Encouragement for Moms

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Ever felt a out of your comfort zone? As moms and grandmoms, there are times when we can feel a little overwhelmed. For the next few weeks I want to provide a few inspiring devotionals for moms, as you serve in the hardest job you ever loved. Here’s a Mother’s Day devotional from the book of Esther.

 “Appearances can be deceptive. The fact that we cannot see what God is doing does not mean that he is doing nothing.” 

Sinclair Ferguson

Key Scripture Esther 4:13 – 16: ‘Don’t think for a moment that you will escape there in the palace when all other Jews are killed. 

If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What’s more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for just such a time as this?” 

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:  “God and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me.  Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  My maids and I will do the same.  And then though it is against the law; I will go in to see the king.  If I must die, I am willing to die.”

Devotional: God placed Esther in a place of honor; a long way from her humble beginnings as a young Jewish girl.  She held the title of queen, living in a Persian palace.  Little did she know that God had an even bigger plan for her life.  After a decree to destroy the Jews was unwittingly signed by the king, she had to step out of her comfort zone and into unknown territory.  One thing was for sure, she knew she must depend on God.  As she began her walk of faith, she asked for her people to fast and pray.  She didn’t rely on the comfort of her position, but rather the comfort of God’s sovereignty.

It would be nice if we could live in a comfy, safe situation with all of our ducks neatly in a row.  Unfortunately that’s not always how life plays out.  It may be a stretching experience like being asked to serve in a leadership capacity or it could be a stretching experience due to injury or tragedy.  Whatever takes us out of our comfort zone, takes us to the throne of grace. We can learn a lesson from Esther:  Trust in God’s sovereignty, pray for His help, and make a wise plan of action.

Prayer for Moms:

Sovereign Lord, praise you that you have plans that are far bigger than I can see.  I trust you and know that you are working in ways that are beyond me.  Thank you that no matter what I go through, you are with me.  No matter where I am, you are there.  In the nice, comfy times and in the stretching, scary times I know you will never leave me.  Please grant me strength and wisdom for the path you want me to take.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

“God’s ways are behind the scenes, but he moves all the scenes which he is behind.” – John Nelson Darby

This devotional is from my book, “The Power of a Positive Mom Devotional and Journal.”

The Joy of Life

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When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:4


As followers of Christ, He is not just a part of our life or a nice guy that we segment off to Sunday mornings.  Christ is our life. He is in us, He lives through us. He gives us strength and wisdom for our journey. Most importantly He gives us the promise of eternal life. He is the one who makes us who we are. He is our life and without Him our lives would be incomplete and without purpose.           


This verse from Colossians is filled with great promise.  It not only reminds us that our life is abundantly fulfilled and enriched here on this earth through Christ, but we also have the beautiful promise that He is alive and we will be with Him in glory. What a beautiful future awaits us in our heavenly home! What joy for those in Christ who have gone before us! As we head toward Easter, let us celebrate the risen Christ who gives our life meaning as well as hope for eternity.  

Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

Celebrating a Life Lived with Purpose

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This past week we celebrated the life and home-going of my dad, Garry D Kinder. I had the honor to speak at his funeral, and I want to share my tribute with you:

What a privilege and blessing it is to be Garry Kinder’s daughter.

What a kind, generous, positive, loving, loyal, honest, godly man and father he was!

  • Some of my earliest memories include dad pushing me on a swing at the city park in Pekin Ill.
  • I remember him pushing me as I learned to ride my bike on Thornhill Drive in Akron Ohio.
  • I remember dad pushing me on a sled, down giant snow-covered hills in Detroit Michigan.
  • I remember dad pushing me to go to every ..home… football game of the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and his beloved Dallas Cowboys.

But dad also gave us positive pushes –  mentally, emotional and spiritually.

Every January 1st, he gave us a big positive push to start off the new year with a motivational slogan. We woke up to his voice blasting over the intercom –

  • We’re going to do more in 74!… or
    • Let’s strive in 75!… or
    • It’s going to be great in 78!

And then there were those Kinderisms:

  • Everyday in Every way I’m getting better and better
    • If you are not 10 minutes early, you are late (I always struggled with that one)
    • Finish Strong! Finish Well!
    • Make a decision, then make it a right decision

He gave us a positive push of encouragement at our weekly family meetings.

He gave us a positive push every Sunday to get us to church on time… (and I mean every Sunday – even after staying out most of the night for homecoming or prom)

Dad gave us a positive push when mom died, as he showed us how to grieve and handle hard things.

He pushed us by his kind example of loving everyone and finding the best in them. He was generous and thoughtful, which has impacted and influenced me to this day. And I now see it so clearly in the lives of our daughters and nieces and grandkids – the legacy continues!

A few years ago the tables turned, and I ended up pushing dad to write a book with me called Positive Connectivity ( a future best-seller I’m sure). It was a great joy to draw out timeless principles and stories from his career. We shared many hours in his twilight years working on this legacy together.

One of the things I discovered is that every month dad wrote out his life mission, along with monthly goals and prayer requests. Here’s his life mission:

To help literally hundreds of millions of people to better lives:

more secure financially, more satisfying spiritually and more fulfilling emotionally

Certainly, he was successful in fulfilling his mission and many of you are recipients of his influence over the years, not only in business but in life. You know as well as I do, that he gave a positive push to countless people around the world.

Later when dad went to Tradition’s memory care, I pushed him in his wheelchair. He was peaceful and quiet.  I remember thinking one day as I was on my way to visit him, “Lord, why do you allow my dad to linger in this state?”  Of course, God was not obligated to answer me in any way, but that very day God gave me a precious glimpse that He was still using dad.

              As I pushed dad to his lunch table, there was a young care-giver feeding another patient. The care-giver said to me, “I love your dad. I read his books to him and I want you to know they are changing my life. My grandmother taught me about God when I was young, but I haven’t thought about God in a long time. But reading your dad’s books to him has made me start praying. In fact, I’ve started praying at every meal and before I go to bed.”   

 ……..God wanted me to hear that. I brought her a Bible and rejoiced that God used my dad to bring one more person to a deeper faith in Christ.

Whether he was impacting thousands or simply one care-giver at Tradition, dad made a positive difference. He saw the best in each person he met. And given a choice, he would say it was worth it to linger a few more years even for one person!!

If dad were standing here today he would say:

  • See the best in every person!
  • Give everyone you meet a positive push!
  • And most importantly, point them to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Now I have three in Heaven. I’m thankful for their legacy and their faith in Christ. I know they are having a wonderful time together. I hope that as a result of my dad’s service, you are inspired to look to Jesus and place your faith in Him.

Live on Purpose!

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Hello and welcome to Positive Life Principles. I hope you find encouragement in this place. I’ve asked my friend Candace Gray to be our guest blogger for the month of January. Her insight and inspiration are sure to strengthen your heart. Find out more about Candace at the end of this post.

– For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Are you clear on your purpose?  There have been many seasons when I struggled to clearly understand mine.  I thought defining your purpose was a one-and-done event and once you defined it, you never needed to question it again.  I expected to fulfill my purpose in a predictable, logical sequence of events.  When that didn’t happen, I felt confused, frustrated and stuck.   

It’s been said that defining your purpose is a matter of answering the question:  why do I exist?  But that’s a weighty question for a finite human being. The truth is that God does not reveal the entirety of His plans & purposes for us at any one point in time. God is multilayered and complex, and He design us that way as well.  To narrow purpose to our own understanding based on one point in time can be way too limiting.  Instead, the best way to understand purpose is in seasons.  I now have a simplified definition of purpose:  it’s how do I make life better for others.  While there are common threads throughout my life, my expressions of purpose have looked very different in various seasons and situations. 

You may be in a season where you work full-time on a lofty cause; or you may be dreaming about something you would like to do.  You may even be in a vocation that doesn’t seem meaningful or you may be in a season as a full-time parent or caregiver.  As long as you are serving others by applying your God-given, mix of gifts, skills and experiences to a situation, you are living purposefully and bringing glory to God.  As you simplify the concept of purpose you will be able to see the wide variety of ways God shows Himself to others through you.  

Live on purpose daily, but don’t overcomplicate the matter.  God has created you to do good works and He will continue to reveal the next chapter to you.  Identify how you can make a difference in the season you are in and leave the rest to God. 

Questions for Reflection

  • In what ways have you struggled to define your purpose?
  • What simple ways do you make life better for others? 

 

Master Your Mindset

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Welcome to Positive Life Principles with Karol Ladd. I’m glad you are here. My desire is to encourage your heart and strengthen your faith through the truth found in the Bible. For the month of January, I have asked my friend Candace Gray to share her wisdom and insights on starting the year off in a positive direction. I know you will enjoy her blog. You’ll find more info about Candace at the end of the blog.

  • Numbers 13:33 “…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” 

Many success gurus talk about the importance of mindset. Mindset refers to strongly ingrained patterns of your thoughts, attitudes, assumptions and beliefs. You may have good days with a positive mindset and discouraging days when your mindset is negative. But, just like establishing healthy eating practices, the issue is not what you do for a day or two, but your prevailing habits over time.

Mindset is incredibly crucial because if you have a faith-filled mindset, it can propel you toward great achievements and give you the ability to persevere despite significant obstacles. Likewise, if your mindset is negative, it can derail you from accomplishing what you desire or it can prolong the time it takes you to get there. Some believe that mindset is simply what you believe about yourself, but what you believe about yourself is directly related to what you believe about God.     

As God was preparing the growing nation of Israel to take possession of the land He promised them, they had a pattern of negative thinking. They routinely looked at their circumstances and dismissed God. They consistently displayed a lack of faith in Him and belief in His promises.  The result of their stinking thinking was a grasshopper mentality. They viewed themselves as small and powerless in the face of their enemies. They felt they would be crushed if they attempted to take the opportunity that God wanted to give them.    

We may wrestle with questions about God’s intentions toward us: Are His plans for me really good? Does He really care about the affairs of my life? Is He really at work in my life? Does He truly want to work through me to bless others? Does He truly have a purpose for me? Is my life going somewhere or is it just randomness and minutia? Is He willing to act powerfully on my behalf? Will He show up for me?

Don’t be afraid to take your questions to God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” If you struggle with a grasshopper mentality, ask for His help.  He loves to strengthen our faith, since our faith is what pleases Him.  He will help you develop a faith-filled mindset that boldly pursues purpose throughout the year.

Questions for Reflection:

  • When have you viewed yourself as a grasshopper in your own eyes? 
  • How can you become more aware of the pattern of your thoughts?
  • How can you strengthen your faith in God?

About Candace: Candace Gray is a seasoned leader with a track record of living a life of purpose and helping others to do the same. She is a Senior Director for Buckner Children and Family Services and a longtime member of Concord Church in Dallas. 

If you’d like to follow her full 21-day devotional series, go to www.candacegray.com 

Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash

Photo by Jonathan Leppan on Unsplash