Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
If you’re struggling with infertility, you’re probably already dreading this coming Sunday– Mother’s Day 2014. But here’s a word of encouragement: STOP! 🙂
There are still 5 more days before that Day. If you’re already dreading it, you’re probably experiencing some stress. A day that is meant to celebrate your mother and her maternal love for you should not be allowed stress you out.
Believe me, I understand through personal experience, the mounting Mother’s Day pressure that has begun (probably even before this week). And, if allowed, it could continue to grow by the weekend. But the woman who started this Mother’s Day movement in 1908 never had the intention that it would become a day to make Potential Moms feel embarrassed, stressed, inferior, or depressed. Her desire was that each family would honor its mother, as she said,
“I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.” ~Anna Jarvis
Somehow, we’ve turned getting through Mother’s Day into getting through Mother’s Week and unfortunately, that’s of our own doing. I encourage you to not allow dread to influence this entire week as it progresses. Dread promotes stress and stress is no good for you.
Instead, make a choice to change your focus. Choose to focus on good things. Focus on celebrating your mother and her love for you. Focus on the motherly love shown to you by others throughout your life. And if neither of those work to remove/reduce the dread, focus on God’s love for you.
This activity might help– Make a list of what kind of loving and honorable traits you want to have when you become a mother. At the end of the list, write a prayer to God to help you exhibit those attributes. Tuck that list away somewhere and consider it a seed for your future as a mom.
What are the attributes you want to model for your child so that he/she knows that they are loved?
Anna Jarvis Quote Source: Wikipedia
Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. Start your week by meditating on this Word. Repeatedly think about and quietly say it to yourself. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!
Here’s your spiritual marinade for this week:
I am so honored that God is using me as a vessel to bring this special weekend of R&R to those women who battle the daily grind of infertility. The R&R in this instance stands for Rest and Receive. This intimate gathering starts on Friday, May 30 in Phoenix, AZ.
Join us for a weekend of:
This will be much more than a “Calgon moment.” You’ll be allowed to turn off all the infertility stressors from your everyday life and plug into God’s promises so you can Rest and Receive.
It’s an all-inclusive weekend—your registration fee covers your lodging, meals, and workshop materials— and I hope you’ll be a part of it.
If you’re not personally affected by infertility but know someone who is, consider gifting them a weekend away so they can shift their focus from the despair of infertility to being hope-filled in God’s promises of fertility.
Find all the details here.
Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
An article recently posted in the NY Times, shares an important aspect of infertility.
At a time when the sports world has been rocked by how a team owner allegedly has no respect for the men on the NBA team he owns nor for the coaching staff that he employs, this article points out that even in the world of fertility/infertility, all is not equal. Disparities due to race are unfortunately not a thing of the past. But I’m glad there is One who looks beyond the outward appearance and looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:17). God’s love can be counted upon when no else’s is reliable. Even in the “Land of Infertility,” His love is relentless, unwavering, steadfast, and tenacious. It brings hope in the midst of unequal treatment and despair. It’s through God’s Word that we are able to find and achieve victory in all areas of life (1 John 5:4; 1 Corinthians 15:57).
My prayer is that all who are struggling through the season of infertility will not only endure it with strength but also overcome it by addressing its spiritual aspect using the Word of God. Regardless of race, economic status, education or other factors, infertility should always be dealt with through a prism of HOPE!
Take time to read this article and ponder how you might be the one to make a difference in someone’s perspective about the affect of infertility in the lives of those who are silently suffering.
How can you make a difference in this struggle?
NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/us/infertility-endured-through-a-prism-of-race.html
Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. Start your week by meditating on this Word. Repeatedly think about and quietly say it to yourself. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!
Here’s your spiritual marinade for this week:
I chose this scripture partly because of National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW).
I pray that it gives you hope!
Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!
Athletes do it all the time.
They talk trash to and about the opposing team in order to consistently gain a mental edge over their opponents. It can be fun to watch them as they get into each other’s head. Larry Bird has been crowned the #1 trash talker in the NBA in this report. I would not have expected him or Reggie Miller to be in the top five of NBA trash talkers.
Are you a trash talker? It can be fun to talk trash to friends & co-workers just out get a rise out of them!
But we have an opponent in life that actually gets us to talk trash to ourselves. It’s an insidious method the devil uses to get in our heads. He uses it to gain a mental edge over us by distracting us from the One who loves us most. He gets us to focus on ourselves and our shortcomings instead of focusing on Jesus and all He’s done for us. The devil gets us to consistently put ourselves down in various situations:
All of this putting down of self makes life a drag, filled with pity parties, bouts of anxiety, and excessive self-condemnation. It’s time for a change! Instead of agreeing with what the devil says about you in your thoughts and then activating those thoughts by saying them, choose to agree with God and speak His Word. If there’s trash that you’ve been talking to yourself about a particular situation in your life, it’s time to throw out the trash! Find a scripture that promises the opposite of the negativity you’ve been saying about yourself. Find a verse that clarifies how valuable you are in God’s eyes and then begin to say that to yourself.
Why waste time talking trash to yourself, putting yourself down with your own words? Allow yourself the freedom to speak peace and blessing to yourself so you can enjoy life more!
