God’s ways are not our ways [Isaiah 55:8]. For this reason, we often miss the lessons He is aiming to teach us through the various circumstances we encounter in life. Simply put: Pressure perfects. God often uses the trials that we despise, to refine our faith. God is after our maturity and our conformity to Christ in this life, while we are so often after control and comfort. We must remember that God’s ways are not our ways [Isaiah 55:8]. We have heard the phrase, “Don’t pray for patience, or you’ll get situations that try you.” Well, this way of working is not just limited to patience. I have found…
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Don’t Fight Back When Attacked: 5 Tips
In life, we often find ourselves challenged, oppressed, or even attacked. These attacks range from internal to external, sometimes involving just us; other times involving others. There are so many variables in life, which can make it difficult to know how to move forward. Our enemy loves to create confusion for us, which causes us not to see things as they actually are. He often causes us to look at people as the enemy, leading us to fight them. Even if you are being attacked by people, sometimes the strategy is: Don’t fight back. Read on for 5 tips when facing resistance from others. 1. Stay silent. When we are…
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Get Back in the Fight
Life can be a fight at times. There are times when things flow and all feels easy, but then there are times when everything feels like a fight. The smooth times cause us to be thrown off by the tough times, however, we must accept that it is all apart of life. I’m reminded of Job: “But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” [Job 2:10]. When we find ourselves knocked down by unexpected events, as quickly as…
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5 Steps to Create Enjoyable, Intentional Summer Goals
It’s summertime! Now what? Most of us look forward to the summer months of enjoying the sun, but there’s more to summer than just fun. Summertime can provide a great opportunity for rest, reflection, and growth. For most of us, life slows down a bit in summer, and instead of filling that space with constant activity, I’d encourage you to consider using the time in a more meaningful way. Read for 5 steps to create enjoyable, intentional summer goals! 5 Steps to Create Enjoyable, Intentional Summer Goals 1. Get Quiet This will probably be one of the hardest, yet, most important things to do. Get quiet. In order to create…
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Challenges are Necessary
No one likes to be challenged, yet, they are an inevitable aspect of life. Challenges are necessary. Though we may not naturally like them, we can grow to spiritually identify and appreciate them, as they are beneficial to our necessary growth. With God, we can: (1) Have the right mindset toward challenges; (2) Accurately identify them in our lives; and lastly, (3) We can respond appropriately. Challenges are Necessary 1. Challenges humble us. One of the primary benefits of challenges is that they humble us. Though we do not like the feeling of being humbled, humility is good. There are countless scriptures that speak of humility for the Christian. Here…
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Anger Is A Control Issue: 5 Tips to Overcome
It is easy to go through life without ever connecting our emotions to the root issues within our heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” We must grow in identifying the state of our heart, as the issues of our heart will affect everything that we do. As it relates to anger, I am realizing that anger is a control issue. We are often angered when things do not go our way. Read for 5 tips to identify and overcome your anger issues. 1. Self-Reflect Self-reflection is key to growth. This is often why we don’t grow,…
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Overcome Emotional Attacks: 5 Steps
As Christians, we must never lose sight of the fact that we will be attacked. These attacks, though they vary in nature, all aim to hinder us in our pursuit of following Christ. Though they vary in nature, their aim is targeted. At times, our health is targeted. Other times, it’s our finances, family relationships, peace, etc. There are also times when our emotions are attacked. Have you ever identified or considered that? One way to identify an emotional attack is to focus on how you are feeling. It seems like common sense, but often times, we don’t do it. We simply feel how we feel, but in order to…
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Establishing New Routines in 2025
We are down to the last 3 days of 2024, and I admit, I’m feeling a little stressed. Being a goal-driven person, I work to create goals to focus on in the new year. This goal creation process takes reflection, assessment, as well as vision. Not to mention, you don’t want to go at it alone. More than anything, I want to be in God’s will for my life. See how I can feel the stress? As I work through this process and consider necessary adjustments, I’m reminded of the importance of routines, so in this post, I will provide insight that will assist you in establishing new routines in…
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Rejection is a Gift
Rejection is a gift. Though it doesn’t feel good and we normally associate rejection with hurt; rejection is actually a gift. Through life and work experiences, I have been able to grow through rejection and identify many of the blessings that it brings. Rejection builds strength. Though we seek acceptance and want community with others, there are times and seasons in life when we are not accepted. This rejection can be for various reasons. There isn’t just one reason why we experience rejection, however, when we accept the rejection and turn to the Lord, He is not only able to provide us with insight into the rejection, but He also…
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OVERCOMING CHALLENGES: Pinpoint the Issue
Living a well-lived life requires us to get beyond the surface. This is often our challenge, because we are constantly bombarded. We’re bombarded with things to do, situations to tend to, issues to resolve. In the midst of these realities, we must be intentional to get to the root of the matter and pinpoint the issue. When we pinpoint the issue, we begin to really address things. Without getting to the real issue, we will find ourselves constantly frustrated and overwhelmed, without making any real progress in life. This is when we find ourselves in a state of blame. When we blame others and situations for our state in life,…
