February 2020 - Loaves and Fishes Blog Loaves and Fishes Blog

Sure You Can!

It is never too late, until that day when you unzip this earthly body and step into eternity to see Jesus face-to-face. On that day, you will either be His or you will not. Your choice. I can help you with understanding that choice. And then walk alongside you as you discover how best to direct your life for your greatest fulfillment.

This is the first day of the rest of your life!

You can—beginning this very day— choose more deliberately and thoughtfully how you spend the gift of your life. It is not too late. You can readjust your course. Get out of the rut! Sure you can! I have, and you can, too!

Let’s talk! I’m available for a FREE call. Contact me and we can set up an appointment. As you learn to walk more fully in your God-given gifts and strengths, you will find new energy and greater satisfaction in your relationships. What have you got to lose? It is definitely a win/win situation. No doubt about it! Get coached!

Ignatius of Loyola prayed: “O heavenly Father…give us the sense of Your presence, Your love, Your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in Your protecting love and strengthening power…for, living close to You, we shall see Your hand, Your purpose, Your will through all things. Amen.”

Awaiting His shout,

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

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Filed under: Christian Life Coaching,Spiritual Life — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Forget the Former Things

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Endings. Happy times or sad?

The end of one thing is always the beginning of another. When anything ends, we tend to believe it’s the end, when truly it is THE beginning. Think back over some of your “endings”. Here’s some examples:

The end of crawling was the beginning of walking.
The end of babble was the beginning of talking.
The end of pablum was the beginning of solid food.
The end of your tricycle was the beginning of your bicycle.
The end of picture books was the beginning of word books.
The end of elementary school was the beginning of junior high school, and the end of that was the beginning of high school.

Grieving over the past

We tend to grieve over endings and actually they can be a good things. What mother hasn’t cried a tear or two over each and every one of those endings with her child? The grieving of the loss can then turn into the embrace of the new beginning. To say goodbye to one thing is to say hello to something else. ALWAYS.

As we mature in years, and the endings become more consequential, we have TWO choices: to be bitter OR to be better through these changes in life.

It is a choice

There’s always a choice how we will react. Better or bitter is a choice between grumbling or gratitude. It is realizing we are not the Master of our fate, but our God is the Master of our fate. Loss is gain when left in the Father’s hands. When faced bravely and with our eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He knew would be His afterward. Now He is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in Heaven.”

Abundant Grace

God’s sovereignty provides abundant grace to endure even trials and sufferings, even like Job’s famous,
“Though He slay me, Yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)

Corrie ten Boom

She was a women who endured unbelievable suffering in a Nazi prison camp. We could call her an expert on looking for God in the midst of all things. She is known for this statement: “No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still.” Amen! God is in the circumstances. He is in the details. We can trust Him. When we trust Him, we will find He is worthy of that trust. Worthy of our love. Worthy of our gratitude. And HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH in all things. ALWAYS. All Day. Every Day. No matter what! For those who have put their trust in Him, the end of life on earth is THE beginning! Heaven awaits!

What about you?

Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? To be your Lord? Are you living for Him? Where will you spend eternity? Let’s talk…

Until next time…

Awaiting His shout,

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

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Are You Good Enough?

If you are like me, there have been times when you have felt like a failure & unfit for God to use. Maybe this winter or some other circumstance is draining you of joy. Maybe you are weary of feeling NOT good enough. Let’s take a look at God’s list of “losers” …

Noah got DRUNK.
Abraham was too OLD.
Jacob was a LIAR.
Gideon was AFRAID.
Rahab was A PROSTITUTE.
Jeremiah and Timothy were considered TOO YOUNG.
David had an AFFAIR.
Moses was a MURDERER.
Elijah was SUICIDAL at one point.
Jonah RAN FROM GOD.
Peter DENIED CHRIST.
The Disciples FELL ASLEEP while PRAYING.
The Samaritan Woman WAS DIVORCED five times.
Timothy had AN ULCER.
John the Baptist ATE BUGS.
And Lazarus WAS DEAD!

So what’s your excuse?

(The list was from: Greg Laurie “A New Beginning” )

Joy sometimes needs pain to give it birth

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. That is actually good news because we are ALL ordinary people. God chooses what the world calls “losers” and “failures” and shows us how to be “fit for the Master’s use”. Let us not confound physical weariness with spiritual weakness. During a season of testing, God wants most to prove His faithfulness to you. It’s not who you are that matters. It’s who God is! It’s not what you can do; it’s what GOD can do! It’s not what you know; it’s WHO you know: GOD! God does not call the enabled. He enables the called.

The above list is just a few Biblical examples to encourage you. You can be healed from your past (every one of us has things in our past we wish we had done differently.) With Him, you CAN be fit for the Master’s use. You (and I) are not good enough. But HE is!!! Now THAT is really, really “GOOD NEWS”!!!

No matter where you are in your life with God,

HE is qualifying you for his service. He can even use the mistakes you have made to help others. So, choose to allow Him to do that!

God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas, but for scars. — Elbert Hubbard

The Lord is your strength

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.” – Psalm 28:7

Nehemiah said: “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

A joyful heart causes good healing.

“A joyful heart promotes healing; but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” — Proverbs 17:22

When you feel you have no strength to go on.

When you feel like a loser. When you are weary of the battle to survive. When you think everyone has forgotten you. Rise up, O woman of God. CHOOSE JOY! Your Savior will redeem the locust eaten YEARS and use you in the midst of all that He is accomplishing.

Surrender to the One who loves you above all others. Jesus Christ, THE LORD!!!

Teamwork

Let’s start TOGETHER this journey of discovery of your strengths and God’s plan for you. Let’s find the path to your EMBRACING your strengths and then LIVING them to the fullest. BE who God created you to be. He has a plan and YOU are part of that plan. Just click the button to connect.

Until next time…

Awaiting His shout,

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

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Filed under: Christian Life Coaching — Tags: Encouragement, God's faithfulness — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Marathon Running

People that run marathons are a dedicated bunch. They train faithfully, in all kinds of weather, always with that focused attention to detail that produces “winners”. Some hire coaches to help them train and to endure to the end. Marathon running. It can be grueling before, during and after the event. One friend actually lost a toe as a result of being determined to finish the race. She persevered in spite of the pain. Maybe even because of it. She had worked so hard to get to this point. She simply could not give up! Would not give up!

Water stations

The water stations along the way are like an oasis in the desert. Along with the refreshment of the water, they are also a place to receive encouragement to persevere. People cheer you on at these specially prepared refreshment stations. It is critical to be reminded of the goal to finish.

The value of Mentor Coaches

Time on this earth—as followers of Christ—can seem like running a marathon. Both are difficult to accomplish alone. It is critical to be persevere. Christian Life Coaches & Mentor Coaches are like a marathon “water station”. A place to be encouraged and refreshed, with a forward focus. Coaching can help you stop being paralyzed by past failures.

Philippians 3:14

“Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul also said in that same verse: “…but one thing I do…”

What is that one thing?

Paul says it is: To press on with our eye toward the goal of spending eternity with Jesus. Is that your joy. Your focus? Do you want it to be? Have you learned to love Him enough to go through the grueling training before, during, and after the event of “going home to be with the Lord”? Are you willing to lose a toe…or worse…in the process? Or are you distracted toward the worldly prizes more than the heavenly ONE? Do you try to take shortcuts because the training is so hard? Let’s keep cheering one another on to the finish line.

Today is a new day!

Isn’t it about time to get more serious about reaching those goals? You can’t run the race without training and it is much easier with a coach. This is a great day for a fresh start with a fresh perspective. Which marathon are YOU running? Spiritual or physical? And which prize do you most value?

I would love to hear from you. Have you done any marathon running? How have you found it to compare to the walk of a disciple of Christ?

I’d love to help you reach your goals. Onward!

Until next time…

Awaiting His shout,

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

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Filed under: Christian Life Coaching — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Sure You Can!

This is the first day of the rest of your life!