Tag: blessings

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All Things New

The Manna Chef

And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5a)

Recently, I brought home a new puppy.  He is a bundle of love, excitement, energy, and joy, and I love him already!  It has been fifteen years since I had to train a new fur baby, so I am calling on the Lord daily, Sisters!  God is faithful and is showing me so much through this little puppy, and I am going to share one nugget with you today…

Jaxon meets everything with total excitement because he is seeing the world for the very first time.  Whether it is a leaf blowing across the grass or a butterfly fluttering through the yard or even a string hanging from my dress, he is bursting with excitement.  (It must be wonderful to experience things for the very first time, right?)  I see his zest for life; it reminds me that each moment really is a gift, and we should truly appreciate all the blessings God affords us every single day.  It also is a reminder for me to allow myself the grace and time to fully enjoy the experiences that God is bringing to me in this season of my life.  

We sometimes have a way of minimizing the impact of our blessings, whether it is because we are too busy to even notice or we simply are not appreciating the ways in which the Lord is moving on our behalf each day.  Sadly, many of us just take God for granted.  We expect the blessings, but we forget to express our thanks to the Giver of those blessings.

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Selah

The Manna Chef

As we prepare to leave 2020 behind and head into a new year, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on all of the blessings that God has sent our way—yes, even in the midst of a global pandemic.  Think about is, Sisters:  we have survived a tumultuous year!  We have managed to adapt in ways that have stretched us beyond what we even knew we were capable of doing.  And we’re still here moving about our days in excellence.  Thank God for that!

As many of you know, I do not complete a list of New Year’s resolutions, and this year will be no different.  Instead of the resolution list, I make a gratitude list of all the blessings I received throughout the year.  Sisters, I encourage you to do the same, especially this year. 

I have heard many people do nothing but complain throughout most of the year.  But for me, I choose to land on grateful.  Yes, I’ve had to adapt and create new ways to be effective in my everyday life, but God has seen me through all of it.  And yes, I’ve had some tears throughout the year, but they don’t even compare to the deep belly laughs I’ve enjoyed.  So I decided, why waste my energy on everything that seemed to go wrong, when I can use that same energy to celebrate the joy that I have experienced?  (Besides, the gratitude list actually brings joy and strength since the joy of the Lord is my strength.)

Do yourself a favor today and start your gratitude list.  God has kept you, and you have made it through 2020.  And He has promised more for you in the upcoming year!  (Well, I just gave you three to start your list!)

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Time for Reflection

The Manna Chef

The end of the year always allows time for me to reflect on my life—the events of the current year and those of past years.  Those who know me well know that I no longer create a list of resolutions for the upcoming year.  God instructed me several years ago to stop creating a list that would ultimately cause me to become discouraged when I could not achieve everything on the list.  (My lists were extensive!)  I would become slightly depressed when I realized a whole year had gone by and I didn’t complete the list that I had made.  Notice, I said the list that I had made, because in the past, I didn’t really seek God as I made the list.  My lists were full of positive goals and great aspirations, they just weren’t necessarily for me at that time and definitely not where I was going to need to focus my energy.  How many of you can relate to that?

God began to teach me that He would empower me to accomplish all the things that He had planned for me in the year to come—and He even promised to guide my actual steps to do what He was calling me to do.  So, instead of a list of New Year’s resolutions, God instructed me to write a list of the blessings I received and experienced throughout the current year; it’s my gratitude list.  And each year, I am blown away by just how much God has moved on my behalf and how He has left nothing to chance concerning me.  I am so grateful to God!  And I really enjoy creating the list.  I encourage you to take some time and actually write a list of the blessings you received in 2019. 

Sisters, if you choose to write resolutions, seek God first so that you can focus your energy where it needs to be.  And for those who may inevitably choose to focus on some challenges 2019 has brought, you are still here, God is still moving, and if you have faith to believe that God has the final say, you will soar to heights you never imagined!

But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Wishing you continued blessings in 2020! Happy New Year, Sisters!

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Immediately vs. Eventually

The Manna Chef

It is important for the children of God to learn to move when God instructs us to do so.   Our blessings are awaiting our arrival!

(2 Kings 5:1-13)

There was a commander of the army of the king of Aram, and his name was Naaman.  He was a great man, highly regarded because he had been victorious in battle.  He was a brave soldier, but he had leprosy. 

  • Even when others perceive us to be great, we are flawed individuals who are dependent on the One true and living God.

There was a young girl who’d been taken captive from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  One day she said to Naaman’s wife, “If only he would go to see the prophet in Samaria, he would be cured.”

  • God places people strategically in our paths to lead us to where we need to be.  It’s important to be obedient to the Spirit of God and to treat others with respect.  You may be carrying the key to someone’s deliverance in your mouth (and they may be carrying yours).

Naaman told the king what the young girl had said and the king told him to go.  He said, “I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.”

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