What we focus on expands In the midst of all the pain, a light of truth shown so brightly that it paused the darkness named sorrow and suffering, and suddenly clarity came, out of nowhere, rendering her yet again humbled. Thanks for joining us for Wednesday’s Word with Kim-Evinda and Trench Classes United. Have you ever been so focused on what someone has done to hurt you that you had no idea you had a part in it? Today’s blog is for such a circumstance as this, and reveals something so freeing, we hope you will try it. To step out of our own pain and pray for understanding is one of the hardest, but most rewarding spiritual exercises I have ever experienced...and continue to experience. How do we step out of our own pain? The simple answer: Change our focus, and for many of us, that’s not so easy, at least for me it’s not. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to lean not on our own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. There seems to be so many opportunities to apply this instruction lately, but let me share one from not too long ago:
I remember spending an entire night praying with a heart that cried out for help, asking my Heavenly Father to hold me and to reveal my part in a very painful situation. I had been so immersed in and blinded by my own pain, I just knew I had to do something different. So instead of sitting in my pain, focusing on my right to be mad, hurt, and angry, I changed my focus. I didn’t ask Him to change the other person; I begged Him to reveal my part. Now, this requires that we sit in that pain, if you will, and not run from it, as many of us are tempted to do. Society teaches us that we shouldn’t feel pain; we should only do what makes us happy. Why is that false? Because pain and sorrow can bring understanding, but only if we change our focus to the One whose plan is to help us, lift us up and out of ourselves that we may learn from the pain. Let me say this: God wastes NOTHING, and certainly not any pain or sorrow. In other words, sometimes it takes pain to learn a lesson, to discover more about ourselves, to cut away what needs to go that we may become more like our Creator. My heart is yet again soothed to know He is with me in it all; He’s highly invested in expanding my character as I expand my focus towards Him. As I let Him change me, the pain diminishes and turns into understanding…and my heart smiles again. May we keep our eyes on The One Who knows all things and works all things together for His glory and our eventual good. Love, Kim-Evinda #TrenchClassesUnited #WednesdaysWord #WhereIsYourFocus #CharacterExpansion #HisPlanIsOurHappiness
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Tuesday’s Life Coaching TruthThanks so much for joining me for Tuesday’s Life-Coaching Truth. Healthy communication is much like banking…hopefully you wouldn’t try to withdrawal from your account more than you have deposited. Communication kind of works like that; we need to make a deposit before we make a withdrawal. In other words, we can’t withdraw what we haven’t deposited. This principle applies in any type of relationship, whether significant other, child, sibling, parent. How do we do that? Listen before speaking, find something to validate them about, or say something that you admire them for.
When we make a deposit before we make a withdrawal, we don’t leave the other person emotionally bankrupt and they’re more apt to really listen to what you have to say. #TrenchClassesUnited #TuesdaysLifeCoachingTruth #CommunicationBanking #ActiveListening #DepositAndValidation Monday’s MessageHave you ever felt so burdened you couldn’t look up and/or reach out? Thanks for joining us for Monday’s Message with Abigail Rice and Trench Classes United. Today’s message empowers us in the area of surrendering so that the burden can become something that bends us into a position of surrendered. Trust
Is like a fall and even when you think you know it all You’re probably wrong Because trust requires faith and faith requires belief Digging deeper beneath the surface Until you finally see Beyond the veil Beyond the lies Beyond every attempt The enemy takes at your very own life Strife Will come and in seasons You will learn There is a time to rest There is a time to mourn There is a time for joy and there is a time for closed doors But the question is Do you dare to explore? Beneath the flesh There is a soul wanting more More of Him More to give More life to live More room to forgive Because that That is when The story begins A book with no ends A heart that outlives The sorrow and strife The blade of a knife Because life Is created by The Light and this life Is a mystery in plain sight “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 #TrenchClassesUnited #MondaysMessage #SurrenderYourBurdens #BendButDontBreak #Ecclesiates Faith-Filled FridayWhen we need directions, understanding, instructions, we tend to reach out to Google and/or YouTube but what if…we were to look for the answer in the greatest instruction manual ever written?
Thanks for joining us for Faith-Filled Friday with Debra Dolce and Trench Classes United. Today’s love letter is a great reminder of this very truth: that His Word is the greatest treasure to guide to and through the answers to any question or challenge. ~Love Letter~ Consider My Word to be your treasure, a treasure to store in your heart to keep you from walking away from Me. In My Word is a beautiful example of one who pondered my promises and drew upon them in time of need, and that is Mary. I can do the same for you. My Word is life and produces life in you. It is worth your time to study it. If you let it, it can guide and direct your life. Many claim It is outdated, but I tell you, Beloved, there is nothing old-fashioned about it. It will help you out of the pit today just like it did your ancestors in the past. I am forever the same but you are not and as you continue to grow in Me you will see different things in My Word to help and strengthen you. There's always something in My Word to encourage you, to lift you up and touch your life and to heal you. My Word is your lifeline when you're sinking. You're not really sinking but you feel like it sometimes. The hard thing is to not walk in your emotions but to walk in the truth of My Word. Continue in My Word day and night. Declare My principles and promises over yourself and your family. When you do this, you will have life and life abundantly. This should be exciting to you. My Word should be exciting to you. Beloved, My Word is truth and it is so great to walk in the truth. ~DebraDolce Thursday’s Life-Coaching TruthThanks for joining me for Thursday’s Life-Coaching Truth. This past week we discovered a couple of the ingredients of shame that are revealed in the Old Testament of the Bible which are disgrace as a result of failure and rejection and they cultivate shame. We also learned that shame is also something that is heaped upon us by others. Remember, shame is internal and becomes part of us. As I asked the question in our workbooks, “When you think of a failure of yours, what two soul words come to mind,” I was blown away by the emotions that this word brought to the surface as EVERYONE used “shame” as one of their soul words. Why do we equate shame with failure? Could it be because of the shame heaped upon us by others, whether it’s parents, albeit not maliciously, or family, friends? We have bought into lies that cultivate shame. What if when you experience a failure, we were to ask God to show you what you can learn from it so as to turn that failure into something that propels you forward rather than sneaking shame inside of you and pulling you backwards? This is cultivating grace and eradicating shame. Love, Kim-Evinda #ThursdaysLifeCoachingTruth #TrenchClassesUnited #CultivateGrace #EradicateShame Wednesday's Word “Nevertheless [despite your sorrow, there’s good news] I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage [your good and My glory] that I go away for if I do not go away, the Helper [The Holy Spirt, MY Spirit] will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
When someone gives you a gift, do you regift it or put it away and pull it out every now and then? Thanks for joining us for Wednesday’s Word with Kim-Evinda and Trench Classes Untied. Today’s blog is a great reminder of the value of The Gift that is each of ours upon the acceptance of Christ into our hearts and lives. Tears ran down her face as she read and re-read this portion of scripture, especially as she read her convictions she had journaled. “What was accomplished because You went away really resonates with me: Because you went away, died defeated death, and rose again and ascended to Our Father’s right hand to mediate for us, we have been given the gift of Your Spirit to and for all who accept You. This is a huge gift for if You hadn’t of left, You would be confined to one place at a time, but now, You are omnipresent, all over. Your leaving meant You could be present for all of us through Your Spirit. What am I doing with this Gift?” She pondered that last question and couldn’t help but think of the times she had re-gifted something someone had given her because of not needing what had been given to her or tucking it away as a sentimental something to be pulled out every now and then as a reminder of the person. “Oh, Abba, please help me to open this gift every day, several times a day to show my gratitude for it by using it!” Friends, can I encourage you to think about this precious gift of His Spirit and what it is that you do with it? Do you put it in a closet and pull it out every now and then, or do you cherish it and use it every day as a part of your daily routine? God is not confined to time anymore; He’s in us and for us. Love, Kim-Evinda #WednesdaysWord #TrenchClassesUnited #TheGiftOfChrist #ExperienceYourGift #LivingForgivenAndForgiving Tuesday’s Life-Coaching Truth ~DGThanks for joining me for Tuesday’s Life-Coaching Truth. Last year, I was reading Danny Gokey’s book Hope in Front of Me and there were several what I call mini downloads that I so align with and need to be resurfaced in my soul so I thought I’d share one. We either cultivate or eradicate. This still reminds and refreshes me as I continue healing from a three-year season of betrayal and rejection. To cultivate means to take steps to grow, improve; to eradicate means to remove or destroy completely.
There are so many times that so many thoughts of hurting those who hurt me threaten my peace and if I don’t eradicate them quickly, they begin to cultivate…in other words root in my heart. Friends, when we truly eradicate that which is not of Christ, then cultivating the good in us and about us can take over. What do you need to eradicate that you may cultivate all that He has in you and for you today? Thoughtfully, Kim-Evinda #TuesdaysLifeCoachingTruth #TrenchClassesUnited #FaithOverFear #CultivateYourFuture #GrowAndImprove Monday’s MessageMore often than not, when going through a struggle we get pretty focused on the struggle instead of the One who can guide us through the struggle. Thanks for joining us for Monday’s Message with Abigail Rice and Trench Classes United. Today’s message is a great poem of pleas in a struggle. Lord, I long for You
I desire You I crave the intimacy that I know can be there Yet I sit here and stare Into the endless abyss Of deception and myths Making me believe I am no good for this I don’t wake early I feel the guilt Agony and despair Because I care and I know there is something better out there Yet my human ways Of watching netflix Staying up late And choosing sleep Over the most important thing I will ever need Gets to me Eats at me I want to be better I desire to write this letter Not because it’s easy But because He sees me He sees my heart He sees my home and He knows Without Him I lose all hope So where do I go? Where do I run? and how do I become a person of such Discipline and desire? When all I feel Is thrown in the fire Despite the guilt Despite the shame I have no one to blame and my God is the same Yesterday and today His forgiveness remains and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death He is with me Standing next to me in the furnace of fire Helping me rip out my hearts fleshly desires and making me change The days ahead are dark and I have no room for guilt I have no time for shame The time to get right Is right now For soon every knee will bow and every tongue will confess That Jesus Christ is Lord and I attest That nothing but His love and His Word will be left So I will stand Against the powers of this present darkness Praying life into this heart Until I can truly embark and rest in His grace For day by day We are slain and it us up to us to choose Who we let win the game… #MondaysMessage #TrenchClassesUnited #FaithOverFear #LivingForgivenAndForgiving Faith-Filled FridayIn today’s technology, we are often asked to fill our surveys for this and that, whether it be for a product or for a service that we received. How do you handle those? Thanks for joining us for Faith-Filled Friday with Debra Dolce and Trench Classes United. Today’s love letter is a great reminder that we should often take surveys of what’s in our heart. Love Letter~
So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. Meditate on this Word and let Me speak to you. Let this Word be impressed upon your heart. Let this truth bring understanding and keep you alert. Invite Me to help you be the guard over the affections of your heart for these are what's drawing you away. Your heart follows the mind. What are you focusing on and yearning for? This is how you fall away or slip back into the old ways. Notice the Words, "So above all," this should cause you to focus, to look and be very aware because the enemy is slick to deceive so that you don’t even realize you’re slipping backwards or turning from Me. This is why it is so important to pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being. Continually do a survey of your heart which is to check your emotions and the way you feel about things. Be alert and aware of what comes out of your mouth, for what comes out of your mouth is what is hiding in your heart. Speak truth to yourself and beware of your own intentions. Remember, you may be able to hide things from others but you cannot hide things from yourself and you certainly can't hide things from Me. Beloved, be intentional in all you think and in all you do so that out of your innermost being will flow the wellspring of your life. ~DebraDolce #FaithFilledFriday #TrenchClassesUnited #SurveyYourHeart #FaithOverFear #LivingForgivenAndForgiving Thursday’s Life-Coaching TruthThanks for joining me for Thursday’s Life-Coaching Truth. So after going through one of the most traumatic times in my life, I had this verse address (Romans 8:28) inscribed on my arm to remind me that NOTHING goes to waste, that He will use all of it for my good and His glory. Allowing that truth to seep into my soul was a lifeline in a time when I just didn’t want to exist. Now that it is behind me, there are many good things that He worked in this healing that no one can take from me! One of those things is the ability to look back and say I did learn TRUE AGAPE love in and through this…and I am able to pray for the betrayers.
Friend, His principles and promises will NEVER leave you betrayed, broken, abandoned, or rejected. I want to encourage you today that NO MATTER what you are enduring, He will bring use it for your good, if you let Him. Today, pick one promise in the Bible, there’s literally thousands, and read it, say it, memorize it and allow it to seep into your soul so you too can experience that He’s not done until it’s good! Seeping in His Love Kim-Evinda #ThursdaysLifeCoachingTruth #Romans8 #TrenchClassesUnited #ItIsGood #FaithOverFear |
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