what do you talk about?

“What is closest to your heart is what you will talk about. And if God is closest to your heart, you’ll talk about Him.” AW Tozer

A new day has dawned. What will you do with your words today? What will you post on FB today? As a wife, mother, grandma, friend, co-worker, pastor, chaplain – I wear many hats. There are many topics that I love to talk about. It is no surprise that God fits into each of those topics, if I let Him.

 

“May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 TLB

 

Use your words today to encourage, build up, and point others to Christ.

til next time

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guard your thoughts

A few thoughts:

Be Thankful – count your blessings

Recognize the need to call upon His name

Make known – share your story!

Sing – singing songs to and about God is one way to fill your peace tank

Talk – long ago I decided to be intentional about bringing God into conversations. After awhile it just becomes second nature.

Rejoice — choose joy! With your heart – seek God.

Seek the Lord – with intent – go after God.

Remember — “Remember that God has been faithful in the past so when difficulties arise you are not swayed by them.” Pastor Curtis

 

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord!

Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples!

Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;

Talk of all His wondrous works!

Glory in His holy name;

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face evermore!

Remember His marvelous works which He has done,

His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

1 Chronicles 16:8-12(NKJV)

In Awe of the wonders of God,

til next time

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my mind tends to wander

I trust God. Yet my mind tends to wander. My mind tends to give in to stress easier than it should. I find that I have to be intentional about where my thoughts go. I think we all do.

Holding tightly to this verse.

Isaiah 26:3 English Standard Version (ESV)

“You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you.”

I finally watched our Fireside Chat live video just a few minutes ago. (If you watch it, start at 4:12) I couldn’t watch it earlier. I read the comments but that was it. My mind had me convinced that it was nothing short of a failure. Who needs to watch that?

From there my mind went to – we don’t have the proper equipment, lighting, knowledge, what are we thinking? Curtis told me that it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

As… I… thought — Thoughts — oh how they can deceive us.

Our thoughts can cripple us. Our thoughts can hold us hostage. I have said for years that the battles that we face are really lost or won in our mind. How we think about what is going on. What we dwell on — what lies we give credibility to and the damage that it does.

Or do we keep our mind on Jesus?  Looking to Him, trusting Him, believing and living out His promises found in the Word.  He will never leave us.  He is an ever-present help in trouble.  He will see us through.  He is greater than whatever we face.

Do we see problems as opportunities for God to shine in our lives?  Do we see trials as a way that our faith is displayed for all to see?  Do we see tribulation as nothing more than something Christ said we would have but we can be of good cheer because He has overcome the world and we are overcomers because of Him?

“perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.” Maybe like me, you need to be reminded of the great importance of keeping your mind on God. It really is of utmost importance to walking in peace.

And guard against letting the enemy pull your thoughts away to a dark place that will not do anyone any good.

fixing my eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:1-2)

til next time

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but as for me

But as for me”  There are at least 13 scriptures in Psalms that utilizes that phrase in the NASB.

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand;…” Psalm 31:14-15

“But as for me” I love that phrase. It reminds that no matter what is going on, no matter what others are doing, no matter how I feel — I get to choose what I do next.

But as for me, I will trust God.

But as for me, I will obey God.

But as for me, I will nail my feelings to the cross and believe what Jesus says.

Psalm 59:16 “But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge,a place of safety when I am in distress.”

What about you?  Where are your thoughts?

If we focus on problems – problems will be all we see. If we see problems as opportunities to see the hand of God helping us – we will start seeing His hand more and more. When we put God first, He really does give us wisdom to know what to do and the strength to do it.

But as for me, I refuse to get jazzed up about ___________. But as for me, I depend on God.

I choose to sing with joy, to lift my voice in praise to the One who loves me most. God’s love never fails.

What are you choosing?

til next time

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meditation anyone?

Do you find yourself going over and over something?  Then you know how to meditate.  The importance is what you are going over and over.

We can rehash a bad experience and that takes us to a negative place.  We can dwell on something that made us angry.  That is a great way to stay angry.

As a christian we are told to meditate on God’s Word.

Let’s do that today.  Wherever you find yourself, take some time to meditate on God’s Word.

Are you feeling stressed?

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7 ESV

Are you tired?

“Come to me, all 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.” Matt 11:28-30 ESV

Are you overwhelmed?

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2 NKJV

Do you need to be reminded that God loves you?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV

Does life seem out of control?

“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promisesand faithful in all he does.

The Lord upholds all who falland lifts up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:13-14 NIV

Here is what I am meditating on today?

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentation 3:22-23 ESV

What are you meditating on today?

til next time

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in Your hand

My times are in Your hand, O Lord!

That is such an encouraging truth! God is in control. God knows! God is holding our hand. (Psalm 73:23)

Psalm 31: 14-15
“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.”

Deliver me — as I sit here thinking about this, I am reminded that sometimes we are our worst enemy. When we allow our thoughts to take us down the road of negativity, when all we see is problems, problems problems, or give in to lies about who we are or who God is — well, we need to be delivered from that way of thinking.

How do you see God? Our God is greater. (1 Jn 4:4) Our God is able. (Psalm 138:8) God is with us (Matt 28:20) for us (Psalm 118:6) sustaining us (Psalm 55:22) and He is enough! (2 Cor 12:9)

May today find you believing what the Word says about who you are and who God is!!

But as for me — I trust You God!

Selah,

til next time

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but as for me…

“But as for me”

I love that phrase. It reminds that no matter what is going on, no matter what others are doing, no matter how I feel — I get to choose what I do next. But as for me, I will trust God. But as for me, I will obey God. But as for me, I will nail my feelings to the cross and believe what Jesus says.

Psalm 59:16-17

But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety when I am in distress.
17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.

Where are your thoughts this morning? If we focus on problems – problems will be all we see. If we see problems as opportunities to see the hand of God helping us – we will start seeing His hand more and more. When we put God first, He really does give us wisdom to know what to do and the strength to do it. But as for me, I refuse to get jazzed up about ___________. But as for me, I depend on God.

Today is a new day. This morning I choose to sing with joy, to lift my voice in praise to the One who loves me most. God’s love never fails.

What are you choosing?

Selah,

til next time

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but as for me…

Where are your thoughts this morning? If we focus on problems – problems will be all we see. If we see problems as opportunities to see the hand of God helping us – we will start seeing His hand more and more.

 

“But as for me” I love that phrase. It reminds that no matter what is going on, no matter what others are doing, no matter how I feel — I get to choose what I do next. But as for me, I will trust God. But as for me, I will obey God. But as for me, I will nail my feelings to the cross and believe what Jesus says.

Psalm 59:16-17But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety when I am in distress.
17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.

 

When we put God first, He really does give us wisdom to know what to do and the strength to do it. But as for me, I refuse to get jazzed up about ___________.

But as for me, I depend on God.

Today is a new day. This morning I choose to sing with joy, to lift my voice in praise to the One who loves me most. God’s love never fails.

What are you choosing?

til next time

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dread

Is there a task that you dread doing? Maybe something that just gets under your skin and yet it needs to be done?

When the boys were young, I hated washing dishes.

When we moved from the apartment to the house, it only got worse. I found myself also hating my house – especially my kitchen. Yet, God had given us this house. I knew that I knew that this house was a big blessing from God.

I needed to take control of my words and speak life not death. (Proverbs 18:21 – I stopped saying I hate this house and instead I began to thank God for our home. Wow! What a transformation took place in me.)

I still needed to find a solution to my dishes problem. So I prayed.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17

Whatsoever! How is this possible?

verse 16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (here is a plug for church also — we need each other)

Later that week I had received in the mail my teaching from Joyce Meyer. WaLa! I popped it in and that began a beautiful journey of doing dishes with Joyce. To this day, I still do dishes with Joyce and I love it.

Whatever it might be that tempts you to complain or dread, ask God to show you how to get victory over it. Dig in His Word for insight. Pray, praise, read the Word and apply it to your situation. Use your words to speak life not death.

til next time

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^thoughts ^

Are you feeling troubled tonight? Has your positive outlook taken a beating today?

Jesus tells us in John 14:1-3 (ESV)

 

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

 

My thoughts have turned to heaven tonight. Jesus has prepared a place for me, for you, but until we go there we’ve got heaven all around.

 

In the middle of the battle, Christ is my victory. In the middle of the struggle the important thing is that my feet, your feet, are firmly planted in Jesus.

 

All that would need to happen for me to be taken down is for me to give in to the unanswered questions, or to the doubt of ‘what now?’, or to give in to fear.

 

What is it for you? Health issues, finances, work, family, relationships, kids — oh, how hard it is to see your kids hurting and know that they have to work it out with God and you can’t fix it. Be careful, all of these things can aid in taking you down. In Christ we can rise above each situation that threatens to overtake us. Let not your heart be troubled. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Pray! Pray! and Pray some more! Communication with the Father changes us, encourages us, and keeps us close to Him.

 

I’ve got heaven all around me, nothings gonna take me down because I am keeping my eyes on Jesus!

 

Selah,

til next time

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