What Should Prayer Look Like?

If you’re wanting to learn what God says about prayer, a quick internet search on prayer verses in the Bible will bring up quite a few references to what the Bible (AKA God) says about prayer, but something I would like to highlight is a newer-to-me perspective on why I ought to pray.

I grew up believing that prayer was about asking for what I want. In fact the Bible even says to let our requests be made known to God:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) (emphasis added, & hey, it’s also our verse from last week! Read that post, here: “How You Can Have Impossible Peace.”)

But make no mistake… prayer is not about making God do what I want. And trust me… that’s a GOOD THING.

God Doesn’t Answer to Me… Will That Cause Me to Doubt Him?

Something I always seemed to misunderstand was how I could be expected to make my requests known to Him & NOT be trying to make God into my personal genie—as I had always been told He was not… because He isn’t. He is GOD. And God does not answer to me.

So, going through deep depression lows & other seemingly never-ending times of hardship in my life, I would do as the verse says… I would make my requests (to end my struggles) be made known to God.

But when He did not remove the struggles or hardships… well, I stopped finding it so easy to trust Him.

And guess what… that is Exactly what Satan wants to result from our hardships & struggles… to doubt God & to turn away from Him... from HOPE.

And so I have come to realize that while the Bible does instruct us to make our requests known to God… I was missing a key piece to the whole prayer thing.

Prayer is meant to help me get on the same page as God. To align my heart with His perfect will & steadfast peace. To trust He knows far better than I do.

Remember These Major Truths When You Pray

Really effective prayer stems from another few verses we ought to keep in mind as we pray (emphasis added):

1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
2. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)
3. ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “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)
4. “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.” (Romans 8:28)
5. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

It’s okay to let God know your preference & to ask for it. But when looking at the above verses, it sounds like God is trying to tell us something there, doesn’t it? And boy do I need that reminder almost every day…. Our preference should not be the end-all-be-all, my-way-or-the-highway type of request… but a request of humility, understanding that in ALL things, GOD KNOWS BEST.

Fearing God Is Where It Ought to Start… Because of Some Pretty Awesome Reasons

Fearing God means recognizing really & truly that God is GOD & we are NOT–that’s why true wisdom starts there. Couple that with the fact that God tells us directly NOT to rely on our OWN understanding, well, it stands to reason that when we pray, we ought to ask for HIS GOD-will to trump our own will… that He help us trust HIS will & that He uphold us in it & through it.

Prayer is not about bringing a grocery list of requests to God for Him to pop out as you ask them, allowing you to have your ideal life with zero struggle or pain.

Prayer is about bringing our requests to Him & asking with a BUT, “… BUT, help me to see YOUR will in this. Help me to face it in a way that honors YOU. Strengthen me & help me to give YOU glory—no matter the outcome, & help me trust that YOU will also be my enough every step through it & will work it out for my good because YOU are a good God.”

Pray your prayers with a heart of surrender, being willing to trade your preference for His perfectly wise & always GOOD will.

Who Would You Rather?

Consider it this way: If you had a choice between entrusting your faith to a toddler to help you know what is best… Or an adult… who would you rather call the shots? (Hint: We are the toddler in this scenario… & God is the adult, but so much more.)

Oh, we may want something REALLY badly & feel like it’s the absolute end of the world if we do not have it (our dream job, our dream guy, 2.5 kids with a white picket fence, or a clear bill of health–none of those are wrong to want, by the way)… But we only see & understand & know a mere FRACTION of what God sees, understands, & knows.

God sees & understands & knows EVERYTHING. Do we? I know I don’t.

(But let me tell you, it is getting harder for me to raise eyebrows at screaming, demanding-their-way toddlers nowadays because I’m beginning to realize how closely I must resemble them before God sometimes.)

So why oh why would we want & sometimes maybe even demand to get OUR way if it differs from GOD’S way?

God Is Good, So Good–Pray for His Will

I heard pastor & author Chip Ingram say in his video series on “God as He Longs for You to See Him”:

“God is all-wise & all-good, so if there was a gentler, kinder, better way for God to accomplish His perfect will for your life… That’s the way He would do it.”

-Chip Ingram

God knows what He’s talking about on literally EVERYTHING. So that’s why, when we pray, we ought to pray that God help us line up to His perspective & His will in the situation, that He help us trust in that even when we don’t really understand it or see how it could possibly be any good... that He help us through His way & in letting go of our way if it is His will.

“BUT, Your will be done… & help me to trust You through it… I don’t understand, but I know You do. And be my strength & guide & ENOUGH every step of the way.”

Do you pray to get your way or for help trusting God’s way?

Do You Pray to Get Your Way? Or for Help Trusting God’s Way?

Request your request, but have a heart willing to yield that request for His glory & His help through every step of it.

Because He may not give you what you so desperately want, but He WILL supply you with all you need through it, AS you lean into HIM as your Enough. He will NEVER waste your struggle or lack. EVER.

So, shine HOPE by turning your prayers from getting your way to asking for help in being willing to see God’s plan win over your own, & for Him to be your supply through it every step of the way.

He ALWAYS shows Himself faithful. And you can ALWAYS count on that.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Aventurine Lock Bracelet (Dominican Republic)

The naturally varying shades of genuine aventurine stone make every Aventurine Lock Bracelet from the Dominican Republic totally unique. Each stretch-to-fit bracelet features a gold-tone accent bead and a delicate gold lock charm.

*Every purchase of this bracelet supports a safe house in the Dominican Republic that provides housing, education, legal services, and trauma counseling for survivors of human trafficking.*

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

An “Impossible” Peace

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Have you ever stopped to consider what it really means to have peace that goes beyond your understanding?

I have talked on this before, but as I am learning more about daily, moment-by-moment surrender to God, to include my very grumpy mornings as of late, this concept of impossible peace has become a comforting, non-understandable companion of mine. And I want you to see how you can have it, too.

Many a Sleepless Night

You see, it has been a long time since I have slept well. And, while many have conjectured the reasons, whether it be hormonal or anxiety or whatever else, there really isn’t any clear explanation at all as to why I am not sleeping much.

It’s always different. I feel no anxiety or worries floating around in my head. I’m not thinking about anything at all & in fact, constantly feel in a state of “I’m about to drift off” but sometimes never actually do. The reason for my lack of sleep is never consistent.

There’s the stray dogs that gather outside our bedroom window & decide to join as a chaotic choir of shrill, loud barks in the middle of the night at random times. There’s my husband’s leg that jerks along with his dreams some nights as he sleeps. There’s the inconsolable itches in my nose or a clog I can’t seem to adequately clear or a tickle in my throat that threatens to explode into a barrage of loud, wake-the-husband coughs that I strain to contain. Sometimes it’s a fold in the sheets under my leg that my brain fixates on with hypersensitivity, like I am embodying the princess & the pea. And in the course of one single night, sometimes it is ALL OF THE ABOVE.

It has been rough. I’m not going to lie to you about that.

The Hard Hasn’t Stopped… But…

Some nights, after HOURS of “almost there, almost about to drift into deep, blissful sleep” moments where I am jerked awake by any one of those things I mentioned above… after hours of being so sleepy, so relaxed, so on the edge of slumber, but unsuccessful… well, sometimes I resort to silent screaming into my pillow, whimpering pathetically as quietly as I can, or just giving up altogether & just getting up.

In fact, after resorting to all three of those a few nights ago, I eventually sat down at my dining room table at around 4am, put my elbows on the table, put my face in my palms, & I just sat there & sobbed for about 20-30 minutes.

Frustration. Exhaustion. Maddening countless failed attempts to sleep. It was all too much. And this, mind you, is after MONTHS of this happening several times a week, if not more.

And I have prayed. OH HOW I HAVE PRAYED for it to stop so I could JUST SLEEP.

But no relief comes. But….

Does God Really Care? Even When It Stays Hard?

And to be honest with you, when times like this, where troubles just kept coming at me with little to no relief & my prayers seemed to be to no avail, I was really, really tempted & sometimes full-on gave in to doubting that God even cared about me at all.

Shame on me.

But God has been preparing me for this very season through my personally learned lessons of surrender lately. He’s been teaching me that He is enough when I am not even close. That He can be my strength when I am depleted. That He can hold me up & lift me when I feel sunken into the ground in defeat.

He really is enough.

And that’s what I want to urge you to consider. That He is enough, even when it makes absolutely no sense that you can feel you have lost everything & still have everything.

His Peace Seems Impossible When It Is Present on the Darkest of Nights

Impossible peace is not so impossible with God.

It is very much possible… through crying out to Him AS your help in times of trouble.

*Now, there is a pre-requisite, if you will… Knowing & accepting His Son, Jesus, as your Savior from your sin. We all sin. We all deserve Hell. But God offers hope, through Jesus. Do you know Him? (Read more about that in “Have You Met Jesus?” & “Am I Going to Hell?”) Because THAT peace is what your heart really craves above ALL else.*

You see, I used to think that crying out to Him as my help in times of trouble meant that I need to trust Him to fix everything for me so I can just be happy again.

But no. That’s not it.

Praise Him in Every Circumstance

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“I will praise the Lord at all times.
    I will constantly speak his praises.” (Psalm 34:1)

This peace that goes beyond understanding, this IMPOSSIBLE PEACE, means that EVEN WHEN THE STORMS STILL RAGE… you can have peace through Him.

That is why the disciples could sing praise to God while sitting in prison. (Acts 16:24-25)

That is why God says to praise Him in every circumstance. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

That is why God says to not lean on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

How You Can Have Impossible Peace

My physical body is weak. I am tired almost all the time lately. I wake up so many days mad at my alarm, signifying that time is up… no more attempts for sleep tonight….

And I have a lot to surrender lately because of all that.

And I may feel like I am breaking, but I am not broken.

I may feel weak, but He IS my strength when I call out to Him.

My days may start off with an angry, temper-tantrum worthy attitude of frustration, but when I ask God to forgive me for it & I ask Him to be my enough somehow that day… He shows Himself quite enough for me every time.

How can you have impossible peace? Through calling out to Him AS your help.

I don’t like feeling weak. I don’t like feeling like I have to ask for help in the dumbest, littlest ways as if I am completely worthless… but let me tell you what… I like knowing He is enough, always, 100%.

Am I Willing to Surrender This to Him as My Help?

The question I have to ask myself when I am being broken down is this: “Am I willing to surrender this to Him for help? Am I willing to entrust my nothing for His everything? Or am I going to demand to feel I am enough on my own?”

Satan Wants Me Broken… Wants Me to Quit… But God Wants Me to KNOW God Is Enough, Even If

I strongly believe that my lack of sleep is spiritual warfare. If you doubt Satan does stuff like that, just spend some time reading the book in the Bible: Job. (Job) Because there is no clear reason, nor any CONSISTENT reason why I can’t sleep.

I feel like Satan is hating what I am learning about surrender, aka taking my lacking & knowing I can trade that in for God’s everything if I am but willing to surrender to His help versus demand I feel adequate on my own again.

I feel like Satan wants me to throw in the towel & say, “Heck no! This is NOT worth it! I feel tired all the time & it is so HARD & I HATE hard! Forget it! I want it to be easy again! I don’t want to NEED God for even the tiniest things! It’s TOO HARD! I quit!”

But God whispers gently the reminder that each & every time I have chosen surrender on those very hard mornings following bad sleep… that God was faithful… He showed up… He helped me put one foot in front of the other like a constant Companion & Guide… He comforted me in my most uncomfortable moments. That He was very much ENOUGH for me.

I am But Human… Thankfully, God Is MORE

Am I tempted some mornings to listen to Satan & throw in the towel & quit & say, “But I don’t WANT it to be HARD anymore!” Yes. Sadly, yes. I like feeling the lie that I can take care of myself just fine & rely on a restful night sleep after a long day so I can wake up refreshed & ready for the next day, feeling strong. I WANT THAT SO BADLY when struggling to sleep in the middle of the night!

But God has been giving me impossible peace each day when sleep happens to elude me. He has helped me see I can trust Him with more than I thought.

My Excuses… My Fears… Compared to God’s Everything

And He has shown me another very important thing through this hard, sometimes so frustrating journey… that my previous struggle of merely being a light sleeper kept me from thriving because I always chose extra chances for sleep versus taking time with Him every morning before I began each day, worried I wouldn’t sleep enough otherwise.

But now, I barely sleep anyway. And yet… God has shown Himself more than sufficient for me through it….

And if He is sufficient when I get no sleep, how much more so if I am getting less sleep ON PURPOSE because I desire to give Him honor by spending time with Him before I start each day, asking for His help & guiding hand to lead my thoughts & actions.

Satan wants me to stay stuck. To say, “See, you’re never guaranteed sleep… so just set your alarm as late as you can… or don’t set it at all… just in case.”

But if God can prove Himself to be more than sufficient in this season of intense & agonizing sleeplessness, then He can supply for me what I need in order to take some time each morning, intentionally, to spend time honoring Him each morning before I start my day.

No more living in fear of lack of sleep. I’m not getting much these days anyway.

I Can Have Impossible Peace… Even IN the Hard… & SO. CAN. YOU.

Time to surrender even my fear of not getting enough sleep to God & time to start asking Him to give me enough clarity of thought to spend time dedicating my day to Him each morning… even if I don’t get ANY sleep… & even if it means risking less sleep.

Because He really is enough. And He really can supply “impossible” peace… even when it seems, well, impossible… if I am but willing to surrender my need to Him AS my help.

Shine HOPE by not letting Satan call the shots or discourage you away from all the many ways God can stand in the gap for you & be your more than enough… by determining to rely on God’s impossible peace.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Kaia Earrings (Philippines)

These elegant eco-friendly earrings feature ethically sourced, sustainable, capiz shells that local families harvest from the bottom of the sea surrounding the Philippine islands. Artisans handcraft these natural capiz shells into blue ombré teardrop shapes and then wrap them in silver-tone metal frames before adding silver-tone fishhook ear wires.

*Every purchase provides safe jobs with fair wages for women in areas of extreme poverty in the Philippines.*

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

When Everything Is Just Blank…

I am sitting at my computer just feeling completely blank. I have tried to think of what to say, have started typing several times on topics in the back of my mind… but nothing seems to stick. Nothing seems quite right… & so then it gets deleted.

So, I guess I am just going to start typing & see where God takes it today.

Feeling Tired. Feeling Numb.

My depression is a funny animal. Some days I feel pretty okay, some I thrive… but some days (like today) just feel like I am dragging. Everything feels hard.

It might also have something to do with the consistently choppy sleep I have been getting recently. So part of it is quite possibly just being plain tired. But I feel sort of numb, too, like I just don’t really care about much of anything.

Feeling this way makes it hard to do much of anything. I just want to glaze over & get through the day so I can try again tomorrow… or maybe next week. That’s just me being honest. I know sometimes I sound like a broken record when I have these days & talk about it, but the alternative is plastering on a fake smile & forcing out a cheery tone to make everyone else feel better about me not feeling better… but then I just feel like a fake & like what’s the point?

Quitting Just Makes It Worse

But I also don’t want to waste away my day, letting those feelings of blah win, because honestly, enough of those sorts of days piled up makes me feel defeated & they just seem to compound over time, sparking the feeling that my life is just one big waste. (Not a rabbit hole I want to go down again.)

So, that’s not really an option either.

Then what do I do? I’ve got nothin’. I feel blah. I just want to not bother because bothering just seems an added hard to the already existing hard.

Well, surprise, surprise… I go back to my old friend “Surrender.” And here we go again.

God Knows & God’s Enough

“God, I don’t understand why I’m not sleeping… why everything has to feel so hard so often. I feel like I struggle more than most people & that everyone is probably sick of hearing about it by now… so why do You allow it to keep happening? And why do I have to keep writing about how weak I am? I don’t understand why so many things keep me awake lately. I feel like I took sleep for granted & now I never seem to get enough of it. I feel like I’m drifting. I feel bored with & am numbing to life sometimes lately because everything seems grayscale. I crave color. I want to do great things for You, but then I feel like I am obviously not strong enough for it. I get it… I’m not enough. My humanness glares at me in times like this & it is so uncomfortable. I really hate it sometimes. Maybe that’s why You allow it? So I learn it’s not me I need to be trying to count on anyway, but You? I know I need to be better at that for sure. I’m sorry for craving self-sufficiency, for trying to fix it myself… instead of allowing it to be an opportunity to cry out to You as my help. Please forgive me. I like feeling strong & capable, but please teach me that You really are my Enough. Please be my Enough. Help me to somehow give You glory when all I feel like I want to be is a grumbling, grumpy, give-up quitter. Forgive me for thinking I have to have my strength & control back in order to be something or do anything of value for You. You are Enough. Be my Enough. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.”

Am I the Only One Who Feels So Weak So Often?

I don’t know if you ever feel like that? Or if it’s just me?

But boy am I NOT a fan.

But today, & hopefully every day following… I want to force myself to choose surrender & let God take my NOT ENOUGH & make it into something because HE IS ENOUGH.

Shine HOPE by making sure you remember that, too. Amen.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Rosa Bracelet (Guatemala)

Using traditional Guatemalan beading techniques, Artisans handcraft this feminine and romantic adjustable Rosa Bracelet to create a beautiful chain of petite purple diamonds with silver accents. Every purchase provides safe jobs with fair wages for women in areas of extreme poverty in Guatemala.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

Surrendering to Hope

If you have ever faced tragedy, this is a question that could possibly have crossed your mind: “How am I supposed to hope in God when all feels hopeless?”

Lately, I have been talking a lot about the topic of surrender. (You can read those, here: “Surrender to God When His Plan Contradicts Yours” & “True Joy Comes in Living a Life of Surrender”). Well, this topic is really no different, but I want to share an encouragement with you to start off this conversation.

Let’s Start with Some Encouragement

Just like I mentioned last week, when I surrender to God on any given occasion, I am not numbing myself from what I want (to keep myself from hating God). Nor am I just tossing it to the wind as if to say, “Fine, whatever. I guess I don’t get what I want then,” hoping against all hope that maybe God will someday “change His mind.”

It’s not a surrender to the numbing. It’s not a surrender to the whatever happens, fine.

It’s an ENTRUSTING to an Almighty God who loves you so much that even knowing you wronged Him, knowing you could never do enough to “even the scales,” & knowing you could never hope to be good enough to earn reconciliation with God because of your fleshly sin nature… He made a way possible for that by sending Jesus, Who WILLINGLY paid your debt for you so you could receive forgiveness & reconciliation to God if you but put your faith & hope in HIM.

And it is no different when tragedy comes crashing through your life like a devastating tornado of destruction, ripping apart your hopes & dreams & everything you love… When everything turns hopeless.

How to Hope in God When All Feels Hopeless?

So, I ask again. HOW can you hope in God when all feels hopeless?

It’s a valid question from the perspective of human flesh. We can’t see what He sees. We can’t KNOW what He knows. And to us, to me (sometimes too often), it feels incomprehensible that a God who gave SO MUCH to express His love for me, through Jesus, could ever do anything or ALLOW anything that could crush me so deeply.

But He does. He does allow it sometimes.

And yet… He is still GOOD.

How can that be?

Obedience Breeds Trust

I have been down that path many times. Struggling with depression throughout most of my life, I have gone down some pretty dark paths & questioned this very thing many, many times before.

Do you happen to remember a post I did last year maybe? About how we ought to “Want to Trust God? Obey Him”? How I incorrectly tried to seek how I can trust God better SO I can obey Him better? How I thought that seemed a righteous goal to pursue, but later, God helped me to understand the distrust & the selfishness it displayed because it was a sort of “vetting process” where I wanted to know I believed God & understood everything to my comfort level before I would be willing to obey Him? I wanted the control.

How the Truth of it is that Trust is actually bred OUT OF obedience, because it is ONLY through a taking of God at His Word—before I have vetted it—& obeying first, that I can actually step back & see, “WOW, that made NO sense to me, but I did it because He said to & it actually WORKED!!”

I Have Asked Those Questions

The same is true in the midst of tragedy & devastation.

It is in those moments we often most want to scream for a way to trust God somehow, some way to get through this & when it stays hard & it doesn’t get better, we want to scream AT Him. We want to pull away in bitter hurt. We want to turn our back & give Him the silent treatment because our prayers seem to be falling on deaf ears & the more we pray, the more silence we feel in return, & the fear becomes, “if I ask one more time without relief from Him, I am afraid of what that will do to my faith or how I would end up dishonoring God with my anger, so I will just stop asking because I can’t handle more of it.”

Anyone else? Just me?

I have been through those dark days. I have craved an end to my life. I have been in a place that my deepest anger was the fact that I was too afraid of hurting others by ending my life because I wanted to just end it already. End the pain. End the struggle. End the hopeless, crushing weight that I carried.

I have been there. I have asked those questions. I have wondered how to hope in God when all feels hopeless.

Back to Surrender

And back again to surrender… to the entrusting… to the obeying first to build the trust we crave… where all the pieces slide into place….

How can you hope in God when all feels hopeless?

By determining to trust in God & His goodness & His love & His sacrifice for you–even when all hope feels lost.

You may not feel it. You may feel hopeless. But DETERMINE to cling to TRUTH, even when you feel it just can’t be.

Entrust the pain & circumstance to Him… to His goodness.

A Desperate Prayer of Surrender… to HOPE

Be willing to drop to your knees & say, “God, I get it. I live in a world FULL of sin because we all have sin. And as a result, I know that sin causes pains & hurts to plague this world.. But this pain is TOO MUCH. I can’t bear it. I’m too weak. I’m crumbling beneath the weight of this. I CAN’T HOLD IT ANYMORE! Help me. Please. I know, deep down, somehow some way… that You ARE Good. I don’t see it right now. All I see is my painful circumstances. But somehow… I know it’s true even if I can’t see it right now. Help me cling to You, Father. My grip is weak. PLEASE help me hold on. BE my strength. I don’t have enough. I need You. Please be my help. Be my shelter in this storm. Be my enough. Hold me. Help me to keep crying out to You & be my comfort through this valley of death & darkness. ‘Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod & Your staff, they comfort me.’ (Psalm 23:4) Remind me that ‘You go with me & You never leave me, nor forsake me.’ (Deuteronomy 31:6) Keep my eyes on You as the storm rages on & don’t let me be swept away in it. Be my anchor. Be my steady, firm ground. Help me to praise You still, even when all feels lost. With You, there is always hope & I don’t see how that can POSSIBLY be right now, but help me to trust You with it despite all appearances. Help me to be obedient in my hope, even if I am not sure how yet to trust You in this. In Jesus’ wonderful, mighty name, AMEN.”

He Is with You Always, Even to the End of the Age

Don’t give up, dear one. Don’t let satan tear you to shreds through this trial or any to come… even if you have to cry in a whispered breath, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

Put on your armor, GOD’S armor, as demonstrated to us in Ephesians 6:10-18.

DETERMINE to cling to the GOODNESS of God, even if you can’t see it right now.

Shine HOPE, by demonstrating hope in God even when all feels hopeless, knowing He is fully worth your entrusting of your worst trial to Him.

It is okay to not be okay. It’s okay to not be enough. That is why we ALL NEED HIM.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Caribbean-Coast-Bracelet (Haiti)

This ethically made green, turquoise, and light blue bracelet from Haiti features three genuine amazonite stone beads and coordinating glass beads accented with silver-plated accent beads. Designed to coordinate with the Willow Bracelet the naturally varying shades of genuine amazonite stone make each stretch-to-fit Caribbean Coast Bracelet unique! Every purchase provides jobs for women in areas of extreme poverty in Haiti and helps mamas keep their babies out of poverty orphanages.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

Surrender to God Brings Joy

Last week, we talked about how we ought to surrender to God’s plan when it contradicts our own will. (Read that post, here: “Surrender to God When His Plan Contradicts Yours”) But really, to find true joy in life, everything in our life requires surrender… every little bit of it.

The wonderful thing about that fact is the truth that as we surrender to God’s will & His help in every little thing, big or small, we begin to take so much of the weight & burden off our own shoulders & place it on His very capable, inexhaustible shoulders (Matthew 11:28-30).

Everything takes surrender, whether it be a bad attitude, feeling gloomy or frustrated or even days where you feel like rolling your eyes at everything… & even on a good day, when you think you have it all together & you’re just rockin’ it—because doing what seems right in our own eyes, no matter how righteous it seems, will ALWAYS fall short of deferring to God in any given moment. We need Him.

Let’s go through some areas that require daily surrender.

Rise & Shine? Or Waking Up with the Grumpies?

When I begin my day, it’s my morning attitude & sleepy grumpiness that I must surrender first. My alarm goes off & I confess, my initial response is NOT “Riiise & shiiine, & give God the glory, glory!!” (Anyone else have camp leaders sing that to your hall every morning… oh LORD, I needed to pray for patience & grace those mornings!)

But, NO, that is not my usual first feeling. Normally, I groan in disgust, pinch my eyes shut in annoyed defiance to the required wakeup time, roll out of bed slowly, unwillingly… & pray something like, “God, I’m sorry. Please forgive my bad attitude. I am SO tired I just want to go back to sleep! Please help me honor You today & help my attitude get in shape this morning. Help me not ruin my own day with my own bad attitude. Help me give You glory today instead. AMEN.”

Surrender.

God Asked Me to Do It, But _____________________

Sometimes the need for surrender comes in those moments where I feel an annoying little nudge-prompting from God to do something that intimidates me or something for which I feel ill-equipped. My heart rears back & I feel fear & defiance & anxiety take root.

It’s when I feel too busy to handle it… or too easily distractable… or too worn out… or too ________________________. Distractions & inadequacies & obstacles seem to come in every shape or form when I feel anxious about something God asks of me.

And then God whispers over my heart the reminder that whatever He asks of me, whether a habit I need to get to making, or an area of obedience I am avoiding, or a task to speak to or help someone… no matter what it is… HE will take care of the details & the how. I just have to be willing to say, “Yes, Lord. Show me how. You know this scares or intimidates me because I want to be honoring to You, but practically, I don’t know how to do this. But if it’s something that honors You, I need to remember that You WILL help me to do it if I just be willing to let You. Don’t let any obstacle or limitation keep me from trusting You can make it happen anyway. Show me how & give me the strength to do it… & I will do it. AMEN.”

Surrender.

Love & Pray for My ENEMIES?

Or, here’s a good one. You know the verse that says to “love our enemy & pray for those who persecute us?” (Luke 6:27-36) Sometimes someone is straight up RUDE to me & they know it & they just don’t care one bit. Or, they are completely & utterly CLUELESS to how their bad attitude is being directed at me & so don’t feel the need to apologize at all.

Is my natural reaction to love & pray for them? NO! A BIG no. I want to throat punch them & tell them to shape up. I want to DEMAND the injustice & unkindness be righted.

What I DON’T want… is to be gracious (remember, by DEFINITION, grace is UNdeserved.)

I have to take a deep breath, swallow my righteous anger (because really, I have a right to be angry, but God instructs us to be angry & NOT SIN. (AKA no hatred & yes to loving them & praying for them instead), (Ephesians 4:26-32) & I have to stop & pray: “God… GOD… You saw that. I know You heard what they said & that You feel the hurt it caused me. I want it made RIGHT! I want justice. I want an apology. I want to scream. But I know bitterness & grudges & bottling up my anger doesn’t please You. You want me to love them & pray for them. HOW?!? Help me forgive them. Help me give grace. Help me remember I am just as in need of grace as they. Help me to leave it in Your hands & trust You to handle it. Show me how I can possibly love them. Teach me how. Love them through me & teach me to pray for them versus stewing in it or slandering them over it. Please help me. AMEN.”

Surrender.

So Many Things Don’t Go My Way… & Surprisingly, That Always Ends Up Being a Good Thing

And then there are my plans & goals & dreams, like I talked about last week. Sometimes God says “no.” Sometimes He says, “not right now” & sometimes the “when”not right now” seems so far off or so unclear that you’re not even sure if maybe it’s actually a NO. And it hurts.

Maybe it’s lacking a relationship & you wonder if you’ll be single forever (been there), watching your younger siblings & friends get married while you are yet to have any true prospects (again, been there). Everyone else seems to be enjoying marital bliss but you.

Or maybe it’s a job or career path that ever seems to be slipping out of your grasp or you feel like you’re floating through life, still completely unsure of “what you want to be when you grow up.” Everyone else seems to have it figured out but you. (I can also relate).

Maybe it’s wanting children, but every month you are hit again with the realization that it won’t be this time around. And that happens over & over & over again & you wonder why it seems God won’t answer that for you. Everyone else seems to have a happy family with game nights & camping trips & time with cousins… but you arrive childless to every family gathering. (That was my heart hurt for MANY years, although God has grown me to appreciate the different plan He has had for us. Read about that story, here: “To the Barren Woman.”)

Maybe it’s a prolonged illness, a bad diagnosis, a terrible injury, a mental disorder, or a trauma that seems to haunt you on the daily. Everyone else seems capable & able to live life to the fullest, but you feel stuck, missing out & held back against your will.

I could go through so many maybes, but the truth is, sometimes life just doesn’t happen the way we so, SO want it to.

And that takes surrender. Surrendering to GOD’S will when it seems so opposite your own. DETERMINING to cling to Him & trust His GOODNESS, to trust HIM. No matter what.

True Joy Comes in Living a Life of Surrender

EVERY decision He makes, as absolute authority over heaven & earth is ALWAYS meant for BOTH His glory & your GOOD. Always. 100%.

True joy comes in living a life of surrender, whether it’s my attitude, or little choices in how I respond or treat a situation, or being obedient to Him even when I don’t want to or it’s hard, or facing the fact that God’s plan may not line up AT ALL with mine.

It brings true joy to surrender to Him in all things because STRIVING after & CLINGING to & DEMANDING to have your way happen or that you DESERVE to feel that way or react that way… when we do that, we hurt ourselves.

Let God take on that heavy weight. And let Him carry YOU. Let Him care for & comfort you.

Say, “God, I don’t like the way this is turning out & I want to be bitter & mad at You even. I’m sorry for that, but it’s the truth. I don’t understand why You would allow this to be my life. How can You say you love me & allow this to be my life? I don’t understand. But I want to trust You. I want to trust that You’re still good & that somehow You know what You’re doing & that You’re even ENOUGH for me in this plan I DO NOT like. Help me. I really want to believe You, but it hurts so much. Help me fall back on You & know that You will be there to catch me. Help me stop striving & to start abiding in You & Your comfort & Your enoughness. Show me how. Teach me. Help my broken, bitter heart. Forgive me. Amen.”

Surrender IS Hard, But It WILL Change Your Life for the Best

It’s called surrender because it means the giving up of your way of doing or handling things, of giving up the way you’ve always wanted things to go… of choosing His will over your own.

But that’s where true & lasting joy breeds… in a surrendered-always-to-Him LIFE.

It seems nonsensical that by giving up the way we feel things should be handled or how I want MY life to go… that it will somehow make things better? But we’re not just throwing it all away to chance & then hoping at least some good will come of it, resigning to just giving up or numbing ourselves to what we want so we can bear to carry on… no, we’re ENTRUSTING that difference & contrast to an Almighty God who LOVES us so very much & Who sent Jesus to pay your debts so you could be set free from your due punishment.

He wants what is best for you & He KNOWS what is best for you… even if you think it doesn’t look very much like how you would want it… That’s a GOOD thing when you consider Who is doing the planning!

So, shine HOPE in your life by determining to choose surrender in the big & the small every single day & let HIM be GOD of your life. AMEN!

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Kaia Earrings (Philippines)

These elegant eco-friendly earrings feature ethically sourced, sustainable, capiz shells that local families harvest from the bottom of the sea surrounding the Philippine islands. Artisans handcraft these natural capiz shells into blue ombré teardrop shapes and then wrap them in silver-tone metal frames before adding silver-tone fishhook ear wires.

Every purchase provides safe jobs with fair wages for women in areas of extreme poverty in the Philippines.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

It’s Hard to Trust Him When His Plan Goes Against Mine

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it hurts & yet your prayers seem to fall on deaf ears? You know God sees your aching heart & feels your hurt, & yet, He doesn’t answer the way you want?

Or have you gone through something so incredibly hard that you beg God for a solution or healing or an end to it… & yet none comes?

Why surrender to God when nothing is going your way? HOW can you?

Hitting a Crossroad… Sometimes Prayers Don’t Get Answered the Way That I Want

I feel like life is a constant progression of coming to these crossroads: Will I choose my will… or His when they’re very different?

First that I can remember was my depression era in high school, where I wanted to die more than anything else… I wanted the pain to stop but it just never would… like I was trapped in a broken, fractured mind that barraged me constantly with thoughts about how much of a worthless burden I was. I prayed for freedom from the constant onslaught of attacks, but none came… for two straight years, none came.

Then there was my romantic heart where any boy that was nice to me… well, I was already basically picturing what our kids would look like & what our life would be like if we ended up together. I wanted to be married more than anything else… I loved the idea of feeling completely & utterly loved… but traumas & fears caused me to run whenever it got serious… & nothing ever felt quite right… like I was chasing validation versus real, sacrificial reciprocated love. I prayed & prayed & prayed, but everything hit a dead end, watching my younger sister & younger friends all wed before I even came close… & it hurt… a lot.

And Hokkaido… the isolation… the loneliness… the culture shock waves that would knock me off my feet unexpectedly… the stress buildup that started ripping apart my threshold for stressors… snapping & crying & rage & despair & feeling trapped by the effects the stress was having on my life & not feeling able to stop it… & no one in my life seemed to understand, isolating me even more. I prayed for it to end, but it always seemed to just only get worse.

Surrender to God When His Plan Contradicts Yours

I have been through even more examples of times when nothing seemed to go my way (like not being able to get pregnant or fighting through traumas), no matter how reasonable or good intentions my pleading had, it never seemed to be enough… the agony didn’t end… the answer to my prayer seemed nonexistent… God was silent when it came to giving me what I so badly wanted.

Surrender seems the least obvious choice here. Well, maybe surrender to the despair or hopelessness… but not to God & the possibility that He may have a different plan than I do. When God withholds the way I want so desperately for things to work out, it doesn’t spark an eagerness to surrender to Him at all… it makes me want to hold on & fight, as if maybe I just need to BETTER convince God to hear me out & help me & answer my way.

When All Hope Feels Lost… Will You Surrender to Him AS Your Hope?

When you are stuck not getting what you so desperately want… the thing you ache & long for, whether it be the end of constant pain or the end of loneliness or freedom from constant stress… will you choose to cling to the end of that struggle above all else?

Or will you surrender to God & ask for His will to be done in your life, EVEN IF it is different than your own?

“God, You know I’m hurting. You know how desperate I feel right now… But I also know that You are God & You are good. You have a perfect plan in this. You are sufficient. If You choose to take me a different route, hard as it may seem to me, can You please show Yourself sufficient to me? Help me remember You want my good & that You love me & that You are always enough? Help me trust that You know what You’re doing better than I do... that You see the WHOLE picture that I don’t. Help me learn how to better trust You when Your plan seems so wildly different than what I so, so badly want. I have to trust that, even if it doesn’t go my way. Help me to trust You, to surrender to You, come what may. AMEN.”

Surrender to God’s Will ALWAYS–Even If It Means the Hurt Won’t Stop, It Means He Will Carry You through to an Even Better Plan Than Your Own

In my biggest battle with depression, where I had already listened to Satan’s lies so much that I had spiraled to a place so dark I didn’t even know how to find my way out anymore… I not only prayed but tried everything to pump joy into my life my way, only to find it progressively worsen. It wasn’t until I fully surrendered that I found freedom. I gave up every pursuit to make myself happy, to control my happiness input to ensure I would be happy, to instead say, “God, nothing else. Only You. Nothing else.” And only in the surrender of my pursuit of happiness to rest it all on Him no matter what, did I find that freedom… & not ONLY freedom, but the definitively clear dispelling of doubts I had carried my whole life, giving me an even richer freedom that I never knew could even be possible in my life.

In my longing, lonely, desperate heart of singleness, watching everyone else get married while I seemed to be on a path of eternal singleness, I was inspired by my aunt who had lost her husband & in that loss, she clung to God as her hope. I used to pity her, but after a long, unexpected car ride with just us, I saw behind the image I imagined & instead saw a woman who had such peace & assurance & inner humble confidence. I realized then that singleness was not a curse, but a blessing… if I would but surrender to God’s will over my own... His sufficiency & His love.

And then there was Hokkaido… where I didn’t surrender. I wanted to feel comfort. I wanted to escape the stress. So, I hid from it. I idolized comfort above all else, even above God. I avoided by tv binging & gaming & food. I didn’t learn from my past… that surrender leads to HOPE. I fought God’s plan to keep me in that stressful atmosphere rather than surrendering to that FACT that He would be ENOUGH for me IN it. I let bitterness against God take root & I didn’t get to see the hope that surrendering to Him brings.

Surrendering to God’s will seems THE LAST thing I want to do when life isn’t going my way, but it is in that surrender that I finally find that HOPE I so desperately search for.

God Can be Trusted in Our Surrender

God knows what He is doing. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, & perfectly, without-any-mistakes-ever WISE.

God sees the big picture: all the pieces in play, all unexpected turn of events, spanning through all eternity. He sees it ALL, while I just think I know what I see in my tiny fraction of it.

God can bring beauty out of ashes. No matter how impossibly hard something seems, it ALWAYS is appreciated when it is finally over when I choose surrender to Him in it.

God can be ENOUGH for me in the hard. He is NEVER lacking & how obvious it becomes when I struggle & feel at a complete loss & yet allow Him to be enough & see that He indeed IS.

It’s in the hard that we can see it’s not me or getting my way that will bring me joy & peace & fulfillment… No. It’s found in surrendering to HIS way where we find all that, even when His way seems the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of our most desired way.

Let God Have His Way–You Will Never Regret It

So, why surrender to God when His plan contradicts yours?

Because God is GOD. He can be trusted 100%. He is enough. And if you let Him, He will take your less than ideal & paint a beautiful, unique masterpiece out of your life, one where you will one day look back in awe & wonder & PRAISE that in the impossible, God made a way… & not just A way, but the most beautiful story you never could have imagined for yourself.

So, shine HOPE by learning the beauty in SURRENDER—even when nothing in life is going your way & even when God seems to want the opposite of your own desperate desires.

Surrender to Him… always.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Kavita Necklace (India)

Handcrafted by her fellow Artisans in India, this eye-catching necklace is named in honor of Kavita, who inspires women in her community and around the world to become heroes of their own stories! Naturally varying shades of raspberry, blue, white, green, black, and faded pink make this colorful design truly mesmerizing, whether you wear it alone or layer it with more of your favorite fair-trade designs! Every purchase creates safe jobs with fair wages in areas of extreme poverty in India.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

A Magical Christmas Ideal

How do you picture an ideal Merry Christmas?

For me, I envision garlands & twinkling lights. I think of Christmas songs playing merrily on the radio while I drive past decorated homes. I dream of Christmas cookies, Christmas candle scents, & belly laughs with friends. Merriment, joy, contentment. I think of beautifully wrapped presents under a beautifully decorated tree. Friends & family & food & lights & bright colors everywhere. To me, that is my ideal Merry Christmas.

But What About When It’s Not So Perfect?

But what about the woman who sits in her living room, staring blankly out at a black night, feeling the emptiness of the seat beside her. Her children are grown, her husband has passed away, & her future is uncertain & gray. A tear drops onto her cheek. For her, her silent night is deafening.

But what about the mom whose husband is not around, kids begging for presents she can’t afford… Working two jobs & trying her best to take time to decorate & gift the best she can, trying to find time to make some semblance of merry exist for her children’s sake, but constantly feeling like she comes up short. The crying, the chaos, the stress. For her, her silent night is never silent.

But what about the woman who looks around at couples holding hands over the holidays, seeing Christmas movies about falling in love under the mistletoe & she wonders if she is just too messed up or just not good enough to ever be truly loved like that. She feels lonely & sad & a burden to everyone around her because of it, trying her best to be merry for their sakes, while feeling the heavy weight of lonely longing relentlessly pressing down on her heavy heart. For her, her silent night is a night filled with silent sobs.

But what about the girl lying in a hospital bed, seeing the paper cutouts of snowflakes on the wall, made by friends attempting to help her feel the hope she does not feel, knowing her diagnosis is grim, knowing her pain is causing her family pain, but not being able to do anything about it. For her, her silent night is terrifying.

Missing a loved one who is gone… Money too tight to pay the incoming bills… A weighty medical diagnosis… Betrayal, hurt, or rejection… Empty, alone… Abuse… Sick or dying… No backup plan… A scary, uncertain future… For some, their reality is that it is hard to imagine having a merry Christmas in a less than merry life.

A Christmas with Room for the Hurting

This isn’t told to be the downer… to make you feel guilt… to weigh you down & steal your joy… but to open your heart with perspective, that for some, it is hard to have a merry Christmas in a less than merry life.

If you were to scroll back up & read all about my picture-perfect, ideal merry Christmas, their stories just don’t mesh well with any of it–But it is their reality all the same, Christmas or not… convenient timing or not.

My temptation is to cling to my description of an ideal merry Christmas & to tune out anything that doesn’t fit, but is that the heart of Christ? No, it isn’t.

I need to learn better to make room in my Christmas for the less than ideal, too.

Jesus Didn’t Come to Avoid the Pain, But to Bring Hope for the Hurting

I think of the good Samaritan story in the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), telling of those who saw the beat up, bloodied man who had been robbed & left for dead, & yet, they swerved to the other side of the road & pretended not to notice as they passed by. Is that what I do when I want to cling to my Christmas ideal?

Jesus knew why He was coming to earth as God & man. He knew the reason He was coming to be born… Jesus knew what Christmas was really about–it was about bringing HOPE to the hurting (Luke 2:8-14).

He sees your story, your reality–no matter how merry or how messy. He sees every tear, every choked back sob, every desperate, lonely, aching heart. He doesn’t try to block it out because it’s not “merry enough” for His birthday. No, quite the contrary.

Jesus came knowing our realities, even when they are grim & bleak & less than ideal… He came understanding the hurts caused by this sin-torn world. His heart ached for our aches. His love for us demanded He do something about it.

He came so that we may have life & have it more abundantly (John 10:10). He came to give us life, through HIS life (1 John 3:16-18).

And so: Christmas.

A Whispered Prayer for Hope

Sometimes, when life is hard & our faith is weak, it’s a weak, whispered prayer uttered from a numbness within, saying, “Lord…. Lord…. I just can’t. Please help me. I have no hope left. I’m sorry I have such little faith. I’m sorry that all I see is my pain & struggle & hurt & fear. I’m sorry. But please. Please help me to have hope. Help me to learn how You can be enough for me when I feel so empty. I don’t understand how that can be, but God, You are bigger than me. Help me see. Help me believe. Help give me hope. Thank You for coming. I clearly don’t deserve it because instead of rejoicing, I am despairing. I am underestimating You at every turn, I know it. Please forgive me. But thank You for coming for me. Thank You for not trying to tune out my sorrow to keep the day “merry.” Thank You for loving me in my mess & lack of faith. Thank You for never leaving nor forsaking me. Thank You for being born on this earth, God as man, Emmanuel “God with us.” And thank You for demonstrating that love through action. Thank You for coming to pay my price for me. For loving me that much. You are greatly to be praised. Thank You Jesus. Thank You. I don’t know what is to come, but I do know that You are here & You are near me & that You care so much that You came to die for me, to rise again to conquer the penalty of my sin. Thank You. Amen.”

God’s Blessings IN the Hard

I have been studying the fruit of the Spirit with a group of ladies at church & one point that consistently stuck out to me was that little word “OF.” Not the fruit of me. Not the fruit of MY efforts. Not the fruit I produce…. But, the fruit OF the Spirit.

Do you know what the fruit OF the Spirit is? It is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What is the significance of that little word “of” before “the Spirit”? It means that it is not something we produce in ourselves “if we try hard enough” to BE loving, BE joyful, BE at peace, BE patient, etc. etc. etc….. No, it is that, as we draw near to God, seeking Him in all things big or small, seeking to know & love Him more, seeking to lean on & rely on Him more in life… HE produces those things within us.

In other words, as we draw from Him & rely on Him, the return on our “investment” in that relationship with Him is His producing of love, joy, peace, etc. in us.

How can we claim that our God does not love us SO MUCH when this is what He wishes to pour into our life? God blesses us, even IN the hard. (Psalm 94:19)

Having a Merry Christmas in a Less Than Merry Life

How can I have a Merry Christmas in a less than merry life? Because I don’t have to try to be & do & live all of those things to be a “good enough” Christian. I just have to pour my life into Him & watch as He pours all of that into my life.

Imagine a joy & a peace that says, “Everything is falling apart, & yet, somehow I just know God has a plan for it & will help see me through it. God, You are good, even when my life isn’t!”

Imagine a love & a patience that says, “This wrong was done against me, but no matter how many times I wrong God, He just keeps on loving me & being gracious with me. And if God can do that for me, I can certainly do it for someone else, with God’s help.”

Imagine experiencing the pain of the stories I shared, but also knowing you are held & loved by the Jesus we celebrate Christmas for? That despite your wrongs & many shortcomings, He pursues you & loves you with a love that can’t ever be taken away or diminished.

We can have a Merry Christmas in a less than merry life because we can remember why we celebrate Christmas… WHO we celebrate at Christmas.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

“Lord, thank You. Thank You for coming for my stubborn, prone-to-complaining, clings-to-comforts-more-than-to-You self. Thank You for never giving up on me. Thank You for determining to pursue me even when I am sour & bitter & angry with You when my life isn’t going well. Thank You for not rejecting me in anger, but forgiving me over & over again. Thank You for being so selfless when You, of ANYONE have a right to be completely, consumingly selfish. You are so gentle & kind in contrast to my demanding & selfish heart. You are so patient & loving when all I want sometimes is for life to go MY way. I don’t deserve Christmas one bit. But You still came, even for me. I can celebrate Christmas because of YOU. I’m sorry I cling to my ideals. I’m sorry I try to tune out the less than ideal. Help me to love like You. Help me to love more sacrificially, even if it means infiltrating the darkness of someone else’s grim Christmas. Help me to love better. Forgive me, please. Help me to love like You, in that, even though it’s YOUR birthday we are meant to be celebrating at Christmas, You didn’t make Your birthday about Yourself, but You condescended into the form of a weak human, & You offered Your life to us. You came to give Yourself, both in Your life & in Your death. You are the definition of love. Thank You & Happy birthday, Jesus! AMEN!”

Make Room in Your Christmas for the Less Than Merry

How can you help spread the hope of Christmas? The love that Jesus displayed in His birth?

• Look around for who is sitting alone at church & invite them to sit with you… or ask to sit with them.
• Know someone having a hard Christmas because of loss or a different painful struggle? Bring them cookies with a note of hope & encouragement. Don’t know what to write? Write a prayer for God to show His love to them & to offer them hope in the midst of the darkness they may be experiencing.
• Send a widow a letter with plenty of pretty stickers to decorate the card.
• Ask to pray with someone.
• Invite some singles who are away from family to join you for Christmas dinner or cookies.
• Organize to send Christmas goody packages to college students unable to return home for Christmas break.
• Send a letter to a prisoner or someone deployed & away from home.
• Serve at the homeless shelter.
• Bring gifts for orphanages.
• Give Gospel tracts WITH a tip

Shine HOPE This Christmas

Find ways to bring HOPE to the hurting this Christmas & ask God to show you ways to do it where you are, with the resources & abilities He has given you.

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, & He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)

Shine HOPE by being willing to have a less than ideal, perfect, sparkling, merry Christmas & look to where you can share some Christmas cheer, by sharing the hope we have in Jesus.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Eucalyptus Rosemary Soap (India)

LIMITED EDITION – While Supplies Last! Artisans in India meticulously craft irresistibly fragrant natural soaps using traditional cold process techniques and ancient blends of moisturizing oils, herbs, and essential oils.

The refreshing herbal signature fragrance of the Eucalyptus Rosemary Soap is a natural blend of moisturizing and healing shea butter and pure oils, including coconut and olive oil with essential oils of eucalyptus and rosemary, which are well known for their soothing stress-reducing, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, antioxidant, and decongestant benefits. Rosemary essential oil is also known for relieving fatigue and boosting mental clarity.

–> Every purchase helps empower marginalized and differently abled women in India. <–

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

Let God Call the Shots

Well, this is going to be a fun topic & I may indeed ruffle some feathers, but I want you to take a deep breath & at least hear me out, willing to lay aside whatever you believe, how you grew up, what others around you say is acceptable… & be willing to ask God for HIS opinion… because my opinion doesn’t really matter does it? But His? It means EVERYTHING.

What Do Star Signs, Enneagrams, & Mental Disorder Labels Have in Common?

So, why this title? What do star signs, enneagrams, & mental disorder labels have in common? Well, let’s get into it, shall we?

While enneagrams, or other personality tests, can potentially help us better understand our current starting point… & mental disorder diagnoses can teach us about what we’re working with, in regards to our brain chemistry… they all can also have the danger of shaping how you define yourself… versus allowing God to do that for you.

And while star signs can do the same, we must be careful to recognize that star signs, while often seen as harmless fun, are superstitious stereotypes at best.

Well, It’s “Just the Way I Am”

Have you ever heard someone say, “Well I am [or, he/she is] a Scorpio, what do you expect?”

Or maybe, “Well, I am a 4, so that’s normal for me.”

Or even, “I have depression, so really, it’s just how I am.”

I don’t TRY to use them as excuses, but that very well can be what they become.

Now, it’s natural for me to try to figure out how I fit in the world & to want to see my blind spots & my weaknesses, but I need to be careful that I don’t begin to DEFINE myself based on those things.

Personality tests & diagnoses need to be merely a starting point on where I need more surrender to God’s intended design for me.

How We Learned to Survive… But Not the Way It HAS to Be

Much of personality is what we cultivate even from our toddler observations of others around us, taking it all in & determining what seems to work & what doesn’t, how we can be safe or make people like us or get along well in the world.

Growing up, we often hear people tell us, “you’re so smart,” or, “you’re so funny” or “you’re annoying,” & we begin to determine who we think we are from the input we are given… how others perceive & determine us to be.

In other words, our personality is largely an accumulation of your life experiences, how you chose to deal with them, & the patterns that emerged from that... but it’s not how we HAVE to be.

Your personality is not set in stone, but can be tenderly & lovingly shaped & matured over time as you rely less on it & more on asking God to show you & teach you better how you ought to respond or feel about something, yielding your natural instinct & asking Him for what He leads as honoring & pleasing to Him—closer to HIS intended design for you.

God Is the Designer… He Made You… Let HIM Guide You in HIS Design

For example, if I do indeed take a quiz & determine my enneagram number or use some other type of personality test, this can only be used truly to show me where I am at that exact moment. It doesn’t tell me WHO I AM. Only God can determine that—because HE MADE me.

If my specific enneagram number or personality type is prone to one such flaw or weakness, this does not excuse me from needing to submit these areas to God for His work to continue in me.

I can say, “I am this “type”, which can tend to struggle with ________________, SO, I need to be conscious of making progress in not doing that anymore & conscious of my need to ask God to help me reshape that instinct, tendency, or habit.”

Or, if I say, “I have this mental disorder, which tends to make me feel __________________, SO, I need to be conscious of this & ask God whenever my tendency leans toward that versus justifying it as “just the way I am” if it dishonors God or harms myself or others.”

Let God Continue to Shape You to be More Like Jesus

I can’t use a star sign, an enneagram number, or a mental illness label to define myself or excuse myself of behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, or actions that dishonor God.

I must take my tendencies that are sinful in nature (as we are all born sinners & that is what we are naturally bent to do) & lay them before God, asking Him to shape & mold me into Jesus’ image, seeking to please & honor God with all areas of my life.

My tendencies & instincts are not acceptable excuses to God.

My tendencies & instincts are not untouchable from God lovingly shaping me.

My tendencies & instincts do not define me… only God does… because HE MADE ME.

So, whether you believe in superstitious fallacies, personality test numbers/letters, or whether you are diagnosed with a specific condition… don’t allow those to tell you who you are… only God can do that. Let God continue to shape you as you GROW closer to Him.

Don’t Ever Underestimate God

And whatever you feel you “can’t help”… if it hurts you, others, or God… don’t underestimate God’s redeeming power in the areas where you feel trapped or stuck in “just the way it is.” God is more powerful than ANY “just the way it is.”

Shine HOPE by taking those definitions of yourself to God & asking Him to show you HIS design, EVEN IF it goes completely against what those things tell you about yourself.

God has the final say. He can redeem any behavior, attitude, or habit. So, even if unbelieving at first, lessen your grip & allow Him to show you what He can do with your willingness to grow in His design for you, His way. Be moldable.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Floral Wooden Jewelry Box (India)

What holiday surprise will you hide inside this eco-friendly, intricately hand-carved jewelry box? This unique, ethically made gift features an Artisanal floral design on the removable lid and a subtle whitewash finish. Artisans create this jewelry box using fast-growing mango wood, a sustainable byproduct of India’s mango fruit industry. Every purchase supports families in areas of extreme poverty in India.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

Dancing the Line

I grew up looking for what I could get away with when it came to the Bible. I was definitely swayed by the world around me, wanting to fit in, but also wanting to “technically” obey God.

Dancing the line between honoring God & still getting to live the way I wanted led me to lean heavily on the “well that’s okay as long as I don’t __________” judgment calls I made along the way.

For example, I may have been a flirt, making inappropriate jokes, but I didn’t use foul language or have sex, so I thought I was doing okay.

Sometimes it’s just the “acceptable practices” of other Christians I saw that helped me feel justified in doing what I wanted that wasn’t technically a sin at all.

Taking a Step Back

But I think it’s important to take a step back & consider those things… not just only for the purpose of better honoring & pleasing God with our choices, trying to be a “better Christian,” but also because God puts those boundaries in place because He KNOWS that without them, we set ourselves up for more hurt, struggle, & temptation that He never wanted us to have to battle.

So, in learning discernment, it is important to ask yourself, even in the “accepted by Christian society” options available to you, do your decisions sow or stir discontentment &/or temptation?

Even in the Innocence… We Can Sow Feelings of Discontentment or Temptation

For example, I have found that certain tv shows, while mostly clean & widely acceptable in church family homes, may hint at sexual tension & therefore create a temptation in my struggle against lust/fantasizing. The show may not display sexual activity, but it sows & stirs temptation I wouldn’t otherwise have to combat.

Another big one for me was actually the lovey dovey tv shows/movies (I think we can all think of a certain channel known for these, especially during Christmastime) that, while pretty PG, sowed & stirred in me great discontentment during my years of singleness that seemed to never end (I got married at age 28, while most all my friends & even my younger sister were married way before me).

Those movies & tv shows aren’t raunchy or bad, but even in the innocence, they made me wrestle with that longing to be loved, making me feel impatient & frustrated at my ringless finger rather than keeping my eyes on finding HOPE in God’s love.

I Set My Eyes on Things That Won’t Actually Satisfy

I all too easily cling to things as my idol. It may not be a little carved image that I physically bow down to or chant my allegiance to, but they are definitely things I put before God.

Instant gratification culture, brought on by online shopping, fast food, & quick internet search results have led me to covet ease & comfort… So much so, that when I struggle with depression, my idol becomes the end of my struggle, rather than trusting God to be sufficient in the struggle.

The same thing can happen when we make decisions that sow or stir discontentment or temptations. We start focusing more on what we feel we “ought to be able to enjoy” rather than letting discernment tell us to trust God & that while it may be socially accepted in Christian circles & may in & of itself not be sinful at all, it may not be worth the discontentment &/or temptations it breeds.

Now Hold on a Minute…

Making these decisions to deny ourselves something that doesn’t even seem sinful is not easy & oftentimes seems quite the opposite of logical or reasonable. It seems unnecessary at best & legalistic at worst.

Your flesh may rear up in defiance. You may feel defensive because it’s not even something sinful or bad. You may feel like clinging to that thing you enjoy because it’s “not even bad.”

But is it worth the extra fighting? The added struggle? The sadness or worry or wrong desire you now become burdened with? Is it worth all that?

Learning Discernment: Do Your Decisions Sow or Stir Discontentment &/or Temptation?

I have felt all those things. I don’t automatically say, “Yes, LORD, I see it now! Those things pull me down & make my life more complicated than it already is… more difficult than it needs to be! And although they’re not technically bad choices, they affect me negatively, so they’re not worth it! I will stop right now!” No, sadly, that’s not usually my quick response.

I “like” to learn by making the same poor decision again & again & again because I don’t want to miss out on or give up something I enjoy that’s not even BAD!

It doesn’t feel fair. It feels like missing out. I don’t like missing out.

I NEED to Lean into Him… But I Often Justify Myself into Discontentment &/or Temptation Again & Again

But sometimes I feel a gentle, soft whisper over my heart… a gentle awareness really, the Holy Spirit nudging my heart, saying, “do you remember, Michelle, how much it hurt dealing with the aftermath of this decision last time? Don’t do this to yourself again… trust Me to be enough in its place so you don’t have to go through that again.”

But I don’t listen. I keep justifying, based on how innocent it seems in & of itself, or how accepted & embraced it is by Christians I respect. I don’t like missing out.

And God keeps whispering, nudging, beckoning my heart to trust Him.

When I choose to listen, I find freedom.

A Prayer I Often Don’t Want to Pray

It starts with a reluctant prayer for help: “God, I hear You. I can feel the conviction tugging at my heart to leave this behind. But it’s not even “bad” & I don’t want to miss out. But I do want to trust You better than just getting this… but I need Your help trusting You more than my desire for this. Help me trust that You are nudging me because You see & You don’t want me to keep putting myself in situations where I am discontented or tempted. Life can already be hard enough… I don’t need to enjoy things that just make it harder. I get that. Help me let go. Help me trust You instead. Please help me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Let Yourself Fail… & Keep Trying to Trust God More… With His Help

It starts small. I may fail. But I can expect to not be good at something when I am not used to practicing it. So, I must determine to keep trying, allowing myself grace to fail, & to keep trying again, with God’s help & grace along the way.

Lovely, God may be asking you, nudging your heart, to give up something you feel justified in enjoying. You may feel threatened, feeling that He’s saying you’re not being a good enough Christian & that maybe He’s guilting you or testing you.

But hear me on this… God is always gentle & loving & kind… & He also knows ALL things. He doesn’t want you enjoying something that is actually HURTING you, EVEN IF that something seems completely justifiably embraced by other Christians. EVEN IF that something is not sinful in & of itself.

Because He loves you & will always fight for what is best for you–even if the thought of the change makes you uncomfortable. He will never give up that fight because you mean that much to Him.

Let the Conviction Bring a Smile Rather Than Fear

So, if that conviction keeps tugging at your heart, let it bring a smile to your face, reminding you that God is fighting for you right then & there, to give you His absolute best in this life.

For example, I don’t use umbrellas like EVER… I am a run & deal with the wet type of person. But some mornings I feel a little nudge that I need to get my umbrella. I dismiss it with a scoff, “ha, I never use it anyway, so no thanks.” Then it ends up downpouring at a time I am stuck outside, wishing I had that umbrella. God doesn’t just say, “hey, an umbrella would typically be favored for the typical person on a day it will rain, like today,” but rather, “I know YOU will want one today, & because I know that, I am giving you a heads up.” What a good & loving God!

Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. And ask God to help you trust Him more than you cling to that thing you are clinging to that sows or stirs feelings of discontentment &/or temptation… because “ain’t nobody got time for that.”

Shine HOPE by being willing to give up those “okay” things that sow or stir discontentment &/or temptation within you so that you can trust God’s call with it in its place.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Mini Leaf Dish (India)

Sold as a single dish. Artisans in India handcraft this nature-inspired Mini Leaf Dish from neem wood with subtly carved veins to add a realistic touch. Neem wood is a fast-growing hardwood that grows abundantly in arid regions of India with natural color variations, anti-microbial properties, and interlocking grains that make it an ideal, durable material for furniture and home décor.

Every purchase provides safe jobs with fair wages, health care, and clean water for women in areas of extreme poverty in India.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!

Don’t Believe the Lies

Have you ever felt pressure to be “good enough” to be loved?

I grew up believing I wasn’t good enough. In my perception, I was too fat, not pretty, & anything good I accomplished seemed to be because someone else helped me get there. I talked too much, was too loud, & had too many emotions. I was too silly or not fun enough, depending on my mood.

Basically, because of those things, I felt like I would never be good enough to be loved.

Not Ever Feeling Good Enough Made Me Always Nervous I Would Lose Friends

This perception of my value translated to how I felt about interactions with both romantic interests & friends alike. I felt like I was the ugly fat friend who was a complete joke to most everyone else around me, trying my best to be funny or something to hold some value in different friend groups, to hopefully distract from the many bad qualities I felt I possessed.

When I tried to “dress cute,” I felt like a clown trying to look cool but failing miserably–giving people “reason” to laugh at me.

If you haven’t read my old post: “Trusting God, Losing Friends, & Finding Myself”, it also talks about how this led me to become the class flirt, hoping I could earn some attention that way… but that didn’t end up quite as positive as I had hoped & the constant act felt like if I slipped up at any point & let my guard down (aka was myself & not the image I felt others wanted to see), then my friendships would just fade away & leave me a friendless loner.

A New Kind of Pressure–Church & Social Media Culture

But this post today isn’t about my past or my insecurities growing up.

Though I have grown older & God has helped me overcome many of those fears & hurts of my past, growing in me a deeper confidence in who He made me to be & letting that be enough, I have noticed a different kind of pressure emerging around me.

Both church culture & social media culture have grown to have some damaging effects of its own. Now, I am not saying that these are evil or anything as shocking or generalized as that, but rather as a warning to be sure that we break these trends or at least don’t succumb to them.

Church Culture Can Often Become Pressure of Perceived Perfection

In church culture, the pressure can become almost palpable to be the perfect, smiling, shining example we ought to be of a perfect Christian woman… hiding our faults & our sin temptations & our struggles… our hurts, our doubts, & our failures… all in hopes of “fitting in.”

But let me remind you of something right now. We are all naturally sinful… we are bent toward evil. Our flesh still wants its way… EVEN AFTER we submit our sin to Jesus’ paying for it on the cross..

And we can sugar coat it in layers upon layers of denial & justifications & downplaying it, but it’s there all the same. Even Paul recognized it in himself! (Romans 7:14-15)

Only God is GOOD

We don’t become good just because we accept Jesus’ offer to pay our sin debt to God Almighty. There is no magic sauce that is poured over us that washes away our fleshly desire to bend toward sin. Only God is good.

Even Jesus mentions this fact when He is called good & He responds with: “Why do you call Me good? Only God is good,” knowing the man he was speaking to did not consider Him God, but man. (paraphrase) (Mark 10:17-18)

God Offers Us His Power to Overcome Sin (When We Turn to Jesus), But That Doesn’t Mean He Removes Our Sin Nature

It is definitely, absolutely true that once we accept Jesus’ gift, that God sends us His Holy Spirit to guide us & that God breaks the chains that sin had over us, so that we can choose NOT to sin & OVERCOME sin (with His help & power), but the desire to sin is not washed away.

How damaging it is to pretend otherwise! Even Paul did not shy away from admitting his own wrestling with it—& for great purpose! Because if we all think we’re supposed to have no desire for sin, yet we are tempted to sin, yet we all pretend we aren’t tempted… then that just communicates to other Christians that we feel we have it together… aka, then why do they NOT have it all together?

We Ought to Be Transparent

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15) Notice how he doesn’t say he WAS the chief of sinners… but that he IS the chief of sinners.

We ought to be transparent. We ought to bear one another’s burdens! We ought to pray for & with one another through those struggles! We ought to be honest about the fact that while we are imperfect, God is perfection! While we are prone to sin, God is holy! While we fail, God does NOT!

Don’t strive to look perfect. Strive to point to Him as perfect.

Yes, strive to honor & glorify Him in all you do. Yes! Do that! But in that, don’t pretend you always get it right & never slip up.

God Knows We Need to Be Honest in Our Weakness to One Another

I struggle with depression, as you probably know by now, but while that is not sinful, the fleshly pull I consistently have is to let myself succumb to all the lies of exploitation Satan likes to yell in my heart while I am weak. I don’t want to have to trust God IN the hard… I just want the hard to be GONE! So, a major sin pull for me is to just selfishly demand the end of that hard OR ELSE I doubt God & draw away from Him in bitterness & hurt feelings of betrayal.

But let me tell you, God has shown me that if I can find a safe person to share that temptation & struggle with, AKA my husband, & let him know how much I am struggling & ask him to pray with me when I don’t feel I have the strength or will to pray for myself… it helps break the chains Satan is trying to wrap around my neck with all of his lies.

Satan wants us to struggle alone. He wants us to pretend we’re perfect. He wants us to feel like we’re the only one who can’t seem to get it right. He wants us to think when we fail that everyone else just wants to obey God 24/7 in ALL things so that we only want to withdraw, isolate, & are more vulnerable to his deception & exploitation of our weaknesses.

So stop pretending! Stop being okay with letting other people feel like they have to pretend!

BE A SAFE SPACE for someone else.

Strive to be Holy… Don’t PRETEND to be Holy… There’s a Difference

It’s not up to you to act like a picture-perfect Christian, because guess what… none of us are.

God calls us to BE holy, to strive for holiness, aka to live in a way that seeks to honor & please Him with all that we think, say, & do (not to earn His favor but because we know it pleases & honors Him & because He is SO deserving of it!) but He knows that doesn’t mean we will never want to sin anymore.

What a harsh lie/burden to put on ourselves to believe otherwise… because absolutely no one can live up to it at all times.

The Extreme Pressures of Social Media to be “It”

And I see the same thing just exploding on social media, with all the different apps & “influencers” who take 30 pictures to get that right one to post (guilty!), who trim off a few pounds or adjust the lighting or cover blemishes or erase wrinkles… all in the name of saying they have it all together & are worthy of your following, but to the end of feeling they never quite measure up to the perceived perfection of the rest of the world.

“I don’t have a boyfriend… & no wonder because I can’t seem to ever get my [hair, skin, body, life] to look like hers.”

“I don’t have any friends… probably because I’m not as [successful, all-together, confident, cheerful, pretty, etc.] as her.”

We need to stop letting this pressure to compare to others’ scripted, edited, faked life make us feel like we’re not good enough to be loved… that if we just did more, were more adventurous, more friendly, more successful, etc. etc. etc., then maybe, just maybe, we would have more deep friendships or have our dream relationship.

I Don’t Have to be “Good Enough” to be Loved

You don’t have to be “good enough” to be loved. Period.

There is no perfect standard that others have achieved–guaranteed.

There is no person who does not have their own bend toward a specific sin desire–guaranteed.

There is no person who never makes mistakes & gets it right all the time–guaranteed.

So, if you are alone (or feel like you are) & you wonder why… ask God. Start there. Because I guarantee you that it’s not at all because you’re “not good enough.”

Always Ask God for Help & Wisdom & Help Trusting His “Enoughness”

Say, “God, I am so tired of trying to pretend perfection to be liked. I feel so much pressure for it & I don’t see how I could possibly be liked if I stop. But God, help me to trust You more than I do. I am trying to be the one to make it happen, but help me trust Your leading instead. Help me to have confidence in how You designed me & show me what that design is even more clearly. Help me to know how to stop trying so hard & instead, help me know how to better lean into You for Your help & Your enoughness. I’m sorry that I always feel the need to supplement. Forgive my unbelief & help me believe in You more. You are enough, I just don’t know how to rest in that. Help me learn to love & trust You more. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Shine HOPE by allowing your imperfections to show, relying on God’s perfection to help you live His way, versus trying to pretend you can be perfect in & of yourself… & by removing the pressured lie that you have to be good enough to be loved. You’re already so loved by the God Almighty Himself!

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement right here on my blog/website @ www.MichelleHydeOnline.com.

Share with friends & family… & SUBSCRIBE by “Joining My Tribe,” so you never miss a week!

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

A Note from Michelle:

(***Check out my newly added FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts”!***)

This blog/website has been running for over FOUR years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox (make sure to check your other inbox folders), along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Arise Bracelet (East Asia)

This colorful and fun stretch bracelet is made by women rescued from the brothels of East Asia. Each Arise Bracelet features genuine dyed agate stones with mesmerizing “crackle” textures, 14k gold-plated accents, and a soft navy tassel.

Every purchase helps a sex trafficking survivor in East Asia “arise” out of poverty by empowering her with safe housing, health care, trauma counseling, job skills training, and dignified income.

How You Can Help the Artisans & Support My Website:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!

Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!

Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week!