All posts in Encouragement

Jesus answered, It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. ~ Matthew 4:4

Upon arriving home from work, my husband will often walk through the door and head straight to the pantry or the fridge claiming that he’s “starving.”  It always makes me laugh because he owns a restaurant!  He has total access to the most yummy chicken made in America (not to mention the waffle fries and milkshakes) yet he will go through an entire day surrounded by food and forget to eat! When I ask him why he didn’t grab something while he was working his reasons are usually that he was too busy or he got distracted.  Thankfully, he is not nearly as grumpy as I am when I don’t eat.

When I skip a meal I get very irritated. My blood sugar drops, I feel lightheaded and I can’t think straight.  I feel weak, I have very little tolerance and I am not a lot of fun to be around.   My husband has come to recognize the symptoms and will say, “Feed it!” indicating that I am acting like a monster. Once I get something nutritious to eat I become a much nicer person.

Sometimes we go through periods of life when we feel like we are dry and shriveling up spiritually and can’t think straight.  We have access to life giving sustaining spiritual nutrition at our fingertips but because we are busy or distracted we don’t eat!

These days there are so many ways that we can feed ourselves the word of God.  There are devotionals and bible reading emails you can have sent right to your inbox.  There are podcasts to listen to on our drive to work in addition to the good old fashioned paper copy of the Bible that we could and should pick up each morning (preferably before we start our day.)  We really have no excuse.

This is not intended to be a guilt trip, I promise, but we if we want to grow (and not become grumpy and irritated) we need to eat!

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight ~ Jeremiah 15:16

Every one of us is called by God to be a champion to someone.  It may be a small circle of people in your home or city that you have influence over or you may be called to a larger platform or foreign country, but all of us are called to shine the light of Jesus and serve each other in love.  As we move forward to accomplish what God has called us to do it is inevitable that we will encounter opposition.

1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

One of the greatest weapons the devil uses in order to discourage us is the temptation to compare ourselves to others.  As we look at the accomplishments, abilities and gifts of others compared to our own, we can often begin to feel small and worthless if we feel that we don’t measure up.

When God called Gideon to lead a major battle and defeat a huge army he immediately felt inadequate. There were many other men that were much stronger than he was, but God chose him and called him “a mighty warrior.”

Satan will try to throw as much doubt as he can at us to discourage us from becoming all that we were created to be but the word of God tells us in James 4:7 that if we resist the devil then he will flee from us.

Every morning as we begin each new day we must believe that there is a devil who wants to make us shrink so that we are ready to resist the lies, the accusations and the temptations he sends our way.

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Eph 6:16

“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” I John 4:4

Last night For the Girls International had our Summer Girls Night Out and it was FABULOUS!!

We played upon a theme that has been rolling around in my brain (a scary place) for several months now.  It all started after I watched Tim Burton’s 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland.  The movie itself was entertaining and so creative (which I love) but it was the parallels to my spiritual journey that came bursting from the screen that really captured my attention. You can read all about it here…and here…and here !

Alice was the champion that the residents of Wonderland had been waiting for. She was very hesitant to accept the responsibility because she didn’t feel qualified or equipped.  When Alice decided to embrace her destiny she knew it would require going into battle to defeat the Jabberwocky.  This was no small task and the odds were not in her favor.  As she stood there with the hideous monster towering over her she said, “This is impossible” and the Mad Hatter replied “Only if you believe it is.”

Alice then remembered something her father had taught her and she said, “Sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Then she lifted her sword and began to count them out loud.

This journey of life takes on so many twists and turns that at times it is hard to navigate.  At times God requires us to step out and overcome fear and obstacles in order to fulfill a calling or begin a new venture.  Sometimes we just need strength for the day to live victoriously and free!

There are things I need to believe every morning before my feet hit the ground if I am going to be able to handle all that life throws at me.  And so…

The Six Impossible Things I Believe Before Breakfast

1. There is a devil who can make me shrink.

1 Peter 5:8
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

2. The word of God can make me grow.

Jeremiah 15:16
When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight

3. God can talk.

Isaiah 30:31
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.

4. Fear can disappear

2 Tim 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

5. There is a place called heaven

Psalm 27:13
I would have despaired had I not known that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

6. I can overcome!

2 Corinthians 4:7-10
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

In the next few weeks I will be expounding on each of these points.  So stay tuned.  You can subscribe to receive these posts directly to your inbox by putting your email address in the box that is in the top right corner of this page under Follow my Blog by email.

I love to interact through the comment section so comment away! I hope you are celebrating your MUCHNESS today!