Today marks the last article in the Trust Project series: How to trust God with the little things. I am in awe of how He led me to start the series and what He has taught me through it all. I continue to marvel that I had no idea what to talk about for last month’s article on trusting God with the world. Then the coronavirus hit. God wants us to know that while we don’t know what’s coming, He does.
What are the benefits of trusting God with the little things?
For me the benefits are less stress, better sleep, and better health overall. The Lord has taught me that the little things are often a big reason I don’t trust God. I want to stop worrying and start living. How about you?
Let’s use the acronym TRUST.
The T in trust is for truth.
Our Scripture to meditate on is Philippians 4:6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
God is telling us that we shouldn’t be anxious about the big things, so certainly we shouldn’t be anxious about the small matters. Instead, when we feel the anxiety coming, we need to give the situation to Him. I love the language here: present your requests. Give them to Him like a gift that you wouldn’t take back. As strange as it sounds, when we give Him our troubles, we are giving God the gift of faith and He loves it.
Our biblical account is from Luke 10 verses 38-42. “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
As I read this passage again in preparation for this episode I noticed something new that is huge. So many times this passage is used to make women feel guilty for doing anything but praying and reading Scripture. Terrible Martha for focusing on getting the meal ready and wanting some help in the kitchen! I’m amazed that I’ve missed this key detail so many times. It’s in verse 39. “Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” Listening to what he said. Jesus, the Son of God, who only speaks the words of God is in your house and not just in your house but is speaking. Why wouldn’t you take the time to listen?
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the details, the little things that we don’t stop to listen to what God is saying to us. There is a time for meal prep, but when God is speaking, we would do well to listen. What is God saying to you now? Do you have extra time to listen to him in Word and quiet?
The R in trust is for remembering.
How has God shown Himself trustworthy in the past with the little things in your life? I wrote an article about praying little prayers. God has shown Himself faithful in providing a dress, giving me a great parking spot when I needed it, and even keeping my hair dry before a speaking engagement.
But I don’t have to strain to recall a time when God was faithful in the little things. In January, we discovered that my son had bedbugs. A little research told us why. Our suitcases had been stored under his bed. It’s easy to pick up bedbugs when you stay in hotels of any sort. They hitch a ride on your suitcase and make your bed their new home when you unpack in your room or, in our case, store the luggage under the bed. We attempted to treat the bedbugs ourselves. Every time we thought we had done the job, my son would sleep in his bed and would find uninvited guests. He took pictures of them to prove it to us!
Then the unthinkable happened: I found bites on my shoulder and then bugs in my bed. I was doing okay with the trusting God thing until then. My anxiety was so bad that I couldn’t sleep. I insisted that we call in an exterminator. The bugs are gone, thank God! These are some tips for avoiding bed bugs in your travel, but that’s not the most important thing here. The most important thing I learned is how quickly my trust in God evaporated in the face of little bed bugs. So much stress and for what? I wish I could have those sleepless nights back.
At the same time, God gave me a refresher on trusting Him with health and safety. I had a sudden episode of vertigo, no doubt made worse by my bed bug stress. I did a maneuver that made a big improvement. I am much better now.
Little things can make it hard to believe in a big God. But He is faithful! How has He been faithful in the little things for you?
The U in trust is for understanding.
God does give us wisdom for the little things. We learn of a good tech guy or gal to call for our messed-up computer. We Google and find a solution as I did to my vertigo. We get advice from a friend. I didn’t just pray for my bed bugs and vertigo to go away. I used the wisdom God gave me and you should, too. What steps should you take in lieu of worrying about the little things?
The S in trust is for supplication.
This is when we pray specifically for what we need. I prayed for an exterminator. When he came, he told me exactly what I needed to hear for peace of mind. I didn’t even pray for that, but God delivered. There is nothing wrong with saying, “Lord, thy will be done, but if you could help me find what I need at the first store, that would be a blessing.” God isn’t your over-busy friend. He will not be annoyed by your small requests.
The T in trust is for thanksgiving.
We can and should thank God for all the ways He has been faithful in answering our little prayers until now. But we can also thank Him in advance for giving us what is best, even if the first round of extermination doesn’t do the trick as it did for us. We thank Him that He is with us and for us. What a confidence builder this is, even as we face some really big challenges to our faith right now.
I want to thank Him right now for inspiring me to do this series. It has changed my life. The past fifteen months have been some of the most challenging I have experienced — cancer diagnoses, loss of dear friends and a beloved pet, my husband’s stroke, and more. But the faith I’ve learned in the process has made it possible for me to be strong enough to help people through the enormous crisis the world is facing now. I pray you find yourself better prepared because of your faith in Him.
Of course, our journey hasn’t ended. Go back through previous months of the Trust Project as you need to. Be prepared to answer Satan’s question over and over…Did God really say? Yes, He did. He really did say that He loves us and is everything we need. He really did say that He was for us and not against us. He really did say that He would work all things together for our good.
God bless you, my friend, as you seek to trust in our awesome God more and more.
Why we should trust God with a loved one’s salvation
As always, we’ll begin with why we should trust God in this area. What will we stop doing, start doing, and how will we know we’re trusting God with it?
When we trust God with our loved ones’ salvation, we will have peace. We won’t worry about what to say or do because we will know that God has a plan. How silly would it be for God to place anyone’s eternal destiny squarely in our hands? I used to believe that my children’s salvation was entirely my responsibility. The curriculum I chose, the church we attended, and how much time we spent reading Scripture, together with my own capacity for sin carried so much weight. When my first child began asking challenging questions about the faith, I was a nervous wreck. But so was he. My son worried that we wouldn’t love him if he didn’t believe exactly the same way that we did, and I worried that he would reject God and our family. That fear caused a lot of conflict.
So for me, trusting God with my loved ones’ salvation means that I will stop believing that it’s all my responsibility. I will start loving people in my life and believing that God will give me the words and actions that He will use in His plan to bring people to faith. I’ll know that I’m trusting God in this area when I don’t worry about the choices people I love make and I pray instead.
Let’s work through our TRUST acronym for this area.
T is for TRUTH.
Our Scripture to meditate on is Matthew 19:25-26:
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
If our loved ones’ salvation depends on us, it’s impossible for them to be saved. But with God, even the most unlikely person can receive Jesus Christ as his Savior and enjoy eternity with Him.
Our Bible account is the parable of the lost son from Luke Chapter 15. We don’t know when our lost loved ones will return, but we don’t have to chase them down. We can prayerfully wait for God to work in their hearts and minds.
The R in TRUST is for Remembering.
When I am tempted to worry about family and friends who don’t know Jesus, I remember my friend Sarah. I met Sarah at a homeschool activity. She was very nice but she had different views from me on almost everything. I wanted to challenge her views, her reading material, and her parenting practices. In my flesh, this is what I thought was the answer to her salvation. But the Lord restrained me. Instead, I befriended her, invited her to my church and home, and mostly listened.
She told me of her plans to quit homeschooling and to move out of state with her new boyfriend, and I was sure that she would be lost forever. Months later she contacted me when our mutual friend was hospitalized. She was still in town. She said she would pray, but I figured she didn’t mean that literally. A few days later she called me to ask me questions about the Christian faith. She told me, “I wasn’t looking for Jesus, but He came looking for me.”
Sarah had received Jesus, and in no time her views that I so wanted to challenge were aligned with mine. She is now a dear sister in Christ.
Remember God’s faithfulness in bringing you to faith or growing your faith. Remember others you know whom Jesus made His own. Your trust in God with the salvation of others you love will grow.
The U in TRUST is for Understanding.
What wisdom has God already given for you to obey in this area? I read an excellent book with my church called Joining Jesus On His Mission by Greg Finke. It helped me to see that building relationships as I did with Sarah, without pushing theology, is exactly what Jesus would have us do with some of the people in our lives. Love is the greatest theology there is and it’s powerful in the Lord’s hands.
The S in TRUST is for Supplication.
Add those who don’t yet have a relationship with Christ and those who need a closer relationship with Him to your prayer list. I use an app to make these prayers regular. I include all my family on a rotating basis. I didn’t believe that God would answer my prayer for Sarah, and look what He did.
The last T in TRUST is for Thanksgiving.
We can thank God for our salvation, and for the salvation of those whom we already know are in the family of faith. We can also thank Him in advance for our loved ones whose name are in the Book of Life yet haven’t been revealed to us. What a privilege that He allows us to play a role in their salvation.
Conclusion
When we trust God with the entire process, we can enjoy our relationships without fear of our mistakes or theirs. Join me next month as we discuss how to trust God with the world.
Trusting God to overcome the sin in our lives is one of the tougher areas to trust. I know from experience! I’m talking about the besetting sins, the sins that feel like addictions because no matter what you do, you can’t seem to change. But we can learn to trust Him in this way, just as we have with our health.
What are the benefits of trusting God with our sin? What would you stop doing if you trusted God with it? And what would you start doing if you really trusted God in this area? Imagine not having to think about your problem with overeating, your gossip issue, your anger, or your procrastination again! Imagine not having to buy more books or programs. Imagine being free to focus on what God has already prepared for you to do. Imagine the impact being free of this sin would have on your family, your health, your happiness, and your witness!
How would you know you were trusting God in this area? For me, it would mean having peace knowing that He has it under control. He is doing the work, so I can focus on what He would have me do each day. I would be liberated!
Let’s go through our TRUST acronym for sin.
The T in TRUST is for Truth.
Our Scripture to meditate on is Romans 6:14. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Does it feel like sin is your master? That is an illusion that we choose to believe. God has set us free from this horrible master. Do you believe that?
Our biblical account is from Luke 19. It is the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is a tax collector. As you may know, tax collectors were despised for one, because they often took more than was owed and kept it for themselves.
Imagine that you, and not Zacchaeus, are in that tree when Jesus arrives. Does Jesus call up and say, “Hey, sinful tax collector. Come down here and repent and return what you’ve stolen.” No. But we often behave as if this is how Jesus deals with us.
We expect Him to say to us, “Hey, glutton. Hey, gossip. Hey, rager. Hey, slothful one. Come down here and straighten up and then you and I can spend time together.” If this is what we believe He will say, why would we want to fellowship with Him? Instead, we want to solve the problem ourselves and THEN go to Him. We won’t feel so guilty then.
But Jesus is calling to us to say, “Come out of hiding and have time with me.” As a result of that time, we will find ourselves NOT WANTING TO SIN. It isn’t that we will have to use our willpower to resist the overeating, the gossipping, the rage, or the procrastination. We simply won’t want those things when we have Jesus. This is what we see in Zacchaeus and it isn’t an unusual response to having a relationship with Christ.
The R in TRUST is for Remembering.
How has God helped you overcome sin in the past? You’ve heard me talk about the chaos I once lived in. I am a changed woman. I no longer want to live in a mess, eat out of my emotions, or yell at my kids. I’ve read wonderful books and listened to talks on these subjects, but God changed my heart, allowing the truths I learned to take root in my life.
The U in TRUST is for Understanding.
What wisdom has God already given you that you can implement? I know I am more likely to be disorganized if I stay up late at night. I am more likely to overeat if I stand up or watch TV as I eat. And I am more likely to talk about others if I spend time with gossips. I can act on these principles as I trust God to change my heart’s desires.
The S in TRUST is for Supplication.
We can pray for deliverance from the sin that has taken root in our lives. But more important than praying that we wouldn’t behave in a certain way, we pray for a heart change. Rather than praying we can follow a diet to the letter, we ask God to take away the desire for too much food. Rather than asking God to keep us from saying anything unkind, we ask Him for the desire to speak only uplifting words. Instead of asking Him not to let us procrastinate, we ask Him for the desire to do the work He’s called us to do and to have joy in it. Why wouldn’t He answer this prayer? He will! I know it because He promises us He will and because I’ve experienced it.
When we behave in a way that is not in line with who we are in Christ, we confess it, we admit that our flesh has no power over sin, and we believe again that Christ in us is conforming us to His image.
The T in TRUST is for Thanksgiving.
We thank God that He has overcome the sin in our lives–even as we wait for the full evidence of that. We thank Him for His love and mercy. We thank Him for the gifts that we have loved more than our relationship with Him, and we repent of setting up false gods of food and stuff and approval and getting our way.
I am praying for you as you seek to trust the Lord with the sin you haven’t been able to overcome in your own strength.
Do you struggle to trust God to overcome sin in your life? Let me know in the comments.
It’s time for another installment of the Trust Project. This month we will focus on trusting God with our success–success in our homeschools, parenting, work, business, ministry, and more. I’m excited about this focus.
Before I jump in, I want to share something with you. I want to give you a sneak peek at something I’m working on to help you have success in living the Organized Homeschool Life. I’ve written the book that gives you 15-minute missions to organize your life all year. Some moms take the book and enjoy success with it alone.
Others wonder how to fit even 15-minute missions into their days. That’s why I created the Organized Homeschool Life planner. You take a few minutes to plan every important thing into your day–your time with God, your dinner, your relationship focus, your priority tasks, and even a reward for a day well spent.
But there are some moms who tell me they want me to come home with them and their book and planner and help them get organized. I really wish I could because I know if we worked together to implement a few simple organizing strategies, your life would be transformed. You’d be living the organized homeschool life this year!
I’m working on a way for us to work together to make that happen. I’m so excited about it because it incorporates everything I know about life change and being a busy homeschool mom. I’m calling it Organized Homeschool LIVE. If you want more details as soon as they’re available, join the waitlist.
What are the benefits of trusting God with your success?
For me, it’s not worrying, of course. But I read something this week that listed so many benefits of trusting God. They are: not getting angry, not getting offended, not being vengeful or bitter, upset, disappointed, annoyed, envious, dissatisfied, and on and on. Amazing, right?
That leads us to see what we will stop doing if we are trusting God for our success. Some things we may start doing is getting busy on what the Lord wants us to do. I don’t know about you, but I waste so much time on the negative emotions I just listed. I could be incredibly productive if I wasn’t sucked into that negative place. I’ll know I’m trusting God in this area if I am productive and content. How about you?
The T in TRUST is for Truth.
Our verse to meditate on this month is Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” I’m going to add Romans 8:28 to this which reads: “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.” We must meditate on these Scriptures until we fully believe them.
Our biblical account this month is Genesis 41. This is the story of Joseph being brought out of prison and put in charge of Egypt. Not only do we see that God was in control of Joseph’s fate the whole time but Egypt’s success was also in the Lord’s hands. Genesis 41 isn’t just a story. It’s His story. It happened. God can be trusted with our success and our loved one’s success.
This month when you are fearful about the results of anything in your life, write down your thoughts and respond to each of them with truth. God will work ALL things together for our good.
The R in TRUST is for remembering.
How has God worked all things together for your good in the past? My friend, who was the host of a radio program for years, had suggested that I take over for her when she retired. We both looked forward to that possibility. She was a mentor to me and my kids would be older when she was ready to retire. It didn’t work out. The ministry group she worked for ended the radio program. She was disappointed and so was I.
But not long afterward, Felice Gerwitz created the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network and asked me to start a podcast. This podcast has allowed me to reach the women I most relate to–homeschooling moms. It has helped me to inspire kids to love reading and writing through Grammar Galaxy, and it has allowed me to speak to thousands of homeschooling parents through Great Homeschool Conventions. God had other plans for me.
The U in TRUST is for Understanding.
What wisdom has God already given you for success? We want to trust and obey that wisdom. I can give you an example. I know that if I don’t write Grammar Galaxy first thing it won’t happen. Even though I know this, I have to battle with myself daily not to skip it in lieu of something more pressing. I’ve learned that success comes from consistency. So to be successful in my business I have to trust and obey this principle.
In my homeschool, I’ve heard time and time again from veteran homeschool moms that things work out. God provides for our kids. That doesn’t mean that I don’t teach them, but it does mean that I can relax about the future. My experience so far is that the veterans were right. My kids have succeeded despite my multiple pregnancies and the fact that I didn’t use demanding curriculum.
The S in TRUST is for Supplication.
What do you need to pray about? Instead of worrying and working so much in our homeschools, we can ask God for help. He loves to hear our prayers because it means we aren’t depending on ourselves for success.
I am getting ready to launch a completely new resource for homeschool organization, Organized Homeschool LIVE. I believe it will be life changing. But I don’t know if my audience will invest in it. I am praying that those who can benefit from it will join me. But if they don’t, I know that God will use that change in focus for my good. When I pray, I can rest in knowing that the results are up to the Lord. You can rest too.
The T in TRUST is for Thanksgiving.
We not only thank God for the success we’ve already enjoyed but the future success we will have. I am not speaking from a prosperity gospel mindset here. Instead of thanking God for full-ride scholarships for my kids in the future, I can thank God for the amazing blessings that homeschooling and having a homeschool business have provided. And I can thank Him that no matter what the future holds, I will be successful in having the good life God has planned. Even the surprises and disappointments will be worked together for my good in His hands. What a promise that is! I feel better just saying it. I hope you do too.
We can trust God to make us successful. The benefits of that trust are so worth it.
What keeps you from trusting God with your success? Let me know in the comments.
It’s time for another edition of the Trust Project. This month we will discuss how we can trust God with our pets and possessions. This may seem like a more minor issue than some others we’ve addressed in this project. But I know from experience that it can be a challenge.
How did trusting God with friendships go for you last month? It seems as though the enemy is challenging me greatly with every topic we cover. This month, a dear new friend of ours was given an unexpected terminal diagnosis. I spent a lot of time with God on this one. It’s hard. But I have to believe that God loves him, his family, and you and me. This upsetting news doesn’t change what’s true about God.
Why Trust God with Pets and Possessions
We will begin talking about pets and possessions the way we usually do. What are the benefits of trusting God with our pets and possessions? For me, I will have less worry, stress, and conflict with my family. What will I stop doing if I trust God in this area? I will stop threatening my husband if he allows our new puppy to get hurt or killed. Poor guy. I will stop thinking about what could happen to family photos in the event of a fire or storm. What will I start doing? I will start reflecting on the fact that God cares about my pets, and that he even cares about my photo albums and mementos, like the afghan my grandmother made for me. How will I know I’m trusting God in this area? I won’t have the anxiety and irritation I’ve had around the thought of losing my pets and possessions. I hope you answered those questions along with me.
T is for TRUTH
Now let’s work through our TRUST acronym. What is the truth about our pets and possessions? Our Scripture to meditate on is Nahum 1:7:
When we lose things of value, it’s easy for the enemy to suggest that God doesn’t care, when He absolutely does.
Our biblical account is from Job, Chapter 1. Job lost his children and his possessions, his animals. There is much to be learned from Job’s experience, but what gives me peace for this topic is that nothing was outside of God’s control. There are people who believe God created us and then left us without help. That is not the case. God is not too busy or so hard that He doesn’t care when a beloved pet dies or a fire takes all our worldly possessions. Like Job, we may never know the purpose God has in allowing these losses. But we can absolutely know that He cares. This month when you have thoughts that God doesn’t care, write them down and refute them with the truth.
The R is TRUST is for Remembering.
How has God proven Himself trustworthy with pets and possessions in the past?
I lost a puppy after three weeks of sheer joy. It hit me harder than I ever imagined it would. The day after she died, I had to travel three hours, early in the morning to a volleyball match. My daughter told me that the mom I was closest to wouldn’t be there. I had experienced several disappointments with my adult kids just prior to this. I felt so lost when I arrived at the tournament. Not a Job-like experience, I know. But it was all I could do not to sob in the stands.
But then the parents of another girl on my daughter’s team asked me to come sit with them. The mom kept reminding me how much God loved me. I hadn’t told them what had been going on. Then the two of them shared some of their adult children’s disappointing behavior but their belief that God wasn’t finished with them yet. I was so encouraged. I knew God cared because he had these dear believers minister to me.
I have since brought another sweet puppy home and our hearts are healing. God answered my prayer for healing and joy.
Over the years, God has been faithful with losses of vehicles, investments, and even photos. He is trustworthy! He has either restored what was lost or He has given me peace.
The U in TRUST is for Understanding.
What wisdom has God given you to believe and obey? Before I adopted our first puppy this year, I did not know that unvaccinated pups should not be allowed in public places where deadly viruses can live. I am going to obey that wisdom to keep my dog safer.
I have also moved all of my photos out of my basement where water leaking from appliances above is more likely to damage them. Of course, backing up digital and all precious photos is more wisdom to obey.
The S in TRUST is for Supplication.
What is your prayer in addition to having more faith? I pray that our pets will be safe and healthy, that are vehicles will keep running, and that our home will remain standing.
The T in TRUST is for Thanksgiving.
What can we thank God for now and in the future? My son’s car that we purchased for our family and were financing for him was totaled this week. It will be more expensive for him going forward, but we are so grateful to God that he is okay and that we have insurance that will help pay for a new vehicle.
I am also so thankful for the joy our dogs have given us. I’m thankful for the memories that my photos captured. And I’m thankful that God has provided through thick and thin.
I pray that you will grow in your ability to trust God with your pets and possessions this month.
Have you lost a pet or a possession that has been difficult to let go of? Tell me about in the comments.
Do you trust God with your friendships? Do you believe He will provide you with friends? That He will provide your kids with good friendships? Do you worry about a friend’s health or salvation? That’s this month’s topic in the Trust Project.
What are the benefits of trusting God with our friendships? One unique benefit is an increased likelihood of recognizing the new friends God has for us. Another benefit is peace and joy as we believe the Lord will work all things together for our good and our friends’ good.
What will we stop doing if we trust God with our friends? We’ll stop worrying about having enough friends for sure. And we may stop keeping to ourselves, suffering loneliness or difficult relationships in silence. Instead, we may start reaching out to new people, taking risks, and putting space in unhealthy relationships. We’ll know we’re trusting God with our friendships if we pray more than we worry and we recognize God’s activity in our friendships.
Let’s work through the TRUST acronym when it comes to friendships.
T is for truth.
Our Scripture to meditate on is Proverbs 18:24:
Have you ever had unreliable friends? Boy, I have! I have been so hurt and disappointed, but I have a friend who is always reliable. And so do you. Jesus is our friend who always says and does the right thing at the right time.
Our Scriptural account is from Mark, chapter 2. Jesus heals a paralyzed man when his friends lower him through the roof. The Scripture says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
I’m not going to argue that our faith can save our friends, but I am going to say that our faith is effective. Do you have unbelieving friends as I do? Know that Jesus hears your prayers and sees your faith on their behalf.
This month, when you have thoughts that lead you to distrust God with your friendships, write them down. Then respond to them with truth. If you think, “I’ll never make new friends at my church, in this small town, or as a homeschooler,” refute that with truth. God gave David a very unlikely friend in Jonathan, didn’t He?
The R in TRUST is for Remember.
Remember God’s faithfulness in this area in the past. Do I have some remembrances to share with you!
I had a new homeschooling friend who had a heart attack and was in critical condition shortly after we became acquainted. Two surgeries and several years of great friendship later, I learned that she had had another heart attack. The doctors saw no hope for her. I was mourning her when I believed the Lord rebuked me for this and encouraged me to ask for a miracle. I asked friends and family on Facebook to pray, knowing there was a good chance that prayer wouldn’t be answered. When soon afterward I saw her wake up and recognize me, I had joy like I had never had before!
In the meantime, I heard from an acquaintance who was not a believer. She knew our friend was in the hospital and things weren’t good. She said she would pray, but I assumed that she meant something other than praying to THE God. Soon after our friend was in recovery, she called me and told me that while she wasn’t looking for Jesus, Jesus came looking for her. She had received Christ as her Savior! I honestly didn’t believe that God would change someone like her, but God is still in the heart surgery business. She is now one of my dearest friends in Christ.
The U in TRUST is for Understanding.
Often God gives us wisdom and it’s up to us to act on it. I’ll give you a current example. I have been a member of a new church for two years and have yet to form a new friendship there. I can keep praying for friends, but I know that the best way to make friends is to attend a small group Bible study — something I haven’t been doing consistently. That’s my plan going forward.
A number of years ago I was a part of a small group that God was calling me to leave. I didn’t want to leave it and risk losing friendships, even though some of them were difficult relationships, so I didn’t. The consequences of that choice were painful and still are to this day.
What understanding has God given you for friendships that you haven’t acted upon?
The S in TRUST is for Supplication.
This is where we pray after meditating on God’s truth, remembering His faithfulness, and acting on the understanding He’s already given.
Four years ago, I was lonely. Many of my homeschooling friends had moved on. I prayed for friendships and I asked a family member to pray as well. The answer came in an unexpected way. I started a Facebok group, then called HomeschoolScopes. Using live video, many of us made dozens of close homeschooling friends. I have met many of these women in person since then and I continue to talk to some of them daily. If you’re a homeschooling mom, join us in the Homeschool Sanity Circle on Facebook. But more importantly, pray about your friendships and your family’s friendships.
The T in TRUST is for Thanksgiving.
Thank God for the way He’s worked in your friendships in the past. I have experienced distance in friendships that at first I grieved but now am thankful for. I see God’s protection and grace in these changes. Thank God for your current friendships and thank Him that He will continue to provide you and your family with the friendships you need.
I am thankful for the friendships I have made through this blog! It’s such a blessing to hear from you, to get to know you better, and to have your prayers on my behalf. Please feel free to email me at psychowith6 at gmail.com any time.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
