Saturday, January 15, 2011

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess in the magical forest. She was by far the prettiest and smartest girl in the whole land. She dreamed of the day she would meet her prince charming. Then one day, a wicked woman ruined her life and the princess was in shambles. However, she new one day her knight in shiny armor would rescue her. She could only imagine what he would look like and what a gentleman he would be. He was going to be PERFECT! Just wait.... "he will come and carry me away and we will live happily ever after!!!" She said.

Ookkaayyy, so was this correct for you ladies? Did your knight in shiny armor come, rescue you and treat you perfect ever after? Yea right.... but you can guarantee that God has chosen your husband just for you and that with God being placed first in the marriage, he CAN make your marriage a "happily ever after".
We need to not put such high expectations on our husbands, let our husbands off the hook. When we were little girls, we watch so many princess movies, that we put those dreamland expectation on our husbands. Then when reality kicks in we are mad, upset and just want to give up on the marriage.
Sisters, if you are struggling in a marriage, try letting go of what you think your man should be doing or how you think he should act. Let him be, and he will come around. I know it's easier said than done-- just challenge yourself for even 2 weeks to a month and see how God changes your marriage. Try not expecting your happiness to come from your man, but from God. If you feel lonely, hang out with a girlfriend. If you feel rejected, look in the mirror and say "you are worthy and God loves you". God wants to be your very present help. He thinks you are the cats whiskers- call on Him and ask Him to show you how He sees you. Take some time and jot down or think about your best qualities. Focus on doing things you enjoy, things you are good at and find a hobby.
I want to add, that I am not saying to forget your husband altogether, he has needs. But mostly, to not put so much pressure on him to be that perfect husband. You will find greater happiness, when he is doing things for you without your asking. You will find greater peace, when you are not using your energy to nag or complain. If your husband is not doing what you think he should do, approach him with a loving heart-be gentle. God is gentle and loving as He speaks to you, right? Please hang in there, Satan is after marriage in today's society and wants to crush this holy union between two people that became as one. God is with you and has given you power to defeat and to win.
God CAN change any marriage, no matter how difficult it looks, God can do anything. Trust in Him, lean on Him and pray for change in you and your husbands heart. Blessings to you in your marriage!

Ephesians 5:33
33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


Proverbs 15:1-2

1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
   but a harsh word stirs up anger.

 2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
   but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.



Challenge: Speak gentle words of praise to your husband! Get the idea of a knight in shiny armor out of your head and be thankful for the husband God has given you!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Expect your Favor Today!

Ecclesiastes 9:11
I have seen something else under the sun:
   The race is not to the swift 

   or the battle to the strong, 
nor does food come to the wise 
   or wealth to the brilliant 
   or favor to the learned; 
but time and chance happen to them all.



Proverbs 8:35 
34 Blessed are those who listen to me, 

   watching daily at my doors, 
   waiting at my doorway. 

35 For those who find me find life 
   and receive favor from the LORD.


I challenge you today, in everything you do and wherever you may go; to EXPECT favor from your Lord. He wants you to rely on Him. Even if it's expecting that perfect parking spot close to the entrance or as difficult as it may seem, expecting money to come out of nowhere to pay that next bill. God wants to favor you today! In Ecclesiastes and Proverbs the authors tells us that it does not matter if your strong or weak, rich or poor... favor happens to everyone who listens, watches and waits for the Lord's favor. God wants to bless you this very moment. Close your eyes and ask Him to speak to you and then quiet yourself and hear from God. Watch and wait for your Blessing!
You are a child of God and God (just like you as a parent) wants to spoil and give His children everything they desire. He is just waiting to give you His very best. Then after you have been blessed, thank Him for all His wonderfulness!


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Serenity Prayer


Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the DIFFERENCE.

When I was a teenager my friends Mother had this Prayer hanging on the wall of her bathroom. So on your way out of the bathroom as you open the door, you would not help but to see this prayer smack in your face! I remember reading this prayer and often feeling like.. WHAT? HUH? I do not get it. So what is she asking for?, I thought.
 The older I got, I somewhere got a glimpse of this prayer again and ah hah! Oh! That's what it means!
 Of course, when your young and the world is fancy free and you do not realize what the word STRESS means, you would not feel the need to have serenity. Life was just plain fun! Then growing up kicked in and Mom and Dad were not around to take care of you and you needed to take on responsibility (enter screams)!
 Ladies, this is a beautiful prayer to keep in mind, I actually have these words on my Bible cover and love it! So here is goes again...

God grant me the serenity (calm, peacefulness, peace.a disposition free from stress or emotion) to accept the things I cannot change, the courage (the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.)to change the things I can, and the wisdom (the ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight)to know the DIFFERENCE.

Pray this today, keep the words in your heart and move forward in your difficulties-- being accepting of your situations, courage to change and wise in your decisions!

Peace be with you today Sisters!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Calm, Cool and What?



I see/read a lot of titles for different products or articles reading "Calm, Cool and something". My recent Home and Garden magazine read on the front cover- "Calm, Cool and Decluttered". Inside randomly there was an ad for the product Eucerin and it read "Calming". Anytime I read an ad (for example), I tend to wanna read between the lines. What are the producers wanting us to "feel" so that we will buy this product? You know, those commercials where the family is hugging and laughing because of a product they used (like Tide). Seriously, is Tide gonna make your life better because your using it.... NO! It's gonna clean your clothes! It's to funny to me, how we are deceived by ads. One thing I think we can all say we would love to be is Calm! .. And Cool... and Collected, right? So, the product makers obviously do enough "studies" to realize this might be a good word to add to their product line. HA! Such a good example to me, how the world turns are focus onto things instead of Who we really need. Folks, you just need product JESUS! In Psalm 4:8 we see the word "peace". If you have peace- will you be calm? I would say yes to that! "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety." Peace-check! Safety- check!To me, you do not need products to give you a sense of calmness. You need God's help. His commercials and ads would read "Calming, peaceful and safety-- Not to mention decluttered, clean, stability, love, well you get it! Proverbs 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body". Hey, if your body has life, who needs a product now?