Puzzle pieces.

Pieces of a puzzle lay on a table in my home. Some day it will be completed. I occasionally walk by and find a piece that fits and connect it.

Life is like a puzzle at times. There can be many areas that are disorganized or lost.

I look back on my life and can see where everything seemed to be off kilter. I was often frustrated and even wondered what was my purpose.

I was running from God. I didn’t realize it then, but I was trying to figure out my next steps on my own.

God was arranging the pieces of my life, even though they seemed scattered and lost to me.

God was there, even when I didn’t think I needed help. He took a broken, wandering soul and put her in the mission fields of Peru. It’s there where I finally realized my life purpose.

God can take the broken, disorderly pieces of your life and fit them together again.

There’s no life so broken that it’s beyond God’s ability to repair. Trust God with the puzzling pieces of your life today.

Psalm 147:3 - “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Dianne PetreyComment
Identity

Galatians 3:29 - “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

I’m blessed to be a mom, wife, sister, aunt and grandmother.

Identity. Is it chosen, or are you given your status by others?

Growing up in a large family has given me some wonderful memories. Family traditions brought us all together, no matter what was going on in our individual lives.

I struggled as a teenager after losing my dad at the age of ten. The only thing that saved me from losing myself was giving my life to Christ. And even then, who I appeared to be was far from who I am today.

It took many years before I let go of the world’s standards and let God fully in my life.

Our experiences, culture and relationships help form our identity. But if you lean solely on these things, your foundation can be shaken or crumble with any change in your life.

The only true lasting identity is found in Jesus. Finding my worth in Christ turned my life around forever.

Your circumstances don’t define who you are.

Don’t let your current situation distract you from what God is speaking to you in this season of life.

Choose your identity in Christ alone.

Dianne PetreyComment
Stalled

I wrote a post once about me being stuck on a railroad track, while my truck stalled and wouldn’t move forward. A train was approaching and I was scared. I finally managed to put it into gear and escape a horrible accident.

God was in that moment, just as He is in every day of my life. He was trying to get my attention.

I gave my life to Christ as a teenager and even then, rebelled and tried to live life on my own.

None of us know the mind of God, but I can imagine that it’s hard to work in someone’s life when they don’t want the help.

Like a stalled car, there were decades of my life where I stopped living for God, and tried to figure it out myself.

I’m so thankful that God never gave up on me. He picked me up and turned my life around.

God can pick up the broken pieces of your life and put them back together again. He’s done it in my life. He can do it in yours.

Open your heart to Him today and let Him help you get started on a new path.

James 3:2 - “We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.'“

Dianne PetreyComment
Encounters

If you have God in your life you’ll be able to see that God is in every part of your life. He meets His people in many ways. Through our victories, trials, His Word (the Bible), other people and through our circumstances.

Through my struggles and heartaches I can look back and see God in the thick of it. There were times when I brushed it off as good fortune or luck, but I can’t dismiss or neglect to thank God every day for bringing me to where I am today.

Many let the circumstances of their lives define who they are. I’ve done it. Feeling sorry for myself. Wondering why others appear to have an easy life while I struggle daily.

I hope my story motivates you to seek encounters with God.

Seeking God helps us to navigate through the ups and downs of life. If we set out to encounter God today, we will find strength for any battle sufficiency of His power for any moment.

When was the last time you encountered God?

Matthew 7:8 - “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Dianne PetreyComment
Plans

For many, the year of 2020 halted plans. Vacations were cancelled. Future moves and careers were put on hold. Our lives transitioned into something none of us had ever experienced.

Was this God’s plan? Are you blaming God for the pandemic that touched every part of our world? Did He get your attention?

I can’t speak for God, but I do know that He has plans for me and you.

Life is a journey, not a marathon. We must persevere through the difficult times. But we must recognize that we can’t do this on our own.

What about you? Is God in your plans? Is He a part of your life that you devote to daily, or are you squeezing Him in when your schedule is open?

I’ve learned that accepting the things I cannot change is stepping out in faith in Christ. I look at each day as a gift from God, and learn to accept the path that God has for me.

Does hope feel like a distant dream to you? Have you felt powerless when things get out of control?

Let God calm your thoughts and fears and give you the direction you seek. We don’t have the answers but God promises to always be with us.

God’s promises never change. Let Him make the plans of tomorrow.

Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Dianne PetreyComment
Left alone.

My mom was widowed three times. I have a sister and a friend who both lost their husbands. I can’t even imagine how this feels.

Dear friends, when you pray tonight, pray for the widows and widowers.

It says in the Bible that we are to be a ‘defender of widows.’ (Psalms 68:5).

Husbands hug your wives tonight. Wives, treasure the days you have with your husband.

Pray for those left alone, that God’s presence is their comfort and His voice is heard in the still of the night.

None of us know what the day will bring or if the plans of yesterday will come to fruition.

Take heart in God’s presence and pray for the lonely hearts.

1 Timothy 5:8 - “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Dianne PetreyComment
The heart.

February is heart month. It’s when we celebrate those who have had heart issues.

But the heart is more than just a muscle. The heart is where our soul lives within us. It’s where we love. It’s where we give, and it’s where we can surrender our life to the One who created us.

Unfortunately, there are some whose heart is broken or just plain cold.

When you give your life to Christ, you give Him access to your heart. This may sound strange to those who don’t know God. I know I couldn’t imagine it before giving my life to Christ.

At the age of 16, in a little church in the foothills of West Virginia, I gave my life to Christ. And since then, my life has never been the same.

Make no mistake in thinking you can just give your life to Christ and do whatever you want.

When you give up your old life and turn it over to God, He claims access to your heart. He knows the motives of your heart.

The mouth speaks whatever is in the heart. Strive to have a pure heart.

Matthew 15:18 - “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.”

Dianne PetreyComment
He's in the ordinary.

There are millions of people today facing depression and loneliness.

These are trying times. Days of isolation for many can be devastating.

But, there is hope. Better days are coming.

No, I can’t predict the future, but I can tell you of someone that can help you.

God has been here from the beginning of time. He created every living thing. And God will be here in the end.

I didn’t always know this, and even when I became a Christian, I didn’t always believe it.

But the more I pursued God and the deeper our relationship became, I realized God is constant. He’s here with me in the good times and He’s always near in the trials and tragedies. He’s even with me in my normal day to day routine.

He promises to be there, wherever life takes you. Talk to God today. He’s right there.

God used ordinary people all throughout the Bible to show Himself to the people of those times. He can use you in your every day life to do the extraordinary.

Romans 12:2 - “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasingand perfect will.”

Dianne PetreyComment