When you think of the word “princess” what comes to mind? Bratty? Spoiled? Arrogant and entitled?

Sometimes that’s what people think… but if you fall into that category, I’d love to challenge you to think differently. Think about real royalty. Maybe Princess Diana or Princess Kate? A real royal has responsibilities on her shoulders because of the life she either chose or was born into. And if you are found in Christ and have been added to His Church my sister, you are ROYAL. You are a Princess; called to be…
Noble. Selfless. Trusting. Humble. Kind. Respectful of her Prince.
This is a series we will tackle over the next few weeks based on the Princess Warrior lesson I tackled a while back.

A Princess is noble. What does that mean? Can one be royal and not noble? Absolutely. Is nobility an easy characteristic to gain? Perhaps for some. Is it impossible to achieve? Absolutely not.
A quick internet search landed me on this definition of Noble: Dignified, strong moral character, upright, righteous. Someone who does the right thing, in any situation. Of a higher status; to be admired; dignified.
A quick Biblical concordance search landed me in a few verses as well… First, Proverbs 8:1-21. Wisdom is speaking here and she says “hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth.” (Prov. 8:6-7a)
Wisdom.
Righteousness.
Justice.
Honor.
Understanding.
Nobility.
Keeping these words in mind, go with me to Isaiah 32:1-8.  In these verses you see a contrast of noble (or righteous) verses foolish. God often speaks of the fool (some translations read “vile person” and I under NO circumstances, want to be labeled a fool in God’s eyes. Reading these verses, especially 5-8, I am reminded of Matthew 25:34-46.

³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

Here, Jesus makes clear the duties of the righteous.  And you know what I found fascinating? They didn’t even REALIZE it! The RIGHTEOUS will ask, “when did we ___ ?” Because, friends, the righteous ones aren’t serving to be noticed. They aren’t seeking to encourage the poor and imprisoned in order to gain ANY earthly recognition or reward. THAT is what makes them righteous! They are fulfilling the needs of people God puts in their path, regardless of who sees it. But the foolish… oh the foolish will have not done any of that. Because their mindset is this “if we had seen YOU, Lord, of COURSE we would have helped you! If it were YOU, Lord, stranded on the side of the road, of COURSE we would have stopped. For YOU we would’ve done anything!” But you see, that’s not the servant God (through Christ) calls us to be.

 “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
    there is none who does good.”
~Psalm 14:1

I’ve heard it preached that the original Hebrew here means not “there is no God,” but rather it means “No, God.” I don’t have sources to cite here (other than my flawed notes from the sermon), but for the sake of what I’m about to say let’s just go with it.
The fool says in her heart, “No, God.”
Wow. We’ve already established out terrible it would be to be called a fool by God. And how often do I tell him “no”? How often do I feel the prick or conviction of the Spirit in my heart to lead me toward Godly change, and turn my back on it–making that conviction diminish and go away entirely? How often do I get a sense that I need to encourage someone right away, but let myself get distracted by other things?
My friends… I believe in these instances we are telling our God no. How foolish.
Because how often have you LISTENED to that prick or nudge telling you to encourage someone right away, and they respond with “I am SO GLAD you wrote/called/came by to see me. You have no idea how badly I needed this” ?
God is working my sisters! As His daughters, Princesses, covered in the blood of Christ (Romans 6, Gal. 3:25-29), we are His hands and feet and must always be ready to act in faithful obedience.

So many thing running through my head this morning.
1) um.. southern Texas got SNOW?! 😱❄️☃️ how cool is that?! It didn’t come where we live, but Bel has been praying for snow  so I am confident it’s on its way here this winter!
2) last night my sweet baby was in tears over her chapped hands. We put “working hands” on her and she cried. We put unscented lotion on her. She cried. (I FORGOT about my plexus Body Cream! 🤦‍♀️😭) This morning her hands look a little better, but she’s still complaining about their itchiness. So I did a quick FB search about Plexus and chapped skin, and goodness me y’all!! The testimonies! 🙌
I quickly called for Ali and put some Body Cream on her little hands. No tears!! No fight! She actually said “here too Momma.” Pointing out places I missed. 🙌😱💗 I’m looking forward to seeing how much better her hands are tonight.

**notice** I pick at my cuticles. So they aren’t very pretty. But my hands don’t hurt and bleed like they used to! (And like sweet Ali’s are doing now.)

3) my hands used to chap just as badly as hers are. (She is my mini-me after all.) I remember having to put Vaseline or Utter Balm on my hands before bed and cover them with socks. 😦 My lips also used to chap and crack like crazy. Have I upped my lip balm? Nope. I’ve cleaned my gut. Gut health and unhealthy skin are related, my friends! So here’s what I attribute my non-chapped/cracked skin to this winter: water, probio5, Slim, and plexus Body Cream.
Ask me how you can get your hands on a free sample! Or click here to get yours! (Free gift from me if you order Slim & Body Cream/Probio5 as a preferred customer!)

4) The last thing on my mind this morning is the sweetness of little hands. What will these little hands grow up to do? Where will they go? Who will they help? What will they make? There’s a whole world of potential wrapped in these little hands. And I pray she uses them for good all the days of her life. ❤️

In Bible study last week this hit me like a ton of bricks. 
All too often I find myself drifting toward laziness… I really don’t “do” enough. 
And so in my effort to combat that tendency, I fill my days with activities. 
If I’m “on the go” I can’t be lazy, right?

Wrong. 
The opposite of laziness is DISCIPLINE. Just because I’m busy, doesn’t mean I’m disciplined.

Ya know, the wonderful thing about God is His TRANSFORMATIVE power through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭ESV‬

I am selfish. Jesus is self-less.
I am weak. He is strong.
I am broken. He is the glue.
I am sinful and wretched. He is Holy and perfect.
I am lazy. He is the ultimate disciplined servant.
I am unworthy. He is worthy of ALL praise.

Or maybe I should say “was” in all those things. Without Jesus, yes I am all those—but with Him. Oh the sweet beauty here, with Him those ugly bits can be just a memory.
“He must become greater, I must become less.” (John 3:30)

Sweet sisters, let’s stop striving for busy and run-down to combat our lazy tendencies. Rather, let’s surrender that ugly part of ourselves to Jesus and let Him transform our hearts to be more like His heart: disciplined, purposeful, servant-minded, beautiful, and perfect.
Each and every day.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

1 Peter 5:8-11

Hebrews 12:6-11

The “new normal drift.” That’s what I call it anyway.
Have you ever started something new and loved it? You saw the results you wanted and you were truly dedicated for weeks, maybe even months! This new habit created your new normal.
And then you start slacking.
Maybe it’s a diet/workout regimen you’ve had great success with… and now you allow some cookies and gingerbread.
Maybe you’ve started new supplements and they having you feeling GREAT! But then you skip a few days here and there.

And before ya know it, you’re feeling less great. Your old normal starts creeping its head back into your new normal life. And then–lightbulb!
“Oh! I guess what I was doing really was working. What I was doing really DID make a difference. I need to get back to that, pronto.”

That’s me. I’ve been a Plexus girl for over a year now, and I’ve had several of these lightbulb moments throughout my journey. I start consistent and truly feel AMAZING.
Allergies, moodiness, depression, fatigue, all under control if not gone completely. My new normal.
And then I slack off on my supplements. They become more of an afterthought instead of a priority–after all, I’m feeling great now!
And then “not so great” sets in. And I must get back to consistency and prioritizing what works.

So welcome to my Monday. My fresh start for December. The first day of getting back my “new normal.”

And if you are looking for a way to beat the blues, the fatigue, the seasonal allergies, the insomnia, the stomach problems, the joint pain, etc. send me a message or click here. I may have something that can help you get to a great new normal! ❤️