Sharon Jaynes Quotes

There is a difference between truly listening and waiting for your turn to talk.

Difficult times are pregnant with glory moments just waiting to be birthed in the lives of those willing to labor through the pain.

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: … “In quietness and trust is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

James reminds us: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10, NKJV).

We naively repeat the words “for better or for worse” and then are shocked when the first hint of “worse” rears its ugly head.

I don’t know if you have ever experienced the suffocating confinement of others’ expectations on your life, but it is a very difficult burden to bear.

So as you come to this final landmark of prayer—your husband’s feet—you’ll be praying for where his feet take him on the journey of life, what paths he chooses along the way, and how he keeps in step with God.

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:4, NLT

You were created to make God recognizable to others—to show others what God is like.

A good marriage is not a contract between two persons but a sacred covenant between three.”1

As God told the Israelites, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9).

Learn to greet your friends with a smile. They carry too many frowns in their own hearts to be bothered with yours. –MARY ALLETTE AYER

The Bible has a lot to say about our mouths, our lips, our tongues, for our speech betrays us. What is down in the well will come up in the bucket. –VANCE HAVNER

How Jesus Broke the Rules to Set You Free: A Woman’s Walk in Power and Purpose.)

Prayer is a means of relinquishing control of your husband and asking God to shape him into the man that He wants him to be.

flesh is the way we program our minds and actions to get our God-given needs met apart from Christ.

The way you think about yourself will become the way you see yourself, whether it’s true or false. Eventually, you’ll believe what you tell yourself. If you tell yourself negative, distorted statements about yourself, you will act in negative, destructive ways. If you replace the lies with the truth about who you really are, then you will begin to walk, talk, and live like the child of God you already are.

Twenty-Five Ways to Be a Good Listener        1. Be patient.        2. Don’t complete his sentences.        3. Let him finish, even if he seems to be rambling.        4. Don’t interrupt.        5. Face your husband and make eye contact.        6. Lean forward, if you are seated, to show you are interested.        7. Stop what you are doing.        8. Ask good questions and avoid the word “why.”        9. Ask his opinion about something that happened to you.      10. Ask him for his advice on a decision you have to make.      11. Don’t jump to conclusions.      12. Don’t give unsolicited advice.      13. Don’t change the subject until he is finished with a subject.      14. Make verbal responses such as, “I see,” “Really,” “Uh-huh,” to show you’re paying attention.      15. Turn off the TV.      16. Put down the dishcloth, book, hairbrush, etc.      17. Encourage him to tell you more. “What else did he say?” “What did she do next?”      18. When he is telling of a struggle, rephrase and repeat what you heard. “What I hear you saying is that you felt your boss was being unfair when he asked you to take on three more clients with no extra compensation.”      19. Let the telephone ring if he is in the middle of telling you something.      20. Don’t glance at your watch or cross your arms.      21. Don’t ask him to hurry.      22. If a child interrupts, tell him or her to wait until daddy is finished talking.      23. Don’t tell him how he should have handled the situation differently.      24. Don’t act bored.      25. Thank him for sharing with you.

Truth But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:7–9) Friend to Friend My husband and I were in a waiting period. His company had gone through a merger and was collapsing positions and territories, which left his employment in jeopardy. For months we didn’t know if Brad would keep his job or if he would need to look for another one. During that time, God bid us to trust Him. Choosing to trust God is so daily, isn’t it? When I looked only at the what-ifs of Brad

Every individual believes deep down that he or she has a greater capacity for success than they are currently experiencing.

I am so thankful He sees our potential among the ruins and chooses to reignite our flame when the harsh winds of life try to extinguish our fire or the pressures of this world seem to snuff out our dreams.

Tale of Two Households “I got two A’s,” the small boy said. His voice was filled with glee. His father very bluntly asked, “Why didn’t you get three?” “Mom, I’ve got the dishes done,” The girl called from the door. Her mother very calmly said, “Did you sweep the floor?” “I mowed the grass,” the tall boy said, “And put the mower away.” His father asked him with a shrug, “Did you clean off the clay?” The children in the house next door Seemed happy and content. The same things happened over there, But this is how it went. “I got two A’s,” the small boy said. His voice was filled with glee. His father proudly said, “That’s great; I’m glad you belong to me.” “Mom, I got the dishes done,” The girl called from the door. Her mother smiled and softly said, “Each day I love you more.” “I’ve mowed the grass,” the tall boy said. “And put the mower away.” His father answered with much joy, “You’ve made my happy day!” Children deserve just simple praise For the tasks they’re asked to do. If they’re to lead a happy life, So much depends on you! AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Goethe said, “Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.

Like the spine of a good book, scars, by their very nature, imply there’s a story to tell. They represent a wrinkle in time in which a person’s life is changed forever, and they serve as permanent reminders of an incident that, in one way or another, has made a lasting impression on one’s life.

That’s what God does. He doesn’t try to cover up our flaws; He starts from scratch and makes us new.

Be encouraged, my friend. If you are willing to use your words as an instrument of beauty, He is more than able to supply the power to do so.

Our words can make or break a marriage, paralyze or propel a friend, sew together or tear apart a relationship, build up or bury a dream, curse God or confess Christ. With our tongues we defend or destroy, heal or kill, cheer or churn. And we, as women, seem to be quite talented at deciding when and where to wield this tiny sword.

The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give His church. It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality, but it’s permissive, accepting, and inclusive fellowship. It is unshockable. It is democratic. You can tell people secrets and they usually don’t tell others or even want to. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers.

God has placed us in a body. He called us the body of Christ because we are dependent on each other to function well, to love well, to struggle well.

While your husband cannot turn off the world’s noise, you can pray he will tune in to what is helpful and tune out what is harmful. You can pray that he will raise his spiritual antennae to detect the frequency of God’s voice in his inner man.

seems I have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It’s a lifelong appointment and there are no dues, just glory and hobnobbery. I look at the list of current members and feel woozy. In the department of literature, there’s Ann Beattie, Michael Cunningham, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Franzen, Amy Hempel, Jamaica Kincaid, David Mamet, Lorrie Moore, Joyce Carol Oates, Sharon Olds, Ann Patchett, Jayne Anne Phillips, Francine Prose, Marilynne Robinson, George Saunders, Wallace Shawn, Anne Tyler, Edmund White, Joy Williams, and Tobias Wolff. Really? I think. These people are gods to me. It’s like I’ve been allowed onto Mount Olympus. Then there are the departments of art (Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, Jenny Holzer, Susan Rothenberg), music, and architecture. Honorary members—people whose work falls outside these categories—include Bob Dylan, Meryl Streep, Frederick Wiseman, and Martin Scorsese.

Colossians 2:2-3 as my personal purpose statement, and I believe it is the purpose for women’s ministry as well: “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

We live in the in-between space—between when all that was right went wrong, and when all that is wrong will be made right again.

Redención significa que el dolor ha sido tratado y cambiado tan radicalmente que no sólo pierde la capacidad de hacernos daño, sino que también obtiene el poder para hacer algo bueno"1.

Alguien dijo una vez "Un amigo escucha la melodía en mi corazón y me la canta cuando mi memoria falla".

When we measure our worth by the approval of others, we are only as valuable as our last compliment or accomplishment.

So many times we try to change the way we act. However, we cannot consistently act differently than we think or believe. That is why Scripture tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NASB). Godly thinking produces godly actions.

The fact is, there would be plenty to worry about if the outcome of our lives depended on human effort alone. But it doesn’t. When a husband understands that God invites him to cast all his burdens on God’s shoulders (Psalm 55:22), he is freed to do his best and leave the outcome to God.

sex was God’s idea. He went through a lot of trouble to create all the intricacies that make sex enjoyable and fulfilling for both a man and a woman. However, when that union is not under the protective canopy of marriage between one man and one woman, perversion and shame taint the intended beauty. Sex outside of a monogamous, heterosexual union between husband and wife becomes a soul-rotting, guilt-ridden sin that eats away at the heart like nothing else ever could.

Dear God, Help me build up and not tear down, to encourage and not discourage, and to fan the flames of hope rather than extinguish the sparks of a dream. Amen.

You are chosen (Ephesians 1:11). You are valuable (Matthew 6:26). You are dearly loved (Colossians 3:12). You are beautiful (Ephesians 2:10). You are anointed (1 John 2:20). You have been appointed (John 15:16). You are free of condemnation (Romans 8:1). You are washed, justified, and sanctified through Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). You are holy in God’s sight, without blemish and free of accusation (Colossians 1:22).4

One of the most difficult battles you will ever face is the battle for your thought life. That’s why Scripture tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, emphasis added). It is so easy to say, “That’s just the way I am,” and ignore the fact that it’s just the way your mind has been programmed to be. No one is “just the way they are.” “Just the way I am” can be replaced with “That’s just the way I was” by renewing the mind and reconstructing the neurological pathways in the brain.

The closest communion with God comes, I believe, through the sacrament of tears. Just as grapes are crushed to make wine and grain to make bread, so the elements of this sacrament come from the crushing experiences of life. —Ken Gire, Windows of the Soul

Theologian Rubem Alves once said, “Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to it.”6

Your story is a divine weapon that has the power to defeat the devil.

You’ll Meet an Old Lady One Day You are going to meet an old lady someday. Down the road 10, 20, 30 years—she’s waiting for you. You will catch up to her. What kind of old lady are you going to meet? She may be a seasoned, soft, and gracious lady. A lady who has gown old gracefully, surrounded by a host of friends—friends who call her blessed because of what her life has meant to them. Or she may be a bitter, disillusioned, dried-up, cynical old buzzard without a good word for anyone or anything—soured, friendless, and alone. The kind of old lady you will meet will depend entirely upon you. She will be exactly what you make of her, nothing more, nothing less. It’s up to you. You will have no one else to credit or blame. Every day, in every way, you are becoming more and more like that old lady. You are getting to look more like her, think more like her, and talk more like her. You are becoming her. If you live only in terms of what you are getting out of life, the old lady gets smaller, drier, harder, crabbier, more self-centered. Open your life to others. Think in terms of what you can give and your contribution to life, and the old lady grows larger, softer, kinder, greater. These little things, seemingly so unimportant now—attitudes, goals, ambitions, desires—are adding up inside where you cannot see them, crystallizing in your heart and mind. The point is, these things don’t always show up immediately. But they will—sooner than you think. Someday they will harden into that old lady; nothing will be able to soften or change them then. The time to take care of that old lady is right now. Today. Examine your motives, attitudes, goals. Check up on her. Work her over now while she is still pliable, still in a formative condition. Then you will be much more likely to meet a lovely, gracious old lady at the proper time.2

What can this white glove do?” she asked. Then she went on to explain… The glove can do nothing. “Oh, but if my hand is in the glove, it can do many things…cook, play the piano, write. Well, you say that is not the glove but the hand in the glove that does it. Yes, that is so. I tell you that we are nothing but gloves. The hand in the glove is the Holy Spirit of God. Can the glove do something if it is very near the hand? No! The glove must be filled with the hand to do the work. That is exactly the same for us: We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to do the work God has for us to do.”1

Forgiveness is not            • saying that what the person did was not wrong            • absolving the person from responsibility for their actions            • denying that the wrong occurred            • pretending the abuse did not happen   Forgiveness is            • letting go of your need for revenge            • cutting the person loose            • refusing to let bitterness and hatred rule your life            • leaving the past behind by not allowing it to control your actions or emotions

Henry Blackaby challenges us, “When God invites you to join Him in His work, He has assigned a God-sized assignment for you. You will realize that you cannot do it on your own. If God doesn’t help you, you will fail. This is the crisis point where many decide not to follow what they sense God is leading them to do. Then they wonder why they do not experience God’s presence and activity the way other Christians do.”1

Like an artist who sees the finished work in his mind’s eye, God saw your unformed substance and then began to fashion you from head to toe. He made no mistakes but planned each detail of your being. He is the masterful Potter who formed you and shaped your unique features. You are one of a kind.

My niece, Anna, told about a poignant moment with her eight-year-old daughter. I love myself but I hate my thighs. I do. I also hate my post-baby, three-times-C-sectioned tummy. No matter how many planks, sit-ups, or miles I run, it will never be like it was when I was in college. And that makes me sad, frustrated, and sometimes angry. When my sweet husband tells me I look beautiful, instead of just thanking him, I answer back with a caveat: “Thanks, but I look fat.” I do this in front of my kids sometimes without realizing it. My boys always come back with, “No way, Mom. You look awesome” or “We think you’re beautiful!” But my daughter is just quiet. Watching. Listening. Later she’ll come up to me, hug me, and whisper, “I love you so much, Mommy.” A couple of months ago, when she was all dressed up, I saw her looking at herself in the mirror. I stopped and said, “Lillian, you look absolutely stunning!” She turned around and said to me very matter of fact, “No I don’t. I look fat.” I gasped! Doesn’t she know how precious she is? Doesn’t she know how beautiful she is? What a blessing she is? Doesn’t she know what a miracle her very existence is? And then I remembered all the times I answered her dad with the very same words. I was sad, ashamed, and most of all heartbroken. Lillian was eight years old. She understood that “fat” was how I felt about myself, so she decided she should feel that way too. Lillian and I had a long talk that day. I told her what a blessing her life is, and how God made her special, unique, and beautiful. I also apologized to her, my two sons, and my husband for not loving myself like I should. Lately, I’ve been saying “thank you” when I get compliments—something new to me—and it’s made all the difference. Now when I tell Lillian how gorgeous she is (which is all the time), she looks at me with her bright hazel eyes and says, “Thanks, Mommy! I think you’re really beautiful too!

Doris Mortman said, “Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.”9 Until you understand that you are God’s masterpiece, made in His image, you’ll never be content with the features He’s given you. Do you believe you are a happenstance mixture of your parents’ genes, or do you believe you were intentionally woven and knitted together by God with a specific design in mind? What we believe about our origin greatly affects what we believe about our destiny. You want to know the best beauty secret ever? You won’t find it in a spa, at the cosmetic counter at the mall, or in a makeover article in a magazine. You will find it in the Word of God. We become more and more beautiful every time we sit at Jesus’s feet. “We, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

No person, possession, place, or position will ultimately make you happy. Those things may give you moments or even periods of happiness, but ultimate, lasting joy can be found only in knowing Jesus. Why? Because God planned it that way. Solomon wrote, “He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Another translation says it this way: “He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy]” (AMPC).

My body is the temple of God, and I need to take better care of it. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.

Psychiatrist Paul Meier conducted a study on the effect of meditation among seminary students. He concluded, “Daily meditation on Scripture, with personal application, is the most effective means of obtaining personal joy, peace, and emotional maturity… On average, it takes about three years of daily Scripture meditation to bring about enough change in a person’s thought patterns and behavior to produce statistically superior mental health and happiness.

When we talk about strongholds, we’re not talking about random thoughts or occasional sins. A stronghold is a thought pattern or habitual sin. It’s a fortress built with the bricks of thoughts and held together by the mortar of emotions. Strongholds become our perception of reality.

Your problem is that you don’t know what the problem is. You think your problem is your problem, but that’s not the problem at all. Your problem is not your problem and that’s your main problem.

Many strongholds are built for protection, but inevitably become prisons.