God is so Good

By: Jenifer Metzger

Several days ago I woke up singing a song. A song my church sang when I was a child. Throughout my day the words stayed on my heart and as I sang, tears came to my eyes because of the truth of the words.

God is so good.

God is so good.
God is so good.

He's so good, to me.

God is so good. Friend, you woke up today! He's so good. You have some type of device and service and power to read these words right now, He is so good. Think of every part of your life. Your family, your home, food to eat, He is so good! Dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and electric bill, He is good even in those things.Yes, even in messes He is good. Dirty dishes mean food to eat, piles of laundry mean you and your family have clothes. An electric bill means you have electricity. Piles of shoes left out means you have a family. Having to wake up early for work means you have a job. All we have to do is look, really look, and we see God's goodness.

He loves me so.

He loves me so,

He loves me so.

He's so good, to me.

Today I want to encourage you, as you go about your day, as troubles come, as you face mundane tasks, in all you do, sing it out, God is so good, to me.

How great is Your goodness

that You have stored up for those who fear You

and accomplished in the sight of everyone

for those who take refuge in You.

Psalm 31:19

It is time for the Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesday Link Up. We desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories in their comments.

If you are a blogger and would like to link up, here are three easy rules to the link up:
1. Must be a {Christian} faith post.
2. Please link back to W2W somewhere in your post. (Feel free to use our button if you'd like!)
3. Visit and comment on at least one other blog in the link up.

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Overwhelming Victory

By: Joanne Viola

The familiar words come back to mind: “… in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

And yet on any given day, I can be overwhelmed … by my to-do list, getting caught up on the laundry, paying bills, work, or just thinking about all I need to get done.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ Jesus who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39, NLT)

While these verses point us to the power to overcome persecution and death, they can also be applied to our lives each and every day, even in the most practical of ways.

We can face difficulties and not just muddle our way through them by the skin of our teeth. We need not go to bed with a sigh of relief just glad the day is done. Rather we can put our heads down at night, with a cheer, for we came through the day overcoming the obstacles.

One commentary helps us to understand our position in Christ:

“The love of God gives us “a glorious hyper-victory,” more than can be described or contained in one word. God’s love and grace has made us hyper-conquerors, empowered to be unrivaled, more than a match for any foe!”
(from The Passion Translation, as found on Bible Gateway)

We need to see ourselves as we have been positioned in Christ. It is His love, His power, which enables us to face adversity and overcome. Jesus empowers us to conquer all the obstacles in our lives, one day at a time.

This is what He has made us —> “hyper-conquerors”.
Go in His power and overcome!

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

 

When it feels like wickedness is winning...

by Elizabeth Stewart

I've felt such heaviness this week about the current events in our nation. Sometimes it looks like wickedness is prospering, doesn't it?  But through all of this week's heavy news, the Psalms have been a great comfort to me. It seems that the Psalmist David was having some thoughts similar to my own. "Why are the wicked not being dealt with? " "You are a God of justice, why aren't you doing something about this mess?" As I pondered these questions, I felt like I received a couple of insights.

1) God is a God of justice, but He is also a God of mercy. In His mercy, He doesn't mete out immediate judgment for mankind's wickedness. He gives individuals, and even nations, time to repent, Because of His desire to show mercy, to us it appears that He is slow to deal with wickedness. I can get impatient when God doesn't deal with wickedness swiftly, yet I want His mercy to be long-suffering towards me when I falter. It seems I can't have it both ways!

2) God wants us to participate in bringing about change. God's people are to be representatives of His kingdom on this earth. We are His ambassadors. It is our job to bring the light of kingdom life into the darkness of this world marred by sin. In my opinion, our primary place we do so is in our own homes and families. When the plague of darkness came all over the land of Egypt because of Pharoah's stubborn resistance to set the children of Israel free, the homes of the Israelites were still full of light while all of the rest of the land was in total darkness. What a great example that is to us. The hate, the slandering of others, the disrespect toward human life, the violence, the darkness, might surround us, but it doesn't have to fill us or our homes and families.

There also comes a time when we have to be bold enough in the face of wickedness to say something and to do something. We can't be afraid to speak out and to live out the truth. We all like to think we would be the Bonhoeffer or the Ten Boom, a person who would risk it all to stand against the wickedness of a Hitler and his genocide. Yet, we are fearful to speak up against the evil occurring in our own nation right now. What we say and do should be bathed in prayer and Spirit led. Our motives should not be prideful and arrogant, but full of Christ-like humility. That being said, there comes a time to be bold and strong and unafraid to say the right thing and to do the right thing. We'd all rather that God deal with everything for us. Perhaps, God is waiting for us to let Him bring about change through us.

www.justfollowingjesus.com

Look Up!

By: Sarah Geringer

So if you're serious about living the new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.
Pursue the things over which Christ presides.
Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you.
Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is.

See things from his perspective.

Colossians 3:1-4, The Message

Do your thoughts typically tip downward or upward?

I have a naturally melancholy bent, which means I usually see the glass as half-empty. However, even the glass-half-full people I know and love struggle with downward-facing thoughts.

The Bible clearly tells us that we need to look up to have God's perspective on our lives. Friends, this isn't always easy to do. But it's the only kind of thought life worth having. Otherwise we'll be continually held down in our trials and tribulations.

Lately I've been asking God to give me his perspective on certain struggles. The more I seek his perspective, the more I understand his character.

His patience is great--His timeline is longer and broader than mine, so I can have faith in him.
His knowledge is perfect--I can only see small glimpses, but he sees the big picture in high definition.
His comfort is peaceful--As I rest in his arms, waiting and hoping for change, he is tender and loving with me.

Looking down on my struggles, I feel anxious, weary, strained and burdened. The opposite of peaceful.

But when I look up, as this passage instructs, I truly experience peace, hope and joy even though my circumstances haven't changed.

More than anything, I want to follow God's will and live out this new resurrection life in Christ. God is calling me to act like it first in my mind, where all my attitudes are formed. Then I can live it out in front of others with greater power, because I put on the mind of Christ instead of my own. He is showing me what to pursue and what to leave behind, as this passage indicates.

I encourage you today: Look up instead of looking down. It's our human tendency, but it ties us to the world rather than to God. Look up when you have a quiet moment--literally lift your eyes to the skies and praise God for reigning over your circumstances.

Ask him to give you his perspective and teach you about his character in the process. He will strengthen you and show you where he is already working, so you can join in on the action.

If you want to share feedback on this post, please leave a comment below. You can always share at my site if you have any trouble leaving a comment here.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings and God's peace to you,

Sarah Geringer
Finding Peace in God's Word

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Reflection questions:

1. In which area do you struggle most with downward-tipping thoughts?

2. How can God's perspective on your most challenging situation help you gain more peace?

God is Not an "Or" God

By: Jenifer Metzger

Recently I was praying and asking God to work is a few areas. Then I followed the prayer with, "But if I can only have one, please answer the first need." Wait. What!?

God nudged me and said, "Jenifer, I am not an 'or' God."

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything,

through prayer and petition with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

The Bible tells us to submit our requests to God. It does not say to submit our requests to God in order of importance. God doesn't look down from Heaven to see which need we want answered the most or which seems the most important. And He doesn't look at our list of needs and say yes to what we wanted the most and no to what we weren't as serious about. God's yeses and nos come from His plan and will for our lives.

This is the confidence we have before Him:

If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

And if we know that He hears whatever we ask,

we know that we have what we have asked of Him.

1 John 5:14-15

God hears every single prayer we utter. He has the power to answer every single need we ever lift to Him. We need to go to Him with the knowledge and confidence that He hears and He will answer according to His plan.

Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you

believed you would see the glory of God?”

John 11:40

Friend, go to God with confidence. Believe in Him. Know He hears and will answer. And know that He is not an 'or' God.

It is time for the Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesday Link Up. We desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories in their comments.

If you are a blogger and would like to link up, here are three easy rules to the link up:
1. Must be a {Christian} faith post.
2. Please link back to W2W somewhere in your post. (Feel free to use our button if you'd like!)
3. Visit and comment on at least one other blog in the link up.

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Strengthening Our Spiritual Health

By: Melissa Baker

We are getting to the end of the first month of the new year. Those who have made new years resolutions might still be hanging on, while others have either achieved their goal or have given up. A common resolution that people often make is to lose weight or get healthy. I know that this is something that we have been working on in our home as well. We are trying to eat right, trying to exercise everyday and trying to make good and healthy choices. We are trying to strengthen our physical bodies. And although our physical health is really important, our spiritual health is even more important. 

Just like we work hard to strengthen our bodies, we also need to strengthen our minds and our faith. We need to gain wisdom on how to achieve our spiritual goals, and grow our faith just like we grow our bodies. Staying in the Word of God is one way to strengthen our spiritual health. We must read our Bibles if we expect to strengthen our faith and grow in our walk with the Lord. We must feed our minds with the "food" it needs to nourish it. There is so much wisdom in the Bible, as well as important information we need to be able to walk the Christian walk. It is literally our instruction manual for life! So dig in everyday!

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

2 Timothy 3:16

Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Romans 15:4

Another way we can strengthen our spiritual health is to attend a church. Not only will we get to fellowship with other Christians, but we will hear the word of God in sermon form, as well as get closer to God as we worship Him. Our family attends services on both Sunday's and Wednesdays at our church. We start the week off with our Sunday service, and by Wednesday, we need to refuel! We need that mid week connection with other believers and to hear the word of God. We need that mid week refuel to gain spiritual strength to finish the rest of the week. So if you don't already attend a local church, I encourage you to find one! 

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Hebrews 10:25

Prayer is another very important step to strengthening our faith. It is our direct communication with our God. If we don't speak with Him, how can we communicate and grow our relationship? For example, if we don't talk to our husband or the people in our lives, how will we get close with them? How will we even have a relationship? It works the same with God. If we don't communicate with Him, there is no relationship. So prayer is a MUST! 

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:16

'Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is

God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.'

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

All these things will help us grow closer to the Lord and strengthen our faith and spiritual health. Let's not just focus on our bodies and other worldly things this year, lets renew our minds as well. It is so incredibly important to have a relationship with Jesus! And reading our Bibles, praying, attending church and worshiping Him will draw us ever close to Him and He will move in our lives like never before. We just have to be intentional about it, and actually let Him move! So weather you make new years resolutions or not, lets make a resolution right now to be intentional about strengthening our spiritual health and our relationship with the Lord. 

Faithfulness, Mercies & Glory

By: Joanne Viola

Most days the shade is up as I dry my hair. I never tire of watching the sun rise up over the woods which sit at the end of our yard. Here’s the thing I have discovered:

The sun always rises, but never in quite the same way.

As the seasons change, its positioning varies ever so slightly. The shadows, the beams, and the reflections in the woods are always beautiful and never repeated.

It had been a stressful and emotional week. Deep in thought, I began to dry my hair, forgetting to pull up the shade. My thoughts began to fill me with panic, bringing the reminder, “Lift the shade. Look out. Remember.”

Grabbing my phone, I ran out into the freezing cold morning to capture the beauty. Standing on the deck, the words began to fill my thoughts:

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” (Lamentations 3: 22-26, NLT)

What are we to do when facing stressful and difficult days which seek to consume our thoughts: 

1. Shift our thoughts onto the promises of God. Deliberately and intentionally seek God out. We must turn our eyes to see Him and focus on Him.  
2. Remember the faithful love of the Lord. His love is ever faithful and never failing. His love has no end and reaches to the ends of the earth. He is reliable and will never let us down.
3. Search and wait for Him. As surely as the sun rises each morning, God will surely arise in our lives. Of this, we can be confident. When we go to sleep at night, God is there with us. When we wake in the morning, God is yet there with us. He cannot be unfaithful. 

With my attention focused on God’s faithfulness, mercies, and beauty; my heart was filled with peace and hope for a better day. I continued to dry my hair now and I found myself humming a song. Bits and pieces of the lyrics coming to mind:

“God You keep us without failing.
As You watch us from above
In our comings and our goings
Sheltered by Your precious love
In the pouring rain of mercy.”

You have touched our lives forever
Can we be the same again
May our hearts be ever faithful
Ever faithful as a friend
Let us live that we may serve You
Overflowing with Your praise
For the glory of Your Name
For the glory of Your Name.”(from the song “For the Glory of Your Name"
as sung by Michelle Tumes)

And that is so our God! He is faithful and His mercies are new every morning, so that He keeps us faithful to Him for all of our days.

And it is all for the glory of His Name!

 

 

Keep your mind set on the higher things...

by Elizabeth Stewart

Let's be honest. It's really easy for our mind to get stuck in the muck and the mire and the mundane of life on planet earth. At any given moment my mind might be wrestling with a worrisome situation, thinking about my to-do list, making a mental list of things I need to pick up at the grocery store, stewing about an offense in a relationship-all while I'm putting a load of laundry into the washer and chopping onions for the pot of chicken noodle soup that I'm making for that night's small group. Whew! Keep my mind on things above? How in the world do I do that?

Start the day with Jesus.
The enemy loves for our first thoughts of the day to be negative ones - thoughts of worry, fear, and frustration, for example. He loves us to begin our day already feeling defeated. Everyone's schedule is different, and not everyone can refocus their mind by having an extended amount of quiet time or devotions in the morning. However, everyone can take a few moments to connect with God, to surrender themselves into His loving, capable hands, to cast their cares onto His strong shoulders, and to invite Him to take charge of their day.

Let negative thoughts become a signal to refocus.
Even if we start the day with Jesus, things will inevitably happen during the day that will pull our minds back into frustration, fear or other negative thoughts. You can actually train your brain to turn those negative thoughts into reminders to pray. For example, let's say that you catch yourself worrying about a financial need. Immediately stop that thought, and all of the subsequent thoughts that we tend to have about how we are going to try to fix the problem ourselves. Then just say a quick prayer to God asking Him to meet the need and to give you wisdom and insight about any action He would have you to take. God hears our thirty second prayers every bit as much as long prayers of intercession. He also hears your heart prayers when you're at work or somewhere where you can't pray aloud. I believe that the more we practice refocusing our negative thoughts into prayers, the less the enemy will torment us.

Realize that heaven is in middle of your place on earth.
"The dishes need done!" "That proposal is due to my boss by tomorrow!" "I need to remember to bake those cookies for the bake sale!" "Did you see what so and so posted on her Instagram!" "I don't think that friendship is a good one for my daughter!" Things in our life are constantly screaming for our attention. Stop, breathe, and remember God is right there with you in the middle of it all. The Holy Spirit is God on earth and God within you. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit now dwells in your innermost being and personality. Everything you need for this life is available to you. You might be earthbound and have earthly problems to deal with, but there is heavenly help right there with you. Set your mind on that more than on the problem.

"Too heavenly minded, no earthly good" is an old saying that I'm not sure is true.  I think that if we keep our minds set on the things above, we'll actually be better equipped to handle our life here on earth.

www.justfollowingjesus.com

When You're Stuck in Stressful Thoughts

By: Sarah Geringer

Lately I've been stuck in stressful thought-life categories. When I'm upset about something or stressed out, I tend to overanalyze and obsess about the topic. This wears me out mentally, emotionally and spiritually, because I am hyperfocused in one category.

This week, I watched an interesting webinar about using social media. The expert encourages people to pick a few content categories and consistently post in several of them rather than in just one category, so you appeal to your whole group of followers.

You probably already do this. You post about your pets one day, vacation pics another day, a funny GIF or thoughtful meme the next time, and maybe a photo of your children or grandchildren another day. I also like seeing yummy food pictures in my friend's feeds. The more diverse your social media feed is, the more interesting it is to new followers. 

After the webinar, I looked at my Facebook and Instagram feeds, and saw books, books and more books. Kind of like my thought life--focused on one problem over and over again. I need to make it healthier by shaking it up. 

This is the scripture that is helping me reorient my thought-life categories, and I hope it helps you reorient and diversify your thoughts in healthy, God-pleasing ways.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8 NLT
 
See how these thought-life categories are diverse and beautiful? How each one points you toward God rather than your troubles?

When I'm stuck in a stressful thought category, I force myself to think about something true, right or pure. When troubles overwhelm me, I can reorient myself to thinking about what is excellent and worthy of praise. Lovely thoughts inspire us to worship God. Honorable thoughts raise us up over our circumstances.

This isn't easy for an obsession-prone person like me. But I'm getting better at it with God's help. I still need time to process my stress, worries and cares with God and sometimes others. Yet I have a choice in whether to stay stuck in one thought-life category. I can set the stress aside and ponder all the good things about God's character and all the gifts he gives me every day. Meditating on God's Word throughout the day helps me do this.

How about you? Does another verse prompt you to reorient your thought-life categories when you feel stuck?

If you want to share feedback on this post, please leave a comment below. You can always share at my site if you have any trouble leaving a comment here.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings and God's peace to you,

Sarah Geringer
Finding Peace in God's Word

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Reflection questions:

1. In which category do your thoughts typically get stuck?

2. Which verse will help you deal with stress in a healthier way?