Day 13: Drawing Closer to God (Twists and Turns)

It's okay to fall of track. It happens. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns and potholes that can get us off balance. I have felt a bit overwhelmed with my schedule lately because I have added a few hours of work and added several new counseling clients and am so looking forward to next weekend when I have a three day weekend. But I have been shown how very much I just have to let the family know and call on them to help me as I adjust and regain balance. It doesn't help to throw being sick in the mix but I will just call it God's way of giving me some rest.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 259

It has been over 2000 years since Jesus suffered on the cross for us and rose from the dead. Some may think he is not coming back considering how long it has been but God doesn’t measure time as we do. But it is not really about the time but that God’s heart wants us all to repent and be saved. He grieves over every lost soul and celebrates with all souls that are saved. His love and mercy give us opportunity after opportunity to turn to Him. His patience is because of his love for us. I am eternally grateful to God for his patience with me and that I finally was able to see the truth. Patience is given to us by the Holy Spirit and love is at the core of all the fruits the Holy Spirit gives us. So when the kids are making you crazy, your boss is pushing your buttons or your spouse isn’t listening to you, it is time to demonstrate your love for them with the patience the Holy Spirit can give you.

2Peter 3:8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 236

God has always given us the choice and yet He always shows that He is always with us, always loving and caring for us. We can always look back and see the plans of God unfolding in our lives. We can always in hindsight realize he was right there with us. What about seeing Him right here, right now? I have always found that my times when I am focused and in His Word everyday that I am much more aware of His presence and see His works in every little thing. Our busy lives, our problems, the difficult circumstances that life throws at us will weed away our focus and take us away from our time with God. He created us to be in fellowship with Him. He is the father, mentor, best friend, confidant, counselor that all of us need. Time with Him is like a plant being watered by the gardener. How good it feels…If you aren’t carving some time in your day for Him, stop and pray right here, right now for Him to guide you in helping you have a committed heart. With His guidance you can find the best time and way for you to really focus just on Him.

Acts 14:16-17 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony.

365 Days of Spirt-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 218

Time has gotten the better of me… I like my morning routine to have my blogging time with the Lord but I really had to do the dishes this morning and now my time has flown away. Despite not having time to get into this today, I am still contemplating and praying about the fruit within us. How about you?

Psalm 31:15 My times are in your hands.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 11

Today I am looking at the love being “kind”. At first I thought I wasn’t really going to get much about this little word but my expectations were wrong again. Kindness is the act or state of being kind, being marked by good and charitable behavior, pleasant disposition and concern for others. It is considered one of the seven virtues in the bible that counteract the seven deadly sins. Kindness counteracts envy. I think the core part of being kind to others is being selfless, is taking yourself out of the equation and looking only at the person/people in front of you. Have you ever done an act of kindness for someone just because? This is a selfless demonstration of love. These acts of kindness don’t have to be about spending money on someone. It can be that a friend could use some of your time on the phone to talk or a co-worker could use a little sounding board to get off some steam. I am working on the more and more at my job. I am a focus-driven worker so I can go and go and not come up for air until my bladder says time to get up and move it to the bathroom quick. I have been lately taking the time to talk a little more with my co-workers when I encounter them in the break room rather than just barreling off back to my desk and my work. Taking the time to talk with one another not only gives kindness to the person but gives you a sense of peace as well. So look at your day and take the time to smile and start a conversation with the grocery clerk, smile and say some kind words to the telemarketer who is calling you right in the middle of dinner, smile and do something your husband normally does like take out the trash.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge

I got a follow-up sermon letter in my inbox yesterday. Hmmm… that’s something new. Pastor John Goodale had preached on Sunday regarding love within the church family. He specifically wanted to follow up on the things he challenged us to do and told us of a visitor at the church on Sunday who emailed him telling him that when he got out of service and was waiting for his wife he had three people come up and engage him in conversation. In looking over the action items that the pastor challenged us to do, I could see the main component to doing these is time. Our lives are busy and we want to use our time as wisely as possible but we have to remember that the people and relationships in our lives need some of that time. Most days I find myself at my desk at lunchtime reading a book but yesterday I was engaged in a conversation with a co-worker in the breakroom as my lunch was heating up and instead of leaving when it was done to go back to my desk, I sat down and continued talking with her. Taking those few extra minutes with her, I found out she is worried greatly about her financial situation after having her surgery on her wrist. With a $5000 deductible to pay and out of work with no pay for 3 weeks, the worry of how to cope with this put tears in her eyes and choked her up. While I certainly don’t have extra money floating around and have my own surgery and days off without pay coming up here next week, I can take the time to pray for her and request my church family to pray for her as well. So part knowing you are filled with love by the Holy Spirit, is being able to slow down, become aware of the people around you and take the time to just see how they are doing.

Try these action items:

          1. Learn 5 new names—and use them.
          2. Ask how others in your church family are doing—and listen to their response.
          3. Pray for church family needs we become aware of.
          4. Combat the toll our busyness takes on church family life by building more time into our  Sunday routine for conversations or to help someone along our path.

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 325

It’s Stewardship season and with that comes the sermons on giving. I am not the best at tithing but have improved over the last couple of years but I have tried giving in other ways like being a Sunday school teacher, bringing food donations to church on the first Saturday of every month and getting the family to raid their closets to weed out clothes for the clothing drives. I am in a season of life where doing anything with my time is tough because my kids and family is where my time is spent. The sermon yesterday was about you guessed it, time. I really liked how our pastor said that we can start with giving our time in prayer and worship. In thinking about this, I realize that what I do everyday with the 365 Days of Praise Challenge has been a form of worship. I have managed to give of myself everyday to write up a praise for the day and hopefully have passed some blessings on to others who read it. In giving my time this way, it has been one of the greatest blessings to me. So, if you are in a season of life like me where spare time is hard to come by, think about starting with just 5 minutes everyday to pray and/or worship the Lord. Time is our greatest gift to God and each other. Find a way to give some everyday.

Eccelesiates 3:1-10 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ...