*Cultivate Your Life

Transformation is on-going and messy. You have to get your gloves on and work at it. You have to dig and cultivate change and navigate the worms and the dirt. You can’t just ask God to transform you and magically it is done. He will do His part…but you have to do YOURS!

Don't be someone who believes in Jesus, yet isn't staying close enough to Him to grow. Root yourself in good spiritual soil so you can grow to become the person God intends you to be.

Allow yourself be cultivated and broken. Be willing to dig deep and let God's truth take root in you. By confessing your sins and turning away from them, you invite God to cultivate your soul so faith can grow there. Don't be afraid of the dirt!

Remember God's promises that He will use all situations - even the worst circumstances - to accomplish good purposes in your life if you trust Him. When you encounter suffering, open yourself up to receive God's love in the midst of it, and invite God to use it to the fullest to help you grow.

Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.…Psalms 37:3-4

You are Graciously Adorned

❤ Jonna

*The Baader-Meinhoff Phenomenon

The frequency illusion or the Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon is the phenomenon in which those who  just learn or notice something start seeing and hearing about it every where they go.

This happened to Don when he bought his first truck. It was a beautiful Ford F-150 chestnut brown King Ranch pickup that had beautiful saddle seats. He was so excited that he had this unique vehicle that he had never seen before and was just thrilled with it. On the way home from the dealership we were so surprised to see another King Ranch truck on the road. The next day we saw another. Unfortunately we began to see them EVERYWHERE. Don's very "unique" truck turned into something that everyone else had!

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is truly just a normal thing. Selective attention is when your brain reacts to certain ideas, words, and things. After seeing these things, confirmation bias kicks in - where you interpret these sightings and actually look or listen for them so you think you are seeing more of it. 

When we put on our mind daily on Jesus it will surprise you how much you see Him in your daily life when you didn't see it before. Now that every moment is on Him you will experience life in such a new and fresh way. Keep a daily commitment of on-going prayer as you go about the mundane; somewhat like a mix tape playing in the background. You will truly be amazed by all the wonderful "phenomenons" that take place when you keep your mind on HIM. 

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.  Isaiah 26:3

You are Graciously Adorned
❤ Jonna

Show Some Teeth

 “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalms 126:2

How encouraging it is to remember and know that it is God who does great things for us!? We should celebrate in the the fact that God will fill us with laughter and our tongues with joy. He always has our best interests in mind, and He is looking for ways to bless and inspire us in our daily lives. 

It is so much easier to face challenges when we are filled with hope and laughter. Hope and laughter come when we put our trust and our faith in Christ. So just give all your worry and cares to Him and sit back and smile. So remember that life is short so smile while you still have teeth! 

You are Graciously Adorned

❤ Jonna

Believe in YourSELF

It's about time you realized who you are and stop doubting it....a child of the King with all the gifts, talents and abilities already inside of you just waiting to be activated! Why is it that you doubt so much? You doubt the words that are in your heart, you talk down the words that you speak, you criticize who you see in the mirror and you worry if you did the right thing or made the right choices to a fault! Why do you keep forgetting? I know it isn't dementia but it is so much like that! SHAKE it off daughter of the King! It is time that you adjusted your crown and rise up from the mess that you are sitting in. You ARE more than enough! You HAVE everything you need to be EXACTLY what God has called you to be. STOP thinking about YOURSELF all the time...it isn't all about YOU. It is about the GOD that resides IN YOU! WITH HIM there are NO boundaries and there is nothing that you cannot do. Time to wake up from the slumber and wipe that sleep out of your eyes and start walking as the ambassador of Christ that you are. He is waiting for you....patiently..... for you to take your place. 

“The King’s daughter is all glorious within” Psalm 45:13

“Fear not, I have called you by your name. You are Mine,” Isaiah 43:1

 “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”      Romans 8:16-17 

As a King’s daughter, everything Jesus has is yours. Everything Jesus is, you are. “As [Jesus] is, so are we in this world” 1 John 4:17 

You are Graciously Adorned
❤ Jonna

*Look Up

Have you noticed that everywhere you go...people are looking down. At the mall, in the restaurants, at movies, at ballgames, while watching tv and even at church...people have their eyes glued to their phones! It is amazing to see. Sometimes I will be intentional and put my phone up and sit back while eating dinner with my family and see how long it takes for anyone to notice. 

When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!" Luke 21:28

I believe that as Christians we need to be alert. We need to be the one with our heads up and ready for opportunities that God is going to lead us to. If we are so focused on ourselves and what is going on in our little box then we will miss out on opportunities.

So we need to be unlike the world and look up because you just might be the "help" that someone is needing.

You are Graciously Adorned
❤ Jonna

Exercise Peace

Peace: My word for 2017. I have found out though that God isn't just going to "give" me peace but I am
going to have to exercise my "Peace Muscles" so that I become stronger and more intentional in that area. I hate exercise just as much as the next person. I even know how to be healthy and I know what to do to look and to feel better. BUT what I know and what I do are two TOTALLY different things!

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Phillipians 4:6-7

Regular exercise is necessary for physical fitness and good health. It reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases; and most importantly it can improve your appearance and delay the aging process. Okay....i know...who wouldn't want to do that?

Well...it takes commitment and self-sacrifice to do it! Who likes to sweat, who likes pain and who in the world wants to get up early in the morning just to exercise?? Apparently NOT me!

What I have found out in life is that anything great takes hard work and sacrifice...and sweat! Just like having peace in your life. It doesn't come free and it doesn't come easy. It takes being intentional everyday to not let "things" in the news and things in your everyday life steal your joy and in turn destroy your peace.

What is peace?

Peace defined is: Having enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. Being "at peace" is considered by many to be healthy homeostasis and the opposite of being stressed or anxious. Peace of mind is generally associated with bliss and happiness.

John 14:27 (AMP), Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you: My [own] peace I now give…to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]”

Now, there’s a "worldly peace" that we experience when everything is going our way. It is fleeting; but the peace Jesus gives is a totally different quality of peace. It’s a peace that passes ALL understanding; it makes us peaceful when all natural reasoning says we should be upset and freaking out! It causes people to look at you and say, "Are you crazy? You should be up there screaming and yelling and giving them a piece of your mind!" But instead you have this feeling and this contentment that God is going to work it out for you in a way that you never could have ever thought!

I have learned that when I focus on Jesus from the moment my eyes open to the point that I am laying my head on my pillow; my days are so much better! Being intentional and taking the time to consciously make the effort for peace is very rewarding!  You have to lay everything at His feet...all feelings, concerns, doubts, problems and most certainly the things that you have been trying to do on your own! We all want to be a healthy Christians and we all want to live this life happy and carefree...I am not talking about being oblivious but focused on THE Prince of Peace...He is the one that can make you smile when all hell is breaking loose and can also put a dance in your step when in your mind you feel like you cannot take another step!

 Peace He has freely GIVEN to us...so freely TAKE it today! 

Adjust That Crown!

Jonna