How Spicing Up Your Life Can Make You Happier!

October 10, 2011 by 17 Comments
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How Spicing Up Your Life Can Make You Happier!

by Olga Hermans

Happiness does not depend on your circumstances … it is a choice that you make. The first step is to make a conscious choice to boost your happiness; the bottom line is if you want to be happy, you need to make a decision to be happy right now.

An extraordinary number of people are asking questions about their own happiness on the internet, and many are not satisfied with the answers they often find. Why not? Don’t they want to make a choice? Happiness and other positive emotions play an even more important role in health than previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine by Carnegie Mellon University Psychology Professor Sheldon Cohen.

If you want to spice up your life to be happier, you must develop a habit of happiness. You must learn to relax and go with the flow, instead of getting frustrated. You have to believe that God is in control, and that means you have no need to be stressed out or worried.

Moreover you need to be grateful for what you have, rather than complaining about what you don’t have. A habit of happiness boils down to staying on the positive side of life. Each day is full of surprises and inconveniences, so you must accept the fact that not everything is going to always go your way. Your plans are not always going to work out just as you scheduled them.

The Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” 1Thess. 5:16 The Msg. Bible says: “Be cheerful no matter what” Another translation simply says, “Be happy all the time.” That means no matter what comes your way; we can have smiles on our faces. We should get up each morning excited about that day.

I can tell you that this does not come naturally to me; I am a person that really has to work on this. I have a more serious and observant personality. Although I can really cheer up when circumstances are good and all that good stuff. So, if I want to spice up my life to be happy and I do, I have to cheer up a little.

I have learned the hard way to not be so rigid and be set in my ways. Life is too short to live it stressed out. Besides, prolonged stress can damage your health and significantly shorten your life. I don’t want to live with knots in my stomach because some person is not doing what I want them to do.

You and I can make a choice to be more flexible and have a more easygoing attitude. Think about it. Ten years from now, many of the things that we are allowing to create stress in our life won’t even matter. You and I won’t care that we were stuck in traffic or that Thanksgiving will be different that we had planned.

Make a decision that you’re going to be happy even if you get stuck in traffic, even if the waitress spills something on your new outfit, even if you have to wait in that long line.

God did not create you to be a negative-thinking person. He didn’t make any of us to live depressed, stressed out, worried, or frustrated. God intends for you to be happy, content and to enjoy your life.

Take an honest look at your life. Are you as happy as you know you should be deep down inside? Do you get up each day excited about your future? Are you enjoying your family? Enjoying your friends? If not, what is stealing your joy and causing you to get upset? Why are you worried?

It is a good thing to take inventory and then take it one step further. Begin renewing your mind in those areas. Many times, you can make a small change; a minor adjustment in your attitude, or a minor adjustment in how you treat people; a minor adjustment in how you respond to problems and it will make a huge difference in your life and in your level of joy. This definitely will spice up your life.

There is so much sadness in our world today. Many people are sick physically because they are living so stressed out, uptight and worried. The apostle Paul said, “I have learned how to be content no matter what state I am in.” In other words, “This doesn’t come automatically.”

We must do the same thing. Happiness is not going to fall on us. It is a choice we have to make. Being positive doesn’t necessarily come naturally. We have to make a decision daily. Our mind, left alone, will often drift toward the negative. If we don’t stay on the offensive, little by little we will grow more sullen. Soon, we’re not as much fun to be around.

We start to find fault. We get critical. Refusing to allow these negative habits take hold of us will spice up your life and can make you a much happier person. When you get out of bed in the morning and put a smile on your face, Set the tone right at the start of your day.

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Prayer: The Breakfast of Champions

September 19, 2011 by 23 Comments
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Prayer: The Breakfast of Champions

By: Olga Hermans

 

“If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.
I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”
~ Martin Luther

Prayer is the backbone of a successful life and many successful people know that very well. They take their time to be still and envision their day together with the Lord. Effective prayer will cause you to soar like an eagle in God’s plans for you.

I know people who are successful who will give credit to God, because they know that their success came from the time they spent early in the morning with their maker.

Let’s look at these points once stated by my late Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty. Why Early Morning Prayer would you say?

1.   Jesus did it

Jesus set the example for us in prayer. He got up early in the morning and found a place where He could be alone to start His day with prayer. So, if Jesus started his day with prayer, how much more do we need to start out with prayer? He taught us to go in our prayer closet; wherever your place is, is not important, as long as you can settle your heart in front of the Lord and receive from Him for the day that is ahead of you.

2.   The way you start something has a great effect on the way it ends up

If you start out communing with the Lord, there is a big chance that you will be in communion with Him throughout your day. The way you start out can have a definite effect on the way things will look in the end. When a sailboat starts out, the way the sails are set determines the direction the boat will go. The way you set your sails at the start of your day determines the course you will follow during the day.

3.   When you pray early in your day, you will get an attitude adjustment!

It has been said many times that attitude determines altitude. The pitch of an airplane determines how high it will fly. The nose needs to be turned upward to fly higher, right? It’s the same with or lives. If we haven’t set our lives in the right direction, we will continue to fly on a straight course and never gain any altitude. But when we start out by setting our affection on God, something happens and we begin to climb higher and higher.

4.   It is important to start your day with prayer because many interruptions come in the middle of the day.

You can pray through your schedule each day. Pray though each thing that you know is going to happen. Ask the Lord for direction and prioritize your activities. Many people jump out of bed, run for breakfast, go to work and sometime in the middle of the day, they might think about God. But then they might not, because their schedule is so demanding.

5.   When you are hungry for fellowship with God, you will take time for early Morning Prayer.

Some people work night shifts, which makes it difficult for them to start early in the morning. The key, however, is to set a time, preferably at the start of your day whatever that timeslot might be for you. Families are wonderful and your spouse might be the best thing for you, but there is just something about having a quiet time with the Lord. If you spend time with Him, you will be on top.

6.   Just as you would fill your gas tank before you start out on a trip, you need to fill your mind with God’s Word and prayer before you start your day.

Then you are prepared for the reversals, emotional situations and bad attitudes that you may encounter during the day. All the frustrations and hassles we face could be because we haven’t won the battle in prayer before we started the day. Problems arise and demands come up, and sometimes there is more demand than there is of you! You need to fuel up on the Word and prayer before you start your day!

7.   In Exodus 16, the Lord told the children of Israel to get their manna before the sun got hot on the ground.

Manna is Living Bread and that is Jesus. That means to get a fresh word from heaven from the Word of God before you start your day. There is just something about getting up early to gather your manna at the start of the day.  People who don’t set their sails on God early in the day many times forget about Him during the day, and they go in the power of their own flesh.

8.   When you start your time of prayer with praise to the Lord, you will receive revelation, instruction, inspiration, strength, peace, deliverance from temptation, refreshing and restoration.

People faint and become weary when they do not wait upon the Lord in a time dedicated to prayer. When people talk about how weary they are and how difficult their spiritual life is, they actually say that their prayerlife has ebbed away. Isaiah 40:28-31 tells us clearly that those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will exchange their weakness for the strength of God.

9.   Giving God the first part of your day is part of the spiritual law of giving the first fruits. If you give God the first part of your day, He will multiply time back to you.

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Pro 3:5-6

God will guide the path you take if you pray over it. But if you don’t acknowledge God and ask for His wisdom, He could be standing right in front of you with the answer to every problem you are facing, but you are too busy trying to solve your own problems and trying to make things happen in the flesh.

God wants to speak to you in early Morning Prayer. If you take time to listen, you will hear God speak.

When the gate of your day is guarded with prayer, the devil won’t be able to gain entrance into your life because you will be alert to his tactics. Without early morning prayer, however, people’s minds and spirits aren’t that alert to the voice of God.

But when you get up early in the morning and God speaks to you at the start of your day, it will carry you, guard you and keep you on course. I, myself, have experienced both; there were times in my life that I skipped my time with the Lord early in the morning and there is that time that I love to go in front of the Lord and open up my heart to receive from Him and leave all my cares of the day with Him. The latter is the best of course.

God will never condemn you; He loves you no matter what you have done; He is always there for you. For me; I live each day with the understanding that if it were not for God’s unconditional love and grace, I would not be where I am today.

Let us know and share with our readers how you set your time with God. Be an encouragement to others, because that is what we need. Thank you so much for doing that.

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How Boundaries Can Save Your Life

September 15, 2011 by 13 Comments
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How Boundaries Can Save Your Life

by Olga Hermans

The other day we were having a good time in a coffee shop with some friends, as all of a sudden one of our friends wanted to trade places with one of the women. It was very obvious that he was irritated and wanted to sit in a different place quickly. I asked him what was going on and guess what he said? “Too much skin”. As I looked at the view that he had in his old place, it was not particularly a very tasteful view.

Have you ever been to a restaurant with your spouse and the waitresses almost dress like “hookers”? Their skirt is higher than the edge of the table and their “girls” are hanging out of their shirt and bouncing for attention. I am sorry but that is so distasteful to me, that I want to get up and go somewhere else.

Why do girls do that? Like it or not, you’re being watched. People watch people. Guys particularly watch girls and women. They watch how you dress. They watch your behaviour patterns. They watch any signal you send. Whether you are naive or purposeful in what you do makes no difference to the fact that they watch you, they are aware of both circumstances; they do recognize naivete, and they know when a girl is purposefully luring them.

I can remember myself, how naive I was in my early teens. When the trend was to wear mini-skirts, I went along and wore my skirts as short as possible. Looking back now, I realize why I might have been doing that. I didn’t feel good about myself and wanted to express that one way or another. I was raped when I was 13 and hadn’t told anybody. The first man in my life had overpowered me and used me in a very humiliating way. So, to cope with the pain on the inside I dressed “cheap” and craved the attention. DUMB!!!

Girls who are fashion-conscious but naive to the fact that society is pushing sexual “freedom” and hedonism (the attitude of “whatever feels good, do it”) could be setting themselves up for hurt and regret.

I remember a young, beautiful Christian woman who always dressed in the latest fashion, wearing clothes tight enough to emphasize her good figure. She simply thought people would admire her good figure, assuming that guys would just “look but not touch.” She liked being watched, but was not prepared for someone crossing the boundary with her. She didn’t realize that there was a guy watching her and waiting for the moment to rape her. Of course, he had no right to rape her, but did she set herself up? She had grown up in church and had always felt very protected.

How far does God’s protection go when we move beyond the boundaries that God has warned us to establish? You could ask yourself if it is possible to be a Christian girl or woman and believe in God, attend church regularly, and yet go beyond the boundary of “the secret place” of God’s covering, (see Ps.91) and become an open target for attack?

Some girls don’t want to think about it. They want to believe that as long as they aren’t thinking about sexually arousing a guy, even if they are dressing immodestly or wearing clothes that focus on certain body parts, they are okay.

Many times girls just don’t realize that what they wear or how they carry themselves sends signals to guys. Hosea 4:6 says: “people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Where there is a lack of knowledge, there is a lack of discernment and discretion, which will lead a girl or woman into trouble. And the enemy is always looking for an opportunity to cause pain and hurt. 1Peter 5:8

A person who neglects to establish boundaries in her life is setting herself up to be used, abused, and taken advantage of. If you don’t set the boundaries, your body will become the property of someone who has no right of ownership. Without boundaries, a girl or woman today can not only be hurt but also destroyed. You and I probably know enough stories which is very sad in itself.

There are many good boundaries in the earth that have been created by God. He created a boundary between the ocean and dry land. He created trees to grow to a certain designated height. He placed the sun at a specific distance from the earth so that the earth and its occupants would not burn.

We as human beings have also established many boundaries. For example, governmental agencies set limits or consequences to protect its citizens so that someone won’t feel at liberty to destroy another person or his property.

On a personal level, I have placed boundaries over my own life; I have chosen to restrain myself in certain matters, and I also have chosen to restrain others from taking advantage of me. But to do this, I first had to think about how I dress, how I behave, and how others might view me. This isn’t bondage; rather, it is protecting that which is valuable to me and my life.

My Question to you is: Are there some boundaries in your life that you have established and are they working?

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The Seven ‘C’s’ Of A Great Marriage

August 29, 2011 by 16 Comments
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The Seven ‘C’s’ Of A Great Marriage

By Olga Hermans

Good communication involves talking, listening, understanding and taking action. Communication breakdown is the number one problem in marriage. It’s the number one cause of separation and divorce. A lot of people don’t realize it, because they relate their problems to some other area. But if your communication is proper and you have the ability to share openly, you can solve financial problems, and children problems.

If you want to live the life you were born to live; you have to be able to communicate especially with your spouse. It takes an effort on your part to communicate effectively with God and with the people who are around you. If you get your communication right with God, you can have the right communication with the people around you; communication is a process. Having a successful scriptural marriage isn’t an instant, or easy, task. But it can be done.; you just have to make a choice.

Not just by reading a book or this article, but by choosing to put the principles that God has given us to work day by day, moment by moment for the rest of your life.

Here are the seven “C’s” that probably will help you if you put them to work; you can use them over and over again

1. Communicate

Communication is listening and understanding what the other person is trying to express and you do your very best to understand the other person. Communication is also opening up and sharing yourself with another person, even if it means becoming vulnerable. Communication is the basis of any successful relationship.

2. Cover One Another

If you truly love your spouse, you won’t expose, humiliate, or condemn them whenever they make a mistake; you will cover them. 1Peter 4:8.

Wives, you won’t point your finger at your husband and tell on how often he fails to pray or how carnal he is much of the time. And husbands, you won’t point your finger at your wife and tell on how much she nags. No. You’ll cover each other’s weaknesses. Cover each other with love.

3. Cherish One Another

The word cherish there literally means, “To feel or show affection.” Ephesians 5:29 Showing affection can be done by showing gentle and caring emotion with one another. It is the number one need of a wife, but it is also very important for the men.

You know, affection will always give you that emotional thrust that you need when things get rough; you are able to act in love. It is the glue that will bond you together in good times and bad.

4. Comfort One Another

Comfort is a vitally important element that enables us to stand successfully against the devil in every area of our lives. It makes it easier for us to be patient. 2 Cor. 1:3

God wants you to be your spouse’s greatest source of comfort. There is nobody else that can bring him tenderness when they’re hurt. A word of hope when they are discouraged

You’re the one to bring them kind-heartedness when they’re hurt, words of trust when they’re downcast, and friendship when it seems the whole world has forsaken them. If you’ll do it, you will go a long way in giving your spouse the courage to move forward.

5. Compel One Another

Again, just as you’re to be the greatest source of comfort to your spouse, you’re also to be the one God primarily uses to compel them toward love and good works. You are the one who should encourage your spouse to do better in everything; to inspire each other so you won’t grow weary in doing the right things. Gal.6:9

6. Consult With One Another

Agreement is a foundational principle of relationship succes, Amos 3:3. It is impossible to walk together if there is no agreement. When you break that principle; there will be strife and your marriage might eventually fail. So check with each other to see if you can agree.

Your spouse is a gift from God; so don’t misuse it. Your spouse is your balance and the person that enables you to grow and develop in the person you have to become.

7. Cleave One to Another

Never lose sight of the need you have for each other. Gen. 2:24 Always remember that your spouse complements you in a way no one else can. No friend, no child, no parent, and no pet – as wonderful as they may be – can do more for you than your spouse.

So cleave to that one alone. Pursue the marriage relationship with a singular determination that will eventually make you one flesh – not just in concept, but in fact. That only can be done by thorough communication.

There are many jokes about how much women can talk and talk and talk, but it is based on facts I think. Yes, I as a woman have a real need of sharing conversation, not just the chatter that this joke always talks about. This is not a joke; otherwise the need of men for sex is also a joke.

There are different levels of communication; from a cliché level where you only talk about the weather. Then we can have this conversation where we only talk about the facts that we went through that day. Men have a tendency to think in terms of the headlines, while women think more in terms of fine print. We want all the details 🙂

But real communication has a total openness and transparency level; where we experience trust and are able to share completely and freely about anything and everything. This is a level where we don’t hide and cover up, no areas where you are limited or where you feel there’s a touchy subject you can’t talk about.

You need to set aside a time when you can open up and communicate with your mate on a regular basis, whether it’s over coffee in the morning, at breakfast or lunch, in the evening on the back porch or whenever. Identify some place where you can open up and share together freely.

You have to make a choice to decide, because there is much power of agreement in communication. Will you do it? Let us know in the comment section what stood out the most to you and what things do you want to change? Thank you for doing that!

This article was inspired by a book from my former pastor Billy Joe Daugherty “Building Stronger Marriages and Families”

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You Can Start Over!

August 25, 2011 by 22 Comments
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You Can Start Over!      

by Olga Hermans

 

 

 

God Originated the “Starting Over” Principle

Has there ever been a time in your life that you wanted to start all over again? Well, I would say “join the club”. Of course you have and you have many chances to do that. There are many moments in our life that we don’t know what to do and feel like we should do something and then later on regret what we did.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all human beings were born with “manufacturer’s instructions” tied to their wrists, explaining who they are and how they work? (Of course, even if we did, most of us would probably skip the instructions and try to figure out life as we went along!)

So, there are times in our life that we really miss the mark so to speak. But God has put the principle of a “new start” in the entire universe. Everybody that reads the Bible knows that He worked for six days in Genesis chapter one, and then on the seventh day He rested. The week starts all over again on Sunday.

We thank God and worship Him as we go to church on Sundays, at least most of us do. Sunday is resurrection day; it is the day that Jesus arose from the dead. The early church began to worship on the first day of the week.

Look at how we celebrate a new day every day, because the earth rotates every twenty-four hours. It doesn’t matter how dark it gets during the night, morning will always be there on time. A new moon appears faithfully every month.

Every year, we experience a new beginning because the earth rotates around the sun during the 12 months of the year and then it starts all over again.

Then there are the seasons; after summer comes fall, then winter and the spring. God said. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” Gen. 8:22.

God is the one who has put the principle of “starting over” in the earth. The time that we were farmers in Alberta and had a bad crop in a particular year, we were looking forward to the time that we could start all over and plant a new crop for the next year! I remember that time so well and that each year brought a new harvest.

The Bible is filled with stories of people beginning again. God made a beautiful, perfect Garden and put Adam and Eve in it. In spite of its perfectness, they fell. The moment they fell, God initiated a new beginning. He said, “the seed of women is going to crush your head, devil. It’s going to destroy your power and take away what you’ve done” Gen. 3:15

When Jesus came to the earth; we started all over again with a new calendar. It changed from B.C. to A.D. It was a very significant moment when Jesus arrived in the earth; time started all over again and it was not a coincidence or an accident. No! Life begins not when you were born or when you turn 50, but with the moment that you receive Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior.

That is the new start in our life where we can make a choice to forget all those things of the past; the things which are behind. What are you waiting for? When you want to discover the life you were born to live and really, really want to pursue your destiny you have to leave everything from the past behind you.

When you want to feel in control and have faith for the things that you can’t control, you have to arise from your slumber. You know, as soon as you know what you want your life to look like; you are able to make important decisions and all your focus and everything else gets real clear.

The life you were born to live is one without regrets, one where you can learn from your mistakes and where you feel you are in control. See what Paul told us; read it very carefully:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:13-14

Are there some things in your past that you’d like to forget? I do! We need the grace of God to forget. Grace is the power of God that enables us to do that. It is not something that we are able to do by ourselves, but it is by His gift of grace that we are able to leave the past behind and to let go of all the things that have happened.

We need to know that because Jesus shed His blood on the cross, the past is wiped out. God does not want to remind us of our past and He does not want to be reminded by us of our past. Such a good God.

People want to hold on to the past for more than one reason. They don’t realize that God originated the “Starting Over” Principle.

There are people who have had some great things happen to them in the past; they are very nostalgic, they love to experience it again and again in their mind. Then there are people who hold on to the past because it was so bad. These people are bitter and hold on through regret and sorrow, they like to go over it time after time.

Today is the day to choose to start all over again and to forget all those things of the past and lay those things “which are behind” aside. They keep you from moving forward; your future is much better than your past. There are so many things that you can look forward to.

Do you like salmon? The salmon is known as a fish with a fighting spirit. You might have seen a video of salmons where they fight the current because they want to go upstream and lay their eggs before they die.

Fighting to go upstream is not the only thing that they do; there are also bears on both sides of the stream that try to stop them from their most important accomplishment. It is amazing seeing how they challenge the rapids, rocks, and bears to reach their destiny.

Salmon have a remarkable sense of direction as some of them travel as far as 2,000 miles to find the exact stream in which they were born. Somehow, they know the exact destination they must go to lay their eggs. They must go up that particular stream to fulfill their destiny.

Their purpose – to lay eggs and fertilize them – will multiply their impact on the next generation. The bears would like to eat salmon and end their journey prematurely. The bears actually want the eggs the salmon are carrying. Many times they will rip open the fish, eat the eggs, and leave the carcass.

Do not be afraid to go upstream. God has an exact destiny or stream that you should go up to lay your eggs. Satan is not exactly just trying to stop you; he wants to get the eggs you are carrying. Satan knows that if you reach your destination and finish your course, you will lay some eggs that will bring multiplied blessing to your generation.

This might be a moment for you to make a choice to start all over again, to fight and go upstream. If that is what it takes, then just go and do it by all means. God is on your side; He watches over you all the time and you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you.
Please share with us you have been in that place where you started all over again or maybe you are in it right now. Thank you so much for doing that!

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Healthy Eating From a Biblical Perspective

August 21, 2011 by 12 Comments
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Healthy Eating From a Biblical Perspective

by Olga Hermans

Last week my family and I finished a 10 day juice fast. We watched the “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” Movie and realized that it would be a good thing to make a choice to detoxify our bodies. We had a great time doing it; some of us endured a lot of pain, like bad headaches. But we will probably do it again, just because we choose to make a healthy choice.

You know, all the things that we see the world promote, we can find in the Bible. Fasting is a  biblical principle; Jesus did it, John the baptist did it, Paul did it; why shouldn’t we? There is nothing new under the sun. The Bible is a very practical book; it is not a history book and not just a “pie in the sky” or something that can collect dust on your coffee table. No! You can find all the answers to all your questions. The Bible is a book that you can live by.

It covers every area of your life and it has a lot to say about what to eat and what not to eat. Yeah, God is concerned about your lifestyle. You are not the first person that has problems with food. Do you remember the first problem of Adam and Eve? Food! They ate the wrong food, the forbidden fruit.

Then there was Esau; what was his problem? He loved his lentils. There is nothing wrong with that, but he sold his birthright for a bowl of beans. Food became his downfall!

And Eli in 1Sam.1-4 was overweight because he loved that fat meat and passed his bad eating habits on to his sons. His sons loved the fat meat so much that they stole it from the sacrifices. God warned Eli to get his sons under control, but Eli liked to eat more than to obey!

Eli’s situation is sad because he really did love God. But he could not give up his eating habits or discipline his sons. He was so overweight that when he heard that the Ark of the Covenant had been stolen, he lost his balance and fell backwards off a stool, breaking his neck!

Wrong eating habits produce all kinds of bad things, but be encouraged, God has the way out of these bad habits!

1.   The Lusting For Food

We all have a desire to eat good food and that is very natural. Our bodies need food to keep going. But we never should start to lust after food. I myself love to eat chocolate with almonds in it and can really crave for chocolate. Then I read this scripture in Proverbs, that good practical book on wisdom: “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger” (Prov. 19:15).

Idle people are hungry people! Have you ever noticed that when you sit in front of the TV and you get entertained; your mind is kind of idle and you find yourself longing for all kinds of goodies? Not so when you are busy and occupied with some important things. So, it is a good thing to keep you busy. It’s good to keep your body busy, and it’s good to keep your mind busy.

Another key to eating properly is found in Proverbs 13:25: “The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.”

The word that stands out here is the word “satisfying”. You can eat to the satisfying of your soul or you can go beyond that amount and stuff yourself! Most of the time we go beyond being satisfied because the food tastes so good. The righteous don’t go beyond being satisfied; they stay within that limit.

Here is a verse that might surprise you: Proverbs 25:27, “It is not good to eat much honey.” That has to do with sweets. It is better to eat natural sweets like fruit. Honey is good, but too much of any good thing is dangerous!

We’ve covered the dangers in eating sweets; now let’s look at the dangers in eating too much meat.

2.   The Eating of Food

Eating sweets is not good, and eating too much meat is not good. None of us wants to eat too much and get into trouble with our eating. We want to be healthy people. The next question would naturally be, “What can I do to change my eating habits?”

The Bible tells us how to handle our craving for too much food. The first scripture that comes to mind in changing our eating habits is 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Ask yourself if your eating habits glorify God.

We can be skinny and still not glorify God in our eating! If, on the other hand, you look like the Michelin Icon/man, will people see God in you? Proverbs 23:2 says, “And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.” That is pretty serious and it shows how serious we need to be when it comes to wrong eating habits.

Now, let’s be optimistic and look at how to eat. Proverbs 18:20 says, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Never complain about what you eat but speak good things over it.

Many people are in trouble over food because they eat when they are depressed. Proverbs has something to say about this too: “All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast” (Prov. 15:15).

Eat when you are happy, and it will be a feast to you. It could be crackers and milk, but you’ll be happy. Whatever you eat when you are happy will be a continual feast. You will receive more strength from your food if you eat it with joy.

4.   The Sanctifying of Food

One of the most important aspects of eating, and something that will help you to keep a right attitude in your eating, is found in 1 Timothy 4:3-5: “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

These verses tell us that we do not have to be vegetarians. Every creature is good for food. Remember, though, that we are not to be unruly eaters of flesh. Did you know that what you pray over, giving thanks, is set apart by the Lord for your well-being? I believe that if nutrition is lacking in what you have to eat, God can make it up to you if you will give thanks for it and pray over it.

However, that doesn’t mean you can neglect good meal planning. But sometimes you may be in a position where you can’t eat correctly. If you believe everything you hear or read about food, you will become frustrated: “Bacon causes cancer,” “Coffee causes cancer,” etc. If you followed it all, you wouldn’t know what to eat! Ask God to bless and sanctify your food, and He will take away sickness from you. You can’t always be extremely selective about what you eat, but you can pray the right thing over your food before you eat it.

5.   The Choosing of Food

We must eat the right kind of food! If you are tempted to eat a blueberry pie or a piece of cake, think of partaking resurrection power – the power you need to overcome all those bad eating habits. The more resurrection power you feed to your mind and body, the easier it will become to say, “No!” to bad eating habits.

5. The Kingdom of Food

The last point is without doubt the most important one. Paul said in Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” We are not to major on the “kingdom of food,” but we are to major on the Kingdom of God. Do not dwell on your eating habits, whether you are too fat or too skinny.  If you want to reach your destiny that God has for you, it might be a good choice for you to take your eyes off the problem and put your eyes on the Kingdom of God.

Here are some practical steps to change your eating habits and see your body improve:

1. Keep your mind active – think on right things (Prov. 19:15; 27:7).

2. Don’t eat to stuff yourself, but to satisfy yourself (Prov. 13:25).

3. Watch your intake of sweets and meats (Prov. 23:3,20).

4. When you eat, do it to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31).

5. Take your bad eating habits to the cross and reckon them dead (Prov. 23:2).

6. Speak right words about your food before you eat (Prov. 18:20).

7. Don’t eat when you are depressed (Prov. 15:15).

8. Pray God’s Word over your food (1 Tim. 4:4,5; Deut. 7:13-15).

Question: Do you have any bad food habits and what are you willing to do about it?

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Ways to Success: The First Step Is to Stop Procrastinating

August 18, 2011 by 20 Comments
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“Nothing Is So Fatiguing As The Eternal Hanging On Of An Uncompleted Task.” ~William James


Ways to Success: The First Step Is to Stop Procrastinating

by Olga Hermans

 

Many times I have heard people tell me they are just “waiting on God.”   While it sounds very spiritual, self-sacrificing and honorable, I also find that more often than not it’s just a politically correct way of procrastinating or justifying indecision.  Instead of gathering information, creating a plan, and taking action, they can comfortably hide out in a theological wilderness with all the other Egyptians while doing nothing.

Am I speaking to you? We all have been there and done that. Many of us are in a position where we need to make a change. Yes, we know that creating change may not come easily, because our mind tends to view anything different as dangerous.

Our mind likes to hold on to things that it knows from the past. Let me tell you, if you are holding on to things of the past, it’s impossible to receive something fresh and new. Just let go. Way too many times our past has a hold on our future.

Many times in my past there was that one thing that kept me from being productive in my life. It shouldn’t have to be. Even to the point that I was almost paralyzed because I had made mistakes in the past.

But then again there was also a time in my life that I felt I was paralyzed because of past success which was holding me back in a certain state of “resting on my laurels.” Have you ever been there?

Until the time came that I started to invest in myself and started to do things daily; I started to pick myself up to get going and move forward to accomplish something that was a benefit not only to me, but also to the lives of others.

I absolutely needed to let go of the past; all those things in the past started to bother me to the point that I didn’t have any desire to do anything. Almost to the point that I felt really lazy and sluggish and I didn’t want to move forward.

Friends started telling me that there were so many people out there who needed to hear what I had to say; that they needed my talents, my abilities; that they were looking for me to encourage them in their life. I remember the moment that I started to believe them and my life started to flourish because my focus wasn’t on me anymore, but I decided to start to serve people.

You see, the moment you decide to get into the “people business,” your life will change. People in need wouldn’t care that my life hadn’t been perfect. Welcome to the human race!

This was the reason why I kept procrastinating and procrastinating; what a foolish thing to do to if I think about it now. Just wasting time away by not believing in myself, thinking so lowly of myself, always thinking the best of other people but never thinking of myself that I could do something worthwhile. That is who I was.

People often say something like, “If I only would know what to do, then I would…” The truth is that if you make a choice to make a move things will start to fall into place.

I have heard someone say once: “you cannot steer a parked car”. That means that we first have to put the key in the ignition, turn the key and start the car before we can steer the wheels.” That principle works the same with our life.

If your life is or was like that, let me tell you what worked for me, will also work for you:

Here we go:

Make a plan that you work on daily. Start to visualize and talk about what you would like your daily life to look like, the direction you want go, the place you want to live, what kind of business you want to do.

You also should avoid those dream robbers, they always come around when you finally start going. Many dreams get robbed by negative thoughts and feelings. The biggest dream robbers are people who like to come and tell you why things cannot be accomplished or why you in particular don’t qualify for that certain thing that you are trying to accomplish.

Just don’t spend any time with people who try to rob your dream. You can ask God for the right people to come into your life; who build you up and not tear you down. There are people out there that are waiting to receive what only YOU can give them.

Take care of your dream and nurture it, keep your dream alive at all cost. Treat it as a newborn baby. Then, you need to grow it and implement things step by step. You will see a difference coming soon enough.

Then, you need to write it down!

The Bible tells us to “write the vision down so that those who read it can run with it.” This is the moment where you need to be bold. Write all the things down where you see yourself in 3 months, then six months and in a year. If you can see yourself in 5 years, write it down and even in 10 years. That is how a vision statement starts. Keep it in front of you all the time and envision yourself with everything that you have written down.

The Bible also tells us that people perish without a vision. You need a road map to see where you are going. If you don’t know where you are going, you will never know that you arrived. You will miss out on all the excitement, because when you arrive at a place there is always that feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Then the moment is there to ACT

Procrastination is the enemy. Ask yourself this question, what would you do if money were no object? This is a moment where you can let your imagination take off, take all the breaks off. What would you be doing in this world that needs you and is crying out for your talents and gifts?

You can do that right now. Dream, plan and write it down and then take a few baby steps that don’t have to cost you anything except time and energy on your part. These are the things that most people don’t want to do, did you know that? I have on my white board here in front of me, “Just Do It!” Once you have taken the first step, you will be glad you did it.

Let me ask you 3 simple questions:

What are your greatest three concerns that cause you to not go forward with your dream? And then ask yourself, “How would God answer to those concerns”?

  1. What simple steps can you make today that declare, “I’ve started”?
  2. If money were no object, what would you be doing differently?
  3. How many hours a week are you presently giving to meditating, envisioning, planning, and praying about your vision?

Please share your answer with us by making a comment; others will love to read what you have to say.
It might be your very first step!

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Seven Keys to Boost Your Confidence Instantly

August 15, 2011 by 16 Comments
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Confidence And Negativity Cannot Live In The Same House; They Are Like Oil And Water, They Do Not Mix!

 

Seven Keys to Boost Your Confidence Instantly

by Olga Hermans

 

If some people are confident while others are not there must be a reason. Let’s have a look at some keys to boost your confidence instantly and tap into some things that will help you live with more confidence and with more boldness; are you ready?

1.       Confident People are Positive

Absolutely! Confidence and negativity do not live in the same house; they are like oil and water, they do not mix! I learned this the hard way that being positive is so much better and more fun and fruitful. Being positive or negative is a choice that you have to make, it is a way of thinking, speaking, and acting. They come from a repetitious behaviour that we have formed in our life.

Our life is the way we are because we are the way we are; there is no other reason and sometimes that is hard to swallow. In life we don’t get what we want, we get in life what we are. If we want more we have to be more, to be more you have to face yourself. People don’t like to be around people that are negative.

It has been said that 90% of what we worry about never happens. Thinking negatively makes you miserable. Why be miserable when you can be happy?

2.       Confident People Say NO to Fear

Fear is not from God; it is the devil’s tool to keep people from enjoying their lives and making progress. That does not mean that we will never feel fear, but it does mean that we will not allow it to rule our decisions and choices and our actions. The Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear. 2Tim 1:7
Fear causes people to bury their talents because they are afraid to fail, they are afraid to be judged and be criticized.

I DO know what it means to live in fear. When my parents died I was in my late 20’s; fear hit me like a brick. Fear came over me and filled me with a sense that I would never make it on my own and until this day I still have to be very alert to resist this fear. Feelings are fickle; they are ever-changing. The bad ones are there when you wish they weren’t and the good ones disappear when you need them the most.

3.       Confident People DO NOT Compare Themselves

It is impossible to be confident when you compare yourself to others. If there is one person that you can compare yourself with, it is you. Really, that would bring the best out of you! Why compare yourself to others? No matter how good we look, how talented or smart we are, or how successful we are, there is always someone that is better, and sooner or later we run into them.

I believe confidence is found in doing the best we can with what we have to work with and not in comparing ourselves with others and competing with them. Our happiness should not be found in being better than others, but in being the best we can be. What do you think?

4.       Confident People are Action Takers

I have heard that there are two types of people in the world. The ones who wait for something to happen and the ones who make something happen. We all have something to overcome. When you want to do something, don’t let yourself think about all the things that could go wrong. Be positive and think about the exciting things that can happen. Your attitude makes all the difference in your life.

Making mistakes is not the end of the world. We can recover from mistakes. In fact, one of the few mistakes we cannot recover from is the mistake of never being willing to make one in the first place.

5.       Confident People Do Not Live in Assumptions

Many people feel empty and unfulfilled because they have spent their lives bemoaning what they did not have, instead of using what they do have. We all know those thoughts that come “what if” I had my own house, “If I only” I would have more money, “what If” I would be married and “if I only” I could have had a better start in life and so on, and on and on!

One of the biggest mistakes we can make in life is to stare at what we don’t have or have lost and fail to make an inventory of what we do have.

6.       Confident People Bounce Back Quickly

So what if you fail? So what if you made a mistake? What else is new? We all fail and we all make mistakes. The good thing is that we learn so much from our mistakes.  A person is not a failure because he/she tried some things that did not work out. We only fail when we stop trying. I have heard it many times that most people who are very successful failed their way to success.

Let all those mistakes be training ground for you, you will be much better on the other side. If you never would make any mistakes, what would you learn? Nothing, really! One of the great things about God is that He always gives you a new beginning. One thing you absolutely shouldn’t do is to let the past dictate your future. Because you learn of your mistakes you are keen to do things differently.

7.       Confident People Know That God Loves Them

If you are a Christian you should know this for sure, but even if you are not a Christian you have to know that God is a good God and He loves you no matter what you do or where you have been. He loves you more than you will ever know.

There are people who feel so bad about themselves and then get around people who hurt them. You need to look for friends that you feel safe with. God will show you how to recognize them if you listen to His wisdom. One of the ways that God loves us through people and when we have the wrong people around us, we will always have that feeling that something is wrong with us.
God’s love is unconditional and makes you feel confident.

I want to close with this scripture

Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]
— Eph 1:4 -5

I hope that these 7 Keys will help you on your way to being fully confident; let me know which one jumped out the most for you.

If you would pay more attention to your thoughts and choose to think on things that will help you instead of hinder you, you will be able to boost your confidence instantly and you will enjoy being more confident. Think confident and you will be confident.

Question: Please share with us the one key that really impacted you while reading. Thank you!

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7 Steps to Have Your Prayers Answered

August 11, 2011 by 12 Comments
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But The People Who Know Their God Shall Prove Themselves Strong and Shall Stand Firm and Do Exploits

 

7 Steps to Have Your Prayers Answered

by Olga Hermans

 

Prayer shouldn’t be a drag. It should be the highlight of your day, starting early in the morning and then keeping an ear to the Holy Spirit throughout the entire day. Effective prayer will cause you to soar like an eagle in God’s plans for you. It is the key to tapping into the wisdom of God, which will elevate you above mediocrity and perform the “greatest exploits” spoken of in Daniel 11:32

… but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].
Daniel 11:32 Ampl

The next steps deal with fundamental aspects of praying that gets results; that is what we want right?  If you follow these steps you can be sure of prayers that get answered.

Step 1: Decide What You Want From God.

It is very important to make a solid decision James 1:6-8 says if a man wavers, if he cannot make up his mind, he is “unstable in all his ways” and he cannot expect to receive anything from God. There are different types of prayer; we worship and we have fellowship with God, but I like to talk to you right now about getting an answer to your prayer. Are you interested?

If we are not careful, our general type of praying will becomes habitual even when we need to be specific about a certain need. If you went to a grocery store and pushed the cart up and down the aisles without buying anything, people would think something was wrong with you.If you would send your child to buy certain items and he buys just those things, he is being definite.The same is true with prayer. It would be better to pray for 2 or 3 minutes and know what you are praying about than to pray aimlessly for 2 or 3 hours.

Decide what you want from God and be definite about it!

Step 2: Read the Scriptures That Promise the Answer You Need

As we feed on His Word, we build it into our consciousness. Jesus used the Word when satan came against Him in the wilderness. Jesus used the same weapon to defeat the devil that we all have today: the Word of God. When we pray for things that are specifically promised in the Word, we can have complete confidence that He will give us what we need.

The reason people are not confident and have no faith when they pray is because they don’t know the scriptures well enough to know if what they are praying for is God’s will.

Step 3: Ask God for the Things You Want

I know, we think and hope and it is true that He knows what we need Matth. 6:8, but He also tells us to ask Him for our needs and ask it with boldness in our hearts. Matth.7:7-8
God knows alright, but don’t forget that He wants us to bring our needs to Him and ask His help. Just do it!!

Step 4: Believe That You Receive

Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]. Mark 11:23-24

Everything is provided for us in the spiritual realm. Our needs have been provided for us in Jesus. We may not be able to see them, but they are there. We need to use our faith to receive it out of the spiritual realm; faith will grasp it and create the reality of it in our life. Develop a stubborn faith that refuses to look at circumstances, that is a faith that produces results.

Step 5: Refuse to Doubt

Let every thought and desire remind and affirm that you have what you ask. Keep speaking your desires, the things that you asked for. We should not permit any mental picture of failure to remain in our mind. Never doubt for one minute that you have the answer. Tell doubt to go and get your mind on the answer.

Wipe out every image, suggestion, feeling, or thought that does not add to your faith. People have experienced great miracles and breakthroughs by doing this.

My husband and I had asked the Lord for a trip to be able to go to a Christian conference last year; we had asked this around Christmas time and the conference would be in the 1st week of August. We had made a big deal of it, but when time went by and the summer came things were changing and the circumstance appeared that we had to move end of July.

I really felt impressed to pack already in June, didn’t think much about it; just did it. We hadn’t talked about the conference, but assuming that we wouldn’t go. Guess what? On the day of our moving; it was a very warm day two friends walked into the house.  Two friends that we hadn’t seen for a long time came and told us that the Lord had woken them up that night (two brothers) and had told them to pay for our trip to Dallas. They paid for the airfare, a 5 star hotel, a car, for the gas, for the food and some money to spend for a family of four. That is how good our God is!

That was something that we hadn’t experienced before. It was an awesome feeling to know that my prayers were answered. If I had not packed in June already, things would have been very unorganized, I can tell you that. So, these guys helped us move until late at night. The next morning they picked us up and brought us to the airport and off we went! I can tell you, that He is faithful and He comes through! It was a miracle! We had an incredible time in Dallas, met some friends and were so refreshed because of all the preaching that had been going on.

Step 6: Meditate on the Promises

Prov. 4:20-22 tells us to listen well to His words and to tune our ears to His voice and to keep His message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Meditate on the promises on which you base your answer to prayer. See yourself as if you already have it and make plans as if it already were a reality. God will make His Word good if you will act on it.

If you are sick see yourself healed, if you are broke see yourself rich. Visualize yourself successful!
If you don’t stand by the Word, God can’t stand by you, even though He wants to. He moves in line with His Word.

Step 7: Give God the Praise

Phil 4:6 tells us to not fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting Him know your concerns. As long as we fret and are anxious, praying and fasting won’t do any good.

So do the opposite, start praising and thanking God. When you start thanking, you know in your heart that you truly believe and that you will receive it. This is the final step of prayer, that we lift our hearts up to Him in gratitude for what He has done and for what He is going to do for you now.

Andrew Murray said, “It is not good taste to ask God for the same thing over and over again”. I have to agree with him. If I kept asking my husband over and over for something that I really needed and he already promised to give it to me the first time; who would be the most disturbed about it do you think? Not I, because I really want to have it. He would be the one who would be most disturbed; because that would tell him that I don’t trust him. It would be better to be talking about it with excitement and thanking him for it and so on, right?

Question: Do you have a great testimony that you would love to share with us and our readers to give Glory to God? Let us know by leaving a comment. Thank you!

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You Were Born To Be A Star

August 8, 2011 by 12 Comments
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…Then You Will Shine Among Them Like Stars In The Sky. Phil.2:14

 

You Were Born To Be A Star

by Olga Hermans

 

We live in a culture and in a time that is focused on how we should qualify as stars; being the best. Those that are inspiring for what they do or the position that they want to have in society.

I believe that not only we as people are looking for stars, but that God is also looking for stars. He is looking for you and I to shine like stars in the earth. God is not like Simon Cowell from American Idol bringing us out on the stage somewhere to be judged by the masses.

God says “I will work in you and I will work through you, that you would shine like a star. Phil.2:15

We are so focused on stars, we are searching for stars. Every realm of media and society, every sport is focused on those that are stars. We have movie stars, we have pop stars, and we have ALL stars. When your children are in school and they do well, they get a gold star. A star is something that we are looking for. Before you go to a restaurant or hotel, you check how many stars it has; is it a 2 star or a 3 star or prestigious 5 star. We are focused on stardom; we are focused on the best. Not only in people, but in things as well.

An Oreo cookie is considered as the best in its field; they sold 400 billion cookies since they were first created and they go down as the most popular cookie of the twentieth century. Now you know that Oreo’s are stars.

We live in a culture and in a mindset that is focused on stars; we are searching for stars. Many of us would say about ourselves “well, I am not a star”, but looking at others who are an athlete, a musician or some political figure and we say, well they were probably just born that way.

I was reading an article the other day by Steven Levitt; he was asking  about the commonalities between those who would succeed and there were certainly a number character traits and personality traits. But there was one thing he found in an ordinate number of those that had succeeded and advanced to the premiership in their nation. These people were born in the first three months of the year. There was an above average of people that were born in that span of time and so they dug a little bit deeper and then they found that 40% of all those that had become stars were born in those months. And only 15% of those who were born in the last 3 months of the year became stars.

The finding was simply that the kids who started school at a slightly older age were just slightly more developed; they had a little bit more opportunity to give their best and were noticed and affirmed and given tasks appropriate to that. And so at a young age they were given the opportunity to work at it.

You know, I don’t believe that stars were just born. It takes a little bit of work. And if you talk to someone who is classified as a star they are quick to say “I have worked hard at what I got.”

You have to live in the fullness of your purpose and passion for your life. It is like you are sitting in your car and your eyes are dozing off; you’re getting a little sleepy behind the wheel and you feel the shatter on the side of the road. And then there is that moment of alertness where you come to your senses and you become far more aware of what could have just happened and adrenaline fires through your body.

The apostle Paul tells us that there should be a shot of adrenaline in our spirit at the thought of living anything less than what you were saved for.

It is like you are on the road of life right now and you are falling asleep behind the wheel of your life. I want to encourage you today to wake up, let there be a search of adrenaline that God has something bigger and grander in store for you. You could totally miss it; you could totally miss what God has in store for you.

Php 2:13  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. It is God who is working in you to will and to act.

It is like a light bulb; this is an extended service light bulb.

This lightbulb was designed to shine brightly; it was fashioned that way. It is perfectly designed that way, but unless it is connected to a source of power it can accomplish nothing.

In fact, it doesn’t matter what this lightbulb thinks of itself, this lightbuld might have some insecurities that it cannot keep up with the more eco-friendly light bulbs. This light bulb might be a little bit ashamed of its 40 watts thinking that there are some 60 watts out there and some 90’’. This light bulb might be embarrassed that it is not halogen.

But it does not matter what the light bulb thinks of itself, when it is connected to the power it will shine as it was designed to do. In the same manner this light bulb might think “check out my form”. I got something special to offer and this lightbulb might go trying to light the world but unless it is connect to its source of power, it will accomplish nothing.

Let me encourage you today that it is both humbling and empowering in every way. It is God who works in us to will and to act. How does He work in us? He gives us purpose. He gives us the power to accomplish that purpose. God is willing and able to make you and I able. It is God who gives us purpose.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 If we allow God to work in us and through us, we shine because that is what He has designed us to do. It is how He created us.

He has a great design in store for your life, He causes you to shine like a star. You don’t have to do it on your own, but you have to do it. There is something to do for you here on the earth. There should be a shot of adrenaline to think of living anything less than all that God has for you.

Once you discover what God has in store for you; you also will  discover your passion, pursue it with every fiber in your body until you achieve every goal you have with that passion. What is YOUR passion that you are currently pursuing? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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