Monthly ❤To❤ (Rest In The Lord)

 I think it's safe to say that we have all been under a lot of stress and anxiety lately, a stream of unrelenting pressure from which there seems to be little to no relief.  I hope the words shared here today will help us all find both encouragement and peace in the midst of our struggles.  I believe the Lord wants us to rest in Him...let go, shake off our troubles and learn how to relax even during challenging and difficult circumstances.  God, Himself rested on the seventh day!  How can I rest, you might ask.  Well, that looks different for everyone, but what I do know is that our very survival depends on us taking a break from the stresses that are weighing us down, lest we become easy prey for the enemy to attack us.  We owe it to ourselves to take a step back, a step away and allow ourselves some time to be refreshed and recharged.  Yes, the issues and cares may still be there when we come back, but at least we can view them from a new and different perspective, with new strength and new eyes.  Lord, I pray that You will give us the wisdom to relax and enjoy the abundant life You have for each of us.  Help us to cast our cares and worries on You, to be free from anxiety.  Lord, we believe that You will give us renewed strength, energy and vision!  Amen!

                                                           From My ❤to your❤  

Monthly ❤To❤ (A Matter of The Heart)

 God alone knows our heart!  Have you ever wondered what kind of heart God is looking for and why He is so interested in our heart?  Well, our heart is the very seat of our emotions, thoughts and will...the core of our being, essentially, our heart is the central control center for our life.  It is the spiritual part of us where our thoughts, emotions and desires dwell.  Quite often in life our biggest problem is not external, but internal...all of us at times have a heart problem.  The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?"  This lets me know that we are blind to just how pervasive and invasive our heart problem can be.  At times, we may not understand our own heart and sometimes find ourselves questioning why we may think, say or do certain things...things that may even be contrary to what we know is right.  Well, I would venture to say it's because of the condition of our heart.  The Fall has affected us at the deepest level, our heart, and we have all been tainted by sin.  This is why the Bible emphasizes in Proverbs 4:23 the importance of diligently guarding our hearts for from it flows the springs of life and in Proverbs 23:7 it tells us that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.  So, what we think...what we say...what we do and what we feel, all stem from the condition of our heart.  How we live this life is "A Matter of The Heart" which is why God sets high importance on us keeping our hearts pure.  The good news is, God does not expect us to do this on our own.  Psalm 44:21 tells us that "He knows the secrets of the heart" and, if we invite Him to search and test our heart, He is willing to remove those things that are not pleasing to Him.  God will work in our heart and fill us with new thoughts, emotions and desires.  He will create in us a clean heart.  He will remove our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh...a heart moldable to His will!  Let Psalm 51:10 be our prayer today and everyday..."Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right Spirit within me."  Amen!

                                                            From My ❤to your❤  

Monthly ❤To❤ (Focus On Christ, Not The Crisis)

 It's so easy to get distracted by the "background noise" in life...to focus on the chaos, trials and challenges, but that is not God's desire for our lives.  "The struggle is real", as we often hear said.  Being a believer does not exempt us from the sufferings of this present time, but it does give us the assurance that our God is still in control and has a plan!  It is not meant for us to question the "why" during uncertain times.  Instead, we must trust God even during the "unknowns" of life.  He is our refuge, comfort and peace!  Be encouraged and rest in knowing that God is never caught by surprise.  We are exactly where he planned for us to be in this very moment in life.  Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and rejoice, yes, rejoice knowing that God will see us through this season..just as He has done so many times before.

Monthly ❤To❤ (Change Your Thinking)

Why is it so easy to believe a lie rather than the truth, especially the lies that the enemy tries to get us to believe about ourselves.  There are seasons in life that if I am not careful, I can find myself in a vicious cycle of thoughts that are destructive (e.g., I am not enough, I CAN'T, how will I make it through, etc.).  I'm sure you know the kind of thoughts that I am referring to, and, just like me sometimes allow yourself to "go there"!  Well, let's make a commitment today that it is time for us to "CHANGE OUR THINKING".  With God's help we can renew our minds and think differently.  His word tells us so in Romans 12:2.  When we have negative and self-deprecating thoughts about ourselves it means that somewhere along the way we have started to believe lies instead of allowing our minds to be saturated with God's unchanging truth.  So I challenge you and myself to use what I refer to as the "Replacement Principle".   It's simple, but must be practiced daily.  Every time a thought arises that is contrary to who we know that we are in Christ Jesus, we remove the lie by replacing it with a truth from God's word.   How about it my Sisters, let's decide today to change our thinking so that God can change our lives!  (Scripture references -- Philippians 4:8, 2 Corinthians 10:5)

From My ❤to your❤  

Monthly ❤To❤ (Live Like You Spend Time With Jesus)

I heard this expression, "Live Like You Spend Time With Jesus" a while back and decided to adopt it as a phrase that I now use often.  It's very simple, yet profound and it provoked me to think about the best way for my daily life to reflect that I do spend time with Jesus....how will I let my light so shine that others will see my good works and glorify my Father.  So, I have decided to pair this phrase (Live Like You Spend Time With Jesus) with one of my favorite scriptures -- Galatians 5:22-23 -- "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law".  To me, the fruit of the Spirit is more than a list of character traits.  They are the sum total expression of how we as believers should live...a life transformed by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.  The fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Spirit, not by us and as we continue to grow in the Lord, the characteristics of Christ...the fruit of the Spirit will be manifested in our lives.  Let us pray and seek God diligently so that these qualities not only illuminate our growing inner posture of obedience to God, but also that they may have an impact on those around us so others may see and say that we, "LIVE LIKE WE SPEND TIME WITH JESUS"!

Monthly ❤To❤ (GODfidence)

 Throughout our lives we have often heard the words, "have confidence" or "be more confident", in other words be sure of yourself and your ability to do whatever it is you are planning to accomplish.  Certainly, it is important for us to believe in ourselves, however, that belief should always be grounded in our abilities being connected to God -- Philippians 4:6 -- I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.  As Christian women of God we should define our confidence as knowing that we are who God says we are...not dependent on our own abilities, strengths or merits because in and of ourselves we are unreliable.  We must, therefore, replace the world's definition of having confidence in ourselves to having GODfidence...faith in God..in His word...faith in the One who give us gifts and talents to carry out the work He has in advance set forth for us to do.  GODfidence (confidence in God rather than ourselves) allows Him to intercede on our behalf.  We don't have to feel uncertain in life and we don't have to rely on our own strength.  Instead, we can move forward in GODfidence...having a supernatural self assurance in our God given abilities...trusting God completely to equip us thoroughly to accomplish His will.  God will not just leave us hanging out there alone when we trust and depend on Him!  Walk in GODfidence!!!

Proverbs 3:26 , ESV: "for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught." 

Philippians 1:6, KJV: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

Monthly ❤To❤ (PEACE)

 

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

"When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul..."

by Horatio G. Spafford

This well-known hymn was birthed out of the writer's tragedy (loosing four of his daughters in a boating accident).  Even before this accident, he and his wife were not strangers to tragedy.  Although maybe not as great as what Spafford and his wife experienced, I am sure we have all had our share of tragedies...it comes with this thing called "LIFE"!  So how do we get to a place of peace, a place where in spite of what life brings our way...in spite of a pandemic...we, too, can say "It Is Well With My Soul".  In all honesty, I cannot say with confidence that  I would have had the intestinal fortitude to pen such words as Spafford did during that time.  BUT, I do know that I must trust God's word and believe His promises.  His promise of peace comes with context about what we must do -- do not be anxious...pray with thanksgiving about everything.  Then, and only then, are we able to take hold to the peace that will transcend our understanding!  It's a supernatural peace that will bring calm as well as guard our heart and mind, in spite of the chaos and turmoil going on around us.  So I encourage you, Ladies, let us take hold of this peace TODAY by placing our full confidence in God and being thankful in every situation!

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, your minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7