Encouraging Word

So much has been written about the power of praise. We know from Bible examples that God will put a new song in your heart. He sings over us, so there are songs all around us. It really is amazing to think about. So, how is your praise life? Are you taking time to praise and worship God everyday. If we want to rise above the circumstances of life, we will need a song in our heart. The cursed earth can suck life out of you, you renew your strength in His presence….reading His Word, singing His praises, or just breathing in the Life of God. To stay full, we get to take every opportunity we have to spend time with God. Each day we don’t, we are telling God that we can do life without Him. Yikes!!! I want to rely on Him more today than yesterday, so instead of less time with Him, I want more. Often it seems like the times that we need more time with Him is when we have less time in the natural because of raising children, or job schedules, running kids around, or whatever keeps us busy. Those are the times to get creative. Take a praise and worship cd with you, or listen to great Christian music on the radio, maybe KAGF 105.5! Have a teaching CD in the car, or even the Bible on CD. Turn off the TV at home, and enjoy the silence, or listen to some uplifting music. Be creative and make the most of every opportunity to get refilled. It is the only way we can rise above circumstances of life….stay filled up with the power of God. Let His song, bring hope to your life.

Every once in a while, maybe daily, it is good to recall and even rehearse what God says about you. The Bible tells us to fan the flame, and to stir ourselves up in the things of God. As we close out this week, we are going to do just that. I want you to say out loud, that you are growing from glory to glory. I want you to put your mind on those things that God says about you. Then I want you to tell someone else the same thing! Here are some great words to say:
I am who my Father God says I am in His Word
I can have what the Word says I can have.
I can do all that God’s Word says I can do.
I am blessed coming in and blessed going out.
I am above and not beneath
I am an overcomer
I am more than a conqueror.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
I am well equipped to minister to others
I have the Spirit of God on the inside of me
I have His power, His strength, and His ability
I am God’s ambassador to my world
I am the person God made me to be
I operate in the gifts God has given me
I am a willing vessel for God to use.
I am a new creation in Christ Jesus
And I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!
I hope hearing those words encouraged you on the inside. Now it is up to you to believe them, think or meditate on them, and make them a part of your life. You are growing from glory to glory, and you are becoming more Christ-like daily! Why not encourage someone else today!

Thankful (A poem of Thanksgiving)

Thankful to God
For all He has done
Thankful for blessings
And for victories won

Thankful for loved ones
Both far and near
Being perfectly loved
Casts out any fear

Thankful for friends
That give value to life
They give you their ear
and offer godly advise

Thankful for church
A place to grow strong
Great Word and great worship
Where you know you belong

Thankful for children
As we watch them grow
Teach all kinds of lessons
We’d never have known

Thankful for things
That we need day to day
Great food to eat
And a warm place to stay

Thankful for Life
God’s life we’ve received
That gives health, life and wholeness
With each breath we breathe

Most thankful for Jesus
For conquering the grave
For the Word made flesh
So that we could be saved

Thankful for reminders
That all these rewards
Are a small taste of heaven
And are gifts from the Lord

Each one of the phrases in this poem addresses a different area of life, loved ones, friends, church, children, daily needs, the Life of God, for Jesus, and daily reminders of His faithfulness. I am so thankful for my life. In all it’s beautiful imperfections, my life feels so blessed. I hope that today, as you sit around the Thanksgiving table, that you remember God’s faithfulness with a heart filled with gratitude. Encouraging You (to be thankful always!)

Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not all His benefits it says in Psalms 103:2. The Message Bible says it this way:
Oh my soul, bless God
From head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name
O my soul, bless God
Don’t forget a single blessing.
He forgives your sins – every one
He heals your diseases – every one
He redeems you from hell – saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy – a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness – beauty eternal
He renews your youth – you’re always young in his presence
God makes everything come out right, he puts victims back on their feet.
What a great writing! I love to read the Message Bible, it gives such a great perspective on verses that we might just pass over in our reading. Soul…..bless the Lord! We can tell ourselves to bless God, and then not to forget a single blessing. I know that there have been many blessing I’ve received from God that I have forgotten, and probably never even thanked God for.

This week my desire for you is to be a person who remembers God’s faithfulness. There is great power in remembrance. In the Old Testament, God established days for feasts just to remember different times in the Israelites lives. As New Testament believers, we are called to do that every day! My prayer is that as you remember what God has done for you in the past, all His wonderful benefits toward you, that you will be strengthened and encouraged. What He has done before, He will do again. Be encouraged today!

God has brought you this far, He won’t fail you now. Sometimes when you are in the midst of junk, it is hard to think about victory. It reminds me of an old song that had words like this:
He didn’t bring us this far, to leave us
He didn’t teach us to swim, to let us drown
He didn’t build His home in us, to move away
He didn’t lift us up, to let us down.
Think about that! He is at work in you, depend on and trust in Him. We know Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Let’s give Him some room to work in our lives.
Ps 77:11-12 says for us to remember the miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works, Oh God. How about this old song
When I think about the Lord
How he saved me, how he raised me
How he picked me up, turned me around
How he placed my feet on solid ground
Makes me want to shout hallelujah,
Thank you Jesus, Lord you’re worthy
Of all the glory, honor, and praise
Makes me want to shout!
God has brought you this far, He won’t leave you. Think about, remember, meditate on His goodness in your life. You’ll be encouraged from the inside out! Start the fire on the inside and your life will change dramatically. God has done great things for you.

Thanksgiving is almost here…..Yay! It is such a fun holiday, because there aren’t all the big pressures attached with it that there are with other holidays. You don’t have to buy any presents, find the right costume, see exciting fireworks or do anything extraordinary. It is all about 2 things. Most of all it is about being thankful. Secondly it is all about food! It is a perfect day to just enjoy every flavor of delicious food that is set before you. I did mention thankfulness first…..and that is what it really should be all about. What are you thankful for? Why not go around the table on Thanksgiving Day and have each person share one thing they are thankful for before you thank God for the food. Maybe you could think of a sentence that starts with each letter in the word THANKFUL, and express your thoughts with your pencil and share it with your family, or email it to me. Or how about this…..tell the people around you, your family first, then those you work worth, and those you worship with, who give you love, who do whatever for you….tell them that you are thankful for them. Then make sure you thank God for all He has done for you. He loves you dearly and has given you all we need for life and godly living…..that is something to be thankful for! Live a thankful life, each day of your life!

06Sunday 19 Thanksgiving week
Introduction
Have you noticed what a powerful force graditude can be? Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword
And all this week I’m going to be talking about thanksgiving, and how we can live life with a grateful heart. I am so grateful that I learned early on in my life that when we pray we do it with thanksgiving, thanking God that He already has provided whatever it is that we need. Victory was accomplished on the cross, and because of what Jesus did, we overcome in this world. It is something to be thankful for everyday of the year. This poem I wrote is a great reminder. “My God has been faithful to me, His goodness and mercies I’ve seen, When hearing well done, your race has been won, I’ll know He’s been faithful, His Word has proved faithful, My God has been faithful to me.” Here is your dailyeword for Thanksgiving week.

One of the things that often happened in the Bible was that people had a party to remember God’s faithfulness. They killed the fatted calf, they brought out the fancy clothes, they celebrated with gusto! I love that idea. At our house, we celebrate whenever we can. I think there is something really special about saying even small things are worthy of a celebration. Communion might be the most common spiritual thing that we do to remember Christ’s death until He comes again. We commemorate His resurrection on Easter, we celebrate His birth at Christmas, but daily we should celebrate His faithfulness. His mercies are new every morning. Why not thank Him everyday for your salvation, for His provision, for walking in divine health, for the life of God that flows through you, for the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. There are so many things that we can remember and be thankful for. A daily habit of gratitude is powerful. The Bible tells us even when making requests to God to thank Him in advance. Phil 4:6 says, “ Be careful (or anxious) for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, WITH THANKSGIVING, let your requests be made known unto God”. What a great pattern for life. Let’s live in grateful remembrance. God has done great things for me!

What does exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever ask or think look like for you in your world? It’s hard to believe that this is the life God has for us, and it just proves how much higher his thoughts are than ours. Life with Christ is abundant, full, vibrant, joyful, and filled with adventure. He puts big dreams in our hearts and his desire is that we go about changing our world. We have the tools, and the power of the Holy Spirit in us to do something amazing for God. So what dreams are you dreaming? Are you just a day dreamer, or are you a dream doer? What passion have you let die? It is time to stir it up. Get fired up! Natural fire needs oxygen to grow, and we have the breath of the Holy Spirit breathing on us to fire us up. Let’s do this. Let’s trade obligation and the doldrums for life altering, energizing, and vibrant relationship with God that can change our world. Let Fresh Air sweep into your life.

I’m sure you are familiar with the phrase Bucket List. There was a really powerful movie by that name, and since then, very often you hear about people’s bucket lists. I’m not a fan of the term kicking the bucket, so I call my list, my Life List. My life list is long! It has my dreams and passions in it, and also my love for music, writing, travel and family. What does your life list have in it? Maybe you have never written a Life List. I challenge you to write one soon, in fact, why not write one this weekend. One thing my husband and I haven’t done is a couple’s life list, and that is on my radar, and we hope do to that soon. There are things on this earth that no one but you can do, so I encourage you to fulfill your purpose, your mission, your passion in this life. Don’t let your life end with regrets. Be a dreamer and a doer! And fill someone else’s sails with wind on your journey.