Strong Enough To Bend

By Connie Monday

How to grow in Christ: What does it mean? God wants to empower you through the Holy Spirit
For most, Life eventually throws us a major curve ball. Like millions, we break under pressure. I have had my share of adversity. This book has 9 powerful stages one must grow through. These stages are designed to help you bend, not break ~
Psalms 92:12, We must grow as a cedar tree. The life of a tree has many parallels to the life of a human. What I learned is that trees are the most mentioned living thing in the bible other than people and God. There's a tree on the first page of Genesis and the last page of revelation.

The first Psalm tells us to be like a tree. How deep are your roots?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781663255334

Connie Monday

Connie Monday has given to Christians the things that make the difference in Christian character. Authentic Christian character involves sacrifice, and that the culture will not require of us, only faith will bring us to. Prepare yourself to grow as you walk through these steps inside!

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Connie Monday.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-5532-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5559-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5533-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023915894

iUniverse rev. date: 08/29/2023

CONTENTS

About The Author

Preface

References and study Bibles that are used:

First Stage of Growth

Seed/Life

Second Stage of Growth

Water

Third Stage of Growth

Light

Fourth Stage of Growth

Heat

Fifth Stage of Growth

Air (Wind)

Sixth Stage of Growth

Seasons

Seventh Stage of Growth

Space

Eighth Stage of Growth

Minerals

Ninth Stage of Growth

Rest

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connie Monday

C onnie (Hicks) Monday, is a freelancer, writer and poet. She desires to help Christians grow in God and to help educate them. That is why she started writing and researching how Christians grow in God. She has been involved in online writing courses. She has written journals for most of her life, which she is now incorporating in this book.

She is very excited and knows that this book will inspire thousands of people to grow in God.

In her spare time she crochets scarfs and blankets and gives them to cancer survivors and people in need. She had the privilege for three years of being a caregiver for her late husband.

She has gotten to travel throughout most of the United States, attending conferences and workshops and holding meetings as a counselor and sales and marketing manager for more than three decades.

She has been involved in children’s ministry, women’s ministry, nursing home ministry, bus ministry, and soup kitchen ministry. Her Christian education training included courses taught by Willie George.

She had the privilege of taking one day off from work a week to deliver food to the less fortunate. What a blessing that was.

This book is dedicated to the ones who inspired me the most: the Holy Spirit;

(My parents, the late Tom and Autherine Hicks);

My late granddaughter, Brooklyn Spears;

My children: Heather Davis and Joshua Spears;

My grandchildren: Hunter, Taylor, and Trevor

Davis; (the late Brooklyn) and Jayden Spears;

And my sisters, who always believed that I could do

anything. Thank you for your love, loyalty, and support.

We inherited it all when our parents passed, though it was not

money, it was something that money could not buy …

It was their legacy—love

The Bible tells us that the greatest

gift of all is love.

So we got it all.

PREFACE

F rom the beginning to the end, our desire should be to become more like Christ in character. The following pages of this book will help you see the importance of Psalm 92:12, to grow in the likeness of God.

It will compare the natural growth of the cedar tree with the supernatural growth in our lives. In the end my heart’s desire is that the reader will be inspired to spiritual growth, spiritual progress, and also spiritual maturity—to be strong as a cedar tree: strong enough to bend but not break.

Connie Monday

REFERENCES AND STUDY

BIBLES THAT ARE USED:

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version (KJV), in the public domain.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (Italics appear in original.)

Scripture quotations marked (AMPC) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC), copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (MEV) are taken from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, copyright 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NMB) are taken from the New Matthew Bible, copyright 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall

grow like a cedar in Lebanon. (Psalm 92:12)

The righteous signifies men and women right with God; persons in whom a new spiritual life has been implanted by God’s spirit.

They shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

The Cedar

• It is referred to many times in the scriptures, particularly Solomon’s temple (1 Kings).

• Its timber is rich, lustrous, and beautiful, with the best aroma.

• It is able to endure for a long time without deterioration.

• It repels insects of all sorts.

• The cedars of Lebanon are used as a symbol of all that is desired in Christian character.

Spiritual Growth

Ephesians 4:15 expresses the goal that we may grow up into him in all things,