Encouragement Cafe Article

Life: Not What I Expected

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While I was growing up I had formed in my head what my life was going to look like. I had everything planned out to create the ultimate picture.

I would graduate from college and get married. We would enjoy our time as newlyweds before having two children. The four of us would live in a quaint house with the white picket fence. Ah, I could sit back and just enjoy my family. It was picture perfect.

However, in my picture I did not account for reality…

 

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café  and Crosswalk today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

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Seeds: What are you planting?

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Since moving to our new home a few years ago, I have become quite the gardener.  I am learning the best times to plants the seeds and how starting them earlier inside gives the plants a better chance to grow.  All these things aside, it comes back to the seed.  In order for it to grow, it must be planted.  The same principle is true in our own lives.  If we are longing to leave a mighty oak legacy for the next generation, then we have to plant the seeds of faith throughout our life.

The first thing we need to ask ourselves is; what are we planting? 

 

 

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café  and Crosswalk today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section. If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME!   So glad you are here!

After reading the entire article, I encourage you to answer the following questions:

  1. How much time do you spend in God’s Word every week? Look at your schedule and see how you can carve out time to devote to spending in the Word.
  2. Take a look at the things in your life that are not essential and start making changes this week.
  3. What values would you like to leave behind for the next generation?

Storms

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You have been downsized. It is cancer. There has been an accident. These are all examples of storms. The kind that appear out of nowhere.

Imagine with me that you are floating along through life and even though it is not perfect, it is still smooth sailing. You are sitting back and enjoying the ride. Thinking you have got a handle on everything, when a storm comes out of nowhere and you are bobbing up and down, hanging on for dear life. The only thing that will keep you and your vessel safe during a storm is a strong anchor. Without it you are at the mercy of the storm, tossed from one wave to the next. The anchor’s purpose is to keep you grounded, connecting to something stronger…

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café  and Crosswalk today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

Mary or Martha?

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I love having people over to our house whether it is simply another couple for a game night or 40 extended family members for a holiday dinner. The inner planner in me comes out. Days or even weeks ahead of time I begin making lists – menu, things to buy, things to prepare, and things to do. My children now cringe when mommy brings out the giant white board on a Saturday morning. They know momma has a plan, not only for her day, but their’s as well…

 

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café  and Crosswalk today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

Rejection is Painful

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As adults, we no longer send the cute little notes, “do you like me? Check yes or no.” However, that does not mean that we do not have to deal with rejection. In fact, if anything, it attacks adults more times and in more ways. Rejection can come in several different forms – passed up for a promotion, friend turned his/her back on you, love not returned. The pain of rejection is real, but do not lost heart Christ is all too familiar with your pain. He walked on earth and was rejected by his hometown, siblings, church officials and the nation. The Bible tells us that we will have trials and troubles in this life. It is not a matter or if, but rather when. We can’t begin to think that we will not face rejection, Christ did…

 

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café today. This article lines up perfectly with the series this month on our true identity in Christ. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

I’ve Had Enough

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You are running your race, no thought given to where the other runners are. You have set your pace and are on track for breaking your personal best. Nothing can stop you. The weather is ideal, the scenery is gorgeous, but then the unthinkable happens, the racecourse alters. Suddenly, you are down a stretch of road you have never been on, the clouds beginning to build. It feels like you cannot possibly continue on.

This happened in my life just a little over a year ago when the doctor said the results came back and it was cancer. This was not the path I was on. I couldn’t understand why, when everything was going so well that I had to deal with this twist and turn in my life. Fear crept in and gripped every aspect of my life. I couldn’t enjoy the present because I kept focusing on what I might miss out on in the future. I had hit a wall…

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café today. This article lines up perfectly with the series this month on our true identity in Christ. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

Who Am I?

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We fall victim to societal pressure to believe that our apperance, status and possessions will make our lives better. When we give into this notion, we are letting society construct our identity. The real question we need to ask ourselves is where does our identity come from?

Another way to put this is: What types of things define a person? Say, for example, you were to introduce yourself to someone you do not know: How would you define yourself? Would you define yourself by your family relationships, by a professional title, or lack of one, or by where you live or go to church? People generally define theirselves by age, intelligence, education, marital status, material things, and family…

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café today. This article lines up perfectly with the series this month on our true identity in Christ. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

Life’s Not Fair

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As a mom, I have heard the phrase, “That’s not fair,” more times than I can count. It is easy for me to scold my children for their faulty view of life being fair. I mean in our home alone we cannot possibly keep everything even or fair.

Many times I have found myself stopping to try and explain this notion to one child or another. I mean really, I don’t see how this is hard to understand until the dreaded comes knocking at my door….

 

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

Loosening the Grip of Fear

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As a mother of five kids, I have heard the phrase, “I’m afraid of____” numerous times.  This phrase is not just limited to children.  I would venture to say that even as adults, we have said or at least thought it from time to time.  However, as adults, those fears have changed.  We are no longer afraid of the dark, bugs or the monster that is hiding underneath the bed; instead we are afraid of failure, what others might think or our lack of knowledge.  Just like I want to calm the fears in my children, God longs to calm our fears.  In fact, the phrase “fear not” is stated in the Bible 366 times, that is one for every day of the year and an extra one for those really tough days.  God continually reminds us not to fear because we were not created to live in fear — “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).  We cannot let our fears control our lives and hold us back from our God-given purpose…

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.

It’s Never Too Late to Start

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With the start of 2014 well under way I am certain that several resolutions have been made. For example, eating healthier, exercising more, budgeting, just to name a few. What happens most of the time with these resolutions is that they end up tossed aside after a few weeks or months. This is because there hasn’t been a shedding of the old habits and ways of thinking so real change is not going to occur.

The very same idea is true of our Christian walk. Being a Christian means much more than having good intentions or making resolutions. You have to take the right actions. Simply put, you have to get rid of the old and put on the new…

This is a portion of an article that I have featured on Encouragement Café today. I would love for you to read and then come back and share your thoughts in the comment section.