Got ?’s

Here at Renewed Corner, it’s all about you.

SO, if there is a topic, subject, request, or question that you want my opinion on, please drop off your thoughts in the comment box; I’ll do my best to help you.

In the mean time, I hope you are having a great week.

Love,

Elle

Quote

"Far away in the sunshine are my highest inspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead."

~ Louisa May Alcott

Scripture Sunday

Proverbs 3:3-4

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
   bind them around your neck,
   write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
   in the sight of God and man.

Never let love leave you.

Love is the answer to everything.

Love will heal you and set you free.

You don’t need to look very far for love; sometimes the love you need is the reflection you see in the mirror.

The Lord is ALWAYS with you

and you are ALWAYS loved.

Realize Your Purpose

Realize that you are designed with purpose

Realize that you have a hand in the larger picture of the world

Realize that you have something to contribute

No matter where you are, you are needed. The Lord can use you right where you are to make a difference. Tackle each day with excellence. Do the very best you can with each project, chore, or task.

How do you know that you have purpose, even when your life seems simple and meek?

Do you have breath in your lungs?

Then you have purpose!

Quote

"He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality."
~ Anwar al-Sadat

Waiting with Reminder

When I wait for a desire in my heart to be fulfilled…

And I get tired of waiting…

I just remind myself…

That the waiting is going to bring…

So much appreciation…

Once I receive that desire.

Content

“I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.”

~Philippians 4:11

This is the best state of mind to live in: content.

Content doesn’t mean that you never strive to improve or want to see change; it means that you can handle life with peace, because you know without doubt that everything will be fine.

Practice being content as you move through your days.

I encourage you to develop a relationship with the Lord that grounds you in peace. Know that you can handle any situation (because the Lord is always with you), and that everything works out for good.

Whatever state of circumstance you are in, you can face it! The Lord in still in control, and you can always trust in Him. Everything works together to make you better, so be content.

What’s For Dinner?

Have you ever paused and thought, maybe I shouldn’t do this? My ‘maybe’ situation came Friday night.

Every day I ask myself, what’s for dinner? Since I do majority of the cooking in my house, and since I actually make home cooked meals, I think about dinner prepping and meals quite often. Do I ever go out to eat? Yes! Do I ever get fast-food? Of course! I enjoy food, but it just so happens that I end up cooking more of my meals than dinning out for meals.

It’s Friday evening in my house and I was thinking about pizza. I had the twenty dollars in my hand and I was about to order my favorite pie from my favorite joint. There was something in me that paused and questioned if I should really place my order. On paper, my situation looked perfect for a fun order of dinning in; it’s Friday, I had the money, I was going to enjoy the evening by watching one of my favorite oldie but goodie movies…it was going to be a fun night! So why the pause? Why did I question placing my order? There was just this little nudge in my spirit that seemed to quietly say, no.

In my state of pause, I could have done two things:

1.      Ignore the nudge of no and get my pizza

OR

2.      Follow the nudge and keep the twenty bucks

I answered door number two. I did not place my order, but I still had a great Friday night.

I found myself cleaning the house mid-morning the following day (Saturday). In the mix of cleaning, I discovered a horrible plumbing problem. I was able to manage the plumbing problem, but managing does not mean fixed. Long story short…after an hour of shoving out standing water in my shower while it hailed during a winter storm, I had to call a real plumber. The plumbing is still being worked on…the culprit is tree roots growing in the pipes (creating a blockage for draining); this is not good news.

What was the good news? It’s pizza, of course! Pizza? Yes, pizza!

Saturday was a whirlwind of chaos, thanks to my plumbing problem. I couldn’t really use my kitchen or create a bunch of dishes to wash…because I have plumbing problems. What’s for dinner? I guess I’m gonna need to order that pizza… now! Thank goodness I still had my twenty-bucks for when I really needed it!

Friday’s pause of hesitation was the saving grace for Saturday. Sometimes you need to pay attention to your pauses of hesitations. If you don’t have peace about something, then you don’t have to do it. If you doubt something, you don’t have to do it. What is your gut trying to tell or guide you? I will admit, there are times when I doubt something and I still do it…and every thing is smooth sailing. There are times when you have to recognize when your gut is talking to you verses when you are talking to yourself; sometimes you talk to yourself because you want to stay inside your comfort zone.

I know that ordering pizza may seem like such an unimportant life decision; but look deeper for the meaning in my plumbing debacle. Your gut, your heart, the Lord is always with you. You are important, and the Lord wants to be a part of every aspect of your life. You don’t have to wait until there is a major problem, decision, or occurrence that makes you seek guidance from our loving Lord. HE wants to help you in everything…even when you ask yourself, what’s for dinner?

Scripture Sunday

Today is Scripture Sunday, and typically (in this space) I would have a scripture all ready for you to read and meditate on.

I was searching for the perfect scripture; then I got an idea!

If you want a good scripture that really speaks to you today, then I suggest you turn to psalms in the bible. Let the Lord instruct and guide you to a scripture in psalms that perfectly fits your Sunday.

Enjoy the tailored made Scripture on this Sunday!

Quote & Thought

I hope my last two posts inspired you to look deeper into your thought life, and inspired you to shift your thinking into healthier patterns.

Today’s post is based on worry. I hate worry. Worrying is a waste of time, energy, and peace. When we worry, we are basically saying, “I don’t trust.”

Worry can produce stress, and stress is so damaging on the body. Learn to cast your cares into the more than capable hands of the Lord.

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, but only saps today of its strength."
~A. J. Cronin

Moving On???

I want to tell you that I’m purposefully not moving on to a new post…for now…

Until the post below has (really) been absorbed in your mind.

Changing your mind in terms of:

Thoughts

 Beliefs

 Attitude

Perspective

This is how you will see life changing affects in your life. Everything truly starts with a thought. The post below is a tool to help you think in awareness to how you think, and realize the strongholds in your mind; strongholds that you need to divorce yourself from.

Awareness can bring change with replacement. When you are aware of your unhealthy thought or attitude, in that moment is when you replace it with a healthy, truthful thought and attitude.

If you want to move on with your life…

then I mustn’t move on from that post…for now.

Thought Thinking Mind

If I was a Renewed Corner Reader,

what would I want to hear/read???

This is what I thought about today

as I prepared for today’s post.

The biggest suggestion I can offer that is worthy of reading and constantly repeating is:

Change your thought pattern

Changing your thought pattern that supports health, growth, healing, love, and acceptance is what will bring the most significant change in your life.

Whatever you focus your attention on grows. Start becoming aware of your thoughts; the first step: Awareness.

Once you are aware of something, that’s when you know how to alter it.

Change your thoughts by replacing old thought patterns with uplifting new ones. Get a few scriptures or affirmations ready so that you and your mind are ready to mediate on them for the day.

This is a great exercise for you and your thought thinking mind (an exercise I heard from an excellent life coach guru):

Ask yourself questions like:

What embarrasses you?

What are you most afraid of?

What is your fear?

What are you afraid people would find out about you?

Once you have the answers to these questions, take a look at them deeply. Your answers are stories that your mind keeps telling YOU over and over…even if you are not aware if it….aw, aware!

And we know that fear is not love, so these stories are lies, and we need to tell the truth about ourselves.

(I suggest you write your answers down and be honest…you can shred what you write so that you and God are the only ones who see your answers)

When you write your answer(s) down, right underneath that answer I want you to re-write your answer so that is reads the opposite to what you wrote. When you are answering questions about fear or guilt or whatever blocks you…realize that those are lies; re-writing them in the opposite form will help you know which strongholds in your mind you need to break. The new re-write is the truth and that re-write is what you need as your affirmation for the day(s).

Am I making myself clear? I hope so, but an example would not hurt.

For example, if I asked myself…

What am I afraid of?

Being alone and feeling rejected.

Re-write:

God is always with me. I am loved and accepted just as I am.

What am I afraid of?

People thinking I’m mean and hard to be around.

Re-write:

I’m nice and people like being around me.

Do my examples help? Take your answers or feelings and re-write them to form the “I AM” truth. Replace the old with the new and begin to be renewed!

Inner Candle Light

There is a great quote that sums up human stability.

I do not know who wrote this or where I found this quote;

 it reads:

“Develop an inner candle flame that won't flicker even when the worst situations befall you.”

A great analogy that reminds each

and every one of us to develop inner:

Strength

Calmness

Peace

Love

Acceptance

Confidence

If you prepare your inner self, and keep expanding and widening this stable inner self, then you will be able to handle all the ups and downs of life with ease and grace. Never let a situation cause you to belittle yourself.

Hold your head up high and know that whatever happens…everything is going to be alright and you are going to make it through with victory. Let your inner candle burn a bright flame so that everyone sees your light.

Scripture

“How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

 I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!”

Psalm 139:17-18, NLT.

God Loves You!

And God Is Always With You!

Computers…

Readers,

I have to apologize for my lack of post today. I had a post all ready and my computer had a glitch; I lost it. Unfortunately, the post was not saved. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post.

~Elle

Sometimes

Sometimes you just need someone to tell you,

“everything is going to be alright.”

Let me be that someone and let that sometime be now:

Everything is going to be alright!

Window

Before we dive into today’s post, I want to give credit for the story I am about to share with you. This story is being repeated and extended in my own words, but they are taken from the experience of an apostle who shared this story in a conference in Sugar Land, Texas.

Please, enjoy!

Are you like a window? Have you ever thought of yourself as a window? Well, get ready because you’re about to hear a tale of your parallel life to windows!

There is a particular hospital in the rural area of Ireland. This hospital holds a large room with a wall of windows; these windows stretched from floor to ceiling.

One of the ladies staying in this room (with the windows) was gazing out admiring the view…this glorious country rural view; she was watching the sunset.

The sunset was so beautiful and she was resting in God while watching His order in nature; His beautiful creation.

She started thinking about heaven and their view; their angle of this sunset.

At this time, someone walks into the room and says, “These windows are shockingly filthy!”

The lady watching God’s sunset through these windows, never even noticed the dirt and streaks on the windows. She was so caught up in the gorgeousness of God’s creation and what was taking place in His works…she never saw the dirt on the windows.

She explains how this is how the Lord sees you. You may look at yourself and see your imperfections and weaknesses…your streaks so to speak…but the Lord is too caught up in your beauty to notice them.

Let me tell you…

We’re all human, we all have streaks, and the key is TO NOT get caught up and focus on them; the view of you is so much bigger and beautiful to look at (then a few streaks here and there).

The Lord can over look these streaks because He can see you and your willingness to become better. The Lord is so close with you, working with you to come up higher. The more you seek Him and come up higher…those streaks will get cleaned and washed away (little by little).

I see when you come to my blog. Your faithfulness to my blog tells me that you want to seek things that make you better and the Lord sees this desire to come up higher too…

…so don’t be so harsh on yourself. Love yourself, accept yourself, and keep seeking goodness. When life gives you a view…don’t notice the streaks…just look outside the window.

Your Yesterday-Your Today

You are in a process. We can develop such tunnel vision for what we want, what we desire, for everything to come together, that we forget that we are in a state of development. We may have wanted our goals as soon as yesterday, but yesterday will come and it can come as soon as tomorrow. In the mean time, enjoy the process and the journey that is getting you prepared for your desires to manifest.

If you had everything you ever wanted *NOW* then you could miss out on the personal growth and stability that keeps your dreams glued so perfectly together.

Yes, I know it is hard to wait. Yes, waiting can bring frustrating emotions. But everything worth having takes time and nourishment. Be at peace in your waiting time, you’ve been able to make it this far…and soon you’ll see your yesterday becoming your today.

Quote

“There is just one life for each of us: our own.”

~Euripides

Be you!

Don’t compare your life to someone else!

You are God’s masterpiece!

From Year to Minute

January is all about resolutions. The New Year energy brings us hope and a fresh start. Starting, stopping, improving, or renewing is all part of the traditional New Year pledge. It has also become a tradition to end or give up on resolutions before we roll our calendars to February.

Resolutions are based on improvement and wanting to do better…so why limit that to January? You can make a resolution any time of the year; whether it’s in the first of the month or in month twelve.

In my opinion, it’s best to start small with resolutions. For example, if you always wanted to cook, learn how to cook using small, easy, level one recipes…don’t try to start the promise off by learning how to cook a three course meal; that is too overwhelming and could leave you discouraged, causing you to give up. Always start slow…slow and steady.

 What happens if you start slow and find yourself already defeated? Well, I have two answers for your question. One, write your resolution down on paper. Writing things down can help make things feel solidified. Place your note in a spot where you see it often…so that it reminds you to keep up the work. A new habit takes 30 days to form. Remind yourself that developing something or stopping something is a form of a habit…give it time. Secondly, it’s never too late to start anew. Feel defeated…just start again.  

I was discouraged with myself last night and I was being a little too harsh with myself. So, in the spirit of new beginnings, I said no! No, I will not be harsh with myself; I’m going to just ask for mercy and try again. At 6:40 p.m. I declared a do-over.

It’s never too late! You have not messed up to the point where there is no hope for you. It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed in the past. All that matters is the fact that you keep showing up and trying. You can reach your goals; you can see your breakthroughs that you set out in front of you…whether that’s in the New Year or in this minute.

2012

 As in life, when one chapter closes a new one begins! Personally, I had a great 2011, and I hope you did too. Whether you had a great 2011 or a ho-hum 2011- what we all need to do is expect and renew our hope for the coming days that 2012 brings!

The New Year brings us refreshed optimism; it will be our journey together to stretch that optimism all the way through without fizzle or dimness.

Get your resolutions in order and your expectations in check, because I declare an Ephesians 3:20… 2012!

²⁰ “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year, 2012!

2012: The Love Affair Begins