A NEW Years Resolution

Ya know sometimes I feel a little boastful and braggy when I share my faith and talk about things that I experience or where I believe that Lord is taking me. It is NOT because I have it all figured out. It is NOT because I complete a checklist of tidy little Christian things. It’s not because I think that I represent something that others do not or aren’t capable of. (I am still so very imperfectly on my way.)

But I have developed such a sincere and sweet appreciation for the power of our Testimony about him. And the only testimony that I have is my own.

I have confidence in that, not because of “my” but because of “HE” who answered me when I called. Knowing His power, gives me the grace and courage to share [so very publicly] my flaws. Because even in MY IMPERFECTIONS, and in MY MESS and in MY CHAOS, I can still see HIS GLORY!

But it wasn’t until I sought how to have my own knowledge of him that I began to seek him differently. And as he promises in Jeremiah 29:12-13, when I sought HIM [and not just someone else that would tell me something profound about him] I indeed found Him.

I trust that the Lord will also help me shape my words as I grow, so that they may also become more like his. I also have confidence that if anyone else should read this and also choose to seek Him differently and sincerely and passionately; they too will join me in a song of their own.

If you are looking for a New Year’s Resolution, there is nothing that you could do better than resolving to know Jesus Christ! And I have a challenge for you!

And if my testimony doesn’t convince you then, perhaps you’ll let the great apostle Paul reiterate by reading what he wrote in Philippians 3.

May you and I grow and be blessed and be even more confident in the one who IS in 2016!

Tuesday Challenge #47 | Resolve To Know

At some point I began to question why I believed certain things. Sure, I spent a good deal of time in church but did I believe all of the things that I was learning or was I just following what I was told? What if someone gave me the wrong message? Would I be able to recognize it for myself or would I continue to follow along?

That thought began twisting under my skin.

I ended up committing to a year of figuring out my faith and forcing myself to learn from the Word. And thus this blog was born....

While I have merely dipped my toe in the sea of faith [and water of his Word], it has been a LIFE changing experience for me. I know it was the best decision that I ever made. There is no turning back for me.

As 2015 draws to a close, I know many of you are also trying to come up with the perfect resolution. Hear my heart when I ask you these questions below. Your answers should help you determine whether or not this is also the perfect resolution for you.

1. Do you know what YOU believe and why you believe it? Do you have experiences that back up your data or have you been going with the flow; relying on what your parents and/or peers told you? Why and how do you know what you know? None of us will ever be able to fully comprehend the depths of God. But he can take you deeper than you are right now or than you have been before. Seek him and you will find him. (Jeremiah 29:13-15)

2. Would you recognize a false prophet or something non-scriptural if spoken to you? What are you comparing that data against? This one is kind of tricky because everything depends on context. We're all men and women too; as in still sinners. So you might not be thinking or hearing something correctly and the other person might not be speaking it correctly either. -No matter how strong we are in faith, mishaps happen! Be strong in KNOWLEDGE and go directly to the source!

3. When you want to hear a good word, do you run to your Bible or to a Preacher? While preachers are wonderful teachers, they are essentially tools to help us grow our faith. They are also men. While they may be used as vessels, our relationship with them is NOT a substitute for the direct relationship that we can have with our Lord. You can listen to an entire series on a subject and still not get what you needed to hear. You can also crack your Bible open and diligently seek the Lord's response and find a word or single sentence that literally satisfies everything that you're heart wanted to know. Many times it's vastly different than what you were seeking in a message. And you don't have to wait for a specific broadcast, appointment or service time. The Bible can be opened 24/7! - The good Lord can use anything & anyone to speak to us but the question here is what are you leaning on?

4. Do you need others to confirm/affirm every decision that you make or thought you think? If you said yes, then you might be people pleasing instead of God pleasing. It is good to be encouraged by your peers. There are also seasons that we need other believers to help guide us. But if you always have to have someone tell you whether or not what you are thinking is right or wrong, then you might have a problem. Jeremiah tells us that HE has a plan for YOU. John tells us that HE is the way, the truth and the Life. Let God be your accountability partner. Who would know better than HE if you were on the right track?

5. Are you certain of your salvation?  Romans 10:9-10 tells us “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." If something about that scripture bothers you, is it possible maybe you don't believe Him. There is a big difference in believing that there is a God and then believing in what He says that He is or will do. But remember our verse from Jeremiah 29:12-13 "...seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

If any of these questions struck you, I pray that you will take this challenge for as long as you need to. Resolve to KNOW!

Do you have a testimony about this challenge or a suggestion for another one? I'd love to hear it! Comment here!

What's this about? | Other challenges

Picture Credit [then modified]: http://www.superbwallpapers.com/nature/sunrise-over-the-mountains-14501/

In the unfinished

This morning I went for a bike ride with my dog-brother-in-law, Sunny. I wanted to go fast. After all there was a purpose to my riding. But he was content to trot in –his first- ride; Taking it all in.

At first I tried to coax him into my plans. But as his collar slid over one ear, I just decided that even slow was still better than not at all. His pace encouraged me to savor the morning for myself. -To smell the air like it was my first time and let it fill every space in my lungs. To feel the rain as it touched my skin and exchanged it’s cool for my heat. -To be refreshed by nature and to receive something that I can’t make for myself.

During this time, I usually pray and ponder scripture and dream. Today was no different. But as we rode back and forth, weaving from each side of the road, my words too seemed to drift in the same sing-song fashion. While it is not uncommon for me to sing, today the words felt loud enough for the neighbors to hear and maybe a little less kept back by another of MY plans to retain or shape them.

Psalm 45:1 seemed to circle outside and within-

“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.”

***

I don’t know where this post will take you, any more than I know how our day will end. But I know that both have a purpose, like my ride did. Don’t let the purpose, precede it’s meaning. Being stirred isn’t always (or usually) in a straight line. And there is something to be said and even accomplished by the unfinished.

The Gift

***

Contemplation #1

2013

I can't say that I am a girl that lives for shopping but I do love it when I have the perfect gift to give. You know what I am talking about- When you know that you have a winner, don't you?

You may or may not watch the sales paper. You search store after store for the exact color, shape, functions, size... When you find it, you are elated. You check the bag six times on the way home, to not only confirm that it is still with you; but you just want to take it out and look at it again, and then again. ... and then again. 

To see it. To touch it. To remind yourself of how awesome it is. There is a satisfaction in having it to give.

What about being a recipient of that gift? When someone else gives you the perfect one, very seldom do we hide it away. It's out so you can admire it and so that others can ask you about it. It's on the top shelf so it won't get broken. Every time you touch it, your reflexes begin wiping it off so that it maintains the luster of new.

As the Christmas Holiday drew closer, my mind just kept thinking about different "gift" analogies... I knew that there was something to write. I couldn't seem to tie them all together. When I prayed about closing it, I was startled when I felt the reply "You don't get it yet."

So, I prayed to get a better understanding. 

***

Contemplation #2

2014

Almost a year later on Thanksgiving I picked up my cousin Suzi. Her son is away at school in California and she was on the phone with him. I couldn't help but overhear part of the conversation.

She was asking Him about emails that she had sent Him earlier in the week. It was kind of funny. I don't really know what He was saying but she had a certain motherly urgency in her tone. I pictured Him on the other end of the phone, rolling his eyes and sighing "Yes mother. I have the emails." "No, I haven't read them." "Yes, I will."

On this side of the call though, I heard something different. The pang of disappointment. I could interpret what her heart was saying underneath... "I have prepared this gift for you."

I asked her about it when she got off the phone. She explained about some deadlines. She did the work to get the information for him. There were several messages of varying sorts but she had spent time putting it all together for him. Something He needed. Something he'd want. Something that would help him. That same undertone surfaced again and all I could hear was "My love spent so much time preparing this thing for Him and He just doesn't receive it."

It struck me that this is the gift that that I was supposed to be writing about. He has prepared something for us and we just don't receive it.

***

Contemplation #3

I once read somewhere that if you're dying of thirst, believing in water won't save your life. You have to drink it for it to help, or change, or save you. In John 4 Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman and says "IF you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water." We don't ask for more or even at all because we don't yet know that He is. 

And we don't know yet that we don't know.

Take a drink.

My commentary in my Bible says: "The woman mistakenly believed that if she received the water Jesus offered, she would not have to return to the well each day. She was interested in Jesus' message because she thought it could make her life easier. But if that were the case, people would accept Christ's message for the wrong reasons. Christ did not come to take away challenges but to change us on the inside and to empower us to deal with problems from God's perspective." and "Faith is a gift that grows as we use it."

***

And still here it is now 2 years after beginning this post [probably 20 years since being saved] and I think I am just now beginning to get it. We can spend all of Christmas [or Christianity] talking about the importance of receiving Christ; and even doing a good job reminding ourselves to stay focused.

Maybe we believe that there is a God and that the whole message of Jesus is a real and true account. And yet still sometimes we don't even know that we're not applying/allowing (for a lack of a better word) the God given freedom that comes only by letting Him saturate our lives.

The water is the Word of God.

We share the message asking others to believe in Him when we should be pleading instead for others to take the drink. Offering it, serving it, filling our vessels and seeking the thirsty to refresh, until we know that they fully receive it too.

Trust me when I tell you that I am not there yet either.

And before we get into heretics, let me clarify that the Bible says you ONLY have to believe! You don't have to practice rituals or complete checklists to find salvation. (Mark 5:36, John 3:15-16) 

But even the Samaritan woman ran away and HAD TO TELL EVERYONE what Jesus was doing in her life. And because of her testimony, others came to hear for themselves and they too believed.

WHO are you telling?

Why are we ALL not shouting from the rooftops (((I KNOW A REDEEMER WHO LIVES)))?

***

Contemplation #4

Luke 11:33 says "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.”

Boy that sounds like contemplation #1 now doesn't it?

1 John 1:5-6 – “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” 

Yet how many times are we bogged down instead by current circumstances? While we believe in the message, we don't receive the power to keep the light bright amidst that circumstance. We let darkness dim our light. 

If you and I aren't as excited about our faith as the Samaritan woman- If we don't believe that we have something in the gift of Jesus that we are proud of and -needing- to share, elated to give, and holding out for everyone to see-

If we don't have the urgency for others to know what this light is that we have inside-

If you can't find a reason to love [or even invite] everyone that sits [to sit] at your table;

If you do not have hope even when you don't know all of the answers-

If your Christ in the morning isn't the same Christ at the end of the day or if he isn't relative on the other days aside from Sunday-

If you believe that he changes hearts and you stay the same; be it addiction, insecurity, fear or anger, etc.

If you are not certain of your salvation, filled with awe and mystery or moved to fall on your knees when think of Him-

Hear me now, if you are not burning and if others are not warmed when they are near you, comforted by what your light brings to their darkness-

Could it be that even you [and I] do not fully receive what is before us?  

What IT IS that Christ offers? 

Ask yourself, have I left something on the table?

After all, He didn't give us eternal life so that we could spend our earthly lives hopeless.

Now let that settle for a minute…

or a day.

or a lifetime.

However long it takes-

The good news is that just like Jesus told the Samaritan woman, you and I can ask Him for a drink. Better yet, we can ask Him to give us the desire to drink it. The psalmist wrote "like the deer pants for water, O' my soul pants for you." Are you panting? For him alone? Ask him.

***

Contemplation #5

Colossians 2:6 - says “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” 

You must continue because there is always more behind the same message. You can spend your life unfolding the mystery of Christ. Unwrapping new meaning and luster in your spirit.

“For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And He will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

If anything on the list of "what ifs" struck you- Whatever your darkness is friend, whether it be shame or sin; Even if it is only your doubt, resistance or lack of desire; our God and our gift is first- a counselor that will show you the way.

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

If we don't fully process who He is in that sentiment, we may never be able to process beyond that to know that He is a MIGHTY God. –Or that we can go to Him first like a Father or that He brings peace. First He must counsel.

His gifts come to each of us in many forms and variations. Each one is specifically and thoughtfully and freely offered to each of us. Already prepared. No matter what we have attained, there is more to grasp again. Continue.

Because is it EXCEEDINGLY MORE than all that we have ever asked for or imagined. - Ephesians 3:20-21

What have you given this season or might you give in the next?

What might you receive?

There is only one perfect gift.

He makes us

and all things

new.

Merry Christmas

and Happy *New* year.

Photo Credit:
Package: http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/2015/12/its-the-time-of-year-for-the-spirit-of-giving-.html
Candle: https://pixabay.com/en/candle-light-dark-flame-night-704022/
Nativity: http://365cambridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/nativity.jpg

Tuesday Challenge #46 | Say Yes

This week's challenge - I once led the Creative Correction Bible Study in my home. This study is exactly as it sounds; a parenting study that helps you discipline your children. One of the best messages that I got from it was "Teach your child to say yes to you and they will say yes to God later". BAM!

Following through is hard for us, especially with such tiny, cute people to love. It's just so easy to give in. -Not to mention the busyness of life that sometimes distracts us from what we mean to do. This challenge is actually going to be a bigger focus for me next year. I will make my "one word" for the year "Yes".  To remind me to get them to say yes the first time that I ask them for something. -But also, I will try to say yes to them more as well.

For example: Yes, you can sleep in your school clothes. Yes you can eat a cupcake in the bathtub, yes you can do x, y or z.... If there is no real reason why they shouldn't, right? After all, sometimes it's just easy to say no, right? Could that be a message that we're sending?

Anyway, won't you join me? Even if it's only for a week? It could make this week extra eventful, especially being the week of Christmas. hahaha

Scripture for the week - Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”  -Ephesians 6:1-3 


Do you have a testimony about this challenge or a suggestion for another one? I'd love to hear it! Comment here!

What's this about? | Other challenges

Picture Credit [then modified]: http://www.superbwallpapers.com/nature/sunrise-over-the-mountains-14501/

Tuesday Challenge #45 | Prayer

This week's challenge - I once listened to a CD by Sharon Thomas. I think it was on the subject of "Praying God's Word". I don't remember the exact quote but she said if someone asks you to pray for them or perhaps you tell someone that you will pray for them; then you walk away... what does that mean to them? What if they don't know your God? What if they don't know why your praying should matter? Why is that important....?

It struck me.

Only to have it followed up by a friend during a phone call not too long after. Just before hanging up she said "May I pray for you right now?" Of course I said yes but it left another impression on me. Wow.

It propelled me to start praying out loud myself. If someone asked for another to lead a group in prayer, I accepted. If someone asked me to pray for them; I right did it then instead of later when I got home. Even if they sent it in an email, I would pray about it and then reply with a prayer to them. I sometimes even wrote prayers down because I was so afraid that I'd forget them when I got in public. But over time, I grew more comfortable praying out loud.

I can't tell you how much I have felt like it blessed me to do so. Then to have someone else come back to me and say "Man, I really needed that. Thank you." Praying is one of our basic Christian duties and it's free. It will only feel awkward at first. This week I challenge you to accept every opportunity to pray out loud. -Also volunteer to do so when given the opportunity.

Here's a tip, before you even get started, pray to God to turn your spiritual ears on. While you're listening to others, ask the Lord to guide you with words for them. When you start to pray, don't just blurt out a bunch of good sounding words. Wait a moment, center your heart on God and give him a chance to give you words instead.

Scripture for the week - Brothers and sisters, pray for us. -1 Thessalonians 5:25

Prayer: Father God your word assures us that your spirit searches all things even the depths of God. (1Cor2:10) Also that whoever is one with you, is united in spirit. (1Cor6:17) Give us the confidence to share your spirit with others. To be vessels of light and hope and to fulfill a duty of being your messenger. Fill us with your words God and give us a thirst for more and a hunger to share. Blessed be your name O' God.




Do you have a testimony about this challenge or a suggestion for another one? I'd love to hear it! Comment here!

What's this about? | Other challenges

Picture Credit [then modified]: http://www.superbwallpapers.com/nature/sunrise-over-the-mountains-14501/

To Cherish

It is true that every marriage has its ups and downs and mine is no different. I am thankful that at 15 years we're still getting better. But for the purposes related to a study coming up, I feel the need to talk about one of our hard spots. (With Colin's permission of course.)

My husband (Colin) has had Peripheral Neuropathy (severe nerve damage) in both legs and feet for about 10 years now. While HE is awesome; his illness has not been as kind. It has had an effect on him, me and our marriage. 

At times it has been difficult and even lonely for both of us. Chronic pain is a thief but working around it and through it has made us both stronger thus far. And it is something that the Lord has specifically used in my life to grow me and my love walk. 

I will never forget driving to work one morning a few years ago. Feeling defeated, I prayed to God. How could I be honest without being ugly? How could I love more when confronted with an illness that I didn't love at all? How could I get past my selfishness to remember that there was a man in the middle that was wounded by an illness and probably also by me? "Lord how do we do this and win?"

I thought of my vows and when I hit "to cherish" I felt a sting. I was pretty sure that I wasn't being as supportive or as loving as I could be. I simply confessed to God that I had no idea how to "cherish" something that I didn't even know how to deal with even if it was attached to someone that I loved. I knew that I needed an attitude adjustment and so I told God that he was going to have to give me a picture of what cherishing might look like.  

As I drove the rest of the way in thought, a vision of a teacup came to mind. While I don't collect china, it made me think of others that do. It also reminded me of some of my grandmother's dishes. Some of it's chipped, cracked and worn but still used often. I love those dishes and at every opportunity to bring them out, I do. I never even think about the flaws because I am so excited to have them out and at my table. 

In fact it's not really until I go to put them away that I pay attention to them. I know where they are weak and I take extra care to hold and support those places as I wash them. I also know where they will get the most beating in my cabinet and that the pressure from stacking them might cause them to crack further. So I put them higher up, above me, to a place with less traffic. Protecting them.

And if I was a collector with a teacup, wouldn't I turn the flawed side away (shielding it from view) so that others saw only the best side? Wouldn't I be quick to tell others all of the things that I loved about it and never once mention or point out things that might make it less in value?

Well I could go on and on here but it is an image that I have never forgotten. How quickly it convicted me of areas where I really could love more. I started trying to apply it as much as I could. Even now, years later as I write about it, it is still an image that convicts me. We can always love more. In all of our relationships.

As I calculate a mental inventory in comparison to it, the verse "love covers" also surfaces. It comes from 1 Peter 4:8. Don't those two words alone sound exactly as I've just described? If we are not "cherishing" our spouse our love might also not be reflecting our Father's perfect love. And we might be missing out on the fullness of its rewards.

(scroll down)

Ladies, if you are not praying for your spouse, you should be. It doesn't matter where you are in your marriage, you can go to God honestly and openly about any aspect of it. Psalm 139 also says that the Lord knows when you sit and when you stand. He knows your thoughts even before you do. You don't have to come up with all of the answers alone. 

I realize that most times we take our laundry list of wishes to God and when he doesn't give you the exact item that you request, we think he doesn't answer. However, I have found that I can take my praise list, wish list, defeated list, my "I don't know what to do with this" list and more times than none he answers but almost always with an action item for me. 

If he's not answering, could it be that we're not completing a step in his reply? It has been amazing to me to see in my life, not just in this scenario but with friends and other members of family, how prayer turns me toward the person I am praying for. I don't care how good of a spouse you are, your spouse could always have a better cheerleader.

Because I am always looking for ways to be the crown and helper that I am called to be for Colin; I am getting ready to read "The Power of the Praying Wife". I've decided that I'll try my hand and an online study too. So, there will be a Private Facebook Group and a private discussion forum for members that are not on Facebook. (But you can join both if you like!) We'll start 12/28. 

If you're interested, please email me (faithunfoldingblog@gmail.com). Let's begin 2016 by washing our husbands in prayer?

P.S. If a fella is reading this, you don't have to miss out. There is a Husband's version that you can read. 


 

Tuesday Challenge #44 | Food

This week's challenge - You may have read my post yesterday but if you haven't it was about how things in our physical diet are just as important as the things in our spiritual diet. Your challenge this week is to keep a food journal.

Get a notebook and write down everything and the times that you consume them. If you have coffee with cream and sugar, write coffee with cream and sugar. If you have a recipe with certain ingredients, write all of those ingredients down. A friend of mine used to get migraines. It turns out that she was allergic to pepper, an ingredient that is often overlooked. It was the pepper that was causing her migraines.

Documenting it will not only keep you accountable it will also help you see that maybe you're consuming too much of something. If you do have some allergy it will usually present itself in the first hour or two. However, there are rare occasions that it can take up to 24 hours to show up. So write down anything you feel along with the time here too. If you're suddenly wiped out, or if you get a migraine, or an anxiety attack... all of those things (and more) could be related to what you're eating. Make it a point to pay attention to it this week.

I know the documentation will be a challenge. But hopefully, you'll be the better for it, in the end.


Scripture for the week -  So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31


Prayer -Lord I pray for anyone considering this challenge to give a fresh look at what they consume. Give us patience for the documentation. Help us be mindful of what we're feeling when we go to eat, if it's genuine hunger or something else. Help us also to remember to document how it's made us feel afterward. We are your vessels. Help us strengthen our bodies in the way that you designed.

Do you have a testimony about this challenge or a suggestion for another one? I'd love to hear it! Comment here!

What's this about? | Other challenges

Picture Credit [then modified]: http://www.superbwallpapers.com/nature/sunrise-over-the-mountains-14501/

BODY and Spirit

A sweet friend and co-worker of mine has begun an accountability group for food and fitness. This morning I sat down to share a thought with the group but when the words kept coming, I decided that it might as well be a post here. haha.

When I began the Bible Study "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst, I was surprised to think that God might care about what I eat. I mean after all, it is a necessity. We are supposed to eat, right? YES.

But what are you eating? How much or how little are you eating? And what is it doing to your body or your mood? 

We all know that drinking alcohol can make you hyper, drowsy or even careless at times. Caffeine can wind you up. I also discovered that after being diagnosed with food allergies, wheat and sugary things make me very agitated. If I eat any or even too much of those things, it can make my "love walk" harder for me to do successfully. This might not be the same for you at all but perhaps something else in your diet is causing another issue that you've been wrestling with... unbeknownst to you.

Anyway, I read this piece of commentary this morning and it reminded me of my friends group. First let me share the verse and may it also speak to you. 

"Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go along well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." - 3 John 1:2

The Commentary is from my Life Application Bible.

"John was concerned for Gaius's physical and spiritual well-being. This was the opposite of the popular heresy that taught the separation of spirit and matter and despised the physical side of life. Today, many people still fall into this way of thinking. This non-Christian attitude logically leads to one of two responses: neglect of the body and physical health or indulgence of the body’s sinful desires. God is concerned for both your body and your soul. As a responsible Christian, you should neither neglect nor indulge yourself, but care for your physical needs and discipline your body so that you are at your best for God’s service."

Boy that kind of forces us to stop in our tracks, huh? You know 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that your body is a temple. Now close your eyes and imagine what you might find inside a temple. How might it also be cared for? 

If you switch that temple to your body, are those things that you imagined the same things that you're putting inside of your own body and temple? Do you even give it a pinch of the same maintenance, upkeep or attention?

If you're feeling a little pressure, don't let it turn to condemnation. TODAY you learned something new. The application begins now. :) Please also know that I join you here. I have put a lot more emphasis on my spiritual walk the last few years. It's been great but now that my babies are all running around, I know it's time to add a little something more. Won't you join me?

P.S. If you're looking for a local group of women to support and be encouraged by let me know. I have a friend in the Northern Neck and another in Gloucester. They both have a Facebook group that can help keep you accountable. :)

Photo Credit: https://walthope.files.wordpress.com

Tuesday Challenge # 43 | Sharing it

As we move into Christmas, everyone is always looking for ways to focus more on Christ. Our "Soul" purpose is to bring glory to him by exalting him and telling others about him. What better way to do so than to simply start trying to mention him more. 

The word "testimony" might intimidate you but you can start with some of your successes from last week. You can also tell someone about a prayer need that you have and how you might be seeing things happen around it. You can talk about something that you learned in one of your study groups or tell someone about your life verse or favorite verse. You can even write a note encouraging someone with scripture. 

Start small and work your way up and don't worry sometimes it takes a lot of tries before finding your comfort level. Give to God this season. No offering is too small for him. 

Scripture for the week:  And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. - Colossians 4:3

Do you have a testimony about this challenge or a suggestion for another one? I'd love to hear it! Comment here!

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Picture Credit [then modified]: http://www.superbwallpapers.com/nature/sunrise-over-the-mountains-14501/