Addicted

It seems to me that everybody has some sort of addiction these days. And if you don’t want to call it a full blown out “addiction”, then we all have some sort of vice we use. Whether it is Starbucks, work, perfectionism, comfort food, shopping, alcohol or even stress. I came to the conclusion that I’m addicted to the adrenaline stress produces. Honestly, I always thought of those people who do extreme sports or adventures were the only ones classified as “addicted to adrenaline”. However, it’s been brought to my attention that the natural hormone, called epinephrine is released in our bloodstream when we are stressed and this explains why I thrive when operating in a stressed-out mode.

Being an adrenaline junkie is honestly quit embarrassing to admit because I long to be a peaceful content soul who also appears to have it “all together”. The problem here is the fact that I’m striving to be something that I’m not and that is where the stress is created in the first place! So becoming aware of this whole new addiction has forced me to take a step back and examine the truth. Who I really am and whom I’m really living for. This revelation led me to spending some time in my journal writing down my core values and how I can start living a life that honors them.

I would like to invite you today to a little coaching exercise. Take out your journal and write down these questions and spend some time honestly answering them.

• Is there anything I use in my life as a “vice” and if so why?
• Who am I living for?
• What are my core values?
• What can I do to honor my values and myself?

I would love to hear from you! Everyone who comments today will be entered to win a Starbucks gift card! Winner will be announced next Thursday. Congratulations to Kathy Murphy for last weeks drawing for the Mini-Retreat!

Coaching women around the world at www.lindakuhar.com.

God Is Here

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Have you ever had one of those moments where you knew without a shadow of a doubt, God was right there with you in that very instant?  Well, just this week I had an experience just like that.

The other day as I was walking up to my front porch after taking my dogs for a run, I looked down and as I glanced out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tiniest baby bird that barely had any feathers helplessly searching for its home.  By it’s appearance, I could not believe this little creature was still alive.  I just stood there thinking what in the world am I supposed to do?  I franticly searched for a nest throughout the trees and bushes in my yard, but nothing could be found.

I was slightly aggravated because I did not have time to deal with this. In my frustration, I made several phone calls and the last person I talked with recommended that I sit still for an HOUR and watch to see if the momma and papa bird would come and feed it.  She said the parents would not abandon the bird, and this way when I see them flying back and forth from their nest, I can simply place the bird back where it belongs.

Honestly, I got a little ticked off because I did not have an hour on my schedule to spare bird watching!  I was antsy by the inconvenience, however something in me could not leave this tiny helpless creature all alone.  So I sat across the yard and tolerantly waited and watched.  Nothing was happening as I kept checking my watch every other minute.  To release some of my frustration I got up and took a jog around the block and then sat back down again and waited.  I ended up doing this song and dance for about an hour. Finally, as I sat patiently and quietly in the beauty of God’s creation tears swelled up inside of me as I felt the presence of the Lord sitting right there with me. The words from Matthew 28:20 flooded my soul,

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In that moment I became aware that even in the midst of my busy life, God is always right here with me waiting.

I’m happy to say that God did reveal to me a near by birds nest that I was able to place this little creature in.  I do not know what the out come will be for this little bird, however I do know that God spoke to me in a profound way that day, to make time to slow down and experience his presence.

I want to encourage you to take a moment and sit with God today.  I would love to hear your experience.  Comment today and your name will go into the drawing for a ticket to Linda’s upcoming Virtual Mini-Retreat Discovering God’s Will for your life!  

Honored to coach women around the globe at www.lindakuhar.com!

Lay Down My Pride

Can I be brutally honest with you?  I’ve decided I really do not like Mother’s Day.  Every single flipping year, I fall into the same trap!  In the back of my mind I set unrealistic expectations from the ones I love and create a fantasy of how the day will unfold. I honestly start the day with a thankful attitude of how grateful I am that God has allowed me one more year with my family.  However, as the day progresses I start tallying up everything they did not “do for me” whether it be just the right words of endearment, princess treatment, an array of gifts….

So this year, I once again had the mother of the year-unglued eruption.  I ended up yelling at my husband with my prima donna rights demanding everything that I deserve for all the hard work I do 365 days a year.  And then the very second I shut my mouth I immediately felt that sick empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I knew I had once again fallen into that ugly place called pride.  It didn’t take long before I realized what a fool I’d been on yet another Mother’s Day.

How in the world could I fall prey to the devil’s schemes of pride after all the endless love, care, support and encouragement my husband has provided for me throughout our 18 years of marriage?  I mean this is the man that not only stood by my bed side while I was in a coma cheering me on not to give up, ran a household, went to work and cared for our heartbroken daughter while she cried asking him, “Is mommy going to die?”   Honestly, I cannot imagine the load my husband carried just throughout my cancer journey alone, much less the 15 years prior to that ordeal.

So after all that, I had a choice to make. Sit and wallow in guilt and condemnation for my ridiculous behavior or lay down my pride and apologize.  With God’s nudging I chose the latter.  The funny thing is while apologizing to my husband I came to the conclusion what the real problem was all along; I was feeling insecure which led me to put unrealistic expectations on my family.  I realized through this humbling Mother’s Day that I was expecting others to satisfy and fill parts of me that Only God, our Savior can do.  God is the One and Only that can truly satisfy our souls. 

I would like to ask you today, are you putting unrealistic expectations on others to fill parts of you the only God can?  I would love to hear from you, just to know I’m not alone in this 🙂 Leave a comment on the link below.

Never Alone

Four years ago this Saturday, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer.  Every year around this time, my mind goes back to that sickening place of facing the fact that I might die from a disease that was running violently throughout my body.  There are so many stories I could share with you about my cancer journey, but today I want to focus on one story that shows God’s faithfulness and how He never leaves us alone.

On May 11, 2009 when the doctors unexpectedly rushed me in for an emergency CAT scan, I’ll never forget the frightening and intense feelings of helplessness.  I immediately cried to God and begged Him to say something to me in that moment.  “God, I need to hear you now, please say anything!”  He responded instantly with, “I endured the nails.”  That was it.  Nothing else.  My first response was, “Lord I have no idea what you want me to do with this” and then within my next breath I took a deep sigh of relief and said, “ok God, no matter what I’m getting ready to face, life, death, pain, suffering, I’m going to be fine because you’ve already done it all.”  I suddenly felt strong and relieved yet still trembling with shock.

Exoduse 33:14 explains perfectly the reassurance I felt after my encounter with God that day.

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

I knew that no matter what hell I was getting ready to go through, I would never be alone and that is what provided me with unimaginable peace and rest for my soul throughout my battle with cancer.

Friends, I want to reassure you today that you are never alone.  No matter how isolated you may feel because of the trials you are going through, the Holy Spirit, the God of the universe is with you every step of the way.  Sometimes I go back and watch my miracle video to remind me how far God has taken me.  Will you take a moment to watch it today and see what God is speaking to you?  How far has God brought you in your life?  Please click the comment link below to share.

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Blessed to coach women today for God’s Kingdom at www.lindakuhar.com.

Transformed

What can you do to really start trusting God with every area of your life?

When I was asked that question I honestly had no answer.  I was stuck.  My first thought was, I’m “doing” all the Christian things, like having quiet time in the mornings, going to church, volunteering on prayer team, praying with and for my coaching clients.  Shouldn’t that be enough to trusting God with my life?

Nope!

To be completely honest with you, I only trust God with parts of my life, not with my entire life….ugh!  After being convicted about this and wondering what in the world can I do differently to hand my life completely over to God with 100% trust, the perfect scripture was revealed to me immediately.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12:2

That was it!  That’s the answer!  Change the way we think.  Stop looking at life from the world’s perspective; instead be transformed by God’s perspective.  So you might ask, how can I start looking at life through the lens of Christ?  I have one simple answer, eat, drink, and sleep the living word of God.  Every time we catch a fleeting thought that is not in alignment with the truth, seek God’s word.  The bible is holy, sacred, powerful, life changing.  The bible can provide the answers to life’s most difficult questions.

However, it takes effort on our part to stop allowing our minds to wander and believe every thought that pops in.  I recently started taking screen shot pictures on my iPhone of bible verses and every time I catch myself thinking a negative thought, I just tap on my photos and I have scriptures available.  It is crucial that we make scripture a necessity for every part of our life.

What can you do today to start trusting God with every area of your life?  I would love to hear from you.  Please click the link below to leave a comment.

Honored to Coach women at www.lindakuhar.com!

Do you need rest?

Have you been overwhelmed, exhausted, discouraged or just down right defeated?  What do you typically do when you feel like God does not hear your prayers?

For me, I would like to say since I’m a “Christian Life Coach” I wait patiently on the Lord and trust He will provide for my every need.  Well that would be a big fat lie!  There are times I go through a cycle that goes something like this.  The problem arises, I run to a friend, process it to death, grab some form of sweet fluffy carbs to eat my troubles away, toss and turn during long sleepless nights and then finally as a last resort go to God in absolute despair.

Why in the world do we put ourselves through such anguish when we can simply turn to Jesus, the Prince of Peace?  My excuse has been, I’m human and my natural tendency is to run in rebellion instead of running to God.  Just last week after fighting and trying to convince God that He did not love me or care about my situation He proved me wrong once again.  He showed up in my weakest hour.  He graced me with His presence and provided hope for me when I could only see darkness.

Isaiah 30:15 reads,

“Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength.

When reading about the Israelites in the Old Testament and how they would trust God for a period and then completely disbelieve everything about Him, gives me hope.  Hope to know that even though I question God and rebel at times, He remains the same no matter what I think or how I feel.

I would like to encourage you today that no matter what you think or feel about God and the trials you go through just be real with Him.  Tell Him when you don’t believe in Him.  Tell Him when you doubt His goodness in your life.  Ask Him to forgive your disbelief.  Once we are completely real with God, that’s when we find rest.  That’s when we find quietness in our souls and become confident of who God says He is.

Leave a comment today in the link below about your times of disbelief and how God proved Himself to you.

Honored to Coach women at www.lindakuhar.com!

My Cry to the Lord

This is my personal cry (prayer) to the Lord today as I reflect on Psalm 107:19  “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.”  

Holy Father,

I believe You are the ultimate healer of my soul and I claim in Jesus’ name that your Spirit will fall on me today and awaken my soul to your infinite passionate love for me!  I confess in my flesh I struggle, try and aim to please, but in Your Spirit I’m freed from the agony of performing and perfectionism.  Empty me as I confess the lies I’ve believed for oh so long.

Today is the day I’m taking a stand and refusing to look back.  I’m hearing Your voice say, “I do matter and I am someone”.  I choose to believe Your truth, Your voice today.  I can do all things in this life because of Your powerful strength that flows through each breath I take.  I am nothing without You, but I AM everything with You!

I would like to dedicate this prayer to my precious daughter that the Lord has entrusted me with.  May every word of this prayer remain true for each one of us today.

If you have a prayer request, please leave a comment on the link below.  I would like to take time to pray for all my readers today.  God bless you!

Grateful to coach women around the world at www.lindakuhar.com.

#Blessed

I’m currently teaching and participating in the Stressed-Less Living Online Bible Study with Melissa Taylor.  I almost feel like it’s a joke that this is the book we are studying right now because I’ve been put to the test with some major stress just within the last week.  From losing our precious 20-year-old cousin to Cystic Fibrosis, facing heart-breaking challenges with my adolescent daughter, to personally overcoming some health matters the word STRESS has defiantly been in my vocabulary quit often lately.  After reading Chapter 1 of this incredible book Stressed-Less Living, I discovered when I put complete trust and faith in God, I do have the power to live less stressed!  So today I wanted to share with you what I did just this week to overcome my personal stress.  It’s quit simple.  I just speak out loud everything I am blessed with! For example:

I’m blessed to be alive.

I’m blessed to breath on my own. *this is one of my favorites…no more trachea by the grace of God alone!

I’m blessed to be a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend.

I’m blessed to have a home, clothing, food, water, and transportation.

I’m blessed to have the bible that speaks life into me every day.

I’m blessed to have eyes that see and ears that hear.

I’m blessed to have a second chance at life.

I’m blessed to spend time with loved ones.

I’m blessed to connect with others all over the world through technology.

Honestly the list could go on and on forever.  The reason this simple exercise works so well to relieve stress is because we immediately experience freedom from the truth! Leave a comment on the link below and share what you are blessed with while reducing stress in your very own life today!

Blessed to Coach women around the world at www.lindakuhar.com!

Give Away Time! Stressed-Less Living Book & Conference Call Series

The Stressed-Less Living Online Bible Study begins this Sunday, April 7.  If you have not signed up yet click here to join us! I am so excited about this study because I believe it is not only going to change my life, but also change thousands of women’s lives who are participating with us.  Honestly, who is NOT stressed out about something?  We can all use some help in the area of managing stress.

This week I am giving away the book Stressed-Less Living, Finding God’s Peace in Your Chaotic World by Tracie Miles and the Conference Call Series for Stressed-Less Living!  Click here to learn all about these exciting calls!  All you need to do is leave a comment today on how stress affects your life by clicking on the comment link below and your name will go into the drawing.  I will announce the winner Sunday and ship your book right away!

Grateful to coach women around the world at www.lindakuhar.com!