The Land of If Only

"I am always content with that which happens,

for I think that which God chooses is better than what I choose"

-Ephictetus

Tonight, I went back to a book I was given a couple years ago by a dear friend. Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. I encourage all women to read it. It is "a woman's guide to finding contentment". I will be sharing several things I learned from it tonight.

"If we are to find contentment in the midst of trial and uncertainty, we must accept our situation as being purposely allowed into our lives by a personal and loving God. For most of us, this begins by refusing to contract the If Only disease."

-Linda Dillow

We don't see the whole picture like God does.

"Did I not tell you that If you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

John 11:40 (emphasis mine)

Just like the story of Lazarus...Martha wanted Lazarus to be saved from death; Jesus wanted Lazarus to be triumphant over death.

"If Only" usually starts from a real problem and instead of focusing on God and being thankful for what we have, we focus only on the problem. This leads you down the road to The Land of If Only.

Our faith is very important to God. He wants us to trust Him no matter what our circumstances may be. We need to be willing to accept whatever God has for us.

I challenge you to write down what God has done for you in the past and keep it handy. Next time you feel like exiting into The Land of If Only; grab it, read it, thank God for those things and trust God with every situation because you know that He has a plan for your life that is completely unique and purposely planned.

Father God, forgive me for complaining and wishing for things that I do not need. I no longer want to dwell on the If Onlys, I want to focus on You. Make me wise and content with what I know and not anxious about what I don't know.

In Jesus' Name, I ask these things.

Re-Energizing My Words

It's Sunday and it is my weekly re-energize. Time for extreme prayer, stillness and worship. Our church in Nashville was on a series called "Words with Friends" a couple years ago and I wrote down these notes I found and it has had me thinking about the words I speak. Not only that I speak to others but also to myself. There is power in positive words. I wanted to share a few points so that we can ponder them.

WORDS AFFECT MY FRIENDSHIPS

WORDS AFFECT MY FEELINGS

WORDS AFFECT MY FAMILY

WORDS AFFECT MY HEALTH

WORDS AFFECT MY WEALTH

WORDS AFFECT MY FAITH

WORDS AFFECT MY FUTURE

Isn't it crazy how our words affect everything in our lives? Focusing on the positive is what God tells us to do in Philippians 4:8.

"8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

I want to speak truth. I want to speak things into existence. For what we say we will believe. So many times, the devil gets me to feel like a failure and I talk down myself. Thinking I am a "loser". But that is not what God says about us. We are His children and He loves us. Why would Jesus come to earth and die on a cross for us if He didn't love us? Just to do it? I think not. We are called to love others and love ourselves. The phrase "All you need is love" has a lot of truth in it. Love is what we are called to do and love comes in all sorts of ways. Serving others is showing love. Praying for others is showing love. Teaching others is showing love and the list goes on and on. He gives us so many ways to share His love with the world.

I challenge you to put these thoughts into practice. Every day you have so many opportunities to NOT allow your mouth to speak with sarcasm or with anger and to be honest and speak with a controlled tongue.

"Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one."

Matthew 5:7

Go out and serve. Allow yourself to be blessed by our Father.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you: May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24