Saturday, May 28, 2016

MOVING ON

I've talked a lot lately in my personal life about starting a new chapter. It's both exciting and uncomfortable but so necessary and very rewarding. So many people are constantly staring at the same page in the same book instead of turning the page, beginning a new chapter, or just closing the book and starting a new one. When a person decides to do one of these things, they choose to move on. 

Moving on means leaving some things behind. They become a part of our past. We have to cut ties to things that no longer serve a purpose in the new season of life. This also applies to people. As the saying goes, people are in our life for a season, reason, or a lifetime. 

Be prayerful about your life. Seek the Lord about where you should go, what you should do, and when you should do it. Just as important as it is to move on in life, it's just as important to move in His timing.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Be blessed.









Thursday, May 12, 2016

THE LORD WILL DIRECT MY PATHS

It can be hard to give up control.  For the most part, we want to be able to control the what, when, how, or why. When we're trusting the Lord, we give up complete control to Him. We are patient in His timing and the process of the what, when, how, and why.

As I prayed this morning and told the Lord that He has my total trust, the following scripture came to mind:


Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5,6
I spoke it aloud and made it personal for me:
"Lord, I trust you with my whole heart and I will not lean on my own understanding. I acknowledge You in all my ways and You will direct my paths."
I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but my focus is on this day. I want to be where the Lord wants me to be and do what He wants me to do. I can't become anxious about tomorrow or even the next hour. I must look at what's before me and flow with Him. When I seek Him daily for His guidance, instruction, and I am attentive and obedient to His voice, I can't go wrong. I won't be led astray. I will accomplish what I am to accomplish for the day.
Stay encouraged. Be blessed.


Thursday, May 5, 2016

THE PUSH

Note: As I looked over my past posts, I discovered a similar entry I wrote in May 2015 regarding the push out of the comfort zone. I do not think it is a coincidence that I am writing a very similar post almost one year later. This tells me it is important to remind myself and all of you of the necessary push we all need at some time or another. 

The comfort zone is exactly that, a comfortable place to be. Remaining in the comfort zone stunts growth. There are no challenges and a person is not able to expand beyond what one already knows. Gifts and talents remain hidden because of a lack of opportunity to expose them. Most people will remain in this position if left alone. Others will push themselves beyond this zone or receive a push from some other source.

I can personally speak about being pushed out of my comfort zone. I spent many years living in a place of comfort because I was afraid of the unfamiliar that waited me outside of the box. I call my comfort zone a box because that is what it felt like to me. Being trapped in a box. I am a leader and I know it. It is a miserable feeling to be a leader, feeling as though your hands are tied, and trapped in a box. I cannot blame anyone for putting me in that box because God had given me the power to escape, but I came up with every excuse possible as to why I needed to be there. I do understand there was a set time I was to remain in that place to have my life touched and to touch the lives of others, but when it was time to branch out, I remained.

At the beginning of this year, I promised myself this year would not be the same as last year or the year before because I needed a change. I was going to use the power and authority I was given to change 2016. Not long after making this promise, here comes the push. I will not spend time explaining all of the details regarding the push, but just know that due to a series of events, I am happy to say that I have taken a great leap of faith and escaped the box. I have left the comfort zone that I permitted to stunt my growth and keep my gifts and talents hidden from the world. I am so happy and at peace with my decision. I cannot begin to explain how freeing it feels to stretch beyond the familiar.

There are many people we have to reach using our God given gifts and talents and staying in a place of comfort prevents us from reaching them. It is up to each one of us to use the faith we were given to go beyond this place of comfort. 

Be blessed.