Category Archives: doubt

Are you made for success?

Posted on by

When I was 16 I came across some books which helped me deal with all the negative things that were a part of my life at the time… separated parents, distraught siblings, cheating boyfriend, thwarted goals, and normal teen stuff. You get the picture.

Well, these book, now classics, literally “saved my life.” They were, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” and “The Power of Positive Thinking.” I studied those books, took diligent notes, posted relevant quotes in my locker… I wanted to know what made people successful and what didn’t.

That question has been a theme in my life. I understand today why that is: because we are made for success, and it has become my personal God-given mission to help people discover the “secrets” to success and implement them in their own life.

And though God has made us to succeed, the obstacles are plenty! Indeed, I think I may have encountered every single one of them!

Today, I would like to address just one:

Did God really intend for us to be successful?

Until we are CERTAIN that God intends for us to be successful in our endeavors, our careers, our families, and our faith, we WILL BE double-minded about success. Double-mindedness dilutes our efforts, robs of us peace and joy, and creates confusion. No doubt about that!!

So, here is but one verse that may clear up any double-mindedness from Joshua 1:7-9 (The Message):
Strength! Courage! … Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

Joshua had a purpose and a mission born out of that purpose. The Lord wanted him to be successful… and He gives Joshua some strong direction as to how to make that happen and the attitude with which he was to approach his mission.

Quite frankly, the word “success” isn’t used often in the Bible. But several passages say things like … “the Lord was with him and gave him success in everything he did.” It is clear that the heart of God is for our success. Jesus came here with success in mind. He was going to accomplish what He set out to do, NO MATTER WHAT.

Being successful was not something He struggled with, and it shouldn’t be for us either.

Next week I will write to you about the meaning of success. Even if we are established in the notion that God desires us to be successful, we can get tripped up in what success is and what it isn’t.

So, if you would.. could you send me YOUR definition of success? What does it mean to you? Do you feel successful?

The other thing I wanted to ask you is…. I am seriously considering making these emails short video emails. Maybe about 3 minutes in length. What do you think of that? Thanks for the feedback!

Have a great day!

Always in YOUR corner,
Maryann

You’re Beautiful… believe it and soar!

Posted on by

So many people I counsel or coach are stuck because of how they perceive themselves, mostly in their subconscious mind.  Rooting out false beliefs must be done to move forward… here is a song to help!


Do you know, really know, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL??  I think you  are… but if God thinks you are, shouldn’t you?

Do you see the King?

Posted on by

From Successful Christian Living Ministries, Dudley Hall’s weekly devotional:

They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”  Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?”  The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” John 19:15 ESV

“…What people do with Jesus reveals what is in their hearts. Those who cannot recognize him to be the legitimate King expose their blindness. Those who do recognize him realize they can only do so because of the mercy of the One who gives sight to the blind.

Circumstances align themselves in our lives to reveal our own answer to the question, “Who is your king?” The chief priests are not the only ones to face this question, and they aren’t the last to get it wrong.

When we are cut off from the reality of the spirit realm and predisposed to believe only what we see in the natural, there is just not enough evidence to correctly identify Jesus as King.

When we feel alone and desperate it is difficult to believe the promise of the “Father of spirits” to never leave us and always guide us into his peace.

When jobs are scarce and payment is due on the house, believing that “he will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies” proves challenging.

Caesar appears to rule in the natural, political, and economic world. His power seems unstoppable.

The Savior doesn’t look powerful. He appears to be a prisoner at the mercy of the system. Placing bets on his coming out on top would not be wise, unless you could see beyond the apparent.

Could it be that the circumstances surrounding you right now are designed to focus your eyes on the invisible rather than the overwhelming issues of the apparent? Like the Israelites going through the wilderness, we are learning to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:1-11).

We have a King beyond Caesar. We must not crucify him by doubt and neglect. If we do, Caesar will continue to parade himself as the real ruler.”

God Has Breakthrough For You!

Posted on by

Recently I had an experience I’d like to encourage you with.

Several of us went to a prophetic meeting at another church and had
a wonderful time of worship, teaching, and receiving some exciting
prophetic words.

After the service, on the way out, one of the participants came up
to me and complimented me on a shawl I was wearing. I loved the
shawl too, not just because it was hand woven cashmere, hand
embroidered, and gorgeous, but I bought it from a missionary pastor
after one of his trips to Nepal. I had never worn it before that
night because the weather had been too warm. I was very excited
that this night I could. To me, it felt like an anointed and
special shawl.

Well, it must have been, because without hesitation, I took the
shawl off and placed it on the shoulders of the woman saying,
“Here. It’s yours.”

It happened so quickly and naturally that giving it to her didn’t
even phase me. Except for feeling a blast of cold air once I went
outside, I almost didn’t even notice what had happened and gave it
no thought… until the next morning.

Now, I can’t say I know exactly why giving this shawl would be so
significant, but I think it is. I will share what’s been revealed
so far.

1. God’s nature is to give. Throughout scripture and in our own
experience, we know that God is a Giver. 2 Peter 1: 2-3 say that
God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness, and
through His precious promises, we share in His divine nature.

And what is that nature? To be a giver.

Now, this is not startling news to any of you, I’m sure, as it
wasn’t to me. Which leads me to point 2.

2. For me, as much as I have known that it is God’s nature to
give, and thus it is my nature, too, I have not always been a very
giving person, at least of some things. I have had an easy time
giving my time, energy, heart, and money…. but, don’t ask me why,
giving away personal possession that I love, well that is not
something I do.

Ok, so maybe even that is not such a big deal. And so, what is?

3. For me, here it is:  Without my working at it, I had a
breakthrough! The natural giving away of my shawl was just a
manifestation of a breakthrough that had occurred a while ago. The
breakthrough allowed the free flow of God’s giving nature to flow
through me to bless this woman. And because I share in His divine
nature, I experienced no lack when I gave the shawl away.

Breakthrough takes down any barrier erected that inhibits the flow
of God’s powerful provisions and our true nature. I love and need
breakthroughs of all kinds.

4. How did the breakthrough occur? Well, it was part and parcel
of the revelation of favor. A revelation of favor produces
breakthroughs...not grind-it-out breakthroughs, but effortless
breakthroughs, breakthroughs that occur when you aren’t even
looking.

And, I guess this is the essence of my encouragement to you. Take
the favor of God seriously. It causes profound and life altering
changes.

Please, I couldn’t be more urgent about this…. seek God and ask
for a huge revelation of His favor. It is only in revelation that
you will feel its impact.

If you are not excited about favor, then you need a deeper
revelation about it. 2 Cor 5: 18-20 (AMP) tells
us God sent His Son to restore the world to favor! That is a big
deal! Paul urges us to lay hold of this favor! We are to be
releasers of His favor!

To help you lay hold as we are encouraged to do, I have written a
book. Many of you already have it. That’s wonderful, and if you
do, I would also ask you to do the exercises in it. God will take
you to the next step.

If you don’t have it, please don’t let a wimpy bit of money keep you
from experiencing more of all God has for you. I don’t say this to
make a buck, believe me! I just want you to experience how real
favor is. It is profound. It produces major transformational
breakthroughs. It also produces jobs, new housing arrangements,
connections, and lots, lots, more.

Who knows what your life would look like with an increased
revelation of favor?!

You are destined for GREATNESS!!

Posted on by

I have a good word for you today!  If you actually read it and implement it… it may make a profound difference in your life!


Have you ever considered that you have seeds of greatness in you? Now, hear me out.  I’m not talking some “power of positive thinking” message, but a solid biblical truth, one you can actually bank on!

So, what entitles us to believe we have this greatness within us?  Of course, we are Christ’s, co-heirs with Him, new creatures, and made in the image of God.  What He has, we have.

But let’s look at another cool connection.

Galatians 3: 29 says,“And (since) you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

An heir receives what the successor had, in this case, the promise.

What is the promise?

The Lord said to Abram,


“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing… And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

While Genesis does not say that God would make Abram great, but rather his name, let’s remember, a man’ s a name was his essence, his reputation, who he was.

Abram was blessed with the promise of greatness.

In the Hebrew text, GREAT means to be LARGE in body, mind, estate or honor;  to advance, exceed, increase, lift up, magnify, nourish, promote, and tower.

Those are some good words!  Of course, I don’t have to tell you, that all of this is to be in the context of love, not lording it over others.

God would have us be free to fully embrace our greatness, through Him, rather than reject it. He has given you permission!

Don’t agree with any other voice that says you are helpless, impotent, powerless, or insignificant.  Don’t let any circumstance rise up bigger than this truth.

Agree with God this week. The first step in manifesting a truth, is to believe it is true and receive it for yourself.


Ask God to grow you in it, His way.   Ask Him to help you see it more clearly; to even remove any blind spots you may have to your greatness.

It is a gift to you, from Him, and you need this mindset to walk in your true identity and fulfill His destiny marked out for you. You are important in His eyes, and those are the most important eyes to view us.

If you have a comment to this, or a story to share, I would LOVE to hear it!
Always in YOUR corner,
Maryann

Guilt: A Barrier to Intimacy with God

Posted on by

Yesterday we considered Ps 32: 1 – 2:

Happy is he who has forgiveness continually exercised upon him, who has a perpetual fresh start!  You’re slate is wiped clean!  God holds nothing against you, and so, you need not hold anything back from Him.?

Did you notice the latter part of that passage? “… so, you need not hold anything back from Him.” (The Message)

Often in my coaching, I guide my clients to check out passages in the word that offer proof of the heart and intention of God.  Without understanding more fully the love of God, it’s easy to get thwarted in receiving the desires of their hearts.

I ask about the nature and quality of their relationship with Him to see if they are trying to get to their destination or goal in a boat with no paddles, sail, or motor.  Crazy, but that’s most of us!

After we talk about this, invariably it is disclosed, sheepishly, that they rarely sit with the Lord for wisdom, strength, hope, or joy.  Why not?  They feel guilty.

Somewhere within, they feel God doesn’t really want to see them, or if He does, it’s to scold them.

They barely crack open the word, which is to strengthen their faith, infuse them with power, and settle their hearts.  Again, why not?  Because they perceive a big bony finger rising up out of the pages and shaking in their faces.  Who’d want that?

I know exactly how they feel.  Growing up with a highly critical parent, I developed the idea that being right about everything, not wrong, was the way to avoid punishment, ensure my worth as a person, and increase my superiority.  To have anyone point out I was wrong about ANYTHING was like taking a hot poker and stabbing an open wound.

Of course, I had an effective way of masking that this bothered me, and so, I’d internalize the criticism, wonder about its truth,  and be resentful toward them.  A double whammy to my soul.

Examine today if your guilty feelings are keeping you from the True Source of all you need and desire.  The answer is NOT to do everything right all the time so that you don’t ever feel guilty and no one can accuse you.  You can’t anyway.

The answer is NOT to grovel and do penance each time you want to go to Him. He doesn’t need or want that.

The answer is to accept wholeheartedly the open door to His heart for you.  There is nothing that stands in His way, and He doesn’t want anything to stand in yours.  You can tell Him anything.  Go for it.

Vertigo update and new insights!

Posted on by
Dear Friends,

I’m finally back on track!  A hearty thanks to you for praying for me and my family.  I was deeply touched by such concern,  One email friend said simply, “You are not alone.”  That struck me straight in the heart.  I didn’t realize that that was exactly how I felt, but God did.

My sense of being alone did not have to do with God, but in a way, I had been isolating myself from people.  I don’t know about you, but when I do that, my mind can trick me into believing no one, except God and my hubby, really cares!  Sometimes, to be honest, I’m not content with that!  I hate when lies have their way with me!

But God is so faithful!  How often He places someone right in my path to gently speak a word or two that clearly identifies an issue I may not have even known was an issue!  Does that ever happen to you?

Those two weeks of on again, off again veritigo, nausea, and exhaustion, as horrible as it felt, did result in some new and marvelous insights and healing, particularly about my mom of all things!  God knows just what we need.


He does not create our sicknesses by any means, but He sure does redeem them!  Ps 23:3 says “He refreshes and restores my life.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Boy did He ever!  (If you want to read about the peace the Lord brought regarding a long buried issue with my mom, Click here)

I was grateful that one thing He has convinced me of over the years is to not doubt His presence, healing power, or attention. especially in the midst of debilitating discomfort and even, excruciating pain.

But I didn’t always have such assurance.  For years I suffered from immensely painful migraines.  I use to wonder where was God and why would He let me suffer.  I felt abandoned and neglected.  Doubting Him seemed to increase my pain and sorrow.  Eventually I learned to simply say, “God is good, and He loves me.”


While repeating this, as I lay in bed, would bring some much needed relief, I would continue to get migraines… until one snowy, January morning in 2002.

I will remember that day the rest of my life.

Another nasty migraine had come and taken me down again.  On the third day of languishing in bed, a new thought came upon me.  It was to call a friend who would stay with me and pray, no matter how long it took me to get healed.

I called Suzanne and without hesitation, she came right over.  We laugh today about this, but she was so afraid to make me worse since she was not very confident of her ability to pray.  And when she began to pray, guess what… I got worse!

But I’m sure God was smiling, because He knew all along the outcome.  Leading Suzanne in “paths of righteousness,” He had me stand up (are you kidding?? do you know how I feel? stand??!!), lift my arms, and praise Him.  After a minute, maybe two, God released through my friend, His love for me…a depth of it I had never known before.  It instantly healed the migraine.  HIS LOVE HEALED ME!  It has been over 8 years, and I have not had one since.

I don’t know if that story encourages you or not, and surely I give no formula here.  But I do know that there are places where we doubt God’s love for us, the degree of His love, or a specific way His love works.


But that is where Ps 23:3 comes in to play.  “He restores and refreshes my life.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

The Lord has many names, but I needed the name Jehovah Rapha, the Lord Who heals! His “path of righteousness” is His leading us to think right about Him, our relationship to Him, and what He has and will do for us.


God is good, and He does love us, and that means something.  Thinking and saying that simple thought regularly, I am convinced, will open the doors to a more expansive view and experience of His goodness and love.

I am sure He wants to expand your heart, restore your soul, and lead you in YOUR path of all that is right (righteousness) about His love for you.


Why not say to Him today, “Lord, please show me a fuller measure or dimension of Your love and favor.  I trust and thank you I am on the path of righteousness, and nothing will give You greater pleasure!”

Thank you all again for your kind attention, support, and prayers.  I am blessed by you.

Maryann

Just a reminder! My new book will open your eyes and help you walk in a greater experience of God’s love and favor in your life… GUARANTEED!  Click here to get your SIGNED copy!


More Get Happy Tips!

Posted on by

Again, God has given us another sure-fired way to be happy… and I know I’m not telling you anything new… but consider:  do you REALLY believe this?

Happy are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in the Lord.  (Ps 2:12 AMP)

Most of the people that come to me have some nagging relationship issue that is causing them sadness, stress, or terrible frustration.  Though the verse quoted above is truth, knowing it does not seem to bring the relief, let alone happiness, most people desire.  In fact, it can add increased pain as they struggle with guilt for not finding the rest and happiness it promises.

And yet, seeking refuge in any other way, i.e. the arms of another, clandestine cybersex, working massive hours to avoid the feelings of inadequacy at home or produce elusive financial security just distances them even farther from happiness. While most Christians don’t struggle (any longer) with drug or alcohol addiction for refuge from painful feelings, we have a whole host of replacements … some of which even look pretty darn good (high performance, never saying no, taking responsibility for others’ burdens, to name a few)!

Truth be told, many Christians don’t really know how to find true refuge or put their trust in the Lord.

What’s the problem?

Why is it so difficult to put our trust in the Lord?

Well, the answer is as varied as our backgrounds, what we’ve been taught about God, who we think we are to Him, what experience we’ve had when we’ve prayed, and what we have interpreted and concluded about all that.

One of the things I explore with my mentees is what are the possible beliefs lodged in their minds that keep them from putting their trust fully in the Lord.  After prayerful consideration, they always discover what it is.

God is faithful to reveal what needs to be revealed. Once the internal tapes that play in their minds are identified, we can begin to dismantle them by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Freedom is a happy thing!

So, today, why not ask God:

“Lord, what is in my mind, my belief system, or my memories that have created doubt in You?”

Then trust He will gently and lovingly reveal it to you.

He loves you and wants you…. HAPPY!

Are you happy?

Posted on by

Keys to Happiness…. In the Bible???

Are you happy?  Do you want to be happy?

These may sound like dumb questions … doesn’t everyone want to be happy?

Well, yes, I believe they do.  But, there is a notion about happiness in many Christian circles that specifically devalues happiness!

Consider this common teaching:
Happiness is related to happenings.
Happenings are temporary.
Therefore don’t seek happiness, a temporary and fleeting state of mind.
Instead, seek joy because joy is a reliable gift from God.

Well, I submit this thinking, one I long ascribed to, is wrong.  Oh, not that I don’t believe in seeking the joy of the Lord… it is, after all, our strength.

But I do believe we can and should expect happiness… and not feel an ounce of trepidation, guilt, or shame about it!

In our counseling/coaching ministry, we talk with people regularly who are not happy – in their marriages, their jobs, their relationships with their children or extended families, in their finances… the list goes on.

If I may, I would like to do a series on this topic over the next week or so.  I love people to be happy, and I know they can be.

In fact, the other day I came across my old high school yearbook and in it one of my best friends noted that I had a way of making people happy wherever I go.  I didn’t know that.  This was stunning to me.  I had no idea making people happy would be part of my life’s mission!

So, I ask you again… are you happy and do you want to be? Would you be so kind and let me know?

On a scale of 1 -10, how happy are you, generally?  How about in your marriage, if you are married?  In your work?  In your relationships, especially with God? with yourself?

I want to help you become happier.  Would you let me know if this is of interest to you?

God has given us many keys I would love to pass on to you.  It is His intention and design that we be happy, otherwise there would be no biblical passages giving us clues!!

So, here’s one for you to meditate on from Psalm 89:15:

“Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the people who know the joyful sound; they walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!”

Tip #1:  KNOW the joyful sound.  This joyful sound is actually a loud, shout, often with music and relates to celebrating all that God has done!  Go ahead!  Feel free to celebrate!  Shout out the goodness of the Lord!  Even if you don’t feel like it — trust me, it is elevating and will transform the energy in the atmosphere around you.

Tip #2:  WALK in the LIGHT and FAVOR of God’s countenance.  His countenance is His turning His face to you, looking upon you, with Favor in His eyes! This is a truth you can carry around with you, all through the day!  Maybe you can take some time and meditate and receive that today!

Tip #3:  Get my new book, “Have I Ever Told You, You’re My Favorite!”  It is helping so many increase in the favor of God… and that is a totally delightful key to happiness!