Grace, By Definition, Is Undeserved

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.

(***Read more about grace undeserved in some of my previous posts: “An Undeserved Grace,” “Living Hard Things with Grace,” “Care More About the Person Than the Hurt,” & “Just an Average Person Used by an Almighty God.”***)

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!!

Ardent Necklace-Golden (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!

The Most Important Type of Surrender

Well, this is a big question, isn’t it?

I talk about surrender a lot, mainly because it is something I have seen as a necessary vein that runs through every part of our lives. But, it’s also very uncomfortable sometimes to think about, isn’t it? That’s what makes it surrender.

Surrendering to God starts with a surrendering of our sin & a surrendering of trying to live our way & a surrendering of thinking we can pay our own way to heaven, accepting that our sin is too great, our trying to live our way dishonors God & really is to our detriment, & that we could never even hope to come close to paying our own way to heaven.

That’s the first & greatest surrender of our lives. It’s a decision I made at just 5 years old & even these 36 years later, was notably the best decision I have ever made.

Be willing to pray: “God, I am a sinner. I have wronged You in so many ways. I cannot save myself. Please forgive me of my sin & please, Jesus, cover my sin. I no longer want to live my way, but Yours. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross to cover what I could never pay. Please be LORD in my life from now on. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

(***Read more on this topic: “Have You Met Jesus?” & “Am I Going to Hell?” & “Before Life Began, God Had a Plan for Grace”***)

A Life Defined by Surrender… & That’s a Good Thing

But the surrender doesn’t end there. Yes, surrendering your life & sin in exchange for forgiveness because of Jesus is the only surrender that gains us God’s grace & forgiveness, & an eternity in heaven, but there is still so much more surrender awaiting us as we strive to live our lives pleasing & honoring to God—which ought to be our overarching, ultimate goal in life.

A life of surrender means taking our wants, our beliefs, the “even ifs,” & all of our self-effort to His throne & laying it down for His will, His way, His plan, & His help.

Surrender to God also looks like doing His way over your way. It is a trusting He knows more than you do, sees more than you can, & can fit the pieces of life together better than you could ever even attempt to do.

I Want What I Want…

We want a lot of things in life, don’t we? Whether it’s hoping to be liked & accepted by peers. Whether it’s getting your dream job. Whether it’s getting married… having kids… having a dream house. The list can literally go on forever.

But the things we want aren’t just the big things, right? They’re the little day-to-day things. Like having things go the way we feel is best, like getting a break when we want it, like being recognized for a job well done, like feeling appreciated.

But live just a little while & you will already see that we don’t always get what we want, do we? It can be easy to feel disappointed or discouraged or invisible even at different seasons of our lives.

God wants to hear about it. God wants you to tell Him all about it. God cares for you. But God also doesn’t want it to control you. He wants you to trust that He can be enough for you in its place… even if you don’t get what you so badly want.

Surrendering Our WANTS to God

So, what does surrender look like then? It looks like taking your requests to God, but trusting that if He chooses not to allow what you hope for, that you will choose to trust Him more than you trust that desire you have for whatever it is.

It’s a laying down of that thing you want, whether it’s wanting a comforting word when you got a harsh one instead… wanting a break, but getting an interruption or another task… wanting a spouse, but getting singleness… wanting recognition, but getting ignored… wanting a child, but ending up childless… wanting a good day, but getting a hard one.

Trust God’s perfect timing. Trust God’s perfect plan. Trust God’s perfect foresight. Trust God’s perfect wisdom. Trust God’s care for you in all things. Trust God’s perfect sufficiency in all things… even when you don’t get what you want.

Be willing to say to Him: “God, I want ________________ soooo badly it hurts. I feel like it’s right for me to want it. I feel I need it. I feel like I can’t be happy & live without it. But, God. I know You are sufficient in all things, even when I struggle to feel it. Help me trust Your plan, Your will, Your sufficiency. Help me not to make _____________ into my idol. Help me trust You more than my feeling I need ______________. Help me to trust YOU. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

(***There are some “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides made available if you are struggling to even WANT to pray with a heart of surrendering it to God. You can check those out on the “Resources & Recommendations” tab on my website: “Prayers of Surrender.” Currently available topics include: Childlessness, Singleness, Financial Struggles, & Depression/Anxiety.***)

What You Believe Vs. What God Says

The next common area of surrender is in what you believe to be true put up against what God says is true.

Maybe it’s identity, sexual preference, gender confusion, believing something feels too good & innocent to be sin while God says it is.

Whatever it is that you believe so intensely in your heart of hearts, that you feel you would defend to your grave… consider Who made you.

Consider Who made this world.

Consider which of you has perfect & complete knowledge, understanding, & wisdom… & which of you only sees in part.

Consider which of you has ultimate & almighty, limitless power & authority over this world.

I’ll give you a hint: It’s not me… & it’s not you either.

If We Disagree with God… We’re the Wrong Ones

A big part of surrender is taking all of your ideals, understandings, & beliefs… all of the world’s philosophies… all of culture’s whims & whimsies… all of everything… & laying that down at the King of king’s feet, recognizing that He is God… & we are not.

To say, “God, I don’t get this. THIS feels SO REAL & TRUE to me. And soooo many people AGREE WITH ME. So how can it be “wrong”? I don’t get it. I don’t like it…. But… YOU made this world… I didn’t. Help me to trust that if You made this world, then You alone know & get to determine how it was made to be… not me… & not anyone else You made either. Help me learn to trust YOUR way over what I feel so strongly about. You are God & I am not. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Surrender can be so hard sometimes, can’t it?

The “Even If” Type of Surrender… When the Storm Clouds Seem to Linger Too Long

The next piece I want to talk about, with regards to SURRENDER, is one I probably talk about the most, especially with my lifelong wrestling through different seasons of depression: it’s the “EVEN IF the hard doesn’t stop” surrender….

I talk about this one A LOT, mainly because I feel like it’s the one I struggle with most noticeably. Yes, I am sure, though more in subtle ways that are more difficult to recognize, I struggle just as much with surrendering my wants & beliefs… but this one I actually FIGHT against sometimes.

My main idol is ease, easy, & comfort. Anyone else? I do not like to struggle.

I Don’t Like It… I Don’t Want It… But God, Help Me Trust You Anyway

Lack of sleep? Sickness? Allergies? Asthma? Depression? Heartache? Struggles with others? Super typhoon? Tragedy? Physical pain? Isolation? Trials? Tribulation? Witnessing a loved one in pain? Injury? Loss? Financial struggles? Hurt from a friend? Hardships at work? Arguments at home?

Nope, nope, nope, & an extra big helping of NOPE from me.

But unfortunately, I do not get to control whether or not hardship or struggle waltzes into my (at times) calm, peaceful life.

So, when God allows it to continue, even after MUCH prayer on my part… I have the tendency to feel like God must not care that I am suffering. But the TRUTH is, He wants me to recognize that His sufficiency is not at all dependent upon everything in my life working out just so. He is quite all I need come what may.

Surrender with the “even ifs” when in pain hurts the most for me.

Hindsight Is Our Best Friend Sometimes

I can come to the understanding that what I want can be an idol & that God knows better. Like with children. I hold no grudge against God for my lack of children. He has shown me He has a different plan for me than that. I have accepted it. I love it actually, because I get to pour into other peoples’ lives more regularly because of it—which is what I absolutely love to do. (Previous post: “To the Barren Woman.”)

And beliefs? I can accept that despite strongly believing it… well, I am not God.

Like when I struggled as a huge flirt when I was younger, thinking that was the only way I could make friends being the chubster I felt I was. Believing SO STRONGLY that it was “just who I was.” But when I finally realized GOD made me, so GOD ALONE got to determine HOW He made me, I turned that over to Him in surrender & asked for His way over my way. And He did. Thank GOD for that freedom.

(Previous post: “…Trusting God, Losing Friends, & Finding Myself”; “…God Made Me, I Didn’t”.)

“Just Take the Pain Away…”

But hurts not quitting? Pain extending? Troubles abounding & flourishing? Waters & waves crashing around me figuratively? People refusing reconciliation? Isolation worsening versus improving? Seeing someone I love continue to suffer?

No, no NO. Just take the pain away.

I don’t want it. I want it GONE ASAP. I don’t want to surrender. I want it to stop.

But, again, that is the very reason it is called “SURRENDER,” isn’t it? A laying down of demanding you get it your way & trusting God above anything & all else.

To say, “God, Your ways are above my ways. Your wisdom is above my wisdom. Everything You do & everything You allow is ALWAYS, 100% for my good AND Your glory… never one without the other. You NEVER waste my pain & struggles. Not once. Help remind me. I believe, LORD, help my unbelief. Help me keeps my head above the waves. Be my strength when I have none. Be my sufficiency when I can’t even hold myself up. Help me remember You are enough… that You love me… that Your plan is perfect… EVEN IF. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

LIVING As If I Need Him… Because I DO

And then there’s one area of surrender I think we all often are too quick to forget… the need to surrender to His help.

Self-effort seems like the most Christian, God-honoring thing we can do, but it is laced with the lie that God needs our help.

That to please Him, we must try harder, be better, work more. But He doesn’t need our help.

When God asks of us, He asks of us knowing He is the Vine… aka He is the supply. He enables. He strengthens. He gifts us with what we need. He provides. He leads. He knows what to do & how to best do it.

He doesn’t need your help.

Whether it’s following His call or whether it’s in the day-to-day obedience of living the ways He says we ought—having His Word ever on our lips, meditating on His truth, serving & loving others (even our enemies), speaking truth in love. It doesn’t matter what it is. He can help you live it if you are willing to surrender to His help.

It Takes Abiding. He Is the Vine, We Are the Branches… Apart from Him, We Can Do Nothing

It takes an ABIDING in Him. If we are submitting to Him, talking with Him, taking concerns to Him, seeking His wisdom, getting to know His Word, & trusting Him evermore every day… that is abiding in Him, & as we abide in Him, He supplies what He calls us to as we rely fully on Him in the work.

It doesn’t mean a not doing. It means letting Him do the leading, the equipping, & the empowering. HE does the work to help you as you live for Him, as you abide in Him.

It’s like living through life with Superman as your best friend & striving & straining what Superman could do with just his pinky finger. And God is so much more powerful than he! We need to live like that’s true!

God’s All-Sufficient Role in Our Growth Can Make Us Feel Ashamed… But Jesus Paid for That, Too

I have gotten annoyed/uncomfortable responses to this discussion, & I get it because I have felt it. It takes ALL excuses out of the equation when we begin recognizing God is the answer & sufficiency in ALL of our lack that has kept us from daily &/or big obediences… & it can make us feel like we failed God in our shortcomings by not going to Him through ALL of them.

But God gives grace upon grace. Jesus already paid for your past, present, & future. There is now no condemnation because of Jesus. There is no shaming because Jesus takes our shame. There is only failing forward now. Because you will still get it wrong sometimes. I have 36 years of proof of that.

But, are you willing to stop avoiding, stop neglecting, stop excusing inactivity to surrender to His help? Or is it more comfortable to have an excuse to fall back on when you mess it up?

To say: “Lord, I am awful at obeying with ________________, because I feel like I’m lacking in ______________, but if it’s something that honors & pleases You, I can be fully assured that You WILL help me if I am willing to ask of You. So please help me to be willing to ask You & to trust You can help me if I am willing. I don’t want to give up or settle based on my own shortcomings. I want to trust that You’ve got what I don’t… that You can do what I can’t… That You know & see & understand it all where I don’t. Forgive me for any area of lacking obedience that I have excused because it felt too hard for me, forgetting nothing is too hard for You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

(Previous post: “Self-Empowerment or Self-Surrender?”; “How to Do the Things We Know We Should Do but Just Can’t”; “…God Can Help Us Obey Him”)

5 Areas of Surrender-What Does Surrender to God Look Like?

So, of these 5 areas of surrender, which area are you struggling to surrender in your own life?

What does surrender to God look like? Do you need to surrender: Something you want? Something you believe? An “even if”? Avoiding something or doing something yourself, forgetting He can supply? Or maybe the best surrender imaginable: turning your sin over to Him for forgiveness through Jesus Christ?

Trust He really is enough. Trust He really can sustain you. Trust His care for you is really real. Trust Him even in the even if. Trust He can help you where you lack. Trust Jesus.

Shine HOPE by choosing to surrender. By living a life of surrender, in every way imaginable. Because He’s worth it. Every single time. He’s worth it.

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!!

Defender Necklace (INDIA)

For every Defender Necklace purchased, a baby bottle of formula is donated for an orphaned elephant in Kenya! Wear this necklace knowing your purchase made a difference! Each Defender Necklace has a silver-tone chain and a gold-tone charm with the image of an elephant on it.

***Purchase this necklace, using the “Shop Here” link below to help create safe jobs for women ending poverty cycles in India and vital care for a baby elephant.***

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!

Running Away from What Unsettles Me

I don’t remember where I heard it recently, but someone said something like, “why do you think it’s so easy to fill our time with distractions? … Because there are things in our life that we can’t explain or fix or solve & so it unsettles us… & that unsettling is uncomfortable… so it feels easier to cover that up with comforting distractions, so we’re not left alone with those thoughts that don’t make us feel great.”

It’s true, isn’t it? At least for me.

Trusting One Minute… Forgetting the Next

Deviating for a second, it reminds me of the Israelites in Exodus 15. They go from singing a song of praise, worshipping & thanking God for His unbelievable, miraculous victory in their great rescue-against-all-odds from the Egyptians, to, in the end of the very same chapter… complaining & whining that God brought them out there to die because they hadn’t found drinkable water.

Like, I’m sorry, what? You literally just listed out all these amazing, impossible-for-human deeds that God accomplished… & instead of trusting that same God & turning to Him to ask for help finding water… they inwardly worry & grumble until it’s not so inwardly & then they’re BLAMING Moses for helping lead them to their freedom.

But don’t I do that exact same shift in my shying away from the unsettling things of my heart? When I self-soothe, numb, avoid, distract… instead of recognizing that He is the SAME God Who has done such miraculous work in my life & then saying, “Oh yeah, God, I need to be bringing this to YOU & trusting that YOU can do more with it than I know what to do with it.”

Praising God & then forgetting all He is & all He can do just a moment later.

What am I Holding That He Can More Than Handle?

What heaviness looms over me or follows me each day just simply because I’ve been trying to avoid how uncomfortable it makes me feel just thinking about it instead of going to God for help with it?

What anxiety makes me uncomfortable around every turn & keeps me walking on eggshells in life simply because I haven’t prayed about it & trusted that God has an answer & His strength to carry me through it?

What nervousness needs to be laid at His feet to trust He can fill where I can’t possibly?

What Is It for You?

Maybe it’s a failure I feel stuck in.

Maybe it’s the opinions of others I feel stuck in.

Maybe it’s a scary decision I feel paralyzed by.

Maybe it’s a step forward that makes me really super uncomfortable.

What is it for you? What do you fight to avoid? What hovers over your head no matter how hard you fight to ignore it? What festers underneath the surface? What hides behind your smile?

Why haven’t you yet handed that over to Him?

Failing Forward… Trusting Him as Enough

It doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be perfect & get it right, but it does certainly mean that you trust to leave it up to Him… to leave it in His capable hands… in His capable timing.

He made us free to be free indeed. (John 8:34-36) Don’t live as if He didn’t set you free & as if He can’t do immeasurably more than you ask or think. (Ephesians 3:14-21) We will face troubles in this world, but we can have confidence knowing He has overcome this world. (John 16:33) Jesus sacrificed much for us, not so we could live imprisoned in our own minds, but that we may see abundant life, knowing He died to show His love for us. (John 10:9-10) And if He died for us, how much more can we entrust everything else to Him? (Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 6:26, 33)

To REST in Him & trusting He has it all just fine.

Made to Crave… HIM

I have been going through the Made to Crave devotional by Lysa TerKeurst, & she says how she began praying something to upset her status quo, to challenge the fear, anxiety, & worry that kept her from stepping out of her chains & into a life that trusted God to give victory as she sought His face.

The prayer was, “God, unsettle me.”

And then, in church yesterday, our pastor talked about how we ought to seek God’s kingdom first, trusting God can handle all the things that worry us.

We don’t need to hide from God. Jesus paid it all already.

We don’t need to hide from our problems. God is fully capable.

We need to be seeking after Him & trusting Him to be fully capable of filling in the rest.

“God, Unsettle Me…”

“God, please unsettle me. Shake me out of the nooks & crannies of my life where I have chosen to hide from things that feel uncomfortable. Help me to step out & into them, knowing You go before me. I don’t need to hide because You are already there. You see. You have a plan. You can do what I cannot. You have it all figured out. You rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt didn’t even depend on the Pharaoh making it easy & caving right away, but even in Your hardening of His heart, making it seem impossible & hopeless… You showed nothing is beyond Your reach or Your ability. I can trust You to rescue me out of the much smaller things I fear & avoid. You are the same God yesterday, today, & tomorrow. I can count on You. Thank You that You never give up on me. Thank You that You are so gentle & patient & kind with me, even when I hide things or avoid them rather than trusting You with them. You know better & yet You wait patiently for me to come to You. You beckon, but You never force. You forgive, but You never shame. Thank You for being so much better than me. Thank You for always being ready when I come. Thank You that I can count on You for what feels far beyond me. I love You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

From Numbing Distractions to Finding Freedom

Where does God need to unsettle you?

What are you avoiding because it feels too uncomfortable to think about?

Where in your life do you need the reminder to turn from numbing distractions to finding freedom in the God Who goes before you… the God who CAN where you can’t… the God Who cares enough that sparing His Son was not an option for Him.

He gave His all so you could know Him.

So you could be forgiven of it ALL.

So you could find hope where hope was unavailable.

So you could see He loves you more than you will ever be able to wrap your head around.

What great lengths. What great love.

We can trust Him in anything that unsettles us….

So, let us all say together, “God, unsettle me,” & let us trust Him to supply.

Shine HOPE by running from those distractions into His loving arms… from numbing distractions to finding freedom.

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)

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 handcrafted bracelet, using the “Shop Here” link below to help create jobs to support sex-trafficking survivors in East Asia with safe housing, health care, trauma counseling, job skills training, and a dignified, sustainable 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!

2025 Here We Come!

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!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!” (lyrics from “Because He Lives” by Bill & Gloria Gaither)

“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!!

Rescued Heart Necklace-Golden (INDIA & 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!

How Rude

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….

Care More About the Person Than the Hurt

Second is something so hard to do sometimes—caring more about the person than the hurt they may have caused you… in other words—loving them the way that Jesus loved us when He silently, willingly condescended Himself on the cross for OUR sins. (Isaiah 53–it is SO hard for me to read this chapter without crying & the prison ministry ladies got to witness this firsthand in my recent lesson about God’s JUSTICE.)

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)

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!

Where Does Real, Actual Wisdom Come From?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….” (Proverbs 9:10a) (emphasis mine)

What does that mean? It means that God knows infinitely more than you do, even about yourself—because He MADE you—so He alone is even the source of true wisdom—NOT us.

Do you care more about honoring GOD? Or yourself? Don’t trust yourself over the God Who made you.

This world is flipping upside down in so many ways & in so much of it, it is because of this ONE verse. People somehow think they can outsmart the very God Who designed them in the first place. As if they know more about the world than the One Who MADE the world.

How foolish!

Believing in Something Doesn’t Make It True…

I can go up to a boat full of holes & BELIEVE in my “heart of hearts” that people just aren’t giving that poor boat a chance & that I BELIEVE in that boat, & that it can do whatever it wants & that if it wants to float & carry us to the other side of the river, then I am going to believe in it, too.

But I can’t BELIEVE something into existence. I can’t manifest reality by believing it hard enough.

I can believe in that little hole-riddled boat all I want, but the fact is that it WILL sink, & if I trust in it… I will also sink.

I can also believe, in my “heart of hearts” that God is not real because “I don’t like the idea of Him or the idea of being accountable to anyone other than myself & what I want to believe…” but believing someone out of existence doesn’t actually believe them out of existence.

I don’t want this mole on my face, so therefore, I am going to choose to believe that it is not actually there so I can feel comfortable with myself & my life. Well, sure, but the mole is still there, isn’t it? (Honestly, personally, I do like my face mole.)

We All Have an Appointment

Fact is, we all have an appointment to keep with God someday. It could be as you’re reading this sentence that you have a heart attack & keel over & BAM, you’re at your appointment like NOW. Could be 50 years… could be tomorrow? But you have an appointment & you will keep it.

Are you ready to stand before the GOD Who MADE you & say, “well, I didn’t like how it felt to believe You, so I didn’t.” Or, “I didn’t want to feel bad about living my way, so I pushed you out of my heart & life & chose to believe I didn’t have to answer to You.”

“Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) (emphasis mine)

There WILL come a day when you will have to face up to the majesty of God & you WILL have NO choice but to recognize His Kingship because it will be glaringly obviously unavoidable to recognize at that point… will you be ready for that?

Are you ready to say to His face—”I thought I knew better than You”?

With His glory filling every inch of space, you, puny in comparison? Are you ready to say that to His face?

Do You Care More about Honoring GOD? … Or Yourself?

You don’t have to want to believe in Him for Him to be…. You can for sure use the excuse that “Christians spoil Christ-following for you,” but God is not fooled. You cannot get away with blaming others for your rejection of Him.

“All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,/But the Lord weighs the motives.” (Proverbs 16:2) (emphasis mine)

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9) (emphasis mine)

“Would not God find this out?/For He knows the secrets of the heart.” (Psalm 44:21) (emphasis mine)

Don’t Choose Hell

God doesn’t send anyone to Hell, because He gave His own Son so that despite our wretched undeserving hearts… if we believe on Him, we shall be saved. (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; John 14:6)

But if you reject His Son, Jesus Christ, you will have to answer to God at the judgment seat of Christ—the appointment we all will keep—whether we want to or whether we believe it will happen… or not.

Belief does not create or erase reality.

Do you care more about honoring God? Or yourself? Don’t choose hell.

Accepted Jesus but Hiding Sin?

And for those that have trusted Jesus Christ to pay your debt to God that none of us could ever hope to pay on our own… if you are living in a way that dishonors Him… what are you doing?

Imagine with me for a second that you live in a kingdom where you were caught RED-HANDED committing a crime deserving of the death penalty in that kingdom & whether or not you believed the sentencing to be fair, it was so… & you are standing before the King, with guards all around you, no hope for escape, & you plead for mercy.

Imagine with me for a second that the King then looked to His Son, seated on the throne alongside Him & asks His Son to pay your price, to which the Son replies, “Your will be done,” as He steps down from His throne, is beaten, humiliated, & tortured to death right in front of you—for YOUR crime.

Imagine with me for a second… what would you do in response to that gruesome, gracious sacrifice?

Flippantly go live however you darn well please, thankful for a chance to keep doing whatever you were doing just as before?

Or live with a heart overflowing with humbled gratitude? Living to serve that King Who gave you a chance at LIFE, because His Son was willing to die in your place?

Would you live to honor that sacrifice? Or would you live to honor yourself?

If you are living in sin… what are you doing?

He Is GOD… i am not

Remember… the BEGINNING of wisdom comes from the FEAR OF GOD.

AKA an understanding that HE is GOD… & I am NOT.

AKA an understanding that HE made everything… even me… & I did NOT.

AKA an understanding that HE designed it all… I did NOT.

HE existed before time itself began… I did NOT.

HE sees all, knows all, sees every ripple effect, every thought, every intention, every consequence, every everything… & I do NOT.

If you are living in a way that dishonors Him, as if putting your wisdom above God’s… What are you doing?

Turn from Your Sin! Repent! Turn to Your REDEEMER!

Turn from your sin! Repent! Turn to God Who offers you a clean slate of REDEMPTION through the blood of His SON!

You do not deserve it. I do not deserve it.

I cannot earn it. You cannot earn it.

I cannot believe Him away. I cannot manifest a reality that is not reality.

I have an appointment I will keep & I am confident in this–that I live under the righteous goodness of Jesus Christ. Do you? Can you claim this confidence with me? I am righteous ONLY because HIS righteousness covers me.

God Will Prevail

Truth is truth. Fact is fact. God is GOD… whether I WANT to believe in it or not.

Turn your life over to Jesus.

Let Him be GOD in your life.

He will prune you. He will shape you. He will renew you. He will revive you.

But you MUST turn your life over to the One Who gave His life for you.

You must accept the gift extended to you. He won’t force you to take it.

You must choose.

Jesus, Our Savior Was Born to You This Day

Praise God for Jesus, the reason I choose to celebrate Christmas–the coming of my Savior.

Jesus died for you… but He also rose again, victorious over sin & death.

He is not frantic. He is seated. All power, dominion, & authority belong to Him.

And He holds out His offering to you, the one He made… because that’s how much He loves you.

You must choose.

(Read my previous posts on: “Do you know Jesus?” “What’s the big deal about Easter?” & “Why the Gospel Is Such a Big Deal.”)

Shine HOPE by determining to live your life in a way that honors GOD more than it honors YOURSELF.

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!!

December 2024 Hope Mail (INDIA)

FOR A LIMITED TIME – Only available during the month of December! Subscribe today to send or receive a Hope Mail package every month!           

Enjoy free shipping on your December Hope Mail package that includes the beautiful Neela Earrings with matching Neela Bracelet from India and the Merry & Bright Sticker!      

The adorable Neela Earrings are perfect for the winter season with their fun blue beads and gold accents! The matching Neela Bracelet is an impactful addition to your December Hope Mail! Each Neela earring and bracelet is hand-beaded by women in India earning fair wages for their work to be able to send their children to school. Featuring blue faceted beads with gold accent beads throughout, this slip-knot bracelet will elevate your look while creating an impact for women.

(***Purchase this month’s “Hope Mail” 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!

But Is It Enough?

This is a concept I really didn’t understand for most of my life. Having believed on Jesus to pay for my sins since I was 5, I spent most of my life thinking I needed to somehow earn what Jesus did for me—not to save me, but to maybe deserve it or prove I appreciated it enough maybe?

There was a LOT of self-effort & willpower battles to try to force myself into submission to God’s will & way. It was exhausting… I felt like a constant failure at it… & I lived with a lot of shame because I never felt I could quite get it right.

But ever since reading Andrew Murray’s book on Prayer, (linked in the “Recommended by Michelle” BOOKS section of my website), my whole perspective of a life lived well for God has flipped on its head.

1) I Will Never be “Good Enough,” 2) Jesus Paid for That in Full, & 3) God Promises to HELP Me Live for Him

Now I understand the reality three-fold. One, I will never be good enough & I will never measure up & I will never get it right all the time… AND Jesus paid for all of that.

But even more importantly, I learned that God WILL HELP me to live for Him if I but SURRENDER to that help over my own self-efforts & failures.

What a GAME CHANGER! What a LIFE changer!

No longer do I have to live in guilt that I am “not doing it well enough” because it is not at all up to me anyway! I can bow all of my insufficiencies to Him Who MADE me & let His help fill in my gaps instead.

How much PEACE this has brought to my life… How much VICTORY.

All It Takes Is a Willing & Surrendered Heart

Do you realize that if you have trusted on Jesus’ death on the cross & rising again victorious over sin & death (Read more about that, in my previous post: “Have You Met Jesus?”), you don’t have to live for God by your own self-efforts?

All. It. Takes. Is. A. Willing. And. Surrendered-to-Him. Heart.

That is IT.

No more do you have to walk in shame of, “Oh, I have tried SO many times to have quiet time with God & it never works out.”

Never again do you have to live in defeat of, “Oh, I WANT to study His Word & read the Bible, but I always [have a headache, can’t concentrate, get distracted, get bored, etc.].”

You don’t have to give up & say, “I want to serve/give, but I don’t feel I have the means/time to do it.”

If you really do have a willing heart, you also have the GOD ALMIGHTY right there, making His raised-Jesus-from-the-dead POWER available to you!

Your Willingness as Your Offering to Him

You literally just have to take your empty hands full of ONLY willingness, offer it up to Him, & say, “God, please give me what I need to do this thing for You, so I may please & honor You. Supply where I lack.” –And TRUST Him to do JUST THAT.

Do you believe He CAN help you?

Do you believe He has enough POWER to help you?

Do you believe it is really something that HONORS & PLEASES Him?

THEN TRUST HE WILL SUPPLY WHERE YOU FALL SHORT.

Stop living in, “I want to, BUT ______________” mentality & start living in, “I want to, SO, God, this is where I feel insufficient or am struggling, so please help cover that so I may do this thing to please & honor You.”

Less Try, More Trust–Self-Effort Vs. Surrendered to Assured Victory

Abraham was full ready to sacrifice his son Isaac because he trusted God WOULD supply (Genesis 22:1-19)… it even says in another chapter that he understood that even if God had him go through with it, God could raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19), so his trust in God was SOLID regardless of the outcome!

Is yours?

Do you trust Him to supply? Do you believe in less try, more trust? Do you truly believe you need less self-effort & more surrender to His assured victory to do what you feel you can’t?

Are you using it as an excuse not to try because it seems too impossible, too stress-inducing, too much time required, etc.? Or is it really only because you never thought to ask God to fill in where you lack?

What excuses are you maybe using? Where is Satan convincing you not to try because it seems too hard for you to reasonably accomplish?

Shine HOPE by laying down your willingness at the feet of God, asking for His power to cover & fill where you fall short. And trust He will do just that. And KEEP trusting each time you struggle versus giving up with the slightest resistance. Because He CAN. And He WILL.

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!!

Kitchen Gift Set (NEPAL + INDIA)

While Supplies Last! Shop to save over $50 on this stunning gift set perfect for the homebody in your life!  

Purchase this artisanal gift set that creates safe jobs for women in India and Nepal. The Kitchen Gift Set pairs the Capri Utensil Set, Villa Spoon Rest, and Sicilian Grove Tea Towel to create a fun fair-trade look perfect for gifting or styling yourself!

(***Purchase this handcrafted set, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in Nepal & 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!

God Is Greater Still

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)

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!

I Am Not Going to Pretty Up the Truth

Now, this week’s topic may be off-putting to some of you. Part of it may even scare some of you, but I have never been one to try to pretty up something ugly for the sake of more “likes”… & today is no exception.

I have not had suicidal thoughts (for many years now, at least), but I have been thinking a lot about death. Maybe you remember my blog post “When Life Hits Hard, I Just Want Heaven.” That is in the same vein of where I am going with this today.

You see, I have come to a point where, without overanalyzing or freaking out first or anything… my first, initial gut reaction to certain hard situations has been: “I wish I could die. I am too weak for this world. I just want to die & go to heaven, so I don’t ever have to hurt again.”

It scares me sometimes when this is the first, gut reaction to something hard, & yet, there it is. I must point out that it usually only lasts a few moments & is gone & that while it can happen several times in a day to maybe once every other day, it is not continual. (I am not feeling that way right now, for example–nor has it happened yet today.) It also goes completely against my reasoning that it’s “not really even that bad.”

Have you ever felt that way? That the hurts of life just feel unbearable in some moments?

Sometimes Life Is Hard

Now, when I take the time to dissect this impulsive, immediate response, I can see that this is most likely the result of years & years of little hurts that were never dealt with–that became a part of my personal identity… but none of that backstory explanation comes up when that little thought pops up in my head at this point—just: “I wish I could just be dead already.”

If you’re anything like my husband, this sounds beyond too morbid a conversation, & I get that. I’m sorry.

But I know I am not the only one out there that has this feeling on occasion & maybe yours has already shifted to suicidal thoughts or planning. I sometimes honestly can understand why. When that thought assaults me, all I can think sometimes is: “I can see why someone would commit suicide. If I left this unchecked or had many times been assaulted by this thought in one day, I can see why someone would want to end it.” That’s what Satan wants us to hear.

Life is hard sometimes.

Sometimes the Little Things Can Hurt a Whole Lot

And it doesn’t always have to be that someone died or you’ve been assaulted… or experienced abuse.

Sometimes even the small stuff can seem overwhelming if it piles on enough.

I think the little things can be so rough because it can seem like, logically, they should really be no big deal & because you’re not dumb or clueless, you CAN recognize that quite clearly while still feeling as if your heart is being torn to shreds. This just makes you feel even weaker, like you can’t even handle the SMALL hurts. Like, wow… pathetic. That’s how I feel sometimes about it anyways.

It doesn’t help when people don’t get it because it clearly does not make sense, even to you, or when they fail to show any compassion. But you feel like you HAVE to be able to explain it or people just think you’re dramatic & out for attention or just straight up pathetic & annoying… the icing on the already awful cake. Like, it somehow seems easy &/or manageable to everyone else, but you can’t seem to handle it.

Because of these reasons & more, small things can hit pretty hard sometimes.

“How It All Began…”

I have been talking a lot about the past 12 years & how my insecurities followed me into marriage. Then, I lost my budding career & all I had was me feeling like a terrible housewife PLUS my pre-existing insecurities because I just had no clue where to start to improve. I felt like a failure all around. And then my husband was working overtime so much I barely saw him & then his capacity for my struggles was low, so I felt like I had to stuff it & hide it & pretend so that I wouldn’t add fuel to the “me being his wife as a huge mistake” idea.

“My struggles are my own. Keep it to myself. No one wants to hear them. I am a burden. I am a disappointment. I am too much.” -the script that ran through my brain.

“How It Continued…”

Then, I had all of these opinions from a large group of people singing the same tune suggesting the fact that I didn’t even fit in as a Christian. I felt like “I was never quite good enough. Never quite measured up. I was alone. I had nobody who believed in me–as if my faith was always in question because I didn’t do things the same way they did them.”

I began to question everything about myself as a “not good enough” Christian who never seemed to get it quite right.

“How It All Blew up in My Face…”

Then, recently, I had an unprecedented misunderstanding upon misunderstanding upon misunderstanding that never was allowed space for reconciliation or clarification. It seemed to become who I was viewed to be, as if I was now the “What now?” girl. “Like I am the problem. Like I am a headache. Like people just want me to keep it to myself & shut up already.” I know they may not think that (even to themselves), but that’s how it began to feel—like every time I spoke up, the subconscious reaction to me was: “What now?”

Well, when patterns emerge, it’s easy to think, “well, I was once capable & praised & acknowledged & appreciated before… but something about ME has changed apparently, because I can’t seem to please ANYONE doing the same thing as before. Was the previous a lie? Am I really this awful & annoying? Can I really not seem to ever get anything right anymore?”

Like: “I must be the problem.”

Everything piled on from the previous until I felt like I never seemed to be quite what people wanted me to be… like I was never quite enough for them… for anyone… like I was TOO MUCH to handle.

But Let’s Take a Closer Look

Now, if I take a closer look at those situations:

1. The marriage scenario was just my insecurities. Hardly anyone just starts out knowing exactly how to keep house & all that comes with that. It takes learning & growing. It takes grace.
2. The judging my faith based on following different manmade rules is just a difference in upbringing & views. It doesn’t mean I am not a “real” Christian because I listen to non-hymn worship music or wear shorts. It’s just a difference in opinion. Everyone is different. We’re all accountable to the same God & making sure we’re right with Him versus acting in rebellion is what matters–He is a faithful & wise Guide.
3. The misunderstandings are just that—misunderstandings. Does it hurt not to be sought to be understood? Sure. Does it define who I am based on their opinion of me? No, it doesn’t. I am still the same me, even if someone doesn’t see it or want to see it.

What am I Supposed to Do?

I am responsible to just try my best, one step at a time.

1. Where I see personal weaknesses as a wife, I will pray about it & let God grow & guide me to improve. Giving grace.
2. Where I see weaknesses or convictions in how my faith is lived out, I will pray about it & let God grow & guide me to improve. Giving grace.
3. Where others misunderstand me & refuse to change their view, I am just responsible to still be kind, to pray for them, & to still be a help to them, not holding their possible opinion of me against them. Giving grace.

Jesus Is Enough… When Sometimes I Think about Dying

And when that little thought washes in over me: “I wish I was just dead already. I am too weak to handle this hurt. I just want to be done with it & go to heaven already so I don’t have to feel this ever again,” I need to remember not to let any of that wash out what I know to be true:

I AM weak. I DON’T have it all together. I DON’T do everything perfectly. I DO make mistakes. I STILL have TONS more growing to do. I WILL be misunderstood sometimes.

But NONE of that changes the fact that JESUS covers ALL of it. GOD is strong when I am not. GOD has it all together. GOD is perfection & can help me every step of the way. GOD grows & shapes me as I surrender more of myself to Him for pruning. GOD knows ME & gave His Son, JESUS to die on my behalf so that I can be His daughter—a daughter of the true & holy & perfect KING.

No matter what anyone may think of me—the TRUTH remains–I am HIS.

Let yourself be imperfect. Give grace. Trust in Jesus to wash out the lies you let slip in & assault you. Believe in Truth. And SHINE HOPE.

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 SIX 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!!

Silver Bow Necklace (INDIA)

The Silver Bow Necklace creates safe jobs for women ending poverty cycles in India and creating the opportunity for them to earn a dignified income. This elegant necklace features a dainty silver bow on a simple chain. The Silver Bow Necklace is perfect for daily wear or paired with other ethical styles for a layered look.

***Purchase this necklace using the Shop Here” link below to help empower women in India out of poverty!!***

How You Can Help the Artisans & Help Financially 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!