Genesis 11 Thoughts

Genesis 11:4-5 (The Message)  Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let’s make ourselves famous so we won’t be scattered here and there across the Earth."

The tower of Babel was a direct act of disobedience and rebellion towards God Almighty. God asked Noah and his sons to replenish the earth- the entire earth-

The Believing Bible Study states: "Notice that it starts with defiance to God’s commandment to replenish the earth and to emmigrate and form different nations. Instead of travelling to separate lands, they stopped in one place together."

It wasn't about the tower- or reaching the heavens-

it was about their heart- their intentions- and their motive. 

"The people wanted to be “one people” and did not want to obey God’s will to  spread across the earth. They wanted a single name for themselves. (I suppose they all figured they were “citizens of the world” and not of nations!)"

God help us to find obedience- as far into our souls as we can find it!

 

Genesis 10 Thoughts

 

In this chapter, we read "This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood"

and we know that the promises God made to Noah came true. Noah was obedient in building the Ark and listening to God's still small voice- and in that, God saved Noah and his family and fulfilled every promise he made to them.

Obedience- it is so important.

Genesis 9 Thoughts

 

Genesis 9 says, "You're here to bear fruit, reproduced, lavish life on the Earth, LIVE BOUNTIFULLY."

The power in this one statement.

All good things for us- in abundance! That's his goal.

Live BOUNTIFULLY.

The definition of BOUNTIFULLY is: liberal in bestowing gifts, favors, or bounties; munificent; generous, abundant; ample.

God wants us to have a life FULL of favor- full of His generous love!

This is speaking to me. 

I live a life of fear and I'm trying my hardest to break those chains because I know he wants me to have a bountiful life full of all good things from Him!!!!

Accept it today-

I'm going to!

Genesis 8 Thoughts

 

Genesis 8:20-21 (The Message)  Noah built an altar to God. He selected clean animals and birds from every species and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar. God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I’ll never again kill off everything living as I’ve just done.

Reading this hit me like a ton of bricks.

He knows we have a bent toward evil from an early age. We are born into sin. It just is what it is. And he knows this and understands this!

He gives GRACE. 

I saw a great definition of "grace" yesterday while reading that called it "credit" and what an interesting thought. He gives us "credit" because he knows what we were born into and what we are fighting every day. Human nature. It's a battle every day to die out to the flesh and live in the Spirit. 

He gives GRACE.

Genesis 7 Thoughts

 

Chapter 7 of Genesis says "Noah did everything commanded him...." and we know by reading the precious Word that Noah was obedient and God spared his life (and his family's lives) when the flood waters came.

Obedience. Such a beautiful gift we can give ourselves and our families!

And look what blessings flowed for Noah when he listened- despite how crazy it sounded to be obedient (I mean, God was telling him to build a 450 feet long ship for a flood that would cover the entire Earth! That takes faith!)

Let's cherish the gift of obedience today and the doors that it can open for us. <3

Genesis 6 Thoughts

Genesis 6 (The Message) states, "

God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil - evil, evil, evil from morning to night. 

God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. 

God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds - the works. I'm sorry I made them." 

But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah. 

We read that God saw human evil was out of control. It broke his heart and he regretted ever making the human race. BUT. BUT. BUT. God saw Noah! "Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah." When all else fails- be different. Be kind, be generous, be giving, be loving, be compassionate.... be different. Be that person that stands out like Noah did!

 

Genesis 5 Thoughts

 

Genesis 5:2-  When God created the human race...... He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.

He. Blessed. Us.

I know going from Genesis 4 where we talked about disobedience and obedience and how obedience is the breeding ground for blessings may be confusing, but go with me here-

He blessed us because we are alive, breathing, and get the privilege to live this amazingly beautiful life. 

It's a blessing, no matter how we slice it.

Obedience obviously follows His plan for our lives as opposed to following our urges, wants, and motives. And following His plan leads to His favor. He works things out for our good! 

But being alive, breathing, and getting the opportunity to live out this life is a blessing in itself.

He created us- and blessed us.

He sure did.

For awhile there, I was lost in the chains of depression and couldn't see the beauty of just being alive. And then I saw a picture the other day of a younger person's hand next to an elderly person's hand and it said, "The ride is short, make sure you enjoy it" and it hit me like a ton of bricks what a blessing this world- this life is. 

I am blessed.

I might not have it all- but with Him, He's ensuring I have all His goodness!

Genesis 4 Thoughts

 

Genesis 4:7 "...sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

Sin is lying in wait for you. It's out to get you.

The important thing to remember here is we were born into sin. God Almighty knows this. He knows it's sitting there waiting for us. It knows we are weak to it- bent towards it. It's unfortunate, but it's our human nature.

HOWEVER-

God is telling us here- it's waiting for that weak moment. Sin is waiting to pounce on us....

YOU'VE GOT TO MASTER IT.

To master something means to be dominant; to conquer; to overcome.

We have to be dominant over sin. We have to conquer sin. We have to overcome sin-

otherwise sin turns into more sin. 

Just like in Genesis 4 when Cain's jealousy and anger turned to murder.

Sin breeds more sin. 

We've got to master it! 

Genesis 3 Thoughts

 

Genesis 3:17-19

He told the Man:

“Because you listened to your wife

and ate from the tree

That I commanded you not to eat from,

‘Don’t eat from this tree,’

The very ground is cursed because of you;

getting food from the ground

Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife;

you’ll be working in pain all your life long.

The ground will sprout thorns and weeds,

you’ll get your food the hard way,

Planting and tilling and harvesting,

sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,

Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried;

you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.”

In this chapter, we read about the preciousness of obedience. 

God asked Adam and Eve not to eat from one tree- and they listened to the serpent and disobeyed the one request from God Almighty.

And after disobedience, God cursed the ground.

Our obedience is directly tied to our life- and where it takes us.

I'm not saying that every bad thing that happens to an individual is because of disobedience, but- obedience is the BREEDING ground for BLESSINGS. It can only push us further in this life. Obedience opens the door to so much beauty in our lives and the lives of others. 

I am starting to understand this concept. And work it into this life of mine. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying my hardest to do better than I did yesterday. 

Adam and Eve gave us a map of what not to do in some circumstances. Their life may not have been as difficult as it turned out to be (i.e working the land, childbirth, etc.) had they been OBEDIENT. God isn't anger and bitterness fueled, but if we follow HIS path- instead of doing what *WE* want all of the time- it may turn out better than we could have ever imagined and not as difficult.

Have you ever went ahead and did what *you* (speaking to myself here) wanted as opposed to listening to His Word and it was just a complete mess? 

ME TOO.

This chapter taught me so much about obedience. And I am forever grateful.

Genesis 2 Thoughts

Genesis 2:18- "God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone..."

It is not good for man to be alone.

It just isn't.

There are moments when alone time is crucial. 

I get my peace from those still moments when I can listen to music, relax, read a book, write my feelings, paint...

but God didn't intend for it to be this way all of the time. 

We need the power of positive influences, friends, and family.

We need to cultivate precious friendships that push us to be the best that we can be.

It is vital.

It is necessary.

Today- let's work on that!

Genesis 1 Thoughts

 Praying and listening to music the other afternoon-

I felt God tug on my heart to read His Word the entire way through-

and find something beautiful to grow from in each chapter. 

Dig deep- find it- find a nugget of truth- something to cling to.

So, we started that journey and I wanted to share it with all of you. 

This is all part of my journey to a healthier, happier me. 

Genesis 1:3-5

God spoke: “Light!”

And light appeared.

God saw that light was good

and separated light from dark.

God named the light Day,

he named the dark Night.

It was evening, it was morning—

Day One.

The message from this chapter:

The power of our words- our voice.

There is power in speaking things into existence.

All God did was SPEAK "light" and it was here.

We have the same power in our lives as God Almighty.

SPEAK things into existence.

What do you want from this life?

What do you need?

SPEAK IT.

Day 5 of '30 Day Spiritual Journal Challenge'

Tuesday, September 5th: What is one thing that is stressing you out right now? How can you find rest in Jesus during this time? What other ways can you address the stress and eliminate it?


I have honestly felt like my hypochondria and anxiety is creeping up a little bit. It is very frustrating for me because I know I'm the only one that can fix the situation-- I'm the only one that can work with God Almighty and control my own mind. I have an issue where every time something hurts on my body, i instantly think the worst situation possible. It is very aggravating for me because when I feel like something is wrong, my anxiety increases as well leading to hyperventilation, etc. 

I HAVE TO REST IN JESUS.

He is the ONLY one that can fix my situation. Another human being can't fix my brain-- they can't rework it. It is only HIS peace that can heal this.

Psalms 4:8 says, "When I go to bed, I sleep in peace, because, Lord, you keep me safe."

And I keep trying to trust what He says in Psalms 85.

Psalms 85:8- "I heard what the Lord God said. He said there would be peace for his people and his loyal followers. So they must not go back to their foolish way of living." 

He said there would be PEACE for His people-- and if I am His child-- He promised I would have peace. I just have to trust...

as hard as that is for me some days!

When I feel anxiety creeping up lately, I have been trying to recenter myself. Get a hot bath, watch a comedy, lay down and read the Word, sing worship songs... whatever it takes to bring myself back to earth... back to a place of rest. 

Day 4 of '30 Day Spiritual Journal Challenge'

Monday, September 4th: What is your best characteristic (outwardly and inwardly?) 


Hafiz stated, "The words you speak become the house you live in."


What are we speaking about ourselves?


I would say my best characteristic inwardly is my sense of humor/personality. I absolutely love having fun. I love laughing. I love making jokes. Sometimes it IS hard for me to be serious, but I love that aspect. I try to laugh about just about anything! 

I would say my best characteristic outwardly is my smile. It just seems to be the one thing I get compliments on. I always hear that it looks genuine. I feel like it is genuine most days. I just feel happy and bubbly inside and that hopefully is emitted from my pearly whites! 

Day 3 of '30 Day Journal Challenge'

Sunday, September 3rd: What is your favorite passage of scripture? Why? 

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am....' (Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 15:9)

By the grace of God, I am what I am.

I dont deserve to be anything for Him... When I restarted my relationship with Him, all I could say.. All I could offer... Was a repentant heart. Thats it. That's all I have. That's all He had to work with.

By the grace of God, I am what I am. By His grace, I haven't had alcohol in 27 days. By His grace, I crave the word of God. By His grace, I don't have to live in shame. By His grace, I get to experience His peace and love. By His grace, I get to live redeemed. 

Those words keep hitting home today, guys.

By the grace of God, I am what I am. This is going to be my new mantra. I don't deserve any of it!! But His mercy is new every single day!!!! 

By the grace of God, I get to do this every morning. I get to experience Him every morning. By the grace of God, I get to praise Him taking my daughter to school in the morning instead of pulling over half way there because the anxiety is too great. By the grace of God, I get to read His word every morning instead of laying in bed, scared of what the day was going to bring. By the grace of God, I get to rest in repentance and forgiveness instead of wallowing in shame and pity!

And by the grace of God, I am what I am. A sinner saved by grace.

Day 2 of '30 Day Journal Challenge'

Saturday, September 2nd: How do you show yourself love? If you haven't been 'great' at showing yourself love, how can you start?

I haven't always been great at showing myself love. I have a tendency of putting everything BEFORE my mental and spiritual health, but I have been trying to do better about it. We used to never have a bedtime routine for our kids. They would fall asleep at random places, at random times-- most of the time in our beds. I started dreading bed time because I got zero time with my husband and zero time with myself. I KNEW things had to change. So, we started doing a solid bed time routine in June. We began putting the kids to bed at 7:45 and they are typically asleep by 8:30PM. It has been SO peaceful. I finally get time to lay in bed, take a hot bath, eat whatever I want, read the Bible, watch TV... it is amazing! I love finally getting to take care of myself and LOVING myself! 

Day 1 of '30 Day Spiritual Journal Challenge'

Friday, September 1st: What are 3 life lessons you've learned so far on your journey?



Life hasn't always been simple-- but I think through how complicated it has been, I've learned a few lessons I've been able to carry with me.

1- I can always depend on God. Even when it seems like I can't-- even when I don't understand what He is doing-- I can rest in Him. I feel like I always get so worked up about situations and then when I have time to sit down and focus, I can finally find peace when I think, 'He will take care of this.' He doesn't want us stressed out and worried. He wants us to rest in Him. He will always work things out.

2- I am in control of my mind. As someone who has always struggled with anxiety and has had bouts of depression, one thing I have learned over the years is I AM IN CONTROL. My mind does not have control over my actions and thoughts-- I DO. This has been a great tool in overcoming certain battles. I'm not 100% and I still struggle with some situations, BUT I am learning this lesson over and over again. I AM IN CONTROL OF MY MIND.

3- A gentle voice calms situations. It has taken me many arguments and many years to realize that when I raise my voice-- nothing good comes from the situation. When I take my time, speaking calmly and rationally- situations have a better chance of working themselves out! 

Jealousy (Week 9 Bible Study Notes)

This week we discussed 'Jealousy.'

Definition- "feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements or advantages."

Thesaurus- "envious, covetous, possessive."

---

Jealousy in the Bible (ERV)

James 4:1-3: "Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. 2 You want things, but you don’t get them. So you kill and are jealous of others. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God. 3 Or when you ask, you don’t receive anything, because the reason you ask is wrong. You only want to use it for your own pleasure."

Job 5:2- "A fool’s anger will kill him. His jealousy will destroy him."

Proverbs 14:30- "Peace of mind makes the body healthy, but jealousy is like a cancer."

Proverbs 27:4- "Anger is cruel and can destroy like a flood, but jealousy is much worse."

Mark 7:20-23- "And Jesus said, “The things that make people wrong are the things that come from the inside. 21 All these bad things begin inside a person, in the mind: bad thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, 22 adultery, greed, doing bad things to people, lying, doing things that are morally wrong, jealousy, insulting people, proud talking, and foolish living.23 These evil things come from inside a person. And these are the things that make people unacceptable to God.”"

Romans 1:28-32- "People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do. 29 They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip 30 and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They don’t obey their parents..."

Romans 13:13- "We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous."

1 Corinthians 3:3- "You are still not following the Spirit. You are jealous of each other, and you are always arguing with each other. This shows that you are still following your own selfish desires. You are acting like ordinary people of the world."

1 Corinthians 13:4- "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud."

2 Corinthians 12:20- "I  do this because I am afraid that when I come, you will not be what I want you to be. And I am afraid that I will not be what you want me to be. I am afraid that I will find arguing, jealousy, anger, selfish fighting, evil talk, gossip, pride, and confusion there."

Galatians 5:19-21- "The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things, 20 worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups, 21 being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God’s kingdom"

Galatians 5:24-26- "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. 26 We must not feel proud and boast about ourselves. We must not cause trouble for each other or be jealous of each other." 

1 Timothy 6:3-5- "Some people will teach what is false and will not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will not accept the teaching that produces a life of devotion to God. 4 They are proud of what they know, but they understand nothing. They are sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. And that brings jealousy, quarrels, insults, and evil mistrust. 5 They are always making trouble, because they are people whose thinking has been confused. They have lost their understanding of the truth. They think that devotion to God is a way to get rich."

Titus 3:3- "In the past we were foolish too. We did not obey, we were wrong, and we were slaves to the many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed. We lived doing evil and being jealous. People hated us and we hated each other."

James 3:16- "Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil"

1 Peter 2:1- "So then, stop doing anything to hurt others. Don’t lie anymore, and stop trying to fool people. Don’t be jealous or say bad things about others."

And in Genesis 37, we read about how Joseph's brothers became so jealous of Joseph's relationship with his father. They allowed jealousy to burn within them and they designed a plot to kill Joseph. Instead of killing him however, they allowed jealousy to take over and they sold him to traders for 20 pieces of silver. It is scary to think what can happen in our lives when we let jealousy take over our spirits.

Quotes about Jealousy

"Confident women aren't jealous of other women."

"Jealousy is a form of hatred built upon insecurity."

"Jealousy is when you count someone else's blessings instead of your own."

"Jealousy breeds a lack of contentment. It breeds the craving that often cannot be satisfied. God calls us to a life of contentment, even in our relationships."

"Mature love also frees the other to do the things they need to grow in happiness and efficiency. Mature love is non-possessive and non-jealous. It allows the other to get many needs met outside the relationship. These attributes differ from lesser love relationships that state, 'You're free to be anyone you want as long as I approve and you're free to do anything you want as long as I'm included.' A mature lover does not fear losing a loved one because they never owned the loved on in the first place." (Michael Cavanaugh)

"Jealousy is living in captivity. Resting in a trustworthy relationship is freedom."

"Bringing down another woman is something girl's practice. Real women want to see other women win."

"I cheer for people. I was raised to believe there's enough sun for everybody."

"Pay close attention to the people who don't clap when you win." (We don't want to be those people!!!)

"Never do the envy, jealousy, and insecure stuff. Be the hustler, the well-wisher, and the go-getter."

"Confident women don't hate on other women."

"Some people will never support you because they're afraid of what you'll become." 

"Successful people build each other up. They motivate, inspire, and push each other. Unsuccessful people just hate, blame, and complain."

"Supporting another's success will never dampen yours."

"When others succeed, you should be happy. If they can do it, so can you. The success of others does not, in any way, lessen the chances of you succeeding. If anything, it should motivate you to keep pushing forward."

Forms of Jealousy:

jealous of other's success
jealous of other's bodies
jealous of how much someone is liked
jealous of relationships
possessive over spouse/friends

What other forms of jealousy can you think of?

Zia Mom Blog about Jealousy

What to do if you're battling with jealousy:

1. Confess you have a problem:
This shows your heart is ready for a change. It's a declaration that you're sick and tired of discontent.

2. Have someone in your corner willing to keep you accountable.
This needs to be someone you have no problem hearing the truth from.

3. Keep your focus on your own lane.
Make a different choice! When you log onto social media, make a decision not to envy post after post. If this means fasting social media, do it. This also involves actively being thankful for what you have. When we are thankful, we declare we have all we need.

4. Find your identity in Christ alone.
Is your identity found in your children? Your marriage? Your career? Your social status? Because if it's found in anything but Christ, we are subject to jealousy and envy.

5. Take God at His Word.
Trust who His Word says you are: You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are chosen, holy, and beloved! You are His!

5 Signs You are Jealous of a Friend

1. You're not happy at their good news.
2. You try to diminish your friend's accomplishment.
3. You avoid your friend.
4. You do the exact opposite- you are more clingy because you want to act friendly to gain gossip and talk about it with others.
5. You feel the need to compete with your friend.

15 Signs You are Jealous of Someone

15. You're always trying to beat them.
14. You argue with them at any given opportunity.
13. You don't want them to be with anyone.
12. You don't feel happy when good things happen for them.
11. You don't think much of them.
10. You're always trying to one up them.
9. You secretly hope they fail.
8. You think they are better than you.
7. You never give compliments.
6. Or you give back-handed compliments (insert a jab with compliment)
5. You refuse to let anyone else speak nicely of them.
4. You share her bad news with others.
3. You find it hilarious when she does something stupid
2. You don't like her other friends
1. You don't really want to be their friend anymore.

We discussed how jealousy steals our joy and turns us into people that we do not like. We also went around the room and uplifted one another. One root of jealousy is: insecurity. We are insecure in our looks, our personality, our relationships, etc. So we talked about what makes us beautiful-- and we also talked about what we love about our husbands and discussed resting in our relationships with them instead of letting jealousy take over at times.