What I’m (re)Reading: Proverbs

May 17, 2012 in books, The Word with 0 Comments

I’ve probably read the full book of Proverbs a good dozen times or more. But recently, I found myself in a place where I desired wisdom in regards to various decisions, and it’s embarrassing how long it took me to realize the simple solution: go to God’s word and His book of wisdom! It’s literally spelled out here how I can begin my quest to be wise:

 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”

- Proverbs 9:10

 

If I want wisdom, this is how it starts: by fearing God. Simple and astounding all at once.

 

A few favorite passages that have just been slamming me over the head lately with their profound and incredible truths:

 

“…Fear the Lord and depart from evil. I will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.”

- Proverbs 3:7-8

 

“He who has knowledge spares his words…”

- Proverbs 17:27

 

“A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?”

- Proverbs 20:24

 

Do you have a favorite verse from Proverbs? Hit up the comment section below and share!

A Burden Transfer

May 14, 2012 in God, The Word with 4 Comments

Life can be heavy. As someone who serves in ministry, I know all-too-well, that things are continually happening in the lives of those around us that would make you drop your jaw in shock, sadness, and sympathy. I’ve walked through some of those seemingly inexplicable things myself. Bottom line: life can be heavy.

With the general consensus being that we’re all going to face some hard things in this lifetime, why on earth would we unnecessarily add to our already heavy loads? Don’t think you do that? Let me tell you, I am fairly confident that, intentional or not, you may be taking some completely unnecessary weight upon yourself and adding it to your load. The way we do that is by carrying burdens we were never meant to carry. What are those? All the things that God wants to carry for us.

 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, from I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

- Matthew 11: 28-30

 

This morning in my prayer time with God, I felt such a sense of heaviness. My shoulders literally sagged under the weight of the many things I am facing right now. And suddenly, in a moment of clarity, I felt the urge to physically move my arms and lift this proverbial load off my shoulders and hand it to God. Why should I be carrying things that are surely too large for me and will crush me in time with their weight? God is with me, waiting and wanting to take my load and make it lighter. I’d be a fool not to let Him!

Today, do a burden transfer. Get before Him in prayer and admit the things that have been weighing you down. Then, leave them with Him. Allow Him to carry those things for you and lift them off your shoulders. You’ll feel freedom that you haven’t felt in a while, simply because you’ve taken the time to surrender something that is His anyway. Let’s let Him do what He does best and carry us.

The Myth of Security

May 10, 2012 in faith, Life with 0 Comments

Security. I crave it, I’ll admit. There’s something very basic in me that just longs for safety and comfort. My flesh wants to be safe and comfortable and secure. I subconsciously try to avoid things that would cause me pain or discomfort. It’s within my natural instincts to want to protect myself. Things that threaten my security are immediately red flagged in my psyche as something to be avoided at all costs.

The problem with living for my own security, though, is that if I am mostly concerned with staying safe, I am never going to actually be safe. Helen Keller summed it up beautifully here:

“Security is a myth. The reason we don’t experience it is because it doesn’t exist. Avoiding danger or failure is no safer in the long run than outright risk. Life is either a daring adventure of nothing at all.”

- Helen Keller

In all reality, craving security is just as much of an insecurity as the boldest insecurity we can fathom. We were made to stretch ourselves beyond what our immediate mind puts up as a stopping place. If we never reach forward, we’ll never actually stretch our faith and life muscles, and, as a result, we’ll begin to atrophy on a mental and spiritual level. God wants our trust in Him to be so steadfast, that nothing He asks us to do is too great, because we know He goes with us.

Today, take the first step in that risk you believe God has been calling you to. Once you step out, you’ll realize that He will never ask you to go somewhere that He cannot lead or keep you in. He is with you! That alone is reason enough to have the courage to take those risks, knowing you have the best possible safety net in the arms of a loving Father who wants to see you not just survive, but thrive. Challenge your sense of security today – it’ll be worth it!

A Mind Sifter

May 8, 2012 in the mind with 0 Comments

My mind can be a truly messy place. I love our digital age as much as the next person, but because of the easy accessibility of so many attention-vying tools nowadays, I often find my head being filled with empty, meaningless info that tends to squeeze its way into my thought capacity, pushing other, far more worthy things out with its dominance. The things I need to be focused on will try to work their way back in, but my distracted mind will be so full with other details, that it all winds up a wash: I wind up accomplishing nothing due to being overwhelmed with all the extra clutter in my head. The war between the worthy and the unworthy will get me no where, and I’ll have wasted more time contemplating my frustration than actually accomplishing anything in the first place.

Today, I need a mind sifter. What’s a mind sifter? It’s a concentrated effort to sift out all the junky, unworthy thoughts and pursuits that try to take up precious space in my consciousness. It’s a tool for helping me focus on the things that deserve my attention (ie, my relationship with God, my tasks as a mother and wife, and my God-given purpose), while letting the things that don’t (ie pointless arguing, insecurity, and baseless entertainment), fall through the cracks and out of my mind.

Take a mental sifter to your mind today and shake it up! Watch as the things that don’t deserve your thoughts and time fall through, leaving behind the things of value that truly deserve to be there. It will bring clarity, perspective, and, I think you’ll find, you may just start to accomplish more with your days. When we stay focused on the important things, we’ll feel more fulfilled, knowing at the end of the day, that we did what we should have instead of wasting our time idly.

So, let’s get sifting!

The Unseen Movement

May 2, 2012 in God's will, The Word with 4 Comments

Do you ever feel like you’re going no where? Like you’ve moved exactly zero steps in pursuit of your God-given destiny? I have some potentially life-changing news for you today:

Just because you can’t see the steps, doesn’t mean they’re not being taken.

 

Continue Reading…

And the winners are…

May 1, 2012 in giveaway with 1 Comment

Congrats to the winners of my Beth Moore book giveaway!

  • Josie
  • Heather
  • Andi
  • Thania

 

Winners have been notified via email, as well. If you see your name listed here, please check your email so that I can get your book out to you as soon as possible.

This giveaway was so much fun, it has me wanting to do even more giveaways soon! Keep your eyes here for the details!

Reminder! Only 1 more day to enter!

April 30, 2012 in giveaway with 0 Comments

Last week I told you about my giveaway of 4 copies of Beth Moore’s book “So Long Insecurity,” and guess what? Tomorrow is the day I pick the winners! If you want to win, here’s a reminder of how to do it!

Leave a comment on the original giveaway post (NOT this post), alerting me that you’d like to win. Want extra chances to win? You can earn one additional entry each by 1) Following me on Twitter 2) Liking me on Facebook, and 3) Tweeting about this giveaway and @ mentioning me in your Tweet. That’s a total of 4 times your name can be entered if you complete each step! If you do these addition steps, please let me know in your comment, by saying “I followed you on Twitter” or “I Liked you on Facebook” etc. If you already follow me on Twitter or Like me on Facebook, that earns you an additional entry, too, so let me know!

 

I’m so excited to pick the winners tomorrow, so be sure to get those entries in!

Giveaway Alert! I’m giving away some books!

April 24, 2012 in books, giveaway with 22 Comments

I’m so excited to announce my very first giveaway! I’m even more excited that it’s a book that I have recently re-read and love! Beth Moore’s book “So Long Insecurity” is a must-read for any woman who has ever faced the unsettling debilitation that insecurity can cause. I have read and reread it, and I couldn’t recommend it more! Now, it’s your turn to discover this amazing guide to freedom from insecurity!

 

 

 

So what do you have to do to be one of the 4 winners? It’s easy! Simply leave a comment to this post, alerting me that you’d like to win. Want extra chances to win? You can earn one additional entry each by 1) Following me on Twitter 2) Liking me on Facebook, and 3) Tweeting about this giveaway and @ mentioning me in your Tweet. That’s a total of 4 times your name can be entered if you complete each step! If you do these addition steps, please let me know in your comment, by saying “I followed you on Twitter” or “I Liked you on Facebook” etc. If you already follow me on Twitter or Like me on Facebook, that earns you an additional entry, too, so let me know!

 

Winners will be selected at random and notified via email. The drawing will take place on Tuesday, May 1, so feel free to share this opportunity until then! I’m so excited for you guys! Enjoy!

Waiting for a Feeling

April 23, 2012 in emotions with 0 Comments

Indulge me as I turn this blog into a public confessional of sorts for just a moment. My confession is this: there are days when I just don’t feel like doing anything. Yes, yes, there are days that dawn only to find me laid out in bed, lazily browsing through Twitter on my iPhone, as I fight the pull of my eyelids, desperately attempting to close again. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, boy, oh boy, it sure does take every ounce of my will power to pull my protesting body out of the warm cocoon of my bed to face the day.

The thing is, if I waited until I felt like getting out of bed on those days, I might just lay there all day! On the mornings when this temptation for hibernation comes upon me, I have to push beyond what I feel, and remind myself of what I know to be true: I have to get out of bed. My kids need me, my husband needs me, and I need to go about doing the many, many things that await me each and every day. Those feelings that urge me to stay in bed are misleading. They promise me the joy of relaxation, while conveniently overlooking how much additional stress a full day siesta would actually cost me. If I stay in bed all day, I’ll inevitably be even more frustrated by the piling up and combining of work that I missed doing on that day. It will feel good in the moment, but eventually, my actions will have cost me, and they’ll undoubtedly come to collect.

Continue Reading…

Turning Passion into Action

April 19, 2012 in God's will, Life with 0 Comments

My story of healing from cancer is well-known here on this blog. So much of my life has been affected by that single event, that it’s not rare for some reference to that experience to pop up several times a month in various blogs on various topics. It’s unavoidable because that experience left fingerprints on virtually every event that has followed (and, sometimes even preceded) it. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though. It would and could be a bad thing if every time you heard me mention cancer, it was in a context of anger, bitterness, or self-pity. More likely than not, though, when I bring that time in my life up, it’s out of a place of passion, empathy, or realization. You see, I couldn’t walk through such a life-altering time and remain unchanged by it. It did something deep inside of me. It ignited a passion the likes of which I had never known, the likes of which I have yet to recover from, and don’t really want to. Continue Reading…

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