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She Believes 3-Motivation Quotes

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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.

 

 

 

My Words For The Year

My Words For The Year

As we are now deep into the month of January, I am sure that many of you have already made your New Year’s resolutions by now.  Although I have made a few resolutions, I plan to do something that has really become popular in the last few years, and that is selecting a word for the year. 

However, instead of one word, I have selected two words for this year.  I have selected Obedience for my spiritual word, and the word Growth for my business.  As I am writing this, I just had the thought that maybe my words should be, Grow In Obedience.

 If I can be totally transparent with you, I don’t always obey God’s voice instantly, which to me is the same as disobedience.  Sometimes I wrestle with God.   And although I never win, it seems that my sinful nature always wants to have its own selfish way before I am willing to surrender to God’s will.

 I am writing about this today, because there may be others of you, who struggle with immediate obedience.  It’s not that I am willfully disobedient, it’s that I don’t say yes Lord immediately, and I don’t always respond to His promptings immediately.   My goal this year, is to say yes Lord more, and not to question Him, but to simply obey.  I know in my heart of hearts, that He always knows what is best for me, and I will trust that.

My goal this year is to joyfully serve God in whatever capacity that he asks of me.

 I am starting to notice that the more time that I spend in God’s word and in prayer and journaling, the easier obedience seems to be for me.  So,” Yes, Lord” is my new goal for the New Year.   If this is something that you struggle with also, I encourage you to join me in this goal. 

You may want to write yourself a note and keep it in your Bible regarding your new commitment to obedience.  As a reminder, I have written the word Obedience with a bold black marker on a bright orange notecard to keep in my Bible.   It will be a constant reminder throughout the year that my goal is not to question God, but to simply trust and obey Him.   Every time I open my Bible it will be right there to help me stay focused on the goal of obedience.

Prayerfully at the end of 2023, we will be much better in the area of obedience than ever before, and in the process, we will grow closer to God.  If we do this, I am convinced that we will see some incredible things unfold in our lives just because we were willing to say, Yes Lord!    Have a very Happy and very Obedient New Year!

60 I will hurry, without delay,  to obey your commands.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

23 This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authentic You!

Psalms 139:14-18
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    When I was made in the secret place,
    When I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    All the days ordained for me were written in your book
    Before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    They would outnumber the grains of sand—

    When I awake, I am still with you.

In the passage of scripture above we are reminded that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God has created and formed us just as he desired for us to be. So with that being true why are so many women these days trying to be, or look like someone they aren’t. The great God of this universe has given us His stamp of approval.

An Intentional Journey

Happy New Year !

January 6, 2017

 Philippians 3:13 (NLV)
13 No, Christian brothers, I do not have that life yet. But I do one thing. I forget everything that is behind me and look forward to that which is ahead of me.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope.
Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT)
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends![a] His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLV)
18 “Do not remember the things that have happened before. Do not think about the things of the past. 19 See, I will do a new thing. It will begin happening now. Will you not know about it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

When I was a child I heard my dad say several times, ” the older you get the faster time goes”.  During those early years it seemed as though it would take Christmas forever to come. Boy have things changed! It almost seems like we are having Christmas every six months.

What is a Mother?

The hand that rocks the cradle / Is the hand that rules the world.” ~~W. R. Wallace

What is a Mother?

A Mother has so many things to do,
From washing, ironing, cleaning to tying a shoe.
She scrubs, she mends, she cooks and sews,
She bathes the children and washes their clothes.
When they forget to wash their faces clean,
And their clothes are the muddiest you’ve ever seen,
Who repairs the clothes and scrubs them like new?
Of course, that is what a Mother will do.

Motivations

You know, all that really matters is that the people you love are happy and healthy. Everything else is just sprinkles on the sundae.
Paul Walkr

True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.
William Penn

I am confident that nobody… will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself.
Nelson Mandela

 

Courage

Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.
Maya Angelou

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
C. S. Lewis

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
Muhammad Ali

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
John F. Kennedy