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New Year, Fresh Start – 7 Exit Tips to Move You into the New Year with a Clean Slate!

New Year, Fresh Start – 7 Exit Tips to Move You into the New Year with a Clean Slate!

Out With the Old and In With the New

New Year Fresh StartA new year means a new start.

But first we need to look at the ‘out with the old’

before we look at the ‘in with the new.’

Why not start the New Year with a clean slate?

We all have skeletons in our closets;

those unpleasant things we are ashamed of

and hope nobody discovers about us.

But God can clean up our closets and wipe the slate clean.

He can give us a fresh new start and a clean slate in life so that we no longer care if others find out about our past, because God has cleaned it up and made all things new.

“Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” 
— 2 Corinthians 5:17

7 Exit Tips for the Year:

1. Take an Account of the Past Year

Make note of the people that have done you wrong and FORGIVE everyone of them. Release them, loose them, let them go, and let it drop.

Don’t let your anger cause you to sin, or let the sun go down on your wrath. (Eph 4:26) Remember, forgiveness does not condone behavior, but a lack of forgiveness hurts you. And if you don’t forgive others you hold yourself in unforgiveness. (Matt 6:14-15)

2. Forgive Yourself

Confess your sin and God will forgive you. (1 John 1:9) We are not to sin, but if we do, we have an advocate with the Father; because Jesus is righteous we are righteous in Him.

If God will forgive us, but we won’t, that is extreme arrogance and pride.

3. Examine Yourself

Ask yourself, “Where am I at in my faith?”

“Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves.” 
— 2 Corinthians 13:5

4. Repent

Repent means to turn from our ways and change for the better. Repentance is a basic principle of the doctrine of Christ. Repent and face the New Year renewed.

5. Commit to Forget the Past

“Forget those things which are behind and reach for those things which are ahead.” 
— Philippians 3:13

Let God wash away your sins and any heavy burden of guilt that you have been carrying with it. Leave them in the past and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)

6. Commit to Not Live on Past Successes

Don’t live on yesterday’s successes. Today is a new day and a new year is upon us; keep pressing forward. God does not want us to live on yesterday’s manna.

Don’t take record of the past. (Phil 3:8) Be busy about your Father’s business today. Commit to hunger after God’s Word daily.

7. Bury Past Events that Need to be Buried

Sometimes we need to bury past events.

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” 
— Hebrews 12:1-2

Before we start the race we have to first drop the weights holding us down. Strife, gossip, worry, fear, pride, arrogance, racism are just some of the many weights.

Now what? Take some time to let God help you exit the year with a clean slate. Let Him fill your New Year with love, joy, hope, peace, power, prosperity, and victory.

May you have a blessed and Happy New Year filled with growing prosperity!

Cheers,
Brenda

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Self-Esteem – 7 Ways to Live With Bold Confidence

Self-Esteem – 7 Ways to Live With Bold Confidence

Transform Yourself Into a Shining Success!

Healthy self-esteem and bold confidence,

when put to work in your life…

have transforming power to make you a shining success.

Have you been living with intimidation, self-doubt, anxiety, fear, and rejection? If so, then you know it is time to change the insecurity into security.

Do yourself a favor and take a little time to focus on some ways you can overcome those negative, unwanted traits you’ve been carrying around for way too long.

7 Ways to Help You Live With Bold Confidence:

1.) CHOOSE TO RISE ABOVE

Make a commitment to yourself today, to begin overcoming the weaknesses and inadequacies you’ve been dealing with. Even though it will take hard work and you are bound to mess up along the way, make a conscious decision to keep pressing on and rising above. You are worth it!

2.) SPEND TIME WITH ENCOURAGERS

Be cautious who you spend time with. Your relationships are a key factor in overcoming a low self-esteem.  Choose to spend time with encouragers. Regardless of your past, you can have healthy relationships.

“He that walks with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” 
— Proverbs 13:20

3.) SHIFT YOUR FOCUS ON OTHERS

There is a great empowerment that comes from shifting your focus off yourself and on to others. It is easy to keep our minds focused on our own problems, fears, and insecurities. But this only intensifies them. Look around at someone struggling and reach out to lend a hand. True peace comes from giving.

4.) MAKE YOUR POSITIVE THOUGHTS RULE

Keep your mind filled with positive, empowering, confidence building, and happy thoughts. Overcoming a negative, and weak self-image is going to require that you eliminate those self-defeating thoughts. Squeeze them out of your mind by replacing them with healthy, confident thoughts.

Remember, God is not the one who gave you a spirit of fear. He gave you a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind! (2 Timothy 1:7)

5.) LEAVE THE PAIN IN THE PAST

Do not waste any more time replaying painful, embarrassing, or intimidating experiences from your past. This keeps you stuck and prevents you from walking into the future with the bold confidence needed to succeed. You do not have to let others (or past memories) cause you to lack confidence and live with insecurity.

Forgive anyone that has hurt you, and forgive yourself while you are at it. Then put the painful past behind you and face your future with strong confidence.

6.) TRUST GOD

God has a good plan for our lives. If we spend our lives trusting in ourselves and other people, the result is disappointment after disappointment. We need to put our trust in God and let him guide us. He is the one that will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalm 37:3-6)

7.) TALK CONFIDENCE

Just like it is vital to your self-esteem to get control of your thoughts, the same is true of your words. What are you saying about yourself? Do you make self-defeating confessions such as: ‘I am so ugly,’ ‘I am such a loser,’ ‘I am worthless,’ ‘I am stupid,’ ‘I never do anything right,’ etcetera?

The words we speak have power to affect us for the good or bad. Use this knowledge to empower yourself with confidence building confessions. It does not matter if you or others have spoken negative, curses over your life; you now have the choice to speak positive, encouraging, faith-filled words.

“In all things I am more than a conqueror through Him that loved me.” 
— Romans 8:37

Your next step? Make the decision to begin applying these seven steps to help you conquer low self-esteem, intimidation, fear, and insecurity. Encourage yourself and refuse to give up. God says you are a victor and you really can be all that God has called you to be. You can live with bold confidence and transform yourself into a shining success.

May you live empowered with bold confidence and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!

Soar higher in Him –

God bless you,
Brenda

P.S. Do you have any additions for this list? Feel free to share…

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