In Conclusion: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Posted on May 31, 2021May 23, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

God Knows the Whole Enchilada

Week 13 (May 31 – June 6, 2021)

In Conclusion:
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

LISTEN

Please remember that according to Psalm 139:

God Knows You
God Knows What you Do
God wants to Bless You
Anywhere you are, God Is
His Hand Guides, His Strength Supports
His Night shines as Bright as Day
You are God’s Masterpiece
He’s got a Plan for You
He Thinks Precious Thoughts about You
He Repays on Your Behalf
He Repays on Your Behalf Again
He wants you to Allow Him to Search Your Heart

“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”

Look up, dear ones, and see yourself as Your Heavenly Father sees you. As only God knows the whole enchilada, YOU ARE “FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE!” – Psalm 139:14

Have a great summer break, young friend!

Blessings!

Sister Hope & Kristi

Something to Remember this year: God Knows the Whole Enchilada!

Believing God (by Beth Moore)

God is who he says he is

I am who he says i am

he can do what he says he can do

i can do all things through christ

God’s word is alive and active in me

Recap of: My New Way of Thinking

Posted on May 31, 2021May 23, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

Change the Way you Think

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2

WEEK 14 (May 31 – June 6, 2021)

Recap of: My New Way of Thinking

By Hope McCardy & Rashad McCardy

LISTEN

My New Way of Thinking: A Dozen points

It’s all about God’s glory and surrendering to His will.
I must intentionally keep my mind Word-focused and tuned in to the Holy Spirit.
Because the Word is living and powerful, it is most relevant for my life today. Therefore, I will consistently and faithfully study It so that It can lead my daily walk.
I am a child of God. I was chosen by the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. My Abba Father eternally loves me.

My faith and confidence do not lie in my surrounding circumstances. My trust is in the One who came to give me life. My faith is securely placed in Jesus.
God can bring “dead” things (God-honoring stuff) back to life. He is a miracle-working God.
Although I know it will be hard, with God’s help, I will walk following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Though it may not be easy to follow through, the Word will give me proven and wholesome guidance for anything that crosses my path. I can trust God’s Word to lead me to live life His way.
Teach them your word, which is truth. – John 17:17b
The Bible’s “GPS” is always reliable and consistent.
I am going to seek God first. I want His insight on this matter.
Since God knows His perfect plan for my life, I surrender it all to Him.
Do I see it? What lesson(s) can I learn from this arduous time? What new, good thing is God doing right now? What is the new treasure in this tough challenge?

Remember beautiful Sisters: Changing the Way You Think is A God Concept!

Search Me, O God

Posted on May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

God Knows the Whole Enchilada

Week 12 (May 24 – May 30, 2021)

Search Me, O God

LISTEN

Verses for Meditation

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

– Psalm 139:23, 24 (NLT)

After deeply crying out his heart to God against his enemies, David’s heart seems to soften a bit as he takes an introspective look at himself. Do you think that he might have thought, “Was I truly thinking those kinds of awful thoughts about others? Am I really that bitter and mean? Do I actually hate and seek vengeance on those who’ve hurt me or told vicious lies against me? O Lord, what is the state of my heart? Is all this terrible stuff in there? How did I get to this place? I am so offensive. I must be such a stench to You, O God.”

Just saying, he might have had these kinds of thoughts.

Then in his shame and remorse, he humbly looks to God and cries out, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” How sobering! David looks as if he has come to the point of, “I need You, God. I want You to use Your pure heart detector and probe throughout my body. I need You to check me out as only You can ascertain the true nature of my heart and mind. Only You can diagnose exactly where I’m sick and write up the necessary prescription to alleviate the toxic symptoms. Only You can lead me in the way I should go.”

What about the state of your heart? Do you ever stop and, in truth, listen to what you say and do to yourself and to others? If you knew that God was in the room with you right now, how would your words and actions be different? What would you say differently? Think differently? Do differently? [We speak this to you as we speak it to ourselves]. The real truth is that God is in the room with you right now, and He knows the whole enchilada about you. And He is holding out His tender hand towards you and saying to you, “Take-hold my child, I want to lead you along the path you should go because I love you so much.”

Think About It

Do you know your heart?
How would you do on a “heart” test right now?
Are your thoughts anxious or fearful or worried?
Would you, like David, consider giving God permission to examine your heart and lead it in the way that it should go?

Praying for You

(Please personalize)

Father, search the hearts of our wonderful young people and know their souls. Examine them and know their anxious thoughts. If there is anything that offends You, anything that is unhealthy or harmful, point it out to them, O Lord, and lead them along the right path, the path of everlasting life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great week, young friend!

Blessings!

Sister Hope & Kristi

Something to Remember this year: God Knows the Whole Enchilada!

Believing God (by Beth Moore)

God is who he says he is

I am who he says i am

he can do what he says he can do

i can do all things through christ

God’s word is alive and active in me

Recap of Prayers

Posted on May 24, 2021May 24, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

Change the Way you Think

WEEK 13 (May 24 – May 30, 2021)

Recap of Prayers

By Hope McCardy & Rashad McCardy

LISTEN

My Recap Prayer (Pray for your husband and children as well)

Lord, with the apt assistance of Jesus, my Savior, and the Holy Spirit, my guide, I choose to seek to move towards walking in Your perfect will daily. Help me, I pray, to select, even today, what is good, pleasing, and perfect in Your sight.

Holy Spirit, I give you permission to teach me. Please show me how to starve and kill my carnal mind. Instruct me as to how I can be spiritually minded at all times. Help me, Lord! Please give me an even greater thirst for the knowledge and understanding of Your Word. Thank You that I can call You Abba Father; I can look to You for my every need and desire. I love You.

Loving Father, though the thief is purposed on stealing, killing, and destroying my life, thank You that You have a far different plan for me. Thank You that each and every day, I can choose to glean until I’m full to capacity, from Your abundant life, full and plentiful. And this is, indeed, my choice today. I choose to harvest from Your rich pasture.

Help me to remember Your everyday faithfulness to me. Set off an alarm in my heart that reminds me that nothing is impossible with You – that You can do anything! Stir in me an authentic comprehension of the truth of Your Word: that You still bring “dead” things back to life and create new things out of nothing. Thank You for the tremendous privilege of being Your child. Thank You that, because I believe in You, You are doing miraculous things in my life.

O God, I seriously call on You for help! Help me not to become worn-out in doing what is good. May I always remember that when no one else sees me, You do. Thank You for the plentiful harvest only You can give. Thank You for giving me Your Word as a powerful tool to keep me on the right track. Push me every day – even when I’m lazy – to meditate on Your Word. For Your Word is the blueprint for my life. Thank You for loving me so much that You desired to give it to me to light my darkened path and show me which way to go. Please motivate and constantly move me to hide it in my heart – to meditate in it – to apply it to my daily life. I truly appreciate this awesome roadmap You’ve given me. Thank You for the command to seek You above all and to live righteously. Without Your tender guidance, I would certainly go astray all too often. I humbly ask for Your shepherding wisdom to strengthen my determination. And gracious Lord, thank You so much for providing everything I need.

Abba Father, I am so finite, hardened, and stubborn. Please aid me in wholly trusting You, since I have come to grips with the fact that my understanding is so flawed. Push me to depend on Your astute insight. And Father, I want to seek Your will in all that I do. Help me to stop being so self-centered and me-focused.

Faithful Lord, Your Word in Isaiah 43:19 deposits and infuses a fresh new hope in the arid and dry places of my very being. I am so grateful that I can look to You to make a way through the dense thicket and create rivers in my parched desert lands. O, Father, I ask that You turn my eyes to You so that I can clearly see the transforming work You are doing in my life – changing the way I think. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

He Repays on Your Behalf Part 2

Posted on May 17, 2021May 18, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

God Knows the Whole Enchilada

Week 11 (May 17 – May 23, 2021)

He Repays on Your Behalf Part 2

LISTEN

Verses for Meditation

²¹O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
²²Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

– Psalm 139:21, 22 (NLT)

As we can see, David is still quite upset with those people who mean him no good. So upset that he actually would say that he hates them. In our angry language, “hates their guts!” If you’ve read the story of David’s life, you would remember that after he had done so much good to ensure certain victory for Saul, Saul himself tried to kill him. And as if that were not enough, he sent his men after David to torment him. David was constantly on the run from Saul and his mighty men.

Have you ever had someone torment you so much that you really wanted to hide from them? And when they rang your doorbell, you wanted to pretend as if you were not at home? Have you ever felt as if you really hated someone?

We’re sure that most of us can relate to this unhealthy feeling on some level.

Although you may feel a total dislike for someone, we want you to remember, once again, that God has commanded all of us to love one another – even those who have done wrong to us (ridiculously hard, we know). We believe that the only way you can learn to love those who are not nice to you is to decide to walk in true obedience to God’s Word and daily ask for His help. You can’t accomplish this great feat alone. It’s hard enough to love those who love us: we definitely need help to love those who are not always nice.

Again, we say that you must be wise and set up appropriate boundaries so that you can live healthy lives. But, you must leave payback to God – for Him to give justice as He sees fit – in His time and in His way. Most of the time, there is that feeling that God takes too long. We all must learn to trust that He knows what He’s doing.

Think About It

Have your friends ever hurt you? How did that make you feel?
Has someone hurt you that you knew didn’t have your best interest at heart?
Do you tend to take matters into your own hands, or do you seek God and wise counsel?
What wise decisions can you make today?

Praying for You

(Please personalize)

O Lord, teach our young people to hate the things that You hate: things like poor attitudes and behaviors, prideful hearts, disrespect, ingratitude, and so on. Help their hearts to be grieved when they see themselves or others walking in disobedience to Your Word. Teach our students to cling only to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great week, young friend!

Blessings!

Sister Hope & Kristi

Something to Remember this year: God Knows the Whole Enchilada!

Believing God (by Beth Moore)

God is who he says he is

I am who he says i am

he can do what he says he can do

i can do all things through christ

God’s word is alive and active in me

Something New is Coming

Posted on May 17, 2021May 18, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

Change the Way you Think

WEEK 12 (May 17 – May 23, 2021)

Something New is Coming

By Hope McCardy & Rashad McCardy

LISTEN

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

– Isaiah 43:19

Birthing a precious child usually requires a nine-month gestation period: a time of preparation for “new” birth. During that long nine-month period, a woman goes through many doctor visits, new vitamins and regulations, a growing abdominal area, weird cravings, long days, sleepless nights, other issues, etc. As the pregnancy progresses, she becomes increasingly heavy and, needless to say, more uncomfortable.

At last, the anxiously anticipated baby is ready to be born. This segment is the long labor process, which is often the hardest part. It is usually accompanied by much pain and distress to both the mom and the child. Whew! But then the wonderful moment happens – a new baby – a brand new treasured life!

So, it is with our lives.

Sometimes it takes going through a set period of time that is coupled with considerable pain and agony for God to birth something new in our lives. Yes, at times, for something fresh to start…, our wrong attitudes, bad habits, unhealthy traditions, and the like…, must die.

My Prayer

(Pray for your husband and children as well)

Faithful Lord, thank You for the blessing of Your Word in Isaiah 43:19. Thank You for depositing and infusing a fresh new hope in the arid and dry places of my very being. I am so grateful that I can look to You to make a way through the dense thicket and create rivers in my parched desert lands. O, Father, I ask that You turn my eyes to You so that I can clearly see the transforming work You are doing in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Memo to Self

Be in tuned to God’s every movement in your life. Look out for His “something new.”

Changing the Way you Think

My Old Way of Thinking
All I want is to just get over this difficult time of too much stress and challenge.
My New Way of Thinking
Do I see it? What lesson(s) can I learn from this arduous time? What new, good thing is God doing right now? What is the new treasure in this tough challenge?

He Repays on Your Behalf

Posted on May 10, 2021May 9, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

God Knows the Whole Enchilada

Week 10 (May 10 – May 16, 2021)

He Repays on Your Behalf

LISTEN

Verses for Meditation

¹⁹O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!
²⁰They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.

– Psalm 139:19, 20 (NLT)

From the scriptures above, we can imagine that David is quite upset with his enemies and wants God to give them what he thinks they deserve. Can any of you relate to his mindset?

We want to remind you right away that God has commanded all of us to love one another – even those who have done wrong to us (extremely hard, we know). We don’t mean that you should be unwise and not set up appropriate boundaries, as you cannot live healthy lives without proper limits, but we are not to revenge others for their misdeeds to us. For example, maybe you should not decide that you need to “beat them up!”

God said for us to leave payback to Him. And God is not like man. He knows how to administer discipline, rebuke, and punishment adequately. But, He also knows better than we do when to show compassion and give grace.

You see, God knows us all intimately. He knows our deepest hurts, our thoughts, our inadequacies, our motives…, and He also knows that about our “enemies.” You have to learn to trust God to handle the difficult people in your lives. You must look to Him for guidance and direction as to the appropriate steps to take in relating to them.

Think About It

Can you relate to David’s sentiments with someone in your life right now?
What exactly are you feeling at this moment?
Have you taken the time to talk truthfully to God in prayer about what you are sensing?
Have you sought wise counsel from your parents, a pastor, a Christian counselor or a godly friend?
Have you considered what boundaries you need to set up at this time in your particular circumstance?

Praying for You

(Please personalize)

Father, sometimes these wonderful young people can have bad thoughts against those who have hurt them. There are also those who may say evil things about our young people and use their names thoughtlessly. It is especially at these times, O Lord, when we ask that You place a hedge of protection around each student and comfort each child in Your Mighty arms – letting them know that You will repay on their behalf – in Your own time and in Your own way. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great week, young friend!

Blessings!

Sister Hope & Kristi

Something to Remember this year: God Knows the Whole Enchilada!

Believing God (by Beth Moore)

God is who he says he is

I am who he says i am

he can do what he says he can do

i can do all things through christ

God’s word is alive and active in me

Surrender it to God

Posted on May 10, 2021May 18, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

Change the Way you Think

WEEK 11 (May 10 – May 16, 2021)

Surrender it to God

By Hope McCardy & Rashad McCardy

LISTEN

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

– Proverbs 3:5-6

Who can truly understand the times we are living in right now? How will COVID19 eventually turn out? How many more will get sick? How many more will die? Will our economy revive itself? What can businesses do to make ends meet? Will new job opportunities become available? What’s going on with this erratic weather? When will our schools and churches return to normal?

These are all tough questions that we ask ourselves in these ongoing challenging days of this global pandemic. When is it going to…?

We may not know the end. We might not understand it all. We may well be in a state of complete shock and disbelief. But, we know that as long as this is the path God wants us to walk, it will end well. Remember the tremendously hard lives of our brother Joseph in Egypt and our friend Mordecai in Persia? Look at the extraordinary work God did in and through them….

God’s plans for us are always what’s best for our lives. Right now is the time to surrender it all to Him and trust Him to show us what next to do.

My Prayer

(Pray for your husband and children as well)

Father, I want to seek Your will in all that I do. Help me to stop being so self-centered and me-focused.

Thank You for being so faithful to me. Thank You for Your ongoing willingness to show me the best pathway I should take. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Memo to Self

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Surrender it all to God.

Changing the Way you Think

My Old Way of Thinking
What is going on? I don’t know what is best for me right now.
My New Way of Thinking
Since God knows His perfect plan for my life, I surrender it all to Him.

Precious Thoughts About You

Posted on May 3, 2021April 25, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

God Knows the Whole Enchilada

Week 9 (May 3 – May 9, 2021)

Precious Thoughts About You

Verses for Meditation

¹⁷How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

– Psalm 139:17, 18 (NLT)

This week, meditate on God’s Word: “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!” And drink it all in.

God is constantly thinking precious thoughts about you. Because of His deep love and care for every concern in your life, you are always on His mind. The number of treasured thoughts He thinks about you are too many to count. They cannot be numbered! They outnumber the grains of sand!

Wow! We can just imagine the creative thoughts God thinks about you:

“I (God) wonder if my child knows that he/she is My son or daughter…? I question that he/she realizes that he/she is:

Beloved of God
Heir with My Son, Jesus
Chosen by Me
Fearfully and wonderfully made
The apple of God’s eye
An overcomer
Healed by His stripes
God’s workmanship
His masterpiece
Complete in Christ

And so on and on and on and on…, so many priceless thoughts God has of you.”

You will never truly appreciate, on your own, God’s deep love and care for everything that matters to you. O young friends, although God knows the whole enchilada, you are so precious to Him in so many ways. You cannot count the exact number of ways.

Think About It

Do you really believe that God is always with you? Always?
Can you imagine some of the precious (treasured, valued, wonderful) thoughts He thinks about you?
Are these the kinds of thoughts you think about yourself?

Praying for You

(Please personalize)

Precious Lord, You think that all these young men and women are so special. You think numerous, uncountable, treasured thoughts about them: wonderful thoughts that outnumber the grains of sand on the vast beaches. And no matter where they are, You are with them. You are, indeed, with each precious child. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great week, young friend!

Blessings!

Sister Hope & Kristi

Something to Remember this year: God Knows the Whole Enchilada!

Believing God (by Beth Moore)

God is who he says he is

I am who he says i am

he can do what he says he can do

i can do all things through christ

God’s word is alive and active in me

Seek God First

Posted on May 3, 2021April 25, 2021 by Empowering Your HOPE

Change the Way you Think

WEEK 10 (May 3 – May 9, 2021)

Seek God First

By Hope McCardy & Rashad McCardy

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

– Matthew 6:33

Most times, when something happens in our lives where we are not sure exactly what to do, our first response is to attempt to fix the problematic issue ourselves. We try different things to get the matter sorted out (our way), and if that doesn’t work, we often ask our buddies’ opinions on the matter.

God is frequently our last resort.

When we select to seek God’s Kingdom first: when we run to Father God, read His Word, meditate on It, believe It, and act on It, we are actually doing what’s best for us. But when we seek to solve our concerns our own way, we can actually end up really hurting ourselves.

My Prayer

(Pray for your husband and children as well)

Lord God, thank You for the command to seek You above all and to live righteously. Without Your tender guidance, I would certainly go astray all too often. I humbly ask for Your shepherding wisdom to strengthen my determination. And gracious Lord, thank You so much for providing everything I need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Memo to Self

Put God first. Earnestly seek Him about everything and learn to depend on Him.

Changing the Way you Think

My Old Way of Thinking
I have to figure out this situation myself.
My New Way of Thinking
I am going to seek God first. I want His insight on this matter.

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