Not for Women Only!

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

As you can see, men are also reading Finding Hope. In full disclosure, I admit they are family—grandson Cole, husband Rich, and son Shane. But, men and women alike, you can get your personal copy here: Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart.

Thank you, my friends, for your likes and encouraging comments, with special thanks to those who shared my last post on Facebook.

Today I offer you a second sample meditation—DAY 21.

Lord, I’m Miserable

Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll—
are they not in your record?
Psalm 56:8

I knew my enemies were the unseen forces of evil, but some days I felt they were flesh and blood. Those who taunted me had names—Fear, Doubt, Self-pity, Anger, Defensiveness. When I listened to them I became cynical and afraid. As hopelessness took up residence, I internalized my thoughts and isolated myself from others. Thankfully, God saw me in my misery. Amazingly, He recorded it!

He took note of my tears and listed them on His scroll. Another wording reads, “Put my tears into Your bottle” (NKJV). The very idea defies comprehension. I am humbled to think of God gathering my tears and saving them in His bottle. He notices my pain and comes alongside me.

The Lord shares my sorrow and His tenderness comforts me. He knows my thoughts, doubts, and fears. He doesn’t need my faltering explanations—He understands the depths of my heartache and the extremity of my emptiness. He sees my broken places and my missing parts. As I surrender my anxiety and confide in Him, my sadness moves from its dark place into His light. My self-pity is deprived of sympathy and the heaviness lifts.

My sorrowing friend, we can go to Him because He loves us completely and cares for us deeply. Our tears are not unnoticed. Our Father has recorded them because we are precious to Him. He is our safe place.

Let’s agree with the psalmist, “In God I trust and am not afraid” (Psalm 56:4).

Finding Hope, Day 16

~ Barbara ~ 2 Comments

Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart is now available on Amazon.

Lord, I Feel Numb

For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

I didn’t feel like God’s handiwork. I was a mess. I could hardly function and certainly didn’t consider myself capable of doing good works. But how I felt didn’t change God’s plans. I was the short-sighted one, not Him. I was blindsided by tragedy that left me broken and bleeding, but God wasn’t bewildered. His plans for me preceded my pain and, rather than thwart His purposes, my brokenness merged with His design. I write this now but it took time and grace to come to this point.

If God was finished with me, I would have died with my daughter, but I’m here, walking with a limp but breathing and alive. In advance of my tragedy—in advance of my life—God prepared good things for me to do. His plans were not derailed when catastrophe barged into my life, despite what my enemy Despair told me.

So, I return to the beginning of today’s passage and confess that God loves me greatly. His mercy is rich. His grace saved me. I live in heavenly realms. The Lord’s purposes for me prevail—and therefore, so will I.

God isn’t finished with you, broken one. You are God’s handiwork and He has prepared good things for you to do—maybe not today, maybe not next week, but there is a future you cannot see. He will restore you.

Wait on Him. Just quiet yourself and wait.

Purchase here: Finding Hope

New Year News

~ Barbara ~ 4 Comments

The new year started with challenges at the Higby Haven, with both of us experiencing health challenges. I couldn’t prepare a post for this week but I do have good news to share! Do you remember way back, when I asked for help to create a book title for a devotional dedicated to those who suffer brokenness? Drumroll please…

Finding Hope

65 Meditations for a Broken Heart

will be released on Amazon on January 15!

I’ll be the first to say, this book is not for everyone. It was written for the broken one, with a broken heart, broken dreams, and broken hope. If this doesn’t describe you, this book is for your friend, neighbor, or sister.

May the Lord use my honest words to reassure others and offer them hope.

Thank you to all my encouragers out there! It was a long road and I couldn’t have succeeded without you.

Happy New . . . !

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

New— blank slate, fresh experience, anticipated opportunity, unblemished gift, bright promise, awaited discovery.

I got lost inside my head trying to understand why the coming of a new year causes such a high sense of anticipation. Nothing is certain and anything can change in a moment. With relief we close the chapter on the previous year’s pain, sorrows, and regrets and hope for better days ahead, but we have no guarantees. So why does a new year expand our hearts?

As I wandered these paths of thought, seeking understanding while becoming a bit cynical, I considered how newness is celebrated in the Bible. God doesn’t ignore the threat of disappointment or the regrets of the past, but He does rejoice in the new. Look at what I mean:

  • God makes us new. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17,ESV). He delights in taking damaged souls and making them new with new life and new purpose.
  • God’s mercy is new every day. In every challenge and hardship the new year will bring, God is present. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). I will not face one day in 2024 alone.
  • God assures us the best is yet to come. “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize” (Phil. 3:13-14). Looking ahead is not escapism, it’s solid hope.
  • God equips us during our wait on earth. “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isa. 30:41). Disappointments will not diminish me, but grow me.

God celebrates newness. He is all about new birth, new lives, new beginnings, new strength, new opportunities.

What new thing will He do in you and through you in 2024?