Aligning our Goals with God

As soon as the New Year hit we are all talking about goals, vision boards, manifesting, and all the things we want to do. I want us to not forget Gods Plan for our lives. How is God going to use you for his glory this year? Be open to listening to the Holy Spirit and making God’s kingdom grow as part of your plan. Align your plans with Gods will, and watch how he works through you.

Jeremiah 29:11
Ephesians 2:10

Psalm 56:3-4

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise-
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

Praise Him in Advance

Church Notes from Sunday:

Faith comes before the victory! We have to have faith because God has already won the battle! Praise Him in advance for the victory!

Often times we sent in a slump because of our current situation. Instead we should be praising God for the battle has already been won! God is always working on our behalf and joy comes in the morning. As we wait in the waiting room, learn to talk to God, rest in his goodness and mercy for the pain and hurt won’t last forever.

Make Your Request Known to God

Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.

Point blank, we can’t handle all that life throws at us alone. As hard as we try to control the situation it just doesn’t work out. We must surrender to Christ and pray about everything. Praise Him in advance and thank Him for all He has done. Let this be a reminder that we NEED Him and that He is always ready to listen. Bring everything to Him and let him handle it.

I Love You for Trying

I wanted to share a few notes from church on Sunday, because the message was so powerful!

Matthew 14

God loves when we are “trying” but only when our trying is moved by faith

He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but we are to live a life like Jesus. As we strive to be more like Jesus, to love, to forgive, to spread his word; God sees us! Take it one day at a time, put forth the work, stay in the word, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Remember, God loves you and sees you trying!

OUR PLANS VS HIS PLAN

The time of year has come where we all start to make these plans, vision boards, and set goals for ourselves. This post is your reminder to add spreading the gospel to your list this year. Whether its at work, at the store, wherever you may go, ask God to use you! The Lord knows the plans He has for us, but do we include Him in our own plans?

Let Not Your Heart be Troubled

Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:1

Life will have highs and lows, and in those low moments we have the option of how we handle the burdens of life. John 14:1 says to not let our hearts be troubled, but instead believe! God is always the answer to whatever we are going through. He might not change our situation in that moment, but He is there to hold our hands, to listen, and to take away the weary hearts. We have CONTROL on how we RESPOND to all that life throws at us… the answer is JESUS!

The Season of Giving

Matthew 6:1-4
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Tis’ the season of giving, and stepping back from our own wants and needs and opening our hearts to give to others. We must give with open arms and in a place of generosity, and not in spite or to want something in return. I think the most difficult thing to do is give to someone who we may feel is not deserving, so I challenge all of us this season to give to those who we may be mad at, or may not feel deserving. Do it with a gracious heart, and think about how God gives to us and blesses us even though we are not deserving.

THANKFUL

Psalm 100:1-5

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: Come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God:
It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into the gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting;
And the his truth endureth to all generations.

Relationship with God

One question I had to ask myself and be honest with the answer during Covid is do I have a relationship with God? I know Him, I pray to Him, but do I have a true relationship with Him was the question I kept asking myself. Think about your most valued friendship or relationship. I’m sure you talk to that person, listen, do good by them, listen to their advice, praise them when they are doing well. You are in relationship with that person because they are trustworthy, loyal, and have your back. So if we can put all that time and love into an individual, doesn’t God deserve more than that from us? Think about how your relationship is with God, and is it mutually beneficial because I know for a fact God is doing his part, but are we?

Live in the Light

1 John 1:7

But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away.

Prayer via YouVersion Bible App

God, You gave us Your Son, the light of the world. Give me the courage and strength of character to follow Jesus unconditionally. Regardless of the trials or temptations I face, I want to walk with Him. I want to experience a personal relationship with Him. I want Jesus to be the one thing I pursue above all else. In Jesus name,
Amen

Rest in God

I was talking to a friend about rest and how God rested after creation and all He did was speak. Our culture and world are moving and shaking in a way that leaves us no time to rest! We must STOP, reset our minds, and take time to rest our minds, souls, & bodies. Resting is having the faith that God got us even when we are physically not working but resting in the fact we know God got us. Resting may look different for all of us, but this week I challenge all of us to pick a day of rest, and really settle in on God.

Follow Up Reading:
Hebrews 4:8-10
Pslam 4:8
Matthew 11:28

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Hebrews 12: 1-3

1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2. fixing our eyes Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3. Consider him who endured from sinners such opposition from sinners, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart

Throw off/ strip off everything that may slow us down from our walk with Christ Jesus. Throw off the sin that entangles us and let us run with perseverance. Don’t give up, as the Lord is with us!

Devotionals I’ve Read Lately

One of the most frequent DM’s I get is about the devotionals that I share on stories daily. I wanted to round up a few of my favorite devotionals that I’ve read and put it all in one place for reference. All of the devotionals listed are from the YOUVERSION Bible app.

1. The Grace of Sarah: a 5-Day Devotional for Those Called to Wait
2. Leveling Up: 7 Questions to Elevate Your Relationship With God and Others
3. Transformed by Truth
4. The Power of a Woman’s Words
5. From Anxiety to Peace
6. Resting in Grace
7. Worrying About Money? Let the Bible Help
8. Audacious Faith
9. Addicted to Busy: Recovery For The Rushed Soul
10. 10 Days of Praying for your Friends
11. Surrender Control // Learning to Relax
12. Into the Deep: Going Beyond Anxiety

Balancing Work & Trusting God

On IG someone asked ” Any insight for balancing working towards goals & letting go/let God?” I wanted to share my response here as so many of us had great dialouge around this question.

My response: What I am realizing is that I can work towards all the goals I want, but if God isn’t involved & doesn’t direct me then it doesn’t even matter what goals I have. Surrendering to Him and focusing more on Him is where I’m at right now. We often find ourselves caught up in our plans and not what His will is for us. Jeremiah 29:11 teaches us that the Lord knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give us hope and a future. So if we believe in God’s word then that all the balance we need. Of course we still have to work hard towards our goals, but always add God into the equation.

Trust & Believe… HE got you!

There are so many stories in the Bible that proves to us over and over again that God takes care of His people. From feeding thousands, too dying on the cross for our sins, to leading Israel to the Promise Land, there should be no doubt in our heads that God doesn’t have our back. I always think about how God continues to show out each and everyday in our lives. Even us just waking up this morning is a miracle. This week really focus on trusting and believing in God and his power. When you don’t see how something is going to get paid for, or how you are going to make it out of a situation just put your focus on Christ. Open your Bible and read scriptures and if He can give David the strength to fight Goliath, He will give us strength to fight and get through whatever we are going through.

Rejoice!

Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

You have probably heard or read this verse before, or if you haven’t it is a great reminder that we should not be fearful or anxious but give those worries to God as He will give us peace. Even though that is one of my favorite verses, today I want us to focus on verse 4. We often read certain verses but it is always good to read before and after the verse to see the pretext and get a true understanding of the meaning of the verse.

Philippians 4:4-5
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your [b]gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

The main word is REJOICE. If we rejoice we will have no need to be anxious because our mind will be on thanking and rejoicing how good Christ is!

LET THERE BE LIGHT

John 8:12
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have light of life.

We must trust Him with everything that is inside of us! God is with us so we have nothing to fear. The world may be full of darkness, but God is the light of the world.

“Quiet! Be Still!”

Can you imagine being on a boat with Jesus and the waves and winds are shaking the boat and He is asleep and at peace? I’m the girl on the plane that holds on to her seat when the plane hits turbulences. Jesus told the disciples, “Quiet! Be Still!”. I often wonder was he talking to the storm and to the disciples as well. We are so frantic at times that we miss the be still part and know that He is in control. This week I challenge all of us to BE STILL and find peace in knowing that God got us. When the storm comes there is no need to worry because our faith is in God. When our day isn’t going as planned, take a moment to just be still and praise Him in advance because He is a God who never fails us.

Mark 4:35-41

Praying for our Friends

Often times when I pray I realized that my prayers can be very one-sided and all about self. The Bible tells us that love is one of the most important things we can do, and if I am only praying for myself and my needs then am I really loving others? We all have family and friends that may be going through things, or maybe everyone in your circle is doing just fine; we should pray for them in whatever state of their life they are in at this time. I challenge you this week to really dig deep and pray for our loved ones. Pray that they may find joy and peace in their circumstances. Pray that the Lord shows them that they are loved. Pray that God gives them the endurance they need to fight another day. Pray that God continues to bless them and that their request are known by God.

Check out 10 Days of Praying for Your Friends devotional in the Bible app and hone in the daily prayers that are at the end of the devotional. SHARE them with your circle, and lets start the journey of praying for each other and with each other!

Surrender Control

Surrendering is one of the hardest things for us to do, even though God has the whole world including our lives in His hands. Another word that I struggle with is relaxing, but I’m learning that surrendering and relaxing go hand in hand. We should surrender all of ourselves to God and then relax in knowing that He got us! This world teaches us that we have to do it all. We have to be superman/superwoman. We have to be the hero in every aspect of our life. We have to constantly strive for more and more, and want what others have. Surrendering to God is the complete opposite of what the world is calling us to do. So who do you pick? I’m choosing to surrender to God, building my relationship with Him, and RELAX in the fact that God can supply all my needs. No need to worry, and feel anxious, but surrender to His LOVE! You know the saying, Let go & Let God! Let’s act on that this week!

A prayer from the YouVersion Bible App:
I see now that this is a vicious cycle, one that keeps me away from YOU- and I want You to break it for me. I want to change. I am ready for change. I am ready to let YOU work in me. I am ready to let go. I am ready to relax and let Your power work in my heart. i am ready to surrender. I trust you.
Come, Jesus. Do in me, whatever you want.
Amen

Adding God to our New Year Plans

December is when we are all reminded of the miracle of Christmas. Then January hits and we shift gears and our focus is on our personal goals and new year resolutions and less about Jesus. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t make goals but we should incorporate God into our plans. The fact that God thought of us even before Jesus died on the cross show that He is not only a planner, but loves us so much that he sent His son to earth to live a life in human form to pay for our sins on the cross. So as we are planning out our year let’s be like Christ and plan to incorporate Him in our everyday life, and lean on him.

Draw Near to Him
1. Spend time with God
2. Get more comfortable living in the unresolved because we know the one who knows how its going to workout! Surrender to Christ.
3. Recognize God is in charge and that we are aren’t. Hope is restored when we recognize anything can happen with God, He has a plan!

Stay Faithful

John 15:9-11

1. Remain faithful to Christ’s LOVE
2. If we obey God, He will continue to Love us
3. Being Faithful to Christ is how we can completely be Happy as He is!
4. Follow the example of Jesus & stay obedient

“Jesus didn’t issue commandments to control and dominate us but to offer them as paths to true happiness. His sole intention is that “my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). The mark of a true Christain then surely is joy. There is no purpose in setting out to love others without first trusting in how much we love ourselves. That is how Jesus went about it. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you”. We need to abide in Jesus’s love to learn how we are to love others.”

My Top Spiritual Apps & Books

YOUVERSION BIBLE APP
My #1 app I use daily. Great devotionals, daily guided prayers, verse of the day stories led by people in ministry, and videos.

DAILY PRAYER APP
Prayer app that leads you in prayer up to 3 times a day. A great app to use that prompts you to pray even in the middle of the day.

BOOKS
⚫️ Leveling Up by Ryan Leak
⚫️ Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson
⚫️ SOAR by T.D. Jakes

DEVOTIONALS
⚫️ 7 Habits to Develop Spiritual Growth
⚫️ Chasing Failure
⚫️ Worship is My Weapon