Times are hard....Keep up the faith

I know I haven't blogged since October. I don't know why. I can tell you that I have been praying.

Do you wonder what I pray for? Well, I pray for God's favor, mercy, blessings and grace. I think that pretty much covers everything.

I went to a discussion board with a discussion titled, "There has to be more." Whenever I look at my life, I think the the same thing..."There has to be more".

If you were to look at my life, you would say that I did all of the "right" things. I've always stayed out of trouble. I went to college. I graduated with two degrees. I thought my life would wonderful. I envisioned a life with a professional husband, a set of twins and a beautiful home w/a fireplace in the bedroom. I cannot believe that I live at home with my mother, I'm unemployed, and I don't date.

Now, some people would give up by now. No...not me. I have faith. Why? I truly believe that God is guiding me. He's here with me. There are times when I feel overjoyed, and I just have to praise Him. You probably are wondering why I'm praising Him when nothing has changed in my life. In fact, my life seems to be worse than before. Let me answer you by saying, I get this feeling inside. I feel like everything is going to be OK. Actually, I feel like my best days are ahead of me for no reason at all. Guess what this is? It's called FAITH. It's believing in God without seeing, and know that God is going to take care of everything.

A verse in the Bible that has been helping me through the hard times is "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8) When I look back on my life, I have to admit that there were some hard....you could even call them horrible times. God has seen me through all of this. I know He will see me through this trial I'm going through now.

(Philippians 4:13) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

I will survive. I will post my victories here. You all will see how God has worked His miracles in my life.

God bless.

A Message From God

Today, I had a panic attack. I suddenly had a wave of problems come at me. Thoughts of never being happy, not finding a job and not being able to pay the bills plagued me. "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?" screamed in my head. I felt hopeless.

I went to my mailbox not expecting anything in particular. I saw a card with my name and address hand written on the envelope from Houston, TX. I thought, "Who could be sending me a card from Houston, TX?" Yes. I have relatives there, but I have never met them. I'm not even sure if they know I exist.

I was still feeling down and panicked. I opened the card and right on the front it said "HOPE" in huge letters. Guess who the card was from? It was from Joel Osteen...well, maybe not directly from him, but it was from someone who wrote to me in his name. There was a quote from the Proverbs chapter of the Bible:

Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life."

After I read the card, I got on my knees and thanked God for His message to me. You see...I know that God sometimes uses other people to send messages to us. Isn't it strange that at the very moment that felt I hopeless, I received a message of hope? The answer is "No". God knew that I would be having a panic attack today. He knew that I would need His message. I received a blessing from an unexpected source. Here's a Bible verse that seems to fit:

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

You see...for a moment I had a lapse of faith. God lifted me up. God let me know that He is here and will always be here for me. Through me, He's also letting you all know that God will never forsake you. He's always there. There will be times when God's presence is obvious, but there will be times when you have to go by faith. This is one of those blessed moments that God made His presence known, and I'm so grateful.

God bless everyone.

Falling into the devil's trap

Today..I woke up, and I started working on another blog. I enjoy watching TV and movies, so I decided to start a blog with my opinion on various shows. I haven't had comments, so I wasn't sure if anyone was really reading it. I continued to work on my blog, because I take pleasure in doing so.

Well...Today, I had my first comment on my blog. Someone even took one of my surveys. I was thrilled. I called my friend to let him know that I actually had someone comment on my blog. I felt really good today.

Later on in the day, I had an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness come over me. I looked at myself, and I realized that I really didn't love myself. I thought about my career, and I became fearful that I would never be able to find a job. Suddenly, I thought there was no hope.

I turned on an episode of Joel Osteen where he talks about speaking faith over your life. I started thinking about my blessings. I thought about how I asked God for time off, because I was tired. He gave me timeoff with pay. Maybe it came in the form of a layoff, but I have to remember that God has always answered my prayers. I've asked God to help me lose weight. He put a nice treadmill on sale that is within my price range.

Do you know what happened to me today? I fell into the devil's trap. I allowed him to get into my head with the hopeless thoughts. I had a moment of being truly thankful to God, and the devil decided to try to take it away from me.

Now I'm saying...Thank You God for all of your blessings. Thank You for all of the blessings coming my way.

Joel Osteen spoke about Romans 4:17 "...and call the things that are not as though they were." What is God talking about here? He's talking about having faith in the unseen. I don't have a job yet, but this is temporary. I haven't lost this weight, but this is an eventuality.
PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! He saw me through this trial, and He will continue to see me through.

Remember to keep you faith. Praise God.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Please pray for the safe return of Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, U.S. Soldier:



The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27: 1, 3)

God bless Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, his family and friends through this hard time.

Keeping Faith In Hard Times

Hello,

I've been unemployed, since June 18th. I have to admit that my faith has fluctuated at times. I wonder how did this happen to me? Why did the people who harassed me for so many years get to keep their job and advance? What does God have in store for my future?

I know that in times like this I have to have faith. There are times when a person can't find anything to be grateful for other than waking up in the morning and breathing. Sometimes it's hard to feel like waking up and breathing is a blessing.

Well...I try to find things to be grateful for, and I thank God for them. Sometimes it's hard, but if you start looking for the small blessings, the big blessings start popping up themselves. For example, I can see a blessing in finding a good parking space. I see blessings in receiving an email or phone call from a long lost friend. There are also those times when an overwhelming feeling of hope passes through me, and I know that God is letting me know that everything is going to be ok. It's in this time that the following verse applies:

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)

I have been asking God for a while for rest. I always asked that it would not be in the form of a layoff, but God brought me to this path anyway. Now, I have to have faith. I know that this is the direction God wants me to go. Each day is a challenge. I have thoughts that things will never get better, but I know God is not giving me these thoughts. I take comfort in knowing that God is in control of everything.

Trust in the Lord and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37:3-5, 7a)

Right now, I trust that God is in control. I trust that He will not only see me through this trial, but I will be a better person because of it.

God bless.

Dawn

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7-8)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)

Now more than ever faith is being tested all over the world. On June 18th, 2009, I was laid off from my job of over 7 years. I knew it was coming. I started packing my things the day before the meeting with the VP of my department. Thankfully, I did not have to go through the embarrassing moment of packing in front of my co-workers and being led out the door.

I looked for verse from the Bible that helps me through this challenging time. I found the following:

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I admit that I'm a little nervous...but I'm so thankful. For a while, I've known that God did not want me in this position. I feel that there is something bigger and better in the world for me. On the way to work, I would pray thankful prayers. I would thank God that I have a job and benefits. I would thank Him for his favor, mercy, blessings and grace. I would also thank Him for favor, mercy, blessings and grace for family and friends.

I've found that in times like this it is important to be thankful. God wants to know that you don't just thank Him in the good times, but you also thank Him during the hard times. It's important to thank God no matter what. Being thankful only brings you closer to God.

I'm so blessed. God made sure that I was given a great severance package. I'm able to rest. I'm also able to continue the journey that I know God wants me to be on.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understandings; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

Why are some prayers not answered?

Do you ever wonder why some prayers are answered, while other prayers are not answered? Does it ever seem like the most important prayers just don't get answered?

Prayer is a gift from God. It allows us an intimate relationship with Him. God loves when we come to him. He wants to answer our prayers.

The Bible says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

I've found that all prayers are answered....not always the way we hope or expect. There are times when God gives us exactly what we ask for. What a blessing that is. It's like God is giving us His approval with a hug. It's the most amazing thing to feel God when He blesses us. Then there are other times when we don't get exactly what we want. This is where we need to have faith. During this time God may be trying to teach us something. Just know that whatever God has given you is for your own good. Finally, the answer to your prayer may be no. This doesn't mean that God doesn't love you. It means that He has something better for you. Sometimes there's a journey that comes with this gift. The journey may be a long one or a short one...depending on what God wants you to learn, and how long it takes you to learn.

Remember God does answer your prayers.

God bless.

Discuss Joyce Meyer "Humble, Gentle, Meek & Lowly"

Please take time to view Joyce Meyer's message at the following: http://www.joycemeyer.org/ourministries/broadcast/

Today Joyce Meyer discusses how important it is to be humble. A lot of people think that being meek is akin to being weak. This is not true. Joyce Meyer defined meek as being "...strength under control." This is important to learn. In fact, I believe it can interfere with our relationship with God, our family, friends and associates.

Let me give you an example of how I'm learning this in my life. I work in health care. I worked in a department that had a lot of employee moral issues. I let this get to me. I made a mistake, but instead of fessing up to the mistake I ignored it. Guess what...the enemy did not ignore it. They took this mistake and carried it against me for years. I felt that I had to stand up for myself...even against a Director. So, I spoke up for myself. This has led to years of harassment and missed advancements. Now, they've taken me out of my field that my degree is in, and they've put me in another department. What have I learned from this? I should have kept control. Admitted to my mistake. Controlled my mouth and let God handle things. Instead, I took things into my own hands.

Now, I know this is something that God wants me to learn. I have a feeling that I'm going to be laid off soon. I think that this is God's way of moving me out of this situation, because I've learned what I need to know. God is so good.

I've learned to accept the consequences of this. I'm hoping that this will help you to not make the mistakes that I've made. I'm also going to show you how God can turn things around. I may have made a mistake, but I have asked for forgiveness. I know that God will turn things around.

Please listen to Joyce Meyer's message to see what you get out of her message.

God bless.

If we cannot love the person whom we see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? - Mother Teresa

Pray, Faith & Spirituality Works

Hello everyone,

Have you ever wondered why your prayers aren't being answered? Have you ever felt like God has turned His back on you? Have you ever been mad at God? Do you want to understand how prayer, faith and spirituality work? Well...this is the blog that you should follow.

Times are harder than they have ever been. People are losing their homes, jobs and families. During these hard times, we see more and more people turning to God and turning away from God. Both groups of people have used prayer as a means of communicating with God.

Prayer is the most powerful tool we have to connect with God. People pray for themselves, family, friends and sometimes strangers. God loves when we come to Him. He wants us to seek Him. Matthew 7:8 says,

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.

A lot of people find confusion with this verse, because they feel they have asked, seeked and knocked, but their prayers are not being answered. We all know that our time is not God's time. We've all heard that God won't give us more than we can handle. However, we question God's timing and burdens that are put upon us.

Those people who are turning to God are hoping and believing that God will see them through their hard times. What do we call this? We call this Faith. Faith is defined as:

Belief and trust in and loyalty to God (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith)

The purpose of this blog is to explore Prayer, Faith and Spirituality. My hope is to find answers to the questions we all have as we pursue a relationship with God. I will be looking at different preachers, priests and different religious areas to help us understand why prayer and faith seem to work in some situations and not work in others. I'm also hoping to show you through my life's adventures how God is guiding and blessing me. In the end, I'm hoping to increase your knowledge of prayer, faith and spirituality. I'm also hoping to help myself in this process.

God bless everyone.

Dawn