You are God's Treasure

Are you comfortable in your own skin? In other words, do you recognize yourself as the treasure God made you, or are you constantly looking for approval and comparing yourself to a neighbor, co-worker or friend? Do you try to out-dress them or out-perform them? Are you always looking for ways to one-up others?
Friend, it’s time to let all of that go. Comparison is a distraction. Comparison is a thief. It steals your time, energy, focus and joy. You aren’t here to impress anybody; you don’t have to prove anything because you are God’s special workmanship. He created you with a purpose for a purpose. You are empowered and equipped to do everything He’s called you to do.
If you will choose to stay free from a spirit of competition and just run your own race in life, not only will you enjoy your life more, but you’ll see your gifts and talents come out to the full. You’ll see His blessing and favor in a greater way, and you’ll move forward into the life of victory He has in store!
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Practicing Peace

7 Ways to Practice Peace
 By Joyce Meyer

I believe that one of the keys to maintaining peace in your life is to take small steps toward peace every day. Here are a few tips for having a more peaceful lifestyle.

1. Be selective with how you spend your time. You may be trying to do too many things and end up doing none of them well. Hurrying is trying to do more than the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. Be led by the Spirit.

2. Be prepared to say, “no” nicely. Sometimes we take on things we know we shouldn’t, just because we’re uncomfortable saying no. If you feel this pressure, ask God to put your spirit at rest and give you loving words to speak that will take away the unnecessary awkwardness of saying no.

3. Resist the spirit of procrastination. It’s the attitude that says I’m going to sit here and wait until I feel like doing what I need to do. But God’s Word tells us to exercise self-discipline. Do what you need to do now so you can fully enjoy your times of rest.

4. Eliminate key distractions. If you know you are easily distracted, set some guidelines for yourself. Don’t let them keep you up late at night so you oversleep the next morning and end up setting yourself up for a hurried, stressful day.

5. Set appropriate boundaries for interruptions. Life is full of interruptions, but we can learn to set boundaries that help us manage them in healthy ways. Schedule times when you are “off-limits.” Let your calls go to voicemail, turn off your email, and decide to get back to people after your “off-limits” time is over. Trust the Holy Spirit to tell you when there is a true emergency.

6. Modify your life. Ask God to show you “out-of-the-box” ways to save time and trouble. For instance, when I don’t have time to do the dishes, I use paper plates. And if I’m having a birthday party for one of my kids and don’t have time to make a meal, we just have cake and ice cream.

7. Listen for the Holy Spirit. If you can see that your plan is not producing peace, go back to God; pray for peace and for wisdom to make changes that will benefit your life.

If you can learn to trust God “in the now,” receive His grace as you need it, and you can become a truly peaceful person. Now that’s powerful!


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Prayer

From spiritual inspiration on Tumblr

13 Reasons to Pray 


1. Prayer opens the door to the secrets of God. Jeremiah 33:3, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 

2. Prayer puts our lives at peace with God and sets a place for us in eternity. Romans 10:9-10 


3. Prayer changes our destiny and restores our nations. 2 Chronicles 7:14 

4. Prayer helps us to find (and keeps us in) the will of God. Colossians 4:12 

5. Prayer gives us boldness. Acts 4:31


6. Prayer and fasting gives you supernatural power over demonic forces. Matthew 17:21


7. Prayer protects our families, blesses men and keeps worldly and godly authorities in order. 1 Timothy 2:1-2


8. Prayer keeps us from temptations. Matthew 6:13, 26:41 


9. Prayer is our path to perfect peace and our substitute for anxiety. Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 26:3 


10. Prayer is God’s will. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18


11. Prayer makes good what we eat! 1 Timothy 4:5 


12. Prayer heals our physical bodies. James 5:15 


13.Prayer gives us strength and wisdom to handle our enemies. Psalm 109:3-4 




Infinite love deserves infinite gratitude

wonderfulyou:
Repeat to yourself, the holiest of all mantras: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This, right here… Infinite love.

How to Forgive

spiritualinspiration:
How to Forgive
by Joyce Meyer
Would you like to become more successful at forgiving others? There are practical steps that must be taken. One time I asked the Lord why so many people want to forgive but aren’t successful doing it. And He said, “Because they aren’t obeying what I tell them to do in My Word.” As I searched the Word, I found the following instructions:
1. Decide – You will never forgive if you wait until you feel like it. Choose to obey God and steadfastly resist the devil in his attempts to poison you with bitter thoughts. Make a quality decision to forgive, and God will heal your wounded emotions in due time (see Matthew 6:12-14).
2. Depend – You cannot forgive without the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s too hard to do on your own. If you are truly willing, God will enable you, but you must humble yourself and cry out to Him for help. In John 20:22-23 Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” His next instruction was about forgiving people. Ask God to breathe the Holy Spirit on you so you can forgive those who’ve hurt you.
3. Obey – The Word tells us several things we’re to do concerning forgiving our enemies:
a. Pray for your enemies and those who abuse and misuse you. Pray for their happiness and welfare (see Luke 6:27-28). As you pray, God can give them revelation that will bring them out of deception. They may not even be aware they hurt you, or maybe they’re aware but are so self-centered that they don’t care. Either way, they need revelation.
b. …Bless and do not curse them (Romans 12:14). In the Greek to bless means “to speak well of” and to curse means “to speak evil of.” You can’t walk in forgiveness and be a gossip. You must stop repeating the offense. You can’t get over it if you continue to talk about it. Proverbs 17:9 says that he who covers an offense seeks love.

Nothing is wasted

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After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted” (John 6:12).

The Bible tells of a time when Jesus fed a crowd of five thousand with only five loaves. That day, everyone had more than enough to eat and there were still twelve baskets full of bread. That’s because we serve a God of abundance! I love that Jesus told the disciples to collect all the leftovers “so that nothing is wasted.” With God, nothing is ever wasted. He’ll never waste an experience; He’ll never waste a hurt; He’ll never waste a dream; He’ll never waste even a single piece of bread.
God is still in the miracle-working business. He is still our Creator and He is a Restorer. If you’ve felt like you’ve wasted years of your life in the wrong job, hanging around the wrong people, doing the wrong things, God will gather those years and restore them back to you. He’ll take those experiences that the enemy meant for your harm, and He’ll turn them around for your good. He’ll make you stronger, wiser, and better off than you were before. He can launch you further into your destiny than before. Be encouraged today because with God all things are possible and nothing is ever wasted!
A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, I give You every bit of my life, my past, my present, and my future. Thank you for taking every experience in my life and turning it around for my good. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Turn it over to God

Are you struggling with trying to make a dream come to pass? Are you frustrated in a relationship, trying to make someone else change or live right? You may mean well, you may have good goals, but if you are trying to orchestrate things to happen your way, on your timetable, you are only going to frustrate yourself. At some point, you have to turn those circumstances over to God and trust that He has your best interest at heart.
How do you turn things over to God? Start by making the choice and declaring your resolve. Simply say, “Father, I choose to let You be God of this situation. I take my hands off. I trust You.” Then, choose to worship Him. Worship is one of the best ways to set your heart and mind in the right place. You can’t worry and worship at the same time! Worship is a sign that you are trusting God; worry is a sign that you are trying to control things.
Today, take the pressure off yourself and turn things over to God. Give Him control and let Him take your setbacks and turn them into comebacks. Remember, the God who holds the universe holds you in the palm of His hand. Trust Him and let God be God in every area of your life!