Tag: positive life principles

Keep On Doing Good

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It’s easy to grow weary in the midst of the many needs around us. Whether it’s a close friend, a family member or those who are suffering in southern California, we can quickly become overwhelmed by the ongoing care for others. Perhaps you find yourself asking the questions:

How can I help? Whom can I serve? What can I do to make a difference?

We can’t solve every challenge, but we certainly can do something. I always begin with prayer, “Lord, help the people in need. Show me how I can be your hands and feet. Direct me in ways to serve and give.” As I continue to pray for people in my life or in crisis, ideas begin to come to me on how I can be a support and who I need to reach out to with care. Remember, the Lord is full of compassion and He wants to direct our paths to help. Prayer is not a passive response to disaster, it is a powerful one!

As we see the overwhelming and continued needs in California, many trusted organizations are at work. Here are several of the ones I am familiar with who are not only boots-on-the-ground but also sharing Christ’s love:

Texans on Mission https://www.texansonmission.org/disaster-relief

Hollywood Prayer Network https://hollywoodprayernetwork.org/

Salvation Army https://salvationarmy.org/

Finally, I just want to share a story about how one neighborhood can serve another. As the desperate needs started surfacing in California, I began praying how my Neighborhood Bible study could help. One of the ladies in our Bible study had a contact with a precious family who lost everything in the Altadena fires. She reached out and asked how we could help. The family was able to provide a list of several families in their neighborhood along with their GoFundMe links.

We decided that we could pray and give and offer support for these families. We can’t do everything, but from our neighborhood to theirs, we could do something. Please continue to ask the Lord to guide you on how you can help. The physical needs are great, and the emotional needs will last for a long time as well.

Do not grow weary in well-doing. May God’s strength and wisdom be with us all.

Photo by Marlis Trio Akbar on Unsplash

Choosing a Positive Direction for the Fall

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Oh the joy of gathering together and finding a common connection! As summer fades and the school year begins, let’s take deliberate and positive steps into a new season of connections. One of the ways we can deepen our friendships as women is to study the Bible together. Several years ago, I reached out to my neighbors to see who would be interested in starting a neighborhood study. A handful of women began to gather over cups of coffee and an open Bible. It was beautiful. Friendships were born.

This fall, we are starting our fourth year of growing together. We call ourselves “House to House” Bible Study because we meet in different houses each week and simply study the Scripture together. We are non-denominational, non-political, non-gossipy, and non-grumbly. Our group has grown to many women outside our neighborhood, and the connections continue to deepen as we walk through the truths of the Bible together. If you live in the north Dallas area and or want to join us via Zoom, please email me at Karol@Karolladd.com (subject line Bible Study) and I’ll send you more information.

Many of the women in our group have never been to a Bible study before, while others are well-versed in His Word. It’s a lovely mosaic of people from all different denominational backgrounds. I’ve found that in general, women are hungry for fellowship and hungry for truth. Neighborhood Bible studies offer both.

Wherever you are, I want to encourage you to connect with the people God puts in your path. Reach out over a cup of coffee with neighbors and invite them to join you as you grow in truth. You can simply study the Bible or study a book that points to Biblical truth. I’ve listed several of my books below that are perfect for reaching out and gathering women together. Ask God to give you the courage to make positive steps of connection this fall as you encourage women with His love.

Here are some of my books that make a great group study:

Press On

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Olympic athletes inspire me. No, not to run a marathon or take up synchronized swimming, but the competitors inspire me to persevere, press on, and push forward – even when the going gets tough. When I watch these world-class athletes, I am motivated to put in the extra effort to do my best with the gifts and talents God has granted me.

Somehow the Olympians make their sport look effortless during competition, but in reality their accomplishments don’t come easily. We rarely see the countless hours of early morning practices, aching muscles, failed attempts, and frustrating injuries. Yes, every spectacular performance is preceded by unspectacular preparation.

As we watch in wonder while our favorite athletes perform, let us consider how we can persevere through the personal hurdles in our own lives. It may be facing challenges financially, or difficulties in relationships. It could be a physical or emotional setback. Whatever we are facing, we can gear up with mental toughness, grit, and perseverance, recognizing that we are not alone in our struggles. There are others who have stumbled down similar roads, and we can gain strength from their encouragement, advice, and examples. Most importantly, we can look to God for our help, hope, and guidance.

Remember the Lord’s words to the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul went on to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 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.”*

Through prayer and perseverance press on my friend. You are stronger than you think.

For more on perseverance, check out my latest book, Positive Connectivity.

*2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Photo by Austrian National Library on Unsplash

The Joy of St. Patrick’s Day

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This weekend we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but the life lessons we glean from Patrick’s amazing life are far different than the parade and celebrations of today. His story is truly inspirational and a beautiful picture of God’s work through a humble heart.

Born to a noble family in Roman Britain (now part of Scotland) in 373 AD, he didn’t adhere to his family’s Christian faith in his early years. Yet at the age of 16, Patrick was taken captive by pirates and sold into slavery in Hibernia (Ireland). While in captivity he gave his life to Christ.

At age 22, God miraculously led him to freedom, and he was able to find a ship that took him to Britain. Although there were setbacks, he eventually made it home. There in the safety and joy of being reunited with his family, the Lord spoke to him in a dream and told him to return to Hibernia. His family begged him not to go, but at the age of 30, he returned to the place that once held him captive. The one book in his hand –  a Latin Bible!

He began preaching about Jesus and sharing the victory of the gospel story. He preached of the resurrection and used a clover to illustrate the Trinity. God worked powerfully through Patrick as thousands were converted to Christ. He put an end to the Druid’s human sacrifices as well as ending slavery.

Many generations to come were transformed by the willing heart of this faithful servant. His life was filled with hardship, humility and the joy of seeing many come to faith in Jesus. May his story inspire us to share Christ’s love and hope wherever we find ourselves, even in the hard places.  

In short, I am a slave in Christ to this faraway people for the indescribable glory of ‘everlasting life which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. – St. Patrick, “A Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus”

Photo by Yan Ming on Unsplash

Divine Suffering

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This beautiful and meaningful blog was written by my daughter Grace Ladd McDonald. I pray your heart is strengthened through these words.

What a grace, what an absolute divine mercy it is to experience the humility of suffering, the state of dire need when we are no longer sufficient by our merits or efforts to hold our own. Nothing, no nothing can more propel us towards the most real and satisfying beauty we could ever know. But what is this beauty and why must agony and such profound grief serve as the portal to it? 

When you see the light of Jesus, the one who does not look away from those that even the most compassionate among us forsake, it is He alone which lifts us. The hand He offers is not one of material prosperity but rather eternal joy. We cannot comprehend this wildness so the tendency to move on is tempting. 

But stop. The still quiet One– amidst all the clutter and chaos of our roughest waves–calms, stills and saves us from the competing half-loves that beg our full commitment. We are made to recognize glory, but not wise enough to discern it from its mockers.

Wealth, power, sex are impostures of pleasure in the face of divine suffering. However, the desolation of sorrow  is pure and utter waste without arriving at The End it so aims to reach. I beg you in the face of despair to not look away. This Jesus that gives so generously of a spirit so sensual that our eyes are too dim to see, our ears too weak to hear completely will consume you with His love.

Open your hands to Him. I beg you not to look away. Receive the pain and breathe through it with the breath God has given you to live. It hurts. It hurts like the bitterest depths of hell. Look up. Look up now, the one who will not leave you has come so that even death has not the final word. 

Your final word is Love. That love is Jesus Christ. And this Christ is the Holy one God. No beauty will surpass Him, no obstacle prevent you from coming. So come, come in your grossest of sins, in your brokenness, in your deep anguish and shame. Love is real. If it is not, neither are you and neither is this pain. But your pain is real. It is so real.

Receive Love, this very indubitable, hyper-existent love. Look up and let Him fill you.

Visit www.flowerclvb.com to see more of Grace’s many gifts and talents.