Tag: Grace

What Are The Three Things You Can Do While Waiting?

I think this matter could have many different answers depending on what you’re waiting for. Are you patient or impatient? What is the benefit of waiting? When I think about waiting on something or someone it stirs in me thoughts of ‘what do I do while I wait.’ These are questions we will answer.

So, let’s see the word wait, it means “stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens,” That is kind of a general definition. Depends on what you are waiting for such as finishing a task or degree, buying a house, etc. These are events that have a time schedule but what if you’re waiting on something you don’t know when it will happen such as a major change in life or a healing. How then do you wait without giving up hope?

The first thing to do while you wait is Pray. Prayer is communication with God. There are times of prayer that we ask, seek, and knock and other times we sit still and listen. I choose to give God every situation because He knows all aspects of my situations and I do not. Prayer is petitions, intercessions and worship, believing God hears and answers our requests. I heard Joyce Meyer say these words, “Simple believing faith.” I liked that explanation because it made it practical for me. Instead of long oratorical prayers try simple believing prayers that are direct to the point. God already knows what we are thinking, and He is not judging how elegant our prayers are He’s looking on the faith connection in prayers.

The second thing to do while waiting is put your Trust in God. If you prayed about it know God heard, you. When you are a child of God, He hears your prayers. Answers do not always come instantly but God does not forget like humans do. He is completely trustworthy because God cannot lie. I choose to speak the word of God to my situations it builds my faith. Reading the Word of God daily builds our faith. As your trusting God you may get tempted to be frustrated or anxious in your wait. But choose instead to be thinking on things that are good, lovely and a good report Philippians 4:6-7 is a reassuring scripture of what we are to do. Verse 6) “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God; 7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

 The third thing to do while you are waiting is Praise. You can praise God any time of the day. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice!” Rejoice does not mean ‘thank him for the problem’ but thank him in the waiting by rejoicing in His goodness, sing unto the Lord a new song. Make melody in heart towards the Lord. The more you praise the lighter you will feel. I choose to cast my care unto God and remind myself He loves me and is taking care of me.

Everyone’s wait will be different but we all could wait with His grace. His grace is sufficient for each one of us. The advantage in waiting is learning to lean on Him for his strength & grace. If you fight impatience, then repent and ask for the grace to wait. Waiting is a time of growth. Enjoy your wait through prayer, trust and praise.

Blessings,

Dr. Annette

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“How To Avoid Being Weary” The Waiting Game…

What Are The Three ‘Starting Over’ Factors?

Why do we get overwhelmed when we have to start over? Some people can embrace starting over easier than others. What outlook do you have? I don’t think we are ever too old to learn something new.

First factor of ‘starting over’ may be defined by the circumstances. Sometimes things happen in life, and we need a ‘start over.’ Starting over can be a simple job to a life change. Whatever you’re facing on the ‘starting over’ is not going to take you down but this can produce growth and health if you allow it.

God promises to go through trials with us. In Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you, When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”

How we view our situations and circumstances can affect our abilities in wanting to move on. Setbacks, delays, failures do not define us they are just things we go through. Allow God to grow you in your ‘starting over’ season.

Second factor of starting over is ‘facing fear.’ There are all kinds of fears when starting over, such as fear of being alone, of the unknown, of rejection. Fear of not being loved, appreciated or of being hurt, not accepted etc. Everyone faces unknow aspects when they face a ‘start over.’ From the simplest task to a major life change. Overcoming the fear by speaking truths to yourself is extremely helpful.

In Isaiah 43:1 “…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” God tells us fear not because He knows He is going with. You are not alone even if it feels like it.    

My husband and I are in a start over season we are entering a ‘ministerial internship program’ in our sixties. It is exciting and a little overwhelming for both of us. But I am thankful for the opportunity, and I know God is guiding us in this. Therefore, He will provide us with the grace to implement and finish it.

No matter what we face if we put our trust in God and allow Him to work in our lives we will learn, grow and mature.

Third factor in starting over is growth. Growth comes in many forms. Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth are good but not always fun. Embrace life where you are at and ask God for help. He is always working on growing us into Christlikeness. God cares about every aspect in your life and will walk you through and produce growth in you as you surrender the cares, worries and fears to Him.

Speak truth to yourself you will make it, you will learn and grow.

Blessings,

Dr. Annette

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How to Abound in Life and Godliness

What does abound in life and godliness mean to you? How do we live in abundance of life? To be plentiful in life and godliness comes through God’s grace and peace. Being plentiful is not always about money, fame or status. Money is a good thing we need money to buy food and shelter. To me being plentiful in life is walking, living and abiding in the grace and peace of God. I know when I live in this manner I am led by the Spirit of God and He supplies what I need for all my life situations and the grace and peace to wait, lean and surrender in them. This is a daily provision not a one-time occurrence. Jesus gave us abundant life.

How do we walk in His grace and peace? Through surrendering our control of situations. Through God’s grace which is His empowerment to enable you to do what you need to do. His grace and peace are supplied as you surrender to him and abide in Him plus, He increases it as you ask for it.

God’s word tells us In 2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3)as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4)by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Through these promises we are given everything needed to live in and by his divine nature, that lives in us through Christ Jesus. We are joint heirs with him. This abundant life is not about prospering financially but does not seclude it either. It is spiritually, soul (mind, will, and emotions) and physically. God has supplied grace for us and will give us more grace as we need it to do what he has called us to do.

Recently, I taught on how to apply 2 Peter 1:5-8, our pastor ends his message weekly with ‘let’s do the Bible’ and this was the passage, 2 Peter 1: 5-8 says, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness love, For if these are yours and abound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We need His grace and help. We are overcomers in Christ Jesus, but you must be willing to walk and live it out! Walking out the Word of God produces growth.

We need to be willing and must want to grow and see our need for it. So, with all diligence we are to add to our faith…

First, we are to add to our faith virtue. Virtue means “behavior showing high moral standards” it also means moral excellence, strength and courage. How do we apply add moral excellence in our lives? We can apply this through surrender to the Spirits chastisement, leading, reproving. Being thankful when corrected by Him because you are growing and learning His ways.

Moral excellence is a daily walk of listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading so that if you were to go in a direction that is not holy, He will warn you. It is when we don’t listen to the Spirits leading that we usually get ourselves into compromising situations.

Moral excellence starts in the heart and its fruit shows up as you walk it out. Outward appearance is not moral excellence although modesty will be seen in our appearance when we live in moral excellence according to God’s word.

Second, add to our virtue knowledge. Knowledge means “an understating of facts, information and skills acquired by a person through experience or education, the theoretical or practical understand of a subject.”  I believe we apply adding knowledge by being teachable. We can always keep learning. As we learn the word of God through reading and studying it ask The Holy Spirit to open your understanding. Ask Him to teach you if you seek knowledge, you will find it. Learning something new is good for our brains.

Third, add to knowledge self-control. What does self-control mean? It means “The ability to control oneself, one’s emotions and desires or the expression of them in one’s behavior, especially in difficult situations.” (self-discipline)

It is interesting that self-control is the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, if you are a child of God, you have self-control. We apply this in our lives by yielding to God the Holy Spirit. Giving Him the right of way to lead you instead of allowing your emotions to run wild. I choose to speak God’s word out loud when I’m facing situations I don’t like or understand. Speaking God’s word out loud helps us to hear it, believe it, and receive His help.

Fourth, add to self-control perseverance. What does perseverance mean?  Perseverance means “persistence in doing something, despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” “Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failures or opposition: steadfastness.”

Tell yourself you can finish, encourage yourself you can do it. By the grace of God, we can finish what we started. Do not allow yourself permission to quit. Speak God’s word to your spirit soul and body. Anyone who has carried out any challenging task understands the struggle you are facing but they did not give up and neither will you! You are becoming an overcomer!

Fifth, add to perseverance godliness. Godliness means, “The quality or practice conforming to the laws and wishes of God.” Is this in outward behavior only? No, it is inward and then comes outward in our behavior. God deals with the heart motives, and He shows us where we are at, which is conviction so that we can repent and change.

Therefore, verse three is so important it says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” It is wisdom to live in godliness, which is reflecting the nature of the Kingdom of God during everyday life. When we live in godliness Christ Jesus nature is reflected in our actions and decisions.

How do we apply this? By being willing to let God search your heart. Then be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Being sensitive to God means listening to God the Holy Spirit He will quicken His word in you and then follow His peace. This affects how you live and interact with others in the world around you, with your families and in the body of Christ.

Sixth add to your godliness brotherly kindness. What is brotherly kindness and who is your brother? Brotherly kindness means the love of brothers “kind affection for one another.” “Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate.” All humans are our neighbors…

We apply this by humbling ourselves to the leading of God putting others first. Who is our brother? I believe it is our families, church families and neighbor. Jesus put it best as to who our neighbor is. Read Luke 10: 25-37 the parable of the Good Samaritan. Following the Master’s example is best.

And finally add to brotherly kindness love. I Corinthians 13: 4-8 says, “love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices I the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

How do we apply this to our lives? By asking God to show us where we are at in our love walk and asking for the grace to love with His love for one another, for family, and neighbors.

I love that God supplies us with the ability to add to our faith as we surrender to His will and ways.

Today is a new day!

A New Day

Every day is a completely new day. The bible says, “Today is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Each day is a new day although each day may not have pleasant things happening. We affect our day through our hearts and minds. No matter what happens our thoughts and attitudes towards events will affect our day.

But even at the worst of days we can go through the time with and by the Grace of God. You will be able to make it through whatever you are facing once you face it with and in the Grace of God.

Whether it’s a loss, disappointments, breakup or health problems etc. your day can be faced, expressed and walked through with help. God provides The Grace to go through along with you. Jesus said I will be with you always.

You can say today is the day the Lord has made. It’s a new day only you determine your outlook on your day. I choose to look to the Lord Jesus and His Grace every day. He’s the reason I’m alive today!

Let your day begin with a good morning Lord and finish with a thank you God for this day. Your outlook has a great deal to do with how you live and react to events and others. When there is pain or trauma, we must let it out by giving it a voice, but then we need to get healed from it. So that your days will not be driven by the past but are focused on your future.

God wants to heal the hurts of the past because He has a hope and future for you. What exactly is your hope in?

Amazon.com: The Father’s Daughters: Affirmation, Acceptance and Affection (9798705629275): Melton, Dr. Annette: Books

How Can You Be Thankful In A Pandemic?

How can you be thankful in a pandemic? That is a good question. Why is it a good question? Because thankfulness is an essential quality that helps one to persevere in tough times.

Living life in everyday situations can be difficult on a normal basis but throw a pandemic with a virus of strange origin, unable to view and tell when and how it is transmitted caused incalculable anxiety, fear and uncertainty.

So then why should we be thankful. Thankfulness is an attitude of gratitude. No matter how bad life gets and for some it has been extremely bad but somehow and some way there is something to be grateful for. Gratitude lifts our spirit and brings emotional wellbeing.

Even if you are not a child of God being thankful is beneficial for your wellbeing and mental health. By now if you have been following or read a few of my blog posts you recognize I am a Christian and love God. His word tells us to be thankful for and to God. I practice thankfulness daily. I say please and thank you because I genuinely appreciate when someone does something for me. I choose to be thankful and so can you.

Perhaps your struggling with the many difficult restrictions since the pandemic started as is everyone. Pick one thing to be thankful for and express it. You can write it out, express it to God and others not just on Thanksgiving but every day. I am thankful for a lot of different things. My husband came through a difficult surgery it had complications and he was in ICU for many days, but God provided throughout that time and I am so thankful for the prayers and encouragement we received.

I am thankful for the grace to do everything I need to do as my husband recuperates and for the time we get to spend together. I am also thankful for my family and friends I have great friends and family that I so appreciate their love and kindness. My church family is also something I am thankful for. I could go on and on, but you get the picture by now.

I could list all our troubles and setbacks but that only produces more stress and anxiety and truthfully every day holds a new day of challenges, but God also supplies daily mercy and grace. So why focus on the challenges or troubles. I am sensible I know and express my emotions and process hurts but I choose to let go of what I cannot solve or fix. How do I do it through processing and surrendering to God. I trust God to work out my problems and supply solutions when and where I need them.

Choosing to be thankful for the little and important things will help you through this pandemic and throughout life.

The Grace Factor…

Grace for all situations

Do you feel weak? Do you struggle daily with…? Are you exasperated by situations that continue and there’s nothing you can do? Then it’s time to learn the Grace Factor.

John 1:16 states, “And of His fullness we have all received, and Grace for grace. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Grace is not just a salutation of a letter written to different people in the Bible. Nor is it an ending to the letter written. 

It is a declaration of a substantial substance that each one of us can have and walk in. Jesus came in the fullness of grace to give us grace. Grace is a saving, sufficient/satisfying and sustaining power for each of us.

I preached a message in the early 90s on grace. Out of this message I have continued to rely on and grow in God’s grace. It helps me walk, endure and continue to move forward in my life.

God gave me the gifts to teach, preach and counsel. I’m not eloquent in my language skills or powerful in my voice volume but God knew that and anointed what he called. He taught me through the last 30 years to receive, rely and relax in His Grace.

In 2Corinthians 12:9 it states, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The apostle prayed 3x for the Lord to take away whatever he was going through and this is what Jesus said to Him.

The grace of God is tangible you can sense and feel the empowerment to do what you have and need to do. The grace factor is His presence with and in you to get it done or to hold on to whatever it is in your life…

The Bible states we can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2Peter 3:17 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That means it continues for us. You literally can grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

How do you apply the grace factor?

First, ask Jesus to come into your life, if you have never done this before. Repent for your sins and receive him today now is a good time. Yes, it is that simple!

Because saving grace is a gift from God.  Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, who is rich in Mercy, of His great love with which He loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. (by grace you have been saved) Verse 8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, least anyone should boast.”

You cannot do good deeds to earn grace. If you could earn it Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come and give it. Grace for grace.

Ask and receive for more grace if you already are a child of God’s. Simply ask for it.

Secondly, rely on his grace to sustain and empower you as you walk and live in this life on earth. His grace is sufficient to give you strength in weakness, endurance in weariness, help in trouble and empowerment to go and be all you can be. That is the grace factor in action.

Thirdly, relax on and in the grace of God. How by not striving in things but relaxing on His grace in and through things or situations. When you are depending on God and listening for instructions when needed you can relax that He will give you what you need when you need it.

This is how you grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Grace factor.