SweetSpyrtWithin

SISTERS

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter. 


'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.' 


'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.' 


What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married?  Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!' 


But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life. 


After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned: 


THIS SAYS IT ALL: 

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end.

BUT...


Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach. 


When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. 


Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or come in and carry you out. 


Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life! 


The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. 


Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on to all the women who help make your life meaningful.


I just did. Short and very sweet: There are more than twenty angels in this world. Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are playing. And one is reading her email at this moment. 

Happy days!

Take the Limits Off

VERSE:“He raised us up together with Him…that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable, limitless, surpassing riches of His free grace, His unmerited favor…” (Ephesians 2:6-7AMP).

THOUGHTS: We serve a God of unlimited grace, favor and blessing. He longs to show you His goodness and pour out His abundance in your life. When God sees you, He sees unlimited possibility. He sees unlimited potential. He sees unlimited resources. God’s grace and favor in your life enables you to become what He sees, but you have to first open your heart and take the limits off. We limit God in our thinking. Thoughts of doubt, unbelief and unforgiveness in your heart will close the door to His favor. In Mark chapter 6, it says that Jesus could do no mighty works in a particular town because of the unbelief of the people. It works the same way today. But when you choose thoughts of faith and expectancy, you are opening the door for God to work in your life. You are taking the limits off. You are giving Him the opportunity to multiply what you have in your hand. Choose to take the limits off by choosing His thoughts of victory. Choose thoughts of increase and blessing. As you do, you’ll rise higher and higher and live the abundant life He has prepared for you.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I choose Your unlimited grace and favor today. I choose to believe that You have good things in store for me. I give You everything that I am and ask that You use me for Your glory. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND

TODAY S THOUGTHS COME VIA RJ, A MAN ON THE MOVE AND DEFINETLY HANDELING HIS FATHER S BUSINESS...

VERSE: Do you believe I am able to do this? Matthew 9:28


THOUGHTS: These words gave me hope this morning. Life has many painful trials. Our Lord is faithful! He continued to give me strength through His Word and through the prayers of my closest friends. I want to encourage you to reach out and receive the promises of God. That is sometimes the only thing we can hold onto. He has promised to be with us, to guide us, to direct us, to hear us, to love us. What more could we need?


Our faith will be tried and tested many times before we join Jesus for eternity. We need to be prepared for those times. I thank God for allowing me to live, breath and hold on to the mighty power of His Word. Even this morning, I believe the scripture above which was on my calendar at work was specifically to remind me I need to believe and trust in Him. I do my friends, I do. Do you? God bless.

He’s Working on Your Behalf
 

VERSE: “We know that God will work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
 

THOUGHTS: God is working behind the scenes in your life, today. No matter what you may be facing, no matter what trial your may be going through, God has a plan to turn things around in your favor. Right now, He is working out a plan for your good. Right now, He is orchestrating the right people to come across your path. He is orchestrating the right opportunities to open up to you. You may not see it in the natural, but look with your eyes of faith today. Keep standing. Keep believing. Keep hoping. Keep following His Word. Focus on His goodness in your life, knowing that He rewards the people who seek after Him. As you meditate on the faithfulness of God and show your love for Him by following His Word, you will see His plan come to pass. You’ll experience His peace and joy, and you will live in victory all the days of your life!
 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. I trust that You are working behind the scenes on my behalf. Give me Your strength and peace today, and fill me with Your faith to overcome. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

VERSE: But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these:  anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Colossians 3:8

THOUGHTS: I don't know about the rest of you, but some days this is a huge job for me.  I am still trying to learn to not allow these things to enter my heart, then I don't have to get rid of it them.  Sounds so simple doesn't it?  With God it truly is.  We struggle when we allow self, pride, wanting control to get in the way and that is when it becomes difficult.  It's almost easier to leave it there; it may feel like to much work to rid ourselves of these things.  That is when it is difficult.

Isn't it wonderful to know that God understands us completely?  He knows that we can't keep these feelings and thoughts from our minds.  He gently reminds us to "get rid" of things that are not from Him.  His Word gives us direction, guidance, knowledge and instruction that these things are destructive to us and others.  His word gives us assurance that we can get rid of these things through Him.  His Word reveals He understands, but wants us free.

Dear friends, please don't ignore these feelings and thoughts.  Don't fool yourself, thinking that because you are a Christian, you couldn't possibly have any of these ugly things in your life.  That would be a lie.  We all have thoughts that are not Godly, we all slander through gossip or in the name of "sharing", we all struggle with one or all of these things listed in this particular scripture at some time.  Anger is probably the one we "pretend" about the most.   We use words like, I'm a "little stressed", or perhaps "someone ticked me off", maybe we use the excuse, "he just irritates me", etc.   We minimize these feelings and don't want to address them for what they are. ANGER.  However, anger is exactly what we feel.  Only God can reveal these things to you if you've learned to hide them as well as I did.  Only through prayer and Godly obedience can we remove them from our hearts.  I pray today that God will help you rid yourself of anything keeping you away from being the Christian God wants you to be.  GET RID dear friend, GET RID.  What a refreshing feeling when you do.  God bless.

Encourage Yourself
 

VERSE: “David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him…But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (I Samuel 30:6).
 

THOUGHTS: It’s good to have friends and family around to cheer you up when you’re down, but in order to truly live in victory, that encouragement has to come from the inside. When your mind is telling you it’s not worth it, when your circumstances seem difficult, deep down inside, your spirit has to have the resolve that says, “I refuse to settle where I am.” That’s what David had to do. He was facing a major setback. His family was killed, his city was destroyed, and his own people were now against him, but he still managed to encourage himself in the Lord. How did he do that? He replayed in his mind the victories from the past. He recounted God’s faithfulness. As he rehearsed over and over the goodness of God, strength began to rise in his heart. There are so many places you can see the hand of God at work. Thank Him for saving you today. Thank Him for the miracle of life. Thank Him for His faithfulness. Focus on the fact that God didn’t bring you this far to leave you now. Stir up that inner strength and encouragement. As you do, you’ll rise higher and higher and live the life of victory the Lord prepared for you.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, thank You for Your faithfulness today. I choose to focus on You and the good things you have prepared for my future. I thank You for making a way out of no way, and I will bless You always. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

GIVE YOUR FAITH A VOICE

VERSE: “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13).


THOUGHTS: Every believer has been given a measure of faith. In order to see the promises of God come to pass in your life, you have to give your faith a voice. You must declare what God says about you in His Word. Those seeds of faith inside you are activated when you speak them out into the atmosphere. That’s why the scripture tells us, “Let the weak say I am strong. Let the poor say I am rich.” When you give your faith a voice and send forth the Word of God out of your mouth, the Bible says that He watches over His Word to bring it to pass in your life. Don’t dig up your seed by speaking against His Word. Don’t allow words of defeat or negativity to come out of your mouth. Instead, water your seed by continuing to declare the Word of God. When you wake up every morning, thank Him that His promises are coming to pass in your life. As you do, you will see those things come to pass, and you will live the life of victory God has prepared for you.


PRAYER: Father in heaven, I humbly come before You giving You my thoughts, my actions, and my words. Help me to activate my faith by speaking Your Word daily. May my words and thoughts be pleasing to You always. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.