Category: Write your heart out

Alive

Mihaela Echols2 Comments

As I stare at these silly cards I reflect on the other night watching my baby hand them one by one to a dear friend of mine as he leaned against her.
My baby hardly leans on people that are not mom and dad. I took the moment in watching him pass to a person that may have not have been there if someone didn’t listen. If someone didn’t notice, or stop in the business of their own life to hear her internal cry.
When someone tells you they are depressed, they are not being selfish. It’s a cry for help that should never be brushed aside. 
This moment of my child handing cards to my friend gripped my heart. It was only a few years ago when she attempted suicide. And here she was right where she needed to be.
ALIVE
Transforming each day into a Godly women working through her rejection, abuse, chaos, and turmoil. Battling, growing and leaning on the Holy Spirit and becoming the Princess warrior she was made to be.

February 29th, 2020

Tiger Stripes

Mihaela Echols23 Comments

To all the Mamas out there ,

Look down at your stretch marks. Your scars. Your stretched out skin. These are your tiger stripes. Your badge of honor. You may try to use all the creams and work outs wanting to erase them. But tigers don’t do that. They wear them on the outside.

Mamma, you are the one who is fearless. You are the one who pushes your body not for yourself but for the little worlds you want to give your all to. Your stripes are more stunning that a six pack. Your stripes are selfless not selfish. They are the result of bringing in life not serving its own. You may hate them, but others would kill for them. These marks are the beauty the world cannot see. That the world is missing out on. No more letting the world feed you with lies of defining beauty. Don’t let it take away the truth behind your stripes. Count them as your blessings, because that is what they are.

You are beautiful,

you are strong,

you are fearless,

you are selfless,

you are a mom.

If you know a mama who needs a bit of encouragement please share

The Worshiping Mom

A Completely Different Women

COTN Everyday Value

Mihaela Echols61 Comments

    I’ve been thinking about doing this for a matter of months now. I Finally got around to doing it! It amazes Peter and me how much we have here in America. I did this exercise to help open the eyes of others including myself to help us see how much we have by  what we wear. Now I would consider myself a low maintenance person always shopping at thrift stores and looking for deals but I was surprised at the results.

Exercise: Take an every day picture of yourself. Something you would wear on a regular day ( keep it casual) If you wear make up count the cost of the make up. If you wear a watch count it, ect.

COTN money and clothes

    I’ve always heard of COTN (Children of the Nations) but never got to hear someones heart after going on a missions trip until Peter came back from Malawi.  His passion for Malawi has only grown since then. On May 21st, 2016 he has started a Frisbee tournament  to help support a friend he met there. If you were touched by this I encourage you to share this post, and do the exercise yourself. 

Other ways you can help:

Sponsering

Gifts under 25$

Gifts up to 75$

Gifts 100 and up

Anticipating CHRISTmas

Mihaela Echols23 Comments

Do you remember being a child around  Christmas?

Do you remember the giddy feeling you’d get as soon as you’d see those presents under the Christmas tree?

All the wonder and curiosity of what’s inside danced in your mind. And that is why this family celebrates Christmas this way.

Instead of hiding the gifts the parents would  put them under the tree weeks ahead. The children would sit by them pointing and chatting about them. They weren’t allowed to touch them or pick them up until Christmas. Now imagine with me all the wonder and excitement as a child while the gifts scream ‘open me!’ as they sit under the tree.

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They didn’t teach this as patience. They had a far greater lesson in mind.  

Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

 

2 Corinthians   “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

How we anticipate the gifts of Christmas is how we should anticipate being with Christ in heaven someday. The Bible tells us bits and pieces giving us an idea of what heaven will be like, but we will never fully know until we are there. Just like the gifts they had an idea of what was underneath the bows and colorful wrapping paper. There’s still the anticipation of seeing. 

A family tradition presented as a greater lesson.  

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

 

What Is A Christian?

Learning From The Youth

God’s Ministry NOT Mine

Build Don’t Break

Mihaela Echols42 Comments

    As a newlyweds Peter and I have been working on surrounding ourselves in a community of encouragement. These next few years are years of preparation as we expand on our family. Although I’m an introvert I am learning how important it  really is to have a good community.

   We have come to realize if someone is not uplifting us they will not be uplifting for our children.  Even if they are family. Of course we live in a world where our children will hear every name in the book and be let down.  But it doesn’t have to be from the people we choose to spend the majority of our time with.

    Peter already is surrounded by a lot of chaos and unhealthy people at his job, but when he goes and meets up with other godly men he is encouraged.

Proverbs 27:17  As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.

    Our Church family is encouraging in our walk with Christ but once a week for a few hours is not consistent enough. Dropping in and leaving isn’t going to make the community it’s about building relationships. It’s about: praying for one another, helping with specific needs, teaming up in ministry, fellowship out side of Church, and comforting and celebrating with one another.

Hebrews 10:23-24  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

 

More writings on boundaries:

Could I Get A little Privacy?

Dear Embarrasing Parents

Sayanara Heartache

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Letters To God

Mihaela Echols47 Comments

I’ve experienced:

Loss

Regret

Hurt

Victories

and Love

just like anyone else.

Tears stream down my face as I as read through my old prayer journals and see how faithful God has been throughout my life.

I started writing letters to God when I was fifteen; I’m twenty-five now. As the years went on I started really getting into the prayer journals; I started decorating mine or buying really nice ones. I would keep one on me that way if I would get alone time I could just take it out and write. This is how I find time with God.

As the ink hits the paper so my heart opens to him. This is where I meet him for quiet time. This is how I am still before him. I discover things that have been on my heart that I didn’t know where there until I would write them down. Writing out prayers has helped me think out all the insecurities I had then and have now. I as continue so seek him he will be forever faithful. He is always on the other end waiting for his letter. 

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How do you spend time with him?

 

 

Dear Former Body

He Understands My Heart

Romans Reality

Prayer At Work

Tear Up Your Bible

I Am Overwhelmed

 

 

 

 

Could I Get A little Privacy?

Mihaela Echols42 Comments

    I believe there is a privacy that many have forgotten and have used social media or  conversations as a personal journal. Boundaries are crossed that many don’t even know they have crossed. Then every party involved leave at what a could of been an encouraging time, but instead had a gossip session.

    I used to feel guilty for listening to someone “vent” on their marriage issues, financial issues or way to personal issues that I never should of never known about in the first place. I felt like if I didn’t listen to them I wasn’t being a good friend, but by listening to them  I wasn’t. It’s not my job to hear or know someone on a level where God knows them. That is where God needs to be and they are putting me there.

   God asks us to Guard our hearts through out scripture and we must do the same for them by watching what we share as well. 

    Don’t get me wrong I love keeping up with peoples lives and hearing if someone got a new pet, a new baby, or if they share their hobbies on facebook. But I honestly do cringe and scroll when too much media sharing is seen.  Sometimes I wish I could just scroll past in conversations with other women….

 I have learned I can! 

 I have approached my friends in saying “I’m learning about this new thing about myself. I listen to my friends vent thinking I should be a good friend but then leave feeling horrible because too much is shared.”  

The conversation we the have is clean, and encouraging. Both of our hearts are protected and God is glorified.

 

Read more here:

The Mouth Of This Lion

Dear Embarrasing Parents

Who Are You Glorifying?

 

 

 

 

Who Are You Glorifying?

Mihaela Echols26 Comments

A friend of mine asked me the other day what I honestly thought of her blog and if I thought she was glorifying  God through it.

Who are you glorifying when you post?

I asked her this “What is your motive when you post?”

I think this is an honest question every believer needs to ask themselves before they post. Some of us become attention seekers turning others gaze away from God unintentionally. If we honestly question our next post we should be cautious and open to a friends opinion. Remember guys it’s not about us.

Another friend of mine was saying how God should be relevant in all the areas of our lives. I have been convicted of my media posting. Christ should also shine in your media! She wasn’t saying post verses and how amazing God is every other day. She was talking about being clean in our posting. Although crude humor, vile language or the look at what I did all by myself post may be appropriate for our audience we as believers can and should be aware of our posting.

Believers and other bloggers I leave you with this question: Who are you glorifying?

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/07/27/me-monster/

https://www.bloglovin.com/people/hylaechols-17002353

Tear Up Your Bible

Mihaela Echols52 Comments

I used to have this issue maybe you have it too. I used to never write, underline or mark my Bible because I didn’t want to ruin it. It was too sacred to me because it’s God’s word. But the truth is he wants us to ruin our Bibles.

Ever heard this quote? 

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So much truth is screaming out in this quote.

Oh how our Heavenly father rejoices in our torn up Bibles. 

 There are days when I want to read my Bible but don’t know where to go so I go find my underlined or highlighted verses.They are the verses that I highlight because they speak to my heart. Some times the flesh side of me (who I was before I became a new creation in Christ) gets all distracted or loses motive to even read it. But my highlights catch my eyes and I am reminded as I read each verse how faithful God is.

Beleivers I write this to encourage you. We all get unmotivated at times or caught up in… dare I say it….ourselves. But I encourage you to pick it up, read your highlights, make them, read, make more, tear your Bible up, and fall more in love with Christ each day.

 

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/11/27/read-and-glue/

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/11/18/romans-reality/

 

Then these bad boys came into my life.

Get them at Walmart.

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The Norma Jeanes

Mihaela Echols1 Comment
Phot credit: unknown
Photo credit: unknown

    I don’t love her because she’s a legend. I love her because of her story. Why? Because it’s many people’s story. They too want the world to see them for who they want to be. Many people didn’t know her story until her death. She wanted the world to see her exactly as what we saw…

Beauty

Talent 

Desirable

    But what her husbands and people who worked close with her saw was a sad abandoned little girl who wanted to be noticed, treasured, and loved. One of her ex-husbands never stopped loving her. He would often visit her gravestone after her death. They too may have called her Marilyn Monroe, but they still saw Norma Jeane. Even with her name change she was still little Norma on the inside screaming for love.

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Photo credit :unknown

  I don’t know Marilyn Monroe. But I do know of “Norma’s” and I hurt for the Norma’s out there who never get to hear about God’s love for them. Who walk around hiding behind forced smiles. Who keep the people at arms length that have good intentions. Who don’t know that they don’t have to carry burdens that they have been carrying. 

If you are Norma on the inside I want you to know….

 You are loved

you are treasured

you are fought for 

and yes you are desired by God. 

Read on:

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/her-identity/

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/wanted/