Tag Archive | success

A Bump in the Road

This week heavily on my mind, is the fact that I have made some decisions, or a least I thought I made some decisions.

Decisions that pertain to the things I want to share, here, and anywhere else I’d like to share it.

I find myself out here again, on a bumpy road. Trying to traverse the landscape with a minimum of bumpage. My husband is mortified when I make up words, but bumpage is a good one right? I’m positive you know what I mean.

You’re moving right along, everything lined up straight, and BAM! A cloud of confusion, or a bank of brain fog, too many ideas to count all descend on you at once, or none at all. It’s a moment when you realize that the decision(s) you made made not be as clear as you thought they were. Without a clear purpose, without a clear focus, moving forward is depressingly difficult.

I’m not sure what I can figure it all out here, but allow me to use this space to look back and see how I got here, so that I can figure out, again, which way to go to get around these bumps.

My husband and I discuss often, the fact that in the age we live in, we have taught our children WHAT to think, and not HOW to think. When I was raised, I have no clear recollection of either. I remember in school, finishing my work, and then wandering around the classroom, disturbing the other kids. Instead of training me to THINK of something else to do, I would get whatever the punishment of the day was, and a lot of cross words about how I would never amount to much.

So suffice to say, it is no big surprise that the “Soundtrack of my life” was full of confusion and fog and a cacophony of noises.  When you receive these messages day in and day out, you begin to believe them

I remember always thinking, “I’m going to do this.” I’m going to do that.” All the while doing nothing because I did not know how to sort those thoughts out, or how to put them all together to make sense.

Several years back, every time I heard “I’m going to do this.” in my head, then right after that, I would hear “just stop talking about it and do it.” I began to discern the difference between saying and doing. It sounds simple enough, but let’s face it, when you weren’t taught to think, it is a difficult task.

Sorting those things out fell into a few different categories;

  • What people had said to/about me
    • What I thought about me
  • What people had done to me
    • What I thought because people did what people do
  • Is it possible to change these things?
  • Finally, what did God think of me?
    • How was I created by Him to be?

As you might imagine, these things took some doing to over come. It took a great deal of introspection, and internal dialogue. Separating the negative dialogue from the positive. Changing that “Soundtrack” to something that I could really live with, and then, begin to help others to walk the same way.

It is something that needs to be revisited from time to time. I’m fairly certain that it’s that time again for me.

Bumps in the road are inevitable.

How we navigate them determines our success or failure.

If you have read this far, then I imagine that this is something that plagues your mind as well.

Might I suggest, that you take just a few moments for yourself. To be quiet. To begin to sort all that has been stored inside of you for so long? I know that my “Quietude” lately has been must less than what I require. So it is time to begin again.

Quieting the heart that beats inside of us, is the best place to start.

I’ve left a video here to get you started.

I would love to hear your comments, and any other ideas that have helped you to become clear and focused. We’ll have some here on this blog, and help each other out.

How about it? You in?

 

 

Perseverance

Another look back. This time to March 11, 2010. Cycle Drawing

After looking back, with the thought in mind about cycles, I began to think that one “cycle” in life that would be of benefit to us, would be the one where we persistently, tenaciously, strive after God.

At times I strive for him deeply, while at other times, my mind and body just do not want to cooperate.

It took many years for me to find out that these cycles are normal, and that if I slow down a bit, rest adequately, and don’t believe all the negative press I give myself, that these cycles pass. As I told a friend recently, “They didn’t come to stay, they came to pass.”

The 2010 writing is as follows;

James 1:4 stopped me in my tracks this morning.

Here’s how it reads; Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I’ve been asking God about some things lately that seem to go on and on and on. When I read this verse, I had to read it again and again and again.

Then I did a little word study, and here’s what I found. There is a “Crafted Prayer” at the end.

The dictionary I used was a Websters, copyright 1989, and the concordance was the NIV Exhaustive Concordance, copyright 1990.

Dictionary definitions; Numbered definitions are from the original Greek.

Perseverance – Being persistent. A continuing in a state of grace, leading to a state of glory.
Persevere – To try hard and continuously in spite of obstacles and difficulties.
5705 – Endurance (patient, great) persistence. Standing firm, endure patiently.
Mature – Having reached a state of full natural development. Relating to a time when development is complete. Involving or arrived at after prolonged, careful thought. 5455 – Perfect, adult, perfection.
Complete – Nothing missing or lacking. Absolute, entire. To perfect, round off. 3908 – Whole.
Lacking – Short of, without. That which is missing or needed. 3309 – Not having everything needed.

Lord, Help me to hold on to You in spite of the obstacles I face, so that I may bring You glory. Help me to patiently stand firm until my development in You is complete. Help me to give careful thought to Your word, until my growth has nothing missing or broken. Help me to be completely whole, having nothing needed.

Let Your glory be shown in me.

Persist with me. Persist with Him.

Nothing missing, nothing broken. Won’t that be glorious?

Amen

In All Honesty……

I’ve been told most of my Christ following life that I needed to memorize scripture.

All of my Christ following life I have tried.

In all honesty …… I’ve failed miserably.

Every trick, every hack, every equation I have accessed to do it has failed.

As a result, in all of my Christ following life,

In all honesty …… I have carried a tremendous amount of guilt for that failure.

I’ve grown in my Christ following life, to know how exactly I’ve been created,

and how different my peers and I thought that I should be.

In all honesty ….. I’m a feeler and a thinker, but lean more to the feeling side.

Pink Bible

I said all that to say this;

This morning I listened to the audio version of the Bible, Romans chapter 12, on line -cool British accent – Four times, not MEMORIZING much. I know what it says, I’ve been reading it for years, but to say it exactly – not so much.

Here for your perusal, is the “Deb Version” if you will, each verse, translated for ease of reading and understanding;

I think it came out well, and are really words I can live by.

v. 1 Present your body

v. 2 Renew your mind, transform it

v. 3 Think of yourself as God does

v.4 You do you. Your own calling.

v.5 Together we make a complete body, we need each other

v.6 Prophesy (In your own measure)

v.7 Serve. Teach.

v.8 Exhort. Contribute. Lead. Show mercy.

v.9 Love well. Hate evil.

v.10 Show honor (Out do each other in this)

v.11 Don’t be lazy. Serve enthusiastically.

v.12 Rejoice and pray, no matter what

v.13 Give and be kind

v.14 Bless the mean ones

v.15 YooHoo with those that YooHoo, and BooHoo with those that BooHoo

v.16 Live peacefully. Be nice to everyone.

v.17 Let God sort it out – You Be Nice!

v.18 Do what you can to be at peace

v.19 God’s got this.

v.20 Feed your enemy. Give him a drink. He’ll wonder what you’re up to.

v.21 Don’t let evil take over – Use the authority inside you to overcome

Simple enough? Yep.

In all honesty …… If you are at all like me, you won’t memorize this either, but you will remember some of the concepts better than the actual verses.

Now, if you are not at all like me, and need things straight up, linear, and the way they should/must/ought to be; I’ve placed the original script at the end of this post.

I hope this has been helpful.

Go with how you are created! Be happy just doing you – No body does you better!

 

Romans 12 King James Version (KJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.