Categories
Journey

Is God Enough?

Why is it so hard to truly believe that God is enough?

I have been wrestling with the idea of God being all I need. We hear the words, know that they are true, but then live our lives as if we don’t really believe that God is enough. Why else would our lives be so filled with comparison, worry and disappointment? Why is something that is so powerful and fulfilling so hard to believe and accept? Why do we chase things in our life instead of turning and falling into God’s open arms?

I have believed in God practically my whole life. I was raised in a Christian home, attended church every week and had daily devotions and prayer, but as I look back on my life, I have lived it as if God was never enough. He was part of my life, but never enough! Why did I always chase after more – more money, more friends, more responsibility, more power, more attention, more of the good life, you fill in the blank ________? Why is it so hard to turn to God for all that He promises to give to us? Why when you are disappointed or hurt do you turn to others or “self-medicating” instead of turning to God first or at all? Why is it when you feel lonely you forget to turn to God who is your friend?

I have come up with four things that I think contribute to this behavior. There are probably more, but here is what I have found to be the drivers for me:

Fear of Missing Out – It is hard to be “all in” with God when you feel like you are missing out on the fun. I am learning though, that God doesn’t want to take the fun away from you, He wants to be part of the fun!
Lack of Contentment – we always want more and it seems like we never have enough. Even though we are richly blessed and have more that we need, we want to have a bigger house, a nicer car, a better job, etc. God still gives us amazing gifts and blessings, but when we lack contentment we fail to appreciate God for what He has given us and believing that it is enough.
Feelings of Insecurity – when we think we are not good enough or when we sin, we are afraid that we have done something that will make God not love us. But we have to remember that God loves us for who we are and not for what we do or have done. His love doesn’t change. It is our feelings about our behavior that causes us to change and avoid God.
Lack of Trust and Faith – for me this has always been the biggest reason why God has not been enough. I believed that I had to work harder and that I was in control. When I learn to put my life in His hands and allow Him to guide and direct my actions, it is so much easier to trust and have faith. Over the past six months each day has been a step of faith and I am learning to let go of worry and trust Him. As I take steps of faith I am finding that God is enough!

I have learned over the last six months that I have so much greater joy when I let go of the fears and insecurities and learn to go to God first with my thoughts, needs, desires and frustrations. When I let God be enough, I don’t have to worry about not doing my share. I don’t have to worry about what others think of me. I find I am much more able to live out the “fruits of the spirit” in my life. Allowing God to live through me is so fulfilling and exciting. I wonder what I have missed out on in this life because I wanted more and couldn’t allow God to be enough?

When you are holding on to things in your life, your hands are not free to wrap them around God. You give him a partial hug because you keep your other hand holding on to what you want or try to hide it from God. Learn to let go of those things that control you so that you can learn to believe that God is enough for you.

My questions for you:

  • What areas of your life do you live that show you believe God is not enough?
  • What do you have to let go of so that you can put your arms around God?
  • What things do you have to stop doing because it makes you feel unlovable?
  • Who can you show God’s love to this week?
Categories
Journey

God’s Confirmation Follows Your Obedience

“God’s confirmation follows your obedience” – Steven Furtick

Have you ever read a tweet or seen a post on facebook that just hits you? You know that there is something in it that you need to do something with, but you don’t know what it is! That is what this tweet from Steven Furtick has done to me this past week! Here is what I have been processing to help explain why this has impacted me so.

I want to hear God’s confirmation before I will take action!

It is so much easier to move forward when you receive God’s confirmation, but it removes the element of trust and faith. I can say I want to follow God’s calling for me, but if I am unwilling to take a step of faith and show my trust, do I really believe? This is the case for us. We have not received our 501c3 approval from the IRS that will establish Potential Endeavors as an organization that can receive tax deductible donations, but God is telling us to move forward with ministry plans for the next year. It would be so much easier if we knew we could receive donations to help cover our costs, but still we have no confirmation. We know we should move forward and trust that God will provide.

Taking steps of faith before confirmation is scary

It is so much easier to take action when you have a clear confirmation and have received money to pay expenses. It is scary to trust God and that He will provide when we need it. Of course, I know that God is in control and He promises to give us what we need, but my human nature has a hard time not being a little scared to spend and trust.

What if I am wrong?

My mind can always get in the way of my faith. I over think things all the time. Even though we have clearly heard God’s direction for our lives and He has opened doors for ministry, I can still have doubts. What if our 501c3 is denied? What would we do if we do not get approval? Even to these doubts God provides answers. This week I was sharing our ministry plans with a friend. I shared about these doubts and what if scenarios. His response was: “If you do not get approval, I know of other organization that you could partner with that would allow you to receive donations for your ministry.” Why do I have doubts when God speaks so very clearly?

What is confirmation? How is it different than following God direction?

This gets back to the original tweet. In reality God just wants my obedience to follow Him and do His work. He has shown us the opportunities where we can be involved, He has opened the doors and now it is up to us to walk through them. We must show our faith by trusting and believing! When we do our part, I believe that God will provide His confirmation in a way that enables Him to be glorified and not our actions.

Some questions for you as you read this today:

  • Where does God want you to show your obedience?
  • What confirmation are you waiting for before you take a step of faith?
  • What doubts do you need to let go of?
Categories
Ukraine

What’s Next

We just got home from an amazing trip to Ukraine and Germany and we had so many amazing experiences. Here are four things that God taught us on this trip:

God puts people in your life every day that are easy to miss!

One of the things I learned on this trip is that God is always putting people in your life for a reason, but in my past, I too often was so busy with my own agenda that I missed people that were on God’s agenda for me. One example of this. When we were on the train from Kiev to Lviv on our way to participate in English camps with Campus Ukraine, we were sitting next to two women. Our train left very early so people slept most of the way, but as we started to pull into Lviv, our friend Dima struck up a conversation with the two women next to us. One of them was a university student, so he introduced us as Americans who were on our way to Lviv to work in the English camp. He invited her to camp, told her when it was and where. She responded with a familiar response – I think I am busy. Well when the camp started on Tuesday night, who walked into our class – the girl from the train. This began a new friendship that I believe God will use in a powerful way.

God has plans for you, if you are patient enough to wait for His timing!

We went on our trip to Ukraine to explore ministry opportunities for the future. We knew that God was leading us to work in Ukraine, but as we left for this trip we had no idea what those opportunities would be. Throughout our trip we met with many different teams and learned about their ministry and what their needs were and how could we help them. As we completed our trip, we had come up with ten different opportunities that were presented to us. One of these opportunities was one that we never expected. We met with a church leader over churches in the Cherkasy region. We went into the meeting not expecting any ministry opportunities to come from it, but God had other plans. It turns out that our meeting was an answer to his prayers. He had been praying for a year that someone would come to help him work with the churches in his region to help them make the changes needed to reach those who need Jesus in their region. I believe this was the very meeting that God had prepared for us to show us what He had planned for us. It is amazing how God puts all the pieces together in His timing!

Take time to listen and ask how you can pray for people!

One of the best parts of this trip was the number of meetings we had with different people from cities across Ukraine. We had meetings with people from Lviv, Kiev, Cherkasy, Chigirin and Odessa. Even though we live 5000+ miles away and speak a different language, we still serve the same God! There are opportunities across the world to share the love of Christ to those who need and are searching for it. While in Lviv, we stayed in a hostel that had a common area that was used as a lunchroom. Each evening after working in the English camps we would sit in the common area and talk. Each night God would bring new people to the table from across the world and we would have an opportunity to talk with them. During our time in Lviv, we had the opportunity to share God’s love and plan for salvation with a man from China, who spoke no English or Ukrainian, but we shared through Google Translate; an atheist from Belgium who was backpacking across Eastern Europe and an American from Philadelphia who was traveling across Europe before starting graduate school. We also had many meetings with ministry leaders working in Ukraine. We could hear their story, listen to their needs and challenges, provide encouragement and then pray for them. It was incredibly powerful to see how God is working through the lives of so many people.

Take the time for that one additional conversation!

On our last day working in Ukraine, we had the opportunity to share with Campus Ukraine Catalytic team from Kiev. We had a fun afternoon of sharing stories, discussing time management and team dynamics. As the day ended and people were off to other commitments, one couple stayed behind because they wanted to ask us something. Their friends were encouraging them to get to the car as they had a train to catch, but they wanted to talk. It turns out that they live in the Odessa area and they work with Campus Ukraine, military families and pastor a church that is striving to reach their community. They wanted to talk because they wanted to ask if we would be willing to meet with them to help them in their ministry. We said yes and gave them our contact information. We have already had one meeting, and I believe that God is going to use this family to make a big impact in their community.

God is so good! We are so excited to begin making plans for ministry with Ukraine in the years to come. We still have many obstacles – like approval of our non-profit from the IRS – but I believe that we know where God wants us to take the next step and continue to remember to TRUST HIM!

Categories
Ukraine

Undiscovered Roads

We are super excited to be heading to Ukraine next week. We have meetings with many people and groups and we are praying that God will use this trip to reveal to us where He wants us to be working next.

This is a very different trip for us. We do not have a defined purpose other than to listen to God’s direction. For me this is probably the hardest part. I am not used to doing things without a defined plan and clear outcomes. We have no idea what will come next after this trip.

During this trip, we will be visiting three cities, meeting leaders of three different international ministries, meeting with some church leaders and spending some time with friends. We will be attending an English camp and experiencing a week of what that type of ministry could look like. We are going into each meeting and experience with these two simple questions:

What could we do to help you in your ministry?
Is this where God wants us to give our time and energy?

We do not know what the answer to these questions will be. If this trip is anything like our past seven months, the answer will probably be very different from what we would think or expect. God has a way of surprising us with answers that are very different from what our thoughts or expectations are. We are praying that God will reveal to us His plans in His timing and that we would continue to be faithful and walk through each door as He opens them, no matter what they may be.

We know that this trip is part of His plan and we feel confident that ministry in Ukraine is part of what God has for us. We have no idea what that ministry or work will be. That makes this both very exciting as well as very scary. Learning to be faithful and truly trust God is a journey. Each turn of the road provides another opportunity to challenge our faith and willingness to allow God to lead us.

Here are our prayer requests for this trip:
• That God will reveal to us His plans for Potential Endeavors.
• That we will be faithful to walk through doors that He opens.
• That we will trust God and not try to figure it out based on our own wishes and ideas.
• That we will be used by God to encourage and support others.

Thank you for going along with us on this journey through your prayers and thoughts!

Categories
Journey

Real Peace?

For the past several years I have selected a word for the year.  In the past, I have had words like TRUST, INSPIRE, and FAITH.  This year the word I selected was PEACE.  In my journal on January 9th, I wrote the following:

“Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored— so clean up your life.”
Job 22:21-23 NLT

This verse stood out as it tied to my verse for the year – PEACE.  I struggle with wanting to know why and how come, but in reality, God calls us to submit to Him, listen to His instructions and store them in my heart and then I will have peace.

The past five years have been filled with turmoil, trials and continual challenges.  Just when I have thought that I have come through the storm, another event hits me and I have struggled with finding peace in my surroundings.  I have often wanted more than I have instead of learning to rest in the peace provided by God.  That is why this is my word for this year.

In my small group this morning, I shared my word for the year.  One guy was surprised as he felt that I demonstrated a lot of peace.  I said externally yes, but internally there is always a war going on.  It is like a duck – sitting calmly on the water, but you don’t see the feet going crazy keeping everything afloat.  A good analogy.

When I selected this word, I was coming off a season of changes at work and I was striving to find contentment with my work situation and thought PEACE was a good word to focus on.  Little did I know how much I would learn about PEACE in the following months.  While I thought PEACE was a lot about an outcome and an absence or turmoil, I have learned that PEACE is so much more.  During the past six months, I have learned the following:

PEACE is about giving up control.  I used to think that I would have peace when I was in control of my future.  Having a good job, a good salary and money in the bank were all things that I thought I needed to find peace.  But I have found that being in job transition, having no income and living off of savings has been more peaceful than when I was employed with a steady income.

PEACE is about living in turmoil and conflict and not letting it impact you.  Peace does not mean you will not have problems or conflict, but rather that because of the peace you have you are able to deal with the challenges that come at you.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. —James 1:2–3

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33 esv

PEACE is about letting go of worry.  I did not realize how much worry impacted my life.  I worried about what people thought of me, whether I was doing a good job or if I was working hard enough.  Worry filled my life and caused me to lose peace.

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”  Philippians 4:4-8 NLT

PEACE is about trusting God.  I have learned that trusting God is so peace giving.  Today I have no idea what I will be doing tomorrow or where my next paycheck will come from, but I trust God and know that He will provide.  It is amazing how much peace that gives you.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27 NLT

My prayer for you is that you too will learn that peace is not the absence of problems but rather that peace is when you put your trust and hope in God and His plans for your life.

 

Categories
Decisions

WHY???

Today the question that is on my mind is:  Why does God allow things to happen that don’t seem to make sense?

I think of the young woman my wife spent the day with who suffered a serious brain injury in a car accident.  Why was she injured when all of the other passengers had no permanent injuries???

I think of my daughter Kala who came down with Type 1 Diabetes and now has to spend the rest of her life taking insulin and monitoring her blood sugar every day.  Why does she have to watch what she eats when others can eat whatever they want with no impact to their life?

I think of my friend Paul who died of a heart attack 10 years ago at 44 and left behind a wife and three great kids.  Why did God take him home so early???

I think of a friend who came down with cancer that almost took his life and has left him disabled and unable to work.  Why did he have to suffer and be impacted so much???

The list of things that happen to good people who are Christ followers and who have made wise decisions with their life can go on and on.  And for me being an analytical person the pursuit of wanting to know and understand the reason why can be overwhelming.  I like to have answers.  I like to know why a decision was made or someone got sick, but God doesn’t always give us the answer to our questions.  Some times the answer is “just because”….

But that doesn’t seem fair or just!  I want explanations that will never come…which brings me to my lesson.  God does not owe me an answer, He just says “Trust Me”.  God says don’t worry about tomorrow, but rather make today count.  God does not say think about yourself first, but rather Love Others!

The question why is hard for me.  When I wrestle with the question why, it keeps me from accepting who I am and who God has made me to be.  When I look for answers instead of accepting my circumstances it allows me to think about myself first and not others and when I do that Satan wins the battle for my heart.  It is hard to love others and care for their needs when I am caught in my own world of questions, doubts and sometimes anger.

Is it wrong to ask the question why?  Absolutely not, it is more a question of how you choose to respond when you don’t get the answer you want, or you get no answer at all.

Categories
Uncategorized

Anticipation is Makin’ me Wait!

September is a month of beginnings! It is the start of the school year, churches begin their new ministry year, football season begins with every team being optimistic about their chances to win the Super Bowl this year. I love this season as the trees begin to change color, the temperatures cool down, bugs start to become less active and being outdoors is beautiful.

This September has added excitement for us as this is the first September in our new adventure. We begin this fall with the excitement and anticipation of what God will bring for us to do and experience in this coming year.
The past year has been filled with many twist and turns. When we started last fall we would never have anticipated where we would be at now. God had plans for us, but we had no way of knowing what those plans would be, but yet we know that God is in control and His plans are always better than our plans.
As I have been thinking about our future and waiting for approval of our non-profit application, I read the following devotional from Jesus Calling for Sep 2, 2017:

LIVING IN DEPENDENCE ON ME is a glorious adventure. Most people scurry around busily, trying to accomplish things through their own strength and ability. Some succeed enormously; others fail miserably. But both groups miss what life is meant to be: living and working in collaboration with Me.

When you depend on Me continually, your whole perspective changes. You see miracles happening all around, while others see only natural occurrences and “coincidences.” You begin each day with joyful expectation, watching to see what I will do. You accept weakness as a gift from Me, knowing that My Power plugs in most readily to consecrated weakness. You keep your plans tentative, knowing that My plans are far superior. You consciously live, move, and have your being in Me, desiring that I live in you. I in you and you in Me. This is the intimate adventure I offer you.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong.
—2 Corinthians 12:9–10

For in him we live and move and have our being.
—Acts 17:28

I love the line where it says: “When you depend on Me continually, your whole perspective changes. You see miracles happening all around, while others see only natural occurrences and “coincidences.” You begin each day with joyful expectation, watching to see what I will do.” I have so often taken God for granted and failed to recognize how He is working all around me. I have missed miracles because I was too busy moving on to the next task.
As you begin this season of new beginnings, my encouragement to you is to slow down and look for the miracles that are happening all around you. Look for those things that in the past you may have thought of as “coincidences” and stop to thank God for being active and present in your life.

Over the past six months, there have been many times that I have been discouraged by things not moving in the direction I wanted or expected and in how slow the government can move at times, but when I have stopped to reflect and listen, time and time again God has shown He is present and in control. His interactions let me know that He is with me and I need to remember to TRUST HIM!

Specifically, I want to challenge each of you to do the following:

Start each morning by asking God to show up in your life today
Take time each evening to reflect on your day and write down all the ways that God showed up
Take the time to thank God for being part of your life
God is always with us, but so often we fill our minds and hearts with other things that keep us from seeing God.  When we can see God working around us, it helps us to relax and be filled with the knowledge that He will guide us, He will protect us and He will provide for our needs!

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Uncategorized

Wow! not How?

Last week I attended the Global Leadership Summit.  The summit never disappoints with its amazing speakers and leadership material.  Whether you attended this conference or any training conference, the challenge is always the same:  How do you take the vast amount of material and actually do something with it?  When I leave, I often think I am going to take what I learned and change the world.  But then I get back to my routine and I forget about all the things I learned.

To help you, here are 4 steps that I try to apply to see results after a training:

  1. Don’t try to apply all of your learnings at once.

While you may be motivated to change, remember the key to leading, is making improvements your team is excited about as well.  Trying to change too much as soon as you get back from a training session sets you and your team up for potential frustration.

  1. Identify one or two things that you want to apply to your own leadership.

By applying the changes to yourself, you get an opportunity to make an impact and allow those around you to see your growth and improvements.

  1. Set some measurable goals around what you want to change.

Spend some time thinking about what success would look like for you and your team.  Write those down and determine how you will measure the results of what you want to change in yourself and team.

  1. Set up reminders on your calendar to review your progress.

The main reason why you may not get the results you want is you fail to follow-through on the changes.  You leave a training event all excited about what you learned.  You are going to change everything to be a better person and leader, but then you get back to your routine and forget about what you learned.  You have a hard time following through on the changes you want to make.  Schedule time on your calendar each month, this could be one hour or one day, to review progress.  This is time where you will set aside your daily tasks and focus on your development.  Review what you have learned and the progress you have made.  Set some new goals on what you want to see improved by the next time you review your progress.

I hope these steps help you see the results that you want from the time you invested in learning from the training event you have attended.

For me, the two biggest takeaways that I had from the Global Leadership Summit were:

  • Andy Stanley: He challenged us to find ways to create organizational cultures that will recognize rather than resist uniquely better.  Specifically, from two points he made – be a student and not a critic and replace How? With Wow!  Too often in my past I have focused on what is wrong with an idea and not enough on how to learn from an idea and allow it to develop.
  • Marcus Buckingham: He made a statement – People want attention, not feedback!  This is such an important lesson to remember.  I want to strive to be a leader that pays attention to people.  I want to be someone who helps people become the person that God made them to be.  I want to see potential in people and pay attention to them so that they feel valued, known and cared for.  This is a great way to make an impact on others!
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Uncategorized

Tribute to My Mother

As I am writing this, my mother is in the final stage of her life.  I don’t know how long we have left with her, but all the signs are indicating that it will sooner rather than later.  Dealing with death and dying is always hard.  We have to say goodbye to someone we love.  I have had to say goodbye to my father, to close friends, and relatives of friends, but there is something different about having to say goodbye to your mother.  For me, this was the person who got me up each morning, made meals for me, washed my clothes, and bandaged every wound.  This was the person who sat with me when I was sick and taught me how to cook, clean, wash clothes, fold clothes and make my bed.

My mother was a selfless person who never ate meals until the family was full, who sacrificed buying things for herself so that we could have new clothes, and always put the needs of the family before her own.  When my dad was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in his 40’s, my mother remained by his side and prepared every meal for him. She never traveled or went anywhere for herself because she was the care provider.

As we got older and had families of our own, mom always loved having us over to her home to prepare our favorite meal and make our favorite treats.  When my dad died over 11 years ago, mom never remarried. She filled her life with church and friends.  During this time, I did not visit as often as I should have, but she appreciated any time she could spend with her family.

As she aged, her short-term memory started to go and she would tell us the same stories over and over again, but she never lost the Bible verses she had memorized and she never lost her smile or sense of humor.  Even now as she is in a care facility and is a shadow of her former self, she can still remember those verses and quote them to you, she can still sing the old Hymns, she still smiles, never complains, and is always able to tell me that she does not like my beard.

This season of life is so hard, as I am sure anyone who has gone through this before me knows.  You hate to see a loved one become a shell of who they were.  You hate to see them lose their independence, their ability to do basic things, and need help for everything.  You hate to see that blank stare from their eyes as they lose their memory and ability to think and process.  You see their memories floating away and you wonder why God keeps them on this earth.  Why do they have to suffer the effects of aging?  I know that my mom loves God and is excited to join my dad and her parents in heaven, but yet her days have not ended.  Each moment and day goes by so painstakingly slow.  You watch the body and mind go, but she is still with us.  It is not that I want her to go, I will miss her incredibly, but I hate to see her slip away in this way.

I know that she will be gone soon and I will only have memories.  I will no longer be able to hug her, kiss her and see her smile, but I do not want to prolong her life for my selfish needs.  Being her power of attorney and decision maker for medical decisions, it is so hard to write on paperwork DNR (do not resuscitate).  It is hard making end of life decisions and not always knowing what might be extending her life but also may be extending her misery.

During this hard time, I am reminded of a book that we read to our kids when they were young, “Love you Forever”.  It is a story of a mom who raised her kids and rocked them to sleep and then in the end her son rocked her in her dying years.

The book had this song throughout:

I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

As long as I’m living

My baby you’ll be

And the last page, as the son rocked his mother, the song ended with

I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

As long as I’m living

My mommy you’ll be

That is what I find myself doing each time I visit my mom as I say goodbye, wondering if it will be for the last time on this earth.

My challenge to anyone who has read this far into this blog, tell your mother today how much you love her and how special she is to you!  You never know when it will be your time to say goodbye to your mom and don’t wait until she is too old to remember it!

I love you mom!!

 

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Uncategorized

It’s the Little Things…

Encouragement!

Why is encouragement so important?

Encouragement is the fuel that pushes us forward to higher levels of achievement, accomplishment or fulfillment.  Without encouragement, we are forced to motivate ourselves, which is possible for a while, but will ultimately fizzle out without someone coming along side you to motivate, appreciate and notice you!

Encouragement can take many forms.  It can be the card of appreciation for something you worked hard on, it could be a text remembering an important date or just that someone was thinking about you, it could be words of affirmation when you see someone doing something great or it may be just recognizing how hard someone is trying and appreciating them for the effort.

It doesn’t really matter the form or format of the appreciation, it really comes down to the following:

  • You noticed
  • You cared
  • You took the time to tell them
  • You remembered

Those seem so easy, but they can be so hard to do.  We get busy and we are concerned about our own priorities so we forget to notice, we forget to send the note, we think it is not really that important, but in reality, we are missing the opportunity to make an impact in the life of someone else.

Isn’t that what loving others is all about?  Helping them become who God made them to be by encouraging and supporting others?

Next time someone comes to your mind, send them a note telling them you were thinking about them!  A little attention can make an impact in someone’s life.  It can be in a text, email, note, facebook message or social media tool of your choice, but never underestimate the power that a little encouragement can have in someone else’s life!  Show someone that you believe in them and watch them blossom!

I end with this verse:

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

(I Thessalonians 5:11 NLT)

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Uncategorized

Why is waiting for an answer so hard?

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot of reflecting about where God has me right now.  A lot has happened over the past five months since leaving my last job.  We have started a non-profit, formed a board and filed paper work for our tax-exempt status.  We have put together a business plan of what we think the next 3 years could look like and we dream, pray, and wait for God to open doors and reveal the next step in our journey.

Waiting is really hard for me!  I want answers now.  I want to know where God wants us to use our gifts and help others.  I want to make an impact now and yet God keeps saying to be patient, wait and trust Me!

This week we had to take a step of faith to purchase tickets for a trip to Ukraine in October.  We felt that this was what God wanted us to do and He had opened doors for a plan on what we could accomplish, but we still don’t have our approval from the IRS, and we are not able to raise funds to pay for this trip, but we hear from God – trust Me!

I have been struggling with writer’s block since returning from Colorado.  I have sat down numerous times to write a blog or edit my book and nothing comes and I begin to have doubts and wonder who will ever be interested in reading what I write or having us help them?  Who would ever want to be mentored and coached by us?  I know these thoughts are coming from Satan, who wants to distract us and take us off our calling, but they are still real and hard!  Discouragement is so easy to experience when you are in the waiting stage.

This morning I went back and read through my journal since last November.  I could see all of the ways that God was preparing us for where we are today.  I found encouragement that we are on the right path.  On March 1st, the day after my job ended, this was the devotional from Jesus Calling:

YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH. Listen more to Me and less to your doubts. I am leading you along the way I designed just for you. Therefore, it is a lonely way, humanly speaking. But I go before you as well as alongside you, so you are never alone. Do not expect anyone to understand fully My ways with you, any more than you can comprehend My dealings with others. I am revealing to you the path of Life, day by day and moment by moment. As I said to My disciple Peter, so I repeat to you: Follow Me.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. —PSALM 119:105

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” —JOHN 21:22

Wow – just what I needed to be reminded of!  In reality, my doubts and fears get louder when I take my eyes off God and think about myself!  God is in control.  God knows what is ahead and promises to be with me, I just have to do my part, which is to follow Him and TRUST!

Maybe you are in a season of waiting and feeling discouraged because things are not moving at the pace you want it to be at.  I want to encourage you to read Psalm 139.  For me this is one of my favorite passages of scripture and a reminder that God knows and is with us and He has a plan for our lives!  A couple of verses from this chapter:

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Psalms 139:16, 23-24 NLT