InstaEncouragements Blog

More Like Him and Less Like Me

8/31/2018

I don't know about you, but I'm not much for making New Year's resolutions. I do agree though that January 1 is a great time to reevaluate your journey and make positive lifestyle changes. I did that on January 1, 2015, by committing to completely immerse myself in Scripture on a daily basis that year. I longed for God to make me More Like Him and Less Like Me. I needed this!

I read parts of the Bible I had never read before, and learned new truths. I read parts of the Bible I had read a hundred times, and learned new truths!

The Bible is our textbook for life, it has all the answers for all the hard questions. It's filled with wisdom and truth. The Bible is the one book that can make me and you, more like Him and less like us.

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Living Peaceably With All

8/28/2018

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I love that this passage reminds me of the price of peace and the price of peacekeeping. We are to repay no one with evil. No one! Not even the people who we believe might deserve it. Instead, we are to meditate and give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all.

We're called to live peaceable with ALL people. Not just those we like. Not just those who are like us. Not just those who are easy to get along with. All people!

Wow! This is a tough one!

This passage clearly states to avenge a wrong (and who here hasn't been treated wrongly at some point, right?) is not our job. It's not our duty. Not our calling. Not in our job description. That is totally the business of our Heavenly Father, our protector, our avenger.

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The Cost of Living in the Past

8/24/2018

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B-17 and the Tremendous Cost of Living in the Past

The past, living there requires a tremendous cost. There are the "What ifs?" that plague our minds. The "wishing I'd done this and not that." Satan loves for us to go there. He likes it when we camp out there, set up shop there, build a residence there. It's one of the simplest tools in his toolbox to distract us from the good in the present.
There's an old song that reads:

Please, Mr., please, don't play B-17, It was our song, it was his song, but it's over. Please, Mr., please, if you know what I mean, I don't ever wanna hear that song again.

This post isn't about failed love attempts, although it certainly could be. I'm thinking today of mistakes made, regrettable decisions, hasty and foolish pride, sinful choices, and all the things we wish we had a Command-Z button in life for. Ah... that Command-Z button, how we need you today!

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Walking in the Rain On a Summer Afternoon

8/21/2018

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This afternoon our family took a little hike through the mountains and it was absolutely glorious!

There's been a significant amount of cloud cover today. The usual hot, summer temperatures were pleasantly interrupted by a coolness that almost felt as if fall was right around the corner. Of course, we all know better. During our walk the clouds let go of their bountifulness and the rain began to fall like a big summer rain, cold and hard. So we walked in the rain.

Walking in the rain is something we try to avoid as adults. I'm not sure why, it's a beautiful thing. Peaceful. Exhilarating. Mind-clearing. "We should do this more often." I said. The sentiment was not shared by most of my family. Walking in the rain seems like a childish thing to do, but how it made me smile. I was thankful for it.

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Philippians 4:8-9 & My What If Book

8/17/2018

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Philippians 4:8-9 should really be my life verses! This post is a sequel to Listening to the Rain and Things to Think on. Apparently, anxiety is a recurring problem for me. That is why I am back here, one month later, and that's what makes me so thankful for this passage from God's Word!

When anxiety takes over my weary soul, I run right back here to these verses firmly planted in my mind! I recite them over and over in my mind, mostly at night when I can't sleep. It seems that's the time when anxiety haunts me most, like monsters under the bed. I am so thankful for the truth and comfort God’s Word brings to me!

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable...

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Marriage Advice for Future Me

8/14/2018

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When I was in junior high, all I wanted to do and pretty much all I ever thought about was to get married and be a mother. I would dream of my future husband and what my last name might be some day. I doodled on class notes and in textbooks the names of what I thought my future children could be. It's a wonder I ever made it to high school!

"I don’t want my future children to have to search outside of their own house for an example of what a healthy relationship looks like. Nor do I want to warp or damage their view of what love is. I want my marriage to display what Godly love looks like. A love that always endures." –@Christteengirls on Twitter

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Isaiah 65 and Following Our Own Devices

8/10/2018

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When I read Isaiah 65:1-16, especially verse two about a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good following their own devices, I visualize a person in a big city walking down the sidewalk with a mass of people about to cross over a busy intersection. They have their face buried in their mobile device. You've seen this person. Maybe you've even been this person. It's such a prevalent sight these days.

Then I began thinking about our society, and the wandering people looking for peace and hope in every direction but up. They are seeking but not finding, for the simple reason that they are seeking in all the wrong places. When all along God is saying, "Here I am, here I am."

"I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by My name.

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