Coffee with Carole

Today God spoke through me and shared words He wants you to hear.  (And it isn't about my wild hair...that was just to get your attention!)

I am stepping out in boldness. I pray what you hear is a blessing.  He wants you to have heart knowledge and not just head knowledge.  Being able to speak and repeat scripture does not mean you are experiencing it.  God doesn't want to be a part of what we are doing.  He wants us to pay attention to what He is doing.

Seek His will for your day, life, relationship, money, time, career, etc.  He may not always give you what you want but He will always give you what you need.

Have you ever wanted to just flee the country?  Run away to an island somewhere and just forget the worries of the day?  I know I have!  Sometimes, the stuff we deal with...the pressures of life...are just too much.  Job felt it.  (Job 3:11)  David felt it.  (Psalm 55:6-8)  Elijah felt it too. (1 Kings 19)  

The world tells us to focus on the positive!  It tells us that we must control our emotions and feelings.  We are made to feel like we must not be doing it right if we are experiencing overwhelm and challenge.  STOP!

God asks us to give him our worries, troubles, fears, anxieties, etc.  He doesn't expect us to do it by ourselves!    True joy is a gift from God.  We can't get it by ourselves.  We have to turn and take it from God's hands.  

1- Stop negating,  ignoring and avoiding the difficulties.  Recognize it.  Face it.  Define it.

2-PAUSE and ask God about it.

3-Look up the word, phrase, feeling or idea in www.openbible.info/topics

4-Read through the scriptures and ask God what He wants you to learn, where you need to grow and what needs to change?

5-Speak over your life, your feelings, your thoughts, etc....until you feel peace.

Do you sometimes misunderstand what someone texts you or emails you?  Have you misread a message sent to you by someone?  We all have bias and the way we receive messages depends on our perspective and mood at the time!  

God's word is very clear, concise and descriptive.  You really can't get it wrong...unless you want to.  But, sometimes we interpret scripture with a bit of bias.  We want to rationalize it or make it conform to our way of thinking.  When we do this, I think God might be saying, "no, that isn't what I meant!"

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."  God doesn't say one thing in one scripture and then the opposite somewhere else.  It all matches up.  The meaning doesn't change.  

What verses do you misread?  Are you looking at the context or just pulling out the verse and using it the way you want to?  Look at the verses before and after...look at various translations...Ask God to reveal His meaning and truth to you.  In this way you will be getting his message loud and clear!

Today is a day when many counties, cities, & towns vote for council members, mayors and other leaders.  Who do we vote for as one who seeks a life by God's design?  

Is the leader power hungry or propelled by God's power?  

What if you are faced with a crisis of neither is the "best" choice?

Look for courage, conviction and patience.  Seek someone who is more interested in understanding vs being understood and who questions before suggesting!  

Get God's opinion.  Isaiah 30:21 (ESV) says, "Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying 'this is the way, walk in it.'"

We all have experienced FOMO (Fear of missing out) at some point in our lives.  We may have been pressured to order something or do something because we didn't want to miss out on a special deal or sale or promotion.  Most of the time, FOMO creates anxiety and envy.  What does GOD say about these things?  When you have a fear of mission out, you are simply saying, "God, I don't trust you."  Do you want to say this?  

Are you overly consumed with what others say about you?  Do you believe that people, things, situations, money, status, etc., is what can make you happy?  Do your emotions change depending upon the situation, the news you receive or the status you have?  You are experiencing FOMO.  

What about FOMO being FAITH OTHERS MOVE ON!  Faith in God, service to others, and move on!  Move on and move away from wanting what someone else has or what you think you need?  Ask God for His plan for you. 

Learning to trust and believe in God's word takes intentional focus and takes time. You will either experience FOMO of the world or you will keep missing out on the blessings that are already yours.  It is your choice!  

Hebrews 10:23 (MSG) says, "So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching."

Should a Christian celebrate Halloween or not?  I get questions like this all the time.  Do I listen to this music?  Participate in this group?  Get the vaccine?  Read this book?  etc...  My answer is always the same.  Does whatever you are deciding about draw you into a deeper relationship with God and a greater dependence on Him or does it pull you toward self, world and people?  It is a choice you must make.  

Do people see the Bible in action when they pass by your home or is it the world in motion?  Are you seeking man's approval or God's?  

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV) says, "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 

Time to lighten up!  It is hard not to laugh at a baby with uncontrollable giggles!  Sometimes the silliest of jokes will make us laugh!  When life hands us lemons, make lemonade!  Laughing in the face of adversity changes things!  Proverbs 31:25 (NIV) says, “She is clothed with strength and dignity;  she can laugh at the days to come.”

What can you laugh about today instead of cry?  Where can you find the humor in a situation to soften the seriousness?  Find joy in your situation and take your eyes off the problem.  See your problems like a child would…laugh at the dropped milk!

When we are faced with pressures from all around, we tend to start sorting the levels of pressure and the priority of action steps.  We get focused on the challenges with even more intention and purpose.  Unfortunately, this method is the fastest way to spiral downward and out of control.  

Rather then allow ourselves to do this, we must pause and focus on God's promises.  James 1:2-4 (ESV) "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Stop praying to God while you are thinking about other things.  Focus on Him and allow Him to work through your challenges.  Perseverance is one of God's many blessings.  He will sustain you.  Allow His word to simmer in your pressure cooker and walk in peace.

You may be the only Bible that someone reads.  Do you want them to see anger, resentment, hurt and frustration in you or would you prefer they see peace, gentleness and self-control?  When your trust is betrayed or you are disrespected, are you quick to forgive or do you simmer in your feelings?  As Jesus hung on the cross after being beaten, rejected, spit on and verbally attacked, he said, "Father, forgive them.  They don't know what they are doing!"  (Luke 23:34)  

Forgiveness as a leader is as necessary to survival as breathing.  Pray this prayer- Father forgive them.  They don't know what they are doing.  Strengthen me through your word.  Soften my heart to give undeserved grace and at the same time, build a wall of protection around it!  Turn to God instead of your feelings and forgive when you feel like running away.  Breathe faith, hope and confidence into those who have hurt you and allow God to bless your obedience.  

Did you fill in the blank with "me"?  Is this a motto you live by?  Do you think that in order to have what you want you must believe in yourself to make it happen?  Are you self-reliant or God-dependent?  

Our lives are an open book test.  Are we looking up the answers or relying on what we already know?  Are we trying to blend what we have learned from the world with what God says?  

If you want something done right, STOP!  Do not try to do it yourself! Pause and surrender.  Admit you are weak, have no power and are unable to do anything without God.  

Jeremiah 17:5-6 (ERV)says, "This is what the Lord says: “Bad things will happen to those who put their trust in people.  Bad things will happen to those who depend on human strength.  That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord.  They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives. It is in a hot and dry land.  It is in bad soil. That bush does not know about the good things that God can give. "