Have you ever taken your toddler into a store and instantly regretted it? It’s that moment of pure rationalization where you convince yourself you can quickly be in and out of a place without any mishaps. I've made this mistake many times through the years. The thought of getting out of the house to walk around somewhere pretty much overrides my “mom instinct” that “this probably isn’t a good idea.” One particular time I was walking around a home store with my toddlers (yes, multiple toddlers) and our newborn. My five-year-old son, at the time, was obsessed with balls of any type. As we were walking around the store, he grabbed what looked like a colorful bouncy ball. He proceeded to slam it off the ground. Instead of bouncing, it shattered into a million pieces, and so did my dignity. I was so embarrassed and apologetic. What he thought was bouncy and resilient was actually fragile and breakable.

   No battle, no victory. Nobody likes a battle. Battles aren’t fun. Sometimes in life, battles can take us off guard or catch us by surprise. The kind of battle that takes your breath away because you didn’t see it coming. A surprise attack from the enemy.

 Some battles are simply a result of living in a fallen world, things that we didn’t ask for or cause. No matter what the source of the battle is, know that you have the victory. That’s right, I said have. You won’t win one day, you have won. As a child of God, you don’t have to fight for your victory, you simply stand in your place of victory!

Have you ever gotten into your own head? By that, I mean, have you ever overthought something or talked yourself into a completely false narrative? Humans have a way of getting into our own heads. The problem is that as Christians, God is trying to get us out of our heads and to be led by the spirit! When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart as Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us in John 3 that our spirit is made new. Here’s the problem, even though our spirit has been born again, our mind needs to be renewed.

Communication is one of the most important keys to unlocking a successful and happy marriage. If you know how to communicate in a clear and loving way, when disagreements do occur, you will handle them with love and sincerity. You won’t walk away feeling anger or regret or shame because of what was said or done.  Remember, the goal is to listen and come to a resolve. The goal isn’t to find out who is right or wrong but to come to a place of understanding. 

Life is a beautiful gift. There is beauty around us every day. Sometimes the stress, the hustle, the things--all the things--get in the way of us truly enjoying the life around us. Life is busy, life is messy, and the easy thing to do is to check out--to go on emotional autopilot.  God never wanted you to become a robot; He made your emotions. He made you to actually enjoy--not to just survive-- life.

What have you been saying? This is a question I ask myself often. Sometimes there is a disconnect between my spirit and my mouth. It is that innate desire to let my words become controlled by my emotions. It’s way too easy to allow my emotions to dictate my speech. It can be much easier to speak in alignment with what you are seeing and feeling, rather than speaking in faith, but this is a dangerous place to be. Your words are designed to create, not respond. Your human nature tells you the opposite. Human nature tells you your words are just for communication, not creation. The reality is when you open your mouth, you are actually creating your destiny. 

What you behold you become! Your mind is like a computer, what you continually focus on or see is what you will become. In Genesis, God gives Abram a promise to become the father of many nations. At that point Abram didn’t have one child, let alone to be the father of nations. In the natural, not only did this promise seem improbable, but impossible! 

        Have you ever prayed to be used by God for His purpose? Many times, we ask God to use us, but we don’t realize the full magnitude of that request. God’s plan for your life is often revealed in the form of a promise or a desire. God gives a promise not to tease or disappoint you with unfulfilled hope but to see it come to pass in your life.

There are so many benefits to living a life of gratitude! It is good for you mentally as it keeps you focused on the good instead of the bad and, therefore, produces a more positive faith-filled mentality. It is good for your self-esteem-- celebrating what you are thankful for helps you to be happy with yourself! Gratitude even eliminates stress. When you are thankful, you realize the things you thought were so bad aren’t. Socially, gratitude helps you celebrate others and makes others want to be around you more!

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices when the work begins. Zachariah 4:10

When do you know you’re ready to do something, to start something? When do you know that it won’t be hard or that it won’t end in failure? The answer is that in the natural, you don’t. If you spend your entire life trying to avoid failure, you will never do anything great for God. The cure for failure isn’t success but failing in small enough doses that you become immune to it. A good lesson in sales training is to make 100 cold calls in one day. Will everyone buy what you’re selling? No. But you are learning to fail in small doses until you’re not afraid to fail anymore. In fact, if God calls you to do something, chances are it will be bigger than you feel comfortable with. The temptation will be to sit back and wait… Wait for all your funding, wait until you are a great public speaker, and wait to start getting in shape. (The list goes on) I remember I wanted to get back into shape after I had my fourth baby (Who was 10.5lbs at birth, by the way). I went to the gym a few times, but guess what? It was hard, and I didn’t see immediate results, and I hated seeing my baby weight in the mirror staring back at me.

Do you ever feel insecure? Let me share a secret with you... everyone feels insecure at some point in their life. The question isn’t if you ever feel insecure, but rather what do you do when those feelings come? Thoughts of insecurity can take you down a bad path quickly. These thoughts can ruin your day, cause complaining, and ultimately hold you back from being whom God has created you to be!

Before we even dive into combatting insecurity, let me remind you of one of my favorite verses. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “ take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Now that I reminded you that you could and should measure every thought against God’s word, let’s look at some truths to combat insecurity!

How do I know I'm hearing from God? Have you ever asked yourself this question? I know I have! The Bible tells us that faith requires full confidence in God, knowing that the enemy loves to take our prayers from a place of confidence to a place of wonder. I wonder if this desire is mine or God’s? I wonder if God is offended that I'm asking for this? I wonder if it’s God’s will to do this in my life. Your faith goes to a whole new level when you transition from wondering to knowing! So, how can you move your faith from wondering to knowing?