A Stronger You

A Stronger YOU

It's been said, "Don't beat yourself up for what you didn't know." That's the beauty of time passing and seasons changing. Here we are rounding into the second week of June 2017. If you're feeling like me you are thinking, "WHERE has this year gone?!" 

It's easy to start to feel panic as you think about all the things that you haven't checked off your list yet. Or, a situation that has seemed to pull you 10 steps backward. I want to encourage you to PAUSE and BREATHE.Especially those of you who have just had a hard year. I believe breakthrough is coming!
 

"That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Romans 8:28 MSG


I remember a gut-wrenching conversation with one of my mentors. As tears flowed down my face, I told her that I felt like the past season of my life was a waste. I had been deceived and stripped of most of my identity and dreams. I felt I had gone 10 steps backward. This wise woman looked across at me and gently placed her hand on mine and said, "Oh no honey, just look how much you know now." Mic drop! She was right! I wiped away the tears and sat up straight... 

"Look how much you know now." Difficult seasons are bridges, not barricades, which will bring much wisdom. Embrace each day with the new information and wisdom that you have from this past season of your life. There will be more seasons - more learning - best of all more WISDOM - and wisdom brings GROWTH.

[This Week's Prayer]
GOD THANK YOU for taking all the pain in my life and turning it into something good for your glory! Thank you for wisdom. I thank you that you are always working on my behalf to keep me on the path of my calling and destiny. What you have for me, no man can take! I praise you for being "Jehovah Nissi" - the Banner of Victory in every situation! Please protect me and those I care about as we go about our lives this week. Let the love of Jesus Christ demolish the evil in this world. ~In Jesus' name, Amen.

Love and Blessings,
Kelly Roberson, MA, LCMHCA, NCC
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate

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Spiritual Capital: Being Strong in Spirit

[This Week's Prayer]

GOD THANK YOU for our freedom and the ability to live life openly able to worship and seek Your face! I'm lifting my voice to you today to let you know that I love you as the King of Kings and Lord of all Lords. I love and care for my country. Father God, would you let us experience a fresh encounter with You - we specifically ask that You would protect us against the evil intentions that others have against our country and those that are followers of the cross. Protect all our leadership: those who live in the White House and those who aspire to. We pray for unity and compassion between all citizens. We thank you Father God that You hold the winning hand, and that it is Your desire that all may experience the deep love of Jesus Christ! 
~In Jesus' name, amen.

Coaching Tip:

According to Life Coach Tim Wiles, "Spiritual Capital is the foundation for how you live, move, and have your being." It is the "stuff" that makes you emotionally strong. It is an asset we possess. Praying and mediation helps BUILD UP your spiritual capital. It gives us LIFT! This allows you to be strong inwardly, helping you cope with stress and the pressures of life as you move from one life event to the next. You will be stronger for it and rise above others who don't understand this concept. Care for yourself and others by taking a few minutes to meditate on this prayer. Together, we can move mountains!

Love and Blessings,
Kelly Roberson
Certified Life Coach | Artisan | Crisis-Trained Chaplain 
Helping You With Transformation
Please consider forwarding to a friend or two!

Communication Tip

Ready to really add value to your daily interactions with people? Scripture says that we can "enhance the flavor" of this world by offering Godly wisdom. Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

We need the wisdom to know how to navigate situations and conversations. If you’re like me, this is sometimes really hard and I end up putting my foot in my mouth! Satan loves division and offense because it hinders us from relationship with each other and with Jesus Christ.

Think before you speak. Spend time in Christ’s presence ~ thankfully, Christ is right here to "season" our speech, but it takes time soaking up His presence in the secret place. He is the only one who can keep us “salty.” Mark 9:50, “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”
 

[This Week's Prayer]

Father God, season our speech with love and wisdom today. Allow us to be a vessel for answers and strategies. Saturate us with your presence and guide us today in the way we should go. May we be a valuable and loyal friend. Proverbs 20:6, Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Love, Wisdom, & Blessings!
Kelly Roberson,
Certified Life Coach | Artisan | Crisis-Trained Chaplain

For more on this topic, check out the "Royally Relaxing Workshop: A Journey Into The Secret Place"

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A Prayer for Orlando

Tragedy, death, and loss... it seems to be part of the journey. Where do we go when this happens? As I recall one of my own life's tragic moments, I was in shock, and then I was angry - even angry at God because it just didn't make sense, but in just a few short hours His sweet presence saturated my very being and drew me close. His mysterious love eased my fragile spirit. I'm positive that many of you have experienced such moments of loss and healing. Please join me in releasing this prayer over the heartbreaking situation in Orlando.
 

[This Week's Prayer]

This is our declaration: "Our loving and powerful Savior is a God who is not far off. He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He spoke the entire universe into existence and at the same time bends down low on one knee to comfort the broken hearted. He extends His powerful hand out to those who just can't gather the strength to stand on their own in times of crisis. He is our refuge and strength. With one touch from our Savior, we are set free from emotional and physical pain. May that same mighty Spirit move and flow throughout the south, north, east, and west. May the power of Jesus Christ comfort all who mourn on this day and may that same Spirit saturate our hearts so that we can truly love one another and bring healing to our land." 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too."

~Amen,
Kelly Roberson

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Are You Stressed? It's Time for You to be Royally Relaxed!

In the spring of 2012 I boarded a 25 hour flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand. My friend, Tara Browder, was a missionary to the area, and I was excited to partner with her for this life changing experience. The ministry trip focused on the young women who were being trafficked within the sex trade. Also, we were there to support the leadership of the local ministry who worked so diligently attending to these delicate hearts.  

Part of the trip involved us hosting a women’s retreat for these tireless leaders. My topic was on the importance of rest for leaders. I would deliver my message, then I was going to love on the women by making some of my Royally Relaxing Body Scrub and then have them massage it into each other’s hands for a spa-like feel to our session for the afternoon. 

While waiting for my turn to speak, I sat in the stairwell looking out the window and going over my notes. As I stared out the sizable window thinking about how grateful I was to be in this place, the download started to happen... God began adding to my notes. If you’ve ever spoken, I know you know how sneaky he can be by revamping your notes at the last minute! Eeeek! Inspiration literally began to drop into my spirit like rain drops... He revealed that there was symbolism to each ingredient: salt, oil, aroma. 

You will learn how the different ingredients in the scrub symbolize the benefits that come when we take time for daily intimacy with Jesus. In this chaotic world, we can experience living out of a lifestyle of rest so that you can be your most powerful you. You are the King’s child and it’s time for you to walk in your authority while being Royally Relaxed! 

I believe God’s heart for us as a Father is one who wants to nurture us and protect us as we abide in His presence. We simply can’t do anything supernatural or extraordinary without Him. I am desperate for Him and refuse to settle for a life that is anything less than one based on being swept away in His arms as He reveals His plans and purposes for my life! I need His peace and direction. His healing and comfort. His sweet aroma in my life that only comes from time spent in His presence. I hope you will journey with me as we discover that rest is a weapon...

“A Journey into the Secret Place: A leadership workshop that reveals the divine benefits of resting in the presence of the Lord as you make your own take-home lavender bath scrub.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7”

The Royally Relaxing Prayer

A Love Letter from The King of Kings
to You His Daughter
Dear daughter, I want you to know that when you make time for me, you will be refreshed and royally relaxed, because you are my child - you are royalty. My daughter does not have to strive. I’ve been calling you to the secret place, a place where you will never leave empty. In fact, you will leave empowered. 

Let the SALT be a reminder of my cleansing power as my presence washes away the pain, disappointment, and short comings from yesterday. It may sting just a bit as salt does, but let go and know that I am purifying and exfoliating  your heart as you take time for repentance. Always remember that purity precedes power - and I want you powerful. After this, a time of refreshing will come. You are forgiven, so freely forgive others. Let the salt of my presence heal your wounds and be a preservative to keep you strong - protected from corruption. Be salt and light in the world and let your speech be gracious and attractive. 

Let the OIL remind you that you are consecrated and set apart for me. Your temple is holy ground. Receive the oil of the Holy Spirit as it soothes your mind and brings peace and joy.

Now just breathe the AROMA of my presence into your heart. Those who you come in contact with will notice that there is something different about you. My beloved, it is because you have been with me - there is an aroma of hope. I love you! I’m waiting for you to escape with me again and again. I release within your spirit the power to get the work of your hands completed. You will rise above because you have sought out the secret place. 

© 2016 Kelly Dobbs Studio
(Prayer is printed on a bookmark for you to reference during your secret place time.)

{Acts 3:19; 1 Peter 2:9; Matthew 5:13-16; Colossians 4:6; 
Psalm 45:7; Exodus 30:22; Exodus 40:9; 2 Corinthians 2:15}

CLICK HERE TO purchase A ROYALLY RELAXING devotional gift bundle!

Includes 1 lavender salt scrub, 1 workshop devotional, and the Royally Relaxing prayer bookmark. Perfect for Mother's Day or any time!

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These 3 Things are Your Lifeline

Over the last week, I kept hearing the Lord whispering, "and these three remain: faith, hope, and love." {1 Corinthians 13:13} I finally stopped and leaned into what this really means. I heard the Lord say that it means when you feel like all is lost or when you feel stripped of everything you know.... These three will ALWAYS be in the recipe: faith, hope, and love. Circumstances may seem bleak - "all stripped away" or lost, BUT there are ALWAYS the core ingredients to rebuild & refuel your life and dreams! Always. How amazing is that... !! 

Interesting how God knows that. In my coaching sessions I use a tool called "Spiritual Capital" - these are 33 life drivers that renew and fuel our lives. Faith, hope, and love are one of the 33. God designed us to incorporate these "drivers" into our lives because they give us strength when going through transitions and stressful situations. Our trust is not in the process, it's in Christ. 

[This Week's Prayer]

Father, thank you for the assurance that even when I feel lost or like my dreams have been snuffed out by "man" that your word says that there is always divine HOPE. Thank you that this experience will help me to be more compassionate. I pray that you blow fresh energy and wind upon my dreams and stir a fire in my gut that would inspire me to move ahead today knowing that the best is yet to come! I thank you Father that according to Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Holy Spirit blow fresh upon my dreams - ignite, fuel, and strengthen me in Jesus' name, amen! 

Be Inspired!
Kelly Roberson
 

Source: http://kellyroberson.net/coaching-blog/201...
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Your Brain on Multitasking

**WARNING** What I'm about to say may give you a brain cramp.... I know you're probably in the middle of something, but just hang with me for a second (wink). Did you know that according to the newest studies in neuroscience, "the oft-admired 'talent' of multitasking is a joke!" (I actually heard this at a conference and almost fell out of my chair!) Dr. Henry Cloud states in his new book, Boundaries for Leaders, that "our brains run in a hampered state when we multitask - reducing an astronaut's brain to that of a hamster...The brain craves attention in order to work. You need to attend to what is relevant and inhibit everything else." 

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We multitask because we think we are getting more accomplished in a shorter amount of time. Unfortunately, studies prove that this simply isn't true ...and it can harm relationships and actually hinder our goals.

According to Larry Kim, a writer with Inc. Magazine, "A study from the University of Sussex (UK) ran MRI scans on the brains of individuals who spent time on multiple devices at once (texting while watching TV, for example). The MRI scans showed that subjects who multitasked more often had less brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex. That's the area responsible for empathy and emotional control."

Here are 3 things that you CAN do to save time and be more productive: 

  1. Guy Winch, PhD, author of Emotional First Aid: Practical Strategies for Treating Failure, Rejection, Guilt and Other Everyday Psychological Injuries says, "Do things in batches. Pay your bills all at once, then send your emails all at once. Each task requires a specific mindset, and once you get in a groove you should stay there and finish." 
     

  2. As sure as your iPhone will lose it's charge by lunch today, the minute we sit down to complete a task, other important "to-do's" flood our brain. Keep a random thought pad handy to write things down. Then, you can go back and do those things later after you've completed what's in front of you.
     

  3. Prioritize. Write down the top 3 most important things you absolutely must get done for the day. It's amazing how accomplished you will feel when you check them off! Success begets success. Small victories lead to larger ones just like a domino effect.

 

Prayer

 Dear Lord, I need you to help me in this area. I ask that you would first of all give me YOUR priorities for my life - make them clear. I am standing not in my own power, but standing firm in your power to accomplish the things I feel you have for me to accomplish for your kingdom. I understand that "unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." (Psalm 127:1) I ask you to help me build! Give me the self-discipline to prioritize and manage my affairs according to your standards. I pray that everything I do will be filtered through love. I lift my schedule up to you Father God and according to 1 Corinthians 14:33, "you are not a God of confusion, but of PEACE..." Seal these things upon my heart in Jesus' name, amen! 

Kelly Roberson

 

 

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Feeling Hidden?

Happy New Year's Eve! Maybe you're on cloud 9 right about now - or maybe you are feeling lonely and hidden away... let me share a little story with you.

Swiss Rolls. Have I got your attention? A few years back I was visiting a friend for a few weeks. There were teenagers in the house, and it seemed that everything I bought was quickly eaten. Well, this was just not working for me so I devised a plan. First of all let me back up. I have this dirty little secret... yes, it's true. I really LOVE Swiss Rolls. You know those plastic, toxin-filled, chocolate cake rolls.... ohhhhhhh yeah baby!! Now right now you are either cheering or you are shaking your head.

Anyway, once a year I'll buy a box. I decided to buy some on this particular visit and wasn't in the mood to share. I hid them in the bottom cabinet behind the pots and pans. (yeah, I know pathetic really!) Ohhhh, but it was so great having them all to myself because I loved them so much... They were hidden - not discarded.
 
About now you're asking, WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?? Do you ever feel hidden or discarded? Most people do along their journey. I hid the box because they were my FAVORITE! God is actually working during our seasons of hiddenness and the truth is that you are not discarded, just hidden, tucked away with a special purpose that is unfolding.

 

Here are 3 practical things you can do when you feel hidden: 

1.  Work through any rejection issues that you have. We all have had them: past failures, hurts, abandonment, deaths, and losses of any kind can lead to a root of rejection. These will leave soul wounds that can skew our thinking and derail our destiny. Repent where you have given place to your own personal pity party and where you have judgment against those who have hurt you and forgive them - and also very importantly, forgive yourself. Ask God to come in apply the healing oil of the Holy Spirit. Ask him to renew a right spirit within you. There is nothing like peace that comes from a healed heart. Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds."

2. Embrace the Truth. Most likely, you are not being rejected or cast aside.The truth about your situation is that according to God's Word, you are a royal priesthood, a chosen generation - you are a child of God! 1 Peter 2:9, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." He loves you and absolutely will NEVER forget you! If God is FOR you WHO can be against you? The truth of the matter is that God SEES YOU. He sees every time you help someone in need without it being posted on Instagram. He sees those things that you do for others that no one will ever know about. Ask yourself, "Have I done all that I can? Have I loved as I should?"  If the answer is yes then be grateful because you are storing up treasures in Heaven. Ask God to show you how you matter and that what you are doing matters. I will be praying that for you too. 

3. Trust the process. Yep, there's a process. According to Dr. Bill Hamon, prophetic evangelist, "God makes the man before he makes the ministry." After graduating from seminary back in the '50's, Dr. Hammond told God he wanted to take the nations for the kingdom! He was ready to preach along side of Billy Graham and the rest of the great evangelists of the time. Guess, what? God put him on the backside of the barn in a little church in the middle of nowhere for six years. Over the six - long - years, God molded him and shaped him into the mature instrument he needed. He recounted that it was HARD, but there was fruit. As he was faithful with the little, God began to give him more. There are seasons of being hidden and tucked away for all of us. Sometimes the seasons of hiddenness cycle back through when God is doing something even deeper in our lives. Trust the process. You are God's beloved. 
 

[This Week's Prayer]

Father, thank you for the opportunity to be hidden and loved by you so much that you would take time to mature me and make me complete for every good work! I am thankful that you love me far greater than a favorite dessert! I renounce in the name of Jesus any root of rejection that I may have in my heart. I ask your forgiveness where I have hurt others out of my own pain. I receive your love and forgiveness. Wash the blood of Jesus over me and cleanse me from my sin. Fill me with a fresh filling of your power and heal all soul wounds associated with rejection. Flood every cell of my body with acceptance, love and divine mercy. I choose to live a life that is un-offendable. Father God I ask that you give me your powerful grace to accomplish the assignment you have chosen for me. I choose to trust you with my gifts and talents because you gave them to me. I ask you to take all of me and empower me to be used by you in 2016. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen! 

Happy New Year! 
You are LOVED and Have a Divine Calling!
Kelly Roberson

 

 

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