The Good and the Bad

"Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity."

Job 2:10

When life seems to go our way and there is peace and joy, it is easy to praise God for all our blessings.  But when our lives don't go the way we anticipated and we go through adversity, how do we feel about God in those moments?  How do we feel when our focus is off our blessings and we are thrust into a bad situation? 

Job is an excellent example of how we are to view God especially during the trials in our lives.  Job was wise and loved God despite all the suffering he had endured.  Job's love for God did not depend on a solution to all his problems.  Job trusted and loved God because of all that God is.

Our love for God should not be based on only what God can do for us.  We should love Him for who He is.  Focus on God's character and it will help you to realize that despite our hardship, God is still with us.  I have found that when I am in the middle of a difficult time in my life, once I get through it, I am stronger for it.

I'm hoping this will bless you!

See Overcoming Anxiety.

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Calm and Quiet

"I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within." Psalm 131

Life can be so busy.  There is always one more project to get done.  The fast pace can rob us of the quietness we need within ourselves.  It is important to have  times of calm and quiet.  It is not wise to accelerate through life.  During our quiet times with God, in prayer and reading scripture, is when we are more likely to hear Him.  Distractions keep us from listening.

Let the Lord speak to you as you read His word.  Allow Him to refresh your heart and renew your mind with the strength to live life for His glory.

Take a moment to refuel your soul...be calm and quiet.

Be Blessed Today!

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A Teachable Spirit

"Do not be wise in your own eyes."

Proverbs 3:7

This has always been a tough one for me.  How do you handle correction?  When we are offended when we are corrected we are not mature in our faith.  Do you listen and learn from what is being said or do you take offense?  Not having a teachable spirit is a sign of pride. 

Here are some steps that have helped me:

1.  Listen:  Sit quiet and listen to what is being said.  Then ask yourself if it lines up with the Word of God and His teaching.

2.  Pray:  Pray that God will guide you and bring you clarity.  Read scripture on that particular subject.

3.  Humility:  Accept correction and consider it a blessing.  Have a repentant heart and let the Holy Spirit convict you.

I pray that we overcome our prideful nature and learn to obtain a teachable spirit.  Let's be better students of the Word.  Pray that God will grant us spiritual wisdom and spiritual maturity. 

Be Blessed Today!

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The Good and Bad

"Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity."

Job 2:10

When life seem to go our way and there is peace and joy, it is easy to praise God for all our blessings.  But when our lives don't go our way and adversity strikes us, how do we feel about God?  Do we love and trust Him just because of what He does for us?  How do we feel when our blessings go away?  How do we feel when bad things happen?

Job was wise and loved God despite his sufferings when he said "Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity."  Job's love for God did not depend on a solution to all his problems.  Job trusted and loved God because of all that He is.

Our love for God should not be based on only His blessings but for who He is.  Focus on God's character and it will help you to take your attention off our circumstances.  It is during the trials in life when our character is being shaped and God is with us through it all.  It brings me comfort when I know He's with me.

I hope this blessed you today!

Let us pray for you! 

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Overcoming Discouragement

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

John 14:1

Discouragement can be so debilitating and can destroy our self confidence.  We can become unstable, afraid and under valued.

A past employer found enjoyment in discouraging me.  For him, it brought a strange kind of satisfaction.  For every discouraging comment I received from him, I would run back to my desk and write out five encouraging things about myself.  In those five things, I always gave God the glory for all those gifts.  This habit of writing down my list of encouragement was helpful when dealing with discouragement.

It is not necessarily wrong to say good things about yourself.  God's light and wisdom is in you.  He created you.  He planned you and He loves you.  When we make mistakes we should not be discouraged by them, but learn from our mistakes.  When others put us down we need to remember who we are in Christ.

Train yourself to think positive especially when discouragement comes.  Don't allow the enemy to win.  We are children of a King.  Despite the low emotions we go through at times, we are still His beloved children.  We should not be afraid what mere man can do to us!

Blessings!

Overcoming What Scares Us

Be A Woman of Prayer!

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving

Colossians 4:2

We sometimes look at prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves.  The biblical idea of prayer is that God's holiness, His purpose, and His wisdom might lead us through life.  Prayer is also a channel so that we may get to know God.   Prayer bring us into closer communion with Him. 

From my own experience, instead of my circumstances changing, I find that I began to change.  Prayer alters the circumstances through me.  Jesus, by the Spirit of God, always keeps us on top of our circumstances.  The good of praying gets us to know God and allows God to perform His will through us. 

We can pray for you!

Other resources:  Contentment and Peace

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Becoming a Woman of Success

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path."  Proverbs 3: 5-6

Fame and fortune defines worldly success.  We see examples of it all the time on the cover of magazines in the supermarket.  It seems like such a glamorous life and it can be enticing at times.  What I don't see in the wordly successes of life is peace, joy, love, contentment and eternal security which are available through the love of God. 

How do we establish this kind of success?  Every believer has been given abilities, talents and spiritual gifts.  These wonderful gifts that God has given enables each of us to do the things that God calls us to do.  At times we struggle to find areas of accomplishments in our lives.  Maybe these struggles are from our own earthly wants and desires and we forget to consult God for what He wants for us.

Search out how to be the kind of successful woman God had always intended for you to be.  Here are some helpful tips:

1.   Ask the Lord what His will is for your life.  You must make the decision to seek after Him first.

2.   Be obedient.  We cannot expect God to help us in life if we choose to disobey His principles and teachings.  We are to obey by God's guildlines when we are pursing our goals.

3.  We are not alone in our search for success.  The Holy Spirit is with us and will be our counselor and guide.  We first must submit to the Holy Spirits leading, direction, and empowerment of God's Spirit.

We must look at which kind of success we truly want for our lives - wordly or spiritual.  Measure your understanding against God's word.  Living a successful life God's way is truly the only one way we'll ever achieve true success.

Be blessed!

Other resources:  True Success

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