by Barb Roose | Aug 10, 2014 | Women's Topics
Brittany Kaelber wants to live in a world where cookie dough is at the top of the food pyramid, leg warmers never go out of style and there are more spontaneous song and dance numbers in everyday life. When she’s not working as a full-time video producer and a part-time photographer at CedarCreek Church, you can find her hanging out with her favorite awesome nerds, doing a marathon (of the TV variety), attending a country concert, with her nose in a good book, napping, or planning her next Disney vacation.
Brittany believes that life’s a journey -a lovely, hilarious, heartbreaking, amazing journey – and she loves sharing the beautiful, the ugly, and the awkward moments of her journey with all of you!
“Ever since college, I make friends. They get married. I lose friends.” -Chuck Palahniuk
As I get older, most of the people I know are either getting into serious relationships, getting engaged, getting married, or having kids. In fact, at the age of 30, more of my friends, family and co-workers are married than not. On top of that, I have no close friends that have ever been 30 and single. This could easily put a divide between my married friends and I. We could slowly drift apart.We have different priorities and different schedules and different challenges and we can’t truly understand each other’s place in life.
I, however, do not believe this is a death sentence to relationships between married people and singles. I don’t want to lose friends just because they’re married and I’m not! My married friends and their families add so much to my life. I believe careful honesty is the key. We must have a determination not to project our own insecurities, longings, fears, and frustrations out on the other. If we do that, then we can still have real, beneficial, and meaningful relationships.
So, here it is, the truth: this is what singles believe married people have forgotten about being single (or aspects of single-ness they never even experienced because they got married much younger than 30).
Single + Single does not equal a perfect match…We get the impression that a lot of married people do the math and come up with: single guy + single girl = match made in heaven. No, nope. Thank you for thinking of us . . . but there’s a little more to it than that.
Speaking of matchmaking . . . I won’t speak for every single, but I was not built for online dating. I know that there are ‘Plenty of Fish’ that I could be ‘Match’ed with and we might fall in love and live in perfect ‘EHarmony,’ but let me just ‘Tinder’ my resignation now, because I’m out! #notinthislifetime. No need to ask me if I’ve thought of trying it. I’m an old-fashioned girl. And speaking of old-fashioned, if you come across a “great Christian guy,” don’t tell us girls about him– tell him about us! We want to be pursued.
We still believe in fairy tales…Well, kind of. We know now that it’s not as easy as falling in love and making darling, perfectly behaved babies and living happily-ever-after, but we still believe in having our own beautifully quirky love story. Help us believe. We’ve heard it’s a lot of hard work . . .like, more hard work and less sleep than you could have ever imagined! Now, tell us about how much fun it is! There are fun parts, right?! I love what Mindy Kaling says, “part of me still thinks … is it really so hard to make it work? What happened to being pals?”
Plus one? More like, plus none…When you’re single, you don’t have a built in “plus one.” We want to come to weddings and parties and even dinner with you and your couple friends, but sometimes it’s harder than you’d imagine. So, unless our odd-numbered singleness throws off the aesthetics of your evening, please invite us, but give us grace on those nights we decline. It may surprise you that there are times when hanging out with all couples will actually make us feel lonelier than staying home alone and watching Netflix. Not to mention that standing on the dance floor at a wedding, under a spotlight, with six little girls dancing around you to the blaring refrain of Single Ladies is . . . just horrible.
There is no “I” in team! But there’s an “I” in Single…Having a plus one at parties is just a small perk of marriage. You are now part of a team! You’ve procured not only a built-in date but also a best friend and a confidant; someone you can do life with and make big decision with. Your moments are their moments, happy and sad. They know you better than anyone. You are two who have become one.
Imagine not having that built into your life. It can be hard and even scary at times. Doing it by yourself doesn’t always come with the kind of freedom you might imagine; it comes with doubt and insecurity and uncertainty and longing. So, take care in saying things like “enjoy your freedom” or “appreciate your single years while you can” or “you’re so lucky you don’t have anyone to check-in with!” We envy the partnership you have and we’d give up spontaneous Grecian vacations or control over the remote to be a part of a team like that …or, let’s be real, even just to have someone who paid half our bills! Just kidding… about the remote. 🙂
What’s NOW vs. What’s NEXT?…Have you heard the idiom “in the meantime”? It means, “Until something else happens.” As a single, it can feel like everyone is just waiting for us to reach the next big milestone in our lives. Until then, they’re compassionate to our being stuck “in the meantime.” However, sympathetic refrains, inspirational quotes, and future predictions can be more harmful than helpful. We know that phrases like “you’re going to make a great wife/mother one day” or “that’s ok, you will find someone” are meant to be comforting, but it can make us feel like who we are now (who we might be forever) is not enough.
We may get married. We may make great wives and great mothers; we may find someone. But we might not. We want to know that who we are is enough. In fact, we’d like to know it’s more than enough. We’d love to know that you don’t see us as incomplete or running behind or stuck in the great singles waiting room of life. We want to know that the lives we’re living now (as singles) are complete, significant, thriving, successful and meaningful.
So, ask us WHAT’S NOW instead of WHAT’S NEXT because “in the meantime” our real lives are happening and we want to share them with you!
This is how you can pray for us…There are aspects of the single life we appreciate and even love, so we don’t need pity, but we’d love your prayers.
- Pray that we’ll use our single lives to honor God and that we’ll rest in knowing His plans and timing are far greater than ours.
- Pray that we won’t settle, but will wait for a spouse who loves Jesus and us with their whole hearts for their whole lives.
- Pray that we are made complete in Christ, so that no matter where our journey takes us we find our identity and worth in Him and not in our relationship status.…And if you want to pray “Lord, if it’s your will, please send Brittany a tall, funny and handsome fella who loves pizza, Netflix, and country music,” well, who am I to argue with God’s will?!
Talk back time…Are you single? What are some of the parts of being single that celebrate? Where do you struggle? What kind of support or prayers would you like from others?
Thank you Brittany for sharing your perspective with us! Ladies, if you’ve got friends who would be encouraged by Brittany’s words, share this post up by clicking the any of the share buttons. If you’d like weekly encouragement like this, I’d love to share it with you. Just enter your email address to subscribe and that’s it. Thanks for stopping by!
by Barb Roose | Aug 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
Dear Marie, It’s your last day in the US. Today, I figured I would distract myself for a little while by writing this blog post. It’s Saturday morning and we’re in the living room.
You’re sitting in the chair across from me while Sami is braiding your hair one more time. You didn’t want have to deal with your hair over the 24-hour journey home. I want to be able to talk to you, however, the only words I’m capable of speaking without tears are coming through my fingertips…
Marie’s arrival at Toledo Express on August 30, 2012.
It’s been tough watching you say good-bye to our family and your friends. When your dad arrived last week, it seemed like a week would be a long time, until the final goodbyes began and time start moving quickly. It’s hard to believe that today is the day. Of course, it’s been quite a stressful morning for you… While we’ve enjoyed a year of shopping together, you’ve had to fit 10-months of American purchases into three suitcases – yikes!
As you’ve been packing, I haven’t been able to bring myself to walk past your room. After 10 months of watching bare walls fill with pictures and mementos of your life in America, my heart hurts at the thought of the looking at a bare room and bare walls. I am so happy that you are returning to your life in Denmark – so happy. But, I will miss seeing you stagger out of your room each morning, sharing beautifully ripe avocados with tomatoes or when you came down the steps calling out, “I got you.”
Marie’s first peanut butter sandwich. She wasn’t sure at first…now, peanut butter is her favorite!
Earlier this week I found the first photo of you coming down the hallway toward us at Toledo Express on August 30, 2012. We had only found out you were coming six days before you arrived. I wish the photo wasn’t blurry, but my hands were shaking so much as you came down the hallway. We weren’t sure how those early moments would go. Our family was so embarrassed that first night when we proudly served you a Danish for dessert – only to find out that Danishes weren’t actually Danish. Our bad.
There were so many “firsts” in the early weeks: first day of school, first American football game and how could we forget your first peanut sandwich. You hated peanut butter at first, but soon, you couldn’t live without it. As we promised, we’ll send over Kroger brand peanut butter when you need it. One of my favorite photos of this year was the picture of you with Kate, Sam and Abbie.
Abbie, Kate, Sami and Marie
The week before you came to America, Matt and I promised your parents that we would treat you like one of our own kids. When you and Kate met for the first time and we snapped the photo of all four of you girls, it was just like you had always been a part of our family. And you always will be.
As the months went on, we had the chance to experience a lot of ups and downs. You really grew up a lot while you were here in the US. Do you remember the chat we had a few months ago? It was late in the evening and you and I were in the living room talking about the important things to know in life. You had come to the realization as to why you were in America this year. And I agreed. My hope is that you will keep that in mind as you continue the next exciting phase of your life. You may be across time zones and a large ocean, but there are so many of us who have been invested in your life over the last 10 months. I think that one of the reasons I wrote those post is so that you might know that where you go and what you do in life matters to so many. no matter how much time or many miles are between us.
Well, Sami is done braiding your hair – and I need a kleenex. I know you see me doing a poor job of not crying. But, I see a few tears slipping down your face as well. That’s okay. Most importantly, your hair looks great! You’re going to look spectacular posing in front of the Eiffel Tower during your long layover in Paris. Lucky!
As you bounce up from the chair to finish packing upstairs, you exclaimed, “Well, looks like I am good to go.” And you’re right. It is time to go.
-Originally posted on June 1, 2013
by Barb Roose | Jul 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
-Andy Stanley
As of today, I’ve been married for 22 years. Double Deuces. Apparently, we’re supposed to exchange copper-theme gifts this year. Suggestions include copper mugs, pitchers or door knockers. Copper?
That’s not happening.
Yet, each wedding anniversary feels like a gold medal for me. I’m proud of every annual milestone. You see, our marriage is a bit like the old Shania Twain classic “Still The One.” Years ago, my parents told us that they figured our marriage would last about three years. Not because they wanted us to fail, but because we had so much NOT going our way. For instance, we were 20 and 19. We were an interracial couple making minimum wage and only halfway through college. Oh, and I was six months pregnant. The deck was definitely stacked against us.
However, I’ve learned that our circumstances weren’t our greatest challenge. Our greatest challenge in staying married was us – our personalities, our choices and our flaws.
Yet, in spite of us, we’ve stayed together. God gets the credit for it, because I sure don’t. Furthermore, I’m so grateful for the guy who stuck beside me all of these years while I’ve had to figure some things out.
I’m no expert on marriage, but I am wiser now. Mostly, because I’m learning from the mistakes I’ve made. So, to celebrate our 22nd anniversary, I thought I’d share some of the things that I’ve learned about myself, my husband and marriage.
What I’ve learned over the past 22 years of marriage…
1. Your wedding day should NOT be the best day of your marriage. My husband told me this on our wedding day and it’s the #1 advice I share with new brides. It’s okay to put lots of time and energy into planning a fantastic wedding. Just make sure that you put even more time and energy into making every day the best day of your marriage.
We married in a lilac preserve (that burned down the next year).
2. Smile. Smiling goes a long ways, ladies. But, when we get busy or tired, our smiles are the first to go. Here’s a quick exercise: Take out a mirror and say your husband’s name in your annoyed or exasperated voice. Look at your face while you are talking. Not attractive, right? Now smile and say his name in the mirror. That’s the smile he fell in love with. Let him see it more often.
3. Marriage is hard. Don’t forget that your flaws and struggles make your marriage hard. We are so quick to see the places where our husbands’ have failed us and blame them for our misery. What should you do? Instead of wanting your hubby to shape up or make your relationship better, step up and deal with your issues and let him handle his. (Even if he doesn’t deal with his issues, your relationship will be better just because you’ve dealt with yours.)
He still has that smile.
4. Let him decide on stuff. Wives don’t have the corner market on how stuff should get done. Husbands have good ideas, too. Different, but good. My hubby loves to grocery shop. For years, I didn’t want him to buy groceries because he didn’t do it my way. Then, I finally agreed to let him go grocery shopping. Sure, he does it his way. But, not my way. Yet, the world still turns. Most importantly, I don’t have to go grocery shopping anymore. Score!
5. Laughing together can overcome many, many bad days. Laughing together can keep you together – especially when times are tough. My husband and I laugh like rockstars together. Once, we watched all of the “Real Men of Genius” commercials in a row and laughed so hard that we drooled on each other. It was awesome.
6. You can be happy or right. Trust me, it’s not the same thing. You can’t be happy and right. Well, you can be, but your husband and marriage will suffer. Trying to be right will put you in the loser column every single time. Pick happy instead.
7. He isn’t saying everything he is thinking, so neither should you. This is pretty self-explanatory. Say less. Smile more. (I have to keep reminding myself of this.)
8. Be kind to your hubby and get some girlfriends. Your husband was not placed on this earth to fulfill all of your relational needs. Your guy loves you, but he doesn’t have enough bandwidth to cover all your emotional and relational needs. Girlfriends can. Kicking it with the girls can fill the needs that your husband isn’t equipped to fill.
9. Your husband already knows when he screws up. Seriously, you don’t have to tell him. As my husband told me once, “I am not stupid. I know when I mess up. You don’t have to tell me.” I think your husband would agree. If he blows it, he knows it. Pointing it out just makes things worse. A decent guy will handle his business without commentary or help from his wife.
10. Sometimes, he is having a bad day and it has nothing to do with you. You don’t have to be responsible for managing his feelings and you don’t have to try to fix his bad day. Just leave him alone.
11. Take care of yourself. Women are famous for taking care of everyone else before taking care of themselves. But, we can’t give what we don’t got. If you aren’t emotionally, physically, spiritually or mentally healthy, then you will be operating from a deficit. Marriage requires too much for you to be operating from a negative. Figure out what you need to be whole and healthy. Then do it.
12. Marriage is hard. I know I already covered this, but it’s important enough for me to say it again.
Drawing by Gus Galvez (2011)
13. Some of your marriage dreams won’t come true. This is great! If all of your marriage-related dreams came true, you’d miss out on something that was even better than your dream. Over the years, I’ve forgotten about the houses I wanted to buy or the furniture I set my heart on. Wouldn’t it be a shame if I wrecked my relationship by getting upset about things (from the past) that I no longer cared about? In the past 22 years, we’ve share some amazing unplanned moments. These moments that were far better than any failed dreams.
14. Forgive. Sister, you gotta let go of stuff. Forgiveness gives you an opportunity to be the best spouse that you can be. Being angry or bitter is just as wrong as his bad behavior that hurt you. Holding a grudge won’t change his behavior, especially bad behavior. It just makes you miserable. Forgiveness keeps you healthy and whole, even if he’s having issues. You’ve messed up, too. Give what you someday want to receive.
15. Never put the kids (even adult kids) before your relationship with your husband. If you love your kids, take care of your marriage first. Taking good care of your marriage will naturally overflow into taking good care of your kids. (This also goes for women who still have a close relationship with Mom. Don’t make your husband compete with your mom.)
16. Date Night or Divorce. Your marriage has a high mortality rate without a regular date night. It’s cheaper to go out for regular date night and reconnect than pay financially and emotionally for divorce.
17. If your relationship falls apart, start over and make new beginning. We survived a traumatic event in our marriage years ago. It almost ended our relationship. The pain was crushing all around. It took a long time, a lot of forgiveness and individual work on both sides. Now, we have a different, but better marriage. We wouldn’t have gotten to this point if we would not have experienced such pain and hurt. We had to start over again and rebuild in a new direction. It’s possible. (Okay, I know you’re wondering what it is. No one was unfaithful or anything like that. Stuff happens and praise God, we got through it.)
18. Only You…This next one will ruffle some feathers. I don’t think a married woman should have dinner alone with another man who is not her husband. As a former business woman, I know that you have meetings with co-workers or the need to entertain clients. I’m just stating what has been a good boundary for me over the years. We all know co-workers who hooked up because meetings led to lunch. Then, multiple lunches led to dinners. In time, those dinners led to emotional attachments that wrecked a marriage. I hope this one has created some tension for some of you. It’s one of those issues that can put a chink in the trust wall of your marriage relationship. Add a few other marriage stresses and those tiny chinks can turn into cracks. Cracks are bad. Say “no” to crack.
19. You’ll want to give up on your marriage at times. Don’t let the feeling of wanting to give up on your marriage scare or discourage you. Just because you think “it’s over” doesn’t make it true. When that thought or feeling crops up, you’ll have to push through it. There’s no shortcut. You have to choose to stay it in. (This doesn’t apply to those of you who are being abused or with men who are unfaithful. You need to get somewhere safe and get help. NOW!)
20. There’s a time and place for everything to say everything. If your hubby is way off base on an issue, instead of arguing him down, take a break from the drama. You don’t need to have the last word. Just calmly walk away. A smart guy who values his wife will take his cue from your self-control and seek out your opinion once tempers cool.
21. Don’t compare. Theodore Roosevelt once said that “Comparison is the thief of joy”. Don’t judge your relationship with your husband based on what you think someone else’s relationship with their spouse is like. Check out the Steven Furtick quote. Right?
22. Commitment is the path to the “win.” Our goal should be to win in our marriage. What does the “win” look like? A lifetime of growing, changing and learning from each other about what it means to love unconditionally.
I hope that a few things on this list were helpful for you. If you don’t agree with some of them, I’m okay with that. This is just the stuff I’ve learned over the years. Twenty-two years from now, I’ll have another list. Maybe it will be shorter.
Share your thoughts with me – and share this post if you think that it might bless someone else.
Barb
by Barb Roose | May 28, 2014 | Reflections
photo credit: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000582327361/91aa81bf907abab992a495c605b4c187.png
Lifehacks are strategies or life management techniques. I love lifehacks because they expand the potential of what I am already doing so that I can do life better. So, I thought I would put together my own list of lifehacks. Now, this list won’t make you a millionaire or get you a date Friday night (well, it might…), but these can definitely make a difference in your life today. Enjoy!
1. If a task takes two minutes or less to complete, DO IT NOW.
Each day, we are inundated with dozens of small tasks that add up to lots of headaches. For instance, I didn’t want to get up and take the laundry out of the washer and put it in the dryer. Why not? Because. When I finally took care of the task, I timed it. Guess how long it took? Two minutes. I spent 20 minutes doing other stuff (watching tv) to avoid it.
In many ways, we’re only two minutes away from de-stressing our lives and being more productive. How frustration could you eliminate if you took care of two-minute tasks right now? How many arguments could you avoid? How much money could you save?
So, make the phone call, return the email, pay the bill, schedule the appointment, etc.
DO IT NOW if it takes two minutes or less.
2. Let “It” Go
If you love the song from “Frozen,” please don’t start singing. I won’t be able to hear you and everyone else is over it. Seriously, I’ve only heard the song twice and I’m okay with not hearing it again. But, I do love the message of the song.
Do you realize that the phrase “let it go” is self-explanatory? So, why do we hold onto the things we should let go of?
photo credit: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/vWHwSWkBjnY/maxresdefault.jpg
When we’re holding onto a hope, dream or experience that is holding us back or dragging us down, it’s often because we want to acknowledge the impact that hope, dream or experience on our lives. Failed marriage…lost job… unfilled dream…What we hold onto becomes a trophy or momento that we clutch to our hearts as a symbol of the truth of the event. This is what happened to me or what I hoped for. I’m holding onto it so that myself or others cannot deny it’s importance in my life.
But, that thing we won’t let go is getting old and outdated. We’re like a three-year old clinging to her mangled stuffed dolly. It’s missing an arm and both eyes, but little Becky will scream like a crazy person if you try to take it away. Even if you try to give her something better, little Becky will clamor to hold onto what she knows.
Don’t be like little Becky. Let it go, whatever it is. Friends, something better waits for you, but you’ve got to let go so that you can grab onto what’s in the future, instead of holding onto the past, let “It” Go.
3. Laugh
“Sometimes life gets so difficult that you just need to laugh about it.”
Friends, sometimes life gets so difficult that you HAVE to laugh. Don’t settle for a smile or giggle, do yourself a favor and stalk a gut-busting, howling laugh until you find one. You’re life will be much better for it.
Of course, I also think that Jimmy Fallon is always a great go-to for laughs! photo credit: http://splitsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Tonight-Show-Jimmy-Fallon-Poster-Crop.jpg
Not only does laughter force our bodies to relax, but the act of laughter makes us draw in extra oxygen and clears our mind. When they say laughter is good for you, they mean it! Don’t underestimate the power of laughter to help you cope on tough days.
By the way, my favorite go-to for laughs is watching classic television comedies. My favorite? The episode of “Friends” where Rachel and Monica lose their apartment to Joey and Chandler during the Quiz Bowl Game. What’s Joey’s favorite food? Sandwiches!
(And that quote was from Katy Perry. Don’t judge.)
4. Stop Complaining on Facebook
I just made some of you mad. (Feel free to post about it on Facebook.)
Here’s the thing: People don’t care about your bad day as much has you do. Yes, that’s harsh, but here’s the reason why: Many of your Facebook friends are having a bad day, too. They care about their bad day much more than they care about yours.
Let’s face it, all of our cars break down at inconvenient moments. We all get diarrhea at the wrong times. (Some of us have had those two things happen at the same time, right?) Every toddler pulls an angry all-nighter and we all wish we had more money at some point or another. So, in many ways, we’re all in the same boat.
Friends, it’s okay thing to share the ups and downs about your day or make a specific ask for help, but reconsider posting just to complain or mining for sympathy. (I’m assuming that we all know the difference…)
Here’s why you might reconsider those “Woe-is-me” posts: What your social media “friends” won’t tell you is that they don’t know what to do when they see your Tragedy-Ann status updates or tweets. Your “real” friends will give you a call or text to check on you, but the for the rest of us (aka “Facebook friends”), those posts are straight-up awkward for us. Why? We’re not sure what you want from us. Most of us are decent folk. We care about you and we’ll help if you ask us. Otherwise, your “oh-no-not-again” updates leave us feeling uneasy. Of course that’s TOTALLY NOT your intention, but unfortunately, it’s the result. Yes, you just want to vent about your day. Okay, so, you’ll feel better, but you risk making others feel a bit weird.
What should you do? Great question! If you’re having a bad day, inbox specific friends and tell them what’s up and ask them to pray for you. Then, when the situation resolves itself, share the situation and resolution on Facebook so that people can cheer the answered prayer and/or your perseverance through a tough time.
By the way, it’s perfectly okay to be on Facebook and Twitter and not tell people everything that is going on in your life. You’re not being fake, rather, you’re just being wise.
5. Do Something for Someone Else TODAY
If your life is boring or uninspired, you need to strike out and do something for someone else TODAY! Right now if you have the time! This will totally change your day (and give you something much more interesting to post about other than feeding your cat or telling us you are going to bed.)
One of the reasons that “Random Acts of Kindness” or “Pay-It-Forward” moments catch on is because people have an immediate opportunity to make a difference in simple ways. If you’ve ever been the recipient of a “Random Act of Kindness,” you know how wonderfully surreal it feels to be blessed by someone you don’t know, but appreciate. Now, imagine just how much cooler it is to be the person actually doing the act of kindness.
Some of you NEED to do this today. Why? Because you are drowning in yourself. But, if you want the direction of your life to rocket upward, then you need to start today. Goodness, opportunities are everywhere! Just do something, such as: anonymously pick up someone’s tab at a restaurant (and leave a great tip!), buy someone’s coffee in the car behind you, plant flowers in your neighbors yard, make a meal for your friends and drop it off – the opportunities are nearly endless. But, if you are struggling, here’s a link that you can use for more ideas: http://loveistheword.org/101-random-acts-of-kindness/ (Yes, some of them are a little cheesy, so if you can do better, go for it!)
So, this is my list of lifehacks that you can use today. Tell me what you think. Any other life hacks that should have made my life? Tell me your thoughts!
Thanks for reading (and if you think others might like this post, feel free to share it!)
by Barb Roose | May 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
Welcome back! Here’s Part II of my post-Fabulous Conference follow-up to my “Stand Tall” talk. If you didn’t have a chance to see that talk, you can CLICK HERE to go to the previous post. WARNING: There’s a discussion on tunics that kinda gets away from me. But, we all had a good laugh over it.
Did you happen to see this group of ladies? Now, they were fabulous!
Now, we’re going to talk about GPS verses or God-Positioning Scripture. What are GPS verses? Just like our car or phone GPS can help us navigate unknown territory to get us where we want to go, GPS verses are the verses in the Bible that can help you get back on track whenever you feel lost, weak, weighed down or afraid. Most of us want to avoid running our lives off into a ditch, right? However, there are time when so much is coming at us that we don’t know where to turn. That’s why I like the idea of GPS verses, because applied correctly, I know that God’s Truth will never, ever lead me in the wrong direction.
Finding GPS verses
If you have never selected GPS verses before OR you don’t know much about the Bible, this following section is for you. Lots of people are intimidated by the Bible because they don’t understand it or they don’t know how to use it. However, there are LOTS of resources available to help you understand the Bible and locate GPS verses to help you understand how to strengthen your spiritual roots and grow closer to God.
In the last post, you were asked to think about the places inside of you or situations in your life that are painful, broken, chaotic or fearful. Once you’ve identified those places, then you can begin to search for GPS scripture to help you discover God’s Truth. Remember, STRONG women STAND TALL on God’s Truth!
Example: If you are FEARFUL or ANXIOUS, then you want to look for Bible verses about God’s PEACE.
Youversion.com – This is a FREE Bible app you can download to use on your smartphone or tablet device.
Thanks to websites like Biblegateway.com or the YouVersion, the #1 Bible app in the world, you can do a search for verses on fear, anxiety or peace. Here’s my favorite GPS verse on the topic of anxiety/peace:
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7 (New Living Translation )
This verse has been a powerful “go-to” verse in my life. It provides the framework for how I can manage how I think, feel and act in a way that honors God and gives God space to make me strong. Most importantly, this verse works EVERY SINGLE TIME I use it.
During the conference, I mentioned the GPS verse that provides a framework for my entire life:
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. -Matthew 6:33
This is the verse that I use when considering new opportunities or when circumstances seem so out of control that I don’t know what to do next. By His providence, God allows this verse to invade my thinking and I get to choose to apply it to my life. This verse has gotten me back on track more times than I can rememember!
Using GPS verses to get your life back on track
Now, the verses that I shared above are my verses. These don’t have to be your verses because you’re life and circumstances are different than mine. You are welcome to use them until you find your own. Remember, God’s plan for your life to be built on Him, so you’ll want to locate your GPS verses and apply them to your life.
Here are your practical next steps to finding GPS verses:
1. Pull out your Bible or use your electronic device to locate verses that remind of you God’s Truth or help you nourish areas in your life that are weak or vulnerable. (By the way, if you have a Bible that you can’t understand, then it’s not the right Bible for you. My suggestion is to find a New International Version, New Living Translation or English Standard Version Bible. These translations are all reliable and are easy-to-read and understand. Furthermore, they come with great study aids to help you understand scripture.)
2. Don’t get overwhelmed. There are about 31,000 verses in the Bible. You can use the topical index in the back of a hard copy Bible or the search tool with an online resource. Search for the topics where you need to grow stronger like faith, love, patience, peace, etc.
3. Locate three GPS verses that make you feel uplifted, encouraged and strengthened when you read them.
4. Write them down on an index card or a small piece of paper and keep them posted somewhere that you will see and read them often until you memorize them.
TALK BACK TIME! What are your GPS verses? Would you share them with us? We can encourage each other by sharing verses that help each of us become STRONGER!
