Posted on by darleneishealedtospeak

Forgive or Not To Forgive…Choose

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (NIV).

In this week’s video, I discuss why we must forgive and the consequences of unforgiveness. When we do not forgive, we risk bitterness of soul, sickness and disease, and God not extending his forgiveness towards us. No matter the offense, forgiveness must be apart of our daily walk as it is not just for the person, but for us too.

Definition of Forgiveness – The intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, let’s go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.” – Wikipedia

Love you all,

Darlene
#healedtospeak

 

 

Posted on by darleneishealedtospeak

Your Beginning Is Now!

I hope you each had a memorable Thanksgiving!

Each Thanksgiving, before the New Year begins, I take time to look over the year to view my accomplishments or failures. I think about what I can improve right now as opposed to waiting for January 1st to roll in. I do not believe in New Year’s resolutions; however, I do believe in setting long-term and short-term goals.

For the most part, I am happy to see some of the accomplishments I have made; but I am also disappointed in areas where I had setbacks whether self-inflicted or not. However, it will not hinder me from making the necessary changes before proceeding into the New Year.

I would like to share a few steps that I have already taken to make changes. First, it starts with your mind and it must be renewed in order for true change to take place; therefore, do your best to stick to a plan to accomplish both your spiritual and natural goals. Second, embrace the process. There is no such thing as a lofty goal; however, we can potentially self-sabotage by not taking little steps to get to the long-term goal. For example, my goal at the beginning of this year was to lose 30 pounds. When I started, I was all in and full of excitement. I began exercising regularly, eating less and I stopped eating meat. However, at about the two-week mark, I was frustrated because I only lost one pound. I thought, “this does not work” so I went back to my old lifestyle, which was actually an old way of thinking. But, later this year, I made my mind up and put the word of God on my goal of getting healthy and though it is still difficult sometimes, I am seeing results…and I don’t miss eating meat (that was the easy part)!

Finally, it is important to get an accountability partner. Someone you can trust who will help keep you on track; not hinder you. It is never a good idea to have someone who is struggling with the same issue as you. Ask me how I know!

Your goal may not be to lose weight, but no matter what it is, write the vision, make it plain, and write out baby steps on how you will get there. If you make a mistake, do not stop, keep going. As you begin seeing results, it will encourage you to continue moving forward. So…when that little voice in your head tells you to stop, use it as a weapon to overcome the obstacles you are faced with. The voice is only there to discourage you, which lets you know you are on the right track!

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (NIV).

Love you all,

Darlene
#healedtospeak

 

 

Posted on by darleneishealedtospeak

He Has A Plan!

Hello Everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to view my first video. I was happy to share a little bit of myself with you. There will definitely be more to come…so stay tuned!

God is funny as it was never my intention to do videos (though I was told I would). At least for now, I thought I would only write. However, as I share with you today, God has a perfect plan for our lives even when we are uncertain of the path or if the path goes in a direction we did not expect.

As I share this brief video, be encouraged knowing that God’s plan for you is perfect and he would not have it any other way.

I love you all,
Darlene
#healedtospeak

 


 

 

 

 

Posted on by darleneishealedtospeak

Love Simply…Simply Love

I Corinthians 13:4-8 – Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

When praying and contemplating what the Lord would have me to write, there are times when He speaks resoundingly and other times in a small still voice. This particular week, it was neither so I am going to say what has been impressed on my heart today and that is love one another.

John 13:34-35 says, “a new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV).

I believe each of us would be further in our walk with Christ if we learned how to love one another regardless of our disagreements or circumstances. Sometimes we are so busy pointing out the negative in others that we forget to simply love.  We all know some people are harder to love than others, but without love we are nothing.

My prayer today is we love one another with the same love God has freely given us.

I love you!

Darlene
#healedtospeak

Posted on by darleneishealedtospeak

Did You Forget?

A few days ago, I was watching television with a friend. It was one of my favorite sitcoms from the 80’s. (I will not reveal the show because it is not the purpose of this writing). In one of the scenes, a female character appeared. I said, “oh, I remember her” then my friend said, “I don’t like her.” I asked why and my friend said, “You don’t remember what she did in real life?” I recalled the incident my friend was speaking of and it was over 25 years ago! What immediately came to mind is why we remember the worst in people and not the best. When we think of those who have wronged others, or us we tend to remember the incident and forget about who the person truly is.

Why do we remember the negative things people do? Why do we hold onto the memory? Does it provide a sense of comfort? Does it remind us not to get hurt the same way again? Is it a reminder not to trust again? Do we feel justified to hold onto the memory?

Some time ago, I was hurt deeply by someone I loved. Each time I saw the person, I could only remember the hurt. Though I forgave them, it was difficult to get past the offense. It was not until I hurt someone else that the Lord began to show me my own heart. How ironic that we want the same forgiveness extended to us that we are not willing to extend to others. How would we feel if each time we came to God about something, he reminded us of the sin we committed against him?

The Lord loves us so much that when we sin against him and repent he forgives and forgets our sin. Isaiah 43:25 states, “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again” (NLT). What a blessing it is to serve God and not man!

Each of us must get to the point where we look at those who have hurt us through the lens of God. It is not always easy to do, but when we need forgiveness and for the offense we committed to be forgotten, we can look back and remember we have extended the same to those who have offended us.

Now, I am not saying that once someone has wronged us we should open ourselves up to be hurt again. However, we must use wisdom and discern the true intentions of the person; but it still does not give us permission to hold onto negative memories and ponder them in our hearts.

Isaiah 43:18 says, “remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” This means we should forget the things behind us and look ahead.

 

I encourage you to look ahead today!
Blessings.
Darlene
#healedtospeak