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

He Understands My Heart

Mihaela Echols52 Comments

    I cry.

Peter holds me.

I say a silent prayer crying out to God. 

    There are times not even Peter can comfort me. This is the sweet fellowship I get with Christ. Yes, it hurts. But He is bigger. He understands. He is our true comforter.

  The first few months of our marriage was hard not because of the cliche things people told me: house being a mess, getting sick, constant fighting, or weight gain. Actually none of that happened. What happened was the unexpected. Old insecurities rose inside of me from when I was child. Even I couldn’t see my mood swings coming. Then I would fear the next time they would occur.

Why does my beloved have to suffer with me? I would feel a burden for him. I started believing lies the devil wants me to believe.

What if Peter never comes back?

Anxiety was my fight for weeks. When he’d leave for work in the morning I’d hold back tears. The fear kept growing. I would have one good day…

Then bam.

Overtaken.

Motivation lost. 

My heart would race, tears stream, head spin. 

Why God does my beloved have to suffer with me? 

The smell of death was all around me for three years.  I carry a burden I shouldn’t hold. But I do.

    Why did I live and they didn’t? For years I have ignored the question, because when it consumes me guilt becomes my thoughts.  Year after year my birthday gets harder because the devil fuels my mind with the lie “you shouldn’t of made it this far.”

    “Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal.” the lyrics of Come as you are sung by: Crowder are sung in church. The insides of me cry out to God. He is the only one who understands my heart completely. Tears stream down my face. Not because I am sad. But Knowing Christ Himself knows my every thought, hears my hearts inner cries, wants all of me, and is my joy.

Phillipians 4:4-7h

“ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

More on my childhood journey: https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/02/20/ptsd-black-sheep/

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2014/10/19/the-hardest-story-to-tell-mine/

 

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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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God’s Ministry NOT Mine

Mihaela Echols14 Comments

Galatians 6:7-9

There was a time in my life I honestly thought I was just bad at ministry.

I felt very unorganized and wondered why I was even put in leadership. No matter how hard or advanced I would plan things they would be getting done last minute.

I remember a conversation with a friend going something like this….

“Jessica I don’t understand it. I’m a very organized person. Shoot I have adults who look up to me outside of ministry, but when it comes to ministry I’m all over the place I don’t get it!”

Jessica and I do ministry together. She has seen me serve in the church. If it was anyone who would be honest with me it would be her. That’s what good friends do. They tell you the truth even if you don’t want to hear it.

“Your not bad at it…its people. Your working with people and people are people.”

What she meant by that was people get sick , or busy so they cant answer the phone for follow ups. Schedules get in the way of appointments or they might forget to get back to you. It’s not intentional its just things happen.

Hmmm……

Then it clicked.

Why am I expecting perfection in something that isn’t even mine? It’s Gods.

Ministry is Gods. It’s his job to reach peoples hearts. I am just the tool.

Every project that I had planned six months in advance and then scrambled around the week of to get the details figured out have turned out. People were still blessed. It just wasn’t done the way I would do it. There are days I would walk into my Sunday school room holding the lesson I planned weeks ahead but then teach on something completely different. 

Again not how I would do it. But ministry has to be flexible. Why? Because it’s meeting peoples hearts. In other words I need to get out of Gods way and let him do his work.

 

Pardon my progress.

 

 

Dear Former Body

Mihaela Echols31 Comments

As I was rummaging through my old writings I came across a few letters I wrote from when I was about thirteen. My inspiration for this writing came from there.

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photo credit: unknown

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/12/22/good-day-2/

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2014/09/05/her-identity/

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/06/26/make-up/

Dear Body, I’m sorry for looking away as soon as I would catch my reflection in the mirror…. 

I’m sorry for masking myself with make up and replacing my confidence….

For the times I should of fed you and didn’t……

When I should’ve kept you out of harms reach and put you in the dead-center of it…. 

For not letting the tears that should’ve been righteously shed but instead ignored….

For burning myself out with lists beyond lists….

For allowing my mouth to kill and not save….

For allowing my thoughts to invade truths Christ always wants to whisper to my heart….

Apologies are great but no one believes them until they are seen through action and so body I’m ready. 

I’m ready to take off my mask…

To surround you in good company…

To let the tears fall…

To shut the mouth of this lion…

To rest in Christ. 

Sincerely, 

A Changed Heart.

 

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Babies Greive

Mihaela Echols21 Comments

    If it’s any stage in lives where we are the most real with our feelings it’s when we are babies. About six years ago I learned something knew about people and a lot of things started to make more sense.

Babies can grieve. 

    I believe that the nine months growing  in a birth moms womb is a beauty God has created because when they are separated even at a child’s birth their heart is torn. 

They  then grieve.

    I used to always ask questions about my  birth mom growing up even though I already knew I had a mom. My birth mom was a stranger who gave birth to me. But I was still curious. Why, because the nine months really do matter. 

    Babies are the most tender trusting people there are. To break them is to break their spirit and trust. There are people who adopt from foster families or get their brand new baby from the hospital and still the baby will not eat,  sleep, or will cry more often then usual. 

    All this is ok, because you are not mom yet. Mothers this may hurt to read. Notice I say yet. You get to be apart of their grieving process. You get the rest of their journey. Maybe you don’t want to sing the lullaby their birth mom sang them or wrap them in the blanket they came with. But this isn’t about you. It’s about helping your baby. 

    I promise you though in time you will be singing your own lullaby to your baby and wrapping them in new blankets in time. God only knows the time frame. Every one grieves at their own pace.

    I encourage you mothers stay strong for your baby, because of you we adoptees have a new birth. 

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/09/07/identity-crises/

https://hylaandpeterechols.com/2015/04/25/my-fantasy-birth-mom/

Read and Glue

Mihaela Echols29 Comments

 

 

20151127_115738     This little red book isn’t just book my mom read to me as a child growing up. It held truths that I hold onto today.

As I grew up reading through my “big girl” Bible I’d remember every story. The word was speaking to my heart even as a little girl.

When I learned how to read. I read it myself. Pages fell out. I’d glue them in and read on. Then it became beautiful a pattern read and glue, read and glue.

Because of those memories I keep it to remind myself how important it is to read the word to mine and Peters future children. Children hold on just as tight as adults do. They understand more than we think. Our job as is to plant the seeds in our children’s hearts and let God do the rest.

Tears weld up in my eyes as I flip through each page. My memories dance. How rare was my childhood?

How rare could our children’s lives be?

My prayer for our future children is that they too have to read and glue their children Bibles and then their grown up Bibles.

Hebrews 4:12 “ For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”

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Romans Reality

Mihaela Echols19 Comments

As I read I am blown away at how God reminds me of these truths…

                “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved His life. And not only this, but we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation… For if by the transgression of the one, death through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1, 5:10, 5:17

  These truths are part of what was going through my head one Sunday morning as I fought a spiritual battle against the lies Satan wants me to believe. The prince of this world was pushing and pushing at me to accept thoughts like…

I am worthless

I will never measure up

I cannot lead in ministry

  But God says no and we read it in Romans. Once all I had was sin in my life but now God supernaturally has changed everything except the physical appearance. The underline part above is what stops me in my tracks because of how good God is. Not only does God’s grace and righteousness cover and wipe away our sins, because of the cross; it also puts us in a new whole new light and life. Abundance in our imagination still cant describe just how much God has poured into us.

 I am now justified, reconciled, redeemed, and put in a righteous standing with him. He does not see me for any other idea than…

A masterpiece

A son of God with the Holy Spirit testifying to God (Romans 8:14-8:16)

Washed clean by his blood (Romans 5:9)

  Then there is still one more amazing thing that he has done for me and all believers. He gave us the Holy Spirit…

   “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:13-14

  That Sunday morning as I fought against Satan and all the junk he was trying to put into my head, the Holy Spirit kept reminding of all these truths. God is at work all the time for our behalf.

 

 

 

Is It Just A Honeymoon Season?

Mihaela Echols42 Comments

20150817_202954

—Four Powerful Words—

—Me Monster—

When others see Peter give me a kiss or watch us talk things out when there is miscommunication they say things like: 

“Have you even gotten in a real fight?”

“You know you’re only in the ‘honeymoon’ season”.  

    What they don’t understand is how adjusting to married life has been hard for us. Even our dating season was hard. PTSD, setting family boundaries, change of becoming one-flesh, new ministry opportunities, and life circumstances are hard.

The Devil constantly fights to tear our marriage apart by throwing obstacles our way. Why? Because we love the Lord!

    Going into our marriage we knew that life was only going to get harder. By pushing each other in prayer, Bible reading, in ministry projects, and in our personal walks with Christ together…the Kingdom will expand.  

    As the years go by I only hope to love Peter more than on our wedding day. And I can! Staying in prayer and in fellowship with Christ makes that possible. Marriage is another testimony for the world to see. Some might think their walk with Christ is done and the other person can finish it because they are one-flesh. They are forgetting teamwork and are putting their identity in the other person. Marriage is one-flesh, but there are two people in it. Two people who both need Christ as much as the other. Honeymoon season doesn’t have to be just a season. It can become a way of life. If others see us trying to go through our marriage without Christ being our center then disaster will be all they see. 

   These past few months have been very hard, but as a couple we are growing stronger in Him every day. Sometimes I feel like we go one step forward and twenty steps back. When I get caught up in the twenty steps back I forget that those twenty steps back might actually be us moving forward. It might just not feel that way.

If you were encouraged by this feel free to share.