By Inside Out with Courtnaye I’ll be the first to admit that maintaining your joy is not easy when life’s disappointments, tests and trials beat up against you. A part of you wants to go into isolation, be angry, depressed, and sad, but God doesn’t want us to go into those dark emotions. Instead, He wants us to renew our focus and trust Him for the overall outcome when we face hardships in life. Most of us know that “joy” is [...]
What a way to title a post, right? I mean, who wants to prepare to go through hardships in life? Who wants to deal with that? I get it, sis. Nobody does – including me. But the truth is…we will go through trials in this life. We were never promised a flowerbed of ease on this earth. Instead, Jesus prepared us in advance (before He ascended into heaven) in John 16:33 saying, “…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, [...]
By Inside Out with Courtnaye If you’re going through a tough time at this moment in your life, I pray that this post truly ministers to you and encourages you. Whether you're going through a tough time with your marriage, relationships, children, job, ministry, or something else, I want to start by reassuring you that, “God is here.” Remember, His Word promises that He will never leave you, nor forsake you. So that means that He is with you in the struggle. The [...]
This week, I’m talking about the fiery tests and trials that we go through in our Christian walk. Some of you reading this may be experiencing something very tough in your life right now, and I want you to know that you are not alone. God is with you. Ok? Hold on and BELIEVE that truth! But then I’m also aware that there may be others who are feeling mighty fine today, and I totally understand that too. I’ve been in both places. Yet, wherever you are [...]
Considering the title of this post, have you ever asked yourself the question, “How can I help someone else when my own life is tough?” I would say that many people have, including me. I’ve been there before, when my life was flipped upside down, but yet I still needed to sing on the praise team, lead the young adults group, do women’s prison ministry, and be a loving wife and mother at home….even though life was tough for me. I get it, sis. You [...]
No doubt, there are so many things that can try to rob us of our joy. Tough circumstances, broken relationships, struggling finances, missed deadlines or opportunities, being late for something, kid issues, marital problems, the loss of a loved one, and the list could literally go on and on. But you, my dear sister, can have joy in the midst of it all. Let’s talk about how to keep it up when trying moments hit your life. When challenging times strike, I know it’s tough [...]
When you’re dealing with difficult situations or people, you have to learn to let go and let God. He can fight better. In the Old Testament, many of the victories that were won was because God stepped in supernaturally to fight for them. In this modern day world that we live in, and as Christian women, we are going to have to learn to get into the position of humility and allow the Lord to fight the battles for us. If you look back at [...]
I’m not sure how things are going for you right now, but if you are going through a tough time right now, don’t be surprised. In this life, every day is not going to be rosy or a beautiful sun-shiny day. You have to come to that reality, if you haven’t already done so. Because sometimes God will allow things to happen in your life that will make you say, “What happened?” Or “What is going on?” Or “Where did this come from?" And even [...]
