waiting – Practical Insights, by Dr. Annette

How to be an overcomer in 2023

overcoming in 2023

Have you ever faced obstacles that seems unsurmountable? I can tell you at the time you’re in them, it feels and looks like nothing is changing and it may even seem hopeless. But one of the things I have learned throughout life is, God may seem silent, but He is always working on our behalf. There are times that I don’t have the answer of why it happened or that the outcome isn’t what I wanted but God is not as far away as you might think.

When I lost my mom, it seemed like life would never be the same and in one respect it wasn’t but my mom is in heaven pain free and that knowledge gives me hope that I will meet her there one day. Losing my sister was unexpected and a tough time but out of that tragedy God gave me a stronger relationship with my niece and nephew. Which I am so thankful for.

Throughout my life I have learned that the Word of God is powerful and effective. That what the bible states is true in Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” When I do not understand what is happening or why it is the length of time it is, I remind myself of this scripture. I personally like to speak out the scriptures so that I hear it when say it. It gets in the heart and mind deeper.

You may be reading this blog post and going through something so hard that you don’t understand and want to know why? We can’t answer the why all the time, but we can trust in God through Christ Jesus sacrifice for us to bring us through what ever we are going through. When I wrote this, I had been sick for weeks with on and off bronchitis but even though my lungs were congested, and my cough was rough so rough it made my eye bleed. I still could praise God in my heart and say it is well with my soul. Because my peace comes from Christ’s peace, my joy isn’t based on my situation it is based in His joy which gives me strength. My soul is content in His love for me whether I am abased or abound I know God is with me and for me because I am His child.

How do you overcome? The answer is through Christ Jesus strength. His grace is sufficient for you. No matter what we go through God will go with us when we are His. You overcome through trusting Him, obedience to His word and abiding in Him.

You too can be an overcomer and have His peace today. How by trust, obey and abide in Him.

Trust… obey

What Are The Three ‘Starting Over’ Factors?

Are You Quieted by His Love?

Three things to know about Hope…

What is hope? How does having hope help us? What is your hope in? First what is hope according to the dictionary, “it is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” “A feeling of trust.” Having hope helps us stay in expectancy it gives us a good feeling of a welcomed outcome. Hoping in a good outcome keeps one positive but what happens when your outcome does not happen the way you wanted? What can happen is despondency, despair or depression. But it doesn’t have to when you know where to place your hope it guards you from the D’s of life.

In dealing with the loss of someone’s hope, it is important to look at what kind of hope they placed their trust in. At times we can place our hope in things and people that we have no control over. Life can change in an instant and hope can be dashed within seconds. Unfortunately, we cannot foresee every aspect that life brings. This is when we need a solid ground for our hope to be in. Putting hope into an outcome or a person is not as solid as we can imagine. But placing our hope in God is a solid foundation.

Putting your hope in God means your trusting Him with your outcome in situations and life. As we go through this life, we can be assured that God is faithful to His Word. The word of God tells us in Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy spirit.” Even though we may experience hardships, trials and sorrow God promises to walk through those with us.

The first thing about hope is ask yourself, ‘what are you placing your hope in?’ Ask yourself is it realistic, is it a doable plan are you prepared to wait. Count the cost! All dreams, plans, or visions for future take effort and time. Therefore, give yourself a realistic plan to hold onto. I choose to place my plans in God’s hands. I want His plan for my life. I have learned through the years He usually places a desire on your heart and as you prayerfully press into it you will know His will and plan.

The second thing to know about hope, ‘there is a waiting period.’ If we have it at once, we do not need hope. But what you do as you wait makes an enormous difference in your life and disposition. I choose to wait on God. I know He is faithful to His Word. He strengthens and gives us the grace to wait. His peace and joy will sustain you also as you wait. I choose to speak His Word aloud to myself at times because it produces faith to sustain a wait. The outcomes we want do not necessarily happen exactly the way we want but as your hope, trust and faith are placed in God He will produce in you a disposition that is maturing as you wait.

The third thing to know about hope is ‘God is our hope.’ Hebrews 6:19 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20) where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” This hope is a solid foundation in Jesus Christ sacrifice for our salvation. He bought our forgiveness. We are His Children when we repent and accept Jesus Christ and live in Him.

When hope wanes and the wait is long remind yourself God has you and is with you, because your hope in Him is the anchor of your soul. Your trust is placed in Him and not in yourself.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy spirit.”

What Are The Three Things You Can Do While Waiting?

I think this matter could have many different answers depending on what you’re waiting for. Are you patient or impatient? What is the benefit of waiting? When I think about waiting on something or someone it stirs in me thoughts of ‘what do I do while I wait.’ These are questions we will answer.

So, let’s see the word wait, it means “stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens,” That is kind of a general definition. Depends on what you are waiting for such as finishing a task or degree, buying a house, etc. These are events that have a time schedule but what if you’re waiting on something you don’t know when it will happen such as a major change in life or a healing. How then do you wait without giving up hope?

The first thing to do while you wait is Pray. Prayer is communication with God. There are times of prayer that we ask, seek, and knock and other times we sit still and listen. I choose to give God every situation because He knows all aspects of my situations and I do not. Prayer is petitions, intercessions and worship, believing God hears and answers our requests. I heard Joyce Meyer say these words, “Simple believing faith.” I liked that explanation because it made it practical for me. Instead of long oratorical prayers try simple believing prayers that are direct to the point. God already knows what we are thinking, and He is not judging how elegant our prayers are He’s looking on the faith connection in prayers.

The second thing to do while waiting is put your Trust in God. If you prayed about it know God heard, you. When you are a child of God, He hears your prayers. Answers do not always come instantly but God does not forget like humans do. He is completely trustworthy because God cannot lie. I choose to speak the word of God to my situations it builds my faith. Reading the Word of God daily builds our faith. As your trusting God you may get tempted to be frustrated or anxious in your wait. But choose instead to be thinking on things that are good, lovely and a good report Philippians 4:6-7 is a reassuring scripture of what we are to do. Verse 6) “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God; 7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The third thing to do while you are waiting is Praise. You can praise God any time of the day. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice!” Rejoice does not mean ‘thank him for the problem’ but thank him in the waiting by rejoicing in His goodness, sing unto the Lord a new song. Make melody in heart towards the Lord. The more you praise the lighter you will feel. I choose to cast my care unto God and remind myself He loves me and is taking care of me.

Everyone’s wait will be different but we all could wait with His grace. His grace is sufficient for each one of us. The advantage in waiting is learning to lean on Him for his strength & grace. If you fight impatience, then repent and ask for the grace to wait. Waiting is a time of growth. Enjoy your wait through prayer, trust and praise.

Blessings,

Dr. Annette

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“How To Avoid Being Weary” The Waiting Game…

Sneaker Day!

Yay! I got to wear my sneaker at physical therapy today. I have been waiting for this day! I’m thankful this process is almost over but not yet. So, I still wait. I’m enjoying life in the wait. Everyday something new to experience in ankle recovery. My ankle is getting stronger and I no longer use the knee scooter, also I’m able to do more and more.

I was thinking about waiting, some have a harder time to wait than others. I choose to focus on the goal in the end which in this situation is walking pain free. I’m obeying the Doctor’s orders and the Therapists plan. No getting ahead of these plans or going rogue. When I was younger, I would push the pt. boundaries, but I learned the only one who suffered was me.

I put this surgery off for a long time. Ankle replacements are becoming more common now. Each one of us have different things we wait on.

Choose to learn while you wait. Also choose to grow as you wait. Waiting isn’t punishment it is a process in healing and growth. Enjoy your wait.

The Waiting Game…

These were worth the wait

Waiting, waiting, waiting is how it feels sometimes when situations are out of our control. We all wait for different things but still we experience waiting periods. What do you do while you wait?

We found out yesterday we have mold in our crawlspace. So, we lined up contractors and now we wait. Some could come sooner than others. But wisdom says, get an estimate from at least three contractors who do mold remediation, drainage and encapsulation. All we saw yesterday was $ signs.

As I thought about years ago when I had mold in my apartment in the ducts and walls how I was sick and hospitalized several times from lung issues before we found the mold. Fear tried to knock on my mind.

Funny thing is yesterday I had to apply what I wrote on. I refused to be afraid that one month is going to hurt us. I spoke Gods Word to it. I like this scripture when I don’t understand the whys. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Is mold good? Absolutely not but it’s good we found it because you can’t fix what you don’t know about. And that’s the problem with waiting you just don’t know. Whether it’s time, cost or how it will happen whatever the situation is you just don’t always know which then causes a waiting on.

How do you wait? One way is to remind yourself time is my friend not my enemy! However long it takes God’s got the solution and He will bring it to pass. Now it may not be the way we want but His love is greater, and His will is perfect.

That may be a hard sentence for you if you don’t know the love of God. But knowing His character and having a relationship with him helps to understand while you wait.

Sometimes we wait years. I waited 19 years for my husband Roger. He waited 24 years for me. Roger and I both were divorced. We both dated people in those years, and it taught us what we didn’t and did want in a relationship.

But eventually God connected us. We knew each other for 9 years never dated lost touch I forgot his last name, he looked for me, but I had moved from one apartment to another because of mold.

But one day in fall of 2011 he came back to the Church I was at and we reconnected. This relationship is like no other I’ve had. We have a love that is based in solid connection and commitment. We have comradery, laughter, tenderness and even disagreements. To me waiting for this relationship was worth all the years of heartache and loneliness etc.

I wrote about our wait so that you can see and hear that I understand the emotions of waiting, waiting and more waiting.

The word of God tells us in Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

What does that mean? It means those waiting on the Lord can have renewed strength while they wait. It means you can rise above the wait and not get weary while you wait. It means you can keep going while you wait, they shall walk and not faint.

But how you may be thinking. By keeping your eyes/focus on God. Remind your self your waiting on God not people or situations.

While you Wait…

From strength to strength…

Yesterday Sept 27th I had to have an ultrasound. Since Sept 18th when I had the cast removed from my left leg it has been blueish and cold when I’m up and moving on the knee scooter.

So, I called the doctor’s office and they said the Dr wanted an ultrasound. Since we live and hour away, I asked to have it done here. They called and set it up for 3pm.

We go and it’s the wrong order they sent over a order for my right leg. We waited while radiology calls and gets a fax for the left leg.

As we wait time ticks by… they get the new order and call me back for the ultrasound. The lady doing the ultrasound was very nice, but they can’t tell you anything.

I have it done, and it was painful, and I was very tired. She said are you supposed to wait for the Radiologist report or is Dr. office calling I said they are calling. Mind you I wasn’t thinking about the time change. She said ok and we left for home.

Since the Dr office is on Eastern Time and we are on Central time I wasn’t thinking about them being closed. After we get home my left foot and ankle hurt bad and I was exhausted I went straight to bed it helps to elevate the leg. I fell asleep woke up around 6ish central time and knew no way the Dr office was going to call especially since it’s 7ish their time.

So, we wait. I read in the Word of God this morning in Psalm 84: 5-7 “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You whose heart is set on pilgrimage. 6)-As they pass trough the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; 7)-They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.”

The word baca has a few different meanings but a place of weeping is relevant to this blog. I read on the internet, “the psalmist is referring to a difficult or sorrowful place in life.” Yesterday was a difficult place in life.

Therefore, what do we do while we go through difficult periods? Difficult periods can be waiting period’s also.

I believe first we trust God in the waiting periods. How do you trust God? It goes back to the knowing who He is and understanding his character.

I know God is faithful he’s proven over and over to me his faithfulness. So yes, it’s frustrating I would like to know if there is a blood clot or not, but I don’t.

So therefore, I trust God who does know and who cares for me.

My second thought on what to do while you wait is put your thoughts on God not the problem. When you put your thoughts on God His peace will be with you as you wait. I speak the truth according to Gods word to my problem and His peace guards my heart and mind.

Isaiah 26:3-4 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. 4)-Trust in the LORD forever, For in Yah, the LORD, is everlasting strength.”

This could be also called from strength to strength because as you trust while you wait God strengthens your inner man. My strength comes from the Lord not me.

I’m waiting on God not man/Dr office. God is faithful. Whether it is or isn’t a clot doesn’t matter to me because either way I’ll be ok.

With God I can do all things through God who strengthens me while I wait.