Every month, I guest post at several popular sites. For your reading convenience, I’m gathering them into a November 2022 guest post sampler. Enjoy these previews of the posts, then click on the “read more” link.
5 Affirmations for When You Feel Defeated
Do you feel defeated today? These affirmations will lift you up like they lift me up. You can get a free printable of these affirmations by signing up HERE.
Right now, I’m struggling with feeling defeated after a long season of spiritual warfare and emotional upheaval. However, I’m fighting back with the truth of God’s Word.
1. I am not defeated; I’m more than a conqueror through God’s power.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:37 NIV
2. When I feel weak and defeated, that’s when God’s power is perfected in me.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Cor. 12:9 NIV
3. Like Gideon, I may feel up against the odds. But God sees me as a mighty warrior.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
Judges 6:12 NIV
4. When I feel downcast and defeated, God is my rescue.
When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast.
Job 22:29 NIV
5. No matter who threatens my defeat, God is on my side.
This post originally appeared on Woman 2 Woman Ministries.
Remembering to Thank God
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:11-19 NIV
Do you have trouble remembering to thank God for the good things in your life? I think this is human nature, and we see how common it is in this Bible story.
I remember being intrigued with this story even as a child. In my religion classes at my private Christian grade school, we had an illustrated book of Bible stories. I still remember the artist’s interpretation of one leper returning back to Jesus to thank him for his miraculous healing.
I also remember my childhood promise to be like this one leper. As a highly empathic person, even as a child, I did not want to disappoint Jesus by not returning to thank him. In my little girl heart, I promised not to let him down by being careless with my remembrance to practice gratitude.
But since I’m a sinful and forgetful person like everyone else, I’ve had trouble remembering to thank God many times since childhood. Aren’t we all guilty of this at one time or another in our lives, even for something big that God did for us?
We can draw conclusions from this one leper’s story on remembering to thank God as we look closely at the details.
This leper knew he was undeserving of Jesus’ favor for at least two reasons:
1. As a leper, he was ceremonially unclean.He could not associate with regular people for fear of contamination on a health basis, but also he was cast out on a religious basis. He stood at a distance even while begging Jesus to heal him. Yet Jesus allowed him to draw near enough for healing.
2. As a Samaritan, he was despised by the Jews. The Jews considered themselves God’s chosen people, but the Samaritans were considered half-breeds at best. Any other Jewish teacher would have paid him no attention, but Jesus lovingly healed him with just a word.
This leper was so overwhelmed with thanks, he threw himself at Jesus’ feet in humility and worship. He knew he didn’t deserve the healing, and he certainly wasn’t taking his miracle for granted. He wanted to give credit where credit was due, and that’s why he came back to Jesus to give thanks.
Though he knew he didn’t deserve Jesus’ favor, he could not help but return to give wholehearted praise and thanks to his Healer. He did not care what anyone else thought about a Samaritan approaching a Jewish teacher. With all his heart, he simply wanted to express his deepest gratitude for the life-changing miracle Jesus performed simply by speaking a word.
Now that we’ve looked at the leper’s example, permit me to ask you some hard questions that I’ve had to answer myself.
Do you have trouble remembering to thank God because you…
1. secretly think you deserve God’s favor based on how “good” you are?
2. feel like an outsider in God’s kingdom?
3. are so caught up in the moment of relief that you forget who relieved you?
4. are concerned about what others may think about your fervent expressions of thanks?
5. are too busy to stop and reflect on the prayers God has already answered, which could inspire your thanks?
I confess to you I’ve possessed all of these attitudes at one time or another. But since God has just answered an enormous request of mine in the past week, I’m not having trouble remembering to thank God (see why HERE). Instead, I’m practically wearing him out with gratitude, if that’s even possible!
One of the ways I’m remembering to thank God is to say prayers of thanksgiving as soon as I turn the light out before I go to bed. So, I literally fall asleep thanking and praising God. I also use driving time to listen to praise and worship songs. While I’m singing them, I’m thinking of the specific reasons to praise and thank God for what he’s done in my life. I also devote a portion of the time on every one of my prayer walks to gratitude.
These daily rhythms help me remember to thank God every day, not just on days when he does something huge in my life. Those days are wonderful, yet I need to thank him for all the little things too, which occur on the daily. This rhythm of gratitude connects me with God and helps uplift my spirit, especially because I recognize that God owes me nothing, yet provides so much blessing in his perfect timing.
This devotion originally appeared on Woman 2 Woman Ministries.
Grieving Silent Anniversaries During the Holidays
And provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:3 NIV
Today is a silent anniversary for me. It was a special day for many years, and now it is a day of deep grief.
Maybe you have silent anniversaries during the holidays too. Days that were once filled with joy, but now fill you with heartache. Remembrances of birthdays, gatherings, or other celebrations that were happy, but now feel heavy due to the loss of relationship through breakups, divorce, or death.
Many of us suffer in silence because we don’t want to dampen the holiday spirit for others. So we cry into our pillows at night or push away sudden tears behind the wheel. We shut the door of the bathroom or bedroom and stifle our sobs in our sleeves.
As a trained Stephen Minister, I have learned that holidays can be so hard when we’re grieving. Though I’ve received that training and am currently seeing a counselor myself, that doesn’t take away my grief on this silent anniversary and the others to come.
However, this verse from Isaiah can give us great hope and comfort while we grieve our silent anniversaries during the holidays.
Let’s break this scripture down:
And provide for those who grieve in Zion—
God accepts the fact we are grieving. His people were grieving so many losses in exile from their homeland. God did not tell them to stop grieving – he knew it was necessary for their healing. In order to heal, you must go through the actions of grief rather than repressing them.
Today, I’m letting myself feel the full range of grieving emotions as they come – denial, bargaining, sadness, anger, and acceptance. I know that by embracing them rather than suppressing them, I’ll feel better after the moments of grief finally pass. You will feel better too if you decide to let your grief take its own course.
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
God will replace our grief with his glory. Grief can make you shortsighted. You may think that your pain will never end. But this verse promises that a time is coming, perhaps sooner than we think, when our grief will be replaced with what is better. When we allow ourselves to grieve, we will glorify God with our honest responses.
As I wrote in last week’s devotion, I already have great reasons to rejoice. My long, difficult season of sorrow has partially ended, and I’m so very grateful. Yet I still need to grieve that things aren’t the way they should be, and didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I need to do that today rather than cocooning myself in denial, so I’m one step further along on the road to full acceptance. You can find hope knowing that God will replace your grief with his glory.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
This is one of the most hopeful parts of the verse. In my new book, I have a chapter devoted to the stately white oak tree in my woods. This tree stands tall and strong no matter the weather. It arches gracefully over the road, unconcerned about the bitterly cold northern winds. Its majesty reminds me of God’s unchanging character throughout every season.
Someday, I want to see myself as an oak of righteousness. Today is a day of ashes, mourning, and sorrow. But in the days ahead, after my season of silent anniversaries in the second round of grief is over, I know that God will help me stand tall and strong over all the bad that is happened, and praise him with a new song. May you feel the strength of this promise in your own season of grief.
I pray that if you are grieving silent anniversaries during the holidays, this devotion encouraged you today.
This devotion originally appeared on Woman 2 Woman Ministries.
Take the Picture Today
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
Psalm 39:5 NIV
My friend Lisa posted: “Take the picture.” She writes about grief from a hard-won perspective, and I have deep respect for her wisdom.
But as I read her post, I thought, “I don’t want to take the picture today.” I took a couple photos of a beautiful sunrise and my Thanksgiving food, but not of myself, because today I was grieving and not feeling camera-worthy. Maybe you can relate.
In this holiday season, I have so many friends going through hard things. Some have financial or relationship struggles. Others face empty nests. Some are in countdowns of awful health situations. Others are grieving sudden deaths. We don’t like to take photos of these hard things.
I’m in my own challenging season of grief. This holiday season is one where the pictures I’ll take will look different than before, and that makes me feel a little sad.
However, I know that I need to take the picture today – not for today’s self, but the person I’ll be in the future. She’ll want to look back and see the steps to victory in the day-to-day breaths I have now. I can’t clearly see them now, but she’ll see them clearer later.
Maybe it’s time for you to take the picture today too. Not just because life is short and we’re not guaranteed another day, nor are our loved ones. That’s an important motive, but what about the photos of ourselves that will track our progress on our spiritual journeys?
My friend Tracie posts lots of pictures of her smiles. I’m sure she doesn’t take those photos only when she feels super happy. Tracie not only takes them regularly – she shares them because she knows others need to see someone smiling at them in their hard days. When I see her posts, they always make me smile.
In these days that are just a breath in the light of eternity, take the picture today. The imperfect picture of yourself choosing gratitude, doing the hard thing, trusting God with the outcome, and smiling in the face of challenges. You’ll look back on that photo someday and count the victory you can’t see today. Yet God is already standing there in the future, holding up your picture of today as proof that he is always faithful to you, working in and through the hard things.
Also, if you’re brave like Lisa and Tracie, go ahead and share your pictures online. You never know how you’ll encourage someone else when you take the picture today, even in your hard thing, and put an encouraging word with it in your caption. Post it knowing that God is not only securing the victory for you in your day that lasts no longer than a breath, but will use your story to point others back to him.
I pray that if you are reluctant to take the picture today, this devotion encouraged you.
This devotion originally appeared on Woman 2 Woman Ministries.
Speaking a Blessing Over Your Child
Create a new habit today that will influence your child for years to come.
Are you looking for a simple yet powerful way to affirm your child’s faith? You can speak a blessing over them at night or in the morning and start a good new habit with your child that will bless them for years.
The book, The Blessing by Gary Smalley and John Trent, talks about the power of speaking a blessing over your child. In Bible times, fathers would put their hand over their children’s heads to give them a blessing for their future (see Genesis 48). We can do the same for our children now, and they will experience multiple blessings from this practice.
I started doing this with my children years ago after hearing a teaching in a Focus on the Family broadcast. The speaker said we don’t have to be super skilled in praying aloud. We should not let our fears and insecurities about prayer get in the way of blessing our children.
The Bible gives us several blessings we can speak over our children.
You can be creative and make up your own blessing, or you can use a repeated blessing each time. The Bible gives us several blessings we can speak over our children if we don’t want to make them up ourselves. Here are two of my favorites:
‘“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 (NIV)
There are a few simple parts of speaking a blessing over your child. These are the ones I do each time:
1. Speak the blessing in a quiet, unrushed time when you have your child’s full attention, and when you can devote your full attention to your child. Bedtime is ideal for a blessing time, since you can make it a part of your child’s calming routine before bed.
2. Place your hand on your child’s head or shoulders while giving the blessing. The physical touch will create a warm, loving, tactile memory for your child.
3. Use your child’s name in the blessing. This personalizes the blessing for them.
4. Speak God’s Word or your own words over your child. Keep it brief to respect your child’s shorter attention span.
5. If your child has something specific going on in his or her life that needs prayer, include it in the blessing. For example, you could add, “May God help you with your test tomorrow.”
6. Depending on your child’s age, ask them if they want you to include anything specific in the blessing. Older children love to participate with their own ideas.
My children have enjoyed receiving their nighttime blessings even into their teen years. Sometimes, they would even return the favor and put their hand on my head, then speak a blessing over me! Our blessing times are precious memories now, and I am thankful God led me to speak blessings over them starting when they were young.
No matter the age of your children now, you can start speaking blessings over them. When you do this, you will strengthen their faith and help them know that they are loved not only by you, but by their Father in heaven.
This post originally appeared on the KCHB.org website.
How Gratitude Sets You Apart
Do you struggle with negativity?
I’ve struggled with it for as long as I can remember. On personality tests, I show up as melancholy, and the glass always appears half full to me.
Negativity is something I’ve intentionally had to fight for years. External situations stirred my negativity, but internal negativity also stirred me up.
It takes a lot of mental and emotional energy to fight off negativity. Sometimes it wins the fight. I’m sure if you struggle with negativity, you understand.
But recently I heard a surprising fact about how gratitude links to negativity.
According to Dr. Henry Cloud, study after study has proven that the main factor that differentiates positive people from negative people is gratitude.
This is true across religions, ages, races, socioeconomic classes, and every other distinction.
As you have probably noticed, negativity is everywhere you look, in person and online. You probably fight it from inside and outside like I do. Sometimes, it might win the fight in your day-to-day life.
But if you practice gratitude, you can overcome negativity, be set apart from others, and become a shining light of positivity into other people’s lives.
Psalm 4:3a NIV says, “Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself.” If we are followers of God, he sets us apart for his delight and his glory.
We are to live in the world yet not be of it (John 17:14-19), and gratitude can be one way we demonstrate being set apart.
Gratitude will help us shine our light into the world too.
For example, I was recently in the bread aisle at the supermarket at a busy time of day. I needed a bag of pumpkin bagels, but a woman in front of me was staring at the bagels with frustration and blocking my way.
I said, “Excuse me,” and reached for the pumpkin bagels at the front of the shelf.
Then she saw the blueberry bagels for which she was searching. They were hidden behind the pumpkin ones.
She said in a frustrated tone, “Oh, doesn’t that just drive you nuts when you can’t find something you need? And there it was the whole time!” I saw stress all over her face.
Trying to help her relax, I said with a smile, “Well, what matters most is that you found the ones you wanted, right? You can be thankful for that.”
I watched her pause and think. She said, “Yeah, that’s a better way to look at it. I don’t usually see things that way.”
If we had had more time, I would have told her that for a long time, I have struggled with seeing things in a negative light. But I’ve learned to choose gratitude when negativity triggers me, and I always feel better for making that choice.
I hope that my gratitude seemed “set apart” to that woman in the supermarket. That she drove home with inspiration to be thankful for the smallest things, which leads to gratitude for the bigger things.
That brief meeting with her just for a moment reminded me how far I’ve come in overcoming negativity with gratitude. Now it’s not just a triumph in my own mind and heart, but a way I can be set apart for God’s glory in front of others, so they can learn to choose gratitude over negativity too.
I pray if you struggle with negativity, you’ll see it as a prompt to choose gratitude. It can set you apart from others so that you can shine God’s light into their lives. That’s a purpose worth pursuing, and I hope it inspires you to seek reasons to be grateful.
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