Proverbs 16 Haven

Proverbs 16 Haven A safe place for the hurting , where we embrace Biblical truths , using THE WORD OF GOD as our guide.

04/22/2026

We stand in church and sing Holy Holy are you Lord God…

But what about when we leave. How do we live? How do we act? What do we say to those around us? How do we treat them? Do our actions show a Godly character? Do people see us living in Holiness? Or do we leave church and immediately let the flesh take over again?

It’s not enough to just be a Christian on Sundays.

What if we start being more authentic in our day to day living?

What if in the middle of the week we started being honest with ourselves and those around us?

We may lose some friends when we start being honest. But we will gain a stronger connection with the true friends we have, and the true friends that will come into our life.

Sometimes we hang onto our flesh so long. We are so wrapped up in our mind. Wrapped up with toxic friendships. Wrapped up with “performing”. We hang on so long, we miss the opportunity God has for us to receive more authentic friendships.

How different our circles would look if we got a little more honest with each other.

We call on the name of the Lord when we are in trouble. When we have a need. When we need answers. When we need healing....
04/20/2026

We call on the name of the Lord when we are in trouble. When we have a need. When we need answers. When we need healing. When we need restoration.

But how often do we stop and thank him for what he has done?
How often do we receive an answer to a pray and we fail to pause in gratitude?

In Luke 17:11-19
There is a story of 10 men who were healed from leprosy. But only 1 came back to thank Jesus. Jesus asked, where are the other 9? Weren’t 10 healed? And only 1 has come back to thank God?

We can look at this story and think, oh I would have been grateful for such a wonderful miracle in my life. But are we? What about all the small blessings we receive each day?

The more we look for the blessings of God in our lives, the more blessings we find.
Suddenly our focus moves away from the overwhelming circumstances and towards his presence and grace. And in turn, our mind becomes clearer and less cluttered to face the challenge we are in.

Have you ever thought to yourself, I wish I was as good a Christian as that person, or if only I could hear God as clear...
04/15/2026

Have you ever thought to yourself, I wish I was as good a Christian as that person, or if only I could hear God as clearly as that person?

You think you’re failing once again and God must be judging you for this.

But God is not up there with a check list to mark off if you did your devotions that day.

He doesn’t need your time... but you need Him.
That part changed my life. He doesn't NEED me. He WANTS a relationship with me

He LOVES when His children recognize how much they need Him.

You are not doing your devotions for God, you are doing them for yourself.

You get to decide... how much do you WANT God?

Do you want to hear God more and experience complete freedom?

You get to start wanting those daily moments with God for YOU.
It doesn't have to look like anyone else's journey or routine. It gets to be YOUR journey.

It doesn't have to be any certain length of time. It gets to be the time that you create to feel God.

You get to truly want to deepen your relationship with Him.
Your spiritual life is as deep as you allow it to be.

From my devotional book this morning…Real friends are honest friends. While flattery feels good for a moment, a truth te...
04/13/2026

From my devotional book this morning…

Real friends are honest friends. While flattery feels good for a moment, a truth telling friend can be trusted for a lifetime.

Sometimes this means that a friend will tell you something you don't want to hear. We all need a Christ-following friend who is not afraid to tell us when we're straying into dangerous territory.

Yes, feelings may be hurt when she points out our negative attitude or tendency to judge, but we can trust that her words are for our own good.

With social media, people too often feel the freedom to criticize or judge others they barely know.

But the fact is that it takes time and face-to-face conversations to earn the right to speak into someone's life.

When someone has loved us, cried with us, and rejoiced with us, we can trust her words even when they hurt.

Prayer…
Give me the grace, Lord, to accept the faithful wounds of a friend. Grant me the love and boldness to be a truth-speaking friend when needed.

I love these words from my devotions. It can be so easy to get offended when a friend points something out in our life. But if it’s a friend we trust and know she did not say it to be mean. She said it because she cares deeply…we get to make a decision, will we hold a grudge against her in our heart, or will be truly take time to ponder over what she said and ask ourselves… does she see something in my actions that I don’t.

I love how it says above that these conversations require real face to face interaction. We don’t have to buy in to all the noise and words we hear on social media. We don’t have to trust the advice or concerns from those online that we barely know. But when a dear friend speaks up about a concern, it was most likely a thought out process that she took time to think about long before she brought up the concern to you.
If she’s a Godly friend in your life, it may be beneficial to take some time to think and pray on what she said, and truly ask yourself, is what she is saying true? Even if it hurts in the moment.

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we planned… and it leaves us asking why.But even in the middle of the brokenness...
04/08/2026

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we planned… and it leaves us asking why.

But even in the middle of the brokenness, God is still working.
He meets you right where you are at… not when everything is perfect.

Right in your mess.

Don’t lose hope—He’s not done with your story. 🙌

Can we truly comprehend what Jesus actually did for us on the cross, that day two thousand twenty-six years ago, as He h...
04/04/2026

Can we truly comprehend what Jesus actually did for us on the cross, that day two thousand twenty-six years ago, as He hung there, as they mocked Him, as He bore the agony and pain?
Over Easter Weekend I feel like it is a great time to just reflect and really think on what Jesus actually did and how great His love is for us!
So many times we live our day from day-to-day and are just in this monotonous space of not really thinking deeply on the things that matter. Serving and loving our family and friends are so important and taking care of our household, but do we get so caught up on these things that we forget the things that truly matter? Do we forget to thank Jesus for what He did, and truly soak in all the love and grace He offers us.

A couple years ago I was caught in the cycle of wanting to fall into the old patterns and life of who I used to be. One day as I sat with myself in these feelings, I truly was reminded in so many ways of how great His love and grace truly are for me.
The devil loves to twist our minds to get us to believe that things are not really different and that things have not really changed and we tend to forget to truly take the time each day to sit with our feelings and meditate and read. Truly staying immersed in The Word, and not on our circumstances.

There are so many places throughout the Bible, where people have wrote time after time that it is not about the circumstances it is about the mind being transformed.

”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, pleasing and perfect will.“ Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Are we truly keeping our focus each day on the things that matter?

Looking back, I know that this was just the devil trying to manipulate me and get me to believe his lies of depression & anxiety. The place where I thought that if anybody knew the real me they would not want to have anything to do with me anymore.

If you are in that season, I just want you to know that I care and there is hope.
You may not feel like there is hope right now, but Jesus came to give you a better way.
Jesus did not die on that cross so that you could stay in depression.
He did not die on that cross for you to continue living in anxiety.
He did not die on that cross to give you a hopeless life.

He died to be resurrected to New Life.
He died because He loves you THAT MUCH!
He died so you could have a home in heaven.
He died so that you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

When He walked out of that grave on Sunday morning, He did not walk out of there to keep you in depression.
He did not walk out of there to keep you captive by anxiety.
He walked out of there for your FREEDOM!! And my freedom.
The power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that was in Him as He walked out of that grave is the same power that is alive in you if you will choose to believe Him and trust Him with your life!

You don’t have to continue living in hopelessness.
You don’t have to continue living in that pit.
You don’t have to continue living in shame, and guilt and not wanting anyone else to see the struggles that you’re facing inside .
You don’t have to continue thinking that no one else will get it.
You don’t have to continue living in fear that everyone will desert you.

There is hope and there is new freedom in JESUS!
Transformation does not happen overnight. Transformation is a step-by-step process.
Yes, Jesus can wash your sins away in an instance. He can wash your mind clean in an instance.
But it still takes consistency and it takes effort to keep your mind in that spot.
To daily wake up and say today’s gonna be a good day.
Today I’m choosing to think of the things of God.
To think of the truths and not let the enemy distract me.
At times it can be so hard! It can be so difficult, you just feel like giving up.
There may be times you fall flat on your face.

But those are the times when you need to get back up and keep moving!
You did not come this far to give up now.
You did not come this far in your life for it to be hopeless now.

So get up and let the truth watch over you.
Your life is meant for more.
Your life is meant for abundance.
Your life is meant for freedom!

Live your life each day like it’s Easter morning and there’s fresh Holy Spirit power in your veins!!

Happy Easter weekend!
~Marilyn

Reading in Luke 8… Verse 24 caught my attention in a new way! The Disciples and Jesus were in a boat going across the la...
04/02/2026

Reading in Luke 8… Verse 24 caught my attention in a new way! The Disciples and Jesus were in a boat going across the lake. Jesus was sleeping when a storm hit.

The disciples were afraid. Waking Jesus they said, we’re going to drown. They instantly panicked and expected the worst. When instead they could have chosen Faith and woke Jesus asking for a solution.

How often do we face storms in life and react this way? When storms come we fly into panic mode or predicting the worst outcome, when we could choose to stop first and trust in the one who has the power to completely turn any situation around.

What are you reading right now? I’m always looking for new books to grow in faith and wisdom—drop your favorites below o...
03/27/2026

What are you reading right now?

I’m always looking for new books to grow in faith and wisdom—drop your favorites below or one that’s on your wishlist!

And just for fun… can you guess my favorite author based on my shelf? 😊

So many times it is easier for us to hide in our shells than risk being vulnerable with those around us. Being vulnerabl...
03/25/2026

So many times it is easier for us to hide in our shells than risk being vulnerable with those around us.

Being vulnerable puts us at risk for rejection and being misunderstood. It feels too unsafe. But hiding in a shell also causes misunderstanding… People don’t understand us then either.

I spent most of my life hiding my true self. Even as a small child. No one saw the real Marilyn. I faked my identity. I wanted to fit in. I wanted people to like me. I wasn’t “popular” or one of the “cool” kids. So it felt like I was constantly at risk for being completely ignored if I would dare crawl out of my shell. I went with the flow and acted like everything was fine.

I look back today and wonder how different life might have been for the younger me if I would have been brave enough to be vulnerable.

My family saw me as an angry little girl, when inside I was falling apart.
I wanted people to understand. I wanted people to care. Yet I was too afraid to let them.

My teen journal is filled with entries where I was in the middle of a huge battle with emotions & feelings rising up from the sexual abuse I faced as a younger girl. I wrote how much I wanted people to care & understand. How much I wanted to feel free. To feel peace. But then I would add in, but I’m just not willing to let someone see that side of me. I don’t want to risk being vulnerable.

The belief carried its way into my adult life for years & years. On the outside I was masked up with having it all together. But inside I was a dark mess.

5 years ago my world rocked in ways I never thought it would. Through the dark broken mess of infidelity in my marriage, raising a toddler & being pregnant at the time, I was faced with a choice. Was I going to keep hiding or was I going to rise up & change my reality. And it was only then that I finally started being vulnerable. It was only then that I started being honest with myself as well. Not only to myself but also to a mentor in my life and my close friends. It no longer mattered who was going to walk away. What mattered was finding peace & finding healing. It wasn’t pretty. It was HARD! It took many conversations. Many tears. Many days.

After years of “hiding” you began to lie to yourself. You being to doubt everything about you.

It is just not worth hiding my friend.

I started learning how GOOD life can be when we get real honest. People may still misunderstand me. Some people may still have walked away. It hurts like crazy! But it doesn’t over power the feeling of deep inner PEACE!

I would rather have deep inner peace & know how it feels to walk in vulnerability & FREEDOM than have a big circle of friends and be broken inside.

The true friends in my life being to understand me better. And they stuck around! That is the beauty of vulnerability. What feels in your mind like a struggle only you have. Suddenly becomes a struggle others can say, me too!

We were created for community and it can be such a beautiful thing if we are brave enough to let people in.

What are you grateful for today? Is there breath in your lungs?Did you wake up this morning? I would hope you say yes to...
03/23/2026

What are you grateful for today?

Is there breath in your lungs?
Did you wake up this morning?
I would hope you say yes to both 😁

So the answer is, you do have something to be grateful for.

When life throws curveball after curveball it's easy to get distracted. And forget to be grateful.

It's easy to read the stories of the Israelites in the Bible and see how ungrateful they were.
It's easy to see the big picture, and think, why wouldn't you be more grateful? Look at all the Lord has done for them.

But how would the big picture look in your own story? How many times has God showed up over and over & and you were too distracted by the struggle to recognize the blessing? (speaking to myself here)

I'd love to hear in the comments what you are grateful for today...
Even if it's as simple as breath in my lungs. That my friend is something to be grateful for! 💗

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