He told me – “It’s not about appearance it’s about position.” A lot of times we focus so much on our appearance or how we’re perceived. Our online profiles are a curated highlight reel of our best moments. But what if it isn’t our persona or the appearance that qualifies you? What if it’s something else? 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” What we see God does not. He sees our potential even when we don’t.

God revealed more of this to me the other day when I made a trip to the store. After a long day of work I half wanted to go to the store and half didn’t, but I really felt like I should just go. I had already come home after my work day, changed my clothes and washed my face. I normally like to be a little more put together when I leave the house and to be honest I felt a little insecure. My skin was breaking out but I decided to go to the store makeup free anyways. Of course when I got there someone approached me, but it’s funny what a blessing it actually was. The entire conversation I knew God was using this woman to speak to me. She was saying such kind and wonderful things to me the entire conversation complimenting me left and right. She told me how beautiful I am and initially I thought “really?! I’m not wearing makeup and does she not see my skin breaking out?!” Yet, in the moment God was using this woman to speak His truth into me and encourage me, as well as use the situation as a reminder that not everything is about appearance. The conversation then quickly turned into talking about God and she walked away saying how I made her whole day. I never saw this lady before and probably never will again, but I know God used her that day to remind me how special and loved I am to Him.

Now, being a few days since He has told me “It’s not about appearance it’s about position” He has reminded me of the ways we try to find ourselves eligible. But it doesn’t matter what you think you look like and if you think you’re qualified or not. God sees you. There’s two parts to this next one “it’s about position.” God showed me this means the positioning of your heart as well as a physical positioning. God cares about the position of your heart and as you grow close to Him you will have the eyes to see yourself and situations the way He sees – aligning with His word. I could have easily dismissed that lady at the store that day, but I would have missed the blessing it was to encourage her. I also would have missed what God was speaking to me that day. The really cool thing God reminded me of is that He can do things literally anywhere anytime! When we least expect it! The position matters but it’s not how we might see fit. I went to the store that day hoping to avoid people. In all honesty in fear of being really “seen.” It just happened to be the one time I actually run into someone who wanted to talk to me. Go figure…haha. Yet, God so amazingly used it to bless me! This lady really did “see” me but not my flaws. Instead she pointed out every positive, even the ones I couldn’t see. That is the way God sees us. I wouldn’t have chosen the store or that physical state as an ideal for having an encounter with God but He did! And that’s the whole point! He sees what we don’t see and uses what we can’t imagine for both our good and His.

He is reminding us that we need to be ready and prepared for what He has in store for us. Be expectant. Because God can move and do anything anywhere in just a seconds time. Remember to rest in who He is. We are needing to change how we look at things. He is calling us deeper. Don’t look at what you see in the physical, but seek Him for each next step.

Ps… Remember You are Fearfully Made ❤

xoxo

Taylor Nicole

Expect to be Surprised

Expect to be Surprised

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’m not going to lie it’s been a tough few months. Especially the last few weeks and I’ve felt the enemy attacking me taking hit after hit. But I continued to press into God and at times like that you almost just need to laugh. Its so clear the enemy is trying so hard to bring destruction and distractions, but God is still on our side. I don’t know about you but I am so glad that I belong to Him in times like this. God always uses everything the enemy meant for my destruction and turns it around for my good. He is always with us leading and guiding us the right way. He reminds us in uniquely intimate and special ways just how much we mean to Him. These little reminders give me the strength and hope to hold on and keep going.

So where do I even begin?! In the midst of the chaos God has been revealing so much to me and I am so grateful for that. It’s funny how as soon as we think we have it all figured out God goes “Oh really is this so?” haha…. I just have to laugh looking back at the last several weeks. Scenario after scenario I chose what I thought was “best.” The only problem with that is I chose my “best” I never asked God what His best was for me. I won’t go into details but as things played out God gave me multiple warnings on the situation I got myself into. I continued to ignored these warnings and explained them away out of denial and my own fleshly desires. I didn’t see the pain and I didn’t see the consequences of my disobedience. My ignorance caused me a lot of unnecessary hurt. I now can look back see the protection in God’s promptings. I was seeking God so desperately asking for Him to intervene…at the time I didn’t see His hand working in things, but now after the dust has settled I see a lot of the madness was His protection over me. I told a friend afterwards “Now I really know I need to be obedient to God right away!” I can laugh now, but it was a bad situation and I am lucky by the grace of God He protected me and lead me through it. That’s why it’s so important to be constantly communicating with God and seeking His will on things. If you are walking with Him He will show you right away. He did with me, but I was a little slow in being obedient. However, He’ll still help you along you just may have to endure the consequences of your choices.

Yes, disobedience brings consequences but His mercy and loving kindness always brings hidden blessings. God knows your heart and as you seek Him He reveals to you in the perfect timing. I can focus on the horrible things from the last few months or I can look at how great God is for saving me and helping me along. I learned so much! Not only from these situations, but also in my walk with God. I am so grateful He is so patient and gracious. He will never rush you, but I will say the Holy Spirit will increasingly prompt you. The closer you get to God the stronger this sense will become and it will become unbearable to ignore. This is where I was at. I wanted what I wanted knowing it wasn’t the right thing. After multiple warnings from God the internal conflict of doing what God wanted me to do versus what I wanted was becoming all consuming and impossible to ignore.

When we disobey we slowly create distant between us and God. This creates an open door for the enemy. And boy did I notice it! A slew of other things took place like a domino effect. I continually cried out to God not understanding these attacks. But just because we don’t know why something is happening doesn’t mean God isn’t still working. I so clearly see these attacks as an attempt to distract and draw me away from God. But God turned EVERYTHING around and used it all for my good. Every minuscule detail I see His hand in things the last few weeks. Even though sometimes rejection hurts or what we think we wanted doesn’t happen and it can feel like abandonment. God has not forgotten us. He hasn’t forgotten you or what He has promised. Remind yourself of that!

This is a little story to hopefully encourage some of you ❤ Shortly after some of these major things happened last week I was taking a walk. It had been an extremely emotionally taxing day. So, I went for a walk to talk with God and when I came back home I looked down and saw a little surprise. It was an inch worm! I was so excited! You guys I lovvveeee inch worms! For me it’s like finding a four leaf clover. I rarely see them and for as long as I can remember I always hope to find one every year. It has been a few years since I have seen one and there it was on my shoe! So unexpectedly I looked down and there it was. It was the highlight of my day! As weird as that may sound to some of you I felt like it was a little present from God. Just Him reminding me that He sees me and wants to bring me joy in these little things. I picked up the little worm and held it in my hand and I felt God tell me “Unexpected Surprises.” Just like this little inch worm yes, a small gesture but it doesn’t matter. God knew how special that would be to me. I felt Him tell me “When you least expect it there will be unexpected surprises.” God is so good! He knows what you like and what sparks your heart with delight.

This was a good reminder for me and hopefully you as well. We don’t need to cling so tightly to our “best” especially if He is showing us the signs we need to let that go. We need to trust God enough to allow Him to show us His best. He knows better than us and He sees things that we don’t. His ways are the absolute best. He can use anything for our good even if we mess up. But don’t we want to try and avoid that hurt if we can? God knows exactly what we need and He will bring it in His perfect timing. We are to expect the unexpected surprises. Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole ❤

The Importance of Obedience

The Importance of Obedience

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

“but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.” Jeremiah 7:23

I wanted to share an awesome encounter I had earlier this week. So, the other day at work I got done about 20 minutes early and the last patient of the day was about to leave. It being one of my long work days I was excited to get done a little early. But the patient came up front and we began chatting about life and everything that he was going through. I LOVE talking! But I also love listening and I think it we underestimate the power that it holds. A listening ear is a loving heart. This opened the door for me to pray this patient. As we talked about his struggles I encouraged him and pointed him to Jesus. I told him that I would be praying for him. Yet the words felt void as I said them. Immediately in my head I heard the Lord tell me “Ask him if he wants prayer!” The Holy Spirit prompted me a few times. I could have ignored it and left work early like I was hoping to, but I didn’t. Don’t ignore that prompting when God shows up and makes a way!

By obeying that prompting to ask a simple question it opened the door for me to pray for this person. I asked this patient if he wanted prayer and at first he was hesitant, but after a few seconds his heart was softened and he agreed. I had an awesome God encounter! It’s so cool how God makes a way for these things to so easily fall into place. Where there is a need God opens the door and He will bring the right people and opportunities to you.

Don’t underestimate the power of your “yes” in the seemingly small. These small things might be what makes the biggest difference in someone’s life. Even if it’s just a smile be obedient to what the Lord is telling you to do. I have so many awesome little testimonies like that just from being obedient to God. Pray. Pause. Listen. Take the time to listen to what He is saying. Just be available and He will lead you to the next step and the next. Step out in faith knowing He is with you and He’s leading you. Nothing is wasted with God. Even if you do it and it doesn’t go as planned God honors your obedience.

I could have just walked away. But I would have been walking way from one of the most incredible opportunities to witness to someone and possibly change their life. I don’t know how God is going to use it. But He does! I don’t know what He’s going to do through me or this patient. But He does! So stay obedient even in the seemingly small. You’re growing your own faith and confidence with each step you take trusting the Holy Spirit as He leads. God is right there with you ordaining your steps. As believers we have the ability to draw others into the light or the dark. You have the power to choose how God is going to use you each day. Don’t get distracted. Don’t numb yourself to the sound of His voice. He is calling you to take a step out. Don’t you hear Him?

Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole ❤

Do You Hear What I Hear? Do You See What I See?

Do You Hear What I Hear? Do You See What I See?

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Amidst the chaos of the last few weeks I woke up to the Lord saying “Do you hear what I hear? Do you see what I see?” Immediately I knew He was confirming to me everything that the last few weeks encompassed. My circumstances getting continually more chaotic and stressful. Distractions and noise coming from every direction. I knew the the enemy was trying to discourage me, but I also knew God was doing something bigger.

When we can’t quite see what’s happening or understand why things are going on we need to seek God. He is our clarity in the confusion and gives us a sound mind. Despite the chaos around me the last few weeks I stood on Jesus and pursed Him relentlessly. I cried out to Him pleading He show me His way. So, a little backstory on the situation. I had left my old job and accepted a position with a new company. Upon starting this new job red flags were popping up left and right! The alarms were sounding in my spirit and I couldn’t ignore the things that were going on. Yet, I felt led by God to accept this position and everything fell so easily into place. I quietly took note of these concerns and paid close attention the following weeks. At this new job they said and did all the “right” things, but there was an overwhelming sense something was so off. Things just didn’t add up. Little by little more signs appeared and the unease increased. The most toxic atmosphere of manipulation and lies became apparent to me and I could no longer stay there. When I told my new boss I would be leaving every red flag reared its ugly head. All I had been feeling was confirmed and moving forward it only got worse. But God used this for my good as He uses all things for our good. Yes, I felt led to go there, but I believe it was for the purpose of growing with the Lord. In these tests He pushes us and it’s up to us if we grow with God or choose our own path. I realized through this God was growing my faith and increasing my ability to fully trust Him. He was confirming to me what I was discerning was correct. It gave me a greater confidence in myself and also a greater faith in Him.

With this job came an excitement of breakthrough. I felt like God was finally doing something new. My plans of what I thought was “the best” or “the right thing” quickly crumbled before my eyes. God was showing me sometimes what we think we want isn’t always the best thing for us. We think we know what we need and want, but things aren’t always what they seem. God was stripping so much away so I only had Him. He wants us to turn to Him and rely on Him never other people or things. He was also testing me to see if I would be obedient to Him. What the Lord is speaking to you most likely won’t make any sense to the world. I had such anxiety over this at first and it caused a lot of stress and inner conflict. I was trying to be rational, but no amount of pro con lists could combat what the Holy Spirit was so strongly speaking to me. I knew as quickly as I came I had to leave.

Walking in obedience isn’t always easy. Actually it rarely is. It’s really hard! Most the of the time you end up disappointing someone and people won’t always understand your decisions. God has been really working in me lately and especially through all of this highlighting the importance of knowing our identity. Our worth and identity comes from Him. Everyone isn’t going to like you all time and that’s okay. That’s something I really had to work on the last few years with the Lord. It’s hard especially when you know someone is mad at you, but as long as you know you did everything to the best of your ability and obeyed God that’s all that matters. God will deal with the rest.

This is a reminder to seek God and pay attention to the little signs the Holy Spirit is impressing on you. Don’t harden your heart to Him. He desires to bless you and wants to walk hand in hand with you. He desires to lead you into your victory and promises. He’s asking “Do you hear what I hear? Do you see what I see?” Will you trust and be obedient to what He’s showing you? Even when its hard? Even when prosecution comes? Step out in faith because the Lord will bless your obedience. He will always make a way. He will take the broken messy pieces and create something even better than we can imagine. Dare to see what He sees.

Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole ❤

Let Me Go Where You Go

Let Me Go Where You Go

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

For the last few months I’ve been a little MIA on here. To be honest I’ve been completely overwhelmed. Telling myself I had no idea why even though I knew the answer. I needed more of Jesus. I don’t know if you get like this as well but the more chaotic things get and the more discontent I become I get more and more distracted. Rather than go to God and deal with the issues or how I may be feeling I try to self medicate. Even if at the time I don’t realize that’s what I’m doing. But the problem with these distractions are that they only continue to make you feel more discontent and more distracted. You get sucked into the cycle of trying to “fix” things yourself.

That’s the problem when you’re not spending time with God like you need to be. You forget who you are but more importantly whose you are. You don’t see His hand in your life as clearly as before. Everything becomes a little bit fuzzy. The distractions of this world start to eat up our time with our Father. Our time with Him is so special as fathers reinforce to us who we are and all we can do. Without them and left to our own devices we seek any other source to show us who we are. If we seek anything other than God to help us through we will fail. Usually pretty miserably. If not immediately it will happen eventually.

This is the point I was at. Floundering around wondering why things weren’t happening. Waiting on God’s promises. Yet, after a series of events it all just clicked as to why. I was holding all the control or so I thought. I would tell God I’m ready for x, y, and z. Yet my hands were so tightly grasped to things. I gave Him no room to move.

Despite me ignoring God and the signs He was giving me He did something this last week. God supernaturally provided a new job for me. The last few years He continually gave me sign after sign to leave my current job. Presenting red flag after red flag from the very beginning. But I was too afraid to make a wrong decision. I was waiting on God to speak to me or show me a clear answer …even though He was. Every sign I excused away. Every red flag I made an exception. Waiting for the “perfect” time or opportunity to leave. But God was waiting on me to take the leap and trust Him. My current job provided the most toxic atmosphere and slowly stripped me from all that I was. Consumed with uncertainty on what to do I just decided to give up. But God showed up. He graciously stepped in as He saw me struggling after He continually gave me the signs to leave. He randomly plopped an opportunity into my lap. I was asked to apply for a position and the following day had an interview. Three days later I was offered that position.

Through all of it there was a lot of inner turmoil and feeling this wasn’t what I thought things should be. However, I knew it was the right move. I realized I had been limiting God by my need to be in control. Even though I would tell Him I was open to whatever He wanted I was really thinking and saying “Yes God I want your plans… but here are my plans and my plans are the right way. Please do this.” Anything other than what I thought was “right” or “perfect” couldn’t be of God and sent me into a panic fearing I was losing my control. I think we do that a lot with God. We ask Him to bless our idea of perfect rather than asking Him was his plan for us. Also failing to realize how much He loves us and that His plans far exceed our own.

As God was revealing bits to me He told me He did all this to show me that I can trust Him and He wants me to totally rely on Him and trust Him. I was struggling and yes sometimes God lets us go through that. But there comes a point where He will step in. I was at the end of myself and all I could do. Crying out to God for months and despite it being a bit anxiety provoking it opened my eyes to so much. I see now I need to let go. This is just part of my story. It most likely won’t be a forever situation but God is showing up. This has helped me to see that I need to loosen my grip on things. He has softened my heart and revealed Himself to me slowly more and more proving to me He is trust worthy. Not that He has to but He loves us enough that He wants to. God always has us and always has the best in mind for us. If we just let go and allow Him to move we can see that. Or in my case He will just show you Himself haha… He is always speaking to us and showing us what He desires for us. If we are seeking Him and relying on Him for direction He won’t let us fail. He wants us to take each step with Him as we go. He desires us to desire to be in step with Him.

Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole

Do You Have an Open Heart?

Do You Have an Open Heart?

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

What’s holding your heart? This question is something that God has been prompting me with lately. I think a lot of times we don’t really give God our full heart…even if we think we are. Maybe we are giving a piece here or there, but is it really the whole thing? We seem to give everything else in our lives our best. Our full attention, energy, and time given to the things that our day requires of us. But what about God? What does He get? Are we giving Him our best?

There has been so much going on in my life lately and there is so much spinning through my head. Between the day to day tasks and the revelation He has been giving me on things it is hard to know which way is up or down some days. The enemy likes to use this. Satan will use our daily lives to distract us and try to drag us down and wear us out. I’ve definitely felt it lately and I’m sure you have too! We really need to just slow down and give everything to Jesus. Take a breath. Realign our thoughts. Stop and talk with Him about what’s going on.

There’s a few things that He has been convicting me of lately. One of which being the words we speak but also think. Yes, I said think! Especially think! Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.” Or the other week I was reading through Matthew and read Matthew 15. Wow! It really convicted me! Matthew 15: 17-19 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts- murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Clearly, what we speak and think matters. They begin to take root and affect our lives and how we view God, ourselves, and others. I really had to check myself in this area. I don’t use fowl language but I complain and grumble. I am not perfect and I really had to ask myself are my thoughts glorifying God? It is so important that we take each though captive and not allow an open door for the enemy in our lives. This starts with our thoughts and the words we speak.

I had to really get real with myself and God. Ask Him to help you and show you any lies you may be coming into agreement with through your thoughts or words. This leads us to the second thing that God has been highlighting to me lately, which is being more vulnerable with God. Let Him in on EVERYTHING. I thought I already did this, but it turns out I was struggling with it. I needed to repent and ask God to forgive me. I had been harboring all this hurt, doubt, and a bunch of other feelings I had deep down towards God. They needed to go! Which again is why it is so important to take each though captive and be aware of the words we speak. I had grown discouraged and felt forgotten by God. When God gives us a promise and it doesn’t happen in our timeline we can grown discouraged if we aren’t careful. I needed to put my full trust in Him and stand on the fact His word is truth and if He said it He will do it. We need to have an open heart with Him because He cares about how we feel. God is never withholding something to be cruel. He loves us and wants the best for us.

This leads me to the third thing that God has been showing me lately. Gods best is not my best. I’ve needed to release that to Him and stop trying to control and make things happen in my own strength. I just heard a sermon where she said “Gods timing is always perfect.” It was simple and something I’ve heard a billion times before, but it just hit me different this time. It was the reassurance I needed. Waiting for God to do things isn’t always easy and sometimes we might feel like it’s too late, the situation is hopeless, or we’ve lost our chance and the list goes on. Things may seem as if they will never change, but God. God knows what He’s doing. Even my “best” still falls short and doesn’t satisfy. I might think I know what I need but something never adds up. But when God is involved everything seamlessly falls into place.

We can trust that when nothing seems to be changing God is in control. Remind yourself that is the best place to be. Pursue Him wholeheartedly. Watch your thoughts and tell Jesus everything on your mind and in your heart. Allow Him to minister to you and heal any wounds. Let go of the fear and the need to control. God’s best is way better than our best ever could be. Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” God has BIG things bigger than we can imagine. It starts with a thought. So, be careful not to let the wrong ones in. Take everything to Jesus and allow Him to fill you with His truth. Meditate on His words and allow them to take root in your mind and heart. You will feel and see the difference when you fully wholeheartedly let God in on EVERYTHING.

Ps… Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole

Shift Your Focus

Shift Your Focus

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.”

Something I’ve really been working on lately is praising God in everything. Literally EVERYTHING! Since I’ve made the decision to stop complaining and shift my focus on praise and God’s goodness the enemy has tried his hardest to get me to give up. The enemy wants you to backslide. To give up and be defeated, but refuse to give in! I was just speaking with a friend on boundaries and using our God given authority. I believe we are to use it with not only people in our lives but the enemy as well.

If we let the enemy walk all over us he will! We have to make the conscious decision to shift our focus from the flesh to praise. We are to walk by faith not by sight. When you choose to praise instead of complain the enemy will assault you in every way possible. But don’t get discouraged because that is a sign that you are on the right path! As a child of God we don’t give in to the enemy’s temper tantrums. Tell the enemy “NO!” and refuse to let him steal your joy.

I have a little story that is a great example of this. So, the other day I was driving back to work from a doctors appointment. I was driving down the road and this woman stared right at me for about a minute, and then when I was 2 feet away she decided to pull out in front of me! I had to slam on my breaks so hard my tires squealed. She could have killed me. But I literally laughed and said “Not today Satan! You will not steal my joy today!” I had to laugh because amongst everything else going on the enemy’s intentions were so clear. He wants to steal your joy. He wants you to speak words that cancel your destiny. Don’t give him that power over you! Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

We are called to be the light. When you see a beautiful sunrise or sunset the light invokes joy and peace. God is saying “Arise and Shine! It is time to let your light shine brightly.” Don’t let the enemy steal your light, your joy, or your anointing. For the joy of the Lord is our strength and stronghold. Speak it until you believe it. Speak it until you feel it. Speak it until you see it. Lift your eyes to Jesus and allow Him to speak into you and your situation. Don’t give up because that is exactly what the enemy wants. Continue to praise and be expectant God is doing everything He has promised. Stay close to God and trust that He will bring everything to pass in His perfect timing.

One last little story of encouragement! As I drove to work the other morning I was praying and just letting God know everything on my heart. As I poured out my heart and felt heavy with the whole situation I looked over as I was driving and saw a street sign. “Taylor” which is my name. I saw the street sign and as I read my name I felt so much peace wash over me. I could hear the Father saying my name “Taylor, it is all going to be okay. I got you.” Whew! What a simple little sign at the time but this reminder brought so much peace. So, I just want to remind you that no matter what your situation is God is right there. He is calling your name. He is saying “Hey! It is okay. It is all going to be okay because I love you.” Trust that your Heavenly Father loves you and He is working everything out. Just be faithful to praise Him even when it might not make sense. He is so so good.

xoxo Taylor Nicole

ps…Remember You are Fearfully Made

Don’t Discredit the Small

Don’t Discredit the Small

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” – Matthew 25:40

This week I have been reading through Ezekiel and God has really been highlighting obedience to me. It’s amazing how God speaks to us through His word, and then gives us an opportunity to act it out. This last weekend I went to a large craft fair by the state capitol. Usually, there tends to be a lot of homeless individuals around the area. I have a huge heart for the homeless and usually try to do something for them when I see them. It depends on what I feel I am supposed to do. Sometimes it is just pray and sometimes it is giving money or food. Anyways, I came “prepared” to the craft fair, as I knew I would likely see at least one homeless person. I had only $3.00 in my wallet. So, I wrote out 3 different cards of encouragement sharing how Jesus loves them. Each card I also put one dollar in. Not much but I figured it was something. At the end of my day me and my mom saw this homeless veteran and felt the Holy Spirit leading us to give to him. I had the card with my $1.00 and no other cash on me, and my mom only had $5.00 left. It didn’t seem like much but I thought at least it was something. I walked over to the man and give him the card and money and he was so grateful! I got to talking to him and he allowed me to pray with him. By the end of it we were both in tears. He got up and gave me a hug… as I walked away I felt so much sadness and so much joy.

God uses us for what we think is the big and the small. This world is so broken and by no means am I perfect, but I have Jesus. So many people don’t know him. It breaks my heart to know what they are missing and how empty their lives are. It’s moments like these when you get to pray over a stranger or lay hands on the sick and hurting that you realize just how good God is. You realize your little life inconveniences mean nothing in the grand scheme of helping someone else. God will always highlight to you what He wants you to do. This small gesture almost felt insignificant. To me the $5.00 and the card felt like nothing, but it was more than that. This man felt seen and loved. I’m not sure what God will do with that $6.00, but I’m praying for a miracle! God works in incredible ways and when someone is seeking for the more He will provide. That homeless man very well could have been asking for some sort of sign or encounter to feel and know he isn’t alone. He told me sitting on the street there people pass him by laughing at him and spitting on him. Can you imagine living a life like that? God uses us in the small things we find insignificant. We may feel awkward or silly for doing something but when God speaks it is our call to be obedient.

So, in addition to that encounter later that evening getting ready for bed God confirmed things further to me. I have a devotional I read in addition to my Bible. I don’t read it daily, but that night God was leading me to read the passage for the day. It spoke to exactly what I experienced earlier that day! As I read the passage I began to cry because God is just so good! It spoke on how no act of service we do is too small. Everything we do matters. I may have felt a little awkward earlier that day or felt badly I only had $6.00 to give. Yet God will use it all! There’s a bigger picture we can’t see, but God does. We have to trust in that He knows what He is doing. We are called to love others like Jesus. We are called to serve others like Jesus would. Get down on your knees in a dirty street and pray for someone you don’t know. Make someone’s day by touching their heart with kindness. You don’t necessarily have to spend money. Listen to what God is telling you. What is He speaking to you? We must listen and obey. Even in the small…especially in the small. Nothing is too small for God to use.

Remember You are Fearfully Made ❤

xoxo Taylor Nicole

Ask

Ask

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So, it has definitely been awhile since I have been on here! I just wanted to leave a word of encouragement and remind you how amazing God is. I felt led to share this situation in hopes to encourage someone else who is going through a difficult situation or season right now. I know it isn’t always the easiest thing to go through, especially if its alone. But God is always right there with you and He is waiting on you to “ask.” Just ask Him what to do, which way to go, where does He want you? And He will show you if you are paying attention.

Here’s a little background to what I am going to talk about. So, I’ve dealt with different health issues pretty much my whole life. Nothing major compared to most people, but for me it gets really discouraging and difficult at times. The last year I have been seeing a new natural doctor and what he said was supposed to take a few months to get better has well taken almost a year. I have tried EVERYTHING! I tried multiple kinds of doctors and treatments over the course of years and years. Last week I was in complete despair over the whole situation. I was so desperate and have been so desperate for God to show up and just tell me! Help me! Anything. So, last week driving to my doctors appointment on my way to get another blood test I just began crying. I cried the whole night before and that morning driving I just couldn’t contain it. I was like “God why?! like why is all this happening I have tried everything I can think of.” The song I had playing was this new mashup song of Good Good Father and the same time I said that to God the lyrics playing out were “We’re all searching for answers only He provides.” BAM! I looked over to my left and the car in front of me had a license plate that said “ASK” I had been asking God to show me and tell me all morning. What do I need to do and He replied just ask. Then as I was leaving my doctors appointment I put that same song on and was driving to work and I saw 8:18 in the time twice! I was like okay God what are you trying to show me? Immediately Romans 8:18 popped in my head. As soon as I got to work I looked up Romans 8:18 and it was so spot on! It says “I am sure what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us.” – Romans 8:18

God is listening and He is waiting for us to ask. He wants us to seek Him and His will on things. He hears our cries and He knows what’s going on. Clearly He is speaking and He’ll show you if you are paying attention. We aren’t meant to do this on our own and try to figure everything out by ourselves. Like me for example. I’ve exhausted myself doing everything in my own power trying to heal myself. Rather than just sit and ask my dad Jesus what I should be doing. He is saying just ask because He has all the answers. He hears our cries and He knows when we’re hurting. Be encouraged because He has so much more in store. He holds it all and He is holding you. Seek what the Father has to say because He loves you so much ❤

Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole

Who’s Calling?

Who’s Calling?

by Taylor Nicole ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

After a series of events this week I woke up with a word from the Lord. He is asking you “Who’s calling?” I was on the phone the other evening with a friend. I knew this person on the other side of the phone. However, often we rarely look, ask, or investigate who’s calling me? When we hear a word or a thought pops in our head we accept it as “oh I know this person.” We don’t ask ourselves “who is it? who’s there?” We often just answer. We let the lies in. After my conversation with my friend, it was so apparent to me the risk we put ourselves in by doing this. We open doors, sometimes bigger than we even realize.

So, ask yourself “Who’s calling?” the next time you get a thought. Is it from God? Yourself? Or the enemy? Often times the enemy sneaks in our thoughts. At first so subtly we think it’s ourselves. Soon these lies grow deep roots and infiltrate our identity. We aren’t asking who’s there. We simply let the enemy waltz right in.

Who’s calling? We need to be asking the Holy Spirit for discernment. He is is our caller ID. When an unchecked thought comes in we need to turn to Him and ask “Is this from you God?” And well if it’s not Him and it’s not you most certainly it’s the enemy. 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” We need to cast down and bind those lies. Like I said before I realized the severity of letting unchecked thoughts in while talking with my friend. When we begin to let these lies take root and our emotions rule dictating how we live we become imprisoned.

Most of us until it’s pointed out are unaware of this sin. We need to ask ourselves truthfully am I following Jesus? Do my thoughts and the words I speak glorify Him? If not something is wrong. We need to seek Him for direction on what may be an open door in our lives. It starts with a thought. That subtle deceptive lie. If it goes unchecked it can spiral out of control pushing you farther from God’s light deeper into the darkness. So subtle you don’t even know. So, we must ask ourselves. “Who’s calling?” Who is on the other side of the line?

ps… Remember You are Fearfully Made

xoxo Taylor Nicole