I Choose Today...

I Choose Today: Wisdom in the Pause

A few days ago, I was listening to a friend retell about a situation she had at work. It was a conversation she was having with a coworker and it had all the makings of a coming conflict. When she made the statement, “I paused before I responded,” it was like the Holy Spirit said to me, “there is wisdom in the pause.” Think about it, today’s society tends to speak hastily, causing conflict and wreaking havoc in the workplace, public, churches, and families. We speak hastily from our own understanding and wisdom, as well as throwing in some of our own hangups and anxieties. King Solomon, the wisest person to ever live outside of Jesus, knew this principle all to well when he warns us, “Do you see a [conceited] man who speaks quickly [hastily] [offering his opinions or answering without thinking]? There is more hope for a [thickheaded] fool than for him.” Proverbs‬ ‭29‬:‭20‬ ‭AMP‬‬ (emphasis added) Basically he is saying it is better to be someone who is silly or stupid; a person who lacks judgement and sense, than to be a person who speaks hastily. We have all been guilty of it, haven’t we?  Giving our

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I Choose Today Positive Self-Talk

Negative self-talk… I think we all have that one down pat. This has been one of the biggest hurdles for me to overcome. As I grew up, there was a lot of hurtful, minimizing, oppressive words spoken to me: you are dumb, stupid, and you will never amount to anything so don’t even try; people like you don’t make a difference; what do you know… nothing, so sit down and be quiet. These are words that the father of lies, the devil, willingly replayed for me over and over again all throughout my life. When I would try something new, he would put this tape on repeat. I would believe it and quit. If I tried something and failed just a little, again the tape would play. (Negative self-talk). It wasn’t until the Lord spoke into my life the truth of who I am in Him – His child, His masterpiece, His creation made on purpose for a purpose – did I start a new tape. (Positive self-talk). I read something recently that resonated with me. Someone wisely said, “What if we agreed with our Creator and called ourselves fearfully and wonderfully made? A masterpiece? A daughter of the King?

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I Choose Today: Embracing Intimacy With My Lord

Over the last five weeks, I have only been home four days. Some of the time I was with my husband, but most of it was spent apart. Sure, we talked everyday, most days multiple times, but it wasn’t the same as being present with one another. A couple times a week, we would sit outside and just talk, laugh, or just enjoy one another’s company. We call this “back porch sitting.”  Being away, even together, isn’t the same as the togetherness we experience during our “back porch sitting” time. The same is true as I spend time with the Lord. This morning when I sat down in my “quiet-time” chair in the corner of my office, I felt like I was coming home. Just me and the Lord, talking, studying, and just spending time together. I felt it all the way to my very soul. It is the intimacy I experience with the Lord that I miss. Even though I spent time with Him while I was gone, it wasn’t the same as when we spend time together while sitting in my chair. It is an ordinary chair, but there is nothing ordinary about the relationship built experienced there.

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I Choose Today to Know How to Talk With God: Pray

During my last blog, we discussed a conversation I had with friends about aspects of prayer. Together, we discovered what we are supposed to pray about: EVERYTHING (Proverbs 3:5-6). This blog will focus on how to talk to God. It is easy to talk to our friends, family members, co-workers, and even complete strangers. My family makes fun of me because they say that in the amount of time it takes to come down an elevator, I will know everyone life story! Now that is a gross exaggeration, but not too out of the realm of possibilities. For some of us, it is easy to talk to others, but what about talking to God? The reality of talking to the Creator of the universe seems daunting! What does one say to the One and Only Amazing Majestic God? Well, let’s once again go to His Word to find out how Jesus told us to pray. He said this when asked how we are to pray: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.

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I Choose Today to Talk About Everything

Not too long ago, some friends and I were sitting around talking when the topic of prayer came up. What do you pray for? How do you pray? Who do you pray for? What do you say? Then, how do you listen? There were some interesting conversations that came from these prompting questions. Over the next couple of blogs, we will discover what God’s Word says about these questions. And we will dive into how God speaks to us in response. The first of which is: what do you pray for? So, what do you pray for? Do you only pray when your circumstances in life are overwhelming, hard, and/or challenging all the solutions you come up with? Or perhaps it is when an emergency or illness arises, and there is no earthly way the issue can be solved and needs heavenly intervention. What about simple things like where to invest or spend your money? What about which job you should take or if you should change jobs? How about what you should say to your spouse, kids, or co-worker in response to a situation, whether good or bad? How about praying for how you should spend your day? All

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