HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I can honestly say that I can’t remember a Thanksgiving where I have been SO grateful. I don’t know why, but I have a much clearer awareness of how blessed I am and how good God has been to me and continues to be. My only regret is that it has taken me so long to truly embrace his goodness with a heart of gratitude. The years I wasted in an emotional, self-destructive pit robbed me of seeing clearly the awesome goodness of my LOVING God. The mere fact that I even have an awareness of God and a longing for Him comes totally out of His love for me. This Thanksgiving I am totally taken in by the awesomeness of how I am chosen by Him…how you are chosen by him to have a relationship with him—to be HIS adopted child—to be in his family.

2Th. 2:13 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”

It is not by chance…it is not because of anything I have done…it is not because of my parents…it is ALL because of God! He orchestrated it. When we grasp that every good thing given and perfect gift is from God (James 1:17) we lay a true foundation for a heart of gratitude. We understand that anything…anything good is totally out of HIS love for us. When I think about how I love to give good things to my kids and want them to inherit a rich full legacy…God wants that and WAY MORE!!!

Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

God loves you and everything good and everything good thing you desire is rooted out of His love for you. I want to encourage you this Thanksgiving to ask God to open your eyes and heart to see clearly His goodness…His love…and His perfect gifts just for you. When we can capture his provision of goodness for us and grasp how His goodness is there waiting for us to receive we can move through each day knowing He is truly for us and desires us to live and enjoy His blessings. You may be thinking, well you don’t know my life…you don’t know what I’m going through…you’re right I don’t, but God does. Even in the darkness of your circumstances I believe GOD can and will revile His goodness. He will because He is a good loving father that wants HIS best for his children. He will because He has a plan to prosper you and not to harm you and plan to give you a hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11) He will because he promises to work in you to will and act according to His good purpose. (Phil. 2:13) He will because He promises to work all things according to His good purpose.

Rom. 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Our part is to believe with a thankful heart and ask God open our eyes and hearts to see His good purpose in every circumstance and aspect of our lives.

I hope you have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING and enjoy the goodness of God!!!

You are invited to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:

Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

Permission would be appreciated. Thanks!

A Faith Marveled At

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go; and he goes; and to another, ‘Come, and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this and he does it.”

When Jesus heard it he marveled, and said to those who followed, “As suredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! Mathew 8:5-10

Jesus marveled at the centurion’s faith! What an attribute to have the type of faith that God would marvel at.  I couldn’t help but wonder what qualities contributed to the type of faith God would marvel at. As I read the scripture again and asked this question I discovered three qualities:

1. He had a burden for others:  The centurion wasn’t even asking for himself but for his servant. Here he is a man of authority, of status and yet he is pleading for his servant. The centurion was carrying his pain…his burden and described him as paralyzed and dreadfully tormented. Paralyzed meaning there was no way that his servant could even begin to serve. The centurion’s compassion for his servant wasn’t based on what the servant could give him but out of true love.

2. He had a humble spirit: The centurion was in awe of God and humbled in his presence. He didn’t even feel worthy to have him visit in his home—to give of His time. There is a humbleness that comes with the kind of faith that God marvels at. The faith of a humble spirit understands that God is the giver of all good things, and it is only because of God’s grace we receive such blessings.

3. He had a respect for the authority of God. The centurion had a respect for authority. He himself was a man in authority. More importantly he recognized that Jesus was the ultimate authority over heaven and earth. That the power and authority Jesus had could be “spoken” into existence.  There was and is no greater authority than that of our almighty God.

Just recently I encountered a few situations where I’ve marveled at peoples faith: I saw this type of faith in my 66-year-old beautiful friend as she took on the challenge to start a new network marketing business. There was no doubt in her mind, thoughts, or action. She approached her challenge with faith in Jesus and the gifts, resources and experiences God had created in her. She is going to do this and she is going to be successful.  I marveled at her faith and I know God does too.

I saw it in our connect group at church when a 26-year-old stepped out in faith and said “YES” to be a part of a mission trip to Nicaragua. He will venture out into a foreign land where the conditions are questionable and the details of the trip are unknown…I marvel at his faith and I know God does too.

I couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time I demonstrated this type of faith. I want to have the type of faith that God marvels at…the type of faith that is exercised because of a burden and love for others, the type of faith that comes from a humble spirit that is always in awe of God’s grace and goodness, and the type of faith that stands in reverence to the One and only authority of God Almighty.

What about you? Is there something that you have been holding out on? Something that is waiting for you to step out in faith—the type of faith God will marvel at.

 
You are welcome to reproduce this article as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

A Desire For Boldness

This past week I had the privilege of hearing Tammy Trent share at the Women In Christian Media dinner and also sitting in on the live recording of the Lee University Choir . Both of them were absolutely incredible and overflowing with the presence of the Holy Spirit. I was wonderfully moved through each of these events but there was one prevailing attribute that I experienced in both of these performances,  BOLDNESS.  Not an arrogant boldness but an anointed boldness.  A boldness—a conviction that who they were and what they were sharing was worth presenting with a God breathed power filled BOLDNESS! They just weren’t “present”; they were intentional and direct about what they were doing.

I would like to tell you that I live my life with this type of boldness…but I don’t. Do I want to…YES!  When I see it displayed, in a God breathed way, I am totally taken in by it. I desire it! Experiencing it empowers me to want to be BOLD and STRONG . To be BOLD in who I am, in the ways God has gifted me, and in the areas He has called me to serve. To be more intentional and direct about what I am doing. The question is:  Can I …can we have this boldness or is it just for a selective few?

Romans 9:117 says, “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

2Cor. 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will by my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

1Cor. 4:20 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”

According to scripture we should live and act, and move with BOLDNESS because of who we are in Christ, because of Who we serve, and because of His Holy Spirit living within us, empowering us. 1Peter 4:11 says,  “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and he power forever and ever. Amen.”

Perhaps the real question is: Do we believe it? Do we act in the power of His mighty strength or are we held back by timidity, self doubt, or feeling un-equipped?

In 1Chr. 28:20 God says to “Be strong and courageous  , and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.”

I want to encourage you, as I also encourage myself, to approach whatever task or opportunity God puts before you with BOLDNESS. Not because of who you are but because of who HE is and because of how He has empowered you.

Psalm 138:3, “When I called, you answered me; you made me BOLD and stouthearted.”

You are invited to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:

Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

Permission would be appreciated. Thanks!

A HIPPO with wings...

I would like to share with you a post I read recently from one of my favorite blogs One INDELIBLE MOMENT.  The analogy my friend Chris used really spoke to me. As I have mentioned before in a previous post I can be a dreamer and come up with lots of great ideas (well at least I think they're great) but executing my dreams can be my most difficult challenge. The One INDELIBLE MOMENT post just happened to pop up in my email at a time when I needed to stop being a hippo and start soaring like an eagle.

A HIPPO with wings...
Written by: Chris Thomason @http://christhomason.blogspot.com/


Everyday we have a choice....what we decide matters.

Carl Sandburg said,
“There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.”


I would like to say I am always an eagle soaring and making the decisions that propel me forward to doing great things....ok maybe not great things maybe just the things on my "to do" list. But the truth is there are those days I have made the decision to be more like a hippo....and no matter how great my "planning" is....there I am doing what I want to instead of what I am supposed to do....result; a hippo.


While I am talking about my faults, I might as well tell you I have also been guilty of dreaming about doing something but then not taking action to accomplish my dreams. I equate this to more like trying to grow eagle wings on a hippo.....wanting to fly but not wanting to risk or get out of my comfortable mud hole.

“Dreaming about a thing in order to do it properly is right; but dreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong.” ~ Oswald Chambers

Every day, and every moment of every day, I have the power to choose my environment: soaring in the sky or wallowing with the other hippos.

We all have access to both places, and access is unrestricted — it just depends on where we prefer to be.

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

What is keeping you from soaring like an eagle? What dream, plan, or calling can you put into action that will get you out of the mud and up soaring like an Eagle?

You know what makes soaring even sweeter is that you don't have to do it in your own strength.  God will renew your strength and give your wings flight.

"Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Is. 40:31

However.....you do have to get up and put some feet to your faith (your hope) in order to take flight and SOAR.

So, like my friend Chris said, " Gotta go now and start soaring instead of trying to be a hippo with wings."

A huge thank you to Chris for letting me post from his blog http://christhomason.blogspot.com/
You are welcome to reproduce this article as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

FAN INTO FLAME THE GIFT

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you’ve grown weary of the journey or just tired of feeling like you’re spinning your wheels?  Have you ever had a time when you’ve become fearful of what the future holds…fearful that things won’t play out they way you dreamed.  Perhaps you doubt your abilities and strength to carry out your calling.  Maybe you are in a rut and you just can’t see past your circumstances to move forward. There is some valuable advice in the Word of God, a letter that Paul wrote to Timothy.  It is actually one of my favorite passages because I have experienced it within my own life and seen it work in the lives of others. 

Timothy, who like Paul and is called to preach, is pulling back and reacting to his circumstances with a timid-fearful approach. Paul knows and cares for Timothy like a brother.  He knows the faith that Timothy has within and personally laid hands on him when he was anointed into the ministry of sharing the gospel. 

With great concern Paul writes a letter to
Timothy and shares these words of encouragement with him, “For this very reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me His prisoner.  But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” 2Timothy 1:6-8

Paul is telling Timothy to NOT pull back in fear, to not “react” but to be proactive by fanning into flame the Gift of preaching…of sharing the gospel and to get busy doing what God has gifted him to do! Paul is saying don’t respond in fear….that is not you! Respond in the spirit of power (from the Holy Spirit living within you). Respond in love (a love that sees beyond the action of man) and respond in self-discipline (that is grounded in the strength and truth of your Lord Jesus Christ).

Like Timothy I have had times when I have reacted…grown weary…and responded with a defeated attitude.  You know what happens when you react?  You became saturated with fear; you react by acting unloving to others and to God.  Life quickly becomes undisciplined as you are paralyzed in a fog of no purpose with no focus.

See, when you pull back you crack open the door to disobedience and to living a life overcome by fear—the fruit of fear is the total opposite of the fruit of living in the Spirit. Fear gives Satan the opportunity to flood your mind with lies and your life with a defeated spirit. That is not what God has for you!

God has gifted each of you with a purpose utilizing your gifts. The using of your gifts are an expression of the Holy Spirit living within you. He wants you to live continually fanning into flame the gift of God within you. For each of you that is different but to each it is vital to carrying out God’s call on your life and enriching the lives of others.

Paul was also called to preach and yet he was chained in prison as he wrote this encouraging letter to Timothy.  At that time, Paul wasn’t out among the people preaching to the masses.  He was imprisoned but he still continued to carry out the call on his life.  Maybe things aren’t going the way you dreamed, maybe it seems like you aren’t making a difference, or maybe you are stuck. Fan into flame the gift of God within you.  Get busy doing what you have been called to do.   

Perhaps God is doing something bigger in what appears to be a small minuscule kind of way.  Paul’s letters may have seemed small at the time but today they make up most of the New Testament and continue to make a vital difference in the lives of others.  I’m sure, while Paul was writing this letter, he wasn’t thinking; I sure do hope this makes it into the Bible—God’s Holy inspired Word. Paul was just allowing the Holy Spirit to use him to carry out God’s Truth through his everyday circumstances.   

Let me encourage you to “FAN INTO FLAME” the gift of God that is within you.  Don’t react to your circumstances or to your disappointments, instead be proactive and continue to fan into flame the gifts, the service, and the opportunities God places before you. 

Bless you as you "FAN INTO FLAME" the Gift!








You are invited to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com
Permission would be appreciated. Thanks!

Be Strong and Courageous

 

 Be strong and courageous!!! Wow! What challenging words. These are the very words God spoke to Joshua several times right after Moses died and right before he was to lead the Israelites into the promise land. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 

What a challenging time it must have been for Joshua. Moses, the very man that was ordained for the job and had faithfully brought the Israelites through the dessert and to the Jordan, had died. Now Joshua was the one appointed to take over the enormous task—to lead the Israelites, to face the obstacles ahead, to cross the Jordan, and to take the land God declared as theirs—the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.

As I read these words repeatedly throughout the first chapter of Joshua, I couldn’t help but say to my self, “Peggy, how are you facing your day?  How are you facing the challenges before you? Are you strong and courageous? Are you facing life knowing that God is with you? Are you being obedient in what God has called you to do? Are you taking on the tasks that God has put before you with a strong confident courageous spirit? Or are you shrinking back and facing them with a weak spirit, with a sense of defeat, and with an attitude of discouragement?”

I don’t ask myself these questions to make myself miserable or to cause quilt. Instead, I ask them because I want all that God has for me…I don’t want to miss out on the milk and honey! I want to take on life with a strong spirit that is confident and courageous because of the power that God has invested in me through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. I want to take on life not defeated by my circumstances but empowered by the faithfulness of a God who promises to finish His GOOD work within me (Phil.1:6), and to fulfill His plan in me (Jer.29:11). 

In whatever circumstances we are facing—a challenging climactic time like Joshua’s, a time of trials, the loss of a job, a mountain of health issues, or just the every day ordinary of life we can face it knowing that God is with us—empowering us. We can face our time with a spirit of strength, of confidence and courage because we have a God who is faithful and promises to be with us wherever we are—in whatever circumstance we are walking through. We can face every situation with strength because we have a God who is ABLE!

“Now to HIM who is able to far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”  Eph. 3:20

Perhaps you are in the middle of a time of uncertainty and you need to be assured that God is with you and will strengthen you wherever you go. Let me encourage you, don’t shrink back…be strong and courageous!!! 

“BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH: AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. For we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” Heb.10:33-39

Don't shrink back...BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS...Be GOD Strong!!!

  

You are invited to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com
Permission would be appreciated. Thanks!

Count Your Blessings!

I have a friend who posted on facebook this past week. She was naming the reasons why she was rich (not material reasons but family, health, contentment…etc.). When I read her post it reminded me of the old hymn Count Your Blessings, which I immediately started singing in my head. The song offers great words of wisdom that will inspire a troubled soul to focus on their blessings and let their worries be overshadowed by God’s love and mercy.

Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed.
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Chorus
Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your many blessings see what God hath done
Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your many blessings see what God hath done

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by  (love these 2 lines!)

Chorus

When you look at others with their lands of gold.
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high

Chorus

So amid the conflict, whether great or small.
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Words: Johnson Oatman, Jr.

I love the line: Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, and you will be singing as the days go buy. Do you have a song ringing in your heart? Are you counting your blessings? It’s amazing what happens when we focus on our blessings. It really does chase away the doubt and put a song in your heart, and just like my friend posted…we realize how rich we truly are.

I’m counting my blessings and here are a few:

• My Jesus whose love endures forever!
• A great husband that I’ve been married to for 29 years. Yes, I got married young! Ha!!!
• Two incredible children who love God and love others. 
• My sweet dog that is high-maintenance but I still love him in a confusing kind of way. 
• I have a great church that is passionate about preaching God’s WORD and reaching the community. 
• My husband is working….thank you JESUS!
• I get to go to England with my family—a dream come true!
• I get to encourage women (and men) like you in your faith journey’s and empower you with God’s TRUTH!!!
• I have wonderful friends like YOU!!!

What about you…what blessings are you counting?

You are invited to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com
Permission would be appreciated. Thanks!

Woe Me! The Adversity Of Endless Mind Thoughts

I’m going to be boldly honest in this post because I want to speak to the inner silent struggles that some of you deal with or have dealt with. My life used to be a daily taunting of that inner degrading voice. I don’t go there as much but when I do it reminds me of the miraculous healing God has done in my life and also of the debilitating struggle that so many deal with.

The other day I got distracted. OK, I got discouraged!!! I started whining to God about what wasn't happening in my life instead of praising him for what was happening. I was painting my daughters bedroom and needed desperately to get finished by a certain date. It was my third painting task (laundry room, dining room hutch, and now a bedroom!) and I was worn out! My intention was to complete all three tasks in one week (not too bright).  It was my second week and I was tired of it! I was supposed to be done!

I physically and mentally drove myself into a pity-party. This used to be the norm for my life but Praise God, hasn't been for a long time. This actually made me feel even worse; I felt guilty for even going there!!! With every brush stroke I was thinking about what I wish was going on in my life...wondering why the opportunities weren’t coming through...wondering what was holding me back...wondering why others were having success and I wasn't—all the places I go when I stray from the heart of trusting God.

Later that night I read in Numbers 13-14 (challenge to read the Bible in 90 days) about the Israelites. God had told Moses to send some men out to explore the land of Canaan. Moses sent out a leader from each ancestral tribe. When the men returned they gave Moses account of what they saw: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. BUT the people who live there are very powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…..” (13:27-29) Then Calab  (from the tribe of Judah) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Now take in to consideration Calab saw the same thing the other leaders saw. The other leaders jumped in and said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” (13:30-31) So they spread among the Israelite people a great fear of defeat and doom. They said, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (vs.33) Do you ever voice those feelings? Does the feeling of inferiority and defeat ever run through your thoughts?

Well that night all the people wept aloud and grumbled in despair, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? …..Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”(14:2-4)

OKAY!!! Wow! Have you been there? Have you ever said, “Lord, I don’t know if I can do this anymore. This is too hard! Am I ever going to have it all together? Is this dream/vision ever going to happen? Surely Lord, you didn’t bring me this far for nothing?” When you’ve grown weary of the struggles, when things aren't going as expected, or from waiting for the next opportunity... do you ever say these words? I have and I’ve heard them said by many others. To be honest I silently thought those words earlier that day. I could see myself in the pages of my Bible right slap in the middle of the crowd, guilty of crying out in defeat and hopelessness!

It gets better, read how God responded to their disbelief: “The Lord said to Moses, How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, In spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?”(Num.14:11) Oh, how easily we forget when our selfish eyes are on what isn’t happening, or what seems impossible, or what others are getting to do. In our “WOE ME” self-pity we forget how far we’ve come. We forget how God has redeemed us and how he has provided above and beyond our comprehension. We forget the promises, the blessings, the answered prayers that He has already bestowed on us. We forget how He sacrificed his Son Jesus Christ so that we wouldn’t have to pay the price for the sins of our disbelief. Oh, how easily we can wonder away from the Truth….from the shepherd. I will confess God got me at “refuse to believe in me!” Oh Lord, I don’t want my actions to speak refusing YOU! Yet, when the TRUTH lies boldly before me and I choose to believe Satan’s lies and live in defeat, then I'm choosing to refuse God and his promises.”

I had a choice that day…but I refused to change my attitude and focus on the truth. Truthfully I had set myself up. I had taken on way too much with high expectations. I had no energy left and it was just easier to go with my emotions.

What are some ways I could have redirected my thoughts and remembered God’s goodness?

Praise Music: I could have set up my ipod and listened to music and sang aloud Praises to GOD! I love to sing! Not only would my thoughts have been focused on the wonders of God but I could have used the time to exercise vocally.

Teaching Tapes: I could have used this time to listen to some Christian teaching tapes or inspirational books. This would have taken my mind off of my thoughts and put them on the Truth and motivational words spoken.

Walk away: Sometimes you just need to walk away and be refreshed. It may seem like a good idea and a necessity to get the job done but if it is driving you crazy…it’s not worth it! It would have been better for me to take a break and go for a walk, meet a friend for a visit, and just mentally be refreshed.

Take a nap: This is important! After I stopped what I was doing and took a nap I was refreshed and less anxious. It was only after taking a nap that I was ready to hear from God and see the Truth. If we are listening…seeking…God always has a way of bringing us back to where our heart is centered on Him.

Take time out with God: Go back to God…to the Truth. Don’t listen to the voice in your head; don’t dwell in your pity party. Seek God; He will bring you back to a place of surrender and renewal.

One of the greatest differences living in the Old Testament and today is that we have forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He paid that price for our sins. He took the punishment so we can live in a full victorious life for God. “Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.” (Heb. 9:15 Message) Mindless degrading thoughts are definitely dead-end efforts!

I hope you will return for my next posting. We will look again at Numbers 13-14 and the power of our words and perception.








You are welcome to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

You also might enjoy reading:
What To Do When  You Feel Like Giving Up 
One Bad Day

Who Defines You?

Who defines You? Who or what influences the way you think about yourself? Often times we allow ourselves to be defined by the opinions of others…good or bad, by our successes or failures, or worst of all by that nagging inner voice focusing on our weaknesses in detail. All of these sources for self-evaluation waver in their credibility.  This being so, it is important we have a strong foundation regarding God’s opinion of us—a foundational truth of who we are in the eyes of our creator.

If or when your mind begins to wonder from the truth of “who you are” be reminded of these foundational truths:

You were carefully thought out even before your days on earth even began:
You are not a mistake or just a product of your environment. You were carefully thought out and masterminded before your life even began.

 “Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” (Psa. 139:16-17 Message)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5)

You are God’s masterpiece:
God doesn’t make mistakes! God himself created you wonderfully; you are His masterpiece. You are created for good things, NOT bad. God doesn’t wish bad for you, He has good things planned for you.

“For You (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14 Message)

“For you are God’s masterpiece. He has created you new in Christ Jesus so you can do good things that he planned for you long ago.” (Eph. 2:10)

You are loved by God and He fills you with His love:
God loves you so much that he sacrificed His only Son for you. His love is unconditional, there is nothing you can do to deserve it; your part is to receive it. You will never hear God say, “If you do this I won’t love you anymore.” There is nothing that can make Him stop loving you and there is nothing that can ever separate you from His love. You may have days where you feel unloved or unlovable but His love is ever present and forever extended with open arms of grace.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His only Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1John 4:10)

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.” (Rom. 5:5)

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35,37-39)

You are forgiven:
Don’t wallow in guilt. God offers you forgiveness for all sin freeing you from any internment of guilt. You are not only forgiven but also redeemed to walk in righteousness. For you no longer are subject to darkness but can walk in Light with eyes wide open to the Truth that frees you.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9 NIV)

“Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:12-14 NIV)

You are a child of God:
You belong to God; you are a part of His family. You are His precious child…He is your Father! This truth will never change!

“To all who received Him (as Lord), to those who believed in his name (Jesus Christ), he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13 NIV)

“For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.” (Acts 17:28)

You are the sacred temple of God:
God loves you so much that He sees your life as a sacred temple—a place for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Jesus Christ. With His Holy Spirit you are forever sealed (protected) as HIS.

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1Cor. 3:16-17)

“Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” (Eph. 1:13)

You are valuable to God:
You are so valuable to God; He is concerned with every detail of your life. He has numbered every hair on your head. He has even determined the exact time and place you should live. If God cared enough to do all this for you will He not care enough to meet your every need, to hear your silent cries, and to carry your deepest burden…YES, He will! You are valuable…speak His value into your life! He is concerned with the details of your life.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they? (Matt 6:26)

“And even the hairs on your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matt. 10:30-31)

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times and the exact places where they should live.” (Acts 17:26)

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” (Psa. 139:1-3)

You are chosen by God:
God chose you! He picked you to be on His team—in His family—to receive His benefits. He wants you for eternity. Have you ever just wanted to be one of the chosen elite….well you are! You are God’s chosen elite.

“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you.” 1(Peter 2:9 Message)

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love.” (Eph. 1:4 NIV)

“In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:11-12 NIV)

God wants you to prosper:
God doesn’t just want you to just get by or struggle in life. He wants you to prosper (to flourish, to thrive, to grow), don’t accept anything less then God’s plan for your life. Continue to work out your salvation (to press on in your faith) for God wants to work in you for His GOOD purpose.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11 NIV)

“—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (fear of not wanting to miss out!), for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil. 2:12-13)

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” (3John 2)

Gods eternal promise to you:
God is not finished with you! He is working to develop and perfect you into the mirror image of the glory of God. Whatever stage you’re at in life, whatever circumstances you’re engulfed in, God is still working. Your hope is in believing (confessing) that He is working out His very best in you.

 “I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ developing and perfecting and bringing it in to completion in you.” (Phil 1:16)

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed in the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2Cor. 3:18)

What foundational truth do you build you self worth on? Who or what defines you?






You are welcome to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

What To Do When Life Blows Up In Your Face

For several hours the pot roast and potatoes had been simmering in my crock-pot. The aroma had already begun to engage my taste buds as it had the other hungry bodies waiting to partake of the prepared feast. In preparation to serve the roast I was carefully placing a few of the potatoes into a large casserole dish in order to pull the roast out for cutting when all of a sudden the dish exploded in my face and shattered everywhere. The pressure of the blast set me back a few feet. I was frozen in total shock! All I could say was Oh, OH, OHHHH!!!  I couldn’t believe what had happened.  There was glass everywhere and in a million pieces.  Amazingly, I didn’t have a single scratch or piece of glass on me, which I must give credit to the protective hand of God!  But all the work that went into the pot roast…it just blew up in my face!

What do you do when something you have put a lot of time and energy into blows up in your face? What do you do when you are faced with a disappointment or failure? What do you do when something you have diligently worked at doesn’t turn out the way you had hoped or dreamed?  Most of the time it’s something more serious than a spoiled dinner.

Take time out to regain your composure: Step away and work through what just happened. Let it sink in. Work through the emotions. You will have a flood of emotions…that’s okay! It is what you do with the emotions that make the difference. “For you do not have a spirit of timidity…but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.” (2Tim. 1:7) This is when you need to pull from the power of the Holy Spirit and discipline your emotions. You can either let your emotions run wild and take you on a roller coaster ride of extreme highs and lows or you can pull your emotions in and line them up with God’s Truth. My tendency is to condemn myself, label myself as a loser, and throw in the towel—I can be the master of total self-annihilation, which only puts me in a self-pity pit, lost and striped of purpose and hope. If I allow this, I am totally useless to myself, my family and to God. Don’t let this happen! It gets you nowhere! Gather your thoughts—surrender them to God and then act in obedience to the Word and not according to your emotions. When you act in obedience your emotions will quickly fall in line with God’s truth.

Get back up and take action: Don’t give up and live in the self-pity pit…that is dangerous! Get right back to doing what you have been purposed/called to do…even if you don’t feel like it. I didn’t throw my hands up in the air and say…I’m not gonna eat now, you guys just go get food!  Instead, my husband and kids cleaned up the mess while I took a moment to gain my composure.  Then I calmly went and got ready to go out for dinner (That was the only logical thing to do...haha). The point is, don’t take yourself out of the game (of life). There will be setbacks but there’s no time for self-pity! Instead it’s time to refocus, pull your big girl panties up and get back to it!!!

Evaluate your situation: After you get back in the game with restored confidence, then evaluate what you’ve learned and what you can take away from the situation. Don’t look at it as failing, instead, look at it as a learning experience—as a break through to a higher level of excellence. Find that “A-HA” factor that you can take with you as you move on to your next challenge.  You might need to seek advice from others but know that there is something you can learn…something you can gain from the situation. I learned I will never put hot potatoes and the simmering juice into a glass dish, and that perhaps it is time to replace some old baking dishes. Even more so I was reminded that with God’s help, when I choose to I can discipline my emotions.

Raise your standard: Often times a “blow up” is on opportune time to dig a little deeper and pull out some of that drive that has been idle for a while. Use it as a wake-up call to become more focused and persistent in achieving your goals, your dreams, and living life to the fullest. Reignite the flame and let the passion become more intense!

Don’t miss out on the feast: You may think the feast is not to be had…but the feast is in the fullness of God waiting for you to enjoy in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry. As the apostle Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:12-13

The feast is not in the success of the moment but in trusting that God’s ways are higher, his grace is sufficient for any situation, and His power is perfected in our weakest moments.  (Is. 55:9 and 2Cor. 12:9)

You are welcome to reproduce this article for your blog as long as you include the following blurb:
Peggy Reeves is a speaker, writer and life coach. To find out more about Peggy please visit her website and blog at www.peggyreeves.com and http://embracinglifewithpeggy.blogspot.com

Other posts that might interest you:
How To Get Out Of A Rut
What To Do When You Feel Like Giving Up 
Be Proative