time for contentment...

what does it mean to be content with where you are? how satisfied are we? do we change our situations or is it the other way around? all these questions need answers. it is time to look within...

most of our lives we are taught to strive for more and never rest till you get your wildest dreams to come true. even then you keep going. our world is packed with consumers. the i-need, i-want, and i-have-to-have people are everywhere. materialism is at an ultimate high, but the contentment i am talking about is on the inside. contentment with you and God. the contentment with your life situations.

we all go through phases and it never ends. one of the long and gut-wrenching phases for me was the college phase. it wasn't the academics but the relationships. in college you are surrounded with so many people of the opposite sex you can't think straight. i didn't. i got caught in the wind tunnel of senioritis. i remember thinking that because i wasn't engaged like half the girls in my class i failed. even though i did obtain my degree, i got a failing grade in boys. then you move on and get a real life. by this time everyone is asking you if your dating, engaged, or married. i went through this and i still continue too. i used to get so mad when they asked me that because if i didn't have a man in my life conversation ceased. why this was i will never know. over time you grow numb to it and realize what you personally may want to do with for the rest of your life. you don't need to have plans and there is no rule that says you have to have everything figured out after college.

my first strong dose of contentment came about 2 years ago. i was finally happy with who i was and what i had become. i still have much to go forward to achieve but looking back i realized how much time was wasted on the i-wishes. the Lord brought me to a place of contentment through Him. i love learning about Him. i know i need to be more of a sponge but to be in a place where your worries are taken away is so sweet. the Lord can give that to you. contentment is something He alone is master of completing. He loves you and longs to complete you. He knows your stress, demands, dreams, and desires. He also knows you need to feel content with Him first before others come your way. tiffany arbuckle, singer/songwriter of plumb, says it so beautifully when she wrote "in my arms: castles they might crumble, dreams may not come true, but you are never all alone. I will always love you."

you are never alone. if you ask to be content get ready to be rocked in your life. every day is a challenge to be content. satan is ever present and knows where to push your pressure points. it is possible to be content, but you need Christ. you need the One who knows the full meaning. don't stop dreaming or aspiring to what your full potential can be. God never desires you to be staying but growing. just take each step and be content with all that you did to get there. pray, read, study and learn from all that God offers to you. don't be dreary of life but excited to see what the day challenges bring to you. you change your situations, so don't reverse it.

just for laughs

the job interview we all wish we could have?...hilarious nonetheless!!!!

swing and a miss...again

Life throws curves, fastballs, and change-ups in our lives. Nothing is EVER what it seems. Do you ever feel like no matter how well your doing you keep striking out?

You just can't get the dream job, you are so close yet the next step is a grand canyon. You go through relationships like tissues swearing the next guy will be the ONE. Then before you know it your singing break-up songs in your car with tear-stained cheeks. All these things and more change in a blink of an eye. It becomes depressing and your exhausted. When everyone around us is getting what we think we need, it can become too much to bear. Pity party for one?

These moments are faith moments. We need to believe, and we know that. The action part is harder to perform. It is easy to just give up after 20 interviews or 10 broken relationships, but try one more time. Then ONE more time until it happens. God will take care of you. He takes care of birds, trees, even rodents; He can certainly help you achieve what you desire to accomplish. We need to tell God what we feel and ask how we can learn in this self-pity moment. We need to bring the glory back to God. If God can take care of birds or even grass; He can certainly help you because you are more than that.

We need to remain faithful and stand up at the plate even though we may never hit a ball. It WILL be HARD, but in these times the growing occurs. We need to keep in mind that God never desires to see you falter, so try every time. He will help you, so pray for the strength to withstand the pitch. Who knows, the next one you could hit it out of the park.

transition times

We all go through them. What we decide in them can reveal what is important to us. They shape who we are. More importantly, they are always hard to get through. I am talking about transitions.

Transitions make deciding hard to do. Do we transition here, do this, or complete that? How can we decide? Is there an age limit on transition periods? Everyone thinks it’s the twenty-something age bracket, but what about when you get laid off in your thirties. Then you have to start all over again whether with a family or without. Transitions happen and they don’t have a time limit.

When you are in a transition you question everything because it seems you are always at an intersection, and that choice leads you on a totally new path. Do you remember those books where you had to choose different scenarios? You would choose one way and you would end up on an island, in a deep cave, or on another country. It taught us to stress early on and second-guess our decisions. We were never satisfied with our answer. We always looked at the choices we didn’t pick because our curiosity always got the better of us. It is a shame that we can’t apply that to real life. We can’t go back and read the what-ifs. We are stuck in the bed we have made. Choices are tough and big. So, don’t feel like you have it worse. Everyone has their own situations going on in their lives. However, God is always there to let us lean on Him and not worry. It is harder to do than just saying the words. If we all tried one day to live presently how would our lives change?

Decisions strengthen us and give a sense of responsibility. No one ever said they would be easy but the Lord said he would never give us more than we can bear. (1 Cor. 10:13) The Lord is bigger than every decision that may seem like the world to us. This is the magnificence of God. He desires to help make them with you. So ask his advice because that is one opinion that does matter.

management

how well do we manage? there are so many things to manage nowadays it is hard to keep track of them all. we have time, money, social lives, kids, or anything else that screams "manage me!" how easy it is to forget that somewhere in that long list God must be placed first. Now i'm not saying you can manage God. it is not possible, of course. however, you can manage everything around and involving Him. manage your time with God in mind, manage your social scene with God in mind... the list goes on. What changes when God enters the scene? Do these things become less or just as important?

how often we forget the majesty of GOD! i am guilty ten times over. God is the creator of the universe and manages it! He knows every finite detail that is happening by you, around you and far way from you. He manages it all yet, i can barely manage my time let alone my finances.

when God gives us something to nurture and take responsibility for He doesn't turn His back on that task because you have it. On the contrary, he teaches you to manage that task with you. if there is not enough for Him to look after, right? He is right there if we have a question. How compassionately patient of Him. God is BIGGER than all those things that plague our minds. does that mean they don't matter? absolutely not. that is not the point. God cares where you care. tell Him. speak to Him, and He will hear.

when we manage with GOD we see that everything falls into perspective. God knows your life and what you need at what time. trust Him and manage with Him. In some way, your load will loosen from your shoulders and your management will be more effective. remember this: we are MANAGERS of the things God entrusts (or bestows) on us. we are not the CEO because God is the source from which the waters flow. live by that and everything will work out in God's time.

oh the memories...

It triggers in my head and I think about all the things that could have been. It brings the scene in my head forefront and center. I can't escape it, yet it needs to remain. Memories are bittersweet. That is what they are enough, memories. Past moments. It is so easy to remain in the past, in the memories, than to face the tomorrow. It needs to be surrendered. It is too hard to let go and move past. A cut that won't heal. A broken heart that won't mend. A trust that cannot be repaired. Once the feelings move along it marks us deeply. Along the way, it also cuts us. Does it make us bleed so we know we are alive? So we know the pain is real and alive still in us?

A memory it now becomes to us. We take them and we decide how they will make us live. But just when it seems to be a distant memory something is triggered. Whether by a friend, song, phrase, or favorite place they come flooding back. Here we are bleeding again. I wish I could say it gets easier, but I bleed as well. Time is a cruel friend during these moments. However, it does take time. The past will slowly move away from that memory, and there will be someone holding you in the end.

Jesus knows about memories and the past. He carried many memories with Him. His actually factually cut Him. He bled more than we could imagine, inside and out. When the pain is the salty tear falling on your lips, Jesus holds you. He holds you tighter than you feel it. When you just want to be by yourself thinking in your moment, He is there holding you. Whatever you need He can give that to you. Words are empty if they are not heart-felt. Hugs are worthless if there is no meaning. Comfort is null and void if there is no hope. Where is the hope we hold to so we can get past the memories? Where should it be?

Hurt is hard to move past. No one ever said sleeping would be comfortable on a bed of nails. Maybe tears are the only thing you want to shed right now. Time moves slowly on down your life. We need to keep in mind despite the emotional mess to pick ourselves up and move forward. We can't move backward. Jesus moved and picked up others along the way. He used His memories for a new road and walked. The past was still right behind Him, but he never looked back. We do.

Memories are triggered and we pause to reminisce. We did get a little further today though. It was a good day. Curses may come with fire, but blessings come with water to put it out. Our hearts will be restored. Someday when we look back we won't pause but continue walking. The journey will scar us and it will be deep at times. God will continue to hold us up. Maybe you need to cry time to time or just sit. Jesus will be with you feeling your pain and helping you move on. We need to let it go and open our hands to His strength. No more past memories that burden us with pain. The tornadoes have come and we need to organize ourselves. Let God take you and carry you. His grace is sufficient.

Memories are a beautiful distraction. So, let us be strong and move past the hard ones. Time can be a bittersweet friend, but God is always good.

decisions

When do we decide what road to take? Is it when our parents, friends, pastor, or co-worker tell us? Or does it rely on you making the decisions? When does something become too much for us to ponder on and then we give it back to God? Decisions over life goals, your future mate and where you are going to live are big decisions. Then all the other little ones come with it like a surprise we don’t want. But here it is all wrapped with a sign that says LIFE on the box. It looks pretty before you open it and all the mess spills out. However, God doesn’t see it like that. He sees opportunity everywhere and as we draw closer to Him we see it too. So do we draw on Him when the going gets tough or before? Praying without ceasing, as Paul says, even in the good times. So that boy asked you out, you need to pray for that relationship and for your heart so if good or bad happens you can handle it. You got that promotion, start praying how you can go above and beyond so you are not blindsided if you eventually end up in the unemployment office.

Decisions are a huge part of our lives so don’t shirk them as you live. Each one brings you somewhere new. The question is…is it where God wants you to be or YOU want you to be? How do you know the difference? Seek His wisdom in every decision. Jesus was constantly in prayer and conversing with God over everything. His road wasn’t easy, but an example to follow. As it goes without saying, with the good there is the bad. That is our curse. So don’t pity yourself if you finally got your dream job and a month later lost it. If we stay in prayer it will keep our hearts on course and prepared for what is to come. Prayer isn’t a convenience store; it is a conversation between you and your Creator. He knows the outcomes of the decisions already. Prayer won’t change that, but your heart can.

As we pray, our heart becomes aligned with God’s and we see things we couldn’t see before. Let me give an example. When girls are young, most of us think about who our husbands will be, and what we will be like married. Girls just have that in us. We nurture. But when we think and dream of our life we think about our husband and all the traits he has to become. I had traits that were required to love the Lord, be attractive, sing like Frank Sinatra, be physically strong, and make me laugh. Now while all that is well and good, it has changed today because my relationship with God wasn’t deep then. The Lord changed my heart over the years and it has evolved to becoming more responsible in what I look for in a future mate. Now I don’t have list and don’t think the unimaginable. I would love it if he is responsible, will grocery shop, is compassionate, has a passion for Christ and his dreams. A mate also needs to be encouraging you in your walk with Christ and is a solid rock to lean on to in times of blessing and trails. As we follow closely with the Lord we desire what He desires in every situation in life. It always turns out better. I still haven’t met him but as I continue to change with Christ my desires change. It is a sweet progression.

So decisions are a big part of life, so don’t diminish them. We need to bring them to Christ and seek wisdom, but we also need help from parents, friends, pastors, and whoever comes into our lives. But ultimately it needs to be you and him because your decisions change YOU, but affects others. As the saying goes ‘You’ve only got one life’ take full advantage of it. So don’t worry if you don’t get a promotion, a husband, or a place to live because God is bigger than that. It’s your life given to you, as gifts from God. So the questions is: are you groaning or smiling as you open it?