Category: Christian Blog

5 PSALMS TO ASSIST YOUR HEART TO PRAY

5 Psalms to Assist Your Heart to Pray

So, this is day two of our 30 day challenge in prayer.  How are you doing?  I must say that setting aside 30 minutes with no interruptions is not easy at first.  For me the interruptions are my own brain wandering away to other things.   So, what helped me today was the minute my brain seemed to wander: I pulled out my Bible and opened to the Psalms and began to out loud pray the words from the Psalms to God.

broken-and-contrite-heart-ronald-barbaPicture used by permission of Ronald Barba and is protected under copyright laws.

[bctt tweet=”Our two most powerful weapons  are God’s Word and Prayer. Combined they are a formidable force.”]  A force that will empower us to success and guarantee victory!!!  What will that look like in my life?  I am not certain. What I am certain of:  whatever God’s view of success and victory is for my life, I want that.

Here are the words of  5 Psalms that helped me to focus today.  I hope they inspire you as well.

Psalm 8: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens…3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?…9O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

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WHAT ONE THING CAN EMPOWER SUCCESS WITH VICTORY GUARANTEED?

WHAT ONE THING CAN EMPOWER SUCCESS WITH VICTORY GUARANTEED?

 

 

pathway to success

[bctt tweet=”If you knew one thing would empower you to success and guarantee victory, would you do it?”]

It was 1986 and a time in my life that I felt very defeated as I had moved back into my parents’ home with my children. I worked night shift in ICU and got very little sleep. Perhaps a foolish idea to try to obtain my certification in critical care, since there was no time to study. After all it wasn’t required. Separated from my husband, feeling like a failure; I just wanted to feel successful in something. The test was going to be in St. Louis which was a 3 hour drive from my parent’s home. My plans to go the night before were thwarted when Alberto spiked a high fever. New plan: leave early in the morning. Daddy had gotten home late because he driven the school bus for a sports event. As I got into my car, it began to snow. The farther I drove, the heavier the snow was falling. Then it happened, about an hour into my drive; the lights began to go dim and the car was dying. I was barely able to get it to the side of the road before it died completely. There were no cell phones, it was freezing cold, and no one was on the highway that early in the morning. I walked until I found a gas station. When I called home, Daddy said, “I will be there as soon as I can.”

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Really, God? That is the battle plan for Victory?

Really, God? That is the battle plan for Victory?

Truth is hard sometimes. Today it felt like a knife ripping through my heart. A Battle was raging within my spirit and I needed to know the battle plan. I needed to know God’s battle plan for my life. When I started my blog in 2010, I started it with one purpose in mind. I wanted just to tell any weary disheartened soul that might find my page; “There is hope in Christ.” Occasionally along this path of blogging, speaking and writing; I get caught in the dream of growing this to where I could do it full time. How glorious it be to be able to make a living helping people find a joyous life in Christ!! Yet, I have been unwilling to compromise and allow advertising on my site; because, I haven’t found a way to control the advertising well enough. I want the message of Christ to go out to the world!! Not a bunch of conflicting commercials that may cause harm.   For me the time, the money and the work I do with this website is a labor of love first and foremost for my Savior and for you whomever might come to read for a while.

smcas0189© Steve Creitz/Licensed from GoodSalt.com

[bctt tweet=”I write because deep within me is a burning passion that I must write. Hope cannot be silent.”]

REFLECTION AND REFOCUS

Today I realized that once more I had allowed myself to become concerned about “growing my numbers and pressing forward to success.” I have been studying, rewording, revamping and doing what all the sources say do. That is not the problem. The problem comes only if I lose sight of the true purpose for which I began this ministry.

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How to Actually Conquer Your Fear of Inadequacy

How to Actually Conquer Your Fear of Inadequacy

Sometime in 2005 the desire to be an orator for God began. It was about the same time that I was drawn to writing “A Broken and Contrite Heart.” I began to study, pray, and journal as I prepared to write this book. Occasional words of poetry began to be also in my journal. Still there was another voice inside that paralyzed me from continuing, “Why would God choose me to speak or write? I had speech therapy as a child and I still sometimes stutter when I get nervous. I don’t have any special talent like comedy or singing to draw the people. I am just me. If the people look deep and discover how often I have failed in this Christian walk, the times I have been filled with trembling fear, or lost my way because of jealousy-anger; they might condemn me. Instead of helping God, I might just mess things up. Why would anyone want to hear my story?” Still, deep within me a soft voice pushed me forward.

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[bctt tweet=”The next step to your Destiny is Now!!”]

JUST TELL YOUR STORY

Then, I heard David Ring say, “If you want to make an impact for Christ, just tell your story.” So, I began; but only intermittently until emergency surgery forced me to sit down for two months. I had to smile, as I told God, “I guess I have run out of excuses. I will finish the book now.” I did and I published it later that year. My hesitation had been my own fear of inadequacy. I was so afraid that I might fail God in what I wrote. Or worse, if I let people too close and they see my scars will God be embarrassed of me. Sound familiar? It is the story of almost every one of God’s Biblical Heroes of Faith. God was so kind that in each of their stories, He included all the blemishes and all the failures in the narratives of their stories. Yet, in Hebrews 11; they still were the heroes. That is God’s amazing Grace and love. He chooses ordinary people (like me) to do His extraordinary work.

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7 Steps to an Unconditionally Joyous Heart-Absolutely Free

7 Steps to an Unconditionally Joyous Heart-Absolutely Free

In September of 2013, I was accused falsely of having committed a “crime “against the company where I had faithfully served for 10 years. The so called crime had been invested for 9 months unbeknownst to me.  It, without my knowledge, had been discussed at every board meeting from January until September. I had not done anything wrong, nor thought of doing anything wrong; so indeed, the news of this had been a shock to me.   When all the dust had settled, I was cleared of any wrong.  What was obvious to me that one power hungry medical assistant had been the catalyst. The events actually lead to my placing my resignation exactly at God’s timing for me to make the move He had already ordained. Although, in September; I understood what God was doing. I, even told my boss, “All of this was God’s hand at work. God had whispered that I should be leaving for Missouri. He blinded your eyes to the truth, so that the whisper would become a shout. I have to go. Something I would have resisted because of my devotion to this company. You have been like a brother to me all these years; but, I have to leave.” Understanding the truth that God ordained everything should have meant the incident was over in my own heart and mind, right?  Yes, it should have.  However, in my heart I was angry and hurt.  The anger, the resentment toward my accuser, and the pain should have been gone. But it wasn’t for quite some time.

me and Pete

[bctt tweet=”Knowing that God’s Sovereign will controls every detail of my life should create Joy. “] For that moment in my life, it didn’t. You see, there was still that darkness within my own heart.

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