When something happens to us that seems unfair or when someone does or says something to us that hurts or makes us feel less than what we truly are it can bring us down, it can put us in a funk, it can make us believe something that is far from true...but only if we let it. That is not what God intended for us. "We can be consumed with our situation or we can consume our thoughts with Jesus." We are more than just a sum total of our feelings. We are children of God made to walk in truth. When someone is disrespectful or rude, ask yourself why they are treating you that way? What are the underlying issues? Jealousy, insecurity, judgment? "The mind feasts on what it focuses on. What consumes my thinking will be the making or breaking of my identity." When we fixate on the negative, that is what we become. "God never intended for us to look to others to give us the kind of love only He can give." We can only find fulfillment in Him. When we let someone else rule our thoughts & feelings, it ruins us. Do not become what someone or something labeled you, become the person God has created you to be. "The enemy wants us to feel rejected, left out, lonely, & less than..and when we truly do feel empty because of something or someone in our life..God says, I created you with a longing in your heart that only I can fill." Fix your eyes on God, let your thoughts and actions be focused on Him, pray for people who belittle you, pray for patience, understanding, and peace. Pray for the ability to find your worth in Him and Him alone, not what that person says or thinks about you, not what that person commented on Facebook, not that number on the scale, not the hurt that consumes your heart and mind. Your worth is not measured by people who mistreat you, by a number, or by how many likes you get on your Facebook post. "His way finds those things in me that pride refuses to see. It shows me a better way, a healthier perspective, and a more humble approach." You are a Child of God, worthy of His love, blessed, fulfilled by Him and only Him, You are enough, You are His. "Change me, Lord, to look and think and love more and more like you, I want your truth to be the loudest voice in my life. Correct me, comfort me, come closer to me." Feelings are indicators, not dictators. Free yourself of the feeling you're getting from people who might be jealous, who may downgrade you to make themselves look or feel better, free yourself from the feeling of not being good enough, skinny enough, etc. Take away that feeling of regret, disappointment, anger, negativity. Jesus did not die on the cross for you to feel that way. Your feelings do not own you. Each day, we must choose to park our mind, our thoughts, emotions, our worth, and trust in God. We must stop looking for fulfillment and pride based off of our circumstances and things we do or do not do. We must stop measuring our worth based off of people and how they choose to treat us. You are enough, you are loved, you do not need to prove yourself to anyone but Him. Live loved, knowing that you are enough, and your worth was measured on the cross by your Savior Jesus Christ. Prayer by Lysa TerKerust: "Lord, I give YOU this day. For Your glory, Your will, Your way..I humbly submit my plans, desires, and wants. May YOU increase as I decrease." "Be a blessing and you will always be blessed." "When we love others we are living the message of Jesus." "Walk in Jesus' steps. Speak His words of truth. Extend His grace and love. Bend to Him in prayer, and His peace will be your gift." --Wishing you a Merry Christmas & God's fullest blessings on your New Year! Enjoy this magical time of year with your loved ones, remember to be thankful & that HE is the reason for the season! ---Check out the song below- Forever Reign..one of my favorites..I listen to it in the while I exercise, while I drive, while I shower, while I clean house...a refreshing reminder of so many His truths! Live loved, Shadow
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At all times of our life here on Earth we are wanting something more or waiting for that next thing, what is that for you right now? It could be a promotion, a significant other, a nicer house, a child, a better job, a better body, good health, retirement, a goal you've been working for..etc. It's kind of like that saying goes, we get what we want, but then we just want something more. Will we ever truly be satisfied? It's human nature to strive for the next thing, but we forget to be content with what we have and forget to keep our focus on our number one priority, and that is The Lord our God. It can be so easy to focus on that one thing we are wanting, that we forget about all of the blessings in our life, all of the prayer's He has already answered, we forget our main focus, and that is Him. Sometimes God makes us wait, sometimes He has something better in store, sometimes He is shaping us into the person He wants us to become, sometimes He is preparing us for what's ahead, whatever it may be, we can rest in this truth: He has the best plan. A simple prayer.."May my hopes, dreams, goals, and desires be in line with Yours, Lord. Amen" If we want our hearts to be full, our cups to be over-flowing, our soul to be happy, and our minds to be at peace, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus! We must keep our thoughts fixed on Him, our goals, our dreams & desires, they all belong to Him. The creator, the great I am, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Father, our everlasting God. He knows us better than we know ourselves, He knows our every want, He knows our needs, He knows our future, He knows everything about us, and He knows our journey. Trust Him, stay focused on Him, fix your eyes on Him, & He will do the rest! It's great to have dreams, to have goals, to want, but we have to ask ourselves..is this for ME or is it for HIM? Do my wants/dreams/ideas line up with His? Do they honor and serve Him? Are they self-seeking or do they honor His kingdom and His people? Move your mind from the goal to the giver of the goal. God has our best interest in mind, He gives us gifts, talents, knowledge, and equips us so that we can serve Him, serve His people, and serve His Kingdom. And we get their by keeping our eyes fixed on Him. Whats next? We ask. He replies, Keep your eyes fixed on me, and I will show you." When we don't know what's next, when we're in that waiting period, when we just aren't quite sure what He has in store for us next, we say, "Lord, thank you for the amazing plan you have for each of us. We need You, Lord. We trust that your strength is the perfect match for our gaps. So we turn to you and whisper, "Lord, help me." Help us to see our next place of purpose, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you as you lead me to my next place of promise. Help me to see those places and accept them willingly. You are good at being God." If we want our minds to be at peace, we must keep our thoughts fixed on God's promises. Let's not let the distractions of this broken world come between what God's promises, power & love has in store for us. We fix our eyes on you Jesus, and we won't let anything cause us to wonder from you and the unfailing love You have for us. Passage from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young- "As you look at the day, months, years ahead of you, you see a complicated and overwhelming path. You wonder how you can possibly find your way through the maze set before you. Then you remember the One who is with you always, holding you by your right hand. You recall My promise to guide you with My counsel, and you begin to relax. As you look to Me, and look again at the path ahead, you notice that a peaceful fog has settled over it, obscuring your view. You can see only a few steps in front of you, so you turn your attention more fully to Me and begin to enjoy My Presence. The fog is a protection for you, calling you back into the present moment, fixing your eyes on Me. Someday the fog will no longer be necessary, for you will have learned to keep your focus on Me and on the path just ahead of you." Prayer by Lysa TerKeurst: "Lord, may the pursuit of my dreams be more about growing closer to You than anything else. Give us wisdom and courage as we follow Your lead." "Find a passion that wakes you up with excitement every morning and a love that pulls you home every evening." "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne."- Hebrews 12:2 Check out one of my favorite country songs below- Saltwater Gospel by the Eli Young Band --two thumbs up!! Thanks for reading! Sending love, happiness, and an abundance of blessings your way, and wishing you a super great God-filled day!! It's been a while since I've blogged, I've missed it!! A lot has changed since my last blog..I've started a new job in my hometown, I really love it! I've traveled two places I've never been, Big Sky, Montana where my best friend asked me to marry him on top of a mountain, and Punta Cana, DR where we went on our Honeymoon the week after we got MARRIED! :) I've also moved in to a home with my hubby, and I'm finding my new normal! So many great new things and answered prayers...God is seriously GOOD people!! Now that I'm getting all settled in..I wanted to share more of my crazy thoughts with you.....
Have you ever thought to yourself..the Bible is the most important thing we could ever read here on Earth and yet some people haven't or choose not to? Isn't that crazy to think about. I myself have heard many stories of the Bible and read or heard of many scriptures, but haven't read the Bible front to back word for word. How can I absorb God's word, live out God's word, and spread God's word if I don't truly know it? I think it's so important if there is one thing I do while I'm on Earth it better be to pick up God's word and read it, every word of it. Each day we must intentionally park our mind, our emotions, and our trust in God, and I think one of the best ways to do that is to dig into His word. A while back I decided I was going to start the Bible from the beginning, and read it word for word. I look forward to my time set aside each day to dig into God's word. I purchased a journaling Bible, that's really helped me to take notes along the way, stay engaged, and highlight the parts that stick out to me. I encourage everyone to set some time aside and fill your mind and body with the word of God, after all it is the most important words we'll ever read here on Earth. "God's word..comforts me. Corrects me. Connects me to the better version of myself." - Lysa TerKeurst. God's word is full of hope. It's uplifting, encouraging, and full of knowledge, courage, and everything we need. [Especially] during this time, with our current election and everything happening in our world (that is a whole different subject)..but we can find hope in God's word. A while back someone told me to write down my hopes, prayers, struggles, feelings, and scripture's that speak to me..it's amazing to see God truly working in your life. When I look back I'm just amazed at the prayers He has answered and the wonderful plan He has. He can turn your circumstances around in a blink of an eye. You see it unfold right before your eyes, it's so evident that His plan is wonderful and He works all things together for good. All of a sudden you're asking yourself what did I do to deserve this? God's blessings are SO abundant and full of His love. The word of God says..it's nothing we did or didn't do..but it's what God has did for us. Our God is SO good. Our plan doesn't even compare to the amazing plan He has for us. What is even more amazing, is you can look back on tough or challenging times and realize it was all apart of His amazing plan..we either learned something from it or He brought us something, someone, or somewhere even better than we could've imagined. That cliche quote, "Everything happens for a reason" becomes so evident and true. I often wonder how I can thank Him enough for all of His blessings, but the Bible says..He rejoices at the sound of our thanksgiving..He hears us! The more we thank Him, the more blessings He pours upon us. Cultivate a lifestyle of being thankful, of remembering what God has done and how blessed you are. He'll keep pouring it on you. Dig into His word, live it out, and write down your feelings, hopes, prayers..and look back and see how He has answered them even better than you imagined or thought possible. The shortest path to God's richest blessings is always paved with trust and obedience. Never doubt Him, He has so many blessings with your name on it..and they're right around the corner. Keep holding on, keep praying, keep being hopeful, keep yourself planted in His word, stay strong in your waiting period, backtrack and remember all the places God has been faithful in your life, then go forward with the assurance and confidence He is the same faithful God. "Therefore get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent and humbly except the word planted in you which can save you, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says." Prayer by Lysa TerKeurst: "Lord, I read Your Word like a love letter to my soul.Thank You for being so tender with my fears and worries. Thank You for the gift of knowing You really do have it all under control. Thank You for lavishing us with a hope beyond what we can see. Oh how You love us! Oh how I love You." Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!! |