Juggling is an Art

Life is a juggling act but juggling isn't always easy. It is a skill that must be fostered and constantly worked on. If you take on too much, you burn-out. If you take on too little you are left wondering what your purpose in life is and if you are like me you are working hard to keep everything up in the air where it should be. So, the juggling jug called my Blog, has been falling down a lot as has been exercising and other things I don't even realize yet that have taken a back seat in my life. The "to-do" list is too long and I am not organized enough nor have the brain cells in my memory to make it all work. But life is also like riding one of those buck-you-off bull rides, you have to get back on and try again. Persistence is a big key to your growth. Giving up cannot be an option. Get back on the bull, pick up the balls you are juggling and start over. In the midst of starting over, look to God and rely on Him to help you stay on the bull and keep the balls flying through the air.

Hebrews 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 156

My daughter and I are reading another book by Jenny Cote about Max and Liz and the other animals who are called by the Maker to help Joseph. They are told to go and they will find a caravan and they must join this caravan. They Maker tells them they will know which caravan to go with. Liz the beautiful sleek black cat who is French and very intelligent sees the call from the caravan they need to go with in the form of an oddball camel who has a problem and shouts every word he says. She meets up with this camel and accepts him for who he is and explains he has a condition called kozemania or something like that? It makes him want to shout everything and she tells him it was the shouting that drew her to know that this was the caravan that the Maker wanted them to join. God used this camel’s unique problem for his good purpose. I can’t wait to hear how the camel will grow in his faith knowing his shouting problem is what God created him to be. The way Liz accepted him and gently talked to this shouting camel was such a beautiful example of how we too, with the help of the Holy Spirit, can be gentle and accepting and loving to everyone no matter who they are or what they do.

Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 96

The story of Joseph is one of my favorites for many reasons but especially to show that God’s purpose is working through everything, the good, the bad and the ugly. Joseph was thrown in a pit, sold by his brothers as a slave, shipped off to a foreign country and accused of attempted rape and thrown in jail. But he was in a place where he could use the gift God gave him with his dreams that would end up helping the Pharaoh and the whole nation of Egypt and put him in a place to help and forgive his brothers. Joseph had learned throughout his tribulations that no matter what his brothers intended that God intended it for good. This belief is what helped Joseph in forgiving his brothers. The evil in the world is certainly not good but God will use it for his good purpose of bringing more souls to salvation and back in relationship with him. If we have this belief in our hearts of the goodness of God and his purpose than we too will be able to forgive which is the way to gaining freedom and peace. God is good.

Genesis 50:19-20  But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 95

The first thoughts about good or goodness in the bible are right there in Genesis chapter one when God is day by day creating all aspects of our world. At the end of each day, God reviews his creation and thinks it is good. Well, yah, some might say, you are God so it isn’t going to be bad. Let’s put this into other words: God planned his creation and  day by day as it came together he thought it was all working according to his plan and purpose. Something is good when it works out as we planned. I thought about my wedding plans. I had a Renaissance themed wedding with the outfits and all. Because it was such a unique wedding it was a bit daunting thinking about how it was all going to come together but the evening of my wedding, as I walked down that isle everything was good. It all came together beautifully and it was a wedding many will never forget. I felt not relief that it was all good but satisfaction and joy. I feel that way when I create a scrapbook page or card. When it comes together and it is good, I am delighted. We can look at each day we are given the same way. God created this day and what happens throughout our day will work according to his purpose and it will be good. No matter what our day brings us, there is good in it because God’s purpose is working through it. Keep that in mind, when your kids are driving you nuts or your boss is making you angry or the roads are a snowy yucky mess to drive in.

Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 24

My bible study group gathered last evening over a potluck dinner and discussed the second in a series of fictional books. During our discussion, it was brought up how a teacher of one of the ladies grown children had come up with a positive phrase about each child in the class and she brought these up everyday throughout the year. We discussed how awesome that would be if that could happen to all of us in our workplaces, families, neighborhoods, etc. This building up another person with encouraging words is an act of love. What a world this would be if everyone every day just said some encouraging building-up words to just one person! One of my prominent spiritual gifts is encouragement so this is fairly easy for me but I am still going to set a goal for myself to do this with purpose and intention each day. I am around my co-workers and my family the most so I will pick one person for each day from both groups and make sure I have said at least one encouraging word, one thing that will build up that person, one thing to let them know they are loved. Who can you say encouraging words to today?

Tip: try setting an alert on your phone to remind you of building someone up today or any goals you have.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 301

Last night my 9 year-old daughter was playing restaurant server. She made up some menus, took orders, served and gave us a bill. It was so sweet to watch and she was very excited to get her first tip.  She has been into serving lately. She will bake brownies or cookies and than serve everyone. I love seeing this serving attitude in her. She does it with joy and love. Serving others and loving them is our core purpose given to us by God. This core purpose will fit into our lives and our gifts that God has given us. If we are teachers, we will serve and love through our teaching. If we are administrators it will be through adminstrating. No matter how our purposes get lived out, the real core purpose is to serve and love the Lord and love your neighbors and that means everyone! God's glory will shine through all our love.  Today I will go through my day with these questions. How am I showing my love for you today? Is God's glory shining through me? Thank you Lord for the children in our lives who show us examples of how we are to be loving and have a servant's heart.

Psalm 86:12 "I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever."

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 290

Our sermon yesterday was about God's calling for us. The "us" is all of us, not just pastors, deacons or teachers but everyone. God calls us each of us to specific tasks. For some it will be as a prayer warrior, for others it will be adminstration and like me it will be to help the hurting. I have been wavering with my own lack of confidence in who I am and my skills to be a Christian counselor and thankfully have always come back to the same conclusion it is my calling. I have been focusing too much on what I lack instead of on the Lord and what he can equip me with. This is his call, not mine. It is bigger than me. Jesus started his ministry with the calling of two simple fisherman, Simon and Andrew who the bible says dropped their nets and followed him. They may have had their doubts along the way to becoming the disciples Jesus called them to be but with his help they got past their doubts and fears and just took on the job they were called for. I got home and was thoroughlly energized and motivated with creativity and put this faithbook page together. The photo is of me but created with a patchwork filter to send the message that the focus isn't on ourselves but on the big umbrella covering the whole universe that is God and his plan and purpose. Thanks be to God for helping me see the bigger picture and taking on the job the Lord is calling me for.
Mark 1: 16-18  As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew Casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. "Come, follow me, " Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 219

I really don't know what it is about being in the spa but that my mind goes to thoughts of God and what he wants me to do. Last evening, my daughter shocked me in the spa by dumping a cup of ice down my front-side. It was a fun moment and actully quite refreshing with the heat of the spa. My daughter ended up making some comment about ice and what its used for and immediately my mind snatched up the analogy of ice and purpose. Ice has  an over-all main purpose, to keep things cold but it does this in a variety of different ways like ice for a glass of lemonade, ice in a cooler to chill drinks and food, ice shaved and made into a snowcone or an ice bath for hard-boiled eggs and for the person whose fever has gotten too high. Maybe you can think of some other ways that ice fufills its purpose? We are like the ice. We have our main purpose to share the gospel and help bring the lost sheep to our Shepherd but how we do that differs. We each have our own gifts God has given us to help serve us in our purpose. It is a life-long quest to learn about our gifts so that we can use them for the purpose God has called us to. Here's a link for an on-line Spiritual Gifts Inventory:  http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgift/download.htm  Keep seeking wisdom and guidance and God will show the way.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 46

Discouragement. It gets to me usually at that time of the month in my cycle which is now. It's the time when I feel defeated with all that I do. It's the time when my attitude shifts to negative rather than positive. It's the time when I want to just give up. Those hormones are working on me and the evil one is So trying to pull me further into it but thankfully I am mindful of the power of God and know that with His help I will get out of the mire of depressing thoughts once again. I grab onto anything that is encouraging but I am especially boosted with the written word whether it be in an email or a card someone sends me and reading my bible. That is where I will go to now and ask the One and Only God of the Universe to give me a kick in the butt and get me back into a positive frame of mind and to give me motivation to keep on with my purpose. Do you have times of discouragement? What helps you get out of it? I would love to send you an email or card whenever you are feeling down in the dumps. Just drop me a line and we can help each other out of the pit.
Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

365 Days of Praise Challenge

As I was laying in bed this morning, contemplating my day of cooking ahead of me and fighting the desire to just lay in bed a few more minutes, I thought about what this day represents. Everyone thinks about what they are grateful for on Thanksgiving but our thankfulness and praises to God should be a consistent reality in our lives. After my month of wearing my 'A' pin which helped me keep my focus on the Abundance of blessings and opportunites that God gives and that Anything is possible with God, I find that I am so much more AWARE of those blessings, opportunites and that really anything is possible with God leading you. So, my challange to myself and to anyone that would like to participate is to give praises consistently everyday for the next 365 days. I think the attitude of gratitude will become one of the greatest blessings. So, my first day of praise starts this Thanksgiving 2011. I praise my Heavenly Father for my desire to inspire others. Being an idealist by nature, I have found battles greatly with the fact that I am not the one in control but God is. But I don't want to be down about my own personality type, because God made me this way and he will use it for his own purposes not mine. So, I praise him today for that desire and pray that he will use it for the good of His kingdom. I would love to hear your praises everyday, too. Become a follower and comment on my praise each day with your own praise. Let's work on keeping each other accountable to our 365 days of praise challenge.