 BE STRONG! Have you ever been in a really tough situation? Have you been in a really tough situation and surprised yourself with how you handled it? We have had several conversations with many of you and we know that is the case! Many of you have situations in your past and some of you are going through situations now that have forced you to be strong. This quote says "...until the only choice you have" is being strong. BUT, we all have a choice. We can cower in fear, hide in embarrassment, avoid in denial, or any number of other responses. However, when we allow God to take control of the situation, when we ask Him DAILY to guide our steps and help us control our emotions, I believe we will be left with the courage to be strong no matter what. I believe it will end up being our only choice. I do not wish upon you any tough situation, but if you encounter one, I pray your response is one of strength based on Who is carrying you through it!  BE STRONG! Do you have a dream? Is it a "little" dream? Is it a "big" dream? Why is it a dream of yours? What do you hope to accomplish through this dream? Purpose behind a dream gives it life. Purpose brings reality to a dream. If you want to achieve something, if you want to be someone, make sure you understand WHY. Look back at your strengths and skills tests from the event. See if you can attach a purpose behind some of them. If your strength is communication and a skill is writing, but you don't really know how to develop that strength and skill, put some purpose behind them. Maybe you have a specific message of encouragement you want to communicate to women who have lost someone. Maybe you want to communicate a method of decorating on a budget to help those less fortunate feel they are living in their dream home. Maybe you want to communicate instruction to younger girls about staying strong in their convictions within relationships. Maybe you want to inspire women to become all God created them to be. :) Whatever the purpose, if you have one, you are way more likely to step out of your comfort zone and set out to achieve the impossible. I pray you become a believer in your own strengths and skills, and I pray you seek the Lord's guidance in using them to make manifest the glory of God that is within you!  BE STRONG! How does it make you feel when you find out someone was talking about you behind your back. What if I said they were talking about some wonderful aspect about your character? Or about your ability to bring out the best in others? Or about the way they can see Jesus in you when you are kind to strangers? It's not always a bad thing to talk about others behind their backs - just make your words those that will build up and not tear down. Learn to be an encourager. It doesn't always come naturally, but what a difference encouraging words can make. See if you can find ways to talk about the strengths of others even if they will never know we were talking about them. Complete, don't Compete! Complete your friendships by genuinely building up your friends - don't compete with them by tearing them down or allowing others to do so. We all have different strengths, skills, talents, and gifts - let's celebrate those differences and empower our friends. I pray that you would find ways to bring glory to God when you honor your friends by building them up both while you are with them and when they are not around! You are beautiful - you are BECOMING!
Thank you for being you! jenny
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This morning, I was looking through my digital photos for a specific picture - which I found - but a few spots over, I saw a picture I had taken of a page out of a Bible. I evidently took the pix in March out of a new translation I was reading called The Voice. Have you heard of it? It was of Romans 12. I'm sure you've heard parts of this before, but you might not have heard it from this translation. And if you haven't heard it, you are in for a treat. :)
Romans 12:4 starts like this: "For in the same way that one body has so many different parts, each with different functions, we, too - the many - are different parts that form one body in the Liberation King. Each one of us is joined with one another, and we become together what we could not be alone." Easy enough - we are all parts of one body in Christ. I love the last part of that, though. "Each one is joined with one another, and WE BECOME TOGETHER WHAT WE COULD NOT BE ALONE." WOW!!! I hadn't heard it put quite like that. Together, we can become what we couldn't become alone. So maybe we need each other after all. I heard it said once that we were meant NOT to COMPETE with each other, but rather COMPLETE each other as sisters. That verse is a great example of that - we become together what we could not be alone. Again - WOW!!! Ok, to continue on with verse 6 ... "6) Since our gifts vary depending on the grace poured out on each of us, it is important that we exercise the gifts we have been given. If prophecy is your gift, then speak as a prophet according to your proportion of faith. If service is your gift, then serve well. If teaching is your gift, then teach well. If you have been given a voice of encouragements, then use it often. If giving is your gift, then be generous If leading then be eager to get started. If sharing God's mercy, then be cheerful in sharing it." We did our strengths and skills exercises, have you worked on them again? Have you gone back to look at what you wrote that day? Have you avoided it? Remember, BECOMING IS A JOURNEY! This is a process. Don't just attend the conference and be excited that day, that weekend, or that next week. EMBARK!!! Go back to your notes from the conference - what did God say to you that weekend? What has He said to you since then? Are you listening??? Are you asking?!?! Embark on that journey that God has for you discovering, uncovering and becoming! Put the effort in - some days the effort will be much more than others - but take time to discover things about yourself you didn't know, to uncover things you have consciously and subconsciously hidden, and to become more like Christ in ALL areas of life. BABY STEPS!!! Some days we just need to focus on baby steps. This week, let's take a baby step together. Pick ONE area, just ONE, to work on this week. Maybe this area is a role you have, maybe it's a strength of your yours, or a skill, but whatever it is, do it well. As we just read, "serve well, teach well..." Whether our roles, strengths, or skills are being a co-worker, being a mother, being a wife, being a boss, being a manager, being an artist, being a singer, encouraging, writing, speaking - whatever it is, do it well. Mother well, lead well, manage well, design well, write well, whatever you do, do it well as you are becoming all He created you to be. You are BEAUTIFUL! You are BECOMING!! thanks for being you - jenny |
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