Moments and Musings

Joy Despite Circumstances

Posted on May 14, 2021May 27, 2025 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

I’ve been experiencing a case of the blahs lately. And for no reason at all. I have a good life. I have a beautiful apartment in an area I love. My girls are lovely, accomplished and living their own lives (still living at home, which is fine). I have a small measure of financial security.

In short, I’m better off than a lot of people right now. Yet, I can’t seem to shake this case of the blahs.

The other morning, while walking my dog, Percy, I decided to attack this with prayer and praise. I love to praise God. I love reminding myself out loud all he’s done for me. I love to tell him what a wonderful Father he is and what a perfect husband he is to me. I began thanking him for my family, how he’s kept them all safe and secure and miraculously provided for them, even in this Covid season.

As I praised him, this verse came to my mind. I said it out loud. “Thank you so much for this day, Father, for this is the day you’ve made and I will rejoice and be glad in it”. As sure as the last word left my mouth, the Lord quickly spoke to me and said:

“Even when the circumstances and feelings tell you otherwise.”

I understood God was giving me a command. He was reminding me that my joy comes from him, not from how I feel. I have gladness all day long because Jesus saved my soul, not because everything in my life is going the way it should. I can rejoice in every moment because God is for me and if God is for me, who can be against me.

None of this is related to my circumstances or my feelings whether they be good or bad. My joy and peace come from the truth of God’s unconditional love for me – a love that sent a Savior to the cross.

Perhaps this is why Paul is my favorite writer in the Bible. He never stops praising God. He never loses his joy. In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul writes,

12 And I want you to know this, dear brothers: Everything that has happened to me here has been a great boost in getting out the Good News concerning Christ. 13 For everyone around here, including all the soldiers over at the barracks, knows that I am in chains simply because I am a Christian. 14 And because of my imprisonment, many of the Christians here seem to have lost their fear of chains! Somehow my patience has encouraged them, and they have become more and more bold in telling others about Christ.

Paul doesn’t yield to his circumstances. He doesn’t despair. In fact, he sees the bigger picture. He knows that while his situation isn’t good, God is working out something good through it all. So Paul doesn’t allow himself to be under the circumstances. But rather, he speaks from a place of deep joy and everlasting peace as one whose life has been transformed. Paul rejoices despite his circumstances which is knows is temporary yet he also knows God’s love and peace and joy is eternal.

What circumstances are you under today? What’s causing you feel off? Can I pray with you?

“Heavenly, Gracious Father, we love you so much and we are so very grateful for the precious gift of your son, Jesus. We can never thank you enough for the power of his Blood and the sweet salvation we get to enjoy because of it. Now, Father, we pray Psalm 118:24 over us for this is the day you have made and we are deciding right now, in this moment, to rejoice and be glad. We refuse to live under any circumstance. In fact, we speak to circumstances and situations and command them to line up with your precious Word. Devil, you’re a liar and these circumstances must yield to the power of the name of Jesus! We speak peace, health, provision and joy into all circumstances and we rise up out from under them. I thank for you supernatural joy and gladness this day, in Jesus name! Amen!”

Moments and Musings

God’s Plans Are Better

Posted on March 17, 2021May 27, 2025 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Proverbs 16:3

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans.

There are two key words in this verse. To ‘commit’ means to “to carry into action deliberately” while to ‘establish’ means “to institute permanently by enactment or agreement”

Commit is an action word. It means we should do something. In this verse, it means we should be intentional about including God in our plans. When our plans line up with God’s word, he will establish them – or he will honor our agreement with him to make our plans permanent and secure.

A few years ago, I was in a relationship with a man who himself admitted to having an adverse relationship with God. He’d suffered much and that suffering caused him to lose faith in the love God has for him. On the outside, the relationship was solid. We made our plans to get married. He loved my kids as I loved his. He was even willing to have my mom live with us after we were married.

Then, one day, I heard God say to me, “Are you ever going to include me in this?” I knew right away what my answer was. I said, “No, because I know what you’re going to say. I know I’m unequally matched in this relationship. I know the compromises I have already made in my heart to be with this man.”

Ever the gentleman, God waited. While he waited, he gently kept reminded me “My plans are higher and my ways are better.” My relationship with this man started to fray and unravel. I finally went to God and said, “I yield, Father. I commit this relationship to you and ask you to direct me. I want to please you more than I want to please myself.” I prayed for myself and for this man, for our hearts, for our healing and for healing in our children (he had 3 kids from a previous marriage). I broke off the relationship and in that moment, I felt shackles falling. The enemy lost. God saved me what was sure to be another divorce and more heartache.

Friends, when we align ourselves and our plans with the Word of God, we really don’t need to do much else. The hard part is over. God honors his word and gets to work in our lives. He creates paths where there are none. He gives us ideas and wisdom. He provides for those plans because ultimately, they’re his plans too!

If you want to know what plans God has for you, you need only to look to the Word. The Bible is more than just a love story; it’s a blueprint for how we should live our lives and it never fails.

What plans are you making for your life? Have you included God in those plans? Can I pray with you?

“Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the plans you have made for me. Jeremiah 29 verse 11 tells me your plans are good and full of hope and not for my destruction. You have planned well for me, Father, and I’m so grateful. As I continue to align my plans with your word, I thank you that you are causing those plans to be established and to succeed. I pray for continued wisdom and for your Word to be a constant light to my path. I thank you for all this, in Jesus’ name. AMEN!”

Moments and Musings

How To Stop Being So Sorry

Posted on March 4, 2021May 27, 2025 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Every since I was a child, I’ve always felt…wrong. Everything I did was wrong. Everything I said was wrong. I even looked wrong. Everyone around me always seemed to know the right thing to do and say and here I was – Lil’ Miss Awkward, wanting to badly to fit in and be accepted by those around me. I couldn’t measure up. Worse were the people in my life confirming my worst fears by either telling me to my face how weird I was or just walking completely out of my life without any explanation.

So, how did I cope? I began to apologize. For everything.

I said ‘I’m sorry’ for the things I said and the things I didn’t say. I said ‘I’m sorry’ for the things I did and for the things I didn’t do. I apologized for my immaturity and I apologized as I began to mature.

It started out being situational. I would say ‘I’m sorry’ in specific situations, like when a friend tripped over the sidewalk and I didn’t stop her from falling. Or if we were grading each other’s papers in school and I had to mark wrong an incorrect answer to a question.

I didn’t even know I was taking responsibility for things that didn’t even concern me. I just kept apologizing over and over. Before long, it wasn’t situational: it was personal. No longer was I sorry for things that went wrong but I was sorry for being wrong.

The phrase “I’m sorry” had become part of my everyday language to the point I didn’t even know what I was apologizing for.

I still don’t.

This habit has been hard to break and I still struggle with it today. It’s only been recently that I’ve discovered how much this lifelong habit has bled into my relationship with God. All these years I’ve spent apologizing has somehow translated and morphed into….I’m not good enough. How can God ever love me when I’m just not good enough?

Sound familiar? Has being sorry become a part of your personality, too?

If it has, let me share some good news with you. God’s not having it anymore! We’re too busy! Listen, if God’s Word is the antidote to what’s going on in the world – and it is – then we don’t have time for apologies to be part of who we are. We’ve apologized enough.

So how do we break this cycle? Two big important things were super helpful for me and I hope they will be to you.

The first thing God did was to reveal how hurtful this was to me. God didn’t create me to be sorry about my life. He created me to be victorious. Even named me Victoria! Jeremiah 29:11 is all about God hoping and planning good things for me. To be sorry for who I am is to be sorry about how God made me and that goes against what God says about me and to me. God said to me, “You’re not sorry; YOU ARE MINE.”

So now, whenever I say, ‘I’m sorry’, God says, “Are you really? Did you do something wrong? Is there something that’s really yours to repent from? Or are you sorry just out of habit.”

God expects me to be intentional when it comes to living life His way. Philippians 4:9 says,

“Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

The second thing he did was to pull me out of my comfort zone and gave me a mission, so to speak. When the idea of Faith Love N Joy first came to me, I began telling God how I’m not good enough to do this. I began telling Him how sorry I am and that I will most likely fail. No one will read this. No one will care.

God said two things to me:

First, He reminded me of who I am to Him. I’m His daughter (John 1:12). I’m a joint-heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17). I am loved by the King of Kings (John 3:16). I’m a princess of Heaven (Proverbs 45:6)

Then He told me scores of people don’t have to read this – just the ones that need it. He wasn’t expecting perfection from me; He was expecting obedience.

I didn’t have to say sorry. I did have to say yes.

I am who God says I am.

I apologize to no one for being that.

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Moments and Musings

Overcoming the Prayer Struggle

Posted on January 18, 2021May 27, 2025 by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Do you struggle with praying? Do you get discouraged with thoughts of not doing it “right”.

I sure have!

Trying to pray “the right way” is something I’ve struggled with all my life. Initially, I thought prayer was boring. Sitting in a room, timer on the table, list on front of me of stuff I had to pray for.

I believed prayer was for results, not relationship.

When praying in a group, I would break out in hives at the idea of being called upon to pray aloud. I felt I wasn’t good enough to pray or I didn’t have the right words to pray or I didn’t know enough of the Word to pray. Comparing myself to Sister Sally Sue who got at least 5 rounds of solid “amens” when she prayed. I would pray more to hear a “yes, Jesus” just to prove I wasn’t a bad pray-er.

And of course, Satan used this over and over, repeatedly telling me, “See, you’re not as good as they are. They know the Word and you don’t. God loves them more than you.”

I know I’m not the only one who’s experienced this! How many of you feel trapped in that? How many of you have been lied to into not praying?

The good news is this can be overcome. A small group of women at my last church humanized the idea of prayer for me. They lived out the relationship part so well that I found myself wanting to pray. I wanted the intimacy of knowing God so personally.

And guess what? When they prayed, it wasn’t perfect. They stumbled over their words, they stopped to gather their thoughts, they laughed and cried and even said the word, “um” once or twice. Their imperfection encouraged me. If these who knew the Word so much more than I did prayed so humanly, then so could I!

So here’s a few things I did to overcome my shyness about praying. I hope these ideas help you into a praying relationship with God.

Read the Word. If prayer is a conversation, then we must know the One we are conversing with. Knowing who God is and what He’s about helps us to understand more of what the conversation will be like. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Ask God to help you pray. God’s Word is all we need to get help in every situation, including prayer. John 14:13 encourages us to ask for help. It states, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do…” So if you need help knowing how to pray, just speak that verse and relate it to prayer.
Be yourself. This is probably the most important one. I fell into the comparison trap and lost precious time with God. I tried to copy the prayer style of others. God knows all about you. He wants a relationship with you on a one-on-one level. There’s nothing we can hide from Him.
Start simple. You do not need to thee and thou your conversation with God. He knows you! He wants to hear from YOU! If you’re stuck on where to start, just thank Him for who He is and all He’s done for you. The rest will follow, I promise!
Be honest and real. When my mom died, I went to God and let Him know I didn’t understand Him or His plan in this. I was so upset and in so much pain. I cried out to Him out of complete fear and anger. God was a total gentleman and He said, “Vikki, I hear you. I love you. I won’t leave you. You can either move forward with me, or without me. With me will be so much better but the choice is yours.” (Yes, God is that real with me!)

There are days when I start out in prayer. There are days when I end in prayer. There are also days when I pray little prayers all day. I don’t always quote the Word back to Him or remind Him of His promises to me, although that’s a great way to pray. Sometimes, I talk to Him as a wife would to a husband and sometimes, I talk with Him as a daughter would to her father. Most often, I talk with Him like the best friend I know Him to be. But I do talk with Him each day.

Getting to know God through prayer is pretty cool, if you think about it. The Bible educates us about God but prayer brings about the intimacy of the relationship.

So without fear, I encourage you. Find your spot. Get your cup of coffee. Grab your blanket. And talk with Jesus. I guarantee you, friend – Jesus cannot wait to hear from you!

Let me know in the comments how it goes. I’m praying for you!