Amanda Lewallen

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Archives for December 2020

Light in the Darkness

Walking through the darkness feels like the weight of a hundred unanswered prayers pressing down. Ever noticed that life marches…
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The truth is, we’re all sheep. The only thing

The truth is, we’re all sheep. The only thing that matters is that we know the Shepherd.

An event, or even a feeling, can hold both grief a

An event, or even a feeling, can hold both grief and glory at the same time. Ever felt the moment when your hurt becomes holy? When mere pain seeps into the sacred? When loneliness and lack lead straight into the abundant arms of the Creator? Tragedy and victory cross paths on Golgatha where death becomes just a life-giving road back home. Things may look hard right now. We’re all carrying our own unspeakable wounds around with us- the ones only we and Jesus know about. I don't know what yours looks like, but what if the unshakable grace of God is the only thing that’s really real in the end? Not the mess left behind by the things we’ve done or the things that have been done to us? Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
So great is His unfailing love. Lamentations 3:32. #emotionallyhealthyspirituality #christianmentalhealth #lamentations #soulcare #liturgicalliving #faithandmentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #seekingchrist #hopewriters #hopewriterlife

It is a holy thing to be loved exactly as we are.

It is a holy thing to be loved exactly as we are. The God who fills the earth with breathtaking splendor knows the innermost depths of your heart. You were on His mind in the tomb, and you’re on His mind today too. #emotionallyhealthyspirituality #christianmentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #soulcare #faithandmentalhealth #seekingchrist #fullyloved #fullyknown

We adopted our youngest son from foster care. He s

We adopted our youngest son from foster care. He spent the better part of three years in the lingering, belonging to us but not quite. The in-between, no man’s land of biological family visits and stable family home is a hard place to be for a child no matter how you try to soften it, no matter how tightly you hold them. But it’s his story. The need to be loved and to belong is like air to all of us. As basic as any other survival need. Way back in foster care training, we were told it’s common for foster children to sneak food and keep it in their beds. And sure enough, a few weeks ago as I was straightening my son’s room, I saw a cache of granola bars, crackers, and some leftover candy from a recent birthday party. My heart tore a little as I remembered. Kids who don't quite get the you-belong-to-me-forever-and-for-always-no-matter-what right at the start, sometimes reach for the tangible basic need of food because who wouldn't clutch at the one basic need they could surely control? Their minds haven’t yet figured out there's plenty- plenty of food, plenty of love, plenty of comfort for every ache. God isn’t angry or disappointed when we turn back up begging for bread, worrying yet again that He won’t meet our needs. Maybe His heart tears a little when He sees that we don’t quite get it yet, but His response is always to overflow into us. To remind us. He rained down bread from heaven for the Israelites and commanded them to eat it all just so He could do it again the next day. And the next. And then again the next. Trust isn’t so much built in a single epic moment, but in a reliable string of small ones. Give us our daily bread, God. Day after day after day until we don’t have to clutch and grab and wonder for our portion anymore. You are bread to us and You will meet our needs.

Take heart today- all is not lost because YOU are

Take heart today- all is not lost because YOU are not lost. He has already found you and He will never let you go. #emotionallyhealthyspirituality #christianmentalhealth #soulcare #liturgicalliving #mentalhealthmatters #faithandmentalhealth #hopewriterlife #hopewriters #christianinspiration #depressionawareness #anxietyawareness

I don’t know who needs this today, but you are n

I don’t know who needs this today, but you are not stuck in your hard thing. Yeah, I know it sure feels like you are. It’s been a long, hard season and maybe we’re all just trying to gain a foothold somewhere. For those of us who’re hobbling our way through hard things, it can feel alternatively like a slippery slope or like we’re stuck in the mud and the muck. Either way, there’s a lack of forward motion. The feeling of not gaining ground, or even losing it, can lead to hopelessness. Yesterday I sat in my hard place and listened to my husband read Joshua 1:3 “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses” (ESV). And I wondered, what if we don’t have to fight being stuck or sliding, what if we just have to stand still for a moment? The ground beneath my feet righted itself and smoothed back out and I felt myself steady. What if it’s not so much about losing ground or gaining ground? For all of us afraid we’re stuck in old patterns or sliding down into despair, what if we’re really standing in the fertile ground of mercy and grace? He’s already given us the ground we’re standing on. You’re not losing ground, you’re gaining it. That slippery slope and that mud pit belongs to Him, and the ground of the next step is His to give to you. Let His authority steady your feet. Wherever you are in your healing journey, let the sole of your foot touch one step further today. Just keep going. Photo: Little Joshua Tree, California #emotionallyhealthyspirituality #christianmentalhealth #ptsdawareness #ptsdrecovery #cptsdrecovery #hopewriterlife #hopewriters #faithandmentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #joshuatreenationalpark

Do you realize that all the wealth of his extravag

Do you realize that all the wealth of his extravagant kindness is meant to melt your heart and lead you into repentance? Romans 2:4 TPT He loves with extravagance, despite our brokenness. Repentance and shame are not the same. I’ve noticed in my own spiritual life how shame and repentance become intertwined in our minds. Shame separates and isolates because, at its core, shame is the belief that we are inadequate and insufficient somewhere in the depths of our being. That who we are is somehow less than the others around us. Shame spreads over our skin and clogs our throats, encasing us in the fear that others will see what lies inside. The belief that shame is what God means by the healthy spiritual practice of repentance is a lie from the pit of hell. Shame leaves us paralyzed, while repentance leaves us changed. Jesus came to take our shame free and clear, and repentance is the door that leads us to His heart. God’s desire is for us to learn to discern what doesn’t belong to us- the words and actions of others that may have caused us to doubt who we are. The whispered lies that we’re not really loved, not really worth loving after all we’ve done. None of those beliefs are true, we know that instinctively down deep, His desire is for us to learn to tell ourselves the truth in a healthy way- what doesn’t belong to us and what does. An honest account of ourselves when we’ve grieved God or another isn’t a place of fear. In that healthy space we get to experience the wonder of being authentically loved by the God of the universe in spite of ourselves because His heart is quick to forgive. Repentance soaks the soul in salvation without fear. Everything He gives us to do is meant to draw us ever closer, not shame or separate. #emotionallyhealthyspirituality #christianmentalhealth #christianencouragement #forgiveness #spiritualpractice #extravagantlove #spiritualgrowth #compeltraining #hopewriters

Anxiety. Depression. PTSD. The weight of the world

Anxiety. Depression. PTSD. The weight of the world as it spins out of our control. Old patterns and uncomfortable thoughts can take center stage and before we know it, we’ve forgotten who we are: Beloved. Our mental health is important to God. We know this because He spent so much time in scripture on themes of reassurance, love, compassion, and care. He is a God of all the feelings and we are made in His image. When we struggle with mental health challenges, it’s always appropriate to seek help from experts in the field when we need it. The God of compassion gives us many options for care, symptoms management, and wise counsel. But as we walk the path, let’s soothe the symptoms with the Word. Over the next 31 days, let your fists uncurl and your stomach unclench as you read a verse each day to remind you that you are safe, you are held, you are beloved. He is a God we can trust. I hope this calendar serves you well. You can use the calendar itself for daily reference and the verse cards can be cut out and read through one at a time. Let yourself linger in each verse as you go through your daily quiet time. (If you don’t have a daily quiet time, now is a great time to start!). May His love and comfort wash over you like a balm. DOWNLOAD THE FREE CALENDAR AND CARDS by following the link in my bio. #christianmentalhealth #emotionallyhealthyspirituality #faithandmentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #ptsdawareness #mentalhealthawareness #hopewriters #hopewriterlife #anxietyawareness

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