Me and My Big Mouth : )

Boy. I am amazed at how quickly God answers my prayers sometimes. Remember what I wrote a couple weeks ago time about wanting Him to deal with my ungrateful, whiny attitude? WOW. Did He EVER answer! (It’s always the best when I’m asking for things He’s prompting me to ask for… like He already has something wonderful to give me and He can’t wait for me to think to ask for it on my own – so he helps by making me see I need it, so I’ll want it, so I’ll ask for it, so He can give it to me already!) (Did you get that?) So. The night after I wrote that post I watched the week 6 video session of Believing God by Beth Moore and boy, was she ever fired up!!! She was talking about God's word being alive and active in us and about us needing to USE OUR MOUTHS to speak the truth and tell the mountains in our lives that were in the way of God's will for us to "MOVE IT!" (I wish every one of you would do this study because it is just so powerful and full of truth. God has been speaking to me SO MUCH through it!) As I was listening to her, I just knew God was giving me the answer to my prayers. He was telling me exactly how to break the power of the whining. Not just by praising Him, but by deciding and declaring that with God's strength I WAS GOING TO BE GRATEFUL and telling ungratefulness to get out of the way and out of my heart! I decided I was DONE with complaining and DONE letting it steal so much energy from me. And God agreed. : ) Throughout the next days He showed me verses and truth about how many things were hard for me just because I thought they were hard and about what He really wanted me to be doing with my big mouth. (And in case you don't know me in person, I do have a big mouth. Quite literally!) God also showed me that one of the reasons I was complaining and feeling sorry for myself so much was that I was believing Satan's lies that I was defeated or would never be victorious in certain areas of my life. I had to reject and renounce that lie and start believing and declaring that I was going to be victorious because in 2 Corinthians 2:14, God says so! ("But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.") God and I still have a lot of things to conquer in my life, but I feel like for the first time in a LONG time, I am living in victory over my old bad attitude. I'm continuing to choose to be grateful and refusing to complain and feel sorry for myself. And the most amazing thing has happened. Not only to I feel entirely different, but God is opening doors for me that have been closed for a long time. In the last 2 weeks He has scheduled me for several upcoming opportunities to use my big mouth to share with others at church in worship and teaching. And even though I'm still not sure how exactly I'm going to have time to do it all, God is doing something new in me and I absolutely believe the doors are now open because I have stopped complaining and living in defeat. Here is my new job description. : ) Colossians 3:15-17 says this: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." I could go on and on... but am going to save it for next time and stop before you fall asleep. Or before I do. : ) With a Thankful Heart, Melissa