Trust in Him Tuesday ~ Hope in God (Psalm 42:5-8)

Welcome to another episode of Trust In Him Tuesday.  We are going to focus on Psalm 42:5-8

Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

For the help of His countenance.

O my God, my soul is cast down within me;

Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,

And from the heights of Hermon,

From the Hill Mizar.

Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;

All Your waves and billows have gone over me.

The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,

And in the night His song shall be with me —

A prayer to the God of my life.

(Psalm 42:5-8)

Although it may be easier said than done, you must have faith in spite of your heavy burden down circumstances.  Unforeseen, joy-stealing situations have a way of taking their toll on emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  Oftentimes, you may feel lost, overwhelm, defeated, and even hopeless.  Nonetheless, we must remember that God is our Rock, Comforter, Strength, our Refuge, and our Fortress.  He is, also, our present help in the time of trouble.  Hallelujah and Amen!!

Special Note:  Know and Trust that God can give you hope when circumstances indicate there is none.  Hope in God and praise Him regardless of how you are feeling.  Remember, God has promised to be present with you both day and night.

When you trust in God, you are "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).  Trust in God.  Trust in Him.  Trust in His Promises.  Trust in Him to give you rest and make your burdens light.  "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light," (Matthew 11:28-30). 

Masterpiece Monday ~ God Made Us More!

Welcome to another episode of Masterpiece Monday.  Masterpiece Monday is about 

• Growing in Godliness
• How to become the best version of yourself
• How to become the you that God designed you to be

God created us after His image.  We are purpose by design.  We were not created to be average.  We are a custom build, original creation.  We are God's special treasures.  We are royalty.  So, how can we not be made for more?  We are made for more than we can ever imagine.

God Made Me More

(Promises That Are True)

I am God's Masterpiece, created for a purpose and destiny.

I am made for more than surviving life.  I will thrive in life. God is at work in my life

and He will perfect everything that concerns me.  I have a good and bright future.

God is turning my scars into stars.  I am strong, overcoming, and soaring over every obstacle.

God can and will bring me to a flourishing finish.  God is bringing my dreams 

to pass in His perfect timing.  I am bold and courageous to act against fear.  

I am safe in my Father's hands.  I am letting go of the past

and moving forward with God.  I choose to wear God's labels:

CHOSEN, ONE OF A KIND, BLESSED,

HIGHLY FAVORED, and SUCCESSFUL.

I am a Triple-A person:  Appointed, Anointed, and Approved by God.

I will never give up because God has victory in store for me.

(Lisa Osteen Comes)

Selah Sunday ~ Psalm 42

Welcome to another episode of Selah Sunday.  It's hard to relax, release, and refresh when you are feeling stress, sad, distress, or just plain troublesome with a side order of blah because of everything that may be going on in and around your world.

As the deer pants for the water brooks,

So pants my soul for You, O God.

 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

 My tears have been my food day and night,

While they continually say to me,

“Where is your God?”

(Psalm 42:1-3)

Psalm 42 is about yearning and thirsting for God in the midst of your troubles.  This Psalm encourages its readers to meditate on God's kindness and His love, when they are feeling lonely, defeated, or distressed.

Special Note: Like the life of a deer depends upon water, so should our lives depend on God.  Those who seek Him earnestly and long to understand Him to find peace, joy, hope, and established their faith.  Feeling separated by God is an uneasy feeling.  Therefore, we must chase after God by way of prayer, praise, worship, and reading His word, which in turn will restore a deeper relationship with Him.  One thing I know for sure we need God in our life every single day 24/7.  

"When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me.

For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God,

With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.

O my God, my soul is cast down within me;..."

(Psalm 42:4-6)

Depression, disappointments, and setbacks are a part of life.  However, there's an antidote for the emotional and physical distress from unforeseen, unwanted ailments in our life.  That is, meditating on the goodness of God.  God is always good. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Relax, release and take your mind off your current situation.  Selah.  Redirect your thoughts from negative to positive ones.  Selah.  Focus your thoughts on God's ability to move mountains, to make ways out of no way, and to help you in the time of trouble.  Selah.  Finally, allow God's word to be your antidepressant by reading, studying, and meditating on scriptures that best describe your current situation.  Selah.

Sleep in Peace.

Wake in Joy.

FTT = Languishing

So far, I have been a few of my A-Ha moments from "The ME I Want To BE" reading. I think I have read the epitome of all of my A-HA moments. Well, at least for now, :)

I never knew what FTT meant until I started reading this book by John Ortberg. FTT means Failure To Thrive.

 

To Thrive means to grow vigorously, FLOURISH;

to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances

If you fail to thrive, then you fail to grow. It, also, means that you are not willing to fight, to take a stand. You will give up at a moment's notice when things seem hard or if there's a bump in the road.


John Ortberg said it best. Languishing is Failure To Thrive. "Languishing is the condition of someone who may be able to function but has lost a sense of hope and meaning. Languishing is not the presence of mental illness; it is the absence of mental and emotional vitality." This is good time to pause and ponder.


From there John Ortberg went on to define acedia, which means weariness of soul and inability to delight in life.

 

 

"To languish is to feel inner deadness. 

 LANGUISHING is the opposite of FLOURISHING." 

 
I must take a moment to ponder on this. Could you imagine how it must feel to you have the "inability to delight in life"; the inability to "stop and smell the roses."? When you choose not to live and enjoy life, the only thing left is death. To be spiritual dead is not a good feeling at all.

No matter how hard it gets, you must remain hopeful and faithful. Don't focus on what everybody wants or what you THINK you should be because you don't want to disappoint anyone. When you attempt to pursue a path that's not intended by God, it doesn't lead you to a good place.

"When we give up on our growth and life's purpose, we languish." 

WOW!! Now, if this doesn't blow your mind, I don't know what will. In order for me to become God's best version of myself, I must not stunt, give up on and/or languish my growth.

Just a Few MEs

Hello Everyone!

I finished reading chapter 1.  I have read some of chapter 2 up to page 26. 

I read about a few MEs that are God's version at all.....

1. The Me I Don't Want To Be
2. The Me I Pretend To Be
3. The Me I Think I Should Be

From what I read so far, I concluded that some or even most of us strive very hard to be everything and anything we want to be instead of what God wants us to be.   I think the reasoning behind that is because we want to please people, fit in, or be a part of something so that we can have a sense of belonging.  Peer pressure can, also, hinder the God's best version of us.

• "We do not drift into becoming the best version of ourselves."
• We are not going to be THE ME WE WANT TO BE overnight.  It's a process.  You're not going to stumble upon the best version of yourself.  It takes direction from God.  He directs our paths and shows us the way.

• "When I am growing toward the ME I want to be, I am being freed from the ME I pretend to be."   "If I am ever going to become the ME I want to be.  I have to start being honest about the ME I am.
• Both of these quotes go hand in hand.  The more you grow spiritually the more you become free in Christ Jesus.  I think a sense of awareness begins to happen.  You begin to realize how the truth can set you free.  God's words, His truth about who we are, release us from the bondage of not facing ourselves,  When we decide to face ourselves, we become honest about who we are. No more pretending. No more camouflaging. No more hiding.

There is more from today's reading experience.  However, I will elaborate more in my next post.  Consider this post as part 1.  Although I am a work in progress, they are a few MEs that I hope to steer clear of.

To Be Continued.......

The Journey Has Started - My A-HA Moments (So Far)

 

 

In my previous post, I talked about beginning the journey of becoming God's best version of ME by reading "The ME I Want To Be," by John Ortberg.  I started reading it last night.  So far, I've read chapter 1, pages 11 - 17.  I want to make sure I take my time to read and comprehend every word.  Sometimes, when you rush through your reading, there's a possible chance that you may miss a key point.

There were a few quotes that caught my attention.  I like to call these quotes my A-Ha moments.

• "You are not your handiwork; your life is not your project.  Your life is God's project.  God thought you up, and He knows what you were intended to be."
• I thought you else knows their creation better besides the Creator. No one.  Only God knows the master plan for our lives.  He knows our purpose. 

• "Flourishing is not measured by outward signs such as income, possessions, or attractiveness.  It means becoming the person he had in mind in creating you.  Flourishing means moving toward God's best version of you."
• When you flourish in God, you grow spiritually.  Your knowledge and experience in Him increase.  You develop a deeper, a more intimate relationship with God.

• "God wants to redeem you, not exchange you."
• After reading this statement, I immediately responded by saying, "Wow!"  Many times we think we are not good enough; we should be more like this person and that person and so on.  But God loves who we are and who He created.  We are His masterpiece.  Yes, we may need a little tweaking here and there, but it doesn't mean God wants us to be anything besides ourselves. 

There are more, but these are my top three reading moments.  John Ortberg made two scripture references:



 ^"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ

Jesus to do good works, which God prepared

in advance for us to do," (Ephesians 2:10, niv). 

This scripture happens to be my base scripture for my blog. :)

 

 

 

"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree.....they will flourish

in the courts of our God," (Psalms 92:12-13, niv).

As I read this book, my goal is share with you my thoughts and favorite quotes in hopes that you will be blessed, inspired, and encouraged to become God's best version of you.

 

Getting Back to What I Love To Do!!

It's been about 2 years since my last post. I'm not sure why. It's not like I need to explain or anything. But if I had to give a reason, it would be TIME. You can either have too much or too little time. Sometimes time is not an issue, it's just where you simply don't feel like doing it. But how can I not feel like doing what I love doing. In my case, it's not necessarily my feelings that got in my way, but various distractions and not enough focus. Then the more time passed on the more I tucked my blog in a box along with other stuff that I used to do that I love doing. After being tucked away for so long, certain things can easily become a figment of your imagination. That is, if you allow it to be.

But, I must say God has a funny way of reminding you of your first loves in a subtle or not-so-subtle way. For example, these business cards below. I forgot I even had them. They pretty much came out of the blue sort of speak. Seeing these cards reminded me of how excited I was and the passion I felt for my jewelry making business and my blog. I took that as a hint. I thought, "Maybe God is trying to tell me something."

I came to realize that I don't have to sacrifice one dream for another, especially when it's God's will and a part of His master plan for my life. I just have to be more God-Conscious of my time and my daily tasks. It's a blessing to say that, "I'm doing what I LOVE; and I LOVE what I am doing."

If you're not doing what you love, I encourage you to find out what that is exactly.  You may have to take risks as well as a few leaps and/or steps of faith. But one thing I know for sure, it's going to take your ability to TRUST God and to WAIT on Him.

I love this quote by Steve Jobs:

Here's another quote I came via google search:

As for me, I pray that this is the beginning of many posts.  I may not post, but my prayer is that I practice being God-Conscious and not neglect or abort my dreams.

Fear No More

Originally Posted April 7, 2007 but updated for today's post. :)



Picture by: Shine Design via Toia on Pinterest





The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)



"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself" is a familiar and famous quote. Fear corrupts your faith in God. Having God as your light, your salvation, and your strength, allow you to stand up, be strong and conquer all fears.




*Remember that the word of God says in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind." Fear does not have control over you; instead you have control over fear. Having the power of God dwelling in our hearts, allow us to be victims no more to fear.

"Fear is exaggerated. It can be overwhelming. It always takes you to the worst-case scenario. Fear is like a fog. It will always cloud the truth. It tries to make you stumble. It tries to block your vision and keep you from seeing the good plan God has on the road up ahead." - Joel & Victoria Osteen 

Could you ever imagine yourself living a life clouded by fog?  Fog can be so dense to a point where it's hard to see anything ahead, behind, and even on the side.  God does not want us to be trapped in a fog because of fear.  He wants us to trust Him and have faith in Him.  Faith in God allows us to see the light, have hope, and joy in our salvation.  Fear, on the other hand, keeps us trapped, surrounded by darkness, with no sense of hope or joy.






Picture by: Access-Jesus.com via Toia on Pinterest





In every and any situation, we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. So, there's no need to fear.






If you have any fears, no matter how big or small, ask God to help you conquer them. If anything, we should fear God and that's it. Be bold! Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! (Ephesians 6:10)









Your Sister in Christ,
Toia

"You are fearfully and wonderfully made!" -Psalm 139:14

Cheer Up or Tear Down?

"....An encouraging word CHEERS a person up." (Proverbs 12:25) nlt



I love encouraging and inspiring people through my words. It's a wonderful feeling to lift someone's spirit. I just pray more people would take the time to build up people with their words, rather than tear them down. Having people tear you down, ridicule, or "joking" around with offensive, degrading, or disrespectful words, is anything but a great feeling. It hurts, agitates, and can have a very negative impact on one's spirit.










For example, when we have family function, my granddad loves to always and do mean always point out and I quote "How big my butt is" or "If I eat another bite of food (granted it's my first bite from my meal) I will be as big as my momma." or my favorite (sarcasm here)..."Hey everyone this one here (pointing to me) looks like she's pregnant!" (By the way I'm not that big.)



Can you say WOW!! I know right! Please tell me where the encouraging, loving words are in these statements. (Which is why I rarely attend family functions.) My family defends him by saying that's how he loves. But I know according to God's word, Love is not offensive, hurtful, disrespectful in any way shape or form. Because I know who I am in Christ Jesus, fearfully and wonderfully made, I know that I do not have to take it or stand for anyone (including family members) talking to me in any kind of way.















We are to lift our people up, edify them with our words; encouraging them, whether they are family or not. We can't say we love God; yet we kill people's spirits with our words, pulling them further away from the Kingdom of God. We are soul winners not soul losers. 

I am so blessed that God has connected me with a group of people from my church (that I call family; others my sisters) who builds me up emotionally and spiritually. The conversations we have are life-giving. We cheer each other up with our words. It's a liberating feeling every time we get together. So ask yourself....Do you cheer up or tear down?  Words can build as well as let you down.

Jesus, Our Advocate, Our Propitiation

I'm so bless and honored to have Jesus on my side as my Advocate. God knows that we are not perfect. He knows in some form or another we will sin everyday. But because our heavenly Father loves us so much, He appointed Jesus as our defense attorney to plead our case. In addition to being an Advocate, Jesus is also our Helper, Counselor (Lawyer), Intercessor through and by the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:1-2 reminds me of a Helen Baylor's song,






"If It Had, Not, Been For The Lord, On My Side
Where Would I Be?, Where Would I Be?.....

He Never Left Me All Alone
He Gave Me Peace And Joy I've Never Known
He Answered When I Knelt To Him In Prayer
And In Victory The Lord Brought Me This Way,
So...

If It Had, Not, Been For The Lord, On My Side
Where Would I Be?, Where Would I Be?....."





I don't think I even want to begin to imagine my life without Jesus in it!! Do you? Not only has God appointed Jesus as our Advocate, but He also provided Jesus to be the "propitiation for our sins", a covering for our sins. Propitiation means the appeasement of divine wrath by a sacrificial offering. Romans 3:25 says (amplified version),

"Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all]

as a mercy seat and PROPITIATION by His blood

[the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement

and reconciliation, to be received] through faith.

This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His

divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored

former sins without punishment."

I thank Jesus and give him all the praise for standing in the gap for my sin and coming before our Heavenly Father to plead my case, when at times I felt like I didn't deserve it. WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE IN THE NAME JESUS!!! HALLELUJAH AND AMEN!!!

In The Midst of Trouble

Sometimes we have the tendency to fear the unknown. When you are in a midst of distress or despair, it's naturally to fear the worst at first. However, you must be careful not to wallow in it. This is where you should not feed into your fear, but into your faith. One of the many reasons why I love the book of Psalms is that you can get a clear sense of his heartfelt relationship with God. David was in trouble so many times. Nonetheless, he knew His God, our God, will bring him out.


Psalm 138 is a psalm written by David about "The Lord's Goodness to the Faithful." Verses seven and eight are my favorite. It says,





"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands."




David knew that God will stretch out His hand in his time of trouble and at the right time.  In addition, David knew that God will fulfill (perfect) all of His promises. One of them being, (just as He promised the children of Israel twice),.....






"Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
(Isaiah 41:10)

   

"For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’"
(Isaiah 41:13)





In the midst of your trouble, whether it's financial trouble, relationship trouble, work-related trouble, etc., FEAR NOT!! Take hold of God's hand when he stretches it out to you. Grab hold of it tight and don't let go. Remember, no matter what you are going through God will fulfill His purposes that He has planned for your life.

We All Make Mistakes

Let me start this post off by saying....WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES! Big ones or little ones...mistakes are mistakes. However, you should not condemn yourself when you make them. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus....," (See Romans 8:1). 



If anything, we should learn from them so that we won't make the same mistake twice. And please do not allow your mistakes to rob you of your joy in your salvation. "Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm," (Winston Churchill). When you make a bad decision, do not allow the devil to steal your joy and make you feel anything but worthy of God's love, grace, mercy and peace.  Nothing you can do can separate God's love from you.





"He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." (Proverb 28:13)



When we confess our wrongdoings, God will have mercy. He will still love us as well as continue to grant us favor. God doesn't require us to be perfect. Nonetheless, we can pray for wisdom to make the right choices. Use your mistakes as stepping stones not stumbling blocks. With mistakes, you may fall or stumble. However, you must get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going in the name of Jesus.








Picture by: Heather Blaise.com via Toia on Pinterest




With every mistake, you will definitely learn who are and how strong you are in Christ Jesus.

Do You Have A Life???

Most people define having a life as being popular, always having a full scheduled rather than staying home being bored. However, I am here to say (or post) that without God there is no life. Jesus came that we would have an abundant life. God did not sacrifice His Son, so that we may live an empty life. So whether you may be popular or not, please realized that if Jesus is not your personal Savior, then you have no life.




Picture by: Tumblr.com via Toia on Pinterest







Not only will you have a full life on earth, you will have a full life in heaven. "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," (John 3:16).  When you choose Jesus, you choose to live.

Walk His Way

It's amazing when you're dealing with a situation or have to make a major decision, everyone seems to have an opinion on what you should or shouldn't do. If that is the case, I found out that even though you may respect people's advice that doesn't mean you have to do what they say. At the end of the day, the choice is yours on how to deal or how not deal. But, keep in mind God's word from Psalm 1:1-2.




"Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night."



Whatever you do make sure it doesn't cause you to walk in a direction that is not pleasing to God. Walk by faith. Trust in God to direct your path. Walk God's way and be bless. His way is the only way that will lead you to your destiny. His way is the only way that will lead you out of the darkness and into the light.

Yet Shall We Praise Him

Have you ever had those moments where you feel dazed, confused, down-trodden, weary or all of the above? I know I have. And I realized that's okay. It's alright to have moments such as these. According to Psalm 42:5, 11 and Psalm 43:5, even the psalmist have felt that way. Nonetheless, the psalmist knows that his only hope is in God. He found that hope by seeking God in prayer.






   



In the midst of distress or in the time of trouble, put your hope in God. Give Him a yet praise. Regardless of how things may seem, YET we shall praise him. Negative account balance in the bank....YET praise Him. A friend backstabbed you....YET praise Him. Don't know which way is up....YET praise Him. Your boss seems a bit bossy...YET praise Him. There's power in praising the one and only Almighty God!!! 

WE SHALL YET PRAISE HIM!!!