The Diva Inside, Devotional #8

            The true meaning of a Diva is a successful female performer or a distinguished female singer, usually a distinguished Opera singer.  Today this word is used to also describe a woman who thinks very highly of herself and therefore has a flair about her that says I’m better than you, more good looking than you, more successful than you or dress better than you…or in one word conceited.  There’s even a song about being a diva!  In my opinion I think we all have some kind of a Diva inside.  I know I do!  For those of you that barely know me hear me out.  I’m far from a Diva, you can ask anyone. But, there are those days that she (the Diva) wants to come out!  That attitude, that flair of “divaness” if you will, is in there somewhere.  She tends to want to come out when I’m trying too hard to get noticed.

            When I was a teenager I used to let the Diva out when I was trying to fit in to a group that I thought was where I should be but then the Lord would convict me of not being myself and I would put her away and be myself.  Usually being myself wasn’t good enough for these people but the Lord was faithful.  He gave me the gift of friendship with many wonderful people.

            At other times in my adult life the Diva came out when I wanted to get a promotion and was competing with my peers.  The Diva inside is not humble in any way.  She believes she deserves whatever it is at any cost just because!  So, I said what I thought I had to say (I embellished the truth…yes, I lied a little, ok a lie is a lie, it is also a sin).  I behaved like the management that were interviewing and evaluating who was best for the position.  In the end do you think I got the position?  Of course not.  I wasn’t being myself and they knew that.  I’m an honest person by nature and when I’m not being honest you can see right through me.

            Not too long ago I worked from home in sales.  In order to be successful one had to have the “divaness” flair but it had to come off in a very subtle way so that customers would not be turned off and therefore not buy anything from me.  Did I lie to my customers, never! I did learn my lesson, lying didn’t get me anywhere but in the hot seat.  But I did approach my sales with way too much confidence and believed that I had to act like a Diva in order to succeed.  Did I like having to do that, no, but did I do it because I felt I had no choice because we were in a tight financial situation, you bet I did.  In the end do you think I was successful and made lots of money?  No way!  God wasn’t going to allow that for me.  My sales were always low.  Success seemed to always be around the bend but I never got there.

            You see, I gave my life to the Lord when I was seventeen years old and when I did I gave Him everything.  I asked Him and still do, to lead me and when I’m going the wrong way to please make it crystal clear that I’m going the wrong way.  I’ve shared with you before how stubborn I can be and so even though He has always been faithful in being crystal clear I haven’t always seen it because I didn’t want to.  When you want to do what you want to do and not what God wants you to do you’ll do what you want and believe me, you’ll suffer the consequences later.  Consequences whether they are good or bad always accompany any and every decision one makes in their life.

            In Proverbs 16:5 it says, “The LORD detests all the proud of heart.  Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”  Proverbs 8:13 says, “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”   Proverbs 29:23 says, “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”  In Romans 12:16 it says, “Live in harmony with one another, Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.”  1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” (All verses are from the NIV)

            That last one, from 1 Corinthians 13:4, really hit home with me.  How can I say that I love my neighbors and not be honest, and instead be boastful and proud.  No, my dear friend, God’s conviction was loud and crystal clear and when I finally buried that Diva inside I was able to see and accept that conviction.  It’s okay to be strong, self-assured, and confident.  But once boastfulness, envy, and or conceitedness gets blended in with that confidence, self-assuredness or strength, it’s ugly.  It leads to sin which leads to disharmony with God, and your loved ones and even with you.

            So when that Diva wants to come out stop it and say to yourself that you don’t need to act that way in order to be noticed, successful, loved or accepted.  I know that sometimes it’s easier said than done but in the end it’s the best way.  I know it is for me.  

            God bless you and thank you for reading this devotional.  I am praying for you my dear friend.

“I love me some pockets!”  Devotional #7

            On Christmas Eve my husband reminded me that we had not yet visited a local park we go to every year for the past four or so years that puts up Christmas lights throughout the park.  It’s great to go and take a pause from all of the rush of the season.  As I shared with you in a previous devotion this year I was really all for downsizing on the “busy-ness” of Christmas so I gladly agreed that we should all go and enjoy the lights.  As I was getting ready I looked over at my purse and was feeling rather lazy about having to carry it through the park.  I decided that I rather not carry my purse so I decided to wear a pair of jeans that has some pretty deep pockets.  I love me some pockets!  I love to stuff as much as I can in them so that I don’t have to carry my purse.  I don’t like to overdue it, I just carry with me what I think I’ll be needing, like my ID, money…things like that.  As I was stuffing my pockets a thought came to me.  This is how I used to stuff my emotions, my problems, my complaints and or anxieties of life down into my soul so that I wouldn’t have to “burden” the Lord with them.    

            I was holding on to my burdens unnecessarily!  I also didn’t share my burdens with my loved ones because I didn’t want to burden them either!  I have always been an easy going “happy go lucky” type of person and I never liked to express anything other than happiness so that my loved ones wouldn’t worry about me. So I carried this into my relationship with the Lord.  I didn’t feel like “worrying” Him either.

            In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV) In Psalms 68:19 it says, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (NIV)

            My problem was not my problems.  It was how I dealt with my problems.  I believed that if I stuffed them I wouldn’t burden the Lord but it wasn’t really that I didn’t want to burden Him it was that I didn’t want to deal with them.  I believed I could hide them and so what I did was wear a “mask.”  Everyone around me believed I was fine because that’s what I led on but the truth was that I wasn’t.  I wasn’t fine because I wasn’t dealing with my problems head on!  I wasn’t giving them to the Lord and asking for his help in how to deal with them. 

            In Luke 8:17 Jesus said, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” (NIV)  I was in a Bible Study a few years ago entitled “Breaking Free,” by Beth Moore (I love her studies!).  I don’t believe I have ever enjoyed and suffered through a Bible Study at the same time ever again!  I dived into that study and it was through that study the Lord convicted me of hiding my burdens from Him.  As if I could really hide anything from Him! 

            In Psalms 139:23 David wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  In Psalm 139:1 David started out this Psalm with, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.” (NIV)  Oh how well put David!  The Lord knows all things!  What was I thinking!  I’m so glad God used that study to convict me!  He knew and still knows everything and anything about me as He does for you too!  There is absolutely nothing on God’s green earth that can be hidden from Him.

            So, my dear friend, the Lord knows my heart, I can earnestly say that I do not stuff my emotions, problems, complaints and or anxieties of life down into my soul anymore.  I bring them to Him.  I lay them (figuratively) down at His feet and leave them there.  I trust in His Knowledge to deal with them and lead me.  It is through His guidance and His strength that I can work through all things.  Philippians 4:13, one of my life verses says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (NIV) 

So as I stuffed my pockets with just a few things I looked up to heaven and thanked God for His goodness and his wonderful patience with me.  My dear friend, thank you for reading this devotion and may the Lord bless you.   

             

From the Heart, Devotion #6

            I am so thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given to me to be in full time ministry!  I am very much looking forward to all that will be going on in the New Year!  With all of the planning, researching, writing, and a lot of other things with starting this ministry I just realized last night that I never did share with you why I chose “Reflecting Truth Ministries” as the name for my ministry!  I just dived in and wrote five devotionals and not once did I share this tidbit of my heart.  Woops! J

            In Luke 6:45 Jesus said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (NIV: New International Version)  What a great reminder this is!  What is in our hearts is what is reflected out to the world.  In Luke 8:16-17 Jesus also said, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed.  Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.  For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”

            I am working on a book that has to do with what is reflected from our hearts and why.  It’s entitled “Reflections of the Heart.”  I’ll keep you updated on when it’s published and available for you to purchase (hopefully sometime next year).  Here’s an excerpt from chapter two: “What we are passionate about is where our heart is.  If our number one in our hearts is our job then our life is all about that job.  If our number one is our spouse then everything in our lives is about them.  Anything that takes the place of God is where our devotion lies.  Where our heart is determines where God is in our lives.  In Mathew 22:37 (NIV) Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself….”  If our heart is devoted to something other than God then we are not following the greatest of all of the commandments.  We need to ask ourselves why this person or thing is more important than God.”

            I have been teaching Bible Studies ever since I was a teenager.  I have always loved teaching!  Now I am a wonderfully blessed married woman and my sweet husband and I have three beautiful children between the ages of six and twelve.  I love teaching about the importance of God being in first place in our lives.  If He is in first place then that is what is reflected out to the world but if He’s not in first place then that’s what is being reflected out into the world.  I’ve done both!  There was a time in my life when my husband and my kids took the top place in my life and boy was I suffering!  Don’t get me wrong please!  I love my family with all of my heart but the priorities in my life have changed for the better!

            When God convicted me of idolizing my husband and our children I turned to His Word.  In Exodus 20:4 it says, “You shall not make for yourself and idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”  An idol is not just a thing that looks like a minnie statute, it can be a person, place or thing.  The most important commandment is to love God first with everything, my heart, mind and soul.  The second most important commandment is to love my neighbors as I love myself.  My neighbor’s includes my family!  When the priorities were placed in the right order, God first, husband second, children third, life became blissful!  Not that life is always “perfect,” but my Rock, my Foundation is God and no one or no thing else.             

I am so incredibly thankful for you!  I pray for you constantly!  I am so humbled by your love and support.  Thank your for taking the time to read my devotional postings.  May the Lord bless you and your loved ones!  Have a very Merry Christmas! 

 

           

           

“Going from coveting to contentment”,  Devotional #5

            Have you ever seen a beautiful house and wondered why yours wasn’t that big or pretty?  I almost did it the other day while I was watching HGTV!  I haven’t always coveted a beautiful house but to be honest I’ve done it plenty of times.   There was a time when I would covet someone’s house or car or vacation at least once a week!  I knew at the time that one of the commandments states that we should not covet (“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17 NIV).  I still coveted anyway.  It wasn’t until the Lord convicted me of why I coveted that I stopped.

            I was reading Philippians 4:11b-13 one day and that’s when the conviction hit me like a good slap on the face, like the ones you see in the Spanish novelas (soap opera)!  It says, “…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”

            The definition for coveting is, to wrongfully desire what belongs to someone else.  Content means to be pleased or satisfied.  If I were to be truly content with my life then why was I desiring what belonged to someone else?  The answer for me was that I was unsatisfied with what I did have and therefore opened myself up to the sin of coveting.  Yes, it is a sin to covet.  That is why its one of the commandments.  Coveting something from someone else means that what you have isn’t good enough.  This in turn means that the heart is ungrateful.  An ungrateful heart is unsatisfied with God’s provision.

            My friend, please do not misunderstand what I mean.  It is more than fine to have “wants” and not just “needs” brought to the Lord and a desire for Him to provide them to you or to your loved ones.  What I am saying is that after He has provided and the heart is ungrateful for what has been provided leads to sin.  It opens the door for the evil one to penetrate our hearts and our minds with negative thoughts that lead us to be ungrateful.

            Have you ever given your child a gift with all of your love to then have them fuss and complain that it was not what they wanted?  That’s the same thing as us wanting something from the Lord and when we receive it we are not satisfied.  Just like we fulfill a lot of our children’s desires the Lord does so for us too.  But sometimes we don’t fulfill their desire for whatever the reason, be it they’re too young, it’s too expensive, it was something inappropriate…whatever the reason the truth is we do not always fulfill their wants but we do all that we can to fulfill their needs.

            In Philippians 4:19 (NIV) says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Mathew 7:7-11 NIV) 

            Again, in Philippians 4:13 it says “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”  Yes, it’s true, it’s hard to not covet especially when you do not have much but that is where Jesus’ strength helps!  He helps us to do all things even to be grateful in whatever our current situation. He knows what are needs and our wants are and He will provide what is best for us just as we would for our children.

            So, the next time I watch HGTV, which is often, I will be strong and not covet the beautiful houses that are shown and instead admire the beauty like I do a painting and leave it at that! 

           

‘Tis the Season to Reflect  (Devotional #4)

            This is the first Christmas season that I’m not running around “like a chicken without a head.”  I didn’t participate in my church’s adult choir Christmas presentation.  I have yet to write any Christmas cards and I probably won’t get to.  I’m not going to make a special Christmas crafty gift for the kids Sunday school class my husband and I teach.  It is the 12^th of December and I haven’t gone Christmas shopping yet, I do plan to get to it.  There was a children’s snow thing that my city put together that the kids showed interest in going to and I didn’t take them.

            Sounds like I’m not in the Christmas spirit?  Believe me I am. I just don’t desire to get so busy that I miss out on what this season is really about.  I’ve done that before.  I’ve gotten so busy with baking, singing in the church choir, shopping, wrapping gifts, visiting friends/family, cooking, cleaning, receiving guests, cleaning up after the guests, going to the kids Christmas pageants, shopping some more…it’s exhausting!!!
           My friends, is this your list this year?  Does this sound familiar?  Why is it that this season is such a busy one?  Is the reason of the season to be busy?  No, of course not.  The reason for the season is Jesus but with all of this activity the reason for this season seems to be tucked away somehow.  It’s usually not until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day that we even stop to realize that the reason we celebrate this holiday is to remember him. 

            “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you…You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God…nothing is impossible with God…
           In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world…And everyone went to his own town to register…So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn…

            And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you.  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

            Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  …So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger…The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”  Luke 1-2:20 (paraphrased from NIV)

            “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”  After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”  Mathew 2:1-12 (paraphrased from NIV) 

            I shared the one and only true Christmas story with you because this is in fact the reason for the season.  The reason is to remember this event that changed the world forever.  So yes, I hung the tree and put up my traditional Christmas tiny houses.  I went to see the choir from my church present their Christmas program.  I plan to go and see some more Christmas lights with the kids and may catch a couple of other Christmas events in my city.  I plan to do some baking for my family too.  Oh and yes, I will get around to the Christmas shopping but I will not over do it this year.  I am soaking up the wonders of this season.  The beauty of remembering Christ’s gift to us was his birth.  The reason he came at all was to then die on the cross for us so that we may have Salvation and relationship with him. 

            So, my friends enjoy this wonderful season.  Enjoy your friends and family.  Revel in the love they have for you and share your love for them.  And most of all, remember the true reason for the season!

Who Did It?  Devotional #3

            The kids and I were at my parent’s house the other day and I was helping out with the dishes.  I thought I was done when I surveyed the breakfast table and it was empty.  The dining room table had no dishes either.  There was nothing left on the counters and everything was wiped clean.  I was so hungry and couldn’t wait to sit and finally eat my lunch which was why I went to the refrigerator.  I opened the refrigerator door wondering what I would like to eat.  I was so hungry!  I knew the kids had eaten as well as my mom so I just had to prepare something for me. 

            Instead of being able to just grab what I wanted to eat, which would have been so much easier, there was an unpleasant surprise waiting for me.  What was in front of me, greeting me, no, taunting me, was a cup that still had strawberry banana smoothie spilling out of it!  The smoothie had spilled under things like the vegetable drawer and was starting to get sticky!  Ugh!  Did I mention how hungry I was?  I unapologetically yelled out to my kids, who were happily playing their x-box in the other room, “who didn’t finish their smoothie?!”  You see, I was hoping that by wording the question a little bit differently than the typical, “who did it?” type of question I would get an honest answer this time instead of the typical, “not me,” answer.  Which would then be followed up by me with the typical “then who did it?” question which would be followed up by them with the typical “I don’t know,” answer. 
            My three kids walked into the kitchen to see what mess I was talking about (because of course they need proof of why they got caught).  They answered me with their version of the truth which was, “it wasn’t me.”  I looked at the three of them and said, you guessed it, “then who did it?”  And, yes you know the answer they gave, “I don’t know.”
            A few days later, when the topic came up again, they gave me the true answer.  The youngest had asked the oldest to please put his smoothie away because he didn’t want anymore.  The oldest asked the middle child to put it away.  She did as was asked.  So the answer was all three.   
            Don’t we adults do the same?  Don’t we try to hide under the “I don’t know,” answer too?  I know I have many times.  I’m fine with admitting I did things I’m not ashamed of, things that I’m proud of achieving.  But when I know I sinned I have a harder time admitting it.  I’ll bring my sins to the Lord on my own a lot of the time but truth be told a lot of the times it’s not until some strong conviction from the Almighty that I’ll bring the other sins to Him.
            1John 1:9 says (NIV) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  Sometimes pride gets in the way of us admitting that we sinned in the first place.  You could justify just about anything but justifications do not erase sins.  1 John 1:10 says (NIV) “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”  Ouch!  Truth can hurt sometimes.  Here’s more truth, Romans 3:23-24 (NIV) says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely, by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”  And one more verse, 2 Samuel 22:31 “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”  
            My kids know they can take refuge with me.  This is why they did confess what happened with the opened cup of smoothie that fell in the refrigerator, which I had to clean.  Even though they didn’t confess the same day it happened they eventually did.  Same goes with me.  I don’t always confess everything the same day, sometimes I’m not even aware of my sin the very day I commit them but I do take them to the Lord.  I know I can take refuge in him because He is my shield.

              

              

“Stepping Up” Devotional #2 12/6/12

It’s so easy to leave for tomorrow what can be done today.  I should know, until recently I was the self proclaimed Queen of Procrastination.  If the task at hand was a bit too tedious, boring, would take too long, not at all interesting, I’d put it off.  I started this bad habit when I was a kid.  Just about every report, project, paper, and or assignment that was assigned I would wait until the absolute last minute to get it done.  Even though my teachers were really good about giving ample time to study for an exam I’d still wait until the night before to study. 

As an adult I have had a HARD TIME changing this bad habit and replacing it with the good habit of getting things done early.  The times that I have been able to do things early instead of at the last minute I was not stressed, not frazzled, not worried about messing up. 

I knew that by stepping up for God in ministry there would be absolutely no room for procrastination.  I had to face this problem head on and change my attitude.  My attitude always was that I had time to get things done but the reality was that the time I had was to get the task done over a period of time and not all at once. 

With ministry there’s a lot of work involved.  It’s all great things, that bring glory to God but its work and more importantly its work that needs to get done on time.  Through lots of prayer the Lord revealed to me that my problem with procrastination was not the inability of getting things done early or the desire to be irresponsible.  The root of my procrastination problem was fear.  Fear of what?  Fear of not being able to get things done well.  Fear of being outdone by someone else and feeling inadequate.  Fear of rejection.  Fear of the unknown.  I’ve shared with you how I tend to have high expectations.  The core reason for those high expectations is the need to please.  If I fail at pleasing whoever then I fall short of my expectation and if I fall short of my expectation then I failed. 

In Proverbs 29:25 it says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”  The fear I had of not being able to be pleasing to people was a trap.  It kept me from doing my best.  It kept me from doing what I had to do at the time that God wanted me to do it.  In Joshua 1:9 the Lord told Joshua “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua had a lot to be afraid of.  Moses was a great leader and now that Moses had passed away he was given the job to lead God’s people into the Promised Land.  All it took for him to not be afraid were these words of encouragement that the Lord gave him.  He stood up for God and did what he had to do to accomplish what he was purposed for. 

I know that God has purposed me for ministry and like Joshua these words of encouragement did the trick to get me to remember that God is the one who gives me strength and courage to do things.  It is with His perfect love that I can “do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)  Therefore no matter if what I do pleases everyone or not I need and will do it on time with lots of love.  In 1 John 4:18 it says that “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”   

God bless you and thanks for reading my blog!

Devotional #1 12/4/2012

Welcome to my brand new blog! I'm really excited about starting a blog.  I’m starting a full time women’s ministry and I’ll be giving updates on the ministry here!  I also will be writing daily devotions (that's my plan anyway).  

So here’s my very first devotion written by me! J

Here I am again. Christmas is right around the corner. Thanksgiving came and went a couple of weeks ago. I have yet to buy any Christmas presents for my own children let alone for anyone else. Right after Christmas, every year, I say that I'm going to buy presents throughout the whole year so that I won’t have to buy presents at the last minute. I think that buying things that are on sale throughout the year is better than buying presents all at one time at higher prices.  I could even save some money that way.  But, no, I have yet to do that.  It is nice to plan things. Its nice to say that you’ll do things that you know would be beneficial to you or to others.  But putting them into practice is a whole other thing.

It's the same with applying God's Truth to our lives. For me personally I am by nature, thanks to my DNA, an incredibly stubborn woman. I know that His Word is Truth. I know that applying them to my life is what will help me grow and improve. There are things that I haven’t had a hard time applying to my life like when Jesus said not to worry about tommorrow because it has its own trouble (Mathew 6:34 NIV “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”)  I’m easy-going by nature, I’m not really a “worry wart” so I didn’t find that one too hard.  (But then again, there are days that I find myself worrying about the same thing I was worrying about the day before, hmmm)

But here's one that I have stubbornly avoided until just this very week. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Intellectually I understood this verse but in my heart I had a hard time with that part that says, "do not be anxious about anything.”  I tend to second guess myself.  My expectations for myself are usually too high and so when I don’t meet them I’m hard on myself. Like I find myself today, being hard on myself for not shopping earlier.

So, in reference to Christmas shopping and tying in these verses.  I cannot be anxious about not having shopped for gifts yet.  Anxiety left “untreated” turns into major worry which then goes against what Mathew 6:34 says because that worry from today will spill into tomorrow.  Instead, and here’s the application, what I will do is accept that I didn’t do as I planned last year and go shopping at the last minute and be thankful that I can go shopping at all!

God bless you!  Thanks for reading my first devotional post!