Fifi's Muse

I think the greatest benefit of faith is that it creates hope. In Psalm 27:13 David says he would have been discouraged if he had not believed that he would see God's goodness.  He then encouraged us to wait on the Lord. It is a two step process: believe that you will see God's goodness, so you won't be discouraged; Then wait on him.#hope #faith #faithblogger #positivity 

 Pastor Creflo Dollar has been praying on facebook everyday since the coronavirus increased social isolation. I have loved the sessions that I have been able to watch. Today he shared this nugget above and it spoke to me a lot. I have been hearing a lot about personal growth and I have had to grow a lot this year. I think it was striking to think about what would happen if we don't grow. If we refuse to be stretched. We leave space for unhealthy things to grow in our lives and we leave space for idols to take the place of God.  #spiritualgrowth#faith

Have you ever had a moment when you realized that you have grown through bad experiences? Yes, bad experiences can mature you. Negative people can make you learn to not get upset about people's opinions.#encouragement#positivequotes #positivity#fifismuse#fifismuse.blogspot.com

I read this verse today and an idea jumped out at me. Funny thing is, I have read it before and never really thought much about it. In this season there is more context for this verse because there is so much of a need to know the future right now. We need to know when things will go back to normal and sometimes that makes it difficult to adjust to the new normal. In this verse Jesus was saying to his disciples that it is not for them to know the times and seasons which are in the Father's hands. That statement reminded me that faith is trusting when we don't know. We won't always have answers or find them but we can find peace when we decide to let go of the need for answers and decide to trust. It's easier said than done but it is a process that we can work towards. 

We all have highs and lows in life. I pray that as you go through valleys, you have the strength to keep moving and not stay there. Psalms 84:5-7 talks about going through valleys and making it a spring. If we do not look to God we won't find that spring in the valley. We could decide that the valley is all there is and there is nothing else to look forward to. Thinking that way will keep us from getting to a place where we feel alive again. Verse 7 talks about increasing strength. This strength doesn't come from ourselves, it comes from God, from holding onto Him, from calling on Him in prayer from trusting Him when everything around us seems dark.

I have had two experiences this Christmas season that left an impression on me. One was being part of a line in a gas station and the guy in front of me turned around and asked what I was getting and how much it cost. I stated that I was getting gas for my car and what it cost, then asked why he was asking. He responded by saying that the person ahead of him paid for his items and so he was paying for mine. This really brightened my day. I had been getting over congestion and a struggle with the weather among other things, it made a difference. I turned around and asked the guy behind me how much his items cost (of course I had to make sure I could afford it). I paid for his too. The store clerks were pleasantly surprised and one remarked that she "needed to be on the other side of the counter." It is always great to see a total stranger showing that there is goodness in humanity. They said the Christmas cheer had been started by a lady earlier in the day.  My second ex...

A few weeks ago I was listening to a live stream of a sermon in which Oneka McClellan talked about how Mary and Elizabeth in the Bible encouraged one another during a difficult season. Something else dropped in my mind about their situations. They both received promises that they had to embrace and carry although it was difficult or even somewhat inconvenient.  Mary was a virgin girl engaged to Joseph. An angel appeared to her and told her that she was to chosen to carry God's son. He would be incubated in her and she would give birth to him. It wasn't a convenient time. She was engaged, what will her fiance think? What will her neighbors say when they see her body starting to change? It was a lot to take in but she accepted the angel's message. God took care of her fiance behind the scene and he had his own visitation. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was elderly. She didn't have the option of accepting or refusing the promise but she had joy in the mids...