Tag: calling
Overcoming the Imperfection Obsession
While on a recent visit to our local ice cream shop, I said something cringe-worthy. My grandson and I waited in line and when we finally reached the counter, I turned to him and blurted out:
“I’m not having ice cream today so I can get thin enough to have ice cream.”
As soon as the words left my mouth and fell on his ears, I wanted to reel them back in. But it was too late. Epic fail. Self-condemnation doesn’t exactly qualify as a teachable moment.
It’s true I skipped the ice cream and normally would gladly accept a high-five for my self-deprivation, but I can’t. You see, I wasn’t in the mood for ice cream anyway. So no brownie points for this girl’s self-control when no control of self was necessary.
To top that off, the woman in line in front of me had my legs. Well, not my legs, but the legs I wished I had…
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Is There a Better Way to Tell Time?
No-Show.
I’ve been guilty of it too, so no finger-pointing from this girl.
We know how it goes. The I’ll try to make it results in I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. We have good intentions initially, but when go-time comes around, are we showing? Are we going?
Try. It means to make an effort to do something. What if someone asked us, “Well, how hard did you try?” Oh snap.
What if we changed the way we thought about our time? What if we shared more of it instead of keeping it to ourselves?
Before you hit me over the head with your purse, protecting our time for good reasons is essential in keeping some resemblance of sanity.
Spending time with family, time in the Word, time in prayer, all good. We need refreshment for our souls and nurturing for our faith. We can even take time for ourselves without feeling guilty, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
There’s a difference between taking time for ourselves and being selfish with our time.
We don’t have to say yes to everything, but let’s be sure our no is for the right reasons.
Confession time: There have been times I’ve said no for selfish reasons. Imagine that? You too?
I know there have been times when I should have said yes. Times when I was meant to be somewhere for someone, but I wasn’t.
Couldn’t it just all balance out?
Couldn’t we just count all the times we did show, did keep a divine appointment, did extend beyond ourselves, to make up for all those selfish time-hogging-didn’t-try-all-that-hard times? Something tells me it doesn’t work that way.
But saying yes for the right reasons is also important to remember. Besides being selfish with our time, we can also spend too much of it. If the yes isn’t meant for us we could be unintentionally robbing it. How?
We can easily become over-zealous and step on the toes of someone else’s calling. Ouch.
The yes or no dilemma can make us dizzy. The key is prayer and seeking God’s face and His will in all things. We want to be the kind of Jesus follower who answers the call. Our call. We’re not the answer to every need, Jesus is.
What comes to mind when you hear the term “timeshare”? Most of us, including Google, associate the term with telemarketers selling vacation weeks. Perhaps we need to take back that term for the body of Christ. Just a little time shared from each of us can change lives.
Snippets of time add up to a lifetime and chunks of time are being squandered when they could be sacred.
Even just an hour of our time shared could impact someone else’s life for eternity, or at least for an hour.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV
This weekend we set our clocks ahead one hour. Daylight Savings Time. We change time. The purpose is to make better use of natural daylight. How can we make better use of the light we’ve been given? Let us consider how our time can change the world for Christ. Even a snippet goes a long way.
There’s a better way to tell time. We can set it to the eternal clock and spend it for a purpose. Time shared can change lives.
How can we be more intentional with our time today?
Share your thoughts…
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Why Giving Up is Not an Option
We’ve been lying to ourselves, haven’t we?
I know how it goes.
We tell ourselves confidence is based on worldly standards, that someone else is a better version of us.
We feel like giving in.
We tell ourselves we’ve reached our full potential, that this is it, this is as far as we can go.
We feel like giving out.
We tell ourselves our calling is too hard.
We feel like giving up.
But the truth is, calling it quits robs the future. It takes what could be and makes it never will.
Let’s not rob future moments of joy with current moments of doubt. {tweet that}
Let’s not trade God’s plans of purpose for our white flag of I can’t do it.
Let’s trade moments of discouragement, for moments with Jesus who totally gets it. Gets us.
And how long is a moment anyway?
Our plates are full girls, and we say adding one more thing will surely cause a melt-down. But what if that one more thing could make all the other things easier?
We don’t need a bigger plate, we need bigger faith.
What is that one more thing we are holding back from? That one more thing could be the very thing where our dreams and calling collide. Now put your fingertips together to meet your thumb, move your hand close to your temple, now slowly pull your hand away as you snap your palm wide open while making an explosion sound with your mouth.
When we give up, we let others down, because they’ll never hear what we were born to say. They’ll never be the receiver of what God calls us to do.
God won’t leave them lacking, it’s us who’ll be lacking. We’ll miss being a blessing and receiving a blessing, and walking in His delight. I don’t want to miss all that, do you?
By the way, if there was a better version of us, we wouldn’t be here.
Let’s stop believing in what we can’t accomplish, and start believing God’s promise of exceedingly, abundantly more. Some may equate that to money, but money can’t buy our purpose, and money can’t buy God’s plans for us.
Even if they were for sale, we couldn’t afford them. They’re priceless.
Take one of the moments we’ve been talking about, and make four lists :
List A = Things I do best
List B = Things I have no business doing (because I remain forever clueless)
List C = Things I love doing
List D = The hardest things I’ve ever done
Keep it simple, and list four or five things under each heading. Don’t overthink them, and be sure to write them down. Examine your answers and note similarities among the different lists. See anything interesting?
We are all called to fulfill a purpose. We may not know what will happen twenty steps from now, but as for now, taking one step is moving forward.
On cloudy days, we can still get a sunburn and when life gets cloudy, God is still there.
How about you? Is there a next step God is asking you to take, yet you’ve been holding back? What did the list exercise reveal?
Share a comment, and may all your moments be blessed. XO
Photo credit: Ruba Sibai (creative commons)
Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling
Hi Friends!
I’m excited to share this article I wrote on leadership, published today at Just Between Friends. If you haven’t already done so, consider signing up for their free newsletter.
Here is the link:
http://www.justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=373611
May the Lord bless you and remember this, He will equip you in whatever He calls you to do.
Love in Christ,
Doris
Could You Be A Certain Woman?
I am filled with exuberance at the mention of “a certain woman” in Judges who rocked the world of her people, literally. Who was she? When I get home one day, I hope to meet her, but for now I don’t even know her name.
Here’s the passage:
“Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it. But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower.So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.” Judges 9:50-53 (NKJV)
Abimelech, was one evil dude. Son of Jerubaal (who was Gideon) and his concubine, he schemed to reign through deceit and murder, and wound up sporting a mortal wound inflicted by a certain woman. Evidently, he feared humiliation of death by a woman worse than death itself, so he implored his armor-bearer to finish him off with a sword. He had no clue God would insure generations to come would know the truth.
I ponder the events of this certain woman’s day, and imagine emotions she must have experienced. She had no idea when she awoke that morning, God had a plan to use her to save the people of Thebez from death by fire. I’m sure adrenaline pumped fiercely through her veins, mustering up holy strength and courage to drop a millstone on the head of a man on a rampage. She was living out a call; one she knew nothing of, until the moment she took action. God chose this woman, just as He has chosen us.
What if she knew what was in store for her that day, do you think she would have gotten out of bed? What would have happened if she hadn’t?
The stone may have made an impact on Abimelech, however, it was nothing compared to the impact this woman made in HIStory. She stared fear in the face and came out victorious through the power of God. Does that not bring you hope? It brings me hope. Just this certain ordinary woman used by an extraordinary God.
So why would God withhold her name? I am in no way a Bible scholar, but I have a theory: the name recognition game doesn’t matter to God. He will use us whether the world knows our name or not. We don’t need to be well-known or achieve a certain level in society in order for God to use us for His glory. Isn’t that refreshing?
Although I hope dropping a millstone on someone’s head is not on my divine agenda today, the sheer excitement of expectancy, the unimaginable possibilities of what God can do through willing vessels, is more than I am able to contain.
Could you be a certain woman? Could I? The answer is yes, if we are willing.
