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Monday Morning Minute ~ Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Monday Morning Minute

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
(Psalm 139:13-14 ESV)

I love the passages in Psalm 139; especially the part “fearfully and wonderfully made”. Yes, God made us all unique and we should embrace that to honor Him.

To tell you the truth, the revelation that we are all unique did not come to me until recently. Very often I was jealous of the abilities others had and I did not. This jealousy started at a very young age. My sister was the talented one; she could paint, sing like an angel, play instruments without difficulty. It seemed that I only had practical traits; I was good at math, reading and memorization. Like I said: practical, no inkling of being creative at all.

I so wanted to be creative, just like my sister was. I even could not sow or cook; how embracing. I barely passed home-ed classes in school. Little did I know that my creativity laid somewhere else. It took years to realize that.

When I rewrote the “About Me” section of my photography website, I noticed that I have been photographing people and things from a very young age. Of course, back then, I photographed on film. But the gift was there. I have very found memories as my dad taught me how to hold a camera. I photographed places all over Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Always in awe about the beautiful places God created for us to enjoy.

Today, I still like to capture places that are unique or beautiful. But even more so I like to capture people in moments that create memories. There is just something about that that makes my heart soar. Yes, it took me years to recognize the gift God gave me so long ago. I embrace the gift with all my heart.

My sweet friend, you too are fearfully and wonderfully made. God gave you gifts that are unique to you, and you alone. Stop looking at others and their gifts and talents. Open your heart and let God show you your gifts and talents.

By the way, over the years I have learned to cook and be even creative with it. However, sowing is still something that I cannot master.

Love & peace,
Iris

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Thankful Thursday ~ Great Physicians

And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:15-17 ESV)

A couple of weeks ago my sweet mom ended up in the hospital. I was devastated. When you are 6,000 miles from home, you feel powerless when your loved ones get sick. All I could do was to pray that all would work out and that mom would have the best doctors possible.

Last Saturday, I was finally able to speak to my mom. It was nice to hear her voice and to finally get all the details what had happened. She had a heart-issue, similar to the one my beloved had last year. I was glad that my mom had great physicians to get her healthy and get her on the right medication. I am thankful for that. Honestly, I don’t know how I would have felt if my mom would not have made it. But for now, I am celebrating her recovery.

When things like this happened, God reminds me that we need to be thankful for the relationships in our lives. We need to take time out to enjoy the ones we have in our life.

I am thankful also for the relationship with God. Without Him and His peace I know I could not survive. I am thankful for the greatest Physician; the Physician of my heart, body and soul, Jesus Christ.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: there is one great Physician; give Him your hurts and pain.

Love & peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Jackie
2. Mia / Unlocking Mysteries
3. Karen
4. How to Build		 5. Heather @ Becoming Titus 2 Women
6. LaughingLady
7. Feed A Family of 5 for $119
8. Love 101		 9. bp
10. Hard Days That End Well

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Thankful Thursday ~ I lift up my eyes to the Hills

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
(Psalm 121:1-4 ESV)

When a day does not go so well, we tend to look only at the things that went wrong. The bad stuff seems to stick. But in reality, I am blessed, even on the not so smooth days. I have what I need; God and His Word in my life. I love to listen to the Bible when I feel stress coming on. Yesterday was one of those really hectic days at work (it seem every day is a hectic day at work 😆 ). Last night when I got off work, I plugged myself into His Word; it helped me to calm down and relax me from the day’s events. You see – totally blessed!!!

I love reading, listing, digging into God’s Word; there I can find the strength and peace that I need. There I can find thankfulness. If you ever read/listened to the Psalms, you can see that almost all Psalms are written with a a thankful heart. I am also glad that some of the Psalms have been put to music over the past couple of decades. Like Psalm 121 has been set to music by several bands, SONICFLOOd or Kutless.

Lord of mercy and grace. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your strength that You give us freely when we lift our eyes up to the hills. You alone give us help in the not so smooth days. I love You with all my heart, body and mind. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: when things don’t go smooth, lift up your eyes to the Lord.

Love & peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Perfection?
2. Blessings Poured Out
3. Our Heart and Home – God’s Healing
4. Homestead For Him
5. Wendy @ Daily Dose of Del Signore
6. LaughingLady		 7. Sarah @ The Fontenot Four
8. Encouraging Masculinity in Marriage
9. Say to the Mountain, MOVE!
10. Journaling Gina
11. Our God is Mighty to Save!
12. How God Miraculously Protected Me		 13. Water and Oil: Healing of Body and Spirit: Water
14. Raindrops & Rainbows
15. Kari @ the part of everything
16. Inspirations from Phather Phil – Thankful Thursday: Missing the Point

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Monday Morning Minute ~ Mission Impossible or Not?

Monday Morning Minute

Are you on a mission that is impossible? Sometimes when we have dreams, God-sized dreams, it seems that we can’t get it done. We are afraid of what may happen when we fail. I know I do. Over months, I have been on a mission. I have been procrastinating about an application that I have thought about 6 months. But last week, I finally went for it. I sent off my LLC application for my photography business to the Arizona Corporate Commission. Seriously, the worst that can happen is that they deny my application.

How often have I said here on my blog and to my friends that we all need to step out in faith. This time I headed my own words. And you know what? It feels great to make a big leap of faith. I just needed to get out of the way and trust that God will do the rest.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
(Mark 10:27 ESV)

Jesus was talking to His disciples about how people can get saved and be part of God’s kingdom. However, I think that God wants us to fully trust him, with the big and the small things. He knows every single detail and how everything turns out in the end. And that my friend, gives me great peace and allows me to step out in faith.

Lord of mercy and grace. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for giving me peace to step out in faith. You know every single detail of my life and I trust that You will lead me. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Life is good…with God.