“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14a) Fat! Ugly! Not enough! Worthless! I slammed the mirror onto the countertop. Who could love someone like me? Tears welled up and spilled over onto my cheeks. Uncontrollable crying was my pitiful comfort. From my adolescent years to just about a year ago, these lies plagued me. Other people’s opinions formed my self-judgments. Comparison of my faults with their successes further ingrained these lies. Satan proudly began to laugh as he patted himself on the back for his success. Another woman discouraged … decimated. One less servant focused …
Hearts of Gratitude
In looking up the word “gratitude” from various sources, most of the definitions were very similar and what one might expect: thankfulness, the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness; a natural expression of thanks in response to blessings, protection, or love, etc… One definition, however, significantly stuck out to me: gratitude is a joyful commitment of one’s personality to God. Researching gratitude chronologically in the Bible, it took me a while to find it, which was surprising to me! Although we don’t see a “thank you” in the first few chapters of Scripture, …
Baby Steps to Finishing
Do you know what the key to “finishing well” in this life is? It’s not starting well… many people have a very rocky start, but through faith and hard work they somehow finish amazingly. Others may have had a great upbringing, but through poor decisions or bad reactions to life’s difficulties- they just barely make it through life, only to reach the end with nothing to show for it. So, again I ask- What is the key to finishing well? Here’s my 2 cents… I say the key(s) to having a wonderful end to your life’s story is to: 1. …