*CHOOSE

Decisions are like getting on a bus. I have gotten lost before and got on the wrong bus in a strange city. It looked right, it had a lot of people on it, it felt right but it got me to wrong place. I had good intentions, I wasn’t a bad person but I took the wrong bus. I learned that day that you can’t get to the right place by getting on the wrong bus. You cannot reach your destiny by making wrong decisions. You end up where your decisions take you, and often times that is not where you want to be. You can control where you end up and it is based on what decisions you make. Don’t CHOOSE the things that are easy, CHOOSE the things that get you to where you need to go.

“…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore CHOOSE life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days…”                  Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a.

If someone offends or hurts your feelings here is one way that you can deal with it:

• CHOOSE to tell people all about it.
• CHOOSE to join my sympathizers as they also begin to think less of my offender
• CHOOSE to join my now gang of sympathizers in speaking negatively about my offender.
• CHOOSE to join my sympathizers as I go in all-out victim mode in telling others about the offense; further spreading the negativity.
• CHOOSE to cause others to sin by creating division in relationships.
• CHOOSE to make myself and others upset and angry by re-hashing the details of the offense over and over and over again with no resolve.
• CHOOSE to directly, knowingly and willfully disobey God's Word by reacting according to the flesh rather than submitting to the spirit.
• CHOOSE to directly, knowingly and willfully assist and empower others to disobey God's Word as well.

If someone offends or hurts your feelings this is the real way you should deal with it:

• CHOOSE to go directly to God in prayer. This is using action instead of reaction.
• CHOOSE to listen while He gives me this better perspective called truth. My enemy is not of flesh and blood but of principalities and powers of darkness in high places. 
• CHOOSE to feel peace. The need to vent and tell others is gone! 
• CHOOSE to go to this person quickly if I have any lingering issues and go in humble submission wanting resolve and with a forgiving spirit.
• CHOOSE to honor God by valuing unity over the very temporary pleasure of gossiping and attention-getting.
• CHOOSE to give mercy and grace with the same abundance that God gives mercy and grace.
• CHOOSE to value my neighbor and love them as myself. I will guard my heart from any bitterness or resentment.
• CHOOSE to live by the standards set forth in the Bible as a way of life.

Additionally:

• CHOOSE to love.
• CHOOSE to speak life into my circumstances.
• CHOOSE to not wear my feelings on my sleeve and to let the little things go.
• CHOOSE to live my life with a forgiving heart.
• CHOOSE to be a light to others by how I live and by every word that comes out of my mouth.
• CHOOSE to have a mind of Christ.
• CHOOSE to live everyday equipped with the Armor of God
• CHOOSE to love people more than myself.
• CHOOSE to see the best in people and not the worst
• CHOOSE to see the positive in every situation
• CHOOSE the best life for me and my family
• CHOOSE to be happy and free
• CHOOSE to be open and honest
• CHOOSE to have the heart of God
• CHOOSE to live the way that God intended me to live. 

Your choices determine how your day goes, what situations you find yourself in, if you have a smile on your face or not and ultimately where you spend eternity. How will you CHOOSE?

Adjust that Crown 

Jonna

*You are Worth it!

"The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46

Every time I hear this parable I think of  how a pearl is born. When a foreign speck of sand enters the environment of the shell the oyster builds up defensive layers to protect itself.  Layer upon layer of this coating, called 'nacre', is deposited until a lustrous pearl is formed. It can take anywhere from one year to 3 years for a pearl to be formed. The longer the pearl is in the oyster the more valuable it can be. It is amazing that something so expensive can be found in the rough and unsightly mollusk or oyster shell!

We are the pearl of great value. Just think about it. Jesus bore our sin and wrapped it all up in Him and layered us in His righteousness and that in itself makes us worthy and priceless! So when the scripture says, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant..." I like to think that we are so valuable to Him that He searches to and fro longing for the thing that He would give up everything for. God's very own son was given up for YOU and for ME so that we can be bought, purchased and our sins paid in full. Now that my friends is something of great value and you are WORTH IT!

You are Graciously Adorned

❤Jonna

*Afresh

There is nothing like the smell of coffee in the morning. Your up but your eyes aren't really open to
the world yet. You turn on the coffee pot and the sound and the smells just make you smile. It is a fresh smell of a new day that has all kinds of new possibilities.

Every day we start afresh with new mercies and new levels of grace. It is so awesome that nothing is "piled up" on us from yesterday. He makes all things new. He is so faithful and as Christians we have the promise of abundant love and resources that should make our eyes open up wide with expectancy.

We do though have the responsibility to keep our relationship with God and others fresh. So that we can truly live the life that God intended that is filled with all kinds of wonderful things. One of the ways you can ensure this is to make sure you start your days right in the Bible and talking to your Savior. You should also end your day meditating on what has happened and where God fit in. You also need to evaluate your interactions with people and your motives because that is the perfect opportunity to ask for forgiveness and give it to God. Then you can go to sleep with a smile because your heart is right with the World and most importantly with God. 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.       Lamentations 3:22-23
  

Adjust That Crown

Jonna

*The Secret Sauce

Every good restaurant has some kind of secret ingredient that sets them apart from all the rest. It is in that unique taste or that special herb that will cause people coming back for more! I had bought a Copy Cat recipe book years ago that mimicked recipes from famous restaurants. I wish that I could say that when I cooked from it that it tasted just liked at the restaurant....it did not. The author of the book actually had not gotten the recipes but was trying to copy it and make it taste as close as he could to the real thing.

There is nothing like the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can try to live without it but we will be missing out on so much and be left wanting and yearning for more. Jesus did not die on the cross just for us to go to Heaven and live forever more. He was making a way for us to live here on Earth and do it in a supernatural and victorious way. He wanted us to live filled with His presence and His power, just as He did...and He sent us the Holy Spirit to do just that.

In the Old Testament priests of the temple were consecrated; set apart for a higher purpose, by the pouring of oil. It was the anointing of oil that was poured all over them starting at their head and running down their clothes that consecrated them. (Lev 8:12). The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is just like the oil that was poured out over Aaron’s head in Leviticus, only we aren’t sanctified externally, we are changed internally. It is the higher calling of our relationship with God, from knowing about Him to knowing Him intimately.

When we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are actually filled with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. He is the power that changes everything. He is the blessing of God on our lives, making us holy before Him and He is the fragrant presence that sets us apart for His purposes.

The anointing from God is your secret sauce; it will bless your efforts and make them more than you could ever make them. If you have a heart sensitive to being led by God, that anointing will lead you to the steps you need to fulfill your destiny while here on this Earth. The only difference is this secret that we possess needs to be shared and slathered on everyone and every situation you encounter.

Adjust That Crown!

Jonna