Purity

Purity is about being clean in what we see, what we say, what we think and how we feel. These things ultimately determine how we act (what we do). It’s an internal state of being “clean” that produces positive outward actions. Purity is what keeps us knowing and doing what’s right.

It's as practical as not getting angry or frustrated or jealous of others, but being patient and happy for them. Or choosing not to swear/speak profane words when you hear others do it, but being clean in the things you say. Or it also could be on the inside not thinking bad things, but keeping your mind clean and only thinking about good things. Or even not looking at or watching things that you know you shouldn’t.

Only you know the areas of your life that you need to clean up a little bit or a lot...

When we can figure out how to live our lives with purity, then we’ll start to act the way God intended for us to act.

Living by faith

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38, KJV)

God didn’t design living by faith to give you high blood pressure or to cause you panic attacks. Living by faith is not like a roller coaster that you just can’t wait to get off of.

Living by faith is like resting in a boat where it’s just you and God. He is doing the rowing and you are resting in His promises, resting in His Word, resting in His love as you let Him take you wherever He wants you to go.

The more you rest, the more He navigates you to victory. The more you entrust your entire well-being to God, the greater He can bless you and use you to be a great blessing.

Living

The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created–created first in the mind and will, and then created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating - unknown

Your life isn't going to start to happen in 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years: you are what you are going to be now. However, this may or may not be where you will end up. The choice and control is ultimately yours.

The decisions you make now, will determine if the person you are today is a younger version of who is to come; or if what we see is all there will ever be.

What do you want to be when you grow up? You are it right now!

Loss?

Stop looking at what you have lost, so you can see what you have.

Loss isn't easy. Because when you lose something, your mind automatically shifts into a place where you blame yourself (or come real close) for letting that thing or someone slip away.
There are some things, yes, that you could have done better but then there are others that you absolutely have NO control over.

So if you are about to lose something and you can feel it slipping away, and you know it's better for you if it's gone....then, by all means and for the sake of your sanity - gladly say goodbye. But if you have lost something or someone and you didn't have full control while you had it, then you certainly cannot do anything about it now that it's no longer in your possession.

However, the trick with loss is that if you aren't careful, you'll spend a whole lot of time in mourning and hardly anytime in living.

It is absolutely okay to have a grieving period, but as my husband will say "determine in your heart how long you will be in that timeframe. Because when that time comes, crying is over and real life begins"!

Don't get lost in loss; live fully with what you do have. Everything and everyone around you is counting on you ;). YOU are counting on you!

Living

No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it - George Washington Carver

I don't care how much you feel or say things like - that's not for me or someone else is better at that or it's not something I can do or it's not my calling or I'm not as brave as he or she is or if I just stay in the back, no one will notice.

Everyone has in them the desire to do something, no matter how big or small. And everyone has the ability to make some kind of impact on people they come in contact with. Whatever it is, it's something. If its a negative impact, of course you need to work on that :)

But life and living is day to day; Sunday through Saturday; sunrise to sunset; 365 days a year; 24 hours a day; no matter who you are, this stays the same for everyone. What happens in between is what counts! Make it worth it!

Happy Monday!

Leave, Get and Live

Shared by Cathy Whitney

So.....Leave The COFFIN there, Get to The CROSS, but Live in the COMMUNITY! - This is a message that I've so much dealt with in my life - especially the last 2 years, and I thought I should share.


Let the past be, leave it there, say bye bye, it's not coming back and it won't be of much help. Learn from it and move on. Today is new, do it differently, do it better than yesterday. Tomorrow will be the best.

Let Jesus take control of this day going forward. The cross is the place to take it all to Him. At the cross is where we lay ourselves and all that we carry, we lay it down and He picks up and carries it for us. Our burden becomes lighter and it's in the greatest hands ever. We are free, we are set free. We are free if we surrender all.
You were created for a purpose. We are not just women to be seen, looked at and used. We are vessels and temples and we've been placed here to leave a mark, make a difference and be the best examples. As wives, as mothers, as sisters, as aunties, as grandmas or just friends - let's all give it our best, we are to love, serve, accomodate, encourage, inspire and bless. We are to be best in all that we do. As we shop, as we relax, as we chat, as we build, as we uphold - we should give it all that we have. It will bless, change and build our communities. It all starts with us.

We are all great women of substance. We need to believe it. We all are.

Set some goals

We had an exceptionally great start today! I encourage you to get acquainted with your behavior profile (see below), set some goals for yourself (not your family, not your spouse or boyfriend/fiancee), but for yourself...and THEN do all that you can to achieve those goals. Pace yourself, of course. And don't forget to pray for your fellow righteous women, as we all strive to accomplish our short/long term goals. We will be working with a new curriculum - "Living with Unmet Desires". Let me know what arrangements you want to make to get yours...as we'll start using it at our March 19th meeting. They are $7 each. Have a great day ladies and be good... QQ _____________________________________________________________ YOUR BEHAVIOR PROFILE: Behavior profiling began in the late 1920’s as a result of psychologist Dr. William Marston’s theory that there are four basic personality types - D for Dominant, I for Influencer, S for Steady and C for Compliant (or DISC for short). Over the years, different versions of the same theory developed including BEST (Bold-Expressive-Sympathetic-Technical) and Dr. Gary Couture’s version using bird names (Dove, Owl, Peacock and Eagle). The ‘bird’ version has become quite popular as most people can relate easier to a visual object like a bird, rather than just a descriptive word. For this reason, we’ll go with Dr. Couture’s ‘bird’ version – besides, wouldn’t you rather describe yourself as an ‘Eagle’ or ‘Dove’ instead of ‘Dominant’ or “Compliant’? You and I fit into one of these basic personality types, which define the way we interact with other people, the way we go about life, our personal drivers and how we succeed. We will often relate better to people who have a similar behavior profile, and find other behavior patterns annoying and maybe even a little intimidating. But more importantly, these behaviors have a major impact on how we progress through life. So what are the 4 behavior types? In a nutshell they are: Dove The compassionate and peaceful dove. The dove is people-orientated, loyal, friendly, hardworking and a great team player but tends to avoid change, confrontation, risk-taking and assertiveness. Owl The wise owl. The owl is logical, mathematically minded, methodical and sometimes seen as a perfectionist. The owl can be slow to make decisions and inflexible if rules and logic says otherwise. Owls are not big risk takers but love detail. Peacock The showy peacock. The peacock loves talking; being the center of attention has passion/ enthusiasm and is happy/ optimistic. Peacocks can be accused of talking too much, and aren’t good with detail or time-control. Eagle The bold eagle. Eagles are dominant, stimulated by challenge, decisive and direct. Eagles can be blunt/ stubborn, can lose sight of the big-picture and can be insensitive to other people’s needs. Eagles are natural achievers. Think about yourself for a minute. Do you fit any of the above profiles? Perhaps you have traits of a couple of profiles (which is more than likely)? If one of these behavior types fits you perfectly, then start working on your goals and see how your behavior type may affect your goal setting process. www.achievegoalsettingsuccess.com

Atmosphere

As women, we ought to be diligent in maintaining a life of holiness and righteousness. We will not be perfect, but we can give 110% towards it. In everything we think, say or do; we need to be led by the Holy Spirit. We need to be careful that we do not create an atmosphere that will cause us to fall into any form of temptation. Temptation is defined as the act of tempting; enticement or allurement; something that tempts, entices, or allures; the fact or state of being tempted, especially to evil; a cause or occassion of enticement. Temptation comes to distract you, and to cause you to fall off. If we choose to entertain it, it'll destroy us. It'll change everything, get you off course, and move you further and further away from your destiny. The bible tells us in Luke 4:13 that after the devil tempted Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came. That tells me that the devil is not capable of creating a temptous situation for us, but he is however waiting and hoping that we will, so he can in fact tempt us. The enemy does not have any power over us. He can only tap into a condition that he is allowed into. Righteousness is a way of life, a choice in living, a decision for your lifestyle. If you decide to do it, you'll continue to strive towards it!