Be Encouraged... God Loves You!

Be Encouraged… God Loves You!

This was one of my mom’s catch phrases.  She ended almost every conversation this way.  No matter what the situation was that you were going through she wanted you to be encouraged and trust in the God who loves you so very much.

On the days when it seems as if the cares of life are getting the best of me I hear the echo of Mommy’s voice in my head saying, “Be encouraged, God loves you!”  And you know what, I feel better.

  

It has been over six years since I said goodbye to my mom.  However, she has not been absent from my conversations.  I find myself saying often “as my mother would say…” or “my mother always told me…” So I decided that in 2013 I will blog once per month on the topic, Things My Mother Said because   I don’t want to lose the many pearls of wisdom that she shared.

Proverbs 31:25

She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

Trusting Him,
 ~Bernadine~

Follow, Follow, I Will Follow Jesus

Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow him
Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus,
Anywhere he leads me, I will follow him

I randomly started humming this old hymn recently.  It immediately took me back over twenty years into the past.

It was a chilly Sunday morning just after dawn when a group of us young people, all around the same age, followed our pastor and other ministers down to the waterside.

The pastor and congregation sang this song as we, a group of guys and girls, went to be baptized making a covenant to follow Christ.

 None of us knew then where following Him would lead.

We had no idea that following him didn’t mean that our life story would be written according to our perfect little plans.

We didn’t know then that mixed with the joys, there would also be tears of pain and disappointment as we navigated that narrow path in following Him.

It didn’t register then that there would be times we’d question His decisions.

No one could have gotten us to believe that we'd sometimes lose sight of Him as we followed.

At that moment, we were filled with excitement, wonder and expectation. We had decided that follow, follow we would follow Jesus.

Today I can honestly say I’m so glad for that teenage decision to follow.  It has made all the difference in my life. 

I’m also thankful that the most important thing that those who counseled us during our baptismal classes said stuck with me throughout my walk with Christ.  They told us that no matter what we encountered in life Jesus would always be there.

In the good times it’s easy to follow but in the difficult times, it’s not so easy.  So during those times I hold on to what I know and believe with all my heart, Jesus is with me.  He will never leave me so I will keep following, keep believing, and keep trusting him.

 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  Luke 9:23 

Trusting Him,

 ~Bernadine~

An Excellent Spirit... Hmmm...

 About five years ago I posted a series on Walking in the Spirit of Excellence on my teen girl blog based on a talk I had given to a women’s group at church.  I later reposted it to this blog.

Over a year ago I wrote a post, “Things That Make You Go Hmmm…” on this blog.

There is no connection between the posts other than the fact that they’re written by the same author.  Wait, there is another connection…

Every single day there are people who find my blog by typing some variation of those two titles into a search engine.  So I thought I’d make it easy for those who search for excellence and those who wonder about things that make you go hmmm… and put my posts all on the same page for easy clicking.

So for you clicking convenience:)

Hmmm...

 Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

Searching for Excellence

 Walking in the Spirit of Excellence - Introduction
What is Excellence?
Excellence - Rooted in Surrender
Excellence Exemplified by Obedience
Walking in the Spirit of Excellence - Conclusion

So those of you, who drop in by way of your search, take a moment, look around, leave a comment and do drop in again.  Let me know where you search took you and what you gained from it.

Trusting Him, 
~Bernadine~

From Dream to Reality

It’s pretty late to be writing a New Year’s post right?   Maybe, but the newness of the New Year has not worn off yet, at least not for me J.

A new year always seems to start with plans to change in some way and with the setting of goals. In addition the New Year comes with the realization that some dreams and goals from the previous year have not been accomplished.  So the thought then becomes, do I bury these old dreams and make new ones or do I find a way to make my old dreams happen?

I’ve decided that, I want to make them happen. I want my dreams to manifest, become reality this year. 

The question is… how do I make my dreams reality?  I still don’t really have a clue however this year I’m going to try a few things I’ve listed below.
      

       Do something different.

There are some dreams that may not have come to pass because I continued to do the same thing every year while expecting the end result to be different.  This year I plan to discard the old methods that did not work over the years and do something different.


 Get advice

Sometimes, try as I may, I get stuck and can’t solve a problem on my own.  The independent, I can do it on my own part of me wants to just keep at it hoping I’ll find the answer.  Unfortunately, the answer doesn’t always come.  This year I’m going to remind myself in the words of John Maxwell that, “teamwork makes the dream work.” So my bloggy friends, in 2013, I just may come knocking at your blog seeking adviceJ

Keep At It

      I’m often guilty of getting frustrated and putting my dreams on a shelf with the label, “hold for inspiration”. However, inspiration never seems to come for the dreams that are on hold.  So, I plan to re-label those on hold dreams with a priority label. This year I’ll stop holding myself back and work through the obstacles and achieve those dreams I’ve labeled priority.

      

      Realize that it’s up to me

As human beings we often crave approval and validation as we make certain steps in life.  Consequently we can become discouraged and give up when we don’t receive it.  This year I’m going to keep reminding myself that although the support, validation and even applause feel good, ultimately I determine whether or not I achieve my dreams.

 Seek God Always

Except the lord build the house they labor in vain that build it… Psalm 127:1

I believe that my dreams are God given.  However I still have to seek him every step of the way to ensure that I am following his plan and not doing my own thing.  So I’m going to consult Him even more as I travel the path to achieving the dreams that he have given me.

I truly believe that if I continue to trust in God and follow these few steps along with any others He places on my heart 2013 will not end with the same dreams gathering dust on the shelf.  In fact it will end with new dreams to replace the ones that have become reality.

How are you going about achieving your dreams this year?

Trusting Him,
~Bernadine~