I Choose Us - Self improvement and motivation for women.

When I pray, I relinquish control of my life to my Creator. I surrender my will and desires because I know that my plans for my life are minuscule compared to the plans my Creator has set out for me.

Prayer provides me with comforting guidance during times of uncertainty like a lighthouse directs a ship on a dark night. I reach for prayer like a lifeline when I am bound up in life's difficult decisions.  

When I pray, I release my mind from worries and concerns. I feel an interior freedom because I have communicated all of my anxieties to someone who can truly help me change.

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Consider these two interesting scenarios.

Karen, who is nine years old, comes home to find her dinner placed on the table alone.  Everyone else is too busy to sit with her, so she eats alone.  Karen grows to dread dinner time at home, because it is so lonely.

Annie, who is also nine years old, comes home to find everyone sitting around the dinner table waiting for her.  She sits down and enjoys a lovely dinner and conversation with her family.  They discuss what happened throughout their day, how school was that day, and how well she did on her math test.  Annie loves dinner time because she feels that her family cares about her and what she has done throughout the day.

Having a family time can make such a difference in a child’s life.  Children need to be loved, and feel like they are important.  God teaches us in the Bible that Children are a gift.  Proverbs 127:3-5 says “Behold, children are a heritage from the lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.”

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The Bible brings us so many messages of hope.  God sent his son, so that we may be saved and have eternal life.  This is the brightest hope of all.  But do you fully understand and appreciate what the means?   

When we think of hope, we think about fantasies and events that we want to happen.  For the most part hope today is viewed as wishful thinking.  Noah Webster’s New International Dictionary describes hope as follows:  “A desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable; pleasing expectancy”.  In other words hope is a belief grounded in faith and based upon the promises of God.

Families go through many difficult times.  It may be the loss of a job, the loss of a loved in death, the loss of good health of a family member, the loss of your home due to a natural disaster or any number of negative events.  It would be so easy to get bitter when things do not work out as planned or when we are faced with some of life’s harsh tragedies.  

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One of the great gifts given by God to us is the Bible.  The Bible is the word of God.  It is a road map for our lives, containing information on everything.  The Bible tells us how to be a productive Christian, a successful family, a loving parent, and the list goes on.  The Bible not only gives us instructions, but also examples.

The Bible is the greatest “How-to” book ever written, however if we do not read and study it, we cannot find out how to do what we should. Think about it.  When you buy a new machine or appliances, does it not come with a manual?  If you do not read the manual, you may never learn how to optimally use the appliance.  Who knows better how to operate the appliance?  You or the one who made the appliance?

A Manual For A Happy Life

The bible is the  “manual” that we need to read and apply in order to live happy lives.  Who knows better what you need to be happy?  You or the one who created you?  Who knows better what is required for a happy marriage and a satisfying family life?  You are the one who originated the family arrangement?  Reading the Bible together as a family has so many benefits.  It is a great way to bond as a family, learning and discussing together.  It is also essential to strengthening your faith and beliefs. 

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Following our own dreams and beliefs is often not easy.  We’re afraid of what our peers will think and how they’ll react when they discover we believe differently from them.  This is true not only of small things such as the color of your clothing or the way you wear your hair but will they approve of your choice of a mate or which church you attend.  Does spirituality blend in with your lifestyle?

We want to be viewed as smart and intellectual and many times we’re taught that intelligence and spirituality are two opposites that cannot possibly work together.  Is this true?  Surely, intelligence and spirituality can follow the same path and work together to achieve a common goal.

Spirituality is defined as the sensitivity or attachment to religious values.  It is also the quality or state of being spiritual.  Can we possess the courage to embrace our spirituality when as an intellectual person we find no logical reason to do so?  Many of the enlightened and great thinkers of the world possess this courage to embrace both and teach that one complements the other.

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Jesus is by far the most influential person that has even lived!  More than two thousand years after he lived, his dynamic teachings and the way he lived his life, still influences millions today.    One writer said it this way: “ All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings  that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully.”  Do you agree?

If you agree that Jesus qualifies as the greatest man who ever lived, how much do you know about him?  If you want to get to know more about this remarkable person, then you will need to read the reports about him that were recorded by his first-century followers.   So grab a bible and let’s take a look at  20 things you should know about Jesus.
 

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