Michele Chynoweth's Blog, page 2

What will we gain from this time?

[image error]I’ve got to tell you this was one of the hardest blog posts I’ve ever written. Feeling a little down (and I might add listless and lazy) I asked myself more than once, “what’s the point?” With so much going on in the world for so long amid the Covid-19 pandemic, what difference is a little piece of inspirational writing going to make?

I googled spiritual or religious writings regarding the Coronavirus. I hardly found anything. And I thought, let it begin with me. (a 12-Step Program saying) I challenged myself to offer to you what I think may be the good things we are to take away from this trying time, however long it lasts. Turns out I believe they tie into the fruits of the Holy Spirit:

1) Love: This seems like a no-brainer…of course we want to come out of this pandemic more loving…but will we? I hope so. I believe so. I know I’ve had people reach out to me with caring messages and I in turn have reached out more to others, even if it’s with a kinder greeting in an email or phone call just to check in and make sure everything is ok.

2) Joy: This one’s tougher…but not unattainable. In fact, sometimes when we have to put more effort into something, we get more out of it. I’ve been trying harder to appreciate everything around me, especially since Mother Nature is putting on her spring show…whether it’s the colorful flowers, birds chirping or (seemingly) bluer skies, when I stop to smell the roses and be grateful, I’m bound to feel joy.

3) Peace: With a little less time spent going and doing and a little more time to myself, I have had the opportunity to just BE STILL and soak up a little more serenity than usual, whether it’s through a hot bath or a few minutes of prayer and meditation. It’s been nice.

4) Forbearance: The word means “patient self-control, restraint and tolerance.” Now that’s a tall order when you’ve just tried to find toilet paper for the umpteenth time with no luck and the lady at the counter in front of you just got the last two rolls. But then…you smile and bite your tongue and manage with what you have and then…after finding acceptance…you find some. You may have also had to add a measure of this when working and living 24/7 with family members. You take a deep breath and ask the Lord for help. Or phone a friend. Or go for a long walk. I know my patience (not one of my strongest virtues) has been stretched and so has my spiritual growth because of it.

5) Kindness: And you offer the extra package of toilet paper…or meat…or (fill in the blank) to someone else who has less than you do. And that makes you feel pretty good. I’ve learned kindness really is its own reward.

6) Goodness: I know I have had a little more time to spend with the Lord in this “pause.” I ask to know and do His Will and I hope if nothing else I am a little better in the end because of it.

7) Faithfulness: I also have tried to be more trusting in the Lord, which means reading Scriptures more often and praying a little more…and watching the news and dwelling in fear a lot less over the course of this pandemic. A friend taught me to “breathe in faith and breathe out fear.” Sometimes just deep breathing is enough of a lesson.

8) Gentleness: I have not only tried to be more gentle to others during these tough times, but also gentler on myself. So the long list doesn’t get done…instead of beating myself up I have found myself saying there is tomorrow and likewise, why take on tomorrow’s worries today? I’m hopefully a better me when I take it easy on myself and others.

9) Self-Control: It is hard, now that many of us are sheltered in place, working from home and holding ourselves accountable, to not become too lax and indulge ourselves too much – to keep up with exercise, not eat junk, stay mentally sharp, not watch too much TV – in short, to stay fit physically, mentally and spiritually. A tall order but pays off in the long run.

This time will end, this too shall pass…and how do we want to emerge from it all? I hope a little wiser, kinder, more loving, joyful, peaceful and faithful…and a little closer to God.  As Saint Paul adds in his Letter to the Galatians, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other…A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal. 5:25-26, 6:7-9)

I am planting a vegetable garden for the first time this year (my sons gave me everything I needed for my birthday to do so) – how apropos for this time, to remind me if I plant seeds and do a little work, God will provide the rest needed to grow my garden so I can reap the rewards…as long as I don’t give up.

Dear Lord, please help me to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially in this time of crisis and need throughout the world, focusing on growing my “garden” and never giving up.

For more #Inspirations, News and Event Updates visit: http://www.michelechynoweth.com

Even Now…Easter Joy!

[image error]“After the President’s news conference was over, one of the reporters made the observation that for the first time in our nation’s history we won’t be celebrating Easter. Well let me tell you one thing, he’s dead wrong. We might not celebrate what Easter has become in that there may be no new clothes bought for that Sunday. We might not hide and hunt eggs in mass quantities. We may not travel home to attend church with our family. We might not see some folks at our worship services that we haven’t seen since Christmas…but we’re going to celebrate Easter. As a matter of fact, every Sunday is Easter Sunday. Every time we assemble for worship we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pilate couldn’t kill Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. You think the Coronavirus is going to stop Easter?”

My friend and fellow author Pastor Chris Whaley (The Masked Saint) wrote this following one of the President’s recent press conferences giving a Coronavirus update and asked me to share it. It inspired me to write this blog post. I am reminded that Easter is not about egg hunts and chocolate bunnies and big ham dinners…yes, they are holiday traditions that make the Easter season special, ones that I will miss with my children and grandchildren this year. But I think this year in particular is an opportunity to reflect on the “reason for the season.” Chris reminds us that Easter is about “the fact that we serve a living Savior who is still transforming lives today. Easter is not only about His resurrection, but our ability to rise with Him. Easter is about the hope of tomorrow and the gift of everlasting life. Yes indeed, we will celebrate. We’ll celebrate what God did for all of us at Calvary. How? By remembering Him. By loving Him. By worshiping Him. By praising Him. Easter for us is everyday. Let the celebration begin.”

We are an Easter people. What does that mean? That we need to spread the joy of Easter! The Bible mentions the word “joy” 244 times. At the Last Supper (celebrated tonight) Jesus tells the apostles, “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) and He tells us, “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into this world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:20-24) And Saint Paul, who wrote over half the New Testament, tells us several times in his Letters to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” ALWAYS Paul? Yes, he says, “rejoice always.” After love, the second fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in us is joy. (Gal. 5:22)

The reason we as Christians can still feel joy and rejoice always despite the global pandemic happening right now is that we know the bottom line truth…that God loves us and that the best is yet to come. Honestly I don’t know how non-believers are getting through this world crisis. It makes me grateful for my faith. But we can’t spread what we don’t have. So get out your Bible and find passages with joy in them; watch church services online; meditate on God’s Word; be grateful for all of your blessings…most of all, that He has risen! Are you feeling the joy? Now more than ever before we need to celebrate the Good News that Jesus suffered, died and was raised for us because He loves us…and He will not let us perish because of a virus, even if it is a pandemic…like all of His disciples who have been faithful before us despite plagues, trials and tribulations, He will help us through this and we will rise again.

Dear Lord, please help me to spread the Good News of Easter and to not only feel Your joy but to share it with others, now and forever. Amen.

Wishing You and Yours a Blessed, Happy Easter!

For more #Inspirations, News and Event Updates visit:

www.michelechynoweth.com
Michele Chynoweth
Author, Speaker, Book Coach

Be the Light of the World!

[image error]We are suddenly in a new world that is seeming darker and darker with each new day as the coronavirus spreads, infecting and killing innocent people in its wake. When it hits home by taking down someone you love, how do you possibly stay positive and hopeful? And yet that’s what God calls us to do.

It has only been a few weeks that COVID-19 has been impacting us here in the US and already we are growing weary of it all…like the people who followed Jesus up onto the mountain, looking for some ray of hope. On his Sermon on the Mount, right after Jesus calls us to be His disciples, heals the multitudes and gives us the Beatitudes, He tells us, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16)

In this time of Lent, when with each new day we get more dire news, how do we keep our light shining…when sometimes we just want to crawl back under the covers? I believe one way is to follow the other guidance Jesus gave us…not to worry or be anxious, not to be afraid is a great start. (Read Matt. 6:24-34) Jesus actually instructs us what to do (or what not to do): not to worry about money (ie., focus on our spiritual health, do the best we can with the work in front of us and have faith God has a plan); not to worry about having enough to eat (ie., don’t hoard stuff from the grocery store); not to worry about tomorrow (because that takes away from today and will only make things worse); and to keep building the Kingdom, to keep being the light in the darkness of the world. He doesn’t deny the world can and will be dark at times. He just says continue to be the light.

When I read Scriptures, I always ask, “BUT HOW?” What does that mean for me?? And if I pray and meditate on it long enough, I get the answer. But my answer is different from your answer of course. For me, I have my writing and my words, so I believe God wants me to fulfill the Lenten promise I made to write His word through my next novel and through my blog post right now and to do the work in front of me (for me it’s book coaching and editing). I also need to be a light, as Jesus says, “to everyone in the house”…to the people who live with me (my husband and stepson)…to be present, kind, loving and forgiving to those people in my life right here and now. Maybe we can’t reach the world but we can start by reaching out to our little part of the world…perhaps send a letter, make a phone call, share a smile or laugh, say a prayer with someone…be a ray of light.

Dear Lord, please help me to be a ray of light to the world…to not grow weary or dim or try to hide but to keep shining your hope to others.

For Such a Time as This…

[image error]“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther, 4:14)

Funny that I am struck by these words just now when I was originally supposed to be going today with my two girlfriends to the play, Esther, at the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA. (before the Coronavirus hit and it was cancelled). That was before. Now we are living in a new day where the entire world is practicing social distancing. Events are cancelled. No hugs, no hand holding, no getting near one another, no leaving the house except in case of emergencies. People are dying in growing numbers because of this rapidly spreading virus. It can be depressing actually and I ask myself what can God possibly desire from us for such a time as this? After all He is all-knowing and all-powerful…this has to be in His Divine Plan. But why?

Well, of course I don’t have the answer to that question, nor do any of us. All we can do is live our lives one day at a time the best we can and hope to learn something from this time, do the next right thing, and be kind and loving the best we can so we can look back weeks, months or maybe even years from now and hopefully say somehow we became slightly better people because of it all.

Meanwhile, being the eternal optimist I am, I would encourage everyone to make the best of these bad times if at all possible. How am I planning to do that during my self-imposed quarantine? Maybe clean out a closet or two (God loves order and cleanliness!), start writing my next book (which I have to admit I’ve been putting off…so I tell myself there is no time like the present and God loves those who take action!),  read the Bible more often (God of course loves it when we read His Word!), help others to the best of my abilities (through my book coaching services…just launched a great book DRAFTED by Jordan Oliver if you’re looking for something good to read in times like these!), and be more loving to my spouse with whom I’m “quarantined”! We have no control of course so I believe the best thing we can do through it all is have faith in our leaders as God tells us to do, and of course trust in Him and His divine purpose and plan, even though we can’t see it. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.’  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)

Lord, help me to remain positive, kind and loving during this difficult time; to trust in your thoughts and ways even though I don’t understand them, and to remain faithful for such a time as this.

 

For more #Inspirations, News and Event Updates visit www.michelechynoweth.com 

This Lent, Learn to Love the Bible

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We are officially now in the season of Lent, which will hopefully be a time for spiritual reflection and growth leading up to the celebration of Easter. It is usually a time we either “give up” something to remind us of our commitment to this reflection and growth…whether it’s a food item like chocolate or chips, or a bad habit like smoking or complaining. But this Lenten season, in addition to giving up something, I’d like to encourage us all to “take on” something too…perhaps a good habit like exercise or meditation…or something service-oriented like giving of our time and talents to the poor or to the church…or here’s a suggestion – reading the Bible. Here’s the main change that I want to make this Lent, 2020: not only planning to read the Bible every day, but learning to LOVE the Bible and truly see, know, feel and believe God’s Word as it applies to me in my everyday life.

It isn’t always easy…I know because I’ve often tried and failed. I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic schools (including college at the University of Notre Dame…and I am still Catholic and love my faith) but I have to admit our family didn’t read the bible, nor did I do any Bible studies until recently in the past several years. Many of you who know me know that my passion, purpose and career calling is writing contemporary suspense novels that re-imagine Bible stories. I have always wanted to be an author since childhood…I just never could have imagined I would become the author of these Modern Day Bible Stories until I realized that is what God was calling me to do. And in so doing this, I learned to love reading the Bible, memorizing certain passages to use as tools to help me through life situations…and I now realize I am hopefully helping others learn to better comprehend some of the Bible stories through my novels and inspirational speaking and to truly love what God is saying.

How did I learn to love the Bible and how can you too this Lent? If you’re rusty, start with the New Testament readings which are much easier to “get” or understand. They are written, of course, in a “newer” age when Jesus walked the earth and then after through the writings of John, James, Peter and Paul. Then get to know the Old Testament. Don’t start with the “law books” like Leviticus or Numbers but with stories like those found in Genesis or Exodus. Take it slowly, find a verse that resonates with you and meditate on it, talk to a friend or your pastor or minister and ask questions, join a Bible study or book study group, find a research book like the Anchor Bible series to delve deeper (which is what I use to research my books) or email me (michele@michelechynoweth.com) and we can chat!

I truly believe God gave us the Bible as His guide to life…that everything He wanted us to learn is in there…that it is not only relevant but necessary for us to live and grow spiritually. Lent is the perfect time to start (or continue) reading it – and loving it!

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 109:105 NIV)

“After fasting forty days and forty nights, He (Jesus) was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:4 NIV)

Dear God, help me to delve deeper into Your Word this Lent by not only reading the Bible more, but trying to learn from it and love it, applying it to my everyday life.

Upcoming Events – March, 2020
Bay to Ocean Writers Conference
March 7 – Panel Workshop, “First Impressions and Editing Process”
Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, MD
Click Here for Details & Registration

“Learning to Love the Bible” Workshop

March 15, 1:30 pm – Immaculate Conception Parish, Elkton MD
455 Bow Street, Elkton, MD 21921 – (302) 398-1100
Click Here for Details & Registration

For Other Events and “Inspirations” visit Michele’s website:

www.MicheleChynoweth.com

Love and Marriage…Gifts from God

[image error]Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy National Marriage Week! I wasn’t going to blog this week…I told myself I am way too busy keeping up with my paying job to bother with putting inspirational messages out into the world (for which I’m not getting paid). But I know my husband religiously reads my blog along with several of my friends and family (thank you!!) so I decided it was worth taking a break to publicly thank God for the gifts of love and marriage. I believe in the holy sacrament of marriage with all my heart and soul, although I’ll admit going on ten years of marriage that some days are hard. Some days it seems like it would be easier to just be single and not have to worry about finances, kids, grandkids, parents, in-laws, commitments, obligations, responsibilities, etc. etc. But I know down deep in my heart that marriage in the long run not only makes us stronger but makes us BETTER. I have friends who “live together” with their partners and while I would never pass judgement on them, I always say a silent prayer for them that one day perhaps they will go “all in” and get married.  Because that’s what marriage is…going ALL IN. For better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health, til death do you part. God tells us exactly how He wants us to live and love:

Genesis 1:18, 27-28: “The LORD God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…”

Matthew 19:4-6 “Haven’t you read,” he (Jesus) replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?…Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Romans 13:8: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

1 Corinthians 13:2-13: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 John 4:7-16: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love…And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

1 Peter 4:8:  “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Proverbs 3:3-4 “Do not let love and fidelity forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Then will you win favor and esteem before God and human beings.” 

1 Peter 1:22 “Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a pure heart.” 

I am grateful for all of you who take the time to read and respond to these Inspirations…for all of the loving relationships in my life…and I am especially grateful God gave me the man He did to be my husband.

Thank you God for giving us your precious gifts of love and marriage. Please help us take the time to cherish them…and each other…each and every day.   

Which Team Do You Stand For?

 

[image error]Yes, the Super Bowl is going to be here in a few days…and if you’re like me and your team didn’t make it in (my home team is the Baltimore Ravens) you may not care much about which team to root for. Or maybe you do. Either way, we are a nation of sports fanatics, especially when it comes to football. Wouldn’t it be great if we could be that passionate about our religious or spiritual beliefs? Have you asked yourself lately, what do I believe in when it comes to my faith…and what am I doing to act in that faith and stand up for my beliefs? Anything?

I recently had the opportunity to “walk the walk” last Friday at the 47th Annual March for Life in Washington, DC. Of course, leading up to the event, I wavered in my commitment to going. I had a lot of work that wouldn’t get done that day if I went. It would be a very long, strenuous and possibly cold day, I reasoned, and who would really care if I – one more person amid the half million people attending – actually walked? Couldn’t I just post about it on social media from the comfort of my home? But in the end none of that sat well with me, so I did go because I realized if every person came up with those excuses, no one would march! And let me tell you, marching up Capitol Hill with hundreds of thousands of others all dedicated to the desire to end abortion was an experience like no other…it was peaceful, joyful and I truly felt part of something much bigger than myself…something of and for life, humanity, God.

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I’m glad I chose to not only root for the Pro-Life team but to “play” for it. I know that each day affords us the opportunity not only to suit up and show up but to ask God what His will is for us. Every day also gives us chances to take action, whether it be in little things like letting a car go in front of us in traffic, picking up a piece of trash in our path, giving someone a ride, calling someone who needs to talk or donating a few dollars to someone in need, or bigger things like guiding, training, teaching, coaching, helping, serving or working for others to make this world a better place. It’s important that we not only root for others who are doing good works, but use our own talents to do them as well.

As Saint Paul says, we need to be “bold.” And even if we fall down, fail or even lose in our efforts, we know God will help us to get back up, start over, learn from our mistakes and get back in the game – and we also know we will win in the end. “Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.”

– Corinthians 3:12

 

NEW EVENTS in 2020!

For more information visit: https://michelechynoweth.com/news-events/

Lifelong Learning Classes at Cecil College: Saturdays, 9 am – Noon

Writing your novel/memoir: Feb. 1, 8, 15

Publishing & marketing your book: Feb. 22, 29 & Mar. 14

Elkton Station Campus, 107 Railroad Ave, Elkton, MD 21921  – (410) 287-1078

Click Here for Details & Registration

Elsmere (DE) Presbyterian Church – Book Discussion on The Faithful One

February 5 – 606 NEW ROAD, WILMINGTON DE 19805 – (302) 998-2070

Click Here for Details & Registration

Christian Product Expo – Featured Author/Book Signing

February 9 – 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm at the “Personality Party”, Chase Center, Wilmingon, DE

Click Here for Details & Registration

Bay to Ocean Writers Conference

March 7 – Panel Workshop, “First Impressions and Editing Process”Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, MD

Click Here for Details & Registration

Gaithersburg Book Festival – Featured Author

May 16 – GAITHERSBURG’S BOHRER PARK

506 S FREDERICK AVENUE, GAITHERSBURG, MD 20877

Click Here for Details & Registration

Montrose Christian Writers Conference

July 12-19 – Fiction Track with Michele Chynoweth

218 Locust Street, Montrose, PA 18801

Phone 570-278-1001 / Toll Free 1-800-598-5030

Click Here for Details & Registration

Michele Chynoweth

Author, Speaker, Book Coach

www.michelechynoweth.com

Are You Qualified for 2020?

[image error]I’m getting ready to lead a women’s spiritual retreat this weekend in Ocean City, Maryland and I’m excited and a bit nervous again as is always the case when I have a big speaking engagement coming up; I guess that’s “normal” and I’m only human. I’ll be giving three keynote presentations on the theme “Second Chances” and I’ll be sharing some of my life experiences as well as tools that I’ve learned to give myself, others and even God second chances. I have felt the Holy Spirit encourage me in preparing for the retreat. But I believe the enemy has also started whispering doubt in my ear with words like, “Who are you to think you are a spiritual leader? What makes you qualified to do this?”

This is the time of year that our New Year’s Resolutions (if we made any) begin to wane or fade a bit and doubt starts to creep in when we don’t see progress fast enough (I’ve only lost two pounds when I need to lose fifteen, etc.) We come off the hectic holidays buzzing with momentum – and 2020 is not only a new year but the start of a new decade! We hear that we should have “2020 Vision” (I did finally finish my vision board in the works last year and post it on my wall.) And then life, always the roller coaster ride, starts to dip and we start to feel doubt and worry – forms of fear – enter in and we become anxious.

Are you qualified for what God is calling you to do in 2020? Your answer should be a resounding YES – as long as you try to stay in tune with God and his will and plan for you! Saint Paul tells us “…those He predestined He also called; those He called He also justified; those He justified He also glorified.  What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:30-32). The Bible is full of stories about saints, prophets and disciples who started out anything but qualified –  like the rest of us – and ended up being key people who helped build God’s Kingdom: Moses who had a speech impediment yet led the Israelites for forty years through the desert to the Promised Land; David who committed sins of adultery and murder yet became King of Israel; Paul who started out with a singular purpose of killing Christians, yet ended up writing over half the New Testament and spreading Christianity to the world.  As Paul writes, it’s not how you start but how you end up finishing the race that counts. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (1 Cor. 24-25)

Are you facing something ahead in 2020 – a new job, new course, new event, new relationship, new home, new health challenge – that you feel a little bit anxious about? Don’t let the enemy get in your head with fear, but look to God, who equips and empowers you for your race ahead.

I pray that we may all know and remember deep in our hearts that we are qualified by the Lord for whatever dreams, callings, tests and challenges He lays before us in the year ahead.





Michele Chynoweth

Author, Speaker, Book Coach

www.michelechynoweth.com

Embracing the New Year

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I’m not sure about you, but 2019 seemed to be a roller coaster year emotionally for me, full of ups and downs, loved ones getting sick, some health issues of my own, dreams becoming fulfilled (pursuing my writing, speaking and book coaching business full-time) and yet some disappointments coming my way too (my book launch of my new novel The Jealous Son was super successful – thank you all for being so supportive – yet I’m still waiting for my books to hit the New York Times bestseller list…haven’t given up hope yet!)


I always love the New Year celebration because it’s a fresh start, the hectic Christmas holidays are over, and it’s a new beginning…time to look ahead and dream of what can be and let go of what was…all of the heartache and headaches of the past…time to start over.

That’s what God wants for us – He says so according to St. Paul: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away (aka getting older), yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18)


I watched the movie The Two Popes last night and it was very much about change and starting anew. In the film (which was very good in my opinion) the incoming Pope Francis and the outgoing Pope Benedict have a debate about change – whether it’s really a good thing or just another word for compromise. Things go back and forth between the two – but in the end we see that both have made mistakes and both have their flaws because they’re only human – and the movie shows how everyone can start over and work together for God’s good.


So here’s to all of us continuing to put one foot in front of the other, do the next right thing, try to be our best selves, fulfill our purpose here on earth, help in little ways to know and do God’s will and work together for His good to build His kingdom, and to love one another.


I pray each and every one of you has a happy, healthy and blessed

New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Michele Chynoweth

Author, Speaker, Book Coach

www.michelechynoweth.com

The Best Gift of All…

[image error] At this time of year I would just like to thank all of you who have been reading my “Inspirations” spiritual blog posts and who have been so loyal and supportive. I feel especially blessed and want to wish you and your family and friends the many blessings of this special time of year…gifts of joy, peace, hope and love. And I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite scriptural passages…the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. (I can’t write anything better than this!)

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:1-20, NIV)

 

Like Mary, let us ponder all of this in our hearts this Christmas season and be grateful for the best gift of all…the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!