Here we are 43 days into a brand new year. It is about this time, of any given year, that most people have completely sobered up from their #NewYearNewMe high. It’s the time of year when reality kicks most people in the butt, and they wonder, “Am I really able to achieve ALL of these goals I set in one year?” Or, “Do I really have what it takes,” or the all too common question, “Am I really enough?” This is the time when most people start to get into their own heads – worrying, stressing, and doubting. And, I’m not talking about those who haphazardly entered this new year, I am talking about the people who did the work! They spent the entire month of December, investing time, money, and energy into creating the Vision Board, writing the Vision statement, and deciding on their” buzz word” for the year. They’ve purchased the planner, filled it up with goals and plans galore, but NOW WHAT?!!!!!!!
Christian-blog
Dependent
We live in a culture where it is frowned upon to be dependent. Everyone wants to be self-sufficient, self-made, and self-maintained, no one wants to “need” anyone. Having a need is thought to be a sign of weakness, and in our culture, we insist on being perceived as “strong,” even if we are struggling and stressing to uphold this persona.
SOBER
I am entering 2018 joyfully sober.
Today, as I thought about the coming year, the word SOBER kept ringing in my ears, so much so that I looked up the definition. Of the many differing definitions, this is what stood out to me,
Quiet in demeanor, Free from exaggeration, showing self control
Going into a new year, we tend to be SO LOUD. There’s so much to prove because no matter how great, or how horrible the current year has been, the next year must be better, bigger, and greater. So we eagerly pop off to our friends, loved ones, and followers, proclaiming all of the many things we are going to accomplish in the coming year. Yet, today as I pondered my own desires for 2018, I challenged myself not to be intoxicated by the possibilities of a new year, without being disciplined enough to count up the cost of my goals. Jesus said, Continue reading
Release It!
Regret is looking for you. It wants to suck the life out of your hopes, g
oals, and dreams for 2018. It wants to remind you of all of the things you set out to do this time last year, but you did not accomplish in 2017. It wants to prove to you that you are not enough, and it wants to convince you that there is no use in even trying because you will end up with the same results.
What I want you to know is that regret is a LIAR. You are enough, you don’t have to stay chained to the should-haves, could-haves, and would-haves of your life. Your freedom has already been divinely purchased, and it is God’s will that you walk in your freedom, be released from guilt, shame, and defeat and begin to move forward. Continue reading
Rejoice! God is with us!!
…The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means, ‘God is with us’) Isaiah 7:14
Today, I join my praise and worship with Christ Followers around the world, pausing and giving thanks to my Heavenly Father for sending Jesus, to ransom my life from the bondage of hopelessness, shame, and fear.
To ransom is, to free from captivity or punishment by paying a price.
Because of Jesus, I was delivered from captivity! Before I encountered Jesus, I was a hostage to my circumstances. Bound by the unjust things that had happened to me, and limited by my own ignorant choices. I was without hope, constrained by shame, and enslaved to fear. Thanks be unto God, because He did not leave me in that state of darkness and confusion. Instead, He sent Jesus, just as He had promised the Prophet Isaiah, some 700 years prior, that He would. It was the Father’s unconditional love that made a way for me to be saved, freed, delivered.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved. (John 3:16-17)
Your Presence IS the Gift
The past two weeks have been challenging, not so much for me personally, but for my loved ones. Two who received devastating diagnosis news about a parent, and several who have been in the throes of the fear and anxiety that just being alive can bring. I was in the middle of a blogging challenge, and feeling deep disappointment within myself for simply not being able to create the extra time to BLOG, while being present for my loved ones, investing time into the women’s organization that I lead, and accomplishing the daily responsibilities of my full time career! In the midst of my wallowing in self-pity for “just not being enough” to get it all done, I felt like I was jolted awake by this thought,
While it’s nice, maybe even “noble” to have a desire to inspire people I don’t know through my writing, it is a part of my DIVINE PURPOSE to care about, encourage, uplift, pray for, listen to, and BE PRESENT for those who are right in front of my face!
“Hot and Bothered” #30Layers30Days -#TBT , #BlogLikeCrazy
I am, HOT, frustrated, and set a blazed, for broken women who are alone, silenced and put to shame.
I am BOTHERED, annoyed, yes PISSED, that we live in a culture that requires women to hold up tattered banners of UN-BOTHERED-NESS! Continue reading
Where I Live – #30Layers30Days + #BlogLikeCrazy
Growing up it bothered me when I’d hear people say, “I stay there,” in reference to their home, opposed to saying, “I LIVE there.” I would often correct my friends, “Don’t you mean live there?” Most people use those two, live and stay, synonymously in this context. Yet, to me there is a significant difference between the two. Continue reading
“A Cracked Door” #30Layers30Days #BloglikeCrazy
We value doors of opportunity that swing wide open to us because they confirm our greatness. Open doors give us courage, they build our confidence, and they affirm that we are valuable to others. An open door is an indication that we have been seen, that we matter, and that someone appreciates something that we possess.
If an open door affirms our value, then a cracked door just might make us question it. We may become Continue reading
“The Right Person” – #30Layers30Days + #BlogLikeCrazy
I can’t say that I was waiting for you, but I am thankful that you found me. I can’t say that I “always knew” because when I met you, I was fully content with being with me.
I can’t say it was “love at first sight” because though you were immediately handsome to my eyes, I was not looking for love. Continue reading
Hope Notes 