Tag: Positive Lady

In the Pit

Leave a comment

e8c659e2198511e2a2f822000a1f97e4_6

Ever felt like you were in a pit? When life or emotions seem to bring us down, it is difficult to see anything but the pit in which we dwell. Interestingly, did you ever notice that there are several instances in the Bible where people were in literal pits? Think about it. Joseph was thrown in a pit by his brothers and then eventually sold into slavery. Not the Plan A Joseph had for his life. And then there’s a little known story about Benaiah who ended up in a pit with a lion. Seriously! The Bible tells us that Benaiah was a valiant warrior and performed many great exploits. The prophet Samuel recorded, “Benaiah struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion (2 Samuel 23:20).” Now that probably wasn’t on his schedule of things to do that day either.

David described God as the one who “redeems our life from the pit.” Now perhaps you have felt as though your life or your day was in the pits and you could see no hope, no redemption and no way out.  I suppose that’s how pit-dweller Jeremiah felt. Jeremiah was one of God’s prophets who was thrown in a pit as a result of simply proclaiming what God told him to say. That doesn’t seem right! There he was obeying God, and he was thrown in the pit. Take a look at how low this Old Testament prophet must have felt as he wrote, “The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.”

But Jeremiah didn’t call it quits. He was able to keep his eyes on the Lord despite his circumstances. Here’s what he said after describing his situation, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:  The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!’ The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him (Lamentations 3:19-25).”

Now there’s a person who has their eyes in a positive direction!  He’s not dwelling on his dismal circumstances in the pit, instead He is dwelling on the Lords faithfulness. His sight is going beyond what he can see, and looking to the hope of what a faithful God can do.  How’s your eyesight? In one of his most fearful moments David declared, “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame (Psalm 34:5).” Oh for the faith to look past the dark clouds of despair and see the sunlight of God’s faithfulness peeking through to bring us comfort and hope! May He be your strength today.

9780736950114_p0_v1_s260x420

This is an excerpt from Positive Life Principles for Women on sale this month for $5. Click here for more info.

Healthy Self Talk

Leave a comment

lesly-b-juarez-220845

What are the voices that tend to creep into your mind? Maybe it’s the voice of fear that whispers, “What if ……happens?” Or perhaps it’s the voice of self-doubt which scolds you and says, “You’ve made so many stupid mistakes – you can’t do anything right.” Maybe it’s the voice that continually beats you up in your brain sniveling, “You’re not smart thin enough, you’re not good enough, you never do enough.” The voices we hear come in many forms and fashions, but we don’t have to allow them to grow into weeds and overtake our minds. Instead we can pull them out by the roots and replace these thoughts with the seeds of truth.

Whether we are weeding a garden or weeding out the negative thoughts in our brains, we can apply the three R’s: Recognize, Root out and Replace. It’s amazing how quickly a weed can grow in our minds without us even realizing it. When it comes to the real flower garden in front of our house, I literally think weeds pop up overnight. Given a few days, and some of those pesky plants can grow to become the size of small trees! So we must be vigilant and alert, recognizing weeds at the point when they first appear. The apostle Peter wrote, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).”

It’s inevitable – doubts, discouragement and lies will pop into our heads. How do we recognize them? We need to take a moment to consider our own personal reoccurring thoughts – the ones that seem to grow in our own garden. For me personally, I struggled many years with self-doubt in every area of my life, from my physical appearance to my capabilities to even my relationships. I first needed to recognize that these were unhealthy and destructive thoughts. They were doing more harm than good. Often we grow comfortable with our fears and doubts, and fail to identify them as weeds. We must recognize that they are not based on God’s truth, and have a negative drain on our lives. These negative thoughts also prevent good seeds from growing.

Stop for a moment and consider, what are some of the destructive voices you are allowing to grow in your mind? Once you begin to recognize your own personal brain-weeds, then it is time to root them out at the core. If you have ever tended a garden you know that if you just whack weeds off at the surface level, then they will return. We must dig them out from the roots! For me, at the core of my self-doubt was really the doubt the God loved me. I didn’t believe that He created me for a purpose and had equipped me with gifts and talents. It was time to weed out the deep roots of doubt.

What is at the root of the negative voices that pop into your head? Dig deep for a minute and consider the core. Dealing with the root system of the weeds in your mind, allows you to dig them out and then turn in a new direction. We must replace the old ugly weeds with healthy, vibrant truth. Where do we find that truth? The Bible reveals that God is love. His very nature is love. He is good, and He is faithful. He is able to do all things. Oh what powerful and life-changing seeds we plant in our brain when we know God’s word! I recommend choosing at least one verse to memorize in order to help you crowd out the weeds that want to grow in your mind. Ask God to lead you to just the right verse to help you.

Next week, I will give you some of my favorite verses which I have memorized to help me plant seeds of faith and strength in my mind.

9780736950114_p0_v1_s260x420

This is an excerpt from Positive Life Principles for Women  on sale this month for $5!

Connecting Through Conversation

Leave a comment

jens-johnsson-121807

One of the most important ways for us to engage with our culture is to encourage healthy conversation instead of shutting down conversations. How do we shut down dialogue? By failing to listen. When we are willing to listen to people God’s puts in our path and converse back and forth, we open up the possibilities for building into the lives of others. It’s easy as Christians to think it is our duty to set everyone straight and let them know where they are wrong. Jesus wasn’t afraid to engage with sinners. He asked questions. He loved and did not condemn. He showed us what it looked like to engage with the culture by reaching into the lives of people who needed His love.

Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” He went on to say, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6). So how do we speak the truth of God’s Word, while lovingly reaching out to the culture around us? We must be both gracious and wise in what comes out of our mouths, recognizing that those who do not know Christ do not see life through the same perspective.

Theologian and philosopher Francis Schaeffer wrote, “Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting.” Often Jesus answered a question with a question. Questions can help us get to the heart of the matter and lead people toward truth. Recently I had an e-mail dialogue with one of my readers that went something like this.

 

            Reader: Do you think ___________________is a sin?

Me: Why do you want to know?

Reader: I want to know if God is mad at me.

Me: Why do you care if God is mad at you?

Reader: I want to know if I am disobeying Him. I don’t want to feel far away from Him.

Me: If you care about what God thinks about you, then you don’t need to know what I think about that sin, rather you need to know what God says about it.

 

I then led her to the passage in Romans 3 that reminds us that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We all have a sin problem, and yet God in His loving-kindness provided the solution to our sin problem through Jesus Christ. I led her to passages in the Bible about Jesus, so that she could understand His love and mercy, as well as His righteousness and His desire for your life. You see, we need to lead people to the love of Jesus first, because without Him, picking out this sin or that sin is meaningless and unfruitful. When someone is inquiring about sin, they either sincerely want to know what God thinks about sin, or they are trying to get you to say something so that they will feel offended (and sadly this is usually the case).

The message of the Bible is simple: We all fall short of God’s glory, and we all need Jesus. Our objective is to argue less and point to God more. Often our words can be misunderstood or not received in the spirit which we give them. The most important thing we can do is to refrain from surface-level disputes and instead get to the real issue of the heart. Ask questions, listen, engage in conversation, and lovingly lead people to the core issue of Christ’s love. Remember how Jesus handled the woman caught in adultery? The Pharisees brought her to Jesus wanting Him to condemn her. Jesus wisely and gently responded by pointing out the fact that all have sinned. We all need Jesus. Our job is not to cast stones at sinners; our job is to point to the gospel of salvation.

Instead of condemning, we ought to be engaging and shining the light of Christ. Our first objective is to live biblically and examine our own hearts and motives, repenting and seeking the Holy Spirit’s help in living righteous lives ourselves. As we humbly reflect the love of Jesus in our words and actions, then we have the platform to lovingly share the gospel with a world that desperately needs Him. Am I willing to step out and touch the people who are different than me, just as Jesus did? It all comes down to asking ourselves, “Am I willing to take the time to engage in conversations and build relationships with those who need Christ?”

becomingawomanoftheword

This is an excerpt from Becoming a Woman of the Word. Click Here for more info.

Who is Jesus?

Leave a comment

jacob-meyer-32136

Holy Week brings our focus in to who Jesus is and why He came to this earth. God doesn’t want us to be confused about Christ. Jesus Christ’s deity is central to our Christian foundation and beliefs. If you believe that Jesus was just a nice man or a wise prophet or a good angel, then you are missing the very essence of Christianity. Paul, in His letter to the Colossians, made it clear that Jesus was all man and all God. There is no one else who fits that description. Christ is the one and only God in human form. Immanuel, God with us, sent to this world to offer His life for us.

In Colossians 1, we see one of the strongest statements in all of scripture as to the divine nature of Christ. He is supreme over all creation and over all spiritual beings. He is the one who created us and sustains us. As this passage paints a true picture of Jesus in vibrant color, I see the power and the beauty of the One in whom I have placed my trust.  I know I can safely and confidently place my life and my future in Him. Here’s what Paul wrote about Jesus:

  • He is the visible image of the invisible God.
  • He is the firstborn (supreme) over all creation.
  • By Him all things were created.
  • He existed before everything else began.
  • He holds all creation together.
  • He is the Head of the church.
  • He is the firstborn of all who will rise from the dead.
  • In everything He has the supremacy – He is supreme over all, the first in everything.
  • All God’s fullness dwells in Him and through Him.
  • God reconciled all things through Christ, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.

Take a moment to ponder each of these descriptions of Jesus throughout the week this week, and praise Him for who He is.

 

Praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God three in One.  There is no other.  You are the God of all creation, the beginning and the end.  Loving, Merciful, all-wise God, all glory and honor belong to You. You are before all things, and by You all things exist. Thank you God for caring about me.  I am honored to be called your daughter.  Glorious God, thank you for letting me know you through your son Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, You are the One Who was and is and is to come.

 

A portion of this blog is an excerpt from Karol’s book A Woman’s Secret to Confident Living.

Check out this month’s $5 special, Karol’s DVD on the topic.

colossians video

Happiness or Success – Which Comes First?

Leave a comment

photo-1459369510627-9efbee1e6051

How often have you thought to yourself, I’ll be happy when…
…I get the next promotion.
…my co-worker changes her attitude.
…I don’t have to do all of this paperwork.
…the kids grow out of this stage.
…my spouse says he’s sorry.
…I finally get in shape.

Whether it’s our weight or our work or our relationships, it’s easy to think that when things change for the better, then we will be happy. But that’s not what current research shows. In fact, it is the exact opposite! Positive psychology now demonstrates that those people who are happy and more positive, are more likely to be successful in relationships and in life. In his best-selling book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor shares, “Optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by 56 percent. Students primed to feel happy before taking math achievement tests far outperform their neutral peers.”

 

When people are satisfied and content on the inside, it shows through their actions, attitudes and words. Happy people brighten the day for those around them instead of waiting for others to brighten theirs. Business leaders would be wise to consider ways to encourage internal joyfulness and satisfaction within their ranks. And each of us must recognize that we can’t just sit around and wait for happiness, we must choose it and experience it’s benefits.

 
True, heartfelt contentedness comes from within. The famous apostle Paul wrote, “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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Paul found his inner strength in the Lord. Where do you find yours?

 
For me personally, joyfulness is a natural outflow of having a deep and abiding relationship with God. Knowing that my sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus, recognizing that I am never alone, realizing that He has given me His spirit to guide and strengthen me – all of these reasons allow me to experience a hope, joy and peace within my life. Do I experience challenges and difficulties? You bet, but there is an inner strength that only God can provide.

 
If you are searching for happiness and an inner joy, I encourage you first to read the Bible for yourself and learn about the God who loves you. If you want to visit with someone about a relationship with Jesus go to www.chataboutJesus.com