Ladies, I have a thought for you to ponder. Proverbs 31 mentions ..."she is like the merchant ships..." So what does that mean? Many times I have read that tidbit of wisdom and haven't really given it much thought. But it happens to be one of the most important statements about how a godly woman is to be.
A merchant ship is a STRONG ship. It is not fragile.
A merchant ship is built for PURPOSE. It is not idle.
A merchant ship can CARRY. It is not weak.
Think about what a merchant ship is. And on top of that, it says we are to be like shipS...notice the plural? That means a fleet, many, a force. That is what God is calling us women to be. He doesn't want any more pretty little boats. All cute and fragile. NO, He wants merchant ships. There are plenty of pretty little ships sitting in the seats on a Sunday morning. But where in the house are the merchant ships? God has called His daughters to to be strong, to work hard, to carry the plans He has for us.
We are to be many things, and it is not going to be easy. Even the people that surround us are to lack nothing of value because of their confidence in us. WOW! But others can't be confident in us if we are not first confident in ourselves. We must be confident, not in our gifts or position or people. But confident in knowing that God's hand is on our life and that we are working for Him!
Make a decision daily to bring good, and not harm, to the lives around you. Work hard. Be task driven, not people driven.She doesn't invest into that which is not profitable. She is kind to others. She is not fearful of the times to come, but is prepared. She is a strong leader, clothing herself in strength and dignity. She watches, she speaks, she gives instruction...and she is blessed. AND SHE LOOKS GOOD (clothed in fine linen and purple)!
God is calling for the women in His house to stand up and be different. To be merchant ships. Can you rise to the calling? It won't be easy, but we aren't called to a life that will be easy. How much more can you do, through the power of God, for His kingdom if you are a woman of noble character?
Ladies, are there any merchant ships in His house?
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5 (NIV)
This morning my devotional time with my kids was about having an attitude of gratitude. It wasn’t even because they weren’t being grateful or anything; quite honestly it was just the next topic in the character building book we are going through. :) Isn’t it easy to sometimes lose that attitude?
I mean, it’s not that we don’t want to be grateful...I think it’s that we many times lose the right perspective. What I mean is…do you see the glass half full or half empty? Is it partly sunny or partly cloudy? Perspective can and certainly makes all the difference.
Even for strong Christians who are grounded in their faith, discouragement can easily sneak its way into hearts and minds as life deals us chaos. As we struggle with the challenges and difficulties of everyday life, or things that happened to us that were unfair or unwarranted, it is easy to get pulled into a habitual mindset of negativity. Just like that old song from the ‘80s says, we may find ourselves asking God, "What have you done for me lately?"
Our answer to that question will depend entirely upon our perspective. God does more for us each and every day than we deserve, but it 's so easy to lose sight of the good, because we can be caught up in the reality of the bad. How do we combat this perfectly human attitude and direct it over to an attitude of gratitude?
Prayer.
Resolve to have an attitude like Christ.
Take inventory of our every blessing.
Life. Your every breath. Your every heart beat. A spouse or loved one. Children. Clothes that need to be washed because God gave you clothes to wear, and a way to wash those clothes. Good health to help those whose health is failing. Trusted and educated doctors to treat you when you are facing health challenges. A house that needs cleaning. A car to drive. The ability to purchase gas for the car. A job to go to. The ability to be a stay at home mom or wife. Healthy kids who can play music or sports. Friends. Family. Freedom. Jesus. Eternal life.
What is on your inventory list today? If you were honest with yourself, would you say you have been looking for the positive aspects of the situations in your life? Are you considering how God could be using those things to draw you closer to Him? Or have you been primarily focused on the negative?
During times of negativity, we actually become our own enemy. We wage a battle in our mind because we look at our situation from our own perspective, instead of what God may be doing through our situation. So in order to change our minds, we have to choose to change the way we think – our perspective. Attitude is a choice.
I have heard it takes 21 days of doing something for it to become a new habit. The more you practice challenging your thought patterns, the more automatic it will become. Changes may not take place immediately, but over time, the challenge gets easier, and optimism becomes the norm instead of the exception.
Are you willing to take the challenge to become an optimist today? The rewards of looking for God's goodness in every situation will be a healthier and happier heart.
Dear Lord, forgive us for a lack of gratitude we all have at times. Thank You for your patience with us as we strive to grow to be more like you. Guide our hearts to recognize You at work, instead of seeing things from an earthly perspective. Lead me into a closer relationship with You by helping me remember to count my blessings every day. I n Jesus' Name, Amen.
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"How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!"
Song of Songs 4:1
Beth Moore writes in her updated edition of Breaking Free:
"What a wonderful relationship awaits you! The King is enthralled by your beauty. Single woman, you will not always be single. If you are in Christ, you have the ultimate relationship ahead of you. If God calls you to a life of singleness, feel special! Save yourself entirely for Him! The Kings is enthralled by your beauty.
Married woman with common frustrations: Give your spouse room to be human. Forgive him for not being God. Forgive him for not always saying what you need to hear. The Kings is enthralled by your beauty.
Until the ultimate relationship arrives, let your mirror image be the face of Christ. To Him, the most beautiful woman on earth is the bride who steadily makes herself ready for her Groom. Your bridal portrait is being painted one day at a time. When it is complete, it will be a breathtaking masterpiece."
Father,
I pray, we as women of God, start proclaiming our beauty through you! I ask that your words cut so deep that we will never experience a day that we feel any less than beautiful! I pray our faith continues to be strengthened by you and that we stand firm in whatever situation you have us in today. If we are singe or married I pray we stand boldly in your name because You Father are more than enough. We are steadily making ourselves ready for you each and every day. We impatiently wait for you to come and sweep us off our feet! We pray in awe of You, Amen!
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Hello to some of our favorite girlfriends (and guyfriends)!
We just wanted to use today's blog opportunity to tell you about some amazing upcoming conferences. You will want to make sure you join us if we are coming to your area. We could also use your help in spreading the word around!
BROOKINGS, SD
APRIL 1-2, 2011
SWIFTEL CENTER
http://www.trueidentityministries.com/BrookingsSD.html
DEFIANCE, OHIO
APRIL 15-16, 2011
THE SUMMIT
http://www.trueidentityministries.com/defianceohio2011.html
WEST CHICAGO, IL
MAY 13-14, 2011
CROSSROADS RESTORATION CENTER
http://www.trueidentityministries.com/chicago2011.html
The early bird registration discount for each of these events will end befoe you know it, so be sure to register soon! Visit the link to learn about discounted rates and conference details. If you are interested in helping us by volunteering at one of these events you can fill out a volunteer app online! We can't wait to see each of you very soon!
xoxo
Justeina
We just wanted to use today's blog opportunity to tell you about some amazing upcoming conferences. You will want to make sure you join us if we are coming to your area. We could also use your help in spreading the word around!
BROOKINGS, SD
APRIL 1-2, 2011
SWIFTEL CENTER
http://www.trueidentityministries.com/BrookingsSD.html
DEFIANCE, OHIO
APRIL 15-16, 2011
THE SUMMIT
http://www.trueidentityministries.com/defianceohio2011.html
WEST CHICAGO, IL
MAY 13-14, 2011
CROSSROADS RESTORATION CENTER
http://www.trueidentityministries.com/chicago2011.html
The early bird registration discount for each of these events will end befoe you know it, so be sure to register soon! Visit the link to learn about discounted rates and conference details. If you are interested in helping us by volunteering at one of these events you can fill out a volunteer app online! We can't wait to see each of you very soon!
xoxo
Justeina
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"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing!"
(enough said)
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encouragement,
love
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Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23
There may be nothing more intentional that scripture asks us to do than to guard our hearts. That word guard according to the dictionary means: to protect somebody or something against danger or loss by being vigilant and taking defensive measures, or to watch over and control passage through an entrance or across a boundary. Even though I had seen this scripture many times before in Proverbs 4 and the call to guard our hearts was very clear, for me the question still remained; from what? Finally it came to me. Guard our hearts from anything toxic.
That word toxic just means anything that contains poisonous material that can cause sickness or death. I can’t help but notice in today’s age how hard people are trying to keep their homes and bodies toxic free. You can now buy non toxic cleaning materials, hair care products, nail polishes, paints for your home, and the list goes on. So much effort and work put into living a toxic free life physically speaking, but no one thinks about all the toxic things surrounding our spiritual lives. If you and I are going to be able to be diligent in guarding our hearts we are going to have to be more aware of the toxic things we are allowing in. Allow me to point out just a few for you.
1. Toxic Thoughts
Part of guarding our hearts is to replace our toxic thoughts with God’s truth. Thoughts that are negative, fearful, critical and discontent need to be guarded against. In fact throughout scripture many times the word heart is used interchangeably with the word thoughts. The same is true for Proverbs 4:23. According to 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 we are to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. Sounds like guarding to me. So begin to think about what you are thinking about. Be vigilant to watch over and control the thoughts you allow to linger about in your heart and mind. Whatever you do remove the toxic ones and replace them with whatever is noble, true, right, pure, excellent, and praiseworthy.
2. Toxic Influences
From the movies we watch, to the music we listen to, even to the sites we surf on the web you may not find anything more toxic to our hearts than these influences. We have gotten a little lazy at monitoring the influences we are allowing to shape and mold our lives. If you are a mom you know how hard you may work to control the media and cultural influences your children are partaking in, but what about you? What are you doing to safeguard against the toxic influences surrounding your own life? A few things to ask yourself would be: Is What I am watching/reading displeasing to God? Am I being entertained somehow by sin? Is this luring me away from Christ? If you answer yes to any of those questions you need to flee from that type of entertainment. Don’t be lazy when it comes to guarding against toxic influences. They really will determine the course of your life.
3. Toxic Relationships
The bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33 to not be misled, that bad company really does corrupt good character. Toxic company can be anyone that is chronically negative and critical, anyone that is a controller, and especially anyone that is a tempter. If you have any one of these types of company in your world you need to beware and guard your heart. That toxic company can work against your good character. As women we can be so timid to cut off toxic relationships even though we know how much they are poisoning our own walk with God. Be brave to take measures against the toxic company in your life. Set up healthy boundaries and be bold to cut ties where God leads you.
4. Toxic Words
Scripture tells us that the tongue holds the power of life and death and that is so true. Words have the unmatched ability to shape and mold a person’s belief system and self image. Whether its words spoken to you or words spoken by you, you need to guard against toxic words. Any words that don’t line up with God’s words are toxic. Begin to evaluate the words you are allowing to be spoken over your life by others and be quick to discredit them if they don’t line up with what God says about you. Be even quicker to evaluate the words you are allowing to come out of your own mouth. If they aren’t words that edify and build up those around you, don’t even speak them. Remember toxic and poisonous words have the power to bring sickness, but if you guard your heart and speak life you will bring healing all around you.
Of course this isn’t an exhaustive list of toxic things for us to be guarding our hearts from, but it is a great start. I have learned in my own life that what I allow into my heart and mind really will determine the course of my life just as Proverbs 4 teaches. As for me and my family I want the course of my life to be one that pleases and glorifies my God. That’s why I am determined to always guard my heart.
xoxo
Justeina
There may be nothing more intentional that scripture asks us to do than to guard our hearts. That word guard according to the dictionary means: to protect somebody or something against danger or loss by being vigilant and taking defensive measures, or to watch over and control passage through an entrance or across a boundary. Even though I had seen this scripture many times before in Proverbs 4 and the call to guard our hearts was very clear, for me the question still remained; from what? Finally it came to me. Guard our hearts from anything toxic.
That word toxic just means anything that contains poisonous material that can cause sickness or death. I can’t help but notice in today’s age how hard people are trying to keep their homes and bodies toxic free. You can now buy non toxic cleaning materials, hair care products, nail polishes, paints for your home, and the list goes on. So much effort and work put into living a toxic free life physically speaking, but no one thinks about all the toxic things surrounding our spiritual lives. If you and I are going to be able to be diligent in guarding our hearts we are going to have to be more aware of the toxic things we are allowing in. Allow me to point out just a few for you.
1. Toxic Thoughts
Part of guarding our hearts is to replace our toxic thoughts with God’s truth. Thoughts that are negative, fearful, critical and discontent need to be guarded against. In fact throughout scripture many times the word heart is used interchangeably with the word thoughts. The same is true for Proverbs 4:23. According to 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 we are to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. Sounds like guarding to me. So begin to think about what you are thinking about. Be vigilant to watch over and control the thoughts you allow to linger about in your heart and mind. Whatever you do remove the toxic ones and replace them with whatever is noble, true, right, pure, excellent, and praiseworthy.
2. Toxic Influences
From the movies we watch, to the music we listen to, even to the sites we surf on the web you may not find anything more toxic to our hearts than these influences. We have gotten a little lazy at monitoring the influences we are allowing to shape and mold our lives. If you are a mom you know how hard you may work to control the media and cultural influences your children are partaking in, but what about you? What are you doing to safeguard against the toxic influences surrounding your own life? A few things to ask yourself would be: Is What I am watching/reading displeasing to God? Am I being entertained somehow by sin? Is this luring me away from Christ? If you answer yes to any of those questions you need to flee from that type of entertainment. Don’t be lazy when it comes to guarding against toxic influences. They really will determine the course of your life.
3. Toxic Relationships
The bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33 to not be misled, that bad company really does corrupt good character. Toxic company can be anyone that is chronically negative and critical, anyone that is a controller, and especially anyone that is a tempter. If you have any one of these types of company in your world you need to beware and guard your heart. That toxic company can work against your good character. As women we can be so timid to cut off toxic relationships even though we know how much they are poisoning our own walk with God. Be brave to take measures against the toxic company in your life. Set up healthy boundaries and be bold to cut ties where God leads you.
4. Toxic Words
Scripture tells us that the tongue holds the power of life and death and that is so true. Words have the unmatched ability to shape and mold a person’s belief system and self image. Whether its words spoken to you or words spoken by you, you need to guard against toxic words. Any words that don’t line up with God’s words are toxic. Begin to evaluate the words you are allowing to be spoken over your life by others and be quick to discredit them if they don’t line up with what God says about you. Be even quicker to evaluate the words you are allowing to come out of your own mouth. If they aren’t words that edify and build up those around you, don’t even speak them. Remember toxic and poisonous words have the power to bring sickness, but if you guard your heart and speak life you will bring healing all around you.
Of course this isn’t an exhaustive list of toxic things for us to be guarding our hearts from, but it is a great start. I have learned in my own life that what I allow into my heart and mind really will determine the course of my life just as Proverbs 4 teaches. As for me and my family I want the course of my life to be one that pleases and glorifies my God. That’s why I am determined to always guard my heart.
xoxo
Justeina
Category:
challenge,
encouragement
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