I know my heart

“Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.”-Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

The best way I can do that is by not going to watch the Redeeming Love movie. I am very cautious about what I watch and read, I know what you consume will come out in your words and actions. Before I head to the theater, I do my research. I read the review PluggedIn.com had on their website and that made up my mind.

I read one sentence in that review and my mind was made up. Before you head to the theater, please read the review(https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/redeeming-love-2022/). It may just make you change your mind. My best friend went to see it and was telling me about it. She said that no one over 18 should see it. I am four years the senior of an eighteen-year-old, and I am not going to see it. I know my own heart and I know that if I see/hear some of the things in that movie. It could just be a stumbling block for me. I can’t tell you not to go see that movie, but I hope this short post makes you rethink your decision.

Better together

“Two are better than one…”

I am a better person when I am connected with community. This past month has been proof. This is the first Sunday that I have been able to go to church. Life has happened; my parents had COVID and then there were those freak snow storms down here in Georgia. I think I was the only person in the state, who didn’t want it to snow. In the south, when it snows EVERYTHING gets postponed. I didn’t want it to snow, I wanted to go to church and see my friends.

“Where two or three are gathered in my name there I will be also.”-Matthew 18:20

The fact was I couldn’t see my friends. I know what I am capable when I am left to my own devices. It’s not pretty.

I am a better person, when I am around my friends. They may not know what I am dealing with, but just knowing that they are in my corner is what I need in my life. Everyday I need to be reminded that there are people holding me to a higher standard. There are people, who see me on Sunday morning and my behavior the rest of the week has to be the same. The Mary Hannah I portray behind closed doors needs to be the same as the one I am around my friends.

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9 NLT

I told a friend today that I am rooting for her. Together she can succeed. Two people are better than one.

Reason to celebrate

As 2022 gets under way I can’t help, but feel excited for the days ahead.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” -Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

I can’t wait to experience this year. This is the year the Lord has made, let us be glad in whatever this year throws at us. 

Maybe the last two years have put a bitter taste in your mouth for what’s ahead for this year. I get it. This is the first year, that I have looked forward to the days ahead. Years back I would dread the empty days ahead. 

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make pathways through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry waste land.”- Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) 

God has been working in my heart to be excited for the days yet to come. Even if last year was a dud there is still reason to celebrate.

From fear to faith

Happy New Year! 

A new year fills me with hope. I know it may be a different story for you. The last two years have been a whole series of hurts. Whoever would’ve thought 2019, would be the good ole days?? 

My way of thinking is if we can survive ALL that the past two years has dealt us, we can thrive in 2022.

“If God is for us, who can be against us.”-Romans 8:31b (NLT)

The answer to that question is no one. Not even a 9-foot giant (1 Samuel 17), not COVID-19, not the political unrest we have faced. Nothing will ever separate us from Christ’s love. 

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” -Romans 8:35&37 

For those who believe, there is overwhelming victory for us as we enter 2022. We have lived in fear for the past two years, and it is time to retitle this year. Bye, Bye, fear you can’t stay here. 

At the beginning of every year, I make a list of goals I want to accomplish in the next 365. For too many years, one of my goalswas to get published. In 2020, that goal came a reality. I am living the prayers I once prayed! 😉 That goal has been taken off the list. 

This year one of my goals is to read 12 books. I need to make a list of those 12 books. The last two years for you could have been like a thriller novel or a tragedy. Either way, we get to begin afresh today. Let’s retitle 2022, from fear to faith.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Let have faith this year will be the best yet!

Mary Hannah