Amber C Haines
About the Author

Amber C Haines, author of Wild in the Hollow, has 4 sons, a guitar-playing husband, theRunaMuck, and rare friends. She loves the funky, the narrative, and the dirty South. She finds community among the broken and wants to know your story. Amber is curator with her husband Seth Haines of Mother...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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  1. Amber,
    My heart resonates with the line, “All these little deaths we die are avenues straight into His arms.” I DO believe that Jesus has overcome the world. Some days I hate the fact that I have an anxiety disorder, but the beauty of it is that it drives me straight into the arms of my loving Savior and I HAVE to depend on Him to overcome the doubt, fear and anxiety that I feel. It has enabled me to experience Christ on a whole different level than I would have if everything were just right in my world. Because of it, I live life much differently. It’s given me courage to write and share my struggles and my victories with others. Such a beautifully written post and your one “bullet point” is truly all we need!
    Blessings,
    Bev

  2. TRUTH!

    Often “we”….and that includes me…. confuse good times with God’s presence and bad times with His absence. Thank you for your honest confession. It give courage to the rest of us.

    1 Thes 5:24….. and He who calls you is faithful!

  3. Oh dear. It’s difficult to read your writing – this post particularly because I spent the entire post trying to read through tears. You have described my past couple of months too clearly.

    This morning I have struggled, again, with anxiety and was tempted, again, to fall into the pit. And then I opened this email and read it. No it’s not a magic cure but it’s given me hope again. To move my feet, believe again and keep walking.

    Thank you for ministering through your transparency.

  4. I listen to a song on my daily walks, well, almost daily, sung by an angelic voice from England that says, “These dry bones will live again . . .we’re nothing without you, nothing without you.” And it makes me cry almost every single day because I know its true and the truth of that is just overwhelming glorious isn’t it? I heard the angels in the audience standing and clapping as you gave honor to him with your courage words here Amber. He lives big in you and it gives us courage to do the same. Thank you for the surrender and saying yes to being brave.

  5. Amber, this was beautiful – through and through. And a salve to my soul this morning. Thank you for helping so many of us to take heart.

  6. Your words resonate so clearly in my heart! While it is so true that we always want to be strong (or at least to seem strong), it helps me so much to repeat constantly to myself, “His strength is made perfect in my weakness.” It’s the world that requires our strength. In God’s plan, as evidenced by how many people you have helped with this one article, our weakness has great purpose. Thank you for allowing Him to direct and use you to touch my life today 🙂 God Bless You!

  7. “How would you live differently if Jesus Christ really did indwell you?” The problem seems to come from when I don’t act like it & I think I must be my old self again. Thank you for reminding me that despite my feelings (which are not facts!) Christ does indwell me. I do believe that, that he is good – always, has a plan/purpose for me, is a forgiving God of second chances who loved me before I knew Him & continues to seek me. Whew!

  8. This really encourages me as I struggle with the grief of the home-going of my beautiful 31 year old special needs daughter. I took care of her every need for all those years and now I am lost without her. BUT I know I am not lost and I know where she is. In Jesus’ arms. Whole, talking, singling, walking, running. All the things she couldn’t do here on this earth. It is a struggle every day, but your words gave me hope this morning to keep on moving toward what ever God has for me next, and one day seeing Jesus and my beautiful Amy again.

    • Cheryl,

      Prayers for you my dear sister. It is truly hard to imagine yourself doing anything but taking care of your beautiful daughter.

      My family was in a similar place a few years ago. Mom had dementia, sundowners and was completely bed ridden for 2 years. Dad was sole caretaker 24/7. I always got the call to come help out. When she died He didn’t know what to do. He still struggles some each day, but is getting along better now.

      God Bless you my dear! 🙂

  9. Amber, this speaks volumes to my broken and beaten self this week. I’m feeling lost in the fog of uncertainty with my God who seems so silent and still amidst our screaming prayers for guidance. The enemy is beating me down, encouraging me to give in to the “too hards” and the “give ups”, and I’ve spent hours just sitting staring ahead, crying, wondering the “why bothers”. Take heart – have courage! Yes! This morning God pointed me to Ephesians 6:10-20. We know the armor of God, but it was the focus on how the shield of Faith gives us — you, me — us! — the ability to extinguish the flaming darts the devil shoots at us. Amazing, yes?!? It wasn’t until I read that simple word “You” that I had the courage and took heart to stand up and tell the enemy to leave me alone! 🙂 Love this peace. Life is hard. It downright sucks at times, and I’m still waiting on a lot of answers about our path, but I abide in Christ, and He abides in me. 🙂 Hope you have a blessed weekend!

    • Vanessa, I am with you! I don’t know why I go through entire seasons where I forget that I have the authority to tell the enemy to leave me alone. I actually play along sometimes.

      There’s a verse that tells us to remind each other daily that He’s coming soon. He’s coming, in so many ways; He’s coming.

  10. Thank you. Just thank you.

    It’s been a long six month stretch, and I desperately needed this today.

    Thank you for your kindness, tenderness and willing to be vulnerable so that we (I) are encouraged.

  11. Fear would not… In Jesus’ Name WILL NOT be able to hold me in its clutches, squeezing the oxygen out of me and rendering me helpless to go forward along the path I know God is laying out before me. How foolish; nay, how pointless it is to go on fighting against this fact that He, the Greater One, does indeed dwell within my mortal body AND that He has said I will do Greater Things than He!!!
    How futile a struggle to try to convince Him that I cannot do what He says that HE will help me, enable me, has anointed me and freed me to do!
    And yet I have been successful til now, “winning” in my plan to disobey through delay, distract, and detract from that which He has placed within me. SO many excuses… OH SO MANY.
    Thank you for sharing with such candor, Amber. You are truly a blessing to us! My prayers for you continue… Kingdom Come! <3
    p.s. 50 pound concordance… my mom taught me to study the Bible with one of those, and that's no joke;]

  12. Yes! Fellow overcomer in Christ! Thank you for this. Jesus heals the broken-hearted and even if it takes a bit more time than we would have liked, He heals. He gives us courage again.

  13. Amber,
    I love getting your emails of encouraging words everyday. God has opened an extraordinary avenue for you to share HIM with hurting women or just to encourage women in general. Having anxiety disorder myself being triggered often from my past, God has opened my eyes to know Him in a way I never thought was possible. He has taught me that pain and struggles come daily. But as he covers me with himself, I can feel his presence and get through anything by standing strong WITH Him. He will cover me with a power so strong that I can feel it holding me up. He is the anchor that keeps me from stumbling through life and feeling that feeling of “being overcome with despair.” I choose to be an OVERCOMER WITH CHRIST with Him as my strength daily. And that IS a choice!!!! I FEEL his presence and spirt living inside me whereas all I could do before was search for His face to envision as I prayed. That beautiful gift of that realization was so precious to me. He also gave me the vision of pulling me out of the ” quick sand” of my life and by holding his hand he will guide me. For whether I turn to the right or to the left I will hear his voice saying THIS IS THE WAY, WALK IN IT! Is.30:21 And FEELING his presence is an added gift of that!! Thank you for sharing!! I want to encourage you to keep on keeping on!! God is using you in a mighty way. Many blessings to you!!!!!!

  14. Thank you for sharing the honesty in this post. It has come to me in a much-needed season. Our son is grown to adulthood now and I understand fully what you described. I watched as situations like you experienced seemed to take all joy and hope. But yes, God IS faithful. I understand the dark waves of depression and I have learned in them that He is the light at the end of the tunnel. Even when you can’t see the end, He is the Light that is there. One day at a time, moving forward until the Light breaks through. I am lifting a prayer for you as you tend those little ones God has given you. Keep telling them the Truth – it is so hard, but He is with us. Bless you as you point others, including your own dear children, to Jesus. <3

  15. How would I live differently? I would be more Christ-like in my daily walk and interactions with people. Complaining would be almost non-existent.

    I would choose to be happy about my circumstances–seeing the bright side & not the dark side. I would emulate Christ more and more & shower the world with love!