Beautiful YOU

1st Peter 3 vs 3-4 (NCV)

3.It's not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful 

4.No, your beauty should come within you-the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.

1 Samuel 16: 7 (ESV)

Song of Solomon 4:7 (ESV)   

Psalms 139:14 (NIV)

Psalms 34:5 (ESV)
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

Read more: Resource

ToxicThinking and Positive Belief

Happy Wednesday !

Here are some snippets from this really encouraging article on dealing with negative people (or your own thoughts)  in your life 

Giving Love when it's not given back equally 

• As Christ followers, we strive to give love from a pure heart that doesn’t require a person to love us perfectly in return. But sometimes the person we give our love to consistently betrays and wounds us. How do we give 1 Corinthians 13 love in that situation?

Not giving up

• He is waiting to transform the lives of everyone leaking nuclear emotions and throwing verbal grenades. The controller, the abuser, and the too-easily angered are not immune to the power of God’s Word. We are promised that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37, Mark 10:27).

• God created those who hurt us. He has a good plan for their lives. He knows the “why” behind their destructive behaviors. He knows the lies they believe about themselves. He knows what stands in the way of their wholeness. He is a Shepherd who pursues every sheep that wanders away from all He offers.

Praising and Prayer

• When we arm ourselves and pray, we salute His authority and partner with His plan for the family of God.

• Praising God is a powerful first line of defense. We can worship and adore Him, our wonderful counselor and supreme relationship expert.
• We can choose to live prayerfully and humbly before God. He can help us love those who do not love us well with a pure heart.
• Praying for your enemy is like training for the Christian Olympics. The stakes are high. The requirements are intense. But the reward is far greater than any gold medal. Your prayer can be used by God in a person’s life, their family, and the generations after them.

Resource: Bible Study Tools.com/ 

How to Pray for the Toxic People in Your Life

Jennifer O. White

Read the Full Article

Read Romans 4 vs. 18-21 

From Battlefield of the Mind: YouVersion Daily Devotional

Positive belief in God's promises yields good results because the Good One sends them to us. Refuse to give up, and you will see the results of your positive belief.

For the things you hope for but have not yet received 

Pray: Dear Father in heaven, forgive my lack of belief. Forgive me for allowing Satan to deceive me or make me think I'm worthless or unworthy of Your miracles. I am worthy because You made me worthy. You are the God of the impossible, and I ask You to help me wait on You and never give up. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.

Another resource: keep your head up 

Anger Management

Controlling my anger has always been, and is still, a battle for me. But nothing (even a flaring temper) is impossible for God. Here are a couple of Bible reading plans I've used and am using now to help.  

From the YouVersion Plan Battlefield of the Mind 

Read: Proverbs 23 vs. 7

As We Focus

Years ago, I learned an invaluable lesson: Whatever we focus on, we become. That simple statement taught me a great deal. Wherever we put our energies or our attention, those things will develop. Another way I like to say it is, "Where the mind goes, the man follows!"

If I begin to think about ice cream, I will soon find myself in my car pursuing ice cream. My thought will stir my desires and emotions, and I will make the decision to follow them.

If we focus only on the negative things in our lives, we become negative people. Everything, including our conversations, becomes negative. We soon lose our joy and live miserable lives--and it all started with our own thinking.

You might be experiencing some problems in life--not realizing that you are creating them yourself by what you're choosing to think about. I challenge you to think about what you're thinking about!

You might be discouraged and even depressed and wonder what caused it. Yet if you will examine your thought life, you will find that you are feeding the negative emotions you are feeling. Negative thoughts are fuel for discouragement, depression, and many other unpleasant emotions.

We should choose our thoughts carefully. We can think about what is wrong with our lives or about what is right with them. We can think about what is wrong with all the people we are in relationship with or we can see the good and meditate on that. The Bible teaches us to always believe the best. When we do that, it makes our own lives happier and more peaceful.

Pray: Dear patient and loving God, I ask You to forgive me for focusing my thoughts on things that are not pleasing to You. I pray that You will help me fill my mind with thoughts that are clean and pure and uplifting. In Jesus' name. Amen.

From the book Battlefield of the Mind Devotional by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2005 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Read: 

Ephesians 4 vs. 26, 31-32 

Resource: You Version Plan: Working Through Anger