Today is Father's Day!!! Another special day set aside to celebrate our Father's and/or Dads. What does your day look like today? Are you...
Celebrating with your Dad at home or a restaurant
Missing your Dad because he has entered eternity (like mine)
Missing your Dad because he does not remember you or your name (Alzheimer/Dementia)
Angry at your Dad because he was and is absentee in your life
Bitter because you never received closure
Wherever you find yourself today just know that you are here on purpose. You are and were NEVER a mistake. I don't care what your mother, father, grandma, grandpa, etc says about your conception.
As I thought about this today and this post I began to ponder the question:
What is the difference between a father and a dad? So, when we have questions we often ask Google. Right? I did not really expect an answer but was surprised when I did.
This was what Google said:
"There is a huge difference between what makes a father and what makes a dad. A father is someone who believes that by donating his sperm for your creation, he has done his duty in life. ...To me, there is no greater man than a dad." Here is the article Click here
This Father's Day I am missing out on my Father and my Dad. Both have entered eternity.
As I look back over both of their lives I cannot allow the decisions that were made to overshadow who I am and who I was created to be.
Hope you are enjoying your Daddy today and everyday!
If he has entered eternity, enjoy your beautiful memories!
Love you all but Daddy God loves you even more than your finite mind can ever comprehend!!!
Prayer: Lord, thank you in advance for the lives of ALL fathers today! Let us see ourselves as You have created each one of us on purpose with a purpose! Help us renew our minds to see that You have never and will never create an accident where Your children are concerned. Open our eyes to see, open our ears to hear your voice speak to us, and open our hearts to understand and believe it as our truths. In Jesus' Name!!! Amen
As I followed the signs: turn right. then still further turn right. then left. I quickly realized I had never been through that particular neighborhood that way. I had to trust the signs because I did not know where I was in relationship to where I wanted to go.
As I was looking for the next orange detour sign, I found myself gaining confidence that I was being led in the right direction.
The Holy Spirit hit me with this thought:
The same way I was looking for and trusting in the detour signs is the same
way I should be looking for the detour signs in my life. When my life seems to take a detour from my expected route. I really have to trust in the Lord to lead and guide me. Proverbs 3: 5 - 6 immediately came to my mind.
APPLICATION: Start looking for the detour signs in your life and follow them knowing that Our God, Daddy is only going to lead us where HE wants us to be. Even if it means it is somewhere we do not want to be at during this particular season or challenge. As I think about one major detour of getting out of the military and becoming a school teacher. I was following the voice of the Holy Spirit. The detour definitely made me trust and rely on God. My first position, I was a teacher with no experience. My students loved on me and showed me how to love. They also taught me how to teach them. I learned what their strengths and weaknesses were and also mine. We were able to work on them together. This is still true today of being taught by my students. We build and challenge each other as well as hold each other accountable.
What detours are happening in your life right now?
Starting a business/ministry
Foster Care
Leaving a job/applying for a new job
Reaching out to family
Seeking counseling/group therapy
Seeking a spouse
Reinventing yourself
Reading/Studying the Bible
Reading books that will lead to freedom
Going back to school
Overcoming fear in any area
Forgiving someone who has wounded you deeply
Writing a book that God has laid on your heart
Volunteering at a soup kitchen/shelter
Dealing with unexpected divorce
Staying faithful in your singleness
Adopting a child
Unexpected pregnancy
Dealing with an unexpected illness/diagnosis
Dealing with grief from an expected/unexpected loss, etc.
Our detours can lead us many different places. But at the end of the day or month, were you obedient to the leading of the voice of the Lord in your life. Only you can answer that question.
This teachable moment has given me the PUSH I needed to continue to walk in what God has called me to do which is allowing HIM to set the captive free and help women take off their masks.
Prayer: Lord, show us take and navigate the detours in our lives that you have set up. Even the ones we have created in our own lives. Help us follow your leading and guidance. Also, reveal to us the deceptions in our lives that may try and mimic You.
Questions:
What detours are happening in your life right now?
Will you choose to trust God to walk you through it?
Hello Women of Valour, I am sure ALL of us can identify with this picture! But in the midst of our storms, we can choose to trust in God. The lyrics to this song will bless you:
How many times have our hearts been troubled and all we wanted was to be rescued? But God seemingly did not rescue or even answer you. I say 'we' because I have been there and sometimes still are there. But could it be that there is a reason for us to go through this particular storm, at this particular time frame. Would we dare pray and boldly tell Our Father to glorify HIS Name through our situations and circumstances? This is what Jesus was saying in these two verses.
John 2:27 - 28:
"Now My Heart is troubled, and what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour?
No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Father, glorify Your Name"
In the portion of Scripture above, Jesus is speaking about HIS Death on the Cross. This is why HE came to this earth. Just as HE was looking to HIS Father. We have to LOOK UP when we find ourselves with a troubled heart. We can go to Our Father to find comfort and peace in the midst of our storms. The situation may or may not change but our viewpoint concerning it can be changed depending on what we focus on and who we trust in.
John 14:1:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled,
trust in God, also trust in Me."
During this Holy Week time frame, I am in AWE of what Jesus gave up for each one of us. HIS sacrifice is overwhelming. It did not stop HIM from coming to save us. HE KNEW that some of us would not believe in HIM. Even though, His own chosen children would reject HIM. HE still came to save us and set us free from the sin that has and is keeping us in prison. As I watched the movie: Son of God, I saw how the people celebrated Jesus entering Jerusalem for the last time. I also saw how they were the same ones shouting crucify HIM later in the same week. But I also saw, how I have and sometimes still do celebrate Him when things are going good in my life. I also saw how I blamed Him or questioned Him when things were going wrong in my life. He is The Seed that was planted in the ground for three days to give me eternal life. HE did this for each one of us. HE is the same Seed who used 12 disciples/apostles to impact and change the world forever. We may look at our world today and say where is God? Well, I KNOW the answer to the question. HE is living in my heart and countless others. I can hear the Spirit of the Lord saying as HE said to Elijah. "I have 7,000 others that have never bowed a knee to Baal." (Romans 11: 3 - 5) Baal was a false god. God through HIS people are ALL around us. We may feel alone in our walk on this journey sometimes. But in truth, we are never alone because He said, "I will be with you (insert your name) even until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 Emphasis Added) If we look through history, there has ALWAYS been something going on in the world that was seemingly devastating and horrific. It may have seemed like there was not a God that could or would deliver. But each and every time HE did and does. Some of us may believe we are facing that time frame right now in our world.
We have to be on guard for ourselves and others
There is hope
IF we trust in who Our God is in, to, and through us.
I AM THAT I AM By Andrea Monroe
I am the First and the Last
I am the Alpha and the Omega
I am the Beginning and the End
I am the Author and the Finisher
I am the Resurrection and the Life
I am the Light and the Salt I m the Son of God and the Son of Man
I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I KNOW God to be ALL of these!!!! Do you know HIM to be at least one of them? If so, then in the midst of your storm, hold on to that truth.
Do NOT let anyone take it away from you.
Do NOT let anyone deceive you into believing something different.
REMEMBER:
Our God has your name written
on the palm of HIS Hand.
(Isaiah 49:16)
Prayer: Holy Spirit, Help me put my trust back where it belongs which is in Jesus Christ. Open my eyes to see My Daddy, God and Jesus the Christ in a brand new way. Help my troubled heart to trust in You more or just trust You period. Show me how to walk this spiritual journey you have placed me on! I fully understand that I cannot do it by myself. Holy Spirit, led and guide me to people that can speak life and build me up in the midst of what I am going through. In Jesus' Name! Amen!
Questions:
What has your heart troubled?
Will you choose to trust God to walk you through it?
experiencing your freedom in Christ, being set free,
experiencing the love of God, and opening your blinded eyes
Isaiah 61:1
Hello Women of Valour,
Why is it that things have to get to a place of detriment before we change in an area?
Normal day-to-day operations, we are planning our next business meeting, next girl's night, day off, vacation, etc. But are you planning on being a healthier version of you? We can put off and put off things until just the right time.
Philippians 4:13 - I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.
Joel 2:25 - Restore what the cankerworm has eaten
Ephesians 5:16 - Redeem the time
Romans 12:2 - Renew my mind. (Transform the way I think)
I Corinthians 6:19 - The temple of the Holy Spirit
Colossians 1:27 -Christ in me the hope of glory
Please hear me when you read this:
Prayer: Lord, help me seize the moments in my life. Help me be a reflection of you spiritually and physically. Holy Spirit, help me use the practical ways and resources to seize the moments You have given me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Question:
In what area, do you need to seize the moment?
Who are you representing?
It is my prayer that something you saw or read today
will touch your heart and bring you closer to Daddy God!!!
