Tag Archive | Peace

What’s Your Attitude?

This morning as I reflect on my calling in life and why God has placed me where I am…my first thought was I am humbled. Then I began to think…Do I even understand the meaning of humble?

The Dictionary defines humble as:

1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive

2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission <a humble apology>

Then gives synonyms and antonyms which helps paint an even clearer picture of humble…

Synonyms: demure, down-to-earth, lowly, meek, modest, unassuming, unpretentious

Antonyms: arrogant, bumptious, chesty, conceited, egotistic (or egotistical), fastuous, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, hoity-toity, huffish, huffy, imperious, lordly, overweening, peremptory, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

In this day and age whether climbing the corporate ladder, advancing your business, or networking, only the outgoing, strong, and most boisterous tend to “move up” in the life. So when one hears humble it is often equated with being weak. Unfortunately the humble spirit almost always grates on the nerves of those who are not…

Paul urges us to “walk in a manner Worthy of the calling to which we have been called, with all humility, and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Yep, that means we must love those that portray all the antonyms of humble; which I might add is in itself not an easy task!

1 Peter 5:5 reminds us, “… Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Now I don’t know about you but I certainly do not want to be in opposition with God…I want to bathe in His grace!

Psalm 25:9 encourages us saying, “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.”

Yes, I think it is very accurate to say I am humbled and I am so blessed by God! However, for me to remain humble and show love around those people who exhibit all the antonyms above….that is the true test! Am I humble enough…NO WAY!!! So I pray God will help me grow more humble daily!!!

What’s Your Attitude???

Love Lee ♥

Two Wrongs Don’t Make It Right

Mar9

Have you been wronged? Someone hurt you so deeply that you feel you will never be able to forgive?

No matter what has been done to you or how you have been treated allowing God to avenge those wrongs can provide so much freedom. Think about it…by taking matters in your own hands to avenge the wrong which has been done against you then you are no better than the person who hurt you.

I am sure you have heard the saying…

“Two Wrongs Don’t Make It Right”

May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 1 Samuel 24:12

To harbor ill feelings, want to do harm, or speak negatively about the person who has hurt you is counter productive to healing and wholeness…Your healing and wholeness!

Really, do you think they are affected??? Absolutely not!!! They will not lay awake at night replaying the hurtful words or deed, they will not have a knot in the pit of their stomach, and they most likely will not even consider apologizing…

They most often believe they are right and may not even realize how their words or deeds have affected you.

Let go…Let go…LET GO and LET GOD!!!

Love Lee ♥

Moaning or Growing

Mar8

Frequently you hear people complaining…In the grocery store when it takes longer than expected to get through the checkout, at the gas pumps over the price of gas, at the dinner table when the meal is not to their liking…Gripe… Gripe…Gripe!!!

Constant Belly Aching and Moaning…Reminds me of the Israelites when they fled Egypt and were in the wilderness. God was with them but it seemed no matter what He did they were never satisfied. In-fact…one minute they were praising God and the next minute they were complaining!!! Talk about short-term memory!!!

Aren’t we like that? God does something awesome for us and then at the first sign of adversity we are back to our Belly Aching and Moaning…totally forgetting all He has done for us?

God wants to grow us and build our faith in Him…How can we possibly grow without a challenge? It is through our challenges He is able to reveal Himself to us. It is through these challenges we are so dependent on Him. But rather than complaining we should allow Him to shine like a beacon in our lives!

”Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4(NIV)

Are You Moaning or Growing?

Love Lee ♥

At Peace With Who You Are

Mar3

Redirect Your Focus To Who You Are Rather Than Who You Are Not…

You are strong…. when you take your grief and teach it to smile.

You are brave… when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.

You are happy… when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.

You love… when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.

You are wise… when you know the limits of your wisdom.

You are true… when you admit there are times you fool yourself.

You are alive… when tomorrow’s hope means more to you than yesterday’s mistake.

You are growing… when you know that you are but not what you are becoming.

You are free… when you are in control of yourself but do not wish to control others.

You are honorable… when you find your honor is to honor others.

You are generous… when you can give as sweetly as you take.

You are humble… when you do not know how humble you are.

You are beautiful… when you don’t need a mirror to tell you.

You are rich… when you never need more than you have.

You are you… when you are at peace with who you are not.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalms 139:14

Love Lee ♥

Stuck in Your Circumstances

Feb24

Yesterday I asked, “Who Controls Your Storm”. Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in the storm and can’t get out? This is a great video by Beth Moore to give you guidance on what to do while enduring the storm…

Praise Him No Matter Your Circumstances

Love Lee ♥

Who Controls Your Storm

Feb23

Do you feel like life is reeling out of control and no matter what you try balance can’t to be found? I am sure that is how Paul felt when he set sail on the turbulent waters headed for Italy with 275 others which included soldiers and prisoners. You see, when they set out on their course they had no idea they would be delayed because of weather or be stranded in hurricane force winds. They thought it would be smooth sailing…but this was not the case. In-fact Acts chapter 27 says “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” Acts 27:20.

How often do you set out in life with a destination only to be confronted with head-on hurricane force winds tossing your life about. Waves of despair crash about you, the sea of defeat tries to engulf you, and you are bashed by the rocks of disaster to the point it seems you will never see the light of day or the stars of night. For Paul and the men on the ship the storm raged for 14 days. They did not eat and had minimal sleep. They fought hard to keep the ship upright and afloat.

About the time you give up all hope, God waves His mighty hand of peace and the storm suddenly stops. And, once the storm subsides you may not recognize your surroundings just as those on the ship with Paul did not recognize theirs but two things are for sure you will survive this storm and there will be more storms.

But it is important to remember…

God Is In Control Of Your Storm!

Love Lee ♥

The Hair Brush

Feb9

Wednesdays With Beth on Life Today is such a blessing…

This is one of my most favorite videos of Beth…Enjoy!

Love Lee ♥

What’s in Your Glass Today?

Jan28

I received this message in an email a couple of days ago and immediately requested permission to share it…

“A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘half empty or half full?’….. she fooled them all… “How heavy is this glass of water?”, she inquired with a smile.

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “and that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our
burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden – holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night… pick them up tomorrow.”

My friend added ******”But, I would have to add to this message – why even pick them up tomorrow? Give them to the Lord!”. She is sooo right!!!

I would say why not just empty the contents out completely…Pour out your burdens to Jesus!!!

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalms 55:22

What’s in Your Glass Today?

Love Lee ♥

But How Do You Know

Jan12

Recently I was reminded of how not all is as it seems. Just because the clouds are dark and heavy it does not mean the sun is not shining. In fact the sun is shining so bright it is a blinding light. This picture proves my point. At the edge of the clouds…The Sun Is Shining!!!

So things are tough, not enough money, the kids are fighting, no one understands you, jobs got you down, your spouse has left you and you are lonely…Things are gonna get better!!!

I can hear you asking…

But How Do You Know

Well, it is quite simple…God said,

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:3

When it gets too much to bear…

He will CARRY you
He will SUSTAIN you
He will RESCUE you

He’s got this covered…No matter where you are or what is going on! God is still there whether you can see Him or not just as the sun is there…He’s got this!!!

God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!!!

Love Lee ♥

What’s In A Name?

Jan6

I will never forget when Cheyenne (my granddaughter) was almost 3 years old and we had been working in the flower beds (oh how that child loved to dig) when she decided it was time for a “Popsicle Break”. So, of course I stopped what I was doing and the popsicle break became the priority. As we were sitting on the glider near the back door having our popsicle and chatting, a HUGE clap of thunder came from out of nowhere. Immediately I yelled “JESUS”, grabbed her up, and ran into the house. As you can imagine it took me several minutes to calm her down and get her to stop crying.

About three months had passed and Cheyenne and I were hanging out. She was playing on the back patio and I was making us a cup of coffee (we took many types of breaks…LOL) when I heard thunder in the distance. Almost immediately Cheyenne walked thru the back door and announced, “Meme, Jesus is back”. What a Doll that girl is!!!

Ya know, I have endured some thunder in my life; some distant rumblings, and other outrageously loud shaking me to my core. I have had heartbreaking events in my life when I thought I would never recover, times when my heart hurt so bad I didn’t know if I would be able to breathe again. But I can say through those times when my world was rocked or I hurt to the core I always called out one name…

JESUS

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

I call out His name frequently and I say it out loud. I say His name in times of happiness and in times of devastation, in times of loneliness, celebration, and loss.

The song by Martha Munizzi says it all…

Say The Name of Jesus