Wees  jezelf!

Weet je wel wie jij bent?

Ken je jezelf?

Wat zouden mensen zien als ze in jou konden zien?

Wij  verbergen wie we werkelijk zijn om indruk op anderen te maken

Hoe langer wij ons eigen ik verbergen hoe moeilijker het wordt om onszelf te kennen

We kunnen door al dit verbergen geen gezonde relatie met anderen aan gaan

Indien wij niet aan anderen tonen wie we in werkelijkheid zijn zullen we nooit een gezonde relatie kunnen vormen.

De waarheid is de basis voor alle relaties, fouten toegeven en vergeving vragen.

Ik heb mezelf leren kennen door een intieme relatie met God aan te gaan, 

op Zijn kracht te vertrouwen en alle passie te steken in het begrijpen wie Hij is.

Hem alleen te behagen en niet meer streven naar goedkeuring van anderen,

niet meer geven om wat anderen over me zeggen of denken.

Ben gaan streven om Zijn volgeling te worden in plaats van aanzien te zoeken.

Ik probeer open en eerlijk met God, mijzelf en anderen te zijn.

Ik faal wel eens maar ik geef niet op. Mijn gedachten en doel hebben God als middelpunt,

Hij heeft mij geschapen, mijn waarde is in Hem en mijn emoties leg ik bij Hem neer. 

Mijn zelf vertrouwen is gemotiveerd door Zijn liefde voor mij. Ik kan Zijn liefde niet verdienen noch verliezen. 

Ik weet dat Hij mij de kracht geeft om alles te doen en  dat ik zonder Hem niet eens kan ademen. 

Nu ik Gods doel voor mijn leven zoek heb ik niet de nijging me beter te doen dan ik ben om indruk te maken op anderen.

 “What you see is what I am” and that by grace in Christ Jesus”

Dat wat ik ben dat krijg je te zien,  ik heb niets meer te verbergen ik ben volkomen vrij in mijn Heer en Heiland. 

Wat een heerlijk gevoel is dat. Ik zal altijd blijven zondigen maar in Hem ben ik vergeven en Zijn kracht maakt mij sterk.

Dat kracht gebruik ik om Hem te dienen loven en prijzen.

Mijn vertouwen is op Hem die nimmer of nooit zal veranderen , mij zal verlaten of verwerpen daar ik een deel van Zijn familie ben. 

Zoals ik ben, met al mijn tekortkomingen val ik op mijn knieën in Zijn armen wetende dat Hij alles begrijpt  en altijd en steeds van mij houdt.

Ik schaam me niet om te zeggen dat ik een relatie heb met God. Dat ik voortdurend met Hem bezig ben.  Dat ik met Hem praat en anderen  over Hem vertellen kan ik enkel omdat Hij me daartoe in staat heeft gesteld. Mij de woorden geeft en de durf om ze te gebruiken.

Dit ben ik en dit is wat ik wil.

Ardith

Julie Ferwerda Sitting across the table from my beautiful friend in the quaint coffee shop, my worry mounted.  She was sharing details about her new whirlwind relationship that had begun a couple months earlier. "I finally met that guy I've been talking to on the Internet. After calling and text messaging constantly for the last two months, we decided to take it the next level--so we met half way last weekend. It was amazing. He's perfect for me! He is so kind, smart, funny, dynamic ... he is too good to be true!" Exactly! I thought to myself. "And did I mention he is financially secure? Not that money is important." Her apparent excitement said the opposite. "Is he a Christian?" "We met at an online matchmaking site!" "Is everyone on that a Christian?" "Well ... he hasn't really been going to church--but he definitely loves God." Saddam Hussein claims to love God. "How do you know that?" "He told me so! I just know God brought us together." "You've only known him for two months. Why do you think God brought him into your life?" I had to pinch myself under the table not to sound condescending. "Because ... it just feels so right when we talk. We have so much in common. He really loves me." Oh, oh. I can see we're in trouble now. ... "So ... since he's such a great Christian guy, I'm sure he didn't try to get you to sleep with him. I mean, he's protecting your purity and all, right?" I had a bad feeling about this guy already. My cynicism was beginning to show. "Well ... he's not legalistic about it. I mean, we are adults and he said as long as we're committed to each other it's the same as being married." Her own convictions had seemingly evaporated overnight. "So if you know each other so well, what are his weaknesses?" Besides not being a Christian, trying to get you into bed at the first chance, and being a liar. "He might be just a little bit compulsive. Is it normal for a guy to ask you to take off your shoes before you get into his car? But I guess I don't mind too much ... he has so many other great qualities, what could be so bad about that?" I'd had conversations like this with women dozens of times. In fact, for most of my own life, I was the one lying to myself. If anyone knew the lies women tell themselves to justify getting into bad relationships that led to bad marriages, it was me. And now, my precious friend, the one with whom I had discussed these lies with over and over, was falling into to them much too easily. I began to pray that she would see the truth before it was too late. What about you? If you are still trying to hold out for God's best but you find yourself identifying with some of the conversation above, read on. It's not too late for you to begin identifying the lies you tell yourself so that you can avoid an empty marriage and shattered dreams.

 LIE #1: A Christian man must be God's best choice of a mate for me. First of all, just because a man calls himself a Christian doesn't mean a thing about his spiritual condition. Hitler probably professed to be a nice guy. What really shows a man's faith is action--not trying to get you into bed until you are both wearing a ring; initiating his own personal relationship with God and encouraging yours as well; and especially holding his feelings back in the relationship to allow God to lead. God's choice of a mate for you is going to be a godly man, and if you listen, God will tell you through an active prayer life and the counsel of other godly influences whether this is the one He has picked out for you.

LIE #2: If it feels right, it is right. Feelings are unreliable. Don't trust them, especially when it comes to spiritual matters. Feelings change day by day, and they can lie to you. Women who rely on them to make important decisions are going to be extremely disappointed, making one mistake after another. The decision must be made objectively and prayerfully. Sexual sin in the relationship will cloud objectivity and good judgment.

LIE #3: I can overlook a few character problems (a.k.a. red flags)--no one is perfect. If a man has glaring character defects, it is likely that he is not teachable. Teachability is the number one character trait you should look for in a potential mate. I am not talking about normal struggles or mistakes, but habit pattern sins or dysfunctions that control their lives and that they are not open and contrite about. If a man is teachable, he will humbly listen to God and to his future wife when making decisions. He will be willing to work at his future marriage.

 LIE #4: I really know him after spending so much time talking to him. Phone and heart-to-heart conversations are no substitute for real life situations. He can tell you anything you want to hear while hiding behind a phone. But get him with his family, or behind a rude driver, or at a restaurant getting poor service, and then you begin to see what kind of a person he really is. A wise woman will wait it out awhile to observe his responses in every possible difficult and awkward situation.

LIE #5: He always tells me the truth. If you think that then you don't know most men in this world. Most men are very good at telling women what they want to hear in order to get what they want--sex. Pressure for sex from a "Christian man" should be the number one indicator of a dishonest man with underlying bad intentions and hidden motives.

 LIE #6: Coincidences are a sign from God. Satan, the master liar and counterfeiter, is cooking up coincidences to get you off track, so beware! He doesn't want you to wait for God's best. He wants to handicap your services for the Kingdom by getting you to settle for a miserable and empty marriage. Ask for godly counsel from objective bystanders, pray hard, and stay intent upon God's will and not your own.

LIE #7: It's normal for him to pressure me for sex. That's just how men are. True godly men live to please God and not their own selfish desires. They honor women as the treasure they are, treating them with absolute purity as Jesus would have done. They care more about the purity of their Christian sisters than a quick thrill for the moment. Sex before marriage is a sin and if a guy is pressuring, he doesn't care about what God thinks and he doesn't care about you either.

LIE #8: There are many quality romantic perfect men out there, just like in the movies. Women have so filled their minds (and hearts) with Hollywood ideals about men, two tragedies have resulted. First, no man could ever live up to that fictitious standard so they are unfairly compared and criticized. Secondly, a woman in the beginning stages of a relationship can tend to fill in missing information about a man with imagined ideals before she even knows him. She ends up "falling in love" with an idea, not a person. When the man begins to show signs of human weakness, she is disappointed but holds onto the relationship hoping the man she first imagined will return. The few real quality men out there are the ones who are living to please God. You will need God's help to find them.

 LIE #9: When I find a man and get married, I will finally feel happy and complete. If that's true, why are so many women getting divorced (or wishing they were)? Why do Hollywood stars ditch beauties for someone else? The truth is, you will only feel happy and complete when you let God be your first love. No man--especially one who is not God's best for you--will even come close. When the excitement wears off (and it will), you will feel more alone than when you were single. By telling ourselves the truth, we have every chance to find the very best man that God wants to give us.

A great example is my friend. She ended up getting out of that wrong relationship and listening to God for direction in her dating life. A few weeks ago, I attended her wedding. Just before she walked down the isle, she closed the door of the little room behind the three of us. "We need you to say a prayer for us," her eyes radiated happiness. It was the beautiful sentiments of the groom--God's best for her--that showed the day to be what I had hoped for her all along. "Yes, please pray for us. It's the only way to begin our lives together. The day just won't be right without it." I couldn't have agreed more.  

Passing the Tests 

1 Samuel 28:17
The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors-to David. When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at specific times in the leader's life. God often takes each leader through four major tests to determine if that person will achieve God's ultimate call on his or her life. The person's response to these tests is the deciding factor in whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom.

Control-Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most of his time as king trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never got to the place with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God's goodness to him. Saul was a religious controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness-Every major character in the Bible was hurt by another person at one time or another. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed Him. Despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas' feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another. God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an offense? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass.

Power-Power is the opposite of servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use His power to remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the power and influence God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more power? There is a common phrase in the investment community, "He who has the gold rules." Jesus modeled the opposite. He was the ultimate servant leader.

Greed-This is a difficult one. Money has the ability to have great influence for either good or bad. When it is a focus in our life, it becomes a tool of destruction. When it is a by-product, it can become a great blessing. Many leaders started out well-only to be derailed once prosperity became a part of their life. There are thousands who can blossom spiritually in adversity; only a few can thrive spiritually under prosperity.

As leaders, we must be aware when we are being tested. You can be confident that each one of these tests will be thrown your way if God calls you for His purposes. Will you pass these tests? Ask for God's grace today to walk through these tests victoriously.

God loves a seeking heart.

You may be looking for a sense of purpose in your life.  Your heart is empty and each day consists of simply doing the “next thing”.  We have great news for you, friend!  That purpose and contentment can be found in a personal relationship with God.  You can know Him!  It gets better!  More than you want to know God - He wants you to know Him.  From that relationship flows the best plan for your life, the plan made by the One who created you, knows you best and loves you most.  How can you know Him?                                   

1.  Recognize that you are a sinner.  Romans 3:23 says we all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard of holiness.  Romans 3:10 says that there is no one without sin.  In other words, we all make mistakes.  We sin against God.  We blow it...and have since the day we were born!

2.  Understand that your sin demands payment.  Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death - physical and eternal. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  It also promises that the gift of God is eternal life.  In other words, Jesus Christ went to the cross for you...and for me...to make the payment for sin that you and I should have made.  He took our place!  What a great love!  Romans 5:8 describes that love in this way, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

3.  Confess your sin right now to God.  To confess means to agree with God about your sin and choose to turn away or "repent" of your sin. You are choosing to step away from your old life and ways in order to follow God and live out His amazing plan for your life.

4.  Receive His gift of forgiveness.  Understand that His forgiveness is a gift.  You can't merit it by being good enough or earn it by doing good things.

Romans 3:21-22 “But God has a way to make people right with him without the law. And God has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same.”

5.  Accept God’s forgiveness as His gift to you and thank Him for coming into your life.  Surrender everything you know about you...to everything you know about Him.

Romans 10:10 tells us "We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we use our mouths to say that we believe, and so we are saved."  In other words, we must believe in our hearts that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He rose from the grave.  We confess that truth in our hearts and with our lives. 

6.  Turn your life over to Him and choose to follow Him from this day on. 

Romans 8:38 promises:  “Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

7.  Share your decision with someone.  And celebrate the fact that God has taken up residence in your heart and life and will, from this moment on, be with you.
 Friend, we celebrate with you this new relationship with your living God. It is the most important decision you will ever make.  We encourage you to join a church that teaches the Bible.  Look for a small group Bible study in which you can participate.  Begin spending a few minutes every day, praying to God and reading His Word. Start with the book of John.  It tells you so much about who God is and why Jesus came.

And if you will email us your mailing address (info@GirlfriendsInGod.com), we will be glad to send you a gift – a book that will help you grow in Christ.  We pray that you will follow Him and experience all the blessings He has for you...on your journey.

Op een dag vroeg een lerares aan haar leerlingen de namen van alle klasgenoten op een papier te schrijven en naast de naam enige ruimte te laten. Daarna zei ze tegen deze leerlingen dat ze het beste wat ze over deze klasgenoten zouden kunnen vertellen achter de naam moesten schrijven en dat ze achter iedere naam iets moesten schrijven.
De opdracht duurde het gehele lesuur. En aan het einde van de les moest de opdracht ingeleverd worden bij de lerares.

In het weekeinde nam de lerares van iedere leerling een blad en schreef per leerling al deze positieve en opbouwende opmerkingen op zijn of haar blad.  Op maandag gaf ze tijdens haar les aan deze klas aan alle leerlingen hun lijst. Na slechts korte tijd begon iedereen te lezen en te lachen. 'Is dat echt zo?', kon je horen fluisteren, 'Ik wist niet dat ik voor iemand anders waarde had!' en 'Ik wist niet dat anderen mij zo leuk vinden', waren de over het algemeen gehoorde commentaren.

Na enige tijd werd er over deze lijsten niet meer gesproken. Ook wist de leerkracht niet of de leerlingen onderling of met hun ouders hierover gesproken hadden, maar dat was ook niet het belangrijkste. Die oefening had zijn effect gehad. De leerlingen waren gelukkig met zichzelf en met de anderen.

Enkele jaren later was een van haar leerlingen omgekomen in een oorlogsgebied en de lerares werd uitgenodigd voor de begrafenis en ze ging.  De kerk was overvol met vele vrienden. Een voor een gingen de mensen die van hem gehouden hadden of hem gekend hadden bij zijn graf voorbij en bewezen hem zijn laatste eer.

De lerares ging als een van de laatste naar zijn graf en bad voor hem. Nadat zij daarmee klaar was vroeg een collega soldaat van Mark aan haar: 'Bent u Marks wiskunde lerares?' Zij knikte bedroeft en zei zachtjes; 'ja'. Toen zei hij; 'Mark heeft zeer vaak over u gesproken'.

Na de begrafenis was er gelegenheid tot condoleren en de meeste van Marks vroegere klasgenoten, ook aanwezig, waren bij elkaar gaan zitten. Marks ouders waren blij haar te zien en spraken haar aan. 'We willen u iets laten zien', zei Marks vader en haalde een portefeuille uit zijn broek. 'Dit vonden we toen we door Marks spullen gingen kijken nadat hij gesneuveld was en we dachten dat u het zou herkennen'.

Uit de portefeuille trok hij een sterk verouderd, veelgebruikt, bij elkaar geplakt blad, welke duidelijk zichtbaar vaak opengevouwen en weer dichtgevouwen was. De lerares wist zonder verder te kijken dat dit het blad was waarop alle goede, opbeurende en positieve dingen stonden die zijn medeklasgenoten opgeschreven hadden en zij bijeen geschreven had. 'Wij willen u hiervoor zeer bedanken, dat u dit gedaan heeft', zei Marks moeder.
'Zoals u kunt zien heeft Mark dit enorm gewaardeerd.'

Hierna verzamelden alle voormalige leerlingen rondom de lerares. Charlie lachte een beetje en bekende: 'Ik heb mijn lijst ook nog. Deze ligt in de bovenste lade van mijn bureau'. Heleen, de vrouw van Joost, zei: ' Joost heeft me gevraagd of ik uw lijst  in ons trouwalbum wilde plakken'. Ik heb mijn lijst ook nog zei Marylin. 'Ik heb hem in mijn dagboek geplakt'.
Toen deed Vicky, een van de andere leerlingen, haar handtas open en haalde haar agenda hieruit en toonde haar lijst aan de anderen. Helemaal bijeen geplakt en duidelijk veel gebruikt. 'Ik neem hem overal mee naar toe' zei Vicky en voegde er aan toe 'Volgens mij heeft iedereen die lijst nog, en onder handbereik'. De lerares was totaal ontroerd, zo dat ze begon te huilen en moest gaan zitten. Ze huilde om Mark en al deze vrienden die hij nooit meer zou zien.

In het samenzijn met onze medemensen vergeten wij vaak, dat ieder leven eens eindigt en dat we niet weten wanneer dit zal zijn. Daarom is het zo belangrijk dat we de mensen die we liefhebben, die ons dierbaar zijn, zeggen dat ze speciaal, bijzonder en belangrijk zijn. Zeg het ze voordat het te laat is. Je kunt het op verschillende manieren doen, bijvoorbeeld door deze boodschap naar hen te sturen. Doe je dit niet dan heb je weer een geweldige mogelijkheid laten gaan om iets moois en goeds te doen voor deze mensen.

Als je deze brief ontvangt dan is het daarom, omdat de afzender om je geeft en aan je gedacht heeft. Het betekent dus dat er tenminste één persoon is voor wie je iets betekent.
Wanneer je te druk bent of het te druk hebt om een paar minuten op te offeren om iemand dit bericht te sturen dan is dit mogelijk en hopelijk de eerste keer, dat je niets gedaan hebt om een ander te bemoedigen.

Denk hierom:
Wat je oogst is wat je zaait.

De invloed die je in het leven van een ander hebt komt terug in je eigen leven. Deze dag zou een gezegende dag moeten zijn en ten minste even bijzonder als dat jij dat bent.

Have you called Him today?
I said that I wanted to grow and I went and clung to Him. I needed to be close to Him.

I started every morning to read His Word and pray to Him, and when I was done I expected change. 

I told Him you promised me that you will draw near to me, where are you?
It was until I took time to listen to His answer that I began to grow.

It took my daughter to tell me one day that I do not take time to really listen.

She wanted me to sit still and pay attention to her, to stop doing what I was doing, to keep focused only on her.

How often we say we are listening but in reality our mind is full of all that has to be done, bills that are due, a meal that needs to be cooked, each day juggling the hours that don't seem to be enough to accomplish everything we need to do.  This is how God wants us to listen. I even started to write down everything I spoke with God so not to let my mind wander away from our conversation. Little by little it became a habit and now it is so easy to just go to Him and pour out my heart and wait and be still. And know that He is God!

I urge you to try it if you are not doing this as yet. He truly listens to us and we should also listen to Him. It is during this time that we become filled with His will for our lives.

TRY IT YOU’LL LIKE IT, JUST DO IT