BEYOND to BETTER THINGS: August 2012

Thursday, August 16, 2012

SOAKING

No matter what I do this morning I just can’t seem to get rid of the idea of writing about this subject that came to me a couple of hours ago. So, here I am sharing my views on this and the fact that I do soak now and then for a few minutes up to even 30 minutes or longer. What’s the reason(s) that I do it? To spend quality time with God, to surrender to the Holy Spirit, to stop and focus on the right things, to stop and “smell the roses”, to just say “woe”, etc… I started to list them and then realized there are numerous reasons and why not? I mean, He is God and spending quality time with Him can definitely be no less than beneficial.

How do I do this? Well, I’m normally in my desk chair in my computer room/studio so I sit back and relax, arms on the rests, palms facing upward and I listen to some good Christian music such as, to suggest just a few:

          Not Alone              Red
          Holy                      Matt Gilman
          Our Great God       Todd Agnew
          Baptize My Heart   Misty Edwards

And there are many, many other awesome songs to soak to, or you might even do a search at www.google.com for the word “soaking” and do some of your own research. This has been very beneficial to me in my growth as a Christian.

One of my favorites that I have found quite beneficial to my own health and well being is Light of Your Face by Misty Edwards. :

May God bless you through my writing. If He has especially touched you in any way, please leave a comment below. Your comments are so very encouraging to me to help me to keep writing. Also, click on the “Uptweet” button on the above right and share! I pray you will keep coming back. I fully believe that my writing is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so if I am writing, there is someone that needs to read it! Maybe it’s you? Also, please be sure to share any questions you might have with me and if you would like to keep them personal (just between you and me) please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com. If I don’t know how to answer you, I will may every attempt to refer you to someone for more information. Thanks and may God bless all your days!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Video Share - Must See - This may change your life!

This video is something that everyone must see/listen to! Several years ago my pastor gave everyone in the church a CD (with permission) and told us all if they would listen to it at least once per day for 21 days (takes 21 days to form a habit) that it could be life changing. I listened to it 2-3 times a day. Once you truly start to get the contents of this video, it will be life changing. I've been walking with the Lord for 24 years now (since rededication) and this morning while listening to it to share it with a friend, it still made me cry! If you are thinking about accepting Jesus as your personal savior, this is just a part of what you'll receive and He wants you to have it! If you are wondering what this life is truly about, then you must check it out!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Devotional Share and Comment - Four Benefits of Understanding Your Uniqueness

Good morning! “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!” Romans 1:7b

I receive several devotional e-mails in the mornings and this one was so enlightening that I had to share. I’ve shared several times that I truly believe that walking with our Lord, submitting myself to Him, has made my life so very much easier than before (and much more interesting, too). While many fight (as I did for years) keeping what they think is their own identity and self worth refusing to give it up to Jesus, we were all making life so much harder. The following devotional explains why life is so much easier with Him! When I found Him, I found “ME”!
“Four Benefits of Understanding Your Uniqueness
by Rick Warren
“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” (Psalm 139:14 NLT)

Once you understand your shape, it explains how you respond to authority, how you handle criticism, how you deal with confrontation, how you make friends, how you deal with guilt, why you get close to people or why you don't get close to people. Your shape explains what makes you mad, sad, worried, happy — because it's you!

There are four benefits of discovering and building your life around your “S.H.A.P.E.” (your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences):

1. It reduces stress. When you are confident in how you are shaped, you stop comparing yourself to other people. Instead, you build on your strengths, recognize your limitations, maximize what you're good at, and don't worry about the rest. It's a guaranteed stress reducer!

2. It increases success. Success is not making a lot of money; it’s knowing God's will and being right in the center of it. It’s being what God meant you to be. It's figuring out who you are and then being you!

3. It deepens satisfaction. A satisfying life is when you are doing what you're shaped to do. Freedom comes from doing what you're gifted to do and enjoying what God made you to be. When you build your life on God’s shape for you, you feel the love of God a whole lot more because you're in harmony with his plan.

4. It builds self-esteem. There's an epidemic of low self-esteem in our society today. Studies say that over 50 percent of people are in the wrong jobs. I believe that genuine self-esteem is not built on positive thinking but on two biblical truths: First, you matter to God and, second, you were shaped by God for a purpose.

Talk About It
Once you know your shape, spend some time evaluating how your time is spent. Are you pursuing activities or goals that God specifically shaped you to do?
Would you say that you have a satisfying life? What is your satisfaction or contentment based on?”

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

COMMITTED - Answered Prayer and Praise Report

Our pastor tells us time and again that try=failure and commitment=success. I’ve proved it time and again but today was a truly memorable one.

To back up a bit, on Sunday morning before communion our pastor prayed over the congregation then he asked us to ask the Lord to show us any personal sin that remained in our lives. I’ve had such a rough 2+ months that I’m always looking for wisdom so I prayed. And I saw in my mind’s eye that the sin didn’t lie in something that I was doing but in something that I wasn’t doing. I saw myself writing and spending time in His word in the mornings as I’d been doing prior to the fall of June 2nd. My mornings had been so rough since the fall that I hadn’t slept through a night since – still on the couch, taking Benadryl or ½ of an Excedrin pm (yes, I need that little) to even get a restless few hours, always in pain, many nights spent playing solitaire in the middle – so mornings were normally spent in a groggy stupor in and out of sleep in front of the TV and surely not in a state for absorbing God’s word. Yesterday went the same way but as those prayers laid heavily on my mind from Sunday morning I became more and more determined/committed to get up and get in God’s word and writing so I prayed on and off throughout the day.

Well, you can probably guess what I’m going to tell you next, can’t ya? I stayed up playing solitaire to make myself sleepy instead of taking a substance to help me sleep so I was up until nearly 2 am. But, I woke up before the alarm (set to make sure that my husband is up for work or 7 am). And, PRAISE THE LORD and HALLELUJAH, I’d slept through that whole 5 hours and awoke in NO PAIN! And, I’ve been in God’s word and writing since not long after my husband left for work! Please join me in Praising Him!

I also learned another lesson. I’ve had such a high tolerance to pain over the years that I’d had a lack of tolerance or understanding for my mother’s pain the last years of her life. Never underestimate the power of pain to truly boggle a person’s mind. I’m also asking God for forgiveness for this. Shoulder pain is just awful and the pain from non-use of muscles (which my mother had much of) is even worse. Even when the pain wasn’t severe it was still there, aching, gnawing at me. The worst pain I’d had since the 10 hour spine surgery in 1995. Honestly!! I am so thankful to the Lord for this morning that I awoke with no pain! And, I am COMMITTED to the same thing every morning that He enables me!

And with that, an appropriate video share: