Stand Firm

Ever had one of those days where you had to stand firm on what you have been believing? For me, today is one of those days. I was just sitting here thinking about how much I want a future husband... I have not felt this way for a few weeks, and I had been enjoying my freedom! :)

I recently decided to 100% (with out any questions or reservation) give my future husband (who, when, where, how...) to God. I have done this many times before, but the last time I was more sincere and willing. I am tired of constantly wanting to have a guy; I want to let God take care of it. I know He can handle it! So why not let him? The peace and freedom I have received from this has been amazing. And I am going to continue to be thankful to God that He is in control of my future (especially, in this instance) I am going to Stand Firm on what I am believing for, and Stand Firm in my faith in God. Satan has no choice but to release me from these unwanted feelings.

If you have been feeling like you can't survive another day with out a boyfriend, husband, etc... here are a couple suggestions for you.

1. Find someone to talk to. I know we don't all have parents that we can talk to about these things, but finding someone who is in a similar situation to yours can be very helpful! I encourage you to seek God, and find someone with whom you can share your heart (and maybe you can be a listener to them as well). A win win for both parties. I recently decided to ask someone if they would be interested in sharing these kinds of feelings with me. Telling them that I wanted to know what they are doing/how God is helping them through their singleness. It has been a major encouragement for me. You don't have to meet in person, you can chat with e-mail, Facebook, IM, or even the amazing Skype. There are lots of ways to communicate that don't have to be person to person. I, for one, am very shy, so I often feel like I communicate better with a letter than I might in person. (but I am working on the boldness thing...)

2. Read the Word. The Bible talks about everything. Study scriptures that pertain to your circumstance. For example: if you are struggling with sickness read through healing scriptures. Grab a highlighter and highlight/underline text in you Bible that pertains to your situation. This will not only keep you interested, but it will make the scriptures easier to find if the situation arises again! I recently started reading the Bible from beginning to end (again). This time though I have four highlighters which I am using to "color code" if you will... Pink is all scripture relating to marriage, love stories, etc... Pencil is for divorce... Yellow is for healing scriptures... Blue is for Fear Not! (I have heard that is written 365 times in the Bible... Let's see if I can find all of them...) Orange is dedicated to extra scriptures that I may be blessed by or find interesting. I sometimes underline with the tip of the marker, or I completely highlight the text depending on how important it is/how well it falls into the color category. If you are like me and can't underline in a straight line, grab a used gift card, or small ruler to help you. I keep all of my highlighters, a pencil (or two), and a little card in a snack-sized zip lock bag, and I keep it with my Bible.

3. Pray. Ask God to give you wisdom on how to handle a certain situation. Give him your cares and burdens. "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (1 Peter 5:7) God will take care of you. He has your best interests in mind. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) "4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:4-8) "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalms 37:4)

That last scripture was one I found recently. I had thought of the "He will give you the desires of your heart." part of that scripture one night when getting ready to fall asleep, but I couldn't remember the first half of that scripture. In the morning I had completely forgotten about it, but guess what Psalm was next in line for me to read that morning? Yep, Psalms 37! That scripture blessed me so much. A desire of my heart is to get married (preferably in the near future), so if I delight myself in the Lord, he will give me that desire! How AWESOME is that?

God is in control; I am just going to do my part to Stand Firm on His Word!

~ S*

Rejoice!!!

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again! Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

How difficult is it to rejoice? I know there have been a few times where I found it very difficult, but recently I've been learning to rejoice, especially in my job! Choosing to rejoice or be joyful, even when things are not going exactly as you would have like them to, is one of the best things you could ever do with your time! Your spirits are immediately lifted, and a lot of times God will change the circumstances around you when you choose to honor and glorify Him!

I personally had been struggling with my job recently... I was getting so bored, and I was finding very little to rejoice about. Then the pastor at my church taught us about rejoicing in our job! This message was taught on Labor Day. :) So I decided to start rejoicing in my job. Whenever I had a day in which I didn't feel very happy/eager to do my job I would change my attitude and choose to rejoice in the fact that I had a job; I focused on the parts of my job that I did enjoy or was happy about. This changed everything! Immediately I began to enjoy my job (even the parts that I had not enjoyed before)! Then after a few weeks I began to receive some of the things I had been asking for (the opportunity to switch positions, encouragement from bosses, co-workers, even customers)! Every day I still have to choose to set my attitude in a rejoicing and positive manner, but when I do the results are more AWESOME than I could even imagine!! God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think! (Ephesians 3:20) Isn't that so amazing!

I encourage you to set your attitude on things which are positive! Rejoice and be Thankful for everything He has given you!! "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What are some areas in which you find it hard to rejoice? How could you change the situation? Can we be a better example to others by rejoicing in everything? Have you seen a difference in the way people respond to you when you choose to rejoice? What are some things God has done for you since you chose to change your attitude?

I look forward to hearing from you!!

~ S*