Where is your focus?

 I was praying this morning asking for guidance and direction when I opened the Bible to see the scripture of the day. Isaiah 26:3 in the Amplified version says: "Isaiah 26:3 AMP

[3] You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].

It's funny how when we ask for things, we never get a clear answer. God could have told me steps to take to achieve what he wants me to achieve. He could have told me who to talk to, where to go, and what to do. But I don't believe that's the point. I believe that when we are focused on him, everything else falls into line. I believe that when we use God and his word as our center, there is no confusion and no doubt as to where we need to be. 

My dad used to always tell me to recite the 23rd Psalm on the way out the door in the morning as a form of protection. I'm believing that it was more about walking out the door with my mind, heart, and soul fixated on the things of God. It was about making sure that in all things the Lord is my Shepherd. He is the one I keep my eyes on and follow. He is the one that I trust to lead me, guide me, direct my steps.

Maybe my confusion comes from not being fixated on the things of God. Not being focused on what/where God wants me. What about you? Where is your focus?

Where did you lose you?

I'm going to be transparent. I lost my way. Like many of us we caught up in the everyday hustle - the grind and we forget. We forget who God is. We forget to nurture our relationship with him. Truth be told, we forget to nurture our relationship with ourselves. We forget who we were called to be on this Earth. We let lamp shades, joy vampires, (you can fill in the blank) zap us until we have nothing left to give. We let circumstances keep us from showing up authentically. 

I was reminded of the story of Nehemiah. For those not familiar, Nehemiah gave up his job as cup bearer(wine taster) for the king to rebuild the wall. Because he faced so much opposition, he built with one hand and kept a sword in the other. He knew he was the one uniquely designed for that mission. 

How did he know? He had a relationship with the Creator. He knew God. He knew faith. He knew love. For he did not rebuild the wall for glory or honor he did it for the people. He knew rebuilding the wall would bring a sense of peace to a people who were lost.

What are you looking to for your source of peace? Are you looking to something that's anchor? Are you looking to something that never changes or are your eyes fixed on things that at the drop of a dime can change?

My challenge to you today is to recenter and refocus. Remeber who you are and what your purpose is. For those who are still struggling with this, take time to tap into the Creator. Take time to spend time with GOD in a way in which you can listen. Be open to moments where he's speaking to you without saying a word. 

My prayer for you today is that I hope you never forget who and whose you are. That you learn your purpose and that you stay in a constant state or rediscovery. I also prayer that you take the time to rekindle your relationship with God. Selah.

What is your relationship?

This started off as one thing, but funny how that works. 

I was sitting thinking of today. So a little back story, today in the Christian Church commemorates the receiving of the Holy Spriti by the Apostles. Today, if the celebration of Pentecost. 

Originally, we were going to talk about language because the people heard Peter talking to them in their own language. People were from all over and heard the message being delivered in their native tongue. But what did this mean? We've talked previously about God knowing you enough to meet you where you are. To speak to you in a way in which he knows he will get and keep your attention. He does this because he is in relationship with us. 

The Apostles were able to receive the Holy Spirit because of their relationship with Jesus. He promised that he would send to them a guide. He knew he could no longer walk the Earth but he didn't want to leave them in uncertainty. Let's face it, they were getting ready to embark on a life changing experience. Not only for themselves but for everyone connected to them and everyone connected to those who connected and so forth and so on. What would they have to draw strength from when things got rough? What would they have to guide them in times of uncertainty? That would be the Spirit. That would be their relationship. 

My prayer for you today is that I hope you find your Jesus. He's not lost, just waiting for you to get back in relationship with him.

Attention to detail

God always knows how to get our attention. The general consensus is that he shows up in the still moments. You know those - the ones where you're quiet enough to actually hear what he has to say. But there are those of us where quiet is an anomalie. So what happens then? 

God knows how to get pur attention. I was listening to music one day and I came across the song Grace by Taurean Wells and Rascal Flats. Now these are artists that I listen to separately so I am familiar with their individual work. Who knew in that moment that God was trying to get my attention?

There is a line in the chorus that says: "I didn't know I could be free until Grace found me." The song instantly became apart of my morning worship medley.

I believe in that moment and every time since that what God wanted to remind me of is his love for me...for us. He wanted me to to know that the minute I chose him for myself we were in relationship. He was reminding me that he has a relationship with me that shoukd be the foundation of all relationships. How he treats me is how I should see myself. I am his child. He is my father. He is proud of me even in my mess. He brags on me. He protects and provides for me. He chastises me when I need it. You see he does that for all of us who are in relationship with him. He provides us with his Grace and it is in his Grace that we are made free.

My prayer for you today is that you always see yourself how he sees you. You are awesome. You are amazing. Even in your mess, you are loved. He loves everything about you. He loves who you are and he just wants to have a relationship with you. 

Who are you searching for validation from?

One of my favorite people in the Bible is King David. I've me tioned him before in other posts, but this one is a bit different.

When Samuel went to Jessie's house to anoint a new king after Saul had lost favor with God, Jessie, paraded his other sons in front of Samuel, but did not consider that David would be the next king. Samuel had to ask Jessie if he had another son. Jessie nonchalantly mentions David, who at the time was tending sheep. We know how the rest of the story goes David does eventually become King after some soul searching and some time with the Lord. 

As of late I've started to wonder how did David feel about not being on Jessie's radar. How did David feel knowing his father did not believe he could be King? Was it something that David did? Was it something that Jessie didn't see or was it that of David became King, Jessie would lose the one person whose job it was to tend the sheep? 

I think we get a taste of what David could have been feeling/thinking by his relationship with Saul. Saul was abusive. Yet, David continued to do everything he could to earn his favor and respect. I think we get a taste of how David felt in his relationship with Jonathan. They were closer than brothers. I even believe that we see how he felt in his interactions with the women in his life. In all of these relationships, David was looking/searching for a place to be himself authenticly. David was looking for a place where he was just David - Not King, not Shephard, not military leader etc... He was looking for his place, and unfortunately, try to find it in the wrong people in the wrong places. 

How many of us like David are searching for a place to not only be us, but are looking for a place where we can be validated? Validated not only for what we do, but for who we are. How many of us wrap who we are in what we do? How many of us fall apart when what we do becomes the thing that we are no longer known for? What do we do? 

My challenge to you today is to do like David did. He leaned into his relationship with God. We get some of the most profound and some of the most honest/transparent Psalms from his time trying to find a place to belong. Now I don't expect Psalms to come from you, but I expect that you use his love for you to help you find where you belong. I expect that you use his love for you to fill in your missing pieces so that you don't go looking for belonging from folks who only want you to be who they want you to be.

I pray that the Almighty Father meets you where you need him. I pray the Almighty Father helps you in finding and embracing yourself enough to where you don't go searching for validation in the wrong places. Amen

Are you keeping an open mind?

I recently went on retreat with a bunch of teenage girls. If you've ever been around teenagers they are an interesting group. Not quite adults but not quite children. They are trying to figure out their place in life but still holding onto things that they have been taught. They are not ready to let go of what they know yet they are ready to get out into the world. They want to go explore but they don't want to let go of that safety net. Teenagers are an interesting bunch to spend extended time with... While the retreat itself was an experience, it was the events leading up to the trip that stick out the most. 

Leading up to the trip, the girls kept asking questions. What did the place look like? What will we be doing? How long will it take to get there? The adults answered as well as they could to the best of their ability. We collectively looked things up because I had never been and didn't know what to tell them, but still couldn't find much about where we were going. In the midst of all of this, God drops on my spirit the story of Nicodemus. I racked my brain trying to figure out why that particular story but could not receive a revelation. The revelation came one day while walking around the camp ground. 

Nicodemus went to see Jesus to talk with him. He did it at night when it was quiet. He did it at night when Jesus was away from the crowds. He went to talk to Jesus while no one else was around. It was just him and Jesus. Nicodemus, who had been studying the word since he was a boy, could not grasp certain concepts that Jesus was saying. Even though he could not grasp the concept he kept asking questions. He tried to gain understanding. He appeared willing to let go of what he had been taught all of his religious life and embrace Jesus for who he is.

What sticks out the most about this conversation is that Jesus says to him "If I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe  if I tell you of heavenly things?" Jesus and his Disciples were walking around preaching. They were performing miracles, yet people still did not believe - they did not want to believe. 

The reason this sticks out to me is it makes me wonder how many of us have gotten so caught up in our own understanding of things that we fail to see things for what they really are or what they could be. How many of us have been so caught up in how things are that we do not leave room for God to expose us to that which is actual truth. How many of us have seen God move yet still want to stay stuck in our indoctrination - in the way things have always been. 

What I took from the retreat as it correlates to the story of Nicodemus is that we must take the time to get Jesus in the quiet, away from the crowds and have a conversation with him. We must also be open to what God has put right in front of our faces. We can not say that we are followers of God and stay so stuck in tradition and our own thoughts that we do not see what he is doing right in front of us. We cannot be like Nicodemus and the people of Jesus' time, who saw miracles performed, who heard Jesus and the Disciples talk about Heaven and everlasting life yet, because Jesus and his disciples did not fit their expectations, they refused to receive the revelation. How can we expect God to meet us where we need to be met if we keep ourselves firmly routed in how we were taught to read and interpret scripture. By correlation, how can we expect to reach others if we only look at things through the prism that is our own belief system?

My prayer for you is let God come into your life in such a way that he washed you clean. Let God come into your life in such a way that he stirps you of all indoctrination and leaves you only with him. I pray that you make time for quite places and midnight conversations with God. Lastly, I pray that you have an encounter with God that there is no way that you would be able to deny that it is Him.

After the Storm

Times have not been the brightest lately. Things have been a bit dark. The world around us has been in a dark place. Some places are still experiencing their storm. Some places are still waiting for the sun to come out. There are people still waiting for things to get better. There are people waiting for their personal life to get better. There are people waiting for their finances to get better. Heck, there are people waiting for their governments to get better. Myself is included in this group. 

In times of trouble, I think of rainy days. Rainy days remind me that as the sky darkens and the sunlight hides behind the clouds, it is only temporary. The sun only hides for so long before it comes back out. Even rainy nights give way to sunny days. It is these days where God shows us that there are going to be moments in life where the darkness comes out of nowhere - one moment it is sunny and in the blink of an eye it will be dark and stormy. He shows us that these days are needed because it is in these moments that we cannot see. Because we cannot see, we no longer rely on ourselves but on Him. It is during rainy days that we slow down a bit. We learn to trust because we cannot see. We learn to trust him. It is during rainy days that he can get our attention the most. 

He doesn't want us to stop moving forward during the storm. He doesn't use rainy days to cripple us, but instead to remind us that we are his. He also uses rainy days to clear our perspective on things. When it's always sunny, you never take the time to stop and reflect on things. Human nature is that when things are good, we maintain the status quo. However, human nature, when it storms, is reflection, It is introspection. I wonder what has God been trying to get us to see that he had to bring us some rainy days? 

My prayer for you is to use the rainy days to take the time to see where in your life you have just been maintaining the status quo. I know for me I am realizing that I had stopped dreaming. I stopped looking outside the box. I even created a smaller one than the one that was there originally. God reminded me who I am and why I am. He also reminded me that no one can do what I do. This is not to be conceited, but more so that I have a specific purpose, a job to do that is my mission from him. 

My prayer for you is to use rainy days to find out what areas God is trying to get your attention. There is a reason for the shake-up in your life. What it is? That is a conversation between you and Him. 

Lastly, my prayer for you is to remember that when things get the darkest there will always be light around the corner.

Don't give up hope and don't stop moving forward.

God's timing

I was reminded of something this morning. God's timing is perfect in everything. When he puts things in motion nothing can stop it not even us. We may try to speed up the process because we don't understand the order of events, but whenever we rush things, whenever we try to do things our way or out of order, things go awry. 

Have you ever noticed that when God's hands aren't on something it is the hardest thing to get done? You drag your feet. You can't get to it. No, I'm not talking about the everyday stuff, I mean the things that are supposed to be these life changing, life altering things. Nothing works right. We end up placing time and emotion into things that are not for us.

We have to learn to trust in God's timing. There are things he may be saying we are not ready for. He could be telling us no because if he gave us what we were asking for we would destroy not only it but ourselves as well.  He also might be saying no because he has something better for us. He could also be saying yes, but.... The yes but is the story of King David, of Moses, of us. He tells each of us Yes, but.... 

My challenge to you today is to remember that To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1.)

My prayer for you today is: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he always talk to you and keep you on track. May you always trust in his timing. May you have the strength to not move without confirmation from God that this is a Yes, because you are ready. - Amen.

Encouragement

Life as we know it has changed dramatically. Normal will never be normal again. How do you not feel like you're drowning? How do you not feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on? How do you not feel like screaming? 

I think of the events leading up to the crucifixion. It makes me chuckle a bit because you know Jesus had to be looking at the crowd like "You praise me now, but you will crucify me soon." He couldn't voice these thoughts out loud. He was the one who had to be strong through everything and continue to carry on. He was expected to make sure that the mission was accomplished regardless of how he might have felt.

 I think we get the clearest picture of what he was feeling in the Garden. This is where the burden has gotten so heavy that he finally breaks down and admits to what is going on and asks God for strength to keep moving. He asks for help with his burden. He finally is in a position to let his guard down and vent his frustrations without worry about who would/could understand. He was finally able to admit that he couldn't handle it any longer and that he needed help.

With the world the way it is today, I think this is our breaking point. This is the moment where we have to ask for strength. We have kept going for so long, to make sure that the mission gets carried out that we have been afraid to break. We have been afraid to take a moment and get ourselves together. We have spent so much time walking around as broken people not asking for help.

Sometimes it takes the world being turned on its head for us to start putting the pieces together. Actually, that's what it takes. It takes a complete shakeup of the status quo for us to even reevaluate who we are, what we've become, and if we are moving in the right direction. Do you think that if their world had been turned on its head, the Disciples wouldn't have continued in their way of thinking, that they wouldn't have gone through a rebirth?

My prayer for you comes out of Isaiah 41. I pray that in times of topsy turvy, in times of chaos, when the world and yourself has gotten weary, that you are reminded the Lord never gets weary. I pray that you find strength in God. I pray that you surrender your burdens and let him carry them for you cause we cannot do this alone. We will ultimately fail, but when we trust in the Lord.... He will renew us and mount us on wings like Eagles. Let him be who and what we need always... And I pray that when things seem the darkest we remeber that rebirth and renewal are on their way. AMEN.

Timing

I used to think that a year was a long time.  I mean when you have only been on the earth for 9 years, your sense of time is arbitrary. I was thinking of a comment one of the little ones made and I realized that to them there's all the time in the world to get things done and accomplished. 

It's as we get older that we start to panic about getting things accomplished in a certain amount of time. It's when we become "adults" that now there are certain milestones that we feel have to be accomplished by a certain age. People spend so much time rushing to get things accomplished that they forget there are things that aren't in their control. They forget that God ultimately has the final say in when we do things. We forget that there is a season for everything. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven". The chapter goes on to talk about all the things we go through in life. It let's us know that everything happens is in his timing. We just have to trust and have faith even more so when we don't understand everything that is going on around us.

My challenge to you is that when you find yourself getting caught up in the why that you pray. You ask God to remind you that while you may not know why things are happening they are happening in his timing.

Regrouping after the battle

It's been a rough few days. A really rough few days. I have had my faith tested and tried. I have had my spirit shaken to its core and decided to just keep going.

While this is the right thing to do conventionally, it really wasn't the right thing to do. I say this because when things happen we need time to lick our wounds. We need time to stop and assess the situation. We need time to build back up our defenses to prepare us for the next battle.

The amazing thing about this is that it is not only a principle to adopt in times of trouble, but it is also for times of joy. If we don't take the time to stop and revel in our joy, we don't have anything to pull from when times get hard. Battles are not only fought in bad times but in good times also.

My challenge to you is to pay attention to when you need to take time off. I understand that in the everyday grind that is life we may feel as if we can't take time off for reflection, but this is where we pray. We pray to the Father for guidance. We pray to the Father to help us find a way to regroup after the battle.

My prayer for you today and every day is

"Dear Lord, in the midst of it all you give us battles, trials. Sometimes to remind us of who you are, other times to remind us of who we are in you. After each battle, please help to make time. Time to regroup; time to reassess and time to celebrate. Help us to see in our lives where we don't enough of either and meet us accordingly. Amen".

Sufficient for Today

I prayed today. I prayed that the Lord grant me the energy sufficient enough for today. This is something that I've been wrestling with for weeks now and even he hasn't let me let it go. We run through life. Some of us literally run. I don't know about you but for me it's gotten to a point where if I am not running I don't know what to do with myself. We rush to get out the door; We rush to get to the door.. lol... It's just a consistent, constant, stream of moving. Funny thing is, we push ourselves until we can't go anymore. I've done it. I've pushed so hard that I got sick and had to sit down for a bit.

Thinking back over my life though, I've only ever been forced to sit down when the Lord has something he's prepping me for where I will need not only the energy I have but the energy that has been stored up in my down time. But only he knew that I'd be praying for and trusting in him to give me the energy I need to get everything thing done.... I.e. Energy enough for the day.

My challenge to you is that when you feel like you can't go on much longer that you stop and pray. Pray for those around you that everyone is fulfilling their God given assignment for the day and pray that God is giving them(and you) enough energy for the day.

Love

It's funny the things that cross your mind when you are not really thinking of anything. I was watching a tv show. The premise is all the crazy things people do for Love. This got me thinking. We as humans will do some really crazy things in the name of love. We'll lie, steal, cheat etc... We will do all types of things in the name of love. The crazy things is is that these are all destructive. These are all the types of ways not to show love, yet, these as crazy as it sounds, are the ways in which we are the most comfortable with. I heard someone once say that they would rather be lied to by their partner than for their partner to tell them the truth - Especially if that means it will spare their feelings.

The thing is though why do we still want the negative expression of love when we have the most perfect form of love that could ever have been given. For God so loved.... We have an entity that loves us so much that he knew us from before we knew ourselves. He loved us so much that he guides and directs us. That he gave.... He loves us so much that he gave. He gave of himself so that we could be saved. God does not want us to perish. He wants us to live and have everlasting life. He sacrificed the thing that he cherished most so that we could know what love is and how love should be. Whosoever believes.....  He loves us so much that he has given us all of him, he just asks that we trust him. He asks that we believe him. He asks that we believe that he is who he says he is and that he will do what he says he will. This is the type of love that we should be searching for.

My challenge to you today and all days is to seek out the type of love that God has given us. His love flows freely without expecting anything in return. What he asks of us to trust that he is who he says he is and that he will do what he says he will do. My challenge to you is to no longer look at all the negative ways people show love, but to search the Word to find all of the positive ways we are to be loved.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Strength

Isaiah 40:31 says: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

It's hard to remember this when you are drowning in your own to do list or when you are working so hard that you forget to take time for yourself. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and he tells me he is slowing down a bit. I was shocked because that was not the man I have gotten to know. His reasoning for slowing down was that he was afraid that he wouldn't see tomorrow. He has some other things going on where he is questioning what the Lord has for him or where the Lord has him going and his mind is all crazy. The conversation ended with me telling him that it is when we finally stand still the Lord can speak to us. It is when we finally stop moving that he can show us where to go and when to go there. 

I wonder why we spend so much time being busy and trying to figure things out on our own when we already have someone who has everything figured out for us. Why do we spend so much time not waiting on the Lord to direct us, not giving the Lord a chance to be our all in all. Why do we have to be reminded that it is in him where we find our strength?

My challenge to you today and everyday moving forward to remember to take time to rest in the Lord and use him to find your direction and strength.

Communication

I was scolded today. The Lord brought something to my attention and it floored me in it's simplicity.

I was in the process of cutting off a potential romantic interest because of lack of communication. All of a sudden I hear a voice say "You can go days without speaking to your friends and loved ones and not think anything of it, what makes this any different?"

It got me to thinking. We can go days, weeks, months without talking to people and it won't be a big deal. We don't question if they love us. We don't question if they are still friends with us, so why is it any different with those relationships that we place romantic attachment too? What makes those relationships so different that we freak out if we haven't heard from them in a few minutes let alone a few hours or a few days? Why are we so quick to cut them lose and question the relationship when there is a lack of communication?

I believe the Lord was telling me that there is no difference. While we have gotten caught up in what each type means, there truly is no difference. I believe he was trying to tell me that we don't really need to talk someone all the time to be connected to them. That once they are placed in our lives for however long the Lord sees fit, we are connected to them whether we talk all day or once a week.

I believe the Lord was telling me that the same goes for him. While we are told we need to be in constant communication with him, there will be times in which we don't speak - for whatever reason. This does not mean we aren't still connected to him and that we should cut him loose.

My prayer for you today is that even in the silence, you feel honored, cherished, and loved by those connected to you.

Listen to the whisper

I couldn't remember the last time the Lord meet me here - in the still of the night. Well maybe not still, but in the peace that is the night time.

I fell as if He needed me to let go for a minute. He needed me to completely surrender. As of late there's been so much crowding my mind... Maybe he needed to get me to stop and spend time with him.

As weird as it sounds, HE cares enough about us to carve time out for us and when we become too busy for him, HE meets us where we are most vulnerable and able to listen to him.

I am reminded that even those of great faith need time alone with HIM. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seemed the harder the task, the more urgent he is to get us alone. Now you may disagree, but I present to you Joseph. How long was he in prison? Years upon Years. Until finally he led the land through the famine and blessed his family. What about David? He spent time on the run before he became King. Speaking of Kings, Jesus the King of Kings, the night before the crucifixion spent time alone with HIM gathering strength. I could go on as there's plenty of people in the Bible who spent time with HIM before stepping into their destinies.

I believe HE needs to get us alone to give us our directions. HE won't do it using bells and whistles. He'll do it in the still of the night. He'll do it when there's no other distractions. He'll do it in the whisper. When was the last time that you allowed yourself to listen to the whisper.

My challenge to you on this Resurrection Sunday and beyond is too take time to listen to the whisper as that just may be when you'll receive your directions.

When the noise stops

Hey there. I can't believe that it's been a year since we last talked. While I know a year may not seem like a long time, it is. A year is someone's lifetime. A year could be the difference between a hello and a good bye.

 As we get older, a year becomes more and more important in the grand scheme of things. A year goes by quick when we get so caught up in "living"  that we forget to have a life. We get so caught up in "living" that we forget to do for ourselves. We forget who we are.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with a co-worker. He tells me that while he normally is a positive person, dealing with the customers on the job had made him jaded. This made me wonder. What is his positivity wrapped in that he was able to become jaded? What was his foundation in? It was at that moment, in the still of the night, when I heard God's voice say "remind him whose he is". It was in that moment that he reminded me whose I was also.

Isiah 40:31 says: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

It is in the moments, when the noise stops, that he reminds us who we are in him. It is in the moments, when the noise stops, that he reminds us that our strength comes from him. It is in him that we find our rest and our peace. It is in him that we can rest all burdens.

I believe that in this season, He is reminding us that He should be where we find ourselves wrapped in.. Quite frankly, there's no place I'd rather be.

Silence is golden

I found myself in the silence of the middle of the night deep in thought. Now, this has not been a rare thing for me as of late. It seems as if it has been in the silence of the middle of the night where my mind has been the freest. What is it about quiet that liberates us? What is it about being able to remove ourselves from the noise of the everyday that allows us to really think? Why is it that people are afraid of silence? What makes silence so scary that we fill our lives to the brink with noise. Noise from family, noise from work, just noise.

We live our lives day to day running around not taking the time to just stop and enjoy the silence. We live our lives and spend our time in search of things to fill the void that the noise leaves when the noise leaves us that we don't take the time to just be. I mean how many of us could have survived 40 days in the desert or how many of us could have survived being away from the crowd where the only "living" soul for miles around was our Heavenly Father. (I realize the irony in "living").

As we embark on a New Year with new opportunities and new things to discover, we need to take time to figure out who we are without the noise.  We need the time to get away from the noise and figure out who we are at our very core. What would it be like if we all took the time to figure out at our core who we are? What would it be like if we in figuring out who we are, have a conversion and start a movement the way the early Christians did. What would it be like if like them, we knew who we were enough to be able to pass it on to those who needed to know of a better way... Truly what would it be like if..... I'll let you figure it out...

As for me, I am going to enjoy the silence that is the middle of the night... I don't know what I will find, but what I do know is that when the noise is gone, it is easier to hear from my creator. When the noise is gone, it is easier to hear from God and to know where he is leading me.

Happy New Year and here's to finding time to be noiseless. 

How will history remember you?

When the Lord gets a hold of us, sometimes we just have to let him take us where he wants us to go. No, scratch that, all the time we need to let his take us where he wants us to go. I say this because we may have our plans, but, he has something far greater in mind for us than we could ever imagine.

How will history remember you?

We never see the full extent of our legacies. Generations upon generations upon generations see the magnitude of what we have done even if we cannot see it in the moment. You know, the things you consider ordinary in the moment or the things that you are begrudgingly doing. Yeah, those things. I can think of a few stories throughout the bible where the people in the moment did not know the impact their stories were going to have on future generations. I do not think the Hebrew boys - Hanania, Mishaek, and Azaria knew the significance they would have in history when they were thrown in the fiery furnace. Along the same lines, I do not think Daniel knew the significance of him being thrown in the lion's den. Nor did Moses when he struck the rock, or Joshua when he said "As for me and my house...." or John when he talked about Jesus' divinity or Ruth or Deborah or even Rahab for that matter.... I do not believe that these men and women knew that history would remember them as being great.

How will history remember you?

When the Lord gets a hold of us, we need to just let him take us where he wants us to go. Our past present and future are wrapped up with him. It is up to us to do what he instructs. It is up to us to do what he directs us to do..... Who knows how history will remember you because of it. 

Finding Peace in the Closed Door

If I was to tell the truth, I would have to say I am happy. Happier than I've been in months. I find myself in this truth having been out of work for almost a month. I thought I had the perfect opportunity. You know the one that would jump start this illustrious career. I thought God had ordained it. Maybe he did. Maybe he did so that he could then close the Door.

Why would he? Why would he present such a perfect thing, to then close a door? I can think of a few reasons. It could have been me. I may not have been ready. It could have been that I was ready, just not for that place. It could have been that he wanted me to see something that I would have not seen otherwise. Why would he have closed such a perfect opportunity?

If I had to commit to something, I would say that he closed the door to remind me. He closed it to remind me that there are things I need to do for him. He needed to remind me that it is in him that I need to rely on. He is giving me my David on the run moment.

I have mentioned David in other posts and I keep coming back to him because he has such an amazing story of hope, faith, and trust. At this point in the story, David is on the run from Saul. This is after he's been anointed king. So imagine how he felt. He was anointed king. He was given the ultimate job opportunity, but he couldn't step into it yet. He had to take the time to learn how to navigate that world without forgetting himself or where he came from. He had to learn how to navigate that world and still keep God at the forefront. The only way to be able to do this is by knowing who God is in his life. The way in which God drives this home is to strip us of the things in which we rely on that take us away from him. Once he has done this, we are then forced to reexamine the role he has in our lives.

Maybe you have noticed these moments in your life. The moments when everything feels like it is in place, but then the bottom falls out. I would venture to say that God is getting us ready for greatness. He is getting us ready to become "kings" and "queens". He is getting us ready, but we need to know who he is. We need to know how he has operated in our lives because we will hit moments where who we are will be questioned. We will hit moments where we will need to stand up for who we are and who God is. It will be in these moments that we remember the things that God has done for us and how he has looked after us. It is in these moments that we can stand the strongest.

So what if he closes the door. I am willing to bet my life on the fact that God has better for us. We just need to hold fast, hold steady, and be faithful.