Take Root and Write

Has Your New Year's Resolution Failed? It Doesn't Have To!

Happy New Year Friends! I’m thrilled about 2010 and anticipate great goals and successes in my own life. I remember skipping New Year’s resolutions for many years, because they usually died a slow death as the year progressed. I believe it’s because I focused too much on the doing and not the purpose for why I set my goals.

What does it mean to make a resolution? According to the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, resolution is "a fixed purpose or determination of mind; as a resolution to reform our lives; a resolution to undertake an expedition." If diet or exercise is our resolution for the New Year, we often go out and buy the latest diet book, cute work out clothes, a membership to the fitness center, and we may even cut out a photo of our ideal body image to post it to our refrigerator for inspiration.

After the first of the year, fitness centers across country are filled with ambitious resolution makers, but it isn't too long before these enthusiastic people fade into the sunset. According to one study, only 8% of all New Year’s resolutions will be kept and most are broken before the first quarter. Some won’t bother to make a resolution that they know they won’t keep, so why bother?

Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail

1) Commitment: If there is a pattern of breaking commitments in your own life, chances are you will not be able to keep a New Year’s Resolution. Commitment is a promise and the ability to keep on keeping on, even when you want to quit at anything!

Be Renewed

When I was younger, I was a hypochondriac. Every bump, bruise, or pain I felt on my body was certainly a disease or illness. I focused my thoughts on such negative outcomes, that at times I would end up in the emergency room only for doctors to find absolutely nothing wrong with me. All the worry leading up to "nothing" was stressful, and certainly didn’t help me experience emotional health or happiness in my life!

It wasn’t until I became a Christian and began reading my Bible that my thoughts began to change. The seeds of God’s Word began to penetrate in my spirit and soul, providing me the power to change my thought life.

My mind embarked on a journey of renewal! One of the first verses that I discovered was in Ephesians 4:23-24 (Amplified); “Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]. And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness." The time I spend reading my Bible and being surrounded by teachers of the Word teaches me that believers can have a positive thought life without becoming slaves of fear by conjuring up every worse case scenario we can imagine. 

A Peace the World Cannot Give

It seems like everywhere we turn, there is troubling news: financial crisis, disaster, crime, or a new strain of harmful virus that has been unleashed. It can be pretty depressing and discouraging if we focused on the negative things dancing wildly around the world.

Not that I am in denial of what is happening around us; as a matter of fact as a wife and mother, I have to guard my heart from worrying at times about a lot of things. That is not easy. When your kids are stricken with a cold or flu, you are probably worried about whether or not they’ve contracted the H1N1.

After watching the news about children who disappear when walking home from a friend’s house, you begin to worry that it could be your child. It can happen to anyone and you may even worry so much that you no longer allow them to take that old familiar path they used to skip so innocently along with their friends. It's prudent to be concerned about the safety and well-being of our children, but sometimes we can worry so much that we are constantly at war with our mind and emotions.

Really, is there a way to truly live worry free? For many, no…many of us move through our days focusing  on the constant turmoil swirling around our lives; that worry will only fuel a spirit of fear. Timidity can paralyze us to the point where we stop enjoying the abundant life that God has given us.

Beautifully Created Inside Out

We have all heard the saying, "Beauty is only skin deep." It is assumed to have been coined by a woman, but was first found in "The Wife" a poem by Sir Thomas Overbury in the early 17th century. He writes, "All the carnal beauty of my wife, is but skin deep."  His purpose was to encourage young men of that era what characteristics to look for in a potential wife and to discourage his good friend and mentor, Robert Carr, from marrying Frances Howard, Countess of Essex. Having worked closely by Carr's side, he saw that Frances lacked the qualities of a virtuous woman, but possessed many unworthy characteristics.  Therefore, advised his friend that her beauty was not true beauty, but superficial, phony, and surface, thus, we get the phrase, "beauty is only skin deep."

Because of Overbury's plot to keep the couple apart, the countess devised a scheme to accuse him of disrespect before the king, resulting in Sir Thomas' imprisonment. Despite his discouragement, Carr and the countess wed anyway and she soon caused discord between the two friends and conspired to poison him while in prison. Suspicion arose in the court, resulting in an investigation. The couple was convicted of murder, but spared from execution and sent off to live in the country away from civilization. Tragically, she died of disease in her early forties and Robert Carr died shortly thereafter. ‘The Wife' became popular due to the scandal and went on to circulate for the next sixty years in several publications. This was a beautiful woman whose internal qualities took her from the palace to the pit and in the process destroyed not only her life, but those connected with her as well.

Unhealthy Relatives

I believe that our spiritual and emotional-well being sets the course for our overall health.

There are three relatives that we need to get rid of immediately if we are going to live healthier and happier, and that is worry, fear, and doubt. I heard my Pastor say this best, “Worry is the sick child to fear and doubt, or fear and doubt are the parents who birthed worry.” I could not agree more with this statement! This really sums it up and I can just end it now with an Amen!

With everything that is going on in our world today, more than ever we need to have faith. Faith is what will get us through these trying times. Faith is not just another warm fuzzy word. Faith is an action word for those who dare to walk it. In times of adversity or trouble, we need to decide what relatives we are going to hang around with: worry, fear, and doubt or faith and hope, and love?

Did you know that love casts out fear? There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment (1John 4:18 NIV).

If we want to live healthier and happier in these days, we need to choose love. Psalms 112:7 encourages us to not fear bad news; but to confidently trust the LORD to care for us.

Women Are More Powerful As Allies

Why can’t we all just get a long? I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with various friends, or women I’ve met over the years where the topic of women and bad relationships comes up. I often wonder why it is that some women can be so mean towards one another. Is it a part of the curse or what? But, women are more powerful as allies than enemies!

I believe that sometimes it may be a force from the enemy trying to destroy meaningful relationships. However, there are times when I am convinced it stems from our own stubbornness and hardness of heart towards one another. We hold grudges or are unforgiving which prevents us from experiencing true friendship.

Have you had a relationship with someone where every time you are around this person, it seems that strife is always stirred up? I know I have. I once had a friend you would call a "Sister Sand Paper"; someone who always says or does something that rubs you the wrong way? After a while, it’s draining! Who wants to be around someone who likes to stir up trouble? Not me!

Friendship is defined in the Websters 1828 Dictionary: “One who has sufficient interest to serve another; genuine, pure, real, not counterfeit”. True friendship is a noble and virtuous attachment that springs from a pure source and a respect for worth or amicable qualities.

There are certain friendships we experience that are genuine; a camaraderie that is secure, warm, comfortable, and encouraging. You always feel good when you leave their presence because they build you up. They inspire you to reach for your dreams and don’t criticize your shortcomings and mistakes; they coach you to keep on going. These friendships are few and far between. If you have one, be grateful and nurture that relationship. Unfortunately, according to recent a recent study, Americans have 1/3 less friends than they did twenty years ago. (Glamour Mag. April 2008)

A Brief Encounter Can Change Your Life

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9,  NASB)

Have you ran into someone who you haven’t seen in years and then find out a few years later that your brief encounter with them changed their destiny? I know that’s happened to me, where I’ve had encounters with people who have changed my path, or a decision that I was about to make. When they leave my presence, I know that the Lord sent them into my life for a reason.

When it’s the other way around, it’s pretty amazing to be a part of and not even know it (until now)!

Often times, we have our priorities and things that we do on a day to day base and take for granted that we at any moment could be used by God to impact a decision in someone’s life. We go about planning our days, our ways, but God is always waiting for someone that he can use.

  I ran into an old friend that used to attend the same church and his new wife a couple of years ago and after a brief chat, we went our ways. Recently, a mutual friend gave him my email and this morning I opened my inbox  to find an email from him. He wrote:

“We went to Vietnam in January and picked up this little bundle they called Nguyen Phuong Truc Mai who weighed a whole 16 pounds. My wife and I would love to get together with you sometime to share how God used you that morning in Baker’s Square to help guide us to Vietnam as China had closed for us to adopt from and we were trying to figure out what to do and where to go. I only knew two people from Vietnam in my life up to that point and you were one of them! I thought the odds were too overwhelming to be a coincidence.”

Live to Give

“He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world a benefit when he dies” ~Tertullian

That is one of the most profound quotes I’ve heard in a while. I believe our life is a life that must be lived to give. One of the things that really impressed me about my husband when we first met was his generosity and giving heart. On several occasions when we were together, he would stop to do some random acts of kindness, mostly to people he didn’t even know. What a way to melt a girl’s heart; however, that was not his intention. That was genuinely his character and since we’ve been married for almost eighteen years, I still see him giving, doing random acts of kindness, and serving people- just as I observed when we first met.

As I recall his many benevolent acts, I am reminded of one in particular. A friend of ours faced a terrible situation that caused her friends and some of our mutual connections to shun her. She was a struggling single mother with a new baby. I shared her situation with my husband; he showed such compassion on this situation.

Every now and then when we stopped by to visit her, my husband would leave her some money to find after we had left. Other times, we would drive by when she wasn’t home and he would tuck some bills underneath her door.  Back then, he was not by any means financially successful, but I have seen the favor of God surround him over the years, and I believe that his success is a result of the many seeds he has sown in other people’s lives.

Giving is not limited to the realm of finances. Volunteering our time and energy is also of utmost importance. Whether you are volunteering at a church, a charity, or a fund raising event, volunteers are a large contribution to the success of organizations. If this world did not have people who willingly sacrifice of their time and energy, there would be a huge void of organizations that benefit the people of our communities.

Meant For This Moment

Each morning you rise, you probably have an agenda set for the day. You know exactly what you have to accomplish, the tasks that must be completed-the "to do" list if you will. Some of us are so prepared that we make our list the night or week beforehand.

Most people know what they have to accomplish on a day to day basis; but most people do not know their purpose in life, or why they exist or were created. A few years back, Lee Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life, topped the New York Times best seller list and, the last I heard, had sold over 25 million copies. It is obvious by the number of books sold that a lot of people are searching for meaning and purpose for their lives.

Some of us are  existing and just getting by in life, others are living for the weekend. One of the reasons that we are unfulfilled is that we are wandering around aimlessly with no direction; forgetting that we have value and significance. When you identify your purpose for being here, you will have a new vision and hope for your life and future.

Many years ago, as a young woman trying to find out who I was and what life was all about, I didn't have purpose or vision for my life. I discovered that God has a divine plan for my life. It wasn't revealed to me all at once, but for each season of my life, I realized that I was fulfilling a special or unique purpose for that moment.

 When I was a homemaker my purpose was tending to my baby. I was meant for that moment. When I served as a volunteer in various ministries at my church, I was meant for that moment. When I went to work doing what I loved, I was meant for that moment. When you begin to live with a purpose in mind, each phase you enter is meant for that moment. Each season brings you closer to your destiny.

If the Shoes Don’t Fit Don’t Wear Them!

Next to diamonds, shoes are a girl's best friend! I don't know about you, but I love shoes! My problem is my feet stopped growing in the sixth grade! Because my feet are so small, shoe shopping can be laborious and frustrating at times.

Perhaps you don't have Small-Feet-Syndrome and the situation is just the opposite for you. Maybe you find yourself wearing shoes that are too small. Your toes scrunch and pinch to fill a pair of shoes because they are just so hot and you just had to have them.

I am reminded of the story of Cinderella. I recently read the original version and discovered that the slippers were not made of glass, but of gold and were very tiny. The fairytale reveals how the evil stepsisters had pretty feet; however, one of the sister's toes was too large and prevented her feet from fitting into the tiny golden slippers. In an effort to make them fit, the evil stepmother encouraged her daughter to cut off her big toe! As the stepsister rides off with the prince, she leaves a trail of blood. Doves fly over to the prince to warn him of the deception. He turns around and returns the false bride.

The second stepsister also had pretty feet, but her heel was too big, hence her mother encouraged her to cut off a part of her heel in order to fit into the golden slippers. She, too, rides off with the prince and blood trails them from behind. Once again the doves fly over to tell the prince of the second stepsister's deception, and he turns around to return the second deceptive stepsister.

The stepsisters had pretty feet; however, they mutilated their feet in order to fit into someone else's shoes. Because of their trickery, they were discovered and were returned home without a chance of being the princess. How many of us have gotten blisters, bunions, and bruises from shoes that didn't fit properly. I know several women who have even had to have foot surgery due to wearing shoes that didn't fit.

Sometimes in life we scrunch, squeeze, bruise, and batter ourselves to fit into a role that we don't belong in. The roles we play may not be proper fits, but we injure ourselves to make it work because they make us "feel" special. We like owning an "it" pair of shoes, although they are too big or too small, because we feel special having them.

How do we end up trying to fill roles that do not belong to us? This may go as far back as childhood where certain expectations were put on us. We had to be a certain way or to perform to a certain degree, all while subconsciously attempting to satisfy people's expectations and to pursue roles we are not meant to play. Just like the stepmother encouraged her daughters to cut off a part of her pretty feet to fit in the golden slippers, we too have been swayed by certain individuals in our lives to be something that we are not called to be. We all have a desire to be pleasing, but why are we killing ourselves in an effort to please people?

How often have you heard a mother or father say of their child, "I want my kids to be a doctor or a lawyer?" Perhaps it was your parents or someone significant in your life who has spoken of desires they had for you.  Maybe you have strived to be what they envisioned and in an effort to fill an ill-fitting pair of shoes, you've ended up blistered and bruised.  I am sure they meant well, but even well meaning desires can be incorrect and ultimately very painful.

It is awful to be something that you really are not, to do something that you have no desire to do, to act a certain way that is not truly who you are. Ladies, we have to find the shoes that fit us properly. Did you know that there are health implications for improper fitting shoes? Not only are blisters and bunions common, but sores and ulcers can occur that may cause infection and lead to amputation! To me, it's just not worth that to wear pretty shoes that don't fit.

God wants us to wear the right shoes. He has made a special pair just for you- not too small and not to big, just perfect. Perfect doesn't always mean that you'll never trip. Perhaps in the beginning you may trip while getting used to them, but once you break them in, you will not form blisters, bunions, and bruises wearing your own shoes.

We need not seek out others roles are for us, but what God desires for us to accomplish. If you can't seem to find that perfect fit yet, ask God. He has golden slippers just for you. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (MSG) says that, "Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray...that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be..."

How deformed, distorted, and bloody must our feet become in order for us to admit that we just don't fit into another's golden slippers? Spare yourself the pain and self-inflicted injury. Women: "If the shoes don't fit, don't wear them!"

 

The Power of Friendship

There are some real simple secrets to living healthier, happier, and longer; one of them is friendship.  I was browsing through the April 2008 issue of Glamour magazine that featured an article entitled "Friendship." It included a recent study that revealed that Americans have one-third less friends today than they did twenty years ago. How can that be true with all the technology that is helping us to connect with one another and find old friends on social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, and other popular social networks? I never would have thought that.

I read some amazing statistics on women and friendship. By the way, I love how the original Webster's 1828 dictionary defines friendship: "one who has sufficient interest to serve another; genuine, pure real, not counterfeit, adulterated or false. True friendship is a noble and virtuous attachment, springing from a pure source, a respect for worth or amiable qualities."

Some ways Women & Friendship Help One Another:

1. Live healthier and better.
2. Decrease stomach-quivering stress.
3. Release “Oxytocin” hormone (bonding, loving hormone).
4. Lower blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol.
5. Reduce risks of injury as women age.
6. Cut risk of death by 60% just by having a great number of friends over a 9 year span.

Note: This study is so incredible and found that not having close friends was as damaging to your health as being a smoker or overweight!

I have made it one of my goals this new year to reach out to a few of my friends who I have lost touch with due to our busy lives. I do have some amazing women friends that I regularly meet with. I feel blessed and thankful to have them in my life!

Let’s help each other live healthier and longer! Reconnect with your girlfriends this year.

"Life's truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way." ~Unknown
 

The Power of Apology

 "Few things are more powerful than common sense, wisdom, and the strength to admit when you've made a mistake and to set things right." - Dr. Spencer Johnson, MD

Whether we have mistreated others or have been wronged by others, it is human nature to cry out for restitution. All human relationships will, at some point, require an apology regardless of the nature of the relationship in which we find ourselves.  That could be a marriage, a working relationship, siblings, a dating relationship, or friendships. A genuine apology makes resolution possible. Without an apology, people will harbor anger and resentment, demanding some sort of justice.

When you apologize, you are accepting responsibility for your actions and seeking to make amends with those whom you have offended. A genuine apology will open the door to forgiveness and reconciliation. The power of an apology will break down the walls that hold people back from having fulfilling relationships with one another.

When you refuse to apologize, you build a barrier in the relationship. That barrier will remain up and the fabric of relationship will deteriorate. Great relationships are a result of a willingness to apologize, to forgive, and to reconcile. Without those elements, relationships will remain cold, superficial, and distant.

In healthy families, children are taught to apologize for their wrong behavior towards their sibling(s) or parents. However, many children grow up in dysfunctional environments and become emotionally wounded or bitter and never learn the art of apologizing. They carry this inability to apologize into adulthood, full of stubbornness, and unwillingness to give in.

Love is a Battlefield

"Life is a quest and love a quarrel" (Edna St. Vincent Millay, a playwright and first woman Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner). How true this can be! Love is a battlefield that can be visualized as fighting, war, or conflict; a danger zone that is to be avoided. Often times, a relationship turns from a comfort zone to a danger zone where conflict and fighting seem to persist, and a ceasefire is nowhere in sight. In a war when a ceasefire is called, opponents will either prepare to negotiate or enter a truce.

Perhaps you are in a relationship where a ceasefire needs to be called. This could be a relationship that you have with a spouse, a significant other, a relative, a child, an in-law, or perhaps a friend. You are in a war zone, not a love zone.

Although love is a short sweet four letter word, it comes with great perplexity. Love can bring one into a state of euphoria or inexpressible emotion but, for many it can bring confusion. Love is a fundamental part of our lives and relationships. It is believed that a vital human need is to be loved. A true revelation of what "love" really means will cause you to avoid the battlefield.

First, understand that love is not a feeling as many have come to believe. Love is a choice, a decision, and is unconditionally given regardless of how you feel. You are not always going to feel like loving that person in your life, whether it is your husband, your child, or a relative. They may do or say something that has really hurt you, and you might find it hard to feel love towards them.

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, Dr. Gary Chapman says,

"Child psychologists affirm that every child has certain basic emotional needs that must be met if he is to be emotionally stable. Among those emotional needs, none is more basic than the need for love and affection in addition to feeling that he or she belongs and is wanted. With an adequate supply of affection, the child will likely develop into a responsible adult. Without love, he or she will be emotionally retarded....inside every child is an emotional tank waiting to be filled with love. Much of misbehavior in children is motivated by the cravings of an empty "love tank.""

If children are not getting love at home, they will look for it in all the wrong places. The love tank that children have is no different than the love tank that adults have. It needs to be filled and follows the child right into adulthood relationships, thereby providing an opening for a new battleground to deal with.

For some couples, it is much easier to end the relationship than to work through the fires. For some friendships, it is simpler to avoid one another and let a cold war begin than to work out the differences. This is most popular amongst couples. Dr. Laura Berman, PhD, says that couples must "fight to love, not to win and that their relationship is not a battleground but a safe haven."

Make love a choice. Walk in love and not in a battle. Don't allow your relationships to be a battlefield, but a sanctuary, a place of refuge. A place where love never fails!

"Love is a choice you make from moment to moment." Barbara De Angelis

Your Focus Becomes Your Reality

Have you done a recent reality check on the current condition of your life? Are you blessed and happy, or depressed, hopeless, and in despair? What you choose to focus on will become your reality. To be blessed means to be happy, to be fortunate, or to be envied. Some may equate being blessed or happy to having achieved great material possessions or luxuries. While those things can enhance life, it is not what defines a blessed life. There are those who have all the material possessions one could dream of, but they have miserable lives without hope or a vision for the future. 

If you are not happy with your current reality, it is time to refocus. The definition of "focus" is: a central point, as of attraction, attention; the core, the heart. Life throws choices at you every day. Make no mistake, whatever choices you make are seeds that will shape your future. The law of gravity says, whatever goes up, must come down. It is also true that for every cause, there is an effect. To every action, there is a reaction. Whatever you sow, you will reap. These are universal laws or principals set in motion that impact all people, regardless of race, gender, culture, economic status, or religious faith.  Negativity is as universal as these laws.  If you sow negative thoughts daily and speak pessimistically over your situation, you will experience negative outcomes on a regular basis. It is time to refocus and live healthier and happier in 2009!

Unforgiveness: A Deadly Virus

Have you ever received an email with a subject title similar to: "Warning: Virus-Do not open!" I remember when I first started using email, it seemed like I was getting one of these virus warnings about once a week. Since I was so new to the tech world, I was so afraid I would accidentally open something that would wreck our computer. When I read the email, it went on to tell about a computer virus that could potentially destroy your computer if you opened the attached.

Do you know what a virus does? A virus spreads rapidly from one person to another and some are known to be deadly. A computer virus that travels from one computer to the next has the potential to cause major destruction. Once a virus is registered on a computer, it automatically picks up certain codes that literally swifts through your files and destroys all of your personal data. Other times a virus can actually sit on your computer long before it releases itself, meanwhile, this dangerous virus has been spread to other computers causing damage to the unsuspecting.

I am not a computer wizard, but I have had to learn many aspects of the computer in order to maintain my website and blogs. Unfortunately, I have contracted computer viruses on my own computer causing severe consequences. What does a computer virus have anything to do with my subject on "unforgiveness"?

I believe that unforgiveness can be a deadly virus in our lives if we leave it untreated. Many health experts refer to it as "deadly emotions." Researchers even agree that unforgiveness is linked to a variety of health issues. There have been studies conducted to measure heart rates, sweat rates, and other responses of volunteers who were asked to remember the wrongs that they have experienced. According to Professor Charlotte Van Oyen of Hope College in Michigan where the study was done, the subject’s blood pressure and heart rates increased, and muscle tension was shown to be higher. This demonstrates that stress levels are higher when an individual is walking in unforgiveness as oppose to forgiveness. Stress leads to a host of other illnesses that lands people in hospitals. Dr. Don Colbert, M.D. says, "One of the secret causes of stress plaguing millions of people is unforgiveness."

A New Beginning: Passion, Purpose & Promises

What a year 2008 has been for our nation!  For many families and individuals, it has been a year of economic discouragement.  Has the economy affect  your family in anyway? Have you lost your passion that you once had for something great to happen? Are you questioning your purpose for which you were created? Are wondering and asking God when are you going to experience his promises for your life?

If you are visiting Empowered Woman, and feel like you have experience too  much disappointment and hopelessness for one year and do not have the faith to go on, please continue reading through this post…

"What appears to be the end may really be a new beginning" (unknown). Isaiah 43:18-19, encourages us with this passage, "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder on things of the past. Behold, I will do something new...I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."

God is telling us that no matter what has happened in the past do not meditate on those things. He is ready to do something new in your life. When there seems to be no road in the wilderness or rivers in the desert, He will create one for you. When things look hopeless, God will give you hope. When a door shuts, He will open a new door for you that no man can close!

Fear: The Enemy of Your Faith

What is fear keeping you from doing today? Is there something that you are aspiring to accomplish, but are allowing fear is holding you back? Fear interrupts your ability to operate in faith. Fear is the twin of doubt and the enemy to your faith. Fear and doubt keep you from walking in faith. It is a negative cycle that prevents you from receiving answered prayers and robs you of an abundant life. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen and it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1, NLT).

Many times our prayers go unanswered because we have allowed fear to enter into our hearts. You cannot have both fear and faith operating at the same time. That is called being doubled-minded. A double-minded man should not expect to receive anything from God, according to the Bible (James 1:7, KJV). You are either walking in faith or in fear. Sometimes we think it is noble to worry about something otherwise we seem careless.(what does this mean?) To the contrary, fear is an enemy that traps people in and keeps them from seeing the wonderful working power of God in their lives.

I love what the Amplified Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind." You have to understand the fact that fear did not originate from God. We know that God is love. Therefore, He does not have fear to give.

Transformed By Gratitude

 Has your life in anyway been transformed by gratitude? Do you sometimes find your self grumbling and complaining about things that you don't have? My parents spend half of the year in Vietnam. While in Vietnam, they spend some time visiting the orphanages and facilities that care for the unwanted; the outcasts of society, the lame, and the diseased left to institutions. I admire my parents' passion towards those less fortunate. They know what it's like to be without. My parents have demonstrated that "it is more blessed to give then to receive" and have instill those principles into our lives as well. What an example to my siblings and me. 

On one of their trips, my parents brought pictures back of some of the institutions that they visited. I could barely look at the photos without shedding tears at seeing the living conditions. Several of the residence had missing limbs; arms, or legs, blind, and no opportunities to leave their stiff bamboo beds unless someone dared to visit them and helped them off their beds.

Seeing the photos and hearing their stories was a reminder to be grateful for the life that I have. Really, what do I have to complain about? Sometimes we can take our daily provisions for granted. My mother shared with me that this type of out casting is similar to that in Jesus' days when those who had the skin disease of leprosy had to live outside the villages because they were considered unclean. 

I came across a very powerful illustration about "gratitude" in the book of Luke during one of my reading time. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem passing a village where there were ten men with leprosy who recognized Him from a distance. They also heard about how He performed great miracles. Leprosy is a bacteria disease that eats away the flesh, and often times fingers and toes or limbs may be lost due to the infections. During this time of history, anyone with this disease was sent off to a leper's colony away from society, away from people.

Intro: Empowered Woman

Jesus said, that He came to give you life and to give it in abundance. Experience that abundant life. Be Encouraged to overcome issues & live victoriously. Become the amazing woman that God has called you to be, and influence those around you through empowering thoughts, words, and actions.

By, Duong Sheahan
Column Posted every 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Also meets as a Group in CWTR HERE.