Real Talk Believer

Can we talk about waiting for a minute? Because I’m not good at it. Not even a little bit.

I’m the woman who stands in front of the microwave yelling “come ON” when there’s 45 seconds left. I refresh package tracking like my staring at it is going to make that truck drive faster. I’ve been known to hit the elevator button four times, as if the elevator heard me the first time and decided to take its sweet time out of spite.

So you know I’ve had some real, honest, not-so-pretty conversations with God about His timing.

“Lord, I prayed about this in March. It’s September. Hello?? Are You there??”

If you’ve ever prayed something like that, you’re in good company. Grab your coffee and sit with me a minute.

We Live in a Microwave World

Everything around us is built for right now. Two-day shipping. Same-day delivery. Streaming shows the second they drop. Answers to any question in about three seconds flat.

And somewhere along the way, without even meaning to, we started expecting God to work like an app on our phone. Pray it in the morning, see it by dinner. And when that doesn’t happen, we start wondering if He heard us at all. Or worse, if He just doesn’t care.

But God has never once operated on our schedule. He isn’t slow. He’s intentional. And those are two very different things.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8)

Waiting on Him vs. Him Waiting on the Moment

Here’s what He’s been teaching me, slowly (because apparently that’s how I learn everything).

I’m not actually waiting on God. God is waiting on the right moment. And sometimes, honestly, He’s waiting on me.

Waiting for my heart to be ready. Waiting for my hands to be strong enough to carry what I’m asking for. Waiting for the other pieces, the people, and the doors I can’t even see yet to line up.

When I look back over my life, I can see it so clearly now. Some of the things I begged for years ago? If He’d handed them to me the day I asked, I would’ve dropped them. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have the wisdom, the patience, or the backbone yet.

And some of the doors I cried over staying shut? They were protecting me from rooms I had no business walking into. I didn’t understand it then. I thank Him for it now.

The Bible Is Full of Waiting Rooms

If you think you’ve been waiting a long time, look at some of the folks God used.

Abraham and Sarah waited around twenty-five years for the son God promised them. Twenty-five years! Sarah got so tired of waiting she tried to fix it herself, and let’s just say that didn’t go the way she hoped. (I see you, Sarah. I’ve “helped God out” a few times myself and made a mess every time.)

Joseph was a teenager when God gave him those big dreams. Then he got thrown in a pit by his own brothers, sold, falsely accused, and locked in prison. About thirteen years went by before those dreams came to pass. But every single one of those hard years was shaping him into the man who could save a whole nation, including the brothers who betrayed him.

David was anointed king as a young shepherd boy, then spent years running for his life in caves before he ever sat on that throne.

Not one of these waits was wasted. Not one. God was working the entire time, even when it looked like nothing was happening.

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3)

An appointed time. Not a random time. Not a forgotten time. Appointed.

What Waiting Is Actually For

I used to think of waiting as dead time. Wasted time. Just something to get through.

But the waiting season isn’t empty. It’s where the roots grow. You can’t see roots from the top of the soil, but that’s exactly what keeps a tree standing when the storms come. God is doing deep work in you right now that you won’t fully see until later.

Waiting teaches us to trust Him when we can’t trace Him. It strips away our need to control every little thing. It shows us what we really believe about who He is. And if we let it, it softens us instead of hardening us.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Notice it doesn’t say those who wait will get bored, bitter, or burnt out. It says they’ll be renewed. Waiting on Him, really leaning into Him in the meantime, is where the strength comes from.

How to Wait Well (When You Really Don’t Want To)

I’m not going to pretend I’ve got this mastered. I’m still that woman at the microwave. But here are a few things that help me when the wait gets heavy.

Tell Him the truth. He can handle your frustration. Read the Psalms. David did not hold back. God would rather have your honest heart than your polished performance.

Look back before you look forward. Write down the times He’s come through for you before. When you can’t see what He’s doing now, remembering what He’s already done will steady you.

Keep showing up. Keep doing the next faithful thing right in front of you. Waiting doesn’t mean sitting still. Joseph kept serving well, even in prison.

Stop trying to “help” Him. If you’re forcing doors open that He’s keeping shut, it might be time to take your hands off. (Me first, raising my hand. 🙋‍♀️)

Find your people. Don’t wait alone. Let somebody pray with you and remind you of the truth on the days you forget it.

He Hasn’t Forgotten You

So if you’re sitting in a waiting season right now, tired, discouraged, and wondering if He forgot about you, please hear me.

He didn’t forget. He’s not late. He’s not ignoring you. He’s not punishing you. He’s working in ways you can’t see yet, and He’s getting you and everything around you ready for what’s coming.

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

His time. Not microwave time. Not two-day shipping time. His time. And His time has never once been wrong.

Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep walking. The answer is on its way, and it’s going to be right on time.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What are you waiting on God for right now? Let me pray for you. 🙏

With so much love,
Momma J 🤍

Need somewhere to sit with God while you wait? Check out Still, Small Voice and Grace Unfolding. And come hang out with me on Instagram @mommajscozycottage.

Friend, can I tell you something I have to remind myself of more often than I’d like to admit? Resting is not the same as quitting. I used to think if I sat down before the laundry was folded, the dishes were done, and every single person in this house was fed and happy, I was being lazy. Selfish, even. But somewhere in the middle of running myself completely dry, I remembered something so simple it almost embarrassed me: God rested too.

Genesis doesn’t say God rested because He was tired. He’s God — He doesn’t get tired. He rested because rest was part of the design. He built a rhythm into creation itself: work, then rest. Sow, then Sabbath. If the Creator of the universe paused to be still, who am I to think I’m supposed to run on empty forever?

I know the guilt that creeps in the second you slow down. The mental list that starts scrolling the moment you sit still. But hear me on this — rest is not the absence of faith. Rest is faith. It’s you saying, “God, I trust that the world will not fall apart if I stop moving for a minute.” It’s you believing He’s still holding everything together even when your hands aren’t.

So tonight, I want you to do something small but sacred. Dim the lights. Light a candle, turn on something soft and warm, and just breathe for five minutes without apologizing for it. I keep a little praying angel night light glowing in my own home for exactly this reason — a small, gentle reminder that even in the quiet hours, grace is still in the room with me. If you need something like that for your own space, I have one in my shop that might just become your new favorite corner of peace.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

Journal Prompt for Today

Grab your journal (or the notes app, no judgment) and finish this sentence: “I feel guilty resting when…” Sit with your answer. Then ask yourself — would I hold anyone else to that same standard? Usually the answer is no. Give yourself the grace you’d hand a friend in a heartbeat.

Small tip: Pick one thing off your to-do list tonight and just… don’t. Let it wait until tomorrow. Notice that the sky does not fall.

You are allowed to rest, mama. You are allowed to stop and just be still and know that He is God. Tomorrow will still be there, and so will His grace. Sending you so much love tonight — go put your feet up, you’ve earned it.

If you’re looking for a few more cozy, faith-filled touches for your own home, come sit a while and Shop My Cozy Cottage Collection. 🤍

Let’s be honest for a minute. Have you ever prayed for something with your whole heart, then felt like heaven went quiet? Or worse, the door slammed shut right in front of you?

I’ve been there more times than I can count. And for a long time, I thought the only “answered” prayer was a yes. Anything else felt like God wasn’t listening, or like I’d done something wrong.

But here’s what I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way: God answers every single prayer. He just doesn’t always answer the way we expect. And each answer carries its own kind of love.

When God Says Yes, He’s Blessing You

A yes from God is a gift. It’s the job that came through, the healing you prayed for, the relationship restored, the bill that got paid right on time.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” (James 1:17)

But a yes isn’t just about getting what we asked for. It’s God saying, “I see you, I hear you, and this is good for you right now.” When the yes comes, don’t rush past it. Stop. Say thank you. Write it down so you can remember it on the harder days, because those days will come, and you’ll want proof of His faithfulness in your own handwriting.

When God Says No, He’s Protecting You

This one stings. I won’t pretend it doesn’t.

A no can feel like rejection. But a no from God is never Him withholding good from you. It’s Him standing between you and something you can’t see yet.

“No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” (Psalm 84:11)

Think back on some of the things you begged God for years ago. Be real with yourself. Aren’t there a few you’re now grateful He didn’t give you? That man. That house. That opportunity that turned out to be a trap. God saw the whole road when all you could see was the next step.

A no isn’t a closed heart. It’s an open hand pulling you back from the edge.

When God Says Wait, He’s Preparing You

Oh, the waiting. If I’m honest, this might be the hardest answer of all. A no at least lets you move on. Waiting asks you to stay in the in-between with no timeline and no guarantees.

But waiting isn’t wasted time. It’s growing time.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Sometimes God says wait because the blessing is ready but we aren’t. Sometimes the timing, the people, or the circumstances need to line up. And sometimes the waiting itself is the lesson, teaching us patience, trust, and how to lean on Him instead of our own plans.

Think of David. He was anointed king as a teenager, then spent years in fields and caves before he ever sat on a throne. God wasn’t ignoring him. He was building him.

So How Do We Keep Praying?

Keep showing up. Keep asking. Keep being honest with Him, even when you’re frustrated, even when you’re tired, even when it feels like nothing’s happening.

And when the answer comes, whatever it is, try to hold onto this:

Yes means He’s blessing you.
No means He’s protecting you.
Wait means He’s preparing you.

Every answer is love. Every single one.

So what are you praying about right now? I’d love to hear it in the comments, and I’ll be praying right alongside you.

With so much love,
Momma J 🤍

Looking for a place to sit with God in the quiet? Check out Still, Small Voice and Grace Unfolding. And come hang out with me on Instagram @mommajscozycottage.

I was standing in my kitchen the other day, watching the coffee pot drip like it owed me money, silently counting down the seconds till it was done. And it hit me — isn’t that just life? We are always counting down to something.

We count down to birthdays. To paychecks (please hurry). To the weekend. To the blessed moment the kids finally go to sleep and you can hear yourself think again. To vacation. To retirement. To “when things calm down” — which, let’s be honest, is basically a myth at this point, right up there with folding a fitted sheet correctly.

Here’s what I’ve been sitting with lately, in between my third cup of “I promise this is my last coffee”: God never promised the destination would feel different than the journey. Scripture doesn’t say “be anxious for nothing, except during the waiting part, feel free to spiral then.” It says in everything — right smack in the middle of the countdown, the traffic jam, the inbox that refuses to hit zero — bring it to Him with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). Not after. Not once the timer buzzes. Now. While your patience is hanging on by a thread and a prayer.

I think we treat waiting like a waste of time — like real life starts once we get the job, the healing, the answer, the relationship, whatever it is we’ve got circled in red on the calendar. But friend, I promise you, no season you’ve “just gotten through” was ever actually wasted. It was being used. Shaped. Prepared. Even when it looked like you in sweatpants, eating cereal for dinner, wondering if you were doing any of this right. (You were. Mostly. Some days.)

So maybe the goal isn’t to stop counting down. Maybe it’s just to stop pretending the countdown doesn’t count — messy middle and all.

What are you counting down to right now? And what would it look like to let today matter just as much as the day you’re circling on the calendar?

With so much love (and mediocre coffee),
Momma J 🤍

Friend, can I be honest with you today? For a long time, my prayers sounded like a grocery list. “God, give me this. God, fix that. God, please, please, please.” And listen — there’s nothing wrong with bringing our needs to God. He tells us to! But somewhere along the way, I realized I’d turned prayer into a one-way transaction instead of a relationship.

Asking isn’t wrong. But it’s not the whole story.

Philippians 4:6 says it plainly:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Philippians 4:6

Did you catch that? It doesn’t say “just ask.” It says ask with thanksgiving. Gratitude isn’t a nice add-on to prayer — it’s woven right into how we’re supposed to come before Him.

What praying with gratitude actually looks like

It’s not complicated, but it does take practice. A few things that have changed my prayer life:

• Start with thank you, not please. Before I ask for anything, I try to name three things I’m grateful for — even small ones. A warm cup of coffee. A text from my grandson. Another day.
• Thank Him in the middle of the ask. “Lord, I’m asking you to provide for this need, and I’m thankful you’ve provided before.”
• Thank Him even when the answer hasn’t come yet. This one’s hard. But gratitude isn’t about getting the outcome you want — it’s about trusting the One who holds it.

Why it matters

When we only ask, we start to see God as a vending machine. When we thank Him too, we remember He’s a Father. Gratitude shifts our heart from what am I missing to look how faithful He’s already been.

So today, before you bring Him your list — pause. Thank Him first. Watch what it does to your heart.

With so much love,
Momma J 🤍

Good morning, friends. I want to tell you something I had to remind myself of this week: you are allowed to start small.

I was praying over one of my kids’ situations — one of those things that felt so big I didn’t even know where to begin — and I heard that still, small voice say, “You don’t need the whole mountain moved today. You just need the faith of a mustard seed.” And friend, I sat with that for a long minute, because I realized how often I’ve talked myself out of starting anything simply because it didn’t look big enough yet.

We do this in every area of life, don’t we? We wait to start the business until we have the perfect plan. We wait to forgive until we feel completely ready. We wait to pray boldly until our faith feels big and unshakable. But God never asked for big. He asked for a seed. A tiny, almost invisible seed — and He promised that was enough to move mountains.

A Verse to Hold Onto Today

“He said to them, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’”

Matthew 17:20

Read that again. Nothing will be impossible for you — not because your faith is huge, but because the One you’re placing it in is huge. Your job was never to have it all figured out. Your job is just to plant the seed and let God handle the growing.

A Small Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Here’s the shift: stop asking “is this enough?” and start asking “is this a start?” A five-minute prayer is a start. One kind text to someone you’ve been avoiding is a start. Writing down one dream on a sticky note is a start. Small isn’t the opposite of powerful — small is where all power begins. Every oak tree you’ve ever seen was once small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.

Journal Prompt

Grab your journal (or the notes app, no judgment here) and finish this sentence: “The mountain I’ve been waiting to feel ‘ready enough’ to face is ______. The mustard-seed-sized step I can take today is ______.” Write it down. Then go do the small thing. That’s it. That’s the whole assignment today.

I actually keep a little reminder of this verse close by these days — I picked up a Mustard Seed Faith Pendant Necklace from my shop with a real mustard seed sealed right into the pendant, and I catch myself touching it on the hard days when I need to remember that small faith is still faith. If you’re someone who likes a physical reminder of what you’re believing for, it might be a sweet one to have close to your heart too.

Wherever you’re standing today, however small your seed feels — plant it anyway. God isn’t asking you for a harvest. He’s just asking you to trust Him with the planting. I’m believing right alongside you that what feels small today is going to look like a mountain moved a few months from now.

Sending you so much love today,
Jena 💛

P.S. — If you love cozy, faith-inspired pieces for your home or yourself, come sit a while at Shop My Cozy Cottage Collection. Every piece is handmade with the same heart I’m writing to you with today.