KEEP YOUR DREAM ALIVE!

(11) By Fenny West

Gen.37:9Hello friend, keep your dream alive!

An abundant life, aim to live;

Live a life of significance.

My pal, live a life of substance.

Do you know that you are different?

So refuse to be indifferent.

Leave behind a mark indelible.

With God all things are possible.

Know for sure that God is for you;

So no one can be against you.

Therefore let your dream be so big;

Because your God is very big.

Be wise,seek not His Hand,but His Face,

And you will go from grace to grace.

In His secret place always dwell,

To run your race and finish well.

Run to finish and finish well.

In His secret place always dwell.

Seek not His hand but His face;

And you will go from grace to grace.

Go from strength to strength,heigth to heigth,

And in the power of His might.

Time to fight the good fight of faith,

Not a time for fright or flight.

Banish every fear and be bold;

Shake off the mould and go for gold;

So to go from glory to glory;

As God seeks to change your story.

www.inspiration4generations.com
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com">CHRISTIAN WRITERS

You are Special

You are who you are for a reason
You’re part of a perfect plan
You’re a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God’s special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason
Our God made no mistake
He knit you together within the womb,
You’re just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom designed with God’s plan in mind,
And they bear the Master’s seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you’d grow.

You are who you are for a reason
You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod.
You are who you are, beloved
Because there is a God.

By Russel Kelfer – culled from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, p. 25

Red Lipstick

by Gwen Smith

Today's Truth

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1

Friend to Friend

When my three children were young, it was a challenge to keep track of where they were. My husband and I baby proofed the house as best we could, used gates and hoped for the best. I'll never forget the day that Preston and Kennedy were accounted for in the play room, but Hunter had wandered off. I called for him, but got no response.

Curious, I headed for the front stair case and listened for his little two-year-old voice. I checked his bedroom -- no Hunter. I checked Preston's room and Kennedy's room - no Hunter. By now, my heart was racing as my concern grew. When I headed into my bedroom, I heard faint noises coming from the master bathroom.

Our bathroom mirror gave me all the information I needed. Hunter had gotten into my red lipstick and it was everywhere! I wanted to laugh -- I wanted to cry! He was unaware of my presence as he continued his creative lipstick artwork on my walls and on the linen closet door.

On a whim, I ran to get the camcorder.
Stifling laughter, I crossed the threshold of the bathroom and confronted my little chubby-cheeked 'red lipstick-all-over-his-face' boy. He immediately hid his scandalous tool behind his back...thinking I was none the wiser. I asked him what he was doing, to which he replied "Nothing." In my best trying-not-to-laugh mommy voice, I continued to ask him a series of questions and he continually denied any wrong doing.

Sometimes I wonder how many times I go before the Lord in prayer while trying to hide my red lipstick behind my back. How many times have I thought I was pulling one over on Him? Just as simply as I saw the tangible evidence of Hunter's red face, God sees our hearts and knows what we've been up to. He sees pride, anger, gossip and bitterness. He sees hurts not forgiven, sins not confessed, the habits we cling to, the shows we watch and the literature we read that don't honor Him. He sees our failures and lovingly longs for us to allow Him to clean up the mess we've made.

A few years back, after reading 2 Corinthians 7:1 and Psalm 51, and seeking God's heart in prayer, I was inspired to write the following song:

Purify My Soul
By Gwen Smith

know my heart and You know my ways
Yet You love me just the same
I know that You are able
You are God, it's true
Help me Lord, just as I am, surrender all to You
Purify my soul
Cleanse my heart and mind
Restore to me Your gentle, loving arms
Purify my soul
So I can go and be a true reflection of Your holiness

Create in me a clean heart
And renew a right spirit within me
Cast me not away, Lord from Your presence

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
Lord, Your love surrounds me -- encompassing my soul
Mold me as a potter molds the clay
The freedom of forgiveness liberates my life
Renew in me a fire, in the name of Jesus Christ

© 2000 Audio 31 Music / Sunday Best Music (ASCAP)

What is your red lipstick today? Are you ready to hand it over to God?

To find out more about Gwen Smith, click here or read her blog.

This article was taken from the daily devotional of Girlfriends in God.

Dealing with Fear

"The wise man in the storm prays God, not for safety from danger, but from deliverance from fear"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

No matter how serene and unaffected a person may seem, there isn’t anyone who is totally impervious to fear; everyone gets afraid sometimes. It is therefore not what you feel (fear) but what you do with what you feel. I’ll get to that in a moment.

For many years, I suffered from the debilitating effects of fear. It ruled my life so thoroughly I could not see anything else. Because of this emotion,

• I could not realize my full potential
• It stole from me; my joy, my dreams, so many things I did not even know about
• I lost the friends I could have had. Because I did not want to get rejected, I did not give myself the chance to be accepted.

Countless books and theories abound by the so-called experts on how to deal with fear. I tried them all; self affirmation, mind control et cetera. The question is, do they actually work? Well, maybe they do. For a couple of days. Then the fear breaks through the banks of the mind and floods the soul. Again.

In dealing with fear I discovered certain things:

• That there was One who is greater than my greatest fear
• That I could get in touch with Him and He was willing to help me.
  Of course I already had a relationship with Him, which began when I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord over my life.
• I got into the habit of literally giving him my fears.
  I spoke what I was afraid of into my palms, clutched them tight and told God about it, gradually releasing them and my fist to Him. It helped
• Then I got to know what the Bible said about fear and kept repeating it to myself.
  

Practically:
- cut out a cardboard sheet to the size of playing cards
- Write down on Bible verse on fear or being afraid on each card. You can do a keyword search on Christianity.Com or Bible.Com
- Read one card everyday. Take it everywhere with you and constantly pull it out to remind yourself.

One thing you do need to remember is that God keeps His promises. If he said He will free you from all your fears, then he most certainly will. You have to have faith though.

Note: He did not say you will never have fears; they just will not have the power to paralyze you anymore.