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Letting Go

Posted on by Paula Davis

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As I was reading my daily scripture this morning I saw something I never had before.

The scripture was a portion of a story I have heard for over 40 years. The story of Joseph. A few days ago he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and became a servant in Egypt. Yesterday he was put in jail for something he didn’t do yet he was blessed by God and given interpretations for the dreams of two other prisoners. One of the prisoners was the Pharaoh’s cupbearer who was reinstated to his post and eventually remembered Joseph when the Pharaoh had a dream that couldn’t be interpreted by his advisors. God gave the interpretation to Joseph who was then made second in command in Egypt. The dream had been about seven years where the crops would prosper and then seven years of famine. God also gave Joseph the plan for making sure Egypt would be able to survive the years of famine. (See Genesis 37-41 for the way God tells it…the non-Paula’s condensed version)

Today was one of my favorite parts of the story (Genesis 42-45):

Joseph’s brothers (yes, the ones who sold him into slavery) came to Egypt to buy grain for their families. Joseph knew who they were but they did not recognize him and he did not reveal himself to them for quite some time. When he finally did they feared that Joseph would make them pay for what they had done to him so many years before. But instead Joseph introduced them to Pharaoh who was so excited he sent them back to bring their father, their wives and children to live in Egypt.

The next part is what I had never seen before:

ready?

Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours. Genesis 4:19-20

Did you see it?

The letting go part?

They were told to never mind about their belongings…to leave them behind…to let them go.

If they had taken the time to pack up everything they owned and tried to haul them from Canaan to Egypt it would have taken forever! And since what was waiting for them in Egypt was much finer than anything they had ever owned they wouldn’t miss what they left behind. Letting go allowed them to get to better things than they could imagine. Sure they still might have gotten there if they held on but it would have taken much longer and when they got to Egypt they probably would have found that they didn’t want/need what they held onto anyway.

Now do you see it?

All of a sudden I began to wonder what I’m holding onto that is keeping me from the best God has for me.

Attitudes? Fear? Uncertainty? Disbelief?

Wow. It makes a girl think!!

I’m going to work on this over the next few days, weeks, etc. If it makes you think too I encourage you to pray about it and I’m sure God will show each of us as we are open to Him. Then we can open our hands/hearts/minds and let go.

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I believe that even this side of Heaven God has amazing things for us that He longs to reveal. Let’s let go & see where He takes us!!

blessings and peace to you!

Paula

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Week #2 ~ Words Worth Remembering

Posted on by Paula Davis

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 NIV

Micah was a prophet of God. Prophets were usually unpopular both with their own people and those who didn’t believe in the Lord. They delivered messages from God of reproach and correction as well as news of things to come.

In the case of Micah chapter 6 the people were sinning against the Lord and paying the consequences. When their sins are pointed out to them, instead of arguing their case they are compelled to seek how to please the Lord. In verses 6-7 the people are scrambling to come up with what they can do to please the Lord. They want to know what they can sacrifice to make Him happy with them. From burnt offerings to their firstborn sons the people long to know what will please God.

Then Micah speaks. He tells the people that they already know what to do. God has shown them through the ages what His heart’s desire is from His people. Verse 8 is what He wants from us. Yes, we need to confess our sins and follow His commandments. But honestly when we “walk humbly” with Him don’t we automatically do that in the process?

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This week I’m going to give you a glimpse into my journal and the application for my life in this verse:

“It’s so simple really. Yet I make it so complicated and difficult. Walking humbly with You — not jumping ahead or dragging my feet but side by side knowing Your will as You reveal it. I’m sorry I jump ahead. I’m sorry I lag behind and/or drag my feet. How will you reach others through me if I’m not opening myself up to You?”

What does this verse say to you? As you work on hiding it in your heart this week I hope you’ll share with us how God speaks to you and how it impacts your days.

blessings and peace to you!
Paula

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Week #1 ~ Words Worth Remembering

Posted on by Paula Davis

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

This is one of those verses that I have sort of known but have not “hidden in my heart” until now. I believe it is truly the crux of our beliefs as Christians. When we have asked Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and become the leader of our life we are saved from our sins and will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. God desires that we live a life pleasing to Him and allow His Spirit to work in and through our lives to demonstrate who He is to anyone our lives touch.

But our salvation is not dependent on what we do.

It is a gift.

We can’t earn it.

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Salvation: deliverance from the power and effects of sin
(from Miriam-Webster Dictionary)

It can be a difficult concept to grasp, especially for those of us who like to have a list to follow and know that if we check off each thing we are closer to our goal. Salvation doesn’t work that way.

Look at the last part of this verse. It is what puts everything into perspective for me:

“it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

God knew that we humans would have a competitive spirit in us and by nature want to be better than our ‘neighbor’. With His gift of salvation He solved that dilemma for us. The exact same eternal gift is given to each person who desires it. What freedom that offers!

We can screw up and we don’t lose our salvation. When our hearts are set to please God and serve Him to the best of our abilities we can be assured of our place in Heaven. (How we use the other gifts God gives to us as individuals is a topic for another post!)

Praise God for His gift of salvation and eternal life!!

Please join me this week in committing this verse to memory and hiding it in our hearts. Do you have additional insight on this verse and how it impacts your life? Please share below!

blessings and peace to you as we begin this journey together!
Paula

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GETTING STARTED IN 2013

Posted on by Paula Davis

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It’s the first day of 2013 and the day of resolutions. As we flip the calendar page many of us will resolve to change our lives and our outlook. We will vow to eat better, exercise more, criticize less and overall have a positive attitude about life and those we love.

Looking ahead and resolving to make changes is a good thing. But it’s not enough. For better success we need to turn our resolutions into goals.

A resolution is a statement. A goal is a plan.

Goals are putting action to what we resolve to do. Instead of resolving to exercise more we can make a plan to walk 3 days a week at lunchtime. Or join a Zumba, Pilates, spinning or ______ class (fill in the blank with something you’ve always wanted to try). Be sure your goals are specific, manageable, achievable, realistic and time sensitive….or SMART! (we’ll talk more about this in future posts)

Are you overwhelmed already? Not sure where to start?

Don’t be in a hurry
but…
Do set a deadline.

January 1st doesn’t need to be the day we start our goals for the New Year. We can make it the day we start seeking God’s will and make the start date a few weeks later. Take time to allow the Lord to direct you in your planning. 

1. PRAY – ask God

•For guidance
•For God’s will
•For His blessings to be on your plans.

Jeremiah 29:11
Proverbs 16:3
Proverbs 19:21

2. START – Just put something down

•Write down things that are in your heart
•Think about what will bring you closer to the person God wants you to be.
•How can you make ‘required’ areas into goals? (work, school, chores)

3. PRAY – Lay the goals you’ve set out before God


4. LISTEN – Give God time to speak to you about your goals and whether He wants them to change.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  James 1: 4-5

5. ADJUST – Make changes where needed

One of my downfalls each year is being overzealous in my goals. I want to set goals for so many areas of my life that I sometimes forget to ask the Lord if His desires are the same as mine. If not I need to humble myself before Him and make some changes.

Whatever your goals are for 2013 I want you to succeed!!

I’m no expert on goal planning, but am learning more and more each day. Each week of the new year I’m going to share with you a little of what I’ve learned and hope you’ll share as well. We can encourage each other as we set goals and as we work to achieve them.

May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

What are your New Year’s traditions? Do you make resolutions and set goals? How can we help you with them this year?

I hope you’ll join me on a journey to see the Lord’s plans succeed in our lives in 2013!

blessings & peace to you…
Paula

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Words Worth Remembering

Posted on by Paula Davis

I have hidden Your Word in my heart
that I might not sin against You.
Psalm 119:11

As Christians God’s Word is one of the most important tools we have. It is what we base our words, actions and hopefully our thoughts on. His Word provides wisdom, comfort, and direction. The Bible is a gift from God to help us know His desires for our lives and as a tool to share Him with others.

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Unfortunately we don’t always have a Bible with us and even when we do there isn’t always time to look up an appropriate verse for the situation. I have been challenged by how few verses I have hidden in my heart and one of my goals for the coming year is to put more there. My goal is to memorize a verse every week of 2013 and to understand the context of each verse and how it can apply to my life and the lives of others.

I’m inviting you to join me!

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Early each weekend I will post a verse to memorize along with some context and perhaps a few personal thoughts. I’d love it if each of you would add your thoughts and if you are familiar with the verse perhaps how the verse has helped you along life’s way.

The older I get the more difficult I find it to memorize things so if anyone has suggestions or methods as we go along please share those too.

I’m excited to think that at this time next year I will know over 50 new verses! I really hope you’ll join me!

blessings and peace to you!
Paula

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Christmas Regrets

Posted on by Paula Davis

Another Christmas is over. It was such a wonderful day for me as family gathered and we shared some precious time over good food, gracious gifts and making great memories.

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…but I have some regrets.

There were other special times throughout the Christmas season. I published my first book! I gave to charities and children. I created a gingerbread carnival and gingerbread houses for giants (giant gingerbread people that is…) I sewed and scrapbooked gifts for my family. I laughed with friends at Christmas parties and cried over memories of my dad as we celebrated our fifth Christmas without him.

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…still I have some regrets.

Christmas Eve was celebrated with both my mom and sister for the first time in several years, and we joined a very special uncle and cousins to welcome the Christ Child at my childhood church.

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…and yet I have regrets.

1. I regret that I didn’t start earlier. I don’t mean with the sewing and creating (although I was sewing pajamas until 10:30pm Christmas Eve) or with the parties and wrapping.

I regret that I didn’t start sooner with the giving.

Christmas is a time when we think about others who are in need and as a society we tend to give generously. But what about in February when we’re snuggled in our beds yet our streets are filled with those without a home trying to stay warm? Or in August when we’re trying the latest fried-food specialty at the State Fair but haven’t given a donation to the food pantry in months? Why don’t I give all year-long?

2. I regret that I don’t make more of an effort to spend time with my nephews and let them know how proud I am of the young men they are becoming.

And what about others in my life who are important to me?

Do they know how much I care? I used to write fun letters and send goofy greeting cards ‘just because’. When was the last time I wrote a note or did some random act of kindness for someone special to me?

3. I regret that I don’t savor time with my Savior the rest of the year as I do at Christmas. There’s something about the lights on the Christmas tree and the sense of wonder all around that makes me feel closer to the Lord and treasure His gift of Jesus more than the rest of the year.

I want to capture that feeling and experience it all through the year.

These regrets stir me to action. I’ve mentioned before that I am a planner. As I look towards my plans for the coming New Year I am going to ‘task’ myself with planning ways to eliminate these regrets for next year. I will share some of these plans with you over the next couple of weeks.

I pray that you had a wonderful Christmas filled with love and precious memories. What was your favorite part? Any regrets? Please share your thoughts with us here.

I am so thankful for a season that reminds us of the preciousness of our family and friends and the wonderful gift of Jesus. And I’m thankful for all of you stopping by.

blessings and peace to you…
Paula

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The Hope of Christmas

Posted on by Paula Davis

There was only one thing I wanted for Christmas that year. Baby Alive. She was a doll that you could feed special “baby” food and she would drink from a bottle of water. Her mouth moved when you put the spoon or bottle up to it so that she was actually eating and drinking! Then of course, she wore diapers because what she took in also had to come out!

Every time a commercial would come on the television for Baby Alive I would tell my parents how much I wanted her. (I still remember the jingle they sang about her). I knew my parents didn’t have a lot of money and quite likely I wouldn’t see that special doll under the tree. But that didn’t stop me from hoping!  I loved that doll and hoped some day to making her mine.

We seem to use the word hope generously in our culture…almost flippantly it seems. “I hope it doesn’t rain.” or “I hope these pants still fit.” along with similar phrases often fill our conversations. While there’s nothing wrong with hoping for things here on earth it is important that we and those we impact have eternal hope. We hope in others to give us what we want for Christmas but humans cannot fill the void of a lonely or broken heart. Only God can fill that emptiness that each of us has.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.                                                                                                     Psalm 62:5-6

Christmas celebrations cannot be complete without remembering the eternal hope that comes because Jesus left His throne in the majesty of Heaven to be born as a helpless infant. He left his future in the hands of imperfect humans and yet He lived a perfect life then gave that life on the cross for our sins.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.                                                                                                  Ephesians 1: 18-19a

So many in this world are without the hope of Jesus. They see Christmas as only filled with shopping, lighted trees and gifts under the tree. Without the ‘right’ gift all hopes are dashed and the day is ruined.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25

I pray that this Christmas you truly know the hope of Jesus. The hope of eternal life. And the confidence that when we hope in Jesus we will never be disappointed.

Please share your hope with others this Christmas. Bless them with the eternal hope that can only be found in Jesus and His promise of Heaven.

blessings and peace to you!

Paula

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Cherish This Christmas Giveaway WINNER!!

Posted on by Paula Davis

CONGRATULATIONS to Gabby Paniagua chosen as the winner in my Cherish This Christmas Giveaway!

Thank you to all who entered and those who have purchased copies of my book. If you didn’t win and want to purchase a copy they are still available:

You can purchase the book here at Amazon, the Kindle
edition here, or at my CreateSpace store.

I look forward to celebrating a new year with all of you soon and to what God has in store for each of our lives!!

blessings and peace…
Paula

 

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My Christmas List

Posted on by Paula Davis

Christmas is only two weeks away!

Can you believe it? 

Are your days filled with hustling and bustling, decorating and shopping?

Have you made your list and checked it twice? (Or if you’re like me you have a few lists going!)

I’ve been thinking about a very special list.

The things on this list can’t be bought at a store. They can’t even be made on my sewing machine or baked in my kitchen.

Maybe they’re just a dream. 

But maybe we can work together to make some of them come true… 

At least in our little corner of the world.

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What’s on your Christmas list this year? 

I’d love to know what’s in your heart.

blessings and peace to you this Christmas season!

Paula

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Waiting With Anticipation Or Dread?

Posted on by Paula Davis

So much of Christmas revolves around waiting. Some people wait all year for the Christmas season to arrive, many decorating long before Thanksgiving has even come. We wait in lines at the stores to buy the ‘perfect’ gift, and many families wait for loved ones to come home for the holidays.

When I was a little girl we lived on a dairy farm, and not only did my sister and I have to wait for Christmas morning to come, but we also had to wait for Dad to come in from feeding the cows and his other farm chores before we could go downstairs to see what treasures awaited us.

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We aren’t given many details about the time between the angel’s announcements and Jesus’ birth but we know there was waiting involved. I believe we can surmise a few things such as the formal marriage of Mary and Joseph. They probably began to settle their new home together and prepare for this special child to be born.

They undoubtedly spent time dreaming of their future, wondering what it would be like to be earthly parents of the Son of God. Many of us dream of the coming Christmas morning and the joy and laughter it will bring.

But there are also many who look toward the future and see only hopelessness. Some have lost loved ones and face emptiness in their Christmas preparations. Many have been out of work for months and wonder how they are going to feed their family, let alone buying gifts or a tree to put them under. Sometimes waiting for Christmas is filled with sadness or dread.

As we wait for Christmas this year let’s do so with open eyes and an open heart.

If you are facing loss or hardship I hope you’ll open your heart to Jesus, the One who came that first Christmas to take our pain and loneliness away.  He will meet your needs and provide comfort when you come close to Him. Also look around you for someone who is missing something that you can provide. It doesn’t have to cost you anything but maybe a smile, or a helping hand. You won’t be sorry you did.

Whether you are anticipating Christmas or dreading the coming weeks, focusing on looking up to Jesus, then around at others who are hurting will likely change all of our perspective.

blessings and peace to you as you wait…

Paula

This is an excerpt of my book “Cherish This Christmas”

You can purchase the book here at Amazon, the Kindle
edition here, or at my CreateSpace store.

To jubilate the release of my debut book, I’m celebrating and inviting you to join along!