Month: November 2012

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.30.12

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I wait for Yahweh; I wait and put my hope in His word.

Psalms 130:5 HCSB

Pray
I pray for patience to wait for what is meant for me, and understanding to accept delays, setbacks, and disappointments—because not everything I want is intended for me.

Reflection
When we are impatient we fail to wait on God, which means we doubt Him. How can we claim to love and worship Him, yet we don’t trust Him?

Lovingly,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.29.12

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No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers. By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.

James 1:13-16, 18 HCSB

Pray
Father please cleanse me. I have at times and most recently been dishonest, fearful, doubtful, easily angered or frustrated, have cursed, and been unloving.
I ask for forgiveness and pray for strength. Help me Lord.

Reflection
Even in our attempts to not hurt others, telling a lie is plain and simple, a lie—stop trying to sugarcoat it or reduce it to something less than what it is. So I pray for forgiveness for the times this week when I didn’t tell the whole truth, for the times when I tried to craft my words just right so not to hurt a person (or reveal my weakness), and in doing so I was not honorable.

What chain reaction did I cause?

I will never say to anyone that we should just be blatant and brutal in our speech, but consider the times when we hesitated or completely refused to be honest with someone because we didn’t want them hurt or because we didn’t want to be on the receiving end of someone’s wrath or grief. But I will say this, instead of telling a lie why don’t we honestly admit our discomfort and explain that we are torn between being fully transparent, and telling a lie, in order to protect ourselves or that person?

I’ve lied before to protect the person I was speaking to and later on that lie came back to haunt me. Here I thought I was helping, and all I did was cause more harm. Had I honestly expressed the discomfort I was feeling and explained the potential impact that my honesty could cause, this person would then have the option of hearing the truth or walking away—not walking away with my lie in their mind and heart—just to later find out that I also deceived them.

Share your thoughts.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.27.12

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My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the Lord .

Lamentations 3:17,18 HCSB

Pray
Father I may have tough times in life but I pray that I am never without hope, feel forgotten or abandoned. Forgive me for the times I may feel punished or alone. You know my heart Lord. Forgive me for my weakness and limited thinking.

Forgive me for putting limitations on myself due to my age, for I know that also means I believe You are limited in Your capability to make possible all things.

Forgive me for not believing at all times that You will bless me with the things I need before the things I want, and that anything meant for me will never be given to someone else. I pray for strength and courage today and all days. Amen.

Reflection
There are times when I feel as though the things I want most in life may never be awarded to me, and then other times I feel as though the reason I don’t have it is because I’m still not ready to possess that gift from God.

It hurts when my feelings get darker and I then focus on the belief that the reason I don’t have what I want is because I’m being punished for a past sin. Those moments I cry out for forgiveness because God’s Word says that in our repentance comes His forgiveness, and an erasure of the wrong we have done.

When my thoughts and feelings go dark I know that the “enemy” is working overtime and I give it power by focusing and dwelling on the darkness, rather than rebuking it and calling in God’s Light.

There are three things in life that I’ve always wanted since I was a small child, and I’ve come close a couple of times to having these things and then it doesn’t happen due to decisions I have made and what I have believed to be God’s voice redirecting me. I have to trust and believe that I made the right decisions because my life would definitely be different now had I pursued those other paths.

Had I pursued those other paths I would not have continued my education in pursuit of my PhD, or taken part in certain activities and with specific people. My life would have been even more of a struggle, and I’m not sure if I would have heard and answered God’s calling for me to begin this Breaking Bread message.

So even in pain and fear I am grateful for what God has done for me, helped me to see, helped me to avoid, and helped me to embrace. Each day I am working on believing and having faith that the three things I want most will be rightfully, lovingly, and richly blessed upon me—if that is God’s will. I must never doubt Him.

Where are you in your journey? How strong is your faith? How quickly can you identify and rebuke the “enemy’s” advances upon you?

Share your stories and testimony.

Love your sister in Christ,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.26.12

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⌊I pray⌋ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Ephesians 1:17 HCSB

Pray
Father open my eyes to see, warm my heart to feel, tune my ears to hear, mold my mind to understand, and refine my palette so that I may truly appreciate taste. Lift me up. I want to be a good servant Lord. I want to be a good student and steward. Feed me Father.

Reflection
We need to desire God’s presence, guidance, protection, and wisdom with more passion and desire than we lust for the temporariness of superficial things. We slave away to buy a new gadget, car, clothes—yet we don’t invest that much time, energy, and care into serving our Father, and following His Son.

God consistently takes care of our temporary, short-term, long-term, and eternal needs. No where, no one, and nothing else can do that.

Ponder that.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.23.12

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Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe ⌊in Him⌋ so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 HCSB

Pray
I woke this morning thanks to You Lord. I took a deep breath and my eyes blinked, thanks to You Lord. When I swallowed and had movement of my limbs, it was because of You.

Father each day I have hope that I will rise to see a tomorrow. Each day my faith is strengthened to believe that the rough patches can always be made smooth by You.

Father strengthen me so that I have faith to see past obstacles, to believe in the impossible, and work through all things. Give me the strength to smile through every situation. In Your name I humbly pray. Amen.

Reflection

Smile.
Yes, you read that correctly, I told you to smile. So smile.

What happened when you smiled? What physical and emotional change did you notice?

Now frown.
Really make your face scrunch up. Feel the tension on your forehead, lips, cheeks, jawline, and neck.

How does it feel?
What thoughts came to your mind as you frowned?
How did your body begin to change?
Did your energy begin to shift?

Smile.
Bigger.
Bigger.
Show those pearly white teeth.
You can do better than that. Smile!!!

How do you feel?
Did you notice any physical or emotional changes? Do you notice a difference from frowning?

Now consider this, if every time you experienced complications, struggle, frustration, and disappointment, instead of frowning you smiled. What do you think you would begin to experience immediately? Short-term? Long-term?

Our smile is our hope. Our smile is the faith we have that everything is A-Okay. Our smile changes our energy and outlook, and makes our bodies respond differently. It is healing and nurturing not only for ourselves but for others. Don’t believe me?

Today I want you to spend the entire day smiling at other people, even if they don’t smile back or are rude to you—just smile. You will be amazed at the results.

We have a lot to be thankful for. We have a lot of praising and celebrating to do. So get up, get out, and celebrate!

Enjoy your day and your weekend, and please share your smiling experiences from today and this weekend. I would love to read your stories, and I know my readers would love to read them also.

Love always,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.22.12

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raising my voice in thanksgiving and telling about Your wonderful works.

Psalms 26:7 HCSB

Pray
Father thank You for this day, another day of life. Thank You for my family and friends. Thank You for my daily bread and for the strength to carry on each day. Thank You for my savior Jesus Christ, the redeemer of all and my path to You. I love You Lord. Amen

Reflection
Stop what you are doing this very second and just give thanks to God for everything you are, everything you’re not, everything you have, and everything He has spared you from.

Now share your blessings with others by being a blessing. Show your thanks. This isn’t just about a turkey or ham, or about the cruelty that was behind this particular holiday celebrated in the U.S. Let us look to the giving of thanks and celebrations noted in the Bible, and from that give glory and praise to God. Don’t ever be ashamed to celebrate your life in His name. Have a splendid holiday.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 11.21.12

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Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart, ‘The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,’ and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him ⌊nothing⌋. He will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty.

Deuteronomy 15:9 HCSB

Pray
Father forgive me of my debts and touch the heart of my debtors, that they too will forgive my debts. I pray that all debts owed to me are forgiven by me, so that no one is burdened. Let the cycle end at the time You command—to never exceed seven years. Let there be no bad feelings between myself and debtors and those I am indebted to. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Reflection
Although there is a debt system in place within the U.S. that is to forgive debts by year seven, many debt collectors find creative ways to circumvent this rule, which keeps debtors on the line an additional seven years—a cycle many people can’t seem to free themselves from.

Now let’s switch things up…

Do you forgive personal debts owed to you or do you dwell on what was owed to you? The Bible says that at year seven we are to squash all debts, forgive our debtors as we would want to be forgiven.

Someone close to me always says, “if you are going to loan money then give it freely without expectation of repayment” and this mindset frees you of the weight of wondering if you will be repaid. I also recall a saying that explains our debt and slow repayment cycle, “if you find that people are slow to pay you money, it’s most likely because you are slow to pay people”. Do you pay your bills on time each month, or do you pay late? What you put in the atmosphere is what comes back to you. So when you wait and wait and wait for someone to pay you for work performed, or a loan due, think about the cycle you first started. If it doesn’t feel good being on the receiving end, then begin to change your ways.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2012. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.