Joshua 24:15 "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household. we will serve the Lord."

Then, choose to "put on" the whole armor of God...

Eph 6:12-18 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

When you are battling your thoughts, you know who is behind it! Or maybe you don't... Satan's battleground is the mind! He is not able to read your thoughts like God does, but he will listen to your words and use them to put negative, destructive thoughts into your mind. Right now, he's telling you "What does she know? You think for yourself!" Don't be deceived! If I had known this in my earlier years, it might have caused me to have come to this place sooner! Remember, we are victorious... We have a Book that tells us what to do and what to think on...

Phil 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praisworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

And our thoughts, we are given instruction on what to do with negative thoughts ...

2 Cor 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

For now, with Christ living in us, we have the very mind of Christ...

1 Cor 2:16b But we have the mind of Christ.

And with Him in us, we have hope...

Col 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul tells us how to handle hard times and not to give in to the despair or downward spirals of feelings...

Phil 1:6 ...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Now, instead of turning your focus inward, turn it outward to the world who has no hope... the ones that are going through the hardest times of their lives...

Eph 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

James 1:2-8, 12  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.... Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

It truly is all about choice. No one, not even God, will force you to choose Him. He wants you to choose to love Him as He has chosen to love you! Knowing that when you choose the Lord, the enemy, or Satan, will become your worst nightmare! And your only means of survival will be to know / learn your weapon... the sWORD>... the Word of God. Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness wirh Word, but He countered with whole word... He was not deceived. God is on your side, but it is all up to you. Develop the personal relationship that He wants with you... develop this relationship by talking to Him and spending time with Him... learning all He desires you to know. He wants all of us to spend eternity with Him. And that's FOREVER... it's up to each individual person to make that choice! Find a Bible-teaching church. Give your testimony -- what the Lord has done to bring you to Him... if they are right with the Lord, you will be welcomed and loved and nourished with the Word. If they turn up their noses and look down on you, don't take it personal... kick the dust off your feet and go to another church! Ask God to direct your steps... because you've asked, He will!!! Any church that does not accept a repentant sinner will not have God in the house!

One more thing: Jeremiah 29:11 is a promise: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. And that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Now for those of us who claim to have Christ within in us, we must stand, and not be moved, by circumstances beyond our control. We cannot expect any person, place or thing to rescue us from the times we are facing... only Christ in us, the hope of glory. Let there be no grumbling on your lips that might cause a weaker saint to stumble. Our future depends on how we handle situations in these times. So what if you're not having "fun"... it's all in the perspective! Take a break and get alone with the Lord. Pour out your heart to Him... He knows what's going on, but He also knows what's ahead. If you grumble and complain about the little, when it gets even worse than you can imagine, will you be able to stand? Just saying...

God bless!

Love, Tess