The following story was taken from Mark 5:21-43

Jairus, a synagogue ruler, fell at the feet of Jesus begging him to touch his dying daughter. At one point in the story men who had come from Jairus’s house went to Jairus to tell him that his daughter was dead. Jesus ignored what they had said and told this grieving man, “don’t be afraid, just believe.”

When they had gotten to Jairus’s home Jesus told the people there that the daughter was not dead but that she was just sleeping. They laughed at Him! Can you imagine! Obviously, they had no faith … maybe they had no idea who Jesus was.

The child’s parents, a few disciples, and Jesus went to the child where she was laying. Jesus took her by the hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Immediately she stood up and walked around. She was healed!

How many stories do we read where Jesus, in some form or another, touched someone to heal them? Touch is obviously very powerful.

In reading and meditating on this story today it occurred to me that if Jesus can raise the dead, can He not raise what appears to be dead in our lives today? Do we not all have situations that are sick, next to death’s door, and even dead?

Finances … relationships … health … marriages … ministry hardships … children … the list could go on.

I encourage you to seek Him out, run to Jesus and throw yourselves at His feet and plead with Him to touch your situation. “Do not be afraid, just believe!” All it takes is a touch from Him. For the woman who bleed for 12 years all it took for her was to touch the hem of His cloak and she was healed.

Beloved, seek Him, run to Him with all of your being … touch Him and allow Him to touch you. He is The Great Physician in all things.

Don’t be afraid, just believe!

What would it look like for you to run to Him to receive His healing touch?

What might that healing look like?

We are asked all the time how we are.  Most of the time we give a pat answer that we are fine.  We go from meeting to meeting, activity to activity, job to job, etc. often times stressed without realizing just how stressed we really are.

Honestly?  That is where I have found myself recently!

I have started The Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on facebook where a bunch of us have started a 30 day challenge together.  It has just started on Monday.  Even though we are only a couple of days into the challenge I am personally amazed with just how much pressure I have been putting on myself, ignoring what all is going on inside … in body, mind and spirit.

So, how are you … really?

When was the last time you checked in with yourself, when you stopped to get quiet long enough to get an answer back?  And when was the last time you asked yourself what you needed and actually gave it to yourself?

We get caught up in life with all of its ups and downs.  In doing so, we tend to ignore, deny, and even mask what is going on inside of us and unless we take the time to stop and listen, we end up in a numbed out state just going through the motions of life.  And I know from personal experience how that state can lead to depression and illness.

I ask you, where’s the joy in that?

So, how are you … really?  Are you living in joy?

I encourage you to stop right now and give yourself a check in.  How full is your cup?  Take some time now to fill that cup of yours up with love and joy.

I invite you to join us at The Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on Facebook for a 30-day challenge.  It’s only 15 minutes a day.  You’ll get support there as well and you’ll get to read my personal journal.

Love and hugs to you!!

Today is the day of love.

My dear women of wonder, today my heart is full of love and compassion for all of you.  On this day of love, I send you all the love that I can muster up because you are so worth loving.

The Wonder Woman Challenge has always been about stepping off of the merry-go-round of life a few minutes each day in order to love yourself … to fill your empty cup with love SO THAT you can joyfully give to those around you.  We must learn and practice giving from a full cup.

Today is the day of love.

Regardless of what anyone else does for you, what are YOU going to do for YOU?  Don’t miss this opportunity to express to yourself just how much you do care and love yourself.  Your spirit will leap with joy!

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” ~ I Corinthians 13:4-7

I encourage you to not only apply this passage of love to those around you, but also to yourself in a balanced and healthy manner.

Today is the day of love.

“What women need is to learn how to nurture themselves. We need to shower as much loving kindness on ourselves as we habitually shower on loved ones, and even not-so-loved ones. We need to be loved for our fully formed selves, not for our dependent, appeasing selves. And the only way we can have fully formed selves is by granting ourselves the same tenderness and fierce protectiveness we’d otherwise reserve for a beloved child.” ~ Alice D. Domar, PhD “Self-Nurture”

I love you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Shileen

Taking Valentine’s Day into your own hands is a great thing to do!  Why wait and hope that someone will recognize you on Valentine’s Day when it isn’t necessary?

Valentine’s Day can be a fun holiday, it can be a bummer of a holiday.  As women, we always hope that our loved ones will recognize their love for us on this day.  The waiting can be unnerving … will he/they do something or won’t they?  Will someone think of me?

Let me ask you… who really needs that?? I sure don’t!

Many years ago I decided to take Valentine’s Day into my own hands making it whatever I wanted it to be.  I thought about what would bring me great joy on this day.  How can I express love to those close to me that would also fill my own love tank?

I started by giving a tea party to my family, which consists of two boys and a hubby.  You are probably wondering how I pulled that off.  Although at the time they would not admit it, they all loved it!  It was food!  Tell me what boy or man who does not like food!!  =)  Plus they knew it was important to me and we always enjoyed conversation around family time (we still do).  Our tea parties over the years have always been very lovely and meaningful.

It has been a few years since I have thrown a Valentine Tea party.  I will always recognize my guys on this day and they typically do me as well, but I seriously count their recognition as a bonus.

Listen, it is just as important to love on ourselves as it is to love on others.  When we love on ourselves it frees others to love on us.  While you are recognizing your loved ones on Valentine’s Day, what can you do to recognize yourself?  Plan a special tea for yourself, a bubble bath, buy yourself some flowers, take some time to work on a hobby, etc.  Think of a way to treat yourself special, something that will bring you joy.

Here’s a fun idea!  While I was putting together a gift for a friend, I put one together for myself as well.  I love it!  It is simple.  I always say it is the simple things of life that bring me the most joy!

I made a cute set of Valentine’s Day coasters, bought a new mug (I am a sucker for a cute mug!), made up some of “My Famous Hot Chocolate Mix”, and added some of my favorite tea.  It is so very cute!  Just looking it at fills me with joy!

The coaster idea came from one of my favorite websites Cupcakes and Crinoline in an article called Sew Happy 30 Minute Coasters.

Taking Valentine’s Day into your own hands is a great thing to do.  In the end everyone feels blessed with a full love tank.

Do you have any Valentine’s Day ideas to share?

As I sit at the window seat with a hot cup of tea and a warm blanket, I am gazing out at the wonders of His hands.  The beauty that bestows me is breathtaking.  There is a peace, a calm that has blanketed the earth.

Yes, I live in an area that has been hit with the winter storm which, left us with two feet of snow.  There are issues and problems at hand to deal with; yet, I have welcomed the storm in all of its beauty.  It has allowed me to step out of the rat race and the norm to be in the moment in order to take care of the simple things of life in which we need to survive.

Being snowed in reminds me to be grateful for all that we have.  Although we have not lost power, we did lose our TV, phones, and Internet for a while.  It was a strange feeling to not be plugged in to the outside world, but it felt good at least for a short time.  I suddenly became so grateful for all of our technology today as it has only been a few short years ago that we all lived unplugged.

In these moments of quiet stillness, I cannot help but be in awe of His beauty.  What I am seeing out of my window is His masterpiece. Who can create such a masterpiece as this?  Truly a reflection of  His glory.  After all, anytime an artist creates a piece of art, that artwork is a reflection of the one who created it.

When I ask, Lord, what parts of you are you reflecting, all I can hear are things like, quietness, peace, stillness, beauty.  And then I hear, “Be still and know that I am God.”

If you have never seen the work of Snowflake Bentley, you are in for a real treat. He has an amazing story that will leave you thinking about the awesomeness of God our creator.  Enjoy!

Take heart!  God is doing something new!!

In my last article, Do You Value Yourself?, I wrote about how the hardships of life can take it’s toll on our self-value.  But, Isaiah 43:1 tells us that we belong to God and He knows our names.  God’s love and value for us is like no other and it is this knowledge that carries us through the rough points in our lives.

Today I am writing about those rough points.  Times are rough for so many right now here in our country and certainly in other parts of the world with Haiti in the forefront.  May the Lord be with them providing miracles of provisions, healings, and salvation both physically and spiritually, and much comfort.

I don’t know what you’re struggling with today, but I encourage you to stop wrestling with the issue in the sense of wanting things to go back to the way they used to be.  Don’t we do that?  I know that I will find myself in that position from time to time.

We say things like if only this didn’t happen or that didn’t happen.  If we could just get things back to the way they used to be then life would be easy.  We will even make a plan on how to get it there, but does it really ever work out?  No.  Why? …

… Because life is forever changing.  Change is a good thing.  The quicker we wrap ourselves around the change that we are in the middle of the better off we will be, along with those around us and our situation.

“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, 
a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing! 
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me, 
the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

~Isaiah 43:16-21

Take heart!  God is doing something new!!

Whatever your situation is, embrace it!  Instead of dwelling in the past, look up and out!  God is doing something new in your life!  He is making a way for you in your desert.  He is making provisions for you, His chosen, so that you can proclaim His praise!

Glory be to God!

You have more value than you can imagine!

We live in a world where we are bombarded with negative messages.  Consciously or unconsciously these negative messages absorb into our consciousness and begin to toy with our self-images and can lead us down a path of feeling unvalued.

Add to that the pains and hurts we experience within our relationships, which by the way, begin the very moment we enter this world. Whether you come from a solid family with minor dysfunction or an unhealthy family where dysfunction reigns, pains and hurts cannot be avoided because we are all human … we live in a fallen world.

And, as I am sure you are well aware, our friendships can add insult to injury.  It is no wonder so many live their lives with low self-esteem, anxiety, and even depression.

Is that it? Do we just go with the flow and allow all this negativity to invade our personal environments causing us to believe we have no value?

The answer is a big NO!

You have more value than you can imagine! It’s time to ditch the lies and embrace the truth about you.

Think of someone you highly respect, someone you hold in a very high esteem.  What do you think and how does it make you feel when this person notices you and calls you by name?  It’s a sweet sound, isn’t it?

More than that, how does it make you feel when this person remembers your name?  Makes you feel good, doesn’t it?  A kind of “Wow! He remembers me”.  Makes you feel important and, yes, even valued.

“But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.  I’ve called your name.  You’re mine.’” Isaiah 43:1 The Message

Do you realize the King of kings, our heavenly Father, calls out our names?  As a child of God, He says that we are His!

What a beautiful thing.  Take the above scripture verse and put your own name in it like:

“But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Shileen, the One who got you started, Shileen: ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.  I’ve called your name.  You’re mine.’” Isaiah 43:1 The Message

I love that!  The Creator of the universe knows my name, calls it out and tells me that I am his.  It fills my heart with love and joy and peace.

It’s time we stop believing all the lies that we have taken in over the years.  Refuse them.  When you catch yourself going there, just say, “NO!  That is no longer true of me!” and recite Isaiah 43:1. Then allow His love, joy, and peace to fill your soul.

Believe me! You have much more value than you can imagine!

It truly is amazing that Somebody of such high esteem … who is pure high esteem loves and values you and I so much.  It is His love that carries us through the rough points in our life. And it is in and through His love that we find our true value in this life.

God bless you as you journey to discover your truest value.

1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style

©By Sharon Jaynes

If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family – I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family – I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family – it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of your way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails.  Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust.  But giving the gift of love will endure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Used by permission, this poem was taken from “Celebrating a Christ Centered Christmas”by Sharon Jaymes

To learn more visit www.sharonjaynes.com

I want to share a little trick I use to help curtail this kind of binge eating.  Keep in mind that this “trick” I use does not address the root problem.  That will be saved for another article.  This really isn’t even a trick at all but more of a special treatment.

What I want to share with you today allows you to indulge in a healthier way that, if done properly with the right mindset, can actually be a self-care activity. It’s very simple and fun.

Decide on a treat that you really want.  Don’t be mindless about it.  For example I made Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes the other night.  Oh my goodness!  They are so good! (I’ve included the recipe below.) They remind me of the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins from Starbucks, which I love.  I could easily eat several in one setting if I’m not careful, so to avoid that kind of a binge eating I create “a moment”.

As you can see in the picture above, I created a beautiful holiday setting for eating one (not two, three or even four!) Pumpkin Cream Cupcake. I watched a holiday movie in this setting but sometimes I will play soothing music or sneak away to a quiet place in the house.

A very important aspect of this activity is to be in the moment and use your five senses while indulging in the treat.  Talk about an enjoyable stress reliever!  It feels very special because it is!  It sends a very nurturing message to yourself that you care enough to not binge on your favorite treat while meeting your need to de-stress in a more delightful healthier way.

The next time you feel a binge coming on due to stress or any other reason, allow yourself to indulge in a small treat if you like but create a special moment that tickles your senses.  You will be quite surprised with the results!

Pumkin Cream Cupcakes

From Food & Family Kraft Magazine

www.kraftfoods.com

1 pkg (2-layer size) spice cake mix

1 pkg (3/4 0z) Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cake batter as directed on package.  Add dry pudding mix and and pumpkin; mix well.  Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

Beat cream cheese with mixer until cream.  Blend in sugar and egg; spoon over batter.  Swirl gently with small spoon.

Bake 18 to 21 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes; remove to wire racks.  Cool Completely.

Special Extra:  Stir 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg into 1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip; spread over cooled cupcakes.  Keep refrigerated.

There’s a lot going on at this time of the year as we get ready for Christmas.  Stress is at an all time high … wouldn’t you say?  Life is crazy enough but then when you add the holiday “stuff” on top of an already busy schedule?  It spells … m-e-l-t-d-o-w-n!

Ok, girlfriends, how do we avoid the holiday meltdowns this year?!

First of all, stop wherever you are in your holiday preparations and celebrations and think about what you want Christmas to be for you and your family.  Certainly you don’t want it to be all about stress and meltdowns.  I know that my family does not want me to be irritable, resentful, and miserable during a time that is supposed to be about family, love, and celebrations. They told me so many years ago.  It was then that I began to scale down and slow down so that I could enjoy the beautiful season that it is.

Forget the picture perfect Christmas.  Choose one or two things that are most important and focus on those things.  Do you really need a million different kinds of homemade cookies?  No!  Does your house need to look like something out of a magazine?  No! Seriously, keep it all simple so that you can devote the time you do have to those you love in a way that will create beautiful, fun memories.

That takes me to you.  You know how it goes … “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!”  Let’s keep mama happy during this holiday season.  What do you need to do to make that happen?

Yes, scale down the preparations and celebrations.  But also keep up with your self-care activities.  You only need 15 minutes a day – that alone makes such a big difference.  But ya know what? If you need to shut the world out for a while, do so.  Watch your favorite movie, read a book, take a long nap, a bubble bath or whatever you need to do to restore.  These little things make all the difference in the world!

Avoid the holiday meltdowns this year by simplifying and taking a little time to de-stress.  It’s the best Christmas gift you can give to your family and yourself!

Do share your own thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.