beauty from ashes

just want to share this with you...

I am reading a wonderful book called Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge and I came across these words that I want to share with you.  Ladies, we need to remember this:

"As God nurtures, protects, prepares and initiates us, He restores us to the truth of who we are and reality of the life we are living and meant to live. We can be satisfied.  We are loved, wanted, seen, delighted in, provided for, cherished, chosen, known and planned on.  We are set apart, believed in, invited, valued, of immeasurable worth, and blessed."

All of those things you have always wanted from someone in your life?  God has given to you already.

My prayer is that He opens your eyes to those good things today.

little successes

"Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established."  Proverbs 16:3

Lately I find myself frustrated---with ME!  And it's not in a bad way where I feel like a loser or a disaster, but rather where I feel ready to be done with some bad habits---those areas where my patterns of thought and action are destructive to my relationships.

I am ready to change.

As the saying goes: This is where the rubber meets the road.

And things get challenging.

Right now I am stuck on that stretch of road between "head-knowledge" and "heart-knowledge".  I have a head full of great communication skills, life-living skills, and problem-solving skills.  Putting these into action has everything to do with what I "know" and nothing to do with what comes naturally to me.

It's simply applying steps A, B and C to  situation because I KNOW it's what is best, and then backing up to see what happens.

So far what has happened has been good.  And I am journaling those little successes so that I remember that I am making progress.

I have a friend who likes to remind me not to despise small beginnings.  Change takes time.  And often it's in the looking back that we see how far we have come

What about you?  Are there areas where you feel like you are driving blind?  Walking by faith rather than sight?

***I would love for you to leave a comment or join the discussion on the Beauty from Ashes Facebook page!

what i know to be true

My favorite book in the Bible is Hosea.

It's message is love and mercy, grace and redemption, and a God who never fails, even when life seems impossibly hard.

Reading through it once again I paused at the 2nd verse in chapter 1:

"When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord."

Honestly, I have never caught this before to this extent:

God asked Hosea to live out that which he would preach to the people.  He allowed Hosea to intimately understand the message he would deliver.

Oh boy, I can identify with that!  Much time over the last few years I have struggled "WHY?".  

Well, if I am really honest, I have struggled with "Are you freaking kidding me!!!!".

While I have received no answer or explanation for either one of these inquiries, I do know that my mess is truly becoming my message.

IT IS WHAT I KNOW TO BE TRUE.  IT IS WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS FACT WITHOUT A SHADOW OF HESITATION.

My God loves me.  He cares for me.  He leads me.  He pursues me.  He will never leave me.  He is always by my side.  He is always available to give me direction.  He will take care of me on every level--spiritually, financially, emotionally.  He is my Husband, my Daddy, and my very best friend.

HE WILL NEVER CHANGE.

And He is all of those things for you too.  

YOU.  Just you.  All by yourself.  This is not a "we" thing.  HE LOVES YOU.

With a passion that you can not even begin to understand the depths of.

Lately, life has allowed me to further learn some of these truths, and I must say that my God does not disappoint.  He is all of the above and more.  Every single day.

What about you?  What lesson is God teaching you in your mess?  It is possible that He is fashioning your message?

***I would love for you to leave a comment or join the discussion on the Beauty from Ashes Facebook page!

professional me

The amatuer believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work.  The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.  He knows that there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.  ---Steven Pressfield

I have lived my life as an amatuer.

Up to this point, anyway.

Waiting for my feelings to change before I take that chance, mincing words that need to be said because I don't have the guts to say them, standing outside of intimacy because I feel to vulnerable and what if...WHAT IF...I get hurt?

...God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  ---2 Timothy 1:7

The fear is not from God...and sometimes it's not even from me.  It's that voice inside my head that loves to convey doom, lack and loss.

DOOM, LACK, LOSS

Stepping back, staring at those words, it's obvious that God has more for me.  And you.  He offers hope, abundance, and blessing.

HOPE, ABUNDANCE, BLESSING

Those 3 words.

If I really knew, at the core of who I am, that those 3 words defined my life, I would live differently, my choices would change, my risks would be bigger, and my trust would be HUGE!

It's not a matter of IF those words are a reality, it's a matter of me knowing it and walking into it.

It's a matter of living my life as an amatuer or as a professional.

An amatuer accepts doom, lack and loss.  An amatuer expects those things.

A professional expects  hope, abundance and blessing.

Hmmm...which one should I choose to be today?

engage (by erin)

I always think of Star Trek's, Captain Jean Luc Picard when I hear the word engage. He would use that command when sending the Star Ship Enterprise towards it's next destination. Captain Picard always displayed such confidence (firm resolve) in his decisions.

As I mentioned last week, my words are 'Consistency and Engage'. I'll tell you what, it is a LOT of work to consistently engage when the demands of life make you want to run to a tropical island complete with umbrella drinks.

I stumbled through this past week, engaging on many fronts and falling short on several.  The key here though was the decision to, 'Engage' and stick with it despite how many challenges arose. I freely admit I didn't always act with confidence! :)

Several times this past week when I could NOT see the forest for the trees, God would send me a little love message.  Even going so far as to tell a friend to let me know that, "Daddy's got her, I've got her". How sweet and safe is that?  He's got me.

He's got you too.  And he's pouring out little love messages all the time and always working for our good. Always.

I still would like to go to a tropical island, though. It's cold here. :)

***Follow the discussion on our Facebook page.

getting there with a yes and a no (by randi)

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  --Galatians 5: 22-23

...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion... --Phillipians 1:6

When I read over the list of the Fruits of the Spirit, it almost seems as if self-control is out of place.  The other attributes on the list are so, well, spiritual, while self-control seems so contained and forced.  At least it seems like that to me.

But, if you think about it, self-control is what makes it possible to actually get to some of the other things on the Fruit of the Spirit list.  It's the attribute that allows me to step back, take a look at where I want to go, take a deep breath, and walk onto a new path.

"In order to practice self-control, we must have a goal.  We must have something we are saying "yes" to, which necessarily comes with things that we must say "no" to."  --Danny Silk

What am I saying "yes" and "no" to?

The longer I live, the more I realize that change requires a plan, and, for me, it requires a fairly detailed plan.

If I am going to pay off debt, HOW am I doing to make that happen?

If I want to have better relationships with my kids, WHAT does that look like?

Ultimately it comes down to "where am I headed and how do I get there"?

One of my goals for this year is to have a more successful business. I have a long list of things I want to do, but every one of them comes down to just one thing: SELF-CONTROL---I need to quit procrastinating and setting things aside because something fun or interesting is happening.  It is a good thing to be a WAHM, but without a boss hovering over me and making sure I put in my 8 hours, that leaves ME to manage ME.

And Yikes!  I have found that I am hard to manage!

"Self-Control removes the option of blaming others for our choices."  --Danny Silk

Self-control helps me to keep the shoe on the correct foot---MY OWN!  My desire to have a successful business is my gig, my responsibility, and eventually, my victory!

And the self-control that I walk in is what is going to direct me right where I want to be.  It's only through this Fruit of God's Spirit that I can truly make the changes that will bring about my success.

TODAY'S TOPIC:  WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR "YESES" and "NOS" FOR THIS YEAR?  What do you need to yield to God in order to change the direction you are going?

***Follow the discussion on our Facebook page!

What's in His name? (by randi)

God's name is significant.

Actually, I should say God's names.  Plural.  He has a bunch of them, and they all tell us a little bit more about who He is.

Our help is in the NAME OF THE LORD.  Psalm 124:8

The  NAME OF THE LORD is a strong tower.  The righteous run to it and are safe.  Proverbs 18:10

God's names reveal to us His character, His nature and His attributes.

Let's take a look at one: JEHOVAH NISSI

This is God's name is Exodus 17:15 when Moses recognized God as Israel's banner under which they defeated the Amalekites.

JEHOVAH means LORD and NISSI means BANNER.

Jehovan Nissi is "The Lord is My Banner".

I love the picture of what a banner is:  In battle, opposing nations would fly their own flag pole at each of their respective front lines.  This was to give their soldiers a feeling of hope and a focal point. 

What does this mean for us?

It means that in everyday life, I can feel like I am in a battle.  And I get tired.  And I feel lost.  And I forget why I am doing all of this anyway.

When life is not looking all that promising, I can look to my Jehovah Nissi: The Lord who is my banner!  He is my hope and my encouragement, and also my purpose.  He is the leader of the team I am fighting for.  Looking to His allows me to get my eyes and my mind off of my circumstances and get them onto Him.  God as my focal point allows me to step out of the difficulties of the day, and step into His rest.

He is, after all, the TRUTH in my situation.

Lord, Your name is  my strong tower!

my constant companion (by randi)

My God is my constant companion.

All day, everyday, He is beside me, walking me through the challenges and joys of life.

Even when I don't "feel" his presence, He is with me.

In the past I held a belief that if God was with me, problems would be moved out of my way.  And do you know what?  Sometimes they were.

But more often than not, the problem loomed before me and I was given a choice:  Go around the problem and avoid it, or tackle the problem, move through it and leave it behind.  This choice was always offered with God's help.  Always with Him by my side.

I think we all know that life can be rough.  It's not what we expect.  And often, it's not what we want.

But we are never alone.  God is always right at our side, ready to help and to lead.  His ways are sure and true.  His heart is always faithful.  His love is never-changing.  Even when we don't "feel" Him, He is there.

And all of those problems?  He wants to walk through them with me.

My God is my constant companion.

living it out from a place of victory

We spend a lot of mental energy wondering.

Wondering if our lives are worthwhile.  Wondering if our efforts really matter.  Wondering if it all means anything.  Wondering if we are good enough to even be in the game.

DOES ANYTHING I DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

All of this wondering and questioning stems from the fact that we think we are fighting FOR victory and we are unsure of whether or not we can acheive it.  When in reality, in God's kingdom, we are operating FROM victory.  

It's already done.  It's already ours.

How does this information change anything?

It changes our mindset.  And mindset is everything!

Operating from a place of secured victory allows me to step over fear and insecurity. If God has already won the battle, what am I scared of?  

It also allows me to cast aside excuses. Minimizing my place in God's kingdom leads to a non-use of my gifts and abilities.  

When I get rid of all the excuses, I get in the game.

It strengthens me to know I am on the winning team.  I don't need to spend any time wondering if my efforts are good enough, or acheiving anything, because it's all done.

The victory is ours.  And because I stand beside Him, it's mine.

What a great thought to start out with on this day!

grabbing hold of healing (by randi)

Lately I have been longing for healing in a couple of areas in my life.  Nothing physical, but rather areas of insecurity that I am sick of dealing with.

Over the last few years God has brought about many changes in my life.  Healing and restoration have been abundant, and I can truly say that life is good.  In all of this, HE has been gentle and kind, and progress has been abundant, but slow.

Today I feel called into a different type of healing.  It is the kind of healing that I have to reach out and grab, just like the lady in Matthew 9:

"Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him.  She touched the fringe of His robe, for she thought, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed."

She knew there was healing to be had, and she took it.

This kind of healing isn't the easiest. It depends on yielding to my own weakness, knowing that God's Strength will step in.  It depends on my stepping out and taking what is mine. It depends on me grabbing hold of what God has already given me.

It depends on me being bold.

And guess what?  Most people don't describe me as bold.

But apparently my God does.  And that is my truth.

Today I am stepping out.  And I am going to grab  hold of my healing!