Next time someone asks you how much you weigh, tell them one hundred and sexy! 🙂
“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NLT)
You gotta love a good weight meme! I swiped this one from my sister Cora’s Instagram. 🙂 Do you weigh yourself accurately? Apparently I’ve been doing it wrong all along.
“Let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless” Job 31:6 (NIV)
On occasion readers post comments on different blog posts that I feel deserve more attention than just a reply at the bottom of a post. This week is one of those occasions. A reader recently posted a comment with some questions on my post “How to Overcome Feeling Unloved or Unwanted”. I’d like to take some time to answer her questions and provide some additional resources that I think might be helpful for her and others struggling with spending time with God.
This might also be a timely message for others too since the start of the year is a common time to evaluate spiritual growth and set some goals to grow stronger and spend more time with God. You might find some good tips within the post or other resources to help you kick start and/or maintain some of your spiritual New Year’s resolutions. You can also check out Tips to Start Reading the Bible on a Regular Basis for some extra help and encouragement too.
“As great as this article is, I still can’t grasp the concept that “God” loves me…I know partly this is due to me not spending enough time in his word, but for me I never really got much of a true understanding of the Bible and his Word 1. How do I know what to read? 2. What is enough time to spend with God?
I find comfort in being around others… amongst other things, but I want to find comfort in God. 2016 was a very very hard year for me. For the past 4 or 5 months I have felt so UNLOVED, lonely, and rejected…I have prayed countless times for God to just take me away, because the pain I feel on most days has become the norm.
It hurts the most when the one person you love, says one thing but acts different….the same person that I once was all he ever wanted and because I have felt so unloved my entire life, once the triggers started happening it made me become clingy and probably push him away (although he never said it)…My point is not to get advice on the above, but instead I feel the most unloved when things like this happen.
I wish I had the belief, peace, joy, and faith, but honestly it is hard for me to fathom that there is a God…I am very skeptical, logical, and need to be in control and those 3 things are disastrous to truly believing. I get so discouraged about this. I have prayed endless prayers to stop my unbelief and doubt, to prayers about understanding, etc.
I can’t take any more on my own the stress, sadness, and heartache is making me sick. It is so hard to see and understand God when you feel like everything is against you. I truly wish I was stronger, more confidence, and self-esteem. I wish someone (outside of God) would love me like I love. I am so genuine and all that’s brought me is heartache. I sit in my room or in my car with just with tears flowing wondering what I could have done in my life to feel like this. I am hurting and can only hope that I can find happiness and joy inside of me.”
I think I found the perfect mirror to go with some of those pesky weight loss New Year’s resolutions! Do you think a “Leaner Mirror” really makes you look leaner? 🙂
“And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.” Isaiah 17:4 (ESV)
“Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered” Psalms 105:5 (ESV)
This week I’m sharing the Top 10 Posts of 2016. I always like to take the first of the year to recount some of the top or most popular posts of the previous year. I like to share them for a few reasons…
First, there are several new subscribers/followers who may not have seen or read these posts and might find some of them to be helpful.
Secondly, looking back also helps me to remember what God has done and is still doing through this website. I continue to hope and pray that I am making an impact with what I write and share.
Lastly, it helps me (and hopefully you too) have ideas of how to pray based on what the current need or demand is, and when I know that I know how to continue to pray for others. What people are frequently searching or clicking on can be an indicator of some of their needs. Whether it’s a need for spiritual growth, leading others to Christ or overcoming personal struggles, I can pray more specifically based on these posts and their popularity.
Forget setting regular goals like becoming more organized and losing weight! I think these will make for some fun New Year’s resolutions!
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?…” Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)
This hilarious 3 minute video of Christmas according to kids has been quite popular on the internet this month. Southland Christian Church did a great job of acting out the children’s version of the Christmas story! The reenactment is spot on to the kids’ retelling! Take a few minutes to watch this clip and you might learn something new 🙂 …like maybe how Mary must have been doing laundry as the angel approached her or how she and Joseph ventured to Bethle-ha-ha-ham. (If you’re viewing through e-mail click on the post link to watch the video or watch it directly on YouTube via this link.)
“They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.'” Matthew 21:16 (NLT)
Do you guys remember that old Garth Brooks song “Unanswered Prayers”? The song tells a story about a man and his wife bumping into an old high school girlfriend. Years before he would pray that that old girlfriend would one day be his wife. Then he goes on to say that some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Well, today I’m not actually going to talk about unanswered prayers but about another gift from God: answered un-prayers.
I’ve discovered that God often answers “prayers” that we’ve never actually even prayed. I often look back and see how God has worked things out, and I didn’t even have to pray! I don’t know why I get so shocked by it sometimes.
The Nativity Story…as retold by the kids!
Recently, I experience some answered un-prayers. My mom had asked me to get a hold of my siblings and arrange a date to do our family Christmas party. We do a separate gift exchange for the adults where the adults get together and play Dirty Santa. While the adults are playing all of the kids get together and organize a play or a retelling of the Nativity Story (ALWAYS entertaining).
My family Dirty Santa invite I sent out
Sometimes it can be a bit stressful trying to arrange a function that accommodates everyone. I was having trouble trying to find a date that would work for everyone. We had already been struggling to find a day and time to do the annual Christmas pictures of all the grandkids. Then it’s also occasionally difficult to work around families with shared custody with ex-spouses in order to work with what weekends they have the kids.
On top of that, it’s hunting season, so we have to accommodate the hunters in the family. Then we also have to schedule around volunteering for the church Christmas functions, attending church Christmas services and the rest of the holiday obligations (Christmas concerts, work parties, other family gatherings, gatherings with friends, and so on). It’s a lot to try to fit in this time of year!
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