Have you ever felt that you truly belonged somewhere? That it was meant to be! Have you ever met someone that you felt so connected to that you knew without a shadow of a doubt God set up that chance meeting?
Well, I have been feeling this way for a while now having met so many amazing friends through Young Living, but this picture speaks a thousand words to me! If you zoom in on it, you will recognize it is ‘so me’! A woman that just wants to be happy, have fun, and follow God’s path for the rest of her life!
God led me to the woman on the other side of this camera and she made me feel so proud when she said she chose me to be her subject for narrative project she was working on in her photojournalism class! Her instructor said she had to choose someone she didn’t really know, but wanted to get to know. Wow! I was blown away, but she, like alot of you wanted to hear my story! Sharing my story and helping others is all I dream of.
I can honestly say ‘my story’ and transformation started at Lifepoint Church. From the day me and my best friend walked in the doors of this church we both felt at home and truy still feel like we belong here! I know God has big plans for me and this Church will play a role in it and I can’t wait to live out the rest of the story!
Thank you Heidi Marie Bell for your interest in me, and for the friendship we have created. Big things are in store for us!! God did not bring us together just for this project. He has a reason and a plan and together we are going places!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11
WOW! I’ll be glad to say goodbye to 2018 in a few short weeks, but I’m excited to share that I am now in my own place and received today a good bill of health from my cardiologist! While it has been a rollercoaster ride, I am finally off the ride. I am now on a journey with God following His plan and living with less stress and better than ever health and much happiness!
It’s a good feeling when just two short weeks ago I felt like I was slapped in the face with some reality that truly set me back. The doctor confirmed what I was experiencing then was an ‘event’, but now that a little time has passed, I am no longer in jeopardy. He also said I look better than I ever looked. Though, he also said that my heart does not tolerate stress very well at all anymore. So it is important, more than ever knowing that I could experience another episode of broken heart syndrome from stress, that I remove all the stress from my life that I can.
So here’s some things I will be doing in the New Year and encourage you to do the same, because stress is not worth getting sick over, or dying over! Take control of your own health and wellness. Change what you can change! That includes your reactions to those stressful situations! I started reading my own book, “Break Down Your Walls!” and am taking my own advice about everything I learned over two years ago so that it is fresh in my mind again. You can get it on Amazon!
We need God as much as He needs us to be the light for others. This world is a crazy place, but if us believers shine our lights and stay focused on God and His path for us we will will be able to help so many people see past the dark clouds and recognize the blue skies. They’ll be able to look past their pain and begin healing. They will begin to recognize the Signs from God and hear his soft whispers, just as we hear Him whisper to us!
Get out of your comfort zone. Get out of the boat, and dance on water with God!
Last night at Bible Study, I met an amazing leader and I know that she will play a role in my success in making my biggest dream come true! In fact, she already has! She and I have alot in common and I know once we find time to meet and get to know each other, the similarities will grow. How do I know this? God brought her into my life for a reason!
You see, the first day my best friend and I decided to check out this new Church called Lifepoint, and we sat in the audience in awe, the music and the people drew us both in. I felt the music in my very soul, I felt His presence in my heart and felt as if my heart was beating stronger as a result. I knew in that moment that this Church would become a part of me. I told my friend, Karen, that one day I will be standing on that stage.
This is basically the same message that this amazing leader spoke about last night! She talked about how she sat in the back row of this very same church when God spoke to her and gave her the same dream and she followed His every move to be that leader on stage speaking for God! I had to meet her! I didn’t hesitate, not even for one second, to walk up to her and introduce myself. Years ago, I never would have done such a thing. I was too shy, too intimidated, too scared. But ever since God directed me and placed that desire in my heart to write my first book, “Signs from God”, He has constantly urged me to get out of my comfort zone and put my faith in Him! I’ve taken that chance every time and I know that one day, I too, will be on that stage dancing with God!
Everyone has a life to live; everyone has a job to do in this life. So live your life, but take some time to really think about what your purpose is in this life. How can you help other people? How can you help spread God’s Love? Is it through healing? Is it through your music? Is it through teaching? Is it through serving? There are so many different ways we can do God’s work. Spend time with God and He will lead you. Ask for His help and He will guide you. Believe in His timing and know that He is with you and loves you unconditionally, all the time. He will help you get out of your comfort zone. He will bring the people into your life, at the right time, to ensure you have everything you need to be successful. God wants you to step out of that boat; out of your comfort zone; away from safety, and put your trust in Him! He not only wants you to walk on water like Peter, He wants us to Dance on Water with Him!
Start speaking life and purpose so that you feel it in your soul! You are meant to make a difference in this lifetime! With God’s help you can do anything you set your mind to! Here’s a picture I had taken after a Young Living conference when I knew that one day I would be up on a stage, bigger than this one, speaking about stress, anxiety, depression, and Miracles and how Young Living and the Lord changed my life!
Everyone has there own way of praying and talking with God, and one of my favorite ways to communicate with God is through Journaling. This morning as I was sitting in my quiet place at the lake, I started thanking Him for getting me to the Lake this weekend and for the rain we heard as we were lying in bed before we got up. It was as if God were raining down on us and the peace I felt was so comforting. I then started thanking Him for his presence in my life and in that moment. I’ve been struggling lately with letting go of worries and asked Him to help me trust Him and not worry about anything or anyone else for my peace. It was then that it dawned on me, that God has my back and all I need to do is turn it over to Him and stop stressing about the things that I cannot change or control. Then the phrase ‘Let Go and Let God’ entered my mind. I knew this all along, shoot I tell other people, so why do I need to be reminded all the time? I guess it is always easier when you are living in that moment, but now whenever I start to regress in my worries, I will remember and repeat this phrase, “Let Go and Let God”!
After all, God is the only one in control of our lives and it is in His timing when we will recognize the rewards and all of the puzzle pieces of life will fit together and we will realize the importance of His timing!
Do you have a dream or a goal for your life? I hope that you do because everyone should have something to work towards, look forward to, and get excited about! Don’t let that dream just be a dream though. I urge you to be committed and determined never to give up!
Just because you have a dream and you pray that it comes true, doesn’t mean it will. God may have another plan for you that is better. No matter what that plan is though, you have to work at it. Good things take time. Little by Little with God’s help He will point you in the right direction. He will bring the right people into your life to help you. It can be accomplished. Things that develop slowly are accomplished with hard work and patience. The foundation-laying years of a successful business, or life, are not necessarily exciting, but they are absolutely necessary if we want something that will last. Expect Challenges because that is where we learn to grow. Develop yourself. Become a better person, the person God created you to be.
Dream Big Dreams! God wants us to be happy and He wants us to live an abundant life!
Always stay true to yourself! You may lose some lose some friends and even loved ones, but those that stick with you, believe in you, and want what’s best for you, are worth the risk of losing when you do find yourself and who is still standing with you! But one thing is for sure, even if no one is standing by your side when you look in the mirror and see your true self, know that GOD IS ALWAYS WITH YOU!!!!
There is one book, “Jesus Calling”, by Sarah Young, that I have picked up every day for the last two in half years. I highly recommend this daily devotional as it has touched my life in so many ways. It is as if God is speaking directly to me on so many days and in so many ways! He too will speak to you through Sarah! I’m going to quote the devotional that prompted today’s message above!
“I have promised to meet all your needs according to My glorious riches. Your deepest, most constant need is for My Peace. I have planted Peace in the garden of your heart, where I live, but there are weeds growing there too: pride, worry, selfishness, unbelief. I am the Gardener, and I am working to rid your heart of those weeds. I do My work in various ways. When you sit quietly with Me, I shine the Light of My Presence directly into your heart. In this heavenly Light, Peace grows abundantly and weeds shrivel up. I also send trials into your life. When you trust Me in the midst of trouble, Peace flourishes and weeds die away. Thank Me for troublesome situations; the Peace they can produce far outweighs the trials you endure.”
– Sarah Young
It’s important that we do put aside every day some quiet time to sit and talk to God. Give Him your burdens. Talk to Him as you would your best friend. Welcome Him into your heart, and He will remove the weeds from your life! Just remember, it is in His timing and that there will be mountains we must climb if we are to learn to become better versions of ourselves! Enjoy the journey – the good and the bad – look for the positive in everything because everything happens for a reason!
Sometimes we have to just give in and go along for the ride.
Sometimes we just have to lighten up and laugh!
The problem is in life that we want it to be perfect, but guess what? It’s just NOT going to be perfect. GOD did not promise us a perfect life. God told us that there will be mountains to climb and problems we will face.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
We can choose to live trying to change our circumstances, or people, or problems all on our own, or we can trust in God and have faith that He is working on our behalf to make things right. We can give our burdens to Him and then rest in peace knowing that He is working on our behalf. If there’s one that I’ve learned recently and have to keep reminding myself, is that we can’t change anyone or any situation we are faced with. We can only change our reaction to the person or situation. Instead of carrying that burden myself, I have chosen to give it to God and live day by day knowing that He is always with me. He is guiding me down the path of His Will for me and not my will for myself necessarily. For God knows everything, especially what is best for me.
I am choosing to have faith in this renewed knowledge and am choosing to live life one day at a time living in the moment. We all need to accept things and people for who they are and not what we want them to be. Choose to be happy, choose to lighten up, choose to laugh! Choose to find the positive in every situation will make it easier to be happy, to lighten up, and to laugh!
“In life, there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance.” – Ecclesiastes 3:4
Learn to take life in stride. There will be roller coaster rides that we are going to want to get off of, but it’s all up to God and his timing as to when that ride may end. Trust though in knowing the ride will always be for a reason. Sometimes we just need to trust God because we won’t always learn the purpose for the reason until we meet our Heavenly Father. It’s important to realize though, that the reason might not be all about us. He may be using us to help someone else, and teaching us a lesson in the meantime!
Now that’s something to think about!
So when it’s time to laugh, laugh! And know God is laughing with you.
Over the years I have learned just how fast your life can change. In an instant. One moment you are driving along the road singing and day dreaming, and then the next you are involved in an accident with no idea what happened. What I have learned in my later years is that God always seems to step in and take control when you need Him to. Sometimes, we don’t even realize we need Him to step in because we think we are so strong we can handle anything that comes our way. To some extent that is true, because with God we can handle anything.
What we need to remember though is that God has a plan, and it’s always for our good. We may not see it that way at the moment, because in the moment we are too busy thinking of the absolute worse diagnosis, the worse case scenario as to what and why we are in a particular situation that is causing us heartache. While it is normal to worry about the unknown, it is also impossible for us to change the unknown through worry. I found in my case, that I was so stressed out from work stress and God knew I needed a break so He gave me the break I needed. That break though, was a heart attack. I wondered, how could that possibly make my stress better. What He gave me though was the time I needed to heal from the inside out. At the time, that break was the worst experience I had ever been through in my life. Yet, at the same time it allowed me the opportunity to learn so much about my self and how to deal with my stress. Looking back now, that situation, and that time, made me a much stronger person. Today, I have learned to appreciate the small stuff, and let go of the bad stuff. I don’t know what the future holds for me, and I know it could change in an instant. It could change for the good just as it could change for the bad, so take time to appreciate life in the moment and don’t regret that moment because it could change again in an instant!
The next time we are feeling the strain of an uphill battle, no matter what that battle is, we need to release our worries to God and tell ourselves that, “I have strength for all things through Christ who empowers me!” He will not give us more than we can handle.
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. – Philippians 4:13
When we depend on God continually, our perspective changes. We begin to recognize all of those little miracles happening around us every day, while others see only natural occurrences and “conincidences”. I choose to begin each day with a joyful heart, with expectations that everything happens for a reason and that God’s plans are far superior to my own. Yet I will not lie, there are times I have to remind myself of this over and over again. In the end though, I know it is for the best and that He will get me through even my darkest days.
From time to time we all may stray from God. It’s normal. He knows we will, but He continually calls us back to Him. It’s always an open invitation. We just need to respond by reaching back out to God. He is always there with us. That soft voice of a whisper you hear at times in your head, that is God leading you back to Him. All we need to do is take time to talk with God and become closer. It’s no great effort on our part – we just need to give in and open our hearts to His loving presence. He wants us to experience the depth of His love for us.
God never said that life would easy. He never said we wouldn’t experience pain, but He did say He would never foresake us. He may not provide immediate relief when we pray for Him to do so, but know that He is setting in motion the conditions we need. It just won’t happen on our timetable. God’s plan is the best plan. Remember, too, that God gifts everyone something different. He may have blessed one person with abundance and they seem to be living a life of ease. Yet He may have blessed another person with fragility, and through that they too will learn their lessons and be blessed in many ways through their struggles, and yet still live a life of abundance!
No matter what we are blessed with, know that we are God’s children and He wants the best for each of us. When we seek God and make the time to grow closer to Him, He comes closer to us. He will renew our hearts. He will make us strong. He will get us through the toughest of situations. He will give us lasting life.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” – Ezekiel 36:27
You see when we become closer to God, our spirit does renew; because His Spirit is in us. It is that soft voice we hear that moves us to follow His plan. We just need to be open to receiving His Word and knowing it is His Will that we are acting on. Like I posted the other day, brush off that devil on your shoulder and let the good guy win! With God we can do so much more! With God, we will live an abundant life!
