Tag: Infertility

Feeling Defeated? Put on Your Armor!

Posted on by Evangeline

I love to study different words and phrases that are in the Bible. Delving into their meaning can bring to light a rich revelation of new ways that I can apply God’s Word in my life. I thought I’d share a few nuggets that I gleaned from studying Ephesians 6. This is not a summary of the entire chapter. It is a capsule of points of enlightenment about the verses that describe the armor of God (Ephesians 6:12-18).

Ephesians 6 - Armor of God

It’s Not Our Armor

The armor we are encouraged to put on is not our own, it’s God’s. When David decided to face Goliath, King Saul wanted David to put on his royal armor for protection against the powerful enemy. But David told Saul that he’d prefer not to put on the king’s armor. It was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. David had no confidence in that armor. But, he was accustomed to God’s protection. God had protected him when he fought against a bear and a lion as he watched his father’s flocks. As he talked with Saul, he recalled how God had come through for him so many times. David had confidence in God.  He chose to trust God as he went out into the field to battle the giant.  David was refusing man’s mode of protection– he didn’t want to fight in his own strength.  Instead he put on God’s armor by his faith in God’s love for him and his confidence that God was willing to protect him  (1 Samuel 17:23-46).

” We must all be aware that our defeats have mainly come from one of two errors– the one being that of fighting in our own strength and the other being that of leaving unused our God-given power.”  

Alexander MacLaren

Putting on the Whole Armor

Putting on God’s armor means having an attitude of dependence on Him. This provides a higher level of confidence in His power. It makes it easier to have an expectation of the fulfillment of His promises. As we draw closer to Him and commune with Him, we rest and receive His power. It’s all about receiving Him. It’s all about receiving His love.

Hear Jesus encouraging us, “Be of good cheer, I have already overcome the world [the troubles that we face].” If He has already overcome whatever we are facing,  why would we try to defeat an enemy who has already been defeated? If He has already finished doing everything it takes for us be more than conquerors, why would we try to complete a work that’s already been completed? He wants us to rest in His victory.

Jesus accomplished the vanquishing of every foe on our behalf (Colossians 2:15). He stripped them and disarmed them, publicly shamed them, and triumphed over them on the cross and through His resurrection. That’s why we can now stand as more than a conqueror– He did all the work in order to let us enjoy the spoils of His victory.

Would it make sense for a soldier to only wear one piece of armor and then expect to enjoy complete protection? No! A soldier can expect complete protection only when wearing the whole/complete armor provided. It is likewise with God. We’re instructed to put on the whole armor of God in its entirety so that we can experience all the blessings He has planned.

  • Put on the helmet that your salvation provides so that your mindset is one of belief in God’s love for you.
  • Put on the breastplate that your righteousness in Christ provides so that your emotions will reflect the knowledge that you have been made “right,” in God’s eyes.
  • Put on  the belt that the Truth provides so that God’s armor is securely fitted on you and you can believe that His Truth is protecting you at all times.
  • Put on the shoes that the peace of God provides through the promises of God, equipping you to stand your ground erectly and to move forward.
  • Pick up the shield that faith provides. Faith believes and speaks the Word of God in order to quench the devil’s fiery tactics. Faith enables you to take hold of God’s strength, so that you can rest from trusting in and using your own strength.
  • Pick up the sword that the Spirit provides so that you can make preemptive strikes and enforce the victory Jesus has given you by telling the enemy what God says about your situation.
  • Pray consistently so that your attention is directed toward the One who is able and willing to dissipate and dispel any fear caused by the enemy.

Photo courtesy of Sattva | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Flow — My F-Word for October

Posted on by Evangeline

 

It’s already the ninth day of October! Time is flying fast so here’s my F-Word of the month:

F-words FLOW

Flow is defined as “to proceed continuously and smoothly.”

[Source: Dictionary.com]

I don’t want to be stagnant–I want to flow! I want to flow with Holy Spirit’s intentions for my life on a daily basis. I want to have a smooth ride in living with His comfort, guidance, and counsel. I want His grace to flow to me unhindered. I want my words to agree and flow with His words so that the manifestation of His plan matches my plan. 

FLOW - stream by Evgeni DinevHere are some scriptures that relate to flowing with Him:

Luke 1:50 (MSG)

“His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him.”

Isaiah 48:16-18 (MSG)

“I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well.
I show you what to do, where to go.
If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.
Children and grandchildren are like sand, your progeny like grains of sand.
There would be no end of them, no danger of losing touch with me.”

Luke 6:45 (NLT)

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart … What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

Read about my previous monthly F-words for July – September:

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

August: Focus–My “F-Word” for August

September: Follow Through–My F-Word for September

 

 

 

SPEAK UP and Tell Hell NO!

Posted on by Evangeline
Faith Speaks
Photo courtesy of Microsoft Images

Most people find it easy to say “Hell No”. It slips off the tongue without even thinking about it. But there’s a time when saying “Hell No” is not cursing/cussing. It’s the time when you need to get the minions of Hell off your back and repudiate their authority within your circumstances.

I’ve learned the importance of feeling comfortable/bold to tell someone, “No.” If I don’t say “No” to the things I don’t want or to the things that could unnecessarily consume a lot of my time and energy, I get frustrated, stressed, and regretful that I ever allowed the “thing” into my life. I’ve learned it’s okay to say, “No.” That one little word is a complete sentence— it does not require an explanation to follow it.

Learning to tell Hell “No” is crucially important. The best way to do so is by using the Word of God to frame your responses to the things Hell sends your way. Anything that Hell sends is of the Curse. Those things are not what God wants for us to experience. Jesus died to redeem us from the Curse so that we could have a life filled with God’s good and perfect gifts. This means that He freed believers from the punishments and dominion of the Mosaic Law (curse) at the price of his vicarious death. He suffered in our place. He satisfied the requirement of our eternal death so that we wouldn’t have to. Because of Him, we are free to live in the abundance of God’s grace. Grace is God’s favor; it’s His goodwill, blessing, and preferential treatment toward us.

Which category do you think infertility, sickness, disease, poverty, dysfunctional relationships, etc., would fall in— Grace or Curse?

grace or curse - tell hell no

How would you frame your response of “No” to those thoughts and circumstances that Hell sends your way? Jesus gave us the best examples of how to do it. His reply to Satan’s tactics always incorporated what God had spoken through His written words (Matthew 4:4-10). Jesus also gave instruction to not remain silent in the midst of trying times. He said that we are to speak to the mountain (Mark 11:23). The “mountain” is that thing that has raised its ugly head from the pit of Hell and is attempting to sabotage or block God’s good plan for our lives.

Speak up and tell Hell, “No!” Speak up using the Word of God and your praises to Him to silence the enemy and make him impotent in your life (Psalm 8:2).

After all, if you don’t do it, who will?

Monday’s Marinade – Refuse Anxiety

Posted on by Evangeline

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 about refusing anxiety. God desires for you to trust Him and experience the HABIT of resting in Him. Repeatedly think about this scripture 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:

Monday' Marinade - Anxiety

 

Hope Against Hope

Posted on by Evangeline

Hope--H.O.P.E.

Hope begins in the midst of darkness and never gives up!

Hope is defined as a joyful and confident expectation of good. [Source: Thayer’s Lexicon]

I like to think of hope as:

Having

Only

Positive

Expectations

In this acrostic, “positive” not only means the opposite of negative, it also means confident/fully assured. Therefore, each day you can choose to have a confident expectation of something good coming your way to bring you out of this season of infertility.

The prophet Jeremiah is a case study for how to maintain hope. Consistently recalling what his enemy had done to him caused Jeremiah to get deeply depressed. His mind and emotions were not at peace and he even became oblivious to anything good (Lamentations 3). But, when he chose to recall the good things God had done, he was filled with hope, confidence, and expectancy.

Practice H.O.P.E. daily! Make the choice to recall the good that God has already done in your life. Remember that He is always with you, making Himself available to do you good.

The account of Abraham & Sarah overcoming infertility is referenced in Romans 4 and tells of how he had a steadfast, firm hope in God’s promises. Verse 18 says that he “hoped against hope.” The phrase “hope against hope” means to continue to have hope even though the present outlook doesn’t warrant it. He kept looking for the manifestation of God’s promise of a child.

Give yourself permission to be like Abraham– keep your hope alive even though your natural circumstances may not warrant having hope. When you get tired of waiting, God is still right there to help you continue on. As you trust in Him and His goodness, it becomes easier to maintain and overflow in hope.

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~ Romans 15:13 (NLT)

Will you choose to refuse despair and move toward victory each day?

[This post includes an excerpt from my book, Infertility Sucks!]

More on Follow Through

Posted on by Evangeline

Follow thru rockEarlier this month, I shared that I want to follow through on the things I need to do, for myself, my family and for you. This is a component of my effort to finish strong in 2014.

September is more than half over so I thought I’d let you know how things are going for me.

 

follow through- Falcon CrestI followed through on surprising my husband for his birthday with a trip to the cool pines of Payson, AZ for a weekend. He loved it! It was worth the torment of wanting to tell him all about the plans I was making but not being able to so that I could wake him up and say, “Pack a bag! I’m taking you away for the weekend.” It was our first time staying at a Bed & Breakfast. The Falcon Crest B&B was wonderful and the owners, Al and Linda, made it a very special time for us with their hospitality. As you can see, Linda baked a birthday cake for him!

 

Another big item that I needed to get done in September was my iHope Fertility Game Plan Teleseminar. I hosted the call on last Saturday. It was thrilling that over 35 people signed up for the call! If you were one of those ladies, I hope you got lots of encouragement.

On that call, I invited everyone to checkout my new online course, 50 Days of Unleashing Fertility Hope. To get the details about your opportunity to decrease the stress of infertility and increase your hope, click HERE.

Planning this course has been a joy for me because I know that it will help those who choose to use it.

50 Days of Unleashing Fertility Hope

I hope that you’ll see the benefit of taking advantage of this opportunity to:

  • Decrease the level of stress you experience everyday using specific tools I’ll share
  • Incorporate a daily strategy that can help you put worry on the run
  • Remove doubt caused by infertility’s mind-chatter
  • Anchor yourself in hope so you don’t give up
  • Focus on receiving the promised benefits of God

I’m SO glad I followed through on this desire to bring a course to you that you can access 24/7 AND have the opportunity to have weekly coaching calls.

Check it out. 

 

Right now, I’m about to follow through on getting a few smaller things checked off of my To Do list (like washing the dishes). 🙂

Praying that you’ve been able to do some follow through, especially on things that are important to you.

On what one thing that you still need to follow through?

Focus Friday – Blessed Future

Posted on by Evangeline

Have confidence that God loves you and has a blessed future planned for you.  Focus on this scripture throughout the day. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth.  Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day.

Focus Friday Psalm 16:5 future

Bringing Champions to Birth

Posted on by Evangeline

It’s important to bring God’s champions to birth. They make a difference in this world!

I want to encourage you visit to my friend’s blog at www.waitingforbabybird.com. Elisha shares her desire to celebrate the victory of childbirth, even before it’s manifested in her life.

Here’s a note of encouragement that I wrote in May 2012 about barrenness, with a similar theme about champions. I thought I’d share it with you today.

Champions
Photo source: www.trophies2go.com

Champions are sometimes born and not necessarily made. Examples would be Isaac, Samson, and John the Baptist. Each of them were born of mothers who had suffered with infertility. Each of these sons made a champion-sized difference in their nation.

Their mothers, Sarah, Manoah’s wife, and Elizabeth, respectively, each thought they would never give birth to a child, after years of “trying.” But God had a different thought. He saw the future He had planned for them. It was a plan of fertility: a future of overcoming barrenness. It was a plan based on His love for them. When they each BELIEVED in His plan and His love, they each conceived and successfully delivered a healthy baby.

Want to know God’s love-plan for you? You’ll find it in the Bible—His Word. It contains many promises for fertility and examples of women who overcame barrenness/ infertility.

I encourage you to trust God and BELIEVE in His love-plan for you.

If you need some help in believing God’s promises of fertility for you and maintaining hope for the champion you desire to birth, 50 Days of Unleashing Fertility Hope may be just what you need. This is an online program, which is an extension of my book, A Seed of Hope, that can help you unleash hope. It starts on 9/27/14 and will give you access to a community of other like-minded women—women who want to bring champions to birth.

Click here for more information and to register. 

Fertility Teleseminar is Tomorrow!

Posted on by Evangeline

iHope Fertility Game Plan Teleseminar

Do you struggle with maintaining hope in God’s promises during infertility?

I’m excited that tomorrow, Saturday, 9/13/14, I will host a teleseminar for women dealing with infertility. You can access this fertility teleseminar simply by using your phone. During the call, I’ll share a blueprint that will help you to effectively address the spiritual aspect of infertility. I hope you’ll join me for this time of encouragement and prayer. Your access to the call is FREE.

This call will help you learn crucial strategies to:

  • Transform your despair into hope
  • Release your stress
  • Know God’s Truth as your truth
  • Activate your faith

Get access to this free call HERE.

Infertility's roller coaster
Are you riding infertility’s roller coaster?

If you’re tired of being on the drops, curves, and loops of infertility’s emotional roller coaster, this call is for you.

If you’re feeling like God has forgotten you, this call is for you.

If you’re about to give up on God coming through for you, this call is for you.

If you’re walking strong in your faith, but need a little pep added to your step, this call is for you.

 

 

I’m looking forward to sharing with you some very simple and easy, yet crucial keys that can help you if you put them into action.

Join me on the call; it’s absolutely FREE.

It’s not too late to share this post with friends who are in the season of infertility. Let’s encourage as many people as we can!

Click here to get the call’s dial-in details.

I’ll “see” you and your friends TOMORROW! 🙂

Monday’s Marinade – Wisdom

Posted on by Evangeline

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 about how He has gifted you with wisdom. Repeatedly think about it 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:

Monday's Marinade Eph 1-8