You Are Loved! Thoughts for the New Year

It's a New Year and a time for new beginnings.  Leave the old behind and step forward into your future with the knowledge that you are loved by the Creator of the universe.  You. are. loved. Don't forget that!  Not only are you loved but, if you are His, you have been called for a purpose…. to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him.

God wants you to have a life that is full of His goodness, abounding in the riches of His love. A life filled with purpose.

The enemy, the devil, wants to destroy you…plain and simple.  He wants to plant thoughts in your head to make you feel like a failure, with no purpose.  In John chapter 10, verse 10 we read the words of Jesus, "The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus wants you to live a full life filled with the purpose of His love.

When we respond to the invitation to follow Jesus and try to live as He lived, even in all of our imperfection, He promises that our joy will be full. (John 15:11 and 16:24).  When He tells us that we would have life to the full in John 10:10, the word for full here in Greek is, perissos...it means "super-abundant, superior in quality, over and above. It is an extravagant, abundant word, full of promise and hope." (see Keri Wyatt Kent's, Deeper Into the Word, New Testament).

Sometimes we allow ourselves to be swayed by the standards of the world and begin to tell ourselves lies that we are 'less than'…not pretty enough, not smart enough, not organized enough. Enough. enough.enough! Stop the lies dead in their tracks and replace them with the truth of God's word. We are to 'take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.' We are to take back our thought life, putting it under the authority of Christ and His word.

 When the world or the enemy of our soul tries to tell us that we are 'less than', we tend to let it sink deep into our thought life. The lie takes root and our emotions become engaged, dictating the way we interact with the world in which we live. It can begin to take over, stealing our focus and causing feelings of helplessness. It becomes a stronghold in our lives, holding us down and keeping us from becoming all that God created us to be.  It drains our emotional energy and keeps us from fulfilling the abundant life that God has called us to. This is exactly what the enemy wants.  We need to turn away from the lie of 'less than' and turn to the truth of God's Word.  HE IS ENOUGH so we don't have to be.  We don't' have to strive to be perfect…to have the perfect family, perfect kids, perfect body, perfect life.  The truth is no one is perfect but the one who created us. And HE IS ENOUGH. We are perfected IN HIM and HE.IS.ENOUGH.

 Instead of letting the world define you, or listening to the enemy as he whispers lies into your ear, lies of worthlessness, and hopelessness…allow God to lead you into a full life….a life of joy and purpose. Allow Him to take your less than and turn it into more than enough.

I want to live that kind of 'full' life, a life that is more than enough! Don't you?

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.    ~2 Corinthians 10:3-5

You Complete Me...or not?

We all long to have a relationship with the one person with whom we will feel safe, secure, accepted, respected, cherished, wanted, and encouraged to be all we can be...shall I go on?   Most seem to be either looking to find that relationship or longing for it while feeling stuck in one that doesn't seem to be giving them what they are looking for...or expecting.

So many women I know seem to see more faults than strengths in the person they have chosen to spend the rest of their life with.  It's amazing to me that we can think positively in so many other areas of our lives even giving most friends the courtesy of trying to think the best of them in the most trying of circumstances...but when it comes to our husbands...we turn into "negative Nellie's".  As a result, so many women, and men jump ship before really trying to figure out what is going on in their relationship.

Ladies...if you want to have a good relationship, a ten...then don't be a five...what are you bringing to your relationships?   Maybe we should put into  practice the verse that is referred to as the golden rule..."Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Luke 6:31.  Clinical psychologist, Dr. Henry Cloud says, " If we want the great things that relationships offer-like love, security, and growth-then we have to be capable of building love, providing security, and fostering growth. When we are, we can have the relationships we want. Until we are, great relationships will elude us.".  Imagine if we all took those words to heart and acted on them?  All men and women...wow...can you imagine the results?

If you are single and looking for "the one", don't allow all of your energy to be focused on the pursuit. Your energy needs to be focused on "being" the one. Pay attention to the person you are becoming. Do you have healthy relationship skills, healthy coping skills? Work on developing the kind of skills that will give you the kind of relationship you want. Yes, it is important to find the right person, but if you are not the right person you will just bring the other one down to your level. "Relationships fail when the skills to make them work are not present in one or both of the people involved."~ Dr. Henry Cloud,

If you are married please know that I am not saying that if you work on you and practice treating your husband the way you would want to be treated then all your marital problems will be solved.   I know that it takes two to make a marriage work.  But you do have to start with you. In your relationship with your husband, the only one you have control over is you.  

Ladies, I have said this many times as I have taught and counseled women throughout the years...we cannot be our husband's Holy Spirit!  Last time I checked that job has already been filled by One who is so much more capable and powerful in His influence than we could ever hope to be.  So what do we do?  We work on ourselves and pray for our spouses.  We practice good communication skills.  If necessary, in extreme circumstances, and with the help of godly counsel, we create the crisis that may be needed to nudge our spouses to wake up to the fact that they have married a daughter of the KING OF KINGS, who is worthy of his adoration, respect, love, protection...need I go on?

So...how about it?  Who makes you miserable or happy in your relationships?  You or the other person?  Or just maybe we are looking at this all wrong.  As my dear hubby is so fond of pointing out my very own words on this matter..."I can't be your everything...I will never be the one to completely fulfill you, nor should I try to be...only God can do that."

Are you allowing God to fill in the empty spaces?  Those spaces are God-shaped holes and no human being on this earth will ever be able to completely fill them up.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love" ~ GOD (Jeremiah 31:3)

Now that is something to think about...