All posts filed under: Quotes & Questions

Gone Til September: ICFTS on Sabbatical until September 8th

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“Sometimes you just have to do it. Eat the cookie, take a nap. Relax. It’s Friday.” ~CANDICE COATES Okay, it may not be Friday but it is definitely time for a short sabbatical her at ICFTS. We will be gone from posting and sharing until SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th. Until then, catch up on some old posts, enjoy downtime from the web, or better yet, if you haven’t already, take time to go through an accelerated run-through of ABIDING FRUITFULNESS: 40-DAYS OF RESTING TO SUCCESS. Again, we will be back on SEPTEMBER 8th, kicking off a fresh new series called, START HERE. Until then, rest easy, Creatives! ~Candice Coates *Photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash

He Holds It All Together: A Scripture & Song

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*Revised from September 2, 2016 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the Head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” ~Colossians 1:15-20 It is my pleasure to speak of Messiah Yeshua, Christ Jesus, the God of Creation, the Beloved King and lover of my soul. When it seems my world is falling apart or even just shaking so much that my vision is …

Enthusiasm Equals Greatness: A Quote & Encouragement

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*Revised from May 6, 2016 “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” ~RALPH WALDO EMERSON Whatever you set your mind to do be sure to do it with enthusiasm. People appreciate the spirit in which something is done more so than the actual doing. And in that shared spirit is true greatness. “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”     ~II COR. 9:6-7 The Word of God instructs us to be cheerful givers and to sow with purpose from our hearts. Great or small, a simple act of kindness, a story written, a picture painted, or even a glass of water, give it with enthusiasm. It is out of little seeds of enthusiasm sown that fruitful trees of greatness grow. *Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash ~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

A Merry Heart: The Gift of Laughter

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*Revised from May 20, 2016 “The most wasted of all days is the one without laughter.” ~E.E CUMMINGS Laughter, like food, is the one other universal language that every person on this planet not only enjoys but needs to survive. Laughter is the music that is never out of tune. It is the one song that we all can sing, and find ourselves singing along with even if we can’t explain why. Laughter is a gift, a precious gift given to us from Christ Jesus and one that we can give to others. It is a fire that burns nothing but calories! And who doesn’t like that? Laughter is priceless. Be sure to treasure it and share it with those around you. No day or heart is complete without it. “A merry heart does good like medicine…” ~PROVERBS 17:22 ~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

Achieving the Greatest Expression: The Gift of Transformation

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*Revised from July 1, 2016 “For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” ~CYNTHIA OCCELLI Isn’t this the exact description of what happened to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ when He submitted to the death on the cross for our sins, was first brutally beaten and undone before buried in the grave? To anyone looking in from the outside, and even those who’d walked with Him during His three-year ministry of preparing the soil for the Church to be planted and born, it would appear that all of His work was for naught. He was crucified and pronounced dead after all. Nothing but destruction was left. Christ and His work had been completely undone.  But in fact, it was finished! “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” ~I COR. 15:20 From the ‘undoing’ and destruction of Christ’s body on the cross, …

Renewing Your Vision

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*Revised from April 15, 2016 “Worse than being blind is to see and have no vision” ~HELEN KELLER Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no VISION the people PERISH…” (Emphasis mine) To be able to see is one thing, to have a vision is another. Vision is the driving force that calls us to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Vision is the crown that causes us to press even in the face of repeated failure because it’s given you hope for the future. To be a person who has lived and not simply existed, you must have a vision–a goal. Although vision and sight are different, they are not mutually exclusive. To maintain your vision you must keep it ever before you (Habakkuk 2:2) Put it down in the simplest of words as a reminder of what you are aiming for. It is very easy to allow the challenges of life to stifle our vision. In faith, in Christ Jesus, we are called to ‘renew’ or minds, that we not be conformed to the …

Today is a Good Day: Being Grateful for Those Around Us

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*Revised from November 18, 2016 “Today is a good day! Why? Because you’re in it, I’m in it, and we’re in it together! Praise Jesus for making this day!” ~CANDICE COATES The Psalmist said it best Psalm 118: 24 when they said, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” What a blessing it is to not only know that the Word of the Lord is the truth, but to also choose to live it out. The glory of this life is that the Lord did not design it or us to do it alone (GENESIS 2:18). He created us as communal creatures, beings destined for relationship. When we take the time to celebrate those who the Lord has blessed us to do life with, whether that is for a season or for many years to come, we find it hard to not walk in joy. My prayer for each of us this week is to allow the Lord to shift our focus and to enable us …

Be Brave

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Updated from August 26, 2016 “Promise me you’ll always remember–you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” ~Christopher Robin to Pooh Being discouraged by circumstances or challenges is easy. It’s deciding to overcome them and be victorious that takes courage and strength. The beauty is, just like with any muscle, whenever there is resistance applied and a pushback given in the face of resistance, do we see strength and growth occur. Our courage, our hearts, require healthy doses of resistance in order to grow strong. Whatever you’ve set your heart to do, be brave in your doing. Discouragement can always be turned on its head and be the stepping stone to CATAPULT you to your goal. If the dream is in you, it only means you were meant to see it as a reality. Be Brave and keep creating! ~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER! *Photo by Simon John-McHaffie on Unsplash

Learning To Relax: Abiding Fruitfulness

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“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” ~A.W TOZER  The word of God instructs and comforts us in Isaiah 40:31, that they that wait on Him shall have their strength renewed. But most of us seem to struggle in our fast pace world to not only slow down but even to wait. We find the urge to rush ahead, to be hurried in not just the seemingly grand things in life but even the small and simple things. We rush to get dressed in the morning, rush through prayer, rush to get the kids fed and off to their activities, all so that we can achieve some goal, that even once we have met it we still don’t quite feel fulfilled. The truth is even though our Heavenly Father has called us to abundant life, abundant life, contrary to what today’s culture says, is not found in rushing and striving, but in resting and abiding. Christ knows …

What It Takes: A Message For Success

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“It takes time to be a success, but time is all it takes.” ~UNKNOWN What we desire in this life, what we aim to achieve if it is truly a worthy and honest endeavor it is worth the time it will take to make it manifest. Don’t allow the progress of others to discourage you in your journey. You are in a race against only one person; yourself. The prize at the end of this race is having achieved your highest potential. This crown only fits your head. The choice is yours. Time is in your hands. Determine to take one step at a time. *Revised from November 6, 2015 *Photo by Leon Macapagal on Unsplash