Tag: encouragement

Jesus Our Hope

Psalm 25:3 NIV, “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.”

We can never go wrong when our hope is in Jesus Christ. He will not allow us to be put to shame. We can always look to Him for the strength, peace, and direction that we need. His grace is sufficient for us. The hope we have in Him is not an empty hope, because He is alive. He is our Risen Savior. Hoping in Him will never lead to disappointment.

Romans 5:5 NLT, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

When we fill empty, His Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with love. The love He pours into our hearts is a daily reminder of His presence with us. Everyday we can hope in Him because He will never leave us, He will never forsake us. His love is truth. We can place our hope in Him and be safe. The security and peace of mind we desire is found in Him. No matter how unstable the world becomes, we can anchor ourselves in Him.

Don’t lose hope. Stay focused on the Light of Jesus. His Light will guide your way.

Liebster Award

Thank you Jacquie at Joy Cottage for nominating me for the Liebster Award!! This is my 1st time receiving this award!😁I think it’s great that you and your husband Ken work together to mentor the young generation and share the love of Jesus Christ with them. Congrats on over 40 years of marriage! 🎉🎉🎉

Your blog posts are always filled with the truth of scripture and help me greatly because they are very encouraging. I’m thankful that we’re connected. ❤️☀️

Check out Jacquie’s blog at:

Joy Cottage

The Rules:

1. Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you.

2. Share 11 facts about yourself.

3. Answer the 11 questions the blogger(s) asked you.

4. Nominate 11 bloggers and make them happy!!

5. Make up to 11 questions and ask them to your nominees!

6. Notify your 11 nominees.

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11 Facts About Dawn:

1. I accepted Christ into my life and was baptized when I was 9.

2. I have 1 daughter who is 22.

3. I was born and raised in Virginia.

4. My favorite make of car is Toyota.

5. I was in the U.S. Army for 4 years.

6. I work as an accountant, and have been in the accounting field for 15 years.

7. I have 2 older sisters.

8. I love astronomy, and can spend hours reading about things out there in space.

9. One of my favorite volunteer experiences was at Abigail Ministries a pregnancy crisis center. I worked as overnight support and in transportation.

10. Another one of my favorite volunteer experiences was at Sandcastles, a grief support group for children and their families. I worked as a group facilitator in the teen room.

11. My favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry.

 11 Questions Jacquie Asked Me:

1. Have you read the Bible? Do you have a favorite foundational Scripture?

Yes I try and read the Bible daily. I have read it the whole way through twice. My favorite verse is John 3:16. I memorized it when I was little.

2. If you could live in a different time/age, what/where would it be?

I’m not sure. But I’d go back to a time where things seemed simpler and were not as fast paced as they are nowadays.

3. What is your favorite place to be or to visit?

I love the park. It’s one of my favorite places to go. I enjoy talking with the Lord, meditating, and enjoying nature as I walk. My favorite park was in Michigan and is called Riverbends. (I lived in Michigan for 11 years.)

4. Do you have a pet? If so, what is/are their name(s)?

I do not have a pet. But growing up we had a dog named Toi for about 9 years. She was a Papillon.

5. Do you have a role-model? If so, who is it?

I admire many of the women in my family who are older than me who have set a great example for me. My mom, sister, Aunt Eloise and cousins Shirley, Rose, Bertha, Sylvia, and Belinda to name some.

6. Do you believe in prayer? Why?

I do believe in prayer. I’ve seen how it has worked in my life and the lives of others. I’ve seen God answer prayers and I have felt His peace through prayer.

7. Do you have a favorite childhood memory or activity?

I always enjoyed the school field trips during my grade school years. Two of my favorites were Colonial Williamsburg in the 6th grade, and Safety Town in kindergarten.

8. What type(s) of music do you like?

I mostly listen to praise and worship.

9. With whom do you enjoy spending time?

My daughter and I have a nice time together.

10. What or Who inspires you to write?

The Word of God, experiences I’ve had, people, the things around me, and my fellow bloggers.

11. Do you have a favorite style/genre of writing?

Christianity

I nominate the following bloggers and my questions are below if you choose to participate. 🤗❤️

Imago Dei

Chasing Clarity

Contemplations

God’s Love

YonnieInHisCare

Jesusluvsall

Soulful

God’s Whispers of Truth

Plantings Seeds in God’s Growing Garden

Fiez

Musings of a Wanderer

My Questions to the nominees:

1. Who would you want to have dinner with and why?

2. What inspired you to start writing a blog?

3. How would you describe yourself in one sentence?

4. What is an important lesson you’ve learned in life?

5. What is your favorite food?

6. What is your favorite memory?

7. What is your favorite color and why?

8. Do you have a role-model? If so, who is it?

9. With whom do you enjoy spending time?

10. Do you prefer cold or hot weather?

Cast Your Cares

1 Peter 5:7 NLT, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.“

We have to remember that God tells us to give Him our worries . We must choose to hand all of our worries over to Him. When we don’t, then we will end up being weighed down as we try to carry our heavy burdens on our own.

Giving our worries to the Lord means we will have to trust Him. We learn to trust Him through the situations we go through in life, that allow us to see His faithfulness to us. We must pray and ask God to help us to give Him our worries and trust Him.

We don’t just need to trust God when bad things happen. We also need to trust Him with the good things that are going on in our lives. Even in good times, we need Him to sustain us and direct us. He must always be our focus.

Whenever I find myself worrying, I know my focus is no longer on God. Instead I have taken my eyes off of Him, and have mentally started trying to figure out how “I” will work things out. God wants us to turn our worries into prayers and trust “Him” to work things out, not ourselves or other people.

God does use people to help us, but even when He does, we must remember that He is our True Source. He is our Provider, not people. People are vessels He uses. Every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven (James 1:17).

Psalm 55:22 NIV, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Choose to cast your cares on the Lord. Allow Him to carry your burdens because He cares for you.

A Clean Heart

Psalm 51:10 ESV, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

When we give our hearts to Jesus, the Bible says that we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”). The Lord takes away our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He also gives us His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He is our Helper who convicts us of sin and empowers us to live for Jesus.

Conviction is what brings us to repentance, and repentance will keep our hearts clean before God. I ask God often to show me any sinful ways that I have, so that I can repent and turn from my sin. Sin separates us from God. But repentance draws us closer to Him. The cleaner our heart is, the more we can become like Jesus. A clean heart keeps us in a place of humility and submission before God.

This is why, I love the Holy Spirit so much. He is the third Person of the Trinity who works in us to keep our hearts clean, and lead us into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who reveals truth to us so that we are not deceived by the enemy’s lies.

About 10 years ago, I read a really good book called, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit by R.A. Torrey. He was an evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer who lived from 1856-1928. His book is one of the best books I have ever read. I developed a deeper understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does for us.

John 14:16-17 NIV, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

May God’s Spirit continue to work in you to bring you into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Have a blessed weekend. ❤️

Awesome Blogger Award – 2

Thank you Brother Matt at Jesusluvsall for this Awesome Blogger Award nomination. I think it’s really cool that you’re fluent in 3 languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese)!! I believe you said you can greet people in about 30 different languages…Wow!

Also the work you do in ministry to share the love of Christ with immigrants from around the world and others while persevering through your own trials with chronic illness is inspiring.

Please visit Matt’s blog at:

Jesusluvsall Blog

Rules:

– Thank the blogger who nominated you.

– Tag your post with #awesomebloggeraward.

– Answer the questions given to you.

– Nominate and inform at least 5 bloggers.

– Give them 10 new questions to answer.

Questions for me:

1- What is your blog about?

Encouraging others in their walk with Christ.

2- What inspired you to start writing a blog?

I thought it would be a great way to share what I have learned with others.

3. If I were blessed to visit you in your city, what would we do?

We would visit Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (my favorite place in Miami lol). It’s an old mansion that was owned by a wealthy businessman from Europe. When he died his family donated it to the city and it is now a museum.

4- What is your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

Christmas. It’s nice to remember the Savior’s birth. It’s also very pretty with all the decor everywhere. I spend it with family. We have dinner.

5- What are your favorite songs?

I have many but Nobody But Jesus is my favorite gospel song. At the Cross is my favorite hymn. For You is an R&B love song I like. I like Today is the Day, a praise and worship song.

6- What is a book you have enjoyed?

So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore.

7- What is your favorite snack food?

Chips, Popcorn, and gummy bears.

8- What is your favorite color?

For the last few years I have fallen in love with Green.

9- What is your favorite movie?

Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn

10- Who would you want to have dinner with and why?

Deborah Smith Pugues. She is an author, tv host, motivational speaker, financial consultant and business women. I have been inspired by her writings and would like to meet her.

I nominate the following and my questions are below if you choose to participate. 🤗❤️

WordPress13730Faith2Faith

Social Impactor

Quiet Moments With God

The Vine Christian Blog

Everything is Hack!

My Questions to you:

1. Who would you want to have dinner with and why?

2. What inspired you to start writing a blog?

3. How would you describe yourself in one sentence?

4. What is one thing you learned in childhood that totally changed your life?

5. What is your most memorable vacation?

6. Are you married or single?

7. Do you have kids, if so how old?

8. What do you want to be remembered for?

9. What is your favorite color?

10. Do you have a favorite blog post you want to share?

In Jesus Christ We Gain

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

I have come to realize that I am most content when I choose to simply trust God. Trusting in Him, brings me to a peaceful place that is free from anxiety and fear. Both anxiety and fear cause us to take our eyes off of Christ, and instead put them on the things or people that we cannot control.

Jesus definitely set the ultimate example of contentment for us. He chose to walk in the purpose God had for him. He didn’t allow himself to be distracted by what was going on around him. As a matter of fact, when his parents became anxious because they could not find him, he said…

“Why were you searching for me?”….“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)

He definitely knew how to keep his eyes on God and not get sidetracked. We must do the same. The truth of God’s Word will keep us growing in godliness. Godliness will lead us to contentment because our hearts will become more and more thankful for who God is and all that He has done. We will see things from His perspective, instead of the worlds.

In Christ we gain, because nothing can compare to the privilege of knowing Him…

Philippians 3:8 NIV, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Reaching Out to Touch Jesus

Matthew 9:20-22 NIV, “20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”

Every time I read this passage of scripture, I can’t help but get a mental picture of this scene. I can see a woman pressing her way through a large crowd, struggling to reach out and touch the cloak of Jesus. She had been sick for twelve years. Perhaps she had been believing God to bring her healing and restoration for just as long. So when she saw Jesus, she believed He would heal her and she could hardly wait to reach out to Him.

She’s not much different from many of us today. We are trying to reach out and touch Jesus. Rather we are believing Him for healing and restoration, direction in a situation, provision for a financial need, or perhaps just strength to make it through one more day, we keep reaching out to the Master.

I have had many times where I have read these verses and thought it sounds so simple to just get what I desire from Jesus. But it’s easy to overlook the twelve years part. Although in that moment, her healing came instantly, there were twelve years before her healing that she had to persevere through her trials. There was a journey she had to endure before her healing came.

The good news is that Jesus is with us as we travel through life. He has a purpose in everything, and our suffering is never without a cause. The road to whatever healing we need can be long and hard, or it can come quickly.

We just have to keep trusting that God hears our prayers and will do what is best for us according to His will. We can have peace knowing that Jesus will never leave us. Everything we need to live from day to day is found in Him. He will help us overcome the difficulties we must face.