The power of grace

We don’t have to be miserable, frustrated and unhappy in difficult places.

 If you and I have been in the world very long, we’ve learned there are very few days that go exactly the way we’d like them to go. There always seem to be different things happening that can affect our plans. Until we learn that our joy can’t be based on our circumstances, we’re going to have nothing but what I call a “yo-yo” experience, which is up and down, up and down, up and down. We have to find a way to stay happy, even when our circumstances don’t suit us or we don’t get a breakthrough as quickly as we’d like—or when people around us aren’t what we’d like them to be or they’re frustrating us or there’s disappointment.

God is never going to put us into a situation or permit us to be in one, without giving us the ability to be in it with joy.

I believe God makes His grace available to us each and every day. If God asks us to stay in a situation, then He is going to give us a special grace, for a special season, to experience His peace and joy despite the circumstances. It’s the kind of grace that causes other people to look at us and think, I’m just amazed you are able to do this and still have so much joy and peace. This is how it should be instead of us telling them that we just don’t think we can make it.

For people in places right now who are saying, “I’m staying in the situation because I believe it’s what God wants me to do, but I’m so miserable, frustrated and unhappy,” there’s good news. The good news is that God has provided a way for us to deal with frustration— His grace. I know many times we hear that grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense, and that’s a good definition. But to be honest, it’s just a little bit too spiritual for me. I need something that’s going to put it into a practical format for me. I like to define grace as “God’s power to help us do whatever it is we need to do.”

Grace is power. It’s power, power, power!

 It’s God’s power we receive by the grace of God through faith. Everything comes to us through faith, which God also gives us.

Romans 12:3 says, …God has allotted to each a measure of faith (NASB). We need to ask ourselves, “What am I doing with my faith?” Are we putting our faith in ourselves? Are we trying to fix things ourselves by trying to change ourselves or our family?  Or trying to get our boss’s attention so we can make more money and get a promotion? If so, that’s not grace. It’s our own works.

But when we release our faith and trust God to do what we can’t do, we’re putting our faith in Him. Then the grace—which is God’s power—comes through the channel of faith and enables us to do what will just amaze us and other people.
Here’s my longer definition of grace: It’s God’s power coming to us freely—meaning it doesn’t cost us anything other than just putting our faith in God, enabling us to do with ease what we could never do on our own with any amount of struggle and effort.

I believe every time we feel frustration, it means we’ve really stopped relying on God, leaning on Him and receiving His grace and are trying to make something happen our own way. Understanding this really helped me to see that I spent a lot of time being frustrated. To help myself, I had some signs made to put up around my house that said things like, “Works of the flesh equal frustration.” Every time I became frustrated, the signs helped me remember I had tried to become Holy Spirit Junior.  When I try to work things out on my own, in essence I’m saying, “Okay, God, I appreciate Your being around, but watch me do this.”
Most of us have a problem with an independent spirit. We have difficulty depending on God for everything. Grace is not only the power for salvation; it’s the victory we need every single day of our life.
In Galatians 2, the Bible says that if we receive salvation by grace, we shouldn’t think we’re going to reach perfection by depending on our flesh. It’s like thinking that God saves us and helps us when we’re at the end of ourselves and ready to give up, then just kind of throws us the ball and says, “Okay, now you go make the touchdown.”

The same way we receive Christ is the same way we are supposed to live each day of our life—in total, complete dependence on Him. Grace is like light. But what we tend to do a lot of the time is fight with darkness, when all we need to do is just run to the light. What’s the purpose of gathering in the dark, banging into each other, struggling with the darkness and trying to punch it out, when all we have to do is turn on a switch? The minute the light comes on, it swallows up the darkness.
Too often we struggle with ourselves and our weaknesses, trying to change, spending time being mad about things in our life. But what we really need to do is just get more light into the situation.

Galatians 5:16 urges us to walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit…then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh…. Notice how it doesn’t say “conquer the flesh so you can walk in the Spirit.”

What we need to do is walk in the Spirit. When we concentrate on walking in the Spirit, we won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh because we will be focused on God, His goodness, our relationship with Him, and His love for us. Other things will just dissipate because of the power of God in our life. Grace is power—plain and simple. It’s the power of God available to us in whatever amount we need.

We are loved

Lately i have discovered the power of prayer and the importance of having a personal relationship with the Lord.

 When we discover such an abundant source of grace and blessing, we tend to sink into that comfort and think that we will get all our heart's wishes by just asking and depending on God.

While this is partly true I am experiencing a new aspect of the call. I believe God wants us to expand our horizon and live strong, healthy, courageous lives.

As a child, we always wanted surprises, whether it was a piece of candy, a little toy from the store, or perhaps a trip to our grandmother's. It doesn't take too much to make a child happy. But, as we grow older, the costs of the surprises seem to be more and more. Nothing comes in life easily, and that applies for believers and non-believers. We need to overcome fear and learn how to be courageous and this is when the true blessings would come. Developing courage will help us to overcome the fears that need to be overcome, and more importantly, to function properly in spite of the fears that may still remain. For courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the will to go on in spite of fear.

I personally have fear of failure. In addition to that, i have fear of someone finding out about my past failures, sins and shortcomings. There are rational fears, such as fear of stepping out of an airplane at high altitudes without a parachute. There are irrational fears, such as fear of stepping into an airplane at all.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go

I thought about it , and learned that to handle any type of fear, it is usually good to try to logically analyze exactly what it is you fear and why and not try to hide from it or turn away from it, the only way to solve it is to walk through it. I always like to see the worst that could happen as a result of my failures and often i find it to be insignificant.

There are few persons who deny, in terms, the Providential government of God. But many adopt theories which are, in truth, a practical denial of it. Some contend that God governs the world exclusively by general laws. That, in creation, he imparted to the various forces, physical and moral, certain qualities which continue unchanged and unchangeable, and by their interaction produce the entire series of events.

Whatever glory this theory may be supposed to reflect upon the CREATOR, it is utterly inconsistent with the idea of Providence. It represents God as flinging the Universe from his creative hand, to work out its destiny unguarded and unchecked. It is, in fact, but a disguised form of the doctrine of fate. Every event is the result of necessity. As the watch marks the hour, or the vane veers to the wind, because they are formed to do these things, so man and all other beings only accomplish their predestined and necessary ends.

I still don't know…but am planning to figure it out

Le chemin de la guerison !!!

Les émotions sont les moyens naturels de notre âme pour exprimer qui nous sommes. Nécessaires, elles nous disent à chaque moment qui nous sommes et qui nous ne sommes pas. Elles définissent notre personnalité. Cependant, notre société est paradoxale par rapport aux émotions. Dans l'éducation, à l'école, sur les places de travail, les émotions sont considérées comme malsaines et elles sont réprouvées. Par contre à la télévision, dans les médias, elles sont encensées. Cette dichotomie n'est pas propice à la paix et à la liberté émotionnelle.

De cette problèmatique naît un déchirement intérieur qui pousse les gens à étouffer leurs émotions, à ne pas les exprimer tout en augmentant leur intensité et en en créant toujours plus. Imaginez un conducteur qui appuye en même temps sur la pédale des gaz et l'accélérateur...

Comme l'émotionnel est au centre de la plupart des problèmes de vie et des problèmes physique, il est indispensable de nettoyer le corps et l'âme de ses émotions anciennes et enkystées.

Ces kystes émotionnels sont des émotions lourdes et anciennes qui parasitent notre corps. Notre corps est une mémoire. Chaque événement de notre vie y est inscrit. Notre subconscient est une mémoire totale et lorsqu'un stress émotionnel est lié à un événement de notre passé, il peut ressurgir à chaque activation de cette mémoire.

Or notre cerveau reptilien, qui s'occupe de notre survie, va systématiquement chercher dans cette mémoire ce qui peut nous aider au temps présent. Malheureusement, en cherchant des souvenirs, le cerveau active aussi le stress qui y est lié. Ce qui fait que le stress présent augmente nous rendant totalement incapable de réagir comme nous le voudrions.

En libérant les anciens stress de la mémoire corporelle, en particulier les stress émotionnels, nous redevenons capable d'agir, de réagir et de vivre avec notre plein potentiel.

De la même manière nous développons des "allergies" ou des hyper-réactivités à certaines personnes. Ces allergies peuvent se développer dès la période foetale et par exemple handicaper les relations entre une mère et son enfant dès la naissance. Les épreuves, les stress, les chocs peuvent créer ce genre de réactivités envers nos proches. Elles nous empêchent, malgré tous nos efforts, de nous comporter avec respect et amour envers certaines personnes (phrase type: "Je n'y peux rien, c'est plus fort que moi, je n'arrive pas à la(e) supporter!"). En corrigeant ces "allergies", on accède à nouveau à des relations harmonieuses avec notre entourage.

Nos facultés d'apprentissage, nos fonctions cérébrales sont très facilement déconnectées par le stress. C'est pourquoi les échecs scolaires ou plus tard les problèmes d'apprentissage sont la plupart du temps dû à des stress non résolus. Avec la kinésiologie, des déblocages importants ont lieu chez les dyslexiques, les enfants en retard scolaire ou chez les adultes qui ont des problèmes de lecture, de langue ou d'expression.

Love and Trust

Trust, means that you place confidence in someone to be honest with you, faithful to you, keep promises, vows and confidences and not abandon you.

Trusting another person requires a realistic perspective about people and an expectation of failure.
Trust needs to be combined with a willingness to forgive and grows best in an environment of acceptance and love.
People are human, frail, and sinful. Therefore, you need a realistic type of trust when you choose to trust someone.

Trusting grows in relationships over time because as you spend time together with someone you build knowledge, understanding and authenticity. You gain insight into another person’s character, needs, motivations and fears.

Unconditional love develops trust because as you express this kind of love towards someone — generally he or she will sense your acceptance and feel comfortable to be vulnerable and honest about their feelings. 

Unconditional love actually builds self-esteem in others and alleviates their fears of rejection.
People learn that they can be authentic with you about their feelings, opinions, and failures. The result is a growing trust in the other person. Not because that person is perfect but because that person is growing in honesty.

It is not self-seeking. It does not keep a record of wrongs. 

When love is not patient or enduring; when love is unforgiving and always disappointed or looking for something to go wrong, it generates fear and looks for imperfections in the other person. Fear-based love is conditional creating an atmosphere of distrust, dishonesty and instability.

You can have a limited trust in people as you grow to know them and they see you really care about them but the fact is that people will let us down. That is reality.

Take a look at yourself as well

You will never be perfect and therefore, you will probably disappoint your loved one as well. You can promise to never say something hurtful or never tell a lie or never exaggerate or always keep your promises or (you name it) but since you are human you will also make mistakes and disappoint that person.
 

The only thing you or your loved one can promise is to grow, to seek God and ask Him for strength to change. 

Then you and your loved one will become more trustworthy in your relationships, though you will never be perfect.

Every human relationship will suffer hurt.

Thus, we all need to become better forgivers and confessors. That ability to reconcile and spirit of humbleness will prove the depth of your love and commitment.

The components of love, forgiveness and commitment are as necessary to trust in a relationship as is honesty.

Forgiveness gives you the chance to start over and trust another fallible human being again. Love helps to nourish trust. Commitment and honesty provide accountability to one another.

The ability to forgive is rooted in being forgiven ourselves. In the Bible it says that God loves the world so much that he sent his only son so that we could be forgiven. As people we all make mistakes, not one of us can live up to the standard God set on our own. But God promises that if we accept what Jesus did for us, we can be forgiven. The slate can be wiped clean no matter what has happened in the past.

God promises us strength for today and bright hope for the future. Whatever happened in your yesterdays God can take care of all of your tomorrows.

Women Food and God

The way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. No matter how sophisticated or wise or enlightened you believe you are, how you eat tells all. The world is on your plate. When you begin to understand what prompts you to use food as a way to numb or distract yourself, the process takes you deeper into realms of spirit and to the bright center of your own life. Rather than getting rid of or instantly changing your conflicted relationship with food, Women Food and God is about welcoming what is already here, and contacting the part of yourself that is already whole—divinity itself.

Dalai Lama

Nous admettons en démocratie la nécessité du pluralisme dans la vie politique. Pourtant nous hésitons quand il s’agit de la diversité des croyances et des religions. Malgré leurs concepts et leurs philosophies différentes, toutes les principales traditions religieuses apportent un même message d’amour, de compassion, de tolérance, de tempérance et de contrôle de soi. Elles ont aussi en commun le potentiel d’aider les être humains à mener une vie plus heureuse.

Believing is Seeing

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible”
(Hebrews 11:3, NKJV)

You were created by Almighty God to live a blessed and fulfilled life. But so many people live far below the level of what God truly intends for them simply because they don’t see how it could happen. But the truth is you have to believe before you’re ever going to see something take place in the natural. You have to look with your eyes of faith because the provision, healing and miracle that you need is already available in the supernatural realm.

You might say, “Well, I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to look with my eyes of faith.” The way you open your eyes of faith is by reading and meditating on the Word of God. His Word deposits strength and faith inside you and illuminates your heart. His Word causes your faith to grow so you can believe His promises. And when you believe it, then you will see it because all things are possible for those who believe!

Today, feed your faith by meditating on His Word. Declare His promises over your life. Keep moving forward with an attitude of faith and expectancy knowing that He has victory in store for your future!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Dear God, thank You for Your sweet and precious promises. I choose to open the eyes of my heart so that I can see and receive the good things You have for me. Help me to be a blessing to others and keep my mind stayed on You.

Don't Deny Jealousy, Deal with It

Feelings of jealousy always appear to stem from one's sense that something about their life is not secure, e.g., is uncertain or in danger.

In some cases, the insecurity is not founded on realistic dangers to the relationship. If that is really the case, then you (the jealous partner) may wish to consider where your insecurities are coming from. Solving those sorts of insecurities isn't easy, but until you do you'll continue to face those feelings.

Since we tend to become more secure in relationships as they become more stable with time, you may find that time is your ally in dealing with jealousy. 

There are things you can do to mitigate or help existing insecurities. There are things you can do to avoid insecurities before they happen. The latter things tend to be cheaper and more effective.

Happy birthday mami

Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again.

Missing you more everyday but constantly feeling your presence...

Thank you for not leaving us