21 Ways to Celebrate Gratitude - Guest #Blog by Shelley Hitz

Thanksgiving season is soon approaching and this year, I encourage you to take the opportunity to celebrate gratitude. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, take a moment (or two) to celebrate gratitude.

Don’t forget to check out the free book giveaway below.
 

Idea #8:  Create a journal of thanks.  Buy a blank journal and pass it around the table for each family member to write something they are thankful for.  Include the year and consider making it a tradition.  You can use the same journal each year and even look back on years past and be reminded of your blessings.

See all 21 ways to celebrate gratitude this Thanksgiving at Shelley’s website: http://www.bodyandsoulpublishing.com/21-ways-to-celebrate-gratitude-during-thanksgiving-this-holiday-season/

 

 

Free Gratitude Resource:

 

On November 14, 15 and 16^th, 2012 you can download a FREE Kindle copy of the book, “21 Stories of Gratitude:  The Power of Living Life With a Grateful Heart.”  

 

Get your copy here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YWM3WI

 

 

Book Description:

Are you living life to the fullest? Or are you merely surviving from day to day?

 

One way to live life to the fullest is to live each day with a grateful heart. In this book, we share 21 stories of gratitude to give you encouragement and hope in your own journey. Gratitude is possible! Even though many times we cannot change our circumstances, we can change the way we see them. We can ask God to empower us to change our thoughts.

 

Our prayer for you is that you find encouragement within these pages. And we pray that you will ask God for His strength to renew your mind with His truth and the hope He offers each one of us every day. It is only through Christ renewing our minds that we can truly live each day with a grateful heart.

 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

 

 

Other Gratitude Resources:

 

·         21 Days of Gratitude Challenge:   Take the 21 days of gratitude challenge to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.  You can do this by yourself or as a family.

 

·         21 Prayers of Gratitude:  Read a prayer of gratitude for 21 days to focus your heart on God and all He has given us.

 

 

About the Author:

 

Shelley Hitz has been writing and publishing books since 2008. She is also the author of the website, FindYourTrueBeauty.com, that reaches thousands of girls each month around the world. Her openness and vulnerability as she shares her own story of hope and healing will inspire and encourage you.

 

Shelley has been ministering to teens since 1998 alongside her husband, CJ. They currently travel and speak to teens and adults around the country. Shelley’s main passion is to share God’s truth and the freedom in Christ she has found with others. She does this through her books, websites and speaking engagements.

 

You can find more about Shelley at www.ShelleyHitz.com or invite her to speak at your event here: www.ChristianSpeakers.tv

#Bible Devotional - Who is in Control? #tworship

Therefore keep a watch upon your spirit, that it may be controlled by My spirit, that you deal not treacherously and faithlessly. (Malachi 2:16 NKJV)

I have a recurring nightmare.  I’m driving along in my car, usually downhill, when I find myself careening toward the back end of another car.  I apply my brakes, and nothing happens.  I press harder, with all my might, and still I continue to move forward fast to my impending doom.  By this time, I usually wake up, my heart beating a mile a minute.

I have since found that this dream sequence is a common one among people who fear loss of control in their lives.  Though I’ve never really thought of myself as a control freak, I have to analyze my actions and let them speak for themselves.  Let’s look at what behaviors define a control freak:

Do I get upset when things don’t go the way that I plan?

Do I get impatient when my agenda for the day gets foiled by someone else?

If things aren’t where I last put them, do I want get angry at who moved them?

When I let someone borrow something of mine, do I obsess over how they take care of it, or whether they will return it soon?

Unfortunately I can pretty much answer yes to all of these questions, because at least at some point in my life I have been guilty of them all.  But are these the responses that God wants us to have?  

The plain fact is that the reason that the Israelites stayed in the desert for 40 years is because they wanted God to do things their way.  They wanted CONTROL, and when things didn’t go the way they planned or wanted, they grumbled, complained, and wanted to return to Egypt.  So God taught them how to rely on Him, to relinquish control to Him, and to trust Him to know what was best. If we sow patience and humility in each of these situations, we grow closer to God as we give Him control, just as we should.  

If we are controlled by the Spirit, we will find that we live by the Spirit.  Our life will bear fruit.  But if we give into those feelings of impatience, upset, and anger, we’ll be controlled by our flesh and seek its gratification: 

For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:5 NKJV)

Isn’t this really a matter of Pride vs. Humility?  
The Proud man can take care of himself.  He’s got things under control.  He can find the solutions to all his problems.  He doesn’t need anyone’s help.

The Humble man lets God lead.  He understands that he is not God, and that God is the one in control.  He realizes that he cannot solve his own problems and looks to God for help.

Oh Lord,
Which am I? Am I humble or am I proud? I know Lord that I am pround, and I’m ready to let go of the control that I’ve been trying to keep. Today, help me find where You want me to relinquish control, and help be ready to change my attitude when things go wrong.  We are not strong enough to solve all our own problems much less everyone else’s.  Lord, that we would realize that we’re only human! In Jesus name, Amen.

Live Fearless - #Bible Devotional Guest #Blog by Suzanne Williams

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2Ti 1:7)

This is a very familiar verse to most people. I know I heard it quoted many times growing up. However, it wasn’t until I became completely crippled by fear and was unable to leave home that I had even a faint glimpse of its meaning. And it’s a powerful verse because everything you need to overcome fear in your life is given there.

First, God did NOT make you afraid. Now, I’m not talking about fear, or reverence, for God. I’m talking about terror. I was afraid to leave home and get sick in public. Others are afraid of water, doctors, traveling, etc. There are many forms of fear. In order to be free you must settle in your heart that God did NOT give them to you.

There is no such thing as healthy fear. If fear was healthy, then I’d be a giant now because I’ve had my share. No, fear took over my decisions. I made choices based on it, and I stopped doing things because of it. It then leaked into my personal life, affecting my family and friends. Fear is satanic, and this verse says so.

But God didn’t stop there. He also provided the three things needed to overcome fear. When you tap into the Holy Spirit power of God, you won’t be afraid because fear cannot live in God’s presence. At my lowest times, I entered into worship. I turned the television off, closed the computer, and concentrated on how marvelous God is.

I also began praying earnestly. The Scripture says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (Jas 5:16) There is power and strength in prayer. 

Yet prayer and worship are most effective when you know God loves you. “There is no fear in love” (Jn 4:18) because God’s love is so grand and high and wide; it’s so all-encompassing and all inclusive that nothing we have ever done or ever will do can overpower it. Instead, God meets us where wevare and lifts us up above all the thousands fallen at our side. (Ps 91:7)

And he heals our mind. Having a sound mind comes as we renew our thoughts. (Rm 12:2) This is definitely the hardest step in overcoming fear because it requires deliberate action. We think God’s thoughts instead of fear. (Php 4:8) It also means we change our confession. We no longer say whatever pops into our head, but speak the truth of God’s Word.

I am a free woman today no longer captive to fear, and it was a long, slow road to get here. But I walked it hand-in-hand with my loving heavenly Father knowing He was there for me every single step of the way. And I live fearless. Not because I no longer struggle with fear, but because fear no longer has a hold on me for I know God is bigger. He’s greater. He’s higher. He’s more than enough.

***

 

Suzanne Williams is the author of Fearless -

Which will be on sale for half price on October 31!

 



Guest #Bible Devotional - Discretion by Heather Hart

An Excerpt from “Teen Devotionals… for Girls!”

 

What do your actions and words portray?

Written by Heather Hart

 

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

~Proverbs 11:22

 

Being beautiful isn’t all about the outside. This verse says that beauty can be like a gold ring in a pig’s snout - it catches the eye, but it still isn’t appealing. We need to learn to show discretion. We can be discrete with our words or our actions. Discretion is being cautious in what we say, and it includes making responsible choices. …It is not being loud and boisterous, but quiet and well mannered.

 

Let’s think about pigs for a minute. The rings in their noses are small in comparison to their loud squealing, running and rolling around in the mud - they are genuinely fierce creatures. They eat just about anything, and they are not exactly a role model for good hygiene. They don’t really seem to care about anyone but themselves, and they surely don’t make responsible decisions. They don’t worry about what they eat, or the consequences of any action, they just do whatever pops into their little, piggy heads.

 

We can show discretion in what we wear, what we say, and how we act. As a result, we won’t spend all day pulling the skirt down because it shows just a little more than we thought when we tried it on, and we won’t be eating words that were meant only for one person when they are spread throughout the whole school. Being discrete is actually beneficial.

Plus, it is part of our inner beauty. What good is outer beauty anyway if it is like the ring in a pig’s snout compared to our inner beauty?

 

Reflection:

 

Are you discrete in your words and actions?

 

Application Step:

 

Today, be mindful of your words and actions. Make an effort to be discrete.

 

Prayer:

 

Father God, thank You for loving me enough to show me where I need to improve. Thank You for giving me the Bible to help guide me. Please help me to be discrete today. I want to make Psalm 19:14 my prayer today. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. In Jesus’ name I pray; amen.

 

Author Bio

First and foremost a servant of Christ, Heather Hart desires to grow more like Jesus every day. She has a passion for helping others find their true beauty in Christ and reaches toward that goal as the co-author/editor of the “Teen Devotionals… for Girls!” series, which is available on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0046LV86E/) and for free via e-mail at www.FindYourTrueBeauty.com/devos.