Creative way to display verse of the week:) I sits on my desk so I constantly see it.
All you need is :
–a piece of wood. (my is 5×5″) and sand it off
— Find a cute font and print off ‘verse of the week’
— Then I put it on some scrapbook paper and modge podged it to the wood.
–After it was dry I glued a close pin on the top to hold the verse.
It’s easy peasy and cute to look at
Enjoy!
Creative way to display verse of the week:) I sits on my desk so I constantly see it.
All you need is :
–a piece of wood. (my is 5×5″) and sand it off
— Find a cute font and print off ‘verse of the week’
— Then I put it on some scrapbook paper and modge podged it to the wood.
–After it was dry I glued a close pin on the top to hold the verse.
It’s easy peasy and cute to look at
Enjoy!
I am in sheer amazement as I sit here and contemplate the incredible gift of Jesus. In light of Christmas, I have been thinking more about the birth of Jesus, I read or hear this scripture yearly but often skim over it and take it lightly and think of it as more of a “story” than actually taking time consider all Jesus gave up for us. Let’s just think about this…Jesus came to this earth in human form and gave up His divine right in heaven. He was sitting next to the Father in heaven and knew the world was in need of a Savior and set out on this rescue plan to bring us the most precious gift ever of salvation. How many of us would give that up, that position, that life, that knowledge, that power? …To come down to a broken, evil, corrupt world to die one of the most evil, degrading deaths, so that the very ones that were yelling “crucify him” and all of mankind today would have the opportunity to be reconciled with God and given the chance of eternal life. That is a love like no other! Let’s ponder that concept as we wrap up the holidays and start the New Year.
Honestly I blow it on a daily basis, and I am SO thankful for God’s gift of grace. But there was a period in my life where I completely turned away from God and did what I wanted, running with arms wide open into sin. I have mentioned the sinful relationship I had before. Every part of it was wrong, he was going through a divorce and we were practically living together. He said the right things and I gave myself away. I tried to justify the situation in my mind, listening to Satan’s lies and his lies that “everyone was doing it”. What I thought would bring me happiness and fulfillment left me more lonely, broken and full of shame and regret than I ever imagined. I thought I would try to live “like everyone else was” in the world and just “do my own thing”. I had grew up being the good girl and following the rules and for some reason pictured God as this stern father who prevented me from pleasure and having fun and that could not have been further from the truth. In reality God was trying to save me from heartache and destruction. When the relationship started I pulled away from my Christian friends and shut them out of my life, didn’t attend church regularly or read the Bible ( I was afraid what God would show me by reading it). I kept thinking if I could do more “good things” I could work my way back to where I was, if I would just do this and that, then I thought I could be accepted again, but the problem was, I still was living in sin. I tried many times throughout the span of the relationship, but it was like a drug, I kept being sucked back in for more and I fell deeper and deeper into depression and felt like I had fallen too far and God wouldn’t want anything to do with me after how I had been living.
Then a Christian friend of mine whom I grew up with, and hadn’t talked to her in probably a year or so during this time, and definitely didn’t tell her about the relationship I was in; she sent me a card and I knew when I read it that God was using her to bring me back to Him. I still have the card and keep in on my fridge as a daily reminder it reads:
“In hard times she learned three things—
She was stronger than she ever imagined.
Jesus was closer than she ever realized,
And she was loved more than she ever knew.”
After I read that, I felt like the prodigal son God was calling back home. Tears were streaming down my face, it was as if God sent that right to me. What the card said was exactly what I needed to be reminded of, it was saturated with God’s mercy and grace! God was close, He was so madly in love with me that He chose me and died for me, no man or relationship will ever bring me satisfaction apart from Him. I needed to be completely fulfilled with Him and nothing else and give Him my whole heart. I removed myself from that situation, repented and it felt as if this huge cloud that had been following me was gone and there was the Son reaching out and extending His forgiveness and gift of grace! Oh how I love Jesus!!
I just looked up today
And realized how far away I am from where You are
You gave me life worth dying for
But between the altar and the door
I bought the lies that promised more
And here I go again
Lord, I know I let You down
But somehow, I will make You proud
I’ll turn this sinking ship around
And make it back to You
But all my deeds and my good name
Are just dirty rags that tear and strain
To cover all my guilty stains
That You already washed away
(‘Cause) All You’ve ever wanted, all You’ve ever wanted
All You’ve ever wanted was my heart
Freedom’s arms are open, my chains have all been broken
Relentless love has called me from the start
And all You wanted was my heart
I was chasing healing when I’d been made well
I was fighting battles when You conquered hell
Living free but from a prison cell
Lord, I lay it down today
So I’ll stop living off of how I feel
And start standing on Your truth revealed
Jesus is my strength, my shield
And He will never fail me
No more chains, I’ve been set free
No more fighting battles You’ve won for me
Now in Christ, I stand complete
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to you because I know that there are things in my heart that are not right. I know at times I manipulate situations so it benefits me. Sometimes, I even serve myself and my needs instead of serving others. Forgive me for not always having a servant’s heart. There are times I try to make myself “look good” while there are unconfessed sins in me (1 Corinthians 4:5) I know that there is nothing I can hide from you and I want to be transparent and honest and be more like you. I make excuses for this sinful behavior all along the way and hold onto pride at times thinking “I’m not quite as bad as others” and that is an outright sin and lie because You tell us that each and everyone of us have sinned and fallen short of Your glorious standards (Romans 3:23). This means I cannot live as though I am better (or not as bad) as someone else because You and You alone are my only source of righteousness. Apart from you, I know that there is nothing good that dwells in me alone (Romans 7:18). Lord I pray that you would create in me the heart you intended, a clean heart and renew in me a passion and desire and drive to serve you and you alone (Psalm 51:10). Help me to follow You are Your plan and your good and perfect will because it is so much better than anything I could ever plan for myself (Romans 8:28). Forgive me for selfishly thinking my way is better and give me the courage to trust you and follow you completely.
The fact that you love me, even though you know the deepest, darkest secrets of my soul, even in the face of that “ugliness” you chose me to be your daughter and bless me beyond anything I deserve (1 Peter 2:9-10) always amazes me. It is so hard for me to believe that you would want me to be called Your child and receive the marvelous gifts you have in store for me when I go my own way and get off track. But your grace and forgiveness never cease to amaze me, even though I fail you daily, your mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23-25.) I want my soul to be totally satisfied and hunger for nothing but You. I bring to you now a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) and realize that all you ever wanted was for me to love you with all my heart, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27) but instead there are times I foolishly chase after the things of this world. I am sorry Lord that I wasted so much precious time chasing my own desires and making a huge mess of things, and leaving Your ways behind. Help me Lord to be more like you and belong completely to you (Galatians 5:24). I need you every minute of everyday, I know there is no way I can do “this thing called life” on my own and in my own strength, but thankfully I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13) and you are always there for me, right by my side (Hebrews 13:5).
Oh how I love you, Lord, and thank you for Your precious gift of forgiveness and salvation and letting me be Your daughter.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Some of my strengths are organizing and planning activities. God has given me the ability to work with children. They seem to be drawn to me, and I love teaching the little ones in Sunday School. If time and money were not a factor, my dream would be to set up the curriculum for the children throughout the year at Sunday School. I enjoy finding crafts, projects and games for them to play while learning more about God’s love for them. I also enjoy encouraging and uplifting people, there is nothing more meaningful than sending someone a card or a phone call to let them know you care when they are struggling. I have been told that I am good at public speaking, but I absolutely hate doing it. I become so nervous and anxious over it, but it truly demonstrates my dependency on God, because when I do speak in public that is all Him and none of me, there is no way I could do that without His strength, power and peace.
As I was reading the personality types I went through the first three and none of them fit me at all, and I was thinking, “maybe I’m unique”…. well, not so much the fourth one was spot on! Melancholy: Desires Perfection…oh that dreaded word! I am a perfectionist to the core and it is my own worst enemy. It prevents me from being content and I am critical of myself and others. I know God must have made me like this for a reason, but my attention to detail even drives me bonkers at times! I know there are positive sides to this personality type but many of the relational challenges that were mentioned I deal with also. I have struggled with bouts of depression and enjoy ‘alone’ time, I know I am hard to please and I wish I could be more spontaneous, but even mentioning it, makes me want to start planning something! I have this struggle of letting go of control and placing my total faith and confidence in God’s hands and learning to be content in all circumstances . I am reminded of how Paul mentions in Philippians to be joyous and content no matter what struggles may come because our joy and hope is in Christ and no one can take that from us! And to think, Paul was writing this from prison, that always leaves me in awe. Even though things may not be ‘my idea’ of perfect God has a plan that is so much better than I can imagine…it takes faith and patience to see it through. “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
…And all I can say to that is a resounding AMEN…
Differentiating between condemnation and conviction was enlightening for me. Unfortunately, my feelings are generally much more those of condemnation. I had mentioned that I was in an inappropriate relationship, desperately searching for love and doing just about anything to receive it. The relationship I was in was beyond wrong, and it was not at all love but in fact lust. I was living with someone who was going through a divorce. At first he said all the right things to get me right where he wanted me and in a momentary lapse of judgment I gave myself away. Once I did, I felt like I had fallen so far away from God’s grace that I was damaged goods, unworthy to be loved. I had done the very thing I promised myself I wouldn’t do until marriage, and I continued to give myself away and each time feeling further from God and more dirty and unloved. I had these misconstrued thoughts that by not having sex and note living the way the world was I was ‘missing out’. I kept telling myself ‘everyone is doing it’, and that right there is what I think Satan uses to lure us in and trap us. I had this feeling God was holding me back from enjoying myself, and that could not have been further from the truth. So, for almost two years I lived under this immense guilt and shame of condemnation, rarely going to church, trying to desperately convince myself that “I wasn’t that bad” and continuing to live in sin and be verbally abused and degraded. I was told repeatedly that “no one would ever want me now and I would never be happy without him” the strange thing is, the guilt was so heaving and my heart so hurt and battered that I began to believe the lies and condemnation.
If only I had processed things through the conviction of the Holy Spirit instead of condemnation I could have bypassed a lot of pain and been brought closer to God and perhaps even brought the person I was in the relationship with to God. The Holy Spirit had revealed to me how wrong my actions were on a daily basis and I knew I needed to make changes and did not listen to the God. I deliberately went my own way. I see now that I was trying to distance myself from God during this period by not going to church and not praying as I should and I was not keeping in touch with my Christian friends because I was so ashamed. The shame kept me from turning around and going back towards the Light, shame and guilt held its tight grip on me, pushing me deeper into darkness and a state of depression. I believed the lies in my head and was not paying attention to the Holy Spirits’ guidance and direction back toward God. If I had used the conviction of the Holy Spirit and just believed the truths of Gods Word the condemnation could have been replaced with God’s love and grace. I now will ALWAYS remember how loved I am by God, and that is the only love that matters. His love is priceless, precious, unfailing and unconditional and nothing can ever separate me from His love (Romans 8:31). I know I failed, I messed up big time (and I will again…daily), but I know that God is restoring these broken pieces into something beautiful. I just have to keep leaning on Him and trusting that He can use this experience for His good, to help and encourage others and to develop a Christ-like character in me. If I remember these truths restoration can and will begin, now and in future trials.
I struggle with believing that I am good enough in many areas, insecurity has always been my enemy. I feel I “fall short” as a daughter and professional. As a daughter I have always dealt with rejection, feeling that I wasn’t wanted from the start and having this feeling that I ‘messed up and got in the way’ of my parents plans. I grew up being told by my mother that my father wanted her “to get rid of me” before I was even born. I felt unwanted and unloved by the two people who were supposed to love me. I have these thoughts that, “if they don’t even want me, who ever would?” So, I struggle with feeling good enough and showing love and honor toward my parents, and this insecurity also weaves its way into other relationships. As a registered nurse, I have fear of being a leader and moving up in my career. There is always this voice saying, “you can’t do that, you won’t measure up, so don’t even try”. When opportunities arise I talk myself out of trying different positions and believe those lies I tell myself.
But I know that these are all lies that Satan wants me to believe, I have believed them for way too long and let them hold me back from the blessings God has in store for me. I need to rewire my brain and my thoughts to be in line with My Savior. My identity has to reside in Christ and not on earthly things that change and fade, if my hope in is things of this earth I will always feel disappointed and unfulfilled. When I am having feelings that are against me, feelings of rejection and unworthiness I need to remember that I do belong, to the Family of God and I am a child of the One True King. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 Even though my earthly father may not have wanted me I know that God is for me, and wants me to call Him my Father and has adopted me into HIS family as His very own child (Romans 8:15-16). These truths that I need to fix in my heart that I belong and I am chosen by GOD. I am secure in Christ, no matter what!
When I am having against me thoughts that I am unworthy to love, I need to remember that God is for me and is crazy about me. I am so worthy and He loves me so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for me! (John 3:16). Not only that, He gave us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. Even when I was at my lowest, full of sin and ugliness, He died for me (Romans 8:28). His goodness and unconditional love makes me good enough! Even though I will continually fall and fail, there is nothing I have ever done in my past and nothing I can ever do in the future that can separate me from the Love of God (Romans 8:38).
When I am having against me thoughts that I should give up, and not even try because if I do I will fail. I am going to remember that the living God of the universe if for me and I am competent in Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) The Holy Spirit is inside of me and His job is to accomplish whatever God calls us to do! Finally I know that God has a plan and purpose for me in life and that gives me hope for the future. (Jeremiah 29:11).
So, it is time to erase those negative against me thoughts out of my mind and start anew with my identity secure in Christ who is 100% for me.
Changed by Love, Saved by Grace 