Les Brown

Beware of the dream-busters who find pleasure in telling you that you can’t have your dream and that you should give up. That is a part of life. There will always be people in your face telling you NO! But do not let anyone turn you around! Keep your mind focused on your goal. There will be seasons where you will fall on hard times and you may wonder if you will be able so survive. The answer is Yes!! You have it like that!

Don’t let nobody turn you around! You have a power in you that can turn rejection into acceptance; powerlessness into strength; and a layoff into a successful business. Don’t let nobody turn you around! This is the time you have to get your hustle on and make things happen because you were born to win. You have GREATNESS within you!

How to Overcome Negative Thinking and Live with Hope

by Joyce Meyer
Do you have hope for your future? Or do you generally expect negative or disappointing things to happen?
I was taught to be negative when I was growing up. I lived in an abusive atmosphere with negative people, alcoholism, fear, ranting and raving… As a result, I developed an attitude that it was better to expect nothing good than to expect it and be disappointed when it didn’t happen.
I often wondered, What’s going to go wrong next?
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized I was living with evil forebodings, which created a vague feeling around me all the time that something bad was going to happen.
Then one day, God spoke to my heart about this. He showed me that I was dreading that something bad was going to happen, but He wanted me to expect good things to happen. Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP) tells us that God’s thoughts and plans for us are “for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.”
God wanted me to say, “Something good is going to happen!”
The truth is, God doesn’t work in us through negative attitudes full of self-pity, laziness, passivity or an “everybody owes me” perspective. God works through faith! But before we can have faith, we have to have hope.

I Became a Prisoner of Hope!

Hope is favorable and confident expectation; it’s an expectant attitude that something good is going to happen and things will work out, no matter what situation we’re facing.
Zechariah 9:12 (AMP) says, “Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.”
I like the phrase “prisoners of hope.” Think about it… If you’re a prisoner, you have no choice about it – you can’t be negative. And when times are tough or you’re dealing with disappointment, hope will cause you to rise up in faith and say, “God, I praise You and I believe You’re working on this situation and working in me. My faith, trust and hope are in You!”
Hope is determined and doesn’t give up. God wants us to be locked up in hope, trusting that He can change what needs to be changed, that we can do what He wants us to do, and that all things are possible with God. If we will be steadfast in our hope, we can’t lose – we have to be winners in life.
When God called me to ministry, it didn’t happen overnight. There were many years of preparation and building up what is now a worldwide ministry. During those years, I wanted to quit many times. But my testimony is, I’m still here! And if you won’t give up, you’ll have victory too.
Human nature is impatient, selfish and wants things quickly. Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?
In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we are going to have tribulation, trials, distress and frustration in this world, but in spite of that, we can be of good cheer and take heart. Why? Because He has overcome the world. And when we live in Him, we become overcomers too!
That’s why Jesus died for us. He came to save us from sin and death and to give us abundant life – now. And I’m determined to have everything Jesus died to give me.
Make a decision to have everything Jesus died to give you. You have to do it on purpose. Be determined to do what God wants you to do and refuse to live with negative expectations. Ask God to help you live in hope and declare by faith, “Something good is going to happen to me!”

Building Your Confidence

by Joyce Meyer

In Acts 27 (AMP), there’s a great story about the apostle Paul. He was travelling by ship with some people when “a violent wind [of the character of a typhoon]…came bursting down from the island” (v. 14). For days they were caught in the storm, and at one point it was so fierce, they were “dangerously tossed about by the violence of the storm” (v. 18) and had to throw the ship’s equipment overboard. They ended up without food, hungry, stranded – seemingly without hope.
In that moment, Paul stood in the midst of the survivors and said to them, “I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you…” (v. 22). He then shared that an angel of God told him this, and said in verse 25, “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me.”
How could Paul, in the middle of a horrible storm, ask the people to “be in good spirits” and have a good attitude? Because he believed in his heart—without a doubt—“that it will be exactly as it was told me.” I love that! It’s a great picture of the power of faith in God when all hope seems lost. And we can have the very same faith that Paul had if we will overcome doubt.
We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through trials and tribulation. That’s why we have the gift of faith. Ephesians 6:16 (NIV) calls it “the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Doubt is a type of “flaming arrow” that the enemy uses to attack our faith.
We usually experience doubt after we’ve made a decision. In James 1:6, the Bible says having doubt is like being tossed about like the wind, which feels like you’re trying to go in two different directions at the same time. And it’s miserable to be torn between two places, not able to decide what you really believe. It’s in those moments we have to choose whether we are going to believe God or the enemy…God or our feelings…God or what people tell us…God or our circumstances…
When doubt comes against us, we have to lift up the shield of faith. We do this when we open our mouth and say what God’s Word says, rather than grumbling and complaining about the problem. Our faith is released as we say, pray and do the Word. So in those times, open your mouth and say, “I believe that everything God has told me will come to pass!”
Maybe you’re doubting whether you can hear God’s voice or not. This happens because we usually doubt ourselves more than we doubt God. Now I’m not talking about actually hearing a voice; I’m talking about that knowing we have inside our hearts about what is right or wrong. That’s the still, small voice of God. Believers in Jesus Christ all have it, but many don’t have the confidence to trust it.
The Bible says in James 1:5 that when we need wisdom, we can go to God, ask Him for it, and He will give it to us “liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding” (AMP). What this means is that even with our imperfections, God will be faithful to us and give us what we need if we will ask Him for help. He loves us, blesses us and uses us in spite of us, because He is faithful! And we never have to doubt that.
I’ve learned through my own relationship with God that He’s not expecting me to be perfect; He wants me to do my best to be in His will and take steps of faith as He leads me, through His Word and the promptings He speaks to my heart. Remember, He wants us to put our confidence in Him. God really does want to speak to you personally and lead you in His great plan for your life. So don’t be afraid to step out and do what’s in your heart. If you make a mistake, you’ll learn from it and go on. That’s how we “step out and find out.” And we all have to do it.
I want to encourage you to begin making confessions every day that will help you grow in your faith and confidence in God. We need to make declarations like, “God loves me. He wants to speak to my heart. I can hear from God. He is faithful to me and will lead me in His will for my life. And I believe it will be exactly as God has told me!” By God’s grace, we can be bold in faith and overcome every attack of doubt during the storms of life.

You Have What It Takes To Do It Afraid

by Joyce Meyer

Fear is an enemy that torments the soul and seeks to steal our life. Conquering it is not something that we do in one day, or even in 1,000 days. It is something that we conquer one day at a time with God’s help. I still confront and deal with fears that try to make me think I need to do more, or try harder, or be nicer. Fear can show up unexpectedly. One of our goals should be to recognize it so we can deal with it right away.
Recently, I was waking up at about 2 or 3 in the morning and then having difficulty going back to sleep. After two nights of that, I found myself going to bed with a vague sort of fear that it would happen again, and sure enough it did. After about three nights of the same thing, God reminded me that I could pray and resist Satan, the source of all fear. According to God’s Word, the sleep of the righteous should be sweet (see Proverbs 3:24). I prayed immediately and went back to sleep and have not had any problems since then.

If you have difficulty thinking about resisting Satan, let me remind you that Jesus did it. We have His power and authority over the enemy, but authority is useless if it is not exercised.
Being free from fear doesn’t mean that we will never experience it or be confronted by it. It means that we are committed to not allowing it to rule our lives, and when necessary we will do what we need to do, even if we have to do it afraid.
Each fear you confront becomes a small victory and prepares you to face the next one. Each time you feel fear and decide to “do it afraid,” you will enjoy your new freedom so much that you will soon be totally unwilling to do without it. You will become determined to end your days of slavery to fear. That does not mean that you won’t still need to confront your fears, but it does mean that you will be more and more willing to keep confronting them.

When You Fall, Get Up and Keep Going!

The Bible says that the righteous man falls seven times and gets up again (see Proverbs 24:16). I love that scripture and I am greatly encouraged by it. Even the most righteous person fails to do everything he knows to do all the time, but he is committed to not giving up.
Even if you have a weak moment, that doesn’t mean you have lost your victory. If we give up, even God can’t help us because we receive His help through faith, not through hopelessness. We need to stay positive, hopeful and filled with faith, and when we do we can overcome anything with God’s help. I often say that anyone can succeed if they refuse to give up!
Some fears are more deeply rooted in us than other ones are, and for that reason they may be ones we will need to be more aggressive against. Mine is the fear of making people angry. My father was always angry, and I never really knew if I had done something to make him that way or not. I would like to be able to say that after all of these years of teaching others, I no longer have to deal with this one fear, but that’s not the case. However, the good news is now I recognize it and I deal with it, so I still have the victory.
Being able to recognize the lies, deceits and strategies of the devil is so important. We should always be ready to resist him at the onset of his attacks. The longer we let a fear remain, the more difficult it is to get rid of. So make a decision to be a person of action. You have what it takes to win!

Armed and Dangerous

The Word of God says that we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37). You are armed with the truth of God’s Word, and you are dangerous to the devil as long as you keep lifting up the shield of faith and actively applying the truth that you now have. We have what it takes, but must be active and never give up!
Don’t be impatient! Possessing the full freedom that is yours in Christ is a journey. It is something we gain and then need to maintain. Always enjoy your progress instead of merely looking at how far you have to go. Today is a new day, and every day you can be one step closer to conquering your fears!

Speak Positively

Speak Positively

by Joyce Meyer - posted October 27, 2014

Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.
—Psalm 51:6
Focus on speaking words in faith today; keep your confession truthful but positive. Don't deny the existence of your circumstances, but confess what God's Word has to say about your situation.
For example, if you are sneezing, coughing, and finding it difficult to breathe, it isn't truthful to say you aren't sick. But you can learn to present a negative situation in a positive way. You can say, "I believe.”

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How I Accidentally Delayed My Emotional Healing After Grief

How I Accidentally Delayed My Emotional Healing After Grief

Karen Salmansohn | October 24, 2014 | Living

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I learned a valuable happiness lesson thanks to a near-death experience on a moped in Mykonos. This collision of inspiration happened about twenty years ago, on vacation with my two good friends, Robyn and Art. We’d each rented mopeds to travel to a distant beach. Robyn and Art were nervous about their moped skills. I was not.
Back in New York, where I lived (and happily still do live – thanks to a miracle of sorts!) I was an avid cyclist. As soon as I slipped my toosh onto that moped seat, I felt just as home traveling the winding hills of Greece, as I did on my Trek bike in Central Park.
Robyn and Art however were more trepid riders. They preferred to go snail-pace slowly. The path we were on was highly winding – like the top of a soft serve ice cream cone – swirling round and round. The beach where we wanted to go was located where the bottom of the cone would be.
For a while I moved at the same slow and steady pace as my friends. Eventually I decided to speed ahead – just for a few minutes – to feel the wind muss up my hair. I was in the midst of my speed-ahead-jaunt, when suddenly the wind morphed from friendly and breezy into mean and mischievous. It brutally swept in, and began thrusting me to my right, where an incredibly steep cliff awaited.
I needed to make a split second decision:
(a) continue to head right and off that steep cliff
(b) try to turn the moped left and smoosh into a mountain side
I chose mountain side.
I tapped into all my upper arm strength and swerved the moped towards the mountain wall. Just as I was about to hit smack into the wall, I put all my might into swerving the moped again, this time, as far away from the mountain wall as I could muscle going.
It worked.
Sort of.
I didn’t hit the mountain wall, however, I did find my various arms and legs trapped beneath and within the moped.

My first immediate emotion was not pain. It was fear of embarrassment. I didn’t want my friends to see me entangled and disgraced.

I quickly stood up and began wiping off evidence of the loose gravel now clinging to my arms and legs. I breathed in deeply and breathed out even more deeply. I was hoping to calm myself fast. I wanted to appear cool and collected by the time my friends arrived.
It didn’t work.
Not even sort of.
“Karen, what happened to you?” my friend Art asked the moment he saw me.
“You’re gushing blood,” my friend Robyn added. “Look at your arms! Look at your knees! There’s blood everywhere.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked in disbelief. “I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay.”
“You’re not okay,” insisted Art.
But I truly did not see or feel my injuries.
“Yes I am okay,” I insisted. “I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay.”
Robyn came over, held up my right arm for me to examine more carefully. “Karen, this elbow in particular is bleeding a lot. See?”
It took a while, but eventually I could clearly see my bloody injuries. As soon as I did,  I began feeling them too. Incredible pain. I became dizzy. I could barely talk.
Admittedly, I preferred to have never seen or felt the truth of my wounds. So much so, I still kept insisting to my friends I was okay, although I was now throbbing all over with pain. I refused to see a doctor, and stoically got back on that cursed moped (yikes!) and continued to the beach where I proceeded to drink lots of Ouzo! At the time, I was highly proud of my inner strength.
Thankfully since this Mykonos Episode, I haven’t experienced other near death experiences at least in the physical sense.
However, I have had a few “emotional-near-death-experiences” where I felt like my life had come to an end.
During these tough times, I wanted to be strong, which is good.
However I wanted to feel strong immediately, which is problematic.
“How are you doing?” friends would ask during big time break ups, post-sexual-assault, the death of my father, the shock of business betrayals and other challenging events.
“I’m okay!” I’d answer. “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay.”

Just like on that mountain in Mykonos, I’d plead okay-ness. For some reason, I felt that it was not okay to be not okay.

I didn’t want my friends to see my spirit entangled within the wheels of life’s challenges. I didn’t want my friends to potentially judge my foolishness in having crashed my heart into that giant wall of shame called “What Were You Thinking?”
Some of this was due to the belief that as a self help author I should be held to a higher standard of pain avoidance and pain threshold. Although truth be told, I’ve always felt more comfy as helper than helpee. All my life my immediate response to emotional pain has been to make jokes. Lots of jokes. Plus I’d eat chocolate. Far too much chocolate. One of my go-to jokes was saying how I believed “chocolate” was one of the five stages of grief.

I’d joke so much about my gut-wrenching pain that I came up with a word for this: “enterpaining.” Ohhhh how I loved to “enterpain” people!

I even made dark-humored jokes after my sexual assault, quipping how I was extra surprised by the event because didn’t think I was wearing such an attractive outfit that day! Plus, my bellows humor came into big time play after a devastating break up. “It seems my fiance went from jackpot to jack*ss,” was a favorite joke at the time.
I’d do whatever I could to put my tragedy into a quick spin-cycle of humor and try to re-tell it all as a comedic story, laughing my canned, highly hollow laugh-track of one.
I thought I was covering up my pain in a nice pretty party-friendly dress of “enterpainment,” but alas, this cover-up seemed to be slightly see-through.
“Are you okay?” friends would continue to ask, holding my gaze, searching for tear precipitation ahead.
“I’m okay,” I’d insist. “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay – OKAY?!”
But I was far from okay.
Sometimes when I was alone I could feel a surge of uncontrollable tears about to surface. I’d run to the kitchen, gobble down some chocolate, then set my oven alarm to go off in five minutes. I’d return to the living room, throw myself onto my sofa and cry, cry, cry, cry, cry until that oven alarm went off five minutes later. I’d then command my tears to stop. True story! I was even afraid to reveal my vulnerability alone to myself!

I was anorexic in my approach to indulging in tears, miserly in my vulnerability allowance. I thought I was healing faster, smarter, better.

Unfortunately my personally plotted pain avoidance tools of humor, chocolate and oven timers were not much faster, smarter or better than those more famous strategies of alcohol, drugs, shopping, sex, gambling, sleeping pills, overly-busying yourself with work, etc.
All of these techniques share in common the same mission: A hope that denial will remove our pain. But meanwhile it simply delays our healing process because we’re not tending to our emotional wounds with the appropriate salves of awareness, compassion and honest connections with others.
Share honest connection with others? That last one was a real doozy to do.
I feared vulnerability more than my actual emotional pain itself!
I worried if I showed people this slightly-damaged Karen they’d demand an immediate exchange, request to swap this Imperfect  Me in for The Original-Flavored Karen they’d ordered, the strong, “enterpaining,” light and bouncy Karen.
But then one day I was working out at the gym and I was unable to do a variety of free weight maneuvers due to old injuries to my elbow from my Mykonos moped collision. I could feel and even hear an uncomfortable clicking sound. Soon after my elbow began to bug me regularly – getting dressed, doing yoga, carrying anything heavy.
I thought back to the accident and how I’d stoically refused to confess my pain and see a doctor.  It was now obvious. Because I never faced the truth of my wounds I didn’t wisely take the time to re-set what was apparently a fractured elbow, thereby some bones had permanently settled into misalignment.

In that moment I experienced a Large Aha! I realized how pleading “okayness” was not only detrimental to my physical healing, but my emotional healing!

By insisting “okayness” during personal challenges (break ups, my sexual assault, my father’s passing, that shocking business betrayal etc…) I was not tending properly to the healing of my inner self.
I started to do some research on resiliency psychology. The info I discovered not only personally helped me, the tools inspired both the Bounce Back Book and Prince Harming Syndrome. One consistent finding:

There’s a kind of magic which happens when you speak your truth about pain. @Notsalmon
(Click to Tweet!)

A science-based magic, actually!
Recent research by Matthew Lieberman at UCLA shows that simply being able to name a distressing emotion out loud halves your “amygdala activation”otherwise known as your “emotionality.” So, by simply sharing how you feel you can calm yourself by 50%.
Plus,  many research studies support how when you begin talking about your emotions, you leave the “fight and flight” animal instinct part of your brain and begin to tap into your neocortex where rational thinking and helpful insights can be found. I call this “adding insight to injury” and it’s a powerful healing agent.
Insight enables you make sure you don’t allow negative beliefs to get permanently set in your thinking, just the same way you wouldn’t want fractured bones to be permanently set into place.
It’s so essential to happiness to speak your truth out loud because this sharing of your core pain is what creates a necessary healing shift, from negative beliefs about the world to positive beliefs, and frees you up to be able to fully view life with meaning, purpose and connection with others. Emile Zola said it well when he said: “If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.”
My son Ari is now 4 years old. When he’s upset about something he likes to kick and punch whoever is nearest to him – which is often me. I tell him: “Don’t kick me – say how you feel! Use your words! Use your words!”
As soon my son begins to express how he feels, the kicks and punches stop. His body becomes less tense, his breathing less rapid. I suppose brain scientists would say it’s because my son is leaving his “fight or flight” brain zone (which is what inspired those kicks and punches in the first place), and tapping into his neocortex, allowing him to formulate his mayhem thoughts into relatable feelings and sentences.
Whatever the scientific reason for my son’s shift from chaotic to calm, I’ve witnessed the magic which happens when my my son takes the time to share his truth out loud.
Here’s another interesting research study on the power of speaking your truth from Dr. Dina Carbonell of Simmons College. Dr. Carbonell tracked 400 people from ages five to thirty for twenty-five years seeking the main characteristics of those who did best in difficult circumstances.
Her most important finding?
“Resilient people identify those who are available, trustworthy and helpful. Then they go toward this light.”
I know for many years I didn’t feel safe going towards this light – fearing it would burn me. I hid behind the mask of “okay-ness” blocking this nourishing light from coming in.

Truth be told – I wasn’t sure who to trust with knowing my big secret: I am not perfect!

Yes, for many years I felt I needed to hide my flaws and vulnerabilities, fearful people would like me less if I didn’t keep presenting myself as more!
One day I made a list of my friends then got quiet. I asked myself: Who is 100% rooting for me to live my happiest life not competing or jealous? Who do I always feel happier after visiting not more stressed or depressed? I recognized these were my “Safe People.” I began revealing the truth of my pain, slowly at first, with those on the “The Safe List.”
Some people I soon discovered weren’t as safe as I thought. I could feel their discomfort around my imperfect self. However, with other friends I wound up developing far stronger relationships! Indeed, one of the indirectly good things about bad times: It can bring you closer to people, because sharing intimate conversation bonds you in a far deeper, more meaningful way than mere shoe shopping will ever do.
The people to truly treasure in life are those who have seen you at your worst and still think you are the best. The folks who are happy for your happiness, and sad for your sadness, and make it crystal clear they are there for you no matter what.

I’ve also happily discovered that when your friendship circle decreases in number it’s actually increasing in value!

In my research for Bounce Back Book, I wrote about the five real stages of grief, which Elizabeth Kübler-Ross famously outlined. Although Elizabeth does not include chocolate, she does call the first stage “Denial and Isolation” which indirectly refers to pigging out!

Here’s the full 5 Stages Of Grief:

STAGE #1: DENIAL AND ISOLATION - “This is not happening to me.”
STAGE #2: ANGER - “How dare this happen to me.”
STAGE #3: BARGAINING - “Just let me get X and I won’t care about Y,” or “If this doesn’t happen, I promise to . . .”
STAGE #4: DEPRESSION - “I can’t bear to face going through this.”
STAGE #5: ACCEPTANCE - “I’m ready; I don’t want to struggle anymore.”
When I look with new eyes at these five stages I can clearly see how pleading okay-ness showed a complete disregard for accepting the full five stages of the healing process. I wanted to zoom from stage one to stage five in an instant. However just as pregnancy is a process which cannot be rushed, the same goes for the process of recovery from pain, both the physical and emotional kinds. You must fearlessly face up to the truth of your wounds to heal fully. You must give time time and be patient and gentle with yourself.
It’s interesting this word “fearless.” It’s composed of “fear” and “less. But when you are “fearless” it doesn’t mean you experience less fear. Indeed courageous people feel just as much fear. It’s just that they choose to keep moving through their fear.  In a way this word “fearless” should be renamed “fearthrough.”
If you’re dealing with a personal challenge right now, and tempted to stay in denial and isolation, my hope for you is that you move through your pain! Please allow yourself to be “fearthrough” and face up to the truth of your core pain, not only while alone with yourself, but in the company of Safe Friends.
As I repeatedly remind my son – and now myself: “Say how you feel! Use your words! Use your words!”

LOVE & HATE

Love & Hate

Terri Cole | October 24, 2014 | Living, Loving

It’s a thin line between LOVE and HATE ~ Poindexter Brothers 
Have you ever noticed that the person you love the most can also enrage you the most?

Love and hate are two of the most intense emotional states humans can experience.

Although they seem diametrically opposed, in reality they have much in common. Love and hate can be seemingly irrational and can lead to heroic and some pretty diabolical deeds. Both can also be all consuming. You probably know (or are related to) a couple who hate each other with such a passion that their divorce proceedings dragged on for years. They poured as much energy or more into their now defunct relationship as they did when still coupled which keeps them fiercely connected to each other.
The thin line between these two emotions is not just observable in a social context. According to a recent scientific study, love and hate are intimately linked within the human brain. While studying the physical nature of hate, the scientists discovered that some of the nervous circuits in the brain responsible for hate are the same as those that are used while experiencing the feeling of romantic love. This study creates a new understanding of the quick flip from love to hate after a heartbreak, for many people.

HATE is binding. RELEASE Yourself. @Terri_Cole (Click to Tweet!)

So why is it important to handle your emotions so you don’t waste the rest of your life re-telling the atrocious story of so and so? Because when you can’t stop hating on your Ex, you are not emotionally separated from them. Unconsciously, hating maintains the connection, sometimes referred to as a negative energetic cord. Properly honoring and processing the experience may feel too threatening, as if doing so means it is really over. But not doing it keeps you stuck in love purgatory; you can’t have them and you are unavailable to explore possibilities with other suitors.
When a relationship ends there is an emotional healing process that needs to take place. Getting through and then over a breakup is painful and requires grieving what it actually was AND what you hoped it would be. Even if you know you are better off, you will feel the absence of the other. For many people, the prospect of facing the void left by a partner is too frightening so they unconsciously use hate as a way to stay connected and not move on.
Being alone can be a scary prospect, especially if it is a long term relationship that is ending. But being in a bad, abusive or simply not right for you relationship until the end of time because you are afraid to be alone, is scarier still. (According to moi.)

In my experience in my own life, and with clients, time and love can heal all wounds.

You decide what your take away is from the relationship. There are gems of self illumination in every experience but if you are intent on keeping the blame game going by harbouring hate for your ex, you will never learn what you were meant to learn from the experience. You can’t be a victim and self determined at the same time. Self determination will liberate you.
If you are going through or have gone through a breakup that still weighs heavy on your heart I encourage you do so some exploration. Focus on the bad AND the good. What went right; what went wrong? Where can YOU do better next time. Get curious about how your ‘hate’ may be serving you. Most importantly identify and honor your feelings.
Drop a comment or question below, have a great week and remember to take care of you.
Love Love Love
Terri

JOYCE MEYER

Joyce Meyer Ministries

Sometimes we go through things in life where it's completely understandable to be angry…something like abuse. If you've gone through this, we want you to know that God wants to heal & restore you completely. Check out this helpful article and video teaching from Joyce on her journey to healing from abuse http://jmm.co/1rNH0jH

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Too often, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, doing the same thing the same way over and over every day. But if we are going to live at our absolute best, we should constantly be growing and sharpening our skills. We should strive to learn and grow every single day because when we stop learning, we stop growing. When we stop growing, we stop living.
What are you doing to stretch yourself? What are you doing to improve your skills? Don’t get trapped into thinking that “good enough” is good enough. You were created for more than just average. Today is a new day, and there are new heights for you to climb. Pursue what you love and keep developing that area of your life. Take a class or find a mentor that will help you live skillfully. As scripture promises, you’ll go before leaders and rulers and excel in every area of life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, today I resist mediocrity. I choose to give my very best to everything I do. Teach me to live skillfully so that my life is a continual praise to You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Osteen