I just finished reading the book, When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall. It’s about a seventeen year-old girl named Hannah who lives in Owl’s Perch, an Amish community. She ends up falling in love with a Mennonite named Paul and she must decide if what she and Paul share is worth severing the ties to not only her family but to her community or to bury her feelings with the departure of Paul returning to school. Not wanting to explore the idea of moving on, Hannah accepts Paul’s proposal, him promising they’ll figure out some way to overcome her father’s impending refusal to let his daughter marry outside the faith. On the night of their engagement, Hannah’s life is forever altered in the course of several minutes. I don’t want to give anything away but at the end of the book, Hannah comes to the realization that even though her plans may fall apart, God is still in control.
“As she stared through the window, a soft whisper crossed her soul. Nevertheless. It was an odd word coming to her at an odd time, but it kept circling through her mind, whispering hope. Life hurt. Nevertheless, it was a gift worthy of honoring. Nevertheless. The word came stronger this time, immediately lifting her spirits and causing sprigs of faith to grow.”
I looked up the definition of nevertheless and it means, “nonetheless; notwithstanding; however; in spite of that.” I think we all experience those times when we need the encouragement provided by such a word. Maybe you’re overlooked for a promotion at work. Nevertheless, God could be preparing a different job for you. Maybe the college you wanted to be accepted to turned you down. Nevertheless, God has an even better school in mind for you. Maybe, maybe, maybe. My point is that whatever life throws at us, nevertheless God still has a plan and He’s not caught off guard. We might be thrown for a loop but God never is. Nevertheless, God hasn’t forgotten us or left us to fend for ourselves (thank goodness!). I looked up the word nevertheless in the Bible and the search engine I used (biblegateway.com – it’s amazing!) said the word is recorded 34 times. I think that’s a fairly amount of instances so God must feel the word is important. I shared a message with the college group at my church a few weeks ago about how our plan B in life could be God’s plan A. Just because things don’t go the way we want them doesn’t mean we’re not exactly where God wants us. I think that’s the embodiment of nevertheless. Though life is full of ups and downs, nevertheless, God is never too busy with running the world to not care about the small things, like the fact I’m completely enamored with my new phone (see yesterday’s post).
My side of laughter today is some fun words to say. Please insert them in your everyday conversations. We need to inspire others to color their vocabulary with fun words.
~ Squishy – softly gurgling or splashing (I found other definitions but I liked this one best)
~ Humanoid – someone who isn't existing or answering you. Example: if you text someone and they don’t respond like they usually do, you respond "Humanoid..."
~ Hoity-toity – giddy
~ Awry – away from the expected or proper direction; amiss; wrong
~ Ostentatious – characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others (I don’t really like the definition but I think it’s just fun to say)
“As she stared through the window, a soft whisper crossed her soul. Nevertheless. It was an odd word coming to her at an odd time, but it kept circling through her mind, whispering hope. Life hurt. Nevertheless, it was a gift worthy of honoring. Nevertheless. The word came stronger this time, immediately lifting her spirits and causing sprigs of faith to grow.”
I looked up the definition of nevertheless and it means, “nonetheless; notwithstanding; however; in spite of that.” I think we all experience those times when we need the encouragement provided by such a word. Maybe you’re overlooked for a promotion at work. Nevertheless, God could be preparing a different job for you. Maybe the college you wanted to be accepted to turned you down. Nevertheless, God has an even better school in mind for you. Maybe, maybe, maybe. My point is that whatever life throws at us, nevertheless God still has a plan and He’s not caught off guard. We might be thrown for a loop but God never is. Nevertheless, God hasn’t forgotten us or left us to fend for ourselves (thank goodness!). I looked up the word nevertheless in the Bible and the search engine I used (biblegateway.com – it’s amazing!) said the word is recorded 34 times. I think that’s a fairly amount of instances so God must feel the word is important. I shared a message with the college group at my church a few weeks ago about how our plan B in life could be God’s plan A. Just because things don’t go the way we want them doesn’t mean we’re not exactly where God wants us. I think that’s the embodiment of nevertheless. Though life is full of ups and downs, nevertheless, God is never too busy with running the world to not care about the small things, like the fact I’m completely enamored with my new phone (see yesterday’s post).
My side of laughter today is some fun words to say. Please insert them in your everyday conversations. We need to inspire others to color their vocabulary with fun words.
~ Squishy – softly gurgling or splashing (I found other definitions but I liked this one best)
~ Humanoid – someone who isn't existing or answering you. Example: if you text someone and they don’t respond like they usually do, you respond "Humanoid..."
~ Hoity-toity – giddy
~ Awry – away from the expected or proper direction; amiss; wrong
~ Ostentatious – characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others (I don’t really like the definition but I think it’s just fun to say)
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