“My heart is overflowing with a beautiful thought! I will write a lovely poem to the King, for I am as full of words as the speediest writer pouring out his story.” Psalm 45:1 TLB
God's grace is greater than all my doubts.
Only He can drive them out.
I pray for what I cannot see
And trust the One who set me free.
I fall before the throne of grace
Boldly asking for a place
That quiets all my hurts and fears
That this world brings with all its tears.
What promise shall we not believe?
He gave His life upon a tree
That you and I would always know
The greatest love He could bestow.
So doubt I tell you, "You must go!"
I turn to Him, because He knows
The secrets bound inside my soul.
There's nothing that He does not know.
My Savior calls me by my name.
He takes my hand and heals my shame.
He says to me, "I understand.
I know the pain this life demands."
"Come to me and make your plea
Nothing is too hard for me.
Come to me and you will know
The peace and love that heals your soul."
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Our extended family was all together for the holidays when something unusual happened. Pastor Mike challenged the congregation to go for a whole month without complaining.
Our family took on the challenge (all 8 of us). Christina had the idea that if you complained about something, you had to sing your words! Here are a couple of the “songs” that were sung at dinner that night:
“Is that kale in my salad?”
“I thought we were eating at 6:45!”
Naturally, these songs had everyone in hysterics!
Cousins, Christina and Patricia making dinner
Needless to say, it was a lot of fun! Not only that, it cut down on complaining because if anyone came even close to complaining, the others immediately made the guilty party sing it!
After I was caught complaining, I said, “But I’m just stating a fact!” Guess what? If the fact is negative, that’s complaining!
Our family kept this up for about 3 hours and I learned something. We complain and don’t even realize we’re doing it! (That is until you get caught!)
So why not take this family holiday challenge? God says,
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” Philippians 2:14-16 NIV (emphasis mine)
Have you ever been around someone who never complained? Nice, isn’t it? Have you ever been around anyone who complained constantly? Not so nice! It’s pretty straightforward. Complainers don’t make bright stars in the darkness.
God knows that complaining isn’t good for us. If only we would just obey Him! Science has proven that complaining is unhealthy. Consider this:
Complaining changes the way people see you. “According to Travis Bradberry, PhD, “Repeated complaining rewires your brain to make future complaining more likely. Over time, you find it’s easier to be negative than to be positive, regardless of what’s happening around you. Complaining becomes your default behavior, which changes how people perceive you.”
Complaining causes brain damage. Research from Stanford University has shown that complaining shrinks the hippocampus—an area of the brain that’s critical to problem-solving and intelligent thought. Damage to the hippocampus is scary, especially when you consider that it’s one of the primary brain areas destroyed by Alzheimer’s.
Complaining has negative health effects. When you complain, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol. One effect of cortisol, for example, is to raise your blood pressure and blood sugar… All the extra cortisol released by frequent complaining impairs your immune system and makes you more susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. It even makes the brain more vulnerable to strokes.
So I challenge you to accept the “Don’t Complain Challenge”. For one month, you can’t complain about anything. See what happens. Pastor Mike guarantees that it will make you a happier, healthier, and more positive person. You will not only feel better, but you will become a person others like to be around.
You will be “seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life…” Philippians 2:15b-16a AMPC
[Friends, Because I have been out of state for the last month, helping my dad with medical issues, I have had to repost several times. Today, as I searched for the right post, I was reminded how we often put pressure on ourselves to “pray right” as if answers depended on how good we pray. But, God reminds me that He knows our heart and what we need, regardless of how we might stumble along. I pray that you will be encouraged and know that God is working whether you see it or not.]
Two and a half years ago, I had no idea I was going to write a blog. I had no idea my daughter would lead worship in my church. I had no idea God was getting ready to change my life and hers.
But God’s plan was working all along, even though I was completely unaware of what He was doing! He already knew these things would happen.
That’s what faith is: being sure of things unseen. (I’m sure He is working, I just can’t see it now. )
I have frequently prayed and asked God to do many things, but I haven’t always seen the answers I hoped for when I hoped for. In frustration, I asked Jesus to teach me to pray.
I learned I was right to ask Jesus to teach me how to pray. He has already taught me something new! Jesus said,
“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” Matthew 6:9-10 NIV
What does that have to do with effectual prayer? Everything! Because, I don’t need to go to God with a list of things for Him to do. What do the words mean “hallowed be your name”? Hallowed means: honored as holy, blessed, greatly revered, respected, honored and worshiped.
Let’s think about that for a minute. When we go to the Father in prayer, let us worship Him. Let us adore Him and recognize the character of our God. Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise.
Then Jesus said,
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
God has shown me that the key to effectual prayer is not about me. It’s not about my ability to pray. It’s about Him! I’ve been too focused on myself instead of on Him!
Let Jesus teach us to pray. Let us worship the Father. Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise. Then, let us pray for His will to be done in our life, in our church, in our city, and all over the world. He has a plan that is better than all we can ask or imagine!
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Ephesians 3:20 NIV
The words of the hymn are true, “What a friend we have in Jesus.” But, let us have a new and deeper revelation of His greatness and love. Let us revere and love Him as we should. We can find words to praise Him throughout the Psalms! Here are just a few key verses:
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens…. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him… that you care for him?” Psalm 8:1-4 NIV
“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise….” Psalm 18:1-3a NIV
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.” Psalm 25:1-2a NIV
“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep…. How priceless is your unfailing love!” Psalm 36:5-7 NIV
With Love,
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Are you struggling? Are you overwhelmed? Ready to give up? God says you are “more than a conquerer“! Whatever you are going through – Be encouraged! God is with you!
Remember that He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us …” Ephesians 3:20
Mandisa auditioned for American Idol in 2006. Idol judge Simon Cowell made several comments about Mandisa’s weight after her successful audition. He first quipped, “Do we have a bigger stage this year?”
When Mandisa presented herself to the judges prior to the final cut-down to the season’s 24 semi-finalists, she told Cowell: “What I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful, it really was. But I want you to know that I’ve forgiven you and that you don’t need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you.” Cowell told Mandisa that he was “humbled” and apologized to her immediately.
Mandisa was eliminated from the top 9 American Idol finalists even though she had never landed in the lowest three. However, she went on to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Album five times. She won the Grammy in 2014 for the album Overcomer.
Mandisa – Overcomer
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up …” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
“… everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4
” … in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart …” Isaiah 40:11
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and completer of our faith, who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Integrity means doing what is right even when it hurts. It means being honest and dependable, all the time. It means people can always trust you to do the right thing. It’s the best reputation you could possibly have.
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” C.S. Lewis
The Bible teaches us to have integrity in everything we do.
“Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.” Psalm 41:12 NIV
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 11:3 NIV
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
In May of 2005 American professional tennis player Andy Roddick was playing Fernando Verdasco, of Spain in the Masters tennis tournament in Rome, Italy. Roddick was the number one seed in the tournament and a heavy favorite to win the match.
Roddick dominated as expected and had triple match point when something extremely unusual happened. Roddick couldn’t return Verdasco’s hard second serve but the linesman called the serve out and awarded Roddick the point and the match.
With the crowd cheering Verdasco ran to the net to shake Roddick’s hand and congratulate him on his victory. However, Roddick knew something that the linesman, the umpire, the cheering crowd, and Verdasco himself didn’t know. The serve had not been out, but had hit on the line, making it in.
Roddick could have kept this information to himself and accepted the victory. Instead he informed the umpire that the ball had been in and offered to show him the mark on the clay where the ball had hit. The umpire reversed the call and awarded the point to Verdasco.
Having been given a second chance Verdasco made the most of it. He came back to win the game, the set, and the match giving him a highly improbable victory, especially considering not long before he had been standing at the net ready to concede.
Sportswriter Frank DeFord estimates Roddick’s honesty cost him “tens of thousands of dollars;” perhaps much more if he had gone on to win the tournament. Integrity was clearly more important to Roddick than either winning or money.
Do we do the right thing, even when it isn’t to our advantage?
It is imperative that we model integrity for our children. Mark Musser said, “Children who see parents model care, love, respect, generosity, self-control, integrity, and faith in Christ are much more likely to exhibit those traits in their own lives.”
It is amazing how much children copy their parents. This is nowhere more evident than in the school setting. I’m pretty sure a teacher must have thought up the saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”!
I suspect that if we really knew how true this was, we would be far more careful how we conducted our lives.
The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 NIV
Teach us Lord to have integrity in all that we do. Create in us the character of Christ. Renew our minds according to your Word.In Jesus’ Name, Amen
With Love,
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19 NIV
With Love,
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
I paced the floor clutching unpaid bills. Over and over, I thanked God for His promise, declaring out loud: “My God will meet all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”¹
Thirty years ago, we had two small children and times were tough. Those were the days when I wouldn’t dream of buying boneless chicken breast when I could buy the whole chicken cheaper and cut it up myself! Eating at McDonald’s was too expensive. I didn’t have money for gas, but then I didn’t have a car!
During those difficult times, it wasn’t easy to believe God’s promises, but in faith I thanked God anyway. We made it through and God showed Himself faithful over and over again. God met our needs, and He will meet yours, too!
I’m thankful for those days because God showed me His faithfulness with a front row view. These are a few of the Scriptures that brought me closer to Him in my time of need.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 NIV
“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 19 NIV
“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 than they?” Matthew 6:26 NIV
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 8:10 NIV
“In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.” Psalm 86:7 NIV
“‘Because he loves me’, says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.’” Psalm 91: 14-15a NIV
“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 119:114 NIV
With Love,
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
When you are dealing with grief, suffering, or pain, Jesus can relate to you in a very personal way. He has experienced it himself. He understands your hurt. Let Him comfort you.
Who is this great Comforter? God calls Him, “my righteous servant“. (Isaiah 53:11)
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” Isaiah 53:3
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Did you know that the Lord can set you free in an instant, just like that? That’s what happened to me. After years of believing a lie, I am finally free. What was Satan’s strategy to defeat me?
It was getting me to think that the “one thing” I couldn’t have was what I needed to be happy.
You would think I could have figured that out, but I didn’t, not until the Lord revealed it to me Himself.
After a time of prayer, I don’t know why, but I decided to look up Charles Stanley on YouTube. I had heard of him, but had never listened to one of his sermons, and someone had mentioned him at my Bible Study the day before.
I picked a sermon called, “Satan’s Strategy to Defeat Us.” Totally unaware of what was about to happen, I listened to the sermon. Have you ever experienced this? In a sermon, the minister says one specific thing and you know God is speaking directly to you. You almost want to slyly glance around and see if everyone is looking at you!
That’s what happened to me that day. Dr. Stanley said that if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, that’s when you are vulnerable for a Satanic attack. My ears perked up. Then, Dr. Stanley explained that Satan’s strategy was to make you want the one thing you can’t have. I knew God had led me to this sermon. It was no accident.
Remember what happened to Adam and Eve? Satan got them to believe that they needed the one thing they couldn’t have. There was only one thing they couldn’t have: fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. I have a feeling that fruit looked a lot tastier than it actually was. (Is it possible that we magnify that “one thing” and make it bigger and better than it really is?)
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13)
Satan is still deceiving people with that same lie. He will make you think that to be happy, you need the one thing you can’t have. That is a lie. There is no “one thing” you need to be happy, except the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the same day, I just happened to be on Isaiah 54 in my daily reading plan.
“For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5 NIV
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 NIV
The “one thing” you think you need to be happy could be any number of things: a baby, a spouse, a home, fill in the blank. But that is Satan’s strategy to defeat you. Don’t believe it. You are not condemned to a life of sadness, ever!
And, if you hear someone say, “The Lord is all I need”, those words might mean more than you ever imagined. There might be a story that brought her to that realization and now she can say with confidence,
“You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.”
Corrie ten boom
With Love, Cindy
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
While at the beach one summer, my two sons insisted on renting a small boat. They were told to stay close, but eventually they began to drift. We started yelling at them and waving our arms, but they didn’t see us and kept drifting farther and farther away, unaware.
That’s the bad thing about drifting, you can end up far from where you started and unaware of how far you’ve drifted.
“… we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard, so that we do not [in any way] drift away from truth.”Hebrews 2:1 AMP
Today we have the entire Bible to keep us on course, but do we neglect it? C.S. Lewis said,
As a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?”
Mere christianity
We can so easily drift away from God and toward the ways of the world: thinking like the world, acting like the world, even speaking like the world. How? Compromise, open-mindedness, tolerance for what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, the desire to fit in.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
Thinking back on my past, I can see how drifting away from God was a result of drifting farther and farther away from God’s Word. Drifting happens so easily, not because of anything we do, as much as what we don’t do. We neglect Bible study, neglect church fellowship, neglect worship, neglect prayer.
My boys finally saw us waving wildly and came back in, but others have not been so lucky.
In his article, 9 Fortunate Souls Who Survived Being Lost at Sea, Avery Thompson said this,
“The sea is like a wet desert. There’s no food. There’s no shelter. Nothing to drink. In every direction, the view is the same: nothing. Plus, dangerous predators lurk just beneath the depths. A shipwreck out on the open ocean can be a death sentence. If rescue doesn’t come in the first 48 hours, it probably never will.”
We can compare this to drifting spiritually. No spiritual food to eat, no living water to drink, demons lurking just beneath …
That’s why the writer of Hebrews says, “we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard“. We must be reading our Bible and renewing our minds. These words are as true today as they were when first written.
The worse thing about being a drifter is that you probably won’t even notice what you’ve become or how far you have drifted. So in this time, as in the first century, Christians “must pay much closer attention than ever.”
Are you paying attention?
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Over the last few months, I’ve thought a lot about what I look at and listen to. For example, television, music, news, talk shows, Facebook, etc. How does it all affect me? How does it influence my thinking and my attitudes?
The Bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
What does that mean exactly? I decided to dig in.
A wellspring is the source of a spring or abundant supply. OK. Above all else, I should guard my heart because it is a spring of abundant supply of something called “life”. Hmmm. I still didn’t get it, so I dug in more. I found some clues.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” NLT
So, how well I guard my heart determines the course of my life. Well, that’s certainly been true enough (and sometimes in a bad way).
“. . . out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
My mouth reveals what’s in my heart. Can’t argue with that, either.
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Sometimes we think God only looks at our actions, but what he really examines is our heart. Well, that’s certainly something we should think about! That tells me that no matter how many good works I perform, He is still going to look at my heart.
“. . . the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” (1 Chronicles 28: 9
He knows me better than I know myself.
If I’m to guard my heart, I must be careful what I allow to influence me. After years of being a “news junkie”, I rarely even look at the news anymore. Honestly, it doesn’t do anything positive for my attitude. However, I’ve learned that the more I listen to and sing Christian music, the closer I feel to God.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4
“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 146: 1-2
My heart is the spring that nourishes my life. Is that spring sparkling clean or is it polluted by the things of this world? Well, I guess that depends on how well I guard my heart.
With Love,
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Real Christian Women 