How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?
Unplugging. I do not take phone calls or texts after 9:00 at night. I usually spend about an hour reading my Bible before bed. I unwind by taking a long bath or shower and listening to relaxing music.
If I am unable to sleep I use Jewish meditation techniques or if I have trouble sleeping J listen to bed time Psalms and pray.
Settling down with a few relaxing activities tells your body it’s time to sleep. If you do them every night around the same time it becomes easier to get the rest you need.
It’s easy to trust God when events in our lives are going well. But what about when things are difficult and painful? We can lose our faith and walk away from Him.
Trusting God is easy to say but rarely as easy to do, especially when our lives are tough. Still, God gives us plenty of reasons to put our faith in Him.
Sometimes we struggle with trusting God during certain seasons of our lives. But it’s equally true that God is absolutely trustworthy. His character demands it. There is no way He can be unreliable, irresponsible, or misleading.
When we get to know God’s character and the attributes that comprise His nature, we bolster our faith in a real and lasting way.
The Bible tells us about God’s promises. His promises bring us hope. But those promises are only hope if we can trust the one making them. We need to understand who God is before we can take comfort and encouragement from His promises.
Knowing God’s character is critical to maintaining hope during our most difficult seasons. When we understand God’s character we will not be tempted as often to question God’s trustworthiness. It comes down to developing a deep understanding of who He is.
The very essence of God is unchanging, all loving, all holy, and all just. He cannot lie and can never fail. His sovereign all-powerful nature assures us that He can lead and guide our lives perfectly.
Its easy to trust God when our days going by without dread or something amazing happens to us. But it’s harder to trust Him when our life becomes hard or messy.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says,
“Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom. Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth, for I delight in these things, says the Lord.”
A person’s character will necessarily be determined by the character of the god who he worships. A person’s entire life is affected by who or what they worship.
I definitely believe that quality is better than quantity when choosing friends.
I want to be able to rely on their support and encouragement. Someone I can share my thoughts and feelings with no fear of being judged. Trustworthiness, honesty, and dependability are good traits to have.
I do not sugarcoat lies for anyone. I believe that if you have something to say, say it. And I expect people to be honest. I’ve said before I have trust issues because of the experiences in my life. I need trustworthiness, honesty and compassion because I do not waver on those things in friendships.
The basic goal in any friendship or in life in general is, to “treat people the way you want to be treated.”
“You have turning my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness“ -Psalm 30:11
This Psalm is such a beautiful promise for us. You may already have seen this verse in action in your life.
I have seen God turn my mourning into dancing. Throughout my life, I have had more than a few tragedies play out and I have also seen the most unexpected miracles.
God turns sorrows into joy
When David wrote Psalm 39 he had been going through a painful time. He had Ben weeping and crying out to God for mercy. God heard his prayers and turned David’s garment of sorrow and exchanged it for clothes of joy.
The joy that David experienced was the joy of a righteous God walking with him during and after his trial.
David had many problems with sin and enemies. He had times of distress and discouragement and he had times of sickness. Sometimes his burdens were so heavy that he cried through the night. David tells us in Psalm 30:7 that God hid His face from him for a time but then David sought God’s mercy and God exchanged his mourning for joy.
Turning mourning into dancing
God has the power to turn your mourning into dancing. He yearns to see you have the joy He has promised us. He wants to give you beauty for your ashes.
But in order to do this He needs us to trust Him with our circumstances and pain.
He needs us to have expectant faith that He can change our circumstances. I will be the first one to tell you that it’s not easy. When you’ve been hurt so many times and you feel like you can not trust anyone. It’s lonely and sad. But God is not like man, He keeps His promises and our secrets.
While you are waiting for things to change, do what David did. David sang and danced. When we do this you will find joy rushing in as you. do because you will be reminded that God is the God of the impossible. He alone has the power to cause transformation in your life.
God can change everything when you commit your situation to Him. You will find the strength to trust God with all your concerns – no matter how hopeless it seems.
“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them“ -Romans 8:28
The foundation of a building is the element that connects it to the ground. It’s located at the bottom of the construction, in direct contact with the soul, and acts to transfer loads safely from the building to the ground. Foundations provide structural stability and support to the building.
You can of course build a house without a foundation but the simple truth is it won’t stand for very long. Historically, houses without foundations have tended to be simple affairs, built around the earth floor which weren’t designed to last.
The same is true with our lives. If our foundations were weak, we would not stand during tough times. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that with is laid which is Jesus Christ“ Any foundation has to be unbreakable and unshakeable. A walk that will withstand the storms, the trials, the challenges, and every other thing that the Enemy will bring our way. A firm foundation is absolutely mandatory.
Foundations
One of my favorite parables is in Matthew 7:24-27,
“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who has built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house and it fell -and great was its fall.”
Before one can even build a firm foundation in their life, they have to know who Jesus is and what He has done and this must be firmly engraved on the tablets of our hearts to ensure growth in the things of God.
I think about the years I did not know Jesus and remember I was a mess, in my life. Every time a trial or challenge came I would fall apart. During covid, I have seen so many people in fear and distress. People fighting in stores over toilet paper or food or others not wearing a mask.
It is through Jesus and His finished work on the cross that we have been brought into this life through faith in His blood. He is the reason that we are and all that we are and all that we will ever be, rests on Him.
I know that “if I get Jesus wrong, it doesn’t matter what I do right.” If a firm foundation in Christ is to be built, a love for the Word of God must be nurtured, to order to be in proper handling of our life that the Bible must be used as our instruction manual.
Unless these two dynamics are in place one’s life will be like the tower in Italy (the Leaning Tower of Pisa). And be subject to leaning and sinking.
Psalm 119 tells us with certainly the essential place and need for God’s Word on our lives and a firm foundation.
Armed with the powerful truth of my work in my foundation Jesus had stamped on my heart an unconquerable trust making Him my foundation, and coupled with a love for His Word, which nourishes me daily and makes my foundation stronger.
“My soul follows close behind Him and His right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63:8).
I began working right out of high school. My first job was working at the college in my town. I worked at a dinner line in the cafeteria feeding athletes.
I worked a nursing assistant for many years and both nursing homes and then worked home health as well as hospice.
After I got married I worked at a local clothing store until I began pregnant.
After having my children I returned to the clothing store until we were on our feet financially.
I raised my children, and when they moved out of the house. I chose to volunteer at a veterans organization which I ended up doing for 14 years in total helping our community veterans.
During this I began a facilitator for a mental health group after receiving my certification.
I worked at a thrift store that used it funds to help addicts to go rehabilitation centers to get off drugs.
All in all I’ve had many jobs in my life. But the one that made me to proudest was taking care and teaching my children good morals and values and how to live successful lives.
I have had a host of different jobs that all taught me something different about life.
I don’t practice religion. Religion is following mankind’s list of rules and will never get anyone into heaven. Jesus never told us to dress a certain way or obey’ man’s rule. The Pharisees and the Sadnesses were so busy following rules that they missed Jesus as the Messiah when they were face to face with Him.
I have found if I use the Bible as the instruction manual I will live well. And have a personal relationship with God as He intended us to have.
If you go to your favorite restaurant you will be faced with many choices. Do you order the chicken, seafood, or the beef? How to you want to prepared? If you choose beef you get to choose medium or well. Then you get to choose your sides. Choices and more choices. The good news is it’s up to you and your taste buds. The choice is yours.
Some choices are easier than others. I love chicken, it is my favorite. That’s an easy choice. It is also an easy choice for my husband, no chicken at all. No chicken is a easy choice for her.
Another choice that is ours, is whether to go to heaven or hell, it’s not God’s decision it’s ours. And it should be an easy decision for us.
Heaven or Hell?
Jesus said in John 14 that He was going to prepare a place for us and that He will receive us. That places heaven. The one He receives is those who are born again those who have believed and confessed that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9-10).
Those who do not confess Jesus as Lord will go to hell when they draw their last breath. Remember it’s not God’s will for any to perish or go to hell (1 Timothy 2:4). It’s not God’s plan for anyone to end up in hell.
It’s our choice. If we choose Jesus, we become a part of His family (we will be graphed in) and get to go to heaven and live with Him in eternity. However, if a person rejects Jesus they get to go to hell and live with their father satan for eternity (John 8:44).
God does not predestine anyone to hell. That is not His plan, will, or decision. He gives us the choice and we do the choosing. If Be predestined anyone to hell, He would be an unjust, unloving father, which is the opposite of His nature and character.
God in His love had predestined everyone to live eternally with Him in heaven (Ephesians 1:5). That means it’s His will for all to be saved and live eternally with Him in heaven. It is our choice. We choose to accept Him or reject Him. I am ultimately responsible for my choice.
God the Father does not send anyone to hell!
Not only am I responsible for my choice of heaven and hell. I am also responsible for sharing the good news with everyone around me. (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus has come and paid the price for us to give us an opportunity to go to heaven and not hell. It’s my responsibility to show people that God has made my life abundantly better than it was before.
Many times when we think about telling people about God it comes like this. “I have to share the good news and that comes with pressure and dread. But it doesn’t have to feel like that.
I changed my perspective on this. I don’t have to, I have the opportunity to share God with those around me. When I changed this I began to see it as an opportunity.
This attitude shift makes all the difference. The difference in me sharing the gospel and how I tell people about Him. The attitude is an important as the content.
There is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be avoided. If it’s God’s plan will and desire that all people go to heaven and live with Him in eternity. We have a great opportunity to share the good news.
We can offer to change someone’s life for eternity. And give them the choice between heaven and hell.
“But seem first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you“ – Matthew 6:33
It’s easy to coast through life feeling like we are on our own. We forget about God in certain situations when we are busy and have a lot going on. To have a relationship with Him, it is important to be more intentional about our current relationship and notice Him in every moment of every day.
When we look for God in every situation we begin to see the big and the small. If you’re walking down the street, look for the beautiful things He has made. When you are with friends and family thank Him for putting those people in your life. Notice Hin in the small moments of life when you would not really think much of it. Try to notice His presence and what He has done for you.
Think of ways to implement God into your life a little more. Maybe listening to worship music in the car on your drive. Pray for protection while driving from here to there. Read the Bible at the start of your day or wind down for the evening. Find a small way that you can implement God into your life a little more.
“And whatever you do, in word. or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”- Colossians 3:17
When life is good and things are going well when we ace the testor land that job, we need to rejoice in the Lord and thank Him for the blessings in our lives, whether they are big or small. When the opposite happens and times are tough, pray to Him and ask Him for help and healing. Lean on Him to help you get through it and He will guide your path. Don’t just pray to Him when you need a favor, thank Him when He is blessing you will goodness.
“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths” – Proverbs 3:5-6
Whatever you’re going through notice what He is doing and how He is doing it. He gives you opportunities and takes them away for a reason, either to strengthen you or to help you. Notice what He is doing and thank Him for it. This way you will be able to see God in every moment of every day.
Before having the internal we had the chance to relax, reflect, enjoy the outdoors and catch up with family and friends in person. Families became closer because there were no distractions at dinner tables. People could socially one in one.
You could leave your house and be unreachable. You could leave your house and focus on the activity you set out to do. No one could reach you and disturb you.
There were children playing outside with each other for hours. And you actually had to memorize people’s phone numbers. And we were not connected to others’ toxic opinions.
We were more creative because we have hours of work on it. Not relying on a cell some to entertain us.
I think I am good at, being humble, and respecting others. I am good at reading and outlining important points in what I read. I’m am good a writing, probably because I like to share with others about the things I’ve learned.
I am good at cooking and baking. I just wish there was someone else to wash the dishes afterward.
Our mind is a very powerful thing, and most of us take it for granted. We believe we are not in control of what we think because our thoughts seem to fly in and out all day long. But we are in control of our thoughts, and we become what we think about.
Someone once said to me, “If you don’t like what you’re thinking about change it.” That statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I never really thought I could change my thought patterns.
It’s really not a secret, that power is available to every single person. And it’s free. The secret is that we become what we think. It’s possible to create the life you want by simply thinking the right thoughts. What do you think about all day long, every day? What’s on your mind day after day?
We are creatures of habit. We tend to follow the picture in our minds created by our parents, our neighborhoods, our towns and the part of the world from which we come. For the good or the bad.
When my mother told me who and what I was day after day growing up. I began to think that it was true. My thoughts become negative about myself. So I started to not care about me, because I thought no one else it. Every day every hour of thinking bad thoughts I began to become what my mother told me I was.
But we don’t have to think bad or depressing thoughts. We each have a mind of our own, capable of imagining life the way we want it. We can say yes or no to the choices we encounter every single day.
Start by replacing every negative thought with a positive thought. I used the Bible standing on the promises of God and who He said that I am,
God says that,
I am valuable
I am fearfully and beautifully made
I am redeemed
I am forgiven
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
If we imagine our life the way we want it. Create a picture in your mind and think about that picture every day and believe it. You don’t have to tell a soul. Have your own quiet confidence that you can make the picture in your mind come true.
You will start making different choices in line with that picture in your mind. But know there will be obstacles. Don’t let those obstacles stop you. Keep moving toward that picture you have of yourself.
Replace every negative thought with a positive thought and it will become your truth.
From Pity to Praise 