One nugget of wisdom can instantly bring clarity to any difficult decision. Wisdom is the picture of new hope and a new possibility for the situations that stand before us.  We are to ask for wisdom knowing that God will respond with the answer, idea, or nugget of truth necessary to scale our mountain!

What difficulties are you facing today? Difficult times require strong faith, and difficult times produce champions! I think of Noah who built an ark when no one understood rain or recognized the flood ahead of them. We can build an ark through our prayers and communion with God. When all things seem difficult, remember our heroes of faith!

God is a partner in our labor working things together for us. What a pleasure it is to trust in HIM, knowing that He is working behind the scenes on our behalf!

Why do people fear if they believe that the Creator of the universe lives inside of them? Why do people expect the worst when all things are possible to those who believe, as Jesus has spoken? Why do people think they will be in isolation, when Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you?

I can with confidence predict that we are more than conquerors in every situation as the scripture declares. Our greatest days are right ahead of us as we navigate the waters in these rapids of the river of life. Every river has a little rough water but no concern. The boat was designed for the rapids. This is when it performs its best!

Relax in God’s boat. Jesus is in the boat with you, so enjoy the ride as it carries you through some twists and turns this coming year. You will be the better for it!

I have walked the overcoming fear pathway for many years with nothing more than the Word of God in my heart, a positive confession in my mouth, and a small band of committed partners! I have seen His miracles and I know that God will not fail us! He is true to His Word! He is with us!

As we step into this brand new year set before us, remember what God has promised to His people: “Fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them (the obstacles of life): for the LORD will be with you!” Joshua 10:25 (emphasis mine)

We find people today are looking for more than a job. They are looking for a life of meaning and a work they can commit themselves to. At a young age with a certain degree of success and friendship, I had a question in my mind: “Is this all there is?” What I found was beyond my wildest dreams! A life without limits was being offered to me! This same life is offered to every person. Today people are chasing after jobs and are glad to have one, but security is not satisfaction.

The good news is that every job is a joy if you see it tied to something bigger and significant for your quest of life. Jesus came into this earth from the Father and Creator of all things. He said you can have life like My Father and I have life. You can let go of your limitations and enter a place where the source of all things is not limited by economy or government or education or country.

Jesus opened the door when He said: “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.  I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”  Mark 11:22 NLT

The possibility stands before you. Go for it!

Thomas Edison overcame adversity many times in his life. A classic example of this occurred in 1914, when a fire ravaged the phonograph factory at his West Orange, New Jersey complex. The 67 year-old Edison lost approximately $5 million that night – the equivalent of $75 million today. His son Charles raced to his father’s side, thinking the sight of the blazing factory would be too devastating for him. Instead, Charles was amazed to see his father smiling. He told his son, “Go get your mother! She’ll never have a chance to see anything like this again in her entire life!” Edison then called a meeting with his key staff members and immediately began organizing the recovery campaign. He urged his team to focus on rebuilding the phonograph factories in a way that “took advantage of the latest improvements in factory design.”

Edison’s response to the fire demonstrates his irrepressibly optimistic nature. As biographer Dr. Paul Israel describes it, “Where others might see disaster and failure, he was always optimistically looking for opportunities and seeing the possibility of new directions for improvements.”

During World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, the general replied, “Sir, I am not a brave man . . . the truth is, I am an utterly craven coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that I had sweat in the palms of my hands.”

Years later, when Patton’s autobiography was published, it contained this significant statement by the general: “I learned very early in my life never to take counsel of my fears.”

If you are to do anything in life you will face risk of failure. There are healthy fears that protect you, like a fear of jumping off the garage roof. These type of fears protect you, but there are many unhealthy fears that paralyze you, like fear of tomorrow, fear of poverty, fear of sickness, fear of failure, etc.

We have been given the weapons to live a fear free life, but we must use those weapons to address the fears. Patton had it right. Don’t take council of your fears.

Thinking is central to creativity! Our mentor, Dr. TL Osborn, famous missionary statesmen, instilled in my husband and I the importance of deliberate thought. Most people drift through life allowing others to think for them. Some people wake up in the morning and resolve to think for the day, yet others awake and decide to think for the week. But the real winners in life resolve to think for a whole month and even dare to target innovative and inventive ideas.

If we do not anticipate change or the potential limitation found in daily routine, the normalcy of life can limit our creative thought! You might be faced with unanticipated problems or crisis scenarios. Creative thinking allows us to anticipate future problems, resolve existing crises, and develop new solutions for life!

In my “10 Ideas for Creativity” workbook, which I encourage you to download today, we explore concepts to stimulate creative thought. http://bit.ly/1EiSCqN