Inward

It amazes me how much time we can spend fixated on others. Focusing on what someone else does or does do, says and does not say. It's almost like a subconscious habit to critique others, whether verbally or mentally.

Over time I've realized something though, you can only do YOUR part. You can encourage, direct or lead others but the bottom line is you can't do THEIR part.

Separately, nothing can justify YOU not doing what YOU are suppose to. If you KNOW what you ought to do, do it.. Otherwise you are living in sin.

(Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17)

I think the devil specifically puts thoughts & feelings towards others in our mind and makes THEIR faults so evident to us for one simple reason- we can't change others. The devil knows the longer we remain fixated on THEM, our eyes are off of Jesus & we can no long strive for perfection when we are so fixated on an imperfect vessel.

Our minds get so perplexed when we don't understand people or their choices and it throws us off track because we become so fixated on other peoples flaws we forget to look in our own mirror. Even the bible tells us we all fall short, so why are we so surprised? The fact that along with those around us, we too fall short sometimes should make it that much easier to look past the petty & look into the potential.

We need to constantly be looking at OUR actions and OUR attitudes in relation to God and His word because then, and only then can we truly see where we stand in this christian walk.

One of my favorite scriptures on this topic is Psalm 139:23- 24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

If you compare yourself to others, you will always "feel" as if "you aren't SO bad" or maybe you wont feel "good enough", whatever the case may be, it's an inaccurate measure of your self worth. The only way to "measure up" to another with accuracy is to compare yourself to Jesus, the one and only comparison of what TRUE love is, what TRUE obedience is, what TRUE faith is and what TRUE trust in God looks like. THEN you will see an honest & accurate measure if where you are and where you need to be...

This isn't something that will come natural, since childhood we have compared and contrasted ourselves to those around us. It will take time, effort, commitment and most of all discipline, but the transformation will be worth it.

The one thing I ask of the LORD— the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
delighting in the LORD’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:4

I'm making the decision to look to JESUS. To SEEK out truth, to SEEK out direction and insight to SEEK out wisdom and understanding to SEEK out the Christ like character that's hidden within.

Definition of SEEK:

1. To resort to: go to
2. To go in search of: look for: try to discover
3. To ask for: REQUEST
4. To try to acquire or gain; aim at.

SEEK is a VERB and if you remember from elementary school, a verb is an ACTION word. It's going to take ACTION on our part if this is TRULY the desire of our heart.

There are many people who think they KNOW the way, but JESUS IS THE WAY. If you aren't always looking to the one way of life, you'll inevitably slip, fall and stubble into a place you'd rather not be.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Don't look to the left or to the right, don't allow the short comings of another become your stumbling block. You have one life to live, give it the best you possibly can and forget about everything else!!

Next time I face a difficult person or situation that I don't understand, I've made up in my mind that before I judge or criticize I will look inward to my own heart and then upward to God's heart. Then and only then will I find true direction or peace.

Focus Forward

Many people will live stuck in stagnation, or even worse regression simply because they can never fix their focus FORWARD. Many times in life we claim to be moving in one direction, but our bodies and words are faced the opposite way. How can this be?

Let’s look at this logically... Can darkness and light ever co- exist? Of course not. Where there is light, darkness has no place. Is it really possible to look at two opposite things at the same time? Or will your attention always be on one while your back is to the other?

How will you ever know who you are destined to be if you’re always focused on who you’re not?

How will you ever appreciate what you have if you’re always fixated on all you want?

How will you see where you’re going if you are always faced in the direction of where you’ve been?

How can your life be filled with peace if you’re always focused on strife?

How can you love on the outside if you hate on the inside?

Your life will always go in the direction that you face.  Can you ever really move forward while facing backwards?

My purpose isn’t to ask a bunch of question that leave you confused, rather my hope is it prompts a curiosity deep within to evaluate your focal point. What are you looking at? What do you focus on? Is that the direction you desire your life to head into?

Ultimately you and you alone are responsible for the direction of your thoughts, words and life. You choose. Which way will you go?

A New View

My husband & I don't watch much television, but when we do, one of the shows we like to watch is "Southland", a police show based out of LA. Although it's not a "reality show", it's interesting in the sense that every day is something different and it seems to capture the "behind the scenes" of a day in the life of a police officer.

The last couple of episodes leading up to the season finale were pretty intense. Two of the police officers were kidnapped by two drug addicts, held captive, tortured & inevitably one was left for dead while the other managed to get away.

After this traumatizing experience the police officer who made it out was under psychological care, trying to help him deal with what had happened. Needless to say, it didn't help... One day one of his fellow police officers asked him to recap the night, was there anything that he could remember, he said no & she said this: “Try something new, don't be in it, be above it & then tell me if you can see anything new. Like as if you were in a helicopter hovering over, what would you see from the different perspective”

Now, that might not seem too profound or theological to you, but to me, those words instantly pierced my heart and opened my eyes to an entirely different perspective. It made me realize how much of my life is viewed from a limited angle. Not that it’s necessarily wrong, but it doesn’t maximize my view. Instead, it leaves me seeing just what is before me right now, whatever it is in the forefront of life for that moment, that’s what I see.

I realized how important it is to sometimes stand up, step back and look at life from a different perspective. I would imagine if you began to look at some of your own current situations that may be holding you back, stressing you out or over whelming you, from a completely different perspective, you might see a completely different situation.

Sometimes it’s not about just seeing what stands before you, but looking from a distance and seeing “it” in relation to the much bigger picture. This could go for every area of life if you’d be bold enough to apply it.

Here are some common scenarios that many of us deal with on a regular basis.

-       Sick of your co- workers? Unemployment is at an all-time high, be grateful you have a job that so many others search diligently for everyday with no avail.

-       Your children are giving you a hard time? Think of all the women around the word that have lost their little ones or women who cannot bear children at all.

-       Overwhelmed with household responsibilities? Take a trip to the nearest shelter, I wonder what any one of those men or women would do to have what you call your “burden”.

-       Your spouse is getting on your nerves? How about all the men and women who have prematurely and unexpectedly loss their loved one, I bet they would give anything to spend one more day, even the worst of days with their spouse.

-       Bills overwhelming you? How about the fact you have a reason to be billed, more than many people can say. How many people DON’T have running water, a warm home, food on the table, cell phones in their pockets, clothes on their back or even a roof over their head.

The list could literally go on and on, but these are just a few. You can call me dramatic, or you can realize that your biggest “burden” is a blessing that has been inaccurately assessed.

There are people all over the world who would give ANYTHING to have what we have, we are blessed beyond belief and yet we find the burden in everything.

How about we stand up, step back and look at life from a different perspective. Maybe it’s not so bad after all?   

There is an indescribable joy that comes from a grateful heart. Jealousy, envy, bitterness, resentment, anger or ungratefulness is a CANCER to your body and soul. It will make you sick and bring you down.

I wonder what it would look like if we actually practiced, on purpose the art of being grateful.

 

Looking for Love

Deep down inside we all have a desire to be longed after, appreciated, loved, cared for or even just noticed.. We all want to know that someone out there sees us, and cares for us. We want to know that we aren't alone. We want to know we have friends, the kind of friends that care about us as much as we care for them, who are willing to go the extra mile to help us out when we need it, who aren't one sided in their expectations and are truly willing to give rather than just receive. Deep inside, we all just want to know that someone out there sees the good IN us and is willing to do what it takes to pull it OUT..

I'm certain, whether we admit it or not, we all have a desire to know a love that is unconditional, freely given and overflowing in our lives. Not just sometimes, but all the time.

Who hasn’t ever felt like this? Who hasn’t sat down and thought, “wow, if only there was ONE, just ONE, who cared for me, the way I cared for them.” It seems like knowing that someone loves you and is rooting for you is all we need to push forward a little further, reach a little higher, believe a little longer.

This desire for love isn’t new, it isn’t wrong, it isn’t selfish and it certainly isn’t out of reach. However, too many times our desires have been misdirected and our search has come back empty leaving us to believe a love like this doesn't exist, but that's not true! It does exist, we’ve just been looking in all the wrong places.

We were made in the image of God, in His likeness and I believe His desire to be loved by us, has been embedded in US as a desire to be loved by Him as well. The only problem is, we have searched through all creation for this great love when in actuality it can only be given by the creator of love Himself.

Some of us look to men or women, husbands or wives, boyfriends or girlfriends, our children, our leaders, our bosses or our family and friends. The desire to be validated by another can be relentless, almost like a burning within. Is this feeling wrong? No, it’s just misplaced. We cannot look to man or woman to fill a void this great, a void created by God to be filled by Him alone.

The love we seek after is no ordinary love; rather it is a love so unique that it can only be found in God. No other love will every quench your desire the way the love of God can.  This love is not a “one size fits all” kind of love. He loves each one of us in the exact way we need to be loved and will give each one of us the exact portion which we need to be not only fulfilled, but overflowing.

This love is pure and perfect, filling each void and emptiness we have, and then, it continues to pour out on us in abundance until it overflows. This love is so great, it could only come from the One who IS love..

Flourish

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it turned into a butterfly”

I love this little reminder of how beautiful and hopeful life was intended to be. There will be times when everything around you seems to have gone dark and your world will look like it is over, but in that very moment God can give you a great new beginning, much greater than you ever expected. Don’t fear your time of transition! God created you in the inner most part of your mother’s womb, in the silence and in the darkness. Sometimes God will bring you back to a silent, dark place in order to give you a new beginning, a spiritual rebirth. Don’t resist change; you never know what may be waiting for you just ahead.

Just as the caterpillar became a butterfly, you too will flourish in due season. Every time you think of quitting, remember the butterfly and ask yourself,

Why would I want to crawl and scurry when I can flourish and fly??

The Next Chapter...

I love to read! Buying a new book is always exciting for me and I love diving into the first couple of chapters. I find it exciting to read, almost exhilarating as I flip through the pages with anticipation and expectancy!! Well, this is how I feel in the beginning anyways! Then, as time goes on, the excitement of reading, flipping from page to page and then chapter by chapter finishing the book simply wears off.

I don't know why this happens. I really do like to read but I guess life just gets in the way, I get stuck in my day to day routine and reading just falls off my priority list. Before I know it, I'm stuck on the same chapter, for weeks or even months until the next time I pick the book back up. Sometimes, by the time I pick it up again, I've forgotten the first half of the chapter and now I’ll restart the entire thing all over again! This has to be the worst because now I’m just reading what I’ve already read once before, that’s pretty pointless wouldn’t you say?

I was thinking about this the other night and realized just how similar this habit is to my lifestyle. So many times I start off on something new, I'm excited and determined and this will last for a little while but then, before I even know what’s happening, I've stopped doing what I set out to do. Suddenly, my hopes, dreams or plans are back on the bookshelf of my brain until the next time I decide to pick them up off the shelf.

It’s not intentional. I know that my hearts desire is always to finish what I start but I guess life just gets the best of me and no matter how focused I am, taking the sidetrack seems inevitable. Sometimes I get so frustrated with this vicious cycle, I want to scream and sometimes I think this isn't the worst of bad habits to have! However, lately I've realized that it actually is that bad.. My “little habit” has left me on the same chapter of life for far too long, far too many times and I refuse to allow even the smallest of things to hold me back from “the next chapter” of life any longer.

I’ve literally become sick and tired of sitting in the same place, hoping, dreaming and even praying for advancement yet when I look back, the start line seems closer than it was last time I checked. Even worse, I cannot take another day of a chapter “re-read” because I’ve been stuck for so long, I forgot where I was and had to start all over again.

I’ve realized whenever I start something, whatever it may be, it needs to be finished. There has to be some sort of resolution or completion in order to move to the next thing. Life is all about progression, not stagnation. My deepest desire is to finish what I’ve started. No matter how small, or big, I want to finish it out and see the results. Being stuck like an ant in honey is not how I want to live my life.. Yes, it might be sweet at first, but that will only last so long before that honey swallows the little ant alive. I don’t want to be swallowed alive by a moment that seems sweet because I don’t have the determination, discipline or faith to move forward.

For every chapter of life you stay stuck on, reliving it over and over without ever finishing, and for every chapter of life you fail to complete, there are multiple chapters waiting to begin.

I have decided, with my whole heart, mind and soul, that I will move forward in life. Chapter by chapter until this book is finished. I will not re-read another second of life, wasting time on what was, when everything that is awaits my arrival is just ahead..

I can’t be the only one… What have you started and never finished? What hopes, dreams or goals do you have sitting on the bookshelf of your brain waiting to be picked back up again? Pick up where you left off and don’t ever stop again…

Perseverance always prevails.

Rarely Radical..

I am rarely radical when it comes to political beliefs in the Christian world, I believe Christianity was intended to be relational, not political and should be caught and embraced rather than taught and trained. However, every so often I see or read something that lights a spark inside of me and I just might express my perspective! This happens to be one of those times…

I don’t believe in nitpicking with other believers regarding topics of preference simply because it doesn’t matter but, sometimes we all need to be redirected to a point of truth and not personal preference. (Yes, I call it personal preference because in all actuality, most often our “standards of Christianity” hold no biblical bearing on salvation; therefore they are a matter of preference, not truth.)

There is one truth, and that is the Word of God, everything outside of that can be opinion or preference, but not truth. To make myself completely clear, I do not disregard Pastors, preachers or teachers who find revelation in the scripture. That is not my intention. God will speak to people and through people, however, it will always align itself with His word and when it doesn’t, that is a preference from man and not a revelation from God.

My issue is when preference outranks truth and then both believers and non- believers are mislead into a false idea of salvation and Christianity.

If abstaining from jeans, makeup, earrings & jewelry had any bearing on your salvation, then the crucifixion of Jesus Christ would have been done in vain and irrelevant to believers today.

There is nothing you can do (or not do for that matter) that will bring you closer to or further from Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You are saved by grace, not good works, public appearance or tiring rules, rituals or religious practices. A desperate attempt to create a reachable standard minimizes the greatness of God and His perfect plan of redemption for all mankind. To call the clothes someone wears to church unholy, the color nail polish they choose demonic or the jewelry they wear provocative without ever evaluating your own heart and intentions regarding these judgments is foolishness. I am certain that Jesus is much more concerned with the condition of our hearts, rather than the clothes on our backs.

It honestly saddens me when I hear of these sorts of beliefs systems. Systems so self- centered that they mock the very sacrifice that was made at the cross by thinking there is ANYTHING that can be done in order to be saved. I believe that it is our deepest desire to be “safe” and KNOW we are in right standing that leads us to create our own guidelines for Salvation and in turn steering others into a false idea of faith, not with the intention to be deceitful, rather a product of personal desperation.

I wonder what it would look like if the church would stop its tireless attempts to deflect the bad and began a diligent pursuit of good… I wonder if in that pursuit of righteousness and justice believers would find true peace in the presence of God and no longer attempt to create a salvation of their own.

My heart is heavy for this situation, and I would say to both the believer and non- believer alike, YOU ARE ENOUGH. Jesus died for YOU, your sins, your short comings and every mistake you would ever make. This is not a license to do wrong, but a release to live free. There is nothing you can do to separate yourself from God, there is nothing you can do to earn (or keep) your salvation other than simply BELIEVING. Release yourself from the yoke of slavery, once and for all. You are free. Free to live in Jesus Christ. You are no longer bound by sin. YOU ARE FREE, for who the SON (not rules or rituals) sets FREE, IS FREE INDEED.