blessed to be a blessing

Abundance: Stories of Giving and Prospering

Giving and prospering go hand-in-hand. No doubt about it, giving is one of the key principles that can begin to manifest increase, once it is put into action. Yet when we are struggling with lack, giving is the last thing most folks want to do or even consider doing.

I’ll confess, I too had a hard time believing

that I would receive if I gave (especially financially).

When I first started tithing I was a single parent

of two, receiving no child support and always

running short every month trying to pay my bills.

I decided to give tithing a “try” but I really didn’t understand how it would be possible in my circumstances.

Now, I could go on to share a lot of details here about my own personal story, but I’ll just leave it at: GOD’s WORD is True! When He says give and it shall be given back to you in good measure – He is not kidding!

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:38 NIV

Stories of Giving and Prospering

I have read and heard many stories of people who have struggled with lack, and then managed to turned things around after applying the giving principle. Today I’ve decided to share some of those stories in order to provide some hope and encouragement.

STORY 1:

Paul, a husband and father, was attending a church service in which a special offering was being collected for a Haiti missions program. His heart said give, but his mind was thinking about his shrinking bank balance, his current financial struggles, and the needs of his own family. To give or not to give? Paul was torn between giving money or not, but decided to give the $100 that was impressed on his heart to give. He thanked God for the opportunity to give and asked God to use his gift to bless those in need. He also thanked God for always providing for the needs of his own family.

Paul went to work on Monday and received a promotion and pay increase worth many times the offering he gave the day before!

STORY 2:

Sharon was making minimum wage and having a hard time just paying her rent and other basic living expenses. She had committed years earlier to tithe. Sharon had consistently tithed until about a year earlier, when at some point her giving became random. Her heart was feeling heavy about not tithing and she asked God to help her as she recommitted to cheerfully and consistently tithing. She wrote a check and gave her tithe that Sunday during service.

Sharon’s mom handed her a card after service. (Prior to service, another lady at church had asked her mom to give it to Sharon and she almost forgot to pass it on.) Sharon opened the card and inside was $50 – more than double what she had just given.

I hear a lot of giving testimonials, directly or indirectly, by attending church. However, I also hear many stories of giving and prospering from individuals outside of church, and even non-Christians. Consider even some well known individuals through-out history…

STORY 3:

John D. Rockefeller, one of the world’s wealthiest men, was said to have given away $550 million dollars in his lifetime! He wrote to his son in 1924 and explained his practice of giving away money…

“…in the beginning of getting money, away back in my childhood, I began giving it away, and continued increasing the gifts as the income increased…”

Notice he gave more as he received more?

STORY 4:

Bob, an author, always believed giving was a scheme to get him to give money to the person who was telling him to give. So if he did ever give, it was like a miser. And of course his little giving resulted in little return.

One day Bob decided to test the theory of giving and he wrote a check to a speaker who had provided him with a lot of instruction and encouragement. Instead of the typical $5 he would normally give when he was in his scarcity and fear mode, he nervously and excitedly gave the largest single contribution he had ever given – $1,000.

The instructor was so surprised when he got the check that he called Bob personally to thank him. Bob said it made him feel like a million bucks! Then things began to happen…he got a call from someone asking him to co-author a book, and a foreign publisher wanted to buy translation rights and offered many times what Bob had given to the instructor as a gift!

Bob said that when he gave the large check, he sent himself a message that he was prosperous and in the flow.

Lack Equals Blockage – Giving Equals Flow

I’ve heard it over and over, in many different ways, from many different people…

If you have a lack of any kind: employment, money, friends, love, patience, joy, etc., then something is blocking the flow in your life. There is an abundance of all that you have need of in life and the best way to get it flowing into your life is to give!

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7

Christians should have a lifestyle of giving and be an example to others. We have been given so much and have so much to be thankful for.

Bottom line: Giving leads to receiving. The more you sow the more you reap – so make sure you are sowing what you want to reap. Begin to give to unblock any areas of lack and allow the abundant flow of giving and prospering into your life!

May you be a cheerful giver and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

Do You Agree that Giving and Prospering go hand-in-hand? Do You have a Story to Share?

If So, LIKE, TWEET and SHARE with us – We’d Love to Hear from You!

 

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Give and Get in the Flow

Give and Get in the Flow!

giveabundanceflow

If you have lack of any kind: money, friends, love, joy, etc., then something is blocking the flow. There is an abundance of all that you have need of, and the best way to get it flowing into your life is to GIVE!

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Luke 6:38

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing!

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CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GUIDE: Biblical Answers To The Top 20 Questions About Meditating God’s Word

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GUIDE: Biblical Answers To The Top 20 Questions About Meditating God’s Word

Christian Meditation Guide Book Now Available!

Christian Meditation Guide Biblical Answers Book

Growing Prosperity Productions Presents: “CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GUIDE: Biblical Answers To The Top 20 Questions About Meditating God’s Word” by Brenda Marsolek.

This book was published late February 2012 and is now available for purchase as an ebook and print book.

I discovered that there is a lot of confusion, and many questions when it comes to the topic of Christian Meditation. Yet, God makes is very clear in the Bible that –

YES, Christians need to Meditate His Word!

So let’s get started clearing up the confusion. I’m sure you too have had some of the same questions included in this book…and I trust the answers will help open the eyes of your heart, as they did mine, to the mind and life-transforming power of meditating the living Word of God!

I originally addressed and wrote these Christian Meditation questions and answers, in December 2009. I published them online individually as articles and also as an email series.

This Christian Meditation Guide is now expanded and published in book form as a response to the requests to have it compiled in one handy reference.

My prayer and desire is that this resource is a blessing to you, and that you are encouraged and inspired to make Christian Meditation a daily part of your life. I pray that you will be empowered with Gods’ Word and live always in the peace of his presence!

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing! God bless you always!

Love in Christ,
Brenda

Growing Prosperity Productions

Find out more about the book and purchase on Amazon here:

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GUIDE: Biblical Answers To The Top 20 Questions About Meditating God’s Word

p.s. thank you in advance for your purchase, ratings & reviews! 🙂

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Growing Prosperity: Focus on Being A Blessing!

Growing Prosperity: Focus on Being A Blessing!

The Power of Flowing Prosperity

Growing Prosperity - Focus on Being a Blessing!Growing prosperity is an ever-increasing

manifestation of God’s abundance in our lives.

God desires that we prosper and

He is pleased when His blessings are

flowing through our lives.

A key here is “flowing through.”

Prosperity doesn’t come into our lives only to bless us personally. The reason we are blessed is to be a blessing. The prosperity that comes into our lives is meant to be shared and flow through our lives to bless others.

You see, when the prosperity stops with “me,”  it also stops growing. In order to get, we have to give. The “miracle” happens when the heart of our focus is upward and outward and we purpose to make our lives a blessing to God and others.

A DESTRUCTIVE FOCUS

Sadly, the main focus in today’s society is on self. The majority of people are primarily concerned about how they will benefit themselves and how their own lives will improve. Masses of people are self absorbed and have an attitude of “What’s in it for me?”

The catch here is that these people are, usually unknowingly, participating in self-destructive behavior. This self-focus hinders prosperity and at the same time encourages poverty and lack.

The good news is that we have the option to change our focus, and change our future. We can choose to adjust our focus and begin to see growing prosperity in all areas of our lives.

A POSITIVE FOCUS – BE A BLESSING

Powerful forces are unleashed when we focus on the positive, and focus on being a blessing. And keep in mind: this is not in reference to the financial realm only, but all areas of life; spiritually, physically, and financially.

The following areas of focus are meant to help give some insight and direction in keeping a positive focus:

Focus on GIVING – Not Getting

God gave so we can give. None of the gifts and blessings we receive should be self absorbed. Nothing we have is meant to be hoarded. We are told to be good stewards over all that has been given to us. Giving and sharing is a basic elementary principle. We are blessed to be a blessing. And the great thing is, when we give we receive and prosperity continues to flow through our lives.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.”
— Luke 6:38

Focus on Serving Others

God gave us family and friends, and our relationships come with the responsibility to help one another. Of course we all have needs, but the trouble starts when we put our focus on our own personal needs not being met. Soon frustration, bitterness, and anger creeps in because of what another person is not doing. But our focus needs to be on “What can I do to help meet their need?” and not on what they can do to meet mine.

Initially this doesn’t seem to make sense and you’re probably asking “How then will my needs get met?”  Well the first thing to keep in mind is that we can’t change another person, we can only change ourselves. And when we focus on meeting the needs of others, our lives have purpose, our love grows, our trust in God grows, and ironically we find our greatest needs met.

When our focus is on meeting the needs of others and trusting God to meet ours, we also live with a great sense of peace.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:6-7

Focus on Living Life with a Positive Purpose

Life is short. We should live with a purpose to be positive, godly examples and good stewards over the time we are given. It is important to be a life-long student and teacher; always learning and always passing on that knowledge. Ultimately, teaching others how to teach.

“That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children.”
— Psalm 78:6

Empower your communication with purpose and be a blessing in words. Much of our communication today lacks power because it lacks purpose.

Focus on Love

Live life with a purpose to do all things in love. Let love be a primary focus and measure of giving. Remember, God so loved that He gave. God gave first – let us focus on His example of abundant loving and giving, and follow it.

Bottom line: Focus on being a blessing and unleash powerful forces in your life! Be generous, serve, purpose to empower others, and love abundantly. Turn your focus upward and outward. Always allow your blessings to flow through your life and you’ll continue to experience an ever-increasing manifestation of God’s abundance.

May you be blessed to be a blessing and live a life of growing prosperity!

God bless you always –

Cheers,
Brenda

 

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Inspirational – Expect the Favor of God and Let Him Turn Your Trials to Blessings!

Inspirational – Expect the Favor of God and Let Him Turn Your Trials to Blessings!

Expect the Favor of God to Flow in Your Life

Expect the Favor of God Let Him Turn Trials Into BlessingsInspirational encouragement and

favor abounds and flows from God.

So if you feel like there is no hope,

for the trials you are struggling to overcome

at this time in your life, be encouraged.

God is there for you and He wants to turn your trials into blessings!

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivers them out of them all.”
— Psalm 34:19

Trials Turned Into Blessings

Alright, well we can’t expect that the storms of life won’t blow our way. The fact is: storms are a part of life. What we can expect is to have God by our side; helping us through the storms.

God can be trusted to always be there for us. It comes as no surprise, but it’s not the same case with people – people let us down. And that is exactly why we turn to God first and foremost in our trials, because He is the one that can ultimately turn our trials into blessings.

Regardless of the trouble you may be facing, God has an answer. He wants you to turn to Him so He can help you with a solution. Remember, God cares about you. Not only that, He loves you and has a great plan and purpose for your life.

“‘For I know the plan I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
— Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Expect the Favor of God

Learn to put your expectation on the favor of God flowing in your life. Sure you can expect some storms in life to blow through, but you should have a greater focus that expects the favor of God to abound.

“For His anger endures but a moment; in His favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
— Psalm 30:5

Choose to see with the eyes of your heart and have an attitude of gratitude:

  • Expect to find favor with God and man. EXPECT PROMOTION.
  • Expect God to open doors that no man can shut. EXPECT DIVINE CONNECTIONS.
  • Expect God’s strength in times of weakness. EXPECT HEALTH.
  • Expect with God all things are possible. HAVE FAITH.
  • Expect God, the Father of lights, to flow good things your way. EXPECT EXCELLENCE.
  • Expect to be blessed to be a blessing. GIVE THANKS.
  • Expect to be found when God is searching the whole earth for those whose hearts are towards Him. LOVE GOD.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 8:35 that those who find wisdom, find life, and shall obtain the favor of the Lord. And we see in Luke 2:52 that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Seek wisdom.

Seize the day; it is a gift. God can turn your trials into blessings, your storms into sweet breezes. Great things happen with faith that starts as tiny as a mustard seed. Seek first the kingdom of God and be about your Father’s business. Expect the favor of God and let Him turn your trials into blessings.

May life overflow with the favor of God and abound with growing prosperity!

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

 

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Growing Prosperity – The Power of Believing and Receiving Manifests Abundance!

Growing Prosperity – The Power of Believing and Receiving Manifests Abundance!

Dare to Believe and Activate Your Faith

The Power of Believing and ReceivingBelieving is receiving and receiving is believing;

this is true to a great degree.

Why?

Because we must first believe in something

if we want to receive and manifest

the abundance of it into our lives.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
— Mark 11:24

BELIEVING AND RECEIVING

When we believe, we accept the truth, existence, reliability, or value of something; we also put our confidence, faith, and trust in that thing.

Receiving is very similar in its definition. When we receive, we grab or take hold of something (physically or mentally); we take it into the mind and accept it as true.

So whether you are believing or receiving, you are taking hold of and accepting something. Believing something in the spiritual realm is receiving it into the heart. If we need a physical manifestation, it will come after we believe.

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
— Jesus Christ, Mark 9:23

The world tells us to believe it when we see it. However, when we operate by God’s principles, we must learn to believe first, and then we will manifest in the natural what we have already believed and received in our heart.

POWER TO MANIFEST ABUNDANCE

Faith is a noun; it is the evidence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Believe is the verb form of faith, so believing is faith in action. Faith holds a powerful force just waiting to be used.

Believing is the process of receiving and manifesting the reality of our hopes into our lives. Believing also requires actions that reflect what we believe. For Christians, faith in action is believing and obeying the Word of God. Christians are called believers for a reason – they believe.

Faith is God’s reality, and believing is putting action to that reality and tapping into the abundance of God.

If, for example, we have faith in God’s promise to prosper the works of our hands (Deuteronomy 28: 1,8) then we believe that promise is already ours and we act accordingly…

We hold fast the vision of prosperity in our heart and receive it in the natural by acting according to God’s principles of prosperity. We do not go around saying “I’m always broke, I’ll never get ahead so there’s no use trying.” Instead, we get our thoughts, words, and actions in line with God’s, because believing makes the power of God a reality in our lives.

Jesus asks us in John 11:40, “Did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God?”

If we choose to believe it is possible, God’s glory can be manifested in us and on us. But we must have faith in God. (Mark 11:22)

Why let your faith go to waste? God is searching for those who will believe and receive. Why not start expecting more of His glory in your life? God is waiting to manifest His glory to you and through you. His desire is that you be blessed to be a blessing. And there is no greater abundance to manifest and share than the abundance of God!

May your faith grow strong as you believe and receive an abundant life of growing prosperity!

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing!

Cheers,
Brenda

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Growing Prosperity: Can Giving Be The Secret to Abundant and Joyful Living?

Growing Prosperity: Can Giving Be The Secret to Abundant and Joyful Living?

Discover the Giving Secret

Growing Prosperity Giving SecretGrowing prosperity includes abundant and joyful living.

The secret in the growing prosperity equation is giving.

Giving maintains a generous heart.

A generous heart is the heart of God;

and those with a generous spirit are blessed with

an abundance of peace and joy.

“God loves a cheerful giver.”
— 2 Corinthians 9:7

Generous Giving

Generosity, as a way of life, should be a given for Christian believers. Why? Because having freely received we should have a heart to freely give. (Matthew 10:8) Generous giving should not be a religious duty, but a joyful response to God’s saving grace.

“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
— Romans 8:32

We should have an attitude of joy when giving, knowing the gracious gift the Lord has given us.

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. (Deuteronomy 15:10)

Giving Is The Cure For Greed

Greed hardens the heart and takes one’s eyes off the Lord and puts it on money and possessions. This ultimately leads to unhappiness and self-destruction.

Giving allows a person to choose where they want their heart to be. Your heart follows your money. Why not let your heart be involved in godly and good things?

“Where your treasure is, their will your heart be also.”
— Luke 12:34

We are warned by Paul, in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, not to be arrogant and put hope in wealth, which is uncertain, but to put our hope in God. It is God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. We are told do good and be generous and willing to share. This will not only lay up treasures in heaven, but let us take hold of the life that is truly life.

Give Abundantly – Reap Abundantly

Giving and receiving go hand-in-hand. Giving opens the door to receiving. When we give generously and abundantly we reap abundantly.

  • Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Corinthians 9:6-9)
  • Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. (Luke 6:38)
  • There is one who scatters, yet increases more…The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. (Proverbs 11: 24-25)
  • He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. (Proverbs 19:17)

When we give, we reap the joy of sharing! Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Blessed To Be A Blessing

When God prospers and blesses us, it is so that we can in turn be a blessing and give to others.

“I will bless you… and you will be a blessing.”
— Genesis 12:2

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and so that your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

God not only allows us to enjoy our blessings, but He wants us to enjoy them. But remember, the main reason God blesses us is so that we may be a blessing to others. You will be amazed how much God will bless you if you are simply willing to be a channel of blessings for others.

Bottom line: Give. Give a little or give a lot as you are able. Give wisely and with a cheerful heart. Let the secret of giving bless you with an abundance of peace and joy in your life.

May God continue to bless you as you continue to be a blessing to others and abound in growing prosperity!

Be Blessed to Be a Blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

 

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Growing Prosperity: Walk in the Abundance of God and Prosperous Health!

Growing Prosperity: Walk in the Abundance of God and Prosperous Health!

Claim the Divine Healing Power of God in Your Life

Walk in Prosperous HealthProsperous health is a wonderful thing to have.

We all know that when our health is in tip-top condition

we feel like we can conquer the world.

Yet when sickness attacks, it becomes a chore

just to make it through the day.

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.”
— 3 John 2

The truth about the abundance of God is that it is full of His grace and mercy. His love goes out to everyone. He provides us with immune systems, doctors, and medicine to help us fight off sickness and disease in the physical realm.

And it gets even better for the children of God. Why? Because sickness and disease are not only fought off by the immune system, which is God’s grace in our body, but it can also be fought off in the spiritual realm! How? With God’s Word!

Prosperous Words for Prosperous Health

Your words are powerful. Speak God’s Word and you won’t go wrong. Don’t simply remind yourself of His Word. Get serious, stir yourself up, and start quoting, praying, and confessing scriptures and tell your body to line up with the Word.

Proverbs 12:18 says that “the tongue of the wise is health.” Why does it say that? Because just a few chapters later it says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21)

So choose to speak wisely and stop dwelling on the problem.

Speak Prosperous Health

Search the abundance of God for His healing benefits:

  • He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. (Psalm 107:20)
  • Do not forget My teaching, but keep My commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. (Proverbs 3:1-2)
  • I am the Lord that healeth thee. (Exodus 15:26)
  • Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases. (Psalm 103:2-3)

Thank God for His healing benefits and begin to use words like these as your own. And remember divine health comes from spending time with the Healer.

Prosper Physically, Spiritually, and Emotionally

Just because spiritual things are more powerful than physical things doesn’t mean you can ignore the physical body. Trying to separate spirit, soul, and body can’t be done. They all work together to make up you.

You are a spirit, who has a soul, that resides in a God created body. Ignoring one part is disastrous. It is important to strike a balance in your life so that you use what is in you physically, spiritually, and emotionally to live a complete and prosperous life.

Ignoring a part of you creates an unhealthy balance. Eating anything the flesh wants would be neglecting the body. Allowing anything into your thought life and failing to renew your mind with God’s Word would be neglecting the soul, which is the mind, will, and emotions.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Well you can have a testimony of the miraculous healing power of God. His Word covers all sickness and disease and is more credible and powerful than any family medical history.

God is omnipotent and He knows no limitations. Put His Word to work in your life.

Some food for thought: Your body will do what you tell it to do. What you put in your mind, spirit, and body all affects your body. So, if you are searching for divine prosperous health, then you need to get a balance; spirit, soul, and body.

May you walk in prosperous health from the abundance of God and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

God bless you always,
Brenda

 

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