Love...Sleeping With A Broken Heart

Boy oh Boy can I tell you about the topic at hand!

I have had a broken heart more times than I can count! 

It is NEVER fun. it REALLY hurts. and it almost makes you sick to your stomach. Trust me.. if no one else knows... I KNOW. 

I know the pain can seem unbearable.. It Hurts.. there simply is no other way to put it. But with a broken heart.. you have some options.

#1- Let it stay cracked and broken and sit and wallow in self pity

or

#2- Give it to God and praise Him in the midst of the hurt

It is always easier to revert to #1. a Pity party is always awesome when you already feel sucky! Lets face it.. when your heart is hurting.. you FEEL you have the right to be " depressed." But that is a Lie from the enemy if I ever heard one ;) 

You NEVER have the right to be depressed about anything in this life. You woke up. You are breathing. and Jesus saved you. Hallelujah! So SMILE! You have things to do! 

NOOOO.. I am not being heartless! Believe me! I get the whole " I want to be sad.. my heart hurts..." thing.." but I know that my God is the ultimate comforter and He has plans in every situation. So NO! I will not accept the invitation to your own personal pity party.. nor will I support the cause! Sorry... My God is bigger than heart break!

 Psalm 34:18 

" The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." 

Sooo... your heart is broken....


Now what?!?!?!?

Step 1.) 

Start with Forgiveness....

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.

^23-24 “This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God. (Matthew 5:22-24).

You HAVE to forgive who ever hurt you! It is a MUST! God said if you have an alt ( you have something against...) with your brother or sister.. you must reconcile with them and forgive! If you don't.. you might as well have committed murder! That is CRAZY! So while you are holding on to your little grudge.. you are ultimately creating not only separation between you and the person you are beefing with... but between you and God. you are SINNING every minute you DON'T forgive that person for your heart ache! In our sin.. God is separate from us. You must repent.. turn away and run back to God. In this case, you must forgive... run to God and let Him heal you! 

Forgiveness is SO huge to God. He shows us in this scripture by saying.. He doesn't even care if you are about to give up an offering to Him! You have to LEAVE what you are doing and go make good with your brother or sister! I love this scripture because it kind of reveals how selfless God is. He says... "forget my offering.. go make things right with your friend.. then come back to me!" 

Forgive...Forgive... and then Forgive again! You can't begin the healing process with out it! 

Step 2.) 

Let God Hold You...


"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with My victorious right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)


God said He has you! He will give you strength! Read this verse over...and over... and over again until you understand the POWER behind the words in this scripture :

FEAR NOT...
I AM WITH YOU...
DO NOT BE DISMAYED...
I AM YOUR GOD...
I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU...
I WILL HELP YOU...
I WILL UPHOLD YOU IN MY VICTORIOUS HAND!....

WHEW!.... Say that out loud a few times and you will FEEL the power in it! God has you... heartache is nothing to God! He can take that pain and replace it with VICTORY! stand in Him! 

Step 3.) 

Trust God....

"Do not let this happy trust in the Lord die away, no matter what happens. Remember your reward! You need to keep on patiently doing God's will if you want Him to do for you all that He has promised. His coming will not be delayed much longer. And those whose faith has made them good in God's sight must live by faith, trusting Him in everything. Otherwise, if they shrink back, God will have no pleasure in them."(Hebrews 10:35-38).

With heart break comes healing! It never fails. now it is up to you how long the healing process takes! It all depends on how long you decide to take before you let God have your ENTIRE life! When you trust God and His plans... you understand there is a greater purpose for your pain. He has something GREATER in store for you! But until you learn that He is the RULER of your life and not just a God with opinions... you won't ever discover true healing! 



"I waited patiently for God to help me; then He listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things He did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in Him."(Psalm 40:1-3)

God hears your cries. He feels your tears! He wants nothing more than to wipe them away for you! Once you learn to trust Him with your heart.. He will give you a " new song to sing, of praises..." He will make you HAPPY again! You will begin to see there is something beyond your feelings and emotions... something more He needs from you... and that is YOUR HEART.. broken or not! Trust Him. 

Step 4.) 

Know that God Gives Peace....

"Come to me ,all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-20).

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."(John 14:27).

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:22).

God gives peace in the midst of a storm. He says it CLEARLY. Christ overcame the world so you have NOTHING to worry about! There is no amount of pain that God can not mend. His peace is like no other! It is ULTIMATE and everlasting. You don't have to worry anymore. You don't have to feel pain anymore because Jesus died so He could take that from you! Get before God. Sit at Jesus' feet... and worship Him. Thank Him in advance for the peace He will give you. He is such a comforter. 

Heart break hurts for a second... but remember.. you may be hurt now.. but the hurt WON'T last forever! 

God has something in store for you! Something you just can not see! Cast it ALL on Him and don''t worry about it anymore!

God is in the heart business! He repairs them.. He mends them.. He heals them.. but most of all He captures them! Seek Him. 

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds -Psalm 147:3

You are SOOOOOOO Loved By God it is RIDICULOUS!!!!! 


He is Crazy Crazy In love with you!!!!!!!!!!

Nicole L.  <3

Love...Where You Are

It is the holiday season!!!!!!!  So I wanted to write a short blog on some things that I personally have been dealing with! So here goes :) ...

Chances are you have heard of tons of new life events from the people surrounding you! Engagements...weddings...baby announcements.. new relationships .. the list goes on and on! Tis the season for life changes!

In the midst of all of the exciting news you might find yourself just... there. or at least that is what you feel like.

I can relate.

It is really hard to sit and watch everyone's lives changing around you. I have a FEW quick tips to help you with all of the new changes going on around you....

1.) If you see all of your loved ones making major life changes BE HAPPY FOR THEM! and TRULY HAPPY. A true friend rejoices with their friends in EVERY season! You have to step outside of yourself and be excited with them for this time in their lives... because when your time comes you would want the same respect! Don't get bitter or jealous!

You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Deuteronomy 5:21) 

Don't sit and observe what everyone around you has! When God is ready to give you what He promised you.. He WILL... stop hating! put your little selfish pride to the side and find true joy and peace. 

2.) Get content in Christ. So what everyone seems to have your "dream life." focus on Christ and what He is asking you to do! Don't ask for a husband if you KNOW you can't even be a good friend. that is simply nuts! spend your time with God.. in your word! let Him mold you and shape you and make you into the person He needs for you to be! God has a plan for you! He has your every step strategically planned out! 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.(Jeremiah 29:11) 

God has PLANS for YOU! He made them before you even had a mind to conjure up any of your own little plans! Sit your tail down and get good in God! Know that He has you. Spend your time consumed in Him and His presence and forget the rest! 

3.) Your ways are not God's ways. You can't keep comparing and contrasting your life to everyone elses. He has specific steps for YOU. specific goals for YOU. stop looking at what people around you have and start focusing on you! You think their grass looks greener than yours.. but that is simply because they have put in the work to make that grass green! Stop expecting your crops to grow and you haven't even planted ONE seed! tend to your crops so you can get YOUR harvest! 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.( Isaiah 55:8-9) 

The way your mind thinks is not even CLOSE to the way God thinks. You will NEVER understand why He has your life mapped out the way He does.. but you will appreciate it in the long run. See, there is a bigger picture that only God sees. We get the small pieces of the picture at a time. God places those pieces together one by one.. but only He knows what the picture turns out looking like. So rest. God has you. He won't leave you looking stuck! 

4.) God wants you to be happy! God wants nothing more than for you to be happy.. but happiness doesn't always come in the form we think it should. It all goes back to the scripture above.. Isaiah 55:8-9. We simply are not on God's level when it comes to the plans for our lives. His plans will always out do our plans. It is like we want to go get McDonalds to eat..and God says " No! I have a steak..lobster...Shrimp... Chicken...any type of food you ever wanted to eat buffet ready for you." WHYYYYY do we KEEP trying to pick up McDonalds when God told you He has GOT YOU! Sit DOWNNNN Please! Get comfortable in God's arms and don't worry. He will make your desires MATCH His desires and that is when you will find true happiness. 


This holiday season... don't focus on what you FEEL you don't have. Focus on the very breath God gave you every day. Focus on the family you have surrounding you. Focus on the amazing AWESOME savior God sent to this earth to die for YOU.The next time you feel discontent with your life. Sit down and write a list of TEN things you are Super grateful for. God keeps blessing you! You just keep missing YOUR blessing because you are too focused on someone else's blessing! STOP THAT! 




I pray everyone has an AMAZING CHristmas ! 

You are LOVED! 

Nicole L. 

Love...Catch me

Lately God has been REALLY stretching me THIN. I feel the pressure! I have grown so much in the past few weeks I can just FEEL that I am different. I am changed. 

The hardest part of the past few weeks for me has been MOVING ON. That has seriously been my struggle! I find myself hesitant to just move forward with what God is doing because I enjoy the comfort of the place that I put myself in. I like my life how I like it.. my friendships...relationships...activities EVERYTHING I do I like it to be comfortable for me. Anything outside of that scares me to a point I almost get anxious. 

HOWEVER! God has COMPLETELY humbled me .... it is not about me! Nor has it ever been about me! It is about Him! Sometimes He doesn't need us to be comfortable He just needs us to MOVE without thinking about it or questioning His plans. JUST MOVE! 

This week, God nudged me on my shoulder and told me STEP OUT! He spoke to me about my ministry and let me know that the ministry WILL happen whether it is with or without me. He would love to include me .. but if I don't step out of my little bubble... He WILL find another willing candidate to take my place!

Sounds harsh right? I was like.. DANG GOD! But He was right ! Of coarse He was.. He is GOD! DUH! 

I was sooooo AFRAID! I had way too many doubts about who I am... why did He chose me...

I am just a regular girl... living life.. striving to be better daily... dying to my flesh and loving God! WHY ME? The very last thing I wanted to do was step outside of my comfortable life! But I had to do it.. I had to make the move! 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says " 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

As I was reading this verse my mind began to wrap around the instructions clearly written in these verses. 

Trust- God said TRUST HIM! If you are growing daily in a relationship with Christ you should trust Him! Have you ever heard someone say " relationships have to have trust?" It is the SAME thing with your relationship with God the only difference is He will NEVER EVER break your trust!.. TRUST HIM with ALL of your heart!

DON'T LEAN- " Do not lean on your own understanding..." If a building is leaning ( and it is not the Tower of Piza) it means that the structure is NOT stable and UNRELIABLE! When we lean on our own thoughts... our own minds to get us where we need to be.. we WILL FALL every time! We are not stable leaning on our own understanding.. we are liable to fall and crumble. make sure your foundation to your building is stable.. LEAN ON GOD!

Submit to Him- We are to submit to God in order to be in His perfect will! ( See my other blog about staying in God's perfect will " Love Me..or your will." ) We want to be so connected to Christ that we can hear His perfect instructions on everything in our lives.. in order to do that you MUST stay submitted unto Him.. He is our source! 

Get on the RIGHT path- God will lead you EXACTLY where you need to go! He is not a God who will mislead you in any way! He desires for you to get to the place He purposed you for.. you just have to let Him direct each and every foot step and stop trying to walk on your own! YOU CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT HIM! 

God wants you to trust that He has your back! He has got you! That comfort zone can be the devil's playground in your life! The more you stay comfortable.. the more relaxed you get about the things of God. You begin to fit into your perfect routine with no distractions and your seemingly perfect world... just like you like it. Once you get in your perfect little bubble you forget about the excitement of the gospel! The feeling of doing something new to advance the kingdom of God! You forget what it is like to just tell someone about Jesus and do something new and exciting! You FORGET ABOUT THE THINGS OF GOD! Your world is perfect at that point.. what do you need God for right? 

Getting outside of everything comfortable can seem SOOOO scary.. but it allows us to take a leap of faith! We trust that stepping outside of our box will make God intervene in our lives.. we begin to see Him bless our footsteps! You see God's goodness and faithfulness manifested when you do something uncomfortable that God TOLD you to do! Be obedient and make moves! 

I encourage you all to step outside of your comfort zones! Take a chance and do something different! Get before God and figure out exactly what your next move is. If it is a move that makes you a little scared... let God know you trust Him to have your back! Take a leap of faith and trust that God will catch you ! 

I love yall so very much 

and God loves you even more 

Nicole L. <3