Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Are You Following Jesus or Are You Following the Crowd?

Hey, Gabriel Girls,

All over the world, Christian teenage girls struggle with many of the same things. Today we're going to talk about one of the biggies: Following the crowd.

Why do teenage girls--even Christian teens--follow the crowd? The main reason is that they want to fit in. We all want to be accepted by our peers, but, unfortunately, most of the time peer acceptance demands personal compromise of one's values.

Satan uses our need to fit in to lead us down the wrong path. When the need to fit in becomes greater than the need to honor God, we are in big trouble.



So, what does the need to fit in look like in practical terms?  Here are some clues:

1--Do you need to be "in the know" regarding the latest movies, songs, recording artists, movie stars?

2--Do you need to keep up with the latest fads, like clothing styles, hairstyles, and fitness rages?

3--Do you need to have a boyfriend just because all of your girlfriends do?

Temptations to fit in are all around us. They bombard us on magazine racks at the checkout counter, in television commercials, on billboards. Everywhere we look, there is a temptation ready to draw us away from the only One we need to follow: Jesus Christ.

If you are struggling with following the crowd, what can you do to turn around and go the other way?  Here are a few tips:

1--Decide to make your relationship with Jesus your top priority. Don't let anything interfere with this relationship. If your relationship with Jesus is deep and strong, you will desire Him more than you desire the world.

2--Pray every day and throughout the day. Prayer is part of developing your relationship with Jesus. When you pray, listen more than you speak. Jesus always has something important to say to us about how to live our lives. We just have to listen. :)

3--Choose your friends wisely. Hang out with friends who follow Jesus. You may have to separate yourself from friends who tempt you to follow the crowd.

Finally, remember these words in 1 John 2: 15-17 : "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

A true Christ-Follower will live her life in such a way that she will not follow the crowd but she will inspire the crowd to follow her. Be that kind of Christ-Follower!


NOW IT'S YOUR TURN: How do you fight the temptation to follow the crowd? Please share your thoughts with our fellow Gabriel Girls in the comment box below. Thanks!  
TWEETABLE: "Are You Following Jesus or Are You Following the Crowd?" by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)

 ______________________________________________________

Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:


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Thursday, August 4, 2016

Are You a Label-Conscious Person?

Are you a label-conscious person? Do you read the labels on clothing and buy only "designer" labels? Do you judge your worth by the labels you wear or the labels you use?

What about the labels others put on you? Do you respond with delight at positive labels, such as: You're beautiful!, You're so smart!, You're amazing!  Such a response could lead to pride and arrogance.
 
Do you respond with despair at negative labels, such as: You'll never amount to anything; You're just like your father (your mother)!; You'll never be good at that. Such a response could lead to depression and defeat.



Labels. Recently, I read a blog post by a friend of mine that talked about the labels we allow to be placed on ourselves. That blog post got me thinking and inspired this one.

Have you ever considered how much labels affect your life? If you're wise, you will recognize labels for what they truly are: an attempt to define you.

The good news is that you do not have to accept any label you don't want to accept. Why? Because no one but God has the right or the authority to label you.

And how has God labeled you?

He has put two labels on you:

1) Made by God.

2) Redeemed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The fact that you were made by God means that He wanted you on this earth. He put you here for a purpose, and it is up to you to discover that purpose with His help.

The fact that you were redeemed by Jesus Christ means that He loves you, that you are precious to Him, and that you belong to Him.

These are the only labels you must accept in life. No one else has the right or the authority to label you. Only God has that right and that authoriby because only God truly knows who you are. And He has labeled you His own.

So, the next time someone tries to label you, don't accept the label. Instead, remind yourself that only God's labels matter in your life.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN: What false labels have you accepted in your life, and how have they affected you?

TWEETABLE:"Are You a Label-Conscious Person?" by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)

"Labels are an attempt to define you." ` Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)


______________________________________________________
Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
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Monday, July 11, 2016

Five Tips for Eliminating Stress

Stress. It's the bad word of our age. It's all around us. Worst of all, it's in us.

But only if we allow it.

Are you stressed? Are you stressed about school? Career decisions? A relationship? A family situation? A health situation? A job problem?


Whatever the cause of your stress, you can get rid of it once and for all. Here are five tips for eliminating stress from your life:

1-Acknowledge that stress is a sin. Now, that's not what you may have wanted to hear, but it's the truth. And on this blog, we always speak the truth. :)

Jesus commanded us not to stress. Listen to what He said in Philippians 4: 6-7:

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Jesus would never give us a command we were unable to obey. He also tells us how to obey it--which brings us to stress-eliminating tip number two:

 2-Pray about what's stressing you. God alreadys knows what you're stressed about, but He wants you to tell Him for your sake, not His. Verbalizing your stress is one way of getting it off of your shoulders and putting it on Christ's shoulders. After all, His shoulders are far bigger than yours. :) Listen to what He says in 1 Peter 5: 7:

 "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 

3-Thank God in the midst of the stress. I can hear you now: "What?? Are you crazy?"

No, I'm not crazy. I have a sound mind. :)

So, why should we thank God in the midst of a stressful situation? Because doing so shows God that we truly trust Him to help us.Trust is an expression of faith, and faith brings God's blessings into our lives.

Jesus says this in 1 Thessalonians 5: 18:
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
We don't give thanks FOR our circumstances; we give thanks in spite of our circumstances because we trust God to see us through.

4-Monitor your thoughts. The majority of stress results from our thinking wrong thoughts. Jesus says this in 2 Corinthians 10: 5:

"We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ."

As we monitor our thoughts, we have to capture every negative thought and bring it under Christ's authority. Submitting the negative thought to Christ's authority strips the negative thought of its power to stress us out.

5-Think only good, positive thoughts about your situation. Changing your mental focus from negative to positive will help you to overcome stress.

The Bible says this in Philippians 4: 8:

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

So, there you have it: Five Tips for Eliminating Stress. Apply them to your life and watch your stress level drop to zilch.
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN: What stresses you the most? What have you done to get rid of the stress? Have you tried God's way for eliminating stress? Please share your thoughts. We value them!

 TWEETABLE:
"Five Tips for Eliminating Stress" by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)


______________________________________________________
Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
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Thursday, June 30, 2016

5 Ways to Grow in Christ

Hey, Gabriel Girls!

 I trust you’re having a great summer! No matter what you do this summer, don’t forget to spend time with Jesus.

 Of all your relationships, your relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important relationship you will ever have. It will last forever, into eternity. So don’t you agree it’s vital that you keep working on that relationship?

 If you don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I urge you to establish one. Click here to learn how to do so. 

 Okay, now let’s talk about five ways to grow your relationship in Christ:
1) Dig deep into God’s Word. God’s Word is the Bible. The Bible and Jesus are actually one and the same, so if you dig deep into the Bible, you will be digging deep into Jesus. Why is this important? Because the better you get to know Jesus, the more you will be like Him, and the more like Him you are, the better your life will be.

 Check out Psalm 119: 1-3: Happy are all who perfectly follow the laws of God. Happy are all who search for God and always do his will, rejecting compromise with evil and walking only in his paths. 

 If you want to be truly happy, follow Jesus! 

 2) Pray.  Prayer is a two-way conversation with God. He talks to you, and you talk to Him. Be sure to do twice as much listening as you do talking, however, because God is far smarter than you are. :)

 I keep a Prayer Journal of my conversations with God. It’s really cool to go back and read over the things God has spoken to me over the years. Most of all, keeping a Prayer Journal will remind you of how much God cares, especially when you’re going through tough times.
3) Obey what God tells you to do. How do you know what God tells you to do? The best place to find that answer is in the Bible. God has written down all that He wants you to do. It can be summed up in two commands found in Luke 10: 27: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  Obey these two commands and you’ll be just fine. :)  

4) Meet with other Christ-Followers. We all need the support of others on our journey with Jesus. Fellow believers lift us up when we are down, and vice versa. The Bible says this about meeting with fellow believers: Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near (Hebrews 10: 25). We do not necessarily have to meet in church buildings, because we are the Church. But we should meet regularly with other Christ-Followers, especially during these dangerous times right before Christ’s return.

5) Tell others about Jesus. I am so thankful for the young woman who told me about Jesus and about my need to be born again. Even though I thought she was crazy at first, I eventually realized that she was telling me the truth. Were it not for her courage, I would not be writing this blog post today. 

So, be bold in your witness for Jesus Christ. You have the truth, and by sharing the truth with others, you will prevent many from spending eternity in Hell.

There you have it: 5 Ways to Grow in Christ. Now all you have to do is put these 5 ways into practice. You will be amazed at how much your life will change for the better!

Now, it's YOUR TURN: What ways do you practice to grow in Christ? Please share with our fellow Gabriel Girls!

You can post your comments in the box below. Thanks! We're eagerly waiting to hear from you. Your opinion matters!

TWEETABLE:


______________________________________________________
Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
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Thursday, May 19, 2016

Are You an Evil-Stopper?

Hey, Gabriel Girl,

 Today's post is a two-for-one. That means I'm writing the same post for both the Gabriel Girls blog and the Gabriel Guys blog.  (You didn't know you had a brother group, did you? Well, now you know!)

That said, here is my huge question to you this week: What are you doing to stop evil in the world?

I hope I'm not hearing silence on the other end. :) 

What I am probably hearing is, "What can I do?"

Great question!  Here are some suggestions you can apply to stop evil in the world:

1-Always stand up for what is right. There will be times in your daily life that your friends or teachers or others will state positions that contradict the Word of God. For example, they may say things like this:
  • Homosexuality and transgenderism are okay;
  • Sex before marriage is fine;
  • There is no God;
  • Science is the ultimate arbiter of truth.
  • The aborted baby is not a human.
Such people will use ridicule or bullying to pressure you into coming over to their position. Don't do it! They will accuse you of being intolerant, ignorant, or just plain stupid. Well, they're wrong!  

You will discover that those who call themselves "tolerant" are the most intolerant of all. If you don't agree with them, they will criticize you unkindly, curse you, and, in some instances, even kill you. 

Truly tolerant people will respect your opinion even if they don't agree with you. They will be kind and courteous to you and engage in friendly discussion. Not so, the falsely tolerant.

2-Stay alert for half-truths. The lie usually comes couched in a partial truth. Otherwise, it would be easy to detect a lie. Satan always tempts with half-truths. Here are a few examples:
  • God is good and won't let anyone go to hell.
  • There are many ways to be saved.
  • What's right for you may not be right for me (and vice versa).
3-Set love as your top priority. We are commanded to do this in I Corinthians 14: 14. Love is the greatest power of all. Love will never fail.

Especially love your brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus said this about us: "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13: 35).

In the 1930s, as Hitler was rising to power, Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this: 
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." 

The famous scientist, Albert Einstein, said this: "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." ~ Albert Einstein

Let's not be one who watches others do evil while we ourselves keep our mouths shut. We are Followers of Yeshua the Messiah. We know the Truth, and we have a mandate from our Lord to be a Light in the midst of a world that is growing increasingly dark.

 Remember this: Light will always overcome darkness! Jesus said, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5: 14). Shine your light into your world!

Now, it's YOUR TURN: What are your thoughts about how to stop evil in the world? Please share them with your fellow Gabriel Guys and Gabriel Girls. You can post your comments in the box below. Thanks! We're eagerly waiting to hear from you. Your opinion matters!

TWEETABLES:

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.~Einstein (CLICK TO TWEET)


 Silence in the face of evil is itself evil....Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.~Bonhoeffer (CLICK TO TWEET)

______________________________________________________

Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl or Gabriel Guy, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:
Amazon Author Central: www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryanndiorio/
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Monday, April 11, 2016

A Girl Has Gotta Have a Dream!

Hey, Gabriel Girls!

Do you have a dream? A big dream? If not, it's time to get one.

Why is it important to have a dream? Because God said in the Bible that a person without a dream will die (Proverbs 29: 18). Not die physically, necessarily, but die spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically.


WOW! That is serious stuff!

 What is a dream? A dream is a revelation from God that usually comes in the form of a burning desire to be or to do something.  For example, many years ago, I had a burning desire to be a writer, so I became a writer. I have a burning desire to be like Jesus, so I am becoming more and more like Jesus.

Where do dreams come from? They come from God. They are God's gift to you to inspire you to fulfill His purposes in the earth.

Some dreams, however, are not from God but from our own selfish ambition. It is important to know the difference. 

 How can you know if a dream is from God or from your own selfish desires?  Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

 1--Will my dream glorify God? Will it make Him famous instead of making me famous?

 2--Will my dream help other people, or will it benefit only me?

 3--Is my dream beyond my human ability to achieve? In other words, do I need a miracle from God to achieve my dream?

 If you can answer yes to these three questions, then your dream is from God. 

 But what if you don't have a dream? What should you do?

 Simple. Ask God to give you His dream for your life. Then keep your eyes open as He answers your request.

Dreams are the stuff of life. Dreams will keep you young. Dreams will keep you happy. Dreams will help you to change the world for Jesus.

Go get a dream! :)

TWEETABLES:
"Where there is no vision, the people perish." ~ Proverbs 29: 18 (CLICK TO TWEET)
"Dreams are the stuff of life." - Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)

_______________________________________________
Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:

Website: www.maryanndiorio.com
BookBub.com: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maryann-diorio 
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DrMaryAnnDiorio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=45380421
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryanndiorio/
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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Is Your Dream for Your Life God's Dream for Your Life?

Hello, Gabriel Girls!

I want to extend a warm welcome to all of you! Did you know that the Gabriel Girls are now in several countries of the world. Praise the Lord! This is His doing!

Here is a list of the countries from which our sister Gabriel Girls hail:

United States
Russia
Ukraine 
Ireland
France
Germany
Italy
Slovakia
Portugal
Canada
India
Singapore 
Australia

 WOW!  Isn't God amazing?  Just think. We are from all over the world yet united in our love for Jesus Christ!  Together we can do great things for Him.

Today, we're going to talk about what it means to do great things for God. When I was a teenager, I had big dreams. I loved languages and wanted to be a linguist and a college professor.  But little did I know that my dreams were not God's dreams for my life.  



At this time in my life, I did not know Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord. So I followed my own way and my own dream. I studied languages, and I taught at university. But I was not as fulfilled as I thought I would be. In fact, I was disappointed that my dream was not making me as happy as I thought it would.

When I was 25 years old, a young woman told me about Jesus. She explained that I needed to be born again in order to receive eternal life. Eventually, I accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord, and at that moment, my life truly began.

When I turned 30 years of age, something surprising happened. I began to have a desire to become a writer. I had never considered writing as a profession, but the desire to write kept increasing. I soon realized that my desire was actually God's call on my life. He wanted me to be a writer, not a language professor.

 So, I started to write for Jesus. And I haven't stopped. Now, 40 years later, I'm still writing for Jesus and loving every minute of it!  (I don't believe in retiring; I believe in refiring! :)  I'm never bored when I write. When I wake up in the morning, I can't wait to get to my writing studio. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing.

Am I famous? No!  Do I want to be famous? No! I want Jesus to be famous! And, through my writing for Him, I am doing everything I can to make Him famous throughout the world. 

 Am I doing a great thing for God? Yes. Why? Because I am obeying Him.

You see, doing a great thing simply means doing what God has called you to do. It means obeying His Word and living for Him. It means doing what the young woman did when she told me about Jesus. What she did was a great thing. Because of her witness, I came to Christ and have led countless others to Christ since then.

There are two ways of looking at life: the world's way and God's way. The world defines doing a great thing as becoming famous or earning a lot of money.  God defines doing a great thing as being obedient to Him.

Are you being obedient to what God has called you to do? You may not yet know the call He has placed on your life, but you can be obedient to Him day by day as you seek to live the way Jesus lived. If you are obedient in the little things God asks you to do, you will be obedient in the big things He asks you to do.

Now pray this prayer with me:

Lord Jesus, I want Your plan for my life, not mine. Show me what You want for my life.  Then give me the courage to put aside what I want and to embrace what You want. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

TWEETABLES:
The only way to be truly fulfilled is to do what God created you to do. - Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)

 _______________________________________________


Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

To Become a Gabriel Girl, you need to qualify as follows:
  • You need to be born again. This means that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and the Lord of your life.If you don't know how to do this, click here.
  • You need to have a desire to tell others about Jesus wherever you go and whenever you can.
  • You need to commit to following Jesus by reading the Bible and praying every day and by obeying Jesus' command to love Him and to love your neighbor.
    ____________________________________________________
You can find me on the following Social Media Venues:

Website: www.maryanndiorio.com
BookBub.com: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maryann-diorio
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DrMaryAnnDiorio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=45380421
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryanndiorio/

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