Most Powerful 3 Letter Word

" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13

This verse is known by almost everyone - Christian and non-Christian alike.  But if we really understood this verse, our world would be a very different place.  

Do you know what the most important word is in this verse?  (I'll give you a hint -it's one of the shortest.) The most important word is all.  It doesn't say "I can do some things" or "I can do the easy things".  It says "I can do all things".  This is so powerful.

With this promise from God, your life has new meaning.  It means you don't have to stay where you are right now.  It means that whatever you are going through is only temporary and you will come out on the other side of it better off.  It means that whatever the diagnosis was, God will give you the strength to get through it.  It means that if you are without a job right now, God will give you the strength to get through it.  It even means that if you are grieving right now, God will give you the strength to get through it. 

You do have a role to play however.  You can't just sit around, having a pity party, waiting on God to deliver the strength you need.  You have to get up everyday, thanking God for all of your blessings and asking Him constantly to give you the strength to deal with the day.  You have to find joy even when it is challenging.  And you have to accept His strength and talk positively about your situation.  

There is a treasure in every trial.  There is a message in every mess.  Find yours today.  Start every day listing three things you are grateful for.  I'll help you get started - you woke up today.  Live the awesome life that Christ died for you to live and know that you can do anything - not by your own works and strength, but by Christ who strengthens you.

Let It Go

I can sing every word to this song, but singing it and doing it are two completely different things.  One of the hardest things I have had to learn to do is let things go - everything - and give it to God.  You see, we know God can do anything, but we tend to only want Him to do what we want.

Have you ever been in a tough, uncomfortable situation and completely given it over to God - that no matter what happens, you are okay because you know it is God's will?

"Give your burdens to the Lord and He will take care of you."  Psalm 55:22

All Christians know to do this, but doing it is tricky.  You see, when you give it all to God, that means you have to completely let it go.  You shouldn't think about it anymore, worry about it, or concern yourself any longer.  Truly giving it to God means every time a negative thought or worry pops in your head, you simply say "I'm not worrying about this.  God has it and His will will be done".

The hardest part is when we have to accept that His will may be an uncomfortable situation.  For example, maybe you have been diagnosed with an illness or maybe you have a situation where you can't do something you used to be able to do.  Perhaps you are struggling in a relationship or a job.  Whatever it is, no exceptions, give it to God 100% and He will take care of you.  This doesn't mean He will remove it, it doesn't mean you won't be uncomfortable, but it means you need to get up everyday with joy in your heart and with a positive attitude because you know that your Father has got you.  And what a witness you will be when you are smiling through your situation and when you don't complain even though in the world's eyes you have every reason too!

Have a blessed week!

F2F - Fear to Faith

What do you do when your circumstances are unbearable?  What if you received a diagnosis that was life changing or even worse life threatening?  What if your spouse suddenly left you?  What if you suddenly lost your job?

"I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights."  Habakkuk 3:16-19 (NLT)

The prophet Habakkuk found himself in a terrible situation that was out of his control and in the natural brought fear.  In the midst of his catastrophe, however, Habakkuk decided - made an on purpose choice - to turn to God and release his fear to Him.  This can actually be a very challenging thing for me.  To be honest, I have been struggling with this for a few weeks now.  We have a situation that has the potential to not end well.  However, truthfully, there is really nothing I can do about it.  And that is extremely hard for me as I tend to have a controlling personality.  I spend hours trying to figure out how to change it or fix it, but every time God speaks to me and tells me I can't.  It is truly out of my control.  And when I try to control it, I end up hurting myself by stressing, hurting my relationships by not being the loving wife, mother and friend I should be and hurting God because I am not giving it to Him.  Cast you care! 

When you find yourself in a situation like Habakkuk where everything around you seems to be falling apart, do what he did - rejoice in the Lord.  Remember that God wants only the best for you and if for some reason your problem does have a bad outcome, know that God has something better for you if you just put your trust in Him.  God loves you.  He never, ever leaves you or forsakes you.  So even in the midst of your circumstances, praise Him, thank Him and give Him your situation.  The Lord is your strength - stop turning to everyone else for the strength you need and look up!  God has got you - now and forever!

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Victor or Victim

We all, for the most part, fall into one of two categories - we are either victors or victims.  You probably assume that if you are a Christian you are automatically a victor, but this is simply not the case.  Sadly, there are many Christians with a victim mentality.

"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long."  Psalm 32:3 (NIV)

How we communicate each and every day is a dead giveaway as to whether we are victors or victims - not only with our words but also with our body language.  Victims complain all the time - they can only see the negative in a situation.  A victim Christian will complain and then follow it with "...but I'm so thankful for what God has done."  With a victor, there is no "but".  A victor talks mostly about the victories - the blessings even in the trials.  You see, we are all going to go through something as we go through this thing we call life.  But it is how we respond that makes us a victor or a victim. 

I know too many people that are great people but they are victims in their lives.  They focus on the bad, things are always someone else's fault, they believe nothing good will come to them.  These people, as much as I love them, can be very draining.  We are born for greatness.  And if you know God, there should be no excuse for being a victim.  All Christians should be victors as we have the one and only God in our corner every minute of every day.  This means that if you are having a bad day, it's okay because God is going to bring good out of the bad.  It says so right in the Bible and God never breaks a promise. 

Make it your goal each and every day to be a victor.  Speak positive and bring any negative you may have to God.  Begin to look at life not through the glass half empty/half full analogy but knowing that the glass can be filled any time by our awesome God.  Negative things are going to happen - everyone has something - but how we handle them says everything about what we truly believe.  Have the faith today that God is in control and with that you are a victor!

"But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

Prayer:  God, thank you for everything in my life - the good and the bad as I know they both serve a purpose.  I thank you that you are in control and that you will bring me through any situation that you allow in my life.  Help me to always be a victor and no longer a victim.  Thank you God!

I'm Dreaming of a Stress Free Christmas

Instead of a white Christmas, are you dreaming of a stress free Christmas?  Christmas always seems to bring out the worse for people instead of the happiness and joy that it is intended to bring. Last week, I had to watch a friend of mine have a crying meltdown over this very thing.  There was nothing I could do but hug her and tell her what I am about to tell you.

By the grace of God and many years of studying the Bible and through lots of trial and error, I have finally succeeded in living a 95% stress free life including at Christmas.  I can't share everything I've learned in this one blog post, but I can share a few that were very freeing for me and I hope will be for you too.  Know this - it doesn't matter what your personality is, if you were "born" a certain way, or if this is the way it has always been, you can change.  Don't worry about changing others - that will never happen, but you can change how you do and how you react and in doing so you will end up having a stress free Christmas and a stress free life.  This leads to my first tip:

1. Quit worrying what everyone else thinks - Your number one goal needs to always be to do what is best for you.  This is not selfish - this is all about knowing what works for you because we are all unique.  What works for someone else may not work for you and that is ok.  My grandma used to always say "There is more than one way to skin a cat."  You can get to the same place many different ways and you need to pick the best way for you.  An example during this time of year is presents.  Christmas should not be about what you give or what you receive.  Christmas is a time for families to come together in whatever form that brings and celebrate each other.  This doesn't mean you shouldn't buy for others, but it means that you need to do what works for you.  If all you can do is a card this year, that's ok.  If you can do nothing, that is ok.  And if you want to buy a special gift for someone and you can afford it, by all means do so.  A lot of the Christmas stress comes simply from the gift buying process.  And by the way, just because someone buys for you doesn't mean you need to match or one up them.  Maybe all you can do is a thank you card and that is enough.  Here is what I have learned - people are going to think what they are going to think no matter what.  In many cases, no matter what you do, something negative will be thought or said.  This is not your problem - it is theirs.  Always be respectful, but always do what works for you and no one else - no exceptions, no excuses.
2. Pace yourself - After reading the first tip, you may have already decided to eliminate several items from your to do list that you were simply doing because it was expected of you.  So let's talk about what is left.  With anything that you do, you need to try to pace yourself.  What I mean is look at the big thing and break it into small things.  The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.  Let me share my example from this past weekend in order to give you some ideas. This past Saturday, we had a party for a few friends at our house.  I made it an all h'ordeurves party because this was easier to shop for, easier to fix and better for socializing which was the point of the party.  I wrote out my menu with nice, simple easy items such as shrimp cocktail, caprese on a stick, pasta salad, filet bites, and dip.  One day during the week I went to Aldi and bought everything.  Yes, everything at a discount grocery store.  On Saturday, I paced myself between freshening up the downstairs where everyone would be, putting together the food items and at times, I was able to sit down in between and enjoy myself.  I enlisted the help of my wonderful husband when needed and together we had everything ready by 4 o'clock when everyone arrived.  I had out a cheese and cracker assortment to start with and this allowed me to enjoy everyone instead of slaving in the kitchen.  It took me about 10 minutes to assemble the table when it was time to eat and everyone gathered in the living room and had a blast together enjoying each other.  I say all of this to prove that you can have a nice get together without killing yourself and stressing over the cost or the preparing.  When it was over, I scraped the plates, put them in a neat pile and went back to play with my little buddy who was at the party.  Nothing says Christmas like hanging with a two year old.  After they left, I put away what needed to be done and by noon the next day, all of the dishes were done and put away.  By the way, this is not the way a party would have looked in my house several years ago.  But I have learned to let certain things go, focus on what is important, and pace myself with the rest.
3. It is what it is - Life is going to happen - or to be more blunt, crap is going to happen.  You can't help it.  All you can control is how you react to what happens.  What if I had put myself on a strict time line for our party?  The second something wouldn't have gone accordingly, I would have stressed.  But why?  It is what it is.  I can't change it.  You cannot put the milk back in the cow.  All you can do is decide what to do with the milk.  This is actually my life mantra and I quote it until people get sick of hearing it.  But if more of us would use it, life would be much less stressful.  Everyday in my life, something goes wrong and by wrong I mean not the way I expected.  First, I pray. Then I look at my options - what I can control and make a decision if need be.  80% of the time my decision is simply to let it go.  Don't hold on to something that is not going as expected or going your way.  You may have a script but no one else has a copy of it including God.  He has his own script and His way is always better.  The next time something happens like this, say out loud "It is what it is.  God it is in your hands."  And let it go!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Philippians 4:6

When you are stressed or anxious, simply do as God instructs.  First, don't be stressed or anxious - let it go!  Then pray!  But not only pray, pray and ask with thanksgiving.  We forget this part.  Be thankful always.  There is a treasure in every trial.  Even in the worst trials.  Cancer is a horrible thing.  No one ever wants to hear that word spoken in conjunction with anyone.  But even in this trial there are treasures.  Sometimes it is that they found it early, sometimes it is that they found it at all giving you extra time with your loved ones. 

We are all going to feel times of stress.  But when you feel stressed, turn to the verse above and then use some of these tips to get you through the moment.  God never leaves us and what He thinks is all that matters.  Remember that this holiday season and most of all remember the true meaning of Christmas.  It is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus who's sole purpose of being born was to save each and every one of us so that we wouldn't have to be stressed. 

I love each and every one of you and pray that you have a stress free holiday season and a stress free 2017!  From my family to yours - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!