Continuing on…. So, what does lead us to happiness?
Ps 1: 2 says it plainly: Delighting in God and His law. Meditating on Him and His words day and night.
Now this may seem daunting, but think about it… who is God, but LOVE! What is His law… LOVE! So, God has made things very simple for us, hasn’t he? It’s all about love.
Love God. Love ourselves. Love others.
The difficulty most of us have is in trying to love others without first having a deep intimate love for God and RECEIVING the deep intimate love that He first gave us.
That is why being in His presence is so vital to our lives, our relationships, and our work. I want to flow in love, not work at it, don’t you?And isn‘t being in the presence of Love, what all our hearts crave?
Indeed, all the studies done on happiness concur that having healthy, loving connections with others was one of the top contributors to happiness, definitely above money or things or even satisfying work.
But we are often thwarted in attaining those quality connections because the quality of our connection with the One who made us is often wanting.
He is the Source.
I spent years feeling unhappy about huge chunks of my life, and thankfully, God used that to woo me to Him, to pursue His presence.
And now, I happily admit, I am addicted.
Delighting in Him and His ways is easy, satisfying work. He is now my counsel. He’s the voice in my ear. So much so, that I no longer avoid the ungodly, the sinner, or even the scoffer!
In fact, I often purpose to be smack dab in the middle of them! How else can I form caring relationships with those who need love?
But this is not a job. This is a RESULT of His love flowing in and through me… which is a RESULT of sitting with Him, not in the seat of scoffers, letting Him love on me.
So, Tip for today: Seek the presence of God and let Him be your counsel. Let Him be the voice you hear and the advice you cling to. Meditate on, ponder about, and receive His love for you…. all day and all night long. Do you think that will help you be happier?
Spring has sprung up here in western New York, and though the cliche can get old, for me, the feeling of newness each year never does.
In fact, in Spring, I find it so much easier to see the buds of new attitudes and perspectives that the Lord has been cultivating in me over the past winter.
This “reveal” encourages my heart and solidifies my belief that He is indeed actively working in my heart and mind, renewing it, and thus transforming me. I love being transformed!
Do you love His transforming process? Continue reading →
I asked the Lord for a word to start off my year. Maybe you would like it for you, too! We can share! Enjoy and if you have a comment, feel free!!
Maryann,
It’s time to take the land. I am with you. Bring who will come. Many giants have already been fought and overcome. The rest are meaningless and insignificant. Their strength and might are mere illusions. Do not cave in. Hold your ground and move forward. I am bringing you to a place you’ve never been before. Do not think about the past any more. Your future lies before you and it is good. Do not fear, for I am with you. I am always with you. No more doubt about that.
There is much to be done, but you will see a super acceleration of it, an increased clarity, and a super efficiency. Remove the clutter and that which holds you back. I will show you. I have been freeing your mind. Do not let any lie settle back in. You know the strategies of the enemy. You know the assignments put against you. I have taught and trained you to identify them
Elevate the hearts and minds of My people…. all My people. I love them all. They are all special to me. They all have My heart in them. Don’t do them damage by exclusion. There is enough of that, “for My sake.” But it is not for My sake… it is a distortion. I love all. I came for all. Do not put road blocks up for them, to hinder them. I have given you insight to help tear road blocks down. You have a special anointing to bless, to enrich, and to elevate.
Enjoy each phase of this process. Do not fret anymore and be robbed of this joy. Each moment has a building quality that will serve the next stage of life.
I see you done, and it is a beautiful thing. You are My beauty. I love the twinkle in your eye. I love your silliness and your ability to laugh at yourself and your circumstances.
I love that you love Me and seek Me each day. Do you know how that makes me feel? Special.
Yes, that is what is important here in this time for us. I feel special when you attend to Me. (He lifts my face and kisses my forehead… there is a radiant glow on my face.)
Maryann, if only you knew just how much I love you. You would have no fears. My love for you is so complete, so satisfying, so hopeful, so good. Things will come your way and try to buffet you, buy you have My insulation around you. I will keep you protected and warm.
He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense and my fortress. I shall not be moved. Ps 62
Don’t worry about what you don’t know. Look at it as an unfolding. When you get to that part of the path, you will learn more. I’ve got you covered. Stay attuned to Me. I will teach you all you need to know. Speak My love to the world. Be released to hear Me.
I am released. You are my joy, my Lord. I am free. I am free. I am free.
Welcome to another edition of Java, Jammies, and Jesus!
Agree with God
You are the crowning achievement of all His creative power!
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I’m sure you have noticed this, too…. as you go through life, God shifts the direction of your path, or so it seems, sometimes ever so slightly, giving you a new focus or renewing a previous one.
How do I know it’s God?
Because, for me, it starts with a small hint in my heart, a fleeting thought in my mind, but often a persistent and inescapable one.
This particular thought was simply, “I need more of You today, Lord.”
Nothing revelatory, extraordinary, or pivotal.
I often think, “I need more of You, Lord.” After all, that is why I began the practice of being in His presence and writing to Him daily.
So, why does this thought have … this day …. an edge of distinction?Could it be another lesson or a prior lesson tweaked?
The Lord has taught me to come to Him with all my problems, issues, or concerns. He has shown me His faithfulness over and over.
However, I noticed recently that my letters to Him have become too focused on my concerns. I’ve talked to the Lord enough about them. I can definitely sense that.
And yet, I’m not settled or satisfied.
Something is still missing.
Peace is not flowing like a river, and I want it to.
I need it to.
I am looking for that rest that only He can give, but seaching for it does not yield it. It only seems to make it more elusive.
And then the spontaneous utterance, as if God is forming the thoughts in my mind, only in first person. “I need more of You, Lord. Not solutions. You.”
Ah, yes, I detect a slight shift in my soul. I know there is more.But now what? Worship? Pray? Yes, and sweet it is…. but there’s more… there’s always more…and I want it.
Again, the tug in my heart, “I need more of You, Lord.” My concerns begin to take a back seat, fading into faith. I am sensing a heavenly perspective, and it brings relief.
But there is more.
I am drawn to watch a Bill Johnson message. I cry. My heart throbs for God. He is all I want. Any disturbance my concerns had to my peace has dissolved.
I just want Him, His purposes, His manifestations of power and love.
And then, there’s the book.
That book that has been sitting on my nightstand for, how long? Months maybe?
You know how books and magazines pile up on our nightstands, with every intention of reading them before we drift off to sleep.
But for me, in 2, maybe 3 paragraphs, I’m snoring, glasses still on my face, the book waving up and down as it wants to fall to the covers. Often my dear husband, takes the book and the glasses, and quietly turns off my light, mostly without my knowledge.
Well, last week I put away all those books, except for one. One I started months ago, but just couldn’t get into.
This night though, with undeniable attraction, I picked it up, and captured by the love and power of God revealed in those pages, I couldn’t put the book down.
Don’t you love how God moves within us, sometimes so subtly, drawing our attention to what He knows will enrich and elevate us?
The book? Expecting Miracles, by Rolland and Heidi Baker. Not your typical missionary book where you marvel at the missionary, but end up feeling small and inadequate yourself, maybe even guilty that you are not having such “strong exploits.”
No. This book is a most inspiring, magnetizing, and hopeful book. God knew what I needed to read.
In the coming days, I would like to bring you some of the excerpts that have delighted my heart and renewed my perspective.
The point of today’s encouragement for you (and me) is: God loves us and is in charge of our paths. He is actively working to bring us into greater and greater awareness of His desire, love and esteem for us.
He speaks, often subtly through our own thoughts, in a first person voice. So, don’t ever dismiss the power of the heavenly hint. He wants to lead us, so He can pour out His richest blessings upon us, not the least of which is Rest.
I leave you with one sentence from the Baker’s book that touched me immeasurably:
“In Jesus we are the crowning achievement of all His creative power.” (p. 185)
One of the vehicles in my life that God uses to help me confront and overcome my fears and grow in His Amazing Love is my network marketing business. I often don’t like calling it a business because, for one, I don’t really treat it as a business, but also, it’s one of the ways I’ve been called to help people.
Business sounds so, well, mercenary, though it doesn’t have to be, but that is often the perception. Many of my partners feel the same way. We desire to be a resource of genuine assistance, not people who impose, hurt, or offend.
But in approaching people and offering to assist or benefit them in some way, we sometimes get misunderstood, ignored, or flat out rejected. This can be painful. It can cause us to recoil, slip into oblivion with our heads hung low, want to attack in response, or give up trying.
Maybe we cause some of our own pain by how we approach people. Maybe we could use better words and phrasing, or questions, or timing. Maybe…..
But sometimes we look too hard for “the” answer or the secret to success, that we get lost. We forget why we are even here, what we are doing, and where the TRUE source of OUR help lay. Before we can truly be of help to others, we need to fully understand from where OUR help comes, and how to appropriate that help!
Recently, while in one of those foggy funks myself, my awesome hubby, reminded me of Ps 118. I would like to share this with you over the next few days, because it’s one of those Psalms, that, taken to heart, makes you feel so good!!!
Look with me first at verses 1-4 (AMP)
GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
Let Israel now say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.
Let the house of Aaron [the priesthood] now say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.
Let those now who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.
Before we continue, let’s notice together what the Psalmist leads us to do….
1. Give Thanks.
2. NOW SAY, “His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.”
What a good idea! In the middle of funks, Give Thanks! Verbally, out loud. I have found that giving thanks in the face of discouragement is very elevating. So, maybe you can stop what you are doing right now, and …. GIVE THANKS!
Why? Because the truth is, He is good, really, and good to each of us, personally and individually.
So, join me now: “Thank You Father, for You are good, and good to me, always. Thank You.”
If you’re not feeling it, keep thanking until you do. There is real power in your words.
Another reason to Give Thanks: God’s mercy and loving-kindness endures forever!
This is not just a blanket statement, cold, impersonal, for everyone else but you… it is YOURS!
He loves YOU. He is merciful TO YOU. When you mess up, He has nothing but mercy FOR YOU.
Not condemnation, judgment, or a big ole wagging finger in your face.
Mercy. Loving kindness. That is His heart TOWARD YOU. So, again, Give Thanks!
“Oh, Lord, sometimes people are not so merciful toward me. Sometimes they are not so loving or kind. But You are! Thank You!!!”
There are more riches in this Psalm to explore in the days to come, but for today…. Whatever you may be going through or dealing with, Give Thanks throughout your day.
Let your ears hear your voice say it. Your heart will be blessed. It will elevate you and produce a cheerful countenance for all to see. In the process, they too may be blessed!
Stay tuned for more love to come!
Agree with God… He is YOUR Help!!
Ok. I know this is not a popular topic. Avoiding pain, of any kind, is a basic human motivation. So, I understand if just the mention of this topic causes most of you to “runaway!” (Sorry, can’t help but think of a segment in the movie, “Monty Python.”)
But some of you are fully aware that the pain of rejection is something you have indeed suffered, are suffering, or continue suffer. You understand how it has affected you and driven you in various aspects of your life.
It is to you I address this post. Read to the end…. there may be a free gift for you!
The Lord has impressed upon me recently just how significant this issue is and how it affects relationships, choices we make in our work, and endeavors we choose or don’t choose. And thus, I am currently working on a project about the pain of rejection and how it directs our lives – positively and negatively.
Would you take just a few minutes and jot down some notes to me as to how it has affected you? Would you mind sharing a story, a choice, and event where you have seen yourself do something or not in order to avoid the pain of rejection, or maybe how you reject yourself, or how you have tried to compensate for the pain?
For example, because of being abused, abandoned, and rejected often as a child, I was motivated to become a lawyer. Seems positive, right? But once I had achieved my goal, I felt very depressed, rather than satisfied. Why? Because I was largely motivated to become a lawyer by my need to prove my worth and secure my future. I wanted to be esteemed and wanted.
Well, I was esteemed, alright. But I felt less wanted than ever! People are scared of attorneys! Girlfriends thought I was superior to them. Guys thought I was too smart for them. And on top of it, in the geographic area I lived in, being Asian, especially a smart Asian, was not a desirable trait.
The desire to avoid and compensate for the pain of rejection caused me to seek this career, but instead of being free of it, I added even more. (Thankfully God rescued me and showed me over many years, His love, esteem, and security that never fades and is in constant operation!)
Another example. My husband has a business where he must invoice for services rendered. For a long time we could not understand why he didn’t bill his clients on time, charge for the full extent of his work, or invoice at all! Eventually the Lord shed light on it: Gene perceived that the bill was a reflection of his worth. If there was any challenge to his bill, which does happen in service businesses, it tapped into a hidden fear that he was not actually worth the money he charged. This pain of feeling worth-less was enough to (subconsciously) keep or delay him from the billing process. Of course, God pointed this out for Gene’s victory, but seeing and accepting this dynamic was not all that easy!
These are just 2 ways we have seen our choices affected by the pain of rejection. There are so many more that relate to our relationships, our ministry, what we expect from life, God, and ourselves.
How about you? Would you share with me how the pain of rejection has affected you and your choices in live? Do you desire to be free and victorious of it as well? In what ways are you already?
And here is the free gift part ….. share your story, and receive a $7 gift card to your favorite coffee shop, restaurant, or department store! You can send me an email privately, or you can add your story here!
