50 Lessons of Life

1. Life is lived in forward motion but best understood in backward reflection.

2. Sometimes the littlest hurts bother you the most. (Ever have a paper cut?)

3. Easy isn’t always satisfying and true satisfaction is seldom easy.

4. How others treat you is not a reflection on you, it’s a reflection on them. How you treat others is not a reflection on them, it’s a refection on you.

5. Giving up almost always lets you down.

6. Faith isn’t fully understanding, faith is fully believing.

7. With God, it’s all good.

8. A “yes” from God is often disguised as a “no”.

9. A misplaced “i” can quickly take what was once united and render it untied.

10. I can’t truly love my neighbor if I don’t truly love me.

11. Time changes a lot of things, but few things (if any) change time.

12. Success only happens if and when you try.

13. Live to make others happy, but remember this: Each person is responsible for their own happiness.

14. We aren’t defined by the work of our hands; we are defined by the work of God’s hand.

15. When God calls us to step out of our comfort zone, He is not calling us to be comfortable in the situation. He is calling us to be comfortable in Him, in spite of the situation.

16. Every person deserves respect because every person is made in the image of God.

17. Blessed is the one who has a friend wise enough (and loving enough) to give a push when a push is needed.

18. You aren’t responsible for what anyone says or what anyone does, but you are responsible for how you respond and how you react.

19. God has a plan. Always.

20. Sometimes, most times, you are the only one standing in your way.

21. No man is alone who has God.

22. If we are willing to do what we can, God will do what we can’t.

23. Loving your neighbor is not “optional”.

24. Only God can do what God can do. Don’t expect people to do what only God can do.

25. The faintest prayer, spoken in the mighty name of Jesus, can summon the entire army of Heaven.

26. If you are given a chance to take a chance that speaks to your heart, breathes life to a dream, makes you want to move forward and move backward all at the same time, take it. Chances are you won’t regret the chances you took, but sadly, all the chances you let slip by.

27. Tone of voice matters.

28. Take a break before you get to your breaking point.

29. God wouldn’t ask me to do it if it wasn’t mine to do.

30. Daily walking with God keeps me from running ahead of His will or lagging behind it.

31. A heart that goes to sleep thanking God is a heart that awakes praising Him.

32. There is no reason to doubt God and every reason to trust Him.

33. The only thing that should bring us more fear than answering God’s call is choosing not to.

34. Miracles happen every day – with each and every breath.

35. We aren’t called to “fit in”; we are called to be fit for His kingdom.

36. The best solution to any problem: “Help me, Jesus.”

37. If we start growling at the world and getting mean, it’s time to either eat or go down for a nap! It’s time to start feeding off the Word of God or resting in His faithfulness.

38. If you aren’t “loose”, you can become “stiff”. Don’t forget to stretch.

39. Praying for the people who have wronged you may (or may not) change them, but it will always change you.

40. When you have no words, only tears, don’t be afraid to let your tears speak for you.

41. Imitation truly is the highest form of praise. When we imitate God, we live our praise out loud.

42. It’s ok to fall down. It is not ok to stay down.

43. God loves you. Period. (Not if, or when, or because.)

44. You gotta love life. You really do. There is nothing else on earth quite like it.

45. In New Mexico, when you are asked “Red or Green?” (in regards to chile), the best answer is “yes, please”.

46. Life is full of surprises. My surprise? By His grace, I am a writer.

47. Never underestimate the power of a prayer spoken by you or for you.

48. No two days are alike. Don’t live each day as though they are.

49. Just when I think I can’t love God anymore than I already do, I do. Just when I think God can’t love me anymore than He already does, He does.

50. You only get one chance to live, one chance to be you, one chance to live your life. Do it now, because here’s the thing: life goes faster than you can even begin to imagine.~♥

Heartprints of God ~Stacy L. Sanchez


Reach Out to Him

For the one who feels as though nobody – not a single living soul – understands what you are going through, what you are feeling, what you are struggling with, what you are facing, what you are fighting, what you are in the middle of, what you are coming out of, what you are walking through.

I’ve been in your shoes. We all have. Because even though we humans are so very much alike in so many ways, we are also so very different in the ways that make us uniquely us. And the way we process emotions is absoulutely uniquely us.

And it’s the very reason why so often we feel alone in the hardest places of our life. But, here’s the good news. There might not be another living soul who truly understands, (after all you are the only you) but there is a LIVING GOD who more than sees you, gets you, feels you, knows you more than you even know yourself.

He, who is ever present, who is all knowing, who is 100% aware of every detail and every moment of your life, understands exactly how you are feeling.

Never let your feelings and emotions convince you you are alone in whatever it is you are facing.

When no one else understands, God does.

Reach out to Him.

Call out to Him.

Cry out to Him.

Be honest and real with Him.

Let it all out and allow Him to draw near, to hold and comfort, to counsel and guide, to encourage and strengthen, to forgive and heal, to take and to carry. And you will find, while a sister and a friend coming alongside (when they can) is wonderful, there is not a single living soul who compares to walking through life with the Living God – the Lover of our soul.~❤

~Stacy L. Sanchez / Heartprints of God


God is God

It’s so hard living in this world sometimes because nothing in this world is truly certain.

Well, yes -we hear “taxes and death” are – but then again – how much taxes? And when we will die? – still no true certainty in either of those.

Even when we fool ourselves into thinking our life is certain, it can change in a heartbeat.

The only thing that is certain in this world is that this world is uncertain.

And then – there is God.

He is what keeps up certain in all this uncertainty.

Our God who never changes.

Our God who knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end.

Our God who is Ruler over all things, even when it might appear He isn’t.

Disasters. Wars. Elections.

It’s often hard to see God here. And yet, we have to know and believe that while man has freedom of choice and free will, ultimately, God is still sovereignly in control.

We may not understand it.

We may not be able to see it.

We may not have words to explain it or even truly comprehend it.

But faith believes it. God is God.

Always.

In all ways.

His ways – higher than ours.

No doubt, we are living in uncertain times, but never forget we are in the sovereign care of God in who we can be absolutely certain.

He is our hope.

He is our strength.

He is our victory.

He is our peace.

Certainty isn’t found in this world.

It is found in the One who causes the sun to rise and the sun to set – the very One who holds the world in His hands.

It is found in the One who holds our very next breath.

We find our certainty not in this world, precious one – but in the God who is over it.

Of this I am absolutely certain.~❤

~Stacy L. Sanchez / Heartprints of God


The Details

The details

So often we find ourself weighed low beneath the details of life.

We wonder if we are making the right decision about this or if we are doing what is best in handling that.

We think, and we fret, and we worry, and we wonder . . . and in doing so, we often forget that God is in the details.

He who designed water from a lake to evaporate to the sky only to return as rain to water the earth is here working in the details of your life, too, causing one action to prepare the way for the next, one step at a time, all in His perfect timing and perfect way.

He who breathed the stars into being and then orchestrated their orbit, along with that of the sun and moon and a million other celestial wonders, is here orchestrating every single detail of that which concerns you, too – delicately considering all involved and intertwining it all in heavenly fashion.

He who designed the metamorphosis of a lowly caterpillar into a glorious butterfly is here, too, in the details of all that is changing around you, – gently, miraculously, amazingly, creating something new, that no doubt will be unlike anything you’ve known before, but beautiful in its own way.

Trust Him. God is in the details.~❤

stacylsanchez.com / Heartprints of God


Except When I Look at You

Gracious Heavenly Father,

Everywhere I look, I see turmoil and tension, except when I look to You.

Everywhere I look, I see evil running rampant, except when I look to You.

Everywhere I look, I see chaos and corruption, except when I look to You.

Everywhere I look, I see hopelessness and despair, except when I look to You.

Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You.

But, Lord, I also pray that through my words, through my actions, through my life, through my very day-to-day living of each day, I might lift You high, so others may look upon You, too, and find the joy, righteousness, peace, and hope I find in You.

In Jesus’ precious name, I pray.

Amen~❤

© Stacy L. Sanchez / Heartprints of God

This is just one of many prayers you will find in my book, GRACIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER: A Collection of Morning Prayers. To learn more, look for the link in the first comment below or here:


We Want What We Want When We Want It

So often, when God gets still and our prayer seems lost somewhere between heaven and earth, we jump to the conclusion that God is not listening, not caring, not moving.

We start to believe we’ve come to a dead end, that this is “just the way it will always be.” We place a period at the end of our hope, the end of our dream, the end of faith.

And yet, so many times, when we can’t sense God working, when everything is still, when we feel as though God has said “no”, God is simply pausing. Pausing until the circumstances are right, the answer is right, and the timing is right.

We want it at this very moment, God wants it the moment it should be. We want it now, but God wants it perfect. We want what we want, God wants what is best.

Don’t mistake God’s comma for a period. While you are pausing, while you are waiting on God, keep trusting, keep hoping, keep believing. In the end, it will be worth the wait.

Resurrection morning is proof that even in the pause, even in the comma places of our life, God is still there working all things for good and for His glory.

When God is all said and done, all you will be able to say about what He has done is “Thank you, God”. ~❤️

~Stacy L. Sanchez / Heartprints of God


Easy Doesn’t Require Faith

We pray for God to make us stronger, to grow our faith, to deepen our walk with Him. As we say our “Amen” and step out into life, more times than not, we are caught off guard by what is almost inevitably coming next -temptation, trials, suffering, hardship, disappointment, grief.

As much as we love “easy”, God in His infinite wisdom, merciful favor, and unfathomable love, knows the only way we will grow in our faith is to come face to face with that which builds our spiritual strength.

Easy doesn’t require faith. Easy doesn’t build spiritual muscles. Easy doesn’t draw us deeper into relationship with God. It is in the hard times that we learn to depend upon our God and discover He is dependable. It is in the hard times that our faith reaches with everything it has deep into the heart of God and there discovers everything it needs.

It is in the hard times, when we have nothing else, that we come to discover God is more than enough. We pray for God to make us stronger, to grow our faith, to deepen our walk with Him.

When God, in His infinite wisdom, merciful favor, and unfathomable love, answers our prayer, may we not murmur, complain, resent or rebel.

May we instead, embrace His gracious gift and discover what is inevitably coming next – spiritual strength, a deeper faith, a closer walk with our God.~♥️

~Stacy L. Sanchez

Heartprints of God