scripture Archives - Page 2 of 4 - LeeAnn G Taylor

To Restore Your Soul {A Sunday Scripture}

September 21, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Yesterday as I sat through the funeral service of a dear friend and former co-worker, I was reminded of the power of this passage of scripture.
May these words restore your soul today as you reflect on God’s presence in your life, protection over your life, and provision for your life.
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Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

You Were Made To Fly ~ Faith & Fellowship Friday {A Community Link-Up}

September 18, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

What’s holding you back from a rich spiritual life?

For me for the longest time it was years spent in a religious tradition that valued rules and regulations over relationship. While I developed strong relationships with other Christian brothers and sisters, many of whom are still some of my closest friends, my relationship with God suffered.

When I was 16, I knew there was something more that I was missing. I wondered aloud to my sister in the car one day, “Why have we been taught all these things about God but no one has ever taught us how to know Him?“

Years later I’m just now discovering the freedom Christ offers us as believers.

God woke me up this morning with the lyrics to the song Make Me More Free playing over and over in my mind. Maybe I needed a reminder!

(click the play button to listen)

Help me to see, free me

To see You and know You

To know I am known

Help me to see You, see me

And know I am Yours alone

With wings like an eagle, my heart made to fly

Over sin, over sorrow, to new realms of life

From glory to glory, my gaze fixed so high

That I only see Jesus, the love of my life

My heart is no longer held back by a narrow interpretation of the body of Christ and instead I’ve started building stronger relationships with other Christians and with God, my creator, sustainer, friend, and provider. It’s a beautiful thing, freedom.

So what’s holding you back in your spiritual walk?

Be encouraged today. Christ came to set you free. God promises to provide and loves you as His child. Break free and FLY!

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday weekly link-up. Today’s writing prompt was HOLD.

Also, I’m so excited to be co-hosting this week’s Faith and Fellowship Blog Hop along with Susannah from Simple Moments Stick. Take a moment to link up your latest encouraging, faith-building posts. Let’s continue to encourage one another on this journey of becoming more like Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already.

So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already.

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Faith and Fellowship Guidelines

1. Link up a post (not just the link to your blog) from the week that shares what the Lord’s been doing in your life or speaking to you.2. Put the button on your blog post or blog so that others can hear about this wonderful group of Godly women.

3. Visit as many blogs as you’re able and get to know your sisters in Christ!

4. Share this blog hop on social media using #faithandfellowship or pin the button on Pinterest.

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Your Host:

Susannah from Simple Moments Stick

If you’d like to cohost in the future, please email Susannah at susannah.kellogg (at) gmail.com

This Week’s Co-Host:

LeeAnn from Embracing the Mosaic Life

Now it’s your turn! Link up your faith-based, encouraging posts here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Be Still And Listen for the Whispers

September 5, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

At times it’s been through a whisper.

The Holy Spirit quietly prompting, reminding, rebuking, or refreshing my soul.

Growing up in a faith tradition where the concept of the Holy Spirit was often brushed past in Sunday School on even the best day, I’ve struggled as an adult to really listen to God’s voice in my life in the day-to-day.

Reading His word and gaining insight?

That’s where all those Sunday school lessons memorizing books of the Bible, learning how to use a Bible concordance, and studying for endless Bible Bowl questions comes in handy.

But listening, really listening for the voice of God in my life? Oh, that’s been a struggle.

Sometimes we need a reminder to be still and listen for God’s whispers in our lives.

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And so I post this verse on my computer screen at work, in my car on a colored index card, on the mirror in the bathroom, and anywhere else I need a reminder.

Be still.

Know.

Remember His promises.

Remember I’m His child, his masterpiece.

Trust His provision for my life.

Trust His protection for my children.

Surrender control.

And listen for the whispers.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

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This post is part of Five Minute Friday {Whisper} where we’re given a writing prompt and encouraged to write for five minutes of free writing. It’s a beautiful community of women sharing their words and wisdom each week! Also sharing with Faith & Fellowship and Essential Fridays.

What about you? How do you listen for the Holy Spirit’s whispers in your life?

Angry? 3 Things To Do Before You React

August 31, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I listen as my 5 year old lists her favorite things about the first week of kindergarten.

Art. Gym. Library. Recess. Spanish class.

My heart is filled with joy as I recognize she’s entered a new stage and so far, she’s loving it!

But me?

It only took two days of public school for me to find myself very angry with a newly implemented school policy.

2 days.

My joy-filled heart over my daughter’s love of school turned foul quickly after listening to a simple school-wide voicemail and I knew I had to get a handle on my emotions – and quick!

Time for an adjustment to my perspective.

While I certainly don’t get this right every time, I’m sharing three tactics to use for maintaining perspective when you find anger rising up in your heart.

1. Reach In

When I experience those first feelings of anger, I know I have just a split second to decide how I’m going to react. It’s that initial trigger that stops me in my tracks and helps me start to reframe the situation to gain perspective.

Andy Stanley, in his book Enemies of the Heart, describes anger as a situation in which we feel like others owe us something. When you start to feel anger bubbling up inside, take a minute to consider what you feel like the other person or organization you’re angry with might owe you. Then decide whether or not that’s actual truth or your heart lying to you.

This pause gives you time to use the other two tactics and prevent overreacting and doing or saying something you’ll regret later.

2. Reach Out

After recognizing my anger with the school policy this week, the next step I took was to call my husband. He’s my rock and the one I turn to when I need a hefty dose of perspective.

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Maybe for you reaching out to another person might be a trusted friend or mentor, but regardless of which wise person in your life you choose, reaching out is essential. While this is not the time to gossip about a situation, a wise godly person will help you talk out a situation, calm down a bit, and help you plan your steps moving forward before you act in anger.

In my situation, my husband helped me slow down, reassess the situation, and realize there was a simple solution. In mere minutes, my anger subsided!

3. Reach Up

When we’re angry, why do we often forget to reach up to our creator, the God who made us and knows us inside and out?

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I’m learning (ever so slowly) to reach up to God and remember that it’s His Spirit living within me who gives me power to do things I wouldn’t have the strength or power to do on my own.

When we take the time to remember The Comforter is with us, living IN us, it takes our anger down a notch and begs us to reflect on God’s truths instead of the lies we may be believing in the midst of our anger.

When my anxieties multiply, your comforting calms me down. Psalm 94:19

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What about you? What do you do when anger rises up in your heart to make sure you don’t overreact? Share in the comments so we can all grow together!

Sharing today with Five Minute Friday {Reach} and Essential Fridays. Note, this post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, our family receives a small percentage of your sale (at no cost to you). We’re in the middle of radically trusting God in our finances, and every little bit helps toward our goal of financial freedom so we can faithfully follow God’s lead in our lives. Thanks for your support!

Billy Graham’s Wife’s Secret to a Happy Marriage

August 24, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

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The four of us piled in our blue 10-year old mini-van and settled in for the 20 minute drive home.

The day had been a long one, filled with the kind of relationship-building and memory-making our family relishes.

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A big Saturday morning breakfast as a family, a birthday party for the daughter of a couple we adore, an extended family cookout including swimming for the littles, a baby shower for my cousin, and another birthday party cookout for the daughter of a set of dear friends that included three pregnant mammas and 8 kiddos under the age of 8 resulted in an incredibly full day.

After three meals of hot dogs and three servings of celebratory cake in the span of eight hours, we were all sugared up and wired but exhausted from all the fun.

And that’s when I made a critical mistake. I started talking about our family finances.

I know, I know. Bad move.

I should know now not to bring up finances when we’re already physically at the end of our rope for the day, but I had some new information about a financial situation surrounding our health insurance that I had forgotten to share with my husband and felt like we needed to discuss. Right then.

But in a span of minutes, our demeanors morphed from cheerful to irritated as a result of a string of misunderstood comments and ill-placed assumptions.

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For a moment, I felt like the day was ruined. A whole day of wonderful family memories, spoiled by a few minutes of frustrated conversation over a situation neither of us have any control over. What a shame.

Instead, we remembered Billy Graham’s wife’s secret to a happy marriage. And took action.

“A happy marriage is the union of two great forgivers.” – Ruth Bell Graham

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“A happy marriage is the union of two great forgivers.” – Ruth Bell Graham

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We took decisive action to change our perspective on the conversation, realizing both of us were depleted from the long day and deciding to come back to the topic when we were both fresh and able to communicate more clearly.

It took us choosing to forgive each others’ poor attitudes and snide remarks for the evening to be spared.

Next time you are frustrated with your spouse’s or a friend’s faults, remember the Bible’s clear direction on how to handle these situations.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

Ruth Bell Graham had it right. Both for marriages and for great friendships.

Today, as you interact with your spouse, friends, and family, remember to make allowance for faults and be quick to forgive. It might just be your “secret weapon” for relationship success!

Do you have any tips to share on forgiving? What other relational “tools” do you have in your toolbox to foster healthy relationships? Share in the comments.

Also, “Making Room for Forgiveness” is one of 10 practices Bill Hybel discusses in his new book Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul. I’ll be sharing more about this book soon because I’ve grown so much from working through the ten practices & I’m confident you will too. {I received a review copy from Tyndale & link is an affiliate link.}

Sharing with Mommy Monday.

God Uses Small Beginnings

August 2, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Questions of doubt swirl in my mind. Maybe in yours too.

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Who am I to make a difference with my small town life?

We live in a tiny town of 1,000 people.

How can God use me to change the world?

I’m just an introverted office-working mom with dreamer husband and a couple of crazy kiddos (and now one more on the way) living in a simple no-frills house, financially just making it month by month.

Does my offering of encouraging words really matter?

I write because I felt God’s prompting, but does my writing really change women’s perspectives and turn their hearts & lives toward the Lord?

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And then I hear His voice.

Child, I specialize in small beginnings. Just look at my creation.

Acorns grow into stalwart oak trees.

Fuzzy ugly caterpillars grow into exquisite butterflies.

Tiny seeds grow into magnificent flowers.

He speaks again:

It’s your job to be available.

To put yourself into situations to foster growth.

To seek living water and bright sunlight.

And to watch me bless your small beginning.

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Small beginnings are the launching pad to great endings. – Joyce Meyer

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I hear his voice quietly in my spirit and then again through His word. It’s more truth sinking down deep and reminding me of His faithfulness in my life.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Zechariah 4:10

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God is pleased when we’re available to be used and we submit our small beginnings to His purposes. He has designed each of us uniquely and He equips us to make a difference, rejoicing with us as we begin our journey.

Today, I’m excited to introduce you to three of my in-real-life friends who have each made themselves available to God to be used. All three have started blogs in the last couple of weeks, sharing their hearts, their stories, and their lives as they seek to make God known in their own unique ways.

Take a minute to visit and encourage these brave ladies!

Brittany writes at Momolgie, sharing her story of faithfulness through the challenges currently presenting themselves as her husband is treated for stage IV metastatic colon cancer. She also has a heart for encouraging moms, especially pregnant moms and those nursing and caring for a new little one.

Mollie writes at Faith in Plain Sight, sharing her story of how God is helping her move through years of hurt and pain to a life of freedom in Christ, one step of faith at a time. As a single mom, she can identify with Christian women in similar situations learning to navigate the waters of parenting young children.

Amy writes at A Beautiful Mess, sharing her story of freedom from a diagnosis of bi-polar/manic depressive disorder at a very young age.

What small beginning is God birthing in your life? Let’s encourage one another as we each seek and discover God’s best for our lives.

Sharing today with Five Minute Friday, Essential Fridays, The Weekend Brew, God’s Girl, Faith & Fellowship, Beauty Observed, Recommendation Saturday, Scripture and a Snapshot, Sunday Stillness, and Give Me Grace.

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