What is your favorite drink?
What is my favorite drink? It’s a toss-up between Coffee and Iced Tea
Strength For The Journey
Do you ever feel like you’re just going through the motions in life, without a clear sense of what you’re good at? Everyone has unique strengths that can bee uncovered with a little effort.. But, there are a few strategies to discover your strengths during your journey through life. And discover what you truly love to do.
Here are a few strategies that I think will help.
Effect on your past successes.
One way to uncover your strengths is to reflect on your past successes. Think about the times when you’ve felt proud of yourself or accomplished something that came easy for you. Whether it be being a natural leader, a skilled communicator, or a creative problem solver. By identifying these strengths you can learn to build on them.
Ask for feedback.
Sometimes it’s hard to see our own strengths because they can seem so natural to us. Ask family, friends, or co-workers. You might be surprised by what they say,
Try new things.
Sometimes we don’t know what we’re good at until we try something new. Exploring hobbies, taking on challenges, or volunteering for new projects can help discover the strengths you never new you had.
Take personality and strength assessments.
You can find assessments everywhere on the internet. Just do a search. Some of the assessments are designed to provide insights into your natural talents and preferences along with your personality traits. Well-known assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Clifton Strengths assessments can provide valuable insights.
Pay attention to your passions.
Your passions can often be a gateway to discovering your strengths. Think about things that truly excite and energize you. What are you naturally drawn to? What can you spend hours doing without feeling drained? Your passions can indicate where your strengths are.
Don’t Quench The Spirit
Have you ever sensed the Holy Spirit leading you to do something, but because of fear you were afraid to do it? Even though you were sure it was God’s Spirit who was speaking to you, did you grit your teeth, dig in your heels, and decide you would not do what He was leading you to do or say?
If you answered yes, it’s time for you to stop doing that. The Holy Spirit is trying to use you to help someone or to accomplish something according to His plans and purposes. Don’t let Satan or a spirit of fear talk you out of experiencing the joy of being used by the Holy.
The word “quench” in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 is taken from the Greek word sbennumi. This word means to extinguish, smother, suppress, douse, put out, or to quell. It means to evaporate or dry up.
“Don’t quench the Spirit” – 1 Thessalonians 5:19
There is no doubt about what Pauk is trying to tell us. If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s voice long enough we will become spiritually hardened and will no longer be able to hear Him when He tries to speak to us. It will be like His voice evaporates or dries up, and we will hear it no more.
Our own actions, fears, insecurities, and disobedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit can thwart the plan of God for our lives. The Holy Spirit is willing and able to give you a divine assignment, but you hinder His plans by ignoring and denying His right to use you time and time again.
If you’ve ever seen a campfire, you know that its flames can burn very bright and got. But what happens if someone keeps throwing water on the coals? Initially, it will only dampen the heat of the flames. But if the person continues to throw water on the flames, eventually that water will quench, smother, or put out the fire altogether.
Has the Holy Spirit been speaking to your heart, directing you to do something? Have you obeyed Him and done what He has prompted you to do, or have you turned a deaf ear to His voice?
Don’t throw water on the flames until you quench the Spirit.
Instead of continually shutting your ears to the Holy Spirit’s voice and dousing the flames of the Spirit in your heart, it’s time to say, “Yes, Lord, I will do what You say. I will go where You send me, I will obey what You tell me to do.
When you adopt this attitude, you start putting fuel back on the fire again. Every time you say, “Yes Lord” and follow through with obedience, you stone the coals and cause the Holy Spirit’s fire to burn more brightly in your life.
The Holy Spirit will never lead us to do something that is wrong or harmful. He will never fail us or let us down.
We Are Not Alone
Have you ever asked God where He is? Or why He has forgotten you. And wonder how you will ever get through a situation.
No matter what we experience in life, God knows there will be times when we will be enveloped in fear and uncertainty that we may lose sight of His presence, He knew there would be circumstances so difficult we would question whether He really loves us and is with us in our suffering.
The Bible tells us we are not like in our circumstances -no matter how difficult they are.
Isaiah 43:2 .tells us,
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overtake you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.”
No matter how difficult and no matter how dark the season you find yourself walking through, God is with you. He promises to meet you in your pain and to help you,
Isiah 42:10 tells us,
“Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with my right hand of my righteousness.”
There is no reason to fear, because we are not alone. God is and always will been there for every tear and every sorrow.
When I think back to my younger years. I can see God was there all the time. But when I was going through it, I felt like I was alone, but I wasn’t. I’ve been in some situations that could have led to disaster yet I had God’s protection through it all.
There are moments in suffering when we are certain is it the end, that latest painful experience that leaves us a knockout blow. But that is never the case. Because if it’s not good, God’s not done,
Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us,
“Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, it springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a wat in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
God sees the devastation left in our past and the perilous journey of the future. At every turn, God is working to make a way through the wasteland that was made of our lives and our hearts. Even when cannot see it. Often our greatest danger is giving up before His deliverance unfolds.
No matter what we’ve lost, God is working behind the scenes to restore our lives and hearts more than we ever thought possible.
Ephesians 3:20,
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.“
It is not the end of the story, only an intermission, and the best is yet to come.
My Favorite People
Who are your favorite people to be around?
I like spending time with people who lift me up when I’m feeling down. People who value me.
People can like you or even love you, but if they don’t value you, their love will never be enough. You can love something and neglect it, you can love someone and still be treated poorly. Loving someone doesn’t guarantee that they will do whatever it takes to take care of you or protect you. The only people that will do that is the ones that value you.
When you surround yourself with people who lift you up, instead of tearing you down, its a part of self-love is having a high standard of the people your inner circle.
My Favorite Shoes
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
My favorite pair of shoes are the comfortable ones. As long as they don’t hurt my feet. I like them.
I do tend to be drawn to boots more often than regular shoes because they have more room for my toes. I am a big sandal-wearer.
The Greatest Treasure
There was once a box of treasure buried in a field, and when a man found ug, he sold everything he had so he could buy the field and own the treasure (Matth13:44). This is how Jesus described the kingdom of God. In his letters Pauk talks about salvation in terms of wealth, describing it as the “riches of God’s grace (Romans 10:12; Ephesians 1:7).
Money can make things easier, but money can or buy everything. Money can buy a nice car or a large house, but it’s not the secret to finding lifelong happiness.
The most important part of having an inheritance of God’s treasure is every spiritual blessing comes from Him, it’s not about money. It’s about love.
There are only two portions in this life. The portion of the Lord or the portion of the world. The Book of Revelation vividly depicts this for us, those who choose the works have wealth and fame and success for a little while, and their selfishness and greed destine them for destruction (Revelation 18:21-20). To choose the Lord as your portion is to reject the seductive, worthless vanities of this life and have greater riches than material wealth.
This week in church we are praying with Psalm 16. Every week the pastor selects a Psalm and the whole church prays with it throughout the week then on Sunday we tell the church what we received from the Psalm.
This is the passage is the one I have been drawn to this week,
“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. You have made my lot secure. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.” -Psalm 16:5-6
To have the Lord as our portion is to have the fullness of joy, eternal security, and life itself. It means having a treasure beyond the price that will never fade away and can never be stolen. The lines of allotment have created a place where no suffering or corruption can enter and where joy abounds. Dwelling with God is to dwell in the presence of goodness and joy itself, and God delights to draw near to His people (James 4:8).
Colossians 3:3-4 tells us,
We are to seek the things above, where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.
The “things that are above“ are nothing less than Jesus Himself and all the rich spiritual blessings of salvation, godliness, thankfulness, and praise. These things bring us heavenly treasures (Matthew 6:19-21).
Set your hope, set your very life upon these things, for this is where your treasure and consequently, your heart lies. Faith involves understanding and holding onto the fact that though we may be poor in the terms of this world, we are rich in God. If you have been saved by the blood of Jesus, then the Lord is your portion, and the lines have fallen for you in pleasant places.
The Greatest Gift
Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.
The best gifts I have ever received are my children. Their souls are a heavy responsibility. They Were placed in my hands in my hands. My children taught me how to love unconditionally. They taught me to show grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
My responsibility was to treasure them, and not to expect perfection from them. I’ve always looked as a blessing, not an inconvenience. My job was to teach them how to be responsible adults. So they could function in society and to teach them they way that they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from it.
The joy of my children will never leave my heart. Both of then were gifted to me by God. He has entrusted them to me to nurture and care for.
Trial By Fire
These trials show that our faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though our faith is far more precious than gold. When our faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you praise and glory and honor on the day when Christ Jesus is revealed to the entire world.
Knowing our trials will make us stronger does not promise they will be painless. But, our attitude in facing trials can make a difference between the situation as a source of joy or a reason to be despondent. Though our trials are tough to work through our mental attitude makes a huge difference.
Trials hurt, but because of God’s promise, we can end up being strengthened and not someone who simply survived.
Romans 8:28 declares that we can know God will always cause our circumstances to work for the good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose.
If we have a clear understanding of out trials then we know we can ask God for wisdom without the fear of being rebuffed by Him.
We live in a world of uncertainty. It often feels like no one is in control and things are getting progressively worse. Being content knowing we have to face trials, and knowing that God is in sovereign control and is using our trials to strengthen us, allows us the privilege and opportunity to live in sharp contrast to those around us who get up every morning and go to bed each night without hope.
We have the privilege to ask and understand if we are willing to believe that God without a doubt, is bigger than all our circumstances.
Budgeting
Write about your approach to budgeting.
Money is a tool God has given us so we can help others, meet or needs, and serve Him.
A lot of times people get caught up in tho idea of “more money“ as a goal and a solution to their problems.
I used to be a horrible at budgeting. I was hooked on shopping, buying clothes made me get a sort of high. In the last few years I have gotten better.
I think Americans are spoiled. We have been so set on buying material things. Money makes life easier, it can help make us happier. But it will never be able to the hole we are trying to fill.
There are 1 in 5 children that go hungry in America. And I’m sure it’s even more in other countries. While we are squandering our money on material things.
This is definitely something I need to think more about. When I’m buying a shirt when I have no need for it.
There are 331.9 million people in America, imagine we all gave 1 dollar to charity that feeds children. What a difference it would make.
First Faith Then Understanding
Faith precedes understanding. The world says, “Seeing is believing.” but the Bible says, “Believing is seeing.” Likewise, people say, “Show me and then I will believe.” Jesus says, “Believe me and then I will show you.”
Believing in something before you see it, is so contrary to human nature. We have been conditioned to see things first, and then believe. Life teaches us to adopt the phrase, ‘I’ll believe it, when I see it.”
Life is full of setbacks, disappointments and I kept promises. So many of us have been hurt by people we have trusted the most.
Because of the way our minds have been conditioned, sometimes we can by guilty of putting God into the same category that we put people in.
Our faith pleases God. When we have faith, and believe God’s Word and His promises it actually brings Joy.
Before I became a believer I tried picking up the Bible and reading it. It seemed to be all gibberish. I could not even pretend I understood it, because I didn’t. When I began to have faith, I began to understand the Bible.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.
Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 17 when they could not cast out a demon, that it was because of their unbelief. And if they have the faith of a mustard seed they could move mountains.
There is no where in the Bible where we read God is not able, or God does not exist. God can do anything but fail.
God wants us to believe in His character, that He says who He is, God’s Word tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.
“God is not man that He should lie, He is not human, that He should change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act. Has He promised and not carried through” -Numbers 23:19 (NLT).
Are You Patriotic
Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?
I am a patriot. I am a person who lives, supports, and defends my country and it’s interests with devotion.
Being a patriot to be means I value individual rights. And am willing to defend those rights against interference by the federal government. I support freedom and because defending freedom means defending human rights.
I support the freedom of religion and freedom of speech. I support my God-given rights which is life, liberty, and the fruits of my own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.
From Pity to Praise 