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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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Where Do I Fit In?

Hey, Gabriel Girls,

Have you ever felt left out? Not a good feeling, is it?

All of us have felt left out at one time or another. But if you feel left out most of the time, there is something you can do about it. Here are a few tips:

1) Ask yourself why you feel left out.  Are you shy? Afraid? Or just plain unfriendly?

If you're shy or afraid to talk to people, take baby steps. Find someone you'd like to get to know and ask him a few questions about himself.  People love to talk about themselves. Shyness and fear happen when we focus on ourselves. If you start to focus on someone else, your shyness and fear will diminish.

A friend of mine likes to say that half the world is waiting for the other half to say hello. In other words, most people are afraid to talk to other people, so you are not alone.

2) Look for others who are interested in what you are interested in. Do you like basketball? Then try out for your school's basketball team. Do you like to play an instrument? Then join a local orchestra. Do you like to work with children? Then volunteer for the children's ministry in your church. Finding others of common interest will help you to contribute your gifts and talents to them.

3) Take an interest in other people. The key to avoid feeling left out is to put other people before yourself.  As you give of your talents and gifts to others, you will find that others will want to be around you because the love of Christ shines from you.

Finally, there will be times when we should not fit in. For example, when our peers try to entice us to sin, we must flee in the other direction.  

Fitting in is not always a good thing.  There is a right time to fit in and a wrong time to fit in. As you grow closer to Jesus, you will be increasingly able to tell the difference.   

TWEETABLES:

 Fitting in is not always a good thing. There is a right time to fit in and a wrong time to fit in. (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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Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Are You a Latch-Key Kid?

Are you a latch-key kid?  In case you don't know what this means, a latch-key kid is a child who usually has no one waiting for her when she comes home from school. She must let herself into the house with a key she carries with her.


Latch-key kids live in families where both parents work outside the home. Often, latch-key kids come from single-parent homes and divide their time between both parents.  Many latch-key kids live with their grandparents or some other guardian.

 Sadly, many children today are latch-key kids. As such, they face challenges that are unique to them. Here are a few of those challenges:

 1-Latch-key kids often feel lonely. It's no wonder. Few people like to come home to an empty house on a regular basis. Moreover, latch-key kids spend several hours alone every day, waiting for mom or dad to get home from work.

 2-Latch-key kids are unsupervised. As a result, they end up watching programs on TV that they shouldn't watch. They end up engaging in behavior they shouldn't be engaging in. They end up wasting time doing things that are unproductive.

3-Latch-key kids often feel unloved. They secretly wish that someone would greet them at the door so they can share ups and downs of their day at school.
If you're a latch-key kid, let me encourage you with these truths:

1) Jesus is always with you. He promised never to leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13: 5), even when you come home to an empty house. Spend time talking with Him while you're waiting for your Mom or Dad to come home from work.

 2) Jesus watches over you. Even though one of your parents is not there to supervise you, Jesus will fill the void. Ask Him what you should do after school. Ask Him if you should watch a certain TV program or play a certain game. He will guide you to make the right choice.

3) Jesus loves you. In most cases, latch-key children come from single-parent homes. Your parent is working to provide for you because he or she loves you. When you are tempted to feel unloved, remember that Jesus loves you. 

 TWEETABLE:


"Jesus loves latch-key kids." ~ 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:
Amazon Author Central: www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryanndiorio/



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