|New Year, New Me|

By Melody Mohnhaupt

I don't mean to be too cliche, but this morning I just began thinking about what a great opportunity this day is for us as Christians. New years eve is a day where people say goodbye to the old and hello to the new. We make resolutions for ourselves. "This year I want to lose weight", "I want to travel", "I want to...", The list goes on and on. But this year, how about making your new years resolution this: "This year I want to truly make Jesus the Lord of my life!" 

     

Sometimes when we go through a transformation in our hearts and grow closer to The Lord, there are things we no longer want to partake of. Almost every aspect of our life changes (or at least it should). As born again Christians when we come to God we are not just believers, but we are to be REBORN into a new version of ourselves. In Gal. 2:20 it says:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

  

Is Jesus the one that makes your decisions in life? Is He the one that has your heart before any other? Is He the one that is influencing the person that you grow into each day? If there has never been that dying to yourself to allow Jesus Christ to be LORD of your life, you might need to take a step back and reexamine your walk.

But back to what I was saying, with this day comes an extra opportunity. It is hard sometimes when we go through a transformation in heart to show others who have known the old us just what we have transformed into. Whether it's your family, or your friends, or your coworkers, whoever, when they have known you and what you were really like, it is sometimes difficult for them to see you change all of the sudden. And for you, I know it's hard to SHOW how you've changed. For me personally, going through that change more and more each day, there all new things that convict my heart. To be honest, it's tough for me to tell my friends that I've known for so long and partaken with in certain things that, "oh, I don't like doing that anymore". And no matter when God brings you those convictions we much be faithful to them.

     

But for those who have just gone though that transformation or if you never really have and don't know how, now is a chance! Don't get me wrong, every moment of everyday is a new chance that we should be taking, but this is just an extra break. 

Everyone is transforming and making changes in their life. What better change to make than this one? And the next time you are faced with a situation that brings that conviction and you are strong and do not partake, people are going to probably ask, "why not?" And you can say, "This year I've decided to fully give my heart to God. He is now Lord of my life. Because I love him so much, and his word says, 'if you love me you will keep my commandments', I want to make sure that's exactly what I do. I don't want to displease him anymore, but rather show him just how much I love him by obeying him".

Don't let another day go by without confessing His name. Every time you partake of something that brings shame to our Lord you are denying Him. You are not being bold enough to do his will. That is a scary thing because in Matthew 10:32-33 says: 

³² Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

³³ But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Be bold and strong sisters! Make that change in your life! Never deny The Lord! Now is a great opportunity! I hope you take this all to heart. God bless you!             

~Melody Mohnhaupt

To learn more about Melody: visit http://becomingesther.org/becoming-esther-international/united-states/

    |BELIEVE AGAIN|

By Kenya Gossett

~And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose…~ Romans 8:28

~Blessed is she who believes~ Luke 1:45

Cinderella was a young woman with a heart full of dreams. She had an unbreakable faith that someday, her dream of happiness would come true! She remained hopeful, gentle and kind through all the hardships but at one point in the movie- she lost her faith for the first time. 

As I watching it the other night- one part of the movie really stood out to me. After having her dress ripped to shreds by her step-sisters, her hopes of going to the castle to meet the Prince was destroyed. She was broken, confused and at the point of completely giving up. Yet it was when she had her lowest point, her miracle and greatest victory came. She cried out and said "There's just no use.. I can't believe, not anymore. There's nothing left to believe in" and it was in that moment, the fairy Godmother appeared and changed everything. With one word- Cinderella had everything she needed to walk into her destiny with the Prince that night.

Yet it will still not time for their love story to unfold. We all know that she ends up leaving one glass slipper behind but another scene that stood out to me was when the magic wore off and everything around her crumbled. The mice weren't horses anymore, the pumpkin was gone, and Cinderella was left with the torn up dress she had before. But when she looked down, one thing still remained: the other glass slipper. She held it close to her heart, looked up to the sky and said "Thank You"...

God used all this as a shadow and type to show me- that even though we feel like we're locked up in a situation- He always makes a way where there seems to be none. Even when we feel like everything around us has crumbled- God leaves us with hope and a glass slipper in the Spirit. Though the road was bumpy for Cinderella- in the end she received everything she ever dreamed of. 

So I want to encourage you- things may seem difficult right now, like nothing is changing. You may feel like all your dreams have been crushed- but it's so important that you stay soft and sweet through it all! Please, don't let a root of bitterness take place in your heart because of it. Remember that God makes all things beautiful in HIS time and just because something isn't happening right now, doesn't mean it will never happen. The Lord sees and hears the deepest cry of your heart, so don't give up now! You are right around the corner from a miracle..

Sisters- We truly serve a faithful God, who will always bring rain in your time of drought & tonight- He gave me that through a Disney movie ;)

God bless you ladies and I wish you all a very happy New Years! The season of change is HERE and purpose that starting January 1st- that you won't stop believing. Amen! ♥

Love and Prayers, Kenya-Nicole

~Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart~ Psalms 37:4

To learn more about Becoming Esther Ministries- visit http://becomingesther.org/