Be the best you can be

We all have the same ability...to be the very best person we can be. It is not always easy and we will struggle along the way. However, if we make it our goal...we WILL achieve it!

The reason many of us struggle with insecurities is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else's highlight reel! We do not know their inner struggles or their insecurities...we see what they project and sometimes that can be intimidating. We are all different. We have different gifts and talents so we need to stop comparing ourselves to others and learn how to shine our own light.

When others are committed to keeping you from achieving your goal it is usually out of jealousy, ignorance or a failure to thrive on their part. Ask yourself if that is the kind of environment that will get you to your goal. If not, perhaps it is time to do a clean sweep of your support circle.

You will never know how strong you are until you lose someone or something you were not ready to give up. However, when you rise up with a renewed strength you will see that it might just have been the added weight that was keeping you back.

Remember to always be that friend who is kind, encouraging, uplifting with a sincere desire to help your family and friends succeed. Have a blessed and productive day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

Respect yourself...

If someone treats you as if you were beneath them, without respect, as if you were subservient to them then ask yourself, "Why am I allowing them to treat me this way?".

People will only treat you within the boundaries that you set. You have to respect yourself and know your own value. We all have value and we all deserve respect. When someone devalues you, you need to kindly show them the door and lock it behind them! Do not allow people in your life to treat you in any way that belittles you.

On the flip side, you need to show everyone respect as well. It is true that people earn respect however, there is a baseline of respect due to everyone regardless of their position in life. Always put yourself in their position and treat them the way you would want to be treated by others.

Have a blessed and respectful day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

The Spiritual Cycle

I found this spiritual cycle and I thought that it would be a great tool to share with you. Sometimes we just need a reminder of how God works.

First and foremost we need to relax and be in His Presence - He will take care of all our needs...in HIS timing. We have His promises to rely on so all we have to do is wait for His answer. We should rejoice in His goodness that He is faithful and that He will never leave or forsake us!

Waiting is not always easy...trust me, I know this first hand (I am HORRIBLE at it) However, it teaches us to rely on Him and on Him alone. We get valuable lessons in every step of the cycle.

Have a blessed and peaceful day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

Prayer is Americas only hope...

Prayer is America's only hope! We need to forget about all this "political correctness".  Why is it that we are so concerned about trying to appease and/or not offend EVERYONE else that we have turned our backs on God and our own values?

Atheists have removed God from our schools and government because they said it violated their rights...what about the rights of those who do believe in Him? We are told we have to be tolerant of the beliefs of others...yet those very people are not tolerant of ours. Where is the balance?

I have no issues with atheists or any member of any religion. I wholeheartedly agree that you have the right to practice any religion that you choose. I just do not agree that you should stop others from practicing ours because you don't agree with it. You can share the platform if you want.

We have pushed God further and further away. We are a country that was FOUNDED on God. Just remember...if God is not WITH us then HE will be AGAINST us!! It can only be one of the two!!! Look at the state of our schools and our government. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that it is not working - evil is prevailing in this country!!!

We all need to pray and pray hard. Pray for our country, pray for the heart of the people to turn back to God, pray for peace, pray for Israel. Pray for anything you want...just PRAY!!

Have a blessed and prayer filled day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

It ain't much...

God does not ask a lot of us. He does not want anything more than our heart and our desire to be close to Him.

What a change from most of the people in our lives. Many of them placed countless spoken and unspoken demands on us! The sad thing is that we try to bend over backwards to meet those demands. 

Think of everything that God has done for you, everything He has given you, every time He showed up when everyone else walked away. Is He really asking to much from you? 

Have a blessed and loving day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

A Thin Line....

Do not confuse arrogance with confidence. Sometimes we THINK that we are being confident while everyone else sees us as arrogant. It is not what you think you can do. It is how you react after you do it that defines your character.

Have all the confidence in the world...because you can do anything you put your heart into :)  Just don't let it get to your head and start thinking that you are better than anyone else. Balance is the key.

Have a blessed and balanced day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

Be filled with Gratitude and Joy...

Happiness in not having everything you want. It is wanting and appreciating everything you have. When you are filled with gratitude for what you have there is peace and joy. 

Far to often we base our wants on what other people have. We live in a society that we have to have the latest and greatest things to be cool. All that does is cause stress and put financial burdens on us. The cutting edge technology today is obsolete tomorrow and so the cycle continues to upgrade what we have for something better.

Finding what we need and what will work best for us is what matters. Everything we have is a blessing from God and we need to show our gratitude and appreciation for what we have been given. We also need to remember to be good stewards of what we have.

Have a blessed and grateful day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

The truth in God's Word...

It is a wonderful feeling to be assured that no matter what....there is NOTHING that will be able to separate us from God's love!

We never have to worry about making mistakes, backsliding or being deceived. We have two powerful things that will bring us through anything thrown our way....God's Word and His promise.

I have read Romans 8:38-39 many times, I have even quoted it several times however, it was not until it became so real to me that it changed me. The enemy can no longer use my past against me, he cannot use temptation against me...I am standing on God's Word and I feel safe and secure knowing that His love will see me through.

I hope and pray that His Word will become real to you too. May it impact your life so much that you become bold and fearless, especially when confronting the enemy!

Have a blessed and fearless day, my friend! May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

Be a dream catcher!

When you have a dream, a desire or a vision, it is wise to pray about them and ask God for guidance and direction. However, you still have the responsibility to put forth action and start proactively pursuing them.

When God called Abraham to be the father of all nations, he was put through many tests, trials and tribulations. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son to be obedient to God! When God called Noah to build an ark and become one of only six people left in the world...Noah built that ark in faith amid the taunting of those who thought he was crazy! When God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, he had to give up everything and wander through the desert for 40 years before leading them to the promised land...even though he never got to go into the land himself.

Nothing ever falls into your lap completed. You have to work for what you want. There will be trials, test and tribulations just like there were with the ones who walked before us. The thing that you have to decide is, "Is your dream, your calling, your vision worth the sacrifice?" 

All I can say is that if God is asking you to do something and it requires sacrifice on your part, there is a good reason for that sacrifice. God will replace what you lay down with something ten times greater than what you had before.

Have a blessed and dream chasing day, my friend! May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

Celebrate the small steps...

Celebrate the small steps in life. Reaching a set goal is a wonderful thing. However, do not overlook all the success that you have achieved along the way, both big and small. You should celebrate each time you make a step closer to reaching your goal.

It is important for us to recognize the fruits of our labor. It will keep us pushing harder through the difficult times. Striving for the next breakthrough. Determined not to give up because we can see how far we have already come.

No matter what it is that you want in life...go for it...step by step. Be ready for some set backs and disappointments but also be ready to celebrate and acknowledge your successes. You have everything you need inside you to succeed...so fearlessly chase your dreams.

Have a blessed and wonderful day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.

God created you unique...

You do not have to change who you are to fit in with everyone else...if fact that would be a tragic mistake! It is good and wise to improve yourself to become the best person you can be. However, that does not mean you need to be a carbon copy of anyone else.

You have gifts and talents that no one else has. Your mind has be designed to think and process things a little differently so you can get a totally unique perspective on something. That is why when different people put their thoughts together...progress is made!

It is your spirit that shines through, so if your spirit needs a makeover...by all means do what it takes to be the person God created you to be. It does not matter if you look different on the outside, embrace it and make it the very thing that attracts others TO you and not AWAY from you. 

Always encourage others to celebrate their uniqueness...strive not to be envious of others because you dishonor God's handiwork. He created you and when you think of yourself less than He thinks of you...you are saying that He didn't do a good enough job.  Do not allow the enemy to come in and tell you that you are not good enough...God says you are!

Have a blessed and wonderful day, my friend. May there always be Shalom in your heart and in your home.