New Year, New Creation

 

Happy New Year to one and all! I sincerely apologize for not typing last weekend.  I was sick and slept a lot but thought of you and I pray you had a blessed Christmas.

 

The Passage I am reading this week = Philemon 1:4-6 "I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

 

That one hits me in the heart dead on!  I thank God every day for each and everyone of you reading this!  I know that by choosing to read this, choosing to want to receive these emails from me weekly you have faith in our Lord Jesus.  I pray that God will inspire me to inspire you all so that we may each grow in our understanding of His Word and may be able to inspire others by sharing this faith.  New Year's is a "holiday" of new beginnings for many people, resolutions are made, and usually we all get optimistic about how we will change for the better in the coming year.  Being a Christian is a little like having New Year's every day because we are all New Creations in Christ {II Corinthians 5:17}.  We strive every day to change for the better and if we mess up today we can be assured that when we fess up to our mistakes and ask Him for His awesome forgiveness then it's done, we're washed clean, new start!!!  Talk about wondrous love!!!  God created us even though He knew it would mean sending Jesus to save us later on.  If you are reading this and thinking that I am not talking to you then you need to re-read partner.  If you are saying to yourself that you aren't strong enough in your faith to actively share it and so I must not mean you then you are horribly mistaken.  I mean you!!  Even if you do not share today, you have faith and in time with prayer you will be able to share it.  You can inspire by actions instead of words and you are still sharing your faith.  You can strive tomorrow for what you didn't have strength or courage for today because every day can be and is a new beginning my friend!  I will tell you this fact, I do not still fully understand every good thing we have in Christ but I am finding more and more each day!  We have each other in Christ, we have food, shelter, clothing, faith, hope, love...the greatest of them all is LOVE! {I Corinthians 13:13} I pray we can all make a "resolution" to slowly but surely become more active in sharing our faith either with words or deeds.  I pray we are able to see each day as a new beginning in Christ who made us, who saves us and who loves us more than we can even dream. I know it sounds repetitious but I truly continue to pray daily that you each are surrounded and protected by God's love favor and blessings, this day, this weekend and always.  Prayers are going up also that you and yours have a safe, happy, healthy and blessed start to the New Year!

Love through Christ,

Niki

 

***If you have special prayer requests please allow me to pray for you by sending me a quick response to this email***

 

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Week Twenty One

Christmas Greetings to one and all,

My personal verse of the week:

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.”

This verse takes me back to 7th Grade, our teacher Mr. Busse had this on his wall above the white board all year long…every year.  For those of you who do not know me as well, this is a feat for me to remember because I have been blessed with a very poor memory, short and long term.  I say blessed because maybe I don’t always remember the good but that also means I probably do not remember most of the bad either! J  You know, I have been thinking about this verse and when times are good, everyone’s healthy & happy, it is much easier to remember we are God’s children and He is working our lives for good and as in Jeremiah 29:11, “plans to prosper you…”  But, when times get tough, it is far more difficult to envision the good He is working in our lives.    Do not let your thoughts stray too far though because His Word is true and certain and that is why I know He is always working every event in our life to good.  It is hard to hear that when you are going through that tough time right now, it is hard to comprehend how bad things can happen for good reason…but, and I like this idea, we do not have to understand it! J There are so many things we will never understand, nevertheless that should not keep us from placing all of our trust and all of our life into His hands.  Believe me, I am not all the way there myself, yet I know as I pray each day that He is watching me grow towards this goal.  I know that I am trying and that some days I stumble, other days I fall totally flat on my face!  However, He is a forgiving and loving God and Father and He understands us, and He understands what we do not and BEST of all He understands what we face because He came to earth and walked this path.  I want to keep it short but I hope that if you have 5 or ten minutes you will take a moment and read all of Romans Chapter 8.  You can read it online at the below link to Bible.com and it is really an uplifting study! http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Romans+8&passage2=&passage3=&passage4=&passage5=&version1=31&version2=0&version3=0&version4=0&version5=0&Submit.x=31&Submit.y=9

This week I am praying that no matter where your life is hanging in these days, that you are able to remember that God is working His good in our lives at all times.  I continually and daily pray that you are surrounded and protected by God’s love, favor and blessings always.  I pray you are having a blessed and merry Christmas season thus far!

Have a blessed week ahead!

Love through Christ,

Niki

If you feel inspired to pass along my email, please do!  And/or if you or someone you know would enjoy receiving my weekly thoughts, please send an email to Banklady79@aol.com

 

My weekly messages can also be viewed at:

All messages: http://my.care2.com/ngoofychic79/sharebook

All messages:  http://journals.aol.com/banklady79/weeklythoughts/

Week Twenty

 

God's blessings to one and all this wonderful Sunday afternoon!

I want to share a story you may have read before:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.  Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. 

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.  Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.  What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.  Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.  Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." 

I really like this lesson, because I believe that no matter where we are at in our lives we are never far from needing to hear it.  Life is not about what the world thinks is "living well..."  We need to focus on what really matters in life: God who should be the first and most centered in our life, the blessings God has granted us, family, friends...  I could go on and on but simply put if we choose to place our focus more on the "coffee" and less on the "cup" then I believe we can more readily find peace and happiness in the beautiful life God gives us.  My prayer for you this week is to make great choices about what you measure your happiness and qualities by.  I pray also that God may grant you His blessings and His peace this busy time of year.  I am always praying for each of you that God surrounds you with His love, favor and blessings, this day, this week and always.

I am sincerely grateful for your continued interest in receiving my messages!

Have an awesome week ahead!

Love through Christ,

Niki

 

Psalm 107:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

 

If you feel inspired to pass along my email, please do!  And/or if you or someone you know would enjoy receiving my weekly thoughts, please send an email to Banklady79@aol.com

 

My weekly messages can also be viewed at:

All messages: http://my.care2.com/ngoofychic79/sharebook

All messages:  http://journals.aol.com/banklady79/weeklythoughts/

Week Nineteen - Sorry it is so late

 "Tis the season to be jolly!"

Those words from Deck the Halls struck me this morning as I drove to work belting out the lyrics along with George Strait.  I smiled and thought about how this time of year is so beautiful…personally I don’t like the cold, but all of the lights and decorations.  As I was hanging lights on my Uncle's house I thought of it as decorating for the most important birthday party of the year! J  So naturally with all of this around us this should be “the season to be jolly,” or “the most wonderful time of the year.”  However, and I tread lightly because I certainly do not want to discount anything from Christmas, still I think it is important as Christians to remember this joy all the year through.  When the decorations come down in January, we should keep our spirits up and our eyes focused on our Lord.  We have so many things by His grace to be thankful and joyful for!  Besides the obvious physical things such as clothes, shelter, vehicles, food and all other possessions which God has allowed us to have in our lives, we have the joy of knowing we can hope in the Lord…and the joy of knowing His favor is going before us…the joy of His protection, deliverance and most importantly salvation!  I could go on and on but I know that once I have gotten you started you can make your own mental or written list of all of the joys in your life.   Hold them close to your heart and when you feel like crying, screaming or plain ole' having a pity party for yourself instead reach for this list and thank God for every thing on it...I know from personal experience that although difficult to make yourself be thankful when you are down in the dumps it is also one of the BEST ways to get your mind off of your problems and focused on the One who can and will help you back up again!  I pray that you are having a truly joyful start to this awesome Christmas season!  I am always praying for each of you that God surrounds you with His love, favor and blessings, this day, this week and always.

Due to time constraints during the week I will be moving the weekly thoughts to now come out on Saturday mornings instead of Thursday nights.    You are each inspiring me to push myself farther and continue to grow in my faith!  Thank you for your continued interest in receiving my messages!

Have an awesome weekend and week ahead!!

Love through Christ,

Niki

Psalm 100:2 "Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. "

 

If you feel inspired to pass along my email, please do!  And/or if you or someone you know would enjoy receiving my weekly thoughts, please send an email to Banklady79@aol.com

 

My weekly messages can also be viewed at:

All messages: http://my.care2.com/ngoofychic79/sharebook

All messages:  http://journals.aol.com/banklady79/weeklythoughts/