Broken with Purpose

October 9, 2017October 16, 2017 by madepiecebypiece ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This has been a trying year for me. I have experienced anger, sadness and disappointment after having people test both my character and my faith.

I created this blog to be obedient to the calling on my heart and share experiences in order to encourage others and share with them God’s unconditional love for all. I knew that sharing personal experiences would mean having to be transparent, and frankly, this meant opening myself up to negative criticism.

When you share your faith with the world there will be individuals who will criticize or judge you because they either disagree with you, dislike you, or feel that you’re not good enough to offer encouragement due to your mistakes. Read more ›

A Critical Spirit

September 2, 2017September 2, 2017 by madepiecebypiece ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

via Daily Prompt: Critical

crit·i·cal
adjective
1. expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgments.

When you are critical of someone or something you tend to be expressing your disapproval or judgement on something they did or said. When I go onto social media lately, it seems that critical comments and posts are the norm. I see battles and arguments over politics and religion daily now. It seems as though everyone is out to prove that someone else is wrong. What happened to respecting others? Does respect even exist anymore?

Many are being quick to speak and put others down and react out of emotion. This is not always good or healthy. As a mother, I do my best to teach my daughter to think before speaking or posting on social media. I believe that our words [and posts] are a reflection of our character. While I don’t live my life based on what others think of me, I live trying to be mindful of the way my words or comments make others feel. Of course I am human so I too have made the mistake of blurting something out that I have regretted after the fact, but I do my best to be cautious with my words and statements.

Words should be used to build other up, not break them down.

A Piece of My Story

August 30, 2017September 1, 2017 by madepiecebypiece ♥ 6 Comments

I thought I would take some time to write a little bit about myself so that my readers get to know to me. Like every human being I have been through many difficult times in life but I have also experienced joy.

I had a rough upbringing, I come from a broken family without a dad in the home. I was raised by a single mom who struggled independently and needed assistance to raise three children on her own. As a child, I never experienced what a healthy family life felt like so it is a hunger I have carried with me my entire life. This hunger caused me to have a blind eye to love. I have a huge heart and allowed my heart to lead me in my choices, this resulted in me having many painful life experiences.

I became pregnant at the age of 17 and gave birth to my beautiful daughter at the age of 18. She represented life to me. She was so innocent and precious so I made a promise to myself to always be her provider and protector. God graciously blessed me by opening doors to jobs that paid me enough money to support my daughter and provide for all her needs. We had all the material things we needed to survive, but somehow my inner hunger for a life partner led me in the wrong direction.

Parenting helped me discover that I have a giving heart. I found joy in providing for my daughter and seeing her face light up. This birthed a strong desire within me to help others. I know what it’s like to be in need so when I see someone with a need my instinct is to help them. I find myself having a desire to make their load lighter. So I try my best to help them in any way I can. I give the encouragement I know I would need if I were them.

I know what it’s like to have a longing for something in my heart and I know what it is like to be broken. I also know what it is to feel hopeless and shattered because the one you trusted to protect your heart left you in pieces instead. So when I come across someone who feels shattered or lost, my heart is lead to encourage and help uplift. I don’t want anyone to feel the emptiness I struggled with in my past.

Image Source Read more ›

Anchored in Hope

June 16, 2017June 16, 2017 by madepiecebypiece ♥ 5 Comments

Healing is one of the hardest things to try to do
It feels nearly impossible when you feel broken

You grieve what was lost, even if it was not meant to be

Seasons come and seasons go

They bring joy and laughter

They leave behind emptiness and sorrow

No matter how deep the loss or the pain

We must keep going forward

We fall and we stumble

But we must rise, we must keep seeking

Storms press us, mold us and stretch our limits

But they must not keep us down

When we feel hope is completely lost

We are blessed with a new day

Bright sunshine that illuminates the sky

The darkness from yesterday is overshadowed by light

It is when we get back up that we find new strength

It is there we find purpose Read more ›

The Start

May 12, 2017September 21, 2017 by madepiecebypiece ♥ 4 Comments

There is so much about me that I could write, but first and foremost the most important thing anyone should know is that I Love God. After being part of a small group hosted my cousin on the book Fervent by Priscilla Shier, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me it was time to be obedient and to BOLDLY speak against the spirit of fear and allow God to use me.

I love to write and have gone back and forth with the idea of starting a personal blog for a while now. During this study, God revealed to me that it was time to stop letting fear run my life and time to listen to the still small voice that has been speaking to my spirit for so long. A fire ignited within me and I spent days thinking and compiling lists of potential blog names that represented who I am and also what I desired to share with my readers. I wanted this blog to encourage others and also help keep me accountable and encouraged as well.

Every time I thought I had the perfect name I found that the domain was either taken or the next day I changed my mind. I even went as far as to request ideas from a very close friend and also from my daughter. Fear kept trying to move in speaking lies by telling me I had nothing to say that could help others, that my past made me unqualified to be an encourager, and that my words would be rejected by others. Despite these feelings of inadequacy that were trying to control my mind, I know fear is not from God, so I stood still and waited for God to lead me. Read more ›