I was painting my nails recently and I remembered how it wasn't always easy to do when I was much younger, around 6 years old or so. It was so fun to paint my nails at that age. My mom would do it for me though because I wasn't used to holding the little brush and keeping my hand steady, especially with my non-dominant hand. If I did it by myself it wouldn't turn out the way I wanted it to.
Then one day I remembered asking my mom for help painting my nails and she said no. I started laughing because I thought she was joking but she wasn't. I asked her why and she said, "Because you won't learn how to do it by yourself." I knew she was right. It was challenging and I wanted to be good at it right away but it took time.
I can see times in my past and present that my Heavenly Father responds to me in a similar way. I might ask for something to be easy but because He cares about my growth and my heart, He will ask me to do things differently. When God asks me to do things differently, He is asking me to step out in faith and expectancy. I don't always get it right the first time but I finally get to that point where I have gained new ground because of Him and I can stand in faith in places where I once was too weak.
Hebrews 12:5-6 "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as His son."

Hello, regretfully I haven't posted in weeks. I've been so busy. I wanted to take a moment to share a praise report. I've noticed how God has really given me so much wisdom and has helped me to understand things and see circumstances in a different light. What I once would have let bother me, I now see that God is showing me that I can keep moving on with my life and keep serving Him with a happy heart, whether or not people agree with me, or if someone chooses to talk about me, or if someone is upset with me. What I feel like He is saying is that He can take care of me no matter what circumstance I'm in and I can't let things hold me back or distract me so much that it takes me off course. Before I would get so worried about the little things that my stomach would hurt and I'd get so nervous about what people thought about me or what tomorrow holds but that's not really living in freedom. When I choose to live that way I'm held captive by fear and worry. That's not how God wants us to live. I choose to confess His word and believe His Truth and expect Him to show up and I believe this with faith and a happy heart.

Hello :) just a thought that I wanted to add that has changed my world recently:
"Changing your perspective changes everything."