Are you a Warrior or a Worrier?

Being a worrier is easy. Everyone worries about something, their family, career, finances, health, and the list goes on and on. But you don’t have to be a worrier. You can be a Warrior! You can overcome the fear and anxiety that is keeping you stuck. Being a Warrior takes faith. Tremendous faith. How strong is your faith? Recently I was dealing with an issue and I was discussing it with a friend. All of a sudden in the middle of a sentence, he asked “Are you a Warrior or a worrier?” I couldn’t even answer him. I felt like I got punched in the stomach. Why you ask? Because I recognized that I was a worrier. I was worried because things were not happening on my time in the way I expected them to and the fear and anxiety was getting to me. It caused the worry and fear to win. That is not acceptable!! I am not a woman of fear. I am a child of God and He did not make me with a spirit of fear. I had to start acting like the Warrior that I know is inside me. You can too! When something is worrying you and you feel like it’s taking over don’t let it! You are a victor in Christ Jesus!

My challenge to you today is to ask yourself this. Am I a Warrior or a Worrier? If you’re worried, let it go. Lay it at the altar and trust God. Be the Warrior that you know is inside you.

Proverbs 3:5-6   Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

When God is in it, it's not over

When we have dreams and goals and maybe even promises that God has put in your heart, it can sometimes be difficult to always stay positive and stay in faith. I still hold onto the promises of God in my life and even though it's taking a lot longer than I have wanted or even anticipated, I'm not giving up. Don't get me wrong, I've cried and prayed and given up numerous times. But then I hear that still small voice telling me it's not over. So I apologize to God for letting my emotions get the best of me and I keep going. I read a weekly newsletter and the lady who writes it said in one article that God gave her a promise about her future husband and that he would come in 20 years. Now, for me I would have been like 20 years!! And I would question God if it was really going to take that long, but now I get it. God's timing is perfect, and even if its 20 years down the road, it's still right on time.

Do you listen to God when He talks to you? Sometimes when we hear God, but it's not what we expected or what we want to hear, we tend to not listen to it or say that it can't be from God. But I encourage you not to look at it like that. When God speaks to us, it's for a reason. When we listen to God it shows that we believe Him and His Word. God does not want to hurt us or make us suffer. He DOES want our faith to grow, and if we have no challenges there will be no spiritual growth.

My challenge to you is to think on the promises that God put in your heart. Check your faith. Are you living in faith or living in fear?

Proverbs 1:33 "But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm."

Persevering Under trial

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. (NIV)

I’m currently studying the book of James and this verse keeps coming to my mind. 2012 has a lot of trials for me and people close to me. There have been times when I wanted to give up on every single promise that God has put in my heart. It gets so discouraging sometimes when you’re praying, believing, crying and doing everything that you’re supposed to do, and you still haven’t reached your destiny yet. Every day that it doesn’t come you get more and more anxious.

I’m here to tell you. Please do not give up! All of these tests and trials and tribulations are doing such amazing and wonderful things to you, inside and out. Even if you don’t see it at this moment, your aha moment will come. There have been so many moments when I look back on things that I either wanted so badly, and I didn’t get it. I ended up getting something better! I still struggle with patience and waiting for all of my promises. But now I praise God for his timing and I pray for grace to accept His timing. Waiting is not always easy or fun but if you notice, the verse says “when he stood the test” not “if”. The tests are coming! How you react will determine the outcome.

Are you ready for 2013?

 

Another year is coming to a close. I have to say that I’m not sad about that. This year has been filled with major hills and valleys. I’m so thankful though that even in the midst of the worst times this year; I never stopped speaking to God. Even when I was mad at Him because I didn’t understand what was happening.  He wasn’t giving me what I wanted when I wanted it. My spiritual growth this year has been quite exceptional. I had a lot of trials and tribulations and wanted to give up countless times. I’ve cried way more than my share of tears. Frustration, discouragement and not being patient held me back quite a bit. God has put many promises in me, some of them a few years ago, and some this year. Well the promises weren’t coming to fruition when I expected them too. So I would get upset and get completely discouraged. What I had to learn and I did the hard way, is that God’s promises are yes and amen, but also that His timing is perfect timing. If God puts a promise in you- He will not go back on His word. Numbers 23:19(NLT) says God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

The problem I had believed that the promises could actually come to pass. Did I trust God enough? The answer was no. I believed in Him and me, but I was having a problem fully trusting Him because it wasn’t happening when I wanted and how I wanted. I let myself believe that God wasn’t listening. Fast forward to now. I look back over the year and in every situation, where I doubted or questioned Hi, once I fully let go and trusted Him- he delivered. It wasn’t always what I wanted, but it was always what was best for me. Because I never quit talking to Him, the Holy Spirit led me and I’ve accomplished things that I didn’t think I could, and things are moving forward. 2013 is going to be an epic and exciting year and I can’t wait! I can’t thank God enough for not giving me everything the minute I asked. I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now. 

It's Christmas Time!!

The holidays are here once again! This is my favorite time of the year (and not just because my birthday is coming) J I love everything that the holidays are supposed to be. The family time, cooking, shopping, baking, even the decorating!  The past few years have been difficult for me at this time of year, being single and not always having the spirit. I did things for my kids and with my friends, but it wasn’t the same as when I was married. I think about the holidays when I was growing up and I have such great memories! I grew up in upstate NY and to say it was cold is an understatement! We had snowdrifts up to my waist. But as a kid of course I didn’t care about the cold. In fact I loved it!(unless I had to shovel…lol) My brother and I would stay outside as long as possible, making snow angels, attempting to build a snow forte, snow ball fights, and sledding. Frozen feet, and hands, didn’t make a bit of difference as long as we were having fun. It was so great! My mom and grandma would make all this awesome food from scratch and spent days in the kitchen getting ready. My mom would save bread forever for her homemade stuffing and I used to think she was so weird!! 

My parents also loved to decorate! Now I don’t mean Clarke Griswold decorating, but there were a lot of lights! As another season comes, I will try to make amazing memories for my children. I hope that when they grow up, they know that Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are not just about getting gifts, black Friday shopping, and eating until we can’t move. I want them to know that it’s about giving as well. She would also volunteer at shelters and food kitchens. I didn’t appreciate her sacrifice then, but I do now, and I try to instill it in my kids as well. Jesus Christ came to serve. Mark 10:45(NKJV) says  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Giving thanks to God every single day for all that we have and all that we’ve been through is very important to me. Giving our time, talent, and treasure is not just a statement. It’s a reality for us. Giving to people less fortunate than us is something that you can’t put a price on. Let’s all remember that serving is not just about once a year, but all year long.  

Charletta Adams is a life coach and public speaker. Her blog is regularly on www.thegodlife.net  and www.charlettaadams.blogspot.com

Surviving The Storm

Storms are a part of life. We all experience difficulties. How do you react to them? Do you trust God to get your through it? Do you want to go through life without any challenges? You can’t grow without challenges.  The storm is not what takes you out. It’s your reaction to the storm. Some people feel that once you become Christian, you never have issues and your life is a perfect dream come true. That of course is not reality at all. How can you learn to trust God and have faith in him if He gives you everything you want as soon as you ask for it? There’s a reason He doesn’t give you everything. It may not be good for you. It may be dangerous. He might be working some things out within you. If you can’t trust God to know what’s best for you, who can you trust? When I have an issue and I worry and get upset and anxious – I’m telling God that I don’t have enough faith in Him and his Word. That’s really not true, but when our emotions are involved we don’t think about that. All we care about is, I’m not getting what I want and I want it! He knows what’s best for you. Sometimes it’s so much easier to try and control the situation, but what we have to recognize is that God will never leave you or forsake you.  Can anyone else in your life make a promise like that?

Charletta Adams is a writer and Professional  Life Coach. She posts blogs on www.thegodlife.net

Are you up for the challenge?

Okay…. so God had put a promise in you and it’s an amazing promise that will lead you to your destiny. Here’s the thing. You’ve prayed about it and God answered, He said its coming and you need to wait. So, you wait, and wait, and wait some more and nothing happens. So you start to doubt the promise. You doubt if you really heard from God. You doubt if He actually put that in you. You question everything. You want to give up because you’re tired, you’re weary and you don’t want to wait anymore. Your patience is at its end. Your faith is being challenged. What do you do? Do you give up or keep fighting? It will depend on who you allow access to your heart and mind. If you allow Satan in and allow your flesh to keep that doubt and expand to where you have a difficult time trusting God and his promises- You Lose.

Here’s the great news. If you allow God complete access and let Him be in control. Guess what? You WIN!! Jeremiah 29:11 says “ For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV) It takes a lot of focus to be patient and wait on God. For me, it takes a lot of prayer, worship and reflection. When I look back over my life and there have been times when I didn’t think I’d make it. God showed up and He was there.  I trust God.  I believe He knows what’s best for me and He wants to bring me to my destiny. So, even though I’ve wanted to quit a hundred times, I’m not quitting – EVER!!! Because trust me, my destiny is worth waiting for. Is yours?