Hope you all had a joyous Christmas. Welcome back to the She Who Honors 5 week challenge! Be the she who honors God with her everything! 
                                      Week 4: She who honors God by forgiving others (and herself).
        I am sure you have seen or heard of movies, tv shows, videos and read books that had revenge in it. A husband who tracks down and kills those who killed his wife. Girls getting back at another girl who disses (disrespects her). A wife who slashes her husbands’ car tires and burns his clothes when he is caught cheating on her. A man who kills his wife when she threatens to leave. Someone gets offended by something that was posted online and they post gossip and untruths to hurt the other person.
      What is missing in these plots or story lines…? No one is quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. (see James 1:19). The characters immediately plot revenge for the offense (sin against them) and don’t forgive the offender. Forgiveness is pardoning an offense. Think of a judge who pardons a criminal from a crime he has committed. Or a debt that doesn’t need repayment.
      Most of these movies, books, tv shows and videos are usually general media, not Christian media. One of the main Christian tenants is forgiveness, a clean slate because of Jesus.
    We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. Romans 3:22-25c NLT
      Let’s think on that for a second. Jesus gave His life for you and me, he took on our sins, offenses, crimes and other dumb things we have done so we can be in the presence of our awesome God. Yet we can get offended at trivial things that someone has said or done and may even hold grudges against that person for life. Or plot our revenge! It sounds really dumb if you think about it.
      Don’t get me wrong I’m not trivializing us getting hurt. It is no fun and can cause some serious heartbreak. However, taking offense and getting revenge is not how God wants us to deal with it. God wants us to forgive others as he has forgiven us. Remember we are made new in Jesus; trivial things should not get us so testy (when we are in the spirit).  
      Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.  Colossians 3:12-15 NLT
      I pray you see the pattern of the challenge – putting God first, keeping our minds on what is pure, true, right, healthy thoughts and emotions etc., bearing the fruits of the Spirit and today forgiveness are all things and characteristics of the Spirit in us. When we go back to our default flesh is when we get offended, angry, an attitude and sometimes a little bit of self-righteousness, too. Stay in the word!! It leads us to the path of righteousness, wisdom and a thriving life.
      Revenge is never a good idea. What does it solve?
         Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
 Dear friends never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
    I will pay them back,”[g]
    says the Lord.” Romans 12:17-19 NLT
      Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. When someone does us wrong forgiveness doesn’t condone what the person did. We give it to God and let him handle it. Remember everyone will have consequences to their choices. When we don’t forgive and hold on to grudges it can actually affect us physically and mentally. We can get illnesses, stress, stomach issues and other ailments from holding on to that offense.
      Most importantly if we don’t forgive others God will not forgive us.
      If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 NLT
      Lastly, I want to speak about forgiving yourself. Please forgive yourself, too. I believe us Christians can be hard on ourselves. We are supposed to be living right and a good role model that when we fall we can beat ourselves up. I know I have done it to myself. But God knows our hearts. If we are truly sorry, confess our sin or sins to God ask forgiveness and repent, which means to be truly sorry and change our ways. Then forgive yourself. He forgives us and wipes the slate clean. He doesn’t bring it up, he doesn’t ruminate on our sin, it is done! We need to remember that when the wrong we did creeps up in our mind or something triggers that memory. Say I’m forgiven when it comes up, put it in the vault and seal it tight. It may take some time, but it will happen.
      Day 4 challenge. If you have been carrying a grudge, hurt, offense and unforgiveness for someone forgive them. You don’t have to tell them you forgive them because some people don’t even realize they offended you and then that can be a whole other issue! Write it down and lay it at the altar. Give it to God. Forgive yourself, too. Let’s start a new slate for everyone, just like God did for us when Jesus died for our sins.
      Thanks for taking the She Who Honors challenge. I pray that you are getting emboldened, enlightened, compelled and educated to be the She Who Honors God with her everything. It is awesome to see how lives are changed when we honor God, trust and obey Him.
Don’t forget to tell everyone about the she who honors 5 day challenge. Comment, like, share and get on the fabulous faith - filled woman list. Dress to profess with the Love Letter Tee Collection. A new collection will be coming soon. Love ya!

     Welcome back to week three of the She Who Honors 5 week challenge. I pray that you were able to realize your thoughts and bring them captive to Christ and let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. (see Romans 12:2). Remember these exercises are for you to do everyday until it becomes a part of your lifestyle.
                                              Week 3: She Who Honors God with her actions
      As a former pastor of mine use to say Buckle up! Warning this topic may sting a little. But I speak the truth in love so we can grow into how God wants us to!
      If someone would look at your social media feed, could they tell you are a Christian?  If you work does your light shine in your workplace? Is your home life in order? Are you bitter and holding grudges? Are you one person on Sunday at church and another during the week?
      Or do you exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self- control? These are the fruits of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
       Remember when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit lives in you!
 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 ESV
 He made us brand new, we are a changed creation!
      A Christian is known by the fruit we bear. Luke 6:43-44 (NIV) says, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” I will say the fruits of the Spirit again: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self – control. These fruits of the Spirit are to help others experience God’s goodness. Some examples of sharing these fruits are through volunteering, serving at church, tithing, giving monetary gifts to legitimate organizations that help those in need, parenting, controlling the things that are said or posted on social media (self – control), doing kind things for other without wanting anything in return, etc.
      In everything set an example by doing what is good. Titus 2:7 NIV
      We are God’s love letter to the world (sound familiar? Hence why I named my Tee’s the Love Letter Collection!). We want people to know Jesus and get the peace and hope that only he gives.  However, if we are living the same lives as them and not bearing the fruits of the Spirit, why should they want to know more about Jesus?
      The Bible is our manual. There is so much wisdom in there about how we are to live and be pleasing to God. The following are some powerful scriptures for instructing and encouraging us to do and live in ways that are pleasing to God.
      As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 1 Thessalonians 4:1 NIV
      For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age Titus 2:11-12 NIV
       And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossian 3:17 NIV
      I recommend reading, writing and meditating on the books of Romans, Colossians, Thessalonians, Galatians and Ephesians for wisdom on kingdom living. Make it part of your daily Bible time. The following picture is what my journal looks like, filled with scripture, prayers, lists, goals, visions and other things of the Kingdom.
      The SWH week 3 challenge is for you to write down the fruits of the spirit. They are found in Galatians 5:22-23. Meditate on them and step back, look at your self and see which fruits you are bearing and those you are not. Pray for guidance and wisdom to help you share fruits with others.
 
     Thank you for reading day 3 of SWH 5 day challenge. All I want for Christmas is for you to share with others about She Who Honors! If you know someone who will benefit from this challenge, a blog post, a tee from the Love Letter Collection, send them to www.SheWhoHonors .com. 
   I pray God's love,grace and peace surround you and yours this Christmas. Merry Christmas! Love ya.

     Hello and welcome back to Be The She Who Honors week 2 of the 5 week challenge. Be the she who honors God with her everything. I hope you were enlightened and blessed with week 1 putting God first. If you haven’t done week one, you can find it here.  
                                          Week 2 She Who Honors God with her thoughts.
     I am sure you have heard of the phrase you are what you eat. When we mostly eat junk and processed food all the time it will reflect in our poor physical health. When we mostly eat fruits, veggies, lean meats – whole foods we should be in good physical health. The same thing applies with what we think. We are what we think! When we think positive healthy thoughts about faith, hope, love, dreams, emotions, God, Jesus, ect that will be reflected in our daily lives. We will be happier, low stressed, have self - control, gentleness, exhibit goodness, (where are those terms from?) be healthier physically, able to deal with stressors or difficulties easier and other positive impacts healthy thinking does.
    When we think on negative or toxic thoughts like hate, jealousy, stressing out, anxiety, worry, fear, etc. these thoughts can have a negative impact on our lives. It can cause physical illnesses, we’ll be unable to handle stressors well, may be prone to addictions and no one will want to be around us (I’m sure you know of someone like this).
     God has created us with the ability to choose. We have control over your thought life. Choose to think healthy thoughts that are pleasing to God. If we think on negative thoughts about ourselves or others we are choosing to live in a direction that is toxic, missing out on why Jesus died for us: an abundant life full of growth, joy,peace and other blessings. 
    Phil 4:8 (NIV) says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This is a good verse to write down and remind us on what to place our thoughts on. When we think on things like the verse says God will put peace in our hearts. Who doesn’t like peace?
     What can make us think on certain things is what we watch or listen to. What shows, or videos are we watching? What type of music do we listen to? Many shows, videos, memes, music and other things out there have negative or dishonoring undertones to them. Be vigilant, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. (see Proverbs 4:23-27). I wrote a post on this topic of guarding our hearts click to read it. 
     Challenge: I want you to think about what you think on. Is it pleasing to God, is it something that you would be ashamed if others find out? Is there a negative pattern there? Is it mostly healthy and positive thoughts? Me mindful of your thinking and thoughts. Watch your thoughts, emotions and reactions. Be aware of what you give control to in your mind. Remeber God has given you the spirit of power. love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Use this gift through our Savior Jesus! Psalm 139 is good to read because it reminds us how God knows our hearts and thoughts. He knows our ways! This Psalm shows how He gives us the ability to choose.
      Thanks for taking this challenge! It’s deep! Please tell your friends, family, neighbors, small group, church, etc. about She Who Honors.  Tell me what you think! I love to read comments. Share. like, follow me! I follow back. Get your Love Letter Tee and rock your faith! 
Love ya!
Christina
Reference: Dr. Caroline Leaf, The Perfect You book. This book is on my recommended  list go here to find this and others.