"A Celebration of God's Grace"

Reflections4Life™ July 27, 2017

“A Celebration of God’s Grace”

“Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute.  Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud cymbals. Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)” Psalm 150

Grace and Peace friends and family! I am overjoyed today because of the blessings of the Lord God Almighty. I am so grateful and my heart is bubbling over with joy!

Sometimes when you are facing so many things in life, and have been tested with life trials after trials, you tend to forget about the goodness and mercy of God. You may forget about what He has already done. You may forget those milestones and miss the victories and triumphs along the way because they may not seem that significant to you. However, they are! Every time you accomplish something, make it to a milestone, and you give God the glory is another black eye for and foot on the neck of the enemy!

We are celebrating TEN YEARS!—wow!—of Reflections4Life Blog and Ministry! Can someone help me give some praise to God! As I have said in a previous post, it almost passed my mind that this awesome milestone was happening. So much is going on in my life that a celebration really has been the last thing on my mind. However, God is just too great for me to not make the time and take a praise break for all of His kindness and blessings of His word that He has made possible over the past ten years! All of the phenomenal fellowship, powerful word, the precious friendships, answered prayers, and the powerful prayer circle! My goodness! I could go on and on! Seriously! But I won’t be before you long! I just want to share a bit of my heart with my Reflections4Life community and family! You guys totally rock!!!!

Ten years ago, I was in New York for the birth of my nephew. I was watching my other two nephews as their baby brother was being born. I sat in my brother’s living room with my laptop, filled with a grateful heart for life and God’s abundance. I figured I’d write in my journal. As I began to write the words, the more I felt encouraged. When I finished, God told me to share it with my current writing community. He said someone needed to be encouraged. To share, my testimony, and give Him the glory. That is how Reflections4Life came to be. It started as just, Reflections, then God said these are Reflections for daily life; thoughts that we can apply to our everyday living, and so it became, Reflections4Life.

I started writing Reflections4Life as a blog post. I did not see it as a ministry, just a way to share my heart, my experiences, and what I was reading and studying that week and how I was going to apply it to my own life. But when God has other plans, who am I to say no to God, when I know He has a proven track record? So, here I am ten years later, filled with a heart of gratitude overwhelmed with joy and wonder at what God has done in my life.

I want to thank you, my Reflectiosn4Life family and community. I want to thank you all for the fellowship and friendship over the past ten years, and look forward to much more for however long God chooses to use me in this capacity. I am open to His will and His way. I pray the blessings of God over your life. If there is anything that you stand in need of, I pray for you and stand in agreement with you that God is already taking care of it, in the name of Jesus! If there is any illness, by His stripes, you are healed and so we thank Him for the manifestations! Whatever you may be in need of, give it to God and believe for Him to open that door and to make a way for you in His Son’s mighty name! Amen!

As part of my gratitude today, and for all the gratitude in my heart towards you for the years of fellowship, I will be giving away three (3) paperback copies of my latest release, What Love Teaches Me, Volume 3 in my Reflections4Life Inspirational Series. The print version contains a special Reflections4Life Journal inside. I will also be giving away one (1) $25 Amazon e-gift card.

To be eligible, you have between today (July 27 2017) and Monday (July 31, 2017) by 8:00 PM EST to subscribe to my email list on my website at www.iamruthemcdonald.com Three names will be randomly chosen for the paperback copy, and one name will be chosen for the Amazon e-gift card. The contest is sponsored by Johnrue Publishing. All winners will be contacted by August 4^th, 2017. No purchase necessary to be entered into this giveaway.

The print version is available on Amazon. If you would like to purchase the eBook, please follow this link for a list of retailers: https://books.pronoun.com/what-love-teaches-me/

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity finds permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. Thank you all once again for celebrating this day with me! You are appreciated and prayed for daily. Thank you for your continued friendship and fellowship. May the grace and peace of God be constant in your life. It is my prayer the coming years brings us closer, extending our family, and connecting us on greater and deeper levels. I love you and I pray for you always. You are blessed. Now go…and be a blessing!

©2017. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.

"History and Unconditional Love"

Reflections4Life™ July 16, 2017

“History and Unconditional Love”

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 [AMP]

Scripture Contemplation: Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 44; Jeremiah 1; Romans 15:4; Philippians 2:1-11…

©Ruthe McDonald.

I decree that this week’s Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and spirit. God knows everything about who we are. He shaped and formed us in our mother’s wombs. There is not a hair on our head, which God has not counted. We have a history with our Creator. Draw on that history this week, as you spend time in the Father’s presence. Seek His will for your life. Let no plan be implemented without first seeking the heart and face of God.

His·to·ry ˈhist(ə)rē/ noun: 1. the study of past events, particularly in human affairs. 2. the whole series of past events connected with someone or something.

This past week, while reading a story that discussed the importance of history, it brought to mind a dialogue between fictional characters in one of my upcoming novels, talking about relationships and how the history that develops over time connects two people that can forge something magical and powerful when based on unconditional love.

Much of my writing comes from what I know, believe, and have experienced. I am a firm believer that history in a relationship can either help or hinder where you want to go in the future, alongside a person’s perception and desire for that relationship.

Here is the gist of the conversation between the parent and their grown child in my novel: When you love someone unconditionally, you do not place conditions on your love. You do not continue to love them because they meet all of your expectations, and when they do not, you withhold that love. That is not, unconditional love. When you are building a history together, creating a unique connection, you will have difficulties, good, and bad times. There are days when you will feel like the sun, rises, and sets on your beloved, and other times when you may feel like you hardly know them. When you have been married for a while; have been in a relationship over time, you will develop a history with this person. In the beginning, you are so in love; blind to any faults and bypassing any differences. You cannot imagine anything ever going wrong that would have you not liking one another, arguing, or disagreeing about anything. It feels euphoric. Then, life happens. Trials and tests come; your connection tested as the enemy tries his best to disconnect you, but this is a part of your history building. With all history, there is good and bad. As time moves forward and the years of your marriage grow and you look back over your history with one another and can still say truthfully that you love one another; that history will remind you of how strong you really are; how strong your love truly is; how powerful you are together. It makes it [your love] seem magical, unbreakable. That is what unconditional love affords you. It grants you the opportunity to have and experience a love that can stand the tests of time and events; events that shape you and connect you with one another in such a unique and powerful way if you do not give up

This, Beloved, is what we have with God. We have a connection, a powerful history with the heavenly Father that is shaped in unconditional love. A history forged in love, by love, for love. The Father’s love for His creation, for us to have an eternity with Him, set a precedence for what we can have on this earth in our own relationships; our relationships with one another and our relationship with God Almighty.

We may not look at it, or even see, many of us take for granted, the unconditional love that God has for us, and the history that exists between our Creator and ourselves. The enemy would have us to believe that God does not know us, listen to us, or even love us. How can that be, when He was the One that formed us in our mother’s womb? He was the one who created us, and shaped and molded us. The One that knows the number of hairs on our head, our thoughts before we think them.

There is power in our connection to God, in our history with one another. A power that the enemy cowers under, and does everything to try to sever. If he is not working trying to make us feel guilty for our sins and mistakes, he is stealthy seeking ways to convince us that God does not love or care about us. Why does he do this? Because even the enemy understands how powerful the history and connection is between God and His creation. He trembles at the thought of us, coming into that knowledge, applying it to our lives, and walking in confidence, drawing strength from that connection. It is an anvil; a blow to the enemy’s camp and his weak hold on our lives.

There is nothing more threatening and more frightening for the enemy than those who know their history, walk in unconditional love, and exercise their authority and power in God every day of their lives. The enemy understands that knowledge is power and that once we gain wisdom and understand how to walk in that power, the shorter his days grow and the power he once held over us is when we were in ignorance, is no longer.

Another thing the enemy despises is family. A family forged in unconditional love, building a history together, is a blow to the enemy’s plans. His plan is to kill, steal, and destroy. If he can destroy that bond; keep any history from forming, then, he has a greater chance of destroying an entire legacy, generations that would come from that powerful connection and unconditional love.

We have a choice today, Beloved. We can either listen to the enemy, look at our history through muddy lenses tainted by the enemy’s machinations. Or, we can hold onto the promises of God, recognize our history with the loving Father, and walk in the powerful connection that His unconditional love has afforded us. No day is the same. We will face obstacles along the way but we do not have to face them alone. We have a history with our God; a history that has been forged and anointed in the unconditional love of God. It is up to us to follow through, remembering whose we are and what God has already done.

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity finds permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. Know your history with the King. Have confidence in God’s love for you and the conviction to walk in the power and authority that He has afforded us through the death and resurrection of Christ. Unconditional love is powerful; creating a history that is forged in power and unbreakable. You are blessed. Now go…and be a blessing.

©2017. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.

"Life"

Reflections4Life™ July 9, 2017

“Life”

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” John 10:10

Scripture Contemplation: John 1, 3, 6; Isaiah 2:22; Joshua 22:5; Ruth 4; Psalm 16…

©Rue Fox

Life; it is all around us, even among death. As one life transitions, another life is being born into the world that will either draw them to God or away from the ways of God. Because no matter what path is chosen in life, God is always there in our midst knocking on the doors of heart, covering us even when we have rejected Him.

I declare that this week’s Reflections are a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. Rejoice in the Lord for life. It may not be everything you want it to be. You may have needs and are waiting for your prayers to be answered. In the meantime, celebrate the gift of life that God has granted you in spite of the ups and downs and hiccups on the road. Let this week find you thanking God for every single moment, every breath, and every opportunity to seize this gift of life and become all that God has ordained.

We are faced with many difficulties in our life’s journey. Sometimes it feels as though the world and God are against us. We ask God, why. Why me, Lord? What have I done to deserve a life with so much heartache, pain, and disappointment? Why does it feel like the enemy is always winning? We question if God is even here; if He is listening. Yet God reminds us that He is with us even when we cannot feel Him or trace Him. We are often touched by the evil, the sin that people commit. Their actions affecting us.

God has given everyone the freedom to choose his or her path in life, to choose to do right or to do wrong. Often times, people’s choices have a profound impact on our lives. Sometimes the consequences of their actions touch our lives in very painful ways. Yet, it does not mean that God loves us any less, or that He is not there with us through the storms. We must conclude to live our lives with such a determination that no matter what we experience, what comes to us, we will strive to live our best, making the most of what we have.

Life is not a guarantee but a gift each day. Life is not fair but God is just. Some people live their lives with no regard for anyone else’s life, let alone their own. The Father reminds us that it rains on the just and unjust alike. We may have difficulty reconciling in our minds the goodness and love of God when we have either experienced hardships or devastations personally or witnessed it among our loved ones and even perfect strangers. Yet, that is where faith comes in.

Though we do not understand now the cause, continued heartaches, disappointments, and hurts we sometimes suffer; we must continue to look to God to strengthen us and to make us stronger in our weaknesses and to carry us through those dark times when we feel abandoned and rejected by our Creator. We must diligently remind ourselves of the promises of God because it is easy to forget when we are faced with a storm so devastating it feels like we are going to drown.

God is there in the midst. Though it seems like He is not listening or answering our prayers, He is. The fact that we are still alive, in the land of the living, breathing another day testifies to His love and belief in who we are and what He has ordained for our lives. All we have to do is accept it. Trust Him where we cannot trace Him and live this life to the best of our ability by giving it our all and surrender all to Him each day we are granted. The Father will protect us.

The very things we have endured and have overcome are the very things that set us apart and prepare us for the call and anointing that God has placed on our lives. It brings life to our testimony and is the story behind God’s glory shining in our lives. Our harvest will come from the pain, trials, and tests we have endured. We will rise up, bless the name of God, and thank Him that we yet again, have triumphed and have defeated the plans of the enemy to destroy us and separate us from the Love of God for all eternity. I have read the book, Beloved and the ending is the same: WE WIN!

The enemy will continue to use his limited time on this earth to try and stop us any way he can because even he knows he has already lost. Occasionally you just have to throw your head back and laugh at the enemy! Oh, he tried it! However, God has already declared us the winner. We just have to believe it, and walk in that knowledge with all manner of confidence. No one and nothing can stop God's blessings on our life but us! No one has that kind of power unless we give it to him or her by falling for his or her lies. So...go on and laugh at the enemy and liars that tell you that you cannot. Walk with your head held high, basking in the love and light of your Creator; walking in the greatness that is already in you! Celebrating this life He has given you!

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity finds permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. Life is a gift and what we do with our gifts has an effect on the people around us. The choices we make will always have an impact on others, whether directly or indirectly. Though the life being lived by others may have impacted us, God has made a way for us to escape, endure, and move on: through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are free. As with anything in life, it must first start in our minds and our hearts. When we are free there? Everything else follows. You are blessed. Now go…and be a blessing!

©2017. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.

"Reflections4Life...Getting Ready To Celebrate Ten Years!"

Celebrating Ten Years of Reflections4Life Blog & Ministry!

Volume 3 is almost here! Thursday, July 27, 2017. A compilation of daily devotions to encourage, inspire, uplift, and to cause a heart and mental shift in your life; preparing you to receive and walk in the promises of God.

I can hardly believe that I have been blessed by God to share His word and love through Reflections for the past ten years! God has been so wonderful. He has been good to me and there is so much coming in this tenth year.

For those who have been fellow-shipping with me for a while, you are aware that I did a series of Reflections Videos. (My YouTubeChannel) I will be starting those up again this year, as well as a Podcast and an App. I look forward to the revamped website, where you will be able to connect with me even more! Sign up for our Newsletter, Bible Study, Workshops. Be able to check out our shop and make a purchase for you and/or your loved ones, and the ease of making a donation, and sign up for monthly giveaways! There is so much more!

I am so excited for this tenth year. I am just excited over what God has done in the past ten years and the people I have connected with, fellowship with, pray with, have Bible Study with! My goodness! I can hardly wait to see where the Heavenly Father is taking us the next ten, twenty, thirty years! God is just so Awesome! What an amazing God!

Stay tuned for future notices on how you can be a part of the celebration and purchase a copy of:

Reflections4Life: What Love Teaches Me Volume III

With Love and Warm Regards,

Rue