“An addiction is something that controls people—something they feel they cannot do without or something they do to alleviate pain or pressure. It is what people run to when they are hurting or feel lonely. It comes in many varieties, such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, shopping, eating, work—and yes, even approval. Like any addict, insecure people look for a “fix” when they get shaky. They need someone to reaffirm them and assure them everything is all right and they are acceptable. When a person has an addiction the things they are addicted to are on their mind most of the time. Therefore, if a person is an approval addict, he or she will have an abnormal concern and an abundance of thoughts about what people think of them
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Joyce Meyer
“We cannot control the temperaments we are born with; they are God’s choice. We can work with the Holy Spirit to achieve balance, but basically we are who we are.”
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Joyce Meyer
“Doing the right thing once or even a few times does not equal success, but habitually doing right will produce a life worth living. It may not be easy, but it will be worth the effort. The person who never gives up always sees victory.”
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Joyce Meyer
“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7”
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Joyce Meyer
“Take some bold steps of faith and change anything the Lord leads you to change. If what you are doing with your time is not bearing good fruit, make a change. If you are not getting enough rest, make a change. If you are not disciplining your children and their behavior is causing you a lot of stress, make a change. If you are bored, make a change. If your friends are taking advantage of you, make a change! Stress can be relieved if you’re not afraid to make changes.”
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Joyce Meyer
“I know the effect insecurity can have on lives because I experienced it myself. I know what it does to a person. Those who have been hurt badly through abuse or severe rejection, as I have, often seek the approval of others to try to overcome their feelings of rejection and low self-esteem. They suffer from those feelings and use the addiction of approval to try to remove the pain. They are miserable if anyone seems to not approve of them in any way or for any reason and they are anxious about the disapproval until they feel they are once again accepted. They may do almost anything to gain the approval they feel they have lost—even things their conscience tells them are wrong. For example, if a person is met with disapproval when she declines an invitation, she might change her plans and accept the invitation just to gain approval. She compromises herself for the sake of feeling approved
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Joyce Meyer
“Love has been perfected in me in this: that I may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so am I in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. I love Him because He first loved me. —1 JOHN 4:17-19 (NKJV)”
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Joyce Meyer
“I would like to suggest that you take responsibility for your joy and never again give anyone else the job of keeping you happy. You can control what you do, but you cannot control what other people do. So you may be unhappy a lot of the time if you depend on them as your source of joy. The psalmist David said that he encouraged himself in the Lord, and if he can do it, then we can do it too.”
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Joyce Meyer
“I shall find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man. —PROVERBS 3:4”
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Joyce Meyer
“The only way to have a friend is to be one. Ralph Waldo Emerson”
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Joyce Meyer
“Turn your situation over to God because He can do more in a moment than you can do in a lifetime
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Joyce Meyer
“There was a time not too far in the past when a person’s word was his honor; to not keep one’s word was unthinkable.”
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Joyce Meyer
“A bad attitude is like a flat tire. If you don’t change it, you won’t go anywhere.”
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Joyce Meyer
“the full, till it overflows)” (John 10:10). Your days can be filled with an overflowing joy that will spill into the lives of others. You can experience this joy all day if you learn to start your day right—by spending time with God, reading His Word, praying, and listening for His direction. Listening to God each morning fills you with expectancy and favor for a better day, and those days add up to a better life. The Lord wants you to have Him clearly in sight”
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Joyce Meyer