The Abundant Life Center

by Dona Hake

While driving yesterday I saw something that I never saw before.  With gusts of wind of 40 m.p.h. I looked up and saw a large bird flying.  What was very odd at one point is that even though it was flapping it’s wings it was literally not moving forward.  It dawned on me that it was flying against the gust of wind.  Every so often it would go forward and then it was just flapping it’s wings but going no where.  I saw a wonderful analogy in this as I pondered what I saw.

That bird was doing all it knew to do.  Although the strong winds were coming against this bird’s flight, he just continued flapping it’s wings.  He was not moved by the fact that he was going no where at certain points nor did he look like he was panicking.  He  kept doing the only thing he knew to do.  He never once looked like giving up, he  just kept persevering against the wind.

Many times in life when the winds of trouble come against us and serve to slow us down or stop us, we too need to just keep doing all we know to do.  As we make the decision to stand in faith, it is almost a guarantee that we will be tested, yet God can keep us standing firm and unmovable.

Ephesians 6:13 (AMP)
“Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that

you may be able to resist and stand your ground

on the evil day [of danger], and, having done

all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].”

Just know that as you remain steadfast in your faith and His purposes that He is able to keep you in the difficulties and obstacles and He will cause us to rejoice in the victory!

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by Dona Hake

Look closely at this picture and notice the burdens this individual is giving to the Lord.    Maybe you can put yourself in this image and think about the burdens you may be carrying.    You know, the Lord does not want us to try to carry any burdens.  He came to set us free from those things and as we make the decision to turn them over to Him, He promises to help us with them.

Psalm 55:22
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee…”

I like the absoluteness of this scripture…”HE SHALL SUSTAIN THEE…”   Burdens will hold you down.  Burdens will keep you from moving forward into your dreams.  Burdens will flat out keep you from being free. God desires that you give Him every burden in order that He may anchor you in His hope and He also promises that you will not be shaken or moved.

Matthew 11:29-30  (NLV)
“Follow My teachings and learn from Me.

I am gentle and do not have pride.

You will have rest for your souls.

For My way of carrying a load is easy and My load is not heavy.”

I just want to encourage you to make sure you are not carrying burdens.  Your help is from Him and all you have to do is ask Him to take that burden.  He promised He would and He is faithful to do that which He said in His Word.

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by Dona Hake

As a little girl I can remember one of my Grandmothers having a wall plaque and it had three powerful words written on it…”Jesus Never Fails.”    Those three words always intrigued me.   I would wonder how He could be so perfect and how impossible it seemed that there was someone that could not fail.  His unfailing love just seemed too hard for me to comprehend.   Just the thought of someone never messing up and always being there for me just seemed too great and unreachable.

“…but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in Him.”

Psalm 32:10b  NIV

As you purpose to trust Him with all of your heart He promises to surround you with His unfailing love.    Amazing isn’t it?  Just to try to fathom that His love is incapable of failing.    His love knows only faithfulness.  His love has no beginning and it has no end.   Because His love has no limits,   He promises to always be there as our  faithful Friend.

When you feel like no one understands or you  feel like you are standing alone, know this…if you put your trust in Jesus, He promises to never fail you, leave you or forsake you.   A God of perfect love desires to come along side of you  and encompass you with the beauty of His never ending, unfailing love.

~~~~~♥~~~~~

by Dona Hake

What does it mean to have abundant peace? This sounds like such a treasure doesn’t it? Daily our lives face disruptions that serve to dampen the peace that we strive to hold fast to. I do not know about you but when I feel His peace in the midst of turmoil it is the most wonderful thing to know. Face it, sometimes it seems like all is going well and suddenly it goes downhill fast. It is only His peace that can minister to your heart and mind and that very peace will keep you afloat. The Psalmist speaks that if we love God’s instruction, we will have abundant peace that BELONGS to us.

Psalm 119:165 (HCSB)
“Abundant peace belongs to those
who love Your instruction;
nothing makes them stumble.”

Peace in abundance means that it is present in great quantity; more than adequate and over sufficient! I love the “more than adequate” because sometimes in stressful situations, you not only need peace for yourself but extra to share with those around you. That peace that belongs to you not only keeps you but it can spill out and touch hearts around you.

There is one thing the Lord asks that we do and that is to love His Word. I believe that loving His Word means to embrace it no matter what is going on around us. Loving His Word means looking daily to it for our instruction in the way that we are to walk. His Word is our instruction manual for life. As we love His Word and make a decision to do what it says, He promises that abundant peace belongs to us. I thank Him for that peace!

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by Dona Hake

I absolutely hate if I am trying to do something and I just know that my heart is not in it.  When you are trying to do your job or do something and your heart is not connected it simply feels like you are going through the motions.   I also hate when I know I have to do something and my attitude is not correct.  God desires to work in our everyday things that we have to do.  He certainly can see the maintenance adjustments that are much needed on our heart, mind and soul.  He sees our struggles and He knows well what you dread relative to your job or other responsibilities.

I believe the Lord desires that we work wholeheartedly in all that we set our hand to.

Colossians 3:23 (AMP)
” Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul),

as [something done] for the Lord and not for men…”

In this scripture we can see that as we do anything our focus needs to stay on the Lord.  We need to work as if we are doing it for Him.  As I think about this I cannot help but to think about how our hearts would definitely be more willing even if the job is not pleasant. Another translations says, in ALL the work you are given, do the best you can.   I think that is a great attitude to carry with us as we face each day’s demands and our jobs.  No matter what it is that is your responsibility just simply do the best you can and do it as if you are doing it for Him.  As you pursue to make this a habit of your heart, I guarantee you that He will prosper all that you put your hand to.

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by Dona Hake

Over the past few days I have heard or seen the mention of people reflecting on the past year.  For some it was a wonderful year and maybe for others it was not so good.  While I feel it is important to have dreams and goals, I still hold fast to just living one day at a time.  Even Jesus said that each day has enough in it for us to deal with and we are not to worry too much about our tomorrows.  He went on to say that He would take care of our tomorrows.  I personally feel that embracing each moment with Him is the absolute joyful place to live.  His Word says that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Therefore there is always strength to live each day of my life.

I have been reflecting on how each one of our lives is like a tapestry.  If we allow His handiwork, He has wonderful plans and direction for our lives.  Many times things may not go the way that we  planned.  Many times things can seem painful and they have not turned out the way that we thought they should.  With any tapestry there are knots and hanging strings interwoven among the  sections of intricate beauty.    A tapestry is somewhat a good analogy of our lives.  When we look behind it there may be times it looks  random and chaotic: all we can see are the knots, the imperfections, some bumps.  So it is with life, only God knows all that has gone on within you to make you the person you are today.

While it is not always good to dwell on the pain or hardship of our past, we can still carry it’s wisdom with us for the future. When your journey to your destination seems a bit foggy or it is not the road you planned to travel, just know that God is able to bring all of our tomorrows into focus as you keep Him in the center of everything. God bless you and Happy New Year!

Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you,

says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and

peace and not for evil, to give you hope

in your final outcome.

~~~~~♥~~~~~

by Dona Hake

Just recently I heard a gentleman on the radio giving a testimonial of weight loss.  His plan to confront his eating temptation was effective and I found it interesting.  He had lost eighty pounds and he never felt better in his life.  Did he rid of all his food temptations?  Absolutely not!  He said there were many times he would walk into the kitchen and be tempted to eat wrong things.  He understood that he was winning and to give in to these temptations would set him back in his victory.  His solution…he laid eight ten pound bowling balls on the floor in the kitchen.  Whenever tempted he would walk over and begin to pick a few up and walk around.  He felt how it weighted him down and made him feel exhausted.   These bowling balls served as a reminder to him of what he took off and what he walked away from.

Hebrews 12:1

“So we must get rid of everything that slows us down,

especially the sin that just won’t let go.

And we must be determined to run

the race that is ahead of us.”

We are all in the race, and it is called God’s will and purposes for our life.   As individuals we all have weakness.  No matter what the weakness is, it will ultimately slow you down doing what you are here to do.  It is a good thing to remember that God desires that we identify our weaknesses and sins that weigh us down so that He can walk hand in hand with us toward victory.    Let us take hold of His help to bring down anything that hampers our forward movement — and keep running with endurance in the will of God set before us!

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by Dona Hake

 “My help comes from the Lord,
the Creator of heaven and earth!”

Psalm 121:2  New English Translation

I serve a breathtaking God.  I look at all the beautiful things around me and I believe that He created it.  I do not sit and try to rationalize how He did it.  I just believe He did, because He is God.

I think about how He has promised to be my help.  The question I am pondering now as I write this is do I only ask Him for help in the impossible things.  I can only imagine that our God really wants to help us more than we would ever realize at times.  When someone offers to help you they are desiring to give or provide what is necessary to accomplish a task or satisfy a need.  Face it…all too often we really do not know what to do or which way to turn and God, the maker of heaven and earth knows exactly how to handle our problem.

I guess I am wondering how many times He is desiring to assist me in things and I just set out on my own and do it in my own ability.  I think as we get God’s all encompassing wisdom and power in all that we do that things will go even better.

God in deed has created the heavens and the earth but let us remember that He is well able to assist us in the tiniest of details in our everyday walk with Him.    He is our help and He is well able to make the difference in the big and in the small.

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by Dona Hake

There is a cliche I have heard often.  “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back!”  Usually this is said when someone just seems they cannot go on and they throw up their hands and just give up.  The idiom the straw that broke the camel’s back is from an Arabic proverb about how a camel is loaded beyond its capacity to move or stand.  Many times people become paralyzed by fear of failing again or they just feel they can not go on any longer.

Yesterday I shared about treating others the way you want to be treated.  The truth of life and death are in the power of our tongues goes hand in hand with how we treat people.

Proverbs 18:21 (GNT)
“What you say can preserve life or destroy it;

so you must accept the consequences of your words.”

You see the truth of our words carrying  power not only affects us but it has the power to affect others.  On a positive note I love to think of the power of one encouraging word.  Have you ever been there?…you are about to give up, and one person speaks one powerful encouraging word and out of no where you just feel that with God’s help YOU CAN!!!!   There is power in our words.   Never underestimate the power of death and life in our tongues.

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