Tag Archives: success

Success: What is it? What is God’s Idea of Success?

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Success: What is it? What is God’s Idea of Success?

Success. What is success? What does a successful person look like? How do we know when we’ve achieved success? I mean success is something we all strive for, right? It goes to reason then, that we should know what it is that we are aiming toward.

So who gets to define success? I think it’s safe to say that culture, society or the rest of the world probably defines success significantly differently than God does. Culture might say that success looks like wealth, power, status, fame, happiness, and fortune. Are these things bad? No, not at all. Some of the people that the bible calls “successful” had these things, but they didn’t always. Quite frankly, they were called successful before they even had these things!

Joseph…success as a slave and prisoner

Joseph was second in command to the Pharaoh of Egypt, making him rich, powerful, famous, respected, and so on. However, God called Joseph successful when he was a slave and a prisoner before he ever got to the point of status, wealth, power and fame.

“The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.” Genesis 39:2-3 (NLT)

“The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” Genesis 29:23 (NLT)

David…success as an underdog, servant and fugitive

David was considered one of the greatest and most beloved kings that ever lived possessing all of the things previously discussed…fame, power, fortune, wealth, and more. However, He was considered a success even before he became king. In fact, he was an underdog, a servant to Saul, and even a fugitive escaping Saul’s wrath and jealousy when he was called “successful”.

“David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the LORD was with him.” 1 Samuel 18:14 (NLT)

Counterintuitive success

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Pruning: Cutting Out Things to Become Stronger and More Productive

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Pruning: Cutting Out Things to Become Stronger and More Productive

Pruning: Cutting Out Things to Become Stronger and More Productive

I love being and working outside, especially this time of year with planting and gardening. Plants make me happy. I might even describe myself as an amateur gardener. However, I use this “gardener” term very loosely! Over the years I’ve learned a lot about God through the planting process. In fact, the bible is full of gardening and agricultural analogies, being they were so prevalent in that culture.

Because I love gardening so much, it’s easy for God to talk to me and for me to understand in gardening terms. For that reason, it happens a lot. Just this past week in fact I was reading John 15 where Jesus is describing himself and the vine, us as the branches, and God (the Father) as the gardener.

During this particular reading, the pruning process stood out to me. I think this was because of what God has been speaking to me about lately. Specifically, this made sense with regard to removing distractions when spending time with and listening to God. I mentioned last week that I was being “corrected” in this area! Therefore, pruning distractions fit right in the theme of what I was already learning.

John 15:1-8 (NIV)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Bearing Fruit=Being Successful

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Top 10 Posts of 2015

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Happy, Healthy & Prosperous Top 10 Posts of 2015

Top 10 Posts of 2015

“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 2015.  I 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 couple of 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 (that I oh-so-reluctantly started…and sometimes still reluctantly continue!).

Lastly, it helps me (and hopefully you too) know 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.  For example, 3 of the most popular posts have to do with leading someone to Christ or praying for someone to come to Christ.  For starters this makes me SUPER excited to know that people are actively seeking these types of websites out.  To me this means that the body of Christ is continuing to grow, and I know to continue to pray for the people who have come across these posts to have boldness to lead someone to the Lord and to agree in prayer with them that their unsaved loved ones will be saved and grow in their relationship with God.  Another example, is that the posts about being unloved and unwanted are overwhelmingly popular…which makes me so sad to know that there are so many people feeling unloved and unwanted.  I continue to pray that they will know and fully experience the love of God and of others.

Take Some Practical Steps:

  • As you look through this list of most popular posts, please take a minute to pray for one or more of the topics that stand out to you (like my examples above).
  • Please click on and read or re-read one or more of the posts from which you feel you may be able to receive some benefit or of which you might need some reminding.
  • Pay it forward…if one or more of the following posts has benefited you, please forward it/them to others you feel they may benefit (you might prayerfully consider who to share them with), or consider sharing them on your social media channels (sharing links are available at the end of each post).
  • Lastly, please pray for me this year to #1-continue to help others, #2-for me to have to right words at the right time, and #3-for the right people to be directed to my site for God to help them.
    Remember what God has done for you and pay it forward!

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Top 10 Posts of 2015

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Top 10 Posts of 2014

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Happy, Healthy & Prosperous: Top 10 Posts of 2014

The New Year is here!  We had a stellar year in 2014 (of course with ups and downs).  This time last year this blog was just a passing thought in my head.  OK…it was actually a suggestion command from God that I reluctantly accepted over several months (didn’t get my site up and running until July!).  Overall, though I’m so glad I obeyed God.  I feel honored to be used to speak into the lives of people and hopefully share a little bit of insight of practical ways to achieve Godly success in a variety of areas.  This past week I did a year-in-review and checked on my site’s progress.  This week, I thought I’d share the Top 10 Posts of 2014 with you in case you missed any or would like to revisit them.

TOP 10 POSTS OF 2014:

  1. What Does Your Price Tag Say? A Message on Self-Worth…

    What Does Your Price Tag Say? A Message on Self Worth...

    Top 10 Posts of 2014 #1

Our value is not determined by labels that others put on us or by even by labels we put on ourselves.  This post gives some resources and tips on overcoming the negative labels we wear and some tips for creating new ones.

  1. 9 Common Causes of Insecurity

    9 Common Causes of Insecurity

    Top 10 Posts of 2014 #2

Most people deal with insecurity in one form or another.  This post addresses 9 common causes of insecurity with examples of each in scripture.  I share some of my personal struggles with insecurity.

  1. How to Apologize Effectively

    How to Apologize Effectively

    Top 10 Posts of 2014 #3

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What Does Your Price Tag Say? A Message on Self Worth...

What Does Your Price Tag Say?

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What Does Your Price Tag Say?  A message on Self Worth…

The value of something is based on what someone is willing to pay for it or exchange for it.  Eric and I occasionally like to watch Pawn Stars and Storage Wars.  We also love to go to auctions together to find “treasures”.  We’ve learned a lot about valuation processes.  We often find it amusing on Storage Wars when the cast are making their appraisals of the contents of their storage lockers that they just purchased.

Every so often someone (usually Darrell) will inflate the worth of an item or two, and we say, “It’s not worth that!  There’s NO WAY anyone is going to pay that price for that!”  We also find it entertaining when someone walks into the pawn shop on Pawn Stars asking for some super crazy amount for something that they are trying to sell.  Their asking price is obviously declined.  Then they’ll often say, “Well, online this is selling for x-amount”, and Rick usually replies, “That’s what people are paying or that’s the price they are asking for it?  There’s a difference.”

The point he’s trying to make is that it doesn’t really matter what the list price is or what the label says.  If people aren’t willing to pay the price stated on the label, then it is probably not a correct valuation.

The same is true for us.

Our value or worth is Continue reading →

Success Lessons Learned from a Stubborn Puppy

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Success Lessons Learned from a Stubborn Puppy

Success Lessons Learned from a Stubborn Puppy

This past week I’ve been puppy-sitting for my sister while her family is on vacation.  Her little dog is such a cutie, but boy, is she an ornery little sucker!  She’s extremely curious and a bit defiant.  I found that often when I tried to warn her about “impending danger” she just completely ignored me and lunged right into it anyway!  So needless to say, I was constantly bailing her out of messes…such as getting stuck in a tomato cage in my garden after being warned not to enter it, getting a bee sting on her mouth after she decided to chase after a bee and eat it (again after being warned not too), and getting several good “scoldings” from Cinders, my dog, when she would nip at Cinders’ ears (just to name a few of her predicaments).

I decided that we must seem a lot like that puppy to God.  Continue reading →

Introducing: HappyHealthyandProsperous.com

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Do you want to know how to be Happy, Healthy & Prosperous? Come and see...

Hi! Welcome to HappyHealthyandProsperous.com!

Who I am:

My name is Tracy J. Robbins.  I love sharing about life skills for success, pairing those skills with concepts and principles from the Bible, and then explaining to apply them in practical ways in everyday, real-life situations.  I have been teaching, speaking and writing about success skills for years, and one day it hit me that God has just as much to say about our success as any expert here on earth (you’re thinking “duh!” right?).  Most of the success advice we find out there is rooted in the Bible anyway.  God WANTS us to succeed and prosper.  The Bible has A LOT to say about our happiness, our health and our prosperity.  My goal here at HappyHealthyandProsperous.com is to share success skills in a useful way with tips, steps and strategies to utilize while at the same time discovering and implementing what God has to say about it.

To be honest, I really didn’t know exactly what a blog was for a long time.  By the way, “blog” is a shortened word for “web log”—I felt a little smarter when I learned that! 🙂 My “web log” will be an avenue for me to share with you the principles that I’ve learned about developing and sustaining a happy, healthy and prosperous life!

Why I created this site/blog:

  • Some of my friends have prompted me to do so for years. 🙂
  • It gives me the opportunity to have a voice into the lives of people on a much grander scale than just interacting face-to-face.
  • Convenience is key…you can connect with me and read my posts whenever it’s convenient for you.  Yes, that means even in your PJ’s, with glasses on, no makeup and messy, ponytail hair—and I don’t see you!  OK…so maybe I’m talking about myself.  Really though, online learning/interaction is really handy because it’s at your own pace, on your own time, and you can even receive my posts and updates direct to your e-mail.
  • I also love that this form of sharing is interactive, allowing me to communicate with you while at the same time giving you the ability to share your thoughts, ideas, questions, prayer requests, etc. with me (and I encourage you to do so!).  It’s also interactive in that you can share content with others via social media, e-mail, and so on.

What you’ll find here:

This site/blog will discuss Continue reading →