Give, Take and Treat Yourself Well

How great is our God that He thinks even about our pleasures and our joy.

God wants us to enjoy the fruit of our works and His blessings.  He doesn't want us to be grumpy and feeling miserable.  He has given us the tools we needed in order to be prosperous right?

It is written, in Sirach 14:14

14 Enjoy happiness and do not reject lawful pleasure when it comes your way.

From this verse, God is telling us to take time to celebrate! If a blessing came your way, celebrate!

Sometimes we neglect to do this.  We have toiled so hard but we do not rest and sit back and enjoy the fruits of our work.  If we keep on doing this, there will come a time that we will experience burn out and lack of enthusiasm with our work.  Take time to celebrate.  Your celebration doesn't have to be lavish, but if your budget allows you to, why not? :)

Enjoy and be happy.  This too comes from God. Celebrating your wins is a way for you to acknowledge the good that you have accomplished, the blessing that you have received.  God wants us to be happy and not grouchy. hahaha... or stingy at that!   

Celebrate even the small wins!

You are done cleaning your house well?  Celebrate! Sit down, sip a cup of coffee, a tea or your favorite drink and enjoy what you have accomplished.

God wants us to be happy now in this world where He placed us and where He leads us to serve Him. Treat yourself well because we are God's creation and He wants us to take care of ourselves well and He provides for these opportunities to come.

Speaking of opportunities, have you ever found yourself feeling guilty charging for a fee for your services?  I did.  There were times that I feel that I am not being a good person when I charge for fees especially when a service is done for a friend.  But would you know, even this is addressed in the Bible?

Sirach 14:16 says, "Give, take and treat yourself well, for in the netherworld, there are no pleasures to seek." 

1. Give -  whatever your service or product is
2. Take - get what is due you
3. Treat yourself well - in taking, it says that you should treat yourself well! Not treat yourself poorly!

One way to praise and thank God is to manifest that we are enjoying the blessings that He sends our way.  Rejoice for His goodness!  His provision comes from this.  How can you even celebrate if you have paid yourself short.

Give, take and treat yourself well! Celebrate! God wants you to be happy. :)

Everything is truly a blessing!

Everything is a blessing.  Let us trust God that whatever comes our way is a blessing. 

A failure may just be a nudging to lead you to a better direction... 

A heartache may just be a wake-up call to help you see things clearly... or to help you define what you really want in life...

A missed bus may just be a blessing in disguised to keep you safe or to give you a better seat.

A co-worker who often irritates you might just be a God sent gift to exercise your patience and to make a better person out of you. :)

There are more examples to help you see everything as a blessing, but it all boils down to trusting God -in our greatest joy and in our deepest sorrow. 

Be at peace knowing that whatever comes your way, you have a God whom you can count on, a God who has great plans for you, a God who will never leave you and a God who is greater than anything. :)

You may want to listen to the song Sovereign by Chris Tomlin 

Allow God to Fill Your Cup

I have just attended a retreat entitled "GOD WILL MAKE ALL THINGS NEW" by Bo Sanchez.

I would like to share some thoughts with you.

Image by Tea by the Sea

As the image says, the usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness...

This Lenten Season, empty yourself out to God and let Him fill you with His greatness.

Let go of your past sins and guilt, your addiction, your selfishness, your being a mediocre... empty yourself from whatever burdens you are carrying... from whatever is stopping you from growing... from whatever is blinding you from seeing that God is here... God has always been with you...

Let God fill you... do not be afraid to be empty... to have nothing... because in the end, God is all you need.