womenNtune

IDoing things in a way that make for peace at home, does not always feel like an option.  Many times I put pressure on myself in ways that make me uptight instead of peaceful.  This affects my husband  and my kids.  I am becoming more and more sensitive to it.  Sometimes I feel like I have to pressure myself.  I'm not sure if that's true. I truly get the most done when I'm inspired/motivated, not pressured.  Trying to get stuff done by putting pressure on yourself, is like walking on a treadmill.  You are walking but your are going nowhere.  Pressure never results in relief, it only produces more pressure.  Some people think that pressure and guilt help you get things done and change for the better.  But really the only thing they are good for is to show you how much you need the Holy Spirit.  You will find in the bible that the Holy Spirit inspires, He doesn't "pressure".  Making peace comes from being "inspired" by the H...

We all have our own boxes and parameters in which we live our lives.  This is not a bad thing.  Healthy boundaries are a good thing.  They are from God.  In the bible, the Israelite people had boundaries.  God gave all the tribes except the Levites a section of the land that God gave to them as an inheritance.  That means that there were borders for their tribes.  We all know that children behave better when there are healthy boundaries in place for them.  Children actually feel more secure with healthy boundaries in place.   Just like our children;  we, as children of God, feel safe within the boundaries that God has laid out for us.  However, we begin to grow just as our children grow.  As our children grow, they get more and more freedom and not as many boundaries.  The box that they live in gets bigger and bigger.  When they were little, certain boundaries kept them safe.  But as they grow, those same bo...

This whole issue of holding on to stuff has been on my mind.  I am Finding myself in need in a couple areas. It seems the more I hold on to what I have, it seems the more I lose.  Do you know that this applies to more than money. This applies to "time", "energy", etc.  Lately I have been thinking about how Jesus remedies our "lack".  "Well, Jesus I feel like I don't have enough time to do what I need to do.  What do You say to that?".  I hear Jesus saying "Give away more time."  Don't get me wrong, there are times when I know, taking more timeout for yourself, is the answer.  But I feel like Jesus is telling me right now "if you want to get more, you have to give more".  If I don't give more, then even what little I have will escape me.  We are not able to preserve what we have. It is hard to give more when you feel like what you have is not even enough.  The way God works is that you have to invest what you have t...

Many of us as women are not giving ourselves permission to "just be ourselves". We are bombarded with different expectations of what a Godly woman is suppose to be and look like.  We have a lack of regard for individuality. It's healthy to ask yourself at times " who told me I had to be this way". God asked that similar question to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He said to them "Who told you that you were naked?"  Many times the things that make life stressful are expectations on yourself that have not come from God

I was marking some things on my calendar that I have coming up and I went to turn to the next month and I realized I had finished my 2014 calendar.  I really couldn't believe it!!  I feel like I just bought that calendar and I'm already finished.  This year has been an emotional one.  Lost my grandma and my dad this year.  My dad passed just a few months ago.  My Christmas spirit hasn't been at it's normal height this year.   I haven't been as reflective as I normally am to prepare for the year ahead.  I think today, through the prayers of those around me, I feel like turning to find that my calendar is done that it's time to anticipate great things in the New Year.  God has done some great work in my heart this year.  Money is one area.  I just don't spend like I use to.  He has blessed me with this desire to not want to use credit cards.  I found He has given me what I need to stay within a budget.  It is somet...

Our commitment to others.  Many of us wonder how to live under the umbrella of God's favor and blessings.  I love God; and being in a relationship with Him is extravagant for me in and of itself, but I to have wondered how to live under the umbrella of God's favor and blessings.  Don't get me wrong, I have a good life right now.  But something in me says there is more. More peace, more joy, more abundance.  Recently the word I heard in my spirit is "covenant".  I have heard it before.  God functions within covenants that He makes between Himself and His people.  A covenant is like "a promise".  It's like an agreement between 2 or more parties.  Many times we think we can earn God's blessings by doing good.  But that is not how God operates.  I find that in the current climate of our culture, relationships are becoming of very little importance.  People don't nurture and build relationships anymore.  The texting, fac...

God has really been speaking to me about "freedom" in various aspects of life.  He has been showing me how freedom is necessary to experience true love in any relationship, including our relationship with Him.  This translates into our marriage, how we treat our spouse, our kids, and how we experience love ourselves.  I recently came to a point in my life where I just wanted to love freely.  I just became tired of all the shackles that kept me from being free in this area.  But more importantly, being free to love with the gifts that God gave me to love with.  I don't love like other people love and neither do you because we are all individuals created in the image of God, but because we are all different, we all show love differently.  Many times we don't allow ourselves to be free in that expression.  We think we have to love a certain way or something is wrong with it.  Your love is not going to look like my love and that's ok because it's...

I did not previously feel comfortable with the idea of questioning whether discontentment could be from God at times.  There is a scripture that says "godliness with contentment is great gain".  That scripture kept me from exploring whether or not discontentment has a purpose in my life.  As I read further into the context of that scripture, I believe Timothy is speaking more about material things.  But I'm starting to think when it comes to the conditions of our hearts, that some discontentment is from God.  There are certain areas in my life where I would like to experience much more joy.  I believe there is so much more to be had, then what I presently experience.  I believe that God has placed it on my heart that there is more.  It seems God won't allow me to be satisfied with mediocrity in any area of life.  But there is one particular area where my heart refuses to settle for anything less than the joy and blessings that God intended....

Today I was tempted to get overwhelmed about all that I needed to do (my responsibilities).   It made me feel burdened down.  I asked myself, "What can Jesus offer me right now, to help me?".  I asked myself "What do I need?"  "Where is the lack right now?"  I realized I needed rest.  So I went to the bible: Matthew 11:28-29 New King James Version (NKJV) 28  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. I have seen this scripture before, but today was different.  As I read God began to speak to me about it.  He let me know, that the superficial means of getting rest are not always available and that there are times where you need to dig into our reservoir of deep, abiding, and eternal rest that comes from a relationship with Christ.  But the next thing that stood out fo...

There is a scripture burning my heart right now: Romans 12:1 New King James Version (NKJV) Living Sacrifices to God 12  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  The 3 words that stood out to me in the text are  1.  Living 2. Present 3. Reasonable There are only 3 things I want to share from my heart: 1.  In the Old Testament you had to kill the animals before you sacrificed them, so they were "dead" sacrifices. But it says in the scripture above that God wants "living" sacrifices.  Why does God want living sacrifices now instead of dead sacrifices? 2.  The word "present"  is defined in the greek below: paristémi: to place beside, to present, stand by, appear     The particular part of the definition that stood out to me was "to place beside".  I saw a movie where some snow dog...

A dear friend of mine caused me to question today, what it really means to let go.  Even though I hate to spend times talking about Satan, if it's to my advantage I will.  I have noticed that the area where the devil attacks me most is where it concerns my children.  These are mental attacks. But I also am always concerned about whether or not I am giving my kids what they need in every area.  I'm starting to wonder if that "concern" or is it worry, but I started to ask myself "Is that concern a doorway for Satan.  I noticed He always hits me right there, making me feel inadequate and even producing feelings of fear when it comes to my role as a mother.  It's almost like I start having conversations with myself about how I am mothering and then Satan joins the conversation.  It starts with me, but it seems I am giving him ammunition  to oppress me in this area.  While these episodes are short lived, they tend to happen pretty frequently....

I'm a stay-at-home mom as most of you may know.  I have a 2 yr old (boy) and 6 yr old (girl).  My life is very repetitive.  When you have young children life can seem to run together.  Your days, your weekdays, and weekends.  I believe when you go from 1 child to 2 children, you are just not able to put as much thought and energy into certain things as you use to when you had 1 child.  Feeling like you are doing the same thing day in and day out can be fustrating.  Many questions can arise.  Such as; "Am I doing what I am suppose to be doing right now?",  "Is there something else additional that I need to be doing".  My life is very full, there is plenty to do, but these questions do arise. Children can be draining, and you don't always know what to do to re-fuel.  I believe in living an inspiring life and I believe a mom inspires her children and her spouse.  What do  you do when you are feeling uninspired yourself. ...

Sometimes God takes us out of a particular behavioral pattern in our lives,  it's not always because that particular behavior is "bad".  But it could be getting in the way of God showing you Who He is in a specific area of your life.  He wants to remove you, show you what He is able and willing to do for you; and then put you back so you can walk in greater faith in that area.  I see a picture in my mind of a big hand that represents God's hand.  I see God's hand with a tiny person in it;  and God is lifting them up and out of something.  Then I see that same hand of God holding that same tiny person placing them back down;  then that hand of God sets the tiny person back down, gently brushes them off, like and parent would do when a child falls and gets dirty, then sends them their way.

We have very strong relationships with word patterns.  Meaning that, there are certain statements that we make all the time.  Some of the relationships we have are not good relationships and they produce bondage on top of bondage in our lives.  As I am trusting God to change how I speak, I am also discovering how my words affect my faith.  A simple question  like "What are we going to do if.........?  I feel the need to ask these types of questions a lot.  I want to be prepared.  What exactly do I want to be prepared for?  What am I anticipating?  These are good explorations because it helps us discover why we say the things we say.  Sometimes God brings you to a point where He wants you to stop trying to be prepared for everything and start trusting Him.  He just wants to show us that He totally has our back.  He wants to grow our faith.  That might mean stepping away from some of the reliance we have on our own abil...

I have had some experiences in my life, God knows I have.  But nothing compared to the prison that consisted of emotions, thoughts, fears, doubts, etc.! I have been in the prison of anxiety, the prison of depression, the prison of thinking too much about things.  So many prisons,  too numerous to count.  I thought I needed them all.  My prisons protected me from the elements,  what would I do if I looked around and I didn't have the 4 walls rom protect me.  Without these walls I would feel so exposed, so vulnerable.  But God is showing me something.  The world has raised us to believe our skeptic, worrisome nature is necessary to survive in this world, to succeed, and to protect the one's we love.  The last 2 days I haven't been feeling well,  very nauseous and it was draining the life out of me, I wasn't enjoying anything because I just didn't feel well,  and I hate it when something like that happens that is out of my control...

Natural current of everything in our world is towards decay and corruption and if you don't come against those natural currents with the word of God everything in your life will naturally flow that way.  Everything meaning your finances, your body, your health, your energy, your children, your home, your family, your marriage, your job, your business. EVERYTHING.  We really have to speak the word of God over everything in our lives, but in addition, we have to speak the Word of God into our children.  Talking to our children about the Word of God is like planting seeds, if you are not planting good seeds, trust the devil will gladly take over and plant bad seeds.  I've entered a new stage with my daughter who is 6 going on 7 yrs old.  I have seen her bad attitudes and her whining and pouting escalate over the last month and it has started to really trouble me.  One of the main reasons it troubles me is because I love her and I know that these attitudes ar...

The things that are invisible are more powerful then the things that are visible.  Let me say again, "The things that are invisible are more powerful than the things that are visible"  A long time ago, I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.  Long time meaning about 12 years ago.  As a young Christian, I made alot of mistakes, had alot of pride.............but even in the midst of that, God had given me the precious gift of faith.  Faith is not something "we have"  faith is something we receive from the Lord.  As I look back on the period of my life where I was very new to my Christian walk, I grew to despise certain things about the period, because I was so prideful and I wished I could of done things differently.  However, God has shown me recently that all that I have now is a harvest from the faith He had given me way back then.  He is showing me not to despise that period in my life because of the mistakes, because even in the ...

*Your profit is not according to what you can do but according to what God can provide. Many times as business owners we are grappling with one of 2 issues or both: Will somebody actually pay me for my service or product??? How do I get customers?      These are the initial questions when someone is first getting started in the marketplace.  I think initially going in, it can be very "self-focused".  Lets say we have an appointment with a potential customer or we are going from door to door selling our product.  In the beginning your mind is racing with things like: 1.  What if they don't like my product? 2.  What if they are not interested in my service? 3.  How do I get them to even talk to me and not brush me off? 4.  What if I make a mistake during my presentation or forget something? 5.   What if they have a question that I don't know how to answer? 6.  What if they don't like the way I look or how I spea...

I was inspired by a close sister in the Lord to post some blogs that are focused on business.  I said within myself, if something hits me I will be faithful to blog about it.  Something hit me for the 2nd time today.  Many times we go for years believing that certain concepts in the bible mean one thing for our lives, and we find out later by the grace of God that it means something different.  Well, God is doing this again in my life with sowing and reaping.  I mean, I guess I understood the concept of "sowing and reaping" well enough, but I didn't really understand it in the area of business.  God is beginning a better understanding in me right now.  Kingdom businesses have to be careful not to operate the same way the world's businesses operate.  While there is a measure of success in the way the world operates in business;  I believe we all can see that the world's success comes with alot of stress, which causes alot of sickness and dis...

Today I had a couple situations arise where  I sensed that The Lord was speaking to me.  I am a full-time stay-at-home mom and it's been almost 7 years.  One of the things I have been praying a lot about during those years is the bondage that can form for myself in this particular station in life.  When your kids have so much access to you all the time, it is hard to know how much to give.  You struggle with guilt and uncertainty.  This starts with nourishment when a baby is born.  One of the concerns I have heard from every mom of a newborn I have ever spoken with, including myself, is whether or not the baby is getting enough food.  Are they getting full??  This is the beginning of motherhood.  It becomes a defining factor in everything you do.  The first sense I got that God was speaking to me was this morning.  My 2 yr old son bugs me to play with him every morning while I am trying to eat and do my devotional.  So as ...

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Have you ever looked around at nature,at the outstretched heavens, at the universe and realized that God is exciting!!  God is creative!   He is the Creator!!  God has plans for me and for you.  But those plans are not boring and mundane!  Those plans are not labor some and stressful.  Those plans are peaceful an hopeful.  I believe God wants me to be adventure minded,  I believe He wants me to be open minded to where He wants to take my family and I.  Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  I don't have to create my own adventure or be as the world puts it, "spontaneous". The world knows nothing about adventure!  The world makes destruction appear as of it's adventure.  The world tries...

Our culture is naturally inclined towards pessimism as opposed to optimism.  Many of us are missing out on great opportunities in our lives just because we won't allow ourselves to believe that it could really work out for the best.  Some of us are automatically suspect if a stranger on the street is nice to us, or simply smiles and says "hello".  Why?  Because we have been taught that nothing is free.  We either have to work for it, or somehow qualify for it.  "Grace" is not an easy thing to teach.  I think the best definition of it is below.  Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  God wants to "give" to us in every area.  He wants to do it all by grace.  I think many of us as Christians limit this to just salvation.  Like "oh yeah, salvation is a gift but we have to work for everything else".  God had me s...

What are we really saying with our words of fear, nervousness, anxiety, doubt? I thought about this statement, because as summer approached, I've experienced an intense amount of nervousness about having 2 young children home with me all day everyday.  But I've also noticed an intense amount of nervousness about other things as well.  Nervousness has not really been something that I feel like I've dealt with on this level before.  But I decided to delve into the nervousness for a moment and ask, "What's really going on here?" As I have thought more about it over the last couple minutes, I realized that my real fear is in starting something and it not working out.  You know, successful people and successful moms, become successful through trying many new ideas and seeing what works out and what doesn't. Somehow, I have convinced myself that I don't have time to try new ideas for them not to work out.  Quite frankly that is propostrous!!!  God is showi...

My children, my disciples, pointing them to Christ .  Translating this into everyday life means pouring yourself out all day everyday.  Children place a demand on you like nothing else.  Creating a place of refuge and love in your home.  A place where they will grow, feel treasured, loved and get all they need to fulfill they greates potential in The Lord. Teaching contentment.  So many amazing things to teach and experience with our children as they grow.  Growing as a family, ups and downs. Yes I am building a home.  A wise woman builds her house,  but the foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Lately God has had  rhythm on my mind.  The rhythm of family life has felt somewhat retarded for me.  There is a lack of freedom.  I have been telling myself  "it's because we have young kids" but something has always felt very inadequate about this answer.  I believe there is an extreme blessing for my family and I as I start to catch a huge revelation from God about our family rhythm and what it should be.  Many times we try to fit into the rhythm of the culture surrounding us, when we are all unique and so are our families, so why can't we have a unique way of doing things.  But I believe it requires "stepping out of the box"  letting God lead you in where you need to do that.  If God is leading you it will yield a harvest of peace for your household and not chaos.  It will allow God's rhythms to flow in your family instead of such rigidness.  There are people that will try to hold you back from your freedom, but don't ...

The "cycles" we establish in our lives are very important, as it determines the "rythem" of our lives.  I use the word "rythem". And it makes me think of the word "heartbeat". God has established the "seasons" of the year.  The seasons change and that comes with changes in weather and changes in the natural landscape.  We learn that "change" is healthy and not to hold on to tight to anything.  Since there are only 4 seasons we also learn that consistency is important to.  God has shown me that there are times where I have to insert a change into my routine,  just so I don't get "stuck" in a certain pattern.  While we have routines,  you want your life to have more of a "rythem" than a "routine". Thank You Father!!

Our husbands' God given roles are more limited than wives in the marriage.  I don't mean "limited" in a negative way.  In the Garden of Eden "man" was given a "job" and that job was to tend and keep the garden but the "woman was given a "role". That requires us to do many different jobs, whatever our "role" requires at any given time

Belief systems play a huge role in our relationship with God.  How do we believe God feels about us?  What do we believe He wants for us?  How do you think God wants you to feel???

When u have young children the rythem of life is constantly changing but God has given me guideposts.  When I talked to God about how tired I am at now and how I feel like I don't have energy to do anything else once the kids are I'm bed he said: John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  This let me know todo my work while it is day. Then I was irritated with my husband this morning and I was praying about being a good wife and He answered me: Proverbs 31:12 She does him good and not evilAll the days of her life.  And Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  These 2 scriptures reminded me of the template God created for marriage in the garden of Eden and I was created for the sole purpose of being a helper to my husband and to exercise dominion in my domain.  The domain that God has given me.  The garden of E...

Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  I believe women struggle with the role that God designed them for much more than men do.  It dates back to the garden when the serpent decided to deceive Eve.  He obviously saw her as an easier target.  I believe Satan still see women as easier targets in some areas.  I find that the biggest debates among married women or whether or not to have children, whether or not to work outside of home or inside of home, whether or not to send kids to school or homeschool them.  These issues stir up the strongest emotions among wives and mothers.  I wonder why???  What side does media lean more towards in these debates???   What does all this have to do with Eve way back when, in the garden???  Well when God created Adam, He gave him a job; to tend and keep the garden.  When God created Eve He did not give her a "job". H...

As a woman,  God has blessed us with many roles.  It may feel like we have a lot to do.  But it is not as it seems.  We need to allow those roles to flow naturally through the power of the Holy Spirit.  In the book of Genesis before Abraham became a father, God had already seen him as a father of many nations Genesis 17:5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.  The process of faith is what makes manifest the plan of God for your life, not your striving.  The Holy Spirit does not produce striving but rather peace.  Remember Jesus refers to Himself as the "Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Anything that comes from Jesus in your life should produce peaceful fruit....

Timothy 4:14 tells us the we should not neglect the gift that is in us.  I have not posted in awhile, but I know that God usually shares a word to somebody through me.  I did not want to neglect that gift.  I have been reading and posting about the book of Genesis.  I plan on writing about some things that have been standing out to me.  I pray that this strengthens your faith.  Genesis is a book about beginnings, so it's a great book to read if you are beginning anything new in your life.  I love that Genesis really takes us back to the beginning of "The Faith" that we hold in Jesus Christ.  In Genesis we are introduced to a man named Abraham.  Honestly, Abraham doesn't really do anything major himself in the scriptures but God does amazing things through Him.  When you read about His life, you see him traveling but he also spends a lot of resting under a particular tree.  He has an issue with lying about Sarah being his sist...

I have been exploring the book of Genesis this week and the history of "Creation".  I woke up this morning, feeling overwhelmed with what I needed to do for the week.  My "To-do" list was mounting on top of me.  Ever-so-often, I start to feel overwhelmed about the tasks in front of me.  Most of the time these are little things that I do on a daily basis.  For some reason, on some days I get overtaken and the tasks appear like a mountain before me.  When I woke up this morning feeling that way, I asked God how did He not get overwhelmed when He was creating the heavens and the earth.  One of the things that came to mind is that God took everything 1 day at a time.  You notice when He says "the evening and the morning were the first day".  He makes that statement throughout the whole process of Him creating the heavens and the earth, before he "rested" 1 "The evening and the morning were the first day" 2.  "The evening and the mo...

Genesis 1:3-5 Then God said, "Let there be light; and there was light and God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and darkness He called Night  So the evening and the morning were the first day. Wow, the first day of creation!!!  God called this the first day.  The first day of what.  Not the first day of the "week", not the first day of the "month", not the first day of the year, the first day of all creation.  God is allowing us to witness the first day of all creation and what happened on that first day.  The 1st couple verses of Genesis talks about how "darkness" was on the face of the deep.  Darkness is a loaded word, that implies a lot.  In the beginning there was already darkness.  God did not create darkness.  Because it says in the 1st couple verses of scripture that "darkness was on the face of the deep".  But God did create the light!  From the be...