Tag Archives: prosperous

Your Gift Will Make Room For You

Your Gift Will Make Room For You

Your Gift Will Make Room For You

God gave us our gifts and our talents for a couple of purposes.  One is to point people to Him, which we’ll talk more about later.  Another purpose of our gifts is to bring us prosperity, honor, influence and happiness.  Pretty cool, huh?!  The bible says that your gift will make room for you.  I’d like to encourage you today that God does want you to be Happy, Healthy & Prosperous, and He will use your GIFTS to help you accomplish that!

Your gift will make room for you…your gift is designed to prosper you, to make you money and bring you wealth, and to provide for you. Your gifts were designed to help you make a living.  They will advance you in life and move you forward.  God wants to bless you through your gifts.  In turn, your gifts will be a blessing for other people too.  Your gifts will meet a need, and consequently you will be compensated for that.  It’s a win-win!

It’s pretty cool to me that I actually get to do what I love (teach, write, speak) and get paid for it!  I think for so long I felt like I was just going through the motions in life, in my jobs, and in my roles.  I lacked a sense of purpose.  I think a major factor in that was that I hadn’t discovered my gifts yet and wasn’t fully using them.  I was frustrated because I was operating outside of my gifts.  When I started to discover my God-given gifts and started to use them, joy was an automatic by-product.  Knowing that I was helping others with my gifts and getting paid to do so was a huge bonus!  The proverb that your gift will make room for you started to make a lot of sense to me. 

YOUR GIFT WILL MAKE ROOM FOR YOU MEANS THAT IN ADDITION TO ADVANCING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, YOUR GIFTS & PURPOSE ARE MEANT TO PROSPER YOU AND BRING YOU SUCCESS AND FULFILLMENT.

“A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Proverbs 18:16 (AMP)

“A present [gift] is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers.” Proverbs 17:8 (NKJV)

“But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV)

When we faithfully operate in our gifts the way God intended (to serve Him and His people), those gifts will bring promotion into our life.  If used right, Continue reading

Feeling Lucky? It’s Not Luck, It’s Favor.

Feeling Lucky It's not luck it's favor ...Learn how to be more lucky or have favor Feeling Lucky? It’s Not Luck, It’s Favor.

There’s a lot of talk about luck on St. Patrick’s Day.  People who know me often call me a lucky person.  Today I thought I would share the secret to my “luck” with you.  It’s not luck; it’s favor.

I think God blesses people.  I think many “coincidences” are God-ordained moments and opportunities.  In my opinion, many people are just favored, not necessarily lucky.  I also think that this has a lot to do with what we speak out of our mouths.  There is TREMENDOUS power in words (I could share enough on this for a whole series of posts).  If you’re somebody that always says, “I never win anything” or “I’m just not lucky” or “I don’t have good luck” etc.  Guess what…You’re going to have exactly what you say.  On the other hand if you say and agree with what God’s Word says, that you’re favored, then you’ll have exactly that!  You’ll be favored (or some might call it lucky).  Either way, it’s good to be favored or lucky.

“Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12 (NIV) 

Some good things that come into our lives are a direct consequence of our actions.  The flipside is true as well.  I think some bad luck is just flat-out reaping what you sow or in others words…Karma, getting what’s coming to you, or getting your comeuppance.  Eric actually thought I made that word up, when I said I hoped somebody would get their comeuppance (I think I actually said “comeupins” probably with a bit of a southern drawl).  So I looked it up to show him that it was a real word and that I didn’t make it up.  I think I have a lot of sayings that I picked up from my parents or grandparents that he’s never heard before so he thinks I just make stuff up.  In his defense…I really do sometimes! 🙂  In fact the other day I went to a Moms In Prayer luncheon with a friend, and we were admiring the table setting.  I told her that it was very “Pinterestable”.  One of the other ladies asked if that was a word, and I had to admit “No.  I just made that up.”  However, I did later go and google that word and found that other people actually already use it, so I guess I didn’t really make it up!  I didn’t make favor up though—it’s real.

As Christians, prosperity is something that is ours simply because we are children of God.  God wants us to be prosperous.  I don’t call my site Happy, Healthy & Prosperous for nothing!  I also believe that prosperity is so much more than wealth or monetary or superficial gain.  I believe Continue reading

Funny Friday: Road Sign

Funny Friday: Road Sign...the only thing missing is the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz!

 

Funny Friday: Road Sign

I thought this would be a fitting Funny Friday photo this week since we were just talking about getting lost and following directions and guidance.  It’s no wonder I got lost in Texas with a road sign like this!  The only thing missing is the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. 🙂

“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 (NLT)

Funny Friday: Wrong Shampoo!

I've been using the wrong shampoo!

Funny Friday: Wrong Shampoo!

I was talking with some of the ladies at Craft Club at church this past week.  One of the ladies was telling us about something she read the other day.  She was saying that she read this article about how we might be using the wrong shampoo.  The article mentioned that if you’ll read your shampoo bottle closely it says, “sheer volume,” “plumping effect,” and “thick, full body,”.  This shampoo runs down our entire body in the shower!  Now I totally understand WHY my backside is so big!! 🙂  Why have we never noticed this before?  So the solution…quit using the wrong shampoo!  Apparently the article said to start using Dawn dish soap since it “dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove.”  I guess we need to start paying better attention to those warning labels!

“A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.” Proverbs 17:22 (NCV) 🙂 

Feeling like you don’t fit in?

Feeling like you don’t fit in? Somebody has already accepted you…

Feeling like you don’t fit in?  Somebody has already accepted you…

Acceptance is a big deal.  It seems like everyone I know has felt like they didn’t fit in at one point or another in their life.  It’s an awkward and uncomfortable feeling.  It can sometimes even cause some self-doubt and thoughts of “what’s wrong with me”.  At times being around certain people can even make us feel worse about ourselves.  The lack of acceptance by others is one of the common causes of insecurity.

It’s not a new issue either.  Timothy in the bible apparently didn’t feel accepted or didn’t feel like he fit in because he was young.  Paul had to explain to Timothy not to let his young age (or people who didn’t respect him because he was so young) get in the way of his ministry.

“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT)  

I heard a song on the radio the other day when I was riding with Eric.  It was actually a pretty catchy song, but listening to the lyrics made me a bit sad.  The song was “Cool Kids” by Echosmith.  Part of the lyrics say, “I wish that I could be like the cool kids ‘cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in.  I wish that I could be like the cool kids, like the cool kids.”  I hear pain in this song.  I hear the hurt of not feeling the acceptance of others and not being able to fit in.  I hear a message that most people could relate to at some point in their life, myself included (“cool kids” might not even be kids).  Continue reading

Funny Friday: Funny Math

Funny Math

Funny Friday: Funny Math

This was a homework problem for one my husband’s mechanical engineering classes.  I had to laugh…How is this even solvable?!  He showed my son, who is in the 4th grade and asked him if he wanted to help him solve it.  My son said “No!  I don’t know what that is!  I’m not in your grade yet!”  Ha!  Kids…gotta love ’em. 🙂

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.”  Psalm 119:130 (NLT)

Funny Friday: LOL and Upsey

LOL...Lots of Love OR Laugh out Loud!! :)

Funny Friday: LOL and Upsey

I originally found this funny text on Pinterest a while back along with some other funny “parent texts”.  I cracked up because I can relate!  I was just having a conversation with a friend at church this week about sometimes feeling out of the loop with some of my younger students and all of their current lingo and text talk.  I even had to ask one of my college students this week what “upsey” meant because he had posted on our online course site that he was “upsey” to be in our class.  Apparently it was just a typo, and he meant to put “upset”! 🙂  You never know though!  So “LOL” today and try not to be “upsey”!

Have you ever felt "upsey"? :)

A time to weep, and a time to laugh…” Ecclesiastes 3:4 (ESV) …and a time to be “upsey” 🙂

Flaws, Imperfections, Mistakes: Are they really all bad?

Flaws, Imperfections, Mistakes: Are they really all bad?

Flaws, Imperfections, Mistakes: Are they really all bad?

Sometimes our flaws, imperfections and mistakes can be a trigger for insecurity.  I kind of bundled these in with “appearances and imperfections” as one of the 9 Common Causes of Insecurity.  Throughout the bible we see character after character that appeared flawed or unusable.  For example, Moses felt that he had an imperfection that would hinder him from doing what God wanted.

“But Moses pleaded with the lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Exodus 4:10 (NLT)

If I’ve learned one thing though, it’s that God uses the unlikely.  This gives me hope…That even through all my flaws, imperfections and mistakes (both internal and external), God can and WILL still use me. 

“[No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.  And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are” 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 (AMP)

Jesus, himself, was unlikely…a baby, from Nazareth (considered a lowly town in Galilee), born in a manger (feeding trough) in a stable, and born of lowly parents.  This is not at all how most would expect the King of Kings and Savior of the world to come—unlikely.  Jesus’ blood line was also unlikely…including a liar/cheater (Jacob), an ugly/unwanted/unloved woman (Leah), a betrayer (Judah), a woman who acted like a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law (Tamar), a prostitute (Rahab), a murderer and adulterer (David), a polygamist and sex-addict (Solomon), and many kings who turned away from God.  Basically, Jesus descended from some pretty flawed and shady characters! Continue reading