Tag Archive for: iNeed God

Does God Expect Perfection?

October 21, 2014/in NACWE Lifestyle Blog/by Heather Rosson

God loves you when you hurt someone else.
God loves you when you disobey Him.
God loves you when you judge others.
God loves you when your business fails.
God loves you when you let a friend down.
God loves you even if your house is dirty.
God loves you, even if you didn’t tithe.
The truth is, God loves us no matter what.

Does God expect us to follow His Word perfectly?

I think the answer to this question is, “Yes!” He wants you to follow His word.

But, the answer is also, “No!” He knows you will not live the Christian life perfectly, because you live in a fallen world.

However, He does expect you to come and ask forgiveness for when you fail and sin.

He knows you will fall. (Romans 3:23)

He knows your heart. God provided you a way to be cleansed when you fall, slip, or jump into sin. Jesus died on the cross and shed His precious blood so you can know God’s mercy, grace, and unlimited forgiveness.

No matter how many times you fall, God will forgive you. God gives you mercy. Give yourself mercy.

He will forgive you over and over.

At some point, you need to take responsibility for your sins. King David jumped into the pit of adultery, Bathsheba became pregnant, and David tried to cover up his trail of deceit with one horrific sin after the other, leading up to murder. Read the full story in 2 Samuel 11 – 12.

Nathan confronted David, and the truth of David’s deep black sin was finally revealed. In this moment, David saw the depth of his sin for the first time. He cried out in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done evil in your sight. . .”

When you rebel and go your own way, at some point you know and realize you are going down the wrong path. It may take many times of confessing your sin to God before you turn completely back to Him. Some sin may be easier to let go of than others. The enemy knows how to entice you and drag your heart down into his dirty mud pit.

What sin do you struggle to tame?

A sin I struggle with is saying a not so nice word as a reaction when I am mad or startled by something. Usually, I immediately confess. It bothers me that this word became a habit at one point. Most of the time, I replace the word with something more appropriate to say, but this word comes flying out faster than I can stop many times. This sin does not hurt anyone, but it does not bring God glory.

I believe you may some sins struggle with for a lifetime and at certain times do better than others. You will be able to walk away from other sins completely. The stronger the hold on you, the harder it is to let go. For the alcoholic, this could be a lifelong battle of relying on God for the times it is hard to resist. For the lazy Christian, this could mean a lifelong battle of making God a priority in life.

None of us are perfect. No, not one (Romans 3:10). We all have our sins, struggles, and ugly places we like to hide in our lives. Yet, no matter what, God still loves us and offers us freedom to be in a relationship with Him through confession.

1 John 1:9 sums up the grace of repentance best: “If we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (NLT)

Does God expect perfection?

No, God does not expect perfection from His children. He expects us to come to Him daily to gain the power and wisdom we need each day. He expects us to be real honest with him. Through many struggles, I am honest with God and let him know I want to do His way, but I really would rather do my way. He listens to me and lets me work through it until my heart changes.

The world does not need perfect, plastic, judging Christians. The world needs us to be honest. You and I struggle to be the women God calls us to be. ONLY through the blood of Jesus can you and I have the power and grace to live the Christian life.

Do you struggle with how God views you?

Please share in the comments below.

[This post was adapted from “Week 2–iRepent” in Joyce’s Bible Study, iNeed God: Daily Downloads for Your Heart.]

Joyce Glass is a writer, speaker, and lover of God’s word even more than chocolate! Her desire is to encourage you to walk closer to God. Dig deeper in your faith. Pray in earnest daily for God to teach you His ways, and serve Him right where you live and work now. She is the author of iNeed God – daily downloads for your heart. A 90 day journey closer to God! You can connect with Joyce online at www.TheDailyGPS.com.

Focus On Your Journey

July 30, 2014/in NACWE Lifestyle Blog/by Heather Rosson

I am an entrepreneur at heart. My journey as a writer and speaker started four years ago. However, this is the year I feel I am finally taking off.

The past four years have been my boot camp. I took classes, joined groups, and watched more webinars than I can count. I’m still striving to learn how to share the calling God placed on my heart.

Now I am ready to fly solo, but I still need a wing man or woman.

Take Baby Steps

In June, I released my first Bible Study, and I have learned so much. My journey is speeding up now, but I have much more to learn. When I look at other writers and speakers much further down the road than me, I erroneously think I need to do everything they are doing to grow my influence. After a few moments of feeling overwhelmed and wondering how I can accomplish all they are doing, I remind myself they did not start their journeys with five published books, a podcast, a YouTube channel, and a monthly program for women to join!

They started just like me: with one book, one blog, and few followers. They worked hard every day to write more and grow their presences online and offline. Now five, ten, and fifteen years down the road, they have book series they have written, podcasts, and thriving followings who want to hear from them. They paid their dues, consistently produced, and worked hard.

Keep Your Focus

I can’t compare my beginning to their middle. I can, however, stay focused on the calling God laid on my heart. Be consistent and continue to grow as a writer, a speaker, and a woman of influence.

Four Ways To Enjoy The Journey and Stay Focused:

Take it a day at a time.
Set 90-day goals every quarter.
Track your progress financially, through social media, and through any other ways you track your business.
Hire a business coach to guide you, encourage you, and cheer you on.

I have made some lofty goals I had to adjust, because they did not work out. As an entrepreneur, keep your focus and adjust what you do each day to align with your focus. Have a plan for each day to take steps towards your goals.

Have goals for the month and the quarter. Write them down!

Recently, I learned the importance of tracking your progress. If you don’t know where you have been and where you are right now, how will you know if you made progress? Set up an Excel sheet or Word document to track your progress each week. This has really helped motivate me and keep me focused.

This is the first year I hired a business coach. It is one of the best decisions I’ve made. It is not easy, but it is worth it to have someone stretch you to do more than you imagined you could. Someone who is further down the road than you can help you navigate the murky waters and map out the best path to take for your business.

Realign Your Priorities

This week has helped me realign my priorities and focus. I made a big decision to drop a program for now. It was putting undue pressure on me and taking me away from my true focus. It was paralyzing me. I had so much to do, I did not know where to start, and I knew I would end up going in circles to nowhere.

Being an entrepreneur is a journey. Each year, you want to get further down the road. Life may throw you some curve balls in the form of illness, divorce, or major financial struggles. The economy can take a nose dive, and you have no control over how people spend their money. Keep pressing on! God will show you the path to go when you seek Him daily!

Joyce Glass is a writer, speaker, and lover of God’s word even more than chocolate! Her desire is to encourage you to walk closer to God. Dig deeper in your faith. Pray in earnest daily for God to teach you His ways, and serve Him right where you live and work now. She is the author of iNeed God – daily downloads for your heart. A 90 day journey closer to God! You can connect with Joyce online. Connect with Joyce on her blog, Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.

I Need Community

June 17, 2014/in NACWE Lifestyle Blog/by Heather Rosson

A community is a group of people working together for a common goal. All of us are involved in different communities each day. You have community where you work. If you work for yourself, you may have clients or accountability partners for your community. You have community when you attend a church, a Sunday school class, or small study group. You have community in your own family and in your neighborhood or apartment complex. Some communities help each other grow to be better at their passions or gifts. Some communities help you with a particular area in your life.

I am so blessed to be a part of the National Association of Christian Women Entrepreneurs community! This group has challenged me to do things I never thought I could do. They have supported me on the journey to become a writer and speaker. They have rallied around and prayed for me during dark moments in my life. They are my sisters in Christ, my friends, my co-workers, my business coaches, and my support group. I joined one year ago this month, and they helped develop my dreams into realities!

This past year, I completed my first Bible study, self-published the study, created a membership program called My Organized Life, and stepped out to schedule speaking engagements. I have been praying and talking about doing all of these for the past three years. NACWE gave me the ideas, tools, and support to bring into reality what God has called me to do! If I did not know how to do something or needed to find a virtual assistant, a graphic designer, or someone to help me with social media, all I had to do was ask NACWE. Either someone knew the right person, or the right person spoke up and could help me!

I can’t imagine working without my NACWE Community. They gave me the encouragement to be bold and try different things! Come join our community to take your business or ministry to the next level.

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Joyce Glass is a writer, speaker, and lover of God’s word even more than chocolate! Her desire is to encourage you to walk closer to God. Dig deeper in your faith. Pray in earnest daily for God to teach you His ways and serve Him right where you live and work now. You can connect with Joyce online at her blog, The Daily GPS, or on her Facebook page. You can learn more about her new Bible study, iNeed God, at www.iNeedGodBook.com.