10 Mantras to Jump Start Your Faith

Fear will have you write a check you don't want someone else to cash and have you stay in a situation longer than you wanted. The common saying for sin is that it will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. We can say the same for fear. It is bondage. It is death. It is separation from Christ. Who wants that? Not me!

It's 2:22 a.m., and I am wide awake. My back is bothering me, but my mind is whirling. I didn't spend quality time with Jesus yesterday, and now I'm getting my download. Get up and get to work!

This same teapot on our dining room table with its inscription, "Walk by faith," is staring at me again this morning, and the message is becoming clearer: YOU are holding yourself back because YOU won't make a move. How long will you let the ideas stay inside your head? How many excuses will you make for not creating the design, finishing the website, or posting more listings in your Etsy Shop? How many YouTube videos do you need to watch to feel like you know what you're doing to start your own? You already have one, and you have content. How many templates, planners, or workspaces do you need for it to be go time? How many others will you watch live their dreams, create the podcast, write the book, be their best self, work as if it's play, and have their dreams before you realize what God has called you to do and to walk in yours?

I don't have a dime in my bank account. Well, maybe three. Ha! My husband is the only one working, and we overspent in December, so now we're playing catch-up. I want/ need a manicure, pedicure, and my hair done, but I'm hesitant to ask him because 1) I do not want to hear no, and 2) I want my business venture and ideas to pay for the things I like. I'm waiting on God to move, but clearly, he's looking at me like, "Whenever you're ready..." My ideas can't make money or bring any in if I don't put them out there. Nothing changes if nothing changes, and nothing moves if I don't move. 

So, I'm wide awake and doing my best to move. I am not going to let fear grip my mind, my fingers, my desire, and my will to create! Today, I am walking by faith NOT fear!

On my Vision Board and Want List this year, there are 10 items. I did 10 last year, and the year before, so I know how to write the vision down and make it plain. This time around, I'm focused on two words: trust and steps. Really, the catchphrase is Trust His S.T.E.P.S. 

Michael and I at the Vision Board Party with the owner of Beyond Elegance, Tracy Baxter.

And there are guiding scriptures, of course. This time, I am not only going to watch God work. I'm going to move so that He can match my strides! That's how this faith thing works, right? He won't move unless I move. When He sees I'm ready, He comes in to match me and do over and above what I was thinking. 

1 Chronicles 5:20b - He answered their prayers because they trusted in him. 

Isaiah 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Proverbs 4:26 - Give careful thought to the paths for your feet, and be steadfast in all your ways.

To trust means to have confidence in, reliance on, assurance in, and conviction about a thing.

To be steadfast means to be firm, steady, resolute, determined, dedicated, and unwavering.

This is how we go to God. This is how we know him. This is how he is pleased - when we consistently walk out our faith, speak his word back to him, and believe he will do what he said he would do. 

I want to leave you with this. The Word reads in Luke 4:32 (NIV), "They were amazed at his teaching because his words had authority." Whatever comes out of MY mouth has authority because it comes from the Lord. 

• I am a thriving business owner. I commit my work to the Lord, and my plans succeed.
  (Proverbs  16:3)
• My Etsy Shop has amazing, God-inspired creations. I am skilled in creating designs, logos, journals, and affirmation cards in several languages because God has filled me with his spirit, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of skills, and he has given me the ability to teach others. (Exodus 35:30-31, 34-35)
• God supplies my every need (Philippians 4:19-20) and gives me the desires of my heart (Psalms 37:4), so my design shop, website, and consulting business will flourish in 2025 in Jesus' name. 
• I am blessed because I believe the Lord will fulfill his promises to me. (Luke 1:45)
• Every word I speak over my life, marriage, family, and business is blessed because no word from God will ever fail. (Luke 1:37)

If you made it this far down the blog post, you were ready to hear from the Lord today. Be encouraged, friend. Thank you for stopping by. Oh, my Vision Board reads, "(I) Trust His S.T.E.P.S.," which stands for Steady Transformation Evidenced by Progress and Strength. It's go time, ya'll. Let's do this! 

Visit www.lingolinesbynjcb.etsy.com to see what's ✨NEW✨ in the Etsy Shop! 

Today, I'm dropping affirmation cards and the women's journal in Portuguese! 

#notjustaclassroomblog

Why I Still Wash Plastic Forks

      There it was, a purple and white teapot, staring back at me on the dining room table, with a scripture: Walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7. It had been there for at least one month. We put it out right after Christmas. The design was simple: all white porcelain, elegant and not too big, but not too small. The handle was large enough for an oversized grip, and the spout looked like a scene from Alice in Wonderland. The top of the teapot was tiny, enough for one bag to fit flat. Facing me were the words in cursive, lightly surrounded by purple lilacs. I grabbed the handle to turn the spout to the left to see if the scripture was only on one side. Wrong. "Walk by faith," it read again. I said it to myself silently, but it was as if the words were yelling at me. 

     One of the goals I listed on my "Want List" this year was to hear from God for myself. I read a ton of devotionals and listen to motivational messages, constantly feeding myself with the Good News, but the truth is, they are messages from others and not God's Word directly spoken to me. Of course, we are supposed to surround ourselves with Believers and study the Scriptures, but now, when I read the Bible, I want my own revelation. So here's the rebirth of this blog. 

     When my husband and I sat down - we are celebrating nine months married tuhday, by the way - he said, "We already know how this goes. We take the first step, and then God meets and matches us." He is absolutely right. I didn't even glance at the teapot because it was still staring at me. But I opened my journal and raised two Scriptures I'd written down a little earlier for him to see and read: Isaiah 65:24 and Proverbs 10:28. 

     The first one reads, Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. 

     And if this wasn't the additional revelation I needed, all ears are clogged. Michael (the husband) and I are believing for some pretty lofty things in 2025. The kicker is that even though we hosted a #oneword party and found matching Bible verses to go with our focus word of the year, and on yesterday, we went to a Vision Board Party, and shared even more Bible with friends adding voice to declare what we are believing for. According to Isaiah, God heard us before we even prayed about it or wrote it down. I mean, man has us writing a gratitude log and keeping tabs on everything we do, but God already knows our next steps! That's enough to shout on, or better yet, STAND on! 

     The second verse I showed him read, The hope of the righteous will be gladness. I looked at so many translations of this one just for a deeper understanding, but I think I've got it, or at least what God is revealing to me. I have to step my hope game up. Now that I think about it, it pointed me right back to the teapot. Ha! Walk by faith. It's a command. It's not a wish, not a petition, not a suggestion. God is telling us what to do. And then, in Proverbs, when He talks about hope, it means that the outcome of what I'm believing, speaking, seeking, wishing, writing down, and praying for is a joy! And the joy of the Lord is my strength! 

     This season has been a little tight financially. We were both just thinking, "I thought we did this broke thing already." LOL But it's really a reminder to refocus and fall back on the main thing. 👀Here's my secret: I opened my Etsy shop, launched my YouTube channel, and I'm working on my website. We are starting a family, so we need moolah! Here's what's NOT a secret. The Lord knows what I have need of because He supplies all of them; and He even gives me the desires of my heart - when I delight in Him. So, I'm not worried about tough times or tight times because I know in whom I believe. I trust what He told me. And just because I can't throw away the plastic forks right now like I used to, I'm going to wash them and be grateful knowing how to be content in any and everything! 

     That's it, folks. Be encouraged. Head over to the shop and see what's new: lingolinesbynjcb.etsy.com

     Head back next week (or tomorrow) for a new blog post! Thanks for reading along and joining in on this journey of love and marriage, Our Story. God is doing a new thing and I am so glad I get to share it with all of you. 

-Nelann-

#notjustaclassroomblog