 Let me ask you a question; what do you do with your day?
You probably have an entire schedule set up each day, so many things to accomplish – school, work, chores, activities, hobbies, ministries, etc – and sometimes it’s easy to slide into a mindset that revolves around one little word. Can anyone guess what this word is? Are you ready? It is the word "busy’". Can you think of a time in your life that was especially full, a time where you slipped into the mindset of saying and thinking all of the time, “I am so busy!” Busyness can be a trap we fall into. How? You may ask. Well, when we let what is going on in our lives distract us from what is really important, such as God’s will for our lives and spending time doing what HE wants us to do, our “busyness” becomes a stumbling block. Redeeming the time is so important in every aspect of our lives. Yes, school, work, etc, have to be done each day…but when we allow them to rule our lives and get stuck in the mode of “I’m busy!” then we miss what is most important! If we are too busy, what about the Lord and His Word? What about prayer? What about memorization? What about the opportunities the Lord brings into our life unexpectedly to serve Him? What if in the middle of a normal “busy” day, a friend calls you up in tears and asks if you can come over and just sit with her to listen and be of comfort to her during a hard time. What will you answer? Will you answer, “Aw, I’m so sorry (friend), but I am just so busy today.” or will you let the Lord have dominion over your schedule? Will you let Him lead your day? Will you rearrange your schedule so you can take time for your friend, to take some of your time to be a messenger of Jesus to bring hope to your friend? Time is ticking by, it can’t be stopped. I encourage you all to evaluate your lives and to see what is really keeping you “busy”. Is it earthly things, or eternal? Are you living your life for God, or for yourself? Yes, life is full. It is full for everyone, and for each of us – each day – it’s a decision we have to make. Will we take our days and use them or Christ, or will we use them for ourselves? Let’s free ourselves and revel in God’s freedom. When we align our lives and schedules to God’s plan for our lives, we will experience so much joy! We no longer have to live under the wearying title of “busy”; we will have a life that is filled to the brim – with Jesus. Part of redeeming the time is to be putting Jesus first in all we do. When we take our time and put Jesus, His Word, prayer and memorization first in our lives, life is so joyful and full! I challenge you all, in any season of life you may be in, to really, really evaluate what you are doing and what opportunities you are either missing or accepting. Divine appointments happen, they really do, and what you do with them is the important thing. Friends, let’s change this world today and everyday by living for Jesus in every aspect of our lives – let’s fill our lives to the brim with our Lord and His will for our lives! Let’s toss out the “busy” and replace it with the fullness of Christ. I challenge you as well as take the challenge myself, together we can do this! Let me leave you with this verse, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." - James 1:2 God bless you all!
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 As Christians, showing love to others through Christ in our lives is so important! Love is the foundation of our lives; it is what we build our lives upon. Our love for our Savior, our love for our family, and then our love for others. Every aspect of our lives centers around love, so today I’m going to be sharing with you all 10 ways you can show love to those around you and be a light for Christ. I hope it encourages you!
1. Honor your parents. The best way we can show our love to our parents is to honor and respect them. I know we all have our struggles with this, me included, but when we pray for God’s strength to live in a way that is pleasing to Him, honoring our parent’s will be something that freely flows from our hearts! 2. Love your siblings unconditionally. Even when they are annoying you to death, pray for patience and treat them with kindness. They will notice the change in you! We all know that our siblings will either see and imitate our good behavior, or they imitate our bad attitudes and actions. Which do you want to be known for? The choice is yours. 3. Be ready to listen. Sometimes listening is the greatest way we can show our love to those around us. Maybe it’s a Grandparent who has a story to tell, a friend who lost a dream close to her heart, or a sibling who wants to tell you about the butterfly she saw in the backyard today. Just listening and being there, showing you care, is one of the greatest ways to show Christ’s love. 4. Do a favor. Surprise someone by doing something special for them! Maybe it’s baking a batch of your family’s favorite cookies, doing a chore for a sibling, or walking the dog for your dad. The little things we do in life, when they are done in love, are actually really big things. 5. Send a card. Taking the time to handwrite a message to someone and mailing it through the post is so rare nowadays! You can bless someone by writing them a card or letter and telling them know how much Jesus loves them and that you are praying for them. Think of the joy they will feel when they open their mailbox to find your note! This is another great way to be a witness for Christ as well. (Psst - check out The Smile Project to find ways to send lots of happy mail to people in need of encouragement!) 6. Use your talents. Do you play an instrument? You can play for the people at your local elderly care center to bring them joy. Do you have artistic talent? You can create a piece and give it as a “just because” gift! Are you a cook? Surprise your parent’s by making the family dinner! All of these are simple, and yet profound, ways to show others not only our love, but Jesus’ too. 7. Pray. One of the most powerful ways to show our love for others is to pray for them. Prayer is so powerful, and God loves to listen to us. There are so many ways to pray for others. You can pray for their salvation, healing, safety, for them to know Jesus’ love for them, and so much more! 8. Give a hug. This comes from an avid hugger, and I’ll tell you, a hug is one of the best ways to show your love. Just hugging a parent, sibling or friend can make their day and show them how much you really care. 9. Lend a hand. When you’re at the supermarket, do you see an elderly lady or gentleman who is having trouble un-loading their cart at the checkout? You can spread Christ’s love by reaching out and giving them a hand! 10. Volunteer. You can show Christ’s love by volunteering at various local organizations, such as a food bank, soup kitchen, mom’s pregnancy center, and so on! All of the people who come to those places will be so blessed by your smile and willing heart, and there will be so many ways to witness while there. Always ask your parent’s permission before volunteering anywhere. There are so many wonderful Bible verses on loving one another as well. Below are a few examples I hope will be helpful to you. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” 1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High…” Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us…” John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” May God bless you all as you strive to love others as Christ has loved us! Check Out a Brand New Book Called "Anything" Featuring Our Columnist Sarah Susanna Rhomberg!5/3/2021 Today I get to share with you all about "Anything", a brand new book that released April 26th, 2021. I am honored to be apart of their book tour - so please enjoy reading about it below!
"He was willing to do anything. Talk about anything, they said. She hadn’t ever done anything. You can do anything. In this heartwarming collection, thirteen Christian authors weave tales both historical and contemporary in a variety of imaginative settings. Anything features characters stretched to their limits: a pencil and a crayon who are best friends, a Tea-Dragon with a mischievous and mysterious habit, a terminally ill child with a lovely wish. In these pages, you’ll discover an eccentric gentleman who never stops reading, a foster boy who makes up in appetite what he lacks in conversational skills, and a single mother with a fault-finding mother-in-law and five rambunctious children who haven’t learned respect for a living room. Watch as a couple sacrificially prays for a lost and dying sister-in-law, a young lady tearfully talks her best friend through a coma, a courageous brother offers to lay down himself for others, a camera-shy teenager faces her greatest fear, and a music camp applicant struggles mightily with writing an interesting bio. Warmth, hope, and encouragement pervade the pages, echoing the theme of “anything” from a refreshing variety of angles both insightful and entertaining, spiritually profound and eternally valuable. These short pieces will delight and encourage the whole family." About the Authors: Rebekah Morris is a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author, and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, and her best-selling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn’t writing, include reading and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. The Show-Me state is where she calls home. Connect with Rebekah here. An avid reader and incurable story-spinner, Angie Thompson also enjoys volunteering in her church’s children’s program and starting (but not always finishing) various kinds of craft projects. She currently lives in central Virginia near most of her incredible family, including two parents, six brothers, one sister, and five siblings-in-law—plus four nieces, six nephews, and several assorted pets! Connect with Angie here. Jaybird Summers lives in a rural town in Southern Tennessee. She enjoys reading, baking, and writing stories that bring joy to others. When not spending time with her friends or reading, she is most likely to be found in her tree where she comes up with all her good (and sometimes not so good) ideas! Connect with Jaybird here. Jae Fisher currently lives in Upstate South Carolina with her family. She likes to read and write in her free time. She hopes to publish her novel series, The Dares Chronicles. Connect with Jae here. Courtenay Burden is a homeschool graduate, an unconquerable bookworm, and a Victorian enthusiast. She is passionate about good and great literature—writing that embodies both literary and spiritual excellence. She believes that good and great books are a powerful tool in Christ’s kingdom and she seeks to use that tool for His glory in her vintage-style fiction. Connect with Courtenay here. Tiffany Michele fell in love with the written word at a young age. Following God and this passion, the next thing she knew she was writing a book! And another and another. Working from home in the lovely state of Oklahoma, Tiffany is surrounded by three dogs, a flock of chickens, and a small pride of cats. She can be found writing or doing some form of art with a dog at her feet and a blanket or two on her lap. Connect with Tiffany here. Brianna Burden is a homeschool graduate, graphic designer, part-time teacher, and on-the-side writer. She loves all things musical, and her hobbies focus themselves around friends, singing, chocolate, and creating beautiful things. You’re sure to find a smile on her face if all her hobbies have a chance to converge in one event! Connect with Brianna here. Chelsea Burden is a homeschool graduate, a first-generation Anabaptist, and a passionate word-lover who enjoys dabbling in etymology (not entomology!) and routinely adds bona fide words to spellcheck. She loves books, people, and Jesus—and chickadees, hymns, snowflakes, and having a good time with friends. She lives in Canada and spends her days writing and doing whatever else comes to hand in her three-generational home. Connect with Chelsea here. Hannah Foster has enjoyed journaling and blogging since her teen years and discovered a love for penning her own stories in her mid-twenties. Hannah’s desire is that the words she writes would bring hope, joy, and light in a dark world. If you don’t find her reading or writing, you will probably find Hannah in the kitchen baking. Connect with Hannah here. Sarah Susanna Rhomberg (Our very own columnist!) is a young writer who lives in Europe and is fluent in both English and German. When not writing, you will often find her reading or working on the organization of a camp for children—always with a mug of herbal tea at hand. Sarah wants to live her life for Christ and writes to glorify Him. Connect with Sarah here. Erika Mathews writes Christian living books, both fiction and non-fiction, that demonstrate the power of God in ordinary people, transforming daily life into His resting life. The author of the kingdom adventure fiction series Truth from Taerna, she’s passionate about encouraging others to intimately know Jesus. She enjoys playing with her children, editing, anything outdoors, being organized, autumn, apple crisp, and sunrises. Connect with Erika here. Born and raised in Texas, Andrea Renee Cox turned her fascination with reading into a career of two varieties: writing and editing. Her articles have been published on her blog, Writing to Inspire, and My Book Therapy’s Weekly Spark, and she’s copyedited for award-winning authors and several publishing companies. Additional short stories may be found on her website. Connect with Andrea here. Mary Polyakov is an extroverted book devourer whose childhood adventures in milking goats, growing whatever fit in a handy container, picking nettles, getting lost in forests and books, and exploring with her siblings gave her a love of story and adventure, which led to a combination of the two. She strives to write what honors God and celebrates the things about sibling relationships and friendship that build up instead of tear down. Connect with Mary here. 13 Christian women. 13 short pieces. 1 book. You’re in for a treat! Release date: April 26, 2021 #AnythingKDWC Coming to a retailer near you! Anything, a King’s Daughters’ Story Collection - you don't want to miss it! Find it on Amazon by clicking here! Also find it wherever books are sold! |
Olivia BellHey friends! I'm Livy, founder and designer of CLM. First and foremost I am a follower of Jesus, and besides that I am a ministry leader, small business operator and writer. I love putting words to paper, going to Starbucks, photography, connecting with friends and much more. This is a place for me to share encouragement with you all. I hope you will enjoy your stay. :) Archives
August 2021
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