Category: relationship

Thanks to F-words, I’ll Be Rockin’ It For the Rest of 2014

Posted on by Evangeline

Earlier this year, I attended a retreat that I hoped would help me gain more focus in business-building activities and in personal matters. As an activity, we wrote on a smooth stone the one thing that would be our target for the remainder of the year. I wrote, “FINISH” on mine because I was finding that there were a number of things in my life I would start but didn’t finish.

A couple of months passed and as I thought more about how to finish the things that I start, I realized I also needed to target some other issues as well. Going through this thought process brought other “F-words” to mind. No, not the bad “F-words.”  🙂

I wrote the new F-words on stones and placed them on my desk as a tangible reminder of what I’m doing—FINISHING STRONG!

Here are my “F-words to Live By” for the remainder of the year:

My "F-word" Rocks
My “F-word” Rocks

In June, I decided I’d put some energy behind one of these words each month for the remainder of 2014. Hopefully, as I do so, I’ll be building some good habits along the way. This month, I’ve been concentrating on Fellowship.

Fellowship= sharing; participating with another; constant companionship; communion

My desire is to fellowship more with friends and family, as well as, and most importantly, with Holy Spirit.

I became more intentional about spending time with my daughter while she’s home from college for the summer. I’ve been intentional about getting together with each of my sons, individually. Making sure that I schedule date nights with my hubby became a priority again. Phone calls to extended family members who live back East have become more frequent, just so I can say, “I’ve been thinking about you.”

But how would I target fellowshipping with Holy Spirit?

How would I increase that time and experience more enjoyment out of it?

I made a decision to just do it. I started using my afternoon PIT Stop everyday to spend “extra” time with Him. I made a list of things I wanted to be sure to do with Him.

F-words Fellowship Card
My F-words “Fellowship” Card

 

Just like I scheduled time with each of my children, with my husband, and, for the phone calls, I put God on my schedule. I made an appointment with myself so that I could not only talk to God and read the Bible, but to also hear from Him.

“My fellowship with God enables me to gain a victory over the evil one.” 1 John 2:14b (MSG)

Guess what happened! I began to feel less anxious about things in my life. I’m experiencing greater peace about the challenges I face because I know He’ll get me through them. I’ve begun to glean more wisdom from Him through His Word. Maybe the best thing is that I‘ve grown to really look forward to that time with Him because I’m excited about what He’s going to show me about His love for me! I protect this time from the distractions life throws at me.

Want to join me on this quest of filling each month with an “F-word?” You can. Just make a decision to do so (which means cutting off all other options and excuses). Then let me know you’ve joined the movement.

What are some of the things you do to fellowship with others and with God? Please share!

Next month’s keyword is FOCUS. I’ll be sharing my thoughts about that in August.

Yes, I’m joining the F-word movement!

Looking Beyond My Problems

Posted on by Evangeline

Psalm 121 [NKJV] opens by asking, “Where does my help come from?”

There were countless times when I wondered who was available to help me during my struggle with infertility. Doctors could only do so much in their role as a medical professional. Friends could sympathize but they couldn’t truly understand what I was going through.They had not experienced falling into the pit of infertility. Family members were supportive but couldn’t identify with the struggle either. My husband, even though he was kind and loving toward me, was also in the struggle and therefore  looking for support as well.

It seemed no matter where I looked, there was no one in my sphere of influence that could be the principal source of help that I needed. But, I learned that when looking for help, the quickest way to get it was to look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). He could identify with my physical and emotional pain. He was my Savior. He was my Champion. He was the one who could do something about my problems when I stopped looking at the problems and looked to Him.

No Condemnation

Posted on by Evangeline

Do you ever get tired of “shoulding” all over yourself?

I do.  I should have gotten up and walked this morning. I should have set the timer to get off the computer so I could get other important things done. I should have made a better choice for a snack this afternoon. I should have told my hairdresser to not cut so much of my hair off. I should have told each of my children “I love you” this morning.

I could “should” all over myself all day,everyday,  if I allowed myself to do so. I could beat myself up about so many little things and big things. But I have to daily remind myself that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).  If I make a mistake or if I make a wrong choice, I don’t have to re-live it over and over again in my head. If Jesus doesn’t hold things against me, why do I? That’s not to say that I  shouldn’t try to make right choices; it just means that I can find peace in Him when I don’t.

If you condemn yourself because of a life changing choice you made years ago, or even yesterday, STOP! You’re the only one on that ride going to nowhere!  Jesus is on the ride that is headed toward the destination of grace, forgiveness and peace and He wants you to join Him. So stop “shoulding” all over yourself and take a ride on the GRACE side.

Anticipate the Good

Posted on by Evangeline

Is your lifestyle one of anticipating the worst case scenario or do you expect good things to happen? As humans, it’s easy for us to see and talk about the negative aspects of our lives. But as a Christian, it should be easy for us to see AND talk about the positive things in our lives. After all, we have an “unfair advantage.”  We have the favor of God!

The favor of God is His abundant, unearned grace, and it is unaffected by anything that we do.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the abundance of God continually available to us for every area of our lives! It’s up to us to believe that it is ours to receive. Even when going through the throes of infertility, believe that the favor of God is working in your life. Despite what the evidence/medical report/family history is in your life, anticipate good results. Believe that the favor of God is working on your behalf. Believe that He is for you and not against you.

As you continue to believe, the things you say will be more positive. As you continue to believe, you’ll anticipate the good, more and more because your focus will change. Your focus will not be on the negative circumstances of your life but on the all-sufficient grace and love of God.  And that…is ALL good.