Just Because We Feel It Doesn't Make It Real

Our attitude toward unpleasant things is a vital part of going through them successfully. Although God never authors bad things, He does use them for our spiritual growth. God may use a grouchy person to help us become more patient. God did not cause them to be grouchy, but neither does He remove them from our life when we asked Him to. Instead, He uses them to change us!

I love this time of year for what it means spiritually, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Physically, I don't like this time of year because it gets dark at 5:30 in the afternoon. When we start our day it's dark, and when we finish our work day it's dark. SEEMS dark all the time. Just because we feel it, doesn't make it real. But I've come to realize we base our understanding on how we look at things, not on how they actually are. I believe God allows time changes so we can appreciate the light when all seems dark. Same with our trials...we wouldn't appreciate the good if we didn't have the bad. But there is always something good in every situation, season, and heartache. If we can't see it, then we're not looking hard enough.

God has given us the gifts, talents, abilities, and grace we need to do His will in life. God's grace is actually His power and He will not only give us grace, but promises grace and more grace - and His power is available to us! Now, if we don't keep the right mind-set, the enemy can defeat us with thoughts of inadequacy, which he loves to do when he sees the opportunity. He is always prowling around.

Don't speak out of your emotions because how we feel does not always agree with God's Word. That's why it's important to realize that even though we feel it, it doesn't make it real.

We can easily deceive ourselves into thinking we have great faith but if we are easily defeated by challenges, then perhaps our faith is not as great as we thought it was.

Do your thoughts and words reflect your complete dependence on God, realizing that His abilities (not your own) empower you to do anything you need to do in life? I asked myself this question and did some self-examination and it did open my eyes to understanding that I need to make some changes, but changes for God are always good.

We must remember that negative words and words that speak of failure come from the enemy, not from God. God tells us to have courage, so always remember if you feel "dis- couraged," that is from Satan and if you feel "en-couraged," that is from God.

On this last day of November - I am, and always will be thankful for God who is forever on His throne. I am also thankful that though my little mind can't even begin to imagine the beauty and goodness of Heaven, this earth is not my home - all because of the hope I have in Jesus Christ!

Blessings,
Dalinda

Scrooge Didn't Create The World; God Did

The world tells us how to look, how we need to behave, and what we should find entertaining. People seem to have an opinion on everything we think, say, and do. People can find all kinds of reasons to say, "Something's wrong with you." We, believers, must remember that Satan wants us to become self-focused by making us figure out what's wrong with ourselves.

The world is wrong!

Scrooge didn't create this world; God did. We are "in" this world, but we don't have to be "of" this world.

What would happen if I stop making everything about me and consider others?

What would happen if I made it my mission to be the best person I can be every single day, to reflect Christ’s attitudes and actions and compassion no matter what that day holds?

What would happen if I had the courage to stop dreaming and start doing?

What would happen if I started praying for those who hurt or annoy me instead of rehearsing every offense for days after it’s done?

What would happen if I let go of my fear of others’ opinions and did what God’s put in my heart?

What would happen if I took a break from things that overwhelm or distract me and replaced them with quiet time with Him?

What would happen if I began to focus on only the positive things in my life?

What would happen if I stopped begging God and started trusting Him to handle it in His time, His way?

What would happen if I took God’s promises and directives personally, like they were written specifically for me?

And yet we live as if we don’t know the answers to these questions.

What would happen if we stood in line to see Jesus just as we line up for Santa, good deals, new electronics, sporting events and concerts? But have we ever done that for Jesus? Have we been as excited over Jesus as we get over an expensive new phone or our favorite football team? Oh friends, let's get excited over JESUS!

Don't be the Scrooge "of" this world! Get excited over the one who laid down His life for you! Because of Jesus, we have hope of eternal life in Heaven with Him....NOW THAT'S SOMETHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT!!!!!!!

Our hope isn't built on our performance but on Jesus' righteousness.

The Gospel isn't a one time message for the unbelievers but a constant miracle for the imperfect - the message that cleans up every mess.

The Gospel isn't just the hope of the unsaved - the Gospel is the very heart of the already saved.

Absorbing the truth of the Gospel daily isn't a cliche, it's critical. Otherwise, it's your very life that's in critical condition.

This world doesn't have anything that can burn down the faith of a heart on fire for God. AMEN!

We become what we believe we are; therefore, as we become convinced that we are right with God, our behavior will improve....NO MORE SCROOGE!

Don't wait another minute to believe that God accepts you. He views you as being in right standing with Him, and loves you unconditionally.

Blessings,
Dalinda

No More Same Old, Same Old

Same old is comfortable. Same old is familiar. Same old is easy. But....Same old doesn't challenge us. Same old doesn't change us. Same old doesn't prepare us for the greater things ahead. Same old doesn't grow us in our spiritual walk with the Lord. Same old, doesn't bless us.

I believe God allows trials in our lives to bless us. Pain means we are being loved by God enough that He is pruning us to bear fruit. We, as believers, need to recognize God's pruning as being helpful, not painful. Life is too short to miss out on God's wonderful opportunities and blessings. Life is too short to go through trials and come out empty!

Seven years ago, I would have never thought that I could give thanks and praise God for allowing such heartache in my life. I have lost my Mom to cancer and my Dad to heart disease during these years, and am now battling health issues myself. But these years have been the most spiritually beautiful and enriched years which I have experienced in my entire life!

Trials present opportunities for thankfulness.

I am thankful for one more day, one more moment to live this life. Thankful for memories made, and memories revisited. As treasured as the material things can be, the things felt with the heart and soul are even more treasured.

God doesn't need your things. He needs you - your heart, your mind, your willingness, your all.

Lord Jesus, how awesome it is that You send or allow these trials that prepare us for greater things. May we recognize Your hand in them today and praise You for them. In Jesus' name...Amen!

Blessings,
Dalinda

Where The Mind Goes, The Man Follows

It's amazing how quickly and completely our thoughts can change our moods. Negative thinking of any kind quickly steals my joy and causes a variety of bad moods because negativity is a trait of Satan.

No matter how dark your circumstances, God can redeem them.

Plan A is always our first choice in life because it's our choice. But God sometimes has a different plan...Plan B. This plan sometimes SEEMS to be the upside-down, inside-out version where nothing goes as WE think it should. It's at this point the real test of our character comes in. We need to be more concerned with our character than our reputation...because our character is who we really are, while our reputation is merely what others think we are. When our life doesn't go as WE planned, do we wallow in self-pity and negative thoughts and play the victim or simply shift gears and make the best of the situation? The choice is ours. After all....life is all about how you handle Plan B.

When must stop merely waiting for something good to happen and take action to ensure something good will happen.

When we are negative and gloomy, other people don't enjoy being with us, and when our thoughts are down, everything else goes down with them. People who tend to be negative in their thoughts and conversation are usually unhappy and rarely content with anything very long. Even if something exciting happens, they soon find something wrong with it. As soon as they see one thing wrong, they tend to fix their minds on it; any enjoyment they might have is blocked by focusing on the negative. Satan is always fishing, hoping to catch someone in his trap; don't take his bait!

We have the ability to make ourselves happy or sad by what we choose to think. We can control what we think, and we can choose our thoughts. We don't have to meditate on everything that pops into our minds. We can break up with bad habits and form good habits. Learning to think great thoughts on purpose is the key to a great life. Lord, may Your light be the fire in my soul!

If we want rainbows in this life we gotta have rain. When the rain comes we gotta pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and go out and look for puddles to play in. We gotta train ourselves to look for the good in every situation. For when we focus on the Lord, He will bring us through. He's always giving us more opportunities to glorify Him in the daily events of our lives. There is ALWAYS a rainbow surrounding Christ.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change. But His light is always on me, even through darkness, even in rain. So no matter what is happening, no matter how I feel, I choose to look for the good and praise God!

A positive thought: The blue sky of Heaven is much larger than the dark clouds.

Don't take a chance with your life because life doesn't end here. Life goes on for eternity. Your eternity will either be in Heaven or Hell. It's your choice.

There are no surrogate promises with God. So stop talking trash and start talking truth to your heart.

Blessings,
Dalinda

My Focus, My Choice

The one who holds the tongue, holds the power.

There are often contributing factors that lead to volatile reactions. Stress overload often weakens your resolve to respond to situations in a Christlike manner. Often times it is very difficult to respond with the gentleness of Jesus. But pure and simple, you learn to respond like Jesus even when you don't feel like it! How do you do this? You determine to. You make yourselves aware of where you are on your personal stress scale and, you adjust your schedule. For example, if you are weighing heavy on the stress side, you may want to avoid some situations or people, if possible, until you feel calmer. And if avoiding them isn't an option, ask the Lord to help you remain calm and respond with His gentleness.

When I think of the gentleness of Jesus, I think of power under control.

It takes great strength to contain your anger instead of lashing out. It's the Jesus thing to do, and it is His power, not yours, that enables you to respond this way. (See Luke 8)

My feelings are indicators, not dictators.

As we discern what is pleasing to the Lord, we will do what is good, right, and true.

Wherever we focus our attention the most, that will become the driving force in our lives. The more I focus on trying to figure out how to please God, the more of a magnified force He will become in my life. My focus, My choice.

Every year, the last Saturday of November is Football Rivalry Weekend for most college football teams. This event is usually fun. When I was a little girl, our neighbors across the street from us pulled for our rivals. We used to have the best time kidding one another about our teams. I remember a particular year, their team won. When we drove in the driveway from the football game, a stuffed Tiger was hanging from our basketball goal by its neck. The next year, our team won and we took the stuffed Tiger and my Mom sewed garnet and black chicken feathers in its mouth. We took an old shoebox and used green construction paper to make a football field. We placed the Tiger with the chicken feathers in its mouth, in the center of the football field, put the cover on the box, and took it to our neighbors. We had the best time with them! This is what rivalry games are supposed to be about....having fun!

On November 24 of this year, our team lost to the rival team. But not without volatile reactions by the opposing team...on national television. How sad that this sporting event has become so fierce when it is supposed to be fun! Two of their good players "showed their tail feathers", so to speak in a hostile fashion. But I am very proud to say that our players did not retaliate. In another incident, a different one of their players hit one of our players helmet to helmet and then taunted him. Still our players showed class and did not retaliate.

"A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinion." Proverbs 18:2 NIV

We must remember that the chaos isn't from our circumstance, it's inside us. It is very important to remember that the one who holds the tongue, holds the power.

There have been several of my Facebook friends who have made their feelings their dictators. Some examples of these include people posting a picture of the taunting after the sack. Two of their players got in the face of our player while he was still on the ground.

People have bragged about this player's behavior saying things like,"Cracking skulls is his job!" and "it's Football, Not Sunday School." So obviously some people chose to place their focus on football, not on pleasing God.

Other people have complained about having their friends delete them from Facebook because of negative comments they made. The focus of the people that deleted them is obviously in a much different place...on pleasing God.

Philippines 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

*The one who holds the tongue, and the temper, holds the power. Focus on God, not your feelings.*

Blessings,
Dalinda

Hope Is An Attitude

We all experience moments of hopelessness in our earthly journeys. The death of our dreams, the crashing down of our hopes, the promises of God seemingly unfulfilled...we are no more immune to disappointment than Jesus' disciples were.

Many people fail to enjoy the abundance God has for them because they have an "I'm needy" mindset. I think acting as if God will not meet your needs or doesn't want us to have our needs met is rather insulting to Him. We should compliment Him by believing He is good and by expecting Him to meet our needs according to the promises in His Word.

Fearing we will not have what we need is exactly what Satan wants. We can open the door to his will through fear just as we can open the door to God's will through faith.

Hope is a mental shift that we choose for ourselves as we tap into our spiritual reserves. When we decide to be hopeful, we open ourselves to discover the wisdom and strength we may have not known existed. When we ask ourselves to stay positive and we answer the call, we are rewarded with knowledge of what we have learned in life. Our lessons, when viewed from this perspective, show us that things generally work out as they should. With hindsight, we are able to understand how a greater plan has been working in our lives.

Hope and a future, prosperity and peace - we can trust that, even when things seem hopeless, God is still at work, carrying out His promises.

My life is not without challenges, but I enjoy a lot more good things than bad ones. In the past, when I expected trouble, I often got it, but now that I expect good, I often get that. Sometimes I even get better than what I have hoped for or expected because that's the way God is. I am so glad God has taught me to aggressively expect good things to happen in my life. He gives us exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that we dare to hope, ask, or think. (see Ephesians 3:20)

Blessings,
Dalinda

Thanksgiving Blessings

Praying everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving with loved ones.