The first step is never easy.

The first step is never easy.

The beginnings to good things are always the hardest, but it’s these hard times that pave the path to greatness.  Be strong and keep the faith.  It will be worth it in the end.  The greatest miracle of your success in life will not be that you finished, it will be that you found the strength and courage to begin.

And remember, it’s not that those who are strong never get weak in the knees, or that they never hold their breath before they embark…  It’s that while their knees are shaking, they force themselves to breathe and take the first step.

From Marc&Angel's 10 Harsh Realities that Help You Grow

SaraHHouse365 | 12 Things Successful People do Differently: #6 & #7

SaraHHouse365 | Only Place SUCCESS comes before WORK is the...

The Fruit of the Spirit is....

Galatians 5:22

Credits A Great Impression

10 Bible Verses About Humility

Scriptures on Being Humble

Being humble is an important aspect of the Christian faith. We rely on God for our strength and should give him all of the glory. Pride can be a sin that many Christians struggle with. Read through these ten Bible verses about humility slowly so they can sink in. Pray to God that he will keep you humble and ask for forgiveness for any prideful struggles you have had. Feel free to use these Bible verses for a devotional or Bible study on humbleness. Please add any other Bible Verses about humility to the comments of this article so this may be an even better resource to those that find it.

10 Bible Verses About Humility

Humility before Honor
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

Grace is given to the Humble
1 Peter 5:5-6
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

God Opposes the Proud
James 4:6
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Humbleness and Prayer
2 Chronicles 7:14
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Faith and Humbleness
Romans 12:3
For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

The link between man & GOD is FAITH

I've seen this before but just saw it again tonight and I know it will come up again when trying to explain God, faith, etc.

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

 

Student : Yes, sir.

 

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

 

(Student was silent.)

Nick Vujicic

I first heard about this Nick Vujicic from one of our business friends, Scott Schilling. Scott was staying with us in Westlake Village for a few days and was fortunate enough to meet with Nick for lunch. When he got back, Scott was so enthusiastic when talking about this Nick guy. He even left Nick's number on a napkin, urging us to get in contact with him. I stumbled upon Nick's book, "No Limits" at the library at a few weeks later. Then it wasn't long before another great business friend, Bob Donnell came to stay with us. Bob had an extra ticket to go see a speaker and when he started describing the speaker, I couldn't believe it was thee Nick Vujicic! This guy was popping up all over! I jumped on the chance to go and have been a Nick V fan ever since! Seeing Nick speak in person was amazing! What a role model!

Here's Nick's story copied and pasted from his website: attitudeisaltitude.com

Hi Friend,
My name is Nick Vujicic and I am thankful to have been born 30 years ago with no arms and no legs. I won’t pretend my life is easy, but through the love of my parents, loved ones, and faith in God, I have overcome my adversity and my life is now filled with joy and purpose. I reside now in California with my wife, Kanae, and we both love seeing people’s lives changed for the better or touched in some way. It is my hope that your life is positively impacted by my story.
I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and it was a shock to my parents that I arrived without limbs. There is no medical reason for it. My parents did their very best to keep me in the mainstream school system and give me every opportunity to live to the fullest. I was blessed to have a brother and a sister as my best friends too.

We later moved to Brisbane, Australia, where I lived for 14 years before I made the move to California. At age eight, I could not see a bright future ahead and I became depressed. When I was ten years old, I decided to end my life by drowning myself in a bathtub. After a couple attempts, I realized that I did not want to leave my loved ones with the burden and guilt that would result from my suicide. I could not do that to them.

I wasn’t depressed my entire childhood, but I did have ups and downs. At age thirteen I hurt my foot, which I use for many things like typing, writing and swimming. That injury made me realize that I need to be more thankful for my abilities and less focused on my disabilities.
When I was fifteen years old, I sealed my faith in God and from there it has been an amazing journey.
A janitor at my high school inspired me to start speaking about my faith and overcoming adversity when I was seventeen. I spoke only a dozen times to very small groups over the next two years. Then I found myself in front of three hundred sophomore (grade 10) students and I was very nervous. My knees were shaking. Within the first three minutes of my talk, half the girls were crying, and most of the boys were struggling to hold their emotions together. One girl in particular was sobbing very hard. We all looked at her and she put her hand up. She said, “I am so sorry to interrupt, but can I come up and hug you?”
She came hugged me in front of everyone, and whispered in my ear, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. No one has ever told me that they loved me and that I am beautiful the way I am.”
Her gratitude inspired me to go across 44 countries and speak 2,000 times. I realized that we all need love and hope and that I was in a unique position to share that with people around the world.

While majoring in both accounting and financial planning at a university, I also worked on developing my abilities as a speaker. I worked with a speaking coach who helped to cultivate me as a presenter. He especially worked on my body language as my hands flew everywhere at first!

I spoke on motivational topics after creating the company, attitude is altitude. I also launched a non-profit ministry, life without limbs, to spread my messages of faith and hope around the world.
Whoever you are, wherever you’re from and whatever you are dealing with, I hope that you will be inspired by my story and my message. Please enjoy browsing around this website where I share with you my thoughts on faith, hope and love to encourage you and to help you overcome your own challenges.

Dream big my friend and never give up. We all make mistakes, but none of us are mistakes. Take one day at a time. Embrace the positive attitudes, perspectives, principles and truths I share, and you too will overcome.

Sincerely,
Nick

What a story!
What an amazing way God is using Nick to reach out to others!

It's Never Too Late...to do something great!

"It's Never Too Late" by Patrick Lindsay

 

More from It's Never Too Late!

SaraHHouse365: It's Never Too Late...to make some quiet time.
SaraHHouse365: It's Never Too Late...to take a trip!
SaraHHouse365: It's Never Too Late...to be better than you are!

Faith | Mere Christianity

Mere Christianity
C.S. Lewis

Book 3 | Christian Behaviour3: Faith (pg. 138)

 

I must talk in this chapter about what the Christians call Faith. Roughly speaking, the word Faith seems to be used by Christians in two senses or on two levels, and I will take them in turn. In the first sense it means simply Belief -- accepting or regarding as true the doctrines of Christianity. That is fairly simple. But what does puzzle people –at least it used to puzzle me – is the fact that Christians regard faith in this sense as a virtue. I used to ask how on earth it can be a virtue –what is there moral or immoral about believing or not believing a set of statements? Obviously, I used to say, a sane man accepts or rejects any statement, not because he wants to or does not want to, but because the evidence seems to him good or bad. If he were mistaken about the goodness or badness of the evidence that would not mean he was a bad man, but only that he was not very clever. And if he thought the evidence bad but tried to force himself to believe in spite of it, that would be merely stupid.

 

SaraHHouse365: Mere Christianity | Social Morality

101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself

“The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions.” – John Simone

What questions do you ask yourself every day?

Believe it or not, the kind of questions you ask determine the kind of life you lead. That’s because your questions trigger its own set of answers, which lead to certain emotions, which then lead to certain actions (or inactions), followed by results. If you ask yourself limiting questions, you’ll get limited results. If you ask yourself mind-opening, forwarding questions, you’ll gain a lot more out of them.

Some people like to ask questions like “Why am I so unlucky?”, “What if I had done this earlier?” and “Why am I always in such a situation?”. Because these questions are backward looking, the answers you get with them are naturally disempowering. On the other hand, questions like “What can I learn from this experience?”, “What can I do differently move forward?” and “What am I grateful for?” are empowering. They provoke you and get you thinking, putting you on the path to a better life.

If you’re someone who normally doesn’t self-reflect, you might be stumped by questions. However, this is perfectly normal. I remember when I was a small primary school student, the teacher asked us how we would describe ourselves. The question got me stumped, because I had never thought much about it. It took me some time to find some meaningful adjectives to describe myself, but even then they didn’t seem right. That was one of the starting points of my self-exploration journey. Somewhere along the way, I became a big fan of introspection, enjoying the process of self-reflecting and thinking over questions.

Today, I believe questions are a key to self-awareness and personal growth. In my 1-1 coaching sessions, I enable my clients to discover the answers to their goals/questions by asking them the right questions. It’d be easy if I just tell my coachees what they “should” do and what they “should not” do. But that’s not the point. It’s about empowering my clients to discover themselves through asking the right guiding questions, catered to their situation and their profiles. The right questions will help them untangle the blockages in them and connect with their inner self.

It doesn’t matter if you get stumped in the beginning, or if you don’t know the answers to the questions at first. Our minds are boundless. Just because you don’t get an answer immediately, it doesn’t mean there are no answers. The answers are there – it’s just that your mind is too foggy since you’ve not consulted it before. The more you ask, the clearer your mind will be, and the more ready you’ll be to receive the answers.

I’ve come up with a set of important questions for your self-reflection. Some are questions which I ask my 1-1 clients, to uncover the real them. These questions will help you focus on what’s important to you, and what you want. They are not meant to be answered all at one shot – they are to be thought over again and again, as part of your growth journey. Pick out a few questions to reflect on today, then bookmark and check back a week later to think over the others. Check back regularly to reflect on the questions.

Remember, there is no one final answer. It’s a continuous discovery process. Your answers to the questions today will be different from your answers one month, three months, six months, and one year down the road. Add these important questions to your weekly review sessions. This is a highly important article for your growth journey.

Here they are:

1. Who are you?
2. What are you passionate about?
3. What are the achievements you are most proud of?
4. What are you most grateful for in life? (Day 14 of Live a Better Life in 30 Days Program is about expressing gratitude.)
5. What are the most important things to you in life?
6. How would you describe yourself?
7. What are your values? What do you represent? What do you want to embody? (On Day 15 of Live a Better Life in 30 Days Program, you will identify your values.)
   
   Image ©
8. Do you love yourself?
9. … Why or Why not?
10. How can you love yourself more today?
11. What is your ideal self? What does it mean to be your highest self?
12. Look at your life now. Are you living the life of your dreams?
13. If you have one year left to live, what would you do?
14. If you have one month left to live, what would you do?
15. If you have one week left to live, what would you do?
16. If you have one day left to live, what would you do?
17. If you have an hour left to live, what would you do?
18. If you have one minute left to live, what would you do?
    
    
19. What would you do today if there is no more tomorrow?
20. What are the biggest things you’ve learned in life to date?
21. What advice would you give to yourself 3 years ago?
    
    
22. If you are yourself 1 year from the future, how would you advise the you now? (On Day 22 of Live a Better Life in 30 Days Program, we travel to the future to give advice to the us today.)
23. Is there something you’re still holding on to? Is it time to let it go?
24. What are you busy with today? Will this matter 1 year from now? 3 years? 5 years?
25. What are your Quadrant 2 tasks?
26. What opportunities are you looking for?
27. How can you create these opportunities?
28. What are your biggest goals and dreams?
29. What’s stopping you from pursuing them? …Why? How can you overcome them?

12 Christmas Prayers

Source: etsy.com via Donna on Pinterest

Worry sees the Problem. Faith sees the Answer.

Worry sees the Problem.

Faith sees the Answer.

______________________________________

SaraHHouse365 | Who of you by worrying... 

SaraHHouse365 | Proverbs 31 Woman

10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman

10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman

We want to encourage women to serve God in every aspect of their lives.
1. Faith - A Virtuous Woman serves God with all of her heart, mind, and soul. She seeks His will for her life and follows His ways.
(Proverbs 31: 26, Proverbs 31: 29 – 31, Matthew 22: 37, John 14: 15, Psalm 119: 15)

2. Marriage – A Virtuous Woman respects her husband. She does him good all the days of her life. She is trustworthy and a helpmeet.
(Proverbs 31: 11- 12, Proverbs 31: 23, Proverbs 31: 28, 1 Peter 3, Ephesians 5, Genesis2: 18)

3. Mothering - A Virtuous Woman teaches her children the ways of her Father in heaven. She nurtures her children with the love of Christ, disciplines them with care and wisdom, and trains them in the way they should go.
(Proverbs 31: 28, Proverbs 31: 26, Proverbs 22: 6, Deuteronomy 6, Luke 18: 16)

4. Health – A Virtuous Woman cares for her body. She prepares healthy food for her family. (Proverbs 31: 14 – 15, Proverbs 31: 17, 1 Corinthians 6: 19, Genesis 1: 29, Daniel 1, Leviticus 11)

5. Service - A Virtuous Woman serves her husband, her family, her friends, and her neighbors with a gentle and loving spirit. She is charitable.
(Proverbs 31: 12, Proverbs 31: 15, Proverbs 31: 20, 1 Corinthians 13: 13)

6. Finances - A Virtuous Woman seeks her husband’s approval before making purchases and spends money wisely. She is careful to purchase quality items which her family needs.
 (Proverbs 31: 14, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 18, 1 Timothy 6: 10, Ephesians 5: 23, Deuteronomy 14: 22, Numbers 18: 26)

7. Industry – A Virtuous Woman works willingly with her hands. She sings praises to God and does not grumble while completing her tasks.
(Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 24, Proverbs 31: 31, Philippians 2: 14)

8. Homemaking – A Virtuous Woman is a homemaker. She creates an inviting atmosphere of warmth and love for her family and guests. She uses hospitality to minister to those around her. (Proverbs 31: 15, Proverbs 31: 20 – 22, Proverbs 31: 27, Titus 2: 5, 1 Peter 4: 9, Hebrews 13: 2)

9. Time - A Virtuous Woman uses her time wisely. She works diligently to complete her daily tasks. She does not spend time dwelling on those things that do not please the Lord.
(Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 19, Proverbs 31: 27, Ecclesiastes 3, Proverbs 16: 9, Philippians 4:8 )

10. Beauty – A Virtuous Woman is a woman of worth and beauty. She has the inner beauty that only comes from Christ. She uses her creativity and sense of style to create beauty in her life and the lives of her loved ones.
(Proverbs 31: 10Proverbs 31: 21 – 22, Proverbs 31: 24 -25, Isaiah 61: 10, 1 Timothy 2: 9, 1 Peter 3: 1 – 6)

SaraHHouse365 | You Were Made for a Mission
SaraHHouse365 | It's Never Too Late....to find Balance

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Credits avirtuouswoman.org

Gotquestions.org

 I stopped in to see my beautiful, inspiring and dearly missed girlfriend from college, Jess. It was wonderful to catch up and of course, see that little stud of hers! In conversation, Jess and I were talking about how you answer questions to people who ask you about your faith. We both agreed we wish we were more prepared when it came to questions who doubted our God. Jess went on a Mission Trip to Belize over the past year and met some friends a long the way who gave her these chapsticks with their website on them.

www.gotquestions.org

Bible Questions Answered!

Do you have a question about God, Jesus, the Bible, or theology?

Have you ever needed help understanding a Bible verse or passage?

Are there any spiritual issues in your life for which you need advice or counsel?

Bible Questions Answered by GotQuestions.org

With over 3,000 answers to frequently asked Bible questions published online, approximately 75% of the questions we are asked already have answers available to you instantly. We offer several options for finding the answers to your questions.

You can search our site, which does a search of all of our articles based on the search terms you enter.

You can browse our Top 20 most common Bible questions and Top 20 most visited articles, which together account for around 15% of the questions we are asked.

You can look through our Frequently Asked Questions Archives, which divides questions and answers based on Biblical categories.

You can examine our What's New section to find out what articles have recently been added to the site.

If you are unable to find your answer online, you can ask us your Bible question on our Bible Questions Answered page.

Honor one another above yourselves: Roman's 12:9-13

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fevor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

--Romans 12: 9 - 13

Thank God by your Faith & Obedience...

Thank God for HIS TIMING.
Thank God for HIS PRESENCE.


Thank God by your FAITH & OBEDIENCE to him.

Calvary notes 7/8/12



SaraHHouse365 | Faith, Mere Christianity
SaraHHouse365 | Worry has the problems, Faith has the answers

Is anything too hard for the Lord? Calvary 7/15 notes

Is anything too hard for the Lord?
A few of my notes from Calvary's 5:00 pm service.

Genesis 18: 1-15

Other words for the word "hard" - impossible, difficult......wonderful...
Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?

The story of Abraham and Sarah and waiting to be pregnant....
When the Lord says that Sarah will give birth to a son at this time next year, Sarah laughs. Remember Sarah is of very old age but it is promised to Sarah and Abraham that they will give birth.

 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"  Genesis 18:12

Sidenote: Research shows that 80% of laughter has nothing to do with jokes but that of disbelief, fear, nervousness, etc.

Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'  Is there anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."    Genesis 18: 13-14

Sarah and Abraham go on to have a son who they name Isaac.
Isaac means he laughs.

***************

In the story of the boy with the speech problems in Mark 9:20
The Father asks Jesus "Help us if you can..."
Jesus replies, "If you can?"

Lift your eyes to the Lord. Do not lower your expectations.

********

Great sermon today by Pastor Drew Sams at Calvary's 5:00 pm Patio Service!!
Love my church!! Check them out at www.calvarycc.org
Or you can check out their sermons at http://media.calvarycc.org/