Holidays can be stressful. So much to do, so little time. Why do we do this every year? We are the most over stressed and over worked people in time. Then add a cell phone. Instant access – to everything and everyone – all the time. No wonder we are at our wits end.
Then, just for fun, let’s throw in a family party. Why not? Hey what should we make? Do I need to bake cookies? Truthfully the last few times I tried to bake it was an epic fail. I tried a new banana bread recipe that had oil in it and it just sucked. Then I thought I would “cheat” and buy cookie dough. Hey – who can screw up chocolate chip cookies? Can I tell you they were awful!
Welcome to reality Miss D – you are not a Baker. My kids are awesome Bakers but truthfully I am not. Today I am OK with that. I’m NOT going to bake. I can buy cookies anyway.
Be gentle with yourself this Holiday Season.
You don’t have to do it all.
Delagate.
Let it go, it’s OK to let go of unrealistic expectations for yourself!
I gave up trying to be the “perfect little hostess”. It wasn’t real anyway. This Christmas I am going to enjoy my family and our special moments together – that is what matters the most anyway. God bless you my friends. Love you all, Diana
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
Have you ever played with a magnet? It draws metal to it by its nature. It doesn’t have to think about it, do something special or do anything to earn it. it just does it, because that is what it was created to do.
Gratitude is a Magnet for Miracles!
Are you grateful today? If not, make a new choice today. Choose gratitude and watch and see what God will do!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Gratitude dispels fear and anxiety. Gratitude makes room for God to work!
Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Sickness. Illness. We live in a fallen world with sin and sickness everywhere. But our God delivers. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and He heals them ALL. Now it might be here, or it might be on the other side, but He heals them ALL.
“Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.” Matthew 15:30 NKJV
I do not believe for one moment that God gives us sickness.
Did Jesus ever say,” Geez, I see that you are sick, come back tomorrow.” NO!
Did Jesus ever say, ” Man you really messed up, you better go get right with God before you come back here for healing?” NO!
Did Jesus ever see someone sick and NOT heal them? NO!
I don’t believe for one one moment that God wants to”teach us something” with sickness. That is a lie straight from the Religious Spirit that man has put out there. Not God. He never said that.
God is good and He heals ALL.
” [ Behold, My Servant ] But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” – Matthew 12:15 NKJV
Do we get sick. Yes. We live in a fallen world. We are living in theses bodies which get run down, stressed out, and sometimes sick. But when that happens there is our opportunity go to God and expect his healing. He promised us. There is no sickness in Heaven. So why do we think we have to be sick here? Like it’s who we are or something. I am not a label. I am not an illness. I am not going to talk about how bad I feel all day. We have the Spirit of the Living God in us – what we talk about will come to pass! No wonder God said to be slow to speak. I refuse to agree with the Enemy of my soul. I have spent way too many years agreeing with the wrong guy.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5 nkjv
I am tired of the Body Of Christ believing all this stuff. He bore our sickness so we didn’t have to. Do I get sick? Of course I do. I am still human. But I refuse to label myself with this disease or that disease and say “This is me and I am my disease and its who I am.” – and take care of it like it’s a pet. I refuse to feed it. Sickness can shrivel up and die.
I was home today. I did it not well. About 6 months ago I was hospitalized with ischemic colitis. It was bad – blood, cramps, fever, etc. The Doctor said I might have this disease and that disease. I said no. My God says I am healed. My husband and kids prayed with me. my Pastors and their wives came and prayed with me. And we STOOD OUR GROUND. Guess what happened? God healed me. Did I take my medicine- yes. God uses Doctors and Nurses all the time to do His will and heal. Let’s use the help that God gives us and not get all religious about it.
Today, that same sickness tried to come back. I had the same symptoms. I thought.” Great – that same sickness that I had had was trying to come back on me..” I had the heating pad on my stomach all day to feel better. I even lost it for a minute and dug out all my hospital paperwork. My first thought was, “Great here we go again.”
Then I got mad. I stood up to that stupid colitis and said, “NO, you are not coming on me again! Get out of here is Jesus Name. I reject you and these demons who brought you to my door. My God healed me and I am standing in that healing.”God is good, Devil is bad. My God heals. He healed me the first time and you are not welcome here.
Stand strong my friends – no matter what the symptoms. Exercise your faith and watch and see what God will do. This is not the end – only an opportunity to exercise your faith and watch God get the glory in your healing. He promised us healing – either here on earth or in Heaven. And I for one am going to take Him at His WORD!
The Good News? If it has a name it has to bow to Jesus!
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:8-11 NKJV
That one got me. Fear is the path to the dark side. Yep. When I revel in fear I am choosing to ignore God and His promises to me. When I choose fear over faith I am choosing to believe that God can’t or won’t help me. I am choosing disbelief.
Now I know I don’t know everything. I need help. I need direction. I need to exercise my faith. When fear comes up upon me I have learned I have two choices:
I can feed my fear. Run the “what if?” questions over and over in my mind. When I do this fear turns to terror and I freeze. I shut down and lose faith in God and myself. Then I get angry at everyone and everything. My vision gets distorted and I lose hope.
I can choose to believe that God will help me. I can choose to believe that He is the God of the impossible and it doesn’t even need to make sense to me. It does not have to be logical or even realistic. He is the God of miracles and I can choose to take Him at his Word and believe that He will help me through it. I can choose faith.
What about you?
How do you let fear go?
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ – Isaiah 41:10
It has been a hard week. I have seen newborn babies born and saying in ICU. I have seen a friend have a family member diagnosed with cancer. A friend has her husband hospitalized. A baby went to surgery this week. A teenager attempted suicide. Teens have had anxiety attacks.
There is one thing that gets me through weeks like these. God is faithful. He is still in the healing business. He still sends the Holy Spirit to comfort us. God sees, God knows, and He still answers our prayers. God is faithful, when the world is falling apart.
These are the times I trust God to get me through the trial. I am not good at trying to do things on my own. I know I need help. God promised to help us in times like these. Just ask, and He will be there – in the middle of the mess, He promised. Choose to trust Him, He is faithful.
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23
“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:3
“I am the Lord that healeth thee.” – Exodus 15:26
” I will give you strength and bless you with peace.” Psalm 29:11
“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” – Psalms 91:4
Worry. It has a way of eating up your hope and joy and destroying your peace of mind.
WORRY – to give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.
Worry is dwelling on our troubles or difficulty. The more we worry the worse things get. Worry can lead to anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Excessive worrying can lead to physical health problems as well – headaches, sleeplessness, poor job performance, and hindered relationships. People may turn to alcohol, drugs, overeating, or other harmful habits to cope. I have even heard it said that worry is a lack of trust – in ourselves, in someone else, or in God.
When we choose to direct our thoughts towards someone else with worry we can bind them to us in fear. This does not help us or them. Most of the “What if” thoughts we have don’t happen. We play out all different scenarios and endings in our heads. “If he does this, I’ll do that” type of thinking is rarely productive. It is debilitating and paralyzing.
There are many actions you can take to relieve your mind from worry.
Prayer – God listens and cares
Counseling – talking helps
Reading a book – helps with changing the atmosphere in your mind
Going for a drive – seeing new things
Listening to positive Music – the words and genre matters
Exercise – going for a walk
Mindfulness – being in the moment
Watching a movie – changing the moment
No wonder God asks us to think about the good things and to be grateful. When we change our thoughts we change our actions. When we choose the good things to think about our feelings change. We begin to believe that good will come out of all things. There is hope my friend. Make a choice – to change your negative thought patterns and replace those old tapes with the Word of God today. It might be the beginning of a new life for you!
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV
My heart skipped a beat as I thought of what I could say
To take away the pain that brought you to that place
How I wish I could change the things that you’ve been through
I’m here today to sit and listen if you choose to share
I remember what it felt like
To be the girl with the scars
You are in my prayers each and every day
I ask God to shine His light
upon the darkness of your heart
Your story is not over
Things will change with a new start
I have carried you to Jesus
with my prayers to heal your heart
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21 NIV
The National Library of Medicine reports the following nonsuicidal self injury (NSSI) statistics:
1/3 to 1/2 of US adolescents have engaged in some type of self injury.
Cutting and burning are the most common types of non-suicidal self-injury.
70% of teens engaging in self-injury behavior have made at least one suicide attempt.
55% had made multiple suicide attempts.
Let us bring light into the darkness and see the hurting. We know the Healer of Souls. Lord, use us today to bring hope and healing to those who cross our paths today, in Jesus Name.
Busy, busy, busy. That describes most of us. School,work, sports, music, family, church, etc. We are overburdened with obligations. Whether you are an adult or a child committing to multiple things at the same time takes its toll on our peace of mind. We as a people are overworked, over committed, and over stressed.
Yet why do we do this?
What good does it do?
This past year I found myself getting sick again. I was overcommitted. I was trying to do too much with too little time. It affected my family as well. My kids started having issues with depression and anxiety. They picked up on mine. I had to make a choice to change. I had to trust God to lead me with what I could hold on to and what I had to let go of. I had to choose to trust Him with the rest. Let go and let God right?
I cut back on a number of things I was doing this year. I stopped recording every song I wrote. I gave myself permission to rest. I stopped going to every function I was invited to. I chose which times I could say “yes” and which times I could say “no.” I let myself say NO. That is huge for me. I was such a people pleaser for so many years. Thank you Lord for delivering me from that!
I am more grateful now. I am more thankful now. It was worth it. My family and I have more time together. We may not go out every night, but we have simple times together. A trip to Dunkin Donuts for coffee for my daughter or a trip to McDonalds for hash browns for my son. A grill and Netflix night with my husband is our date night. A visit with my older girls every two weeks and my granddaughter has brought me such joy. My life is much simpler now. Thank you Lord for REST!
God’s Word for You:
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. – Exodus 23:12 KJV
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” – Mark 6:31 NIV
“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, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11: 28-29 NIV
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God ,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:4-7 NIV
(Image source – healthywomen.org)
My Prayer for You:
Dear Lord,
Show us which things to hang on to and which things to let go of. We want to enter the rest of the Lord. Let us lay down our people pleasing selves and accept the newness of life you died to give us. Let us rejoice in peace that surpasses all understanding, in Jesus name.
There are some things that only God can heal. He knows. He saw what happened. Only He can heal the brokenness in our spirits, soul, and body. We had a wonderful Bible Study today on Jesus the Wonderful Counselor. The whole body of Christ looked up verses and shared how Jesus is our Counselor. It was beautiful.
I admit, I have been abused physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally. There are some stories only God and I know. Yet He is the One who can come into those rooms of my heart. His presence takes out the hurt and replaces it with healing. I don’t want to stay broken. I want to be well and receive all that God has for me. God loves us all enough to heal us. He is able. Today let us welcome Him in.
(Image Source – Pinterest)
God’s Word for You:
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;And the government will be upon His shoulder.And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
John 14:16-18 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Proverbs 20:5 – Counsel in the heart of man [is like] deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel, plans go awry,But in the multitude of counselors they are established.
1 Timothy 2:5-7 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth
Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “For who has known the mind of the Lord?Or who has become His counselor?” “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
John 15:7, 26-27 John 14:16-18, 23
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
Psalm 73:23-26 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
My Prayer for You:
Dear Lord,
You know. You saw what happened. I choose to trust you today – for healing those parts of my heart that only You can. I let go of the abuse. I let go of the hurt and I cling to You Lord. Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal. You are my Wonderful Counselor and your Holy Spirit will heal me from the inside out, in Jesus Name.
We are all fearful at times. Life can be overwhelming some days. But when we are afraid there are promises of God that we can hold on to.
Prayer for Comfort
Lead us to the Rock that is higher than I Lord. When my heart is overwhelmed I will cry to the Lord and He will hear me.
Judges 6:12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
Lord your ways are higher than mine. You are my Strength and myShield and my Protection. The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. You will never leave me nor forsake me Lord. Comfort me Holy Spirit and let me lean on You as we go through this day, in Jesus Name
Ruth 3:11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.
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