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Stand Up! Stand Firm! - Part 1
 | | Dr. Ashley Brooks |
I want to start this article by reminding us of some verses that we have all probably read a hundred times or more. However, as you read them now, choose to read them like you are approaching brand new information. Slow yourself down. Allow yourself to really meditate on the message.
Ephesians 6
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with Truth and having put on the Breastplate of Righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; 16 in addition to all taking up the Shield of Faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
 As most ministers families, our family has been through struggles and suffered heartache, as have many of you. We have felt resistance to plans we knew God was laying out, but we have casually prayed that we would have victory over the enemy. Over the past few weeks God has led me on a journey that has taken my deeper into spiritual warfare than I have ever been before. Up to this point in my 26 years of journeying with the Lord, I have never had to depend solely on the Lord and the strength of His might...until now. I thought I understood the armor, but it has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Because this situation is so fresh and because of the nature of the situation, I cannot go into details. But I want you to share with you in this article the first part of what God is teaching me.
- There is a battle going on.
I work with hurting people everyday and on some level I have been aware that the enemy is and has been involved in the daily struggles these dear people endure. Until recently, I had no idea how real and how grueling this battle actually is. God brought me to a point in my faith in which I knew I had 2 options: I could remain sitting down on the sidelines, refusing to pay attention to the reality around me; or I could stand up, get off the comfortable sidelines (where I might feel an arrow now and then but for the most part stay comfortably "safe") and fight in this war. I realized by making the choice to fight, I put myself on the front lines and opened my family and I up to direct attacks. (Side note: These attacks came last week and I was not ready for them.)
- If I don't fight, I forfeit the victory. God wants to do way more in my life and in the lives of the people around me than I realize. (Eph 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.") If I sit on the sidelines and refuse to fight in the battle in which God has called me to fight, I forfeit the victories He wants to bring me. I forfeit the victories He wants to bring to the lives of the people He has placed in my life to fight along side.
- Our battle is with a wicked, spiritual enemy who hates me and hates God even more.
The Enemy will stop at nothing to keep people in their pain. He will attack innocent children to stop their parents from fighting against him. He will use such sufferings as sickness to distract us from putting on the armor and standing firm so that he can side swipe us and maintain his control over lives. He is no respecter of age and he does not fight us with any compassion or mercy. I can choose to recognize who my enemy is or I can live in denial, allowing him to continue doing what he is doing with no resistance from me. The Enemy hates us because God loves us. He hates God even more and desires to destroy anything or anyone that could bring God glory. (For points 4 & 5 continue reading in the devotionals.) (For private chat meet me in the forums.)
Praying for us,
Dr. A
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Strengthened By Grace Life Well Lived
Week 5 
Frame It Up:Healthy HeartResearch on the effects of diet shows that a healthy eating plan can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and lower an already elevated blood pressure, thereby reducing the risk of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). "DASH" stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension". This clinical study tested the effects of nutrients in food on blood pressure.
Women with a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish, poultry, low fat dairy foods, and whole grains (median fiber lower intake 26 grams a day), along with reduced consumption of red meat, processed meats, sweets and fried foods, had a significant lower risk of CHD compared with the opposite dietary consumption, and a median fiber intake of 13 grams a day..
Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens his heart falls in trouble.
Proverbs 28:14
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Kristianne Stewat
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Light It Up:
Add Color To Your Plate!
Make a goal to find three new heart healthy recipes a week. Look for opportunities to try new fruits and vegetables. Before you head out the door to grocery shop, make a grocery list that includes the new recipe's food ingredients. Divide the food items into categories, similar to the new Food Plate (replaced the Food Pyramid). Evaluate your list and see if there is a balance between the heart healthy food groups. Ask God to help you find creative dietary approaches and show you how to have fun feeding your heart and soul!
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
Agape,
Kristianne
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Seeking a Vineyard
A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
Proverbs 31:10-13
Proverbs 31...okay, so who can really challenge this gal's bio? No skeletons in her closet. Her man doesn't question her value. He knows because it cost him more rubies than he had. She is a half-full glass kind of woman. She is an expert in retail products. An early riser, she is packing a healthy lunch and extras to share with others. She has her eye on prime real estate and drives such a good bargain that she can plant a vineyard. That's where I
| | Kristianne Stewart |
stumble. No, not even the no fear of snow in the desert part. The vineyard gets me. She had a place of her own from her earnings. Something that represented her intellect. I hold my breath as something stirs in my heart-envy. I want this woman's vineyard. Icovet and amblinded from what I do have, embracing what someone else has because there are times that my "field" as a wife and mother is defined and measured by repetitive tasking and asking. How many times do we find ourselves questioning the field, our life God has given us? How will we ever be able to gain any earnings when we just scrape by on what's in our field? When we are so easily overwhelmed by the day's challenges and defeated before our feet hit the floor each morning? In the parable of the sower the seed falls onto different soil, that soil being the condition of our hearts. For a woman, the seeds of envy are found just beneath the soil of our heart. They grow at random and germinate from our insecurities. First as the little girl seeking love and approval, shouting, "Watch me! Want to see do that again? Hold me!!" Then the thorny stems plucks through our adolescence with, "Do I look pretty? Why don't they like me? Then the plant reaches out, engulfing the blossoming flowers around it. "Why doesn't he like me? She is prettier than me, more popular. She doesn't have acne or even body odor!" This starts the unrealistic comparison game that follows into young adulthood. "I would have had that job if I were smarter, funnier. He would have loved me if I was more spontaneous. My life would be different if only I ______". Continue Reading |
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