Tag: #tarapowellministries

BRINGING JESUS TO THE MARRIAGE

BRINGING JESUS TO THE MARRIAGE

Posted on by Tara Powell

A good Godly marriage involves three people. You read that right. You, your spouse, and the Lord. Marriage is a serious, lifelong commitment. I believe that couples who marry, intend for it to be a forever deal. Marriage is hard. The Lord is the glue that will not allow for separation even when the going gets tough.

Marriage is the combining of two imperfect people bringing all their baggage to the relationship. God can be the buffer.  I would love to share with you a few valuable things I have learned the hard way I.

Commitment, the ties that bind, the vows you spoke to agree to stay together no matter what. These aren’t just words.  They are actions…so commit yourself anew to them. 

After the death of our son, we knew that the statistics increased exponentially that our marriage would not make it.  For that reason, we set rules and dug our heels in.

The rules were put in place so that in the heat of the moment we would fight to stay together, not fight each other. When we fought, no one left. No one name called. No one threatened to leave. With these rules in place, there was respect even in the argument. No saying things you did not mean. And even when you were mad, you knew the goal was to resolve.

There is no teasing or alluding of flirting with others. We safeguard our marriage by not having relationships that require alone time with opposite sex. As innocent as it may start, we value our commitment enough not to get close. 

Another thing we did was speaking truth and life into the marriage. Matthew 19:6, “What God has joined together let no man put asunder.” In addition, I would pray that I give my husband what he needs and that he would know what I needed. I asked God to intervene. To help us to love each other. I still pray that my husband feels loved and appreciated. 

Let God be the tie breaker. Sometimes you can agree to disagree. I mean who cares if the toilet paper roll is over or under. On important matters, we will pray on it. If my husband wants to move forward with something, and I am uncomfortable, I ask him to pray about it. This transforms the situation into a matter of prayer instead of me against him. Our marriage is sacred, and we treat it that way.

HOW TO DECIPHER A MESSAGE FROM GOD

HOW TO DECIPHER A MESSAGE FROM GOD

Posted on by Tara Powell

John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice: I know them, and they follow me.” God speaks to His children. His message may not be audible. The Lord speaks in many ways. This verse tells us we will know it is God. 

In my experience it is not that easy. God speaks through hearing His voice. In addition, His Scripture can speak to us or have you ever opened the Bible and read the verse you needed at the time. At times, it might be through another person who unknowingly speaks something that answers your nagging question and instantly you know. Dreams are a way the Lord has spoken to me and others in the Bible. The dreams come like a mystery. I know when it’s from the Lord when I keep thinking of it and remember it so clearly. I will then record it and pray for the message. Followed by sharing with someone I trust for input. 

How do you know it is God? 

  • God will never go against His word. 
  • God’s direction will give peace.
  • Usually, it is a word that requires great faith.
  • God is not the author of confusion. 1 Corinthians 14:33
  • God will confirm.

When I hear from the Lord, I will take in the words. I record it in my journal. I pray for confirmation. I sit with it until I get direction. I avoid my own reasoning. That brings confusion. Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know I am God.” You can share with someone who will pray with you. But be careful who you share it with. Remember Joseph shared with his brothers who threw him in a pit. What God tells us, others often do not understand. God knows best. Listen to Him and let Him lead you.

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES

Posted on by Tara Powell

Choosing your battles is a phrase you commonly hear as advice for raising kids. It is good advice for all things in life. If you give energy and focus to each thing with which you disagree, you will be on a fast track to depletion.  What deserves your best today? What is worth spending “fight” on? Your sanity is worth letting some things go. 

Joy is not given, it is earned. Joy happens when we trust God to do His job and we can move out of His way. Our job is to trust and obey. Joy will rise as peace is found. Peace is letting go of menial things that will not matter. Ask yourself, will this matter in ten years? Can I walk away from this? If the answer is yes, walk away.

If you oversee an event or project, there will be many things from big to little that need to be done. If you micromanage you will make everyone miserable including yourself. If you let go of details that will not change the overall goal, you can focus on the big pieces that are at the core. In ten years will anyone remember if the table cloths were red or blue. NO. They will remember the cause and what was accomplished. 

Limit the things that you must accomplish alone. Then rate the importance of all things that will need done. Appoint dependable people and then let go. This can be applied to a lot of areas in our life. From work to relationships. Let go of the dirty towels that fall one foot from the laundry hamper. Focus on date nights. In ten years, the laundry will not hold you together. Investing time in your marriage will matter.

HOW CAN I FIND PEACE?

HOW CAN I FIND PEACE?

Posted on by Tara Powell

 Are you seeking peace in your life? Tired of the chaos? Peace is the epitome of a hope in one’s life. Peace cannot be manufactured or bought. Peace is obtained. Obtained unlike other achievements. The harder you try for peace the further away it becomes. 

Peace is obtained through our relationship with Jesus. Jesus becomes our peace. As we trust and obey, we let go of chaos and quit trying to figure out things for ourselves. We lose our grip on what we fooled ourselves that we controlled. Being out of control doesn’t have to be negative. It can be the freedom you seek.

You do not have to figure it out. You can relax, shut off the world’s noise and put your trust in the one who has always been in control. Let go. Let loose. Trust Jesus. There and only there, you will find peace. 

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF

Posted on by Tara Powell

Matthew 22:39, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The great paradox of this passage is we must first love ourselves to love others. How do you love yourself and not be prideful? Is it a fine line? I do not think so. When you share with someone you love that they have value, you tell them how much you love them. Your hope is that your love for them will be enough to help them love themselves. Love at its best is God’s love for us. He loves us first. We use that as our foundation. 

What is commonly used as the greatest expression of love? “I would die for you.” Jesus did that. You cannot be loved more. Remember that when you consider if you are enough. He already said you were.

Get to know yourself. What do you like? Be kind to yourself. Be your best friend. Give space for what you love and what helps you be your best. Exercise to feel good. Do your hobbies. Take the trip. Eat the cookie. 

Give your emotions importance. Be in tune with what you feel. Allow those feelings, give them a name. Take time to work through your pain and heal. 

Spend time with those who love and support who you are –  Jesus being your main man. Talk to Him. Read the Bible, His love letter to you. Let Him take care of you.

Get rest. There is always a “to do” list. Value yourself enough to rest. Not only is it important to your overall health. God put it in His top ten, the commandments.

Loving yourself is taking care of yourself. Pride is putting yourself first and giving yourself all the credit.

HOW TO PRAY

HOW TO PRAY

Posted on by Tara Powell

Prayer is the most powerful tool you have in your arsenal. Regardless of ability, every human can pray. That is a remarkable truth. Prayer is the communication you have with God. Prayer can be a two-way conversation. Do you question if you are doing it right? How do you start if you never have? This post is for you.

  • Be yourself. God knows your voice. He wants to hear from you. Just like you desire to hear from those you care about. You know if they are putting on a front. 
  • Prayer can be done many ways. You can pray when you feel like it. Pray daily at a certain time. Pray in your mind, outloud or with others. Prayer can be long, short or in between. Just start talking.
  • Start the prayer the way that feels comfortable to you. For example, “Dear Jesus”, “Heavenly Father” or “God.”
  • Remember He just desires to spend time with you and hear your heart. 
MAKE TIME FOR JESUS

MAKE TIME FOR JESUS

Posted on by admin

You will never regret time spent with the Lord. How do you make it happen? Start with your current schedule. What is your best time of day? For me, it is in the morning when I have coffee. In years past I have attempted other times. For example, at night after my children were in bed, I tend to zone out and drift off. 

Put guilt aside. Take the negative away and just make it happen. If it happens, it is a success. Five minutes is better than not at all. There are days I only have five minutes, other days I can sit for an hour.

What does time with Jesus look like? Time focused on your relationship with Christ. Bible reading for one will grow your relationship with Christ. A scripture a day can change your life. Do what you will stick with. Open the Bible and read. A daily devotion is a good tool. Phone apps allow you to read wherever you are. My husband has a devotion in his car and reads before he walks into work.

Prayer is essential to your relationship with Jesus. He wants to hear from you as much and as often as you can. I prefer a more natural approach instead of regimented. I pray many times a day. They are short, sometimes just a few words. If someone asks for prayer, I pray with them on the spot or as I walk away. I pray a lot in the shower or the car. At night when I am drifting off, I am usually praying. The point being just make it happen when it works.

Quiet time. It might surprise you that being quiet can accomplish so much. The world is noisy. Taking time to shut out the noise and concentrate on Jesus. “Be still and know I am God,” Psalms 46:10. Cutting out the noise you can hear from the Lord. 

Meditation is a good tool. I caution you to focus on scripture on music connected to Christian work. Meditation is used by other religious practices. Each person may have a different idea of what meditation is. Find a scripture that you want to focus on. Recite it and repeat as you concentrate on the words and their meaning.

MYTHS ON PRAYERS

Posted on by admin

MYTHS ON PRAYER

Prayer is a privilege we have and a promise that God is listening. We pray because we have a relationship with God or desire one. It would be impossible to have a relationship with anyone without some sort of communication. Prayer is our direct line to One who loves us most. Below is a list of myths that prohibit our feelings towards prayer. 

  • If you do not say in “Jesus Name” it will not count. Psalms 145:19

God does not play games with us. If you call out, He is faithful to listen. 

  • Only devout Christians have a direct line to God.

Even the person who is saying His name for the first time will be heard and loved. Luke 15:4

  • It is wrong to ask for prayer for myself. Mark 14:32

You are withholding the greatest gift you have. Pray for yourself often. Express all your needs. God wants to hear from you. Jesus prayed for himself.It is disrespectful to fall asleep while praying. You may fall asleep because you feel safe.

THE COMPLICATED FAMILY

Posted on by admin

THE COMPLICATED FAMILY

Do you wonder how your family got so dysfunctional? Being in the midst you see all the things wrong with your family. We expect more from people who love us than those from the outside world. Our loved ones are the ones who can leave lasting scars. What if you had it all wrong? Is your family unique or is this just the way families are?

I understand the heartache of familiar fire. The words carry a sharper sting when it’s one we expect to protect us. I would love to open your eyes to the families of some of our saints in Scripture. If nothing else but to say, “you’re not alone.”

Let us start at the beginning. Genesis 4:1-18 tells the story of brotherly love, or I mean brotherly jealousy that led to death. Cain murdered his own brother jealous that God paid more attention to his sacrificial offering, holding the title of the first murder.

Abraham and Sarah were in their golden years and still without children. Sarah was beyond childbearing years. Genesis 16:1-16, 21:8-21 shares the account of Sarah’s plan to fulfill God’s promise of a child to the couple. Just a heads up, God never needs our help. Abraham agreed to Sarah’s scheme of having a child with their maid servant, Hagar. Guess what, it was messy and caused a lot of undue pain on everyone involved.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah can be found in Genesis 19:30-38, Lot’s two virgin daughters who feared they would never have a chance to have children,  got their father drunk and had relations with him. 

These stories are just tipping the iceberg of crazy family stuff in the Bible. The conclusion is we all have crazy somewhere in the family. The family is not the issue. Families are made of humans prone to sin. That is the problem and there is no way around that. What is a Bible-loving girl to do?  Love like Jesus. Accept the family you have and love them. Create good boundaries for yourself. Do not let others hurt you. You need to make the best choices for you. Because someone is family, it means you’re connected forever by DNA, it does not give them a right to control or damage our world.

RETURN TO ME AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU

RETURN TO ME AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU

Posted on by admin

When things go wrong, people cry, “Where is God?” God would say, “I am right
here where I have always been.”
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Jeremiah 1:5
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord
your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
He has never moved. Have you?
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of
Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinance.
And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you.” Malachi 3:6
It is your move. It has always been your move.