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“Death could not hold you

The veil tore before you

You silenced the boast or sin and grave

The heavens are roaring

The praise of your glory

For you are raised to life again

You have no rival

You have no equal

Now and forever God you reign

Yours is the kingdom

Yours is the glory

Yours is the name above all names.”

-What a Beautiful Name, Hillsong

We celebrate today and everyday that Jesus Christ, our King, paid the price of sin, died for us on the cross, and rose again. “What a powerful name it is. Nothing can stand against.”…

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What does it mean to be healthy? What kinds of things do you do to be healthy? We pour so much time and effort into healthy living, healthy eating, healthy habits, and healthy thinking. It takes intentional effort. It takes planned out thought. It takes discipline. It takes saying yes to certain things and no to others. In the moment you may be what you think might be sacrificing, but you are trying to make certain choices, change, and change your lifestyle because of the lasting benefit. Health is such a focus of the new year, but let’s look into it from a different perspective.

Some people call it dieting, others call it healthy living. But it is all the same thing. It all comes down to changing your actions to change the effect. What should really be focusing on is creating a healthy lifestyle.  Because then it isn’t just a fad, the newest trend, or a temporary phase. A changed lifestyle lasts. When you first start a diet you usually cut things out or add things in.  Have less dessert throughout the week, make healthier choices at meals, and control your portions.  The more established those habits become, the more routine it becomes.  It becomes second nature to make healthy choices. It becomes a part of who you are.  Usually over time you prefer the good things rather than the instant pleasure of the not so healthy things. Your appetite changes. Your cravings change. And you change.

Often times faith and a spiritual life is seen as something that is regimented and monitored.  You have to “do” all these things to feel close to God.  There is a continual push to read your Bible, pray, and be surrounded by good people. And we say it is because you …

Do you find a whole week goes by and you haven’t found one moment for yourself, you feel like you have accomplished nothing, or you don’t remember what you did in the week? As the new year has begun, I have been trying to think of simple ways I can connect. Ways I can connect to God, to myself, to my husband, to my boy, and with the world around me. As I have reflected the ways I want to grow, I have discovered some simple ways that can ground me, keep me connected, and make me feel more fulfilled.

Connecting with God

• Prayer- I really like when I make intentional effort to pray at specific times or for specific things. It helps me remember and is something consistent. Like when I drive I can pray for my community. When I get ready in the morning I can pray for my family. When I serve food we can always pray before a meal. When I get ready for bed I can thank God for where I saw him that day
• Time in Scripture- It is so easy for whole days to pass by and I totally forget to even think about God. Great things I have found are the
  • First 5 App
  • If Gathering App
  • She Reads truth App
  • The Bible App
• Worship Music- A great way to get in touch with the Lord through song, worship, praise. Listen to the words
• Podcasts- Find your favorite pastors or favorite churches podcasts. Listen while you drive, walk, run, do dishes, etc.

Connecting with Yourself:

• What do you like to do? Think of one thing you can do a week for yourself
• Journal
• Focus on being thankful: I used a thankfulness journal for years and loved it
• 5 minutes a day book:

Do you set goals for the new year? The more I listen to and learn from successful people the more I hear the same thing: When you make goals and write down your goals they get programmed in your mind.

What you focus on, you find.

Let’s start by defining GOALS. Goals are not “dreams.”

The difference between a dream and a goal is dreams are a fantasy, the have no boundaries. Dreams can guide your passions, yes. However, dreams are a goal without legs. Goals are a clear and vivid target that you want to attain. “SEE THE TARGET. HIT THE TARGET.” Goals are always accompanied by a plan and action.

How do you set goals?

1. Decide what you want to accomplish
2. Devise a plan with small action steps
3. Work on the plan to achieve your desired results

This week, I attended a goal setting workshop. I loved how they separated goals into categories: Faith, Family, Business/Work, Fun, Fitness and Health, and FREAKY (goals that literally freak you out!).

Tips for setting goals:

1. choose goals that are worthwhile
2. opt for goals that are achievable
3. make your goals specific
4. be committed to your goals

I liked the SMART acronym that we used in my training.

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Timely

How to start?

Write down your goals for each category. Remember, what you focus on you find. So focusing on your goals is going to keep those goals in the forefront of your mind. You will think of your goals, envision yourself accomplishing those goals, and therefore get into action.

Each goal should have action steps. How are you going to achieve that goal? What is one thing you can do every day to move toward that goal. Here’s another …

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:10-11

Jesus is the name above every name.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Because he is the Lord of all lords, we must be faithful servants, submissive and obedient to his orders.

How do we submit to God?

• Salvation.   “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
• Obedience
• Seek to know Him better through His word. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” Psalm 1:1-2
• Show Christ’s love
• Telling others the Good News

MIGHTY GOD is a descriptive name of Jesus emphasizing his might. In Hebrew, the name “God Almighty” is written as El Shaddai, meaning, “God, the All-powerful One.” The name MIGHTY GOD means He has all might and power.

Devotion MIGHTY GOD

We are first introduced to this name in Genesis 17:1 when God appeared to Abram and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.” When we view God as the Almighty, we are in awe of His power and by the fact that He is indeed a great, mighty, and awesome God. The name MIGHTY GOD establishes the sense of awe and wonder we have toward Him and the realization that He is God above all things without limitation.

How do we call upon this name of Jesus?

Whenever God allows us to experience circumstances we think are too difficult, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, on our MIGHTY GOD, so that we may not grow weary and lose heart.

When we are crippled by fear, when all we see is hurt and difficulty, we must look to Jesus, our MIGHTY GOD, the One Who is always mighty to save. The one who can may calm the storms around us (Mark 4:39), and also calm the storms within us! Nothing is to difficult for our MIGHTY GOD. He is mighty to save.

The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephania 3:17

Prayer:

Jesus, you are mighty to save. I know that in you and through you nothing is too difficult. You calm the storms around me and in me. Through you I will not grow weary. …

Jesus has another name, PRINCE OF PEACE! This name can be self explanatory, the prince of the king, who brings peace to the world. But let’s dig in a little bit. Sarah Young, in her book ¨Jesus Lives  explains Prince of peace through this devotional by writing to us from the PRINCE OF PEACE.

I am the Lord of Peace, the only source of genuine peace. I give you this gift, not as something separate from Myself, but as part of My core essence. As you open your heart and mind to Me, My peace is present- readily available to you. However, this glorious gift is not somethign you can grab on the run. You need to take time to focus on Me and enjoy My presence, putting everything else aside for awhile.

You live in the midst of intense spiritual battles, and My Peace is an essential part of the armor I provide for you. To stay on your feet during combat, you need to wear sturdy warfare boots- the Gospel of Peace. This good news assures you that I love you and I am for you: I am on your side.

Many of My followers forfeit Peace because they view Me as someone who is constantly scrutinizing their lives- peering at them through critical eyes. On the contrary, I gaze at you through eyes of perfect Love. When you are feeling like a failure, talk to yourself and tell yourself the truth: My death on the cross covers all your sins. I love you regardless of how well or poorly you perform- simply because you are Mine. Rejoice in this Gospel-Peace; it is yours to enjoy at all times and in every way. 

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times …

What’s in a name? In the Bible, names are very important. So looking at the names of Jesus can bring an amazing picture of the character and different roles of Jesus.

Who is Jesus? Why did he come to earth? How can we have a greater understanding of the saving grace and purpose of Jesus.

Jesus as Savior means Salvation. John 4:42 says, “They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

In the devotional Jesus Lives, by Sarah Young, an excerpt on Hope, which is written from Jesus to YOU, states:

I am your Risen, Living Savior! Through my resurrection you have been born again to an ever-living hope. It is vital for you to remain hopeful, no matter what is going on in your life. People put their hope in a variety of things- wealth, power, health, medical treatments- but these are all insufficient. When storms break upon your life, you can find only one adequate source of help-ME! The hope I provide is an anchor for your soul, firm and secure in the midst of tempestuous waters. A good way to reamin anchored in Me is to whisper as often as needed: “Jesus, You are my Hope”. This affirmation strengthens you and keeps you connected to me.

I am constantly working to transofrm your life. You need My help continually to keep your hope alive. I stand ready to help you at all times- during stormy episodes as well as times of smooth sailing. I am not only ever-living but also more abundatly alive than you can possibly imagine. There are no limites to what My great Power and Glory can …