Walk Away With me

January 11, 2016January 12, 2016 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #9

Good and Great

Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Psalm 111:2 NRSV

Little children sometimes learn the dinner prayer, ” God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food.” This simple prayer contains profound truth. God is good. He brings only good into our lives. He is never the author of any evil thing that happens to you or anyone else. But God is also great. His redemptive fingerprints are all over everything that happens to His children, so that we may emerge from tragedy and loss as victors instead of victims.

All of this becomes very personal when it comes time to trust God with the people and things you value most. As you place in God’s hands what is most precious to you, you demonstrate your belief that God is good and He is great. He is good enough to want the best for you and yours, and great enough to turn every difficulty into triumph. By transferring ownership to God, you give Him an opportunity to demonstrate His faithfulness to you. You become free to be His child, resting under His care.

Heavenly Father, I have seen Your goodness when…

I have seen your goodness in so many ways, in so many different occasions. The times when I couldn’t fight for myself and you fought for me. I put all my trust in you then, and those times when I had given up on myself you still held on to me, and the times I thought my life was over because I had no more hope to keep going, nothing else had no meaning. You still saw your goodness in me and held me up. Thank you for all you have done.

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Celebrating

January 9, 2016 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #8

Celebrating God’s Presence

Suppose you had the opportunity to sit down with Jesus Christ in the flesh and talk with Him about anything you wanted to talk about. You could ask Him any questions, discuss any topic, share any stories, consider any plans, laugh at any jokes for as long as you wanted. What kind of time limit would you want to have imposed on that meeting?

Being free to take time to celebrate God’s presence is a wonderful privilege. Some people can afford to spend an hour or longer in prayer each day. Some cannot. But praying a longer rather than short time doesn’t make God love you anymore. God is more interested in you than He is in the clock.

He likes being with you, going to work or school with you, and joining you as you carry out your daily activities__ whether that is mopping floors, planning budgets, or reading stories to children. In the sense that God is always present, we can always be praying, whether our lips are moving or not.

Lord God, this is how I feel about spending time with you…

For the past 8 days, I’ve been doing this challenge ” Come away with me.” I’ve been feeling like I’m so close to God. When I wake up in the morning I wake with the urge to start my devoting, and I can hardly wait for night time to come so I can get started, because that’s the time when I set aside for my daily devotion. So How do I feel? Exited, great. Although physically I feel like crap emotionally and spiritually I feel great.

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Stay Close and Keep me Strong .

January 8, 2016 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #7

A Time for Prayer

Prayer is a wonderful way to start your day. For a morning person what could be better? Making prayer part of your morning routine sets the tone for your entire day. But morning isn’t the only opportunity available to you. God is always available, and you can pray anytime you want.

For example, you can pray several times a day at important transitions in your schedule, divisions punctuate your day. You may wish to conclude your day in prayer__sharing the experiences of the last twenty-four hours with Him.

Any of these options and more are available, you can decide which best fits your personality, your lifestyle, and your season in life. By setting a time and making a plan, you move from a great idea__prayer__to a great reality__a life of prayer. Your time alone with God becomes something that you look forward to and protect. By consistently connecting with God, you soul finds the nourishment it needs and the results is a richer, fuller life.

God, for me, the best time to pray is…

The best time for me to pray is usually at night when I’m alone and everyone is already sleeping. I sit on my bed start journaling, thoughts and words just start to flow out. This is my best moment when I lay it all out onto his hands.

Dear Lord,

It’s not always easy for me to know what to pray for, especially when I pray for a person or cause or situation that I do not know a lot about. Though answers may not seem apparent or issues resolved, please help me to keep my heart and mind connected to You. Guide me with Your counsel and open new doors of possibility. When life does not present easy answers or options, You always work on the situation brought before Your throne. I believe You know what is needed and I ask that You stay close and keep me strong

Amen.

” Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

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I just gotta say this…

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #6

A Place for Prayer

The great thing about meeting with God is that you can meet Him anywhere. He can be found on the factory floor just as readily as He can be experienced in a cathedral. If you could find a way to travel to the most distant galaxy, you would find that God is already there.

But just as a couple much in love will seek out a quiet place to be alone together, so you may also wish to find a place all your own to meet with God. You might find a place in your home where you can be free to focus on God. Or you might enjoy connecting with God outdoors along a nature trail or in a park.

Maybe you would prefer to meet privately with God in a church building or mix it up so you don’t get bogged down by too much routine.

As you move forward in your journey, you’ll identify the atmosphere that works best for you. A place for prayer helps you grow in your friendship with God.

God, the place that works best for me to communicate with You is…

The Best place for me to communicate with God is where ever I communicate period. I think the important thing is to separate the time and communicate, and by doing it is what really matters. Of course we all have our little secret special place like our closet, for me, it’s the laundry room or the shower hahaha.
I always have long dialogs at those special times. 🙂

He said, ” My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14 NASB

Dear Lord,
You have the power to do more than I ask, more than I can imagine!
When I come to you in prayer then, let me do so knowing what great power You hold over any situation in my life.
I cannot measure Your power or truly even conceive of it in its fullness, but I know that the One who designed the universe by simply speaking it into being has the power to design my life.
I believe You can remold and reshape me and any circumstance in which I may find myself.
God, I praise and thank You for my life and all that You are doing even now to help me.
Lord, I thank You for Your powerful and loving Spirit and for shaping me in ways that only serve to make me stronger.

Amen.

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Pray Without Quitting

January 6, 2016November 29, 2022 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #5

Pray Without Quitting

Does it seem your prayers have gone unanswered? Never give up. Find new ways to pray, and discover new ways to see your circumstances.

This requires a combination of teachability and persistence. If your prayers are answered in a way different than you expect, ask God what He wants to teach you through the experience. Ask Him again and again to show you what you need to know. Do you need to ask for something different? Do you need to wait longer for an answer? Listen and watch for God’s answers. If you are willing to listen and watch for God’s answers. If you are willing to learn, He is happy to teach. if you have patience, you’ll find His timing is perfect. Meanwhile, keep on asking.

Persistence forges strength of character that comes from refusing to quit, even when the path isn’t easy. By persisting, you join Him in His determination to make things right. Pray without quitting.

Heavenly Father, the things I want to persist in asking for are…

I want to be more persist in asking for patience. God knows I need it, more than I realize it. I need to pray without quitting and learn from whatever God gives me for an answer.

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Whatever path you travel, and wherever it may lead… go in Peace.

January 5, 2016November 29, 2022 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #4

God’s Abiding Presence

Where does God live? While it is true that God lives in a high and holy place as king of heaven, it is also true that God is near those who understand that they need Him. God hangs out with the humble. He spends His time with those who understand how destitute they are without Him. As a follower of God, you have the promise of His presence.

Where is God right now? He stands next to you and lives inside you. This means that He is always available. Your prayers don’t need to follow some formula to reach God. They don’t need to grow wings and fly into heaven. Before they leave your lips, God has heard you.

God is always listening, always attentive, always caring for and about you. This opens the door for you to share all of life with Him. You can share your thoughts, your friends, your plans, your dreams, your fears, your small talk, your deepest hurts, and your funniest jokes.
Making contact with God is as simple as saying, ” Here I am.”

Lord God, I want to share with you today about…

Today I want to share my happiness, My unconditional love for you. My excitement to be able to pray in your name and know that I can count on you, that I can have such a wonderful friend. A friend that loves me for who I am. Someone that knows my feelings even before I speak, someone that truly knows my heart my wants and needs. Thank you for all you have done for me. I’m thankful. I’m dependent on you Lord.

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Forgive even if they are not Sorry

January 5, 2016November 29, 2022 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #3

Reconciliation

Think about how good it feels when a conflict is resolved, and friendship is restored. That’s what God wants for each of us.

When we iron out our differences with others and renew those friendships, we open the door for deeper intimacy with God in prayer. How do you patch things up? Follow the 1-99 rule. If the conflict is 99 percent your responsibility, don’t focus on the party’s mistakes; rather take care of your 1 percent. Most of the time, when you apologize for your role in the conflict, the other person’s heart will soften.

Sincere attempts to reconcile usually work, but sometimes they don’t. God doesn’t expect you to take responsibility for someone else’s unwillingness to apologize or forgive. Nor does God want you to invite an abusive person back into your life. But when you do your best to live at peace with all people, you will experience a new level of peace with God.

Lord God, as I take inventory of my relationships, help me to…

Help me to forgive those that have hurt me, forgive and forget. It’s so hard sometimes for me to forget. I always keep my focus on the other person’s fault and forget I can only change and take responsibility for my part. Help me to live at peace not only with myself but also with those that has done me wrong.

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How to get in the habit of Making Room

January 4, 2016November 29, 2022 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #2

The Habit of Making Room

How do you build a relationship with God? Like a friendship or a marriage, a great relationship with God doesn’t happen all at once. You build it over time. It’s a daily process of investigating and celebrating who God is, and sharing the grit and substance of your life with Him.

To build a successful marriage, spouses must find time for one another, enjoying a walk in the park, a dinner at a restaurant, playing a board game, working on a remodeling project, or any of a hundred other activities. That will look different in every marriage. But, without that shared time, any marriage slowly dies.

Building a relationship with God also involves taking time out for Him. That might include singing songs of praise, silently pondering God’s character, or pouring out your thoughts and feelings to Him. You might take a walk with God or invite Him to join you at work. The key isn’t so much in how you approach God, but rather in the habit of making room for Him in your everyday life.

Lord, I want to make room for you today by…

I want to make room for God by praying, reading and separating my time of daily devotion to Him. I’m challenging myself to get this done for 365 days straight. Building a healthy relationship habit with God is what will help me reach my goal of a happy and longer life.

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Here Come New Ideas for A New Beginning

January 3, 2016January 3, 2016 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

A 365 Days Challenge Day #1

How do you start fresh with God? How do you close the distance between yourself and your Creator? It really is very simple: Come out of hiding.

In the Bible we read the account of Adam and Eve who ate the forbidden fruit, realized they were uncovered, and hid from God. So God walked through the garden calling out, ” where are you?” God helped this couple after they stepped out into the light and said, ” Here we are.” Their honesty about where they were and what they had done opened the door for God to clothe them and promise them a Savior who would rescue them from their fallen condition.

God comes into our lives asking the same question: “Where are you?” When we honestly face who we are and what we have become, the door is opened for us to have a genuine relationship with Him. You can’t dress up for God. He deals in the currency of honesty. Bring the real you to the real God and watch transformation take place.

Lor God, help me to admit that I need you. I’ve been hiding for way too long. Love myself for who I am. I need to bee and feel alive for myself and do this for me and no one else.

God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

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It’s No Surprise

December 25, 2015November 29, 2022 EllyFilhoLeave a comment

It’s No Surprise to God

One of the strongest and most persistent fears people experience is the fear that they won’t have what they need. We want to feel safe in every area of life. But we’re constantly attacked with the fear that we won’t have what we need—whether it’s finances, relationships, or the ability to do what God has called us to do.

More than any other command in Scripture, God tells us not to fear. God never promises us a trouble-free life, but He does promise us His presence and the strength (mental, physical, and emotional) we require to get through our troubles.

Several years ago, a friend of mine went in for a routine checkup and learned days later that her doctor feared she might have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the most aggressive form of the disease. More tests were needed, and she was told it might take two or three weeks before a confirmed diagnosis could be reached.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10

I asked my friend how she got through those weeks of uncertainty and if she was afraid. “Yes, I was afraid,” she said. “But I also knew that whatever the outcome was, it would be no surprise to God.” Then she said something else that might be of help to you. She told me she realized that if she worried for three weeks and then learned she had lymphoma, she would have wasted three valuable weeks of her life. And if she worried for three weeks and learned she did not have lymphoma, she would have still wasted three valuable weeks of her life. “Believe it or not,” she said, “I didn’t lose a minute’s sleep for those twenty-one days.”

When the tests finally came back, my friend learned she did indeed have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She had surgery and endured many months of chemo. I’m pleased to tell you that, ten years later, she’s in terrific health. And she didn’t waste three valuable weeks.

Trust in Him
What are you afraid of? No matter what you are going through, it’s no surprise to God. He’s not unsure of what’s around the corner or unprepared for whatever you’re going through. Put your trust in Him and be confident in His plans for your life.

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #8

Celebrating God’s Presence

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #7

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #6

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #5

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #4

God’s Abiding Presence

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #3

Reconciliation

Think about how good it feels when a conflict is resolved, and friendship is restored. That’s what God wants for each of us.

Lord God, as I take inventory of my relationships, help me to…

Please Share the Love :)

Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #2

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Please Share the Love :)

A 365 Days Challenge Day #1

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Please Share the Love :)

It’s No Surprise to God

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.

Please Share the Love :)

Please Share the Love :)