April 23, 2024

Seek and Rely

October 1, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee:
my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee
in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.
Psalms 63:1-2

 

God wants us to seek Him. I try to seek Him everyday-from the time I wake to the time I go to sleep. I often fall asleep praying because I talk to God until I fall asleep. My soul thirsts for God on a daily basis. However, that human side of me still exists. When I face trials or things happen beyond my control, I still try to take control. I often feel that if I can control it then it will turn out like I want it. I am wrong every time.

 

God uses His power and glory to keep us with Him. I often find that if I just turn things over to Him, the situations I can’t really control—but try to control—will turn out the way that He has already determined.

 

When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Psalms 63:6-7

 

All I have to do is turn things over to God, and life will turn out as God has it planned. He is not leaving me and never will. It just feels like it when I try to control things that I already know that I can’t. When I do realize that God has control, life is much better. I just have to think and remember that God is in control, and that He already knows the outcome. I just have to rely on Him to deal with the pressures and things I can’t control during certain situations.

 

God wants us to rely on Him no matter what the situation is. A situation gets worse when we don’t because we as humans try to fix it ourselves. Relying on God is the only way to fix a situation—He already knows the outcome. We as humans need to seek God and thirst for Him during our times of blessings and needs. This way we get the full attention of, and relationship with, our God.

 

* * * * *

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You today because we thirst for a relationship with You. We long for You, and we have seen Your power and glory. We pray that You help us through the hard times and bless us in the good.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

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Meet Wellness Coach and Fitness Designer – Crystal Bush Breaux

April 3, 2013 by

I Can Handle It

 

“I can handle it and figure it all out on my own. If I mess up, I do not need anyone to help me.  I am strong enough and capable to turn it around and make it right.  I know the exact time when things need to be done according to the clock, day, week, month and even year.” That WAS the story of my life. I had a need to be morally perfect and in control; which, of course, caused me internal frustration, hopelessness, and missed opportunities for a deeper relationship with God and others.

Perfection

All of my life, I have had a desire to do the right thing by pleasing God and other people.  However, when I could not keep it together and failed, I was too embarrassed to ask for help.  I knew if I tried really hard I could do it without the help of anyone, including God.  This struggle left me feeling like a failure more than once.  It was only when I realized I was powerless by myself and could admit my imperfections, I became secure and confident in whom I was as a woman in Christ.

Control

After many years of infertility, multiple miscarriages, and trying to “fix” things in my marriage on my own, I had to realize there are things in my life I can not control.  I had to be willing to submit those things to God and give up my fears, my timelines, and plans of how I think it should be done. For someone who prided herself on being organized, on time, and prepared for any situation, the lack of control in certain areas of my life left me feeling hopeless.

What a happy day when I really understood my life’s scripture.Phil1_6

What a relief. I am not expected to have it all together. God knows we are going to fail, so why shouldn’t we expect it of our self.

As a fitness and wellness coach, my purpose in life is to work with women who want to overcome the helpless feeling of not knowing how to maintain their weight and consistency in their fitness.  I understand the feeling of having control and discipline in so many areas of life, yet struggling internally in one area that is so important to a woman. It can leave you feeling powerless.

My heart is to empower women to feel confident in their choices with food and exercise, and guide them toward a life of balance physically, mentally and spiritually, no matter how busy life gets.

*****

Crystal will be blogging for At Home with GCH on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month.

You can follow Crystal’s business blog at www.yourfitnessdesigner.com and/or follow her on www.facebook.com/yourfitnessdesigner.

For a personal Fitness and Food Design, you can email her at crystal@yourfitnessdesigner.com to schedule a free telephone consultation.

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A Daughter’s Worth: Week 12 / Day 2 – Recognize the Holiness of God

December 18, 2012 by

 

It is very fitting that the final week of our study is coming to a close just before Christmas.  It could not be more perfect to recognize that God wants to “come alive” in our hearts and lives than at Christmas when we celebrate Jesus coming to live with us.  We began this study learning who we are to God and just how much HE loves us.  We continued the study to learn how we are to respond to HIM as Father.  It has truly been an awesome journey to realize what A DAUGHTER IS WORTH to God.  He gave His only Son for you.  Your life matters to HIM.  How will you show Him how much HE matters to you????  Words are cool and everything, but ACTIONS speak louder!!

How are you going to bring HIS love to LIFE inside of you?  God calls us to be different from the world.  He wants us to be holy, like he is holy.  Today’s lesson focuses on church and how we are to recognize God’s holiness.  I would like to challenge you to think outside the box (the church box) and apply God’s call to YOUR LIFE – how you live every day.  When people think of you, do they think “holy”?  Hmmmm

The only time many of us use the word ‘holy’ is when we need an adjective to make something seem important.  Like cows and moly and poo.  Well, “HOLY” is important. It means to show a devotion to God and to a life of virtue; to set apart or worthy of respect by association with God.  Holy means being completely WHOLE just like GOD.

“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God — who chose you to be his children — is holy.  For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:15-16

Peter says we have been chosen to be God’s children – HIS Daughters – and we are to be holy, LIKE HE is HOLY.  God is calling out this generation to bring HOLY back.  Don’t be afraid, BE BOLD.  Can there be any safer place to be than a chosen daughter of the King of KINGS?  When God makes a promise, HE DOESN’T BREAK IT!!  All those promises in the Bible; they are still good.  God is still providing for every promise He ever made.  All those promises in the Bible – they are YOURS.  Claim them, they are free.  Let those promises bring holy to life inside of your heart.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

God knows what is in your heart.  Do not be deceived to think that you can say one thing and act another and God will not know.  Give God permission to change your heart to be like HIS and He WILL.  It’s a promise.  You won’t regret living your life for Jesus, but you will regret it if you don’t.  This season of Christmas when we celebrate Jesus being born as a baby and coming to life a life as a human, embrace the story of His holiness.  Take it inside you and let it change your heart.  Let your heart break for the things that break HIS heart.

Let Love Come to LIFE Inside of YOU this Christmas!  As Ava tells us, “As a worthy daughter, being holy is both challenging and rewarding.  You may not be perfect every time, but working toward purity is all that God asks.  Don’t be frightened by a lifestyle of holiness; after all, the Holy Spirit is in you, making all things possible.  Praise God for His presence, and most of all, acknowledge His awesome holiness.” (p. 171)

Let’s Praise God together:

Father, we praise You for WHO You are.  We thank You for Your promises to care for us and lead us and guide us every day.  Father, we give You permission to bring our hearts to life inside us and make us burn to be Your hands and feet.  Make us holy like You are holy.  Make us whole and complete in Your love.  We love You, Lord.  Thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your Son to this earth as a baby to be a sacrifice for our sins.  May our generation be one that lives to love others the way You would have us to.  Continue to teach us your ways.   AMEN

My love to you all and Merry Christmas,

Mama T <3

If you have come to a place that your heart is telling you to ask Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, please ASK HIM.  It’s easy, it’s free and it’s the best gift you could give Him for Christmas.  We invite you today to ask Him into your heart.

Please pray with us:

Lord Jesus, I come to You today and ask You to be my Lord and Savior. I have learned who You are through this bible study Lord, and I want to know You personally.  I admit that I am a sinner, I confess the sins that I have in my heart, and I believe You will forgive me for all my sins. I ask You now to come into my life, as my personal Lord and Savior. AMEN!

If you prayed that prayer today, let us know.  We would love to rejoice with you as you celebrate you BIRTHday as a sister in Christ.

If you are interested in joining us in our GCH:decaf  
Teen Girls Ministry, please click the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage. Just follow the instructions on the form and hit submit. We’ll be happy to add you to one of our Online Bible Study Groups! Please email GCH_Decaf@girlfriendscoffeehour.com for more information.

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Winning Him Without Words: Trade Perfection With Authenticity

November 4, 2012 by

 

Trading Perfection for Authenticity — WOW!  What a chapter!  So much of this chapter stood out to me in ways that really caused me to think about my actions toward my husband.  It caused me to ask myself if my actions toward him were speaking the love of Christ, or the selfishness of Christi?  OUCH!!

Dineen said on page 100 that God has equipped us with the Holy Spirit to accomplish the things that He wants and needs for us to do.  All we need to do is listen and obey Him; be willing vessels for God to use in reaching our unsaved loved ones.  We should be encouraged to know that God can use each of us, in this way!!  As Dineen said, “He doesn’t “need” to; He “chooses” to!  He could change our husband all on His own, if He wanted to.  But He chose to use US, You and I, to be Jesus with skin-on to our unbelieving spouse, right here and right now!  I LOVE that!!!!

I won’t go further into this subject because it will be taking away from one of our bloggers this week who will be covering this topic.  But what I do want to do is share a video with you that I found.  It is an interview that is done with Lynn Donovan and a friend who is talking about how God used her to witness to her husband through the power of the Holy Spirit!  It’s a great video!!   I hope you will take the time to watch it all the way through!

You will find the link to this video HERE.  

PLEASE take the time to watch it!!  It will be worth the time!! I promise!

Before I give you your reading assignment, I do have a couple of questions for you.  Do you have a personal relationship with Christ?  Have you prayed for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?  Two very important questions because we need both in our lives in order to love our spouses the way God intended.  I know for myself that without the Holy Spirit, I would not be as effective in my marriage!!

I know this study is for women who are married to an unsaved spouse, but I don’t want to assume that each one of you have accepted Christ as your Savior.  If not, and you would like someone from our prayer team to pray with you, please send us an email to Prayer@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com. One of our prayer team members will contact you and pray with you!!

________________

Here is your Reading Assignment for this week!

Nov 5 –  

Perfection for Authenticity / A Fine Linen Belt – Beverly

Nov 6 –

A Confession – Jennifer

Nov 7 –

Heart Tablets – Donna

Nov 8 –

Sacrificial Giving – Sarah

Nov 9 –

Discovery / Prayer – Martha

_____________

Let’s Pray:

Father, I am so thankful for You in my life, and in the lives of each of the marriages represented here today. Lord, I lift each marriage to You today, and I ask for Your special blessings to pour out onto each husband and wife, and upon our unsaved loved ones.  I ask Lord that You give each wife wisdom and direction in how to love her husband unconditionally.  I ask that You teach each wife Lord, how to submit and not to be afraid to submit to her husband.  Lord, reveal to her to that submitting to her husband is also submitting to You, Lord, because this is what You instruct us to do!

Holy Spirit, I invite You into each marriage that is represented here.  Indwell us with Your power as we learn to be the submissive wife the Lord calls us to be.  Holy Spirit, I pray for each woman who is reading this today and I ask that You speak to each heart.  For those who have not invited You into their heart, I pray their hearts will be nudged today, and they will seek You knowing now that in their own weakness, You can provide the strength they need to be the authentic wife we are each called to be!  In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

Be Blessed,

Christi

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Winning Him Without Words: “It’s Safe to Relinquish Control”

October 9, 2012 by

Control.

Why do we desperately hold onto it? What are we afraid of? I will be the first to admit that I am a control freak. Since returning to Christ two years ago, God has repeatedly revealed my controlling tendencies and convicted me of them, especially in the realm of my marriage. It is not pretty. I am not sure how my husband lives with me, but I am thankful that the Lord is showing me a better way and that my husband has a measure of patience. When I took a good look in the mirror, I realized that I needed to focus on saving myself, not my husband.

So, I can relate to this whole chapter in a big way. But this section on control . . . I felt like Lynn was talking directly to me.

Even though God has been working on me, I do not have it all together. There is still that part of me that wonders… can I really, truly, 100%, no holds barred, relinquish this salvation-of-my-husband-thing to God? Some days I think I can. Other days I am not so sure. I will release it to God one day and the next day, I will take it back.

Why is it so hard?

As Lynn Donovan states on page 44:

  • I am the only believer my husband encounters on a regular basis
  • I am the one person who is actively praying for him
  • If I do not show my husband Jesus, who will?

And two of my own . . . the ones that lies in the deepest recesses of my heart. The ones that are hard to even type. What if I never get to see my husband come to faith? What if he does not get saved? If I do not become actively involved in my husband’s salvation, then who will?

Well, Lynn smacked me upside the head humbled me with her next statement:

All of this is true, yet you are underestimating the power of the Lord in your life.

Ouch!

Lord, I am so very sorry.

Why do I keep trying to BE God in my husband’s life? God is certainly capable of handling things just fine on His own, thankyouverymuch. I mean, He grabbed me without anyone bombarding me with open Bibles or Christian music. So, why am I trying to do it for someone else?

Lynn tells us that two things will happen when we finally let go of our foolish and unproductive efforts to save our men:

  1. We will discover new freedom – the pressure we feel to bring our spouse to Christ will lift. We can just enjoy our spouse for the man that he is.
  2. Our husbands’ will experience freedom – he will no longer need to feel uncomfortable or try to deflect our crazy attempts to bring him to faith. He can RELAX around us. Our faith will become LESS OF A THREAT in his eyes. It will free him to explore faith at his own pace, in his own time, at GOD’s leading.

Ladies, I am right there with you. I am scared. I can talk a good game and feel like I am living it sometimes, but other times I take it all back and try to do it on my own. It is hard to relinquish that control. But, God really does have this. He wants our husbands’ to know Him and to love Him even more than we do. Our God will never stop pursuing the lost and bringing them to Himself (read Luke 15:3-10). In fact, when we step in and try to take on God’s job, we just get in the way and make more work for God! Are you ready to put your husband’s salvation in God’s hands and truly let go and let God handle it?

*****

Let’s Pray:

Father God, in the name of our mighty Savior, Jesus Christ, I ask you to give each woman in this study a courageous strength to release their husband’s salvation into your capable hands. We know that you love our husbands’ even more than we do, Lord, and you want a deep and abiding relationship with each of them. Help us to get out of Your way and to let You do the work in our husbands’ hearts and lives. Please reveal anything in our own lives that we are doing that is causing angst or stress to our husbands’ and marriages and help us to repent of it. In your name we pray, Amen.

Your Assignment:

Tell us why it is difficult to fully let go of your husband’s salvation and give it completely over to God.

Many blessings to you,

Jennifer

*****

Join the Winning Him Without Words Bible Study!

For those who are reading this blog and would like to join the Bible study, we would love to invite you to join us!  Click here and follow the instructions (you can also click the SIGN-UP link in the menu bar above to be taken to the form). It’s that simple!  We hope to see you soon!

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