Posts Tagged ‘joy’

Accepting Who God Created Me to Be – Part IV

by Kim Avery

Accepting who God created you to be is possible, and it is transforming. When you embrace the many ways that God loves you just as you are, it fills you with joy, contentment, purpose, and a renewed power to love others even as you are loved.

I Corinthians 14:1 exhorts us to, “Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it - because it does.”

That beautiful call has been our focus these past four weeks. Begin soaking in God’s radical love for you by reviewing what you have learned so far and then rejoice as we cover our two final truths. Don’t forget to replace each underlined pronoun with your name. There is great power in applying God’s promises to your own life.

1. God pursued me when I was at my worst

2. God paid a ransom for my life.

3. I am unique and uniquely valuable to God.

4. God is enthralled with my beauty.

5. I am one of the most important things God ever created.

6. God rejoices over me.

7. God sings over me.

8. God tells me His secrets.

These are life transforming truths. But for many an awareness of this firm foundation of a love hasn’t always been theirs. What can you do if your sense of God’s love is more like a fading echo in an empty canyon?

If that describes you, then you will be thrilled to hear the last two evidences that we are going to discuss today.

10 Evidences of God’s Love for Me ~ Part IV

9. He never gives up on me.

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23

Today is the day that God wants you to begin anew. He wants you to know Him. He longs to fill your days and moments with His purpose, love, and delight. His plan is for every moment to count.

Your past is simply that - past. Your future is Jesus and today is a new day. Choose to embrace the truth of His unconditional love.

10. I was made for a love relationship with God.

Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
Isaiah 55:1-3

God loves you so much that He is stretching out His arms of invitation today, “Come to Me and live.”

Accepting who God made you to be all begins with this amazing awareness, you were made for a love relationship with Him.

You are loved!

Which one of these evidences of God’s love speaks to you today? I hope you will take a minute to share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Previous Articles in Be All That God Created You To Be:
Find Joy Right Where You Are
What You Can’t Be When You Grow Up
Be All That God Created You to Be ~ Goals to Consider
Accepting Who God Created You to Be – Part I
Be All That God Created You to Be ~ More Goals to Consider


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Posted in *Kim Avery, Transformed on Tuesdays | No Comments »

Accepting Who God Created You To Be – Part II

by Kim Avery

Transformed on Tuesdays

Are you hard on yourself? A perfectionist? Unhappy with the way you look? Do you ever wish you were someone else? Last week we began discussing the importance of accepting who God created you to be. (Click here.)

God designed you, knit your parts together, planned your path in advance, and then called you His masterpiece. Who are we to disagree with Almighty God?

As women we are often so hard on ourselves that it borders on questioning God’s wisdom in making us as He did. I know you don’t want to do that. So, I hope you’ll continue to prayerfully ponder the truth of how God thinks of you and to begin to accept and like the you He created you to be.

Meditate on the truths below. Take time to absorb them into your very soul. Personalize them by replacing the underlined pronoun with your own name.

10 Evidences of God’s Love for Me ~ Part II


4. God is enthralled with my beauty.

A recent 23 year old Hollywood sensation underwent 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day to become what she called, ‘the best me.’ That is a costly and largely ineffective route to self acceptance.

God thinks you are beautiful just the way you are.

The King is enthralled by your beauty.
Psalm 45:11

Webster’s Dictionary defines enthrall as “to captivate or charm.” The Hebrew definition of the word is “desire.” In other words, God finds you so beautiful that He wants you for His own. It doesn’t get any better than that.

5. I am one of the most important things God ever created.

God has created some pretty amazing things: the sun, the moon, the Beluga whale, and my pet poodles Bob and Ralph. But what is at the top of His list? You and every other person God has breathed life into since time began.

God decided to give us life through the word of truth.
He wanted us to be the most important of all the things He made.
James 1:18

The next time you look at a sunset, the beauty of a wild rose, or the vastness of the Grand Canyon remember this, you are more important to God than any of these.

6. God rejoices over me.

When my daughter got married several years ago, the crowning moment of all our preparation was when the Wedding March began, the back doors flew open, and the bride appeared. Yet even as she appeared, for one brief second I risked looking away to see the face of her groom.

His entire being exuded joy. I knew my daughter would be in good hands. She was loved.

God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over His bride.
Isaiah 62:5

God is filled with joy every time He thinks of you. He is eagerly awaiting your arrival in heaven as a groom awaits his wedding day. God’s face lights up when He looks at you, and no one else can take your place in His heart.

Continue meditating on these truths and next week on Transformed on Tuesdays ~ Be All That God Created You to Be we will continue our exploration of God’s deep love for us. In the meantime, soak in the wonder of a God who loves you and enjoy who He created you to be.

Which one of these evidences of God’s love speaks to you today? I hope you will take a minute to share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Previous Articles in Be All That God Created You To Be:
Find Joy Right Where You Are
What You Can’t Be When You Grow Up
Be All That God Created You to Be ~ Goals to Consider
Accepting Who God Created You to Be – Part I
Be All That God Created You to Be ~ More Goals to Consider


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Posted in *Kim Avery, Transformed on Tuesdays | 2 Comments »

Frugal Friday: Fasting

by Mary O. Moss

Have you ever considered your choice to live frugally as a fast? God has been putting on my heart that I should reframe how I view my fugal lifestyle—to think about consuming less not as a deprivation, but as a spiritual discipline. Even if living a frugal lifestyle is less out of choice than it is a necessity, we can adjust our attitudes and what we portray to the world about our lifestyle.

“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18 NIV).

One thing I notice almost immediately when I visit most “frugal living” blogs is these folks are joyful! They may have disadvantaged lives – facing foreclosure on their home, a physical disability or simply having made the choice for one of the parents to not work outside the home to rear children. We don’t always learn the background of the individual—just that they have embraced frugal living with a passion. They all share one other thing—almost without exception: they want to share their joy!

Spirithome.com indicates, “For most people in North America, and the upper classes all over the earth, the most important fasting may be to fast from being a consumer of goods, for our role as a consumer consumes us spiritually.”

“Fasting is ‘praying with the body,’ an affirmation of one’s hunger for God and his will, an act of spiritual discipline, and an assertion of the goodness of God in creation, which one appreciates better in abstention;” (John Mark Ministries).

I’ll bet you haven’t thought about your life and your lifestyle as affirmation of your hunger for God and His will! But when we consume less, whether food or material goods, we have less to fill up our lives and so we have more room for God. Frugal living, with a proper attitude, tells the world we trust God to provide for our needs—physical and spiritual.

Two really amazing women whom I have befriended—one a fellow frugal blogger and the other an artist—have embraced this concept of fasting/frugal living. Edie Moore at Rich Gifts answered God’s call to offer her services for whatever the customer could afford. The other is a frugal blogger, Lori Felix, at More With Less Today. She relates that one of her reasons for desiring to live on less is to give more to others.

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,” (Philippians 2:4-6 NIV)

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