Say No

Hi everyone! I'm back! I've missed you all! Before I share today's message with you, I need to share something with you. Since my last blog post about "Love," I've been going through one of the hardest seasons of my life. After a brief illness, my Mom passed away and went to be with the Lord on January 18. Continue to keep my family and I in your prayers. God continues to give us strength and joy in the midst of it all.

For today's message...it's all about saying no. "No." It's a two letter word, yet it has so much power. "No" is a complete sentence all by itself. When someone says no, that means he or she is not accepting something, not agreeing with someone or something, or choosing not to do something. Saying no will cause different responses from different people. Some will be okay with it. Some will be confused by it, but then let it go. Some will question your "no" and want you to explain why you answered the way you did. Some will try to make you feel bad for answering the way you did. But the truth of the matter is you don't owe anyone an explanation. A no is simply just that. It's an answer all by itself and should be respected. While we may not always like hearing the answer "no," we have to accept it and still respect the person that gave us the answer. For some of us, it may be hard and uncomfortable to say no, but it's something we have to do. There are things in our lives that we need to say no to. We need to say no to unhealthy lifestyles and relationships. We need to say no to things that bring us down and drain us. We need to say no to wrong and stretching ourselves too thin (you know when we take on too many projects at one time!!). We can't pour into anyone else if we're empty! I used to feel so guilty and thought it was bad to tell people no. Now I know better. Thank goodness for growth in that area! Now I know that saying no can be a good thing. Saying no to certain things can change your whole outlook on life and your life itself. It can make a huge difference. Saying no is something we have to practice doing daily. I'm not going to tell you that it will be easy to say no, especially when you're used to saying yes all the time. We do have to ask God for wisdom in when to say no and what to say no to (James 1:5). Some things we do need to say yes to, while other things we should say no to. Let's say no to comparison, complaining, backbiting, unforgiveness, bitterness and jealousy. Say no to low self-esteem, unhealthy relationships, mixed signals, inconsistency, worrying, overthinking, and overcommitment. Say no to what's not good for you and what's not helping you. We have to start doing it every single day. Saying no will change your life and my life...for the better!