Okay today was the day I had been on my calendar to do one of those "dreaded" things on my to-do list. I mean literally since I added this thing to my to-do list, it has been a dread/worry whatever you want to call it. Why do we do that to ourselves? It wasn't anything major, just a pure inconvenience but I let it annoy me for numerous reasons. Add doing it in a no air conditioner setting and it's hard to stay positive. Now that I am on the other side of that dreaded to do and it is a done item, the weight is lifted. Now if only I had completely trusted Him with taking care of it in the first place? He loves us that much.
Sometimes those bumps in our schedules, those inconveniences we call, are nothing more than God moments. Sometimes God uses those moments to whisper something because He knows we are listening.
So this morning, He was whispering and I was listening. It was such a sweet moment. So many times we get caught up in making sure we are doing what God called us to do. We look to others who may have the same calling/ministry etc. We try to make sure our schedules look like theirs and make sure we are doing all we can to run that race. It happens at work too. We see others getting pats on the backs, recognition, and moving on up the ladder and we "feel" we need to match everything they are doing(especially if we don't "feel" we are where we should be...). We get so caught up in making sure we are doing our calling, that we forget to be who He called us to be.
His whisper was plain and simple this morning, but straight to the core. "I called you to be Melissa".
Those few words sunk in and wow. We can get so caught up in our doing that we forget to be ourselves. We forget that our doing comes from who He has called us to be. Our doing will come naturally if we will just be who has called us to be. After all, He knew us before He made us and each part of us is there for a reason. We make Him smile when are just ourselves ;-)
Until next time
~Melissa
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Just thinking....
No title really on this one, lots of "thoughts"/themes running through my head and heart. I can't believe a month of summer has almost passed. I wish I could say I had accomplished all of my goals already, but that would be no, not finished yet. I am making progress though and that is a very good thing. Where is some of this coming from? Let's just say the refining process. When it is all said and done, I just want to hear Him say well done. I want my life to count for Him and when I look back on the day I want to know I did all I could for Him and made a difference.
Knowledge without application is just words. I've been hit with this a lot lately, personally and professionally. So many times people "know" about something, but if they can't take it to the next level and apply it, where does that knowledge get them? Scripture calls it being a hearer of the word and instead of a doer. Learning is a great thing, but if you spend all of our time learning and never putting it into practice, where does that learning get you?
Freedom....ask Him for it, but once you ask, be prepared for what He tells you to do next. He tends to get specific. At least with me, He does. He and I have that relationship where He can just tell me what to do, then it's my turn to do what He says or take a 40 year journey that should have only lasted 11 days. The problem comes when we don't do what He says, think we can get away with just doing it half way and try to keep the reigns. A pilot doesn't land a plane with half the wheels still up. This journey we are on is all or nothing, He wants all of us. All of our thoughts, all of our emotions, all of our dreams, all of us. He knows what makes us tick, what makes us smile, what makes us cry, and what makes us keep moving forward. The funny part comes in when we think we know ourselves better. Trust Him with your heart, mind, and soul. Trust Him with all of you.
Defeat...there is a line an old Dottie Rambo song that says "...defeat is just one word I won't use"... Defeat and can't go hand in hand. We let people defeat us, food defeat us, and even our thoughts toward ourselves. Tell yourself you can't do something enough times and you eventually start believing that you can't. Be who you are and you will walk through those defeated times with your head held high. Not because you are something, but because He is everything. He's got your back and just needs you to keep moving on this journey called life. Once again I have been reminded to be careful who you let into your life. Some are meant to speak into it, some are meant for God to use to speak into your life(aka sandpaper). Talk to God about your relationships, He will show you the difference. When He tells you someone is sandpaper, let Him use them to make you more like Him. Don't let them defeat you, remember their purpose and keep things in perspective. This season soon passes and you will be stronger when it does.
Watch your words, don't say you can't do something if God says you can. He is given you much more power than you may even realize. Let Him exhibit it through you!! God has a plan and He thinks the world of you. Some seasons are for planting, some are for watching things grow, be patient and know that regardless of what season you are in God is at work.
Until next time,
~Melissa
Knowledge without application is just words. I've been hit with this a lot lately, personally and professionally. So many times people "know" about something, but if they can't take it to the next level and apply it, where does that knowledge get them? Scripture calls it being a hearer of the word and instead of a doer. Learning is a great thing, but if you spend all of our time learning and never putting it into practice, where does that learning get you?
Freedom....ask Him for it, but once you ask, be prepared for what He tells you to do next. He tends to get specific. At least with me, He does. He and I have that relationship where He can just tell me what to do, then it's my turn to do what He says or take a 40 year journey that should have only lasted 11 days. The problem comes when we don't do what He says, think we can get away with just doing it half way and try to keep the reigns. A pilot doesn't land a plane with half the wheels still up. This journey we are on is all or nothing, He wants all of us. All of our thoughts, all of our emotions, all of our dreams, all of us. He knows what makes us tick, what makes us smile, what makes us cry, and what makes us keep moving forward. The funny part comes in when we think we know ourselves better. Trust Him with your heart, mind, and soul. Trust Him with all of you.
Defeat...there is a line an old Dottie Rambo song that says "...defeat is just one word I won't use"... Defeat and can't go hand in hand. We let people defeat us, food defeat us, and even our thoughts toward ourselves. Tell yourself you can't do something enough times and you eventually start believing that you can't. Be who you are and you will walk through those defeated times with your head held high. Not because you are something, but because He is everything. He's got your back and just needs you to keep moving on this journey called life. Once again I have been reminded to be careful who you let into your life. Some are meant to speak into it, some are meant for God to use to speak into your life(aka sandpaper). Talk to God about your relationships, He will show you the difference. When He tells you someone is sandpaper, let Him use them to make you more like Him. Don't let them defeat you, remember their purpose and keep things in perspective. This season soon passes and you will be stronger when it does.
Watch your words, don't say you can't do something if God says you can. He is given you much more power than you may even realize. Let Him exhibit it through you!! God has a plan and He thinks the world of you. Some seasons are for planting, some are for watching things grow, be patient and know that regardless of what season you are in God is at work.
Until next time,
~Melissa
Sunday, June 23, 2013
24 hours.........
Well it has been a LONG time since I posted on here. Sorry about that......
The end of school is always hectic, but that is no excuse. I have to eventually get in a better habit with this, but I digress.
So I've had a couple of trips lately and what does that mean, car ride and think time. Think time and God time have been deep lately. God is peeling back layers and doing that thing He does. If you are asking what is that thing He does, think about playing with play dough. He uses a cookie cutter that looks like Him placed into the dough that I call me(yep, mine is pink too ;-) Little by little the excess dough is pulled away, so one day the shape called me will look just like Him. My issue is that I try to put some of the dough back, and all that results in is yet another time of Him taking it away. I'm learning though.
So why is this blog called 24 hours? We all have the same amount of time in each day to make a difference. Yet sometimes we stay so busy that at the end of the day, can we look back and see one thing we did to make a difference? I set out with one goal this summer, to be fruitful not just busy. I'm tired of wasting time on things just to try and make it up the ladder. I've learned some of those ladders I thought I wanted to climb were leaning against buildings I didn't recognize. Sometimes we need to do what we do because of what HE did and forget about the rest. Do a heart check and see why you do what you do. Is it to see that smile on someone's face or to try and get that pat on the back?
Let the wall come down that you have built up trying to protect yourself from getting hurt again and trust Him to guard your heart. Be careful about giving the enemy a foothold and do what God says to do. Footholds come in all shapes and sizes and most of the time make you feel comfortable and feed the flesh. Feed that deeper part of you even when it's not comfortable. Don't look at what you are doing as little, just because what you see someone else doing may be big. Patience means letting God do things in His time while you keep moving forward. He knows what He has planned, He will finish what He started, don't rush ahead. Sprinting ahead leaves you out of breath and you end up having to stop and catch your breath anyway. Keep up with His pace. His pace for you is meant just for you, and only you.
24 hours.....do what you do because of what He did and trust Him. The rest will fall into place. Don't fill your schedule with things, just to stay on the go. Listen to what His plan is for you and fill your schedule with that. Being fruitful means sowing seeds that one day will reap a harvest in His time. Being fruitful means sowing into lives and giving of yourself. It's not always easy, not always comfortable, but always a God thing. Little doesn't always mean less. Look at what you do through His eyes, because it's big to Him.
Until next time
~Melissa
The end of school is always hectic, but that is no excuse. I have to eventually get in a better habit with this, but I digress.
So I've had a couple of trips lately and what does that mean, car ride and think time. Think time and God time have been deep lately. God is peeling back layers and doing that thing He does. If you are asking what is that thing He does, think about playing with play dough. He uses a cookie cutter that looks like Him placed into the dough that I call me(yep, mine is pink too ;-) Little by little the excess dough is pulled away, so one day the shape called me will look just like Him. My issue is that I try to put some of the dough back, and all that results in is yet another time of Him taking it away. I'm learning though.
So why is this blog called 24 hours? We all have the same amount of time in each day to make a difference. Yet sometimes we stay so busy that at the end of the day, can we look back and see one thing we did to make a difference? I set out with one goal this summer, to be fruitful not just busy. I'm tired of wasting time on things just to try and make it up the ladder. I've learned some of those ladders I thought I wanted to climb were leaning against buildings I didn't recognize. Sometimes we need to do what we do because of what HE did and forget about the rest. Do a heart check and see why you do what you do. Is it to see that smile on someone's face or to try and get that pat on the back?
Let the wall come down that you have built up trying to protect yourself from getting hurt again and trust Him to guard your heart. Be careful about giving the enemy a foothold and do what God says to do. Footholds come in all shapes and sizes and most of the time make you feel comfortable and feed the flesh. Feed that deeper part of you even when it's not comfortable. Don't look at what you are doing as little, just because what you see someone else doing may be big. Patience means letting God do things in His time while you keep moving forward. He knows what He has planned, He will finish what He started, don't rush ahead. Sprinting ahead leaves you out of breath and you end up having to stop and catch your breath anyway. Keep up with His pace. His pace for you is meant just for you, and only you.
24 hours.....do what you do because of what He did and trust Him. The rest will fall into place. Don't fill your schedule with things, just to stay on the go. Listen to what His plan is for you and fill your schedule with that. Being fruitful means sowing seeds that one day will reap a harvest in His time. Being fruitful means sowing into lives and giving of yourself. It's not always easy, not always comfortable, but always a God thing. Little doesn't always mean less. Look at what you do through His eyes, because it's big to Him.
Until next time
~Melissa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)