Encore Sundays
Rock Bottom posted by Kristen Bouchillon on April 5, 2011
I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Yeah, she had been talking about it for months, but I halfway thought it would never to happen. It was three days after Christmas and there was a moving truck parked outside the house. All of our clothes and furniture were being loaded into the truck, about to be moved 10 miles down the road where our “new home” awaited us.
As we pulled out, I looked back at the house I had lived in with my family for the past 16 years and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Betrayed. Bitter. Deserted. Hopeless. Worthless. Abandoned. I had never felt so hurt and upset in my entire life. Why my family? Why God, why? All these questions and no answers. (more…)
Fathers and Daughters
By far the most painful of all losses is a lost or damaged relationship. People we care about and love betray or hurt us. Our natural reaction is to draw a line in the sand and push back. Divorce damages relationships. The relationship I want to speak to is the Father/Daughter relationship.
No matter if you’re estranged from your father or he is estranged from you, please know God can restore your relationship. I hear a lot of young ladies say they have a love/hate relationship with their dad. Understood. Every family relationship experiences wide spectrums of emotion but the resolution isn’t to end the relationship. Let’s drill down a little further.
Scenario number one: If your Father is non-existent in your life please don’t give up on this relationship. You have a voice. I don’t care how old you are. Our technology leaves no excuse for non-communication. The old fashioned way still works, too. Write a letter to your dad and write out of love and adoration (no matter what his problems are), because he’s your father. You absolutely cannot do this by yourself and Jesus doesn’t expect you to. He’s waiting to help you through this painful ordeal. (more…)
Damage Control Needed!
Social media can ruin a reputation and even a career quicker than you can say, ‘Viral YouTube or 1,000 ReTweets.’ Here’s two recent dilemmas in need of serious damage control.
1) U.S. Senate nominee Todd Akin said in a televised interview that women rarely get pregnant following instances of “legitimate rape,” because the female body has ways to “shut that whole thing down.”
2) During the London Olympics a Swiss athlete, Michel Morganell, was thrown out (by his country) for tweeting insulting remarks about South Koreans after the South Korean soccer team beat the Swiss, 2-1.
What were they thinking? Rhetorical question, of course, they weren’t thinking. Even a couple of American athletes blasted questionable comments via Twitter while competing in London. Pointing fingers at someone almost always backfires.
Have you ever made a bad decision or posted something on FB or Twitter you regretted immediately? Even texted? Not everything is fixed with a quick apology. What kind of damage control did you do?
Our Heavenly Father is a God of restoration. He wants to restore the fool Satan has made of us. Ask for Restoration, Expect Restoration, and Claim Restoration. When your soul is grieving over what you’ve done, hold on tight to this promise.
“Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.” Psalm 71:20-21
Encouragement:
If you’re distraught God must first restore your soul before He can begin to restore your situation. Psalm 23 tells us to trust the Lord as our shepherd. A shepherd leads his sheep by the still waters (because they’re afraid of rustling waters) and makes them lie down so he can restore them. Read the whole chapter because the last verse says ‘goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.’ So awesome!
Know I’m Praying for You, Sherry
It’s Really Black and White
“Fifty Shades of Gray” has become such a buzz word and I’ve heard so many opinions on the book, but none I love more than Betsy St Amant’s post on the Girls, God & The Good Life website. There’s absolutely nothing gray about her comments and I applaud her for speaking the truth.
Click on the link below and let us know your thoughts.
http://girlsgodgoodlife.blogspot.com/2012/06/yep-im-going-there.html
Know I’m Praying for You, Sherry
Mind of a Champion
Stories about Olympic heroes are fresh in our mind. We witnessed impossible feats like a double amputee running in the same race as Usain Bolt. Media delved into the private lives of relatively unknown athletes and we embraced them and cheered them like they were blood relatives. Their gold medals were our gold medals. The closing ceremony left us wanting more. More miracles. More sportsmanship. More medals.
Besides the obvious talent level, what is it about an Olympic athlete that intrigues us? How are they different? Most of the post-victory comments were similar. ‘Years of hard work and many sacrifices brought me to this moment.’ But before years of hard work and sacrifice each one had to first determine their goal or their quest. Then they took on the mind of a champion.
You may not be an athlete at all, but God still wants you to think like a champion. You possess everything you need within your DNA to fulfill what God put you here to accomplish. Everything. It may take years of hard work and sacrifice but because you’re doing what you love, it won’t seem like a sacrifice at all.
Feel like you don’t have a lot of talent? Good. That’s right where God wants you. He will empower you to accomplish things you never thought possible. The same God who used a teenage boy named David to slay a giant named Goliath is available to you. David had the mind of a champion. Never doubting what he was capable of because God walked with him.
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:14
Encouragement:
Steps to developing the Mind of a Champion.
- Discover your true gift. (Prayer and counsel)
- Map out a plan to prepare you to use your gift.
- Ask God to use your meager efforts to accomplish His will for your life.
- Don’t be discouraged when you see nothing happening.
- Remember God allows U-turns. If you feel you’re headed in the wrong direction it’s okay to change your course.
Know I’m Praying for You, Sherry