Beyond Belief

He’s working on my heart about belief lately…about believing in the seemingly impossible, believing in the dreams He’s placed on my heart, and believing in the things I know He is writing into being behind the scenes. I want to always trust in His ability to surprise me with His perfect plan.

I’m going to keep trusting Him to grow and strengthen my belief.

And I’m going to keep some room in my heart for the unimaginable, for the things I know He can do that are way beyond belief.

::image::

Calling All Dreamers: Amber of Beautiful & Beloved

Hi, friends! I have been loving this Calling All Dreamers series so much. Each woman’s words have blessed and encouraged my heart — and I hope yours, too. I’m excited to share the next post in the series today: Amber of Beautiful & Beloved . I’ve been so very blessed to connect with Amber. She has a soft, sweet spirit, and her words are always so lovely and encouraging. Welcome, Amber, and thank you for being here today! :)

{via}

I never fully understood the meaning behind this verse before.

I was never as full of dreams and desires as I am now.

I know that when I am with God, when I am trying to walk with Him and talk with Him, when I am seeking a relationship with Him, I begin to dream.

Big

Huge

Scary

This dream could not possibly come true without God’s hand working ALL the things

Kind of dreams.

That is how I read this verse.

When I am delighting myself in the Lord

He will fill my heart with incredible desires and wild dreams.

Then HE will make them happen.

And when He does, I will point back to Him, and give all the glory to the one who deserves it.

The one who makes dreams come true.

The one who plants desires, and shines upon them so that they might grow.

The one who delights in me and I in Him.

Thankful to be dreaming with a Big God in my corner.

In awe of the desires that He has given me.

And excited for His will to be done.

Keep Dreaming Big with Jesus friends,

His good work in you is just getting started!

In Love,

 

Hi!  My name is Amber and I blog over at Beautiful & Beloved where you can read about beauty & love, God’s grace & God’s word, chaos & creativity.  I am the mother to 4 kids ages 5 to 9months and I am married to a handsome military man.  I am hoping to open my own boutique very soon so I am no stranger to God sized dreams and I am beyond delighted to be sharing with you all today!

Follow me on TWITTER:: FACEBOOK:: INSTAGRAM:: BLOGLOVIN

What Moves Your Heart? What Fires You Up?

 

 {image via Lara Casey }

If you’ve been reading recently, you know how much Lara Casey has been inspiring my creative process. What a blessing she is to women who have big dreams!

As part of her goal-setting process, I made a list of things that move my heart and inspire me, and as I’m working on my eBook in the weeks to come, I’ll be thinking about this list of things that fill my heart with joy and energy and motivation.

{ Read more about creating your own list over on Lara’s beautiful blog. }

So, here’s my list…

I DELIGHT IN:

Art, living with lots of color, beautiful words, being inspired and inspiring others, blogging, books, antiquing, typography, fonts, hand lettering, hunting in antique shops for vintage treasures, spending an afternoon in a cozy coffee shop, historic buildings, God’s truth and the way He speaks it so beautifully into my life, living life adventurously, taking RISKS for HIM, trusting in the story He’s writing in my life, art journals and art journaling, encouraging and spurring others on, BIG DREAMS, music, poetry, HOPE, creativity and the creative process, storytelling, magazines, photography, writing honest, vulnerable, true-to-my-heart words, libraries, black-and-white photographs, polka dots, charm, whimsy, art as WORSHIP, collaborating with other creatives, intentionality, historical fiction, really good really dark chocolate, the beauty to be found in the changing seasons…

{image via Parima Creative Studio}

What would make your list?

Let’s make it a point to do more of those things that move our hearts, inspire us, and fire us up. Let’s live the abundantly beautiful lives He is calling us to live — for Him.

Trusting Through the Silence

Sometimes, we are praying, praying, praying, yearning to hear something — anything — and all we seem to hear or feel is silence.

Do you know the kind I mean?

Lately, my heart is aching for answers and direction, for the next door to open, the next nudge from Him, the next step to be revealed in His plan for me…

But He’s silent.

At least for now.

And I’m learning how to press into that quiet and that silence, opening my heart a little more, asking Him to teach me how to rest in it, rather than fight it.

This book is one of my sweetest antiquing finds. It’s so tiny and darling, and it even has a woman’s name inscribed inside the front cover.

Here’s a snippet from one of the poems inside. I love the lines: Faith is the dreams that all hearts know, the evidence of things that are not seen.

I’m thankful that He knows the dreams on my heart and that even when He’s silent, in my faith, I can find Him.

Proclaiming His Peace

I want to proclaim His peace.

That phrase has been repeating itself in my heart all week.

I want to proclaim His peace over myself, over my friends and my family, and over my sweet blog readers.

I want to dwell in it, and I want to rest in it — saying no to the fears, doubts, and worries that so often clamor for my attention.

It’s hard sometimes, though, isn’t it?

Resting in His peace doesn’t always come naturally for  me. Sometimes, it seems easier to fret or worry, questioning things, wondering about the future, and playing the “what-if” game.

But I want roots that run deep in trust… 

I want to learn how to praise Him first, opening my hands and my heart to free the worries from where they’ve settled, allowing Him to replace the empty space with His perfect peace.

I want what Philippians tells me I can have — that in the midst of my praying and my praising, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle me down.

I don’t know what might be weighing on your heart tonight, what fears or unknowns you might be facing. But I do know that His peace is readily available for both of us, that His wholeness will come and settle our hearts and our minds, as we pray and praise and trust.

So, tonight, I’m proclaiming His peace — for me, and for you.

I’m settling in to rest in it, with thanks.

And I hope you will, too.

 

 

Thoughts on Being Brave

By far, the post that gets the most traffic on this little blog of mine is my Poem for Bravery. Week after week, people arrive at A Place to Dwell after searching for poems on bravery.

This got me thinking about being brave — what it looks like, what it means for each of us, and how we get there.

I think we all want to be brave, taking risks and making leaps forward that bring us to exciting new places. No one wants to be stuck or static. But why is it so hard sometimes? Why do we so often doubt ourselves when it comes to the bravery we carry around inside? Why does it often lie dormant, hidden away from the world and from ourselves? And how can we tap into it more often?

I’m learning that bravery comes more freely in my life when I trust Him more. (It so often comes back to trust, doesn’t it?) I am finding I can be bolder and braver when I’m in His presence, when I’m walking closely with Him and trusting Him to lead my steps.

Deeper trust leads to freedom —
freedom from fear, freedom from worry/anxiety, freedom from insecurity…The list goes on.
Deeper trust frees us from everything that overshadows the bravery we always have within us. 

I know I’ve mentioned that I’m currently working through the Fearless plan on YouVersion (highly, highly recommend). As I make my way through this plan, I am opening my heart more to His truth — who He is and what He wills for my life, and I am being set free from the things that hinder me from having the kind of trust that produces a brave, courageous spirit.

I want to live this life as an adventure, with Him as my faithful companion and guide. When He wants to take me somewhere new in my life and in my faith, I want to jump at the chance, bravely following along, knowing that we’re going to end up somewhere good, even if the trip there challenges me in unexpected ways.

I want to recite His truth when the bravery feels hard to find, remembering that He desires me to be strong and courageous, and He will equip me to do so.

And I want to be encouraged that I can always draw on His strength and His wisdom, because He is with me wherever I go.

What about you? What does bravery look like in your life? In what ways has He been equipping you to live with faith and courage?

Note to Self: You can be fearless.

I’m thankful for the strength, the direction, and the hope He provides. I’m thankful for His faithfulness — always.

Note to Self: trust

I just want to keep being me, doing what I was made to do, and trust that God will work out everything in my life, according to His perfect plan + timetable.

She Reads Truth ~ On Prayer & Surrender

I’m on Day 11 of the two She Reads Truth plans I’m working through: Prayer and Living the Surrendered Life. So far, I am taking away SO MUCH good stuff. Being a part of this online community has truly impacted my morning time with the Lord.

AND the two studies come at a perfect time for me, since this summer I was already focusing quite a bit on prayer and surrender in my life. :)

I wanted to share with you all some of the things God’s been laying on my heart, as I’ve read through the selected scripture and spent some time journaling each morning.

A few thoughts on prayer and surrender:

• God wants us to come before Him honestly, sharing our hearts with him and telling Him how we feel and what we need.
• God wants us to pray BOLDLY and PERSISTENTLY.
• God gives His Best to those who leave the choice up to Him. (Whew! That’s a hard one for me to wrap my heart around sometimes. I have to actively surrender and stop trying to control everything!) ;)
• True surrender begins with TRUST. I’ve been asking myself this question: How deep is my trust in Him and in His plan for my life?
• God is glorified through our times of waiting. He will receive glory if we do not waver in our faith. This spoke so much to me, as I’m right in the middle of my 40 Days of Prayer. I felt encouraged to keep praying boldly, honestly, and passionately for those things I believe the Lord has laid on my heart.
• God will always give us The Holy Spirit when we ask, and the Holy Spirit guides and directs us in prayer. It allows us to be God’s witnesses and helps us to know who and what to pray for.
• One of the scripture passages in the Surrender plan was Proverbs 3:5-6 (some of my very favorite verses!). Each day, I read both the NIV and Message translations. Here’s the Message translation for those verses: Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the One who will keep you on track. This is a promise from the Lord. We can be sure of this: If we first trust in Him, listening to His voice and not trying to manipulate our own paths, He will keep us on the right path, the one that’s in accordance with His will. That brings me a lot of comfort.
• It’s important to keep trusting and following Him, even when we don’t understand where He’s leading. He rarely reveals more than a step at a time, but we can bravely follow wherever He leads, because our trust is in Him.

Honestly, I could keep writing and writing on these two topics, but this is becoming a book, so I’ll wrap it up. ;)

As a result of these plans, I’ve been finding so much encouragement to keep growing in the areas of prayer and surrender, and I’m so thankful for that. If you’re a part of She Reads Truth, I’d love to hear about what you’ve been learning. And if you’re not already part of the She Reads Truth community, check it out and think about joining in! :)

I’ll be back later with a few photos from my weekend and a few short updates on my e-book (yay!). It’s been a really good weekend of refreshment, renewal, and creative brainstorming. I really needed it.

Hope your weekend has been wonderful!

Amazing Things

{artwork by Mary Kate McDevitt}

I’m reading The Circle Maker, and one of the things I’m learning is the importance of trusting in and praying over God’s promises.

One of the promises He’s placed on my heart recently is what He promised through Joshua:

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

So, so good, right? :)

Something I used to think about, journal about, and pray about often is this: I am living every day in anticipation, ever thankful for His faithfulness.

God’s promise in Joshua is just the reminder I needed to keep living life that way.

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know that God is good and He does amazing things.