Worry, fear, anxiety are not from God. Don't listen to the lies that cause the negative thoughts, cause you to hide away, cause you to think you can only do it alone. You are not alone. Chances are Jesus is standing right next to you waiting to take your hand and heal it all...but you have to give up and take the offer. What’s really worth living for in the end? And who do you life for?
Evil wants you to be alone, to seek perfection of self, not excellence already planned for your life by God. Perfection is unattainable. Excellence is what we were made for. But this excellence is not of this world.
It is so simple but so hard to grasp…that when we give it to God He will provide. When your life is in sync with the plan…everything else falls into plan. The puzzle pieces always fit when God is putting them together…we can guess and guess at where they fit. Sometimes we figure it out…but more than not we give up. Doing it yourself is exhausting and discouraging. Who wants to live like that? Totally drained, a negative outlook, wondering if it will ever get any better.
You know the answer. You have known the answer. Something inside each of us knows what we really need…but a part also knows what we “want”.
Have you ever considered that living with less is more? That happiness doesn’t mean you must have a college education and make loads of money and be successful. What does success mean to you? We get to disconnect to the excellence of God we aim for this disillusioned view of what life should be. Marriage, a family, a job, a house, a dog, growing old with family around us…That’s nice…and yes I want that. But if God calls me to Him tomorrow…will I not have been successful in the time spent on earth? Each day is separate. Each day is a new day to live, to love, to show Christ to the world. Is that not the whole point? Christ. Show Christ to the world through our lives, our words, and our love. Love that is shaped by Him...In us…through the Holy Spirit.
Life will never be all the best times, but each day can be a Glorious day for God. Even in sickness, poverty, loss, times where we feel like giving up. Look around you, outside the mess, the world still rotates, still grows, still shows beauty in creation. God is with us…even when we think we are alone. Our breath is a gift. Our beating hearts are a gift.
We forget we know only a smidgen of who God really is. The incredible intense heavenly Father of us all…we know what He has done, we are told he is magnificent, powerful, knower of all, with great love. But we cannot obtain the thoughts or knowledge of how true this all is with our human brains. It would be an overload! Words cannot match the truth of it all! We look forward to truly knowing…that alone should be something to wake up to each day happy and excited because someday when this world grows dim…the Light will shine…after the darkness.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Deuteronomy 4:31
But even there, if you seek your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won't bring you to ruin, he won't forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.
Iceland Church
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Packaging it up and bringing it back home...
Doing something for the ministry or doing something because God led you to do something even though you do not know why.
Recently, I have been battling back and forth with decisions on career paths. I know whatever I do will be used in Ministry but figuring out what that may be is difficult. In some ways I want to teach, but it is not my #1 passion. Part of me wants to build the Mary Kay dream, and I do have a lot more passion for that as a career. Part of me wants to take off on a tour bus signed to a band contract for a year or so. Now that sounds like a great first career path. Maybe Ill just write a devotional book, or maybe not. ☺ But whatever I do, I must do in God’s time. Whatever I do I will move toward because the Spirit moved me...not because I weighed my options. What I always thought before was I need to find something that is linked to ministry. I have to pair ministry with whatever that career/job is. Perhaps, I thought of it in the wrong way.
I am a pre seminary student. I will graduate from my undergraduate in 2 months, and start seminary classes in the fall. I have felt moved to pursue a master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling. God led me to a place that is not always sunny and where people need to see hope and the light of Christ in their lives. Not that they don’t need that everywhere, but from experience I can say that living in an area where the sun only shines 110 days out of the year can pull you into a funk that is hard to crawl out of.
Listening to people fuels my desire to serve others. I want to give even when there is nothing to give that I can provide. Recently I have been sending out messages and emails to friends from the area trying to reconnect to those I knew years ago. Many of them respond right away and spill the updates to their lives to me instantly. One woman in particular jumped out at me when she said these two things. “I feel like I work all the time and have no social life” and “I am looking for a part time job”. I hope she reads this blog and smiles because sister I am praying for you and God has placed you on my heart! I am realizing in this that I desire to see her life turn around so she is happy, so she finds that whatever career she works in is fulfilling because God can use anything we do while we walk this path of life with Him.
What is important to us? What do we want out of life? What do we feel called too? What is life in the ministry? I guess my mind has been wrapped around this idea that my only job can be serving in a church, doing music, teaching, and eventually counseling but all within the church walls. When did I loose my focus on the big picture? The building itself is a building. The church is the people. I am part of the church. No matter what I decide to do and no matter where my office desk is, I am still able to do work that can be used by God.
I am living with a very special woman of God while on internship. She has been watching and giving tidbits of advice the past two weeks to life and ministry. What she said to me makes a lot of sense. We always say we are using whatever job as a ministry tool. Well are we? Or maybe we need to quit focusing on what we wrote down to do and just let God take it. Work in what the Spirit moved us too, and see what will come along the way. God can use anything we do if we belong to Him. I am trying to reason some career options based on the value they could hold in ministry. In what field can I do the most? Wrong thinking! I could be the music pastor in a church and do diddly squat for the kingdom while a person with a job outside the church may do more just living with Christ in their life walking with Him each day.
As frazzled as this blog I send my apologies. I am processing this even as I type it out. What I am realizing is that it is more important to let the Spirit lead than to try to nail down this one option based on what the outcome could be. Live a life that is led by Christ and Gods will WILL be done. Whatever my decision….it will be used.
Recently, I have been battling back and forth with decisions on career paths. I know whatever I do will be used in Ministry but figuring out what that may be is difficult. In some ways I want to teach, but it is not my #1 passion. Part of me wants to build the Mary Kay dream, and I do have a lot more passion for that as a career. Part of me wants to take off on a tour bus signed to a band contract for a year or so. Now that sounds like a great first career path. Maybe Ill just write a devotional book, or maybe not. ☺ But whatever I do, I must do in God’s time. Whatever I do I will move toward because the Spirit moved me...not because I weighed my options. What I always thought before was I need to find something that is linked to ministry. I have to pair ministry with whatever that career/job is. Perhaps, I thought of it in the wrong way.
I am a pre seminary student. I will graduate from my undergraduate in 2 months, and start seminary classes in the fall. I have felt moved to pursue a master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling. God led me to a place that is not always sunny and where people need to see hope and the light of Christ in their lives. Not that they don’t need that everywhere, but from experience I can say that living in an area where the sun only shines 110 days out of the year can pull you into a funk that is hard to crawl out of.
Listening to people fuels my desire to serve others. I want to give even when there is nothing to give that I can provide. Recently I have been sending out messages and emails to friends from the area trying to reconnect to those I knew years ago. Many of them respond right away and spill the updates to their lives to me instantly. One woman in particular jumped out at me when she said these two things. “I feel like I work all the time and have no social life” and “I am looking for a part time job”. I hope she reads this blog and smiles because sister I am praying for you and God has placed you on my heart! I am realizing in this that I desire to see her life turn around so she is happy, so she finds that whatever career she works in is fulfilling because God can use anything we do while we walk this path of life with Him.
What is important to us? What do we want out of life? What do we feel called too? What is life in the ministry? I guess my mind has been wrapped around this idea that my only job can be serving in a church, doing music, teaching, and eventually counseling but all within the church walls. When did I loose my focus on the big picture? The building itself is a building. The church is the people. I am part of the church. No matter what I decide to do and no matter where my office desk is, I am still able to do work that can be used by God.
I am living with a very special woman of God while on internship. She has been watching and giving tidbits of advice the past two weeks to life and ministry. What she said to me makes a lot of sense. We always say we are using whatever job as a ministry tool. Well are we? Or maybe we need to quit focusing on what we wrote down to do and just let God take it. Work in what the Spirit moved us too, and see what will come along the way. God can use anything we do if we belong to Him. I am trying to reason some career options based on the value they could hold in ministry. In what field can I do the most? Wrong thinking! I could be the music pastor in a church and do diddly squat for the kingdom while a person with a job outside the church may do more just living with Christ in their life walking with Him each day.
As frazzled as this blog I send my apologies. I am processing this even as I type it out. What I am realizing is that it is more important to let the Spirit lead than to try to nail down this one option based on what the outcome could be. Live a life that is led by Christ and Gods will WILL be done. Whatever my decision….it will be used.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Money vs God
There is a feeling of helplessness when you log into your online bank account to see that not only do you not have any money…but you have –dollars and no way to pay. Did I mention that the bank you bank with is also nowhere in the area you now live? And you have no other bank to thus transfer funds from into the money lacking account? Panic. Anger. Severe frustration. That was my day yesterday.
With the plan to close my account during internship I was not putting money into the account and letting the account sit with about $50 in it. When bill time came around I paid my bills but some small emergency spending caught me off guard putting me into the negative zone. By emergency I mean I almost ran out of gas and had no other card on me or cash to purchase the gas with except for that one bankcard. So I swallowed hard…and dug my hole and crawled in. The classy part about this whole story is that the bank I banked with had an overdraft protection system…that I paid $10 a month for….that technically I did not use because it only applied to a savings account…which I did not have. Did the bank catch that they were charging me for a service I could not even use…um no. Did the guy apologize sincerely when I called in to fix my financial situation? Yes. Did they do anything to refund that money or offer anything in compensation for their mistake? Nope. So bank account paid and cancelled.
So I am in Youngstown Ohio, finally moved to my host families place in Boardman and I officially have $175 to my name. The last time I had that little amount of money to my name was before I ever had my first job!
Luke 16:13 stays “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Two things I took from this verse…1. Its one or the other…God blesses some with money to be responsible for that money but with the attitude that it is His gift and to be used to glorify His kingdom and because of their understanding they are able to hold that financial situation. 2. Love one and hate one. Ever said to God “God why not me? Why did you not give me all the money like all those other people?” or even just try to make it for yourself any and every way that appears. I think of the ladies who sell Tupperware, candle, and a makeup line all at the same time….if not with more random products just with the idea they will get money quick and easy. Or you get that super great money making idea, but then a few months down the road that idea is just not catching anyone’s attention not even your own anymore.
Not going to lie I have thought this way many times. But I realize even again today that each question, each “if only I had the money…” is a remark of my distrust in God’s provision and promise for my life. When I see money as value I question God, when I see God as #1 value I question money.
Catching ourselves is the hard part. Sometimes that small money making scheme ends up in $400 worth of an investment that never produces an outcome but some dusty product sitting on a shelf unsold. Question....is what you are selling or pursuing a scheme to get rich quick? Or a tool that can be used in the kingdom of God while also making a few side dollars? There is a difference!
Investment takes time. Money earned takes time. If it is in God’s time though, money is not the focus, but a side outcome if it is part of the plan. This is how I view being part of Mary Kay. I can minister to women while also selling a product but not focusing on the product. I am able to focus on the care of the woman by listening, meeting one on one, even explaining the importance of taking care of the body-not just the skin-because the Bible tells us too. I focus God first, business second, and if money is an outcome then cool but it is not a focus. Many times I find the time well spent with the woman without selling a single product. God first money second.
I joined Mary Kay over a year ago because I wanted to work for myself while in college with an organization I could pair with womens ministry. The first month’s investment in MK that I made sold out and doubled my profit immediately! That of course took time and effort. I do not have an extreme story of how I made so much in the business and earned a pink Cadillac within my first year of selling MK. But I do have some words of wisdom of my time spent in the business that applies to all areas of life.
1. The time you put in is what you will get out. This is the #1 rule and is so true its scary. I would plan MK for 1 hour and get a sales call for an order before the hour was up! No joke. Or someone would seek interest in MK. After finally finishing my college courses I just began to work on MK again. Within the first day back working I got a text from a gal needing to place an order. Day two I got an email from a lady wanting to know more information about the business. And so on and so forth. This leads to my next point.
2. Everything you do deserves the effort put into it. In short, do not expect it to fall into your hands…and Do not pursue anything half hearted. See why the Luke passage is so true? If you have to pursue with all your heart then you can only pick one, money or God.
3. Whatever it is, ask God first. Sounds silly to some, but do you not think God wants to hear from us? If we find a passion in something, I promise He wants you to share it with Him. God always gave me peace when it was the right thing to do. Peace being that feeling of no matter what this will work out trusting it is in God’s hands and or He has a hand upon it. My internship was decided this way. I had a few churches spread out to pick from but none brought me a peaceful feeling. The cool thing is that the church I found, found me and God’s peace flooded my soul. It is in His hands.
4.Think about your gifts. What God has formed in you and the activities you love and may have loved all your life are meant to be used for His glory…and His glory can also be providing for you to prosper and have abundant life! Jeremiah tells us this. I am starting a voice studio not just because I can sing, but because I love to teach and watch others break out with confidence and a love for their own God personalized instrument. Think about this, God gave us each individual voices! That’s billions of different voices and though some may sound similar they are still personalized and owned only by one body. That is a lot of singing voices! Ever picture what it will be like in heaven with the choir of angels singing…and if we are there how many voices may be singing together all at once?! Slightly mind-blowing.
5. Just as God has given us gifts He expects us to cultivate those gifts and that cultivation process causes us to seek Him more. The more you seek the more you realize, eyes are opened, and what is meaningful is brought into perspective.
The point of this blog is not a guide too how to make money (what to not do and how to seek God not money) as much as it is a statement with life advice from a younger woman fresh into ministry learning a lesson on submitting to God. Everything I mentioned ran through my mind a thousand times in the past two days while I processed and found peace in a not-so-peaceful situation. Why try to control God? Who do I really think I am to think I can be in charge of making the money He did not provide me with? And how can I be so ungrateful for what I have received to question His blessings? That’s the beauty of the human nature in a fallen world. It is not important the blinded moments we have, but that we eventually refocus on God, Christ’s love and sacrifice, and listen to what the Holy Spirit has been waiting patiently to share with us.
I would like to end with this….whatever job or place you find yourself working in or not working in. Are you questioning God or trusting in His promise? God can use you anywhere, yes even in the line at the unemployment agency. God uses those with money and those without. Emptiness is found in a day where the outcome is money and only money….no matter what is gained or not gained. A day spent working for God’s kingdom is fulfilling with or without any pay. #theselessonswelearninHistime
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.”
Proverbs 23:4-5 “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky life an eagle.”
Prov 30:8-9 Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily break. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
More scripture to check out...
Mark 10:21-27.31
Luke 16:9-12
Ecc 5:10-15
Prov 11:4,28
Job 31:24-25.28
Eze 28:2-10
1Tim 6:5-9 10-12
James 1:9-11
Luke 9-25
With the plan to close my account during internship I was not putting money into the account and letting the account sit with about $50 in it. When bill time came around I paid my bills but some small emergency spending caught me off guard putting me into the negative zone. By emergency I mean I almost ran out of gas and had no other card on me or cash to purchase the gas with except for that one bankcard. So I swallowed hard…and dug my hole and crawled in. The classy part about this whole story is that the bank I banked with had an overdraft protection system…that I paid $10 a month for….that technically I did not use because it only applied to a savings account…which I did not have. Did the bank catch that they were charging me for a service I could not even use…um no. Did the guy apologize sincerely when I called in to fix my financial situation? Yes. Did they do anything to refund that money or offer anything in compensation for their mistake? Nope. So bank account paid and cancelled.
So I am in Youngstown Ohio, finally moved to my host families place in Boardman and I officially have $175 to my name. The last time I had that little amount of money to my name was before I ever had my first job!
Luke 16:13 stays “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Two things I took from this verse…1. Its one or the other…God blesses some with money to be responsible for that money but with the attitude that it is His gift and to be used to glorify His kingdom and because of their understanding they are able to hold that financial situation. 2. Love one and hate one. Ever said to God “God why not me? Why did you not give me all the money like all those other people?” or even just try to make it for yourself any and every way that appears. I think of the ladies who sell Tupperware, candle, and a makeup line all at the same time….if not with more random products just with the idea they will get money quick and easy. Or you get that super great money making idea, but then a few months down the road that idea is just not catching anyone’s attention not even your own anymore.
Not going to lie I have thought this way many times. But I realize even again today that each question, each “if only I had the money…” is a remark of my distrust in God’s provision and promise for my life. When I see money as value I question God, when I see God as #1 value I question money.
Catching ourselves is the hard part. Sometimes that small money making scheme ends up in $400 worth of an investment that never produces an outcome but some dusty product sitting on a shelf unsold. Question....is what you are selling or pursuing a scheme to get rich quick? Or a tool that can be used in the kingdom of God while also making a few side dollars? There is a difference!
Investment takes time. Money earned takes time. If it is in God’s time though, money is not the focus, but a side outcome if it is part of the plan. This is how I view being part of Mary Kay. I can minister to women while also selling a product but not focusing on the product. I am able to focus on the care of the woman by listening, meeting one on one, even explaining the importance of taking care of the body-not just the skin-because the Bible tells us too. I focus God first, business second, and if money is an outcome then cool but it is not a focus. Many times I find the time well spent with the woman without selling a single product. God first money second.
I joined Mary Kay over a year ago because I wanted to work for myself while in college with an organization I could pair with womens ministry. The first month’s investment in MK that I made sold out and doubled my profit immediately! That of course took time and effort. I do not have an extreme story of how I made so much in the business and earned a pink Cadillac within my first year of selling MK. But I do have some words of wisdom of my time spent in the business that applies to all areas of life.
1. The time you put in is what you will get out. This is the #1 rule and is so true its scary. I would plan MK for 1 hour and get a sales call for an order before the hour was up! No joke. Or someone would seek interest in MK. After finally finishing my college courses I just began to work on MK again. Within the first day back working I got a text from a gal needing to place an order. Day two I got an email from a lady wanting to know more information about the business. And so on and so forth. This leads to my next point.
2. Everything you do deserves the effort put into it. In short, do not expect it to fall into your hands…and Do not pursue anything half hearted. See why the Luke passage is so true? If you have to pursue with all your heart then you can only pick one, money or God.
3. Whatever it is, ask God first. Sounds silly to some, but do you not think God wants to hear from us? If we find a passion in something, I promise He wants you to share it with Him. God always gave me peace when it was the right thing to do. Peace being that feeling of no matter what this will work out trusting it is in God’s hands and or He has a hand upon it. My internship was decided this way. I had a few churches spread out to pick from but none brought me a peaceful feeling. The cool thing is that the church I found, found me and God’s peace flooded my soul. It is in His hands.
4.Think about your gifts. What God has formed in you and the activities you love and may have loved all your life are meant to be used for His glory…and His glory can also be providing for you to prosper and have abundant life! Jeremiah tells us this. I am starting a voice studio not just because I can sing, but because I love to teach and watch others break out with confidence and a love for their own God personalized instrument. Think about this, God gave us each individual voices! That’s billions of different voices and though some may sound similar they are still personalized and owned only by one body. That is a lot of singing voices! Ever picture what it will be like in heaven with the choir of angels singing…and if we are there how many voices may be singing together all at once?! Slightly mind-blowing.
5. Just as God has given us gifts He expects us to cultivate those gifts and that cultivation process causes us to seek Him more. The more you seek the more you realize, eyes are opened, and what is meaningful is brought into perspective.
The point of this blog is not a guide too how to make money (what to not do and how to seek God not money) as much as it is a statement with life advice from a younger woman fresh into ministry learning a lesson on submitting to God. Everything I mentioned ran through my mind a thousand times in the past two days while I processed and found peace in a not-so-peaceful situation. Why try to control God? Who do I really think I am to think I can be in charge of making the money He did not provide me with? And how can I be so ungrateful for what I have received to question His blessings? That’s the beauty of the human nature in a fallen world. It is not important the blinded moments we have, but that we eventually refocus on God, Christ’s love and sacrifice, and listen to what the Holy Spirit has been waiting patiently to share with us.
I would like to end with this….whatever job or place you find yourself working in or not working in. Are you questioning God or trusting in His promise? God can use you anywhere, yes even in the line at the unemployment agency. God uses those with money and those without. Emptiness is found in a day where the outcome is money and only money….no matter what is gained or not gained. A day spent working for God’s kingdom is fulfilling with or without any pay. #theselessonswelearninHistime
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.”
Proverbs 23:4-5 “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky life an eagle.”
Prov 30:8-9 Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily break. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
More scripture to check out...
Mark 10:21-27.31
Luke 16:9-12
Ecc 5:10-15
Prov 11:4,28
Job 31:24-25.28
Eze 28:2-10
1Tim 6:5-9 10-12
James 1:9-11
Luke 9-25
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