Hi friends,

I’m thankful today to be writing to you, by the grace of God. Last week I procrastinated so hard I never sent out a message. I had fear of expectations & had been lacking in spending time in prayer.  Truthfully, I’ve been feeling stuck for a few weeks, my growing in faith has felt stagnant and I’ve been struggling to work through it. I read scripture daily and the wisdom of God’s word is in my head but has felt distant from my heart. With the pace of life and events I still struggle to slow down, to ask for prayers, to sit with God. It can feel like I’m learning the same lesson on repeat. Spending time in prayer can feel like an obligation and the more I avoid it the more distance grows. 

So today, I’m asking you all for your help. My original idea that created this newsletter was prayer. On Sundays I wanted a way to text/reach everyone in my life and ask what they needed prayer for that week. Instead of texting individually an idea for a group email was born and from there came a website and a newsletter. While I’m super grateful for the engagement over the last few months I’ve seemed to lose sight of my main goal in this. Not only to encourage but to pray for you all. I’ve created a phone number for prayer requests to make it easier to reach: 443-228-8313. 

You can leave your name or send in requests anonymously. If you don’t want to request prayers for yourself, please try to think of someone in your life who might need it and share. I’m asking you all to submit a request that will encourage me to spend this week in prayer. 

A few things that have helped me over the last few days get unstuck : 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uJxLdRT9UKo

1. Don’t focus on what we want or how we want things to go “We will never ask God what do if we always think we know what to do. & we will never seek God’s will if we keep staring at what we want. The more time we spend frustrated about where God has us, the longer we’ll stay there”
2. Look consistently for correction. The little nudges we feel throughout the day. To pray, to stop complaining, to take a breath and reset. They aren’t from ourselves, they are from God. Don’t ignore His convictions in your heart.
3. Don’t put it off until tomorrow. Putting it off one day moves into the next into the next week into the next month. “The more faithful we are today the more God will give us to steward tomorrow. The request God gives us today is the test before the responsibility God wants to give us tomorrow.” 

No time with God has to be lengthy or perfect. 5 minutes one day can turn into 10 the next. The moment you feel a reminder to pray, take it. Step away for 30 seconds just to give thanksgiving. The smallest of moments lead to rhythm with Jesus. He’s just looking for an invitation. 

Intimacy with God leads to 

obedience which leads to 

favor which leads to 

opportunity 

“If you invest into Jesus what you invest into the rest of your life you’ll see fruit beyond the vision you drew up” 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUAM7a-jfaa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I love you,

Nina 

Merry Christmas to you all ✝️ 🤍

Part II: The Greatest Thing in the World

Last week I introduced the book by Henry Drummond & the letter of the apostle Paul Jo 1 Corinthians 13. The beginning of the book is the components and contrast of love. Henry then goes on to analyze the components and the meaning behind them. Christ brought peace on earth by embodying these ingredients. “Religion is not a strange or added thing, but the inspiration of the secular life, the breathing of an eternal spirit through this temporal world. The supreme thing, in short, is not a thing at all, but the giving of a further finish to the multitudinous words and acts which make up the sum of every common day.”

The analysis – love is patience: love is having understanding and therefore it waits. It is passive, it’s not in a rush. When the time comes for patience, it is always ready for its work. Love is kindness: love is active. Look at the life of Christ. He spent almost all His time with others, making them happy. Others’ happiness in our lives largely surrounds our kindness to them. “The greatest thing a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to some of His other children.” Where love is, God is. Kindness acts instantaneously and always pays itself back. Love never fails. “Therefore, love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love.” Love is generosity: to love without competition. Without envy. Without comparison. Trying to please and giving pleasure are two different things. Give love and give often. Love is humility: to keep our acts of kindness between ourselves & God. To love in hiding. Love is not puffed up. Our pride is not more significant than our kindness. Love is courtesy: “there was no truer gentleman in Europe than the ploughman-poet. It was because he loved everything- the mouse, and the daisy, and all the things, great and small, that God had made. So with this simple passport he could mingle with any society and enter courts and palaces from his little cottage” Gentleman – a gentle man. Love is unselfishness: deeper than just giving up our things but giving up ourselves. To not seek things for ourselves. It is more difficult to give up what we think we deserve than to not seek for ourselves at all. Christ says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Giving up our desires to serve Him fulfills us more than anything we desire can. Taking a lesson from His teaching, we learn there is no happiness in getting but only in giving.

Love is good temper: love is not provoked. “It is often the one blot on an otherwise noble character. You know men who are all but perfect, and women who would be entirely perfect, but for an easily ruffed, quick-tempered, or “touchy” disposition.” We all have bubbles of frustration that live deep beneath the surface & we try not to let them escape to the top. It’s not the temper itself that needs addressing but what it reveals. “No form of vice, not worldliness, not greed of gold, not drunkenness itself, does more to unchristianize society than evil temper.” When we’re tired, our guards are down the bubbles come to the surface, they reveal in us an unloving nature. We can display in one flash of temper our longing for more patience, love. We must dig within ourselves past the temper to find out the source of hurt. As we begin to the let of Spirit of Christ dwell within us, we are filled with more love and less bubbles. He is the only one able to transform us, to eradicate what is wrong. Time and willpower can not change a person, Christ does. Love is guilelessness & sincerity: the people who influence us are the people who believe in us. Love has no evil, no motive, sees the best in everyone and everything. “And if we try to influence or elevate others, we shall soon see that success is in proportion to their belief of our belief in them. The respect of another is the first restoration of the self-respect a man has lost; our ideal of what he is becomes to him the hope and pattern of what he may become.” Not to rejoice in another’s faults or weaknesses but to see them as they are. Love rejoices in the truth.

Reading this book has been very timely (as God always is) for me. The holiday season brings a lot of emotion for many of us. We miss those who are no longer here, we miss those who are far away. The pressures of getting all the right gifts, showing up with a smile even if we are struggling, having it all together. Family can be hard. Loving each other when we have our own internal battles can be hard. But the lesson today: love never fails. It covers all. Lead with love without looking for anything in return or a pat on the back. Give grace, understanding and follow the example of Christ even & especially to those we feel may not deserve it. Try not to lose sight of what it’s all about. We all want to feel seen and loved. Count your blessings. We’re not alone. He is with us. Always 

Third & final part of this book coming next Sunday. Sending all the love & prayers to you all this week. Enjoy the holiday together. I love you. Nina 

To my brothers & sisters on a gloomy Sunday:
Thank you for the donations to help the families in need!! Your generosity means the world to them. Ways to give below.

As I said last week, I want to start sharing readings and reflections together to learn from one another. I’ve been talking with friends about starting a book club together so this week will be a trial run. If you want to join in, I am going to reread ‘The Greatest Thing in the World – Experience the Enduring Power of Love’ by Henry Drummond. It’s 18 pages so it can be read in one sitting. I’ve attached the PDF version to this email and an amazon link below. I also created a new section on my website with discussion questions for this book. Please let me know what you think and I will share some insights next week!

Isaiah 25:4 ‘You have been a refuge for the poor,
    a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
    is like a storm driving against a wall’
Finding deliverance in Jesus. In this verse Jesus is revealed as three aspects to us: our strength, our refuge and our shade.

In attempting to walk in the likeness of Jesus on our own we are all needy, lacking & weak. In a moment, we can go from loving to irritable. Jesus is our strength. He is a fortress, a stronghold, He protects us from ourselves. A prayer in the morning for help isn’t enough to sustain us all day, we are human. We need to constantly ask Him to give us fresh patience, forgiveness, wisdom, mercy, love, and grace to give others that does not come on our own. He is our hope that we may start to look like Him in all ways and spread His light to others. He surrounds us & is always ready to help when we ask.

When we’re standing before our struggles it’s often difficult to see the way through. With Jesus, we can walk through the fire and are not burned. He covers us with His compassion, comfort and love. He grieves with us. He is our refuge, our place to hide when our hearts are feeling low. He is a calm retreat to run to when we run out of answers. We are always kept by Him. Jesus will always meet you wherever you are. In your confusion, anger, in your tears, in your doubts. Tell Him about it all and He finds you and makes sure you are safe to feel it all. He will never give up running towards us even in times when we are running away.

Our shade. Psalm 121:5 ‘The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;’ When we come near Him, He provides the shade, the rest. When we become weary, in prayer He lifts us up. As we lean into Him, we are covered. To enjoy the shade, you must be near it.

Personally, I felt freer this week in God’s light than I have in some time. I found myself throughout my day asking for God’s help to show love when I didn’t feel it in me. To find peace in hard conversations and circumstances out of my control. To give me endurance during a workout. To encourage me to pray at night when my eyes want to close. To help me find patience in waiting for some of His promises set before me. In the past I’ve thought it was selfish to pray for myself all day but it’s what God wants. Relationship.

I love you! Nina

Hi from the airport!

I had the honor of standing by one of my very best friends on her wedding day this weekend in palm beach. I’m heading home with a full heart and gratitude for the incredible people that God surrounds me with.

Part II on vulnerability:
In the book of Gensis, Adam and Eve hide as God calls out to them after eating the fruit. The problem wasn’t their sin but the hiding. The test of your trust in God is in your response to your sin. Jesus already knows all that lives in your heart, but He still wants to hear it from you to bring you closer. “Like an MRI shows us what is wrong in our bodies, seeing our sin is a gift.” Megan Marshman. It gives us the opportunity to go to God and improve our faith in Him.

Last week I spoke about vulnerability. Vulnerability is the absence of hiding, showing all parts of yourself in full, leaving nothing covered. Frequently when I am hiding from God, I’m doing it subconsciously. It’s an impulse reaction and unwillingness to God that I am working on being more aware of. There’s an unsettling feeling in my gut alerting me that I’ve done something I’m not proud of. But instead of addressing it, I avoid prayer until I feel “good” enough to approach Him again. Through God’s grace I’ve been slowly learning that our mistakes could never change His love for us. The abundance of His love moves us towards our greater purpose. It’s easy to say ‘in everything go to God’ but to live it is another thing. I want my knee jerk reaction in all circumstances to turn to prayer. I’m learning to go to Him always not just when I feel I’ve been a “good” steward that day. For I’m not righteous on my own but righteous through the faith I have in Christ.

Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgive, whose sin is covered.

There are several Psalms that start with ‘Blessed is’ usually referring to how to walk in the Lord’s way. This Psalm is for the sinner. Psalm 32 is written by King David in a time when he was turning back to the Lord. David in his reign as king had committed many transgressions including the murder of Uriah, to cover up his affair with Uriah’s wife. Psalm 32:3-4 “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me” Initially, as David hid his mistakes from Lord he was living in constant agony.

I listened to a sermon that spoke on the blessing of continual forgiveness we receive. To highlight the blessing, we must consider: the seriousness of our sin, how we are completely forgiven, not partially, the cost of the forgiveness we receive and the giver of forgiveness.

To sin is when we miss the mark. We act out of selfishness deliberately and intentionally as our own God. To live as God’s laws do not apply to us and fail to acknowledge Him in all of our ways. The cost: Jesus on the cross. 2 Samuel 12:13 “Then David said to Nathan ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” The moment David turned away from his sin and uncovered his mistakes, he was forgiven. Fully and freely forgiven, our sins are covered and concealed by the blood of Jesus. Romans 3:25 “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood – to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed before unpunished.” God is the giver of our forgiveness. When we leave our sins at His feet, He lifts them up and takes them away. He removes our shame and guilt and points us in the direction of something better. He takes our view away from ourselves and points our eyes to Him and His glory.

Vulnerability isn’t weakness - it’s the pathway back to Him. God will always meet where you are, every single time. There is no blessed man that hasn’t been forgiven. Bring all your burdens and mistakes to the Lord. You can know the joy of your forgiveness if you know the depth of your sin. We are more sinful and flawed than we believe. We are also more loved and accepted for who we are in Jesus more than we could hope for. Every time I take my mistakes to the Lord, I feel relief washing over my spirit. And every time I wonder why I avoided the prayer for so long, leaving myself in agony. Avoid the hurt, go straight to the Lord in all of your ways.

Psalm 32 below. God bless you! Nina
1Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
 whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart! 

Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s Grace

Wake up it’s Sunday ! ! ! Hi my people,
Two weeks ago, our Pastor preached on the significance of this verse. Since then, it hasn’t left my mind, and it keeps coming back to me in different ways. I sat in the back pew by myself with tears in my eyes as he wrapped up the ending remarks, “To measure God’s grace, you must measure the number of sins we are forgiven for every day. Now compare that to the grace we show each other.” Grace: unmerited favor, freely given, receiving blessings that we don’t deserve by the love of God.

The most valuable title Jesus holds for us is Redeemer. Redemption – the act of being saved, we are presently living in God’s redemption for us. We are humans living in a fallen world, from the beginning with Adam in the garden in Genesis. On our own, we cannot transform our own hearts into hearts like Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to the world to teach us how to be Christians or give us a playbook on how to change our own behavior into His, but He came to save us. When Jesus died on the cross, He took all our sin with Him. He paid for it all in order for us to have intimate relationship with God despite our sin that separates us from Him. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit and can encounter God as holy & blameless, free of sin. Faith is a gift, mercy is a gift, forgiveness is a gift, but most importantly grace is a gift. None of which can be earned by our good behavior & effort. By God sending His own son to save us all, we have proof that God’s grace has no bounds. God’s grace is new every morning when we open our eyes and take a breath. He blesses us continually. Jesus sees all that we do, knows our every thought, searches our hearts. He saw all our sin in its fullness and said I will pay for it all. I will take their place and die on their behalf so that they may live.

This past week I was reflecting on mistakes I had made at work and was disappointed in myself. I was doing the math of how long I had been in this role letting the time decide how much grace I was going to give myself. I heard God whisper to me “Grace cannot be measured”. The timeline doesn’t matter. If I’ve made the same mistake 100 times it also doesn’t matter. God’s grace is sufficient. When we take our mistakes, our sin to God, and repent, we are washed clean.


Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. When we remember how much grace we’ve been given, we begin to give it freely: to the driver trying to merge in traffic, to a friend who hurt us, to strangers, coworkers, family, even to ourselves. We’re all human. We all need it everyday.

We give grace because He gave it first
We love God because He loved us first
We know Him because He already knows us

I love you,

Nina 

Good morning 😌

There are seasons of life that are tough. It’s a part of life and there is no avoiding it. Sometimes God answers our prayers with a no for our own protection or sometimes the yes takes way longer than we would like. In the moment it can feel as if He’s not hearing us or not on our side. Doubts creep in about God, about our own faith, and we find ourselves often confused and upset. It’s frustrating, we grow impatient, we want an immediate fix for all our hurt.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.’

The way we can rejoice in God through our struggles is by setting our thoughts on His character. Who is God to you? Take a moment and let your mind wander on the answer.

God is love, comfort, compassion, grace, mercy, provision, faithfulness, strength, a friend. He is always good. He never changes; God is not confusion. He always fulfills His promises. He is our Father. In moments of tension if we can pause and list out what God is to us, it changes our perspectives on our circumstances. To put His character in the forefront and not the trial you are in or fixating on the problem. God is the source of our joy, and our joy is driven by where we focus our hearts and minds. In trials, we often want to ask God ‘why?’. Often God’s reasoning surpasses what we can understand. He has the bigger picture; He has the plans down to every little detail.

How to walk through trials:

1. The Word
2. Waiting
3. Walking

1. The Word. The Bible can be intimidating to read. There are other books to get started to understand God’s word, please reach out for suggestions. Scripture is one of the ways God speaks to us when we need clarity, it brings understanding. If you find one verse that brings you peace, put it on a sticky note and put it on your front door. Read it before you walk out the door to work and Thank God for the reminder. We are humans, we need constant reminders throughout a single day to think of the Lord.
2. Waiting. In trials, waiting is hard. In our perspective it can feel like we are waiting forever for an answer, a solution, healing, comfort. God does not delay in His timing; His timing is perfect. Instead of waiting anxiously, we can wait well by resting in God’s past faithfulness to us and reading His word. He does His greatest work in our waiting.
3. Walking. Walking by yourself or walking with faith is a choice. It’s neveran easy walk. No one has perfected it. My whole life, I’ve been an extremely independent person. I often take pride in what I can accomplish on my own and what I’m capable of that I didn’t think was possible. It eventually becomes exhausting and overwhelming trying to do it all. Asking for help is something that I’ve been learning for years. It’s still difficult for me now to lean on others. I’ve been praying for God to strip me of my pride and break down my walls. I find so much more rest and gratitude when I walk with God. When I let Him in on everything I’m feeling and thinking and let Him be my strength and guidance.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Every Trial has it a specific purpose. God wants us to be full, whole, complete, not lacking anything. To get there we must suffer to be able to grow. To see Him. To understand and know Him. In all our struggles, go to God with all your complaints and let Him turn them into worship. He loves you more than you could ever imagine. Thank Him always for what He has done.

HUGE thank you to all who have volunteered harvesting food for the hungry with me. Saturday mornings are my favorite ❤️ 

God bless you all,

Nina 

You all are deepening my faith daily & holding me accountable in your prayer requests. This week was heavy on many hearts. I try to remind myself of the importance of keeping our focus on truths of God’s promises & hope. The prayer request box has been updated for easier submissions without entering emails. Keep the requests coming! I see God moving in so many lives around me.

Two days ago I celebrated my birthday. Birthdays often bring reflection and while I was born 29 years ago, it’s only been 2 years since I was baptized. I remember being so sure of wanting change but unsure what that would look like or how to begin. I had heard of lives changing through God and was witnessing my brother start to preach to me the same message. I remember thinking, “was I capable?”  “how would I change my life so drastically?”. When I look back to who I was then it feels like a lifetime ago. I didn’t have to know the steps in between to get myself there, I just had to loosen my grip and trust. God guided me with one foot in front of the other.

 I heard on a podcast recently: David wasn’t able to beat Goliath out of his own strength. He didn’t have the confidence in himself that he was stronger than a giant. He walked into battle with confidence because of the God he served. He looked back at the testimonies of his own life to know that God would deliver him from this battle just as God had done for him everytime before. We overcome battles by the power of Jesus and the word of our testimony.

 I often get swept up in the pressures of the day to day. I lose sight of the big picture. I feel like I’ve had faith long enough I should have it all figured out already, I should be better in prayer and more consistent in my time. In reality, I will never have it all figured out and there is no right way to do any of it. Faith is a journey. A personal one.  Our testimonies are important. Can you think of moments in your life, big or small that God orchestrated, maybe when you weren’t even looking? Write them down. When you have doubts, when you are scared, when you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders & you aren’t sure how you will make it through the next battle: Pull out the list. Remember His faithfulness. God’s plans are better than our own. Take comfort in the fact that God goes before us. He knows what’s in front of us and is never surprised. He prepares the way and just asks us to walk with Him.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 

I love you all, have a great week!

Nina