Happy New Year!
Today we are a clean slate, a fresh page on which to doodle. As with the onset of each New Year, many of us make promises, called resolutions, to ourselves about the way we’d like to "live" this year. In essence, yesterday was our performance review and today we at least attempt in our pursuit to "do" or live better lives. This sometimes calls for a transformation to take place.
What is a transformation? Transformation is a change, actually according to the Thesaurus; it is a major change! When I look at my life in review, I am able to understand the nuance of the emphasis in the degree of change! If we keep approaching life from the same standpoint we've been stuck in, why are we surprised when the outcome stays the same?! See why major isn’t such a minor detail?! Ha!
I have friends who, like I, are in the process of making some major changes in their lives and taking those steps are not necessarily easy. There is the factor of fear of the unknown that lies just around the corner and like a game of chess, the wrong move could land you in checkmate. Sometimes the moves we make we think are the ones "God" wants us to make, when in reality, had we not listened to the unmitigating fear that lies just beneath the surface, we might have seen otherwise. We think, we pray, we research and we hope we are making the right moves, but and that niggling word but, should always throw the red flag for us, not every opportunity presented is the right opportunity for us. But, we say, we thought it was God directed…here is what I’m learning, this is the transformation lesson.
God is not concerned with our comfort, meaning our freedom from financial worries. The more credence we place in our self-sufficiency, the more likely we are headed in the wrong direction. Sigh. If we are trusting in OUR own power to provide, then we can’t be trusting in HIS power to provide for us.
Transformation (according to my new favorite author – Stephen W. Smith) does not come from earning love. It comes from being loved. Once again I am astounded at the simplicity of the verb tense and it is the exact reason so many of us miss it…we aren’t supposed to be "doing" we are supposed to "be." When we find ourselves in the "doing" stage, we are acting in a self-reliant manner. We can’t "earn" our way into heaven, we don’t get there by performance because nothing will ever be enough and yet we persist in trying, when all we really need to do is believe. Hmmm, and the first two letters in believe are "be"!
In the notes in the "be"ginning of chapter 2 in his book "The Lazarus Life", Smith writes that sometimes Jesus doesn’t show up when we need Him most, and Smith profoundly points out that while you and I see today, God sees eternity. So while we are muddling things up, God is trying to untangle the myriad of problems we have created en masse. Waiting on Him is part of the process and we will sometimes have to work through the disillusionments in our lives while we wait.
How do we hear God, a friend recently asked me. I don’t know that I have the answer for that one, but I might say that God will not entice you to do something that will lead you on a path of not depending on Him. He will not move you to self sufficiency, said another way. God wants us relational to Him first.
My husband and I use to watch Suze Orman on Saturday nights. At the end of her show, she’d stress the importance of people first, then money, then things. I have no idea about her faith, but I’d add that God would want to be number one, then people, then the rest of it.
This past year as been financially difficult in our household. Business has been almost non-existent, we had one wedding and this year we have another. I’ve taken on a "contract" job that enables us to meet our financial needs (not wants), but through this process a major transformation is taking place. This blog was created a year ago out of my desire to share the insights I feel I am being blessed with. Has it been easy, no. Have we survived, yes. Would I desire to be better off financially, heck yes! But the best gift I’ve been given through this is the gift of God Himself, who has met me sometimes in the depths of despair and raised me to heights I’ve never seen before.
God has allowed my heart to be broken (and at my request, mind you) to the ongoings of life around me, but He didn’t leave me there, He put me in His game plan and allowed me to participate with Him working through me. And while those whom I’ve helped may or may not be aware, they have in turned been the biggest blessings in my life. And yet another quote, "It is good to be strong and able to bless others, but it is also necessary to learn the value of being vulnerable enough to let others be strong for you and let others bless you. In doing so, it is also a blessing to them." – Heaven is for Real
Faith is living life in process, which means you are not quite all that God has in store for you, but you are on your way. Because we are human we will always have doubts about our current status, but as a Christian, (having a relationship with Christ) means that I’m willing to wait on His timetable for answers to the questions I may not even know to ask yet.
I will end with this. If you are like me (sorry!)….sometimes we have difficulty asking for the things we need the most. What I am finding out is that people need to know that they are not alone in what it is they are going through. God wants us to be relational and being relational means we interact with Him and others. Anything, and I do mean anything, that stands in your way of "being" and by the way you can’t "do" relational, is not the way of God. Spend time with God, spend time with others. Because of the economy, many of us were forced to tone down our holidays. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I will once again state, that the best present I can ever receive is one of presence. Last year proved bountiful!
Looking up!
Barb
Today we are a clean slate, a fresh page on which to doodle. As with the onset of each New Year, many of us make promises, called resolutions, to ourselves about the way we’d like to "live" this year. In essence, yesterday was our performance review and today we at least attempt in our pursuit to "do" or live better lives. This sometimes calls for a transformation to take place.
What is a transformation? Transformation is a change, actually according to the Thesaurus; it is a major change! When I look at my life in review, I am able to understand the nuance of the emphasis in the degree of change! If we keep approaching life from the same standpoint we've been stuck in, why are we surprised when the outcome stays the same?! See why major isn’t such a minor detail?! Ha!
I have friends who, like I, are in the process of making some major changes in their lives and taking those steps are not necessarily easy. There is the factor of fear of the unknown that lies just around the corner and like a game of chess, the wrong move could land you in checkmate. Sometimes the moves we make we think are the ones "God" wants us to make, when in reality, had we not listened to the unmitigating fear that lies just beneath the surface, we might have seen otherwise. We think, we pray, we research and we hope we are making the right moves, but and that niggling word but, should always throw the red flag for us, not every opportunity presented is the right opportunity for us. But, we say, we thought it was God directed…here is what I’m learning, this is the transformation lesson.
God is not concerned with our comfort, meaning our freedom from financial worries. The more credence we place in our self-sufficiency, the more likely we are headed in the wrong direction. Sigh. If we are trusting in OUR own power to provide, then we can’t be trusting in HIS power to provide for us.
Transformation (according to my new favorite author – Stephen W. Smith) does not come from earning love. It comes from being loved. Once again I am astounded at the simplicity of the verb tense and it is the exact reason so many of us miss it…we aren’t supposed to be "doing" we are supposed to "be." When we find ourselves in the "doing" stage, we are acting in a self-reliant manner. We can’t "earn" our way into heaven, we don’t get there by performance because nothing will ever be enough and yet we persist in trying, when all we really need to do is believe. Hmmm, and the first two letters in believe are "be"!
In the notes in the "be"ginning of chapter 2 in his book "The Lazarus Life", Smith writes that sometimes Jesus doesn’t show up when we need Him most, and Smith profoundly points out that while you and I see today, God sees eternity. So while we are muddling things up, God is trying to untangle the myriad of problems we have created en masse. Waiting on Him is part of the process and we will sometimes have to work through the disillusionments in our lives while we wait.
How do we hear God, a friend recently asked me. I don’t know that I have the answer for that one, but I might say that God will not entice you to do something that will lead you on a path of not depending on Him. He will not move you to self sufficiency, said another way. God wants us relational to Him first.
My husband and I use to watch Suze Orman on Saturday nights. At the end of her show, she’d stress the importance of people first, then money, then things. I have no idea about her faith, but I’d add that God would want to be number one, then people, then the rest of it.
This past year as been financially difficult in our household. Business has been almost non-existent, we had one wedding and this year we have another. I’ve taken on a "contract" job that enables us to meet our financial needs (not wants), but through this process a major transformation is taking place. This blog was created a year ago out of my desire to share the insights I feel I am being blessed with. Has it been easy, no. Have we survived, yes. Would I desire to be better off financially, heck yes! But the best gift I’ve been given through this is the gift of God Himself, who has met me sometimes in the depths of despair and raised me to heights I’ve never seen before.
God has allowed my heart to be broken (and at my request, mind you) to the ongoings of life around me, but He didn’t leave me there, He put me in His game plan and allowed me to participate with Him working through me. And while those whom I’ve helped may or may not be aware, they have in turned been the biggest blessings in my life. And yet another quote, "It is good to be strong and able to bless others, but it is also necessary to learn the value of being vulnerable enough to let others be strong for you and let others bless you. In doing so, it is also a blessing to them." – Heaven is for Real
Faith is living life in process, which means you are not quite all that God has in store for you, but you are on your way. Because we are human we will always have doubts about our current status, but as a Christian, (having a relationship with Christ) means that I’m willing to wait on His timetable for answers to the questions I may not even know to ask yet.
I will end with this. If you are like me (sorry!)….sometimes we have difficulty asking for the things we need the most. What I am finding out is that people need to know that they are not alone in what it is they are going through. God wants us to be relational and being relational means we interact with Him and others. Anything, and I do mean anything, that stands in your way of "being" and by the way you can’t "do" relational, is not the way of God. Spend time with God, spend time with others. Because of the economy, many of us were forced to tone down our holidays. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I will once again state, that the best present I can ever receive is one of presence. Last year proved bountiful!
Looking up!
Barb
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