Tag: #LiveToWinBook

Victories :: Guest Post

Posted on by Evangeline

In conjunction with the release of my book, Live To Win! 5 Essentials for Victory and Success, I’m excited to have provided a series of guest posts over the last few weeks. These folks are special to me, having coached me in one way or another to achieve my career goals and experience victories at various times and in various areas of my life.

Today’s guest post is the final installment in this series. I’m pleased to share with you the insights from Shelly Ryan. She is a certified life coach who helps people dig into their dreams and take action to make them happen. She helped me to take action and host my first iHope Fertility Retreat. Shelly has experienced many victories in life and shares a few of them with us.

Victories in This Game Called LIFE

When I received my “Thank You for Working for the Federal Government for Five Years” certificate it felt like a slap in the face. I know some people would be thrilled having a comfortable federal job with a Thrifty Savings Plan account, but for me, it felt like a death sentence. I was working long hours, had no work/life balance, was extremely unhealthy and had to drag myself into work every day. I was completely caught up in the hamster wheel…wake up, go to work, come home, watch TV, go to sleep, repeat. I felt unhappy for a while, but my discontent was not strong enough for me to do anything about it. When I read that certificate, I knew it was time to take action.

So I quit! I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that to everyone, but for me, I needed to slow down and figure out what was important and I knew I couldn’t do that while I was still working at that job. It took me a few months to figure it out, but once I did, I haven’t looked back even once.

It hasn’t always been easy, but taking that leap of faith ten years ago has led to so many victories. Here are some of my favorites.

I Love My Work

When I was figuring out what was next for me, I spent time getting really clear about my gifts, talents, passions and values. Prior to that, I applied for jobs that had position descriptions that I thought I was qualified for and found myself fitting into those criteria. I honed some valuable skills and learned a ton along the way, but never did I have a job that fully utilized my true gifts and talents. Nor did I ever work for anyone that was terribly concerned with helping me figure out what those were and how to best utilize them. Once I took the time to figure out what was important to me, I have been able to choose work that is in alignment with my true self and I fully enjoy all of the work that I do!

Victories-Shelly RyanI Increased My Faith

Since I made the decision to become an entrepreneur, I gave up the comfort of a paycheck every other week. That decision brought up a lot of insecurities – can I pay my bills this month; do I have enough money to do the things I want to do; can I give what I want to give; will I have enough to retire? These are all things I worried about even when I had a regular paycheck and were exacerbated when I didn’t. What has been truly amazing is that during these ten years, I have always had enough. I’ve developed a new belief and reliance on God that He will take care of me no matter what. When one project started to get really slow, another would develop. When my savings started to drop, a new opportunity would appear. I tell my clients regularly that you have to be very clear about WHAT you want and leave HOW it will happen up to God. That has become my practice.

I Understand My Worth

I finally learned how to love me. Even though it sounds cliché and that we should all know that, I honestly didn’t know what that meant. I was very reliant on the input I got from my bosses and colleagues to understand my worth. If I got a good performance review, I felt good about myself. If someone asked me to take on a new project, that made me feel needed. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why I was working so many long hours…I produced because I wanted to get accolades to feel better about myself and because I produced, more was given to me. It’s not that feedback and input isn’t important to me now, but I understand that it is just that—feedback. It isn’t me. It isn’t what makes me valuable or worthy. I still produce, but for very different reasons.

I Take Care of Myself

I would never think of missing a 10:00 staff meeting, but I can’t tell you how many times I put a 6:00 workout on my calendar and it would get pushed because of either being too tired, or I had to finish a project. My priorities have most definitely changed since I made that decision ten years ago. I now exercise regularly doing things I never even dreamed of before — hiking, yoga, stand up paddle boarding, meditation and boxing. I’ve learned to eat healthy (green drinks, gluten-free, reduced sugar—seriously???). I take quarterly rejuvenation adventures (just got back from a yoga/meditation retreat in Oregon this quarter and went to Africa last quarter.) And I make a solid effort to get eight hours of sleep every night (in spite of much teasing from my friends that I go to bed at 7:00 pm!) All of these things were nearly foreign to me just a few years ago but are now a part of who I am.

These last ten years have been an adventure for sure! I’ve gotten to travel all across the world, open my heart up for love, care for my father during his battle with cancer…all of these opportunities opened up for me when I decided to take action and make a change. Loving what I do, increasing my faith, understanding my worth and taking care of myself are some of my victories as a result of that change. I can’t wait to see what the next ten+ years have in store for me! 🙂

Victory in life-Shelly Ryan

 

 

 

Sometimes You Have to S-t-r-e-t-c-h Your Faith for Victory :: Guest Post

Posted on by Evangeline

In conjunction with the release of my book, Live To Win! 5 Essentials for Victory and Success, I’m excited to provide a series of guest posts over the next few weeks. These folks are special to me, having coached me in one way or another to achieve my career goals and experience victories at various times and in various areas of my life.

Today, I’m pleased to share with you the insights from my friend, Kendra Tillman. She encourages women who work from home to apply spiritual principles in order to grow their career. She helped me to stretch my faith and rely on God as I launched out as an author and speaker. Keeping the faith is a way of life that Kendra espouses no matter the challenge or difficulty.

When Victory Feels Out of Your Reach

Live to win - FaithI love to read Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 chronicles what is referred to as the Faith Hall of Fame. It’s the Who’s Who of the faithful, the persistent, the imperfect, yet, still strong in faith. The lives of Noah, Abraham and Sarah and Moses are all detailed in the Old Testament. Hebrews 11 briefly shares their stories and the stories of several other ordinary men and women who wrestled with the same fears, insecurities and uncertainties we all face.

Do you know the one thing the Bible says all these men and women had in common? In Hebrews 11:13 we are told that “all these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.” They all died…in faith. They were in faith that what God promised He would do. Yet, they died without seeing the promise fulfilled. In this chapter we are assured we are in good company, when we feel we haven’t received an answer to every prayer we’ve prayed.

Even though they didn’t see the promise fulfilled when they expected, they still believed.

How many days, weeks, months, years have passed since God has spoken a promise to your heart? Has the length of time caused you to waver in believing it will happen? I pray this post will stir your faith.

If we keep reading in Hebrews, God drops another nudge to our faith at the very beginning of Hebrews 12. “We are surrounded by a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith.” Have you ever been to a race? One of the best things about races is the crowd of family and friends that gather along the race route to cheer on the runners. They hold up signs. They yell encouragement. It’s wonderful!

Hebrews 12 tells us there’s a similar crowd that gathers for us in this race of faith that we run. These witnesses are not only the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, but all the men and women of faith who’ve lived since. They are waiting to see you cross the finish line. They are there to watch you win! The interesting thing is winning might look different than you expected.

No matter what you are facing today you are destined to win in the race of faith! Your victory may not look like mine and it may not even look like what you imagined, but you will win. I John 5:4 tells us that we receive victory through our faith. This is a promise from God’s word – our faith gives us the victory over the difficulties we experience in this world.

What promise from God seems distant or impossible for you? Surround yourself with people who want to see you win. Strengthen your faith by meditating on faith stories of men and women who persevered in faith. Stretch your faith beyond what feels possible.

 

Victory -Kendra TillmanKendra Tillman is the founder of StrongerThanYouThink.co, a growing movement that energizes working women with resources for making their personal, professional, and spiritual growth a priority. She is also the author of You’re Stronger than You Think.

How to Experience Victorious Living::Guest Post

Posted on by Evangeline

In conjunction with the release of my book, Live To Win! 5 Essentials for Victory and Success, I’m excited to provide a series of guest posts over the next few weeks. These folks are special to me, having coached me in one way or another to achieve my goals at various times and in various areas of my life.

Today, I’m pleased to share with you the insights from John Burton. He helped me as a business coach a few years ago and was instrumental in helping me take the leap of faith to become an author. I’m sure the way he breaks down how to live as a winner in life will help you toward that end.

7 Keys To Victorious Living

In the game of life, there are WINNERS and there are LOSERS. The last time I checked, the universe doesn’t hand out participation trophies. Sometimes we find ourselves “on a roll” and other times we seem to be in a “downward spiral”. So what is the secret to living VICTORIOUSLY? How can we WIN more than we LOSE?  The dictionary defines VICTORY as “an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game or other competition”. For many of us, the battle keeping us from living a VICTORIOUS life is a battle we consistently wage in the 6 inch space between our ears. Our thoughts, programs and mental conditioning prevent many of us from experiencing the truly VICTORIOUS life we deserve.

Let’s take a closer look at the word VICTORY and examine what I believe are 7 keys to what Pastor Joel Osteen refers to as “living our best life now”.

VICTORY…..Victorious living- John Burton

VIGILANCE.  We must be vigilant in all our efforts and actions. When we take consistent action, we produce consistent results. The key is to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.  Frustrated people tend to be inconsistent people.

INTUITION. I believe our inner voice is the voice of our creator. Every challenge presents us with an opportunity to make a CHOICE. The CHOICE we make is more empowering when we trust our intuition. We are wise to listen to other points of view but ultimately our decisions and choices must be made by us.

CHARACTER. As stated in the opening sentence, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Showing ourselves grace in defeat and exhibiting humility in victory is a true sign of character.

TOLERANCE. We live in a diverse world. We can’t live victoriously if we constantly find ourselves in judgement and disagreement with others. We all have our own set of personal beliefs and values. Living victoriously means that we respect different points of view and learn to separate the other person from their position. This is often referred to as spiritual maturity.

OWNERSHIP. There are three undeniable truths…We ALL make mistakes. We ALL have flaws. We are HUMAN. Our ability to take responsibility for our decisions and subsequent actions (or lack of) is the foundation for victorious living. When we ditch the blame game and embrace personal responsibility, we send a message to the universe that we can be trusted with abundance.

RELATIONSHIPS. Our success in life and business is a team effort. Parents, spouses, friends and associates have all played an important role in our success. Remember, hermits don’t have anything or anyone to celebrate with. Quality relationships are a cornerstone of victorious living.

YESTERDAY. It’s hard to live victoriously and move into our future if we are always looking in the rear view mirror. I once heard a great quote that stated, “yesterday is history, tomorrow’s a mystery, today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.”

Victory is found in the present moment. The next time the past calls, let it go to voicemail, it has nothing new to say.

Here’s to a VICTORIOUS living!

Victorious living- John Burton

 

John Page Burton is an Author, Business Consultant, and Keynote Speaker.

To learn more, visit www.johnpageburton.com

 

Infertility battle -STAND

The Infertility Battle – You are NOT Condemned to Lose

Posted on by Evangeline

The infertility battle is not one that you are condemned to lose. Even though month after month the challenge at hand may feel like you’ll never see the end of it, when you look at what God has said about it, you’ll see that things are not as He would have them to be.

How can you win the infertility battle when it feels like it will never end?

Here are some tips to put you on the path to experience victory:

  1. Discover, remember, and speak God’s promises of fertility (Joshua 1:8).
  2. God’s Word says that nothing is too hard for Him so infertility is not too hard for Him (Genesis 18:14).
  3. Worship the Lord, keeping your mind focused on Jesus’ love so that you can enjoy His soothing peace (Isaiah 26:3).
  4. Believe God. God does not lie, His promises are true. Not one word of God’s promises will ever fail you (1 Kings 8:56).
  5. Persevere; use the Word like Jesus did (Matthew 4:4).
  6. Choose to use your words to speak Life to your life. Speak (out loud) God’s Word to your circumstances (Proverbs 18:21).
  7. Anchor your hope in the truth of God’s Word. He has a plan for you and it is all good (Jeremiah 29:11)!
  8. Resist the devil’s attempt to make you doubt God’s integrity (James 4:7).
  9. Speak to the mountain and tell it to move out of your life (Mark 11:23).
  10. Allow God’s Word to be THE source of life in everything you do. His words are health to all your flesh (Proverbs 4:20-22).

Surrender your fertility to God.

I recently heard Minister Erica Moore teach about how Hannah, an infertile woman in Bible, gave her child to God even before she got pregnant (1 Samuel 1). Her surrender of what she deeply desired was an act of trust in God. Hannah did not allow that desire to become an idol; it would not be something that displaced God from first place in her mind and heart. She chose focus on God more than she focused on having a baby. This act of surrender was an act of generosity as well as an act of worship.

“I give you my fertility as a gift of generosity.” ~ Erica Moore, as she prayed to have a child in 2014

Erica prayed that prayer because she desired to have another child. Circumstances didn’t appear that it would likely happen. However, months later, Erica was pregnant! She has since given birth to a beautiful baby girl.

Victory was found in the surrendering!

Reign in Life

You’ve been graced to reign in life (Romans 5:17). You can face this infertility battle with confidence, knowing that God is there with you. You are NOT condemned to lose. Stand your ground speaking and believing His Word, knowing that He’s fighting your battle so that you can be victorious.

When you get in synch with God’s Word, you experience a higher frequency and higher level of victory!

For more about how to have a victorious mindset and experience victory in all areas of life, get my book, Live to Win.

 

Victory Over Hurts::Guest Post

Posted on by Evangeline

In conjunction with the release of my book, Live To Win! 5 Essentials for Victory and Success, I’m excited to provide a series of guest posts over the next few weeks. These folks are special to me, having coached me in one way or another to achieve my goals at various times and in various areas of my life.

Today, it’s my honor and pleasure to introduce you to my pastor, Dr. Frederick Browning. He’s spent many years counseling others so that they become overcomers in the challenges of their  lives. He shares his thoughts about rising above hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

Victory God’s way must be done God’s way.

We must enter the arena and compete for the prize using God’s tactics. God’s way to victory does not include me introducing myself as, “Hello, my name is Fred and I am an alcoholic, drug addict, suffering with this problem and that problem.” Victory God’s way is to say what He says about me and about my situation. God is a deliverer! So I can say, “Hello, my name is Fred and I have been delivered from alcoholism, drug abuse, and this problem, and that problem.” God give me the victory over my hurts, habits and hang-ups. I am who He says I am. I can do what He says I can do.

Victory God's wayClaim the victory in advance. No successful team enters the arena proclaiming how many losses they have. Suppose I was the coach and said, “Hello, my name is Fred and I am a loser. I am your coach that will lead the team to victory.” You would hear teammates asking to be traded to another team.

Victory begins with saying that we are victorious! There is so much power in our words and we should begin the introduction of ourselves with statements of victory not defeat. This is not to deny that you don’t have hurts, habits, and hang-ups. But the hurts, habits, and hang-ups are not your identity. Your identity needs to be rooted in Christ Jesus. Jesus is Victorious! His words are victorious. We should model our words and our actions according to the One  who is victorious and knows how to win.

The Gospel must be given power in our careers, parenting, marriages, finances, health and all aspects of our lives. If the gospel does not have power, then it is a history book that is lost on the shelves of dusty libraries.

The Word of God is living and waiting to produce life from those who hear the word, speak the word, and do the word of God. The Word is exciting in the lives of believers. We are Victorious over Hurts, Habits and Hang-ups because of Jesus, the Living Word.

I can now say, “Hello, my name is Fred and I have been delivered from the hand of the enemy. The enemy no longer has a stronghold in my life. Jesus has set me free and I am free indeed! I am covered by His grace and mercy. The Word of God is a lamp to my feet to guide me from Victory to Victory.”

Pastor Fred-victory

 

Dr. Frederick Browning is a Christian educator who teaches the Word of Faith in a clear and practical manner. He is the senior pastor at SonRise Faith Community Center in Chandler, Arizona. He is the author of Dream Your Destiny.Pastor Browning is committed to reach people of all ethnicities and cultures in the Spirit of Excellence and Integrity.