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Category: Thought Of The Week

December 9, 2024

December 9, 2024

Advent, meaning ‘Coming’ in Latin, is the word most churches use to describe our focus on Jesus coming into the world as a baby. Advent is a time to concentrate on what Christmas is really about!

 

After telling His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit, He said to them, “Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you, not as the world gives . . .”

 

Today, the prospect of peace, both in our country and our world seems more distant every day. Our world appears out of control. We wonder if we can ever find peace and whether that peace will be lasting.

 

There was also a great deal of unrest in the world at the time of Jesus’ birth. As it happened, Christ’s coming brought conflict rather than peace, ending with His death. But, as He promised, following His resurrection, He will provide the gift of personal peace to all who are willing to surrender their pride and put their trust and faith in Him, the Prince of Peace.

 

Our acceptance of Jesus, a personal gift of Himself, includes His abiding presence along with the gift of His peace! He is with us continually, even in the midst of the storms. His peace is a lasting peace.

 

Have you accepted Jesus and the peace of His presence? 

December 2, 2024

December 2, 2024

In the first week of Advent, we are called to prepare our hearts with Hope.

 

When we suffer great losses and are weighed down with grief and sorrow, how can our hearts be filled with hope?

 

The true anchor for our souls is Jesus. There is peace in His presence!

 

When we belong to Jesus, we can lean on Him. Being aware of Jesus’ presence with us keeps us from becoming discouraged or giving up. So, when we sense discouragement, we need to stop and consider our focus. Are we focusing on our problems or discouragement? If so, we need to consciously direct our attention to our all powerful Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

Putting our focus and faith on Jesus assures us that our hope is truly anchored (1 John 5:4). As we put our trust in Him, we can confidently expect that He will fulfill His promises to us of a “hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). 

 

The real truth is that as we walk through life with Him, He is always available to impart His power to us moment by moment. He is our Rock on which we can keep standing, our “anchor to windward”.

 

During this first week of Advent, we need to ask ourselves what we are putting our hope in. We need to thank the God of Hope for sending Jesus to us on that first Christmas, and if we have accepted His gift of salvation, the question we need to ask is, will we keep our focus on Him and allow Him to fill us with His joy and peace? If we can, we’ll experience an overflow of confidence and a genuine hope provided by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13)!

November 25, 2024

November 25, 2024

Check out this verse! It says we should give thanks, regardless of our circumstances!

 

What a perfect verse to concentrate on during Thanksgiving week!

 

How about Luke 4:18 where we learn that Jesus came to set the captives free?

 

I was a captive, but He has set me free. Good news that I can now share with you and others!

 

My desire is to help others find hope and healing through God’s amazing love, through understanding God’s purpose in our suffering and the joy of being able to praise Him regardless of your circumstances.

 

I can’t help the commitment to continually tell my story, to give God the glory and share my own hope with other “captives”.

 

Being set free includes being free from all shame, guilt and condemnation.

 

An added benefit is finding that we can trust Him to be with us in every circumstance when we put our faith in Him.

 

This Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for the unlimited benefits of God’s grace. 

 

Have you experienced His grace?

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

Would you ever have thought that Monday mornings are a good time to rejoice?

 

God’s Word tells us that all day and every day are good times to rejoice!

 

This may be one of the shortest verses in the Bible, but it’s a powerful message!

 

The key is that we have to choose to rejoice! Not always easy, especially when you are feeling down.

 

We need to remind ourselves about reasons that we have for rejoicing!

 

In addition to the Lord’s daily provision for our needs, relationships are one of the top reasons for rejoicing.

 

Our relationship with the Lord, and our relationships with each other, can provide great sources for joy.

 

How about a post-it note, or some other reminder, that God wants to hear you rejoicing about something every day?

November 11, 2024

November 11, 2024

As I reflect on the men and women who have served our country on this Veteran’s Day, I think of them as heroes. Someone who is willing to sacrifice his or her life for a greater cause and for their fellow men fits my definition of a hero.

 

For me, Jesus is the ultimate example of a hero. As a living person, He willingly gave up His life so that those of us willing to accept His sacrifice as a personal gift can experience salvation and enjoy eternal life with Him.

 

My mission as a coach is to follow Jesus’ example by serving those who are hurting. While I will not be called on to give up my life, I feel called to a lesser sacrifice when I am able to put the needs of others ahead of my own. Putting the needs of others ahead of our own always brings fulfillment, along with the assurance that God will continue to meet our own needs.

 

Are you open to the Lord’s calling you to serve others?

November 4, 2024

November 4, 2024

A little humor to begin the week! A friend shared this meme with me recently, knowing well that it would hit home. It’s funny, but it’s also convicting. Can you relate?

 

When I feel frazzled and overwhelmed, one remedy is to sit down, close my eyes, and meditate on one of my favorite verses, Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God…”.

 

God can handle anything that comes our way, and if we’re relying on Him, He will quiet our mind, show us what to do next – and give us His peace.

 

What do you do when you’re feeling frazzled?

October 28, 2024

October 28, 2024

I always find some excitement in the adventures that I encounter along my coaching path!

 

My coaching niche becomes more focused over time and coincides with my own personal development and spiritual growth. I sense God’s hand in providing a variety of experiences in His calling that enhances my desire and ability to provide help for my clients.

 

It has become increasingly clear to me that God is our Great Physician and that it is His love, strength and healing power that enables me to help others to discover His unique and special path for them. He alone gets the glory!

 

My own path includes a call from Him, and resulting desire, to help women with trauma in their past. This always includes an understanding of a need for a continuing growth and acceptance of their identity in Christ, a necessity for all believers to walk a path enabling them to gain confidence in Christ’s power within them to cast aside any shame or guilt and to experience a new path to freedom from toxic and abusive relationships and to find a place of healing, peace and joy.

 

Understanding God’s unconditional love is a key to staying on a path toward healthy relationships. Processing our past is one facet of coaching that I find important in helping clients to navigate around obstacles and avoid or overcome roadblocks along the way.

 

Each of us needs to find and walk on the path that God promises is available to us as believers in Jesus Christ. This life path should be one that leads to healthy and fulfilling relationships – with others, with God, and with yourself!

 

Are you on a path leading to the one that God wants for you to experience an abundant life?

October 21, 2024

October 21, 2024

The satisfaction that I enjoy when it becomes apparent that my coaching is helping a client to find a path out of a place of darkness, toward a place of light, has recently been enhanced by adding my certification in Crisis Response and Trauma Care. The focus of this area of coaching is on providing a compassionate and supportive presence to mitigate acute distress following a traumatic event. How people respond to trauma and crisis varies to the same degree that personality varies. What may be traumatic to one person may not phase another.

 

Among the benefits that this area of mental health coaching can provide are stability, comfort and awareness of the possible harm of making quick decisions. The consideration of a particular support system may also provide help along with addressing spiritual and other facets of mental help. The mere presence of working with a mental health coach, generally referred to as the “Ministry of Presence” is usually a paramount benefit in the relief of a traumatic setback in itself. 

 

My own faith in Christ, as Lord of all and the ultimate authority, is what enables me to share what I have learned through my training as a coach with the goal of providing comfort, strength and a path toward light from the dark.

Are you experiencing stress as a result of trauma and the uncertainty around us? How is your connection with God? It would be my privilege to talk with you.

October 14, 2024

October 14, 2024

Oceans of Love!

 

Focusing on the endless horizon where it meets the sea helps me to comprehend God’s unbounded love for me.

 

Many long and difficult years have brought me to a place of understanding His great love for me. Deep belief in His love, taking it in, being able to truly feel it, and breathing it back out, becomes a special blessing!

 

God desires that we learn to see ourselves, and each other, through that lens of His love – a love that is both unconditional and endless. A perfect love that only He can provide.

 

It’s God’s desire that we love Him back and that we give His unconditional love to others and experience it in return. 


Do you know how much the Lord loves you?

October 7, 2024

October 7, 2024

Just as trust is an essential ingredient in every healthy relationship, it is better described as critically true in our relationship with the Lord. That trust includes a belief in what God says in His Word and a belief in His great power.

 

Actually, we need to trust the Lord with everything in our lives, which includes putting our trust in His love for us. As we consciously choose each day to trust Him, we’ll become aware that we are growing closer in our relationship to Him.

 

Doubt is our enemy! Doubt hinders healthy relationships and obstructs our spiritual growth. Doubt often takes root when we tend to rely on our feelings and experiences, instead of what we know, or should know, to be true. Feelings come and go. If we base our relationships on our feelings then the relationship will likely be doomed.

 

Can you consider what steps you may be able to take today to build trust?