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Wednesday Sep 14, 2011
One of my favorite bible verses is Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
I love this verse because no matter who you are or what you are going through you just have to nod in agreement. It’s that crystal clear. There is no point in worrying today because there is so much more to come and our worry will only make things worse.
I used to be a top notch worrier.
I would worry about everything to the point that it would make me physically sick. Here’s the kicker though, the majority, if not everything I worried about were things which I had zero control over. I suppose that’s what worry is all about. Once I grasped the concept of Matthew 6:34 and used it with Psalms 55:22 (NIV), “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken,” I was freed from my shackles of worry. I had awoken to the fact that God has got it under control. After all, He orchestrated it all.
Everything we have been through, everything we are going to go through and everything we will go through has got His hand on it. We need to let go and trust that God has our back. The only place we’ll find ourselves if we let worry consume us is in bed with a migraine and worst of all telling our Heavenly Father that we don’t trust Him or need Him.
If our Father has our whole heart and we ask Him to take on our burdens, He will. It really is that simple and there is true physical relief that comes from doing this. It feels as though you are taking a breath for the first time. A sense of calm and lightness will overcome you and right at that moment know that you have pleased your Father. He has waited on you to come to Him for so long.
God wants us to kick worry to the curb, give Him all of the burdens which cause us to worry and for us to know that He will get us through.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
He wouldn’t ask this of us if He couldn’t deliver. Trust in Him. Go to Him today.
To learn more about Candace McQuain visit www.CandaceMcQuain.com.
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Tuesday Sep 13, 2011
What is “True Beauty”?
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:14
So what is “true beauty?”
True beauty is finally feeling free in knowing that we are exactly who we are supposed to be, just as we are.
We are ”fearfully and wonderfully made” by God, our heavenly Father!
All of our inadequacies, our insecurities, they are not real. The only thing real thing in our life is that we are a perfectly created child of God.
Over the years society, our peers, co-workers, spouses or significant others may have dooped us into taking drastic measures to change who we are physically. Surgeons may have cut our bodies to either add or take away from our heavenly sculptured bodies. We may have allowed insertions of dangerous, foreign substances to smooth our aging skin. We may have also taken drugs to make us not eat.
Beloved sisters, that’s okay. That was then. This is now.
There is such freedom and completeness is looking in the mirror and knowing that there is truly only one person’s opinion that matters when it comes to how we look. That person is not our husband or boyfriend, he is not the new guy in the finance department or anyone who has an earthy opinion of us.
The only person who should matter to us in the One who created us.
Those “fluffy” hips we have had since we can remember, those small breasts that have always made us feel insecure about our overall figure, what ever our own plight it, girlfriend they were given to us for a reason. “What a cruel joke!”, is probably something that could be said in response to this, but there is nothing cruel in how God meticulously wove us together. We were created with love.
My sisters, let’s show the world around us that we don’t give a crap what we are “supposed” to look like. Let’s show the world how we were created to look!
It won’t happen over night, but it can and will happen. When we are able to completely surrender to letting go of everyone else’s earthly opinion of us and fully open our hearts to understand that we were indeed, “fearfully and wonderfully made” by THE CREATOR, the sky is the limit as to how far we can soar.
Go ahead, give it a try.
Let’s accept our God given body as the gift that it is, then have a blast dressing, accesorizing and showing off!!
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Tuesday Sep 13, 2011
Posted by Rain2011 | Under Articles, Blog
Monday Sep 12, 2011
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22 (KJV)
Are You Trusting?
As I was doing some last minute school clothes shopping with my son, I was seeking inspiration for something to blog. While waiting impatiently for my son to exit a dressing room, I happened to turn and see this t-shirt. It read, “Practice Truth…Fear Nothing.” Immediately, the post for the blog was birthed.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 KJV
Are You Fearing?
In our everyday lives we have plenty of opportunities to “practice trusting the Word of God” which is the Truth. We also have times when we simply worry, which is a form of fear. We as Christian women, whether single, married, divorced, widowed, have children or not need to begin to realize that just hearing the Word and not doing (practicing) it can allow fear and doubt to take root. Isaiah 41:10 KJV states, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” When you don’t do the Word, it’s harder to believe that the Word will do something for you.
“Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word;
instead, put it into practice.” (Good News Translation)
Are You Meditating on the Word of God?
The pressures of life can be overwhelming at times. In Luke 10:38-42 tells a story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus had come for dinner and Martha was busy with the preparations while Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet. How many times have we chose to wash that load of clothes instead of spending 15 minutes communing with our Abba Father? The story concludes with…”And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NKJV. When we spend time in His presence, meditating on His promises will cause our hearts to fear not.
“But his delight is in the law of the LO RD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:2 KJV
In conclusion, our Father God desires that we cease to be anxious, and begin to cast all of our cares on Him for He cares about every aspect of our lives. When we begin to “Practice the Truth and Fear Nothing,” we’re on our way to experiencing a deeper relationship and greater peace with the only one, true God–Jehovah.
Sandra T.
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Thursday May 13, 2010
The pornography epidemic is spreading like cancer on steroids. This plague is not confined by boundaries because it has touched many nations. It is not restricted by resources because there are outbreaks in every economic level from the ghettos of the cities, the condos of the suburbs, to the mansions along the shores. It is not limited by race because people of every shade can become its victims.
Each second $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography. The pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix, and EarthLink.
90% of children ages 8-16 years old admit to having viewed pornography online.
47% of Christians said that pornography is a major problem at home.
Like a drug, this addiction renders its victims helpless, destroying lives everywhere.
There is nothing sugar-coated or sweet about the damaging results of pornography and yielding to sexual temptation. Enticing images are constantly displayed on television, magazines, and on the Internet. Seductive visions are implanted in the minds of many by almost every form of technology known to mankind. In times past, “sex sells” was a term used figuratively, but now it has taken on a literal sense, and unfortunately, business is booming.
So how can we defend ourselves against the power of porn? With the power of purity of course.
Fight power with power. The power of porn is great but the power of God is the greatest. The only defense we have against the addiction of pornography and all sexual impurity is through God. We must arm ourselves with the word of God. Put on the entire armor of God. Making sure you have your loins girt about with truth, with breastplate of righteousness guarding your heart. Protect your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Next, take the shield of faith, that you may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Finally, take with you, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray without ceasing. To pray without ceasing doesn’t mean praying non-stop 24 hours per day. It means to pray in addition to the morning and bedtime prayers you pray. It means that quick silent prayer you pray when you don’t have time for eloquent words and the prayer poise. Prayers like, “Lord, help me,” “Jesus, I need you now,” or “God, I can’t do this alone.” These are what I like to call “rescue me” prayers, like the one Peter prayed when he began to sink on the water after Jesus called for Peter to join him.
Guard your spirit. Your eyes, ears, and nose are all portals to your soul. It’s easier to prevent junk from entering the portals to your soul than it is to get the junk out after it has entered. You’ve heard of preventative maintenance right? It’s the same concept. Prevent yourself from allowing sexually impure images, conversations, thoughts, etc. to enter your spirit. This means movies, books, songs, etc. will have some type of affect on you, if it provokes sexual arousal on any level, no matter how small, it’s probably not good for you spiritually. Be sensitive to your spirit and the Spirit of God too. It may not scream warnings to you, it may whisper them, be on alert.
Can I pray for you, your loved one or friend who maybe struggling in this area? Father in heaven, we glorify you and praise you! You are so awesome! I am interceding on my friends behalf because I know what it’s like to struggle. Please strengthen them, shower them with your love and mercy. Assure them that with you, anything is possible. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
Resources:
The Bible, New Living Translation Ephesians 6: 13-17
Something Else:
Dream BIG. Pray Hard. Expect God.