I Believe

In the Shadow of doubt

My thoughts from "A Confident Heart" by Renee Swope, Chapter one Discovering the Shadow of My Doubts.

Doubt is your thoughts gone astray.  Like a child who has wondered into the dark woods, our thoughts can lead us into the dark shadows of our mind.  Our thoughts, like our children, must be watched, nurtured & held accountable for their wrongs.  When the dark shadows sneak up on you, overshadowing you, do not get lost in its darkness.  Turn and follow the light.  God is our light and His word will change the way you think, which will change the way you feel and eventually transform the way you live. 

Fix your thoughts on God and God will fix your thoughts.

Then you will know that I am the Lord.  Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.  Isaiah 49:23b

And always remember,
 "What God told you in the light, remember in the darkness.  Rest in Him, stand on His Word!!" Paula White

Be Gracious

Be gracious in your triumphs and be even more gracious in others failures. Scott Penn

Sent from my iPhone

Thank you Lord for my ears & eyes.  Please help me to remember that these fuel my heart, which in turn over flows out of my mouth, resulting in the way others feel about themselves, myself and you.

P31 Newbie

I’m a P31 Newbie

Living a busy life in a small rural area, I’m always looking for ways to interact with other Christian Ladies, so you can imagine my excitement to start my first ever online Bible Study with Proverbs 31 Ministry’s!!!

October 13^th will begin our study of “A Confident Heart” by Renee Swope.  This is a perfect follow up to the self-esteem study from “I Love me, I Love Me Not (a study of a Christian Woman’s Self-Esteem) by Rosemary Whittle McKnight that my Church’s Ladies Bible Class just finished.  I believe that in order to become the woman God wants me to be…., the woman God wants every woman to be, we must continue to search for ways to grow stronger in our Christian walk and a Confident Heart sounds like the perfect study for that!

Divine Intervention

When your day doesn't go exactly as planned, remember there is a Higher Power who knows best!  Think of those aggravating interruptions as Divine and thank God for taking charge of your direction…., Where would we be without it.   Patricia Gibson

Chapter 4: The World's Values

Chapter 4:  The World’s Values  

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever: (I John 2:15-17)

Clearly the “worlds” values should not be those of a Christian woman, however because we are forced to live in the “world” (so to speak) we are regularly subjected to the “World’s Values”.  Once we become adult’s, we should realize that “peer pressure” doesn’t stop just because we have finished school.  It is an ever present evil that nag’s especially to those with a low self esteem.  Others were around on a daily basis (weather on our jobs, or those through Media outlets such as Television, radio, Magazines etc are all trying to influence you to become what they believe in.  These all pull at our weakness’s to try & make of think we need to change & be more like “them”.

As Christian’s we must always remember the warning from  the above passage of 1 John 2:15-17

          Lust of the Eyes -  (the scripture list “lust of the flesh” first, but I chose to mention “Lust of the eyes” first because it is often THROUGH this lust of the Eye, that we fall into the other “Lust” mentioned.

Our hearts are filled through the path of the eyes.  What we see (and hear) goes into our hearts.  So we must be careful to recognize those things that are not pleasing unto God and shield out heart from them.  Don’t allow those things that “look good” to fill your heart & cloud your spiritual judgment.  These will cause us to take actions that are not pleasing to our path to God. (Examples could be: keeping up with the neighbors (from # of kids or what your kids do to the “man of your house” to materialism)

Lust of the Flesh - is a sinful actions brought about because of fleshly desires.  Sinful because it goes against God’s commands but fleshly because it is simply pleasing to “one’s self”, because of our lack of self discipline, allowing us to take action upon it.  The actions itself does not necessarily have to be a sin (going to an amusement park as opposed to adultery), however if that non sinful desire causes you to go against God’s command, still causing you to sin, it is a lust of the flesh.  Remember Jesus’ parable of the sower, we will eventually reap what we sow and Matthew 16: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (KJV) 

           Pride of Life - A strong Christian should find fulfillment in pleasing God. Whether a stay at home mom or a career driven supper mom who still puts God & her family first,  Don’t allow what others define you as, be who you are.  Each person has some quality that could be desiring to another.  Let those things that “stand out” about you be the type of thing that will make others be a stronger more faithful person/Christian.  Don’t “desire the praise of men more than the praise of God (John 12:43)

The opposite of Pride is humility!  The highest form of fulfillment comes from unselfishly giving yourself away. (See Phil 2:3-4)  Prides focuses our attention on ourselves while humility focuses our attention on others.  The person who is busy doing God’s will, God’s work, has no time to focus on themselves because all of their time & attention is devoted to service God through serving others.

Conclusion:  As Christian women, we have been “set apart”, we are called and are chosen.  Others may try to influence us to become what they believe in but as Christian Women, we must strive on a daily basis to influence others to become what we believe in…., which is what God has called us to do.

A Pumpkin's Light

This Little Pumpkin Light of mine!

by Patricia Foley-Gibson

as Published on the ChristianMirror website



The Fall season of Harvesting is now upon us! I have been anxiously awaiting the crisp air and cooler temperatures that this colorful season has to offer and the time has finally arrived. This is a time when the fruits of the earth are ready to be gathered. Our grocery stores and roadside stands are filled with fall produce. When I see them, I always want to take some home to use for decoration. From stalks of cane and cotton, to gourds and pumpkins, I love to bring God’s Fall creations inside.

Pumpkins are also a Halloween favorite. In the fall of my son’s third grade year, he was encouraged by his teacher to enter a pumpkin-decorating contest. This was my first real experience with actually transforming a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. Soon our chosen pumpkin was hulled and its face carved. Then we faced our biggest problem, getting mother and son to agree on the final touches. In the end we had a rather cute, freckled-faced pumpkin, wearing a straw hat and a red bandanna! No awards were won, but the memories were very sweet. Even sweeter than the pumpkin cake I later baked. After the contest, the pumpkin was placed on our front porch with a candle carefully placed inside, making our decorated pumpkin into a real Jack-O-Lantern!

The pumpkins we use for Jack-O-Lanterns today are believed to be from the New World and not native of Europe, which is where the legends surrounding Halloween began. They are, however, part of the same family.

Many myths and legends surround not only pumpkins, but also Halloween itself. When you look at the historical facts of the era,*** it is clear to see that these legends are far-fetched (as most legends are). It is true that many only see the evil, satanic side associated with Halloween, but I choose to look at the good in something rather than the evil. Just as Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, "Every sweet has its sour; every evil its good." I choose to find the good! How about you?

Below is a story that I received in an email. The author’s name is unknown but the contents will forevermore remind me of the "good" that can be found in a Jack-O-Lantern of Halloween.

A lady had recently been baptized.

One of her co-workers asked her what

it was like to be a Christian.



She was caught off guard and didn't know how to answer; but when she looked up, she saw a jack-o'-lantern on the desk and answered: "It's like being a pumpkin."



The co-worker asked her to explain.



"Well, God picks you from the patch and brings you in and washes off all the dirt on the outside that you got from being around all the other pumpkins.



Then he cuts off the top and takes all the yucky stuff out from inside. He removes all those seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.

Then he carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all to see.

It is our choice to either stay outside and rot on the vine or come inside and be something new and bright."



I'll never look at a pumpkin the same way again!!

You have probably never explained your religious beliefs in this way, but I hope that you are prepared to do so! We are instructed in 1 Peter 3:15 to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (KJV). As Christians, we are to tell others about Christ. This is made so much easier when we make a habit of seeing the "good" in something instead of the bad.

After becoming a Christian, having the dirt of the world washed away and that smiley face put on, we are filled with a "Christian Glow" that shines for all to see, much like that smiling Jack-O-Lantern! Today we must keep that light burning inside of us, brightly enough for others to see! And to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Whatever our opinion of Halloween, this season, as we view the many jack-o-lanterns that decorate our front porches and towns, let them be a reminder to us as children of God, to let our Christian Light shine too!



Patricia Foley Gibson

2001