Gina Duke - Churchtown Ministries

Giver of Good Stuff for Authentic Christian Living and Women’s Ministry

  • Home
  • Gina’s Bio
  • Books
    • Organizing Your Prayer Closet
    • Publishing Dreams
    • How to Beef Up Your Blog
  • Prayer Journal
    • Organizing Your Prayer Closet
      • Reviews
      • My Book’s Prestigious Award Press Release
      • Join My Facebook Group for Organizing Your Prayer Closet
    • 31 Ways to WRECK Your Prayer Journal
    • Video Playlist Companion for Your Prayer Closet Organizer
    • Take the 31-Day Structured Prayer Journaling Challenge
    • Small Group Guide for Organizing Your Prayer Closet
    • A Tool for Your Prayer Journal
    • Easy Prayer Petition Organizer
  • Women’s Ministry
    • Free Resources
    • A Case Study
    • How to Host an Interactive Bible Study
    • Favorite Christian Speakers
  • Speaking
    • Why Book Me?
    • Speaking Topics
    • Prayer Retreat Format & Topics
    • Endorsements
    • Fee Schedule
    • Speaking Schedule
    • Gina’s Bio
    • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Gina’s Etsy Store
  • Resources
    • Series
      • 5 Misconceptions about the Church & How to Refute Them
      • Jesus’ Manifesto Video Series
      • What Do You Think about the Christ? Video Series
      • Lessons from the Lepers – Thanksgiving Video Series
      • Detect & Defuse 4 Opposing Spirits to Women’s Ministry
    • Interviews
    • My Poems
    • Prayer Journaling Tutorial Videos
  • Blog Link-Ups
  • The Chronicles of the Corporate Mom

Guest Post from Brenda McGraw – What Does the Trap Have to Offer You

January 30, 2015 by Gina | 1 Comment

I am thrilled to have one of my new friends guest post for me today. I had been moping about the fact that I have not lost any weight in the New Year, so her words made me feel much better.  I hope you will enjoy Best-Selling author, Brenda McGraw!

Brenda's Header

Photo credit

Can you believe how fast this month has gone? How did you do on your goals or your resolutions?  How about that desire to lose ten pounds? How is it going?

I will be honest. I don’t set resolutions but I most certainly had the desire to lose weight. I wish I could say that I was victorious. HOWEVER . . .

Did I beat myself up because I didn’t lose the desired weight? No. I had lunch with a new friend today and enjoyed it. Do I still need to lose weight? Yes. But I am just not going to sit around all down in the dumps because I have a few extra unwanted pounds on my body. I don’t believe God is sitting up in Heaven with a frown on His face, pointing a finger at us and telling us we need to do better. Although God does care about the things that are important to us, because He knows how they are going to affect us, He is not concerned about us being overweight. He does tell us our bodies are a temple and we are supposed to take care of them, but He is not going to love us any less if we have too many carbs this week. We can defeat the enemy instead of letting the enemy defeat us.

We are the ones who usually beat ourselves up. And why? Why do we do that to ourselves? I wish I could say I never do, but I am guilty. It can and will happen to us at times, but the question is, how long are we going to let our minds stay in that pity party, crying about poor pitiful me?

Why do we compare ourselves to other women? Why do we covet their clothes, their beautifully decorated house, their car, and their platform in life? Why? What good comes from it? Absolutely nothing. No good comes from aligning yourself beside Ms. Skinny Minnie and looking at how good she looks. What will that do for you? The trap it leads to is insecurity, self-doubt, pity, resentment, jealousy, and so much more, none of which is good.

What happened when Sarah, Abraham’s wife, didn’t think she was able to give Abraham a child? She tried to take matters in her own hands and told him to sleep with their maidservant, and they conceived a child. She then became very jealous. Nothing good comes from jealousy. As a matter of fact, I read today:

”If you look closely at the word jealousy there’s something vital that stands out. The feeling of jealousy makes you feel lousy!” (Karen Wolff)

 

Just as jealousy makes us feel lousy, so do insecurity, doubt, pity, and resentment.

So how do we keep ourselves from falling into this trap that Satan has for us?

  • Every day, open up God’s word.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Matthew 119:105 (NIV)

  • Embrace the people around you.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7 (NIV)

  • Enrich others by giving away your love, time, and friendship.

“Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.” (NIV)

  • Enjoy praying and find joy in the alone time with the Lord He gives you.

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

When we focus on the Lord and not on ourselves, we will see everything from a different viewpoint. Jesus will be magnified and we will be the magnifier!

Brenda McGraw

 Brenda McGraw is an author and speaker who reveals how to discover joy beyond the clutter of life. She draws from her own life experiences in the #1 Amazon Best seller, “Joy Beyond, 28 Days to Finding Joy Beyond the Clutter of Life”. She is the founder of Ask God Today Ministries where she has a team of writers sharing truth and hope with others. 

Brenda's Book

Brenda currently lives in South Carolina with her husband, Jeff and three of their five children. They also have two precious granddaughters. She is a survivor of breast cancer and a heart attack. Others admire the way she chooses to overcome adversity. Love, joy and hope are her travel companions. Despite the challenges she has endured, Brenda found peace through her relationship with Jesus Christ.

Contact info:

You can connect with Brenda at:

Website – http://www.askgodtoday.com

Twitter – @BrendaMMcGraw

Facebook Author Pages:

https://www.facebook.com/askgodtodaybyBrenda

https://www.facebook.com/brendamcgraw.writer

Google+ – https://plus.google.com/101962638910979648954‎

Email – mailto:brendammcgraw@gmail.com

Pinterest: https;//www.pinterest.com/BMcGraw1

You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrSAejL_9HkO_jWqqxisZw

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Brenda-McGraw/e/B00GOIE7AG

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print

Filed Under: Encouragement Tagged With: 28 Days of Finding Joy Beyond, Ask God Today Ministries, How to be a magnifier, Is God mad that your are overweight, New Year's Resolution

About Gina

Gina Duke is the award-winning author of  Organizing Your Prayer Closet: A New and Life-Changing Way to Pray (Abingdon Press), that introduces the gift of structured prayer journaling.  You can enjoy her weekly #ShePrayerJournals weekend workshops on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @TheGinaDuke.

Comments

  1. Deb Wolf says

    January 30, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    Brenda, This is so true. I think we waste too much time focused on comparing and self. On things that won’t last. Great points. Praying to love Him and others with greater focus. God bless you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Up to Date

Signup to receive my latest blog posts.

Privacy Policy

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • The Less-Than Cure!
  • For the Love of Singles Ministry
  • Re-Engaging the Church After a Pandemic
  • Can You Count on God? I’ve Got the Proof that You Can!
  • The Slowing of the Soul

Join Us on Facebook

Join Us on Facebook

Categories

  • Book Reviews (6)
  • Church (17)
  • Conduct (10)
  • Corporate Mom (13)
  • Encouragement (18)
  • Event Planning (1)
  • Faith & Follow Through (11)
  • Grace (1)
  • Hearing God (11)
  • Passion (7)
  • Pinterest Pins (11)
  • Praise (8)
  • Prayer Journaling (141)
  • Prayer Tips (69)
  • Prayer Videos (3)
  • Press Releases (7)
  • Recipes (7)
  • Reconciliation (4)
  • Restoration (6)
  • Salvation (2)
  • Scripture (4)
  • Serving Others (2)
  • She Speaks (3)
  • Thankfulness (5)
  • Uncategorized (31)
  • Women of the Gospels (1)
  • Women's Ministry (78)

Archives

Latest Tweets

My Tweets

Recent Pins

Affiliations

She Speaks Graduate

Copyright © 2021 Gina Duke | Design by The Design Diva | Development by MRM | Privacy Policy

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.