A Declaration For Women In Christ
Written by Becky on February 19, 2012.
Yesterday, I sat glued to the T.V. watching the “homegoing” of Whitney Houston. I was struck by the fact that though from all appearances, Whitney had it all – she struggled with self-doubt. On February 28, I will be flying to India where I will be speaking to a group of Dalit women. (You’ll be able to follow my trip on Twitter) They are the lowest of the low in India’s caste system. Most of them have been abused. I wrote the following declaration for them but, as I was praying this morning it struck me that self-doubt torments both the poor and rich a like. So I share this declaration with you, with hopes that God will empower you to stand strong in your identity as God’s beloved daughter. Be blessed today!
“I am Blessed”
A Woman’s Declaration
I am blessed….
I am the beloved daughter of the Most High God.
I am holy and dearly loved.
I am precious and honored.
My sins have been forgiven and my wounds have been healed.
I am clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit strengthens and empowers me.
In this world, I may be poor. But in God’s kingdom, I am rich. I am a co-heir with Jesus Christ.
In this world, I may lack influence and power. But in God’s kingdom, I have authority in Jesus name.
In this world, I may experience suffering and shame. But in God’s kingdom, I have joy and hope.
My past can no longer traumatize me – I belong to Jesus.
My abusers can no longer shame me – I belong to Jesus.
My fears can no longer control me – I belong to Jesus.
My sins can no longer condemn me – I belong to Jesus.
I am the daughter of the Most High God.
I am blessed.
(Colossians 3:12; Isaiah 43:4; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:21-22; Romans 8:26; Galatians 4:5-7; Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 8;16-18)
Prayer of Praise When You Feel Inadequate
Written by Becky on January 26, 2012.
This morning I was reading about Moses and the burning bush. God speaks to Moses calling Him to lead His people out of bondage. Moses feels intimidated by the call and immediately the thought comes to his mind, “I can’t”. Moses struggles with so much self -doubt. (Exodus 3-5) I can relate to Moses, what about you? Often, God calls us to tasks that our larger than our abilities. Our natural response is to freak out and stutter, “I can’t”. What God promises Moses is not that He will increase his abilities but that God’s presence will go with Him.
As I was meditating on this passage this morning, I wrote the following prayer of praise for when I feel inadequate:
“Lord Jesus, I praise you because you call me to tasks that are larger than my abilities. How I praise you that you are the Vine and I am only the branch (John 15:5). The branch is never stressed out when it is abiding in the Vine. I praise you that you left your Spirit to dwell in me (John 16:7, 13). I praise you that where I am inadequate, you are more than able. My weakness provides an opportunity for your strength to be magnified. How I praise you that you promised, “The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:24).
God’s presence in unthinkable places
Written by Becky on January 19, 2012.
But the Lord was with Joseph there, too
and granted Joseph favor with the chief jailer.”
Genesis 39:21 (NLV)
Sometimes our lives take an unexpected turn and we end up in unthinkable places and circumstances. This is what happened to Joseph. You remember the story I’m sure; Joesph has this incredible dream where his brothers and father are all bowing down to him…..not very wise to tell his brothers…..but a dream and a promise from the Lord just the same. I’m sure when Joseph was imagining how the promise might be fulfilled he never imagined he would end up in an Egyptian prison! I’m sure there were moments in prison when Joesph felt forgotten and like he must have imagined the promise God gave. What a comfort to realize that even there, in prison, the Lord was with Joseph. His presence hadn’t left.
One of the challenges we face in trusting God is that when life takes an unexpected turn and we find ourselves in our own personal ”prison”, it’s hard to believe God’s presence is with us. But here’s the thing; Life will often take us to unexpected places and in those moments if we dare to trust God is indeed there – He will pour out His favor.
What is the unexpected you are facing today? Do you feel as though God has forgotten His promise to you? Will you dare to proclaim, by faith, “I trust you Lord.” If you choose by faith to trust Him, His presence will envelope you in the most unthinkable circumstances.
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
Written by Becky on January 11, 2012.
Today, January 11 has been declared by our president, The National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In the Protected Innocence Initiative, Sharedhope International graded all fifty states, and Washington D.C.on their currant laws impacting child sex trafficking. It seems that the law should protect the vulnerable, assist victims, and punish those who benefit from the use of children for sex. However, the opposite appears to be true. Instead of protecting the innocent, the girls who are sold into sex slavery are treated as criminals while those who use them get off free. The goal of the initiative was to emphasize the need for protection, shelter and services for the victims of sex trafficking.
The results of the report card that Sharedhope International gave were honestly pretty dismal. “Four states received a “B.” Twenty-six states failed. Four states don’t even have a law in place making it a crime to sexually traffic youth and children!” (Quote from Sharedhope International) The report was shared with Attorney Generals from around the States. While the results are both staggering and depressing, there is hope in Jesus Christ and together we can make a difference. So how can you raise your voice against this travesty? I have a few ideas:
1. Don’t put your head in the sand and hope it will all go away
2. Find out how your state scored by conacting www.sharedhope.org
3. Raise your voice by supporting legislation that protects the innocent and convicts those who are trafficking and using little girls and boys for their sexual pleasure.
4. Make a donation to Shared Hope International so that they can effectively continue their work to protect the youth and children of our nation. www.sharedhope.org
5. Pray! I believe that prayer moves mountains. (Mark 11:24) If you would like a visual reminder to pray and to raise your voice against this issue check out The Redemption Necklace sold at www.beckyharling.com The proceeds go to Shared Hope so that they can continue working to prevent, restore and bring justice on behalf of children of our nation.
Please, will you carefully consider how you might raise your voice?
The Thirty Day Praise Challenge – Day 10
Written by Becky on November 10, 2011.
He Declares Me Righteous and Forgiven
“But now a righteousness from God,
Apart from law, has been made known,
To which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ
to all who believe.”
Romans 3:21-22
“Therefore, there is no condemnation
For those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1
Many go through life carrying a heavy load of guilt. They are governed by an internal set of “shoulds”. Unfortunately, they never live up to their own expectations. For many years, this was true of me. I felt guilty a lot. As a child, I remember laying in bed at night confessing my sins over and over as if repeating them a lot would help God hear. It wasn’t until well into my adult life that I came to a deeper understanding of grace, realizing I could let go of guilt feelings. God didn’t condemn me so I didn’t need to condemn myself. When I sin, which I will because I am not perfect, I only need to confess and stand in the freedom of my forgiveness. (I John 1:9) He continually cleanses me day after day, moment by moment, from all unrighteousness. What an amazing reason to praise Him! The more I praise Him for clothing me in righteousness and for His forgiveness, the more I believe it in my heart. As a result, I am able to walk through life, “guilt free.”
God doesn’t want you to walk through life feeling guilty! He wants you to live and breathe in His forgiveness moment by moment. As you learn to praise Him for His forgiveness my prediction is that you will struggle with guilt a whole lot less.
Praise Challenge
Today, spend your praise time focusing on God’s forgiveness. Imagine yourself clothed in His glorious righteous robe. (You’re looking fabulous!) Then throughout the day, every time you tell yourself, “I should’ make a tiny mark with a pen, or eyeliner, on your hand. Every time you mark your hand immediately praise God that he does not condemn you! This is a great experiment to see how much you struggle with guilt feelings. “Should” produces guilt – it’s like self-scolding! At the end of the day – wash your hands clean and praise God that you are forgiven and free.
If you do sin by actually dishonoring God in some way, confess that to him and immediately praise Him for His forgiveness. Stand firm in your freedom today and strut His stuff in your righteous robe!
The Thirty Day Praise Challenge – Day 3
Written by Becky on November 3, 2011.
He Defeats the Enemy
“O Lord, God of our fathers,
are you not the God who is in heaven?
You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.
Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you.”
2 Chronicles 20:6
In the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles, we find the most amazing story! Judah was surrounded by all kinds of enemies; The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites were all getting ready to attack. The king of Judah, King Jehoshaphat felt frightened and overwhelmed. He had no idea what to do but immediately fell to his knees and began to pray. The amazing thing about his prayer is that though he was freaking out because of the approaching armies, Jehoshaphat’s prayer began with praise! He boldly proclaims, Lord, “you rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand.” Jehoshaphat then comes up with the craziest battle plan ever. He sends the choir out in front of the army and instructs them to sing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 20:21) Don’t you wonder which section of the choir went out first; the altos, sopranos, tenors or basses? Can you imagine if our president tried this in our war against terror? Amazingly, as the choir began to sing and praise the Lord, the Lord sent ambushes against the enemy armies. By the time the army got to the top of the hill overlooking the battle field, all the enemies were dead!
I find in this story a lesson for you and I in praise. There will be times when the enemy of our soul, Satan seems to be attacking from every side. He may sabotage our relationships, our health, our careers, our finances and our spiritual walks. When he goes on the attack, our natural response is panic. What if instead, we turned our panic into praise? What if we dared to praise God in face of our enemy? I have found in my own life when I start praising, Satan flees. He cannot be victorious where the name of the Almighty God is being exalted.
Today’s Challenge:
Identify a significant problem that you are facing in your life at this moment. Then begin to praise God that He power and might belong to Him. Praise Him that He is good in spite of the problem. Praise Him that the problem you are facing is not catching Him by surprise. Praise Him that His love endures forever. Praise Him that His ways are perfect and that His plans for you are good. (Jeremiah 29:11) Praise God that though the problem you are facing feels daunting, He is bigger and you don’t need to fear. Praise Him that though you don’t know what to do, your eyes are on Him because He is wisdom. (2 Chronicles 20:12) Throughout this day every time you feel overwhelmed, or fearful, affirm your trust in God’s sovereignty out loud!
The Thirty Day Praise Challenge – Day 2
Written by Becky on November 2, 2011.
There is Power in His Name
“There fore God exalted him to the highest place and gave to him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
There is great power in the name of Jesus Christ! I learned this during a particularly difficult season of my life. What I discovered was that if I praise the name of Jesus Christ feelings of darkness, despair or discouragement lifted. My circumstances did not change during that season – my attitude changed! You may be facing difficult life circumstances right at this moment. But, let me challenge you to praise the name of Jesus Christ above whatever is happening in your life right now. See if your attitude doesn’t change in the process.
Today’s challenge: Praise through the alphabet using the names of Jesus Christ. Here are a few to get you started:
Advocate – I John 2:1
Alpha and Omega – Revelation 1:8
Bread of Life – John 6:35
Counselor – Isaiah 9:6
Deliverer – Romans 11:36
Every time you feel defeated or discouraged today – Praise the name of Jesus Christ above your feelings. Please note: I’m not asking you to praise Jesus for the particular trial through which you are walking – I am asking you to praise the name of Jesus Christ above the trial you are facing. As you do, I believe you will find the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with hope!
Leave a comment and let me know how it works for you!
The Thirty Day Praise Challenge – Take the challenge, change your life!
Written by Becky on November 1, 2011.
Recently, I’ve been doing the 30 Day Shred workout by Jillian Michaels. I started doing it earlier this month when I was feeling a bit sluggish and I wanted more energy. The promise of the workout is that if you are faithful at doing the 20 minute workout for 30 days your body will shred unwanted fat and you will be fit and toned. It might take me a bit longer to get shredded than 30 days, but at least I’m moving in the right direction.
The same holds true in our spiritual walks. At times our walk might feel sluggish and we might need a faith boost. We also need to shred negative thought patterns, habits, addictions, or any other hindrance to our walk with Christ. One of the most effective ways I have found to both revitalize my walk with God and shred sinful thought patterns or unwanted habits, is to spend time praising God daily. Beginning my day with 20- 30 minutes of praise lifts my focus onto the majestic nature of God. As I praise, the Holy Spirit strengthens my faith and re-energizes my belief in the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
I believe in developing a daily habit of praise so strongly, that I am in the process of writing The Thirty Day Praise Challenge. Here on my blog through out the month of November there will be one praise challenge per day. Take the challenge and I believe it will change your life! Don’t take my word for it – try it! As we journey through this challenge together I would love to hear from you so, leave a comment. Okay – Let’s get started.
Psalm 66:1-4 reads, “Shout with joy to God all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you. They sing praise to your name.” Today’s challenge is for you to spend 20 minutes praising God for all the ways He has blessed your life in the last few weeks. Make a list if you want. You’ll be amazed and refreshed by the many ways God has blessed you! Whenever you are tempted to complain today, instead, thank God for something. It will transform your attitude.
What does it look like to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ?
Written by Becky on July 18, 2011.
Lately, I’ve been asking the question, “What does it look like to live as a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ?” 2 Chronicles 16:9 reads, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” this morning I was reading about George Mueller. He lived during the 1800′s and is one of my hero’s because he took care of more than 10,000 orphans during his life time! He wrote after his ninetieth birthday about what it meant for him to live as one who is fully committed to the cause of Jesus Christ. “The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God, God alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else. And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, and exceedingly happy man……” I wonder if I’ll be able to say that on my ninetieth birthday?
Wow! So often, in spite of the fact that I claim to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, I look to find my happiness is the place I live, the people I am in relationship with, the accomplishments I may or may not achieve, the amount of Starbucks I can have or the amount of shopping trips I can take……….sigh. So, the question I am asking myself today is, does my life reflect an all consuming passion for Jesus Christ? Can I say that He alone is my source of happiness? Do I live my life completely for the praise of His glory?
Today, I am reflecting on what I might need to surrender in order to be fully devoted. What about you? What gets in the way of you being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ? I am interested in your thoughts ……………
Interview with Golden!
Written by Becky on June 7, 2011.
In the realm of performance issues, in which area do you struggle the most: perfectionism, people pleasing, or both?
Probably perfectionism. My personality temperament is a 50% split of melancholy/choleric, so the melancholy side seeks that perfectionism and the choleric side forges ahead in whatever needs to be done. Many times a leader cannot be concerned about what people think. I find, however, as I get older that my “forge aheader” is mellowing some.
Where do those issues play out most in your life: family, friendships, career, or in your relationship with God?
I would say it has played out in every area of life, but the area in which it has had the least effect would be with my friendships. I seem to be able to offer grace and freedom to my friends where I find it more difficult to offer that same grace to myself and the areas for which I feel a responsibility.
How did your performance issues impact your family? (Husband, children, extended family)
I never knew I was a perfectionist until way into my marriage. I grew up the oldest child in an alcoholic home and true to the stereotype, I was always trying to make things right and proper. We were poor, and I knew that there was a better way to live. I didn’t know that I was a perfectionist—I was simply trying to make things as they should be.
I excelled in school and in my piano, and when we had children I expected that same excellence from them. We have three daughters, and they were always dressed “to the nines,” did well in school, each one excelling in their chosen fields. As they have moved into adult life, sometimes they don’t run their households like I would, but they are wonderful, productive citizens who love the Lord and their families … and each other, so I’m happy! I’ve taken off my perfectionism hat.
What is one verse you feel every performer could benefit from internalizing?
This was my verse for last year and I’ve kept it for this year as well. “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Thy hands.” Psalm 138:8
I don’t have to be perfect for the Lord to accomplish his purpose in me. He will see to that without my help!
Tell us a little bit about the book you are giving away?
I’m giving away Book One in my Darkness To Light Series, In The Shadow of The Sun King. It is based on my family genealogy in 17th century France when the Huguenots (French Protestants) fled the persecution of the Catholic government.
Leave a comment and interact with Golden, and your name will be entered to win a copy of The Shadow of the Sun King!