Good Evening Gorgeous Friends,

Today kicks off our Thanksgiving Break. We are off until November 30th. The kids and I have been looking forward to this break and time to play.

This past week was a tough one for me. I opened up with my friends during our blogger chat today about the struggle I had this week, and they encouraged me and prayed for me. I also leaned on my two closest friends this week, and they spoke truth into me.

The struggle caught me off guard because I was battling some negative thoughts and lies of the enemy that I thought I was already victorious over. I thought the battle was behind me, but what I realized is that I have to stay in victory. Yes, I have been given the victory before, and so I know I can be victorious again. To stay in victory, I must keep leaning on Jesus.

Both my husband and my dear blogger friends told me that I must be close to something big and the enemy is fighting against it. I have jumped into a few new things lately, and I can feel myself being stretched and growing. And with new growth in my walk with Jesus, comes new Holy Spirit power, and also new opportunities to spread the gospel. This usually comes with opposition from the enemy.

I don’t plan on backing down or shrinking back, so instead I will learn to be strengthened to withstand the attacks and hold ground already won and also advance into new territory.

I won’t lie, its downright hard at times. Through tears, I told my friend Christy that I just wanted to hide. But, I won’t. I won’t hide or be silent. I have five precious children who are watching me, and my victories are their victories. And, there are people who need the message of the gospel inside of me. I won’t be silent.

I will fight back against the lies of the enemy because there is an assignment on my life that I intend to carry out. The Lord has promised that He has good plans for my future.

So I will partner with what He says.

I will continue to share His Word.

I will continue to encourage women.

And I will continue to raise my children to be bold in their faith.

Some days it seems easy like second nature, other days it’s like climbing a mountain. But everyday, its God’s equipping grace that makes it happen.

So…. my husband who watched me battle this week and encouraged me with truth all week, surprised me today by coming home from work early and packing up our van for an afternoon at the beach!!

The beach is my favorite place on earth. The moment we pulled over the bridge and turned onto the island, I could feel tension melting away.

We sat on the beach playing praise and worship music, and watching the kids play. We only had the three littles and Maxwell with us. Our two older kiddos were paintballing. (Which… ouch! They both came home with bruises!)

Here are some pics from our afternoon..

Friends, a few closing thoughts for all of us when we struggle with negative thoughts.

Feelings come and go. Even if you are feeling sad today and you think you may feel this way forever. The feeling will lift. No one feeling lasts forever. Feelings come and they go.

We serve a God of truth who doesn’t shame us, guilt us, or hurt us. If the thoughts are shaming or condemning, they are not from God.

Test every thought against what God says about you. When you have a yucky day and the thoughts are painful, write them down and then find scripture that counters the lies. Speak God’s truth right back to the dark.

Tell someone when you are struggling. Don’t let pride keep you silent. We are all human and when we drop the mask and get real with eachother, healing happens and relationships move from surface level to something deeper and more authentic.

I am not ashamed to share that life gets hard sometimes. I also will share that we have weapons to fight back! And with scripture, praise, prayer, and support, we can stand our ground and be victorious.

Our victories move us ahead and into our God given destinies.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Equip us to keep moving ahead in faith toward all that You are calling us to. Make us bold people of faith who share the good news of Jesus Christ every where we go!

In Jesus’s name, Amen.