Lysa terkeurst quotes

Remember, conflict doesn’t always mean we have to fight against something and tear it apart.... Conflict can also mean we’re fighting for something to make it even better and stronger than it’s ever been.

Prayer does make a difference-a life-changing, mind-blowing, earth-rattling difference.

Where there is a lack of rest, there is an abundance of stress.

Whatever has you afraid, angry, intimidated or frustrated tonight - take it to our all-powerful and all-capable God. He has the answer.

We need to make sure our activities and our attitudes line up with what pleases God first and foremost. Wherever we focus our attention the most will become the driving force in our lives.

Big things are built one brick at a time. Victories are achieved one choice at a time. A life well lived is chosen one day at a time.

The decisions you make today matter. Every decision points your life in the direction you are about to travel. No decision is an isolated choice. It’s a chain of events. If you choose wisely, your future will reflect that. But if you don’t choose wisely, the decisions you make now will take you to places you don’t want to be later.

I was made for more than being stuck in a vicious cycle of defeat. I am not made to be a victim of my poor choices. I was made to be a victorious child of God.

No person, possession, profession, or position ever fills the cup of a wounded, empty heart. It's an emptiness only God can fill.

Spending some time getting quiet can really be the best remedy for tangled situations. Taking a step back from all the emotion, frustration, and exhaustion to sit quietly with Jesus will do more to untangle a mess than anything else I've ever found.

Trusting God's plan is the only secret I know in the gentle art of not freaking out.

Remember who you are. Don't compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth.

Everything I do and say tells a story of who I am serving. If I am acting out of anger and spite, I am serving the father of darkness and spreading his darkness. If I am honoring to the Lord with my actions, I am serving to further the name of Jesus and spreading His light.

God is good to me, even when life doesn’t feel good to me.

The only way our faith can strengthen is if we use it.

God can take what Satan meant for shame and use it for His glory. Just when we think we've messed up so badly that our lives are nothing but heaps of ashes, God pours His living water over us and mixes the ashes into clay. He then takes this clay and molds it into a vessel of beauty. After He fills us with His overflowing love, He can use us to pour His love into the hurting lives of others.

Because He's near, we dont have to be anxious or feel out of control. We have peace that rises above any circumstance!

There is power in simply speaking the name Jesus.

Love isn't what I have the opportunity to get from this world. Love is what I have the opportunity to give.

If you give your mess to the Messiah, He can turn it into a message.

Do not confuse the command to love with the disease to please.

How to overcome that seemingly impossible issue... Pray more words about it than you speak.

Trying to fix another person will only add to my anxiety. Letting Jesus work on me is where real progress can happen.

When feelings of inadequacy come creeping in, let's park our minds in God's truth.

We aren't supposed to strive for perfection everyday. If we were perfect, we'd have no need for Jesus. And it's through our imperfections that we really feel the pull toward our need for a Savior. So the imperfections serve a wonderful purpose if we'll let them.

Nothing done with the focus on God is ever a waste of time.

We were made for more than compromise. We were made for God's promises in every area of our lives.

Having faith doesn't mean I have all the answers. It means trusting God especially in the midst of uncertainty.

A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.

Today, let's set our minds and hearts on feeling more thankful for what we are than guilty for what we're not. Let's cut the threads of guilt with grace.

Instead of wishing things would change, I'm asking God for His strength to make a change.

Dear Lord, forgive me for all of the times I've compared myself to others. I know that You have hand-picked all of my qualities. Help me to see these things as beautiful reminders of Your great love in creating me as Your daughter. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Great love isn't two people finding the perfect match in one another. Great love is two people making the choice to be a match.

Chase God's heart today. Christianity has got to be more than a label, a lingo, and a lifestyle.

Being married is amazing. Being married is incredibly difficult. Being married can seem impossibly hard. Being married is incredibly beautiful. Yes, marriage is a fragile blend of all of this and more.

If I'm trusting myself, I will stare at all the possible ways I could fail. If I'm trusting God, I will stare at all the possible ways He'll use this whether I fail or succeed.

Don't let people's compliments go to your head, and don't let their criticisms go to your heart. The degree to which you do either of these things is the degree to which you'll be ruled by what other people think of you.

I so desperately want my words to be indicative of how deeply and completely I love my people.

Getting healthy isn't just about losing weight. It's not limited to adjusting our diet and hoping for good physical results. It's about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change - spiritually, physically, and mentally. And the battle really is in all three areas.

Never is a woman so fulfilled as when she chooses to underwhelm her schedule so she can let God overwhelm her soul.

Life as a Christ follower will always be a learning process of depending less on our own strength and more on God's power.

Don’t let people’s compliments go to your head and don’t let their criticisms go to your heart.

Person who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul. So if we want to live better and invest wisely in our souls, we've got to change our approach to the way we make decisions. We've got to rethink how we use the two most powerful words, yes and no.

Wise women tuck Godly wisdom into the words they speak and even more into the words they choose not to speak.

I realize how desperately I need grace, therefore I try to lavishly give it.

The problem with saying yes all the time is that it won't make you Wonder Woman. It'll make you a worn-out woman. And soon you'll find the relationships you treasure most are constantly getting your 'less' instead of your 'best' because of your endless to-do list and overwhelming schedule.

My imperfections will never override God’s promises. God’s promises are not dependent on my ability to always choose well, but rather on His ability to use well.

Raw emotions - anger, frustration, bitterness, resentment - are the feelings we tend to hide from people we want to impress but spew on those we love the most.

What if God’s 'NO,’ is really a gift? His way to protect us from what we cannot see, provide something better than we can imagine, or be part of the process of growing us closer to Him.

Sip the shame so you won't have to guzzle the regret.

Being uncertain and scared and riddled with doubt some days isn't a sign of bad things to come. It's actually quite the opposite. After all, if great things weren't on the horizon, I don't think the enemy would be so bent on attacking us.

It is good for God's people to be put in a place of longing so they feel a slight desperation. Only then can we be empty enough and open enough to discover the holiness we were made for. When we are stuffed full of other things and never allow ourselves to be in a place of longing, we don't recognize the deeper spiritual battle going on.

God made us to consume food. He did not make food to consume us.

The one who obey's God's instruction for today will develop a keen awareness of His direction for tomorrow.

We live in a broken world full of broken people. But isn’t it comforting to know God isn’t ever broken? He isn’t ever caught off guard, taken by surprise, or shocked by what happens next.

Sometimes it's the words we choose not to say that speak most loudly about our character.

God never intended for us to rely on others for our sense of well being. Only He is equipped to provide that.

The secret to healthy conflict resolution isn't taking a 'you against me' stance. The secret is realizing it's 'us against Satan.' He's the real enemy.

Satan has no power over us except what we allow. Moment by moment, decision by decision, step by step - will we operate in God's all powerful Truth or allow Satan to entangle us in his lies?

This life is not about me. It's about joining hands with Jesus to fulfill whatever tasks He sets before me and to share His love with all He brings my way.

Regardless of where you are tonight, God is with you. God is wooing you. God wants you to experience Him. Whatever you are going through today, you can find His joy and peace. However distant your dreams may seem, God is working things out, and today is an important part of that process.

You have the exact qualities God knew your kids would need in a mother. Each day, hold up your willingness and ask God to make you the best version of you that you can possibly be.

God invites us today to live a great story with Him.

God, despite my circumstances, I will find reasons to praise You.

Saying yes to God isn't about perfect performance, but rather perfect surrender to the Lord day by day. Your obedience becomes radical the minute this desire turns into real action. Radical obedience is hearing from God, feeling His nudges, participating in His activity, and experiencing His blessings in a way few people ever do.

If I really want an unrushed life, I must underwhelm my schedule so God has room to overwhelm my soul.

It is a rare and beautiful thing when we choose to offer love in situations when most people would choose to scorn or ignore.

Just because we feel offended doesn't mean we must be offended. Feelings are indicators not dictators.

Sometimes we need the salt of tears to remind us how to savor the sweetness of life.

God is using all of your experiences, both good and bad, to develop your character to match your calling.

God, I want to see You. God, I want to hear You. God, I want to know You. God, I want to follow hard after You. And even before I know what I will face today, I say yes to You.

Today, let's be determined to see blessings in the midst of things that seem like burdens.

Here's an encouraging word for someone tonight - don't think you're not doing what God called you to do just because things don't seem as glamorous as you thought they would be. If you are a woman who honors God right where you are, you are in ministry. Keep being obedient, keep looking for the next open door of opportunity, and above all else hold closely to our Lord.

Outside our comfort zone, though, is where we experience the true awesomeness of God.

Too many people think that finding the reason God placed us here on earth will come in one assignment with a big title and complete job description. I believe that discovering our purpose will unfold slowly, like a seed planted deep in the ground.

Truth is the only healthy place from which to speak. Assumption is the birthplace of godless chatter.

We try so hard to hold onto our stuff. We call it our treasure and expect to feel joy. But in God’s economy if we want to gain, we must give up. For joy won’t ever be found in collecting treasures. Joy radiates in our life only when we share our treasures.

Don't put the whole of your identity into the smallness of a situation.

We can't always fix our circumstances, but we can fix our minds on God

I want to honor Jesus with the things I say and the things I choose not to say. Lord, help us all be so careful with sharing opinions as if they are truth.

Feelings are indicators, not dictators. They can indicate where your heart is in the moment, but that doesn't mean they have the right to dictate your behavior and boss you around. You are more than the sum total of your feelings and perfectly capable of that little gift . . . called self-control.

When to give grace? I'd rather stand before God knowing I loved others too much rather than regretting that I judged too harshly.

If you are a woman who honors God right where you are, you are in ministry.

Praying helps me see perspectives otherwise beyond me.

God will always do great things with people who are willing to be faithful in the small things.

We want big directional signs from God. God just wants us to pay attention.

I have discovered a few things that help me when God seems silent... - Press in to God when you want to pull away. - Praise God out loud when you want to get lost in complaints. - Put yourself in the company of truth (reading Scriptures and surrounding yourself with positive, Godly people.)

The more we read God’s truths and let truth fill our minds, the less time we’ll spend contemplating untruths.

Refusing to gossip is a beautiful decision to make. It not only creates richer friendships but, more importantly, it makes our relationship with the Lord more authentic and believable. We honor God when we honor each other.

Conflict tip: What comes out of someone else's mouth is a reflection of their heart ... not yours.

Maybe God's goal wasn't for me to raise a good rule-following child. Instead, His goal was for me to raise a God-following adult.

Seeking - really seeking - is more than just reading a few verses from the Bible in the morning and trying to be a good person that day. Seeking requires me to sacrifice the things I feel compelled to chase so I can be available to notice God’s clear direction. Whatever we chase, like it or not, gains our full attention. Dear Lord, forgive me for all the times I’ve rushed by Your gifts and overlooked Your blessings. Today, I want to pause and really seek You with all I’ve got. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Sometimes we miss the miraculous of all that we have been blessed with because we're so focused on the one thing we don't have. When this happens, we become disillusioned with all that we do have.

Determine to pray more words over your marriage than you speak about your marriage.

This morning, you have a choice. You can lay in the dark replaying the awful events of the week, or you can turn the light on and read God's Word-His truth-which is the best thing to do when lies are swarming and painful thoughts are attacking like a bunch of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

Lord, help me to see what comes my way as an opportunity instead of an inconvenience.

Forgiveness is mandatory; reconciliation is optional.

When God says no, we are sometimes tempted to wonder if He loves us. In reality, it’s because He loves us, He sometimes says no.

Most of us spend years chasing things in this world that we think will make us feel loved. But everything this world has to offer is temporary. Everything. The kind of love our souls crave is lasting, eternal. And only God can fill up our hearts with that kind of love.

Remember: even the smallest drop of God's strength is more than enough to cover our frailties, our shortcomings, and the places where we deem ourselves weak.

The decisions we make dictate the schedules we keep. The schedules we keep determine the lives we live. The lives we live determine how we spend our souls. So, this isn't just about finding time. This is about honoring God with the time we have.

I know deep hurt. But I also know deep hope. Sometimes God's power is shown as much in preventing things as it is in making them happen. We may never know why. But we can always know and trust the Who.

Remember, the Devil loves to make us focus on the little that's wrong so we miss the big picture of all that's right.

Humility opens the door of opportunity.

I want to learn how to be more thankful for what I am, than guilty for what I'm not.

Don't let the hurt of today blind you to the hope of tomorrow. Disappointment ushers in a new appointment.

We need to make peace with who we are so insecurities don't become a distraction to how we live. Just because I sometimes feel insecure doesn't mean I have to be insecure.

Not making a decision is actually a decision. It's the decision to stay the same.

Don't allow the unrealistic demands of others to march freely into your life.

At the end of the day, honoring God leads to good things. Anything else leads to confusion, emotional exhaustion and a lack of good things.

God is mighty. God is caring. God is worthy of praise. God is loving. God is able. God is in control. Nothing takes God by surprise. Some sweet reminders to soak in before falling asleep tonight.

Toxic thoughts leave no room for truth to flourish. And in the absence of truth, lies reign. Spend some time soaking in your favorite verses from Scripture tonight. The more we read God's truths and let truth fill our minds, the less time we'll spend contemplating untruths and toxic thoughts.

Jesus, I don't want to be a secret keeper with my faith. I want to be a bold and gracious truth proclaimer. For You. With You. Because of You. Me, the unwanted girl whom You loved, redeemed and wanted.

Having God as an identity marker is nothing but a label, a language, and a lifestyle. I'm a Christian. I talk like one. I act like one. But having God as an identity changer is so much more. It's lavish abandon to who God is and who He's made me to be. Holding nothing back!

So often, we want big directional signs from God. God just wants us to pay attention. But we need to leave enough space in our days to get up from our prayers and actually look for God in the moment-to-moment things that happen.

No matter your age, stage of life, or circumstances, don't forget to dare to dream with God. You don't have to figure anything out. Just keep saying yes to Him, in big ways and small, and watch what He does.

Not reaching back for what was lost in my yesterdays. And not reaching for what I hope will be in my tomorrow. But living fully with what is right in front of me. And truly seeing the gift of this moment.

God loves to take people from broken backgrounds and surprise them with possibilities.

You've never gone too far that God can't redeem you, restore you, forgive you, and give you a second chance.

Tonight, no matter what you're going through... backtrack and remember all the places where God has been so faithful before in your life. And know. Know with assurance. And boldness. And confidence. He is the same faithful God.

Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

The truly thankful person is a truly peaceful person.

My goal should never be to raise kids that make me look good. (Oh but how my flesh craves this!) My goal should be to raise kids who love God and spend their lives making His goodness known in their corner of the world.

Scars are beautiful when we see them as glorious reminders that we courageously survived.

It's not my perfect performance that captures God's attention. It's my complete dependence on Him that He notices.