UNEXPECTED ROMANCE

Have you ever had someone tell you to make a list of the qualities you would like in a mate? I have, and yes, I made my list… But are our lists unrealistic? Are we searching our own hearts and lives and asking ourselves if we have the qualities we are requiring of our future partners? 

The other day as I was praying about my future husband, one thing I told God I would like to have is a husband who is romantic. I have never really experienced the kind of romance I’ve heard others talk about in their relationships, but I know and believe it does exist… So, what is your idea of romance? Create a picture in your mind right now of your idea of romance… Ahhh, just think on that for a moment…

God is faithful and spoke to me that night. He revealed to me something I’ve never thought of or heard before. He said, “I am romancing you all the time...You’ve just never taken the time to notice. I send you the hummingbirds you love to see, the butterflies you love so much, the beautiful array of flowers that bloom, and the paintings in the sky...All of the things you love to see and enjoy, I’ve given  them to you.” Pause, and really think about that for a moment…

Did you ever realize that God loves you SO much He is romancing you every day in unexpected ways? That He has given you the the very things you are asking for, maybe just not in the ways you think they should come, or in the packages you think they should be in? 

Take some time today and think about the ways God has been romancing you, and thank Him. Thank Him for meeting your desire for romance in a way no human can meet it…No one can compare to our God! He is like no other!

Here He was, answering my prayers for romance all these years! I just never realized it...Remember, humans are just that, human. They will never live up to ALL of our expectations and they shouldn't have to, but GOD WILL. God created us to be in relationship with Him…Ask Him to show you how He has already met the qualities on your “list”. You just may be as pleasantly surprised as I was…

P.S. I LOVE YOU - GOD

It is OKAY to ask God "WHY?"

Yesterday someone asked the question, "WHY didn't God intervene?" That evening I replayed that question over and over in my mind...Eventually, I heard an answer (it is not the only answer, but it made sense to me). "How do you know God didn't try to intervene?” There are years between the time a person is born and an event occurs, years where choices are made to help shape a person's life...I believe God very well tries to intervene in our lives during those years, but do we listen?

God speaks to us in many different ways in order to help guide us in our own lives and the lives of others...Many times it is us who choose not to listen and ignore Him, ignore the warning signs and look the other way, go against Him and decide our way is better than His, or not know how to handle a situation so we simply do nothing. One thing we must remember is that God gave us free will...We have to stop blaming God and take responsibility for our choices and turn back to Him...We also have to recognize that there is an enemy on the attack for our very souls and will do whatever he can to destroy us and in the process, try to turn us against the very God who created us...(1 Peter 5:8 NIV "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.)

I can relate this "answer" to my own life and also to raising my children. There are many times I can look back and see where God tried to intervene on my behalf and on my children's behalf, to lead me (us) down the better path, yet I (we) chose not to listen...MY choices have led me to the place I am at today. Had I listened to His voice over the years, I honestly believe I would be living the life I so desire to be living today...Yes, I believe some of my choices sent my life on unnecessary and sometimes painful detours, but the wonderful news is, it is never too late to begin again and I, we, can learn to enjoy my life today, right where it's at!

I don't think we will ever be able to understand senseless situations like the one that happened in Newtown, CT...We need to continue to pray for ALL of the families involved...Our hearts break for all the beautiful, innocent lives lost...No parent should ever have to bury their child...

CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS

Do you ever find yourself struggling with your thoughts, constantly thinking about something you really don’t want to be thinking about? Or when you think you put it out of your mind, you find it slowly creeps back in? Well, this past week, I found myself doing just that!  As hard as I tried to change my thinking, those dreaded thoughts continually made their way back in! Many times while I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep…When I started to notice it was affecting my mood and I was reverting back to old ways of “stress eating,” it was time to get to the bottom of this and find out how to get these thoughts out of my mind for good! 

I still had joy and peaceful moments in my day, but there was this lingering “feeling” I just couldn’t quite put my finger on. Where was it coming from and why wasn’t it going away? I started praying about it and asking God, “Why won’t these feelings go away? Show me what I need to know and how to change it.” God is faithful and answers our prayers! Today during my morning time with Him, He showed me… 

I opened one of the books I am reading called “Power Thoughts” by Joyce Meyer. The page I left off on held answers I was looking for. I know this was God directed, because I have not opened this book in weeks! Here’s a little of what it said:

“When You Can’t Get It Out of Your Mind”

“Not being able to keep our minds on what we want to keep them on is one problem, but being unable to get something off of our minds is another. We might worry about a situation, or continually roll it over and over in our minds trying to find a solution. We want to get it off our minds and enjoy peace, but it appears to have taken up residence.

Does this sound familiar to you? Do you ever experience times when you know a particular line of thinking is making you miserable and doing absolutely no good, but you just cannot seem to stop? We all do, but we can learn to discipline our minds to allow other thoughts in and not focus so completely on one issue or situation. The way to stop thinking about something you don’t want to think about is to simply think about something else. If you are worried, don’t just sit home and worry – get out of the house and go do something! Get your mind on something that will produce good fruit because worry does absolutely no good.

Satan often works through or takes advantage of our weaknesses at the precise time God is trying to promote us or lead us to take a step of faith that will advance His kingdom or move us closer to fulfilling our destinies. (This really spoke to me!) 

Don’t be passive and merely wish you could get it off of your mind. Be aggressive and refuse to lend your mind to the devil for his activity. Remember that bad thoughts lead to bad moods and bad decisions, so don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t add to the quality of your life. 

Make a Choice

To make a right and wise choice means we will probably have to discipline ourselves to do something we don’t feel like doing, but know is best. As the Bible states, discipline doesn’t bring immediate joy, but it does bring lasting joy later on. The enemy is always out to destroy us and he often tries to do that by influencing us to make bad choices – to choose to do what feels good or is easy now, instead of what will be beneficial in the long run. These choices may temporarily satisfy the flesh, but they don’t please God or satisfy us permanently.

I realize now more than ever that making right choices is the key to a happy life, and keeping our minds on right things is another one. Don’t let your mind wander around and do whatever it pleases. Remember, you have a spirit of discipline and self-control. You have been given a sound mind” (Meyer, 2010).

So, you and I have a choice! We can choose to continue to dwell on the thoughts that are affecting our lives and our days negatively, or we can choose to think on positive things that will bring inner peace and joy to our days. Today I am going to “choose” to think on the good things! Why don’t you join me?

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Reference

Meyer, J. (2010). Power thoughts. (1 ed., pp. 245-248). New York, NY: FaithWords

10 STEPS TO CREATING A PAGE WITH LINKS

I have not yet learned how to create my drop down menu bar, but I did find another way to create a page that links my previous blogs to my tabs in my Navigation bar. I know there are many different ways to do this, but as I learn new things, I am excited to share them with you! I found this to be fairly easy and fun (even though it may sound complicated)! I will also be creating a video to go along with these printed steps, as I think it is easier to follow along while watching it. Give it a try! 

Step 1:  Go to your Overview section and click on Pages in the left hand column.

Step 2:  Click on New Page, then click on blank page.

Step 3:  Create a Title for your page (Mine says Relationship Blogs which I ended up changing to Singleship Blogs) and then place your cursor in the main page section. Click Save.

Step 4:  Go back into View Blog. Select the blog post you want to link to this new page you created (you will have to do this one blog post at a time). For my example, I am selecting my blog post "Embracing Single". Once you have your blog post open, you will need to highlight and copy the web address at the top of the page. You can do this by pressing ctrl + c on your keypad or by right clicking your mouse and selecting copy.

Step 5: Go back to Pages and select the blank page you created. Click on the Link section at the top (highlighted in red). This will open up a link box for you called Edit Link.

Step 6: In the Edit Link box there are 2 sections. In the top section: Text to Display, I put the title of my Blog post (for example: Embracing Single). In the Link to section: Paste the web address you copied in step 5. Click on Ok.

Step 7: You will now see the link you created in your new page. Click update. If you have other blogs you would like to have linked on this page, repeat steps 4-7. (As you see, I have 4 blog posts links on this page).

Step 8: Now you are back to the Pages page. Select View under the page you created containing your links. Highlight and copy the web address for this page you just created.

Step 9: Go back to Overview (you can use your back arrow). Select Layout in the left hand column. You should see the Gadget under your Header called HTML/Java Script. Select Edit.

Step 10: Now you will paste the web address you copied in step 8 into the area in red (find the menu title you want your blog page to link to). Make sure the ‘marks before ‘http: and after html’ are included. Then hit the save button. 

**Now you can View your blog! Go under the Navigation Menu Bar and select the menu title you just saved your new page too and your page should be there!