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Are You Headed For The Ditch?

Are You Headed For The Ditch?

When I was a little girl approximately 4 years old, my mom and I were about to leave home, when she realized that she needed to run back into the house for something.   When she jumped out of the car to go back into the house,  I quickly jumped into the driver’s seat of our new salmon-colored Ford car.  I put the car in drive and headed straight for the ditch, barely missing our mailbox while gripping the steering wheel as though I knew what I was doing.

I probably had seen my mom and dad do this at least a hundred times or more, so I decided that I could do it too.  Needless to say when my mom came out of the house, she was in total shock, and thankful all at the same time that I was alive.   I think the only reason I didn’t get a spanking for my little escapade that day, was that my mom was so relieved that I was still all in one piece.

You see even as adults if left to our own devices we would drive our lives straight into the ditch.  So many times we want to do just as I did as a child. We want God to get out of the driver’s seat so that we can take over. Trust me, when I tell you,  that the safest thing that we can do, is ask Jesus to take the wheel.  Not only should we ask Him to take the wheel, but also to keep the wheel, because He can see a lot further down the road than we can. He knows where the potholes are, the curves as well as the detours and He knows our destination and we don’t.

What I am saying to you today, is to trust God with your life. He knows what He is doing, and He knows your purpose for coming to this planet.  Allow Him the space and time to reveal those things to you, as He sees that you are ready to handle them.  Then and only then will you get to experience all that He has in store for you. He’s the ultimate chauffeur. Stress less and enjoy the ride, you are headed for a safe arrival.–

28 “for in Him we live and move and have our being..“Acts 17:28
Dedicated to Leading Women to Live Victoriously by Empowering  them to Step into Greatness.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart  and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,  and he will make your paths straight.[a
Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, you people;  pour out your hearts to him,  for God is our refuge.
Jeremiah 17:7
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,  whose confidence is in him.
Psalm 37:23-24
23 The Lord makes firm the steps   of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,   for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
Isaiah 30:21
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 58:11
11 The Lord will guide you always;   he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,  like a spring whose waters never fail.
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;   I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

 

 

Knowing When And How To Be Content

Knowing When And How To Be Content
Philippians 4:11-13
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

Today’s lesson is about contentment.  I would like to first ask you a few questions that will help you to determine your level of contentment.

1.  Do you struggle to have peace in your life?

2.  Are you always reaching for bigger and better, or are you satisfied with what God has provided for you?

3.  Do you often think when this happens or when I get this I will be happy?

4.  Do you find yourself complaining a lot?

5.  Are you jealous of what others have?

If you are answering yes to any or all of these questions, you are not living in a place of contentment.

In the society that we live in today, there is always the pressure to have more and to be more.  Please hear my heart on this.  It is a good thing for us to strive to be the best that we can be.  There is nothing wrong with having goals that will take you to the next level in your life.  However, when this quest for more causes us to sin, by worrying or being jealous of others, or grumbling and complaining, it means that we are starting to be ungrateful for what God has already blessed us with.  Ingratitude causes discontentment.

May I be transparent for a minute?  Years ago I had a career as an Interior Designer.  I was blessed to go in some of the most beautiful homes imaginable.   I remember starting to crave the lifestyles that I was constantly seeing.  I became discontent with what I had already been blessed with.  I wanted the big house and the luxury cars and the designer bags and the clothes too, that went with it all.   As I have matured in my walk with God, I now realize that I wanted success for all of the wrong reasons.  It wasn’t about anyone but me.  I even remember being a bit jealous of those who were living the life that I dreamed of.  How sad it must have made God, to see me so ungrateful when He had already blessed me with so much.

So you may be asking, what did I do to go from discontentment to contentment and live a life of total peace?   To answer your question, for many years now I have been keeping a gratitude journal.   At the end of each day, I write down the things that I am most grateful, for that day.  This habit has literally changed my life.

My focus has shifted from the frustration of what I don’t have to be grateful for what I do have.  It has helped me to even be more appreciative of the very small things.  I now look to see the blessing as well as the lesson in everything, and that even includes the things that most would consider difficult or unfair.   It has been amazing to see that when I stopped worrying about many of these things, God blessed me with them anyway.    Through spending time with God, reading His word, and journaling, I can honestly say I am no longer the same person that I was years ago, and I praise God for that!   So today if you are not in a place of contentment, stop looking at the person in the mirror, and start looking up.  When you start to focus on God, peace will flood in like a river, and all of a sudden your perspective will start to shift and your dreams will start to align with God’s will for your life.  Don’t forget, look up!

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Luke 12:15
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
2 Corinthians 12:10
10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Proverbs 30:8-9
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches,  but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal,  and so dishonor the name of my God.
Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

 

 

 

Because He Lives

Originally posted April 16, 2017
Mark 16:1-6

1 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!…