Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
How often do you walk or run?
Walking and running are both good forms of exercise. I have never been a runner. There is a saying that goes “If you see me running you better run room because something is chasing me,” that about sums it up for me.
Before My knee surgery, I was walking a mile a day, with my sweet pup. I’m still working on building that back up. But I walk solo now. I my sweet pup sayed away shortly after her 16th birthday.
In each of us, there is a longing. We have been created with the desire to fulfill the longing in our souls. Nothing in this world can satisfy the longing in our soul. Jesus fills that longing in us. There were people searching for Jesus shortly after His birth, and there will always be people searching for Him. He never becomes irrelevant. He is still today what our souls are searching for.
Simply put soul searching means trying to find meaning and purpose in life. It’s all about figuring out the ‘why’ of our existence and fueling our lives with purpose and intent.
When God satisfies a soul, that soul does not stop seeking the source of satisfaction. Once an empty, longing soul tastes pleasure, it can never go back. They hunger and thirst no more. But they also hunger and thirst for more of God.
In God’s Word, those satisfied with God spend a lifetime seeking satisfaction in God. Those filled with God search for the fullness of God. Those who have found God never stop searching after Him. There’s a pursuit of God that defines believers. That’s why they keep reading the Bible again and again. There is always much more to know. Every time I read the scriptures I find something new, something I had not seen before.
My longing is not to re-experience the joy I had when I first was saved, but to experience new joy through a greater knowledge of God.
My first Bible is completely marked up, underlined, and highlighted because I was on a journey to know God better, especially to know Him as a Father.
It’s easy for some believers to lose God amid the world because life can be distracting. Busy lifestyles, social media, or the news can keep them away from knowing God in a personal relationship, which can not be achieved in any other encounter other than reading the Bible or having a deep prayer life, and allowing Him to guide them.
It is not enough to find God, we must keep finding Him. God alone is enough to satisfy all our longings.
It is not enough to find God, but we need to study God, and enjoy Him. Not only to think logical thoughts about God but to be logically on fire for God.
While the world presents an abundance of joy, pleasure and satisfaction, and delight. God and God alone is the source.
“God is not valued at all unless He is valued above all” – Augustine
If Jesus is not our greatest pursuit in life, then we don’t value Him, which means we have not found Him yet. If our souls are not hungry for Him, then we have not yet tasted the bread of life
“Make God your greatest treasure, and you will be empowered to let anything go to gain Christ” – Tozer
Do you see yourself as a leader?
Being a leader means taking responsibility for both successful outcomes and mistakes.
Being a leader is someone who realizes they can make a difference. Someone who has the mindset to actively seek to inspire, empower, and guide others towards a shared goal. It’s someone who embodies values and actions that foster trust and motivate those around them to reach their full potential.
I see myself as a gentle leader. Through my ability to empathize with people. I have an unwavering faith that people tend to draw strength from.
I have met many people in my walk with God, who are afraid to die. Including God-fearing people.
The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians,
“For He must reign until He had put His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
We have been created to live. It was the fall into sin that brought death to our lives. So, it’s natural to fear death, which can be painful and terrifying. But Jesus came to set us free from sin and the threat of death. He gave up His life for our sake, and then rose from the dead, so
“this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen, death is swallowed up in victory” – 1 Corinthians 15:54
Only the Lord can take away our fear of death. We have the guarantee that even as we near death, we don’t have to be afraid because God will be there with us and will take us with Him.
What’s your favorite word?
My favorite word is peace. Peace is a solid enduring relationship of harmonious living together, based on respect, serenity, and mutual understanding.
Having rest, quiet, and stillness in our hearts. It doesn’t mean the absence of trouble, but it exists despite trouble.
The peace of God means that there is nothing -no sin, no guilt, no condemnation that separates us from God.
Are you used to getting your way? Do you insist on ‘my way or the highway?’ The greatest One to ever walk the earth was – Jesus -who was the complete opposite. He saw His own excruciating crucifixion for our sins approaching. But instead of demanding His own way, He humbly prayed to God the Father, “Not My will, by Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Who’s in charge of your life? Your answer affects your eternal destiny.
God is the creator and owner of the world.
Psalm 47:7 says,
“For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises and understanding.”
Many scriptures in the Bible emphasize this point, that God Almighty is the ruler, the king, the absolute sovereign over all the earth. There are no exceptions. He is the ruler of all.
Every aspect of this earth falls under God’s authority,
“The earth is the Lord’s with its fullness, the world, and those who dwell in it” – Psalm 24:1
He has the indisputable right to rule the earth as He sees fit. He is all-wise, all-knowing, and always make the right choices and decisions.
The very first chapter in the Bible says,
“And God said, Let there be light, and there was light” – Genesis 1:3
The unlimited power of God is seen throughout Genesis and that power is seen repeatedly in brief but infinitely powerful phases. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light immediately. Each time God spoke the command “Let there be,” another aspect of His creation came to pass, pinnacling in the creator the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. The sun, moon, and stars were an afterthought. Imagine that! Just by speaking, He created a trillion times a trillion stars or more. Space.com in 2017 it says it estimated that there are at least 1.000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe and Psalm 147:4 says that God, “Counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by their name.”
Jesus was the Co-Creator with God the Father
“God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and many ways, had at the end of these days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” -Hebrews 1:1-2
Before coming to earth some 2,000 years ago, in His pre-incarnate state, Jesus the Son of God was known as “The Word“ (John 1:1-14). The Bible says that the word Son was directly involved in creation: “Through His Son also He made the universe… Through Him, all things were made…all things have been created through Him.”
The scriptures give us a clear picture of the full Deity of the Son of God. John was speaking of Jesus when he said in John 1:1, 14,
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”
That is why the Bible can require, with no slight to God the Father, that,
“that all who honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” -John 5:23
There is a universal failing of every false religion in the denial of the full Deity of Jesus.
In Matthew 28:18 in the Messianic translation,
“Yeshua came to them and spoke to them saying, “All authority had been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
Just think of some things Jesus did while on earth 20 centuries ago. He calmed the furious storm. He walked on water. He fed a group of 5,000 and another group of 4,000 by miraculously multiplying a few loads of bread and a handful of fish. He healed multitudes of sick people. He touched and healed a leper. He cast out demons out of many. He even raised the dead on several occasions.
Then Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead, having in this way opened the door to ‘eternal salvation’ for all those who would come to Him in faith and repentance (Acts 20;21).
Jesus is King. He is Lord, He is the Son of God, coequal Deity with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is to be revived, loved, honored, and obeyed in every detail.
The answer to the question: Who is in charge? Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
What are you doing this evening?
I am probably doing what I’m usually doing, reading a book. I might listen to a little bit the Trump – Harris debate.
It’s not scripture, but it’s a powerful truth I learned too late. Sacrifice often takes a back seat when we don’t want to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable. We prefer easy, speedy, and painless and then wonder why we don’t feel fulfilled. The important stuff, the stuff that leaves us joyful and alive: that’s the stuff that involves love and requires sacrifice.
We are called by the greatest commandment to love, and the truth is, we can not follow that commandment without sacrifice. Sometimes that sacrifice is small like giving a partner the last piece of pie, when we’re planning on enjoying with a cup of coffee later. Other times it’s much bigger like sand slipping through your fingers as you let go of the past or your own agenda.
Sometimes sacrifice needs to look like patience. Sometimes it feels like a swallowing of opinions. Sometimes we’re called to love someone just at by being present. There is a sacrifice in not trying to fix people.
The people who love us back make it easy to love but we’re also called to show a Jesus kind of love to those who can give nothing in return and that is truly a sacrifice.
I think about every Christmas searching for that perfect gift to show my love for someone. I few years ago I realized I was shopping the wrong way. The more we love, the more we should be willing to sacrifice our time. I can bake a simple batch of cookies and give that with a while of listening and living them. Christmas was never supposed to be about expensive gifts, but about loving others and celebrating the gift of Jesus.
Each person who crosses my path is there so I can show them the love of Jesus
There have been times when I’ve wondered if all the sacrifice of a relationship is worth it or if it was really supposed to be so hard and one-sided. But then I realized I was looking at it out of balance. Love and sacrifice are not always equal. Sometimes we receive love far greater than we sacrifice and more often than the opposite. We’re able to sacrifice and love others but at some point. We expect love in return. We want to feel there is something in it for us. We forget that our call to love others isn’t to get something in return.
Love is so much bigger than all the warm fuzzy feelings. Love is our duty if we follow Jesus if we keep that in balance and realize that each person who crosses our path is a way to show them the love of Jesus. Is not about loving so we can get something back. It’s about loving Jesus.
I know I will never be called to love with the magnitude the Jesus loves me. But when I recall His sacrifice for me, it helps me put my little sacrifices for others in perspective. It’s not about me at all.
What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you?
Have you ever met someone within a few minutes you realize it’s all about them?
I very much dislike arrogant people, they always put their needs before others. They are always interrupting, they exaggerate their accomplishments, they have a sense of entitlement and lack empathy.
I try to stay clear of people like this. I have no need for people like that in my life.
James (Jacob) 1 tells us that faith produces endurance. “Let endurance have iyd perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without counting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.”
How can we gain wisdom for our trials?
The Bible tells us to rejoice in times of trial so God can mature us. The Jewish people have a theology of wisdom based on the Old Testament. For Jews, wisdom was not an intellectual thing, but a spiritual thing.
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” Remember fearing the Lord is respect and reverence for God. Psalm 141 says “Fools say to themselves. There is no God. They sin and commit evil deeds, none of them does what is right. Therefore to be wise is to be obedient to God in our trials, and allow our trials to mature us.
Why do we need wisdom when we are going through trials? Why not ask for strength or grace or even deliverance? We need to ask for wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature. Wisdom helps us understand how to use out circumstances for our good and God’s glory.
It is easy to miss God’s purpose in our trials. It is possible to fail trials or to fall away from God instead of getting closer to Him.
One thing I’ve learned and wish I had learned earlier in life is that if you fail a trial and do not seek wisdom from God, you will face that trial again, and again until to pass the trial. It is like going around a mountain 50 times, then realizing you can go up and seek God’s insight for your trial.
It is possible to go from being hurt and maimed in our trials, instead of being healed and strengthened by them. Trials always contain both the ability to tremendously bless us and hurt us.
God uses trials for our good, His purpose is that we grow in maturity and wisdom. We always have opportunities to help others through our trials.
To Gain Wisdom For Our Trials, We Must Recognize Our Need For it.
This is where many fail in the midst of their trials, they simply don’t recognize their need for wisdom and therefore God. This is why sometimes we have to repeat the same trials over again.
When I am in a trial, I always pray,
“God, I ask for Your wisdom and perspective during this trial. Please provide it generously and show me how to see my circumstances through Your eyes -Amen.”
James could have said, “You all need wisdom for your trials” but he didn’t he said, “If anyone is deficient of wisdom.” Possible to make us stop amid our trials and evaluate ourselves, to help us humble ourselves and recognize our need for God.
We need God’s wisdom in our lives daily, especially in our trials. We can tell by how much we seek Him daily or neglect Him in lesser things. We can also tell by how we respond to God in our trials. If we are going to gain divine wisdom to not waste our trials, we must first recognize our desperate need for it.
To Gain Wisdom For Our Trials, We Must Pray For It.
God tells us to ask for wisdom and to ask without doubting. This is not a suggestion to pray for wisdom, it is a command.
To Gain Wisdom For Our Trials, We Must Be Fully Committed To God.
James 1:7-8 tells us If we are unstable in our relationship with God do not think that we will receive anything from the Lord. don’t be double-minded,
Double-minded is to be committed to God. It suggests a person who asks God for wisdom but who isn’t sure they will follow what God says. If they like what God says, then they will obey. If they don’t like what God says, then they will do what they already want to do.
Who ever wants to be friends with the world means they are hostile toward God. To be double-minded means to be wanting to live for God and have the pleasures of the world at the same time.
However, James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. And John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you.”
If we cherish iniquity in our hearts, God might not listen. There is power in the prayer of those who are fully committed to Jesus and living by faith.
Worldliness and compromise make our prayer ineffective, which is a double-minded person’s problem.
Describe your ideal week.
As I think about my week. I realize I don’t have a very exciting life, but here it goes,
Sunday: church, lunch with my husband. I try to make a full-course meal. I usually sit down with a cup of coffee and my Bible to learn more about the lesson my Pastor spoke. Or get into a good I’ve been reading. Right now it’s “Authority in Prayer” by Dutch Sheets. Cook dinner, and then put in as a movie to watch.
Monday: Prayer meeting with my Pastor and a few people from my church. They are friend, accountability partners as well as people I’ve begun to think of as family.
Tuesday: Deep house cleaning day and laundry day.
Wednesday: I do a Bible study at the church. It began as a study to teach new believers at began to come to church. Just a few ladies now it has grown into 14 people, and has gone on over a year.
Thursday: Ugh, grocery shopping day. The cost of food is so ridiculous I leave feeling like I’ve been robbed.
Friday: Is Coffee with Friends Day. It’s a good day. I usually get my baking done on that day and meal prep for the week. This saves me time during the week and allows me time to read my Bible or read.
Saturday: My fun day. I usually head for the hills to take some pictures or have a peaceful quiet time with God. It’s either the mountains or the desert.
Every time I try to write something on here. It helps me get down the thoughts that go through my head, or things I think might help some one. That I’ve learned through my reading.
This may not be a very exciting or ideal week. But it’s okay for me.
Do we limit God to just expressing His love and mercy to only the “good things in life?” Do we require God to work under our terms and conditions and if He doesn’t we are disappointed?
If so, we are really missing out on a huge amount of what He does every day. I lived my life (nearly 40 years of it angry at God because I had never seen the good He was doing in my horrors of life. I could not see anything positive because I was focused on the negative constantly. Not realizing that God uses all things for good for those who love Him, not just the things we approve of or what makes us comfortable. He even uses our defeats and losses to aid in His love and mercy.
God works through both the good and the bad in life to bless us. He uses the painful things and the things we see as hindrances to train us. He even uses what seems like the most difficult things to express His love and His mercy. When I thought God was ignoring me as a child, He was making me strong, He had a plan all along one I couldn’t see. H
e says no to what we want out of love. A loving Father steps in when He sees His children headed for a fall. When we are headed down a deadly path we have laid out for ourselves and God drops a big roadblock in our way. He does it to save us from where we are leading ourselves.
Have you ever reasoned yourself into a ridiculous situation? I know I have. I’ve been in abusive relationships, where I have just dealt with the abuse because I didn’t want to be alone. Thinking I could change Him. Not realizing that He was not going to change that was who He was, you cannot change someone who doesn’t want to change.
A funny thing happened when God stepped in and showed me mercy despite my best efforts to stay involved with an abuser. Which I had no business being there in the first place. Satan seemed victorious in my life for many years, but God had a plan.
When our plans are destroyed, but down the road we realize it is God’s love that won the day.
We are only human, there are going to be times when our plans are not God’s plans and our ways are not God’s ways. If we trust that His ways are always better than ours (and we should). Even though it may seem our lives are falling apart at that time, trusting God’s plans will always lead to sweetness and help us to avoid regret.
From Pity to Praise