Prayer Request

Let us all pray for the victims and families involved in the tragic school shooting in CT today.

Am I Still in The Way?

God calls and you do not hear, for you are preoccupied with your own voice.

-A Course in Miracles

Most days I send out a thought for the day to my team at work and then I forward it on to a few others.  Well, back in late October I sent out this quote and it just made me stop and think for a moment.  This one didn’t cause me to have a quick response or reaction, but it prompted me to stop and just think.  It didn’t make me think of anyone else – just me.  As much as I love God and try to be obedient to His leading – I have to ask myself, how much of my own voice am I still relying on?  How much of my own logic am I still relying on?  How many times do I tell myself, “well the last time this happened, that happened?”

When I listen to my own voice, some of the following things most likely happen:

Ø  I am easily angered.

Ø  I am easily offended.

Ø  I complain.

Ø  I dwell on the negative.

Ø  I have a back up plan.

Ø  I consult others before I consult God.

Ø  I vent to others before I pray.

Ø  Fear easily grips me.

John 10:27 – 30…”My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” 

Jeremiah 29:11 – 13…”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” 

If I’ve been preoccupied with my own voice, how much have I missed?  Whose life didn’t I touch because I didn’t hear God?  What prayer didn’t I pray?  What offering didn’t I give? What difficult situation was extended because I didn’t hear?  How many times did I disappoint God?  How many excuses have I made?

Prayer Still Works…

I love when I hear the song in this video. I crank it up loud and sing along to the best of my ability.  LOL!  No matter how good or bad I may sound when I worship with this, I believe the words deep down in my heart – to my core!

PRAYER STILL WORKS… meditate on this today and be blessed.

 

 

 

 

Ensnaring Words…

I honestly think that many times we give the enemy ammunition to use against us, by the words and the confessions that fall from our lips.  Sometimes we just talk entirely too much!  We pray less and talk more to people who can’t do anything for us.

There is a quote that I love that says:

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

How true is this when you actually just think about it?!?!?!  Stop it at the thought and cast down the imagination.  Speak positively over any situation that you may be facing and allow God to do the work.  Remember – the battle is not yours; it’s the Lord’s.

Don’t ensnare yourself with words from your own mouth.  Speak life!

Watch Your Mouth

There’s a scripture in the bible that says, Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. (I Corinthians 10:23, NIV)

This passage of scripture has been on my mind for a few days now and it serves to me as a reminder that  words can be spoken out, but cannot be taken back once in the air.  If  it’s not beneficial nor constructive, why speak them?  There is always an appropriate way to address any situation that you encounter, so think before you speak.  Ask yourself, what is my true motive or intent behind saying this.  Will I hurt someone or help them? 

Words carry more power than we know.

Moving On...

So I've been facilitating classes online for the past 4 years and I finally decided to resign.  Initially I felt like I was just being a quitter and was very reluctant to make the move.  It's something that I've been contemplating for a while now.  However, after speaking with a friend about it, she was like "you're not quitting, you're moving on."  She's absolutely right, I'm moving on.  Honestly I was beginning to lose the enjoyment behind what I was doing and I would have been more of a hindrance to the students than a help.  People can notice when your passion is gone.

Now, I won't say that you can just move on from anything, but there are many things that you can.  The decision to move one has left me feeling at peace.  Facilitating online classes served it's purpose in my life and I thank God for the ability to do it for as long as I did.

It's time for a new challenge in my life and time for me to develop new goals.  I'm moving on to my next assignment...

A Better Way...

Even though I know I'm not right about everything, I don't always like to admit it.  LOL!  This week we've been in a LEAN event and trying to find more efficient methods of performing our work processes.  I'd of course like to think that my team is performing optimally and no one can tell me otherwise.  Well, when you get a group of educated, impartial minds together, you'd be surprised at what you can achieve. 

Low and behold, as a group, we came up with a much better way to perform a crucial step to my team's performance.  So my lesson learned was to let go, let my guard down and trust a little.  The opinions and suggestions of the team proved to be invaluable.

Lesson learned for life... sometimes people standing on the outside can see things a little more clearly than we are when we are directly in it.  Don't be so quick to shut a person down for offering advice.