Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was five years old, I remember wanting to be a veterinarian. My father bred Siamese cats. I learned really fast that animals are full of love and wouldn’t judge me.
I wanted to help people and taking care of their animals would accomplish that. I remember the cats made me happier when I was around them. May times I would sneak a kitten into my room and just cry while I held them.
Deuteronomy 28, outlines a series of potential negative consequences for those who fail to follow God’s commandments the curses encompass issues, reaching from physical hardship and disease to defeat in battle and oppression by enemies, emphasizing the importance of obedience to God.
Deuteronomy 28 is the primary source for the concept a blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience. The curses are aimed to those who do not listen to God‘s voice and do not follow his commandments. Go away I don’t want that. Why is it do that?
There are areas that are affected by curses:
Diseases, wasting illness (cancer, HIV, chronic infections, inflammatory diseases), fever, and other elements.
cursed crops, livestock, possessions that leads to famine and scarcity.
Confusion, anxiety, despair, and other negative mental conditions.
God promises madness, blindness, and confusion of hart for disobeying His voice and failing to observe His commandments and statutes carefully.
Disobedience can lead to severe personal and from communal suffering. It can lead to failure in relationship with God and others. Disobedience can lead to defeat, oppression, and destruction.
To give your situation to God means to relinquish control and trust in His divine guidance. This is don’t through prayer, meditation,scripture, and recognizing through need for God’s intervention, while practicing gratitude and remembering His promises.
Through prayer we can share our burdens openly and honestly, expressing our anxieties, worries, and requests to God in prayer.
Ask for God’s will. Pray for Him to give us wisdom, guidance, and strength to face the situation.
Acknowledge His power. Recognize that God can handle what you cannot and trust in His plan.
Even in difficult times remember to thank God for the blessings and grace you do have in your life.
Reading your Bible and reflecting on scripture that speaks to your circumstances.
Letting go of our difficult situation is letting go of the need to control the outcome and trust God has your best interests at heart.
Acknowledge your limitations and the situation where you need God’d intervention.
Reflect on the promises and blessings that God has given you.
Practice gratitude in all areas of your life and your relationship with God, especially in difficult situations.
Live by faith and, not by sight, trust that God is working for your good even when you don’t understand.
Seek out advice from people you know that love God as much as you do. Whether it is family, friends, or pastor at your church.
Spend time in prayer and worship, actively seeking God’s presence and guidance in your life.
Matthew 6:33-34 tells us,
“But seek first God’s kingdom, and righteousness, and all things will given to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.”
What’s something most people don’t understand?
Some people take life for granted. But life is a deliberate, sacred gift, not a random occurrence.
This gift reflects God’s power and love. Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For You formed my inmost thing. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I give You thanks, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.” And in John 10:10 Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” Tying the gift to purpose and fullness, not just survival.
Life’s value is a gift that carries weight.
We act, especially today, that life has no value. If people understood this, why would there be so many murders.
How has technology changed your job?
Technology has six significantly transformed the process of managing a blog. It has made it easier to research things that I wish to write about. And allow me to draft and edit my post on the go.
“Nothing is too hard for God. He can do what seems impossible” -Kia Stephens
For 30 years I pleaded for God to intervene in my life. I used to weep at night asking God to help me to take me away from my mother.
After a long time crying, I decided that God didn’t care either. I stopped asking God for help because he never answered.
It led me down a darker path then I was in. Alcohol, drugs, sex, depression and anxiety. I was angry at God, for not taking me out of my situation.
After I got married and found out I was pregnant I stopped drinking and drugs. I knew I had to buck up and be a mother, and definitely not like one my mother was. I hid everything that was going on in my life for the sake of my daughter and my son. But nothing ever stays hidden forever, it all come out, through sickness, and I began I would get up and get my children off to school and then go back to bed until school was out. After dinner I went back to bed. Thank God my husband took care of the children.
It wasn’t until my children were 8 and 9 that I got them to church. I still didn’t believe. But the church teaches good morals and values. I was baptized right along with my children They did things with a few churches until they graduated high school.
It wasn’t until 4 years after they moved out to start their own journeys that God began to do amazing things in my life. Because over the years I had put up walls to protect myself from being hurt. It wasn’t until I made the active choice to break down those walls that began healing me from everything I had went through. The walls protected me from getting hurt, but they also blocked me from the love I so desperately needed.
He forgave me from all my sins and accepted me as His daughter. He healed me from cancer, and sent me a few amazing friends that would support me on my journey. Things I never thought possible. I was baptized again, this time because I believed in Him not because I did it for other reasons. It was because of Him I was able to let go of all the bitterness in my soul.
Love is the fundamental aspect of God’s nature and love for others is an important virtue. God’s love is not just an attribute, but His very essence (1 John 4:8).
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
It’s difficult to stay focused on anything these days. The world is such a busy place. We have to stay focused on our goal -the big picture.
I think it’s all about setting boundaries that say yes to our visions and no to things that we distract us. learn to say no to distractions and commitments that down align with our priorities, and allowing ourselves to focus our energy and time on what truly matters.
The word Axiology is derived from the Greek words “axios” (worth) and “logos” (study), and is the philosophical study of value, encompassing ethics (moral values) and aesthetics (beauty and taste).
A more detailed explanation is Axiology is the study of value and value judgments, exploring the nature of values, their hierarchy, and their relationship with individuals, societies, and cultures.
It is often divided into two main fields: ethics which are moral values and principles, focusing on what is considered right or wrong.
And aesthetics which is beauty and taste, artistic expression, exploring what is considered aesthetically pleasing.
Axiology seek to answer questions like:
For example, a woman who wants to start her own business will less likely to choose this path when she begins to have children. She will value her children over starting a business because that value is set higher for her that starting a business.
Under this biology can help us:
What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?
Because I am socially awkward, I have trouble speaking to others. It takes me a while to trust people before I speak openly. I wish I had the skills to just walked up to someone and start speaking to them. My social awkwardness seems to spike and I feel rushed and have a difficult time getting people to hear me.
Also if I get talked over, or someone is rude to me. I shut my communication with down and go silent.
In June 2012, my view of God’s sovereignty went from theoretical to critical when I learned I had bladder cancer. The doctors gave me 1 year to live.
Three days later I had a grapefruit-size tumor removed. I believed God had numbered my days. I remember thinking about everything I’ve experienced in life and this is what kills me. Why should I even try to survive this was my mindset.
Over years of treatment, I wrestled with God’s sovereignty, the idea that God has the absolute power to rule over His creation. I didn’t question the truth of His rule and reign over things. I was grateful He had provided me with a solid biblical understanding of His character. I struggled to find comfort from God’s sovereignty as I looked ahead to an uncertain future for my family and me.
Through years of intravesical therapy and constant cystoscopies, I knew God held the outcome in His hands. Dr R.C. sproul wrote,
“If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.”
God’s sovereignty guarantees that our heavenly Father reigns over all. We see this truth throughout the Bible,
“Whatever the Lord pleased, that He has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps” -Psalm 135:6
Nothing can touch us that hasn’t first come through His hands.
But that guarantee of God’s sovereignty is not a promise that terrible things will never happen. But He tells us in Romans that for those who love God, all things work together for good.
This isn’t a promise that I wouldn’t die of cancer. And there’s no assurance I would not suffer, hurt, grieve, or have my life radically altered. But it Got me to the mindset where I needed to be. “I’m going to fight until my very last breath. Satan would not see me give up so easily.
In the darkness of my suffering, God shined the light on His sovereignty by His love, faithfulness, and redemption. He allowed me to see that He was not just calling the shots, but He was crafting beautiful purposes for His children.
His power knows no rival and His goodness to His children never fails. Nothing can prevent God’s purposes for us from coming to pass (Job 42:2). Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-29. Our sovereign God is also our loving Father.
What is your favorite type of weather?
I am definitely a Heliophile, a lover of the sun. I thrive on hot weather. Being able to feel that hot sun on my skin energizes me.
In contrast, Winter brings my mood down, I have no energy. If I could I would hide inside all winter. I have a general feeling of unhappiness. I almost have to force myself to go outside, especially during snow storms.
Fake News seems to be every where, but it’s not new. Satan and his minions have been speaking fake news regarding God, His family, His kingdom, and His identity since the beginning of time.
God had been using this to alert His people of the false reports that the enemy is sending against people, cities, and nations.
A reminder to,
“Stay alert, watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” -1 Peter 5:8
If what you are hearing doesn’t align with the Word of God then know, it is fake news. God is good, just and He keeps His promises. He is the God of peace, His wisdom and counsel establishes righteousness.
Fake news from the enemy is the smog that pollutes the minds of people all over the world. It’s the bad reports and deception that cloud truth and births wrong beliefs and distorts love. This is nothing new but the level of deception has increased greatly. With this increase we have to increase or level of research as well as our prayers.
All of God’s people are called to pray for their city and nation. As the world focuses on earthly issues, believers must focus on prayers in the spiritual realm. We are called to change the spiritual climate over the earth. Changing the spiritual climate is the responsibility of followers of God.
Jeremiah 29:7 says,
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Not only will prayer pushback the kingdom of darkness, but as the kingdom of God is established and your city, peace and prosperity will come and you will prosper.
The deceptions we are seeing exposed in the media should be seen as a call through prayer that releases truth and God‘s good news. As deceptions increase so should our prayer.
Truth trumps lies. Prayer is our trump card that God is bringing forth to gain the advantage. It is an offensive move that will put the enemy’s camp on the defensive. It is the weapon that will push back deception and create space for a move of God in your city and the nation.
“Lord, I have heard of Your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord, renew Your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In wrath, You remember mercy” -Habakkuk 3:2
From Pity to Praise