spiritual growth

10 Practices to Help You Have a Better Week

January 21, 2019 by Mary

January 21, 2019

Monday Morning Inspiration

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Take Time Out to Pray. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out thing. Just take time out. 5 or 10 minutes at a time.

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:18

Breathe Deeply. Inhale peace, exhale stress. When you take time out to pray, it will be easier to breathe deeply.

Be Still. Just be still. Quiet your mind and your body and practice stillness. Close your eyes.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Give Thanks. Give thanks to God for big things, small things, all things. In all things give thanks.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Quench not the Spirit.

Despise not prophesyings.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Abstain from all appearance of evil.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:18-23

Love. Just love. Even when it’s hard. Love.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

^{And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity}^.^{1Corinthians 13}

^Celebrate^.^Rejoice.^{Be glad. Find something in your day to celebrate!}^{This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.}^{Psalm 118:24}

Renew Your Faith. Daily. Just do it. Commit each day to the Lord and trust that He will provide, reveal, renew and protect.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Revelation 21:5

Restore Hope. Nothing can restore hope more than reading the promises of God. His word is so good at bringing what we need-right when we need it.

For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. Isaiah 61:7

Practice Intention. Be intentional in your choices. Be intentional about connecting with the Father each day. Be intentional about changing what needs to be changed and giving thanks for what is good, perfect and worthwhile.

Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: Jeremiah 32:19

Spiritual Winter vs. Spring

March 6, 2017 by Mary

Spring is Coming

I planted a dozen baby pine trees around the property at my cottage last fall. We have had a rough winter with very cold temperatures and lots of snow, and as I look around the property, rather than seeing the full baby tree, I can see only tiny shoots here and there poking out from the banks and drifts of snow. I have hoped and wondered throughout this season whether they were going to make it through, and I wondered whether I would be able to have the joy of watching them shoot up like pine trees do in the spring.

This reminds me that sometimes during the winter of our lives we tend to live in survival mode. We do what we can to stay strong under the pressures of our heavy burdens. Sometimes our own sorrows inhibit us from healthy growth. The burdens of our heart and spirit pile upon us, blanketing us, and we wonder if we are strong enough to withstand the weight.

I have had seasons like this in my life, times that I call winter. Sometimes it feels like it goes on and on, and we grow weary. We long for the light, but we are not quite prepared for it to come just yet. Maybe you need to remain just a little longer in survival mode. Perhaps you are not emotionally or spiritually ready to come out of hibernation.

I know that if my tender baby trees can make it through their first winter, their roots will grow strong enough to withstand the many winters that lay ahead. I guess this is true for people too. If we grow our roots during good times–establishing our faith, our belief system, our “God confidence”– then we will be able to withstand some of the seasons of hardship that will inevitably touch us in our lifetime.

This is the one thing that is for certain: Spring is coming! It happens every year. I will look out my window one morning to find hundreds of yellow day lilies blooming. I will hear the sound of mama robin chatting away in the trees. Then as the sun grows closer to us, we experience the big thaw. The ice begins to melt, waters start to flow, and we see new buds on the trees. The plants in the garden begin to spring up from the ground as if they too are emerging from hibernation and are now strong enough to see the light of day. They built their roots during hibernation and are bigger, stronger, and more colorful each spring.

If you have been going through some difficult times and feel like the burdens on your heart and soul will never ease, remember that the coming of spring is always certain. This season of hibernation that you are going through will only last until you are spiritually and emotionally ready to move on. We grow during the winters of our lives, establishing our root system. During these times, we can choose to insulate ourselves in darkness or we can choose to poke our heads out above it to see the light.

After surviving a season of hibernation, young plants are starving. They spread out their roots and absorb every nutrient that the ground in which they are planted has to offer. They are growing strong again, getting ready for new growth. I suppose it is that way for hurting people too. Once we survive hibernation, we are eager to grasp new life, a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing and a new way doing things. We embrace the light, spreading our wings, taking chances and absorbing all that our Creator has for us to learn and see and do. We are hungry. We have a new richness about us. We show buds of new growth in our actions and attitudes and flowering in our heart. The winter that had frozen our soul has now been touched by spring, by new life, and we are ready to embrace the light.

If you are in the winter of your life one thing is certain: Spring is coming! Your soul is preparing for it in the silence.

Your Turn: Have you been through a spiritual winter?

Day 54: Spiritual Wellness

November 19, 2015 by Mary

Dear Friend,

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