Trusting In 2017

Trusting is something that we all struggle with, no matter how strong we think we are or how strong we want to be in our faith.

We fail to trust God even though we know that He is big enough to take care of everything.

We fail to trust Him even though we read in His word time and time again about how faith can move mountains, how worrying can't add a day to our lives, and how we should trust in Him at all times.

Two years ago I wrote a post for another blog I had co-authored with my sisters. I wrote about trust being my word of the year. How I wanted to lean on God more and trust in His timing.

This year Emily and I were published. We had been trying to get our books out there to publishers for some time, and it was amazing to see that come to be for us. It was one of the things that I had been trying to trust God about a year earlier.

There are so many things that we need to trust in God for every day. Without His help and guidance, we get lost.

I need to look to Him for everything, or I find myself worrying and stressing over all of the little things in life.

God is big enough to take care of it all. Small things. Big things. The plans that we have for ourselves that don't turn out. The ones that do. God is there through it all.

He sees you. He knows you. He loves you.

God will never leave you or forsake you.

You can trust in Him and count on Him to be there to guide you every day.

Trusting in God is not easy, even if it is something that we have heard about and learned about a lot.

Trusting is leaving things up to God and counting on him to see us through. It means taking the pressure off of ourselves and letting our Him take over.

And trusting is something that every one of us needs to do in this upcoming year.

I hope that I am able to trust God more and fear less.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

Shepherds Were Visited by Angels

The shepherds were out in a field doing their job. They had a responsibility to the sheep in their care. They were supposed to watch over those sheep. That was it. That was their destiny.

The shepherds were tired. It was nighttime. They had spent the whole day working. They were looking for a chance to rest.

Suddenly, an angel appears. The shepherds had to wonder if they were dreaming. After figuring out that they truly were awake, they had to wonder if the angel was lost. Why would an angel appear to them? Why would an angel come to simple, ordinary men?

The shepherds might have wondered if they had done something wrong, if the angel had arrived to bring about justice. They might have feared for their lives. The words of the angel when he told them not to fear had to give them comfort.

Before the shepherds had the chance to get over the arrival of one angel, before they could figure out what had made them worthy of the visit of an angel, suddenly there was a whole crowd of angels in the sky. They were singing, celebrating, sharing an amazing message with the shepherds.

I'm thinking about the shepherds this year and what it must have been like for them as they were visited by angels. The Bible does not share a lot about these individuals. The Bible doesn't share why God chose to have angels visit simple people who were out doing their work. All we know is that the shepherds received a great surprise, and I am guessing that none of them ever forgot what happened on that special night.

Check out Luke 2:8-18 to read the shepherds' story.

By Emily Acker, co-author of No Longer Broken

Christmas Is About Giving AND Receiving.

We so often say that Christmas is about giving.

That because God gave his son, that is why we give to others.

That Christmas is about the time that we spend family, the gifts that we wrap up for them, and not about ourselves.

But it should be about us, too.

It should be about us and the relationship that we have with God.

We are celebrating Jesus' birth on Christmas, and because of that, the day should be about receiving Him. It should be spent thinking about the incredible gift that God has given us in His Son.

Jesus came to earth, was born in a manger, lived like a human, and then died a painful death. But that wasn't the end.

He took away our sins in His death. And He rose to life again.

So, this Christmas, remember that it isn't all about us giving presents to others, or even spending time with them.

Christmas is about God's gift to us.

And it should be about us receiving that gift and thanking God for it.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 
John 3:16


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

It Is Important That We Obey God Rather Than Human Beings.

In Acts chapter 5, Peter says, "We must obey God rather than human beings!"

I was reading this the other day, and it made me think. We too often listen to human beings for advice. We listen to them and we do what they want of us because we think that they know best.

But God is only one who truly knows what is right for us. He is the only one who we should be listening to.

Not even good and smart people, such as pastors or teachers, know as much as God. We are all human. We are all flawed. The ones who we are looking up to will all let us down at some point.

Does this mean that we can never take advice from a human being? No. But we should be careful when we do.

We shouldn't rush into putting anyone on a pedestal. We shouldn't feel that there are some people that can play God for us.

We should read our Bibles more. We should study up on what is right and good. We should listen to God and obey him over anything that a human has to say.

Peter is standing up for what he believes in in this chapter. He is risking getting into deep trouble for saying that he is going to obey God and not humans.

If in that situation, would we be able to do the same?

This is something we should all think about. Consider who we listen to for parenting or relationship advice. Think about what we are doing with our careers and every other aspect of our lives. Are we listening to God in all of this, or man?


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

"Finding Faith" is Not Something that Happens Just Once

There are times when you hear of someone "finding faith". We even use that term at times when we are telling about our book and the story that happens in it. Isaiah sets out to make changes in No Longer Broken after "finding faith". That is a term that is used for a person coming to God for the first time, but it is also something that we have to do every day. We don't just "find faith" one time and then trust God with everything for the rest of our lives, we have to make the decision to trust him every day, and we have to "find" our faith each day.

When I wake up in the morning, I have to find faith. I have to trust in God to get me through the day. I have to look to him and have faith in him if I am going to get through all that the day brings.

When I am nervous about something that is going on in my life, I need to pray to God for faith. I have to ask him to give me the faith to believe that things will turn out fine.

When the world seems to be going crazy and everyone is pushing an agenda that disagrees with what I believe, I have to find faith and trust that God has everything under control.

Finding faith is about so much more than just a one-time coming to God, it is about trusting him each day and believing that he has the world in his hands. I have to ask him for faith before I can start the day, and I have to remember to trust in him as the day goes on. I have to try to believe, try to hold on to faith, no matter what comes my way.

There is a kids song that talks about faith and that encourages children not to be afraid. It talks about God being someone who is great and able to handle our problems. We need to find faith like the song suggests, and we need to hold on to that faith as we go about each day.

Choose to "find faith" once again today.

By Emily Acker, co-author of No Longer Broken

If We Do Enough Good, We Will Be Saved... Right?

If you are under the impression that doing good works will save you, then it is time that you knew how wrong you are.

And how amazing God's grace is.

God doesn't demand any of us to do a certain list of things in order to gain salvation. He doesn't say that we need to work harder, or be better people, in order to get into Heaven.

No.

God's gift is free.

God's gift is good.

And He wants nothing more than for you to accept it and be free.

Free from the thought that works will save you. Free from the thought that you are not good enough.

In the book of Ephesians says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast."

God is very clear about this.

He wants us to know that his son's death on the cross is enough to save us. 

We are only human, after all. Why would we think that God would allow us into Heaven because of anything that we could do? Do we not realize how great and awesome and powerful our God is? He can make anything happen. He can choose to do what he wants with us.

And he has chosen to give us the freedom to accept or decline the gift that he is offering.

Salvation is a beautiful gift. It is the best gift that you could ever receive.

Know that your works will get you no where. But that salvation will mean everything.

God loves you and wants you and wants you to be his. He sent his son to die to give you eternal life. It is not by works that you can be saved, but only through his amazing grace.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled. Something Better Is Coming.

In John chapter 14, Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled. He tells us to believe in Him. Further into the chapter, He tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus loved us and showed that love by dying for us. By coming back to life for us.

When we accept that gift that He is offereing, to take away our sins, we are made brand new. We have a whole new life not only on earth, but also one to look forward to in Heaven.

So don't let your hearts be troubled.

Don't be afraid of the things going on in this world. Don't stress out about your life and all of the things that you just can't control.

Instead, trust God. Believe in Him. Thank Jesus for saving you.

We all need to remember that Heaven is waiting.

And Heaven is bigger, better than anything we know on earth.

And although this is our home for now, it is not our only home.

When we believe in Jesus, when we have asked him to take away our sins and enter into our life, we have a whole new home to look forward to.

Something better is coming.

So don't let your hearts be troubled, but believe in Him.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

I Will Lift My Eyes.

"I will lift my eyes to the Maker 
of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You."

Last week I shared a post written around the song "One Thing Remains", and this is another of my favorite songs.

This song encourages us to look beyond ourselves. To know that our Maker is out there, and that he has made the mountains and the earth.

The song reminds us that God is the Calmer of wild oceans, and that anything is possible through him.

And it tells us that he is our Healer. He is there for us when we need him.



The presidential election is taking place today. I'm sure many people are biting their nails waiting to hear the results. It's a big deal. This next president will be the leader of our country for the next four years. We want the right person to get in to lead our country.

And we need to be praying today.

We need to also remember that God is in control.

That no matter who gets in that will not change.

Of course we want what is best for our country. We should. But no matter what happens, we will still have a good God to call Father.

A God who made the mountains, who calms the oceans.

A God who loves you and me more than we could ever know.

And God is in control.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

God's Love Never Fails.It Never Gives Up. And Nothing You Do Will Make Him Give Up On You.

We find ourselves in dark places at times.

Maybe we are ashamed of all that we have done wrong. And instead of asking for forgiveness, we keep digging a deeper hole for ourselves.

We keep doing the destructive things that we know we should avoid. We fail our friends, our family.

Maybe we even abandon those we love in one way or another. If not physically, then emotionally.
We make mistakes. We make bad choices. We sin.

And maybe all of this goes on for years. Decades, even.

We have done so much wrong, and for so long, that we feel distant from God.

We believe the lie that he will never forgive us.

We believe that we have done too much wrong for him to care about us.

We have been lying, hurting others, cheating, disrespecting the gifts that God has given us. Why would he love us?

God's love is unexplainable.

It's unfathomable.

It's endless.

And God's love never fails.

As one beautiful song says of God, "Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me."

God loves us just as we are.

God loves us despite our many mistakes.

God knows how many times we have failed him, and yet he wants us still.

He never gives up on us.

His love is there for you, for me, no matter what we have done.

His love is so great that it never runs out. There is nothing that we can do that will make him stop loving us.

God is great. He is full of grace. He is merciful. And he is loving.

And if you have been making mistakes and choosing the wrong things in life, then it is time for you to realize that. It's time for you to turn around and start doing what is right. And it is time for you to accept God's love for you.

He loved you so much that he died for you. He realizes that you are a sinner, and he wants to save you from the way you are living. His love his waiting, and all that you need to do is to accept it.



In No Longer Broken, Isaiah has been running from his past. For fifteen years he's been hiding from the mistakes that he's made. He's hurt his brother in a deep way. He's abandoned his son. He's been hiding.

And because of all of the hiding and running he's done, he has hurt himself and others.
But in the novel you will find that he has accepted God's love. And because of that, he is able to reconnect with those he left behind. There are struggles that he must face, but because of God's love he is able to make things right.

God's love is amazing, and I hope that you are able to see that today.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

There Is Hope For Everyone. Jesus Gave His Life For All.

You might feel that you are beyond hope.

Maybe you feel that you have done too many wrongs in your life, and that you might as well give up on thinking that God could ever love you.

But guess what? He does love you.

He cares for you.

He wants you to seek him and ask for forgiveness. And he is always willing to forgive.

There is hope for everyone in every situation and circumstance because God loves everyone.

God wants what is best for us. He wants us all to find him and to accept his gift of life, of salvation.

Jesus died on the cross for sinners. Any sinner who comes to him asking for forgiveness will get it thanks to his grace.

So never believe the lie that there is no hope for you.

Never think that it is too late.

If you want to accept God's gift today, then do it. Allow him to take away your sins and make you new.

It is not too late for you. He loves you and wants you, no matter how many mistakes you have made.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

Standing Up to Help - Ready to Change the World - Part Eight

She drew in a deep breath and looked out at the crowd before her. She felt her knees shake as she realized just where she was and just what she was about to do. These were her classmates, students who had been by her side as she worked through homework problems and took exams. These people were a part of her life each day. How could she stand up in front of them and share her heart?

How could she not? These were the exact people who needed to hear the message that she had to share. It was teens like the ones in front of her that she wanted to talk to, that she wanted to help.

After her own school, there would be other schools that she would speak in front of, other groups of students who would hear her message.

She watched as a girl in the front row of the audience fidgeted on her seat, the girl next to her obviously playing a game on her phone. These teens didn’t want to sit through a lecture. They didn’t want to hear another speech. These kids would rather be anywhere but in the seats that they were in.

She sighed. Somehow she was going to have to make her message something that others would listen to and that they would think about. She needed to find a way to touch the hearts of those who were listening to her today.

She turned her gaze to the woman sitting at the side of the crowd. That woman stood with her completely and understood all that she was about to share. That woman knew the pain that suicide could bring. She had lost her son.

Turning her gaze away from her boyfriend’s mom, she took in another deep breath. She said a quick and silent prayer. It was time to get started.

She cleared her throat then looked out at the crowd, meeting the gaze of one student, then the next. “Suicide is not the answer, and it will never be the answer. Suicide does more damage than those who choose it will ever know. The pain that is left behind after a suicide is pain that does not go away. It might fade, but it does not disappear.”


THE END

By Emily Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

Check out part one here!

Trusting God Even When We Feel Like We Know More than He Does

"...Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10

Awhile back, I wrote about the need to trust God with our lives and the peace that comes about when we trust him. I was thinking on this some more, though, and I know that this is something that is hard for most of us. Because, even when we think that we're trusting God, a lot of the time we are still doubting him in our heads.

"I trust you to take over my life, God." Wait, wouldn't things be better if you helped me be more successful? I could touch more lives if you helped me get famous.

"I trust you to make everything work out in the best way, God." Don't you want her to be doing something different with her life? Don't you think that things would work out better for you if you changed that person?

We can say that we trust God, but there are times when we feel like we know more than him and we can figure things out in a way that will better help him. We ask God to lead our lives, but we don't always actually let him do that. We need to be all in when we are trusting God, and we need to trust him even when things don't make sense to us.

God knows more than we know. He can look at the big picture and make things work out in the way that is truly best. Trusting in him is important, even when we are not sure why he is working in the way that he is.

By Emily Acker, author of No Longer Broken

Pain that Lasts - A Girl Trying to Move On - Part Seven

How could he do this to me? How could he leave me? We were in love. She lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She felt like someone had reached inside her and taken hold of her heart. It felt like someone was squeezing that heart. Pinching it. Twisting it. They wouldn’t let go.

She rolled onto her side. She had never felt the kind of betrayal that she felt now. He had left her and she would never be the same.

What did I do wrong? Did I fail him in some way? She felt tears fall down her face and she ignored them. They had been falling off and on since she got the news. I must have done something wrong, otherwise he wouldn’t have chosen to leave.

A quiet knock came at her bedroom door, and she sat up on her bed as her dad moved into the room. He had concern written on his face as he approached her. “Sweetie…” He reached out and wiped her tears with his thumb.

“How could he leave me?” She whispered, falling into his arms as he knelt beside the bed. “How could he just go away? How could he be so selfish?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. I don’t know.” Her dad held her close, his hand running up and down her back. “If I could take your pain…”

She swallowed hard. Her dad didn’t know how close she had been with her boyfriend. If he knew, he wouldn’t be acting as comforting as he was now. She had done things with her boyfriend that he never would have approved of, and now her boyfriend was gone.

“I don’t know what made him make the decision that he did, sweetie,” her dad said softly. “But I do know that he messed up. He had a beautiful girl like you loving him, and he chose to leave that behind.”

“He chose to die,” she whispered. “Why would he choose to die? Did he know that it would hurt me like it does? Did he know, and he still did it?”

“Sweetie, I don’t think he was thinking about you when he made his decision,” her dad said. “He needed help, and he didn’t get that.”

“I wish that he would have told someone, that he would have gotten the help that could have saved him.” She closed her eyes, her body resting against her dad’s. She wanted to turn back time. She wanted to help her boyfriend. She would give anything to be there for him, to stop him from giving up on life.

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had to believe that her boyfriend hadn’t known the kind of pain that he would cause in dying. She had to believe that if she was going to go on. He had loved her. He wouldn’t cause this amount of pain knowlingly. He cared about her too much to do that.

By Emily Acker, author of No Longer Broken

Scroll through the blog to find the earlier parts of the story, or find Part One of the story here and work your way through it from the beginning.

Faith Is Being Sure Of What We Do Not See. It's Trusting In Someone Greater Than Us. And Faith Is Difficult.

Faith is so hard. It's believing what we can't see. It's trusting in Someone greater than us.

Faith is difficult because it means letting go.

It means allowing God to take over. It means no more stressing. No more planning and thinking about the what-ifs in life.

Faith means that we believe in something bigger than ourselves, and while faith can be comforting, the thought of it can be confusing and hard.

There are times when we will want to make it on our own.

There are times when we will lose sight of our faith and we will start doubting.

And those times will be challenging.

Because no matter how much we feel that we can make it on our own, that we can plan out the future and make everything work out for ourselves, the truth is that we can't.

We need God's help.

We need the love, the care, that He offers.

We need to believe in Him and have faith that everything will work out for the best. When we do that, everything will be alright.

Believing without seeing is not easy. Letting go of our future, of our lives and our aspirations, is not easy.

But with God, with true faith in Him, our lives will be better than ever before.

Girl Loses Her Love - A Life Shattered by Loss - Part Six

She looked over at her mom, who stood in her bedroom doorway. The expression on the woman’s face wasn’t good. It looked as if her mom might have been crying. Her gaze was haunted.

She watched her mom move into her bedroom, longing to send her away so that she wouldn’t have to hear any horrible news. She didn’t want to find out that something had happened to her dad or to her brother. She didn’t want to deal with a loss of any kind.

“Honey…” Her mom lowered herself onto the bed beside her. “Honey, there’s something that I have to tell you.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Her mom wrapped her arms around her. “I received a call…”

“No, Mom.”

“Honey, he’s… he’s gone.”

She knew right away just who her mom was talking about. She felt like she had been punched in the gut as she tried to process what her mom had said. Gone? What does that mean?

“I’m so sorry, honey. I know that you loved him…”

She wiped at her eyes, at the sudden tears making their way down her face. “No. He’s not gone. No.”

“I’m sorry.”

She leaned into her mom. “I just saw him. We were together earlier today.” She closed her eyes. She couldn’t tell her mom all that they had been doing earlier that day, but she could remember it. He couldn’t be gone. She couldn’t lose him.

“His mom’s distraught,” her mom whispered. “He was her only child. Not that it would be easy, anyway… suicide never is, but still…”

She pulled away from her mom and pushed to her feet. “Suicide?! What?!”

Her mom swallowed hard. “He… he took a bunch of pills. And drank… there were alcohol bottles with him…”

“No!” She shook her head vigorously, trying to erase what she had just heard. There was no way he would kill himself. There was no way he would cause his own death. He loved her. He wouldn’t do that to her.

“I’m sorry, honey. I really wish that you didn’t have to deal with this…”

She ignored her mom’s words and made her way over to her bedroom window. She stared off into the dark night. He wasn’t gone. He wouldn’t kill himself. He would never do that to her.

By Emily Acker

Part One can be found here!

This Is Only Our Temporary Home.

So many times in life we forget the big picture and instead focus on the moment. We ignore the fact that earth is only home to us for a short time, and we instead live like it is all that we've got.

We long to buy a bigger home, a better car, and expensive clothes. We want our careers to be good, and we want to feel successful. But does success really matter?

Sure, we should be doing everything to the best of our ability. And yes, success can be a good thing. But is that all that we should be living for?

No.

Success on earth is only temporary.

The things that we buy are only temporary. Fame, money, happiness, it is all temporary.

The things that really matter in life are faith. Love.

God wants us to set our minds on things above. He doesn't want us focused on earthly things.

Over and over again in the Bible it tells us that this is not our home. Earth is not where we belong.

As the Carrie Underwood song says, this is our temporary home.

                

And we should live like it.

A Boy Without Hope - A Life-Ending Decision - Part Five

He thought of his girl as he walked down the street, but thoughts of her only brought him more pain. She was perfect and everything that he could ever want, but she wasn’t enough. The girl that he loved was not enough for him.

The time that he had been spending with his girl had brought the two of them closer than he had ever been with any girl. He had done things with her that he had never done before. Still, she wasn’t enough. Nothing was enough.

He kicked at a stone on the sidewalk and sent it shooting off in front of him. There were some people who seemed to have life figured out and who were happy no matter what. He had never been one of those people.

He frowned. It was crazy that it had come to this. Despite all that had come about for him recently, a beautiful girl falling into his lap, someone actually choosing to be his partner in a project - even if that choice had been forced on the guy - it wasn’t enough. Nothing was ever enough.

In his hand, he held a bag. He clutched the paper handle as tight as he could. That bag held all that he needed now. That bag would take him away from here, away from a life that was never good enough.

Everything is about to change. It’s all going to end. He stepped into the cemetery, the place he had chosen as his spot to do the deed. He walked through the gravestones, wondering at the lives that had been lived by these individuals. What had caused them to die, and had they longed to live a little longer? If he could give them his life, he would. If they simply wanted to live a little longer and he could help them with that, he would.

Pulling a bottle from the bag he had carried with him, he sank down onto the ground. He had a mix of supplies in the bag, not sure what it would all take to do the job.

He twisted the cap on the bottle, ready to escape the emptiness, the pain. He was done with it all. He didn’t want to face anything anymore.

His eyes stung as he thought about his mom, his girl, his school. Everyone would be better off without him. They wouldn’t miss him. It wasn’t like he was breaking any hearts. No one needed him.

“They won’t even know I’m gone,” he whispered into the night. “No one will care.”

By Emily Acker

Check out part one here: http://ackerandacker.blogspot.com/2016/09/alone-in-crowd-boy-living-in-pain-part.html

God Calls Us To Love Those Around Us.

God calls us to love one another.

He calls us to be there for the broken, to care for the fatherless.

God wants us to be all about loving one another. He even says that the greatest two commandments are to love Him, and then to "love your neighbor as yourself."

God doesn't want our excuses when it comes to this. He doesn't want to hear us saying that we don't have time to show love to our neighbors in this world.

As Christians, we should always be showing love and care to those around us.

We should want to do this for God.

In Matthew 25 verse 40, Jesus says that "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

By showing love to strangers, we are doing a good thing.

Does that mean that this is easy? No. But nothing good ever is.

So love more. Love even when it is hard. Ask God to fill you with love for your neighbors, for your enemies - because he doesn't even let you off the hook when it comes to them. He says to love them, too.

When you live a life filled with love and compassion, you will feel better about all that you are doing. It will benefit not only those around you, but you, too.

The Love Grows - Two Kids Draw Closer - Part Four

He looked into the eyes of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and knew that he was lucky to have been chosen by her. The friendship that the two of them had started with was long forgotten. They were so much more than friends now.

He lowered his lips to the girl’s, hers soft against his. He loved her as much as he had ever loved anyone, and he wanted to be with her for a long time. Already, they had been together for weeks, sneaking out together and spending time in the park, under the stars.

Being with this girl was amazing and it was special. It made him feel things that he didn’t feel on his own. Yet, there was something missing. He didn’t know what it was, but he longed for something more. And, he hated himself for that. He wanted to be content with the relationship that he had. He wanted this to be enough.

“What are you thinking?” She asked, pulling back from him as a frown wrinkled her brow.

“Nothing.” He leaned forward, ready to kiss her again.

“No. What are you thinking?” She kept her distance. “You’re not here with me. It’s like you’re somewhere else.”

He leaned back, resting his elbows in the grass behind him and his body’s weight on them. “It’s not important. All that’s important right now is you.”

“You can talk to me, you know…”

“I know.”

“I’d be happy to help you.”

He wished that she could help him, but she was everything that she should be and it just wasn’t enough. He forced a smile as she rested her head on his chest. The warmth of her body against his helped him to relax. He let out a breath. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” she responded. “You mean the world to me.”

“I’m lucky.”

“No, you’re not the one who’s lucky.” She turned onto her side, resting half on him and half on the grass as she wrapped him in a tight embrace. “I’ve never known anyone quite like you and I am so lucky to have you in my life.”

He closed his eyes, soaking in the moment, what it felt to have her one with him. Things were perfect. How could he be longing for something more when he had this? This was what life was all about. He had a girl who he loved with all of his heart. Every guy dreamed of having this, and he had it. Forget everything else. I don’t need anything more than this.

Find part one of this story here!

By Emily Acker

If you enjoy this, you might enjoy No Longer Broken by Emily Acker and Bethany Acker. Find it in paperback and eBook form on Amazon, and through Barnes and Noble and eLectio Publishing.

Finding Peace by Entrusting Life to God’s Will

This has been something that has been on my mind lately, and it is something that I am still learning about. Can we trust God with our lives? How do we trust God with our lives? Can trusting God actually give us peace?

It can be so easy to stress about the future and to worry about all that it is going to hold. It can be easy to stress about what we should be doing right now to make a better future for ourselves, and it can be easy to stress about all that we should have done in the past to create better lives for ourselves. Allowing God to take control of our lives and entrusting those lives to his will can help to eliminate some of our stress.

Can We Trust God with Our Lives?

Can we trust God to take care of our lives? Can we trust the one who made the world, who made us, to take care of us? The answer seems pretty simple. As scary as it might be to consider just what God might have us go through, we can trust him to take care of us and watch over our lives.

How Do We Trust God with Our Lives?

We all want to hold onto control when it comes to our lives. We don’t want to let anyone else dictate what happens to us, and we like to feel that we are in control of our own futures. Really, though, God is in control whether we choose to let go or not. Choosing to let go simply makes things easier on us.

Can Trusting God Actually Give Us Peace?

When we decide to give God control of our lives and when we ask for him to work them out according to his will, we can feel at peace. When we know that no matter what happens - good or bad - things are going to happen according to what will be best in the end, we can feel peace.

I love the song that Hillary Scott and the Scott Family released not too long ago. "Thy Will" talks about all of this, about letting go and allowing God to take control of our lives.

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