fresh air equals fresh perspective

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The colors of the leaves, the fresh air, honey crisp apples, fall jackets, and the chill of the changing temperatures, I love it all. Finding time to appreciate all of these things can be difficult when life seems so busy. I am making sure I set aside time to just appreciate the 'right now' of life and not let it pass me by. Getting fresh air and allowing myself to really see what is going on around me and in my life right now is the way that I gain some fresh perspective. Going for a run, a walk, or just sitting outside, it's a time where I can just be with Him. No distractions. Well, minus the occasional leaf blower or lawn mower. I am recognizing that right where I am in this very moment is right where God wants me to be. Changing my mindset to the present rather than the future is a challenge. I'm always up for a good challenge. 

Be in the moment. Don't let any thoughts about the future or even your tomorrow distract you from your right now. 

"And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there." 1 Corinthians 7:17 [message]

Trust His Timing

Happy Monday! I thought I would start out my week by looking back at my very first post on this blog. All the way back in 2011. Talk about an enlightening experience... My first post was all about Romans 12. [Which I am still working my way through by the way.] This is what I wrote 3 years ago, 

"There are so many great truths in this chapter but the end of verse 3 was the first thing that stuck out to me. I read and re-read it and let it really sink in. Our lives are not meant to please ourselves. Just let that last sentence sink in for a second.

Are you living your life to please yourself?

Are you doing what you want to do just because you want to do it?

Have you asked God for direction in your life?'

I am praying very specifically about my future and everything that I am feeling in my heart to do in the future. And I am still chewing on the same verse I was in 2011. I think it's a verse that you can constantly use to keep yourself in check. 

Those last 3 questions are the same questions that I am asking myself and praying about right now.
 Are you living your life to please yourself?

Are you doing what you want to do just because you want to do it?

Have you asked God for direction in your life?
 My answers are a lot different than they were in 2011. I am not the same person I was in 2011. Hooray for growth! In 2011 God started me on a wild, crazy, and somewhat scary journey of owning my own business. Now, almost 4 years into that crazy journey of surrendering everything to God, I can still sense God working in it but also, wanting to bring more abundant life into well... my life.
What is that going to look like? I don't know. 
What will that require from me? I don't know. 
Will it be scary? Um, yes I am sure of it. 
Will it be exciting? YES! 
Will God equip me to tackle whatever He chooses to bring my way? You better believe it.
I am fully understanding myself as a child of God every time He confirms his will and direction for me. I am submerging myself in His word and getting an "ah-ha" moment every time speaks truth and gives me 'two thumbs up' to the desires he has put inside my heart. I am at a point where I am no longer relying on myself and what I can do for Him but what He wants to do for me. 
A COMPLETE SURRENDER TO HIS WILL FOR MY LIFE.
"It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone."
Ephesians 1:11-12

Don't put your hope in the boat.

I have learned a little lesson and wanted to share it with you.

 [please refer to what happened with Paul in Acts 27--- go read it. it's good.]

We all have put our hope in something at one point or another. An acceptance letter. A job. A man. A vacation. It's something we want to happen. Something that we desire. Something that we expect. However, back to Paul [here's another chance...go and read Acts 27]. God spoke to him and told him to pass on the message to the whole boat that they would not die in the storm. They would land safely but, their boat would be destroyed. 

I think a lot of time we put our hope in the boat. The thing that we truly desire becomes our boat. We use it to carry us through things. To bring us from one part of our life to another. To get us safely from Monday to Friday. However, when God decides to send a storm our way, our boat doesn't hold against the storm. If our hope is in that boat, we are crushed. Bring on the froyo because life as we know it seems to be over. Our hope should be in God not the boat. 

Now that your focus is off the "boat," learn to take your focus off the storms that God brings your boat through. Know that God still has his hand of protection on you in the middle of the storm. Begin to focus on the future that God has promised you. Just like Paul told the prisoners, "keep your courage." Take your courage and separate it from your conditions. Your courage is under your control. Feed your courage instead of your fears. Understand that God knows your hopes [he actually gave you them] and will align them with His hopes for you when the time comes. Your dream job may not be His dream job for you. Don't make it your boat, because we all know what happened to the boat. 

44 "... everyone reached land safely."