Blog — Nicole O'Meara

There were days when the best I could do was make my own coffee and walk to the mailbox. On those days, I learned to worship God and serve him with the smallest bits of energy I had. Those were days of training. Not training for a marathon. I'll tell you straight up, this body will never run a marathon. No, those days were training for days when I would have more energy, more health. I learned to steward my body for kingdom work. No matter how broken, my body will always be good enough for the work God has prepared for me. Today, I have the privilege of sharing how God gave me a new perspective on my healthy body at (in)courage.

BlogNicole O'MearaOctober 16, 2019(in)courage, Psalms, Guest Post, Trauma, recoveryComment

What if We Viewed Refugees as "Guests?" {Guest Post}

Part of my day job is assisting our Mission Pastor with local outreach events. The next outreach on the calendar is Thanksgiving Dinner with our partners at the Arab-American Church in Sacramento. My family participated in that meal a few years ago and I wrote a story about it. Today, Leslie Verner published my story as part of her series on refugees. Leslie recently wrote a book on hospitality: Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness. As someone who lived overseas for years, Leslie’s perspective on welcoming the stranger is unique and valuable. I’m honored she published me story today.

My first experience with refugees was when I was very young, although I didn’t learn the word, “refugee,” until many years later. I was taught to call them, “Guests.”

My second experience with refugees came three decades later.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

BlogNicole O'MearaOctober 14, 2019refugee, hospitality, community, Thanksgiving, adoptionComment

Hope Eternal

God is at work, even in the Nesting stage of motherhood. He has not forgotten you. You are not stuck in a repeat cycle of snotty noses and dirty diapers for eternity. Ok, so you’ll be here for a while, but not forever. Keep from being an “eternity amnesiac” by keeping your focus farther down the road. Hope looks farther down the road.

Blog, SpeakingNicole O'MearaOctober 10, 2019hope, eternity amnesia, Paul Tripp Comments

Community Provides Hope

I don’t like to feel alone. That’s probably my Enneagram 6-ness talking, but since God placed the 6 within me, I’m going with the idea that God doesn’t want me to feel alone either. Even though I know people get IEP’s all the time, I feel alone in this. God knows I feel alone. I told him so, admitting my inadequacies and my worries. I prayed it all out with no idea of what I needed, just grateful that God was present with me in the nebulousness of my new path.

And then, this happened.

BlogNicole O'MearaSeptember 26, 2019IEP, community, prayerComment

Hope From an Old Note

Last week, I came across an old note in the margin of my Bible. I was reading Psalm 9 and tucked next to verse 18 in my messy scrawl was this note: 7/5/12 - one week post referral

It was a reminder from 2012 me to future me. I love writing notes in my Bible because, as time passes, they become a written testimony of what God has done in my life. The day I wrote that note, God was speaking to my heart that He had not forgotten our children. Today, I needed that reminder again.

BlogNicole O'MearaSeptember 19, 2019adoption, trauma, hearing loss, psalms Comments

21 Days of Prayer for Your Friend with Cancer

What do you do when you want (shall I say “need”) to support a friend? What if you aren’t close enough to do the do-ing things you long to do?

I wrote out 21 Bible verses that I will pray for my friend with cancer, one verse for each day she is gone at a treatment center. Want the list? I’m sharing it so you can join me. Or use it to pray for other friends.

Let’s lift up these words of promise to the One who love us best and first.

BlogNicole O'MearaSeptember 11, 2019prayer, cancer, crisis support, verses, psalms Comment

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