God, What Do YOU Have Planned For ME IN 2015?

Welcome to 2015! There are dreams to be accomplished & victories to be won! It's your season & it's your time. God has an amazing 2015 planned for you and you have a part to play in making it your reality! Your job is to Get Clear, Believe and Take Action. 

One way to build your capacity to move forward is to reflect over your past victories. Let's review!

What were your 5 biggest accomplishments of 2014?

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Give yourself a pat on the back! If you are like most people you accomplished some great things and now it's time to move forward. The strength of progress is vision. If you don't know where you're going or what it looks like, how will you know when you get there or if you are off course? You won't! The great news is you don't have to create your vision from scratch! God already has a magnificent plan for your life! James 1 tells us that when we lack wisdom, we should ask God and He will share liberally! God wants you to know His plans for your life and the path you need to take to get there!

Here's the question to ask: God, what do you have planned for my life in 2015?

Spend some time asking God to show you in a way that you can understand what He desires for your life. Then write down what He places in your heart. Remember that God cares about EVERY area of your life so He wants to speak to you about your spiritual walk, relationships, health, finances, even your vacations. So what is God saying?

Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NLT)

“Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that the runner can read it and tell everyone.”

As believers, the visions we write should be His answer to this question?

“What do you have planned for my life in 2015?”

What is your vision for 2015 (pick one area of life, health, finances, relationships, career, etc.)? Be as specific as possible.

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What are 5-7 action steps you need to take to make this vision manifestation?

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What are the biggest hindrances facing your vision?

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What is your plan to overcome these challenges?

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I challenge you to print this and read it daily. Make sure that you are doing the work to make your dreams reality! It's time to live your dreams! If you'd like to do more guided work on your goals, check out one of my programs "Ignite Your Dreams in 5 Days" and "28 Quick Start Course" at 
http://www.shunstrickland.com/dreamstore.html or email me shun@shunstrickland.com for information on my personal coaching program.

I'd love to coach you in 2015

Kick Low Self Esteem Out Of Your Life - NOW!

Hey Dreamers,

As a dream coach and pastor, I work with women all the time and I constantly hear stories of how they don't feel they are good enough to live their God given dreams and experience all God has prepared for them. They can list their flaws without blinking but can't name 10 things they like about themselves. They don't realize, it's their own self talk that keep them feeling do unworthy. It's not their flaws & short comings that keep them stuck, it's their on negative perception. They way they belittle themselves, they don't need help from enemies of the devil. They have built a prison with their own sabotage.

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you are one of those women who tells everyone who they can do it, but yourself. Maybe you are guilty of failing to love and value you. I know you probably don't see it that way and you have a good excuse for why you talk so bad to you about you, but if you keep those excuses you'll never be free to be the best you possible. Self esteem is about how you feel about you. No one else determines that but you. If doesn't matter how many thousands of people believe in you or how many don't...what matters is what do you believe. So if you have low self esteem it's because you are choosing to believe crap about yourself and it's time to CHANGE!

Here are some steps to build your self esteem:

1) Decide to believe what God has said about you. Let's be real: how can you say you believe God but you don't believe about what He says about you? God has already said you are fearful (made with great care and thoughtfulness) and wonderfully made. Decide to believe Him and be your own hero

2) Stop rehearsing your failures and shortcomings. PSA: You aren't the only person who has blown it. We all have. The difference between those with low self esteem and those high self esteem is that those with high self esteem refuse to be defined by their failure. Learn from your mistakes and MOVE ON!

3) Become the CEO of your own fan club. It's great to cheer for others. Learn to cheer for yourself. That way if no one else does, you still have a cheer leader. Let the good things other think about support what you think about you, not define you. Spend some time daily reminding yourself what's great about you.

4) Quit being a victim. Decide that low self esteem is disempowering emotion that renders you powerless and causes you to live as a victim waiting on someone else to show up and rescue you by telling you are enough. You don't need that. Only you can rescue your self esteem from the pit.

5) Upgrade your treatment of YOU - Don't agree with me and go back to that garbage of beating yourself up. You are better than that and you deserve better than that. I don't care how you got here or how long you've lived here - it's time to move out and move forward! You are enough so treat yourself like you are enough!

I know that what I'm saying isn't easy, but it's doable. You don't need easy, you just need to decide that you are ready to move forward.

Action Steps:
Read these steps for the next 30 days and journal how yourself talk changes.
Share this blog with all of your friends who are struggling with the same issue, change together.
When you find yourself talking negative about yourself, put a dollar in jar and see how much you have at the end of 30 days. Take the money and invest in you!

Until next time!

Shun Strickland

Born to Transform the World!

God always intended for believers to change the culture. However, He didn't intend for us to do it through rules and regulations; the Old Testament proved man's inability to live up to rules without a heart change. So how do we change the world? Through love. Love isn't some weak and passive emotion. It's the power that raised Jesus from the dead and it's the power that transforms individuals, families, churches, neighborhoods, cities, states, countries and the world! God is looking for believers who will join with Him in the work of transformation. People who are committed to allowing God to give them His love and view for different people and causes. Are you one of those who will allow God to give you vision of what's possible on your job, in your family and/or community? If you say, yes, you'll leave behind the boring, mundane life of doing the same things over and over again and being to live life filled with kingdom adventures. Many people are bored because they have not accepted their call to be difference makers.

4 Things WE Must Believe to Transform Culture

1. We must be people of hope   
2. We must believe nothing is impossible 
3. We must believe God has given us the key to the future through the supernatural power of God.
4. We must believe the redemptive nature of God rescues the world from it's own devices. He doesn't want us to reap what we sow so He gives u grace, for example, we sinned and deserved death, but Jesus extended grace to us and took our punishment

Father, 

Fill us with supernatural hope and vision for the world around us. Awake us from the slumber that allows us to go through the day without being aware of the influence You have given us to transform the world. Forgive us for standing in judgement of others and accepting the position that they are beyond your help. Help us to see people they way You do. Help us to take off the limitations we have set for ourselves, people, the economy and the state of our communities and our world and see things from your perspective. Help us to have more faith in your ability than the new reports and our previous experience. Help us to ACT in faith!

We thank You for caring deeply about humanity and the things that concern us. We thank You for giving our leaders solutions to the problems we face and for raising up new leaders in every area of life. Help us to take our place as transforms. Stir us with such fire that we are unable to remain the same, but are compelled to take our place and co-labor with You to bring Heaven in the Earth. Give us fresh vision!

We thank You for the transformation call on our children. We thank You that they are called to be generation of world changers and will use their gifts and abilities to expand your kingdom. 

We ask You to speak to us today about an area that You are calling us to get involved in. We believe we receive the anointing and the boldness to be difference makers through love!

Allow God to stir your heart. Pay attention to the things He shares with you. Pay attention to what you notice today that you never noticed before or that you notice all the time. Then commit to acting on what God places in your heart.

Please share what God is speaking to you about transformation. How will you co-labor with God to create change?

-- 

Confessions and Declarations

Our church, Fellowship of Champions currently doing 30 days of corporate prayer. This is a list of some of the declarations and confessions we are making. Feel free to use them and share them.

My prayers are powerful and effective (2 Corinthians 5:21; James 5:16b).

My God supplies all my needs from Heaven’s supply (Philippians 4:19).

I am dead to sin and victorious through Christ who loves me (Romans 6:11; Romans 5:17).

I walk in ever-increasing health & no disease can live in my body (Isaiah 53:3-5; Psalm 103:1-5).

I live under a supernatural protection & every stragegy of the enemy is exposed & stopped by my God. (Psalm 91, Hebrews 8:6).

I prosper in each of my relationships (Luke 2:52).

I consistently bring God encounters to other people because I carry His Presence. (Mark 16:17, 18; Acts 3:6).

In Jesus, I am 100% loved and worthy to experience all of God's blessings (Colossians 1:12-15).

Each of my family members is wonderfully blessed and radically loves Jesus (Acts 16:30, 31).

Declarations Regarding the Presence of God

I give God first place in my life. I love Him with everything I am.

I will not go anywhere without God’s presence.

Like David, I am a man (woman) after God’s own heart.

I am known as a carrier of the Presence of God.

I go from level to level in my intimacy with God.

FOC is a church where the presence of God is sought, honored & acknowledge.

FOC is known for the manifest presence of God. The supernatural is normal part of our service.

Lovers make better workers so I am lover and worshipper of God who serves.

Return to Hope

For those of you who have been struggling with God's will for your life because you've suffered some setbacks, disappointments and some hurts. You've picked yourself up, but you don't run with the same intensity because you aren't sure.  Maybe you don't think you deserve what God has promised or that you've made so many mistakes that you've been disqualified. Whatever your situation is, God sees you. I want share something the Lord spoke to me as I was studying the other night. I pray it encourages you, refreshes you and infuses you with HOPE!

"Return to Me! I am waiting to be good to you. I said what I said. I meant what I said. My promises to you are still good. It's still yours for the taking! Arise. Get up from the place disappointment caused you to sit down. Return unto Me. Put down your plan B. I know exactly where you are, exactly what you need and how to get it done. Return and allow me to restore your hope and your vision. For your shame and your pain I will give you double so return because I am waiting on you.

Let's walk this out together like I always planned. I never expected you to do it alone, in your own strength. You need my Word to live. You need me to accomplish the things in your Heart. You need me and I am here to restore your faith and bring this vision to pass. Come Home to the place of faith you are create to live. Come Home!"

If you heard God speaking to you in this, then simply accept the invitation and return to faith. God is waiting because He loves you dearly and longs to be good to you! 

Father,

I want to come home to faith. Help me. Lead me. Guide me. I'm yours. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

How Faith Got the House

“Strick, we just got pre-approved for a house!” I yelled on the phone. 

“Quit playing girl.” He said, not really convinced. 

As I told him the story about what had just happened, he started to get really excited too. 

“Now we have to have to find a house in two weeks in order to be in the house by Christmas.” I said. 

“Hey, if God was able to get us approved then I know there’s a house for us.” He said. 

I immediately started house hunting. I found a realtor and had her to show us everything available in this one neighborhood we wanted to live in. We hated them all! 

We had gotten preapproved for a loan. Could we really expect to live in the neighborhood we had been driving through for 6 months? Maybe that was too much. Maybe we should just be happy to find a home we liked even if it wasn’t in our dream location. 

So we expanded our search and finally narrowed it down to 3 houses. Each was a nice home. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, new or recently built. Each was a place we could see ourselves living in, but something didn’t seem quite right. We had to decide on house by Monday morning to ensure that we could finish the process in time for Christmas, but I couldn’t get the other neighborhood out of my mind. We made a decision that we would pick one on Saturday morning. 

Early Saturday morning, I woke up and prayed about the house. I heard God tell me to go back to the neighborhood and look again. So Edwin and I got up and went to search one more time. We looked up and down every street, but there was nothing new. As we turned down one street, we saw a familiar face. It was a teacher from the school where Edwin was an assistant principle. We stopped to say hello. 

She asked what we were doing and we told her our dilemma. 

She asked us if we liked her house. From the outside, it was everything we had envisioned. She invited us in to check it out. We LOVED IT!!!! This was the house we had dreamed about. Then she said…. 

“If you like this house, you will love the house next door.” 

“Great, I thought except the house next door isn’t for sale.” I thought 

“There’s not a sign out, but the house next door is for sale. Our builder built both of them. I even know where the key is. Let me show you around.” 

“Is this really happening?” I wondered as she went to the yard opened the secret key stash and let us in. 

We walked in and she was right. WE loved the house! This was the house, I had dreamed of for my first home. No one had ever lived there! It was built for us even though the builder didn’t know us! We said we wanted it so she called her builder. He came over and we hashed out the deal before the realtor could get there (but we still let her get her commission b/c it was the right thing to do). 

We got the contract approved, the loan completed and then the inspector found a problem! We needed a structural engineer to come tell the builder how to fix it. They told us we shouldn’t get our hopes up because with this delay there is NO way we would close by December 22 the Friday before Christmas. What they didn’t know is that because of the loan and the house, I was fully persuaded. I just kept saying we would be in our house for Christmas. My well meaning friends tried to tell me to use wisdom. Our realtor and our banker told me they didn’t want me to be disappointed, but it was TOO late to talk me out of my faith. 

I had only been tithing a year and I had watched God to the impossible, pay our bills, give Edwin a better job, clean up our credit and keep our house hidden for us until we could find it. There was no way I was about to let an inspector’s report stop me from getting in my house in time for Christmas. 

While Edwin worked, I packed our apartment because faith always has corresponding action! 

Four days before the deadline, the engineer came out and discovered there was an easy solution to the problem. The builder came right over and fixed it. We were all clear to close except, our closing complany was booked! It didn't look like we would be able to close. Once again the realtor, the banker and my well meaning friends advised me to be reasonable, but who needs reason when you have a Word from God? The Thursday before the deadline, the closing company called to say had someone cancelled! 

Friday, December 22, 2000, we closed on our house! We started moving in that night because the boxes where already packed! We spent our Christmas in our dream home, in our dream neighborhood. God had done more than come through, He had exceeded our expectations!!! 

Oh yea, we were able to buy new furniture because the week we closed, the school district gave the employees a bonus so we got our furniture DEBT FREE! DId I mention, they hadn't given bonuses in the last several years?

We got involved in God’s system of giving and receiving and honoring Him with the tithe and HE did what we had been trying to do for years! I’ve learned that God is not a taker. The tithe is not to take from us! It’s to connect us with Heaven’s best. Tithing and giving makes God a partner in our finances allowing Him to put His Super on our natural. 

We practiced giving and receiving for 10 years and we’ve watched God exceed our expectations time and time again. We’ve used our faith to get a bigger house (cause 5 kids in 1700 square feet is not a blessing). We used our faith to pay rent and mortgages for other people. We have given away cars, furniture, food, vacations and we’ve watched God exceed our expectations. 

Hope this helps you to keep giving (or start) and to expect God to help you. He really does take pleasure in your prosperity! 

Want to love your job: Make a decision!

In my last blog we talked about the importance of prayer and changing your thinking as the foundation for creating a job you love. Today we are going to get into the steps. 

Let’s get started with STEP ONE:MAKE A DECISION! 

The word decision comes from the same root word as incision which means to cut and/or divide. A true decision will always cut away all contradictory options. If you decide to win, then 
losing is longer one of the options you are willing to accept.

ü  It’s time for you to DECIDE that you will love your job!

ü  Decide that you are unwilling to work just for money.

ü  Decide that you are unwilling to be underpaid or overworked.

ü  Decide that you will find your passion and find a way to get paid for it.

Once you’ve settled that a job you love IS THE WILL OF GOD, then it’s easier to pursue that. As long as you are conflicted about God’s will concerning work you will settle for things that God never designed for you.  Apply John 10:10 to your career. God wants you to have job that pays abundantly and allows you to fulfill your dreams. The enemy wants to steal that from you by keeping you tied to a job simply because it pays the bills. Or to have you tied to a job that you hate simply because it pays the bills. Or maybe you just have a good job, but it’s not great, it doesn’t make you want to get up in the morning. Did you know the enemy of great is good? Don’t settle for less than God designed you to have!

Are you ready to make decision? Are you ready to cut of the option of anything less than work that 1) brings glory to God, 2) brings you satisfaction and 3) blesses others?

I believe you can do it…let’s go!