Monday Moments

Ahh Monday.....some days you play nice and well some days, you play like Monday. So I have decided to challenge myself for the next 30 days. Yep ending an era so to speak and starting a new one.. and its time to stop making excuses about some things and just do it. It's time to do my part(especially when I keep asking God to do His).  Okay confession time for a few along with some revelation of some good stuff ;-) I've put myself at the bottom of my list this school year. It's been a rough year, a fast year, but one that has caused me to learn SO much. (I mean look at the number of blogs). I've been uncomfortable at times, but that's not a bad thing. We grow more in those "uncomfortable" times. (Think about it....).  Have I said lately that I am so glad God is patient? Because some days it takes me multiple tries to get it right(or to just do it). I don't know how, but I'm just glad He is. I'm excited about some things to come, some things I still wish would go a different way, and some things I just can't change(or fix). So I finally realized/determined....I can only change me. I'm responsible for what I do, not anyone else. I have a lane and a race to run all my own. Now will there be people along the way(day) that need help, why yes...but if we will quit trying to help those God doesn't have in our path(those that really don't want our help), then maybe we can concentrate on those God moments. Not everyone you meet(or who is a part of your day) is meant to effect/affect you, so don't let them infect you. Follow your heart and the God moments will outshine the good moments(yes there is a difference). You can't do it all and you can't do any of it if you don't take care of you. I have had my priorities mixed up a lot this year as I've been walking some stuff out.  Love yourself, not because of pride, but because you are His princess(or prince). He's got so much planned for you to do and He needs you on your A game. Know the difference between those that get in your lane that are there to distract your focus and those that you are meant to help. Only way to know the difference is to get so close that you hear when He whispers...follow your heart. There is a power inside of you as a Christian that few can even comprehend, use it! No more excuses ;-)

Okay different blog I know, and I may elaborate more later. Just having some thinking moments :-)
Blog to come soon on this passage: It's rocking my WORLD!!  John 20:19-John 21-Good stuff!!

   

Endurance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance/endurance the race marked out for us-Hebrews 12:1

We are all in a race. Sometimes it may feel like we are running the hurdle portion of the race, but we are all heading toward the finish line. Sometimes you leap over the hurdles, sometimes you fall flat on your face, but you have to get back up. Sometimes(and this is the one I've learned lately), you may feel like you have fallen, but you really you just may have hit the hurdle as you leaped over. Feelings will keep you down, but faith keeps you running forward. Don't look at the hurdles, keep your eyes ahead. We mess up when we start looking at what we have to leap over and what everyone else is doing. How much frustration and stress could we cut out of our lives, if we would quit paying attention to what others are doing(or not doing) and just focus on what He has called us to do? Hmm...yep that stepped all over me yesterday.

When we take our eyes off of our focus and start looking around, it's just like Peter did when He took His eyes off of Jesus. We start to fall. We can't run this race if we are paying attention to everyone else. Focus on what He's called you to do, He'll bring along those He has planned in your path.

Running with endurance means not giving up even when you feel like it, even when the hurdles are one right after another, even when the finish line looks to be far off in the distance. Run it for One and watch what He does.

When you fall(and you will), get back up and keep going. You will feel sore and remember those "moments", but you will also remember that you got back up and that my dear reader is a sign of strength that only comes from the One.

Before Monday......

Not sure if this blog is just for me to read tomorrow, but in the case some one else needs it to, well here it is ;-)

Don't let the confidence of Sunday become a wash on Monday. The same "you" who walked through Sunday(and Spring Break) is the same One walking into Monday(aka a new work week). It's not always going to "feel" right to be right. Sometimes that dying to the flesh means you put your list aside(however long it may seem) and cater to someone else. Sometimes it may mean that you put your list first and tell someone else no not right now. Know the difference. Know when God wants you to sow time in others and when He wants you to sow time in yourself. The sound mind He gave you means the ability to think through what comes your way, the power to listen to His whispers, and to tell the other voice to BE QUIET ;-) If it doesn't line up with the word, it doesn't need to be a thought......(hello think about how many times we let worry, fear, anxiety, stress crowd our thoughts. We try to reason out things and plan things out before we even know what to plan.

You are the only one that can change you and if you want to get upset and overwhelmed trust me there will be plenty of opportunity. BUT remember God has a plan and that plan is for PEACE. It may not be a peace that means you know how "that" is going to work out, but you know who is going to work "that" out. 

I guess I'm starting to sense Monday coming and I'm trying to hit it off at the pass ;-) Love people, sow into the lives of those you come into contact with and trust God to pour that back into you. His word never comes back void and He promised we would reap what we sow....so sow love! Stay balanced this week and stay focused remembering you are stronger than you realize and God's not only got "that" but He's got YOU!!

Thoughts from the week..........

Tuesday morning started off interesting. I was deep in some prayer and praise time in my car on my way to a workshop, so deep that I missed my turn. Did I mention that this was in the middle of rush hour and oh yeah I was the presenter? Now some of you are reading this and thinking oh no this did her in for the rest of the day. Nope, I actually laughed, took the detour(I wasn't lost, just stuck in traffic), and kept with my praise/prayer time. I called the school told them I may be late and what had happened. I got there on time by the way;-)

For once I did things His way, I wasn't about to let the enemy get into what was going on this morning. How many times though do we get upset at the detours that God wants us to take? We still end up at the destination right on time, maybe a little later than "we had planned", but on time. How many times do we stay so focused on our to-do list that we forget about His?

Several times we are presented with things that may not always feel right, but He says to do it. It may be easier to get upset about something then to just let it ride for a little while. It may be easier to not help someone so that you can get something done for yourself, but He says just invest the time I promise. It may not always make sense to our eyes, but oh if we could see things through His eyes(constantly).

You are the only one that can change you and you can only change you with His help. So many times we sit there waiting on God to move or to show out, when He's already told us what to do. We have to take our steps and do our part, in order to unlock His part. (Hello...how many times do we ask God to help us lose weight when we won't stop by the gym and do our part?....yep I will one day conquer this self control monster).  Joyce Meyer said it best, Balance is doing a little about of everything, but not too much of any one thing. The only thing that should dominate our day is our relationship with Him. The other parts of our do, should all get a little piece in the day. Keeping a balance to our "do" helps us not to feel like our who and do are the same thing. Keep your mind open(and your to-do list) for those God moments. Those hardly ever fit into your schedule or your daily list, but they make an impact greater than you. Those little moments are seeds being planted for a bigger harvest. Don't let the pressures of this world impact who you are. Life's too short to not make a difference and to love(regardless of your list or schedule). Love people and just shine your light. As a friend said earlier this week, just let your light shine to others, don't burn them with it. Deep breathe and remember trust doesn't always mean you know what's coming next, but you know who's got you!

Until next time sweet readers!
~Melissa

A few thoughts to end the week:

I almost titled this another Just thinking, but thought I better come up with something else;-) This week has been interesting to say the least. So these are just some short thoughts that have come from this week ;-)

• Make yourself a priority before you expect others too. How can you expect someone to have you on their to-do list when you aren't on your own? Believe in yourself and what others think won't matter as much(notice I didn't say it won't matter at all. Still haven't mastered that one yet, but in time, in time).
• Still waiting on that answer to that prayer your heart keeps speaking? Have you done your part and followed through on what He told you to do first? Hmm.....
• Everyone wants to know that what they do makes a difference..........Make it happen for someone else, and trust Him to return the same to you. Look for those moments when you least expect it and from sources you may not always expect.
• God didn't call you to be anyone but YOU, so when others try to put you in someone else's box...stay true to who you are(even if that doesn't fit their expectations).
• Strength is not always ignoring your weaknesses and moving on, but letting Him use your weaknesses to make you stronger. We all have weaknesses, but some of us do a better job at letting them get to us(and impact how we see ourselves some days).
• God has you where He wants you, otherwise He would have moved you by now.
• Trust God to water the seeds you know you are planting. You may not know what a difference you make on this side of eternity, but God does. Don't let what others say or don't say, impact how you live out your journey. The castle is before you, if you can keep walking through the forest.

I guess you can tell where I'm at now, by some of my thoughts to end the week. No one's perfect, but some of us do better at keeping those imperfections to ourselves(and a FEW trusted friends). Your strengths as well as your weaknesses make you who you are. They are both a part of the puzzle piece that you and only you hold.  Stress is a part of life, but it is not your life. You can't please everyone, so quit trying. It doesn't matter to about 80% of the people in your life(if not more) why you do what you do, they only care that you do it. So do what He's called you to, and know that He's got your back! No weapon formed against you shall prosper. The yellow brick road leads to a beautiful castle, but first the walk through the forest. Don't let what may or may not be in the trees keep you from where you are headed. God told you to take that path, and therefore He's gonna keep you safe from whatever comes across the path. Trust is not always knowing what's coming, but listening to the one that does.

Until next time
~Melissa

2 Corinthians 4:18

Apparently God is loving this time of the year I'm in because He's using His words(and mine) and speaking it back to me at various times. Trust me when I say there are more blogs to come. Revelation from today, If God had wanted us to know the whole story, He'd have given us the puzzle box. If He wanted us to know in what order to play the pieces, He'd have given us the puzzle lid. See where I'm headed? Faith is asking Him why and when? and trusting Him when He doesn't always answer right away. Why oh why do we keep asking Him for the answers, when He just said keep walking. One day we'll learn;-) Other revelation from the day....why can't we trust ourselves as much as He does? I think we make Him sad when we doubt ourselves instead of listening to Him. You are YOU, not anyone else. You have love that only you can give and a job that only you can do. Other people may try to replace you, may try to do what you do, but you are the only one that has the heart for what He has called you to do, the place where He has you. Be thankful for those precious few God has placed in your life that add to you. The ones who let you be you without judging or always giving an opinion. The older I get the more I realize, those are few and far between.  
So on to the verse. This was on the way home(after I found out Posey's was open...Yep that was my Godsmile for the day:-)).

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:18

How many times do we focus only on what we can see (on today, the job right in front of us, the things that need to be done right now, Hello the to-do list) instead of keeping our eyes on what we can't see? The lesson God seems to have in the middle of this mess for us, that friendship that is always there regardless of how long has passed, that friend you can call(or text) whenever you need something, those relationships that make you who you are. We keep our eyes so focused on deadlines sometimes that we miss out on some pretty cool stops along the way. The journey is a process and those temporary things(deadlines, what others think,etc.) are just that temporary. Eventually they will be completed or will not matter in the end. Don't be so focused on what you have to do, that you forget to just be. Believe in yourself and remember He knows your heart and He has you right where you wants you.

Until next time
~Melissa

What are you fighting for?

Last night I went and saw Warren Barfield, Natalie Grant, and Chonda Pierce. It was a night full of laughter, worship, and reflection. Warren had just finished singing his song about love worth fighting for, and was talking about becoming a sponsor for Fighting Hunger(I think that was the name...similar to Compassion and World Vision). What got me though, was the question he asked, which was What are you fighting for? He brought up the point that sometimes we end our week with bruises and scars from the fights that have taken place. Do those bruises and scars matter for eternity or are we fighting for things that won't last? Bruises and scars from a fight with eternal significance are okay. That thought got me thinking and usually when that happens, a blog is soon to come.

So what are we fighting for? Are we fighting for stuff or are we fighting for people? What is motivating our fight, is it love or is it selfishness? Are we spending our time fighting for what we want or what He wants for us? The things He has called us to do, the people He has put in our path to love, those are things worth fighting for. He never promised that the fight would be easy, but He knows what's ahead and guess what He knows who wins ;-).

The season you are in may not feel right(hello the weather we haven't had lately doesn't feel like winter either), but enjoy where you are at. He's called you to where you are, because He knows the fight you have in you. He gave you the tasks you see before you, because He knew you could complete them. Don't lose yourself in the battle, but keep your focus on Him. He has a way of making everything balance out. You may get to the other side of your battle with bruises and scars, but those my friends will only serve as a reminder of what God has brought you through. Some things really are worth fighting for, so fight for them and do all that you can do. When you fight for the things that match His heart, that line up with His word, you are not fighting alone.

He said in His word that we have the power to speak to the mountains in our way and they will move, how many times would those mountains move if we would only look at them through His eyes? Climb it, move it, or walk around it, either way..keep moving forward in what He has called you to do.

I'm not perfect, never claimed to be. I've got flaws and scars that not everyone can see. I'm learning feelings are not always a good thing and can mess me up. I'm learning period. I know who I am in Him. I know what He has called me to do, and I feel blessed to be where I am at today. I can change me, so that's what I choose to do. I know what I'm fighting for and who is fighting with me. Fight for what matters to His heart and in time the heartbeat of two(you and God) will become one.

Until next time sweet readers ;-)
~Melissa