Small Things Can Make Big Differences || a Guest Post

My little brother put a sticky note up on my wall. I still have it, although the locations have changed over the months. It's a square piece of paper, colored yellow. Five blue hearts are cut out of paper and pasted in a row, and under them his 7-year-old writing is scribbled in pencil marks: I Love You

There's no period. Under the words, there's a pencil heart that's oddly shaped. But it's one of my treasures.

Because that little note made my day. And every time I look at it, I smile and read the same words: I Love You

Small things can make the biggest difference. That smile, that hug, that prayer. We can become confused, thinking that changing the world means preaching a sermon or writing a book or being a missionary to cannibals. Maybe it does. But sometimes we change the world by sending one email. Or saying one word. Or posting that sticky note with the cut-out hearts.

My 12 year old sister had a school assignment last year. Although time has passed, I remembered that paper she wrote because it blessed me.

Because my sister is changing the world. She's not a missionary or mom or working woman, and she doesn't like being the center of attention. But my sister is full of thankfulness. She goes around the house saying "Thank you, Jesus" all day. She loves holding our baby sibling. She helps Mom.

Honestly, I want to become more like my 12 year old sister.  She's pretty awesome.  And she loves Jesus like crazy.

That's how you change the world. By being faithful. By loving Jesus.

Like the note my little brother gave me.  It changed my day, and it still makes me smile.  And my sister who constantly fills our house with her smiles.

Here's her post. Now you go--be Jesus to the world. We're cheering you on.

Expressing gratitude is not hard, and praying or reading good books is not like running a marathon, but these small and simple things done on a daily basis can bring blessings on your life. Sandra Cisneros wrote,

The older I get, the more I'm conscious of ways very small things can change the world, Tiny little things, but the world is made up of tiny things, isn't it?

Without the little things, the big things wouldn't be here at all!

Being thankful is so important. Dr. Seuss once said, 

When you think things are bad, when you feel sour and blue, when you start to get mad... you should do what I do... just tell yourself 'Duckie! You're really quite lucky! Some people are much more... oh ever so much more... oh muchly much much un-luckier that you!' 

Thankful people are always the happy ones. Take time to be thankful for what you have. You could have more, but you could also have less!

Compliments have been sent around for years and years. They brighten up a person's day or month, or even their whole life! Leo Buscaglia wrote:

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

 Abraham Lincoln told someone one day,

Everybody loves compliments.

Go give one right now. No harm can ever be done in giving compliments!!

How do you like to start your morning? I find that the very best way to get into any day is to read through God's Word. The Bible is our guide. It shows us how we should live, move, and breathe. I have asked my friends, "What are you reading in your Bible?" They always either change the subject of our discussion or say "Nothing right now."

There is absolutely no reason to not be in God's Word every day! You can take weeks or months if you want to think of a good reason. You'll never find one. It's just a short period of time every morning, but it makes a big difference!

Billy Graham once said:

 

We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds our world is needing; we are the sermons our world is heeding.

How can we be the Bibles our world is reading if we are not reading the Bible?

Friend, I hope that now you realize how important little things really are. Our world is filled with only little things. That's what the big things are made of. Little things are everywhere, and sometimes we just ignore them and look to the big things. Let's stop that right now. Let's love, cherish, and care about the little things!

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 

- Luke 16:10

Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. 

See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

- James 3:4-5

~♥~

Our Struggles are Real

I sit at my computer, watching as a profile picture pops on the screen with three little dots.  They're typing.

Another face appears.  In this group chat titled "Prayer," we share what's going on.  How we're struggling.  How we need Jesus.  And then we do the fun part - share how He answers them.

The messages come in.

We're honest with each other.  One girl struggles with depression, her family has tension, and she feels like life has no meaning.  Another girl admits that her emotions have been in turmoil, and she's struggling with balancing life.  There are so many struggles, so much to pray for.

But then another comes in.  It's like someone timidly raises her hand as she types the words I've heard so often.  "This doesn't really seem important, but..."

I stop there.  Because I've said the exact same thing.  I have a prayer request that's "not really important," the praise report that seems so small.

But it isn't.  Because He still cares.

Sometimes we live like life is made up of lists.  We're not as good Christians as the girl over there, or our testimonies aren't as impressive as the person sitting beside us.  Our prayers seem small, our praises even smaller.

So we don't speak up.  When the battles come, they're only tiny showers compared to the huge thunderstorms that other people seem to be facing.

And when we forget the tiny blessings, forget the warriors who can join our side in the war, our battles become that much harder.

The truth is, He gives us exactly what we need to face at exactly the right moment.

For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,

Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;

But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,

And the cummin with a rod.

- Isaiah 28:27

Okay.  That verse might seem random, but it isn't.

God will give you more than you can handle - because He can handle it.  And, in the moment, He will offer His grace.  Every trial you face is for a purpose, for you specifically.

If you're cummin, God won't thresh you with the wrong tool.  He knows exactly what you need.  In the midst of the battle, He will be with you, sustain you, hear your prayers.

Your trial might not be with a threshing sledge; that's okay, because you're meant to face a stick instead.  Every trial is a time of refinement, like gold in a furnace.  The struggles are real, but they'll be alright.

These verses came up along with a quote in a book I'm savoring, Hinds Feet on High Places,

"See," said the Shepherd gently, "how various are the methods used for grinding the different varieties of grain, according to their special use and purpose."

- Hinds Feet on High Places

And then it continues to the next verse in Isaiah.

Bread flour must be ground;

Therefore he does not thresh it forever,

Break it with his cartwheel,

Or crush it with his horsemen.

- Isaiah 28:28

Flour has to be ground.  When I was eight, I took up the job of baking our family's bread with whole wheat.  I savored crunching the grains in my teeth, yet, before cooking, I slowly poured them through a grinder into beautiful, white powder.  The grit turned into dust.

Our trials might seem easier than another's.  We might not have a terminal disease, be in a car wreck, face depression or loss.

If you're being ground to flour, it's okay.  If your struggles feel smaller than the person who is broken with a cartwheel, crushed by horsemen, know that God is still with you.  The size of the struggle is unimportant; your heart is vital.

The enemy tells you that you're alone.  That no one understands.

They're lies.

Every trial you face is something that another person is or has faced.  And in every single lie, struggle, fear, He is able.

...there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

- Hebrews 7:19

And,

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast...

- Hebrews 6:19

Every trial, every decision, every moment has a purpose.

He gives grace.

Dear friend, be vulnerable with Him.  With other believers in Christ.  Pray for those "unimportant" things in your life and in others'.  The big ones and the small ones.  Because God sees the heart.

When my friend posted her small prayer request, I was overwhelmed.  Because all the other girls in the group gave virtual hugs.  They all had gone through the same thing.  And they all knew how incredibly hard little struggles can be.

Your trials, friend, are hard too.  I can't imagine because I'm stuck facing my own.  But Jesus is able.  He is good.

You have a purpose.  Ignore those emotions and lies that are screaming, and seek Him.

You're never alone.  ♥

(ps)  How can I be praying for you?  What is the Lord teaching you?  Comment below or send me a PM through the Connect page, and I'd be thrilled to chat!

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- Hebrews 4:15-16

This also comes from the Lord of hosts,

Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

- Isaiah 28:29

~♥~

When God is Still Good

Sometimes days are beautiful.

Like yesterday.  That warm sunshine curled around my loose hair, and we laughed and worked together in the barnyard.  A stranger smiled at me, but his eyes told something deeper - that he smiled because he had Love in him.

I wrote letters.  They said, "thank you" and "I love you" because it was true.  And with cursive on paper, I slipped them away with a stamp so they could fly away to a new home.

And hugs.  Those fierce hugs that mean so much.  The gift in a hand of a friend.  Eyes that smile as much as lips do.

As the day closed, night came.  That trickle of darkness that stained the day.  And I was there, in the middle of my family, laughing, eating, rejoicing in the little things that make life fun.

We slept or at least tried to.  With so many people in the same room, we laughed and talked and said goodnight a dozen times.  And then there's that third bathroom break and "can I get a sip of water pleeease?"

Eventually we slept.

And always, I thought the same thing:  God. Is. Good.

He is good.  Even when days aren't beautiful.

Or maybe every day is beautiful, we just don't see the beauty.  'Cause some days are hard.  I woke up today, my stomach curling like a fist.  When I stood, it lurched, and last night's dinner wanted to escape.

So I missed the group of friends, the plans we had.  With every smell of food, I wanted to run and hide and curl up and sleep without getting sick.

Yesterday, God was good.  It was easy to say.  But today, if things don't go as planned, the rain comes, the lightning hits, I want to still whisper in the storm:

God is good.  Today He is.  And tomorrow He still will be.

When water pours from the skies, I want to let it drizzle down my face and still see through it.  I want to blink from the drops, always knowing that the sun will come.  And when tears replace rain, I want to cry, knowing that He holds my hand.  He hears my prayers.

When the clouds are thick, I want to search for a rainbow.  I want to draw a picture, remember what lies behind the storms.  Even if that means a whispered plea of, "help me."

God is good, and He will still be good tomorrow.

Yesterday was a good day.  Today was too.  God changed my plans, but He gave me different ones that were exactly what I needed.

And He has a plan for you.  It's perfect, but that doesn't mean it's always easy or clean or pretty at all to look at.  Yet in the end, your story will be good because He is.

It's okay to cry.  It's okay to struggle and be sick and wonder what the purpose is.  But in everything, we can have joy because of the truth:

God is still good.

So remember.  He will always hold your hand.  In sunshine and rain.

No matter what tomorrow brings, we can choose to rejoice.  

Dear friend, what's going on in life?

This post ended up feeling like poetry, and I wish life was always like that (think roses and flourishes and fancy words).  That'd be lovely.  But either way, in the end, He is good.

Yet if it doesn't feel like it, know that He is there.  Always.  You're never alone.

Happiness comes and goes like the sunshine, but Joy doesn't.  We rejoice in the Lord.  He is constant, faithful, with us.  So never give up, friend.

Some days are beautiful, and some days aren't.  But still, praise Him.

God is good, and He will be good tomorrow.

That's a promise.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

- Romans 8:28

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

- 1 Corinthians 1:9 

~♥~