Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | June 8, 2018

Brave

“Calmness can lay great errors to rest.” Ecclesiastes 10:4b (NIV)

Gotta love those brave souls that seem to shine in the midst of a crisis. With wisdom, integrity and determination they press through the most difficult situations. Despite a whirl of chaos and uncertainty, they do life well – they stand strong and lead us peacefully.

Who are these brave individuals? They’re the school teachers quieting their students while a gunman fires down the hall. They’re the rescue workers talking the defeated one off a ledge and back to safety. They’re the waitresses responding calmly while being criticized for all to see and hear. They’re the parents hovering over their children while tornado winds blow off her roof. They’re the co-workers organizing groups to descend the Twin Towers when the enemy attacked. Individuals who reacted fearlessly even though they were shaking in their shoes. Individuals who didn’t get lost in the moment and lose their cool. Individuals who focused on the big picture versus the “me” picture.

How do we handle the unexpected emergency? Does calmness define us or do our actions create even more drama? Do we breathe urgent prayers for wisdom and strength or do we respond relying on self? Scripture is filled with brave souls that met their moments of crisis clinging and holding tight to the Great I Am. Shaking inside but standing firm. Responding appropriately vs. overreacting. Seeking God moment by moment, brave souls know that the One who created the universe still holds them in the palm of His hand.

“Father, life is unpredictable and can change in an instant. Help us to stay close to You and draw from Your power when uncertainty surrounds us.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Faith, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | June 7, 2018

Story Teller vs Story Keeper

“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.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Thinking before we speak would alleviate so much in our lives. Oddly, words often presented as a prayer request, ‘helpful’ information shared with your best friend, or sadly, details possibly capable of damaging someone’s character can be described as ‘godly’ gossip. Depending on the person there is a tendency to have the heart of a storyteller or a story keeper.

God’s Word teaches storytellers are foolish, contentious, untrustworthy, devious, deceitful, destroyers, hypocrites, insecure and prideful – to name a few. However, a godly story keeper will determine to say what brings forth that which pleases God. How?

Many scriptures address this subject in God’s Word (Ephesians 5:26, I John 1:9, Proverbs 4:23, 21:23, Philippians 4:8) which highlight several questions we must ask ourselves:

1. Is it true?
2. Is it noble & will the reputation of the other person remain in tact?
3. Is it right – did I add or take away from it?
4. Is it pure & what motivation made it necessary to be repeated?
5. Is it loving?
6. Is it honorable – did I hurt the other person’s character?

Gossip is never healthy. One guarantee words will not damage: if something can’t be said edifying say nothing at all.

“Dear Father please help me to think before I speak and always seek to edify not tear others down.”

For His Glory

Patsy Sanders
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Spiritual Living, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | June 6, 2018

Proving His Faithfulness Even In The Absence of Proof

“But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And He said, “No but you did laugh!” Genesis 18:15 (NKJV)

We’ve all been there when our response or our actions spoke louder than we dared admit. Whispered under our breath or thoughts dancing in our minds evidenced on our face. There are simply some things that rise to the surface even if we don’t want them to. Learned this lesson the hard way in my early office worker years. Convinced I had put the copy repair technician on hold, I proceeded to tell my co-worker how difficult he was. Simply put, I spoke too long, too detailed and too unkind. Just when I got ready to regain my composure and take the technician off hold, he spoke. My closest thing to a near death experience. I literally wanted to crawl under my desk and never come out. There was no denying what my lips had spewed into the phone and room.

Denial never serves us well, even if for a moment we think we succeeded. Not owning up or simply dismissing the facts hitting us hard in the face won’t erase the truth. That’s exactly where we find Sarah in Genesis 18.

Caught off guard by God’s words to her husband, Sarah hovered in her tent listening to their conversation. The perceived truth of her aging post-menopausal body deepened laughter in her soul when she heard the promise of a child. Years had left her arms empty. Even the very thought of a resurrection of that dream perhaps appeared cruel to her aching heart. So instead of crying, she laughed, because the truth was too much to bear, too impossible and she couldn’t stand the thought of being disappointed again.

We’ve all navigated this path where the promise eludes us. And if we aren’t careful, we too will focus on the promise more than the promise keeper. God knew the ache in Sarah’s soul. He was fully aware of the passing of time that left Sarah’s body out of sync with childbirth. Yet, He delighted more in doing the impossible – proving His faithfulness even in the absence of proof.

Despite Sarah’s bold denial of her words and laughter, God assured her He sees and hears all. And just when we would have thought God would reign back in His promise, He choose instead to fulfill it.
‘Father help us to fully trust You rather than simply crave our promise. Helps to remember that nothing is too hard or impossible for You.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Spiritual Growth

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | June 5, 2018

Digging In

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” James 1:22-25 (NLT)

I love a good story. When I convince someone to read one of my treasured books, I feel like I’m introducing them to a friend. I love to talk about these treasured books as if the stories are real. I love to hash out the details with fellow readers.

One of my friends is a skimmer. She skims books! She has read nearly every book I love, but when I try to talk to her about some detail of the story, she draws a blank. Her typical response: “Umm, I’m not sure I remember that part.” What?!

My friend is not the only skimmer. We skim through Facebook and Instagram posts, as well as tweets. We skim emails. We skim notes for a test. We skim our children’s homework. (That can’t just be me, can it?) We skim directions for a recipe.

The trouble comes when we skim in our relationship with God. We throw up a prayer as we head into an interview. We skim a devotional for a quote to cling to that fits our circumstances. Then we wonder why we don’t feel very close to God.

Now is the time to dig in. Let’s commit to read Scripture straight from the Bible, taking time to marinate in its meaning and how it affects our life. Let’s get on our knees and pray for loved ones to be drawn to the LORD, for relationships to be reconciled, and for God to be glorified in all that we say and do. Let’s not be a body of believers who merely skim the surface of Christianity.
Are you ready to dig in? I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to just be fooling myself. I choose to “look carefully” at God’s Word and “do what it says.”

“Lord, forgive me when I skim in my relationship with You. I commit to dwelling in Your presence through Bible reading and prayer.”

For His Glory

Tammy Randlett (http://staletoast.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Encouragement, Spiritual Living, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | June 1, 2018

Empowered Every Moment

“God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect.” 2 Samuel 22:33 (NIV)

It was an electronic nightmare that started the moment I walked into my office. Flipped on the power button and waited, stared and waited for that blank computer screen to disappear – it didn’t happen. So I did what any computer geek would do – I powered it back down and tried again. Three attempts and no success until I called our computer geek, and he discovered the culprit – a bad monitor. Despite the power turbo from my computer, the monitor’s disconnection left me powerless to start my day.

Sound familiar? Ever felt powerless to tackle your day? It isn’t like we don’t try. We start the morning out right. We dive into His Word fueling our soul. We eat steel cut oats fueling our body. We plan out our moments – rehearse our list of must do’s fueling our mind. And then we walk out into our world and life happens. Demands fill our schedule. Meetings dominate our day. Attitudes move in and frustration elevates. And the power burst that ignited our morning gradually starts to fade.

Why? Because as the demands move in, our focus tends to shift. As the day unfolds, we depend more on us than on Him. And before we know it, we have disconnected from our true source of power – our Almighty God. Self preservation convinces us we can do it all. Pride shouts loud – we’ve got this one. But from Heaven’s view, God whispers:

Sweet girl – I’ve got you covered. Lean into Me. Let Me carry you. Trust Me with your overload, and exhaustion. Draw near to Me and I will fill you up. Cling to My words and My strength will empower your weary. Let Me do life with you today…your constant focus, your immediate thoughts….you won’t be disappointed.

“Father, teach us the value of being empowered in Your presence every moment of every day.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Faith, Hope, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 31, 2018

Temporary Sorrow

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 (NIV)

Words like “tears,” “weeping,” “mourning,” “death,” “loss,” and “grave,” not only sound sad, but also give us an idea that what is going on in one’s life is not something that is bringing joy and gladness. When we lose someone dear to us, these words are all part of the process of grieving. And sometimes there is also fear – fear of staying alone, fear of losing something or someone, fear of losing hope and faith.

A friend recently mentioned how tough it was to go to the graveyard again for a third time in less than two years. I reminded my friend that the real dwelling of his loved ones was not in that graveyard. Somehow – I could envision my friend’s loved ones rejoicing with their Father in heaven, healthy and strong instead of frail, sickly, and tired.

Grieving and mourning the loss of loved ones is natural. Remember Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus? They had just lost their beloved brother when Jesus finally arrived. They were mourning his death, but their faith drove them to tell the Lord Jesus that if He had been there, Lazarus would probably still be alive. Even Jesus mourned the loss of Lazarus because the Bible says that He wept. But moved by those people’s faith and His compassion, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

Life is a wonderful gift from the Lord, but this world is not our final destination. We are only here for a season, after which we will go to the place where we will spend eternity. By having faith in God, trusting in Him and following His commands, we, too will be raised up and rejoice in heaven with Him. At that time, all the troubles of this world – our temporary home – will stay behind, and we will embrace our permanent dwelling.

“Lord, You created us for Your glory. You love us more than anyone will ever love us. And You call us your own. In You we have life in abundance.”

For His Glory

Luska Suzano
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 28, 2018

Divine Protection

“Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:13 (NLT)

Pulling into our driveway, I noticed something just didn’t look right. Getting out the car, I headed towards the front door and that’s when I saw it. My beautiful overflowing petunias were gone, evaporated. When I left early in the morning, I walked right past them without noticing a thing. Nipped and frayed, my petunias now looked like a haircut gone bad. Little snippets of leaves and vines circled the planter – no flowering buds insight. Who would do such a thing? How cruel? I couldn’t figure it out and then all of a sudden a harsh reality sunk in. My petunias were probably devoured by those cute deer I had seen the night before. Innocently running through our yard, I never thought they would be capable of destroying, devouring and ripping apart my petunias. My husband confirmed my suspicions. And while I was still fuming, he gave me some good advice to keep those deer from having a feast with my flowers.

You know, sometimes we leave our life exposed like those petunias vulnerable to the attacks of one who loves to devour our best intentions. Oh we might look like we’ve got it all together on the outside, but if we’re not doing something on the inside to protect our mind, our soul and our heart then we’re a sitting prey for Satan’s feast.

Distracted, busy and yes entertaining boredom, we can easily slip away from what shields, covers, protects and secures us. Forgetting His faithfulness welcomes in doubt. Releasing His truths for the lies swirling around us invites insecurities.

God’s divine advice – flee, resist and turn away – perfectly poised for victory. Cling to His word. Breathe prayers throughout our day. Confess daily. Invite accountability. Encourage community – united we will stand; divided we will fall. Clothed from head to toe in His armor ready when the fiery darts come our way. Confident not of self but of His divine protection.

“Father, we often entertain what we think we can control only to fall flat on our face. Help us to realize that Your protection plan guarantees our success.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 25, 2018

A Clean Sweep

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7 (ESV)

Clean out the fridge. Sweets eliminated. Clothes to the Goodwill. Closet clean. Papers shredded. It’s the acts of a clean sweep. Getting rid of stuff that accumulates or attempts to sabotage what serves us best. Putting away the past and pushing forward to the new. Dumping excess in exchange for simpler less complicated.

Wonder if we need anything cleaned out of our lives? What do we need to eliminate emotionally? Is there anything cluttering up our minds? What has crept in while we were busy or distracted? Maybe it’s time we got rid of the stuff that hasn’t served us well. The very things we are holding onto may be the exact things that God wants us to release, eliminate and put away.

Facing the reality of what needs to be changed takes honesty and courage. If we want revival in our hearts and the lives of those around us, then we must humbly admit what needs changing and confessing. It so easy to slide through a year with the anticipation of new, better and great – but if we remain the same we will only reap the same.

Personal revival only comes after deep cleansing. Love the tender mercies of God and welcome His grace in our places that need His washing. Cherish the tears that lead to repentance and the sorrows that drive sin away. Love the arms spread wide drawing us close to His heart filled with compassion. Cling to the joy restored when whiter than snow covers us. Sing His praises in the breaking of another dawn knowing new, better and great awaits those who obey God’s commands.

“Sweet Jesus, You have covered all our sins so that we can experience the freedom of walking in your truth and grace – we praise Your holy name!”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 24, 2018

Praising One Another

“And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 (NIV)

Great job!! I’m proud of you! I believe in you! You can do it!! Encouragement invigorates hope, inspires vision, and revolutionizes lives. Aligning with self-esteem programs in schools, churches, and the corporate world these principles invigorate better performance. Why? Statistics prove egos respond to positive feedback.

God echoed these words from heaven when Jesus was baptized (Mark 1:11) and again at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). Wonder if Jesus was motivated to please His Father even more following His blessing?

Daily affirmation opportunities are all around; but we often go about our day ignoring kindness, sacrifice, thoughtfulness, consideration, great attitudes, etc. Why not consider the employee who goes the extra mile, an obedient child, a loyal friend, a faithful pastor, or the spouse always placing his mate’s needs first?

We must be intentional. Incorporating praise will most definitely encourage productivity in any walk of life.

“Dear Father, please use me to be a positive and uplifting encourager to someone today.”

For His Glory

Patsy Sanders
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Love, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 23, 2018

When Disappontment Steals Our Joy

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:24 (ESV)

Saturday morning is my fave day of the week. No agenda. No alarm. No rush. Love getting up, splurging with some homemade waffles or pancakes drizzled in whipped cream, fruit and of course syrup. But this girl hasn’t had sugar for two weeks and I’m trying hard to complete a 30 day clean eating discipline. No waffles or pancakes on my list but steel cut oats would do the trick. Hubby and I headed out the door to grab some breakfast. Walked into restaurant tasting those oats only to find they were out. Couldn’t believe it. The happy face dissolved quickly. I so wanted those power oats with almonds and blueberries. Resisted the urge to choose those sweet danishes staring me in the face. Walked right by the cinnamon buns drizzled with icing and settled on two eggs – nothing spectacular. Not my fave Saturday.

Truly minor disappointment here – let’s keep it real. But haven’t we all experienced those moments when disappointment steals our happy. The perceived perfect job slipping through our fingers. The guy we wanted to marry who chose someone else. The ‘just right” dress we saved to purchase to match the incredible shoes no longer on the rack. The event we bought the best seat in the house tickets for failing to deliver. An ever ending list……expectations and hopes crashing at our feet.

Settling for less…..swallowed up in the loss of what we hoped for, what we expected and anticipated leaves us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Satan loves to seize those opportunities to zero in on what we didn’t get. Shouting loud reminders of what we’re missing out on. Ever so quietly whispering doubts attempting to discredit the goodness of our God. If we play that song too long, we will find ourselves joyless, discouraged, bitter, angry, jealous, apathetic……..an endless unraveling of our souls.

Life will not always offer what we feel we deserve or what we dreamed of, but God does promise to be the true source of satisfaction. When we trust in Him and not our circumstances then we can rest in His sovereign plan. We can anchor our souls firmly in His promises and release our expectations. Joy can rise to the surface even in the face of disappointment reminding us God’s goodness is not on short supply. He is our sweet portion and nothing will ever exceed His dreams for us. So when discouragement rears its ugly head sweet friend, let’s acknowledge the emotion but not allow it to overwhelm us. Let’s keep our eyes firmly planted on our God who loves us more than we could ever imagine.

“Father, happy vanishes quickly but inner joy sustains our souls. Help us to never lose sight of Your goodness.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Encouragement, Hope, Spiritual Living

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