tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24339459782534748632024-03-12T16:43:38.274-07:00Grace Found MeI was hiding from the very one who not only knew my past but the only one who had the power to redeem it. God's grace was there all along. There was nowhere I could run, nowhere I could hide.
His grace found me.
Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-80850548386973925552022-08-28T06:21:00.001-07:002022-08-28T06:27:50.481-07:00Throwing Stones<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">I've been thinking a lot lately about forgiveness - mostly about who I offer it to and why.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 17px;">I mean, I want to be forgiven. And I want the people I love to be forgiven. But what about people that I don't think deserve it? What about people who never said they were sorry? What about people who made more than one mistake? Or just one REALLY BIG mistake? Have I been willing to forgive them? Or have I been holding onto unforgiveness and keeping a record of their wrongs?</span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">When the woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus the men who brought her meant to trap Him in His response - to use His own words against Him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">But He was silent. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">They continued to question Him until He broke the silence and hindered their plans.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;"> “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">One by one they dropped their stones and walked away. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Now it was Jesus' turn to ask the questions, </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">“"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”"</span><br />
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">How many times have I pointed out someone else's sin while forgetting my own?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">How many stones have I thrown? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Looking back at my past I should have been buried by now. </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Big sin. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Little sin. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Sin after sin. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">It doesn't matter and it all matters - to Jesus.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">We measure. We judge. We justify. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Well at least I'm not as bad as so-and-so...</span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Jesus told the story of two men - one a religious man and the other a tax collector (sinner) who went to the temple to pray. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">The religious man thanked God that he wasn't like all the others (sinners) and boasted about all the "good" he had done. </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">But the tax collector stood at a distance unable to even look towards heaven and pleaded "God have mercy on me a sinner." </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Luke 18:14 NIV</span><br />
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Lord help me to be humble. Help me to offer the same grace to others that you poured out for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Grace upon grace. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">We desperately need it. And others desperately need it from us. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">But grace isn't earned, it's a gift. </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Let's not forget Jesus' lasts words after pardoning the woman who had sinned - "</span><span style="font-size: 17px;">Go now and leave your life of sin.”</span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Offering grace isn't condoning or overlooking sin it's offering another chance at redemption. </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Most of us need another chance. And another. And another. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Thank you for forgiveness, for grace and for redemption Lord. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">We'd all be lost without it. </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Are you throwing stones or pouring out grace from an overflowing pitcher? </span>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Might be something we all need to pray about...</span><br />
<!--/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_220828_091938_884.sdocx--><p></p>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-20509951651634717582021-07-21T12:25:00.005-07:002021-07-21T13:41:27.774-07:00The Pursuit<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: white;">I'm a big fan of makeover shows. I think it's the idea of taking something ugly or broken and making it beautiful.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">Honestly I can't get enough of it. I think I've watched almost every show ever created on HGTV. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">They inspire me to make things beautiful - the torn and the tattered, the worn out and unwanted, the things deemed unworthy ready to be tossed away. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">Maybe that's because I was once all those things - waiting and desperately wanting someone to find value in me. </span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><span>My story had so many ugly parts. The tapestry of my life was torn and dirty.</span><br />
</span></p>
</div><div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><span>Who could see any worth in me? I know I certainly didn't. </span><br />
</span></p>
</div><div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><span>I gave myself away in desperate hope of finding love and acceptance - only I was searching in the wrong places and from the wrong people. </span><br />
</span></p>
</div><div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">Tossed away time and time again. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">I was so focused on proving to someone, anyone, that I had value that I was blinded to the One who was gently pursuing me the whole time. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">He had proven my worth, my value, by choosing to take my place. He lifted my burden and carried it with Him to the cross. He covered my shame with His blood. He washed me clean - whiter than snow. </span></p>
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</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">He made-me-over. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">He took what was broken and made it beautiful. </span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">And friend He's waiting to do the same for you...</span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">Jesus doesn't see the ugliness of our past, He sees the promise of our future. All those broken pieces, all that is torn and tattered, He deems worthy enough to give His very life to bring beauty for ashes, joy for mourning. </span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><span>And now I'm passionately pursuing Him and seeing the beauty in the </span><span>brokenness</span><span> of others. </span></span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">What or Who are you pursuing? Are you desperately trying to prove your worth? Or struggling to see any value in you? Stop running and look to the One who has been pursuing you all along. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="color: white;">He's waiting...</span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br /></p>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-31902825272474778862021-02-09T11:34:00.001-08:002021-02-09T11:34:15.547-08:00Be careful little eyes what you see<p> </p><p><i><b>2 Timothy 1:7 </b></i><i>For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. </i></p><p>There's a big difference between being without fear because you know that God is in control and being fearless because you're so desensitized by all that you see and hear. </p><p>Are you bombarding your mind with images of death and sex and war and evil? </p><p>If you don't believe that those things affect and change you just watch the documentaries of Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. Listen to them tell their stories about the normal (even Christian) homes they grew up in and how twisted their thoughts (and eventually actions) became as their minds were imbedded with the graphic images of pornography. And how their appetites for evil grew more and more until they became two of the most famous serial killers of all time. </p><p>We have to be vigilant about what our eyes see and our ears hear. </p><p>There is a war for our souls and we have a choice to make. </p><p>It reminds me of the lyrics of a song by Casting Crowns... </p><p>"Be careful little eyes what you see</p><p>It's the second glance that ties your hands</p><p>As darkness pulls the strings</p><p>Be careful little feet where you go</p><p>For it's the little feet behind you</p><p>That are sure to follow</p><p>It's a slow fade</p><p>When you give yourself away</p><p>It's a slow fade</p><p>When black and white have turned to gray</p><p>And thoughts invade, choices made</p><p>A price will be paid</p><p>When you give yourself away</p><p>People never crumble in a day</p><p>It's a slow fade"</p><p><br /></p><p>What are you allowing your eyes to see and your ears to hear?</p>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-79586632771983122292021-02-08T06:34:00.002-08:002021-02-08T07:57:30.597-08:00Healing and Grace<p> We live in a world full of broken people. Some may be just a little bit worn and battered while others are completely shattered. Some may have visible wounds while others may have them hidden away - but in those dark places they're tormented by an enemy who wants to destroy them and everyone in their path.</p><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Some are deceived into believing lies and their wounds continue to bleed sometimes spilling out onto others. </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
</p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Imagine if we could all see each others wounds. </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Would we be more willing to offer kindness, would grace flow more abundantly? </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
</p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Hurting people hurt people. </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">When we understand that we see others through different lenses. And we're able to love like we're called to love. </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">What if we made grace our focus? What if we saw others as wounded when they lash out? What if instead of insisting on our own way, demanding that we're "right" we focus on being right with God? </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Isn't it more important to be right with God than it is to be right? And when we're right with God we're loving Him and loving others, just like His word tells us to do. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Let grace be abundant in this hurting world that is in such desperate need of it. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Some of us have scars.</p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">A scar is a wound that has healed and we have a Healer who wants to bind up those wounds. Maybe we should stop trying to hide our scars and let them be a visible reminder of His grace. <br />
</p>
</div><div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Even in Jesus' new resurrected body His wounds were visible. He pointed them out to those who doubted saying "touch them" to prove He was who He said He was. </p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Jesus took our punishment. He was wounded for us. So that we can experience His healing, God's grace. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Let Him heal your wounds and let your scars offer a reminder of His grace to those so desperate for it. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><i>Romans 2:4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?</i></p></div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">What if our kindness changed the heart of those who were wounded and led them to Jesus? </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">That's our purpose friends, that's our calling. </p>
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</p></div>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-48123987270938888362021-01-22T06:59:00.000-08:002021-01-22T06:59:38.135-08:00Uncovered<p> Yesterday I was thinking and praying about the fearful insecure girl I used to be and the confident, faith-filled woman I am today. Many negative things happened in my life that caused me to be so fearful - choices I made and choices others made for me. </p><p>Abuse, abortion, abandonment, addiction, betrayal, divorce, death, rape, rejection - God saved me from others and from myself. I feared because I expected punishment for the things I had done and for the things done to me. The shame and guilt held me prisoner as I tried to keep it all hidden, to cover it up. </p><p>Almost two years ago I made the decision to stop coloring my hair. I decided I didn't want to hide anymore. I know it seems strange that "going gray" would be connected to freedom from my past but it was! </p><p>It's the reason I share my journey - not for the attention but to help set other women free. I was hiding from the opinion of others, covering my "secrets" to avoid judgment. </p><p>I thought - if others knew the real me, what I've done, who I truly am, they'll be repulsed. I think that's typical for woman who have suffered from abuse, especially sexual abuse. The thought is always - there must be something wrong with me. </p><p>So many ugly parts of my life were tied to my appearance and I was constantly striving to better - actually, to be someone else. I tried covering the "ugly" like I covered my gray but just like that silver line that would begin to appear just days after a fresh color, my past would show up just when I thought I had hidden it so well. </p><p>As I began to share my story through writing and speaking God brought more and more healing and revealed His perfect love for me. Jesus not only took my punishment but He covered my sin and shame. He made me clean. He rescued me, redeemed me, restored me. His truth is what finally set me free. Free to finally be who He called me to be and to do what He called me to do. </p><p>There's a book I've read four times, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and each time I read it I feel as though another layer is uncovered. I don't want to spoil the story but I will say this - there is NOTHING that we can keep hidden from God and there is NOTHING that can separate us from His love. Nothing we've done. Nothing anyone has done to us. Nothing. Jesus was enough. </p><p>Friends whatever you're trying to cover up, to keep hidden, it's holding you prisoner. </p><p>Jesus wants to set you free. </p><p>Will you let Him?</p>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-54149343368128301702020-12-29T14:02:00.008-08:002020-12-29T15:02:47.447-08:00New Year, New Mercies<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDRPR6AUUsA/X-uqFn4IIXI/AAAAAAAAa9I/DlWRYXqzBcUOVsw8rCamSXz-nRPWy-vgQCPcBGAsYHg/s4640/original_f58b76b3-31fa-49cc-87e4-e6757efeae99_20201229_170856_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3480" data-original-width="4640" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDRPR6AUUsA/X-uqFn4IIXI/AAAAAAAAa9I/DlWRYXqzBcUOVsw8rCamSXz-nRPWy-vgQCPcBGAsYHg/w200-h150/original_f58b76b3-31fa-49cc-87e4-e6757efeae99_20201229_170856_HDR.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><span style="background-color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>Well it's that time again, when we </span><span>reflect</span><span> on the past year and make plans for the next. </span><br />
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</div><div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">We set goals, make resolutions, choose our statements to live by or our "one word" to focus on. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And those are all good things. But what if the reflecting causes us to focus on the struggles, the pain, the disappointment? And what if despite all our "planning" things don't go as we'd hoped?</span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Grace. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">God poured out His grace for us when He sent His only Son to rescue us. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's that same grace that makes it possible to glance at our past - thankful for what God has brought us through and it's the same grace that gives us hope for the future. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Grace helps us look beyond what our eyes might see and accomplish more than we ever thought was possible. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Grace allows us to walk through hardships refined and encourages us to offer the same goodwill to our fellow man. When we operate according to the grace poured out to us we influence others to do the same. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Grace upon grace. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">We can do nothing to earn it. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Grace is God's unmerited mercy towards us, His favor working in and through us. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Grace - how very sweet the sound. We breathe it in and exhale it out. </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I'm so very thankful for His grace. </span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If you haven't guessed by now GRACE is my "one word" for the new year - it's in the title of my blog, engraved on my bracelet and written on my heart (as well as my new t-shirt!). </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's my reminder of how to live in the days, weeks and months ahead. </span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">How about you friends? Do you have a word? A phrase? A scripture? A goal? A resolution? </span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: #999999; color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Let's all encourage one another as we begin a new year! We could all use a little encouragement and A LOT of grace...</span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"></p>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-29699521021445861582020-07-23T07:19:00.001-07:002020-07-23T07:19:19.597-07:00The Photograph<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5-wlWuQ2pfM/XxmcN1eh5PI/AAAAAAAAZYE/B5zW5ErnfVABuozOVq6EQe2SksY5xoT5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1142/FB_IMG_1595513798156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5-wlWuQ2pfM/XxmcN1eh5PI/AAAAAAAAZYE/B5zW5ErnfVABuozOVq6EQe2SksY5xoT5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/FB_IMG_1595513798156.jpg" /></a></div><p dir="ltr"><br /></p><p dir="ltr">I was searching through a large box of old photos for a picture of me when I was little. God had written some words on my heart and I needed the photo to go with the words. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">I could see the image in my mind - I knew exactly what I was looking for - I sifted through each photograph large and small (pausing and reminiscing) but it wasn't until I got to the bottom of that box that I finally found it. <br />
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</div><div align="left"><p dir="ltr">And it didn't look anything like the image etched in my mind. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">The image in my mind was clear but the photo was blurred. In my mind it was so bright and colorful but in my hand it was faded. In my mind the picture was large and whole but in reality it was small and torn. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">I can't help but think of the similarities to how we sometimes "see" our past. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Sometimes the images in our mind are vivid and sometimes they're faded, barely recognizable. Sometimes we see the "whole picture" and sometimes it's torn and fragmented. Sometimes it's so clear but over time becomes blurred at best. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Sometimes what we're searching for is not what we had envisioned at all. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">And sometimes that's a good thing. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Sometimes I think that's God's grace - His mercy poured out for us. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Sometimes we have to let go of those images in our minds and the things we're holding onto so we can receive what HE had in mind for us all along. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Past, present and future - we can trust Him with the whole picture. </p></div>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-56349276773765452362020-07-14T06:45:00.000-07:002020-07-14T06:45:52.535-07:00Beautifully Broken<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” Vance Havner</p></div><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><br /></p><p dir="ltr">There were many things that happened in my life that caused me to be "broken" and I spent so many years wishing my story had been different. More than anything I wanted not to have a "story" at all. I wanted uneventful, normal, nothing that would raise eyebrows or elicit sympathy. But the truth is I've had many opportunities to reach out to others who have been broken too and if I've been able to help in some small way then it gives purpose to the pain. </p>
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There is beauty in the broken. We only need to be willing to see it. <br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 NLT</p></div><p dir="ltr"><br />
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">Believing is seeing. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">His grace turns our broken into beautiful. </p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr">#beautifullybroken #beautyforashes #believingisseeing </p></div>Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-55317031561327743172020-06-29T16:45:00.003-07:002020-06-29T21:18:29.495-07:00Beyond the Gate<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff"><br /></font></span></p><p dir="ltr"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g3MJ-uLFqgs/Xvp5VznHyyI/AAAAAAAAZPc/X7yP9y8o32AXgWQbXcZO6CMf4vwUCL-PQCK4BGAsYHg/s3127/20200628_165002_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font color="#ffffff"><img border="0" data-original-height="3127" data-original-width="2783" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g3MJ-uLFqgs/Xvp5VznHyyI/AAAAAAAAZPc/X7yP9y8o32AXgWQbXcZO6CMf4vwUCL-PQCK4BGAsYHg/s320/20200628_165002_HDR.jpg" /></font></a></div><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff"><span>Sitting under the shade of our pergola breathing in the sweet scent of the </span><span>sassafras</span><span> trees, I listen to the chorus of birds calling out to one another. Time and time again I find myself startled by small creatures (who always sound <b>so</b> <b>much</b> <b>bigger</b>) as they scurry across the branches and ground. I look past the trees into the clearing to see what I can see. Usually it's nothing but s</span><span>ometimes I watch as a doe and her fawn cautiously make their way out of the safety of the woods and into the field. Sometimes I can hear a cow or two </span><span>bellering</span><span> and then watch as the whole herd of them parade by, stopping here and there for a bite of fresh grass. </span></font></p><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">As I think about all the sights and sounds it dawns on me - there's another world on the other side of that gate.</font></p></div><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">I mostly watch and listen from the comfort and safety of my deck but I <i>have </i>ventured off on a path a time or two. Of course never alone!</font></p><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff">Sometimes we get a little too comfortable in our lives - afraid to venture out into the unknown, afraid to leave the safety of what we've <i>always</i> known.</font></span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff">Here's the thing...</font></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff">we're never alone. </font></span></p>
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<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff">Sometimes we feel led or long to do something different but we're fearful. </font></span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">What if it's the wrong path?</font></p><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">What if I fail?</font></p><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">If only I were <u>smarter</u>, more <u>talented</u>, more <u>confident</u> (you fill in the blank).</font></p><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">We waste so much time on the 'what ifs' and the 'if onlys'.</font></p><p dir="ltr"></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff">Maybe we should just open the gate (or climb over the gate!) and start out on a new adventure. </font></span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">We can look at it this way - the gate is there to keep something out or to keep us in but either way - it can <i>always</i> be opened.</font></p><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">Maybe, just maybe, we should live our lives the way God created us to live them.</font></p><div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><span><font color="#ffffff">Brave. Strong. Courageous. </font></span></p>
</div><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">Maybe we shouldn't let the fear of what <i>could</i> <i>be</i> out there stop us from experiencing the <i>adventure</i> <i>awaiting</i> us. </font></p><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff">Are you ready to go beyond the gate?</font></p>
<div align="left"><p dir="ltr"><font color="#ffffff"><span>#</span><span>adventuresawait</span><span> #</span><span>bestrong</span><span> #</span><span>bebrave</span><span> #</span><span>becourageous</span><span> #</span><span>befearless</span><span> </span></font></p>
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</font></p><br />Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2433945978253474863.post-59088988759098229562020-05-07T05:52:00.000-07:002020-05-07T06:16:16.953-07:00Letting go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes you have to let go of something to make room for something else. Sometimes the "letting go" isn't a choice you make but a decision made for you. And sometimes you make a mistake and let go without realizing what you've done.<br />
I'm sure that's happened plenty of times in my life but the most recent is with my writing.<br />
Years ago I started a blog, later I decided to move it to a different location and yesterday I decided to make a few changes.<br />
Somehow I changed something that can't be changed back and lost all of my writing. No matter how I tried to "fix" it I wasn't able to retrieve my words.<br />
So I'm letting go.<br />
I'm believing that the God who created me and gave me the words will once again pour into me and create through me the messages that will encourage and inspire others.<br />
So here we are, another new (actually old but renewed) blog. A fresh start. A do-over. I love that we get a second chance (and a third, fourth, whatever is needed) to do what we're called to do and be what we were created to be.<br />
His mercies are new every morning and I'm so very grateful.<br />
So if you're holding on to something and you know you need to let go, it's okay. You're not alone and by letting go you're opening your hands to receive something even better.<br />
Don't be afraid, you may be letting go but God will never let go of you.<br />
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<br />Lanette Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17527528486346051078noreply@blogger.com0