Joyce Meyer Book

I highly recommend Joyce Meyer's book "Confident Woman." It's definitely on my list of influential books. I didn't know I needed to read this until I did. Below are some things in the book that I liked..i could literally type out so many pages:

Pg 5

• confidence allows us to face life with boldness, openness, and honesty. It enables us to live without worry and feel safe. It enables us to live authentically.
• people with low confidence, on the other hand, are not sure about anything. They are double-minded, indecisive people who are tormented by self doubt. They second -guess (and third and fourth guess) themselves. As a result they don't live boldly. They live little, narrow lives, and they miss out on the big rewarding lives God wants them to enjoy.

Pg 10

• John Wayne said , "Courage is not the absence of fear it is action in the presence of fear. bold people do what they know they should do-not what they feel like doing."
• ....As I write these words, I feel very excited for you. I truly believe this book will be life-changing for many of you who read it. It may be a good reminder for some of you, but for others it will help you step out onto the path of your true life. The life that has been waiting for you since the beginning of time-and the one you may be missing due to fear and intimidation. Satan is the master of intimidation, you can take authority over him by simply placing confidence in Jesus Christ and stepping out boldly to be all you can be, God told Joshua, "Fear not, for I am with you." He is sending the same message today: FEAR NOT! God is with you and he will never leave you , nor forsake you.
• Abraham was told, "God is with you in all that you do" (Genesis 21:22). that sounds like a large living to me. Are you ready for a larger life, one that leaves you feeling satisfied and fulfilled? i believe you are, and i want to do everything I can to help you on your journey.

Pg 45

• A person is not a failure because she tried some things that did not work out. She fails only when she stops trying.
• Recovering from pain or disappointment of any kind is not something that just happens to some people and not to others. It is a decision!You make a decision to let go and go on. You learn from your mistakes. You gather up the fragments and give them to Jesus and he will make sure nothing is wasted (John 6:12). You refuse to think about what you have lost, but instead you inventory what you have left and begin using it, Not only can you recover, but you can also be used to help other people recover. Be a living example of a confident woman who always recovers from setbacks mo matter how difficult or frequent they are. Don't ever say, "I just cannot go on,". Instead say, "I can do whatever I need to do through Christ who strengthens me. I will never quit, because God is on my side."

I absolutely love that! I think that's an important reminder to us all.

Pg 4Joyce talks about two kinds of people..a bold and shy person ..I'm typing out the shy person because I could identify more with that person than the bold person

• A shy person shrinks back from many things that she should confront. There are many things she would like to say or do, but she's paralyzed by fear. I believe we must learn to step out into things and find out what God has for us in life. A more timid approach may protect individual from making mistakes, but the result is that they spend their lives wondering "what could have been." Bold people, on the other hand, make more mistakes , but they recover and eventually find what is right and fulfilling for them.. Making mistakes is not the end of the world. We can learn from mistakes. In fact, one of the few mistakes we cannot recover from is the mistake of never being willing to make one in the first place! God works through our faith, not our fear. Don't sit on the sidelines of life wasting you were doing the things you see other people doing. Take action and get a life!
• If a person is naturally introverted or extroverted , she will always have a greater tendencies toward that natural trait-and that is not wrong. As we have stated previously, God creates all of us differently. However, we can have the life we desire and still not deny who we are. So search your heart and ask yourself what you believe God wants you to do --and then do it. Where He guides, He always provides. If God is asking you to step out into something that is uncomfortable for you, I can assure you when you take the step of faith, you will find him walking beside you.

When I resumed reading my book after i got the job offer this is what i read in bold.

Pg 85

• God wants to give you favor-kindness that you don't deserve. Supernatural favor can be expressed in different ways . You may get the job you want but are not naturally qualified for.

Pg 89

• Preparation equips us to move confidently.
• When God gives us a job to do we often think it will be easy to accomplish. However, most things are harder than you ever imagine, they take longer than you ever thought you could endure but they also pay greater dividends than you could imagine.
• When God called me into ministry I thought it would happen right away. I did not realize that I had a great deal to learn before I was prepared for the ministry God wanted for me.

Pg 94

• The kind of preparation you need depends on what you are being called to do and your season in life at that time. If you have something in your heart that you believe you are supposed to do but are unable to do it now, don't let that discourage you. We hold some things in our hearts for years before we see them manifest. Let your dream incubate in your heart. Pray about it and do whatever you can to be ready when the time is right.

Pg 97

• I encourage you to let everything in life be preparation for the things in your future. Let every experience be something you learn from. Don't despise the days of small beginnings. Those small beginnings are usually all we can handle at the time. God will give more when He knows we are ready. Enjoy every step of your journey. Don;t be in such a hurry to rush through things that you miss the lessons you can draw from each day.
• If you do what you can do then God will do and what you cannot do. Do your best to be prepared for the job in front of you and God will come with some supernatural abilities that will amaze you.

Another item that God spoke loudly hence why i bolded it.

• To be prepared, you don't have to worry about the part you don't know how to do, just do the part you know. Your faith-filled actions are seeds you sow. Sow your seed in faith and God will bring a harvest at just the right time.

Pg 103 The heading for this chapter was "Prepare for Promotion"....oh Lord

• Joyce told story of how some of her former employees missed a great opportunity because they wanted promotion but they were not willing to prepare, they were not willing to take additional training or learn new skills to help them improve. These employees were very valuable but they did not continue getting training, even though it was offered so they could go into future with them

Knock ..knock....

Pg 179

• Instead if being afraid of something you are not familiar with, familiarize yourself with it. Do some research or ask some questions. It might take a little effort o do so, but it is better than being tormented by fear.

Pg 189

• Always living in a safe zone of life and never taking chances actually makes one a thief and a robber. you might think that statement is a bit strong but the truth is always strong, and the truth also makes me free. If I spend my life keeping myself safe then i rob everyone else of my gifts and talents simply because I am too afraid to step out and be willing to find out what I can do in life.

That's a really good point!

I think I've given enough of this book away!

Amazing Book

I forgot to mention on my post about the library about the great find I saw as i was leaving the art section. I ran across a book called "Letters to a Young Artist" Building A Life In Art by Julia Cameron. Can i say this is among my books of influential books? It is amazing!!! I almost finished this easy read of 160 pages. There's a few letters that don't hit me in a particular way but then there's those pages that does and i scream YES!!! Below are excerpts of the goodness ive found. its so inspiring to me as im meeting myself as the artist. This was the book i needed to strengthen and encourage that inner child of mine. i kinda wish i read this when i was younger but im a big believer in things happening at the right time.

• Pg 9-Making art takes guts. Choosing to be vulnerable and exposed rather than safely blocked is a risky venture.
• Pg 15-Making art is as natural as breathing. Just like breathing, you do need to do it, and with coaching you can perhaps learn to do it better.
• Pg 35-Your job is not to be interesting but to be interested. If you are interested enough by what is trying to come through you., you will forget your conventional self and respond in authentic and often surprising ways to the creative force moving through you.
• Creativity is not something you possess but something that expresses through you.
• Pg 58-If art is a spiritual activity and we area ll equally sourced in God, then that tells you both what you need to know and who you need to know:God in the form of creativity itself. Try trusting your unfolding to God and you will be just a little less shattered when someone doesnt like your work. Believe that your gift comes from God and that using it is your gift back to God.
• -pg 83-When we believe "the odds" are stacked against us, we are choosing to believe that "the odds" are more powerful not only than our own gifts but also than God. If the tiny mustard seed can become a tree, if the acorn can become the oak, why cant our ideas flourish into mighty manifestations. It comes down to the question of self-worth, doesn't it?
• pg-97 There is a direct relationship between self-nurturing and our capacity for a sustained creative flow. we dont want to work spasmodically and sporadically/ We want to work consistently and creatively. This means we must treat ourselves as finely tuned mechanisms. We must learn what makes us thrive and give ourselves a diet of those nutrients.
• pg 109 To an eye, an artist never has enough time. and so it is up to us to make time. We need to safegaurd our time against other people and their however well meaning agendas for us. Morning pages..
• Pg 112-what are you doing these days to explore beyond your comfort zone?
• i keep a sign posted in my work area that reads "i am willing to make bad art" (how amazing is that statement ..im going to do this as well...like julia says its shuts down that inner critic)
• Pg 131-Every time you make a piece of art, you locate yourself, your precise position, o n the longitude and latitude of your experience. You learn who you are and what you believe.

Blog that made me think about books in a different way

I was reading previous posts from live your dreams blog http://www.golivethedream.com/blogs/blog and i ran across something that spoke to me.

The post said "you can discover yourself in a book." Not a new concept but totally made me look at thinks differently because there's so much truth in that statement. The posting goes on to say they have a way of putting into words the things we only dream of and then teaching us that they can be reached. (Truth). Let’s jog our memories a bit and recall the theme song that sent our imaginations into another world. I believe the song went something like this:
Butterfly in the sky I can go twice as high.
Take a look,It’s in a book,A reading rainbow.
I can go anywhere,Friends to know,And ways to grow,A reading rainbow.
I can be anything,Take a look,It’s in a a book,A reading rainbow.

When is it that we forget that we can “go anywhere” or “be anything” as the song lyrics remind us? To adopt a childlike faith and imagination we were once so encouraged to have is a courageous thing to do. And if you need a little encouragement, then pick up a book.Pick up a book that will motivate you, one that is one step ahead of where you want to be so when you turn over the last page you find yourself one step ahead of where you were.Might it be that there truly is power and and infinite knowledge, even endless dreams to be discovered inside the pages of a book? As adults we should never forget that to read is power. A friend of mine reminded me that if you read just 10 pages a day, that’s over 3,000 pages and countless books your mind is fed in the course of just one year! Imagine the person you could be 365 days from now.

I found that posting absolutely wonderful because i can look back on the books that have impacted who I am today and see how I'm changed (most importantly the Bible) . Most recently the book that has motivated me is Eat, Love, and Pray. I'm not the same person who started this book. This book has brought inspiration, laughter, truth, and a new way of thinking. Discovery was something that was very much what this year was about for me and why i dont know i didnt really plan on reading a book about self discovery. Not until Carey posted a link for a movie was I touched to read this book. I feel this personal and spirtual discovery just hit home alot because i feel thats what's going on with me. At some point i will try to write out the things that struck me in the book. But for now i want to touch on a Q & A with Elizabeth that I couldnt help but nod my head

Q:The personal encounters you have in Italy, India, and Indonesia seem to affect you deeply, and your guru’s philosophy clearly informs your own. Do you think that self-discovery requires the insights of others? What do you make of this paradox?
A:I don’t see the paradox; I think sincere self-exploration requires the insight of everyone. One of my guru’s most helpful instructions is to “become a scientist of your own experience,” which I take as an invitation to explore every possible line of human spiritual thinking. The world has been blessed with some extraordinary teachers over history—use them! That said, studying can only take you so far. At some point you have to lay aside the books, hope that your mind has actually absorbed some wisdom, and just sit there in silence, letting your soul ascend to its own leadership. And that’s something nobody can do for you.

Q:. Do you think travel necessitates personal growth because one is forced to respond to and accept the unfamiliar? In your opinion, how much does it depend on an individual’s willingness to embrace opportunity?
A: No experience in this world has ever been cathartic without the willing participation of the individual. Life does not automatically bestow wisdom or growth upon anyone just for showing up. You have to work ceaselessly on your end to digest and imbibe your opportunities or, I have come to believe, they will gradually slip away and knock on someone else’s more receptive door

Great Find

I pass by a place where free books sit in my office and there was this book that kept calling out to me (the colors grabbed my attention) but i never took the time to see what it was. Well today I took the time and OMG how glad I am. I'm just 32 pages in but its so good and so right up my alley especially since i found out my purpose. It's called, "The Business and Practice of Coaching Finding Your Niche, Making Money, and Attracting Ideal Clients." This book is practical and honest and gets me thinking about what I want to create and understand the difference between therapy and coaching. in this expressive arts facilitator role I never really thought about coaching being apart of this until i picked up this book and read the cover and Coaching just fit! Then i read how examples of coaching is mentoring, assisting, advising, supporting and then i realized this is exactly what I want to do. I'm so happy .. it's funny that i found this book on the week that Sacred Friday word is "emergence". Ha! God and his sovereign surprises and what he leads us too. This is my first book on the road to my purpose. Next I want to explore art journals.