Part 3- We Got the Keys!!!

Before I really get into this post, I feel it is important to say that uncertainty, trials, and tribulations are all a part of life, so embrace them and know that there is something good on the other side of all that.

August 31, moving day! This was the day we packed our belongings into a storage unit and moved into the extended stay hotel. When we packed our life into the storage, we still didn’t have a final approval from the lender, but I was still operating in faith. The lender asked me to do some things to improve my credit score so that I could get a better rate and I did everything she asked, and my score dropped. No one could explain to me why this happened, but it did and here I was once again filled with so much doubt and so many unanswered questions.

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Get off the Bench

On many occasions I had to comfort my son; after one of his sporting events he would be upset for one reason or another. After all my other advice failed to make him feel better I would tell him you could always just run on the field or run on the court, this would get a laugh out of him. I would ask him who’s going to stop him? He said the coach would take him out, but he was already out so what did he have to lose? Nothing! But he had a lot to gain.

Opportunities work like this; often times we miss opportunities because we are afraid to come off the bench, afraid to try something new or different. In your life you do not need permission to come off the bench and join the game. You have total control of how much playing time you get. Don’t let fear of failing, fear of ridicule, doubt, and uncertainty be the reason why you missed this whole game called life. Whatever it is you have been hoping for, been inquisitive about, or have been wanting to try, go for it, who’s going to stop you?

A Word of Encouragement

I know at times the path seems unbearable, you really don’t know how much more you can take. You pray, yet there is no answer. You talk to friends but the can’t help, they really don’t understand.  If only this would happen or if only that would happen, I’ll be alright.

Your deliverance is on the way, things will work out for you. This feeling will subside; start waking up determined to do your best. Look for ways throughout the day where you can be a help to others. Start praying for other people. Take the focus off of your problems and put that effort into something positive.

In the process see what lessons need to be learned. Do you need to learn how to be quiet, to not be quick to react, to not spend your check as soon as it hit the bank? Do you need to learn how to love unconditionally, to put the needs of others before your own.

Ask God to reveal to you what you need to learn and where you can approve. You are not here by accident, there is a testimony after this test.

“The pain that you’ve been feeling, can’t compare to the joy that’s coming.” –Romans 8:18-

I Am Different

I am different, not like 2 Chains different, but I have changed. I am a different person.

Almost a year ago I decided to really follow God, I mean really follow. I decided to let go of my wants, desires, hopes, and dreams and follow his will for my life. I had a lot of hopes and big dreams but I realized none of what I wanted was important if I wasn’t living in the will of God. At first, I was fearful, I didn’t know what to expect. Would I be tested like Job, would I fall short of God’s glory, would I never live the life I desired, or would the devil come after my children (my biggest fear).

I knew with this new journey that I was about to embark on I was going to be tested, I just didn’t know what that looked like. On this journey I have lost so much but my attitude, as hard as it was, was it’s going to be okay God is control. Overtime I started to see a change, I feel conflicted when I curse, some of the things I use to enjoy irritates me, I work hard to have meaningful relationships, and I seek God in all I do. My conversations with God are different and I listen more for his voice.

With this journey came many other changes, I constantly seek God’s presence. I am constantly reading my bible so that I can better understand. I share my experiences no matter how crazy they may seem. When I say I know God and I love God I feel it now and I mean it. I worry less, stress less, and argue less because I know God is in control. He goes before me and make crooked places straight and he prepares a table before my enemies.

The biggest change that I experienced and the one that I cherish the most is with my faith. I used to say God can do the impossible because it sounded good, now I know without a shadow of a doubt that He can do the impossible, that he still performs miracles. I have so much faith in God it has become contagious, my children are believing that God is going to answer all our prayers. My husband no longer says if, but when. My friends believe. This is so amazing to me. My daughter, 7 years old, talks about God more than I do.

I am different, and it is amazing. I love what God is doing in my life and I pray he continues to use me. The journey was hard in the beginning, but it made me conscious of my behaviors and I have a joy and a peace that surpasses all understanding, and for that I am so grateful. I am human I have my days, but in those days, I feel God’s gentle correction and that is so special to me.

If you have had an experience with God that you would like to share, I would love to read about it in the comments below.

What am I doing?

 

Have you ever asked yourself this? What am I doing? No really, what am I doing?
I have asked myself this time and time again and you know what; I never had an answer. Not until recently anyways.

A few months ago, I asked myself this question because I was lost, confused, stressed, and worried. Everything I tried, failed. When I tell you, this is a terrible combination of feelings, they made me feel absolutely miserable. So, I stopped, and I asked myself “what am I doing?” The answer that I came to me was nothing, I wasn’t doing anything that was going to get me to where I was trying to go. I figured it out; figuring it out was absolutely amazing and yet extremely funny. Here I am worrying myself to death about things that are completely out of my control.

So often we try to fix everything, when all we have to do is take our hands off of it and put it in God’s hands. I am the type of person who act before I pray and then I pray God take what I started and make it work. Trust, faith, hope, and prayer does not work like this. I also pray that God do it on my timeline, what am I doing? Telling God what to do, that’s what I am doing.

I challenge you today to take everything that has you lost, confused, stressed, and worried and put it in God’s hands, believe me he can handle it a lot better than we can.

Bible verses to reflect on:

• So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. -Matthew 6:34-
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6-
• Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. -Psalm 62:5-