Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I want to speak many blessings and divine favor over 2011. This is going to be a great year for growth, new beginnings, supernatural breakthroughs, peace, joy, and above all, much love.

This is our time. This is our time to count our blessings and thank God in advance for the protection and blessings that are on the way.

We are going to let go of control and remember that God is in control, and that he is our way. We are going to let God guide us this year, and trust his timing. We are going to regain our faith and expect God’s promise in Ephesians 3:20 to come to pass:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us”

Ring in the New Year with hope. Be blessed readers, and may your friends and family be blessed too. Have a safe New Year’s Eve.

I’ll talk to ya’ll next year!

~Elle  

Complaining is a No-No

“Most people do not realize that as they continue to find things to complain about, they disallow their own physical well-being. Many do not realize that before they were complaining about an aching body or a chronic disease, they were complaining about many other things first. It does not matter if the object of your complaint is about someone you are angry with, behavior in others that you believe is wrong, or something wrong with your own physical body. Complaining is complaining, and it disallows improvement.”

~Esther Hicks

One

Somewhere I was lied to. I lied to myself for years. My lie was in perfection. I wanted to be liked and talked well of. I wanted to avoid embarrassment and teasing from others. I thought that I could be grand by being number one, because we all like winners, right? I remember not wanting to do certain activities because if I thought I wasn’t going to be good at it, then why bother, why put myself though the embarrassment. I thought that if I was number one, the cool one, the talented one, the level-headed make good decisions one, then people would like me, and if people liked me, then I would feel accepted and all would be right in the world…or in my world anyhow.

Lies, lies, and more lies. It didn’t matter how I programmed my mind for this lie, because it already built a home in my head. Once the lie was in my head, it showed itself it my behavior. That is why knowing who you are in God and having a healthy positive thought life is so important…your thoughts will show up in your behavior.

I had to let the perfection go.  My number one attitude that I thought would lead to popularity was an illusion. I was alone. I found myself not getting close to people because I thought that if they knew me- the real me, the flawed imperfection me, they wouldn’t like me. I was chasing the quick encounters that seemed so put together and pretty on the surface. Seeing and meeting people for short moments leave you looking pretty, but if they stick around they might catch a glimpse of normalness and not be impressed anymore. I wanted strong healthy relationships so badly. I wanted to have people close to me and like me for who I am, not because I was this or that. But my desire for strong healthy relationships can never be reality until I let fear go.

It’s okay to just be yourself. It’s okay to have flaws and make mistakes, as long as you are doing your best to be your best you. God made us and loves us just as we are. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Why must we compare or compete with others? Life is meant to be enjoyed. If I am accepting of myself the way God is accepting of me, then I know that I don’t have to chase anyone’s approval. It has to come from a real place of love and acceptance; not this fakeness we see on reality shows were everyone runs around screaming how fabulous they are while making fools out-of-themselves for a little fame and some money.

When you realize how much God loves you, that real love comes with such confidence, that you don’t need to prove your fabulous by mentioning it to anyone in shouting distance.

Let the one (God) love you into acceptance; don’t chase it. Let yourself be the one who is kind and accepting and not putting pressure on yourself to be someone you’re not for admiration. If my healthy strong relationship starts with me and God, then I will attract the one that will love me and adore me for just being me. I think I was alone while chasing perfection which in return I thought would bring me love, is because people are smart, and deep down they could smell the fakeness. I think I was alone because when you chase something so hard, you’re not trusting and whatever you want won’t show up until you know you can be fine without it.

No illusions, no fakeness, no competing, no comparing, and no complaining. Remember that we are so important to God and that he even went to the trouble of making everyone’s fingers have unique fingerprints that no one else will ever have. The details that God has done to make each one of us special is amazing.  Be kind and accepting of yourself the way God is. Remember how many of you are in the world…..only one.

Let Go

Let Go. God is in control. Let Go. God is good. Let Go. Everything happens for a reason. Let Go. God has a great plan for you. Let Go. Don’t stand in your way for happiness. Let Go. God loves you. Let Go.

Let go and watch the beauty God is waiting to unfold for you in this new year of beginnings!

Merry Christmas

Joy to the World…It’s Christmas Eve!

I want to wish everyone a wonderful, safe Christmas. May you find your stockings filled with love! Let’s hope everyone steered clear of the naughty list this year. May you receive everything on your Christmas-wish list. Enjoy the holidays with good food, cheerful toasts, and peaceful gatherings. I send you all my love.

Merry Christmas!!!

Quotes

"Your problem is you are too busy holding on to your unworthiness."
~ Ram Dass

"Worthiness, in very simple terms, means, I have found a way to let the Energy reach me, the Energy that is natural, reach me. Worthiness, or unworthiness, is something that is pronounced upon you by you. You are the only one that can deem yourself worthy or unworthy. You are the only one who can love yourself into a state of allowing, or hate yourself in a state of disallowing. There is not something wrong with you, nor is there something wrong with one who is not loving you. You are all just, in the moment, practicing the art of not allowing, or the art of resisting."

~ Esther Hicks

Today’s Scripture

I thought this was a beautiful scripture to share this time of year. Enjoy!

1 John 4:7-12

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

No Pushed Buttons

With the holidays vastly approaching, I would like to bring into remembrance that this is a time for peace and joy. If you find yourself spending extra time with family that seem to always push your buttons….let it slide and remember the true spirit of the holidays. Don’t let hot topics steal your holiday cheer. Be at peace and full of smiles. Wish everyone around you health, happiness, and peace.

Christmas Tradition?

It’s almost Christmas!

Do you have a favorite Christmas tradition?

Feel free to share…

I’d love to hear from you…

~Elle

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If anyone has any questions or topics that they would like for me to talk about or give an opinion on, then please feel free to leave a note in the comment box!

Hope all of you are doing well. Have a fabulous weekend, readers!

Face it

Let’s face it, it can be challenging to accept our self just as we are. We seem to see every flaw when we look in the mirror; well, maybe not every time we look in the mirror. There are times when we all look in the mirror and think were lookin’ pretty fancy and we like what we see. There are times when we all look in the mirror and want to weep and disbelieve what we see, because all we seem to express is, yuck.

Why are we so willing to give compliments to our friends, family members or even complete strangers, but when it comes to us, we roll our eyes at the thought of a compliment. Why are we always so hard on ourselves? Is that healthy? No, of course it’s not. Then why is being hard on our self feel so comfortable? Does it make us feel humble to play our self down? Don’t only the arrogant people blow their own trumpet?

Playing yourself down or pumping yourself up, both come from an insecure place in your mind. You want to know and believe that you are a child of God and that makes you beautiful and unique. You want to know and believe that God loves you so much that he even has your face tattooed on the palm of his hands, and that he knows and loves everything about you; even the number of hairs on your head. Truly knowing this should help you understand that playing yourself down and being harsh to yourself is a waste of time, energy, and dims the light God placed in you.

And to those who blow their own trumpet and think the sun raises when they awake; know and believe the love of God also means that you know and believe that God sees us all as equals. God made each one of us to be unique with our own talents and divine assignments. The ego is the one blowing the horn. Like so many Christians believe, you are nothing without God. Thank God for all your graces.

I can’t be harsh on myself and I have to put my trumpet away, so where does that leave us? It leaves us in balance. Because there are days you are going to feel fantastic and then there are days you are going to want to keep the covers pulled up over your head. Its okay, just don’t permanently live in either condition. 

It’s easy to compare our self to others. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting what other people have. It’s easy to believe that someone else is living a more glamorous life then us. It’s important to face ourselves; to really face our life. God has a great plan for your life that is tailor made just for you, so don’t face someone else’s plan, face your own.  Face in God’s direction and believe in him for your fabulous life.

When you are faced with a compliment, say thank you to the person and quietly say thank you to God. When you face yourself in the mirror, think about how God carries your image on his hands. When you find your face staring at the glamorous life of a stranger (or friend) remind yourself to turn to cheek, and face upward to heaven. Whenever you look in the mirror and whatever mood you find yourself in that day, remember you are loved….face it!

Side to Side

How many times have you been told not to worry? People have stood on their soap box to tell me not to worry, and how everything always works out. Is this true? Yes. So why in the midst of the concern do we worry? Miss Elle, has taken heart to the worry speech. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not comfortable worrying. Now it’s my turn on the box…

Someone told me that I had to stop looking from side to side and I needed to look up to God. Yes, I needed to raise my face to God. God, remember him? God, the one who hears me, sees me, cares for me, and above all understands what is best for me.

 I used to get so upset that I would want to fix the situation myself and I was looking all around for the answers or solution, but the solution wasn’t looking from side to side, it was by letting go and looking up.

I’ve learned through experience that it is best to wait on God’s timing. I don’t want to look from side to side trying to figure out my solution, because that means I’m stepping out of God’s timing. If I step out of God’s timing, then I don’t have his grace. If I don’t have God’s grace, then the ‘solution’ I fought to find is going to crumble. When it crumbles, then I’m back to square one.

My plans should crumble, because God’s plans are better than my plans, his ways are better than my ways.

Look up my readers, and know that you are cared for. Be patient for your breakthroughs. Stop worrying over your concerns. Let’s raise our faces together….I’ll be the one standing on the soap box.

Poem

Poem
 By: Russell Kelfer

You are who you are for a reason.

You’re part of an intricate plan.

You’re a precious and perfect unique design,

Called God’s special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.

Our God made no mistake.

He knit you together within the womb,

You’re just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,

And no matter how you may feel,

They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind,

And they bear the Master’s seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.

And God wept that it hurt you so;

But it was allowed to shape your heart

So that into his likeness you’d grow.

You are who you are for a reason,

You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod.

You are who you are, beloved,

Because there is a God.



Big Picture

Try not to over analyze your troubled situations. Remember that everything really does happen for a reason. God sees the big picture and we need to remember his perspective is better than our own. Learn to let God truly be God in your life, and let go of trying to control things that seem to not be going your way.

"One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."
~ Sigmund Freud

Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is the most powerful thing that you can do for your physiology and your spirituality, and it remains one of the least attractive things to us, largely because our egos rule so unequivocally.  To forgive is somehow associated with saying that it is all right, that we accept the evil deed. But this is not forgiveness. Forgiveness means that you fill yourself with love and you radiate that love outward and refuse to hang onto the venom or hatred that was engendered by the behaviors that caused the wounds.  Forgiveness is a spiritual act of love for yourself and it sends a message to everyone, including yourself, that you are an object of love and that that is what you are going to impart."

~Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Believing in the Season

“Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship”
~Dr. Thieme

We are in the season of believing. It is the time where anything can happen if you only believe! It’s your time; your time to start believing in miracles.

I love the holiday season. The hope of new beginnings with the New Year approaching. The cold nights that make you want to stay in, cozy up, and watch your favorite movie. This is the time of year that brings people together for giving.

A jolly season is to be had for those who simply believe. Always have your hopes up. Always be believing that something good is happening to you. As we press into the holiday season, dust off your wish jar and start the wonderment of the unseen working on your dreams.

Think of all the things that God has given you and believe in more to come. Press into your dreams, and let your winter nights glow with anticipation.  

Happy Believing,

Elle

Your Job

Sometimes in life we want microwave answers to our problems. If we received every answer or every solution to ever problem instantly, would that help us or hurt us?

Life throws us challenges and sometimes we need to walk with our challenges instead of trying to run away from them.

Challenges come so we may grow and mature. If we didn’t have challenges then how would we exercise our faith; how would trust develop?

Believing that everything will work out is your job. Trusting that lessons come in all forms to stretch your character is your job. Releasing your problems to God is your job because he is the one in control; that’s his job.

Rest my readers. Rest in not knowing. Rest in not having an answer to your concerns. Rest in the palm of God’s hand… where you already are; make this your job.

Scripture

"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.

I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him."

Ephesians 1:18-19 NLT

Why Renewed Corner?

How did I come up with the name Renewed Corner? Have you ever thought about the vase amount of creativity there is in the world? It’s amazing. Inspiration can truly come from anywhere. Moving on…

By now, I’m sure you’re aware that I love heaven. Heaven has really been working overtime in my life the last few years to make me come up higher. I chapter these years: Get to Love Yourself, Already. When I say love myself, I’m not referring to ego love. Ego love and real love are two completely different things. If you read my very first blog L.O.V.E, then you’ll have a better understanding of my view on ego love vs. real love.

I read this wonderful article awhile back and there was a phrase in it that rang like a bell to my senses. In my own phrasing it said that life sometimes turns you inward to find validation instead of you collecting validation outside yourself; powerful stuff. That has been heaven’s duty with me these years. I have had to find the love and validation within instead of earthly validations. Our culture places worth on job titles, money status, level of education, social status, type of car you drive, home you live in, pretty much anything materialistic; those are false validations.

Yeah Yeah Yeah…so how does this explain how you came up with your blog title, you say? Moving on…

Heaven’s lesson plan for me has been about changing my mindset. If you want change in your life, you must change your mindset. You have to retrain your mind into the direction you want your life to go. Retrain your mind to think on things that are positive. Retraining you mindset is in fact renewing yourself….ta da! There’s the renewed word. But wait, there’s more! Moving on…

What the bible says about the mind and being renewed:

Romans 12: 1-2

 “¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Ephesians 4:23

“to be made new in the attitude of your minds”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

^“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

So I moved on by retraining my mind and purposely choosing to think positive. You’re old ways will throw you a, “what the hell?”, but that happens with change….you just have to get settled into your new habit of positivity.  

The world has many daily distractions, which is why renewing needs to be done daily. Renewing yourself daily will help keep you not only grounded, but it will create such a strong foundation in you that when life throws you a curve ball, you’ll be able to handle it with a state of grace.

How do you renew yourself? The bible says:

Philippians 4:8

^“ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Yes! Think things, speak things, read things, listen to things that are uplifting and excellent. Find things that uplift up, not pull you down. Tell yourself everyday that you are loved, and that God loves you.

This is your corner, I write this for you. My hope is for this blog to be the spot in the corner of the world that you can come to for your daily dose of excellence, so that you can have something to read and mediate on to a renewed you.

~Elle