How are you doing today? Like, how are you really doing?
Honestly, I am tired. And not just an “I need more sleep” kind of tired, (although a nap does sound increasingly tempting as the day goes on)… just all around TIRED. I just don’t feel like I have much to offer anybody today.
My body feels worn down (admittedly becoming more & more common with each passing year, as I inch along through my 40s), my mind feels tired (just a lot going on), & I just feel a little beat up today, to be honest.
I’m not discouraged or disheartened, gratefully, but just feeling so incredibly worn out.
Watching Someone Else Hurting Is Hard
Part of it has been just the fact of watching my sweet kitty cat suffering these past couple days has been hard.If you have had a pet a while, you probably understand. They can’t tell you what’s wrong, but you see the desperate begging in their eyes for help & you feel helpless because you can’t exactly ASK them what is hurting them.
And I know some of you witness suffering & hurt from family members & friends & I can’t imagine how trying that is on the day-to-day, especially when it’s ongoing.
Last night, I came home to a puddle of blood on the floor after we had been seeing a few vomit spots throughout the house over the last 2 days (that’s probably where part of my tired is coming from in just constantly feeling like I am finding & then needing to clean up vomit around the house when I really hadn’t factored the time to do that into my schedule for the day).
It is hard to watch someone suffer. Especially when you can’t do anything to stop it. It takes a toll on you, doesn’t it?
(*He may be improving today, but it’s hard to tell at this point. I sought medical advice & was told to give it one more day because today he seemed to show slight improvement. Prayers appreciated for wisdom + his healing/comfort.*)
Even When I’m Tired
I don’t feel like I have much to give today, but I know that God is enough… even when I’m tired.
Lord, thank You for this reminder to seek You in all things, even things that seem small. To not rely on my own understanding. You know & You don’t ever have to guess. I need to be “praying without ceasing” & coming to You through every bit of life. I often mistake nudges from You as You trying to guilt me out of something I want, when You have no reason to do that. You know what is best & in Your goodness, You want to guide my every step if I but let You. Thank You for Your endless patience with me. Thank You for Your wisdom when we seek it. Thank You for being sovereign, even when I’m tired. Thank You for caring for us so well. Help me to better rely on & trust in You in all things big or small. Help my kitty get better & help me know how to help him. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Shine HOPE by trusting God in your weakness, on your off days, when you think you have it all together, & when you know you definitely don’t.
He is with you… even when you’re tired.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Ginkgo Earrings-Silver (INDIA)
(Shown: Ginkgo Earrings-Silver, handcrafted in India! Purchase these beautiful earrings, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in India out of poverty!)
When you shop the Ginkgo Earrings, you are creating safe jobs for women in areas of extreme poverty in India. These stunning, sculpted earrings are the perfect fair-trade fashion statement! Each silver-tone Ginkgo Earring features two connected ginkgo-shapes to create the beautiful dangle earring! These earrings are also available in a gold-tone finish.
***Purchase these beautifully handcrafted Ginkgo Earrings, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in India out of poverty!***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
One of, if not THE hardest thing that causes me to wrestle with my faith is this: that sometimes God doesn’t take the pain away.
Whether it is the seasons of depression I struggle with or periods of maddening sleeplessness, or, like this past weekend, 4 hours of needing to actively fight against throwing up due to motion sickness on a flight–& not being able to get off the plane for some fresh air relief…when the pain keeps going, I begin to whimper… “God, where are You?”
It is most difficult for me to realize that sometimes God wants more for me than just the end of my suffering… He wants me to know Him as sufficient in all things… He wants opportunity to be glorified…He wants people to see that the peace He has to offer is not dependent on everything being comfortable & easy.
And that’s HARD.
It’s Always So Important to Look Back
I don’t know about you, but I do not like suffering one tiny eensy little bit. And when I am actively suffering, whether it’s emotional/hormonal imbalance or whether it’s physical… all I can think of is “MAKE. IT. STOP! PLEASE!”
But, looking back is the best reminder to keep on trusting God in the storms, because every single time, He has proven Himself faithful to me… that He had a plan all along… that He does not waste a single OUNCE of my suffering.
There are SO MANY examples of this that I have written about over these past almost 7 years. I couldn’t even name them all if I tried… there are just too many. God has always been faithful. God has always shown to have a plan. God has never once wasted an ounce of my suffering. No matter how hard it may seem, He proves faithful, sufficient, all-knowing, sovereign, gracious, kind, & wonderful every time.
Let’s Look Back Together
Depression for 2 years in high school, where I thought about suicide almost every day & cried alone in my closet more days than not? God showed that though He had stripped everything away that I counted on or trusted in or relied on for my identity or reputation… that even if I were to lose it all, if I had Him, I had ALL.
Not finding a job for MONTHS when I was desperate for money? God provided through odd jobs here & there every time before a bill was due, allowing me also to pay off all my debts to my parents as well, showing me HE WAS MY PROVIDER AS I trusted in HIM & HIS leading.
Sleeplessness for 2 months straight? God showed me He could BE my strength even when I had NONE, when I was willing to repent of my distrust & ask for His help. He WAS my strength in the hard!
Loneliness over a 6-year period, despite active efforts? God showed me that even though I handled that time progressively worse & completely failed Him & gave up on Him & resented Him… in all of that SIN & distrust & failure… He STILL worked through my life, showing me it’s not about ME being worthy, but about HIM being worthy.
I could go on forever about my undeserving & failure & falling short & distrusting Him & suffering… all with the same outcome: God showing Himself to have a plan, to never waste my struggle, & to be faithful through it all despite my unfaithful heart.
Yes. God can be trusted. Even when God doesn’t take the pain away.
God Didn’t Make Me All Better
On Sunday, I was sitting in my seat on the plane feeling so miserable. Motion sickness was tormenting me so much I couldn’t even reach for my bag to get meds without risk of vomit. I had to keep my head steady & concentrate actively on slow, steady breathing. Trying to catch the airflow from the vent to stay cooled. Trying to distract myself with randomness in my mind. PRAYING for relief & help.And staying very, very sick for the last FOUR HOURS of our flight.
Did I mention the PRAYING for relief & help? Well, I guess I never threw up, so that’s something…but the extreme constancy of discomfort didn’t ever let up. And there is no stopping a plane so I can pull over, get out on steady ground, & breathe fresh air until my tummy settles. Can’t exactly do that on an airplane….
And I PRAYED. Whimpered. Begged. Cried. I was so desperate to feel steady & have my tummy settle. But it didn’t… because sometimes God doesn’t take the pain away.
Rehearsing in My Mind What I KNOW to be TRUE… Even When It Doesn’t Exactly Feel Like IT
So, I have to look back…to remember His past faithfulness… to remember His always eventual displayed goodness when it wasn’t so readily visible in the struggle itself… to remember He will use this somehow, too.
God is good. Even when He doesn’t take the pain away. God is good.
He is faithful. He can BE your strength when YOU have NONE.
I think of the blind man… the people asking who sinned… his parents?… him?… And Jesus’ response?Neither(not that they were sin-free, but that their sin was not the cause), but that God could be glorified–so God’s power may be seen by the people. (John 9:2-3)
Because that man had a need, he was able to experience God’s provision, through Jesus.AND onlookers were able to witness the POWER of GOD, through JESUS.
If Ever Tempted to Doubt God’s Goodness…
And guess what? Our GREATEST need allows us to experience God’s provision, through Jesus, too.
We all fall short. We don’t have what it takes. We’ll never be enough, not REALLY. We’ll never measure up. We will always fail & fall short & get it wrong.
We can’t save ourselves. We can’t be sufficient. We can’t ever be good enough for God.
But… JESUS.
Can we just take a second to relish in that?To meditate on that TRUTH? We fail Him every single day in small ways & big ones, whether it’s distrusting Him in our struggles or anything else… we don’t deserve Him… BUT, He gave His Son to DIE for OUR debt ANYWAY.
I saw a quote yesterday that is so sweet & profound & it went something like, “He came to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”Hallelujah, PRAISE GOD!
Sometimes God Doesn’t Take the Pain Away
God is sufficient in our NEED! God is GOOD! God is FAITHFUL!
He may not always answer the way I want Him to, but He ALWAYS answers to my deeper need: learning to let Him be God over every ounce of my life & being... to see Him as truly sovereign AND sufficient.
Perfecting me. Growing my faith in Him as sufficient in all things. Pruning me…. Making me more like Jesus.
Where do you question Him?
Where do you need to repent of distrust?
What need do you need to allow Him to fulfill?
His Son on the Cross for Our Sin
If ever tempted to doubt God’s goodness, we need not look further than His Son on the cross for our sin.
God wants you to know His goodness. He wants you to be confident to rest in Him. He wants you to draw near. He wants to be your sufficiency for all your need. He wants you to know Him.
Shine HOPE by trusting God’s goodness, provision, sufficiency, plan, faithfulness, & love… even when sometimes God DOESN’T take the pain away.
THANK YOU for your patience in the delay of this post being published. That 4 hours of “motion sickness” on the plane ended up being some sort of stomach bug that stuck around 4 FORTY-EIGHT hours. In other words, it got so much worse & yesterday I was just so weak & nauseated that I didn’t do much more than stay in bed. I am feeling much improved today & God held me through the worst of it. Happy to see the sunshine at the end of that dark tunnel. Today is a new day.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Peace Bracelet (EAST ASIA)
(Shown: Peace Bracelet, handmade in East Asia. Purchase this beautiful bracelet, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in East Asia out of poverty!)
Help women escape brothels in East Asia when you purchase the Peace Bracelet! This blue-toned phoenix stone and hematite beaded bracelet includes the word “PEACE” for a fun, fair-trade look! Easy to dress up or down for daily wear, the Peace Bracelet is the perfect bracelet to add to your bracelet stack.
***Purchase this beautifully handmade Peace Bracelet, using the “Shop Here” link below, to create jobs supporting sex-trafficking survivors in East Asia with safe housing, health care, trauma counseling, job skills training, and dignified income.***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
Being gracious does not come naturally, does it?Because, by its very nature, grace is undeserved.
Even if you may feel it not a weakness, I definitely struggle with it.
You know, if it’s something small or if I can tell nothing was meant by it, I can sometimes easily brush it off & move on… but when it was intentionally meant to hurt me or they recklessly hurt me, followed by zero remorse or compassion… yeah… not so easy for me then.
But today, I want to cover 4 people in the Bible whose demonstrated graciousness has really challenged me in this area: the slave girl, the prisoners, the betrayed brother, & the Lamb.
The Slave Girl
At church yesterday, our pastor spoke on the story of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-16). Naaman is described as: Commander of the king’s army, a great man in the sight of the king, highly regarded, a valiant soldier…but he had leprosy.
But we’re not here to talk about this “great man of valor.” We’re here to talk about his wife’s slave girl.She is described as: taken from her home by raiders, held captive, & now a servant of Naaman’s wife.
Now, if it were ME we were talking about, I would find out my master’s husband had leprosy which he would most likely eventually die from, & think he kind of deserved it & that maybe it could even lead toward me finding a way to be released from captivity so I could go home.
But that is not how this slave girl responded to her unfair, hurtful circumstances that dragged her away from her home & family.
She surprisingly responded with GRACE. We know this because it was HER idea to tell Naaman’s wife that a prophet of God lived in Israel & could, through God, heal him of his leprosy.
Her Grace Led to His Healing, in More Ways Than One
And guess what??! Desperate man that he was, under all of his high praise titles, he LISTENED to her & WENT. And long story short, Elisha (the said prophet of God in Israel) did not show any recognition whatsoever to Naaman’s prestige, which greatly offended Naaman… because God wanted Naaman to see that it wasn’t JUST his physical malady He wanted to heal, but his heart & soul as well… & God KNEW Naaman needed to be humbled first, to be put on the same playing field as everyone else so to speak, & reminded that at his very core, Naaman was just simply a person like everyone else.
And through the urging of his servants to look past his offended pride & anger, he did indeed follow the instructions given by Elisha & he was indeed HEALED of his leprosy… & through all of that humbling, his heart was able to recognize the glory & splendor of the God Who had healed him!
He surrendered his life to God because a slave girl saw past her unfair circumstances, looked through the lens of grace, & had compassion on her master.
Was That Grace Easy for Her? We Don’t Know…
We aren’t told what went on in that young slave girl’s heart. Maybe she wrestled with wanting to let him suffer…maybe she had to bow down her natural inclinations to allow God’s perspective to override her feelings on the matter… or maybe she abided with God so closely through talking with Him (prayer) & reading His Word (Scripture texts), that she knew already how God would will her to respond. We don’t know.
But regardless of her process to get there, respond with grace she did. And her master will be grateful for her compassion & grace into all eternity.
All because a slave girl was gracious to a man named Naaman who wasn’t at all deserving of her grace.
The Prisoners
The second challenge to my struggle with graciousness is the story of 2 men who were “stripped, beaten, & severely flogged…” & then taken to prison because they freed a slave girl from the control of a demon & it made her masters FURIOUS because her fortune-telling made them heaps of money at her expense. (Acts 16:16-34)
The response of these 2 men—Paul & Silas? … “Praying & singing hymns to God as the other prisoners listened to them.”
In the middle of the night, earthquakes SHOOK the prison & caused the prison doors to fly open & all the chains on the prisoners to be loosed!
But you know what they did? The jailor came RUSHING in, SAW all the doors wide open, drew his sword & was ready to kill himself(the punishment for losing prisoners on your watch was SEVERE)…but then, a voice calls out….
Paul shouts out: “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” (Acts 16:28)
Their Grace Led to Hope for a Jailor & His Whole Family
The jailer was humbled to his CORE & was trembling as he asked, “What must I do to be SAVED???”
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”(Acts 16:31-34)(WOW, it’s hard not to get choked up at that response!)
We don’t know how uncomfortable prison was for them, how wronged or hurt they felt… we know they were beaten & stripped & humiliated. And yet, they chose to worship God & trust God even in the midst of ALL THAT.And God used their time in prison & their attitude of graciousness to reach the heart of a particular jailor & his WHOLE family.
All because 2 prisoners saw beyond their uncomfortably poor circumstances & showed GRACE undeserved through it. Wow.
The Betrayed Brother
And then, this story, this betrayed brother that I have talked on so often in the past almost 7 years of doing this blog… Joseph, betrayed by his brothers.(Genesis 37-50)
They wanted to kill him, but then decided they could profit better from the situation by selling their own brother instead to passing slavers.
But you know what? Joseph, in being threatened to be killed by his brothers out of jealousy, being threatened to be abandoned to die of starvation or thirst in a hole by his brothers, being SOLD by his brothers to slavers, being bought, being accused wrongly because his new owner’s wife wanted him & he refused her honorably, being thrown in prison from false accusations, forgotten & left behind after helping someone in that prison, etc. etc. etc. The Bible says God BLESSED everything he did because he would strive always to do his best, even when it wasn’t earned by those demanding it.
What a life of GRACE he demonstrated, huh? I don’t know if I could have done it, outside of MUCH prayer & sobbing for home.
His Grace Led to Saving His Whole Family During a Time of Terrible Famine
But, in the end, God showed Joseph that what others meant for evil, God meant it for GOOD, because all of these HORRIBLE circumstances led him to be in a position of impressing the PHAROAH of Egypt so much so that this Pharaoh gave him power over his entire kingdom! AND, because of that gifted power, Joseph was in a position to provide food to his whole family when YEARS of famine struck all the land.
GOD KNEW… Joseph was faithful & gracious…. GOD PROVIDED.
(***You can read Joseph’s powerful story in Genesis 37-50. One of my FAVORITE stories. And it’s a TRUE one at that! God is so GOOD!***)
The Lamb
But then, we are at Person #4, who challenges me the most out of all 4: the Lamb.
More particularly, the Lamb of God… Jesus Christ.
Jesus is GOD.Imagine with me the ROBES that FILLED the throne room… the GLORY & MAJESTY like you can’t even begin to imagine….
And His love for US… it COMPELLED Him to step down from His heavenly throne when all of humanity’s efforts failed. The perfect garden with His presence? Wasn’t enough for us…. The 10 Commandments? Couldn’t keep ‘em. The sacrifices? Didn’t stop the sin.
So, Jesus came as the ultimate sacrifice… a once-for-all type sacrifice… as the Lamb of God.
His Grace Brought Us HOPE
We sin & we sin & we sin & we sin & we have no hope. We are naturally OWNED by our sin nature.
BUT GOD. God had compassion. God showed grace. God had His ONLY Son JESUS to pay our price FOR us. And Jesus, although overwhelmed by the weight & pain of it, willingly condescended Himself on our behalf.Talk about undeserved GRACE!
Aren’t you so incredibly GLAD that God did not leave us to our own sin & deserved punishment in Hell? That He provided an OUT? That He offered HIMSELF?
The perfect Lamb. Our perfect Sacrifice. Our SAVIOR.
What Does the Bible Say About Jesus?
“Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”” (John 14:6)
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, [Jesus] Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
“For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus] shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.
[Jesus] was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; [Jesus] was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So [Jesus] opened not His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:6-7)
Graciousness, as Told By: The Slave Girl, the Prisoners, the Betrayed Brother, & the Lamb
Who else is challenged in the area of GRACE today?
The slave girl, the prisoners, the betrayed brother… the Lamb….Because they were willing to extend grace undeserved, God was able to change lives through their graciousness.
Praise GOD for GRACE.
May this urge us all to live in the perspective of grace. To live beyond & above our awful, difficult, unfair circumstances….
… To see ALL circumstances of unfairness as God-appointed opportunities to be, as our pastor termed it: “Messengers of Mercy.”
Shine HOPE by living a life of graciousness in moments of unfair treatment/circumstances, so that you can live as a “Messenger of Mercy” to this broken world owned by sin, to be redeemed by God’s GRACE.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Ardent Necklace-Golden (INDIA)
(Shown: Ardent Necklace, handcrafted in India! Purchase this necklace, using the “Shop Here” link below to support women artisans in India!)
Create safe jobs with fair wages in areas of extreme poverty in India by purchasing the Ardent Necklace! The design of the Ardent Necklace makes it uniquely customizable, featuring its twisted cord, elegant metal finishing and an adjustable golden bead for easy wearing. This necklace is easy to pull over your head and adjust to your perfect length. The gold-tone pendant is an organically shaped pendant with a freshwater pearl.
***Use the “Shop Here” link below to purchase this beautifully handcrafted necklace & help create job opportunities for women in areas of extreme poverty in India.***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
Modern Conveniences Lead to Us Being Able to Do MORE
I sometimes think about the modern conveniences we’re so often accustomed to in the western world.
Imagine washing clothes by hand or even having to go collect water in order to wash your clothes because of no running water. Same for dishes. Or bathing. Literally everything would take so much more effort & time, even to do the simplest things.
And yet, the convenience of modern appliances, while it has made those tasks quicker & simpler, has also freed us up to take on more & do more.
In other words, our lives have continually sped up with each new convenience. Our lives haven’t gotten any less busy, just busy in a different way than before.
There Are Pros & There Are Cons…
Honestly, I think this quick-paced life has its downsides. The more technology advances, the more it seems we’re disconnected from the world going on right around us.
Yes, we have video & video-calling, which are amazing. We can text or DM someone miles away, to stay connected with loved ones far away. What a blessing! Especially for someone who has lived so far from her family for almost 13 years.
But, in all of our technology-available connections, I feel like, at least for me, it has gotten more difficult for face-to-face connections to happen.
Yonder Years
I am at the age where I remember growing up knowing all the neighbors surrounding your house. Bringing Christmas cookies to them during Christmastime & baking muffins to bring over & borrowing a cup of sugar… because, why not, we’re neighbors after all.
We spent more time outside of our house than in it. We interacted more constantly with the world going on right around us.
And I can feel the social differences nowadays. I can feel the disconnect.
How Can We Intentionally Get Back to Getting to Know Those Around Us?
I can also feel the rush around me. As if people put on their blinders, do what they set out to do, then go home.I can feel the hurry.
And the distractions are endless. The to-do lists seem endless. When do we have or make time to just sit with people? To know them?
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this lifestyle of rush & hurry, of lacking in-person communication, is part of what drives so much anxiety & depression in society. This lack of connection with others most likely takes its toll.
We’re not as used to it, so it feels more awkward maybe.
Our Life Is on Hyperdrive… So How Can We Make Space for the Interruptions God Sends Our Way?
And then there’s the making space for one another in our lives. Are we so busy that we can’t make space for other people?
I remember in college, I was part of the student leadership team my senior year & there were plenty of times where I was behind on studying, prepping for a test or presentation, & a young lady would knock on my dorm door, asking for someone to be a shoulder for her & to pray with her.
How inconvenient with midnight fast approaching & my need to finish my work!
Where Are God’s Priorities?
But a gentle nudge got my attention, so I prayed about it in that split second of panic that had washed over me: “God, I don’t have time for this, but I want to listen to You. What do You want me to do? Honor my responsibilities & class requirements for tomorrow? Or drop it for her? What should I do, Lord?”
And every time, I got this soft, gentle whisper over my heart, as if to say, “What do you think matters more to Me? You getting a better grade? Or this hurting young woman standing in front of you?”The answer was obvious then.
Do we allow space for God to interrupt us? And I don’t mean rushing through it to fake your way through caring while you’re really tapping your foot in impatience, thinking about what you might end up missing because of this interaction… I mean, being willing to pray something similar & trust that a person hurting is more valuable to God than your to-do list?
What do you think God would say is more important to Him, if you were to ask Him?
What Can God Do?
Would you trust Him to fill in whatever you miss because of it?
Would you be willing to surrender what you think is more important for whom God deems as more important?
How is your compassion with others? What if they’re a “repeat offender” in the interruptions? How is your compassion with them then?
Do you make space for others?
Do Unto Others…
Honestly, you would think I would have been more quick to jump up & help out the young ladies who came to my door so often that year, because I am one who has experienced seasons of being even more needy than they.
I have felt the lack of space in others’ lives when I have felt great need.
I am my own object lesson & I failed to see it so often.
Is it inconvenient & sometimes uncomfortable when someone has an emotional need we may not feel we understand? Or may feel is unwarranted? Or may feel they’re too much of a repeat offender in this & should have “learned by now”? Is that uncomfortable sometimes? Yes.
Does God still care about them just the same, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable it is or how unwarranted it may see to you? Yes.
God Cares When No One Else Seems to Care
God cares when no one else seems to care. God cares when it’s inconvenient. God cares even when they seem to have needed to “get over it by now” & just can’t seem to be able to. God cares even when it’s uncomfortable.
We are never “too much” for God. He just keeps on caring. Long-suffering caring, if you will. Kind caring. Gentle caring. Patient caring. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
It’s no wonder this beautiful little verse exists in the Bible: “… for God is love.”(1 John 4:8)
He IS love. It is Who He IS.
Making Space for Others–Are We Too Disconnected?
Do we love like Him? Do we willingly take our hesitations, impatience, discomfort, schedule, & rush to Him & say, “God, I don’t have time for this. You KNOW my schedule. But what should I do?”
Because I can pretty much guarantee what He will do, IF you are WILLING to pray that way….
“What do you think I care about more? Your to-do list? Or this person?”
Are you making space for others in your life? Are we too disconnected to notice them? To take time for them? To allow them to inconvenience us in order to love them the way that God loves them, through Jesus?
How would you respond to that question? Would you be willing to pray that prayer?
Shine HOPE by seeking to really SEE the people around you every day… to connect… to make space in your rush for others who may come as an interruption… to love as God first loved us.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Katie Bracelet (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)
(Shown: Katie Bracelet, handcrafted in the DR. Purchase this beautiful bracelet, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in the DR escaping & healing from human trafficking.)
Each stretch-to-fit Katie Bracelet features striking black lava beads, elegant gold accent beads, and a single luminous freshwater pearl at the center. Lava beads, formed from volcanic rock, are known for their natural, earthy texture, while the freshwater pearl adds a timeless, delicate touch. Create a matching “his and hers” moment with the Kairo Bracelet — or simply pair them together for a complete fair-trade look!
***Purchase this beautifully handcrafted Katie Bracelet, using the “Shop Here” link below, to support a safe house in the Dominican Republic, providing education, legal services, safe housing, and trauma counseling for survivors of human trafficking. Empower women on their journey to healing and restoration!***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
I talk about this little intimidating word: “surrender” a lot, but it really is such a vital piece in our learning to give God the honor & glory He deserves,& in seeing that His ways really are best, even when it doesn’t feel like it or make any sense at all to us.
Okay, so God holds ultimate authority, right? Ultimate right to have a say-so. Ultimate power. Made the world & everything in it. Made you & me. Knows everything. Sees everything. Understands everything… & ALSO has perfect wisdom to know how best to fit every piece together.
I cannot claim a single one of those things for myself personally. And yet, how often do I act like I do with the way I hesitate or offer pushback to God?
Sometimes, I’m not so good at surrender.
I Want to Win…
You see, surrender implies a giving up. Surrender implies a wrestling between what you really want & giving that up.
Imagine a battle. Who surrenders? The losers… the ones who see it’s either that or complete destruction. It’s defeat.
Surrender doesn’t feel good. By its very nature, it is uncomfortable.
And it doesn’t help that we live in a culture that tells you to be the main character of your life. That’s nothing new. That IS human nature at its core.We want what WE want.
Living in a Me-First Culture
In America, we REALLY seem to sell it. Everything is about living your best life, YOLO, whatever feels right, whatever makes you look good, whatever makes you feel good, whatever gives you “main character vibes.”
Even commercials aim to capitalize on making sure you have whatever you want at your fingertips & ensuring you really want what they have to offer.
So, self-denial feels SO uncomfortable, doesn’t it? So unnatural.
And yet, it’s how we’re called to live.
God Earns Our Surrender by His Very Nature
Taking up OUR cross & following Jesus. Denying ourselves. Doing everything, whether we eat or drink even, to the glory of God…. That is what we were made for.
And it’s not His arrogance that demands it. It is His very nature to deserve it.
It’s like someone winning GOLD in the Olympics & them getting a medal & press coverage & ad deals, etc., & you questioning, “Why should I praise THEM versus MYSELF in this sport???” Um, because they EARNED the right to that prestige. It’s not arrogance to receive honor that is deserved.
God is not puffed up, demanding allegiance superficially. He DESERVES it. He alone EARNED it by His very nature as Almighty GOD, Ruler & Creator of Heaven & Earth.
He Is the Potter, We Are the Clay
He is the Potter. We are the clay. Who is the clay to tell the Potter how He ought to form them or use them? (Isaiah 64:8; Romans 9:20)
You can dislike it. You can scream that you don’t believe it (in your heart of hearts, you know you do, because out of His grace, He has written His law on all our hearts so that we’re without excuse). (Romans 1:20)
But it is what it is, indeed.
And despite all that, surrender is still hard for me.
I Wrestled, Even Though I Knew God Ought to Win
When we moved back to Guam, I did NOT want to come. I had a very hard & negative experience last time we lived here (not everyone or every day or in all things, but a lot of HARD happened those few years) & I thought I was PAST it. And now God was taking me BACK there.I did not want to go.
But, even then, in my wrestling with & begging of God to change His plans, I knew… I KNEW He ought to win.I just didn’t want Him to.
I would pray something like, “PLEASE don’t make me go back there! I know You ought to win with this, because You have a perfect plan & know all & are leading this… but I just don’t WANT You to win here. Please help me even WANT You to change my mind, because I can’t even pray that right now because I DON’T WANT TO GO.”
But, even there, I knew I wanted His plan over my own. Sometimes I don’t even respond THAT well—if you can really see that as responding well at all.
All My Friends Were Getting Married…
And then there’s the fact that I was single for a long time & was a romantic straight out of the womb, I believe, so THAT was hard as well. I know hindsight bias says, “Well, you can’t really complain because I am still single & you’re NOT!” But… I had no clue that it would EVER happen back THEN. I was almost THIRTY when I got married & although I know some of you are single & older than that but just hold on for this next bit….
You see, I really, really, REALLY wanted to get married. I saw my younger friends AND younger SISTER get married before I was even in a serious relationship. It was crushing.
But I had to get to a point where I was willing to lay even that down. To be willing to say, “You know what, God. Even if. Even if. Even if You never see fit to lead me to marriage, help me to trust & honor You first. Not my will, but Thine. Help me trust You over myself.Forgive me for idolizing something You are withholding. Forgive me for doubting You. Forgive me for thinking I know better than You.Forgive me for doubting You care about me because of this. Please help me to surrender this to You.”
Surrender in Sleeplessness
Then, my 2 months of sleeplessness back whenever that was. Getting TOPS about 20 hours of sleep a WEEK—for TWO MONTHS. For perspective, 7 hours a night for one week is 49 hours of sleep a week. I was dead tired ALL THE TIME. (***You can read more about that in the blog post I wrote about it: “Growing Up a Christian: A Grace-Filled Life, Chapter 23: God Is My Strength.”***)
Some nights I just prayed & accepted that God could have me sleep if He chose, so since He chose to withhold it, I knew He could help me the next day, so I just rested in that fact, even though I was getting sometimes 0 hours of rest on a given night.
Some nights, though, I took my pillow, pressed my face into it, & silent-screamed my frustration into it. I was SO TIRED & yet, I COULD NOT sleep. I knew it was a spiritual attack, because it would be the weirdest things. An itch here, a need to blow my nose there, then a dog barks right out our window, then a crick in my shoulder, then my cat starts meowing, then my arm falls asleep, then I sneeze, then my hip feels achy, then my husband starts kicking his leg in his sleep (he does this sometimes). A million & one things slapping me out of sleep, but only just as I was starting to drift off. It was maddening!
And some nights, I would leave my room, defeated, sit at the kitchen table, put my face in my hands, & just cry for like 30 minutes until I went numb & just stared into the abyss. Blank. Defeated. Exhausted. Disparaged. WEAK.
God Would Supply, If Only I Was Willing to Surrender My NEED for Control to Return to Me… & Trust HIM As My Supply Instead of Myself
And I had to come to the point where I was willing to say, “Even if, Lord, even if. BE my strength.”
You see, I learned that I held a lot of faith in feeling capable in & of myself, & through that season, I wasn’t at all. I had to rely on God alone being capable FOR me when I had nothing left in me.
And that is HARD. (If you live this every day with chronic illness or pains, I am so sorry. God is sufficient, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be challenging as all get out surrendering that pain to Him each & every day. Fall into Him.)
Surrender is a tough pill to swallow sometimes, & sometimes I’m not so good at it.
But with it comes so much blessing.
Surrender Brings SO MUCH Blessing
God encouraged me to find 3 things, just THREE things to be thankful for about Guam every day back then. That is how simply He had me begin in even WANTING to ask Him to change my mind. (So gentle, so kind, & so gracious He is!)My 3 things were the same 3 things for MONTHS:palm trees, ocean views, & cool ocean breezes.But those 3 things helped shift to finding reasons to PRAISE Him versus FEAR His plans.
God encouraged me with PEACE in my singleness that I thought a complete & just plain IMPOSSIBLE thing to EVER feel about it, through time with my aunt one long car ride. (I wanted to be married SO BADLY.)
God WAS my strength in my sleeplessness.EVERY day. In my good attitudes & my very not so great ones. Every day that I eventually surrendered to asking for His help in my lack, He SUPPLIED.He WAS my strength, even when I had none of my own. He taught me that I could trust Him to be my supply in that way, never needing to worry if I ever lost my physical strength. Even in the hard, He would be my enough.
Surrender is hard, but when it comes to God, it is 100% always worth it.
For Our Good & For His Glory–100% of the Time, ALWAYS
EVERYTHING He does or determines is ALWAYS for OUR good AND His glory. Every time. (Even when it doesn’t feel like it at all in the moment.)We can trust Him to know & see & understand what we can only presume to know.
What are you wrestling to surrender to Him right now?
What are you clinging to, determined not to let go?
What do you struggle trusting Him to take over?
Sometimes I’m Not So Good at Surrender
Will you be willing to pray for God to change your mind?Or, maybe start as I have to sometimes, with something like, “I don’t want to pray for You to change my mind, because I don’t want to change my mind… but help me to be willing to pray THAT at least.I know You ought to win, because You know better than me… I just don’t want You to win. Help me change that. Please forgive me & thank You that You always know better than me, even when I cannot see it one bit. Amen.”
***I have a section in the Resources & Recommendations tab on my website for “Prayers of Surrender.” If you are wrestling a certain area of life, please feel free to download one (or more) for free to print off (no strings attached, I promise)& help you to put into words the hurt you are feeling in your resistance to Surrender.***
Shine HOPE by letting God change your mind, letting Him have His way… even when you really want yours… trusting God is GOD & you are not & that everything He does or determines is ALWAYS for your good AND for His glory—Never one without the other.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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 Stud Set (INDIA)
***Shown: Mini Stud Set, handcrafted in India! Purchase this beautiful set, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in India out of poverty!***
DAYS OF HOPE – Limited Edition! Create safe jobs with fair wages for women in areas of extreme poverty where vulnerable women are often exploited by sweatshops, when you purchase the Mini Stud Set. This dainty stud set from India includes the Knot Studs – a pair of studs that represent a knot, and the Crystal Studs – a pair of small, faceted crystal studs set in gold-tone prongs. These studs are perfect for everyday wear or multiple piercings. These classic studs create lasting change for families in India.
***Purchase this beautiful Mini Stud Set, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in India out of poverty!***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
Happy almost New Year! It is SO hard to believe that I am starting yet another year with you guys on this website. How am I halfway through my SIXTH year doing this? 7 come Summer! So crazy.
Well, it’s a couple days before 2025 begins & my hubs & I have spent the last week sick. What a way to end 2024, am I right? But, actually, it’s been a little bit of a blessing in disguise because it has forced me to lay low & just rest & reset instead of trying to cram my break full of activities & projects as per usual.
God has a way of knowing just what I need, even though I don’t always see it in the moment & can feel frustrated by it. In the end, I can usually look back & think, “wow, okay, God did something good through that… who knew?”
I find that a lot of things that were unpleasant & undesirable have ended up being a blessing in disguise as well.
God Can Do What Seems Impossible to Me–Bringing Good Things Out of Hard or Undesirable Situations
Even looking back to getting grounded as a kid—yes, I got in trouble sometimes—having tv restrictions ended up being a huge blessing because it prompted me to find more creative ways to stay entertained, like learning a new hobby, doing a craft, or exploring outside & getting fresh air & sunshine. Who knew!
And I think to more recently, how, when we first moved back to Guam, our temporary apartment had no hot water—cold showers in the morning anyone? For weeks? But surprisingly, the girl who ONLY did hot showers, (once I got past the initial WHOO shock of the cold), found it to actually be quite invigorating & refreshing! Now, I actually end showers by INTENTIONALLY setting it colder & colder to get that chill ON PURPOSE because I grew to love it so much. I NEVER would have tried it had I had a choice.Who knew!
Or, when the power went out for the hundredth time after our super typhoon last year & discouragement was just sort of smacking me around because it felt like returning to normal kept repeatedly slipping out of grasp with those frequent power outages, & so, I went to take a shower in the dark, using my phone flashlight as my “candle” & it made reflections of the water droplets light up all over the bathroom like a kaleidoscope. It was beautiful! And I never would have tried it otherwise. Something unexpectedly beautiful in the aftermath of destruction. Who knew!
And even in my not realizing that my current job would be requiring daily bathroom cleaning (my least favorite chore), only to have the unexpected benefit of me getting into such a rhythm with it that now home-cleaning our bathrooms really seems like no big deal. How nice! Who knew!
Or how super hard seasons can really make you soak in & really appreciate blessings & people, when you may have otherwise grown to take them for granted….
In the Hard, We Get the Chance to See the Love of Others Lived Out
And back when I had COVID in the thick of COVID times & was forced to move into isolation apart from my husband, in a room encrusted with dried vomit & dog urine in the carpet, no tv, no food or dishes, no drinking water, rooms mostly completely bare because they were condemned for eventual tear down or remodel but then became the COVID isolation towers… on my BIRTHDAY…AND Thanksgiving… for the entire MONTH of November.We had to rely completely on the generosity of others for food or dishes or toilet paper even for a MONTH—most of it separated & only the last 5 days or so together with my husband (over Thanksgiving). And we got to see our church family aka friends come to our rescue every single day, sacrificing on our behalf… with groceries, clean water, dishes, pots, pans, baking dishes & supplies… bringing me breakfast, lunch, & dinner from favorite spots for my birthday… bringing me presents of coloring books, bath bombs, puzzles, & games for my birthday… & on Thanksgiving, they all pitched in 2 meals’ worth of a full Thanksgiving FEAST, complete with a turkey table decoration. I never would have experienced such generous LOVE from my friends without going through such a miserable experience. Who knew.
God. God Knew.
God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). God knew. God sees what I don’t… what I can’t. He can DO what I can’t possibly do with the hard… in the hard… through the hard. God knows. We can trust Him to bring good things even in the undesirable & the uncomfortable & the unplanned misfortunes of life.
His goodness is not at all dependent on life “being good.” Thank God for that!
It’s so amazing how God can take the hard in our life & still show us something so beautiful despite of it or even because of it.
It can give you new perspective, new appreciation, & even a newfound sense of compassion toward others.
God really knows what He’s doing.Even in the hard.
What If There Is Something Better?
I know it’s really easy to pray the hard away. To pray for comfort & healing & to take all the struggles away. It’s easy for ME anyway!But what if there’s something better?
A video came across my feed on social media recently & it just really illuminated this point for me… what if God doesn’t answer to take the pain away right away nor replace it with comfort instead when you ask? What if there is something better?
That sometimes He may not answer the way you think you want because He knows that what you truly need is Him.
Even in the Hard
If you feel strength-less & weak… can you choose to trust Him as your strength?
If you feel tortured in your restlessness… can you choose to trust Him as your rest?
If you feel you have nothing left to give… can you choose to trust Him as your sufficiency?
If your life doesn’t “get better”… can you choose to trust Him as Good?
Can you trust that He can bring blessings… even IN the hard?
Can you trust beyond what you can see or feel to know Him as GOOD?
This new year of 2025 does not come with a promise of improvement… or “better”… or of ease, comfort, & “happiness.”
But, if you have trusted that Jesus has died for YOUR sins to make you right before God & you have repented of that sin you could never yourself pay, trusting Jesus as LORD over your life… you can count on this new year of 2025 coming with HIM… even in the hard.(Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10; John 14:6)
Jesus Is the Only Way to Light in the Darkness
With peace… His peace. Peace that can exist IN the storms.
With love… His love. Love that doesn’t depend on you being lovable.
With hope… His hope. Hope that doesn’t require your efforts to make it so.
With strength… His strength. Strength that doesn’t require yours.
With rest… His rest. Rest that is born through assurance that He is GOD & you are not.
With wisdom… His wisdom. Wisdom that goes beyond your understanding.
What beautiful assurances we have going into 2025. That even in the hard, we have a God Who is GOOD!
Shine HOPE in 2025!
Shine HOPE by sharing the love we have because Jesus was born as God-in-flesh to die for the sins of man, rising again victorious over sin & death. AMEN!
“The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29)(emphasis mine)
“God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
(Shown: Rescued Hearts Necklace, handcrafted in India. Purchase this necklace using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in India out of poverty AND support human trafficking survivors in the Dominican Republic!)
DAYS OF HOPE – Limited Edition! Create hope for young girls rescued from human trafficking in the Dominican Republic when you purchase the Rescued Heart Necklace. The United Nations ranks the DR as having the third-fastest growing human trafficking industry in the world. Every purchase of the Rescued Heart Necklace not only supports the artisans through the sales of their pieces, but ALSO gives $5 to Batey Rehab Project in the DR, an organization dedicated to rescuing and providing holistic care to each survivor in their care.
*****Purchase this handcrafted necklace, using the “Shop Here” link below, to help provide safe jobs with fair wages in areas of extreme poverty where vulnerable women are often exploited by sweatshops.*****
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
Walking down the streets, walking through the mall, driving down the road,
There seems to be some holly jolly cheer everywhere you go
Music singing, lights twinkling, smiles everywhere
So what happens when your heart doesn’t feel so Christmas-y at all?
Maybe you feel alone, with a family far away
Maybe you wish you had a special someone to share that mistletoe
Maybe your house is empty, no gifts, with no lights on the tree
Maybe your heart feels squeezed, your eyes brimmed with tears
Maybe this Christmas doesn’t come with a smile
Maybe this Christmas doesn’t feel so “Christmas-y” at all
Child me always chased after Christmas delights
The tree, the decorations, the presents, the lights
The carols, the cookies, the feast, & the joys
The hot cocoa, the candlelit service, the shopping, & cards
So many things to make Christmas feel like Christmas in my heart
But then, some years, I struggled to feel it
As if the holly jolly cheer just couldn’t be found
The very merry & bright didn’t feel so very merry at all
And somehow, I felt numbed to the cheerfulness wrapped around every corner
As if some gray haze had somehow settled over all the brightness & colors
Maybe that’s you now & you feel this way, too
Maybe you feel sad & not so much “Christmas-y” at all
Maybe you feel lonely when you want to be with family
Maybe the cheery songs fall flat this Christmas… & all the lights
& the Christmas décor just don’t seem to have that same glow as before
But then, on those Christmases, that do come some years
I think back to that first one that we celebrate at this time of year
It was not colorful, no lights on the trees
No garlands or strung lights, or red, white, & green
No rushing to buy presents & no one decking the halls
There were no parties, Christmas cookies, or Christmas meals to prepare
Just a baby in a manger, swaddled up in the hay
The angels sang, but they sang praises of His worth
The wise men brought presents, but to honor this King’s birth
This Almighty King, wrapped in human flesh
Condescended Himself to birth hope in our hearts
That even though this world may be sin-broken
He came to die so that we may be whole again
This Christmas, remember—you don’t have to feel that holly jolly cheer
Just close your eyes & remember that Jesus is near
Though this world may be broken
And not every day feels so “Christmas-y” & bright
We have hope because Jesus came here to us that night
Merry Christmas to all & may you all know
The hope that we all can have because Jesus was born
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Fox Backpack (Guatemala)
DAYS OF HOPE – Limited Edition! Handcrafted in Guatemala, each Fox Backpack is handmade by women earning a fair, dignified wage that allows them to send their children to school. Every 100% cotton Fox Backpack features a drawstring closure and adorable fox face. Every purchase supports women in areas of extreme poverty in Guatemala.
***Purchase this backpack, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in Guatemala out of poverty!***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
Have you ever felt like no one gets you when you’re going through something hard? Like maybe you feel a physical cringe awkwardness from someone, or a subtle “back away slowly & maybe she won’t see us” type reaction or even a straightforward statement along the lines of: “you’re always so dramatic”?
Hurts doesn’t it?
You know what, sometimes I don’t get it either.Sometimes I am the insensitive one toward others because I don’t get it. And sometimes I’m the one going through it & I still don’t get why I feel as if I am suffering.
Maybe it’s my hormones out of whack or brain chemistry or just the way God made me, but boy has it spurned negative reactions toward me sometimes, even if just someone not allowing me space in their life because my sometimes seemingly unsolvable hurt weighs them down. I get it, I do–but it still hurts.
I AM Too Weak… But I Know Someone Who Isn’t…
I don’t hurt all the time. I feel fine right now, in fact. It seems to come in seasons, & no, not monthly cycle type seasons.
I’m in good company, though, I have realized. My friend once said she wondered why the Bible book of Habakkuk wasn’t more popular as it seems to be like Psalms, but so much shorter, to which I responded, “you know what, I find comfort in the fact that Psalms is so long, because I can relate to coming back to the same hurts & crying out over & over again.’
That’s why I say sometimes that I sometimes feel too weak for this world. So many people seem to think it should be easier than I find it at times. Like I just need to shake it off, toughen up, & MOVE ON.
I Don’t Need to Feel Ashamed of My Struggle… Even When I May Not Understand It
And then the whole making emotions almost “equivocal” to sin shtick. Without looking beyond the surface of how much rich, deep, LASTING emotions are depicted in the Bible, not as something to hide from or cover up or be ashamed of as the problem… but as a natural response to the world around them, recognizing that the sin only comes from what you choose to do with said emotions—as an excuse for retaliation, bitterness, isolation, unkindness, giving into temptations, etc.
Today, I don’t want to focus on how others may oftentimes respond negatively to my emotions or of those expressed by family, friends, or strangers….
Today, I want to talk about how GOD responds to our emotions & our suffering.
God Doesn’t Shy Away from Our Suffering
Did you know that God doesn’t shy away from our suffering? Even when our suffering may seem unjustifiable? There is no “prove you deserve to feel suffering so I can show compassion & offer you comfort/support.” He doesn’t operate that way with us. We don’t have to prove cause or justify any hurts to Him.
He doesn’t shy away from our suffering, no matter the cause.
We can count on Him to be right there in it with us, even if we feel tempted to beat ourselves up because we can’t seem to find or speculate a good enough reason to justify our feeling that weak.
God Is Sufficient All on His Own
I have also discovered that God doesn’t even need our loaves & fish. He doesn’t need us to first give before He can give.
In Hokkaido, I was suffering so often. The strain of living in a world in which I couldn’t communicate with others or read signs/labels, or ask questions, or make a joke to make someone smile, or connect with the world around me was so difficult.
That strain made me tired when I wasn’t tired because every small task required courage & strain & overcoming.Nothing was ever simple. Nothing was ever straightforward. Everything required strain. It was so incredibly taxing.
Even If…
I kept praying for escape. I kept praying for relief. I kept praying for EASIER to come.
It didn’t. It didn’t come… no escape… no relief… no ease from the hard.
And I responded wrongly indeed. I gave up praying for it. Every time I prayed & I didn’t get my way, seeing the constant challenging strain remain & remain & keep on remaining… I stopped praying. Because praying meant reaching out to God, Him not pulling me out of the suffering, & my bitterness growing toward Him. So I withdrew from asking Him anymore because I hated feeling guilty being mad at God.
That was wrong. Wrong because He was still my only hope in my suffering. Wrong because I didn’t get my way, but He could still make a way. I wanted my way—end the suffering—or no way.
That was wrong.
God Worked through Me Even When I Was FAR from Worthy
That wrong got worse. That lack of praying about it turned indeed toward bitterness. Almost a, “why bother asking You—You’re not going to help me anyway, as You have clearly demonstrated.”
I still talked to Him daily, throughout each day—just not about my suffering anymore.I still felt Him patiently there with me. But I had my arms crossed & my nose turned up at Him when it came to a point of suffering with the hard that remained in my life.
And you know what? I WAS suffering. I then had a bratty attitude of my way ONLY. I responded wrongly. I disrespected & dishonored Him in my response to His allowing me to remain in my suffering. I did wrong.
But He remained anyway.
God’s Faithfulness–Thank God–Does Not Rely on My Faithfulness
I had nothing to give Him. Not even a willing heart was I willing to give Him.
But He remained anyway.
I essentially spat at Him, ignored Him, yelled at Him, was bitter with Him. Was a terrible friend. A belligerent daughter. A disrespectful child.
But He remained anyway.
I wasn’t trying to act like I had it all together enough to not scare His help away. I wasn’t trying to sugarcoat my suffering so He wouldn’t back away from me. I wasn’t feigning “okay-ness” so He would stay. I wasn’t forcing a smile or fake niceness. I was outright about it… honest… rude even.
But He remained anyway.
He was faithful when I was not.He was kind when I was not.He stayed when I left. He held on when I let go. He didn’t give up on me even after I gave up on Him.
He remained anyway.
God doesn’t shy away from our suffering.
Beauty from the Ashes
God taught me such beautiful things throughout those 3 years alongside a strong testament to His faithfulness against all odds.
He taught me that I don’t have to be enough for Him because He is enough for both of us.
He taught me that my spiritual gifting is not of my deserving but of His choice in how HE works through me despite my undeserving. He helped others through me in all of my wretchedness because people would come to me with a question & I would roll my eyes in my mind & inwardly pray to Him something like: “Ok God, well I guess that’s You. What do You want me to say? You’re up.” And He would give me the exact right thing out of nowhere & the person with the question would gush how they had been praying for months & my response was the “AHA!” moment missing piece & I would just flatline smile & just point up as if to be like, “that’s Him, not me, but glad it helped.”
I had nothing to give Him. I was no longer trying my best to be the perfect Jesus-follower… & yet, He remained.
He proved that His faithfulness to me is not dependent on ANYTHING I can offer Him.
So much humility was born from that period of suffering. That I can act so wretchedly bratty & disrespectful & be so bitter & angry with Him… & yet, He remained.
God Is Abundantly Sufficient in ALL Things–He Is LOVE
There is nothing I can offer God to add to what He already has in infinite supply. He is sufficient in & of Himself, even when I have nothing left of any good to offer Him.
Even if I respond wrongly. Even if it’s my fault. Even when I give up on Him.
He remains.
“Love suffers long [is patient] and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails….” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)
“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:8)
He Is Our Strong Tower
He is our strong tower. He is our refuge & our strength. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble. (Proverbs 18:10; Psalm 46; Psalm 91)
Even when the storm doesn’t end.He remains.
Even when the suffering doesn’t end.He remains.
Even when we don’t get the relief we yearn so desperately for.He remains.
I Can Count on God, Even When I Cannot Count on Myself
Even when no one understands. Even when no one “gets it.” Even when everyone backs away from you. Even when people don’t think your problem warrants how much it hurts you. Even if others judge you. Even if you get criticized for being “too sensitive.”Even if everyone deserts you.
Even if the suffering remains.
Even if.
He remains. He is faithful. He is enough. He IS your strength. He gives peace. He loves you. He REMAINS.
Shine HOPE by demonstrating the type of REMAINING faithfulness God demonstrates toward us—even when we don’t think they deserve it… because I sure didn’t—but He still remained.We don’t have to understand someone’s pain to be compassionate toward them.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Starlit Joy Ornament Set (INDIA)
(Shown: Starlit Joy Ornament Set. ***Purchase this beautiful & cheery handmade set, using the “Shop Here” link below, & empower women in India out of poverty!***)
This ornament set is created by women working to fight child marriage by creating safe jobs with fair wages in areas of extreme poverty where vulnerable women are often exploited. Each set includes two gold and white beaded ornaments – a “joy” and a star-shaped ornament. Adorn your tree with this classic look that has a big impact!
***Purchase this beautiful & cheery handmade set, using the “Shop Here” link below, & empower women in India out of poverty!***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
People can be so rude sometimes, can’t they? And it can really be so annoying.
Sometimes they even do it on PURPOSE because they want to “stir up stuff” & “make things interesting.” (And sometimes I feel like throat-punching those people for it when I see them enjoying the pain they cause.)Doesn’t happen often, but when it does… oof… LORD help me.
Sometimes people are reckless, careless, thoughtless, distracted, oblivious, rude, unkind, uncaring, etc.
And sometimes I don’t feel very loving in return, when those scenarios present themselves to me.
But, God calls us to something impossible…. To love them. To pray for them. To SERVE them. To not retaliate, (even when our comeback is so good it is SURE to slap them back into their place).(Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27-36; 1 Peter 3:9; Romans 12:19)
And This Is REALLY Good News
The good news is, He doesn’t expect that to come naturally to us. He doesn’t expect us to just jump up & say, “time to love them!” He knows more than anyone how hard it is for us to love someone like that, in our humanly fleshly-ness.And we can KNOW we don’t need to try on our own because there’s absolutely nothing we can add to what Jesus gave.
The good news is… He will HELP us to respond rightly—IF we’re willing to submit to His help versus, “Let me handle this, God!”
I don’t know about you, but the “Let me handle this, God!” feeling comes pretty easily for me & I have to be careful to bow that down & instead say, “Okay, You handle this… because if I do it, I know I won’t handle it in a way that You’d like. Lord, please help me.”
So, first step is knowing He can/will help if we submit our way bowed for His help in its place….
He had full right to leave us to our deserved destination—Hell.
He had full right to say, “well, that’s on them… I told them not to eat of the tree, they did it anyway… I told them right from wrong, they did wrong anyway… I told them how to get clean through sacrificial offerings, they did wrong anyway. That is on them.”
But He didn’t do that, did He? He didn’t say that, did He?
NO—He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. To SUFFER & die in our place. So that if we trust on HIS sacrifice on OUR behalf, we have the right to Heaven—not even based on our own merit or deserving, but HIS!(John 1:12; Isaiah 53; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17)
Don’t ever try to justify or minimize your wrongs. Don’t try to act like you didn’t need much, just a little push. You were WRETCHED in your sin. HOPELESS. Helpless. You could never pay your debt, or even HOPE to.
So HE paid it.
FOR you.
Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow
He left HIS throne in Heaven.
Left HIS impenetrable body for an earthly, fleshy one.
Left HIS Kingdom for a world that despised & rejected Him & did not treat Him with the reverence & humble respect He deserved as the One Who MADE us & this WORLD.
For YOU.
You know, a funny thing happens the longer you’re a Christian (aka Christ-follower)—you become even more humbled by a greater perspective of how undeserving you really are of what Jesus gave for you.
It’s like, early on, it’s easier to sort of justify or sugarcoat with your “good or innocent” intentions. But the longer you follow & submit to Him, the more it becomes visible how completely despicable you really actually are.
I think because you see Him show up for you & remain faithful to you over & over & over again, while you simultaneously see yourself mess it all up over & over & over again.
And yet, the reality of the grace of the cross becomes richer & sweeter & more appreciated each time.
It’s truly so incredibly humbling. The love you feel from Him becomes more obvious & so much more real to you the longer you live submitted to Him.
That Is How We Are to Love Other People in Their Undeserving
I don’t deserve… He gave Himself anyway.
And that is the way we are to love other people. To care more about the person than the hurt.
To realize Jesus paid for them, too. And it was wretched & it was truly awful what they did—but Jesus paid for it, too.
This doesn’t mean you plaster on a fake smile, stuff down your wrath, & PRETEND.
This means admitting ALL the hurt to God, just dumping it all out on Him (He can more than handle whatever you’ve got), cry, bang your fists on the wall, in private, if you need to (just make sure to direct the fists AWAY from the person’s face). But lay it down to Him & say to God something like:
“God, why did they DO that?!? I want to hurt them back! I want them to feel what I feel! I want them to feel sorry & apologize & right their wrong! It hurt so BAD & I am SO angry!!!! But God, please keep me from dishonoring You with my response. Help me to trust You over myself with this because I just want to take care of it how I feel is best, but I know I can’t trust myself to do that without sinning against You in the process, so please give me the grace beyond myself to love them the way that You do, to be an extension of the love You have for them. Empower me to love them on Your behalf & to represent Your grace through Jesus Christ to them—to care more about the person than the hurt. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”
Let GOD Love Them through You
Loving like Jesus is impossible—because we’re not God-in-flesh.
But the good news is that the Holy Spirit in us, for those who have trusted on Jesus for their sin before God, abides in us & will give us the inner strength, the words, & the grace to respond in a way that honors & pleases God versus satisfying our rightful wrath—IF we’re willing to submit to that help.
The offender may indeed, for sure deserve our wrath… but God calls us to trust the wrath to God & to let Him love them through us, with His help.
It’s not natural & it sure is not easy.
But don’t worry—God doesn’t expect it to come naturally for us—that’s why HE is our supply—if we let Him be in that moment.
So, shine HOPE by learning to care more about the person than the hurt, by submitting your hurts to God for His help in your response, & by thus loving others in the same way that God demonstrated His own love toward us, through JESUS CHRIST His Son.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
Cozy Cottage Ornament (NEPAL)
(Shown: Cozy Cottage Ornament, handcrafted in Nepal. Purchase this cute handmade ornament, using the “Shop Here” link below, & invest in the lives of women in Nepal for a brighter tomorrow.)
HOLIDAY EDITION – While supplies last! Create safe jobs with fair wages for the women in Nepal who handcraft the Cozy Cottage Ornament through this dignified partnership. Display this darling ornament with intricate details on your Christmas Tree along with all your favorite holiday décor! This ornament features a slit pocket on the back, a convenient way to fit gift cards!
***Purchase this cute handmade ornament, using the “Shop Here” link below, & invest in the lives of women in Nepal for a brighter tomorrow.***
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
God is so patient with us, isn’t He? And so humble about it.
Of anyone, He alone has full right to be arrogant, & yet… His character can be defined by the purest humility.
How He (Jesus) willingly left the glories of Heaven to be born as a man, in all of our fleshly-ness, & be rejected by those He created… to be beaten & killed by them… to serve them. What a wonderful God we serve.
He loved me when I rejected Him. He died for me while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8).
And yes, I get that He died many years before I was born, but the fact remains that He did it for me, it was finished & made available to me before I even accepted it.
His love came first.
His Love Secures
And He didn’t stay dead. He rose again, victorious over that sin of mine. He paid in FULL.
Because of that–all of my falling short… I can be assured is paid for already, too.
I miss the mark every day.I fall short every day. I am not unaware of my many shortcomings & even failures.
But He gave His life for that, so I could live in & claim freedom despite my sinful flesh ever-screaming for control in my life.
His love secures.
Keep My Focus
I can’t tell you how often I am tempted to live as pleasing to men (humanity)… to look better according to what they seem to believe I should be like… to fit the mold better.
I will say that even on my darkest days, where heaviness rests on me like a wet, weighted blanket… I can feel God holding my hand in it & through it. I can see He is at work, even though I can’t sometimes see the work. I can feel secure when my life doesn’t feel secure. I can feel grounded when the ground seems to crumble beneath me.
Because my hope is not secured to things going my way, to me feeling emotionally stable, to me feeling like my world is going right.
My hope is secured to the One Who loved me before I knew to love Him.
I Don’t Enjoy Pain, but I Can Rest in the One Who Holds Me through It
Do I selfishly long for the pain to stop on my hard days? Do I selfishly wish I never had to feel weak ever again? Oh, certainly YES!
But I am human. I can expect to feel weak... to come to the end of myself.
But His mercies are new every morning. He keeps showing up. His sufficiency remains when mine depletes.
I want so desperately to rely on my storehouse, my provision, what I can SEE. I want to feel in control.
My Daily Sufficiency–His Mercies Are New Every Morning
And sometimes I feel like the Israelites in the desert, craving to take in more than what God provides each day so I can rely on MYSELF.
But God wants me to see that I don’t need that flimsy hope… That it is just a mirage anyway. That I can’t (& don’t need to) depend on myself as my hope.
His daily bread supplies my need. His new-every-morning mercies supply my need.
I don’t need to feel strong, but to rely on HIS strength to supply my need.
I don’t need to feel liked or approved or seen, but to fix my focus on living to please & honor HIM.
His mercies are new every morning.
A Foggy Brain… But a Sufficient God
Last week, I talked about what I have learned working in prison ministry… how I am on the schedule now to teach this new segment on God’s JUSTICE. (Read that post: “Us vs. Them? What I’ve Learned in Prison Ministry.”)
Well, I have been practicing my lesson (& more importantly, PRAYING over it) since August, when I had the potential to begin teaching. And now it is NOVEMBER. (We have to remain flexible with prison ministry because sometimes they’re all-hands-on-deck & cannot accommodate us coming or weather prevents it, & so on.)
So, lots of months preparing for, praying over, & practicing one lesson… just in case… but when I went to finally teach it this past Thursday, my mind was foggy & tired after a very long & hectic day.
My Preparations Failed Me… But He Didn’t
Worried I couldn’t quite find my words like I had practiced so much already, I wondered how I was going to get through it successfully & was feeling disheartened that my much practice was seeming insufficient in my time of tired brain.
So, I prayed about it. I asked God to tell me what to do… how to get through it. And I also prayed: “God, if part of Your plan is to show me as fumbling & ill-prepared despite my MONTHS of preparation because You want to show Yourself somehow through my weakness… then so be it. Just let me be faithful to Your plan in this, even if it ends up making ME look bad. AMEN.”
I don’t know how it appeared to them, but to me, my brain fog seemed to get in the way. And that’s okay. God doesn’t need me to be perfect. He needs me to show up & do my best & let HIM take care of the rest.
Because really, it’s not about ME looking good—but about bringing HIM glory.
Let Him be Seen in Your Weakness
And sometimes, in our weakness, others can see—“oh, maybe her life isn’t all perfect & maybe she’s not doing this because she’s so great at it… maybe she chose to do this not for THOSE reasons but because this is really important to her to share about this God… this JESUS.”
I don’t know… I’m just speculating… but I know that even if I don’t come off as all that great… my job is not to come off as all that great anyway. My job is to show how great HE is… not me.
His love for them matters more than how good I look telling them about it.
I want to be willing to look a fool, to show Him as my supply, as my sufficiency, as my HOPE. To show it’s all Him.
Do You Know JESUS? Do You Promote Him or Yourself as Your Sufficiency with Your Actions?
Where in your life are you desperately feeling the need to LOOK LIKE you have it all together?To LOOK LIKE your life is swell at all times versus promoting God as your sufficiency in your lack? To rely on YOUR storehouse versus God’s provision?
And do you know Jesus? Because He is the key. God says, in the Bible, that Jesus is THE way, THE truth, & THE life… & that NO ONE comes to God except through HIM (John 14:6).
Are you praying & feeling unheard? Are you wanting peace that never comes? Are you wishing you felt hope secured but your life always feels unsteady? You need to know Jesus.He is the KEY.
He ALONE can make you right with God because He ALONE can pay your debt for your shortcomings before God. Do you know Jesus?Do you promote HIM as your hope?
Shine HOPE by being willing to look a fool for Him… by showing up & pointing to Him, even if you don’t feel you look your best… by letting His glory shine through the cracks of your imperfections… & by allowing Him to be your daily sufficiency in all things.
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,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 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!!
White Doodle Ornament (NEPAL)
(Shown: White Doodle Ornament, handmade in Nepal (also available in red & black). Purchase this ornament, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women artisans in Nepal out of poverty!)
HOLIDAY EDITION – While supplies last–(also available in red & black doggos)! Create safe jobs with fair wages for the women in Nepal who handcraft the White Doodle Ornament through this dignified partnership. Adorn your Christmas tree with an adorable White Doodle Pup crafted using 100% wool and traditional wool crafting techniques that have been passed down for generations.
(***Purchase this cute handmade ornament, using the “Shop Here” link below & empower women in Nepal out of poverty!***)
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
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 living for His glory in all that you do!
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
