6 Keys To Overcome Dead Ends and Discouragement — A Blog Anniversary
FAITH BARISTA'S BLOG ANNIVERSARY IS HERE !
** BY GRACE ALONE NECKLACE GIVEAWAY **
To celebrate, I'm giving away Lisa Leonard Designs Necklace
This beautiful silver sterling necklace features a pendant
with the engraved words: by grace alone.
Enter the By Grace Alone Giveway At The End Of Today's Post !
I've poured you a fresh cup of java, with a view. Pull up a chair?
How do you overcome discouragement when you run into one dead end after another?
Anniversaries provide a wonderful moment to reflect on where we’ve been and the spot we’re standing today. As I step into this month of August, Faith Barista’s blog anniversary, I’m thankful to see you’ve stopped by for break.
Sit down. Take a load off your feet.
I know you only have a few minutes. Let me pour you a fresh cup of coffee, just like the virtual ones we’ve shared throughout this year.
You know, people sometimes say God is silent because He wants to teach us a lesson. I know they mean well, but I have discovered what God does best in the dark isn’t hiding. It’s not so much about instruction, but it’s all about relationship.
I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency of setting my heart to the side, to get through my days as best as I can. Days turn into weeks and before you know it, it’s not too clear what has happened between yesterday and today.
Where there is whitespace and my words comes to a drip, Jesus enters.
Can I come in?
He quietly knocks.
In a moment of intimacy, He assures me.
I know what your heart longs for.
I know what you need.
Just when I think He can’t, God surprises me. I go deeper with Him — and I find friends along the same journey of faith. Our paths all look different, but our goal is the same.
Jesus.
Your faith is like that first sip of caffeine in the morning. It stirs my heart.
I see Jesus in our stories: our pauses, our joys, the questions equally as intriguing as the answers.
I taste God’s grace.
How did Faith Barista first start, you ask?
Let me share a Faith Barista Anniversary reflection with you today. But, before I do, I want to say this –
Thank you, Jesus, for your grace that has brought me here.
Thank you, faith friends, for the stories you share,
as we look to find God fresh in our everyday lives,
and offer our journeys to each other as gifts.
As to how Faith Barista began, I’m remembering a story, told once upon a time…
Once Upon A Time
Iron gates in a garden where I often go for whitespace
If you’ve ever house sat or been volunteered to water your friend’s plants or feed her cat while she was away on vacation, you know how important the keys are.
After you’ve pawed under the mat or turned over the flower pot and come up empty, you figure she forgot to put the key out. The thought of shriveled ferns and a dried out feline drives you to hit the panic button.
You dial your friend’s number.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, you confess you can’t to find the keys.
You’re so sorry, but could the keys be somewhere else?
O, yeah. Your friend chuckles. I forgot. The keys are hanging on a nail. Behind the downspout. Near the back door.
Does this scene sound familiar?
I’m not simply talking about the keys to a house.
I’m talking about the keys to God’s plans for you.
You’ve prayed, read your Bible, and done everything you could possibly think of — to the best of your strengths and even to the detriment of your weaknesses.
But, the keys to your questions can’t seem to be found –
– that opportunity you’ve been knocking down doors to open
– that breakthrough you’ve been waiting for, hanging by a thread
– that big problem you’ve been trying to solve, failure instead of success.
What can you do?
Shock and Loss
I was processing a stack of mail when I pulled it out. It was an official looking envelope from the State of California. It’s the kind of letter you open right away.
Reminder: Your business state taxes are due by the end of the month.
I started a business and became a statistic.
In less than two years, I closed up shop and liquidated all inventory.
It was a shock to me and our bank account because it was the last thing I expected.
I crunched the numbers and accepted the risk. I became a entrepreneur because I believed God was in it 100%.
My needs were real. I was a new mom who needed a job with flexible hours and a greater desire to stay home with baby.
My priorities were godly. Motherhood and family. Slam dunk, right?
My prayers were answered. I prayed and sought God’s guidance for a year, as I did the market research, built a business plan, and prototype. At every intersection along the process, I saw God confirm prayers.
My due diligence. I sought wise counsel and applied my expertise from a career of releasing products for high tech corporations.
Business opened and sales looked promising. I was hopefully optimistic.
Then, the market crashed.
I Never Would’ve Guessed
What happened?
Why would He lead me down a path that He knew would not only be fruitless, but a loss?
The answers to this question merits a book, which I’d love to write one day.
But, I’m telling you this story because I sit here in the red years later, with a business closed and the door to a lifelong passion opened: my writing.
To market my product, I created a company blog.
I have always longed to pursue writing. But it passed me by like the midnight train to Georgia.
I faced one dead end after another. I gave up hope and resigned my writing life to an underground pursuit behind closed doors and a motley crew of notebooks.
Then, my business died, along with the company blog.
But, I didn’t want to stop writing.
If I blogged for a product, why can’t I blog for purpose?
What if I wrote about all this stuff in my journals and published it online?
Would anybody read it?
I would’ve never guessed in a thousand years I’d be here to celebrate the birth of Faith Barista Blog with you today.
My disbelief didn’t change God’s plans for me.
Yours won’t change His plans for you either.
The Doors We Cannot Open
Do you have a plan for your life that hasn’t gone the way you expected?
Are you confused to why God’s led you down one path and not another?
We can try to engineer the perfect solution, with sincerity and by faith.
But there are some doors that we cannot open.
6 Keys To Overcome Dead Ends and Discouragement
If you find yourself discouraged, remember the 6 Keys To Overcome Dead Ends and Discouragement:
1. God has the keys to your life and purpose.
2. God hasn’t forgotten to tell you where they are and you aren’t left out in the cold.
3. In His time and wisdom, God will open the doors of opportunity for you. No matter what.
4. No hardship or personal failure can keep that door from opening. No matter how late you think it is.
5. Stay faithful in unchanging situations, while God aligns the needed sequence of events with your heart.
6. If it is time to make changes, set them in motion.
Nothing is wasted. Everything done by faith that is unseen is visible and useful to God.
It may seem door after door is shutting closed in front of you, but God has his hand on the special ones reserved. Just for you.
At the right time, you will walk through them, with a smile on your face and amazement in your eyes.
“These are the words of him who is holy and true,
who holds the key of David.
What he opens no one can shut, and
what he shuts no one can open.”
Revelations 3:7
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What are your thoughts on today’s post?
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** By Grace Alone Necklace Giveaway **
To celebrate Faith Barist’a blog anniversary, I’ve lined up some goodies this month to usher in a new year of friendship! I’m kicking off the festivities by giving away a Lisa Leonard Designs necklace to ONE RANDOMLY SELECTED WINNER.
** Winner Update ** * Congratulations to By Grace Alone Giveaway winner #114 – Jeri T.!*
I purchased this same necklace after Faith Barista went live, to remind me how I can dare to be who God made me: by grace alone.
To Enter:
1. Share a comment or blog post by Midnight Wed 8/10/11.
For Extra Entries:
2. Subscribe to Faith Barista and leave an extra comment letting me know.
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Lindsey van Niekerk on Break Out Of The Shell Of Rejection: Four Golden Rules of Fearless Living
Katy on Break Out Of The Shell Of Rejection: Four Golden Rules of Fearless Living
A beautiful post, my friend.
BTW…I have liked The Faith Barista page and shared this post on Facebook. I also shared it on Twitter.
“Stay faithful in unchanging situations, while God aligns the needed sequence of events with your heart.” Wow….prone to wonder Lord, I feel it. I have a tendency to connect God answering the way I want Him to with His deep love for me. He IS teaching me to stay faithful, no matter the outcome. Thank you for this reminder today.
I like the idea that “It’s never too late.”
Bonnie, too many of us look back at the wasted years and figure, “Why try now.” But no matter what, you can always turn around and find your way home
David Rupert´s last [type] ..Do it Again Daddy!
Your words are so poignant for me today, Bonnie. I am in the middle of a major transition, and in the past month I have felt forgotten, discouraged and rejected. Thank you for sharing your story, and for the gentle reminder that God is always working. Your blog is such an encouragement and I celebrate with you on your blogiversary.
Keep following God’s direction in your life and taking us along for the ride!
Melissa Brotherton´s last [type] ..Summer Reading
Thank you so much for your specific keys to overcome discouragement. It is so helpful to have a focus on what to think about and work on while in moments of waiting.
For some reason I think to the verse…”The Lord God is my strength, and he has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:19 and Psalms 18:33) This for me paves a picture of my Lord setting me upon a journey to higher places that I would have never gone on my own. Sometimes our circumstances send us there, and sometimes He just picks us up, and before we know it, we are looking down on the valley we left behind, breathing in the sweet smell of a fresh mountainous air.
Thank you for pursuing your writing and for allowing the Lord to speak through you. It truelly blesses me.
Kristin
God bless you on your Blog-iversary and always! Thanks for all you do!
It helps me to overcome discouragement by remembering Godsvpast faithfulness in my life.
Email follower of yours
I’d LOVE to win!!!!
Thanks Bonnie. Gives me much hope at a much needed time.
I haven’t been able to link up with you in a while because things have been really busy for me, but just wanted to say congrats on the anniversary. Your blog and the community it has created has been a real blessing and getting to be a part is a real joy. Keep up the good work, friend
dunlizzie´s last [type] ..A Call to Pray
Happy blog anniversary, Bonnie! Your analogy with the keys is so true. We look and do and search where we know and what has worked in the past, but we forget it’s not about finding the answer, it’s about finding Him. Thanks for the great encouragement! Blessings…
Jason Stasyszen´s last [type] ..A Culture of Believing
You are one of the only people I can read who bullet-points things. I hate bullets as a general rule, but you have a unique gift of cutting through the static overdone with truth, simply put. I LOVE your blog, and I am so glad to know you, Bonnie!
Kelly Sauer´s last [type] ..Settled
Wow! I feel like you have spoken into my life. We have gone down a path (that we felt God led us to) that has come to failure, heartbreak, unemployment, and shattered dreams. Door after door after door continues to shut and I am left wondering. Thank you for sharing your story and encouragement. I’m sorry for your loss and so grateful for your gain.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy blogiversary! I look forward to many more years of reading your encouraging words.
Cynthia @ The Hippie Housewife´s last [type] ..My Parenting Wish: Through A Child’s Eyes
Thank you for encouraging us in our faith walk! God bless!
You are always so encouraging. And you are right on with God wanting your best. He doesn’t leave you in the dark for spite.
and I subscribe with an RSS reader.
So glad he knows what our heart longs for, what we need. And surprises us.
I’m so glad he led you to blog for purpose. We are all blessed. Nothing is wasted. Thanks, Bonnie!
My thought on this post? When you wrote, “people sometimes say God is silent because He wants to teach us a lesson.”
I immediately said to myself that’s wrong. God is silent because He’s too busy working behind the scenes, orchestrating something grand for our lives.
And here I am, wondering what God has in store for me. Cause He’s sure seemed quiet lately. =)
Rachel {the science of music}´s last [type] ..The MOB Society Blog Hop!
How fun! Happy Anniversary! I love coming here and being refreshed by your words.
I subscribe via google reader
Rambling Heather´s last [type] ..To Hide His Word ~Pursuit Of Authenticity~
Thanks, Bonnie – this was so good! So good to be reminded about closed doors, and open doors. And trusting God with every step, and every door. I needed to read this today.
Cherry´s last [type] ..Quiet Streams
Great words of encouragement, Bonnie, and happy anniversary! I just keep reminding myself that God always has a plan.
Lisa´s last [type] ..368 days ago
I also shared this post and giveaway on Facebook.
Lisa´s last [type] ..368 days ago
I’ve been sick this week, so I wasn’t able to have a post ready to link up this week, but I’m join in next week hopefully.
Your posts always include encouragement, and that truth is much appreciated, Bonnie. I have to remind myself that God’s plans are better than my plans, and His timing is not the same as my timing. When I remember how great He is, I’m reminded that I can trust Him with my plans and ask for my will to follow His will.
Thanks for hosting us each week. And happy blog anniversary!
Caroline´s last [type] ..What Happens When You’re Sick
I tweeted about this post and giveaway, too. (I’m @Keep_Tha_Faith) Thanks for the kind giveaway opportunity!
Caroline´s last [type] ..What Happens When You’re Sick
Bonnie, this post could not have come at a more appropriate time for me. I’m almost to tears reading it. Today another door has seemed to crack open only to let me look inside and to be aware it may never open. I feel like I could explode with passion, but have no direction on where to use this passion. I’m working hard to surrender my plans to Him and wait in expectation (Psalm 5:3). Sometimes that’s harder than other times. Thank you so much for the encouragement. It is always appreciated! Happy Anniversary!!!
Jennifer´s last [type] ..The Best Thing May Be the Hardest Thing
hi Bonnie, I have shared this on facebook and subscribe to your blog.
Angi´s last [type] ..Sharing a moment…
Happy Blog-iversary!! Your ministry is such a blessing to me. Thank you for your encouragements/.
Jenifer´s last [type] ..His Branch
I Facebooked your giveaway!
Jenifer´s last [type] ..His Branch
Oh how I LOVE this post. I totally get it and it’s so true that in hindsight the doors seem to be clearer and the place where the key is hidden becomes unveiled and even when it seems like we’ve been trying path after path. I’m definitely living out a similar, but different story now and being like “wha? god, really?” yet I am also clearly seeing His hand guiding and preparing with glimpses as well as surprises yet to come. Thank you again for sharing. Love you!
katy´s last [type] ..trust in the unknown
shared on twitter and facebook too—because i love this =)
katy´s last [type] ..trust in the unknown
Too often we look at failure as God’s punishment, instead, as you are pointing out, God’s gift. Just like any present, we should be excited about opening it, and cherish it with gratitude. Thanks, Bonnie–And Happy Anniversary
beautiful necklace, count me in please!
blessings,
shana
shana´s last [type] ..thrifty thursday
i subscribe to your blog by email, so i’ll take another entry please.
thanks,
shana
shana´s last [type] ..thrifty thursday
Thank you for this post. Yes, so many things either don’t look like I thought they would, or the steps are slow and I lose track, or I submerge the dream for years. Yet God be praised, he made who we are and he knows best! His timing is perfect and his love is never ending. Ah, to remember this.
Beth Werner Lee´s last [type] ..Feeling close
Thank you so much…this is exactly where I am at. Your blog was encouraging and is such confirmation that God will breakthrough and open doors in His perfect timing.
Blessings! Lisa
Subscribed to your blog too…another entry..yay!
And shared on Twitter..I am sure many will be encouraged!!
I have linked up my post! I am so thankful for you Bonnie, and for this community here. Happy blog anniversary! May God continue to bless your ministry to others. You are a treasure!
Barbie´s last [type] ..He Washes Over Me
I subscribe through Google Reader!
Barbie´s last [type] ..He Washes Over Me
I shared on Facebook!
I am a subscriber and I love your perspective on life.
It seems like everywhere I turn lately there has been the thought of “an open door before you”. I’m actively looking now. Thanks, Bonnie!
Elaine
I am ever so grateful of God closing your door so you could pursue your writing! I would never have gotten to know and cherish you otherwise. I know we have never met, but I feel like you are a friend and encouragement to me!!!!!!!!!
I know I haven’t shared much in the jam session for the last several weeks, so much has happened to keep me away from my writing.
Love you and Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!
Katie´s last [type] ..Worship
Shared on FB!
Katie´s last [type] ..Worship
I thought sure I left you a comment already. Apparently not.
Bonnie, this post came to me at just the right time. I was almost in tears reading it. My heart was so heavy today with an opportunity that may or may not happen. It’s a scary, beautiful thing trusting God when His ways are unknown. Thanks, Bonnie! Happy Anniversary!!! Your writings through this little spot in the blogging world has spoken so much truth into my life!
Jennifer´s last [type] ..A Cuddly Kind of Closeness
It was my computer, not my lack of posting. I think I need to go to bed.
Jennifer´s last [type] ..A Cuddly Kind of Closeness
Words that have stayed with me for years: God works everything for good–when all the pieces are together.
I lose my keys all the time. I’m glad He never does. That He’s got it all under control.
Wonderful post, Bonnie. Happy Blog Anniversary. And I just realized I was two years old last month!
Sandra Heska King´s last [type] ..Monday Meditation: Do You Love Him? Really?
I follow your blog now.
I posted your blog on Twitter
Donnajnew´s last [type] ..Our Doorstep