The Confident Woman: Day 23
January 23, 2013 at 10:32 pm | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: Bible, champions, devotional, John 15, joyce meyer, residing, residing in God, the confident woman
God is our leader in confidence. He made that clear in John 15:5, as he is the vine and we are the branches. And by being our leader, he will help us bear fruit, as long as we live in Him and He in us.
Joyce says it well: “So, if I say I am confident, I don’t mean that I am confident in myself or my abilities. I mean that I am confident in my leader, God, and the gifts, talents, and knowledge He has placed in me.”
We are the champions, a la Queen, when we reside with God.
But how can we do that? Well, maybe by daily prayer, weekly Mass and monthly confession, to name a few ideas. They sometimes are hard habits to keep, but give it 21 days to form the new habit.
Lent starts on Feb. 13, so maybe that is a time start a plan to reside with God.
The Confident Woman: Day 22
January 22, 2013 at 11:15 pm | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: beat, Bible, confidence, devotional, health, inner self, joyce meyer, Psalm, religion, spirituality, the confident woman, trust
“Why are you cast down, O my inner self?”
That is part of the Bible verse this day in Psalm. Do we ever stop for a moment and really thing about it?
I know I beat up on myself on pretty much a daily basis. Today, for instance, I hated my body. I hated that I am struggling to lose these pounds. I was upset I got overworked the night before about the wedding.
But then I was equally stressing out about my future life, where I feel I really do need to be Wonder Woman sometimes. How are we going to afford this? I need to have kids by the time I am 30, or my eggs will dry up. I NEED to get married/”start” my life. I need to be fit, hungry (not literally), invincible.
All of these are TOTALLY unrealistic.
“Women need to experience a revival of knowing their infinite worth and value.” That is a GREAT quote by Joyce Meyer.
How do we experience this revival, let go of past feelings and feel great for once?
Through God. By God. With God.
The Confident Woman: Day 18, 19, 20 and 21
January 21, 2013 at 11:39 pm | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: Bible, devotional, guilt, joyce meyer, luke, Psalm, romans, sin, the confident woman, worrier, worry
Ugh, I am bad at this! Well, I really WANT to get caught up, but life keeps getting in the way (same tune, eh?) So, let’s start again:
Day 18: Romans 12:3 Faith to do it
Day 19: Romans 8:28 God can fix it
Day 20: Luke 10:41-42 God has the answers
Day 21: Psalm 103:11-12 Free from the past
Sometimes we need to walk by faith. That is what day 18 speaks about. God has a plan for us, a great plan. We need to take that first — or many — steps, not thinking of the “what ifs.” When we take that first step, we prove to God we trust him and he is leading us on the right path.
But how do you know it is God? I have heard that sometimes God answers prayers in mysterious ways. How do we know the difference? That has always been a tricky area for me.
Day 19 covers stepping outside the box and maybe making mistakes from time to time. Joyce makes a point that God knows we are human, he knows our capabilities and that we are trying. If we feel like something is right and could be part of his plan, then we should try it. If we screw up, God will be there to hold our hand.
Day 20 speaks to me. I am a worrier. I don’t know how to be otherwise. Joyce gives us some little gems of wisdom: “Worry does not make you escape your trouble; it only makes you unfit to deal with it when it comes.”
“God is our help in trouble. When you worry, you are on your own.”
” Confidence is the fruit of trusting God.”
I need to take these words to heart.
And finally, Day 21 talks about forgetting the guilt associated with our sins. Joyce said when we repent for our sins, and God forgives us, he also takes away that guilt. HOWEVER, we need to release it and many, many people do not. I know I feel guilty for a long time, even over minor things that are not my fault. I need to let go of the guilt, once and for all.
The Confident Woman: Day 15, 16 and 17
January 17, 2013 at 11:09 pm | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: 1 John, Bible, devotional, enjoy, Exodus, fear, happy, joyce meyer, Proverbs, the confident woman
Again, I am behind. Life has still taken over, but I think the stress in my life is pushing me deeper down the hole of depression. I get distant from things I love or commitments (except for work) when I am depressed. So, here I am, slacking off from writing my blog.
Day 15: 1 John 1:9 Give God everything
Day 16: Exodus 20:17 Start enjoying you
Day 17: Proverbs 3:25-26 Confronting fear
Day 15 talks about finding our faults and not being afraid to admit them to God and others. It is hard for us to tell others our faults, especially if we want a job. But confessing our sins is a tenant of the Catholic faith and the ability to let go and let God. Joyce says to tell God your sins and you will feel better. This is why I love confession and the sacrament of it, even when it is hard for me to go.
Day 16: “I encourage you to be content with you you are.” This is what Joyce says in this day’s reading. She speaks about looking to others for examples, but to never go so far as to covet who they are or what they have. She says uniqueness is not a bad thing, and by loving ourselves, we will find more confidence.
Day 17: After a beautiful story, Joyce writes, “If you follow God’s plan for conquering fear, you will find one day that all the things that frightened you the most were really nothing at all.” Fear is not a big scary monster, it just roars like one. But we can defeat it and become more confident.
The Confident Woman: Day 11, 12, 13 and 14
January 14, 2013 at 12:45 pm | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: Bible, boat of the past, Corinthians, devotional, failures, fear, joyce meyer, learning curve, matthew, past, setbacks, strengths, the confident woman, timothy, try, worry, worrying in the bible
I am sorry I got so behind on my daily reflections. I decided to go to my parents for the weekend, and had planned on catching up on a few things but then didn’t.
So here we go:
Day 11: 2 Timothy 1:6 Know your strengths
Day 12: Matthew 14:29 Take a step
Day 13: 1 Corinthians 15:58 Never stop trying
Day 14: Matthew 6:25 Worry is a waste
Continuing on the theme of knowing your strengths, Joyce suggests making a list of what you are good at and reading aloud a few times a day until it sinks in to your conscious. She said this isn’t conceited; it is preparing yourself to do your job with confidence. God didn’t make junk, so we aren’t junk.
What are some of my strengths? Well, I love to write stories, which makes me a good journalist. I might not be able to draw, but I can come up with some creative ideas that others can do, who have those abilities. I am a good friend and a listener. I love to learn and share important information, whether in a formal or informal setting. I can cook and bake very well most of the time, and people enjoy my treats. I have a strong drive and determination, so even when I get off track, I can get back on. I have a big heart, which can get me in trouble sometimes (caring too much and getting burnt) but I think it is a strength.
Day 12 is about getting out of the boat of your past. Joyce said that you can’t enjoy your future or even your present if you are living in your past. I think I have accomplished most of this, luckily. I used to live in the past, and sometimes I do live in the little past moments (i.e. a get-together is going well and then I say something and it seems to change the mood. Sometimes I think it will affect the days to come with my friendship, when it really doesn’t.) Joyce said no one is going to get you out of this, get you out of this past boat, so you have to do it for yourself.
Day 13 is about not seeing setbacks as failures. Do you stop trying when something goes wrong, when you “fail”? Joyce said we do not fail because something did not work out; we only fail when we stop trying. These setbacks are learning curves; we recover and we learn from them.
Today’s passage (day 14) rings so true to me right now, especially during this wedding frenzy. “Therefore, I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy about your life, what you shall eat and what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is life not greater than food, and the body than clothing?”
Everyone, including myself, is worrying so much about the reception, the food, etc. And of course, the next worry will be my dress and what the rest of my bridal party will be wearing. But where is the importance? The ceremony at the church! I worry a lot, maybe not about food and clothing but in general.
Joyce said in this book: ” Once you allow the spirit of fear to take hold of your life, you open the door to other spirits that want to grip your heart and cause you to freeze up, unable to move forward in confidence and assurance.” AMEN! Yes, this happens to me. And Joyce makes another point that 80% of chronic worriers have poor self-image. That is me, right on the nose. If I have any key bad qualities, it is my ability to worry like no other. This is the fuel for my IBS. I KNOW I should not worry, and that God even in the Bible tells me not to. I need to trust in him to get this worrying out of my system.
The Confident Woman: Day 10
January 10, 2013 at 10:00 am | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: Bible, devotional, joyce meyer, matthew, the confident woman
Today is about perseverance. Joyce says the world keeps telling us “No!” at every turn, but we need to say, “Yes!” We need to scream, “Yes!”
Matthew 10:22 states: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake, but he who perseveres and endures to the end will be saved.”
Joyce said God is for us, so with him, we cannot lose. But he also is teaching us, here, to persevere when we know we are right. He is teaching us to fight for what is right, even when everyone is screaming “No!” at us.
Perseverance takes a lot of strength, a lot of confidence. And that is what Joyce is trying to teach us through this devotional.
The Confident Woman: Day 9
January 9, 2013 at 10:00 am | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: Bible, compare, devotional, extraordinary, joyce meyer, Psalm, Psalm 139, special, the confident woman, Unique
I am unique. I am not like anyone else, and according to science, there is a slim chance that anyone can be exactly me.
These sayings are all well and good, but how can they serve me? We as humans tend to compare ourselves to each other, but according to Joyce, that will not affect my value. If I can do something you can’t, it doesn’t increase my value; nor does you being able to do something that I can’t decrease my value.
Our worth is only found in God, who knew us as we were being formed, hidden from Him. (Psalm 139:15.)
And because we are unique, we shouldn’t just try to get by. We should try to be extraordinary. That doesn’t mean working our fingers until they bleed or until we are exhausted every night.
However, we should follow our desires, dreams and push ourselves past our reasonable limits to accomplish greatness. And by asking God for help and guidance, we are one step ahead of meeting our goals.
The Confident Woman: Day 8
January 8, 2013 at 10:42 am | Posted in The Confident Woman | 2 CommentsTags: 1 Kings, Bible, devotional, joyce meyer, the confident woman, weak, weakness, weaknesses
So, before we get into today’s reading, I wanted to say I wasn’t much of a confident woman last night. I broke down, sobbing hard on my fiance’s shoulder. The wedding planning is getting too much for me, and I am just overwhelmed. Things just cost too much! So I cried my eyes out.
I again do not see today’s reading (1 King’s 1:10-12) having a connection to the point Joyce is saying. She uses Queen Elizabeth I as a character to be inspired by. However, Joyce agrees with what Elizabeth has said in the past, about having the weak and feeble body of a woman. I don’t see being a woman as weak and feeble, even if most of us are as strong as the guys physically. (Though, really, are they going to try giving birth?)
I do like Joyce’s last point when she says, “God will always strengthen those who are willing to look their weaknesses in the face and say, ‘You cannot stop me.'”
We must find strength in our weaknesses, using them to persevere and find our true way.
My weakness right now? Easily breaking down about this wedding crap. How can I fix it? By doing deep breaths when something freaks me out, instead of crying and screaming.
The Confident Woman: Day 7
January 7, 2013 at 9:04 am | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: 1 Kings, Bible, devotional, joyce meyer, the confident woman
Taking care of yourself is the theme for today. As women, we seem to run our lives ragged, going from home to activities to work to a million other things we “need” to do.
Even if we accept Christ into our lives, it doesn’t mean we will have time for Him or our lives will get easier. The feeling that we need to take care of everyone doesn’t go away.
But we need to “do right in the eyes of the Lord,” as it is said in 1Kings 15 and this means taking care of ourselves to bring balance back into our lives. I am not saying be totally selfish, but how can a sick mom take care of her kids, her husband and the house, when she can barely stand up? This also goes for the mental aspect, too. Sometimes we need to just get away to bring back the equilibrium.
As Joyce says, “you must take care of yourself in order to take care of anyone else.”
The Confident Woman: Day 6
January 6, 2013 at 10:00 am | Posted in The Confident Woman | Leave a commentTags: Bible, devotional, Esther, joyce meyer, the confident woman
Happy Sunday! For Catholics, today is the Feast of the Epiphany, when the wise men visited baby Jesus.
Anyway, today we are back on confidence.
Joyce brings in a mentor from the Bible, Esther. She confidently stepped into the king’s inner circle and helped to save her people from perishing. Today, we are asked again to have confidence in the Lord and what he has planned for us.
“Fear brings a lack of confidence in God and in you,” Joyce says.
Agreed. Though, sometimes it is hard to have confidence in some of God’s plans, wondering if they will ever come to fruition and what He REALLY is trying to teach me. (Most of the time it is patience for me, if you couldn’t tell.)
Let’s pray for confidence in the Lord, that he continues to guide us and we let go of our fear and our need to be in total control.
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Who is Wonder Vegan? Is she that strong Amazonian who wants to spread peace & save our world, with her lasso of truth and killer muscles? Well, you'll have to figure that out on your own.
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