Secure in Who We Are

For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending or threatening nor things to come,nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us form the  love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Romans 8:38-39.

In my last post I wrote about women struggling with fear or low self-esteem.  Well, if we are in Christ and God's love is filling us up, NOTHING can take that away.  That's biblical. We have already won the battle, so why do we keep struggling? 

Do you struggle with anxiety? Low self-esteem? Let me know what you do to counter those feelings.  How do you find peace?

God's Love

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishent. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. - 1 John 4:18

I attended a Beth Moore Bible study class the other night and they were studying God's love.  Moore said that God's love is perfect and to be filled with God's love means that there isn't room in us for low self-esteem or fear.  Perfect love casts out fear.  But how do we fill up on God's love?  Is it a matter of will?  Or of sin? Or of letting go?  Perhaps it's simply a matter of knowing.  Knowing who we are in Christ and gleaning our security from that sacred place of grace.

Resolutions? Nope - it's More of a To-Do List!

     I have taken on the task of being princess of my castle.
     I usually work at my writing job quite a few hours per week but I've realized we are drowning in clutter and disorganization and perhaps for a short while my time would be better spent bailing us out.   So I've made a check-list of things I want to do to help my family. (These are NOT New Year Resolutions. Been there, done that.)

         1) De-clutter the house.  This is harder than you might think. I've found I have an emotional attachment to certain "things" and that makes it difficult to part with them. But... I gave eight garbage bags of clothes to charity and transformed one of my closets into a new work space. What do you think?
         2) Make a meal plan.  I used to do this, coupled with a weekly grocery list.  I've re-started by making a meal plan for the month of January and actually put together several meals and froze them.  I feel AWESOME about that!
          3) Get our finances in order.  We've always worked off of a budget, but I'm thinking of getting one of those fancy computer programs that tracks your every dollar.  ( I have to be diligent about entering all my expenses.  Am I expecting too much from myself?)  What programs do you like best?
          Empowered by the King of Kings, and a whole lot of prayer (will you pray for me 'cause I need it!) , I strive to be a more organized and calmer woman by the end of the year!
     

Ramblings and Updates

Just a bunch of rambling....
     First off, after clearing eight garbage bags of clothes out of my closet, my friend and I were finally ready to convert my one closet into my home work space!  I'll put photos on my Facebook page.  Check it out!  I am so excited about it!!
       This isn't really on topic either (for this month's theme) but I posted about a month ago that I was inviting some neighbor's over for a Bible Study.  We met and it was awesome!  We had a great time and I think it's going to be fun making some new friends.  We are a mix - some strong Christians, some just curious, and a self-proclaimed agnostic, so it should prove to be a great ground for discussion.  Plus, it's fun to get together with my neighbors, who I would otherwise not see!
         On to other topics, I am thinking ahead for December's Princess challenge, Respecting the King. What a great way to remember the true meaning of the season.  I'm going to focus on ways to put Jesus back into Christmas in my own life.  I'll keep you posted. What are some of your ideas?

Guilty

              So I blew it yesterday.
              I'm working on being more humble this month, and mostly I'm working on keeping my mouth shut. As my mom says "If you don't have anything good to say, it's better not to say anything at all."  Or my grandma, who used to say "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."  Not sure if those two relate, but you get the point. Anyway, the family was driving me crazy, I was sleep deprived, and I had a HUGE scheduling conflict I was trying to resolve that was going to make me lose $45 if I didn't get it resolved.  Plus, I was trying to wash dishes and the faucet has this annoying whine to it that hurts my ears when the water runs. (We really need to get that fixed.) People wouldn't stop complaining and asking me for things and I finally got really upset and told them all what I thought about them.  In a not-so-gentle voice.
              (To be fair, though, I did warn the kids several times they had pushed me to my boiling point and Momma was about to explode.)
               But really, is that anyway to handle things?  When a princess loses her cool doesn't that make her look weak? (And scary!)  I don't want to run the household by fear.  Yes, it works, but no, it isn't fun - for any of us.
               I'm just thankful I get a redo.  Here's to a better day and a bit more self-control, while at the same time giving myself a break.  I am, after all, imperfectly human.

Princesses by Station, Humble by Grace

A lot could be said about not abusing our power in our roles, especially in light of this political campaign season.  We don't want to take for granted who we are, and Whose we are.  Because of the sacrificial death of Jesus, we entered into the Kingdom of God through a price.  This makes us children of God, but it should also humble us with the realization that we didn't get here by who we are. We got here only through grace.
       Sometimes it's hard to be humble, especially when we know we are right. :-)
      For Lent this year, I gave up being angry at my husband, which really boiled down to me not having to be right all the time - even when I was.  By keeping my mouth shut, and letting go of control issues, I saw some amazing positive changes in my marriage and the muscle tension in my neck. So, in light of this month's theme, "Not Abusing Our Power", I'm going to remember that I'm God's child and a princess by right, and don't have to prove it to anybody, so I will try to be humble, especially in what I say.  I will try to give up being right and rest on the promises of God, knowing that He is in control and it will all turn out okay in the end.
        It's gonna be a long month!

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: not of works, least any man should boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9

Update on the Bible Study

I handed out fliers for the neighborhood Bible study and have had several positive responses!  How exciting!  It took me an hour and a half just to get around to half the houses because people wanted to talk.  I’m already getting to know my neighbors!  This is turning out to be fun, so far, and now that I know people are actually coming it gives me incentive to clean the house.  LOL!!!