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Showing posts from January, 2014

#Determination

Determination - Decide conclusively, fixed purpose, resoluteness, firmness of purpose. What is the goal? What am I trying to achieve? The answers to those questions will guide me in staying the course to finish the race and staying on course. It will take discipline & accountability on my part. 1 Peter 5:7-8 Cast ALL you anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled & alert. Be aware, keep your guard up. The enemy comes to steal, kill & destroy. God wants us to give all our burdens, insecurities to Him. We are never to give in to Satan or give up but we are to resist him in the faith.  (James 4:7) Proverbs 31:17 (AMP) tells us to gird ourselves with strength (spiritual, mental and physical fitness for our God-given tasks. Our strength comes from the Lord and He wants us to rely on Him for everything. Becoming a woman of self- discipline (and determination) honors God and helps me  to live the Godly character of self-control - emphasis added. (Lysa T

Psalm 84:2

   Happy Thursday! Welcome back to my blog as I unpack Psalm 84:2 In chapter 1 of Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst states, "We crave what we eat." For me that is so true because what I crave I usually eat. But for me it's more than that, I don't struggle with food and overeating. However, like most of us I could certainly make better food choices. The enemy is so deceitful and wicked, he knows our areas of weakness: 1 John 2:15-16...the cravings of sinful man, the lusts of his eyes and the boastings of what he has and does..." For me it was "Lust of the eyes" a struggle of trying to meet my material needs outside the will of God. I love to shop and for years I was a shop-a-holic. This is one are where God has worked in and through me to "Overcome in this area of my life." 1 Corinthians 10:23 states Everything is permissible - but not beneficial. Our areas of weakness can consume us if we lose site of the Truth and the Truth of God

What are you craving?

This week I started the Made to Crave Online Bible Study  with Proverbs 31 Ministries. This Bible study is about satisfying our deepest desire with God, not food (or whatever you crave -- money, bad relationships, drugs, material possessions, job/status or whatever it is that you spend the majority of your time thinking about). One of the statements in chapter 1 reads: "We were made to crave - long for, want greatly, desire eagerly and beg for - God. Only God." One of our first optional tasks was to participate in the Made to Crave Blog Hop. One of the topics was to tell you why I am doing this study and to invite you join. I have participated in two previous P31 online studies and find them very engaging. I want to be not only physically healthy but spiritually healthy as well. Connecting with like-minded women studying God's Word and discovering His truth is the best way to do that. For more details on the study and to sign up - here's the link: Made to Crav

God Listens

Today in my quiet time I read this devotional and I wanted to share it with you. It's from Max Lucado's Devotional Bible. Read James 5:13-18. We live in a loud world. To get someone's attention is no easy task. We must be willing to set everything aside to listen; turn down the radio, turn away from the monitor/iPad, turn the corner of the page and set down the book. When someone is willing to silence everything else so he can hear us clearly, it is a priviledge. A rare priviledge, indeed. You can talk to God because He listens. Your voice matters in heaven . He takes you and me very seriously. When you enter His presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God, and He listens. He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the nursing home and long-term care facilities. I experienced this, this week in a Bible Study I do,

The Pathway to Spiritual Growth

       God wants His children to be the image of Christ but we do not grow in our faith unless we take action.      First, we are responsible for renewing our mind (Romans 12:2). Though God saves us and gives us a new spirit. He does not give us a new brain. Our minds have many trenches that have been dug or worn by rebellion, self-focus, or habit. That is why it is import to meditate on the Bible, which expresses the thoughts of God. Meditation is more than reading – it involves thinking about what the words mean and then applying truth. There’s no way to grow spiritually without absorbing Scripture into our thinking.      A second step toward Christian maturity is being ready to admit and assume responsibility for failure. When we deny our sins, we delay spiritual growth, but as we learn to confess wrongdoing, the opposite happens – growth is inevitable.      The third step naturally follows the second: after confession should come repentance. This is more than a mer