do not give up – Meghan E White

Don’t Be Afraid, God’s Here to Help

January 28, 2023 meghanewhite

Fear is a powerful force that can bring us to our knees, and strike terror in our hearts and minds. Fear can also draw us to our Heavenly Father as we ask for His help. And He delights in helping us. What an awesome God who loves us so very much!

Are you stressed out, afraid, anxious? Welcome to the club. There’s no shortage of things to be afraid of in this dark world. But……..there is hope! We do not have to stay in a fearful place. God is ready and always available to reach out and rescue us. We just need to ask.

This scripture was part of a devotion in the YouVersion Bible app a few years ago. We can never get enough encouragement. I pray you are encouraged today.

Do not be afraid! God is here to help you. He’s got your back, and your front. Keep trusting God.

Love you all,

Meghan

Lord,

Thank You for for grace and mercy, and for helping us when we are afraid. Bless every person who is reading this, and afraid. Give them peace, hope, and comfort. Take them by the hand and make a way for them. Change their perspective as they take their eyes off of their problems and look to You. We love You, Lord!

In Jesus name,

Amen

Nature

Save the Monarchs

January 21, 2023 meghanewhite

Hello to you! It’s been a while since I’ve written a post. I allowed myself an extended break, and it was delightful. No social media, no blogging, no regrets. I highly recommend social media breaks. I will write about social media another time. Today it’s all about monarch butterflies because they are beautiful, and important, and make me happy.

Right around Christmas the temperatures dropped to below freezing, which doesn’t happen often in Southeast Texas. I noticed a few monarch caterpillars on the milkweed in the garden, and then had the crazy idea to dig up the plants and bring them inside to save the caterpillars. So we dug up two milkweed plants, put them in buckets, and brought them to the safety of our dining room. A few caterpillars were placed in a terrarium. Monarch caterpillars eat the sole diet of milkweed, so there was no concern over caterpillars escaping.

We kept them inside for about a week until the weather warmed up. I would daily check the branches for new caterpillars, and they just kept showing up. There were fifteen total between the terrarium and the plants. I love all things nature, and plants, and animals, and butterflies, so this was fun for me. We felt like we were running a monarch rescue.

The caterpillars have been outside since the new year doing well. We went to a local nursery in hopes of finding milkweed to feed our ever growing caterpillar family. The nursery gave us a dozen milkweed plants for free since they were about to throw them in the dumpster. Definitely God’s providence.

Our first butterfly emerged the other day. I felt like a proud parent as it stayed on my fingers for a while drying out its wings. There are currently nine chrysalises, or chrysalides (not sure on the correct plural for butterfly cocoons) waiting to become lovely butterflies. I am enjoying every moment of watching these precious little creatures grow up.

The reason I am nerding out over monarchs is they remind me of my creator. Every stage of a caterpillar from egg to butterfly reflect God’s glory. There is no mistake or randomness in caterpillars or butterflies. They serve an important purpose to help with pollination of the vast majority of the world’s flowering plants. Monarchs are kind of a big deal. All butterflies are a big deal. Only God would make pollinators so beautiful.

As I watch each stage of the caterpillars I am blown away that everything they need is inside of them. No human can do that, only God, our magnificent Creator, can create something so remarkable. Nature brings me solace in a hurting world. I am comforted knowing God made it all, and He has the final say.

God cares for all of His creation. He cares for you too. There is nothing too hard for our awesome God! Nothing! Whatever is concerning you today, give it Him. God loves you so much.

And I love you too.

Meghan

Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

If you need prayer send your requests to meghanewhiteauthor@gmail.com

Faith, God

God’s Hands

August 14, 2020August 14, 2020 meghanewhite

Those teeny weeny chubby baby feet belong to my youngest son. He was 2 months old when that picture was taken. That’s my hand. I have average size hands to give you some idea of how small his newborn feet were. Now that he’s a teenager, there is no way I could squeeze just one of his feet in my hand. Maybe half of one of his feet.

When I look at my hands I see tools. I do a lot with them. I chop, stir, and whisk all sorts of things in the kitchen. My hands clean, grab, fold, and write. My hands hold and grasp. My hands open in worship and are clasped in prayer. The human body is a miracle and God gave us incredible abilities with just our hands alone. But my hands are limited.

God’s hands are big and powerful. They hold you and me, and the entire world in them. But that’s not all. God holds the planets, stars, moon, and every bit of space dust in His hands. God made it all.

For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:3-5, NIV

My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they all stand up together. Isaiah 48:13, NIV

God holds us in His mighty hands. We are so tiny in His omnipotent hands. The hands that made every person, plant, and animal are holding us. They are giant hands. Bigger than we can imagine or comprehend.

God’s hand protects.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10, NIV

God’s hand guide us.

Even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:10, NIV

God’s hand gives favor.

The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11:21, NIV

We are secure in God’s hands.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. John 10:29, NIV

God is always working, even though it may appear like nothing is happening. We can get so focused on the problem that we take our eyes off of God. When answers take too long, when problems seem never ending, or impossible, we too easily forget who is in control. God is holding us, sustaining us, protecting us, and guiding us.

God is a loving, perfect, Heavenly Father. No problem is too big for God, or too small.

What are you facing today that seems impossible?

What have you been holding on to that you need to place in His hands?

God can take care of things that we can’t. He is God and we are not. Give all your worries and fears over to God. Trust Him, praise Him, and thank Him. God is able.

Let’s all do a sing-along. An oldie but a goodie.

Sing it with me……

He’s got the whole world in His hands

Love you all,

Meghan

If you need prayer go to my contact page.

Faith, Spiritual Warfare, Trials, Uncategorized

For the Hurting, You Are Loved

February 7, 2020 meghanewhite

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Are you hurting? In deep pain? Someone I love is hurting deeply. They are struggling with suicidal thoughts. It breaks my heart. They’ve lost hope. When we lose hope, all we see is darkness. We think there is no way out. That’s a lie.

There is always hope. Jesus Christ is our hope. He can pierce the darkness with His glorious light. Cry out to Him. He hears you. He sees you. He will make a way for you.

Thus says the Lord,
    who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
who brings forth chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
“Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.

(Isaiah 43:16-19, ESV)

If you don’t know Jesus, today would be a great day to change that. Jesus knows you and loves you beyond comprehension. Jesus died for sinners, which is all of us. Our sin debt is paid in full.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NIV)

Call on Jesus. Ask Him to save you and He will!

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13, NIV)

I wrote a letter to my young friend who is in deep pain. The Lord gave me the words. The names have been changed. If you, or someone you know, is depressed or struggling with suicidal thoughts, feel free to use my letter and personalize it. I pray it can help others. May God be glorified.

Please ask for help if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or depression. I know it’s not easy, but your loved ones care so deeply about you and want to help. You are not alone.

Love you all,

Meghan

Dear Elizabeth,

I’m very sorry that you are hurting. When you hurt, I hurt too. You are dearly loved by so many. Your mom and dad love you more than you will ever know. Your brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and so many other family members love you so very much.

There is one who loves you more than even your mom and dad. God loves you, dear sweet Elizabeth. Your Heavenly Father knew you before time began. He looked at you and said, “This one is going to have a voice like an angel, and a pure, compassionate heart.”

Elizabeth, there is one YOU in this whole wide world. God has a purpose and a plan for you, but you’ve got to trust Him. Give Him your pain, and heartache, and questions. God can take it, and He wants you to give it all to Him. You are not designed to carry such pain.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

(In the Greek, cast means to throw, hurl, or toss)

You have the freedom in Jesus to throw your anxiety on Him. This is not a suggestion. We are told to do so. Elizabeth, throw it on Him! If you have to throw it a hundred times in a day, then do it!! You have freedom and Holy Spirit power in you!! That means you’ve got the power of God in you. The moment you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you received the Holy Spirit. This is not spooky stuff, it’s the amazing truth.

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13

Those bad, evil, lying thoughts that come in your mind are not the truth. A thought or idea does not mean it’s the truth. You will have many thoughts all day long, some are good and some are not. If the thought does not line up with the word of God, it’s garbage.

God will NEVER:

Call you names

Tell you to hurt yourself.

Tell you to hurt another person.

Tell you anything that goes against His word.

God says:

I love you.

You are my precious daughter.

I made you with an everlasting love.

I will carry you when you can’t walk.

I am a way maker.

Give me your pain.

Give me your doubts.

Give me your fears.

Trust me.

I will never leave you.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

When you get a bad thought in your mind, picture Jesus holding a stop sign. Give the bad thought to Jesus. Those bad thoughts have to come under the authority of Jesus. Tell the stupid thought “No!”

Praise and worship is another powerful tool to fight back against the battles that go on in our mind. You invite God in when you worship. So sing out praises to the King of Kings! Even if you don’t feel like it.

But you are holy,

you who inhabit the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3

Elizabeth is God’s chosen one.

Elizabeth is God’s special possession.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

He knows everything about you. Every pain, every sorrow, every sadness, every bad thought. All of it. He loves you and will never walk away from you. He can handle your disappointments, doubts, fears, anxiety, and questions. If you let Him, Jesus can turn your deepest pain into something so beautiful. Trust God. He’s bigger than you can imagine. Bigger than your hurt. Nothing is impossible with Him.

For with God nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:37

I’m here for you if you need to talk.

With Love,

Meghan

Heavenly father,

I lift up precious Elizabeth to you. Give her hope, peace, and comfort. Set her free from these tormenting thoughts. Your word says she has the mind of Christ. Let Elizabeth hear your voice above all the noise, above the lies. Let her hear your truth that she is loved, she belongs to you. Let her hear your powerful still, small voice. Give Elizabeth wisdom and discernment. Help her take every thought captive, and make them obedient to Christ.

In Jesus name,

Amen

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