A Healthy Thought

Being pro-active is definitely a healthy practice.  When you find yourself involved in an organization, system, or department etc..., you may encounter different instances that may need a few adjustments or changes. You may need to shut some ideas down or put some other ideas on the shelf. This is called an evaluation of practice.

The key to self-assessments and evaluations is being honest with yourself, and being real with the situation you are facing and open to new approaches.  Don't stay boxed-in!

This practice is very essential and can be very beneficial to you, your company, your business, your ministry, and your personal journey in life; because not only does it humble you in many ways, it also positions you to be pro-active and ready for the future.

The Bible teaches us that Noah built an ark.  The interesting and bizarre thing about this ark is that it was built BEFORE any possible signs of rain.  Noah was directed by God to build something that seemed ridiculous at the moment but was infact what was going to save & protect them in the future.
Naturally, Noah faced criticism, judgement, finger pointing & rejection from the people but he stayed the course. 
Let me ask you this: have you ever felt this way?  Where you feel that you must prepare for the future but no one understands and everyone is criticising you for it?

Being proactive is healthy!  You might actually be the vessel that saves your job, the ministry you are a part of, your company etc..

Ladies, do not be afraid to speak up if you see that something is not going right.  God will give you wisdom to verbalize it properly, but please do not box yourself in and become a part of the problem!  Release the anointing within you and bring solutions to chaotic situations.

Powerful or Pitiful

I read this article this morning and thought it'll be nice to share it with you wonderful ladies! :) Are your thoughts powerful or pitiful? Sometimes thinking correctly seems to be a battle - and I'm here to tell you that it is a battle! The mind is the battlefield where we win or lose in life. Thoughts are powerful, and according to Proverbs 23:7, they have creative ability. If your thoughts affect what you become, then it should be a top priority to think right thoughts. And I want to make sure you understand the absolute necessity of getting your thinking in line with God's word. Here's the bottom line: you cannot have a positive life and a negative mind. A couple of positive power thoughts:

• God loves me unconditionally - Psalm 139
• I will not live in fear - 2 Timothy 1:7
• I am difficult to offend - Proverbs 19:11

Meditate on these power thoughts, as meditation is being interactive with information. Meditating on a scripture simply means to roll it over your mind, apply it to your life and visualize the scripture in action. We can choose our thoughts by exercising self-control, which is called "on-purpose thinking." Power thoughts, when applied, will help you gain more control. See for yourself how this practice will radically transform your life.

And so it was thought

The word of God is astounding; it has the power to cause what is not seen, to be seen. It speaks life, enters into our minds, and changes something and everything. The word of God gives us new energy, and allows us to run for miles and miles with a new focus and a new direction. God is in the business of renewing us and extending us to higher heights. To be renewed means to cause something to go back to its original condition; God’s original intention. Have you ever thought that your situation is way too deep for redemption? Or your case is beyond restoration? Do you feel so lifeless, that nothing can ever change your situation? Well, God is more than you can ever imagine! You’ve got to believe it! Your situation is ripe for change and He is the change maker!! The Lord has a way of arriving after your crisis has completely manifested! He arrives at the end of the end, and when all options have exhausted, and the situation is way beyond dead; and has essentially perished and spoiled (or so it seems). We see a short phrase in Luke 3:23 of the story of Jesus and his father – “or so it was thought”. The expression is significant because it shows how easily and somewhat unknowingly, people can think one thing of a situation, but in reality, it’s quite different (especially in God’s eyes). You know how you drive on the road or the freeway and you see a dead squirrel, bird or whatever; and you find yourself swerving away from it, so you don’t get tainted by it…or the dead skin does not get on your car (think about this). Of course you do this, because it stinks, and/or its messy everywhere. You might actually say out loud “that is nasty!” Well, God will often allow something to die, in order to allow something greater to come forth. Think about it, if Lazarus didn’t die, then resurrection wouldn’t have been manifested; if the blind man wasn’t blind, then his healing wouldn’t have been significant; if the red sea wasn’t there, then the miraculous parting of the sea wouldn’t have been glorifying. God arrives when the situation is good and dead! Even to the point that the situation has a smell to it. The smell only shows that death is approaching or is in the works. And let’s face it, smells are not appealing to us; we are human. We tend to walk away from people that smell and we – in the name of leaving them up to God – give up on them, and we do not want to be associated with them. Or if you are the dead one, you tend to give up on yourself when you get an aroma of your own smell, and you completely forget what you are made of and who you are made in the image of…and you willingly surrender and call it quits. For us, the smell might signify the end of the end, it might mean that our situation has gone too far for help; it could also mean that we have run out of options and our only answer is death or surrendering to the dark side. Or so it is thought……. The wonderful news is that the Lord does not like tombs and smells do not deter Him. He didn’t stay in one, and won’t allow His children to stay in it either. We remember the work He did for Lazarus (John 11). When He came to Lazarus, Lazarus was good and dead. And the people were sure of it! As a matter of fact, when it was brought to Jesus’ attention that Lazarus was sick, Jesus responded that his sickness will not bring him to death. To top it off, Jesus stayed a few more days away from Lazarus. Have you ever thought that God should have arrived to your situation sooner? Of course! It would be easier for us to understand because sooner would make the situation more predictable and it would suit us better; but God never works on our schedule. He arrives on time!!! The other part of this puzzle is that you and I play different roles in this. You might be waiting on God to do something BIG in your life, and get you out of the situation that you are in. Or you might know someone that is going through a tough hopeless situation. You may be the one that drives past the dead / stinky mess and want nothing to do with it. You might be the one that cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel for your life; actually, you might be waiting for death to overtake you. None of us are exempt from this. When the Lord was about to resurrect Lazarus, He asked the people around to roll away the stone. He then resurrected Lazarus. And then He asked the people to loosen Lazarus and let Him go. ISN’T THAT AMAZING?!?!?!?! Will you be available for the rolling of the stone on someone else’s life? Will you be willing to walk out of the tomb when your stone is rolled away? We need to stop dwelling on the dead things and actually move on from them! We need to stop thinking the “and so it was thought” thoughts that we have. We need to remove those limitations from our thinking. God is here to heal and resurrect us, and it’s our choice to work with Him. He wants to take us out of the emotional realm and remove the boundaries that we have placed on ourselves, and the ones we have placed on others. Only God can walk into a dead place and bring life out of it. Do not give up, stay encouraged and believe that God can do it! Adapted from Pastor Patrick's Sermon 12/5/10. http://www.shilohchurch.com

The Mouth Has a Mind of Its Own!

Revised.... What if I told you that the source of most of our problems could be found within us —from the neck up? You’ll find it in the thoughts that come from our minds and the words that come out of our mouth. We must realize and understand the power carried by our thoughts and words. They’re so powerful that they can either bring blessings or curses into our lives, depending on their nature. Our thoughts and words may seem small, but they affect the very direction of our lives and also the lives of the people that we are around. When you encounter so many disappointments because of all the devastating things that have happened to you; you might find yourself afraid to believe that anything good could EVER happen to you. Like me, your philosophy of life could be, “If I keep my expectations low, i'll never be disappointed.” Over the years we become very cynical and negative. Our thoughts are negative, which causes our words to be negative…which all reflects poorly on our lives. Someday, we'll need to decide to change our ways and stop talking so negatively. After a while it'll take more than not talking negatively because cutting out the negative wouldn't be enough; we have to begin to think and talk positively! When we react negatively, we allow fear to take over our thinking. We begin to dwell on things that haven’t even happened and may not happen. Our negative thoughts cause us to speak the words that’ll shape our future. We’re constantly tempted to think wrong thoughts, but we don’t have to accept them! We have a choice! We need to purposely choose right thinking and speaking. Proverbs 18:21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue…. We must choose life generating thoughts. When we do, positive, powerful, life-giving words will naturally follow. I think some people try to control their mouths but do nothing about their thoughts. That’s like pulling off the top of a weed—unless the root is dug up, the weed always comes back. You’ll never control your mouth unless you first learn to control your mind. Believing is the first important step to switching our thinking from being negative to positive. Remember, what’s in our hearts and minds will come out of our mouths. If our soul (mind, will and emotions) is full of negative things, we’ll find those things coming our way. On the other hand, when we hear, read, think and talk about God, the Truth and more positive things, we’ll find that those good things will come our way. The choice is ours!