Being content and being happy can sometimes be two different things. Being content means you don't always know how things are going to work out, but you know Who is going to work them out. Being content doesn't always mean things are going your way, but it means you are going His way. Being content means knowing He's got this, even though you have no idea what all this entails. If I have learned anything over the last six weeks or so, it is how to be content. I wish I could say I learned it the easy way and listened to Him the first time....sadly I did not. Why is it the lessons learned best are often times learned the hardest?
Being content means you finally get to the point where you smile at the day regardless of what it brings and know that no matter what God's got this. Being content means learning that stress is not from God. It was never His intention for any of His children to experience stress. Our choices are what leads to stress. It's our choice to hit delete on a thought or to hit replay. It's our choice what consumes our minds. This is not an easy task and it is a minute by minute decision. It's a lesson I'm still in the process of learning. Although I wonder if this is one that will ever be truly "mastered".
God has peeled back the layers over the last couple of months and revealed things that I didn't know where there. He has shown me the why behind some of the what. He's answered some prayers that I had forgotten I had prayed. (Don't you just love His timing:-)). He has shown me where I am weak, while also showing me where He is strong. He has done more than I could ever imagine and I am forever grateful. That being said, I have learned the secret of being content.
Content means you go on with life, listening as He whispers, taking the steps as He does. Content doesn't always mean happy. Content means that even though life may not be how you thought it would be at this point in your journey, you are living each day to the fullest and knowing He has everything under control.
To get to the place of contentment though, you have to realize whose opinion really matters and the difference in wants and needs. Sometimes our flesh wants something, but it is not something we truly need. (Ouch....that one just stepped all over me as I typed it.) What we think we need may not be a need at all, but a want. Our flesh seeks for extrinsic rewards, while our Spirit looks intrinsically. Our Spirit looks on the inside and knows what we need to keep us going. Sometimes that encouragement, that validation, that need we seek for on the outside(extrinsically), God looks to meet on the inside. I have days when my heart thinks it needs something. God knows my heart's true desire and often times He takes my "need" and turns it into His want with a few minor adjustments.
If I have learned anything over the last two months, it is this live each day the best you can. When the day is done, rest in the fact that you know you did all you could do. Trust Him to take care of the rest and wake up the next day ready to continue on in the journey. Stress is not a God thing. Stress happens when we let people's expectations become such a high priority in our life that they out rank God's expectations. Stress can mess you up on the inside as well. (I've learned that lesson the hard way as well). Life is too short to let what other people think, say, or do be your constant focus and goal. Do the best you can do, be the you He made you to be, and listen when He says to listen. Not ever part of the journey is full of fire moments when we our days are filled passion and drive. Sometimes we get to the point where our time with Him is our fire that fills us with passion and drive. Our time with Him keeps us going and gives us the fuel we need to keep moving on our journey. Give up trying to please everyone. The sooner you realize that you will never please everyone, the happier you will be. (Yes I am free from that people pleasing chain...so please trust me on this one, it was a lesson learned the hard way). People are going to do and say what they want, it is not a reflection on you, it is a reflection on them.
The journey continues and each day, each moment brings me closer to Him. The peeling back of layers are never easy. I'm not a fan of having my heart exposed, but I know that in the end it will make me more like Him. This is the year to just be me.
Until next time,
~Melissa
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Trust.....(getting honest again for a moment)
It's me again:-) Forgive me for a blog or bust kind of night. Too much on my mind and I'm typing....
God and I are having that lovely conversation again about trust. Some days it is two steps forward, three steps back, but I am so thankful He is so patient. He understands my heart, He understands my needs, and yes He even understands my wants. He understands my frustrations and the fact that I feel like I fail Him daily. Bless His heart I know He must get tired of me coming to Him going, God it's me again. Yet He doesn't. He never tires of hearing me ask Him for something because He knows my heart. He knows my heart better than I do and for that I will forever be grateful.
He knows why I do what I do even when I can't see it clearly. We all have days when our flesh gets in the way. Days when we get frustrated with the way things are going, days when we just can't make sense of how the pieces of the day are falling into place, days when we just want to know that our hours, our stress, our frustrations have been worth it.
We all want to know that we do matters to someone. We all want to know that we make a difference, that the world is better because we bloomed where He called us to bloom. The trust part comes in when we have to keep going and not knowing whether or not a difference is there. The trust part happens when we can't see the indention of Him, but we know He's there. The trust comes when the frustrations keep snowballing, but you know God has a plan and He has this.
Lord help me to trust You even when I can't feel my way through. Help me to always remember that You have this and there is peace from knowing that. God give me Your strength to bloom where I'm planted regardless of what others may think, say, or do. It's not about them, it is all about You. ~Amen
Sometimes we have to just keep taking it one step at a time, knowing that He is leading each step of the way. The enemy wants us to get discouraged, but God has a plan for encouragement and He has a plan. He just wants us to trust and know that His timing is much better than ours. Be His and He will let the rest fall into place.
Until next time
~Melissa
God and I are having that lovely conversation again about trust. Some days it is two steps forward, three steps back, but I am so thankful He is so patient. He understands my heart, He understands my needs, and yes He even understands my wants. He understands my frustrations and the fact that I feel like I fail Him daily. Bless His heart I know He must get tired of me coming to Him going, God it's me again. Yet He doesn't. He never tires of hearing me ask Him for something because He knows my heart. He knows my heart better than I do and for that I will forever be grateful.
He knows why I do what I do even when I can't see it clearly. We all have days when our flesh gets in the way. Days when we get frustrated with the way things are going, days when we just can't make sense of how the pieces of the day are falling into place, days when we just want to know that our hours, our stress, our frustrations have been worth it.
We all want to know that we do matters to someone. We all want to know that we make a difference, that the world is better because we bloomed where He called us to bloom. The trust part comes in when we have to keep going and not knowing whether or not a difference is there. The trust part happens when we can't see the indention of Him, but we know He's there. The trust comes when the frustrations keep snowballing, but you know God has a plan and He has this.
Lord help me to trust You even when I can't feel my way through. Help me to always remember that You have this and there is peace from knowing that. God give me Your strength to bloom where I'm planted regardless of what others may think, say, or do. It's not about them, it is all about You. ~Amen
Sometimes we have to just keep taking it one step at a time, knowing that He is leading each step of the way. The enemy wants us to get discouraged, but God has a plan for encouragement and He has a plan. He just wants us to trust and know that His timing is much better than ours. Be His and He will let the rest fall into place.
Until next time
~Melissa
Monday, January 20, 2014
Getting honest for a minute.......
Sometimes we pray for neon signs and God sends us confirmation through a song or a sermon. We don't exactly see that as "an answer". In our minds we wanted God to send a sign with an audible this is the way walk in it, but that is not how it always happens. God gives us our answer in His time and in His way. So our choice is to listen to the whispers aka His answer, or to keep looking for the answer we want in the way we think it should be delivered.
God's been speaking multiple things to me already this year, but the theme/point through them all is to Be who I made you to be. So many times we take on things that God never meant for us to take on, we try to handle things that only God is equipped to handle, and we start running a race that only God can run with us. Stress comes when we try to handle things that only God can handle.
So where does the honest come in for a minute? We all have times during our daily walk that are harder than others to tell our flesh to shush it so we can listen to the whispers. I don't know about you, but I have found that it is so much harder at certain points, because let's be honest our flesh is weaker some days than others. (Girls, you know what I'm talking about....). So being honest, I've craved chocolate more than Him some points and that is never a good thing. God can make us feel so much better than chocolate can and it lasts longer. Our choice is to go to Him first, and then who knows we still may get chocolate later but not because we were stressed but because we wanted something sweet. I digress though. Looking back over the last couple of months, I can point out a certain time period where I know I am weaker than others. So....what to do now. Well God is preparing my heart on that one and I'm sure it will be a blog soon.
God promised that if we seek Him first, everything we need will be added to us. Think on that for a second, He didn't say everything will be given to us, but everything will be added to us. That means when we seek Him first, He will give us what need to keep walking forward. Everything we need to tell the mountain we may be facing to move we already posses. So choose to be the one He called you to be. Be You ;-)
I've been telling God my heart a lot lately and watching Him peel back layers. Things I that I used to think mattered, don't matter any more. People who I placed as a priority, aren't exactly that any more. Opinions and voices of others that I let consume my thoughts are slowly losing their voice and place(this one is harder). Issues that used to not prick my heart and cause tears, do now. Sensitive now maybe, but it could also be called as broken. (I'm also pretty sure at some point I asked God for a broken heart for things that break His heart, but that's another blog). Priorities are changing and that's okay. With that though comes change and sometimes that isn't always as easy or as comfortable. Changes stretch us, make us look inside, and make us realize who we are. So many times we let others tell us who we are that we start believing what they say about us instead of what God says about us. We let how others see us cloud out how He sees us and therefore how we should see ourselves. (Look in the mirror and think for a second, do you critique yourself based on what others may say or think or what you think). We have taken on way more "stress" than He ever intended because we have taken on too much of what others say/think. I've been watching God take the pieces that I have scattered around in my "life" and watching Him slowly put them into place. God has called us to be where we are for a reason and He wants us to be content there. He wants us to in essence bloom where we are planted and be His Hands and Feet. God didn't call us to do what someone else has done, play the part someone else has played, but to be ourselves. Do what you know in your heart you should do, and God will take care of the rest. As the Laura Story song says, Be My God so I can just be me.
Honestly, I'm learning the times when I am stronger in Him and the times when I'm not. Realizing when those are helps me to be a better me by leaning on Him more during those times when I know I am not as strong. Feelings are a part of you but not who you are. Run to Him with those and let Him be the One to sort them out. I'm not perfect, I'm just a princess of the Most High who has finally gotten tired of doing what others want and trying to be who other people want me to be. I'm a Princess who has learned that God loves me for me and has an amazing plan for my life. It's not exactly how I "thought" it would be at this point in my life, but His ways are so much higher than mine.
Until next time,
~Melissa
God's been speaking multiple things to me already this year, but the theme/point through them all is to Be who I made you to be. So many times we take on things that God never meant for us to take on, we try to handle things that only God is equipped to handle, and we start running a race that only God can run with us. Stress comes when we try to handle things that only God can handle.
So where does the honest come in for a minute? We all have times during our daily walk that are harder than others to tell our flesh to shush it so we can listen to the whispers. I don't know about you, but I have found that it is so much harder at certain points, because let's be honest our flesh is weaker some days than others. (Girls, you know what I'm talking about....). So being honest, I've craved chocolate more than Him some points and that is never a good thing. God can make us feel so much better than chocolate can and it lasts longer. Our choice is to go to Him first, and then who knows we still may get chocolate later but not because we were stressed but because we wanted something sweet. I digress though. Looking back over the last couple of months, I can point out a certain time period where I know I am weaker than others. So....what to do now. Well God is preparing my heart on that one and I'm sure it will be a blog soon.
God promised that if we seek Him first, everything we need will be added to us. Think on that for a second, He didn't say everything will be given to us, but everything will be added to us. That means when we seek Him first, He will give us what need to keep walking forward. Everything we need to tell the mountain we may be facing to move we already posses. So choose to be the one He called you to be. Be You ;-)
I've been telling God my heart a lot lately and watching Him peel back layers. Things I that I used to think mattered, don't matter any more. People who I placed as a priority, aren't exactly that any more. Opinions and voices of others that I let consume my thoughts are slowly losing their voice and place(this one is harder). Issues that used to not prick my heart and cause tears, do now. Sensitive now maybe, but it could also be called as broken. (I'm also pretty sure at some point I asked God for a broken heart for things that break His heart, but that's another blog). Priorities are changing and that's okay. With that though comes change and sometimes that isn't always as easy or as comfortable. Changes stretch us, make us look inside, and make us realize who we are. So many times we let others tell us who we are that we start believing what they say about us instead of what God says about us. We let how others see us cloud out how He sees us and therefore how we should see ourselves. (Look in the mirror and think for a second, do you critique yourself based on what others may say or think or what you think). We have taken on way more "stress" than He ever intended because we have taken on too much of what others say/think. I've been watching God take the pieces that I have scattered around in my "life" and watching Him slowly put them into place. God has called us to be where we are for a reason and He wants us to be content there. He wants us to in essence bloom where we are planted and be His Hands and Feet. God didn't call us to do what someone else has done, play the part someone else has played, but to be ourselves. Do what you know in your heart you should do, and God will take care of the rest. As the Laura Story song says, Be My God so I can just be me.
Honestly, I'm learning the times when I am stronger in Him and the times when I'm not. Realizing when those are helps me to be a better me by leaning on Him more during those times when I know I am not as strong. Feelings are a part of you but not who you are. Run to Him with those and let Him be the One to sort them out. I'm not perfect, I'm just a princess of the Most High who has finally gotten tired of doing what others want and trying to be who other people want me to be. I'm a Princess who has learned that God loves me for me and has an amazing plan for my life. It's not exactly how I "thought" it would be at this point in my life, but His ways are so much higher than mine.
Until next time,
~Melissa
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Self-discipline, power, will......whatever you want to call it
Well it is 12 days into the new year and some things are moving toward the new and some things are still stuck in the past. Why do we give in so easily? Why do we let our flesh dictate feelings and actions? Why do we rationalize that we can't say no when in reality we can. Before I go too far, read all the way through. I'm not getting deep, just practical.
So why do we say yes to the sweets when we know we have the power to say no?
Why do we say yes to getting upset about something someone did or said when we have the power to forgive and move on?
Why do we do we try to please everyone when all God said was be yourself?
Why do we speak what we should keep to ourselves?
Why do we do what we know we shouldn't instead of what we should?
God has given us the power to look at the mountain and say move. The mountain could be some crisis or simply saying no to a snack that's not healthy.
Be a difference maker in 2014. Let God take over you, all of you. Give Him your will("your way" of doing things, "your way" of thinking about things, and "your way" of going through life.). Don't miss the God moments, the whispers, and the quiet times where God reveals how the pieces all fit together.
Challenged and determined that this year will be different. Looking to be fruitful, not just busy.....
Until next time,
~Melissa
So why do we say yes to the sweets when we know we have the power to say no?
Why do we say yes to getting upset about something someone did or said when we have the power to forgive and move on?
Why do we do we try to please everyone when all God said was be yourself?
Why do we speak what we should keep to ourselves?
Why do we do what we know we shouldn't instead of what we should?
God has given us the power to look at the mountain and say move. The mountain could be some crisis or simply saying no to a snack that's not healthy.
Be a difference maker in 2014. Let God take over you, all of you. Give Him your will("your way" of doing things, "your way" of thinking about things, and "your way" of going through life.). Don't miss the God moments, the whispers, and the quiet times where God reveals how the pieces all fit together.
Challenged and determined that this year will be different. Looking to be fruitful, not just busy.....
Until next time,
~Melissa
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
2014....a new year, a new season
Well I didn't realize how long it had been since I blogged, but I have been writing in my journal a lot, so you know what that means...yep blogs are on their way in time. For now though here is the typical new year post in typical Melissa style.
2013 was a year of learning. It was a year filled with God pulling back the layers of my heart, my mind, and my life, and showing me more of Himself. It was a year of chiseling and shaping me to be like Him. I wish I could say I listened the first time, but sadly it wasn't that easy. Some of these lessons were learned on the mountain easily walking with Him, but most were learned on my knees stuck in a spot determined to not move until He said something. I am determined more than ever for this new year to put into practice and apply what I learned in 2013. I don't want to find myself going around those mountains ever again. For that to happen though, it's time to stay focused and to daily stay in touch with Him(make that hourly). God has an incredible plan in store and I feel like the best is still to come. I'm at a turning point in my life. Go this way and follow the path others want or go this way and follow what He wants. The choice isn't always easy, but only one leads to happiness. God gave me a picture of where I'm at for this season. This is a walk on the water season. Some points in our journey we find ourselves in the boat. We know God wants us in the boat, but then the storm starts. Instead of paying attention to the One who put us in the boat, we pay attention to the storm(aka circumstances/situations going around us). Then out of fear(or even frustration), we call out and see Him on the water. Well remember what happened when Peter stepped out of the boat? He was able to walk as long as he kept His eyes on Jesus. Sometimes God says get out of the boat now and let's walk. This is the part of our journey where trust is vital. We have to keep our eyes and our focus on Him or else we will start to sink and the cares of this world will over take us. I love the part of the verse after Jesus talked to Peter about having faith and they got back into the boat, because it says then they went to the other side. See sometimes the bridge between one season and the next is a walking on the water time. I'm excited with anticipation for 2014. I've never been more ready to see what God has in store and where He is going to take me. I'm ready for the journey.
So wherever you find yourself on your journey we start this new year, stay focused. God has a plan that only He knows about and only He can help bring to complete. Trust Him and walk forward.
Until next time,
~Melissa
Make a difference for Him in 2014!
Lessons learned from 2013:
2013 was a year of learning. It was a year filled with God pulling back the layers of my heart, my mind, and my life, and showing me more of Himself. It was a year of chiseling and shaping me to be like Him. I wish I could say I listened the first time, but sadly it wasn't that easy. Some of these lessons were learned on the mountain easily walking with Him, but most were learned on my knees stuck in a spot determined to not move until He said something. I am determined more than ever for this new year to put into practice and apply what I learned in 2013. I don't want to find myself going around those mountains ever again. For that to happen though, it's time to stay focused and to daily stay in touch with Him(make that hourly). God has an incredible plan in store and I feel like the best is still to come. I'm at a turning point in my life. Go this way and follow the path others want or go this way and follow what He wants. The choice isn't always easy, but only one leads to happiness. God gave me a picture of where I'm at for this season. This is a walk on the water season. Some points in our journey we find ourselves in the boat. We know God wants us in the boat, but then the storm starts. Instead of paying attention to the One who put us in the boat, we pay attention to the storm(aka circumstances/situations going around us). Then out of fear(or even frustration), we call out and see Him on the water. Well remember what happened when Peter stepped out of the boat? He was able to walk as long as he kept His eyes on Jesus. Sometimes God says get out of the boat now and let's walk. This is the part of our journey where trust is vital. We have to keep our eyes and our focus on Him or else we will start to sink and the cares of this world will over take us. I love the part of the verse after Jesus talked to Peter about having faith and they got back into the boat, because it says then they went to the other side. See sometimes the bridge between one season and the next is a walking on the water time. I'm excited with anticipation for 2014. I've never been more ready to see what God has in store and where He is going to take me. I'm ready for the journey.
So wherever you find yourself on your journey we start this new year, stay focused. God has a plan that only He knows about and only He can help bring to complete. Trust Him and walk forward.
Until next time,
~Melissa
Make a difference for Him in 2014!
Lessons learned from 2013:
- I've learned the difference between friend and acquaintance. Know the difference and save yourself some time.
- I've learned God will make you rest if you don't listen when He says to. (Advice listen first, it's cheaper than co-pays).
- I've learned that people will try and change you if you let them. Be the you He made you to be and be happy with that.
- I've learned that little things do matter and sometimes they mean more to people than the Big things.
- I've learned that you make a difference to some just by being you. You may not always see it, but the impact is there.
- I've learned that neon signs do not always happen. Must listen for whispers and look for footprints.
- I've learned that no is a great two letter word that I must say more often.
- I've learned that the enemy will sow doubt when God answers a prayer. Trust that God knows your heart. When He answers walk in faith and tell the enemy to hush.
These are just a few. I'll post more later in some other blogs I'm sure. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Remember what He has done in the past only to encourage you to keep moving forward in the future. So many times we keep talking about what God did for us or how He used us in the past. I am thankful for how He has used me, but I look forward to and eagerly await the ways He will use me in the future. I leave you with a video/song from Matthew West. It may be my new theme song for 2014....we'll see.
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