Author: onewomansfaith

I am a wife, daughter, sister, step-mama, aunt, and friend. I love Jesus, and I strive each moment to be a kingdom-building woman seeking after His heart. My day job is being a teacher to some amazing kids - teaching makes my soul happy. Nevertheless, as I journey through this life, encouraging other women in Christ is where I find a depth of treasure I cannot explain. There is such healing to be found in lifting another up. My prayer is to share my flaws and my faith, all to edify others and glorify my Savior!

What a Picture

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Valentine’s Day might be the most conducive 24 hours to fester a goofy kind of envy in my heart. How often am I guilty of trying to measure my own marital bliss, i.e. success, by someone else’s standard? However, I increasingly grow more aware it is perfectly kind of my Father to afford me the opportunity to live this wonderfully messy way to teach me lessons which draw me closer to Him. Frequently, the learning begins before I even realize it has started.

Case in point, a few weeks ago I snapped a picture of my husband’s and my house shoes laying side-by-side in our bedroom. At the time, it was the perfect visual for me. It represented just how different our personalities are. But I quickly moved on, not really thinking anymore about it. Yet the image remained in my heart – waiting to find its way into God’s curriculum for my life. And, it soon did.

On Valentine’s Day I walked in the kitchen to see a card sitting on my purse. And in that simple, ordinary moment, the snapshot of the house slippers flashed across my mind. My shoes were messy and sideways – one on top of the other. My husband’s, in contrast, were neatly sitting side-by-side, in the same exact spot they can always be found. Such a simple thing, but an incredibly sweet representation of not only our differences but our daily life too.We have struggles and sweetness, stormy days that shake us and the steady ones that keep us going. I am slowly beginning to see this picture of our marriage squarely framed by God’s amazing grace and providence.

I Corinthians 13 speaks to us as to what the way of love should be.

Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. And marriage is a prooving ground of sorts.

It isn’t always easy, but it is worth it. When I begin to scavenge the ordinary, I am always amazed at how beautiful it is – different isn’t always bad, and hard isn’t always wrong. I’m thankful I had a friend remind me of that recently.

So, you see, romance doesn’t always mean flowers and candy. It can be an acts-of-service-husband stepping outside his comfort zone to write his words-of-affirmation-wife a love note.
Love isn’t always bold proclamations of affection. Sometimes it is the faithful kiss on the forehead at night before going to sleep, or the gentle nudge waking you each morning to get ready for work.
Quite possibly, love is the emptying of the dishwasher, or him doing the laundry for you when he’s off work. I dare say love can be found in the faithful balancing of the finances, sharing of household chores, and conversations at the dinner table each night.

Life framed with God’s presence and truth makes for a much different picture of what good is.

And I am grateful for God’s delightful way in how He teaches me His truth. This week a picture truly was worth a thousand words (and so much more.)

You Know It’s Coming

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Our walk was nothing out of the ordinary. At dusk, we bundled up in coats and ‘boggins, slipped our gloves on to stay warm and off we went. We chatted about the day, what curtains to buy, what happened at school, how work was, all while our feet made the rhythmic swish-swap, swish-swap sound on the pavement. As we rounded the familiar corner, the menacing bark echoed through the fence and startled me. I jumped, and my pace quickened sending me sideways. My husband let out an inquisitive sort of laugh and said, “Babe, you know that dog is there, he barks every time we pass this way. Why did you jump?” But, the next few words my partner sent my way were what got me to thinking. He chided, “You know It’s coming.” 

You.

Know.

It’s.

Coming.

He was right, I did know the dog was there. Yet, it startled me because I was focused on the rhythm of my walk and had forgotten he would be hiding behind the fence. The entire event took place in under 60 seconds, but it took my heart almost triple that to calm down to a steady beat. Now, you may be asking, “Yea, ok, we get it Tonya – the dog scared you. So what does that have to do with anything?” Here it is…

I.

Know.

It’s.

Coming.

I know my enemy is a hunter chasing to kill my faith. He is a thief in pursuit of my peace. And he is certainly the warrior seeking to destroy my walk with God. Yet even though I know all of this, I forget. I neglect to be vigilant and sober, realizing in every ordinary moment, the enemy of my soul is consistently lurking behind the old familiar fences.

His gritty bark is sinister enough to make me fear his bite more than I trust my Protector. My heart trembles and I go stumbling sideways into fear, panic, doubt, and sin.

Thankfully, because our loving Creator is gracious, and divinely knows the whole sum of His creation, He is quick to remind me His hedge of unbroken vigilance around me is stronger than the enemy’s bark and bite.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

He that is within me is greater than he that is within the world. 

In his powerful book, The Red Sea Rules, author Robert Morgan admonishes every believer to acknowledge the enemy but keep their eyes on the Lord. Even though it often takes me more than a few minutes to be still and return to what my soul knows well, the truths are the same nevertheless.

My Savior is always steady and true. He is the Captain of my peace. My Father is ever faithful and strong. He is the Keeper of my soul. The Holy Spirit is wisdom and truth. He is the Counselor of my heart.

The Holy Sprit fervently challenges us to believe, to trust, the Lord’s providential hand is for our good. He knows what subtle evil skulks about – nothing catches Him off-guard.  Being confident that His mighty arms will keep us intact as the foe wages war is to welcome the presence of God’s power into our lives. I know it’s coming.

 

Snowroom

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Can a sunroom be a snowroom?

In jest, I asked my friends this question earlier today. It was a simple and silly question, however, it left me to ponder a few things in my heart.

As the snow fell softly to the ground outside my window, the white against the gray sky was a bright light of calm. Yet, it is normal for us to think of winter months as drab and depressing. We often feel as if the only light which can bring us warmth and peace comes to us wrapped up in a sunny day.

This Is not so.

Snowy days may seem cold and dull, but wow, the cardinal never looks more beautiful than when he is perched on a snowy white branch, and the light from the hidden sun makes the crystals glisten around his crimson wings.

Just as nothing is as brilliantly luminescent as a woman who has found the warmth of her Savior’s embrace during those winter days of struggle. His robe of righteous grace and love blinds the enemy and shines a sweet light of victory for others to see.

Beauty
Humility
Strength
Resolve
Wisdom

…all come when we weather the winter seasons of life, when we learn to live in their kind of light.

Today’s snowroom moments reminded me of this.

Day 3 on Day 1

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Last month, I opened my life up to a circle friends and asked them to hold me accountable in my study of God’s Word. I beseeched them to inquire how my Purpose Driven Life Bible study was going, and to pray for me along the way. So, last night when one such friend inquired as to how my study was going, I had to be honest – “I am on Day 3…” I relented. He chuckled, “That was two weeks ago.” Ugh, he was almost correct. I actually started two and a half weeks ago – hmmph – I am supposed to be on Day 18. <insert embarrassed emoji here>

But, is that not that reality of life? We have hurdles, we have victories, and we do our best to survive all the in-between. To stay stuck in the embarrassed-emoji mindset is to let the enemy win. Move on.

So, I opened the book, and read the long-awaited Day 3’s question – “What drives your life?”

It would have been nice if I could have told you guys Jesus alone was my motivation in 2019. Honestly, I wanted that to be the case, but I let so much of life’s circumstance distract me into forgetting. Thankfully, He is ready to remind me as often as my memory lapses. Even when I skipped the study, He was faithful to bring me to the right path, all I needed to do was sit surrendered and waiting at His feet.

On the day of Christmas Eve, my Father gave me the gift of Psalm 16. His words have consumed my thoughts ever since underlining their truth through my tears.

The Lord Himself is my inheritance.

What an astounding truth – He is my “ḥel·qî ” – my portion, my share, my reward. This divine, holy, perfect, merciful, forgiving, almighty God – this, this is my legacy, my truth. See why Psalm 16 is such an incredible gift?! Even the Psalmist himself said, “What a wonderful inheritance…no wonder I rejoice!!” And, I do rejoice, especially since I recognize I have such a tendency to fall short.

Truth is, my heart and flesh are going to fail; however, Christ Jesus is my portion, my strength, my hope – forever. Forever is hard to grasp for my finite human mind, but it is no less true simply because I do not understand it. Honestly, understanding doesn’t need to accompany trust – just surrender.

What drives your life, Tonya? I believe it is no accident I just made it to Day 3 on Day 1 of the new year. My heart echos Psalm 16:11. The Lord will surely show me the way of life, granting me the joy of His presence and the pleasures of living with Him forever. This is the gift He has given me – the manna of His perfect counsel, the provision of His steadfast love and a share of His enduring grace.

Kindergarten Science

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For this teacher, Kindergarten Science is often a beautiful lesson in life. Just this week, we discussed how sometimes, with temperature variations, substances can undergo reversible changes (such as with water being frozen and then thawed.) But that also, with many other substances, modifications happen which can never be reversed- as with these little pumpkins.

Prior to being cooked, they were hard and could not be molded (or squished) by our hands. Yet after being heated (from the inside out) they became all-too-easy to squash, and at this point, the change was irreversible – they would never be raw pumpkins again.

We squished the pumpkins into pieces, and chatted about our actions and words, and how once we act or speak it cannot be undone. But, my thoughts couldn’t help but wander over to the truth of God’s irreversible love, and to how we can fully trust in the good news of the Gospel. When Christ sheds His love abroad in our hearts, He makes an irreversible mark on our souls that can never be erased or undone – we are His forever!

Nothing we do can alter His great love for us! What an amazing truth this is!

Nevertheless, the lesson did not stop there. While the truth of His unchangeable love resonated in the deepest part of my spirit, I began to also think of how His love reshapes us through the tests and trials of life. These are all a part of the intricate “heating up” process as we walk with Him. And once He changes us with the warmth of that kind of love and grace, we are truly never the same.

He sometimes puts us in the fire so as to help us become more “squishable” – usable for His glory. And, while this may not always be welcomed by our hard-shelled, inflexible, decorative-only selves, it is necessary if we want to become more like Jesus.

What began as lesson for my Kindergarteners, ended up a lesson for their teacher. I am thankful for Kindergarten Science – and the little pumpkins God uses to change me.

48 Seconds

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Philippians 4_8A few years ago I read a book written by Tommy Newberry entitled, 40 Days to a Joy-filled Life. The Lord used Mr. Newberry to challenge me to take inquisitive notice of my thought life and begin filtering it through the Word of God. Newberry aptly asserts, “No area of your life is untouched by your thoughts,” and I would have to agree. I see it in my own life, as well as in the lives of my students. A single thought can change the course of an entire day or switch emotional tracks from one to the other.

For a couple of years now I have had a timer set on my phone to remind me to stop and “think on good things” for at least 48 seconds (Phil. 4:8, get it?) And it always makes me smile and feel a little lighter. But on the wearisome days when I ignore my reminder (yep, unfortunately, I do) before I know it, I am traveling down a back road to falsehood, where anxiety, worry, doubt, fear, and lies reside.

This week was a series of those wearisome days; so, I am thankful God knows me well and handed me the gift of a Kindergartener’s insight. This amazing kid said, “Mrs. Brown, I don’t like painting. I can’t’ do it!” I confidently reminded him he could do all things because Christ would help him. With genuine belief, he said, “I don’t need to listen to the Devil, he’s trying to trick me, right Mrs. Brown?” Without a moment’s hesitation, I agreed, “You are so right J, he is tricky!” Of course, I was convicted immediately.  The simple truth of his innocent wisdom shocked me silly! By ignoring the simple, yet powerful truths of God’s Word, I often allow myself to be outwitted. I suppose this is why I am consistently in need of grace-filled reminders from the Author of my faith.

Thankfully, there is a way to combat the enemy’s assault on our minds – put in to practice what Jesus taught us. When we view this life (and circumstances) from a Biblical worldview, it changes us – it redirects our focus back to the truths of God.

Mr. Newberry and the Apostle Paul found the gold in this veracity – think on whatever is right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy!

Philippians-4-8-Shaun-Menary

Praising God for who He is, what He has done, and all He has yet to accomplish has the power to change the course of our thought life if we would only let it! Maybe we could all challenge ourselves to think about the goodness of God, I am quite certain He will change us – 48 seconds at a time!

He Rejoices

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Getting to know my Father is a precious adventure. The journey is one I find both overwhelming and comforting all at the same time. His love is so perfect it is hard to grasp how deep it truly is. Nevertheless, what a privilege it is to get to know Him!!

He is a faithful Father and loving Friend, the Prince of peace and perfecting Potter, and He most certainly is sure Salvation and the sweetest song.

Because He is a relational and almighty God, His word is alive and powerful – and perfectly personal! Zephaniah 3 reminds me of this! So each time one of my chats with my Father takes me to the stirring words of Zephaniah, my heart lingers a little while longer on verse 17 of chapter 3.

The beautiful imagery of God spinning around in delight, shouting proclamations of gladness and joy over me, leaves me dumbfounded – every single time.

To be able to rest in the arms of an almighty God, knowing He will always save me, is incredible! His boundless love for me causes Him to be merciful when I fail Him, and inspires Him to sing over me with an everlasting joy!

My friend, should you need encouragement, read Zephaniah 3:17, close your eyes and picture this – the Creator of all things, the One who created the endless Heavens and the beauty of Earth rejoices over you with shouts of gladness, joy and truth! I have no doubt it will become one of your favorite verses too.

A Must Read

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Women of all ages are not exempt from the struggles of finding out who they are and where they belong in this great big world. All nationalities, all races, all social classes -we all have the same inner battles – admittedly, some of us more than others. However, many of our youth today lack the guidance of godly mentors. This is why when I read Scarlet Hiltibidal’s book, He Numbered the Pores on My Face, I was blessed beyond measure. The following is the review I have written for it.

From the cover to the very last page, author Scarlet Hiltibidal pairs humor, honesty and the truth of who we are in Christ in such a pleasant and wonderfully witty way. She is unabashedly transparent, which is needed when addressing the all-too-real issues girls (and for that matter, women of all ages) deal with. Mrs. Hiltibidal writes with an easily readable style infused with solidity of Biblical truth. I have highlighted, giggled, cried and taken notes in the margin and been blessed in my journey through this book. I am walking away a little taller, on my knees, because of her reminder of who I am in Jesus Christ. He Numbered the Pores on My Face would be a valuable treasure to have on any bookshelf, especially if it is in the home of a young girl. BH-HeNumberedThePoresOnMyFace-SS

If we are fortunate, we have the opportunity to read a book that challenges and inspires us. Mrs. Scarlet Hilitbidel is now among my favorite writers because of her fantastic work, He Numbered the Pores on My Face. It would be a treasure for any woman to read and keep in her collection to pass along. And, it is my privilege to showcase such a treasure here on my blog. Happy Reading to all – Moms, daughters, sisters and girls of all ages (even Dads can experience the blessing too.)

Sing Praise Back

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My keyboard is often both a great friend and a stubborn mocker. For over two weeks now I have sought, unsuccessfully, for words ample enough to express what is in my heart. I sat down several times and began to type, then I would delete, then type some more, and, yes, you guessed it, delete again. This morning was no different. Yet, thankfully, my keyboard seemed a tad less cranky. So, I thought I would re-visit it once more. I wrapped up in my favorite, cozy blanket, made myself a cup of warm honey tea and ventured into the writing world one more time.

When I surveyed the Psalmist’s words, “sing to the Lord a new song…all the earth rejoice, and be glad…sing to the Lord a new song for He has done marvelous things…” I could not help but want to read it again, and again. So, of course, I had to mark it down. Tonite, we return there together.

These four Psalms bring me such hope, for He truly has remembered His mercy, and He is always ever-so-faithful. To know righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, and His right hand and Holy arm will forever be victorious, causes me to truly tremble – tremble with rejoicing, tremble in awe and most certainly, tremble with gratitude.

As the almost-blank-page began to fill up with the letters and punctuation, my heart began to lighten a little. I knew the image at the top of the page (that had been patiently waiting in draft limbo) was finally going to make its way into the real world.

Sing soul, rejoice and be glad. Sing soul, tremble and be moved – you have seen His salvation!

When I was out on the Susquehanna that day, I didn’t know the Holy Spirit would bring me on a journey into the Psalms that would move me so. I’m sure thankful He always knows how to make good memories even better ones – and, how He is ever making my life new with His grace and mercy.

Elevation Worship team sings a song that echos my heart entitled, With You. They call on the Lord to consume all that they are with the glory of who He is. There truly is no place I would rather be than in His presence, knowing He is singing over me. The least I can do is sing praises back, He is certainly worthy!

With You by Elevation Worship

House Hunting

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House hunting – two words that can unload buckets of stress into a person’s life. As you travel from domain to domain in search of the perfect fit for your family, sometimes discouragement has a tendency to creep in. Especially when you have seen 26 houses in just five short weeks – God love our realtor’s heart! Nonetheless, it is difficult to settle when your mind and heart are finicky, and you are terrified of making the wrong choice. What should be a time of excitement and fun with your spouse turns into frustration and unrest. But yesterday, my Father arrested my racing thoughts and calmed me with Psalm 37.

There is so much comfort in trusting Him to lead the way. Deciding to find our delight centered in His truth and grace brings a new joy and a hope that will never leave the seeker of God ashamed.

Taking refuge in the mercy of His omniscient way wraps one’s mind in a warm blanket of heavenly peace, and rest fills the soul full.

Teaching me to wait proves to be a full-time job for Him, I’m sure because I have this crazy tendency to be impatient. But, isn’t it just like the Potter to use everyday things in life to mold us to be more malleable ?!

This same Potter holds the clay, always. And, because He holds the keys to the Kingdom, why would I ever fret about an earthly home? He holds those keys too.

Life will forever be filled with “house hunting” type lessons, nevertheless, resting in the same hands that hold the heavens and me is more than enough to bring calm.