Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.
If I was guaranteed not to fail I would try traveling solo. Or speaking in public more without fear.
There’s a quote by Denis Waitely that says. “It’s not who we are that holds us back, it’s who we think we’re not.”
Most of us have limiting beliefs that high,ight our negative self-talks and beliefs about our perceived deficiencies that prevent us from achieving our goals. Self doubt is often a killer of progress.
What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?
The hardest goal I ever set for myself was changing my perspective.
We are wired to defend our current belief system especially if it is tied to our identities, and upbringing .
It was hard for me to let go of believes I was taught since childhood. I had reached a point I could not function anymore believing the lies I was told as a child.
I had come to the point I knew I had to change. That’s when God came into my life. That’s when I chose to let go of all the unforgiveness, bitterness, and hate I was holding onto you.
We have to have a willingness to change if we’re going to change our perspective. It was a willingness to be open, curious, and reflective. I knew I could not be defensive or rigid because the overwhelming evidence I had wasn’t helping.
I had to practice empathy, stay, curious, and most of all stop judging.
The bottom line was changing my perspective was difficult because it meant changing me, or at least how I seen the world. But with time, openness, and effort it was one of the most transformative things I’ve ever done.
I’m today’s world it’s easy to feel stressed, worried, or anxious. In a chaotic world finding peace of mind can sometimes be hard.
Peace of mind includes having an inner calm that no one can disturb. Peace of mind helps us feel at ease and centered amidst any chaos.
My peace comes from trusting God. God promises us that when we trust in Him, He will give us a gift that the world cannot give, peace of mind and heart. A peace the surpasses all understanding.
Managing our thoughts begin with trust, by intentionally turning our thoughts away from fear and evil toward the goodness of God.
Faith is the refusal to panic.
We need to think of God as God and let the Bible shape our view of Him, rather than shaping Him into our own image, relying on our limited understanding and confining God to human standards and abilities. We must trust Him wholeheartedly instead of acting as though we are in control or have all the answers.
I think the pandemic was a great example of whether we trust God or not. We watched as the world went crazy. I think “where was I on that spectrum?” Yes, I was infected but even then I chose to trust God to get me through it. We have to remember if anyone is worthy of our complete trust, it is God alone.
Trusting God means intentionally setting our minds on Him as the sovereign, ever present, all knowing, merciful, just, and compassionate Creator we sees us, hears us, and knows everything we need. And if we truly believe that He sees and hears us, then we should obey Him by casting all of cares on Him and not be anxious about anything.
God is only a breath and a prayer away. We can cry out to the God of grace who made a way to Himself through His Son, Jesus. Trust in Jesus’s words,
“Peace I leave with you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” -John 14:27
Peace and rest are gifts of grace, that flow from a loving and eternal relationship with the “prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6) As we entrust our worries to God’s care each day. He gives us His peace. This peace isn’t given automatically, but it is freely available to all who seek and submit themselves to Jesus by faith.
We are not meant to carry the weight of anxious or overwhelming thoughts alone. God never intended for us to bear life’s burdens in isolation. He invited us to come to Him, to trust in His help, and to find rest in His presence. He has designed us to be in fellowship and lean on each other. He designed the church body to build healthy relationships. Many people say the church is too “judgy” I see this as an opportunity to find another church. Find church whose preacher teaches from the “Word of God,” and you will usually find a church that treats you like family. We were meant to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We are stronger, safer, and more resilient when we walk together and support each other through life’s trials. “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, then one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up” – Ecclesiastics 4:9-10.
Who walks with you through life challenges, in addition to your relationship with God? Are you walking alone or are you allowing others to walk with you? Find someone that you connect with in the body of Christ and lean on them to support you to grow your faith and share your burdens, and vice verse.
God is deeply and personally invested in our well-being. His care is the foundation of our confidence in our releasing burdens to Him. His love is not distance or abstract, it is real, present, and active. His care is not reluctant or forced, it flows freely from His heart of compassion. Jesus Himself affirmed this truth in Matthew 6:26,
“See thr birds in the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value then they?
This is a beautiful picture of God’s personal and loving attention to even the smallest details of His creation. More importantly, if He cares for birds and animals, how much more does He care for human beings who He made in His own image. He created men and women to reflect His likeness. Genesis 1:27 tells us,
“God created man in His own image. In God’s image He created him, male and female He created them.”
The cross gives us a clear sign that Jesus personally cares for us. How astounding is it that the Son of God would give up his comfort, privilege, and honor in heaven to take on a second nature becoming fully human, while remaining fully divine, and die in our place on a Roman cross meant for criminals.
Managing our thoughts starts with trust, by intentionally returning our hearts and minds away from fear and evil towards faith and goodness found in His care. It’s a daily, hourly, minute by minute, intentional shiftfrom inward anxiety to upward surrender.. Peace comes from my mind anchored in God, I like how Isaiah 26:3 directly connects thought management with trusting God,
“You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.”
We must ask ourselves. How well do we manage our mind by filtering every thought that comes our way, from daily conversations, entertainment, social media, music, news, sermons, work, interactions, personal worries, books, cultural, narratives, self talk, and beyond?
This is why managing our thoughts isn’t passive, it requires deliberate, filtering, and renewal. The Bible shows this at last in peace flows from my mind shapes by true faith. Paul encourages us in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by renewing of our mind. Managing anxious thoughts to me replacing fear with God’s truth through prayer, scripture meditation, and fellowship.
We must make trusting God a daily habit. It’s not always easy, but peace grows in a mind, rooted in Him.
Who are your favorite artists?
As far as Artists I think my favorite are Christian Artists/ Singers that songs portray good values. There are a few the sing about light not darkness.
Phil Wickham has some amazing songs out there like “What an awesome God” and House of the Lord.
Also Brandon Lake is very good, if you like new generation music. He sings “Gratitude” and I need a Ghost.”
One of my all time favorites is and will always be Crowder. Just because he sings songs I can listen to if I’m going through a spiritual battle. Songs like “Crushing snakes” and “Grave robber.”
We should seek God for who He is, rather than for what He can give. This means prioritizing a relationship with God based on His nature and presence, rather than negotiational desires for blessings or solutions to our problems.
This involves a deeper form of desiring to know God, and being His presence and understanding His truth.
When we truly desire His presence, we can experience Him directly, finding fulfillment with His companionship rather than what He can provide.
Seeking His nature is driven by a desire to understand God’s character, His truth, and His will, not just to receive benefits.
When we prioritize our relationship with God our emphasis shifts from “what can God do for me?” to “how can I know and please Him more?”
When we focus on seeking Him through prayer, worship, and His Word, we can begin to understand the path to deeper connection. These are not just tools for getting our requests granted.
These things are important because God values those who seek Him for His own sake, as opposed to using Him for personal gain.
Focusing solely on outcomes leads to burnout but seeking God’s presence brings lasting refreshment and restoration.
A relationship that is built on knowing God’s true nature leads to greater spiritual fulfillment and a yearning to please Him.
“If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” – 1 Chronicles 28:9
What is your favorite hobby or pastime?
I try and invoke healthy pastimes like reading and spending time in nature. These things are emotionally nurturing and cause me to be physically active.
Through the winter months I spend more time reading to keep my mind active and engaged.
If you are who you say you are then it’s time to build confidence in who you are. It’s time we focus on consistently acting in line with our core values, keeping promises made to ourselves and acknowledging our accomplishments, even the small ones.
Real self-confidence is an earned feeling and is derived from proving our abilities to handling challenges, rather than a fixed trait. Building confidence is an active, ongoing process of aligning our actions with our self perception.
There are a few ways to build confidence: identifying, core values, and strength, clearly defines what matters to you and your unique abilities is what creates a strong sense of self.
Always keeping promises to yourself. Creating small, meaningful commitments and consistently falling through on them is what builds a track record for success and capability.
We must acknowledge our accomplishments. Even small victories can reinforce self belief and and demonstrates abilities.
Building self-confidence involved, embracing our mistakes as we learn. Viewing setbacks as valuable lessons rather than reasons to doubt, this actually helps build self resilience, and an understanding of how to handle adversity.
An invaluable lesson I’ve learned over the years is that we are allowed to change our thoughts. Using positive self talk, we can practice positive affirmations and focus on productive thoughts and actions instead of negative thoughts and actions. This creates a more confident mindset.
It is important to concentrate on what we can control in the present moment to avoid unnecessary worry about the past and future.
To develop a competent identity, we must integrate confident patterns and habits into our daily life until they become part of who you are.
There are a few key principles of confidence:
 A counselor once told me that even if I don’t have confidence in myself , God is your confidence. We are worthy and can do all things because the Holy Spirit is within us, and through God we are made worthy.
What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
Losing all my possessions I’m sure I would miss a few things like my Bible and the old pictures I cherish.
But even in that I would praise the Lord. Having possessions is just a status symbol on earth. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:19-21 to “not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
God would still remain worthy of praise and that sometimes loss can purify our focus.
Losing my possessions would be a way to uncover who we really are, beyond our attachments.
When God made our souls, He made them in His image. Our souls are endless, timeless, dateless and measureless. Our soul is the most valuable part of each of us and, so often, the first thing we sacrifice for the things of the world.
Mark 8:35-36 tells us, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the sake of the Good news (the gospel) will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life (his soul)?
Our souls are priceless treasures of infinite worth, each one was created by God. Every soul has the potential to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Our souls are also valuable because of their durability -the last for all eternity.
Adrian Rogers said, “Your soul will be in existence somewhere when the sun, moon, and stars have grown cold -either heaven or hell. We could never cease to exist any more than God Himself could not exist.”
Each soul is unique. Jesus died on the cross, paying the cost with His blood and agony to show how much He desired our souls.
So, why do we ignore our souls, and prioritize our flesh? We must be extremely careful with our souls. And not exchange them for the things of this world, when doing so is such a foolish transaction.
No one ever gains the world, and whatever part of the world we think we’ve gained we cannot keep it forever. The world cannot meet our deepest longings, Pleasure, possession, or philosophy could ever satisfy us, because God made us for Himself.
To lose our souls would be a tragic irreversible loss -after death, we don’t get a second chance. All the wealth of this world cannot compare to the value of a soul.
“If I had a thousand souls, I would give every one of them to Jesus” -Adrian Rogers
It is inevitable that we will go through times of despair in our lives. Jesus told us in John 16:33, in this world, we will have tribulations and trials distress and frustration, but be a good cheer and take courage, be confident, for He has overcome the world.
In difficult times we might feel like giving up or feeling like we’re stuck and don’t know where to turn. But when we hold onto hope and put our trust in God, He always makes a way. he will take whatever we are going through and make good out of it.
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose” -Romans 8:28
When I was growing up, I was neglected, and abused there were many times I wondered why these things were happening. Why was God letting them happen. I cried and begged for help. I told my teacher at school and was ignored because my mother told them I just had an active imagination. After a while I gave up hope, as the depression set in I coped by taking alcohol out of the refrigerator and getting drunk at age 13 I began doing drugs, anything I could find to numb the pain I was feeling. And I would do anything to get my hands on those drugs. My excuse was if no one else cared why should I. That led to many years of suffering. I had lost all hope. When I turned 22 I was a complete mess. I then met my husband of 36 years. But I wasn’t any better off, I still did drugs. It wasn’t until one night I overdosed. I remember thinking well this is it. I’m dying. Miraculously, I came out of it and never did hard drugs again. Children came, and through raising them, I still took pain pills to numb the pain, but I was always there for my children.
Fast forward 18 years and I became a follower of Jesus, even though I was very angry at God. I figured I had tried to fill the hole inside my soul, with everything else but Him. He didn’t get me out of the situations in my life, but He gave me the strength to get through it. I realized that through it all I still had hope it would get better. I took four years of repenting, begging, and a hope for a good future.
God how to plan for my life through it all. He had taken what Satan meant for harm and turned it into something good. I can honestly tell you that God has transformed me from being negative and pessimistic and into someone who is full of hope, always expecting kids goodness around every corner.
Hope is the confident expectation that something good is going to happen. I hopeful person refuses to be let negativity, ruin their life, even when they deal with the storms of life. Remaining hopeful and thought, attitude, and conversation.
When I began to study God’s Word, that’s when I discovered real hope, that nothing is impossible with a God attitude and an awareness that God is actually expecting, looking and longing to show us His goodness.
Isaiah 30:18 tells us, “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you, and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you, for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
The Bible even tells us that hope is an anchor to our soul, our mind, our will and our emotions. In Hebrews 6:19 it says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil.”
This means that when everything looks bleak, and it seems like nothing makes sense, and it feels like God‘s promises will never come to pass in our lives, hope is the anchor that pulls us back and says, hold on, your help is on the way.
God wants us to live a life full of hope, bleeding, and expecting great things from Him. It’s not about a wishy-washy vague. Hope it’s a let’s just wait and see what happens kind of hope. It’s an attitude that says trust that He will do what He has promised. 
I’ve learned a few things through my journey of life:
Hope is only as strong asit’s source. That is why the foundation of our hope must be God and the promises that are found in His Word. If God is not the source, hope it’s just a wishful thought.
The world can be a difficult place, but God‘s hope is unshakable, all powerful, all knowing, and ever present. When we have a relationship with Jesus, it fills us with hope and confidence because we realize He is greater than any situation we will ever encounter.
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