Redefined As A Daughter Of God

I was made fun of from the time I was in 1st grade to the end of high school. Everything about me was fair game. The way I talked, my weight, and the glasses on my face made me the brunt of the classroom jokes.

Between school and home life it was the perfect storm for my self-doubt and self-esteem. Everything was magnified between the two.

Depending on what was said, who said it, and when it was said, we can find ourselves believing a lie about who we are for a lifetime.

Think about the woman whose medical condition became her identity in Luke 8:43-48. She was not seen as a human being with thoughts, emotions, and I need to be loved. This woman was ostracized and often judged and criticized. I imagine gossip may have talked about her behind her back. She was isolated from others, everyone avoided her because of her blood issue she was considered unclean. She likely experienced loneliness, fear, and shame.

This woman endured her condition for 12 years. Mark 5:26 she suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and has spent all that she had, but instead of getting better she grew worse.

In of her condition, she had a faith to believe that if she touched the hem of Jesus’s garment, she would be healed.

This woman had resilient hope and it paid off. Immediately after she touched Jesus robe, her bleeding stopped, and she was made free from her suffering. Jesus’s response was “who touched me?

An omnipresent Savior ask a question of finite people. It wasn’t because He was unsure, whose hands touch the edge of his robe. He knows everything. Jesus knew the exact moment the woman’s fingers touches garment and caused power to leave his body.

He knew she had spent more than a decade in the shadows of society. He knew she was weighed down by her condition. He knew she needed to be publicly redefined. Luke 8:46 says Jesus persisted “someone touched me, I know that power has gone out from me.”

Jesus left the woman no choice, she had to make her presence known. She fell at the feet of Jesus in the presence of the crowd. Jesus could have chastised her for touching Him. he could have publicly condemned her action, but instead, He patiently listen to her. Then He said. “ Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Jesus not only declared her healed, He called her daughter. He didn’t say “unnamed woman or woman with a blood issue,” He selected an intimate and tender term.

For 12 years, this unnamed woman was an outcast and society. No one would have wanted to be near her, yet Jesus publicly acknowledge that she touched Him, then He applauded her faith and called her daughter. With that single act, He said, you are not alone. You are not isolated. You are a daughter of God.

When we place our faith in Jesus, we too become daughters of God. It doesn’t matter if we were previously considered outcast, or lived underneath a label placed on us by humanity. Embracing our identity of daughters of God far out ways the identity that has been or will ever be placed on us. With Him, we are full loved and redefined. He is our heavenly father, and what He says about us matters the most.

Truths About God’s Blessings

In Matthew 7:11 Jesus shares a comforting truth about our Heavenly Father,

“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.”

So, why do we struggle to ask God to bless us?

We might feel inadequate. “I don’t deserve God’s blessings, you might think, “I’m a bad person. I haven’t done anything to earn them.” Scripture tells us if we trust in Jesus, we have been saved by God’s grace. Grace is the biggest blessing we can ever receive.

God is the giver of all good gifts and every blessing.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, and whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow” -James 1:17

God blesses those who trust in Him.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose confidence is in the Lord. For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be concerned in the year of drought. It won’t cease from bearing fruit” –Jeremiah 17:7-8

God’s blessing are our only true source of wealth.

“The Lords blessings bring wealth, and He adds no trouble to it” -Proverbs 10:22

God blesses us even more than we need for every good cause.

“God I’d able to make all grace abound in you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work” -2 Corinthians 7:8

God blesses us when we obey Him and do what it right.

“For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly” -Psalm 84:11

God blesses us because He enjoys doing it. Any parent can understand this. We love and bless our children.

“Out of the fullness of His grace, He had blessed us all, giving us blessings after another” -John 1:16 GNT

Most Memorable Road Trip

Think back on your most memorable road trip.

My most memorable road trip was to Iron Mountain Hot Springs in Colorado. It is Colorado’s best geothermal Hot Springs. There are 16 geothermal springs in along the Colorado river.

My husband and I went there for a romantic getaway. But it actually turned in a weekend of arguing about the hotel I made reservations at. Which caused him to sit the vehicle while I enjoyed the hot springs for the day. Then we came home, driving over 14 hours in 2 days was not my idea of a romantic getaway.

I never found out what the real issue that was causing tension. Sometimes in life a small issue sets us off that causes an emotional response. I’m sure it didn’t all have to do with the hotel not being up to his expectations.

Different Ways In Life

The book of Psalms highlights two main ways in life. It’s begins with 3 life lessons in Psalm 1

“ this is the one who does not walk and sit with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who is July is in the law of the Lord, who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by the streams of water which yield its fruit and season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do propers. Not so the wicked, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, or sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked needs to destruction.”

This Psalm shows us that there are different ways in life. what goes into our life determines what comes out.

The way of the righteous and the way of the wicked are the two main ways in life. The way we live is essentially our path and each of them have consequences that go with them.

A noteworthy thing about different ways in life is that always are separate from the people that take them. In other words, the righteous and the wicked represents the type of people we can be at any given time based on how we are living at any given time.

We are always on a path. Whether we are aware of it or not our path is taking us somewhere. Each decision we make authors our destination, and so we must consciously ask ourselves where am I headed based on the decisions? I’m making am doing things more aligned with being righteous or wicked? The answers to these questions should cause us to adjust if necessary so we don’t end up in an undesired destination.

God watches over the way of the righteous. Psalm 1:6 Tells us that God watches over us when we are righteous. It’s a reminder that God is no respecter of people. Nobody is special. And at the end of the day, it’s whether we are righteous before God or not.

Being righteous places us on a path which He looks after and being up on a path that qualifies us for His blessings and protection.

What goes into our life determines what comes out.

The second lesson is in Psalm 1:2 and points to the secret of righteous person prospering in whatever they do, tells us that righteous people delight is in the law of the Lord and those who meditate on His law day and night. God’s word is what righteous people pour into their lives, and by pouring it into our lives, it produces the good that comes out of it.

This is the law nature. it can apply too many things. If you’re baking a cake, the ingredient you put in it determines what type of cake comes out. the time you spend studying for a test affects the grade you get. What you eat dictates your weight and vitality.

Since it’s a law, note that in addition to prospering like the righteous by doing what is described in Psalm 1 you can get just about anything out of life by putting whatever into it that’s required. If you are not getting the results, you desire, but you are putting in the work, reassess what’s really required for you to achieve what you desire.

We are like trees.

The third lesson we learned from Psalm 1 is that we are like trees. Seeing ourselves like trees, exposes certain truths about who we are as humans that can help us live a more fruitful life. This Psalm isn’t the only place in the Bible compares us to trees. Jeremiah 7:7-8 says something similar. It says,

“ But blessed is the one who trust in the Lord whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out his roots by the stream. It does not fear when he comes, it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Our environment makes a difference.

Psalm 1:3 describes a person that delights in God’s law and meditate on it day and night “like a tree planted by streams of water,” like trees, we start out like seeds, and if the seed doesn’t water, soil, and sunlight it never grows. So although we may have it in ourselves to be great in life being in the wrong environment threatens our potential. Thankfully, unlike trees, which need to be lucky to be planted by water, we can change our environment if it isn’t helping us to grow.

We attract people by our fruit.

Seeing ourselves like trees is that we can attract people by our fruit. Fruit go hand-in-hand with trees, and just like there are scriptures to describe us as trees, there are scriptures that describe what we can do as fruits. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us about “the fruit of the spirit.” Matthew. 7:16 says, “we are known by our fruit.” The interesting thing about a tree fruit is that it is what attracts people. I have apple trees, pear, trees, and cherry trees in my yard. Every year, I am excited to get these fruits off my trees when they are ripe for picking.

The significance of this is, once we bear fruit in our lives, we will attract people. In the case of the fruit of the spirit, it is a light that leads others to the kingdom of God. When people see that you are prospering and whatever you do, they’ll notice.

Since there are different ways in life, choose the way that leads to godly success in this life and ultimately eternal life. Remember what goes into your life determines what comes out so make changes necessary to get what you want out of life. Given our similarity to trees, keep yourself in the right environment so that you live up to your potential and attract others to the kingdom of God with our fruits.

Healthy Snack Trends

What snack would you eat right now?

There is a growing interest in adding high protein food to everyone’s diet which reflects a number of factors, that are inspired by social media. Food manufacturers are adding more protein to their products that are not necessarily healthy like donuts, candy, and even drinks to allure people to buy their products.

A recent study actually found that 71% of Americans said they want to increase their protein. But people don’t take into consideration that high protein diets can be harmful for people with certain health conditions, like diabetes, and kidney disease. It just goes to show us how a little bit of propaganda can affect our minds. Most people don’t consider the health risks involved before jumping in the latest fads without thinking it through or talking to a health care professional about pre-existing conditions, family history or lifestyle.

A recent study from Geneva suggested that a high protein diet could cause neurological disorders. Remember every choice has consequences good or bad. It’s important to do some research before jumping in feet first into something the media is trying to promote. Then make an informed decision.

Staying Committed To Prayer

The reality of life on earth is that it is not immune to hardships. Even though the Bible is full of promises the power of these promises comes from prayer.

In John 16:33 Jesus says,

“In this world you will have trouble.”

This is not a “feel good” promise but it’s the truth. One thing about Jesus is He never sugar-coated anything. He told us how is was, how it is, and how it will be. This life was not designed for us to never have hardship. But it is in the suffering that we grow. It’s the seasons of being tested that challenge our faith.

Whether you are in a storm right now or just getting out of one, at some point, you will come face-to-face with another one. Walking through hardship in a storm is where our faith has an opportunity to become stronger.

There will be seasons where God may allow us to struggle beyond what we think we can handle or solve on our own. His desire is to strip us from ourselves. And if you’re stubborn like I was it may take 10 or 30 years. We were never designed to suffer alone. We were designed to allow God to help us in our struggles.

Prayer gets us in communication with Him. But we have a tendency to only pray when we’re struggling. As with everything in life we have a sporadic nature in our commitments. We start things and then let them go by the wayside. As we’ve gained a clear perspective of who we are it’s easy to leave things behind that we once thought we’re important.

A commitment to prayer should not be one of those. God is our refuge and our strength, our very present help in trouble.

Prayer enlarges our hearts until we are capable of containing God’s gift of Himself.

Crazy Business Ideas

Come up with a crazy business idea.

While I always think I would love to open a business that included something to do with animals. Recently I have seen a few off the wall business ideas that have made people quite a bit of money.

One in particular was being a pooper scooper. Going around to others and picking up after their dog’s bathroom habits for a cost. while I’m sure this idea maybe go over big in large cities, it would not in small towns that I live in.

I have answered this writing prompt before. I still think an animal day care would go over big. Especially if people don’t want to crate their dogs while they are at work. My area only has one in town and they are costly and involve having a dog in a crate all day anyway.

Bible Principles

Seven major Bible principles are released when people sow what God holds us to in His Word.

The world operates on a “pleasure now but pain later” basis. But God’s kingdom operates on a “sowing and reaping basis.

First, we do the hard work and then we reap what we sow.

“Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” – Galatians 6:7-8

Instead of seeking immediate short-term gain with long-term pain the Bible teaches that we must to in the hard work first to sow now and later we will be rewarded for our diligence.

An example of this is going on a spending spree with your credit card. You will receive immediate short-term gain, but it will suck paying back the money with the high interest on the credit card. You will become a servant to the credit card company. It’s better to save up for what you need to buy so you won’t be saddled with suffocating debt.

Proverbs 104:5 tells us,

“Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”

American culture tells us we don’t have to work. The government will take care of us. This is wrong on so many levels. We have to remember everything we have belongs to God, and He has entrusted it to us to make the best use of it for His purposes.

Some in this country want socialism or communism. Where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is why it has never worked in the past, or in other countries. This system is straight from the pit of hell.

One of the major themes in the Bible is freedom from bondage. Just as God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt He wants to release us from slavery as well.

This is the difference between the world and God’s kingdom. The world wants us in slavery as its servants. God wants us free from this bondage.

The kingdom of the world advances by exercising “power over,” while the kingdom of God advances by examining “power under.”

The kingdom of the world seeks to control our behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform lives from the inside out.

We saw this during the COVID scare a few years ago. Even today some people in government want to introduce 15- minute cities.

15 minute cities are wanted to reduce the use of vehicles and promote walking, and using public transport which emphasize features like green and public spaces, bike lanes and walkways, rather than roads. I don’t Know about you but this doesn’t sound like freedom. If I see a sale at a grocery store 20 minutes away I would want to check it out. No only visit a store within 15 minutes that has increased its prices because they know you are not able to leave the 15 minute barrier. That’s not freedom that’s isolation.

The Bible gives us fundamental rules or laws that guide a persons actions and decisions to lead us to say to live where we will have an abundance of blessing, instead of curses.

What I Was Attached To In My Youth

Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

I didn’t have many physical things in my childhood. But I was attached to the cats my father bred. But they were sold by about 8 weeks and were gone.

Besides my music, I would just try and stay away from my mother all long as I could. I became close to a few neighbors who would spend time with me.

I remember being attached to an African American couple the lived about few block away from my house. They would feed me, and talk to me as if they actually cared. But soon they moved away.

Controlling Our Tongue

I have never had too much of a problem talking to much. Probably because I was made to observe things rather than speak things. But I can still have problems controlling my tongue. I still can say the wrong things, and even speak my mind in unwholesome ways and when my mouth doesn’t say it, my face usually does.

Ephesians 4:29 says,

“Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.”

It’s difficult for me to promise God I will control my mouth. But hopefully little by little I hope He can help me. When I focus on what I’m saying my mouths will pretty much under control. But when I just start babbling what’s in my mind that’s where I get in trouble. I tend to not remember the “but only what is helpful for building others up” part sometimes.

I was reminded of this when someone was speaking about someone and I finished their sentence with what I was thinking. And it wasn’t building them up.

My mind immediately went to the scripture in Psalm 19:14,

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

So as in pure fashion I came home and went to my Bible for help.

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that words can tear down or build up. Our speech is important if we don’t realize this, we will continue to hurt people.

Many of us are not even aware that our words are negative. Think before we speak and pay attention to what we are saying and how we are saying it.

  • Are our words complaining, critical, hurtful, disrespectful, or pessimistic?
  • What topics do we talk about most? Are they always centered around ourselves or what’s wrong with the world? Do our conversations ever include God?
  • Do we talk with purpose or are most of our words frivolous? (Matthew 12:36-37)

If we don’t gauge our words, we will never be able to change them.

Proverbs 21:23 says,

“Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”

I think it all goes back to our hearts. It’s hard to speak good of a person, who has done us wrong or hurt us. That’s where forgiveness comes in. If we don’t forgive we can’t expect to change our hearts or our tongues.

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of evil treasure brings forth evil things” – Matthew 12:34-35

Without God, we are not good (Romans 3, 10). God gives a new heart when we choose Him, but we must remain active and apply good things to get rid of our old habits.

Our hearts are jammed full of life challenges and our mouths are the overflow valve. Our mouth (the overflow valve) is what’s in the reservoir.

We have to be careful to not be conformed to the world, don’t do as the world does.

“Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is good, well–pleasing, and perfect will of God.” -Romans 12:1

We can change our tongues. One step at a time, one word at a time. Forgiveness is available, but we have to do our part.

I for one need to not go on autopilot and let my mouth run without putting brakes on my tongue. And I trust God will do His part. He has not failed me yet.

My Mission

What is your mission?

My mission in life is to show others there is a peace that surpasses the everything this world can offer. Teach people that is this peace can only be found with God.

I do not believe in preaching God’s Word to others, but to lead by example. Mark 12: 30-31 and Colossians 3:15 pretty well sums up my mission:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor (others) as yourself.”

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”