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Grace
More Than Enough!
“You have nothing to prove”.
Someone said this to me the other day. We were having a great conversation, discussing our business successes this quarter. I was sharing about my beauty events and the feedback from customers, etc. I was excited to share how well things were going, but this was not the response I had anticipated. The nerve of this guy!
Later, while watching NBA All Star Saturday, my mother calls and says she has a word for me. In the middle of the Slam Dunk Contest (why did I answer the phone)? Well, okay, there is always replay.
She says, “You are more than enough”. That was it.
It got me to thinking.
The voice in my heart gave me 2 Corinthians 12:9:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Well what do you know, is it possible I am trying too hard? Is it possible I am striving in my work, trying to cover fear and uncertainty? It’s not about me.
His grace is sufficient for us!
“I never dreamed about success, I worked for it”. Estee’ Lauder
Meet Zhou Qunfei, a Chinese factory worker turned billionaire! At 45 years young, she is the richest self-made woman in the World!
Ms. Qunfei is the founder of touch screen manufacturing company Lens Technology and she is one of eight Chinese women on a list of the world’s ten wealthiest self-made women, which was published by Forbes earlier this fall.
What is really interesting is that out of 73 women in this category, 49 are from Asia! Clearly, the stereotype for submissive geisha needs to be revisited as far as these women are concerned! Perhaps someone can tell us what they are teaching the girls in Asia!!
Women Crush Wednesday is about putting a spotlight on awesome women like Ms. Qunfei because women need to see and know what is possible!
Women Entrepreneurs rock!
Let this Mind be in you!
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit?
Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2 NLT
“Make up can only make you pretty on the outside, but it doesn’t help if you are ugly on the inside. Unless you eat the makeup”. Audrey Hepburn
Walking as the Bride in the Kingdom of God
Beauty Inside Out
As the United States of America and expatriates everywhere prepare for the Thanksgiving Feast, it seems an opportune time to discuss a very important Beauty secret for the Walk of the Bride; fasting.
Fasting has many spiritual and physical benefits. When used in conjunction with prayer it is a powerful combination with equally powerful results. Our Heroine, Queen Esther and her maidens found the power of fasting to be useful. This is demonstrated by her decision to fast and pray before approaching King Xerxes without an invitation.
….. do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” EST: 4; 16 NIV
Why fast? Fasting redirects our attention. Fasting gives us the opportunity to put our flesh under subjection, to take our focus off of self-centered desires and pleasing our appetites. However this aspect of fasting is not what this post is about. According to the latest medical research:
Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as “remarkable”. Although fasting diets have been criticized by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection.
Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy. It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it harder for them to fight off even common diseases. The researchers say fasting “flips a regenerative switch” which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells, essentially regenerating the entire immune system.
Knapton, S. (2014 June), Fasting for three days can regenerate entire immune system The Telegraph UK,
Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10878625/Fasting-for-three-days-can-regenerate-entire-immune-system-study-finds.html
With the New Year on the horizon, a Better You is usually one of the many resolutions we aspire to achieve. In the coming weeks, Beauty inside out will be our focus.
We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.
Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society –Saint Francis of Assisi
We must bear in mind that holiness is not something that we can procure for ourselves or obtain with our quality and our skills. Holiness is gifted to us by the Lord Jesus, when He takes us up with Him and clothes us in Himself, making us like Him. In the Letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul says that “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy”(Eph 5.25 to 26).
There, holiness truly is the most beautiful face of the Church, the most beautiful face: it is rediscovering ourselves in communion with God, in the fullness of His life and His love. It is understandable, then, that holiness is not the prerogative of only a few: holiness is a gift that is offered to all, without exception, so that it constitutes the distinctive character of every Christian.
Pope Francis on the “Universal Call to Holiness” Vatican Radio
Righteousness is the truth revealed and working in you!
Walking as the Bride in the Kingdom of God
The tenets of this path were inspired by the Book of Esther.
The beauty treatments prepared for the maidens who were to go before the king consisted of 6 months of purification with oil of myrrh and 6 months of perfumes and cosmetics. As I continue to “walk as the Bride”, I am growing in understanding as I experience it. Prayer, Praise, Purity, Practicing the Presence of God and the Beauty of Holiness are metaphorically speaking, the ingredients that detoxify our hearts and minds, to increase our capacity to receive spiritually. As we activate the 1st 5 treatments, we are being cleansed of the dead weight that we have been carrying around most of our lives. Low self-esteem, guilt, insecurities, past hurts, shame, etc.; all these and more are drawn out and burned by the fire of the Holy Spirit as we pray, praise and practice His presence in order to heal and make us new in Him.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61
Let me be clear, this walk is about Christ Jesus! The above scriptures were spoken by our Lord when he introduced his ministry on earth (Luke 4). Christ is our Bridegroom. Our growing in intimacy with God through Christ brings the reality of “Christ in you” to bear in our lives!
The cleansing water of the Word of God and the precious Blood of Jesus entitles us to partake in that which has been obtained for us. It is our intimacy, our developing relationship with the One who loves us that enables us to acquire and establish the Kingdom of Heaven within. Not head knowledge only but a true experience that can be seen and demonstrated in our lives. Thus the purpose of becoming “oaks of righteousness”, whereby those in our circle of influence may come under our shade to grow in the things of God and to establish His Kingdom in their lives.
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.
Psalm 30:11-12
From Glory, to Glory, to Glory…….
“Initiatic Science regards the human being as a microcosm created
in the image of the macrocosm, the universe. And since the Lord
reigns from the highest point of the universe, in human beings
there is also a peak representing the Lord – their higher self.
So when you concentrate on the Lord to ask him to grant your
wishes, you touch the highest point of your being, and very pure,
subtle vibrations are released and spread through you, producing
highly beneficial changes. And even if you do not receive from
the Lord all that you asked for, you do gain something, some very
spiritual element.
It is true that your request often is not granted, because from
heaven’s perspective what you are asking would not be
particularly good for you, and so it may be refused you. But your
request is useful in that you have succeeded in reaching this
peak within and so been able to release a higher power, which
spreads through you, influencing all your cells and all the
entities within, and bringing you extremely valuable elements.”
Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:29
Hocus Pocus, Alakazam!
Prayer
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
When we pray we are communicating with The Lord, the One who loves us. We must come to Him knowing that our words are heard and we expect He will communicate with us also.
When you go to the bank to withdraw money (that you know that you have), do you say a few words at the door and cross your fingers before you approach the teller? Of course not! You boldly walk up to the counter and present your request with full expectation of receiving what you ask.
If we come before The Lord in prayer and we “hope” someone is listening but we only vaguely believe that God exists, then we are no different than a child pretending to be a magician, who says “Abracadabra” waving a magic wand, expecting a rabbit to come out of his hat!
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
No Cross, No Crown!
After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: “Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times.”
Acts 14:21-22
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful people lay hold of it!
