December 23, 2024

Are You Trying to Be Perfect?

January 8, 2014 by

crystaldaughter0108“Mom, I‘m done with my room; does it have to be perfect?” These are the words coming from my nine-year-old daughter as she cleans her room. I suddenly realize that I have affirmed her with the word perfect when completing a task “I” felt was how it should be done.  What am I saying to her? Does she have to be perfect before I think she has done a good job?  If her grade improved from an 80 in math to 90, is that good or will she feel it needs to be a 100 to be accepted?  Increasing her grade by ten points is progress that needs to be celebrated and is a big accomplishment. I now speak to her differently because I want her to celebrate progress not perfection; something I have learned in my own life.

Perfect is such a common word used by women today and there seems to be a need to achieve it.  Then, when perfection is not acccomplished, feelings of failure, guilt, and insecurity can happen.

This year instead of setting unrealistic expectations, let us all focus on where and how we can grow instead of striving for perfection. Celebrating progress builds confidence with a life of wellness and balance.

Over the next few weeks, I want to get real and discuss the areas of life, we as women, can put undue pressures on our selves such as our health and fitness, spiritual life, career and as a wife and mother. Let’s talk about how we can grow and be better, not perfect.

I want my daughter to grow up feeling proud of her successes and good about her accomplishments.  I want her to have a mother who spends time and celebrates with her instead of working hard to have everything just perfect.

In Good Health,

Crystal

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Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!

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Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Christ’s Ambassadors

June 7, 2013 by

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2 Corinthians 5:20 and 21

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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 Merriam-Webster’s definition of Ambassador:

1: an official envoy; especially: a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment
2a: an authorized representative or messenger, b: an unofficial representative <traveling abroad as ambassadors of goodwill>

Being a Christ follower, I am who people look to in order to see what Christianity is like. If you are a Christ follower, you are, too. Our eternal home is in Heaven, and our job as ambassadors of Christ is to show people how amazing it’ll be through the way we live our life and how we interact with others…showing the love of Christ.

Why are we ambassadors? Jesus has instructed us to do so, in the Great Commission. In Mark 6:15 Jesus tell us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” That is all the reason we need, right? So then why is it so HARD to just do it??? Fear of rejection? Afraid you won’t have all the answers? Why?

We are commissioned to NOT keep the good news to ourselves – it should be contagious! In Matthew 10:27,  Jesus tells us “What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!” If you are called to do something by the Lord and you choose to ignore that calling, not only are you not receiving the full blessing of God, but think of all the lives who are also not receiving it! God put you on this earth for a specific reason and puts you in the different seasons and places you are in for His purpose to be done on the earth. If you are not seeking Him to guide you through this life, to give you the boldness to be His ambassador, just think of the many lives you are not affecting!

Before we can be ambassadors, we need to know the person we are representing. Think about it…if you took a job as an ambassador of a country you knew nothing about and had never been to, you wouldn’t be able to do a very good job of representing it, right? It makes sense then that in order for us to do a good job of representing Christ to an unbelieving world, we need to first spend time getting to know Him. This means that we need to be spending time with Him on a regular basis—reading His Word, spending time in prayer, and growing closer to Him. He is craving this relationship with you…. all relationships need work. Are you doing your part?

Being an ambassador of Christ means being “like Christ” and having a servant’s heart. We need to strive to:

  • Be kind and compassionate.
  • Challenge what is wrong.
  • Speak out for truth.
  • Be joyful.
  • Refuse to conform to society’s standards.
  • Have self-control.
  • Do things only to please God, not man.
  • Be spontaneous and creative.
  • Think of others rather than yourself.
  • Live out life in all its fullness.

We must have integrity in our words and actions. Integrity means that what you say, what you profess to believe, and what you actually do, match up. This is certainly an intentional process. For us to be effective ambassadors of Christ, we can’t go around claiming to love God and then not show that we love Him by our actions. Actions speak louder than words, right? It is imperative that our actions back the Word of God that we are professing. We are not perfect, we are human…but we can strive to do our best, intentionally, everyday for His Glory!

We must love people without any agenda. We don’t love people so that they will become Christians. We show love to them because they are God’s creation and sometimes, as a result of that, they will eventually come to accept Christ. We shouldn’t give up on loving them if after a few months it has had no visible spiritual impact. Loving people doesn’t mean doing good deeds begrudgingly for them because we feel as Christians that is what we should be doing. If that is the case, we are acting out of duty, not love.  Sometimes it can be hard, but we need to remember the example of Jesus. Many of the people He showed love to turned their back on him (such as the time he healed ten lepers, but only one came back to thank Him). We are working for a heavenly reward, not an earthly one…and that must remain at the front of our minds and hearts.

We must encourage people not to want to stay “on the outside looking in.”  This means making them want to be a part of the Christian community we are a part of. In Romans 11:14, Paul says “I want somehow to make the people of Israel [the non-believing Jews] jealous of what you Gentiles [the early Christians] have.”  If people see contentment, joy, and genuine passion when they look to us they are going to be curious. If all they see is people with the same doom and gloom as the godless world around them, they won’t be interested. Would you?

We must be openly honest about our faith, not hiding it when it is inconvenient. In Matthew 5:15, Jesus says “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” Because sharing your faith isn’t just about your words, it’s about actions, too. Here is a question to honestly ask yourself: If someone was watching your life 24/7 “Big Brother” style, how long would it take for them to realize you were a Christian? Would it be evident through the way you live your life, or would it take them until you went to church on Sunday to make the connection?

Hmmmmmm? OUCH!

Being an ambassador of Christ means being his hands and feet to a world that desperately needs God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 says that “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” You have probably heard the Casting Crowns song, If We Are the Body, which has a really challenging chorus for those of us who profess to be trying to be ambassadors of Christ.

“If we are the body,

Why aren’t His arms reaching, why aren’t His hands healing,

Why aren’t His words teaching, why aren’t His feet going,

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?”

If we REALLY are serious about being ambassadors of Christ, we need to reach out to the world through being Christ’s hands and feet.

Being an ambassador is what we have been called to do. It is not optional to the Christian life.

Ephesians 6:19 and 20

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 

 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂

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Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Stress Management

May 31, 2013 by

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Dear Megan,

I have been feeling really overloaded and burned out lately and I’m not sure what to do to make it stop. I was on your GCH call last week and I completed the exercise you gave us and talked about in your blog last Friday…. but I just feel stuck with what to do next. I know I need to delegate more and God showed me some tasks He does not intend for me to do, but I feel like I could be handling it all (especially the stress) better. I’m hoping you can give me some advice on this!

~M.

Sweet sister,

Thank you for taking the first step by doing that exercise from last week ! I pray it was a blessing for you to be able to see in black and white how you are spending your precious resource of time. Our world makes it easy for us to feel overloaded, over burdened and over worked! What I heard through your cry for help is that you are looking for some practical stress-management tools to help you now that you are beginning to spend your time more wisely (as God intends you to).

Adopting healthy stress management skills will enable you to slow down, stop, yield and reduce speed at appropriate intervals on your path of life. In turn, your pace will be regulated and you will be lifted out of the ditch of overload and burnout. As you work through this exercise, you will see how you can begin to walk the road to transformation in the peaceful assurance that God will never call you to do more than He gives you time and ability to do (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

SLOW

{Slow down and make the necessary changes for good physical health}

  • Do you eat a balanced and healthy diet?
  • Do you exercise at least three times a week?
  • Do you take at least one day of rest per week?
  • Do you get adequate restful sleep most nights?

Psalm 127:2

 In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.

{Slow down and evaluate your priorities}

  • Do the exercise from last week if you have not done so (Link up above)
  • Consider other priorities that should be on the list
  • Choose your commitments with careful prayer
  • Eliminate unnecessary stressful obligations
  • Don’t accept impossible deadlines
  • Don’t give in to the pressure of urgency
  • Tackle only one problem at a time

Ecclesiastes 4:6

Better one handful with tranquility
    than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

{Slow down and nourish your spiritual life}

  • Remind yourself daily to “be still, and know that (He is) God” {Psalm 46:10}
  • Open lines of honest communication with God about your concerns, needs, and fears
  • Set aside time daily for personal prayer and Scripture meditation
  • Memorize Scripture that builds assurance of God’s love {Psalm 36:7; Jeremiah 31:3; John 14:21; Romans 8:39}

Psalm 119:71

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees

STOP

{Stop and look at the real reason you are experiencing stress}

  • Do you try to meet your own needs instead of waiting on the Lord?
  • Do you think God cannot accomplish His purposes without your over-achieving?
  • Do you seek self-worth through proving your adequacy and effectiveness?
  • Are you Spirit-led or people-pressured?

Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

{Stop, confess and turn away from any known sin in your life}

  • Do you manipulate or control others?
  • Do you feel envious or jealous of others?
  • Do you express your feelings inappropriately?
  • Do you overreact to criticism?
  • Do you have impure motives?

Proverbs 28:13

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

YIELD

{Yield to God’s sovereign control over your circumstances}

  • What is God doing in your circumstances?
  • In what way does God want you to change?
  • How does God want you to respond?
  • Do you have impure motives?

Proverbs 21:1

A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever He chooses.

{Yield to God your rights and expectations}

Dear God,

  • “I yield my right to control my circumstances.”
  • “I yield my right to be accepted by others.”
  • “I yield my right to be successful.”
  • “I yield my right to be heard and understood.”
  • “I yield my right to be right.”

Proverbs 3:5

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding

RESUME SPEED

{Resume speed, living in the presence of God}

Dear God,

  • “I choose to let Christ live His life through me.”
  • “I choose to live in the present, not worrying about tomorrow.”
  • “I choose to refocus my thoughts away from my pressures to Your purposes for allowing these pressures.”
  • “I choose to have a thankful heart regardless of the pressure I feel.”
  • “I choose to call on You, Lord, for wisdom and peace.”
  • “I choose to commit to talking less and listening more.”

Psalm 62:1

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂

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Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Managing Your Time

May 24, 2013 by

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This past Tuesday night I had the privilege of being a part of an incredible conference call with many of you and my dear friend Crystal Breaux. I gave a little assignment on the call and I know that many of you have taken me up on it with much success! Praise God! I thought it might help to give you more in-depth background on this subject of time management and the exercise as a whole. I pray this is a blessing to all of you!

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As Christian women, it is incumbent upon us to achieve good time management skills. We need to be on time for appointments, conference calls, or any of the millions of events we commit to. Some of us already have these skills and others of us need to do more work in this area.

I have found that when the events you commit to line up with your values, you have less of a struggle with participating or completing them. When events are contrary to what you feel is right, is it any wonder why confusion or stress can result? It has been said that if we do not control the events in our lives, then the events can overrun and begin to control us. So, my friends, now is the time to take control of our time and begin to prioritize more effectively!

I certainly know this first hand…. From the outside looking in, I have a pretty busy life as all of you do. I am a mom to 3 teens and 2 young adults (all 5  live under our roof.) I have a husband who travels just about every week for 3-4 days…so most of the time, I am a “single mom.” I work 20+ hours a week outside my home and I work 20+ hours a week as a Christian Life Coach. We lead a bible study in our home Friday nights and I volunteer with the high school kids Thursday nights at our church…and then there’s all of my other household duties, appointments, dates, etc.

Are you still with me?

To some of us, this may sound easy and others may feel overwhelmed by this concept, but God does not call us to anxiety or confusion…. That all comes from the Devil and he would love nothing more than to de-rail your day from the Lord’s purposes in your life. How much longer do you plan on letting satan win?

First, we need to understand event control: There are only 2 types of events

  1. The events we cannot control: traffic, weather, time of day, other people, your family
  2. The events we can control: the time I get up, the foods I eat, my exercise program, how I allow others to make me feel, and who my friends are

The problem lies in the basic thought patterns of most individuals…. There are some events in life I CANNOT control, but I believe I CAN!! There are some events in life I CAN control, but I believe I CANNOT.

We cannot control people, places, or things. The only thing in life we can truly control is ourselves. Also, others cannot make us feel a particular way, without our permission. If we feel bad, we have allowed this. It takes a conscious decision to feel good and remain positive…. understanding these concepts and successfully living them out will save you a lot of time!!!

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference!”

~The Serenity Prayer

Increasing Productivity

When we control our events, we have increased productivity, thus, higher self-esteem! People who feel good about themselves produce good results! Isn’t it true that when you take the time to plan your day, you accomplish more than when you fly by the seat of your pants? Isn’t it rewarding to check off the things on your list and see what you have completed?

Ideally, your first step is to get a day planner or learn a new application in your smart phone. I prefer Microsoft Outlook because for my job, I spend much of my day on the computer and Outlook also syncs to my other mobile devices. In that calendar or day planner, you will be able to organize your day from morning ’til night. The benefit of this is that you will be able to see exactly how you spend each hour of your day.

I have an exercise for you to make you aware of how you currently spend your time:

First, begin by writing everything you do in real time as you go throughout your day. This includes everything from saying your prayers to brushing your teeth to having lunch with your favorite friend. Everything takes time! Next to each event, write down the time it takes to do it. Do this for three days to evaluate how you spend your time.

Next, you must plan your days’ events with priorities in mind. Use a letter A to indicate high value priorities, B for medium value priorities, and C for low value priorities.

  • An  A  event is a “MUST” (doctor appointment, boss meeting, pick kids up from school, etc.)
  • A  B  event is a “should do” (getting your car washed, calling your mother-in-law, sending a card to a friend)
  • A  C  event is a “could do” (read a good book, a sale at the mall, etc.)

       ****can you make any into a D event and DELEGATE????

This is a great way to see what we deem as most important in our lives. Is God really first? Or do we just say He is and put Him on the C list??? When we look at our list it is important to realize that no matter what, we should get every A event accomplished…then we can go to the B and C events are those we can push to the next day or things we can fit in if time allows.

What we realize when we schedule everything we do, like watching TV and spending time with our spouse, is that we sometimes spend more time watching TV than we do spending time with our spouse! The problem most people don’t realize is that WE CANNOT MAKE UP TIME!!! Once time is wasted, we cannot get it back. There will be time for re-runs of your favorite show, but if you show up for TV more than you do for your spouse, you may be watching those re-runs alone!

Optimum time management is when my behavior is in line with my values!!!

 To help you decide how to spend your day, pray for God to give you discernment. What is important and what is not? By listing all the things you do each day, you can begin to see what it is you spend your time doing. Most of us waste time, but until we look at it in black and white, we have trouble seeing it.

I spend the first 45 minutes of my morning with God every single day and since I have let Him have complete control of my to-do list, I am amazed with all I get done and how good I feel about it! I live for Him, so its silly for me to think that I can actually control my day! I can create boundaries around the tasks God wants me to complete but that’s about the extent of the control I have on my days!

We must live our everyday life and fulfill our obligations.

The Universal to-do list looks something like this:

  • Work (meetings, marketing/ publicity, desk tasks, planning, billing, reading, writing)
  • Errands (banking, gas station, post office, cleaners)
  • Children (school, lessons, sports, car pool, play dates, parties)
  • Appointments (health, fitness, beauty, car, animals)
  • Shopping (food, clothing, home, gifts)
  • Correspondence (bills, letters, cards, packages)
  • Home (cleaning, laundry, cooking, repairs, entertaining, gardening, decorating)
  • Family (holidays, reunions, get-togethers)
  • Friends (dinners, hobbies, coffee dates)
  • Church/Community (attend church, fundraising, service projects, Bible study)
  • Personal (rest, introspection, relaxation, grooming, creativity, education, pleasure)

Life is made up of one resource: TIME. You do have choices on how you spend your time. Start by considering why you waste time on the things that do not agree with your priorities based on what your values are. Re-evaluate the importance of these events.

Life is too short to waste because you can never recover what you lost. When you realize this, you will see the changes you can implement. You will then begin to experience relief when you have more time to spend on the things you cherish and less time on the things you don’t.

How to realistically manage your time wasters (TV, Facebook, email, phone, etc…)

I schedule it in! Seriously! It might look like I am on Facebook all day because I have it available to me on mobile devices, but I only really spend TIME on Facebook in the morning and in the evening for a half hour at a time, if that.

I do not answer my phone every time it rings and I do not answer emails as soon as I get one. I carve out periods of time in my day for those things. Now, if it is my spouse or one of my kids, I answer when I can; but for calls that I KNOW are not urgent, I give them a backseat until the time I have scheduled for that. Otherwise, I would let my day get de-railed all over the place! Satan would love that, right?

You might not like to hear this, but I don’t watch TV. Now, I have other ways I unwind, but TV is not one of them. I like to play words with friends or read a book, but that time is scheduled and it is a “C” item for me…as time permits. God is so good, He knows when I need that time and He always makes a way for me to have it!

Now…. have you done this exercise yet? I would love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂

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Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: In God’s Strength

May 17, 2013 by
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Hey sweet lady,
How does a working mom balance time for kids, home, work, church, etc when husband travels for his job?  Brian’s job has been more stressful & time consuming than I thought it would be a year ago.  I’m left to manage EVERYTHING for the household and lately have been reprimanded for being too grumpy.  How do I keep things running smoothly without feeling resentful, unappreciated, etc for what I do?
~AB
My Dear AB,
Ah… I know this world you speak of all too well and my husband has traveled for work for the past few years, At first, I was a HOT MESS…. but I have learned strategies that have helped so much! There are many layers to your question…. but they all come down to RELATIONSHIP!
Your relationship with God
Your relationship with your Husband
…and, yes… in that order!
***I could easily write whole blog posts on each item listed below… so please forgive me if I am too vague or if you need more clarification. I will do my best to share with you what has worked well in my own family and I am more than happy to expand on any of these suggestions in future blog posts or in comments on today’s blog!
The more intimate your walk with the Lord, the better you will handle every single situation and circumstance that life brings your way!
  1. Be consistent with your daily quiet time and be in The Word.
  2. Keep God with you throughout your day.
  3. Let God prioritize your day! Don’t give HIM your to-do list… give it up to HIM and I promise you, what MUST get done will get done… in perfect timing!
  4. Take a look at all you do in one day and ask God if there is anything you can delegate or anything you have taken on that HE is not intending for you to do in this season. If He shows you anything that falls into these categories, give them up.
  5. Give yourself a “time-out” when you need it to re-center and focus and not be “grumpy.”

The stronger your relationship is with your husband, the better you will handle every single situation and circumstance that your kids bring your way! 

  1. Submit to his authority and let him handle the big stuff…. even while out-of-town.
  2. You both need to be on the same page with boundaries and consequences (good and bad) with the kids.
  3. Clear expectations need to be set with the kids. We call it our family’s “culture” and I highly recommend drawing up a family constitution together with the kids so that everyone has input and understands what is expected of them.
  4. Woo your husband even {and especially} when he is out-of-town.
  5. Stay positive and know that this, too, shall pass!

Philippians 4:11-12

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,

whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Philippians 2:14

Do all things without grumbling or arguing

God calls us to be content in all situations and circumstances. That is not an easy task, but it IS possible through God! I know how hard it is to stay content when you have so much pulling at you and you feel as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Where we get into trouble is when we start doing things for people and not for God. You are not here on this earth to please your husband, kids, friends, or even your boss! If you truly are living to please our Heavenly Father, that will help you maintain the proper perspective no matter what curve balls get thrown your way! Yes, people might not like what you do or how you handle something, but as long as you know that your actions, words, responses (not reactions) are in line with God’s Word and His commands, that ultimately is what matters.
Remember, feelings can be so deceptive! If something happens and you feel out of sorts, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself…
Is this really a BIG deal? {If your answer is yes OR no: Why is this hurting my heart? What “button” is this pushing?}
  1. Check your heart condition! {Most of the time if something happens that is small but our reaction is BIG…. we need to check the condition of our own heart}
  2. Go to God and let Him fill that space! No one else needs to own what is yours to go to God with!
Dear Lord, comfort my sweet sister and help her to know that You are always near and ready for her to run into Your arms when she is feeling overwhelmed, over tired, and over burdened. Strengthen her and help her to find the balance she so desperately needs. I pray that You strengthen her marriage as they are one accord and may YOU always be at the center of every decision and conversation, Father. Direct their steps and keep them all safe when Mr. AB is out-of-town. I thank you in advance for all you will do! In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, Amen. <3
Blessings,
Coach Megan 🙂 
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God and Life Balance: Take God With You

January 13, 2013 by

Hello Friends!

This is week 2 of learning HOW to be successful with balancing your relationship with God and other things in your life. Today our focus is going to be on taking God with you throughout your day.

Do you do this already? If so… good for YOU!!!!! It’s not something that comes naturally for us to do and it takes some work on your part to make it a habit. Let’s dive right in and take a closer look at HOW we can keep God with us throughout our day, no matter where we go or what crazy situations we find ourselves in!

 

girl on rocks

1. Pray

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always,  pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I want to challenge you not to limit your prayer time to when you wake up or when you go to bed… or even before you eat a meal. God calls us to pray, to stay in constant communication with Him throughout the day. He cares about your school day and even your soccer practices…. your time with friends and even the guy you like in 6th period. He wants you to talk to Him about your concerns at home and even about what to wear to prom! He cares about you that much, dear heart….. and wants to hear from you more than you know!

2. Be Still with God

I know you are super busy. I know you move from one class to the next and one activity to the next all day long. But, in His Word, God calls us to take time to be still.

Hebrews 4:10-11

…for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Throughout your day, you are bombarded with information and noise which make it pretty impossible to hear from God. As you are able to give yourself time in your schedule, God will certainly meet you right where you are and help you rest and feel balanced through His promises. Please, dear sister… make a commitment to make room in your schedule to be still with your Heavenly Father.

3. Share The Good News!

Mark 16:15

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

God calls us in His Word to share His good news through all the earth. Do you talk with your friends about God? What about your relationship with Him? I know those types of conversations can be hard to start-up, but I do know that God will guide you and give you the perfect words to say if He nudges you to share about Him! I think that is a pretty awesome way to keep God with you during your day and to help stay balanced. Not only will that keep Him on your mind and your heart, but I know it will make Him so happy to know You care about Him enough to tell people about how He has changed your life! What a blessing!

Next Sunday, I will be back and ready to talk to you all about Accountability and how that fits in with your God and Life Balance. I hope you will come back and let me know how everything is going as you work on maintaining balance in your life every day! This will certainly help to prepare you for the GCH:decaf new online Bible study of NOT A FAN starting in just a few weeks!

Let’s Pray:

Father God, thank You for being with each of us everyday as we strive to walk in step with You and Your will. Come with us, Lord. Be with us all day long as we do our best for Your Glory. We ask for Your wisdom in discerning what changes You might have us make in order to have more time to be still with You and keep You with us always. We love You and thank You for this mighty provision. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen <3

 

Blessings to you all,

 

Megan 🙂

 

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If you are interested in more information about GCH:decaf, email us at: GCH_Decaf@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

If you would like to send a personal message to Megan, you may email her at: Megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

 

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

God and Life Balance… with Megan Smidt

January 6, 2013 by

phil 413

 

You all know I have 5 kids, right?

My oldest is 21 and my youngest (sweet Vicky) is 14…. and the one thing they have all struggled with is balancing their life with their relationship with God.

Yesterday, my dear friend Coleen Hayden shared with you a glimpse into what it looks like to seek the Lord as she will be blogging about this for you the next 4 weeks. I hope you had a chance to read it! If not, you can see her post here.

I will be doing a very similar thing over the next 4 weeks, but I will be discussing with you what it really and truly looks like to be able to balance having a wonderfully intimate relationship with God and also still have time for all of your important activities.

Being a teen, you are BUSY… I know! If you’re like my teens, you might have a few things on your plate like…..

  • church
  • family (maybe even in 2 houses…)
  • school
  • a job
  • sports
  • work
  • serving
  • hobbies
  • friends
  • boyfriend
  • ____________________

 

SO……. How DO you balance your relationship with God and other things in your life????

Well, you MUST be spending time with the Lord every single day! I am talking real, quality, in-the-Word time with God. Hopefully, you have a parent or other family member at home who has modeled this for you. If not, it’s okay….. Coleen will be going over this with you on her blog for the next 4 Saturdays. You can also be talking about this in our secret Facebook GCH:decaf fellowship group!!!

What else do you need to get and maintain this balance? Here are a few things we will be discussing over the next 4 weeks….

  • Take God with you throughout your day
  • Give your schedule to God
  • Accountability
  • Values vs. priorities

I do hope that you will take this journey with me over the next 4 weeks! I would love for you to be able to not only protect your time with God but also be able to feel confident about all of the other aspects of your life that are important to you. If you can learn this now, you will be amazed at how much easier life will be as more and more responsibilities get put on you as you continue to get older. This will be instrumental in helping you to not just be a FAN of Jesus…. but be one AMAZING FOLLOWER!!!!

Let’s Pray…

Dear Lord, thank You for giving each of us such big hearts for You. Help us as we begin to intentionally make time to deepen our relationship with You every day. Give us all that time back in our day for Your glory, Lord. Help us balance all of the demands of our time and begin helping us to discern what activities or demands on our time might not be what You have for us in this season. We love You and thank You for this, God! Amen.

Blessings to you all,

Megan 🙂

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If you are interested in more information about GCH:decaf, email us at: GCH_Decaf@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

If you would like to send a personal message to Megan, you may email her at: Megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

 

 

Filed Under: Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Resolution for Women – Chapter 8 – My Integrity

August 19, 2012 by

“Blessed Are Those Whose Way Is Blameless”

Psalm 119:1

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This week we will discuss “My Integrity” in this Chapter written by Priscilla Schirer, in the book “The Resolution for Women”.  I have to say that this book has been one of the BEST books / bible studies I’ve ever done!  It has truly been life-changing, not only for me, but for many other women doing this study with us here at Girlfriends Coffee Hour!!

This is our 3rd study at GCH; and it’s just one of MANY more to come!  For just a moment, I would like to talk to you about Online Bible Studies, since we are close to the end of this study!  I’d like to start by telling you first what an Online Bible Study is:

An Online Bible Study is a place where Christian and non-Christian women gather to study God’s word, online!  It usually consists of a group of women who join a group, like Facebook, or Google Groups.  Here at GCH, we first decide on the book that we want to study, and then we begin with blogging about it on our web site.  We then take the study back to the groups for discussion in our Facebook Group.

Why an Online Bible Study?

There are so many benefits to doing an Online Study!  I submitted this question to the women in our current groups, and this is what they came up with:

  • Good way to meet and share faith with other women
  • Go at your own pace
  • Can go back and review at your own convenience
  • Can participate from anywhere..carpool, school, vacation, etc.
  • Can study in the convenience of your own home AND in your jammies!!
  • Fellowship w/ women all across the world
  • Expanding your experience outside of your denomination
  • Participating in studies that may not be available in your area
  • Fellowship of other Godly women that listen, support & encourage each other
  • Meeting new folks
  • Growing and going deeper in the word with each other
  • You can study when it is convenient for you…day or night!
  • Working women don’t have to worry about what time or day a public study takes place
  • New Mommies can study with the group whenever the new baby allows her to study!
  • Those who’ve had surgery and can’t leave the house don’t have to worry about missing bible study!
  • And the list goes on……..

The benefits of an Online Bible Study outweigh the reasons not to.  And to be fair, I want to share the points these women shared with me for the reasons an OBS doesn’t work out:

  • Miss the one on one fellowship
  • May spread yourself thin by participating in too many at a time
  • Tempted to check in too many times a day
  • Not being able to ‘really’ tell is someone is genuine
  • If you’re not computer savvy you may get discouraged and quit

In my past experience of hosting Online Bible Studies and creating OBS Groups on Facebook, I can honestly say that it’s been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in ministry!  I’ve seen women grow in leaps and bounds.  I’ve seen women become friends from all across the world!  I’ve seen women experience the goodness of God from all kinds of different backgrounds.  Women have made amazing friendships in these study groups.  It has truly been an amazing blessing in so many ways!!

We will be introducing brand new studies coming up SOON!!  Studies for our Women’s, Teens, Singles, and Fitness Ministries!  We are so very excited to be able to offer YOU these studies, and to see what God will do in YOUR life through this ministry!

So, stay tuned!  We’ll be making our announcements SOON!

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Your Reading Assignment this week can be found by clicking HERE

If you do not yet belong to one of our Facebook OBS Groups, and would like to be placed in one, please send us an email to:  GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to place you!!  

See you tomorrow … right back here for this weeks first lesson on Integrity!

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Resolution for Women: Week 5 Overview

August 3, 2012 by

Weekly Overview

I don’t know about all of you….. but this lesson about being our best for God has really been challenging AND freeing at the same time for me. Let’s take a look back and see what all we learned this week.

MONDAY: It was all about BOXES! You know…. all the millions of things that we have pulling and tugging at us for our attention and resources every day while we are working so hard to achieve perfect balance in our life. God certainly intends for us to live full lives, but not to be stretched so thin that we burn out and are miserable. God calls us to have order in our lives and to line up our priorities with His will. Priscilla asked us to list our “boxes” and to be real about which ones might not need to be filled in this season.

TUESDAY: This day we learned about how important timing is in being able to be our best. God intends different priorities for us in different seasons we are in and we must not mix them up. This day was about boundaries and freeing ourselves of any obligations we currently have that are not meant for us in our current season. We were to pray for discernment and begin to take action to be able to live joyfully in our current season doing all of the things that God uniquely designed us to do.

WEDNESDAY: Oh Wednesday…. it was about anything, everything and whatever! You know what this means right? It’s all about how we can’t do anything well when we choose to do everything, so we decide to just do whatever. We were to list out our “whatever” places and pray over which ones God needs us to shift to the background during our current season. We are to do all of our whatever’s with everything that we have because THAT is part of God’s divine design!

THURSDAY: Priscilla gave us some breathing lessons worth noting. She urges us to intentionally make time in our daily lives to fill our oxygen tank so that we can breathe. That can look differently for everyone, but whatever you do to “re-fuel,” do it often! All of our loved ones need us to be our best and God does not intend any of us to grow weary in doing good. I hope you gave yourself a break…. because I did and it felt so good! Be sure so make this a habit!

….and in all this lies our fifth Resolution!

MY BEST

I will seek to devote the best of myself, my time, and my talents

to the primary roles the Lord has entrusted to me in this phase of my life.

Signed X___________________________________________

Please leave a comment below about one “ah-ha” moment for you this week! We want to know how this lesson spoke to your heart!

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Next week, our topic is
“My Blessing— a resolution to esteem others with my time, concerns, and full attention.”
 
 Oooooooh…. this is going to be good!!!
 
Have a Great weekend Ladies!  See you again on Sunday with our assignments for next week!!
Please keep in mind that if you have fallen behind in your reading, the weekend is a great time to get all caught up!
 
Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Resolution for Women- Week 5: It Only Works When I Breathe

August 1, 2012 by

The past two-three weeks at work have been crazy!  I was assigned 3 projects to work on all at the same time, all with deadlines of yesterday.  I also had my Online Bible Study groups , my family, grandchildren to spend the night, was planning for a mission trip to Nicaragua, and was attempting to keep up with all the day-to-day tasks.  By the way, the list goes on!   I desperately needed oxygen.   Unfortunately for me it was not dropping out of the sky ready to be used!   In addition to this, the ‘boxes’ that we talked about the other day that could be rearranged or moved around were not the ones that were labeled W O R K, they were the things I enjoyed – the things that brought me peace.  Lovely, huh!?    Have any of you ladies had this problem?   –as I chuckle!   Of course you have.   To bed late, up way too early, running kids here, running kids there, working, doing laundry – running yourself ragged – trying to do it all…..needing a LARGE oxygen tank!   Suffocating from attempting the impossible. Do any of us think about how destructive this behavior is to our bodies? Nope, we totally believe we can do it all!  In our book Priscilla explains what this type of behavior provides us ,

“by running yourself ragged, trying to do everything morning till night, you’re in essence trying to be God. Overwork is a form of unbelief.  You’re saying through your actions that you don’t believe He can take care of everything, meaning you’re on the hook for it” (page 109)

Ladies, it’s time to stop and smell the roses, time to find your oxygen tank whatever, wherever that may be.  There is no possible way that you can help anyone else – not your children, your husband or anyone  else when you are out of ‘gas’.  I will be honest, even during those very difficult weeks at work recently, I made time for the one thing that totally relieves me of stress – even if only for a few minutes – my MuayThai class.  For 1 solid hour 3 times a week no matter what goes on, I go and hit pads, kick bags – relieving every ounce of frustration and finding my’oxygen’.    I would leave work so tired, seriously feeling like I could go straight home and go to bed, then I would change into my gym clothes and head to the gym.  By the time I left, the good endorphins in my body were rolling, my energy level was up, and thankfully I had found my oxygen tank – right in the nick of time!

So let’s think about this ladies.  What is something that you can do each day to re-energize?  Perhaps it’s your quiet time with God, or maybe your on-line bible study time.  Perhaps it’s an amazing tough workout at the gym or a much-needed date with your hubby.  Whatever it is, it is necessary to reach out and grab it, to find that oxygen tank and use it!  For me it’s an hour in the gym, for you this time may mean 10 minutes with Jesus.  Whether it’s a quick outdoor walk or getting an hour-long massage – it is absolutely imperative that you take this time to replenish your soul, to fill your lungs with fresh air, to suck up the molecules necessary to rebuild the cells throughout your body – Only then can you be the person you need to be for yourself and for those that are depending on you.

And let’s not forget to seek guidance from the Lord as we handle the many things we do.  We need to work with Him and let Him show us the tasks and priorities we need to be addressing, not all of them belong to us  – although we think they do!

Assignment for Today

When will I put on my oxygen mask so I can ….  bre-e-e-eathe?  What does my oxygen mask look like?   I would like for each and every sister here to commit to some time each day to breathe and replenish their body.  Share with us what that will be for you.

Prayer

Dear God, Guide and direct us each day as we go through our daily tasks.  Help us to reach for our oxgen in whatever form works for us, Provide us with the understanding Father that you are the only one in control, you are the only one capable of handling all of the tasks laid out for our lives.  Father, we love you and thank you.  We worship  you and praise you.  It is in your name we pray.  Amen.

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After you have completed this assignment here, go back to your Facebook Online Bible Study Group, and see what fun activity we have for you there!  You never now what we will come up with!!  If you do not belong to an Online Bible Study Group, and would like to, please email us at GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com, and we will be happy to add you!

Love,

<3 Kelley

…Don’t forget about the Men’s Journey over here:

www.adversusmundi.wordpress.com

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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