The devil uses the D’s of discouragement, dissuasion and distraction to break us. But my God knows a thing or two about D’s also. He is the God of deliverance, decisiveness, dexterity, diligence, defense, detail, distinction, and dunamis (power). With His Spirit empowering you, the Father loving you and Jesus’ blood covering you, you are duly equipped to conquer the D’s of the devil.
5 Simple Steps for Stress Reduction
Friends, do you know we are in a crisis? And it’s very likely that this crisis has shown up on your doorstep or even entered your own body. The World Health Organization has dubbed stress the health epidemic of the 21st century. If not properly dealt with, stress WILL adversely affect your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.
As a business owner, mom of 6, ministry leader and wife, I’ve been faced with my fair share of stress. When I am not aggressively abiding in Christ, stress has the propensity to overtake me. I’ve been beaten down by being overwhelmed, anxious, fearful and irritable. And in those moments, I’ve come to see that I don’t like those feelings. I don’t like being edgy and frustrated. It is downright sickening to be plagued with aches, pains and tension headaches caused by stress.
So what can we do to combat it? Consider employing these simple steps.
- Awareness. Bring awareness to your body. Are you clenched so tight that your shoulders and ears have become one? Is your brow furrowed? Are you clenching your teeth? Listen to your body. It’s talking to you. If your body parts are tense, command them to relax.
- Just Breathe. Literally. You know about lack of sleep but what about lack of breath? Most of us are depriving ourselves of deep, cleansing breaths. Deep breathing slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and invites calmness. Go ahead. Give it a try. Just as God breathed the breath of life into the first man, invite Him to breathe afresh in you today. I talk a bit more about breathing in another post I did on STRESS.
- Meditate. Whatever you think about constantly is what you are meditating on. Since you’re meditating anyway, be sure to FOCUS those thoughts on things that are true, lovely and of good report (Phil 4:8). If you find yourself consumed with toxic thoughts, arrest them, cast the down and replace them with the truth of the Word.
- Atmosphere. Do your physical surroundings promote peace or chaos leading to stress? Clutter and disorganization can create a stressful environment. Enlist help if you need to, in order to create an orderly environment. Bring calm into the atmosphere with the use of essential oils. Two of my favorites for whoosah are clary sage and lavender.
- Get Out. Yes, as in get outside. Just today I invited my husband to break his normal routine and to join me in sitting for a while at one of my favorite wildlife preserves. He said his time there was amazing. Being outdoors is so good for you. When God created man He placed him in a garden (outdoors) to connect with creation and to have dominion over it. Lower your blood pressure, sharpen your mind, boost your energy and MORE just by getting outside. And when outdoors feel free to take your shoes off, stand in the grass and exhale as you give God thanks for fresh air, for being root and grounded in Him, for keeping the earth spinning on it axis and for loving you all at the same time. He is truly an amazing God!
- BONUS ONE….Since I did list breathing as a stress reduction technique in an older post, I wanted to give you a bonus pointer and that is to watching your eating. What you consume directly impacts you so try to choose foods that work in harmony with the wonderful design called YOU. Avoid processed foods and consume foods that are nutrient dense, wholesome and are what God created. Eating this way fuels your body and brings clarity of thought while consuming unhealthy foods can make you feel bloated, sluggish, and raise blood pressure among other things. And that alone can certainly cause you to become even more stressed.
So what’s currently stressing you? And what wellness practices do you use to combat it? I am here praying in advance that you employ the simple strategies listed above. Be sure to come back and let me know how they worked for you.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!
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We beg, cry, pray and lament for God to move mightily on our behalf. We are waiting on God to make a move and He’s waiting on us.
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There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don’t look even slightly believable.
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There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don’t look even slightly believable.
7 Books That Changed My Life in 2018…and I think they’ll change yours too!
Did you start out the year with a long list of books you planned to read? Of those you read, did they cause a change in your beliefs, attitudes and behavior?
I’m an avid reader. As a little girl, reading was my way of escape from a tumultuous childhood. And my love for books has remained. From professional to spiritual development with a little fiction thrown in, I can go through stacks and stacks (albeit my real life responsibilities keep me from losing myself in the land of books). I probably read a minimum of 30 books any given year.
Below is a list of 7 books that changed my life in 2018 and I think they’ll change yours too! There’s reading to arm you spiritually, to strengthen you physically, personally and professionally and even some fiction that will leave you thinking.
[bctt tweet=”A good book will challenge what you believe, will cause you to think deeply and will stay with you long after you’ve put it down.” username=”inspiredfully”] These seven did just that for me. So here they are in no particular order.
The Dream of You by Jo Saxton
Who are you? Without the hurt, guilt and shame who are you really? In The Dream of You, Jo takes us on a journey of uncovering who we were when we were created in the image of God. When I read this book I felt like Jo knew me personally and was telling my story. If you need clarity and affirmation on identity, this book is a must read for you.
Possessing The Gates Of The Enemy by Cindy Jacobs
I would venture to say most Believers engage in some type of prayer. From, “Help!” to prayer for the sick, many of us are praying. But are we praying strategically? Are we praying prayers that have the ear of God and dispatch angels to move on our behalf? In Possessing The Gates of the Enemy, Cindy Jacobs sets forth strategic plans for prayer. This book is a must have for those who’ve been called to the ministry of intercession and still a great read for all Believers who want to strengthen their prayer lives.
Praying The Names of God by Ann Spangler
So I read this book in 2018, 2017, 2016 and you get the point. It’s a resource I pull off my bookcase often. I’ve read several books on the names of God but Praying The Names of God by Ann Spangler is my absolute favorite on the subject. It’s actually a devotional with 5 days examination dedicated to each name. She shows where the name is first found in scripture and leads the reader in closer examination on how it can be applicable to our lives and more. By reading this book I’ve drawn closer to God through understanding more of His nature and character. When I think I want to call my own shots, I’ve learned to call on Adonai, Lord & Master. When I feel like the enemy is encroaching upon me, I’ve learned to call on Jehovah Sabaoth, The Lord of Hosts. Whoo, I’m getting excited just thinking about His names and this book. You’ve gotta add this one!
The One Thing by Gary Keller
You know that saying, jack of all trades and master of none? Well this book reminds me of that. I don’t want to be the jack of all trades, or jack of all tasks. I want to hone in on the ONE THING God has called me to focus my efforts on in this season. And this book just confirmed what the Lord had already been telling me. I was asking God for ideas, strategies and divine download of plans for my business. And God said, “Just do that ONE thing I already told you to do”. Well that ONE THING is in the works and will be released, finally, in February. If you are the type that thinks multitasking is effective, this book will challenge your beliefs. If you are looking to improve productivity, gain clarity or get better focused this is the book for you.
The 49th Mystic by Ted Dekker
Man, man, man! You ever read a book that holds you so tightly in its grip that you’re still thinking about it weeks after reading it? Well that’s what Dekker’s The 49th Mystic (and its sequel) did to me. Though this is a fiction read, Dekker infuses it with biblical truth but in a non preachy way. A few of the themes the book addresses are God’s love for man, man’s blindness, identity and the indwelling of Christ. I’m definitely going to re-read these in 2019 because they are so rich and meaty I’m still unpacking them and know a second read will uncover even more truth. If you want to treat yourself to some fiction reading but still want it to be stimulating, pick this up.
Purposeful Parenting by Me
Yes, my own book. Every time I read my own pages I am convicted, encouraged and empowered to keep running this parenting race. This book is all about examining what’s in our own hearts so that we can free ourselves in order to give children the love they need and deserve. So many things cloud our ability to parent in love; our own hurts, fears, and insecurities. But when we surrender these things over to God, we are then able to be conduits of God’s agape love. Filled with the promises of God, personal stories and practical applications, this book is a must have for parents, grandparents, educators and any person who is an influencer in the life of a child. Get a copy for you and one for a friend.
Alkaline Vegan Mommy’s Nutritional Guide to Health and Healing by Deondra Greene
So I finally took the plunge into eating the alkaline way. I’ve considered myself a clean eater for years but in 2018 God was calling me higher. You may already know that the Standard American Diet (SAD), is just that, sad. It is loaded with acidic foods that cause mucus, inflammation and are detrimental to the body. And that is certainly NOT God’s will for our lives as He wants us to be in health and prosper even as our souls prosper.
God had been prompting me to adopt Dr. Sebi’s African Bio-Mineral Balance Diet. But I just didn’t want to. I didn’t want to give up my two creature comforts: coffee & popcorn. Nonetheless, I obeyed God and embarked on this journey which took me even higher. In came this book. Deondra is a professional chef and mom of 3. Her book made this journey of alkaline eating fun, easy and approachable. Do yourself a favor and honor God by honoring your temple through eating more alkaline foods. And get this book to take the guess work out of where to begin.
Drop in the comment the books that really moved you in 2018 so I can add them to my reading list.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
*There are links in this post that can be defined as “affiliate links”. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase something through the links provided.
How’s Your Perspective?
My homeschooler has been studying Cubism. And while it ended up being one of the most influential art styles of the 20th century, at its inception it challenged what people knew, understood and accepted about perspective.
This is much like life today.
Conventional perspective says:
I’m at peace when I have money in the bank
I’m happy if I have new clothes
I’m happy when my children obey
I’m joyful when I’m on vacation
I’m content when everything is going my way
But I say we give ourselves permission like Picasso and Braque to change our perspective.
To see through eyes of faith
To see through eyes of love
To see with eternity in mind
To see with INsight
With a new line of sight we can see:
Abundance where we perceived lack
Joy where we felt pain
Peace where we saw chaos
Sound thinking where there was anxiety
How’s your perspective?
With a SHIFT in perspective you can be confident knowing that whatever situation you find yourself in, THERE in that place you have joy, you have peace, you have contentment.
[bctt tweet=”When you purpose to SEE beyond sight, with spiritual sight you see love, abundance and fulfillment.” username=”inspiredfully”]
Isn’t this what God wants you for? He came that you may have life and have it to the full, and that is possible when we shift perspective and give thanks.
In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
With a changed perspective I’m giving myself permission to laugh, permission to have fun, and permission to LIVE because with an eternal perspective I have more than enough. I am loved, I am love and I give love.
And where there is love there is life.
So how’s your perspective?
I’m praying your GODvision to see with INsight for heavenly perspective.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
10 Tips To Lose Weight, Feel Great & Level Up In Your Health
I eat clean.
I coach people on how to eat clean.
Guess What?! Even I got to the place where I need to LEVEL UP my health.
Has God been whispering anything to you about your diet?
Has He been gently urging you to Level Up in your health?
For over a year God has been calling me. He’s been calling me to go higher in Him and that called for a change in my diet. And I clearly heard the call, but I just didn’t want to do it. And truth be told, I really needed the level up in more ways than one. I was hormonal, cranky, gaining weight and my joints were aching. And I KNEW these symptoms would benefit from the leveling up but I just.didn’t.wanna.do.it!
“God why? What more do I have to give? I’ve given you all of me. I’ve already surrendered my diet. I already eat clean. I already sacrifice. Really?! What more do you want?”
This was my reply to His beckoning.
Have you ever done this? Perhaps you’re like me. You pray and ask God for a thing. Perhaps you’ve asked him to create in you a clean heart. Maybe you’ve asked Him to bless you, to prosper you, to strengthen you, to change you. And when He sets about doing the very thing YOU’VE asked for, you reject it. Sound familiar?
But let me tell you this, your blessings are attached to your obedience. So don’t be hardheaded like me. Heed His voice. You want the results right? Are you looking to lose weight? Are you looking to feel great? Are you looking to reduce inflammation? Are you looking for better sleep and more energy? Are you looking to draw nearer to God?
If so, implement these 10 Tips To Lose Weight, Feel Great & Level Up In Your Health
1. Apologize To Yourself
Apologize to yourself for the ways you’ve handled or mishandled your body. Forgive yourself for the times you’ve dishonored your temple and commit to showing yourself how much you love YOU by purposefully nourishing your body.
2. Ask & You Shall Receive
Ask God to give you the desire, obedience, and diligence to level up in your health. He said ask and you shall receive so ask Him. Ask Him to change your mindset. Ask Him to give you the desire to crave foods which honor the body. Ask Him for the will to reject trash masquerading as food.
3. Choose Well
All day we are presented with choices. Be sure to choose well! I want you to write out Deuteronomy 30:19. Place it somewhere you can see it. Memorize it. Then walk in the power of the Holy Spirit so you can choose well.
4. Remove The Offenders
What things are you consuming that detract from optimal health? Remove the offenders. Don’t know what those are? Here’s a good place to start. Remove these highly acidic foods: coffee, soda, sugar, bread, chips, pastries, pasta, and soy. The consumption of acidic foods is a breeding ground for sickness and disease.
5. Fuel
Now that you’ve removed some detractors, fuel your body by consuming high alkaline foods. In my next post, I’ll share more details on alkaline eating but suffice it to say, foods that are high in alkaline support the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Some high alkaline foods are: melons, squashes, quinoa, chickpeas, walnuts, onions, cucumbers, lettuces, mushrooms, and berries.
6. Supplement
To aid your body’s natural healing processes, add herbal supplements. Just as you would research and plan for a vacation, do some research on which herbs would help the ailments you may be experiencing. A few herbs I use: verbena, valerian, burdock root, sarsparilla, elderberry, and dandelion.
7. Rest
I cannot say enough about this one. For all the good we do to eat right, the body must also have rest. And by REST I’m talking more than Netflix and Chill, I’m talking more than a trip to the nail salon or a few extra hours of sleep. When I’m talking rest, I’m talking about cessation from mental, physical and emotional activity so that your mind, body, and spirit are RESTORED.
8. Exercise
It is important to move your body. You don’t have to go all Parkour, Crossfit crazy with it but do move. A prayer walk, a gentle yoga flow or rebounding on a mini trampoline will serve well in getting your limbs moving, your heart pumping and your bodily systems flowing.
9. Do Your Best
Be gentle with yourself because this is a process. There will be old patterns of behavior that will have to be broken. There will be shifts in the heart and in the mind and some of the old belief systems were forged over years so they will not be uprooted overnight. If you struggle, keep pressing. If you fall, get back up. If you slip, grab onto something and steady yourself. Surround yourself with people who are moving in the direction you want to go. Find one person that you can learn from whose approach, style and ideas inspire you to ACT.
10. Pray
Prayer is your lifeline for all of the above. In your prayer time, you will commune with the Father. You will hear His heart. You will cry out to Him. He will answer you, reassure you and strengthen you. You will make your request known. You will intercede for others. Yes, you will pray and He will hear. And because He hears, He will answer.
And let me tell you, I did it so I know this works. In the first week, my mood was better and I was sleeping better. After the second week, the fat around my mid-section began to shrink. By the fourth week, my joint pain had significantly decreased. I’ve been without popcorn, coffee and chips. I’ve been without ice cream, rice and pasta. And frankly, outside of the coffee, I haven’t missed the rest (ohhhhh coffeeeeee :/)
[bctt tweet=”Are you willing to let go so that your hands and heart are free to receive? ” username=”inspiredfully”]
Come on then, let’s LEVEL UP!
As always, it’s my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
School Is In Session, Are You Ready?
From the beginning of August through after Labor Day, children across America will be heading back to school. Whether public, private, homeschool or a combination of them, parents have expended MUCH energy ensuring their children are prepared (myself included).
If you’re a parent with a child headed to school chances are you’ve:
- Researched schools, selected a school, tried to choose the teacher(s)
- Attended some back to school event (school supply drives, back to school prayer, etc)
- Talked to your child about the upcoming year
- Purchased supplies, clothes, shoes, lunchbags, etc
- Got kids hairdo’s, haircuts
- And the list goes on……..you know the drill
School Is In Session, Are You Ready?
What exactly have you done to get YOURSELF ready?
What you have done to pour into yourself so that YOU are equipped to give your child the love, support and encouragement they’ll need this school year?
What have you done to make sure you are mentally alert, emotionally available, and spiritually strong? And if you’ve ever dealt with homework tears, in-school bullying, or learning difficulties you KNOW it requires you to be strong to help your child weather the storms.
So for all the back to school ads, campaigns, prayer vigils, meet & greets, and picnics, I’m here thinking what about my sanity and yours.
Am I the only one beseeching God saying, “Father, I need your help. I need you to guide me as I guide them. I need you to teach me as I teach them. I need you”?
Surely I can’t be the only one who knows that unless I fiercely cling to the vine, I won’t be able to adequately support them.
I’m wagering that I’m not the only one who knows making it through the school year is going to require God to continue working in my own heart so that I can give my children what they need and deserve.
SO…….since I’m not the only one, I want YOU Back To School ready.
Just like you did your best to get them ready, I’m going to do my best to get YOU ready.
I want us to employ the single most effective strategy for back to school readiness…PRAYER.
[bctt tweet=”The ONE thing your child needs most is for you to be connected to God.” username=”inspiredfully”]
With that one connection, you serve as a conduit for God’s love, purpose, and plans to be unlocked and to flow.
Prayer is truly the one thing that release all the other things you want for your child (CLICK HERE for more on the power of praying for your child).
So that’s what we are gonna do. We are going to pray and watch. We are going to watch God perform the miraculous starting with us. We are going to see God change our own hearts so that we are delivered, healed and set free. We are going to experience God take out our stony hearts and give us hearts of flesh. We are going to witness God fill us with compassion and gentleness. We are going to bear the fruit of meekness and humility.
And here’s how we’re going to do it. For 21 days we are going to pray together. For 21 straight days you’ll meet me live and we will seek the Father’s face, we will seek His wisdom and we will hear from Him. We will pray for our children, for their friends, for their educators but more than that, we’ll spend the bulk of the 21 days praying for ourselves. The job of parenting is not for the faint of heart so we’ve got to be duly armed to carry out our assignment and I’m looking forward to partnering with you to make it happen.
We’ll be praying some points from my book PURPOSEFUL PARENTING. Do you have your copy?
We’ll meet HERE on my Facebook page so make sure you’re following.
But before we even begin our 21 days of Purposeful Prayer 4 Parents, how can I pray for you right now? Leave your requests in the comments and I count it an honor to carry them before the throne of grace.
As always it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to partner with these friends sharing the Good News Mommy Moments, Purposeful Faith
