Are you more concerned with people-pleasing than you are with pleasing God?  Do you have an internal desire to keep the people in your life happy with what you do?  Do you spend time thinking about what people think of you? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you, like me, are on the journey from people-pleasing to God-pleasing.   We all have a need to belong.  When people scream I don’t need anyone they’re lying.  We all need people in our life to love us and accept us for who we are.  With that, though, we have to learn to keep people in their proper place.…

Have you ever been told: You are enough.  Life has a way of making us feel like we aren’t enough, like we have to do more and work harder to measure up to some imaginary, ever-changing standard.  Books titled 10 Ways to get Rich and 10 Steps to a Better Life become national best-sellers.  Why?  Because we’re all trying to be something that we feel we’re not.  We’re trying to make something happen.  We’re trying to be bigger, badder, better.  We feel it’s not enough to just be. The world tells us to be assertive, take what’s yours, and be confident cocky to get what you want.  If you believe…

Before I am anything, I am an individual.  Whatever I bring to my marriage, my children, my career, my relationships, and anything else that I’m apart of all starts with me.  Sometimes we forget to be an individual, and find ourselves off balance in life. If we pull too close to other people then we’re limiting ourselves to be the best that we can be.  I’m not discouraging closeness with others, but it’s important to keep everything and everyone in its proper place. We are social creatures so we do need trusting, healthy relationships; but none should be closer to us than Jesus.  Positive role models and mentors can be…

Dividers are out to divide, separate, and destroy.  Dividers can’t always be easily identified, though they are all around us- even close to us.  Dividers are good at suppressing their true motives.  Though they won’t say it, it’s in their hearts.  As we go through life, we must beware of dividers. Dividers suppress a lot in their heart.  Actually, it’s those undealt with issues that cause them to divide.  Don’t hate dividers and take their behavior personally; but rather spot them, love them, and protect your relationships. It requires wisdom & discernment from God in order to spot dividers. Have you ever had an issue with someone even though that…

All of us have our vulnerabilities.  We all have those weaknesses that we will constantly have to battle against: pride, insecurity, anger, and the list goes on.  We shouldn’t downplay any of them because they all have the potential to limit us in life, but this morning my heart is on jealousy: “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? – Proverbs 27:4 Jealousy left unattended is dangerous.  If jealousy is not an issue for you, be grateful but be compassionate towards those that do struggle with it.  Who decides what our vulnerabilities will be?  We all come into this world with our…

In life, we often find ourselves trying to control everything around us: our mate, our children, our friends, etc.  You may not think you’re trying to control, but how do you respond when things don’t go your way?  Instead of trying to control situations, I’m encouraging you to control your mind. Our mind is such a powerful force, yet we must control it to make it work for us and not against us.  Where our thoughts go everything else will follow.  Our emotions follow our mind.  Our actions follow our mind.   Beliefs, attitudes, and even self-esteem are all directed and influenced by the mind. We can have everything in…

Feeling down?  We’re all human and have those moments when we feel down.  Sometimes we don’t even know why we’re feeling down, but that’s okay we just have to be intentional about lifting ourselves back up.  10 Tips When You’re Feeling Down: 1. Pray.  Talk to God.  Be honest with Him and tell Him your thoughts & feelings.  He knows them anyway, but it helps us to get it off our chest.  Ask Him for help where you need it. 2. Drink. I’m not talking about alcohol.  Try hot tea, cold water, refreshing juice, or anything else that uplifts your soul.  Drink something to refresh your body.  Maybe even a…