Go Higher!

 Go Higher!

I want to go higher- I want to grow more. I do not want many of the things I wanted last year. I simply want to go higher in my walk with the Lord. I want to increase my confidence and strength as a follower of Christ. I want to control my thinking and my speaking. I want to control my seeing and my hearing. I want to have greater discernment. 

I want the same things that the Lord wants for me. I want a new mindset and a new perspective on life. I want to go higher this year. My prayer is, Lord, take me higher in 2025!

Life is very different than it was just a few months ago. I view life differently than I did a few years ago, and even a few months ago. Change is inevitable; it is certain to happen; nothing stays the same. 

As I contemplate change and my desire to go higher, I am so glad the Lord does not change. Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. This is the reason I trust Him; He is the solid rock in which I stand. 

Many people want to live better, and have more fulfilled lives. I am intentional and I am working to grow spiritually. I will have confidence and trust in God, not in myself. My mind is renewed; my eyes are open. My hope in the Lord is stronger! 

I believe this year is going to be a blessed and prosperous year for many of us, especially if we trust in the Lord more than we trust in man. When we make the shift. we elevate our minds and can only go higher.

We can finish strong! 

The Power of Yet

 The Power of Yet

By Brent Rinehart

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength” - Habakkuk 3:17-19b)

I decided to share this article by Brent Rinehart because it is very relevant. After you read it, you will see what I mean.

Have you experienced times in your life where you can’t feel God’s presence? When the worst happens in our lives, while we do our best to cling to our faith, it’s easy to question God. Where is He when a loved one dies far too young? Where is God in divorce, disease and death? Where is He when war rages? These are age-old questions humans have struggled with for centuries, and questions we can easily ask today. It seems as if the world is on the brink of disaster, so we are left searching for God through all of it.

Habakkuk wrote his prophecy at time when he and God’s people were asking the same questions. The Babylonians were preparing to invade Judah where the remnant of God’s people remained. This was a direct judgment from the Lord, for they had experienced rapid moral and spiritually decline. Habakkuk complains against God, not understanding how he could use a downright wicked nation in Babylon to judge a less wicked one in Judah. But, we know that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

The book of Habakkuk can easily be an unnoticed little book of the 12 minor prophets of the Bible. Habakkuk like many of us, wants God to show up and deal with the human evil they are experiencing. God reminds Habakkuk that He will deal with evil in every generation and God will deal with evil in our generation today.  Although it seems that evildoers are getting away with what they are doing, God says they are not. "Yet, I will trust Him." There is this word, "Yet" meaning, "Nevertheless" I see the evil and darkness all around me, I will trust my God to deal with it. I will trust Him to protect me.

It may look like the fig tree is not blooming and many other disappointments are present, "yet, I will rejoice and trust in the Lord." There is power in the word,"yet."

                                      

     https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-daily-bible-verse/your-daily-bible-verse-may-29.html

Aways Have Hope!

Always Have Hope!

Psalms 39:7 says, “And now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.”

What sticks out to me the most in this scripture is where it says, "My hope is in you."

The scripture reminds me of where my hope is not. It is not in myself, my husband, my family, my friends, or money. My hope is in the Lord- only! Everything else is sinking sand. Everything else can fall through and let me down. People and things can disappoint, deceive, and hurt me. Nothing or no one else can support me, or bless me like the Lord. My hope has to be in Him and Him alone. This is why I cling to this scripture. This is why I remind myself that I have one real solid option in my life who I can always depend on no matter what the circumstance is at any given moment in my life.

It is easy to run out of worldly options; when things happen- "What’s next, or now what?" These are the questions I used to ask myself. My questions to you are: Do you look to man for your answer, or do you take a hard look at yourself? Do you wait on outside help, or are you on your own? What do you wait for? Who do you wait for? Who do you lean on? 

Life can turn on you at any given moment. Life can drain you physically, emotionally, financially, and even spiritually. Life can literally make you or break you. When life presses hard on you and causes you to question yourself and your life, I say turn to the Lord. You must realize there is always room in your life for hope. Scripture says in Psalms 46:1 that God is an ever present help in times of trouble. 

Billy Graham Library has more encouragement to say about this topic. Click the link below.

https://billygrahamlibrary.org/blog-5-things-the-bible-says-about-hope/#:~:text=Hope%20is%20Never%20Lost&text=But%2C%20the%20Bible%20says%20that,It's%20just%20that%20simple!

A glimmer of hope is all the strength you need to pick yourself up and put one foot in front of the other. Hope is God’s Grace! Hope is God’s Love! Hope is God’s Peace! Our hope lies strictly in the Lord. There is no one else who can give us hope like He can. Only God can give us the hope, faith, and  energy we need to turn the course of our life around. Join me in saying and believing this, "My hope is and will forever be in the Lord!"

A Fresh Start to Stay Focused!

2023 Start Fresh to Stay Focused!

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight” (NIV).

I was reading the article in the link below today after looking into Proverbs 3:5-6. The article is packed full of good practical information to help grow my trust and faith in God. I thought I would share the link and write from my personal thoughts, reflections, and meditation about Proverbs 3:5-6, which by the way, is my one of my favorite scriptures to govern my life by.

 https://deepspirituality.com/really-trust-in-god

Everyone knows life is uncertain; unexpected things happens all the time. I try to figure stuff out and make sense of things on my own, in my own mind, heart, and soul. I try to be accurate and appropriate in my responses and reactions when crazy things happens. I try to figure people out and why they act the way they do. I can’t!

For me, some things are just the right thing to do despite the feelings I feel. I don’t always like choosing the right thing over my feelings. Sometimes, my feelings feel right to me and sometimes they feel wrong. Then, I am left with a choice. Sometimes, I want to roll around in my feelings and go with my feelings. The human side of me want to be led by my flesh and not by my faith. I am being honest. I know there are consequences to every choice or decision I make. I want good consequences not bad ones. Realistically, this is why I have to fight everyday to make the right decisions and choices. I don’t know everything, so I lean and depend on Someone who does.

                                                            

                                                     A Fresh Start in 2023!

Everyday I try to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and not to lean on my own limited understanding. I am mere human with flaws and limitations. God is everything- I am not; He is Perfect and Knows things I do not know. In 2023, I want to completely govern my life by Proverbs 3:5-6. I don’t know what 2023 holds, but I do know who holds the new year.; the God I trust with all of me holds 2023!

I believe I will be blessed with a fresh start. I will push myself to stay focused on important things and important people in my life. I will stay focused on my personal and spiritual goals.  I will stay focused on gaining strength in His power. I will elevate my mind and not feel unworthy of his blessings, because His promises are for me. 

I want the new year to be a new and fresh year for us. I want it to be a season of empowerment and enablement for me and you. I want to see us progress spiritually, relationally, health-ally, and financially. I know God has so much more in store for me and you in 2023.

I look  forward to 2023 and our fresh start!  

Happy "Blessed" New Year Family & Friends!

                                      

Faith in What's Next

 

Faith in What's Next

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." NKJV

        This scripture is another one of my favorites in the Bible. I particularly like this version, because it speaks to me personally. In my mind, He calls me by name and says, ever so gently, come here Tammy; let me talk to you for a minute. As I read this scripture, I am reminded of the truth, and this is how it plays out in my mind when I meditate on Jeremiah 29:11.   

        I imagine Him saying, "Daughter, listen to me. Do you still not know that you can trust me and you can put your hope in me?  Do you not know you can trust my plan? Why are you dismayed? Why are you anxious? Why is your head cast down? Why do you worry; and- why do you listen to your flesh before you listen to me?" In my mind, I hear Him saying that I do not have anything to worry about. I hear Him reminding me that He has known me from the very beginning when He created me with a blueprint for my life.  After all, He did strategically form me in my mother's womb. He reminds me that He is still "Present" and  He has me in the palm of His hand. 

        I need to repeat this part. "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord." At this point, I feel utter amazement towards Him. I am thinking, "Wow! He has thoughts of me?" I truly believe that God has the blueprint for my life; He has the final draft to my book. Better than that, He wrote my book! His plan for me is peace and not evil. His plan for me is to give me a future and a hope. Why should I worry about the next chapter of my book? I know the Author, and I trust His plan. He is the same One who formed me in my mother's womb and created a plan for my life. He is "Present" and He is Hands-on. 

        I marvel at His Awesomeness. My faith in what's next, is my choice to walk by faith and not by sight. Faith is my spiritual gift; sight is my natural gift. Faith is my supernatural ability to believe in the intangible things around me. Sight is my natural ability to recognize the tangible things around me. I believe faith is far better. I need the ability to see in the natural, but I also need the ability to see in the supernatural (the spiritual) as I walk by faith. 

        My sight can grow weak, and it can even fail or deceive me, but my faith can only grow stronger and bigger when I exercises it. Also, when I nourish my faith by praying, meditating, believing, reading His word, and communing with other believers, it will grow stronger. 

        I believe this is my truth and the truth for all believers. My faith in what's next, is this path that I am on- which is to walk daily in faith and to trust God's plan for my life.