Do you lack gratitude in your day? Here are 5 reasons you need to cultivate gratitude today. You will find how being thankful changes everything even though circumstances stays the same! 1. A Song to Defeat the Foe! We have a foe that is deadly but when we sing a song of gratitude to the One who died for our sins, that deadly foe is defeated! What if you learned along with me to sing more often? We often have mellow Christian music playing in the background of our home. That makes it easy to remember to sing. It is not for the sake of singing that I sing. I often forget that … [Read more...]
How Gratitude Turns to Joy and Changes Everything
Have you ever wondered why gratitude changes everything to joy? Everything changes when your heart is filled with thanksgiving and gratefulness. Then joy comes! It reminds me of an unbecoming caterpillar which compared to a butterfly isn't beautiful at all! After it weaves itself into a cocoon, in time it breaks out into a gorgeous butterfly. Are you the kind of woman that is constantly complaining about this and that? I've been there! When you take the initiative to start keeping a gratitude list, you will be like the caterpillar that goes into a cocoon and comes out as a beautifully … [Read more...]
5 Gratitude Strategies for When You Worry
When you worry, it's good to have gratitude strategies so your troubles can be turned to victory. David was faced with a terrifying situation when he fled from his son, Absalom. When he looked to the Lord, he discovered that God worked for his good though the situation was less than the best. Have you ever faced circumstances that cause your mind to go into overload as the details are constantly swirling in your brain? Maybe, it's a recurring situation or a relational one. It might even be a terrifying one that changed everything in a moment of time. I often find myself in Psalms when … [Read more...]
How Happiness is Secured for the Faithful
We live in a culture that tells us how happiness is secured. If you are an American, you might have grasped onto the myth of attaining the American Dream. Even if you are from Europe, Asia, Africa, or the South American continent, you're probably well aware of the wealth in America and deep down inside wish you could have a piece of it too! When I was growing up in Asia, refugee children would refuse to speak in their native tongue because they wanted to learn a little English from me as we played together. They had caught what they had been taught. They would be successful if they learned … [Read more...]
How to Strategize Monday to Avoid Overwhelm
Overwhelm happens every Monday but you can avoid that feeling that everything needs to be done at once when you strategize. Here's how to do the next thing! Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, Colossians 3:23 For years, when Sunday night rolls around, yet again, I wonder how I am going to get all the things done on Monday. I worked for 10 years after getting married and Mondays could never have been harder. Don't ask me how getting out of the daily routine for the weekend can make such a difference, but it does. I worked for 5 years after having my … [Read more...]
Bible Journaling: How To Trace with Graphite Paper
Did you trace when you were a young girl? In this Bible journaling tutorial, you will learn how to draw using the tracing technique and graphite paper. Tracing is a perfect technique for the artist-in-you who desires to worship God through Bible journaling. You might not feel like you are overly talented in your creative journaling skills and that's OK! This is NOT about how artistic you are. Journaling art is supposed to be enjoyed and if you are bogging yourself down with how beautiful someone else's artwork is, you are totally missing the point. The fun thing is that even if you … [Read more...]
How To Make Healthy Movement Matter
Movement isn't about that perfect beach body. It's about how to get in the habit of moving every day so you can glorify God with a life of service to others. Are you cringing at the thought of movement? Maybe you are tired of keeping up with kids or from working all day. Maybe at this point, an attractive body is a distant dream. One too painful to bother working towards. Most people think that healthy movement equals exercise. Moving your body is about so much more. It's about thinking clearer, feeling better, but most of all movement matters so you can glorify God in all you … [Read more...]
Gratitude as a Lifestyle Journaling Workbook
The Bible points us to culture gratitude as a lifestyle by encouraging us to magnify and praise the Lord in everything. Maybe you have had some extremely hard things happening and life seems pointless. You just don't feel that warm-fuzzy grateful feeling welling up in your heart. It's just NOT there! Your experiences are not mine nor mine yours. Yet, I can share with you the power available to you when you make gratitude a part of your daily lifestyle. A few short years ago I was devastated by the choices that three loved ones had made within a short period of time. It was even … [Read more...]
Becoming a Mary When You’re Totally Martha
Do you yearn to be a 'Mary' when you are 'totally Martha' through and through? This will give you some tips while helping you see that you are ENOUGH! Becoming a Mary when you are totally Martha can be a challenge when you know that you need to improve in serving others. Broken Dreams! Do you dream of being much more than you are? Doing more? Being more for your husband and children? We can learn so much from Mary and be more pulled together in all sorts of ways. Being much more. Much, much more!! BUT . . . most days you feel like you fall so short and that you are totally … [Read more...]
3 Strategies to Face Trials with Joy
It's hard to face trials with joy when things go wrong. You'll be inspired by Paul courageously speaking up in court. Paul was a Roman citizen who was also a Pharisee. He knew the law well and when he was brought before the high priest, Ananias and the Sanhedrin, Paul questioned them in a way that left the Sadducees and Pharisees in total confusion. Face Trials Like Paul! The events of Acts 22 lead into Acts 23 as Paul is brought before the council. As I often face trials, this passage came alive for me as the tension between the Jews, the Romans and Paul builds as this story … [Read more...]
Enrich Your Prayer-Life by Immersing in Psalms
Do you need to enrich your prayer-life with strategies that will teach you how to pray? Come learn with me as I begin immersing myself in psalms. I am not the prayer warrior-woman that I would like to be. I have a long way to go but would love to invite you to join me on this journey as I learn how to pray. At the end of the day, I don't want my life to have been characterized by prayerlessness. I want to have enriched my life with prayer to the glory of the God I love. Prayerlessness is common in our generation and I want to go against the culture and be spiritually healthy. No … [Read more...]
Why Meditating on the Bible is Best
Why is meditating on the Bible the best? Aren't there other ways to meditate and bring wholeness to our souls? We will be looking at the difference between mindfulness meditation and meditating on the Bible to see which way is best or if they are both beneficial. Why would how we meditate matter? That is such a good question that many of you are asking. I have also been asking this and want to be extremely careful to meditate in a way that is aligned with Jesus Christ, my Savior. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2 I don't … [Read more...]
How You Can Delight in Reading Your Bible
Do you delight in reading your Bible? If you're a Christ-follower, learning to delight in God now, is preparation for worshiping Him for all eternity. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 Think about that for a few moments. We will be spending years and years and years with God in heaven. If you're getting up there in years that might sound like heaven to you and you're so looking … [Read more...]
How I Stay Healthy and Do Life
How do I stay healthy and do life when most people my age and a whole lot younger are struggling to get through the day? Health is a gift from God and at any given moment we could lose it because of a tragic accident, cancer or some other debilitating disease. Yet . . . I can squander what God has entrusted to me and throw it away by poor choices I make. You don't have to look far to find people who are struggling to stay healthy. It's not that they are complaining. They have legit discomfort. Things I Do to Stay Healthy Just a few years ago I was beyond exhausted by early evening. … [Read more...]
How Psalms are Songs for the Heart and Mind
Psalms are songs to encourage and instruct your heart and mind. God shapes your emotions through reading and meditating on them day and night. There have been times in my life that I read from Psalms daily along with reading another passage. Life can get busy and it is easy to neglect to spend time in Psalms. BUT . . . God instructs us to read and meditate on the law every day! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2 What are the Psalms? The Psalms are a beautiful collection of poetry that is divided into 5 books. They are … [Read more...]
