Help me, God!

We could all use a little help from God, right?

Check out my free article, "Help me, God" here: http://freegiftseveryday.com/help-me-god/

You Are Cordially Invited!

Hello lovelies!

I hope all is well with everyone. :) I haven't posted in awhile, because I've been diligently working with my web-designer in getting my new website created for my publishing company. I'm happy to report that this project is done! Yay!

That being said, I would like to cordially invite you to visit my company's new online home here: http://freegiftseveryday.com/

Thanks! Feel free to check out my free articles and share them!!! Don't forget to visit the bookstore. More books and authors coming soon. :)

What Does the Cross Mean to You?

Resurrection Sunday is the time of year where Christians reflect upon the cross, and celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. It’s a joyous occasion, and I think the most attended church service of the year. With resurrection Sunday recently passing, many Christians got the opportunity to remember the cross. However, not only is it important for believers to remember the cross on Resurrection Sunday, Jesus calls his followers to take up their cross daily and to follow him.

In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “ if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” So what does it mean to take up your cross? To answer this question, I think it’s important to think about what the cross means.

The cross symbolizes life through death. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead in victory. The cross symbolizes Jesus’ total submission to the will of God. As you may recall, in Luke 22:42 Jesus asked for the “cup of suffering” to be taken away from him, but ultimately he concluded, “ not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus submitted to the will of God.

So I believe when Jesus asks us to take up our cross daily and follow him, he is asking for us to submit to the will of God. He is asking us to die to self and to give God complete control of our lives every day.

I believe the cross symbolizes all areas of our lives that we haven’t released to God. I believe taking up your cross is giving God your struggles and your fears and saying, “Not my will but your will be done.” I believe it means giving God your hopes and dreams and saying, “Not my will, but your will be done.” I believe taking up your cross means giving God everything.

I believe taking up your cross is a way of life, and that is why it must be done daily. It is learning to trust God. It is learning to be humble before the Lord. It is coming to the realization that taking up your cross is not a death sentence, but rather it is a symbol of life, and not just any life, but a victorious life with God in complete control. How awesome is that? So don’t be afraid to take up your cross because if you do, God is faithful and will definitely reward you. Be blessed.

©2013 by Tanya Guerrier.

Dreams Revealed

Do you pay attention to your dreams at night? Do you believe that dreams can offer insight into your life? Have you ever had a prophetic dream that came true?

I can personally answer yes to all of the above questions, and I’m sure you can too. For instance, just a couple of nights ago, I had a symbolic dream that offered incredible insight into my life. This dream allowed me to take a reflective look upon myself.

Initially when I awakened from my dream, I didn’t know what it meant. I thought the dream was weird, but since it caught my attention, I decided to dig a little deeper to uncover its meaning. I don’t always do this, but on this day, I wanted to know more.

I prayed and asked God for revelation. I didn’t think much about it after my prayer, and I proceeded with my usual morning routine.

About 20 minutes later, as I was getting dressed, a thought popped into my head and the meaning of the dream was revealed. I was like “Oh, I get it.” Not only that, but something that I had dreamed about a few days earlier, came to pass. I was on a roll this day!

The bible teaches us that God can speak to us through our dreams.

Here are a few examples:

 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams (Acts 2:17 NIV).”

Psalm 16:7 says, “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me (NIV).”

In Job 33:14-16 it says, “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction (NKJV).”

 These examples illustrate that dreams can be quite helpful to us. Some dreams will be literal, with obvious meaning; but oftentimes, dreams are symbolic. This is why they can sometimes be difficult to comprehend. When a dream is symbolic, it might be helpful to consider what the symbol means to you. For instance, I’m sure most of you have had the dream where you are falling.  If you think about it, falling can symbolize losing control and feeling like you are “falling.”

Furthermore when trying to interpret a symbol, it may also be helpful to reflect upon what is going on in your life. Sometimes things that are weighing heavy on your heart will show up in your dreams.  Lastly, when trying to uncover the meaning of a dream, it’s perfectly okay to ask God for revelation and discernment.

Obviously not all dreams will be profound, or offer insight. A lot of times you probably won’t even remember your dreams; however, some dreams will catch your attention, and when they do, it may be helpful to take notice. It might contain a message that could help you… Be blessed! Goodnight and sweet dreams. ;)

© 2013 by Tanya Guerrier.

How to Protect Your Self-Esteem

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Have you ever had someone say something to you that could only be interpreted as hurtful and mean? Were you guilty of letting the comment play over and over again in your mind? Did you allow the comment to “get to you?”

I think at some point, all of us have been the victim of a negative comment. It’s unfortunate but it happens. Just recently it happened to me. I had someone say something to me that was mean and insulting. Initially I was offended. It bothered me, but I knew I had to shake it off.

Negative comments that are allowed to linger can and will mess with your head and lower your self-esteem. This is why it is important that we learn to combat negativity and protect our self-esteem.

Here is a guideline to follow:

1.     Know who you are and be confident in this image of yourself. That way when people make comments that don’t gel with the image that you have of yourself, you can quickly let these contrary views fade away.

2.     Realize that just because somebody says something, doesn’t mean that it's true. It is just their opinion and it should be treated as such. 

3.     Learn the difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. Constructive criticism is beneficial. It is for your own good. It helps you to learn and grow. On the flip side, destructive criticism is toxic. It is meant to tear you down and crush your self-esteem. 

4.     Accept yourself just as you are; this means that you must learn to accept all aspects of your character including the good, the bad and everything in between. There is a quote I like that I find to be true, it says, “ Once you have accepted your flaws, no-one can use them against you.” 

5.      Realize that God doesn’t make any mistakes. He created you to be you just as you are.  You must learn to say, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain” 1 Corinthians 15:10.

6.     Refuse to accept negativity. Don’t let negative words get into your spirit. If a comment is detrimental and it doesn’t uplift you, motivate you or bless you, you don’t have to accept it. Give it back to the sender and move on.

Having a healthy self-esteem is so very important.  Don’t let negativity keep you down!!!  Always remember that you are “amazingly and miraculously made.” God bless.

©2013 by Tanya Guerrier.

A Box of Prayers

Welcome! This is the last Thursday of the month. This will conclude our goals theme for the month of January.

So to conclude, I would like to end by stressing how important it is to pray when you set your goals. The last piece of the puzzle involves giving your goals to God and letting God bring your goals to pass through prayer.

Mark 11:24 says,"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

There is power in prayer. There is also power in writing things down. So realizing this, I thought, why not combine the two things together? I'm always looking for creative and unique ways to approach a given subject. 

Recently I've been researching prayer boxes, and decided that it might be fun to share with you the idea of creating your own prayer box to store your goals.

What is a Prayer Box?

A prayer box is a physical place where you can store your written prayers. Your prayer box doesn't have to be anything fancy (or it could be fancy if you want it to be). It's totally up to you. You might want to go to the Dollar Store and buy a decorative box. You may decide that you want to decorate an old shoe-box. The purpose is to create a special place to keep your written prayers.

On the outside of your box you may want to write encouraging scriptures, or post inspirational pictures on your box, etc. Use your creativity. Have fun with this.

How to Use Your Prayer Box:

1. Think about your goals. Decide what you want.
2. Write your goals down on a piece of paper.
3. Fold the paper up and put it in your prayer box.
4. Thank God for bringing your goals to pass according to His will.
5. Anytime you look at your prayer box, let it serve as a reminder to thank God for blessings that are on the way.

A Project of faith

Using a prayer box is a project of faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  When you can thank God in advance for answering your prayers, this shows tremendous faith.

Let Go and Let God

The physical act of writing your goals down and releasing them in your prayer box, serves as a symbolic reminder of how we must let go and let God. Let your prayer box serve as a reminder to trust God.

At the end of the year, you may want to go back and read through your prayers to see how God has answered them. Happy goal setting!!! Don't forget to give your goals to God.

See you next Thursday!!!!

© 2013 by Tanya Guerrier.


 

More Stuff About Goals

Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a wonderful and productive week. :) Here is a list I put together regarding goals. I've also included a few motivational quotes. Why??? Because I love quotes!!! Please enjoy.

How to Achieve Your Goals:

1.     Know what you want.

·      “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

2.     Set long-term goals.

·      “You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures. 

-Charles C. Noble

3.     Set short-term goals.

·      “Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.”

-Helmut Schmidt

4.     Devise a plan.

·      “Begin with the end in mind.”

-Stephen Covey

5.     Write it down.

·      “Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.”

-Napoleon Hill

·      “Committing your goals to paper increases the likelihood of you achieving them by 1000 percent.”

-Brian Tracy

6.     Don’t give up.

·      “He conquers who endures.”

-Persius

7.     Have faith.

·      “We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success.”

-Henry David Thoreau

See you next Thursday!!!! God bless.