Unchecked Feelings....
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PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
The normal human reaction to failure is despair.
That feeling that there’s no way to fix the mess you’ve found yourself in is what makes you sound like Moses and say, “It’s all over. I might as well give up now.” But you can’t let that despair beat you.
You have to realize that there’s nothing special about your particular drama. Missing an opportunity to do something right is a really ordinary thing that happens to all of us.
If you ignore that and think something tremendously unique has happened to you, you’re probably going to sink into the pit of despair and not know how to get out, or even be willing to.
The solution is in Jesus’ words to his disciples, who were just as depressed about their lot in life. He said, “Get up! Let’s go!” (Matt. 26:46). He didn’t let them wallow in their mistake.
Jesus told them essentially to get over it and to get going on to the next thing.
So what’s the next thing in your life? What is Jesus calling you to get over and to get on with?
If you wallow in your past and refuse to move on, you recommit your failure all over again. Only when you obey and get moving do you lessen the sting and the power of your past failure. In fact, it remains a present failure until you get up and get over it.
If you don’t know what the next thing for you is, then let it be this and this alone: to trust Jesus completely and to pray continually. Then ultimately know that he works all things together for good – even your failures (see Rom. 8:28).
By doing these things you let this failure move you forward instead of backward into hopeless despair!
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
The normal human reaction to failure is despair.
That feeling that there’s no way to fix the mess you’ve found yourself in is what makes you sound like Moses and say, “It’s all over. I might as well give up now.” But you can’t let that despair beat you.
You have to realize that there’s nothing special about your particular drama. Missing an opportunity to do something right is a really ordinary thing that happens to all of us.
If you ignore that and think something tremendously unique has happened to you, you’re probably going to sink into the pit of despair and not know how to get out, or even be willing to.
The solution is in Jesus’ words to his disciples, who were just as depressed about their lot in life. He said, “Get up! Let’s go!” (Matt. 26:46). He didn’t let them wallow in their mistake.
Jesus told them essentially to get over it and to get going on to the next thing.
So what’s the next thing in your life? What is Jesus calling you to get over and to get on with?
If you wallow in your past and refuse to move on, you recommit your failure all over again. Only when you obey and get moving do you lessen the sting and the power of your past failure. In fact, it remains a present failure until you get up and get over it.
If you don’t know what the next thing for you is, then let it be this and this alone: to trust Jesus completely and to pray continually. Then ultimately know that he works all things together for good – even your failures (see Rom. 8:28).
By doing these things you let this failure move you forward instead of backward into hopeless despair!
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
How many times a week do you feel beaten down, attacked, worn out?
How many times do you lose your strength and want to give up?
And how many times a week do you put on the armor of God?
If you want peace, if you want self-control, hope, and strength – then you have to put on the armor that God has laid out for you.
Every day when you get up, make it your first job to ask God to dress you up in the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness (God’s approval), the belt of truth, and the shoes of the gospel of peace and to put the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit in your hands.
As you imagine actually putting on each thing, remind yourself what each piece does for you.
The helmet reminds you of your salvation and assurance of God’s hand in your life.
The breastplate of righteousness is there to cover you with the righteousness that comes not from your power but from Christ’s.
The belt of truth is there to remind you of everything that God has shown you and will show you.
The shoes of the gospel of peace represent the power of the gospel in your life and your ability and call to share it with the people in your life.
The shield of faith protects you from all the flaming arrows the evil one shoots at you.
And the sword of the spirit, the word of God, the bible, is your most powerful weapon against the attacks of the enemy. With it you can fight off attacks and pierce hearts with God’s truth. You need to hold it tightly in your hand every day.
If you want to start experiencing the power and protection of God in your life, then pray through putting on the armor of God and remind yourself of the protection that is yours!
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
How many times a week do you feel beaten down, attacked, worn out?
How many times do you lose your strength and want to give up?
And how many times a week do you put on the armor of God?
If you want peace, if you want self-control, hope, and strength – then you have to put on the armor that God has laid out for you.
Every day when you get up, make it your first job to ask God to dress you up in the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness (God’s approval), the belt of truth, and the shoes of the gospel of peace and to put the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit in your hands.
As you imagine actually putting on each thing, remind yourself what each piece does for you.
The helmet reminds you of your salvation and assurance of God’s hand in your life.
The breastplate of righteousness is there to cover you with the righteousness that comes not from your power but from Christ’s.
The belt of truth is there to remind you of everything that God has shown you and will show you.
The shoes of the gospel of peace represent the power of the gospel in your life and your ability and call to share it with the people in your life.
The shield of faith protects you from all the flaming arrows the evil one shoots at you.
And the sword of the spirit, the word of God, the bible, is your most powerful weapon against the attacks of the enemy. With it you can fight off attacks and pierce hearts with God’s truth. You need to hold it tightly in your hand every day.
If you want to start experiencing the power and protection of God in your life, then pray through putting on the armor of God and remind yourself of the protection that is yours!
Reminiscing
New Member
I read a great quote online this week and thought it would be perfect to share in a thread about unchecked feelings.
When we're on an emotional rollercoaster, it's our nature to focus on how we FEEL, but we need to rise above our human abilities and rely on our spiritual abilities to allow us to see the PURPOSE of what we endure. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT) says "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine." No matter how we feel, whether loved, hated, betrayed, misled, angry, etc. every trial we face is for a purpose. If we focus on the lesson rather than feelings, we'll be able to find the joy ahead that God has promised us.
Be blessed!
When we're on an emotional rollercoaster, it's our nature to focus on how we FEEL, but we need to rise above our human abilities and rely on our spiritual abilities to allow us to see the PURPOSE of what we endure. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT) says "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine." No matter how we feel, whether loved, hated, betrayed, misled, angry, etc. every trial we face is for a purpose. If we focus on the lesson rather than feelings, we'll be able to find the joy ahead that God has promised us.
Be blessed!
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
Frenemies: those girls/women who you think are your friends, but some days you really have to wonder. Once they were nice but now they are 50 percent mean.
When you have a friend who has changed and now her behavior is ungodly, what do you do?
God’s word has a prescription for you: if your friend is a believer and she has become mean, vengeful, a gossip, or a slanderer, or if she is abusing you or hating you, then it’s time to break up.
You can’t let her sin become contagious. You can’t take on her disobedience and make it your own.
The trouble with staying close to believers who desert God’s truth is that it can lead you to sin. You sin when you hate her back, retaliate, want revenge, or start thinking negative thoughts or complaining.
The God Girl/Woman trusts God’s word and attempts to live it every day. A godly friend might mess up, she might make mistakes, she might even hurt you, but there is always redemption, always confession and reconciliation.
But for some girls/women there is none of that because, truth be told, they are done with God’s word. It is no longer a part of their lives, and instead they live by their own emotions and desires. That kind of woman is not good for you.
So think about your frenemy: will confronting her work? Can there be reconciliation, or is it time to cut the strings that bind you?
Don’t be afraid to walk away if you have to. It doesn’t make you a loser; it makes you a follower of Jesus. You have to obey God’s word no matter what others think or say.
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
Frenemies: those girls/women who you think are your friends, but some days you really have to wonder. Once they were nice but now they are 50 percent mean.
When you have a friend who has changed and now her behavior is ungodly, what do you do?
God’s word has a prescription for you: if your friend is a believer and she has become mean, vengeful, a gossip, or a slanderer, or if she is abusing you or hating you, then it’s time to break up.
You can’t let her sin become contagious. You can’t take on her disobedience and make it your own.
The trouble with staying close to believers who desert God’s truth is that it can lead you to sin. You sin when you hate her back, retaliate, want revenge, or start thinking negative thoughts or complaining.
The God Girl/Woman trusts God’s word and attempts to live it every day. A godly friend might mess up, she might make mistakes, she might even hurt you, but there is always redemption, always confession and reconciliation.
But for some girls/women there is none of that because, truth be told, they are done with God’s word. It is no longer a part of their lives, and instead they live by their own emotions and desires. That kind of woman is not good for you.
So think about your frenemy: will confronting her work? Can there be reconciliation, or is it time to cut the strings that bind you?
Don’t be afraid to walk away if you have to. It doesn’t make you a loser; it makes you a follower of Jesus. You have to obey God’s word no matter what others think or say.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
God made a covenant, or an agreement, with the Israelites and they broke it (see Jer. 11:10). They messed up royally! But God didn’t give up on them; in fact, He gave them a second chance, new covenant.
But can you imagine if they wouldn’t agree to it because they just couldn’t get over their past mistakes? Sounds ridiculous, but how many times do you say, “I just can’t get over what I did?”
When you can’t get over your sin or accept God’s forgiveness, the past can haunt you and keep you living in your mistakes and traumas. It can make you keep reliving the very thing you should be done with: the past.
Your past was never meant to be your present, but it should inform it. God lets you remember your mess-ups and your misery so they can be a light for your future. If you’re brave enough to step out of the past and only look at it as a guide to the future, then you can be free to live in the present without the chains of your mistakes.
Holding on to yesterday as if it’s a part of today is craziness.
God has offered you a second chance. Grace is His gift to the sinner in you - will you reject it today and choose to live in your sinful past? Or will you trust that He’s big enough to help you get over your mistakes?
Let go and refuse to continue to relive yesterday, and you will let God redeem your past. God is relentless in His love for you, and He will continue to call you back to Him no matter what you have done in the past.
The only thing that stands between you and forgiveness is your inability to forgive yourself. You don’t need your own forgiveness-God’s is all sufficient. So accept it and move on. He is ready and waiting!
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
God made a covenant, or an agreement, with the Israelites and they broke it (see Jer. 11:10). They messed up royally! But God didn’t give up on them; in fact, He gave them a second chance, new covenant.
But can you imagine if they wouldn’t agree to it because they just couldn’t get over their past mistakes? Sounds ridiculous, but how many times do you say, “I just can’t get over what I did?”
When you can’t get over your sin or accept God’s forgiveness, the past can haunt you and keep you living in your mistakes and traumas. It can make you keep reliving the very thing you should be done with: the past.
Your past was never meant to be your present, but it should inform it. God lets you remember your mess-ups and your misery so they can be a light for your future. If you’re brave enough to step out of the past and only look at it as a guide to the future, then you can be free to live in the present without the chains of your mistakes.
Holding on to yesterday as if it’s a part of today is craziness.
God has offered you a second chance. Grace is His gift to the sinner in you - will you reject it today and choose to live in your sinful past? Or will you trust that He’s big enough to help you get over your mistakes?
Let go and refuse to continue to relive yesterday, and you will let God redeem your past. God is relentless in His love for you, and He will continue to call you back to Him no matter what you have done in the past.
The only thing that stands between you and forgiveness is your inability to forgive yourself. You don’t need your own forgiveness-God’s is all sufficient. So accept it and move on. He is ready and waiting!
MSee
Well-Known Member
I've had to let go so many frenemies over the last 3 years that even just reading this still bring some pain.
I'll add from experience that cutting the strings can cause quite a back lash if the frenemy don't want to let you go free. However, no matter what you may have to suffer when you put your foot down and step away from the person's negative influence, it is better to suffer for righteousness sake, than to suffer trying to please someone who will not be pleased.
Thanks for this thread.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
When you are in the middle of a dark spell, don’t rush to get out. Don’t clamor for guidance or for someone to help you. Just listen.
What is God trying to teach you?
If you look somewhere else you’ll only cover the voice of God with your complaints. Dark times are your time to listen, not to whine and complain.
If you are willing to give up looking for a quick answer and ready to wait for His response and His response alone, then you will find truth and hope. And at the end of your darkness you will find two things: happiness and humility.
Once you have truly heard God, you will feel like saying, “I’m such a dork! He’s been talking this whole time and I haven’t listened!”
You will see your own sinfulness and be embarrassed by it. That’s the humility part, and it will soften your heart and leave it ready for the seed of God’s truth. Then you are ready to get the peace and hope that was promised you.
Then your outlook will change from sadness to expectation, and your focus won’t be on yourself anymore but will be on your powerful God, and what a better view that is!
Humility saves you from your emotional slavery. It brings you back to a correct assessment of who you are and who Christ is in your life. It’s weird but true: when you truly let go of fighting for yourself and your rights, that’s when you get all that you need.
What do you think can lift you higher – your own effort or the hand of God? God promises to lift you up!
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
When you are in the middle of a dark spell, don’t rush to get out. Don’t clamor for guidance or for someone to help you. Just listen.
What is God trying to teach you?
If you look somewhere else you’ll only cover the voice of God with your complaints. Dark times are your time to listen, not to whine and complain.
If you are willing to give up looking for a quick answer and ready to wait for His response and His response alone, then you will find truth and hope. And at the end of your darkness you will find two things: happiness and humility.
Once you have truly heard God, you will feel like saying, “I’m such a dork! He’s been talking this whole time and I haven’t listened!”
You will see your own sinfulness and be embarrassed by it. That’s the humility part, and it will soften your heart and leave it ready for the seed of God’s truth. Then you are ready to get the peace and hope that was promised you.
Then your outlook will change from sadness to expectation, and your focus won’t be on yourself anymore but will be on your powerful God, and what a better view that is!
Humility saves you from your emotional slavery. It brings you back to a correct assessment of who you are and who Christ is in your life. It’s weird but true: when you truly let go of fighting for yourself and your rights, that’s when you get all that you need.
What do you think can lift you higher – your own effort or the hand of God? God promises to lift you up!
loulou7
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much PinkPebbles, for starting this thread… And to the all the posters, who have shared their gems of wisdom and experiences, it’s very encouraging.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
You’ve been misunderstood. Slammed. Lied about. Something is going around and it isn’t true.
Your choice? Vindication.
“I have to explain myself. I have to get them to understand,” you say to yourself, and so off you go to fix things, manage the situation, get people to understand. And suddenly God slips from the throne of your life and up you crawl to take your rightful place.
Screech. “Stop this ride, I want to get off!”
It’s time to take a lesson from Jesus and get back on track. Listen, He wasn’t in the habit of explaining everything when He was walking on earth. Almost unimaginably, He left misunderstandings to correct themselves- or better said, He left it to God to work things out in the lives of the people who misunderstood him, lied about him, or generally hated him.
Isn’t His example good enough for you? Or are you willing to imitate the perfect one?
Sure, it won’t be easy, but godliness rarely is. As long as you are looking for vindication in the eyes of other human beings, you are going to be completely distracted from God.
And that distraction will affect your heart, your mind, and your body. Get your focus off the world and onto God.
What people think or say has no bearing on eternity. Don’t give them more power over you than they deserve, but choose to make your investment in the eternal and let the King work out the temporary for Himself.
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
You’ve been misunderstood. Slammed. Lied about. Something is going around and it isn’t true.
Your choice? Vindication.
“I have to explain myself. I have to get them to understand,” you say to yourself, and so off you go to fix things, manage the situation, get people to understand. And suddenly God slips from the throne of your life and up you crawl to take your rightful place.
Screech. “Stop this ride, I want to get off!”
It’s time to take a lesson from Jesus and get back on track. Listen, He wasn’t in the habit of explaining everything when He was walking on earth. Almost unimaginably, He left misunderstandings to correct themselves- or better said, He left it to God to work things out in the lives of the people who misunderstood him, lied about him, or generally hated him.
Isn’t His example good enough for you? Or are you willing to imitate the perfect one?
Sure, it won’t be easy, but godliness rarely is. As long as you are looking for vindication in the eyes of other human beings, you are going to be completely distracted from God.
And that distraction will affect your heart, your mind, and your body. Get your focus off the world and onto God.
What people think or say has no bearing on eternity. Don’t give them more power over you than they deserve, but choose to make your investment in the eternal and let the King work out the temporary for Himself.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
The strong Christian is the one who has a life filled with prayer.
Prayerlessness leaves a believer weakened and fearful. When things aren’t happening in your life, when hope is lost, when emotions run wild, the first place to look is your prayerlessness.
When a God woman prays, she calls on the name of the Lord and He listens.
She makes it clear to herself and to her God who is the most important person of all and places more emphasis on communion with him than on pleasure, busyness, and distraction.
Prayerlessness is one of the most common sins in the life of a believer, but when you don’t pray you don’t worship the God you claim to serve. Prayerlessness can derail even the strongest believer. If your life isn’t producing everything you imagined it would, then look at your prayer life.
The amount of time you spend speaking with God, pleading with Him, and seeking His mind directly affects your success in every area of your life.
When a God woman prays, really prays, she finds doors that were slammed shut opening in front of her. She finds life changing around her and within her. She releases the power of the Holy Spirit in her life and begins to find more hope and peace than she ever dreamed existed.
You can’t afford to accept prayerlessness in your life; Fight to devote your mind and time to the pursuit of communion with the Creator of the universe and lover of your soul.
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
The strong Christian is the one who has a life filled with prayer.
Prayerlessness leaves a believer weakened and fearful. When things aren’t happening in your life, when hope is lost, when emotions run wild, the first place to look is your prayerlessness.
When a God woman prays, she calls on the name of the Lord and He listens.
She makes it clear to herself and to her God who is the most important person of all and places more emphasis on communion with him than on pleasure, busyness, and distraction.
Prayerlessness is one of the most common sins in the life of a believer, but when you don’t pray you don’t worship the God you claim to serve. Prayerlessness can derail even the strongest believer. If your life isn’t producing everything you imagined it would, then look at your prayer life.
The amount of time you spend speaking with God, pleading with Him, and seeking His mind directly affects your success in every area of your life.
When a God woman prays, really prays, she finds doors that were slammed shut opening in front of her. She finds life changing around her and within her. She releases the power of the Holy Spirit in her life and begins to find more hope and peace than she ever dreamed existed.
You can’t afford to accept prayerlessness in your life; Fight to devote your mind and time to the pursuit of communion with the Creator of the universe and lover of your soul.
loulou7
Well-Known Member
PinkPebbles - Your post reminds me of a pastor that used to say:
Much Prayer = Much Power
Little Prayer = Little Power
No Prayer = No Power
Much Prayer = Much Power
Little Prayer = Little Power
No Prayer = No Power
Laela
Sidestepping the "lynch mob"
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
True Love can’t hold itself back.
When you’re in love, your heart wants to tell the world, because it feels like if you don’t it’s just going to burst.
Love notes, love songs, and love poetry all come from a heart filled to overflowing with adoration and passion. But after a while it can be easy to forget to tell the people you love what you love about them.
Life gets in the way, times get tough, tempers flare, and suddenly you aren’t speaking all lovey to each other anymore. But love needs to be talked about; it needs to be given in the form of verbal appreciation and adoration.
We have to tell the people we love why we love them, and tell them often. Song of Songs is an example of this, and we need to do the same thing when it comes to our love for God.
In the life of faith, the God woman wants to tell her God how much she adores Him. She wants to tell Him how much He means to her, not only to worship Him but to remind her own heart of all that He is.
If she doesn’t do this, she can quickly forget all about His goodness and holiness. As a God Woman you have to concentrate on the goodness of God. You have to remind yourself how you’ve been touched by His kindness, His provision, and His power. Tell God every day what His presence in your life means.
The God Woman knows that the power of love rest in her ability to speak words of love.
God’s love for you is expressed in his word and in the life of his Son, the word made flesh.
Don’t miss His love songs, love letters, and love gifts. Know love and know Him. Speak love and be known by Him.
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
True Love can’t hold itself back.
When you’re in love, your heart wants to tell the world, because it feels like if you don’t it’s just going to burst.
Love notes, love songs, and love poetry all come from a heart filled to overflowing with adoration and passion. But after a while it can be easy to forget to tell the people you love what you love about them.
Life gets in the way, times get tough, tempers flare, and suddenly you aren’t speaking all lovey to each other anymore. But love needs to be talked about; it needs to be given in the form of verbal appreciation and adoration.
We have to tell the people we love why we love them, and tell them often. Song of Songs is an example of this, and we need to do the same thing when it comes to our love for God.
In the life of faith, the God woman wants to tell her God how much she adores Him. She wants to tell Him how much He means to her, not only to worship Him but to remind her own heart of all that He is.
If she doesn’t do this, she can quickly forget all about His goodness and holiness. As a God Woman you have to concentrate on the goodness of God. You have to remind yourself how you’ve been touched by His kindness, His provision, and His power. Tell God every day what His presence in your life means.
The God Woman knows that the power of love rest in her ability to speak words of love.
God’s love for you is expressed in his word and in the life of his Son, the word made flesh.
Don’t miss His love songs, love letters, and love gifts. Know love and know Him. Speak love and be known by Him.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
Is your love self-less or selfish?
Selfish love demands something in return. Love, acceptance, kindness, concern -something. It gives therefore it wants to get.
Selfish love is always thinking, "what's in it for me?" And it's always asking, “why should I love you when you won’t love me back?” But selfish love isn’t really love at all, because true love thinks nothing of itself but focuses on loving others in order to serve them and Christ, who is our example of self-less love.
Unconditional love is something we all want as human beings. We want to be loved no matter what we do, but how often are we willing to return love the same way?
We make demands and set rules on our love, but true love doesn’t make demands. It is given freely and abundantly. The only rule when it comes to giving love is that love for a human can never come before our love for God.
Our love should never try to replace the Holy Spirit but should flow from His presence.
How many times do you give kindness and then scream when you get anger in return?
How many times do you give advice and then complain when it isn’t followed?
Do you resent it when you give understanding and compassion and receive nothing of the kind in return?
The love you give to others should never be conditional on what you get back, but it should come from knowing the God who first loved you. You should be compelled by His love, not the response from other people.
You should be defined by God’s love, not the actions of others.
When your focus is not getting but giving, then your love will grow, and through that all other virtues will flow!
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
Is your love self-less or selfish?
Selfish love demands something in return. Love, acceptance, kindness, concern -something. It gives therefore it wants to get.
Selfish love is always thinking, "what's in it for me?" And it's always asking, “why should I love you when you won’t love me back?” But selfish love isn’t really love at all, because true love thinks nothing of itself but focuses on loving others in order to serve them and Christ, who is our example of self-less love.
Unconditional love is something we all want as human beings. We want to be loved no matter what we do, but how often are we willing to return love the same way?
We make demands and set rules on our love, but true love doesn’t make demands. It is given freely and abundantly. The only rule when it comes to giving love is that love for a human can never come before our love for God.
Our love should never try to replace the Holy Spirit but should flow from His presence.
How many times do you give kindness and then scream when you get anger in return?
How many times do you give advice and then complain when it isn’t followed?
Do you resent it when you give understanding and compassion and receive nothing of the kind in return?
The love you give to others should never be conditional on what you get back, but it should come from knowing the God who first loved you. You should be compelled by His love, not the response from other people.
You should be defined by God’s love, not the actions of others.
When your focus is not getting but giving, then your love will grow, and through that all other virtues will flow!
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PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
Scent is an amazing thing. It can affect your mood, your emotions, and your thoughts.
Smelling is powerful that it can make you feel just like you felt the last time you smelled the same thing. Good smells have a way of calming us, and some say certain scents even help us to concentrate, but smells can also be disgusting.
A lot of scents leave you running in the opposite direction. They can hit you like a slap in the face and make you want to cover your nose and mouth in self-protection.
In the spiritual realm, think of obedience to God as a good smell that God loves to inhale.
Love, kindness, selflessness, giving, and serving all are soothing aromas to God. They are what He looks for in the lives of His children. But sin is a stench that makes God turn His head and disregard even the prayers of the stinky (see Prov. 28:9).
What is the aroma of your life?
Does it drift up to the Lord in heaven with a lovely scent, or is it a disgusting stench?
If you aren’t sure, then check your thoughts and your actions. Do they match God’s word or are they in conflict?
A life in conflict is an unpleasant aroma, but a life set on pleasing God and finding out what He likes and dislikes is a soothing aroma.
May you find out what pleases God and do it. May He be charmed by the fragrance of your actions rather than repulsed by them.
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
Scent is an amazing thing. It can affect your mood, your emotions, and your thoughts.
Smelling is powerful that it can make you feel just like you felt the last time you smelled the same thing. Good smells have a way of calming us, and some say certain scents even help us to concentrate, but smells can also be disgusting.
A lot of scents leave you running in the opposite direction. They can hit you like a slap in the face and make you want to cover your nose and mouth in self-protection.
In the spiritual realm, think of obedience to God as a good smell that God loves to inhale.
Love, kindness, selflessness, giving, and serving all are soothing aromas to God. They are what He looks for in the lives of His children. But sin is a stench that makes God turn His head and disregard even the prayers of the stinky (see Prov. 28:9).
What is the aroma of your life?
Does it drift up to the Lord in heaven with a lovely scent, or is it a disgusting stench?
If you aren’t sure, then check your thoughts and your actions. Do they match God’s word or are they in conflict?
A life in conflict is an unpleasant aroma, but a life set on pleasing God and finding out what He likes and dislikes is a soothing aroma.
May you find out what pleases God and do it. May He be charmed by the fragrance of your actions rather than repulsed by them.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
I really like this devotional.
As women we put a lot of effort into looking good and smelling good. We buy so many hair conditioners, oils, soaps, and perfume. We pay special attention to the scent and how each product is packaged. If the product doesn’t look or smell good….it’s a no, no.
After reading this devotional, I said to myself I’m going to pay close attention to my internal – spiritual, personality, and character scent.
I’m going to ask myself what scent I’m leaving behind; what scent I’m subjecting others to that are around me!?! If my scent lingers would someone suffocate or be blessed!?! And more importantly is God pleased.
You never know what a person is going through and God can use your lovely scent at that very moment to reach the heart of someone.
Be mindful of your internal scent…..you never know who is in the crowd.
As women we put a lot of effort into looking good and smelling good. We buy so many hair conditioners, oils, soaps, and perfume. We pay special attention to the scent and how each product is packaged. If the product doesn’t look or smell good….it’s a no, no.
After reading this devotional, I said to myself I’m going to pay close attention to my internal – spiritual, personality, and character scent.
I’m going to ask myself what scent I’m leaving behind; what scent I’m subjecting others to that are around me!?! If my scent lingers would someone suffocate or be blessed!?! And more importantly is God pleased.
You never know what a person is going through and God can use your lovely scent at that very moment to reach the heart of someone.
Be mindful of your internal scent…..you never know who is in the crowd.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
The world might tell you that you are a victim.
You were hurt, abused, rejected, and abandoned, and that’s why you have issues, addictions, and drama in your life. When you believe that your messed-up life is because of something beyond your control, you give away the power over your own life that you so desperately want.
As long as you are busy blaming someone else for your life, you’ll never be free. You’ll never have control, and you’ll never take responsibility for yourself.
Part of becoming a God Woman is choosing to stop running away from the stuff that will make you more holy and happy, and that is being honest about your role in your own messed-up life, no matter who started it.
It’s called confession, and confession is good stuff. It purifies the soul because it gets to the bottom of what’s going on in yourself without worrying about what someone else did or didn’t do.
Confession agrees with God and His word about sin and says to Him, “You are holy and I want to be holy too.”
It says no matter what others do or have done, I’m siding with God and living a life that pleases him because I know that’s His Will.” When you do that, you’ll have all the protection and hope you need.
Don’t accept the pattern of avoiding honest confession like the first people did or like the world around you does. Confession might hurt, and it will probably feel totally uncomfortable and even dangerous, but the truth is, it’s the safest and healthiest thing you could do.
Confessing is good for the soul, and it proves that you don’t belong to yourself but to God.
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
The world might tell you that you are a victim.
You were hurt, abused, rejected, and abandoned, and that’s why you have issues, addictions, and drama in your life. When you believe that your messed-up life is because of something beyond your control, you give away the power over your own life that you so desperately want.
As long as you are busy blaming someone else for your life, you’ll never be free. You’ll never have control, and you’ll never take responsibility for yourself.
Part of becoming a God Woman is choosing to stop running away from the stuff that will make you more holy and happy, and that is being honest about your role in your own messed-up life, no matter who started it.
It’s called confession, and confession is good stuff. It purifies the soul because it gets to the bottom of what’s going on in yourself without worrying about what someone else did or didn’t do.
Confession agrees with God and His word about sin and says to Him, “You are holy and I want to be holy too.”
It says no matter what others do or have done, I’m siding with God and living a life that pleases him because I know that’s His Will.” When you do that, you’ll have all the protection and hope you need.
Don’t accept the pattern of avoiding honest confession like the first people did or like the world around you does. Confession might hurt, and it will probably feel totally uncomfortable and even dangerous, but the truth is, it’s the safest and healthiest thing you could do.
Confessing is good for the soul, and it proves that you don’t belong to yourself but to God.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
Sin is an internal action that leads to an external result. You might think its all external and say things like “the enemy is making me sin” or “I can’t control myself.”
You want change but you feel powerless. When you blame your actions on being addicted to something or on having an illness that makes you what you are, you are saying that your actions are beyond your control. But that’s a lie. After all, how could a just God condemn sin if sin was out of your control?
The truth is that your sin is within your control. God has defined sin in scripture, and because of that we know what He is completely against. If God is against your sin and He wants you to be free from it, then why aren’t you? It comes down to the way you think.
In order be free from sin, you have to change what you think about that sin. The beauty about calling a sin a sin is that it gives you power to overcome it. When you label things as they are, you take responsibility and therefore take control of your life.
Since God never commands you to do the impossible, if he has commanded you not to do something (sin), then you can be sure that not doing it is totally doable. Sin does not have power over you (see Rom. 6:14).
As long as you are willing to call sin what it is, God Woman, you can overcome everything that offends God by the power of His Spirit.
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
Sin is an internal action that leads to an external result. You might think its all external and say things like “the enemy is making me sin” or “I can’t control myself.”
You want change but you feel powerless. When you blame your actions on being addicted to something or on having an illness that makes you what you are, you are saying that your actions are beyond your control. But that’s a lie. After all, how could a just God condemn sin if sin was out of your control?
The truth is that your sin is within your control. God has defined sin in scripture, and because of that we know what He is completely against. If God is against your sin and He wants you to be free from it, then why aren’t you? It comes down to the way you think.
In order be free from sin, you have to change what you think about that sin. The beauty about calling a sin a sin is that it gives you power to overcome it. When you label things as they are, you take responsibility and therefore take control of your life.
Since God never commands you to do the impossible, if he has commanded you not to do something (sin), then you can be sure that not doing it is totally doable. Sin does not have power over you (see Rom. 6:14).
As long as you are willing to call sin what it is, God Woman, you can overcome everything that offends God by the power of His Spirit.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
When life starts spinning out of control, when you feel like you can’t go on, and when nothing is going your way, there is something you can do: remember the bottom line. Review the facts- just the facts is all you need.
Answer these questions:
1. Is God who He says He is?
2. Does He love you or not?
3. Is His Will good or bad?
4. Does anything happen to you without Him allowing it?
5. Does He truly work everything together for the good of the people who love Him?
6. Do you want God’s Will or your own?
If you can honestly answer these questions, then you can get over any trauma in your life and get to the truth of the matter. After all, your feelings are just your simple interpretation of a situation, a lot of times without considering the facts of the matter.
When you panic about life, you miss out on the bottom line – the truth about God and His role in your life. For a true believer, life is never spinning out of control and never near disaster. It is always built on the rock and safe under His wings.
When you allow your emotions to become your sacred truth, you lose all hope and worry sets in. If you want to be free from fear and angst, you have to remember the facts.
When you can look at your life through the reality of God’s love and Will for you, then you will find a whole new life full of peace and calm.
Know Yourself by Hayley DiMarco
When life starts spinning out of control, when you feel like you can’t go on, and when nothing is going your way, there is something you can do: remember the bottom line. Review the facts- just the facts is all you need.
Answer these questions:
1. Is God who He says He is?
2. Does He love you or not?
3. Is His Will good or bad?
4. Does anything happen to you without Him allowing it?
5. Does He truly work everything together for the good of the people who love Him?
6. Do you want God’s Will or your own?
If you can honestly answer these questions, then you can get over any trauma in your life and get to the truth of the matter. After all, your feelings are just your simple interpretation of a situation, a lot of times without considering the facts of the matter.
When you panic about life, you miss out on the bottom line – the truth about God and His role in your life. For a true believer, life is never spinning out of control and never near disaster. It is always built on the rock and safe under His wings.
When you allow your emotions to become your sacred truth, you lose all hope and worry sets in. If you want to be free from fear and angst, you have to remember the facts.
When you can look at your life through the reality of God’s love and Will for you, then you will find a whole new life full of peace and calm.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know How to Communicate by Hayley DiMarco
Humility is the foundation of all godliness. Without it you can’t confess your sins or ask Jesus to save you.
Humility is the beginning of all righteousness, and so it’s crucial to the God Woman. But what about when you are humiliated by a bad or prideful person?
When you’re faced with the sin of someone else’s pride, your first instinct isn’t holiness. The natural human reaction is retaliation or revenge. In fact, other people’s sin can become an excuse for your sin if you’re not careful.
“But she started it!” or “How dare he!” you say, and game on!
When they sin, your sense of fairness kicks in, and the last thing on your mind is meekness and obedience. That’s how things get started – fights, arguments, bitterness.
Troubled relationships start with a lack of humility, which keeps us from finding peace when others are sinning. It’s as if your mind decides that it’s not fair that you have to be good when they’re being so bad. But that’s human thinking, not godly thinking.
If God’s law depended on the actions of others, then even the pagans would be considered obedient (check out Matt. 5:46-48). But God’s law depends not on what they do but on who He is.
In any relationship it’s crucial for you, as a God woman, to know what God commands instead of relying on what other people do. In every battle you have to choose what God wants you to choose, even if the result will be your humiliation.
It sounds counterintuitive, but mean people are changed not by your retaliation but by your prayer. So go to God in prayer instead of going to them in anger. Trust that His law is good even if it seems unfair. And you will find yourself with more peace than you know what to do with.
Know How to Communicate by Hayley DiMarco
Humility is the foundation of all godliness. Without it you can’t confess your sins or ask Jesus to save you.
Humility is the beginning of all righteousness, and so it’s crucial to the God Woman. But what about when you are humiliated by a bad or prideful person?
When you’re faced with the sin of someone else’s pride, your first instinct isn’t holiness. The natural human reaction is retaliation or revenge. In fact, other people’s sin can become an excuse for your sin if you’re not careful.
“But she started it!” or “How dare he!” you say, and game on!
When they sin, your sense of fairness kicks in, and the last thing on your mind is meekness and obedience. That’s how things get started – fights, arguments, bitterness.
Troubled relationships start with a lack of humility, which keeps us from finding peace when others are sinning. It’s as if your mind decides that it’s not fair that you have to be good when they’re being so bad. But that’s human thinking, not godly thinking.
If God’s law depended on the actions of others, then even the pagans would be considered obedient (check out Matt. 5:46-48). But God’s law depends not on what they do but on who He is.
In any relationship it’s crucial for you, as a God woman, to know what God commands instead of relying on what other people do. In every battle you have to choose what God wants you to choose, even if the result will be your humiliation.
It sounds counterintuitive, but mean people are changed not by your retaliation but by your prayer. So go to God in prayer instead of going to them in anger. Trust that His law is good even if it seems unfair. And you will find yourself with more peace than you know what to do with.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
Are you spiritually lazy? It’s easy to be so busy and so energetic in life that you have nothing left for spiritual stuff.
But if you want more faith, more hope, more peace – if you want more of God and His presence – then you can’t afford to be lazy. Your soul will go hungry if you let yourself be spiritually lazy (see Prov. 19:15).
Spiritual laziness starts when you don’t have the energy to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And it keeps going when you are too worn out or exhausted to get up and do what you know God is asking you to do.
When you see a need and you don’t fill it, when you hear a cry for help and you’re too busy to answer, spiritual laziness will distract you and comfort you for the moment.
When you stay in bed an extra half hour instead of getting up early to spend time with God, you miss out on an opportunity to hear from Him.
When you skip reading your bible to go out and have fun, you miss the chance to have more of God in your life.
Every time you fall into the trap of spiritual laziness, you are refusing to feed your soul, and as a result your soul gets weak and fearful.
Guard your heart, your mind, and your soul by becoming aware of your tendency to choose the easy way instead of devotion and discipline.
Know God by Hayley DiMarco
Are you spiritually lazy? It’s easy to be so busy and so energetic in life that you have nothing left for spiritual stuff.
But if you want more faith, more hope, more peace – if you want more of God and His presence – then you can’t afford to be lazy. Your soul will go hungry if you let yourself be spiritually lazy (see Prov. 19:15).
Spiritual laziness starts when you don’t have the energy to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And it keeps going when you are too worn out or exhausted to get up and do what you know God is asking you to do.
When you see a need and you don’t fill it, when you hear a cry for help and you’re too busy to answer, spiritual laziness will distract you and comfort you for the moment.
When you stay in bed an extra half hour instead of getting up early to spend time with God, you miss out on an opportunity to hear from Him.
When you skip reading your bible to go out and have fun, you miss the chance to have more of God in your life.
Every time you fall into the trap of spiritual laziness, you are refusing to feed your soul, and as a result your soul gets weak and fearful.
Guard your heart, your mind, and your soul by becoming aware of your tendency to choose the easy way instead of devotion and discipline.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know True Happiness by Hayley DiMarco
Are you ever satisfied? Do you ever have enough? Or is there always something more you want or think you need?
It’s easy to see all the world has to offer and to have a continual wish list. “I want this, and this, and that…..” and the list goes on and on. But what does all this wanting say about you? And what does it sound like to the ears of God?
In the desert, the Israelites complained because they were tired of just eating manna all day every day, so God dropped all kinds of birds out of heaven for them to eat. But then they were bored with just birds and bread and wanted something different, and God got mad.
How awful it must feel to give and give and continually hear “That’s just not enough.” Seems like if that happened to you, eventually you’d just want to give up trying – after all, the person is never going to be satisfied.
But when you love God and you know the lengths He went to in order to save you, you start to realize that you really don’t deserve anything, but He has given you everything.
Discontentment only becomes a problem when you get your head stuck in the world and lose your focus because you see pretty things and you want them. But when you can get your focus back on the big picture and the things that really matter, all that fades away into the background.
If you want to be free of the wanting and not getting, quit looking in front of you and start looking up. Forget what your eyes, ears, and mouth want and go after what your soul needs. When you do, God will be right there ready to give it to you.
Know True Happiness by Hayley DiMarco
Are you ever satisfied? Do you ever have enough? Or is there always something more you want or think you need?
It’s easy to see all the world has to offer and to have a continual wish list. “I want this, and this, and that…..” and the list goes on and on. But what does all this wanting say about you? And what does it sound like to the ears of God?
In the desert, the Israelites complained because they were tired of just eating manna all day every day, so God dropped all kinds of birds out of heaven for them to eat. But then they were bored with just birds and bread and wanted something different, and God got mad.
How awful it must feel to give and give and continually hear “That’s just not enough.” Seems like if that happened to you, eventually you’d just want to give up trying – after all, the person is never going to be satisfied.
But when you love God and you know the lengths He went to in order to save you, you start to realize that you really don’t deserve anything, but He has given you everything.
Discontentment only becomes a problem when you get your head stuck in the world and lose your focus because you see pretty things and you want them. But when you can get your focus back on the big picture and the things that really matter, all that fades away into the background.
If you want to be free of the wanting and not getting, quit looking in front of you and start looking up. Forget what your eyes, ears, and mouth want and go after what your soul needs. When you do, God will be right there ready to give it to you.
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Devotional Series on Feelings....
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
There are a lot of places you can look for protection and rescue. A lot of people, things, and actions promise to save you from your life, misery, and your pain, but the truth is that there’s only one salvation, one rescuer, one protector, and that is God.
When life overwhelms you and when storms come, there is a safe harbor. God’s hand is reaching out to protect you, but you have to lift your arm and reach back.
You can’t sit with your arms crossed and eyes down just wondering when the rescue is going to get here. He’s already here, and He’s just waiting for you to take His hand. The only condition to this rescue is your love.
When you love God, He stands strong and tall by your side. He becomes your strong tower, your rock, your sure foundation. He is everything you need to build on and to grow. He is your source of strength and protection.
So when the storms come, when the attacks fall, don’t look around for help but look up to the Helper. Trust His word to be true, it will never steer you wrong. As soon as you are ready to accept His protection, you immediately have it. His word is your lifeline, His Son your salvation.
Don’t be so blind that you don’t see the very hand of God reaching out to save you. Reach out in faith and grab hold of it. When you do you will find all the protection you need, and your life will be saved from the pit of despair.
Know Love by Hayley DiMarco
There are a lot of places you can look for protection and rescue. A lot of people, things, and actions promise to save you from your life, misery, and your pain, but the truth is that there’s only one salvation, one rescuer, one protector, and that is God.
When life overwhelms you and when storms come, there is a safe harbor. God’s hand is reaching out to protect you, but you have to lift your arm and reach back.
You can’t sit with your arms crossed and eyes down just wondering when the rescue is going to get here. He’s already here, and He’s just waiting for you to take His hand. The only condition to this rescue is your love.
When you love God, He stands strong and tall by your side. He becomes your strong tower, your rock, your sure foundation. He is everything you need to build on and to grow. He is your source of strength and protection.
So when the storms come, when the attacks fall, don’t look around for help but look up to the Helper. Trust His word to be true, it will never steer you wrong. As soon as you are ready to accept His protection, you immediately have it. His word is your lifeline, His Son your salvation.
Don’t be so blind that you don’t see the very hand of God reaching out to save you. Reach out in faith and grab hold of it. When you do you will find all the protection you need, and your life will be saved from the pit of despair.
Nice Lady
Well-Known Member
Pink Pebbles, this is a great thread. Knowledge is power. You could even create a group off dealing with unchecked feelings. The Word becomes power when we don't just read this thread or catch up, but apply it.
Thanks for taking the time to share it. Just doing one of the readings makes a difference. That's true for an authentic Christian experience even though we still need God's grace
Thanks for taking the time to share it. Just doing one of the readings makes a difference. That's true for an authentic Christian experience even though we still need God's grace
PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
Nice Lady it truly does feel victorious when applying God's word to our daily lives
.These devotionals continuously help and strengthen me and I hope it blesses others as well!
