The Blessing Prayer

Pray it over your yourself, friends and family.

By Michael W. Smith

In the name of Jesus Christ, I bless you with the promises of God, which are “yes” and “amen.”

May the Holy Spirit make you healthy and strong in body, mind,

and spirit to move in faith and expectancy.

May God’s angels be with you to protect and keep you.

Be blessed with supernatural strength to turn your eyes from foolish, worthless,

and evil things, and to shut out the demeaning and the negative.

Instead, may you behold the beauty of things that God has planned for you as you obey His Word.

May God bless your ears to hear the lovely, the uplifting, and the encouraging.

May your mind be strong, disciplined, balanced, and faith-filled.

May your feet walk in holiness and your steps be ordered by the Lord.

May your hands be tender and helping, blessing those in need.

May your heart be humble and receptive to one another and to the things of God, not to the world.

God’s grace be upon your home, that it may be a sanctuary of rest and renewal,

a haven of peace where sounds of joy and laughter grace its walls,

where love and unconditional acceptance of one another is the constant rule.

May God give you the spiritual strength to overcome the evil one and avoid temptation.

May God’s grace be upon you to fulfill your dreams and visions.

May goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your long life.

Amen

Source: Michael W. Smith’s website 

Follow The Leader

Thought this gave some really good perspective

-Teron

Better Than Life

How To: Do a Devotion

How do I do a devotion?  What does that word even mean?  This is what I thought when I started walking with the Lord in March of last year.  This is the exact article that I read, and I remember I was like, "I want to do this!" So, I set aside time, and I did everything except the devotion.  For some reason it was so hard for me to just sit there, but once I did with my bowl of fruit loops, God flooded into my heart. I was left overflowing with His love for me, and I was completely consumed with love for Him.  So, now I'd like to share it with you!

A great way to start the day is by getting into the WORD of God.
I have some practical ways that will very much help you get the day off to a great start. Very easy and simple. 30 Mins is all you’ll need, maybe less?!

Here it goes:
1. Wake up a bit earlier than the family. Could be 30 minutes or an hour.

2. Get coffee or tea ready. It will keep you awake!

3. Have a designated area for where you can meet with God. (Less noise is better) You decide!!

4. Get a bible, journal, highlighter, and a pen.

5. Before you begin your study, you’d want to start out with thanksgiving and thank Him for this day, everything that’s to come and that His blessings will be upon it.

6. When you journal, start out by thanking God. List at least 5 things. (Do this every day)

7. Now start dissecting the Word. Pick one scripture and use this application to help you to apply it! Don’t forget to journal it!
How to study the bible and apply it to your life. Acronym is S.O.A.P.

S: Scripture-Write the ONE scripture that I feel God is using to speak to me in today’s reading
O: Observation-What might He be telling me with that scripture?
A: Application-How can I apply it to my life?
P: Prayer-What is my prayer to ask God in helping me to make that application? 

8. Last but not least, pray for others, love on others, reach out to others. This would include family, friends, neighbors, etc. A smile or a kind word would do. Be a blessing.
Now you can go about your day knowing God is in full control!

God loves those who love Him and those who seek Him early and diligently shall find Him. Proverbs 8:17

Thank you Lord for your assuring Words that you will never leave us nor forsake us, but that you will be with us each and everyday. Thank you for your unfailing love. Thank you for in the day of our troubles you will answer us (Psalm 86:7). In You alone we have perfect peace and confidence. In the world we have tribulations and trials and distress and frustration but we can be of good cheer! For You have overcome the world! (John 16:33) Amen!

Via: God's Gracefulness

My Dear

-Shared by Courtney

What's My Purpose?

I feel so lost. What is God’s will or His purpose for me in this season? Did you know, I was asking this same question 8 months ago? I have emails to prove it. I was emailing my friends and asking them as if they knew! It’s pretty funny looking back. It was a hard season, because I felt the exact same way as you do. A lot of what ifs, should have, what now, feeling of emptiness, and lacking joy… sounds familiar?

Here’s what I’ve learned during that time.

I often tell people that right where you are is His will or His purpose for this season. We don’t know His exact plans for the future, we do know that His plans are always good and never to harm us. Jeremiah 29:11

If we keep seeking for our future purpose and His will, we lose sight of what’s going on in the present moment.

Although, I feel there’s nothing enjoyable right now and everything is mundane and redundant. Nevertheless, I need to remember that serving Him right where I am can be very enjoyable, if I choose for it to be. Serving includes volunteering, cook a meal for the sick, help a friend, drop off a small gift for someone, or encourage someone who is going through some hard times with coffee. I told you it can be fun! Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. -Romans 12:11

God’s will or purpose for your life may not include a big platform or a big ministry. You may never get a big platform. I may never be on stage preaching and that’s okay with me. I just want to be faithful and obedient.
When I am faithful with the little things in life, God can entrust me with me much more. (It’s my favorite quote! You’ll hear it a lot this year.)

Luke 16:10 tells us, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Can God trust you with what little you have, presently?

Don’t concentrate too much about your future purpose, rather think about who can I serve right now? What can I do to make a difference? And see where He takes you as you continue to be faithful.

I pray that as you look for ways to serve, you’ll grow closer to The Lord and He will open up doors for you. Remember, this is not a religious duty. It is out of His love that we are compelled to serve and love one another.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. -Galatians 5:13

-from GodsGracefulness.com

This is the stuff

‎"I think to know God is to trust God. And to trust God is to believe with100% confidence that he is in control. It's to believe that when he puts a task before you, he does it knowing you weren't equipped for it, but that he is. Being 100% confident in Christ means becoming part of something bigger than ourselves. We throw away our little plans and become part of his big plan. It is a wide open freedom to serve wherever and however he wants to use us. It's confidence in his plan, his moves, his people, his purposes. It's a reason to get up every morning excited for the day. And this the kind of confidence you have!" -Nicole Unice-Shared by Teron

God Will Provide

“God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19

-Shared by Lindsay Z.