We all need help

This time of year is by far the most critical and stressful in my job. The future and profitability of my company depends greatly on the success of this summer time deadline. And while there are teams of people working to ensure this success, it is my area of responsibility. If I fail to forecast and prevent potential problems, if I fail to consider every scenario, if I fail to be thorough – we may not realize crucial income to the operation of our business.

This deadline often coincides with my youngest son’s birthday. It falls smack-dab in the middle of Summer, when vacations are planned, fun is to be had, and family time is a premium. This deadline almost always collides with large planned home improvement projects or annual maintenance that requires my attention. All of these tasks would be enjoyable and things I would normally look forward to. But when accompanied by the high pressure and sometimes unrealistic expectations of my job deadline, they can feel crushingly stressful.

As with most of us, when I am under this amount of pressure, my fuse is short, my focus is rarely where it should be; I sleep less, I eat more and, most dangerously, I rely solely on my own abilities to achieve success.

In the interest of being transparent, yesterday I cut my morning quiet time short. Instead of spending my normal amount of time in God’s word, offering Him praise, and listening for His direction – I hurried through and started working early. I had far too much to get done, I had to prioritize and, God would certainly understand if I took a rain check. I had a really productive morning. I crossed of many things from my to-do list. But by mid-day, I was feeling crushed by obligations. For everything I crossed off my list, two more were added. I started to feel physically sick. I started to feel like there was no way I could get everything done. This deadline was going to come and I was going to fail. I lashed out at a co-worker and at my wife for no reason. I was starting to lose it. I canceled a meeting and closed my laptop, and I prayed to God. I thanked Him and asked Him for help. I took a few minutes to catch my breath and regroup.

Within minutes of returning to my to-do list, feeling much more able, I started to see wins. They started small but they just kept piling up. By the end of the day, I felt better about achieving success at this deadline than I ever have. As I moved on to Father and Husband tasks that evening, my success continued. As I went to sleep last night, I remember thinking how I totally killed it. I was on fire. There was a LOT of I and Me, and I failed to realize what really contributed to the productive afternoon.

Then, this morning, I was determined not to cut my quiet time short. I said a prayer thanking God for yesterdays success and asked Him to speak to me and guide me today. He clearly reminded me that without Him I would have crumbled under the immense pressure yesterday, a fact I failed to realize in my self pride last night. He reminded me that He is always here, and always faithful. He reminded me of the Power that I possess through Him. That I can achieve success, but not alone or on my own merit. He is in control and I am not. He reminded me that we all need help.

Below are the versus that he presented me with this morning. Every single one was exactly what I needed to hear. God is so good.

“But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
Psalms 102:27

“In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”
Ephesians 4:26

“I lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalms 121:1-2

“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.”
Psalms 119:10

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:16-17

Freedom in Surrender

I am fascinated by the paradox of control. Some of us want to dictate every single detail of our lives. Some of us want to just go with the flow, and not make any real decisions. And none of us think that either way of life is great. For those who have the need to dictate every single detail, surrendering any amount of control gives them great anxiety and fills them with worry. For those who want to go with the flow, having to make a decision paralyzes them with angst and fear. So what is the right balance? This might be the issue at the core of many struggles in our lives. Finding the right balance, where we have self-control to live moral and righteous lives, but being able to roll with the punches that this world will throw at us, finding that sweet spot is key to our hope of contentment.

The irony of this topic is that our need for control might be the single reason we cannot find this pivotal balance. Those that need to control, look internally for the answer. They know that if they just work a little harder here, or tighten down a little more there – they will find the right balance. They are in control of the levers and pulleys, they’ll get it right eventually. Meanwhile, those that exclusively go with the flow just let the universe take over. Whatever happens will happen. They think that their decisions or actions have little to no impact so they don’t even look for an answer to the balance problem. The answer will happen to them if it is supposed to.

I believe, however, that the key to finding the right balance of control and surrender is found in the worlds greatest and oldest guidebook. When we truly start to believe and our minds are opened to understanding the Scriptures (Luke 24:45), only then do we begin to truly comprehend the balance between control and surrender; between self and Spirit. We have the gift of free will, so there is a Biblical expectation for us to take some control. Finding the right balance begins with controlling our decision to have faith in God and believe that Jesus rose from the grave. Exhibiting that control shows that we agree to surrender our eternity to God and He rewards us with a new Spirit (Ezekiel 11:19-20). From that point forward, the right balance is ingrained in us, but it does not control us. The Spirit is only a guide. So we still have to exhibit enough control, self-control, to listen to the anointed guidance from within (1 John 2:27), knowing that God will guide you along your road, but it is still up to you to drive. You cannot idly surrender and expect the Holy Spirit to completely take over your body and live your life on earth for you. And you cannot walk the path God has created for you while in complete control of everything. Both choices have consequences (Galatians 6:7). But- if you strive for the balance, have self-control and ask for His guidance in your decisions, you will feel supported but in control. I believe that is the balance that fills our hope of contentment.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my walk with Christ, is that there is incredible freedom in surrender. The tighter I hold on and try to control every aspect of my life, the more chained by my situation I feel. But if I rely on God as the filter for all of my decisions and choices, I feel free to choose a guided and anointed path. No longer confined by my life but completely empowered to enjoy it.

” So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

Truth

We all hear that voice. The one that speaks directly to us, and nobody else hears. It whispers, it shouts, it bleeds in and it drowns out. It has the ability to grab our attention when we are the most focused and determined. It sounds differently to all of us, but it is always there. The voice that tells us we can’t. We don’t know enough. We can’t do enough. We aren’t good enough. The voice we hear speaks lies designed to discourage our hopes, and contain our calling. But it does not have that power on its own. The voice cannot do anything. The voice needs your action or inaction to accomplish its goal. Even though at times it feels like the voice has a mental stronghold over you, preventing you from your calling, you have control over your response.

To overcome negative mental strongholds speak positive declarations based in Truth.

The truth is you have a gift (Romans 12:6).
The truth is you are called (Romans 8:28).
The truth is you are able to fulfill your calling (Colossians 1:24-27)
The truth is you are fully resourced (Philippians 4:13)
The truth is you need not worry (Philippians 4:6)
The truth is you are powerful (2 Timothy 1:7)
The truth is you are enough (Genesis 1:27)

The key to progress is consistency. Do something everyday to replace the negative voice with positive affirmation. How do you do that?
1) Seek God FIRST everyday. Spend time in His word and in conversation with Him. Give Him praise and pray specific requests. And listen for His response.
2) Find specific truths to exclaim every day. Out loud. Positively. And consistently. Find statements that speak directly to the jabs of negativity that your voice hits you with regularly and are founded in scripture – that’s what makes them true.

I cannot speak to your voice. But I can share what statements I speak to mine every day. Some I have created and some I have borrowed from other places.

  • Jesus is first in my life. I exist to serve and glorify Him.
  • I love people and believe the best about others.
  • I love my wife and will lay down my life to serve her.
  • My children will love God and serve Him with their whole hearts. I will nurture, equip, and empower them to do more for His kingdom than they can imagine.
  • I am creative, innovative, driven, focused and blessed beyond measure – because the Holy Spirit dwells within me.
  • My confidence is in Christ and Christ alone. Because His spirit is in me, I can do to everything He calls me to do.
  • The world will be different and better because I served Jesus today.

Regardless of the voice of lies you hear, the Spirit of truth is inside you. If you allow your mind to be ruled by the Spirit you will have life and peace (Romans 8:6).

If we stop talking

For just a moment, put aside your politics. For just a moment, open your mind to ideas that may not align with the views you have inherited or grown on your own over your lifetime. For just a moment, free yourself from the predisposed point of view. For just a moment, put aside your anger.

Now imagine that you and your family are not free to make your own decisions, not free to go where you want, not free to say what you want. Imagine that you are forced to do work that benefits you in absolutely no way, no enjoyment and certainly no pay. Imagine that you are beaten at the discretion of someone else, with no form of justice or recourse. Imagine simply being bought and sold by other human beings. Imagine being treated like less than human simply because of where you were born and/or the color of your skin.

Most of us can even fathom the absolute suffocation of this situation.

While our Country has a rich history of progress and prosperity, we also have some really dark spots. Today is Juneteenth. Today should be celebrated as a day that our Country admitted and started to rectify a human rights violation that was wrong in so many ways and for so many years. This year, today holds extra significance because of the civil unrest and pain suffered my millions in the wake of countless injustices against Americans, or better yet against humans in America.

Regardless of your political views, or your upbringing, or your ethnic background – I hope we can agree that no human being should be treated as inferior. That no human being should be forced to live in fear of the government or organizations that were created to protect and serve them. That no human being should be forced to defend or accept the poor behavior of evil. If we can agree on this, we can carry forward with change.

Change doesn’t happen if we stop talking about it after the outrage has settled.
Change doesn’t happen if we stop talking because something else caught the headlines.
Change doesn’t happen if we stop talking because we are uncomfortable.
Change doesn’t happen if we stop talking because we disagree.
Change doesn’t happen if we stop talking.

Even as we act on change, we cannot stop talking. Ignoring a problem and living in angry silence is how division and separation grow.

If the idea of celebrating Juneteenth makes you angry. If the idea of peaceful protests make you angry. If you believe there isn’t a problem in our Country with social injustice. Or if you have hate in your heart for any reason. I want you to know that I have been praying for you. Also, I challenge you to admit it as a problem in your life. I challenge you to look for a way to replace the hate in your heart with Love. And I believe there is only one way to do that; invite the Creator of everything, the One who IS Love, Jesus Christ, into your life. But it doesn’t stop there. You have to follow Him and obey Him. If you want help with this transformation, I am here.

We will not always agree on everything. And that is okay. But if we can agree on basic human rights, we can right many many wrongs. And if we can continue talking we can accomplish real and meaningful change.

We can do better. We can do better together.

Love God, Love others.

Share Joy

Why can’t we be happy for the success of other people? Sure, we might pull for our immediate family, or maybe even extended family to succeed and achieve their dreams. But outside of that many of us draw an instant comparison and wonder why we didn’t receive the reward or achieve the happiness or earn the money, that they did. We are good people. Why them? Why not us? If someone earns praise or a reward, we sometimes use that as motivation to out-do their feat. And even more often we mentally (or verbally) downgrade their achievement by stating some advantage they have over us or some privilege they enjoy that we are not afforded.

This bitter comparison starts in early childhood, and is seemingly a natural trait that many of us suffer with our entire lives. I have lived with it for 40 years. Only recently have I realized the impact on my life. How these negative feelings and unhealthy comparison have been slowly crushing my spirit and truly keeping me from feeling any sense of fulfillment. Since my walk in faith began, I started to see the alternative. But I am still a work in progress. My first reaction is to compare and question anyone else’s success and especially their motives. But now, I am quick to realize the unhealthy thoughts and try to change my perspective immediately. It helps me to remember that their level of success does not directly relate to my level of success. It is absolutely possible that we can both achieve our goals. God has a plan for each of us, and He does not put us in competition to achieve the things He sets out for us. Our plan and path is ours alone. Knowing this, I can allow myself to feel joy for others while still pursuing my goals. There is so much peace in just being grateful for your own blessings, and being genuinely happy for others experiencing their blessings.

I want to challenge you to find joy in someone else’s journey today. And when you do- let them know that you are happy for them. Just try it, and if it feels good and right – do it again. Eventually, you won’t be able to stop. And then you will realize that sharing joy is even better than experiencing joy.

I would love to hear your story and experiences. Leave a comment below or reach out if this or any other post inspires you or if you have a story to share.

217 vs. 218

Last night, we went to TopGolf – for those of you that aren’t familiar with TopGolf – imagine a trendy bowling alley environment crossed with a golf driving range. It is a lot of fun. On our way my wife and I had a great conversation with our youngest son about his future. Without getting into too many details, the main point of the conversation was that saying you wanted to accomplish something was not enough. You have to put in the work. And if you are truly passionate about something, most of the time you will enjoy the work as well as the reward. But without the work, there is no reward.

As anything involving sports often does, our time hitting golf balls turned into a friendly competition. My son has an impressive swing for a recently self taught newbie. I am terrible. I have tried several times throughout my life to get better at golf and I have come to accept that its just not my game. But I still enjoy it and occasionally I will hit a shot that makes me think maybe I got it. Typically, the next few shots are reminders that I clearly do not. Last night I hit a shot that might have been my best shot ever. It hit the back net and the computer read 218 yards. Before you professional golfers judge me, I am pretty sure the balls are designed to limit the distance and clearly have a chip in them so that the computers can score your shots. Anyway, it was a beauty. My son cheered me on but I could see the fire in his eyes. He had to beat it.

His next shot was one of the best golf shots I have ever witnessed in person. As we all stared at the computer waiting for the score to register, I thought I was toast. I thought for sure that drive was well over 220. My only hope was that hitting the net would max him out at 218. The the computer screen displayed 217. The fire and determination in his eyes was almost frightening. For the rest of the night, ball after ball, swing after swing – he would await confidently and the computer would say 217. He must of hit 217 15-20 times after my 218. And I never again broke 200.

Because I am a good father, I reminded him a few times throughout the night that I hit the ball further than he did. 217 vs 218. He may never live this one down. In fact, I may have to retire from golf as to not ruin my legacy. With all of the friendly ribbing that I gave him, I thought I recognized the teachable moment. As he was complaining about not being able to find the one spot in the net that is a foot further back than the rest, I interrupted him. And I told him that he is so focused on comparison and winning someone else’s game – that he is completely ignoring the 20 perfect shots that he hit. Comparison is ruining his entire experience, causing him to miss the good that he did because he is measuring it by the wrong standard. I tried to relate it back to our earlier conversation and told him that he had to find HIS passion and put in HIS work, for what God has called HIM to do. Not worrying about what this world is telling him is possible, or what this world is telling him he should do.

I thought I was dropping some wonderful father knowledge on the boy.

Then, this morning, I opened my bible and the first two verses that God gave me were James 2:17 and 2:18.

Yep. 217 vs 218.

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.” James 2:17

When I read this, I felt confirmation that my messaging to my son on the way to our adventure was solid. This is the point I was trying to make to him. And maybe him hitting 217 over and over was God’s way of confirming and encouraging. I felt my own father superpowers in full force. And then I read James 2:18:

“But someone will say, ‘you have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

And right then I realized that my Heavenly Father was flexing his superpowers to teach me a lesson just the same. I have a tendency to be a task master. I have to get the to-do list done, because its the to-do list and that is what I am supposed to do. And this extends to all areas of my life. Because of this, sometimes I focus on the deeds, and not the faith behind the deeds. And while I was so adamant about my son matching his want with some work. And while I thought it was my manliness and prowess that contributed to me hitting 218, I think it is more likely that my Father used it to remind me to match my work with the want. I need to remember that I am not just here to check of tasks from the to do list. I am here to bring glory to God in every task I do. I forget this frequently.

While each of us has a lesson to learn, neither is more important than the other. Both must be learned and put in to action. We must have faith AND we must take action.

A Father’s Love

Kids say the darnedest things. When they are young and brutally honest, we make light of the moments where they point out an obvious observance that make the adults all weird and uncomfortable. But as they get older, their words can carry more weight and power. By the time they are young adults, they can yield their words like a sharp sword causing pain and destruction with every wild swing. Do they intend to wreak havoc? Certainly not. But chances are, they have not considered the impact outside of their self-centered point of view. They will say words to you that you did not think they were capable of uttering. And your heart will break.

When raising them, there are some clear objectives; Love them. Nourish them. Keep them safe. Teach them right from wrong. And you will see success many times throughout their lives. You will witness signs of them becoming wonderful young men and women, and you will feel love and accomplishment many times over. However, no matter how good you did raising stellar children, they will stray from the lessons you have taught. They will inevitably step off path and make mistakes. They will forget the lessons you have taught them, or perhaps just blatantly ignore them. Though the severity will vary, they will falter. And your heart will break.

As a father, I have been crushed by my children’s words. But I have been encouraged by their hearts. I have been devastated to witness some of their decisions. But I have been proud of their accomplishments. Through every peak and valley, I have loved them the same. I have had an unconscious forgiveness of every hurtful word or misdeed. Regardless of the situation, I am here as a shoulder to cry on, a hand to dust them off, encouragement to lift them up, and advice to help them recover. As frustrated and discouraged as I might be, I know the wholesome and good that is inside of them. And while sometimes loving them does not always feel good to them, I am always faithful.

As I grow in my faith, I cannot help but imagine this is similar to how my Heavenly Father has felt and dealt with me throughout my life of poor choices and painful words. Every time I have taken Him for granted or walked disobediently through this world. Yet, He is there. Allowing me to reap what I sow, but always comforting the blow with his unwavering and faithful love. Don’t get me wrong, I am not comparing my flawed existence to God’s perfection. I am only suggesting that while I regularly fall short of His example, I can relate to love He feels and pain I have caused Him.

I am far from a perfect father. But I have the perfect role model. I hope that one day my children understand the love I have for them by loving children of their own. And I hope that they experience the love of our Heavenly Father the way I do.

I know this post is a little dark, in fact it is a lot darker than a post about my kids should be. But this is just where I am today after a pretty rough situation and self reflection yesterday. My children are wonderful humans. And I know I have a ton to be grateful for – in fact – I am grateful for all of the good and uplifting things they say and do. But the point of focusing on the dark is to point out the hope in the things that don’t always seem hopeful. Because I am also grateful for light that shines in the dark.

Overwhelmed

Sometimes I get overwhelmed. Not just stressed. But completely paralyzed by the weight of everything that depends on me or my action. I feel like the worlds worst bottleneck. Countless decisions or tasks that require my immediate attention. Every direction I turn, there is another task to do or another decision to make. Occasionally, this leads me to rebel and just refuse to decide or do anything, thus compounding the problem. Leaving me feeling weak and powerless.

This has been an issue for me for as long as I can remember. Even some of my earliest memories, I can remember feeling so overwhelmed with school assignments that I would just refuse to get out of bed some mornings. Eventually, I realized that allowing paralyzing anxiety to stop me from doing anything only compounded the problem. I found that I needed to compartmentalize and prioritize. I started doing just one thing at a time and tried not to allow the totality of everything in front of me to swallow me whole. This works well to accomplish the tasks and make the decisions that I have to do and make on most days. But it does not speak to the emotion and mental expense of overwhelming anxiety and stress.

Most of the time I could hide the emotional side of my issue. Those closest to me might not even notice. Sometimes they would just think I was in a bad mood or cranky. But inside the darkness and pressure was crushing my spirit and making me feel helpless and hopeless. I never wanted to admit this issue because I viewed it as my weakness, or my brokenness. It wasn’t until the last couple of years that I started to find some relief. Once I allowed Jesus into my life, I found a filter through which all decisions and tasks could be processed. Developing my relationship with God gave me a way to prioritize the issues that were tugging at me from every direction. Now I require that any major decision that I make or task that I do goes through some Biblical vetting.

First I decide if the task or result of the decision can bring glory to God or help build His Kingdom. If the answer is no, it falls down the list or off the list. If the answer is yes, then I evaluate the impact.

  • If the impact of the task or decision is kind, compassionate, humble, honest, encouraging, or loving – I will either do it right then or schedule it.
  • If it is self-serving or brings others pain or concern – I drop it from the to-do list.
  • If it is unclear which category this may fall in, I postpone it until I can decide which group it falls into.

This works really well for me, most of the time. Probably because it removes the pressure of being the bottleneck from me, and instead I rely on God for strength- which increases my ability exponentially (Isaiah 40:29). When this plan fails me it is usually because I am struggling with my relationship with God. Either I have slacked off on my quiet time and prayer time, or I have acted disobediently. But instead of allowing my anxiety and stress to paralyze me, I know that all I need to do is pull closer to Him and refocus on that relationship, and I will get back on track (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Sometimes recovery takes hours and sometimes its days, but pulling closer to Him has never failed me.

I am not going to claim that my methodology is flawless and can fix everyone’s problems. But it works for me, and today – I was compelled to share it. However, if you are struggling and you cannot find relief it is important for you to understand that you are not alone. Please, talk to someone. There are several ways to reach me, if you need someone to talk to, please reach out.

Love: Just Do It

Love. What a four letter word! We have given many meetings to the word.
It can be an intense feeling of deep affection. “My beautiful bride fills me with feelings of love”
It can be a deep romantic attachment to someone. “I am in love with her”
It can be an affectionate greeting or a way to end a phone call. “I love you, buh bye”
It can be used, and often overused, to show great interest or pleasure in something. “I love baseball, America, and apple pie”
It can be used to describe a person. “She is the love of my life”
It is even a measurement of zero – in tennis (and some other sports). I am not sure why and have always found this a little strange.

But, I believe the most important and valuable use of the word is when it is a verb. When we don’t just use the word to describe, but actually put it in motion. It is one of the few human activities where the action is done by one person toward another person and both people feel the same fulfillment. I believe this feeling is a direct result of the Spirit in us. Living out The Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39) ignites a fire inside of us that warms the soul and in that moment, nothing else matters. When we love others, we are following God’s command, which is a form of worship and praise. And this feeling of fulfillment is one of the benefits of praising the Lord our God (Psalms 103:2).

One of the best ways to love, is to do good and share with others (Hebrews 13:16). A simple selfless act, for the sole benefit of someone else. Or an encouraging word to a stranger. Or a sign of appreciation for someone that may be going unnoticed. Or a warm hug when someone is hurting. Or an open ear for a troubled friend. The options are endless. But they always require a selfless act and another person.

Imagine a world where each of us did this daily. If we were intentional about putting love in action in our daily lives and interactions with others, there would be far less conflict, violence, hurt and evil in this world. Many of you are thinking, “this would be easy to do if everyone else did it.” Each of us has to pull our weight for all of us to do anything (Galatians 6:5). It has to start somewhere. Control what you can. Control your actions and response. Let love start with you today. And stay with it. Much like planting a seed in the soil, you will not see a plant sprout from the ground right away. But if you stay diligent with providing the right amount of water, consistently, you will start to see it grow.

If you are already there. If you are already spreading your love for God and others, then I challenge you to dig deeper. Love deeper (1 Peter 4:8). Forgive that person that you never thought you could. Help the person that caused you pain or broke your heart. Expand your reach, leave your comfort zone, stretch your love. There is always more need for love, and against popular opinion – the source of love within you never runs dry. There is an infinite amount, in fact, the more you use the more He provides. Do not hoard it. It is given to you for you to give to others. Just do it.

The Great Qualifier

I am probably one of the least qualified people to write a Christian blog. I am not seminary trained. I do not have a degree from a fancy college. I haven’t lived a life serving the Church. I am not even a seasoned writer. I am grammatically challenged and without spell check, I am pretty sure nothing that I write would make any sense whatsoever. But before you think you are wasting your time here and stop reading this, understand that none of this disqualifies me from relying on and relaying the Word of God. The Bible is full of unlikely people used by God for greater things; Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elisha, all of the disciples, especially Paul – you know, the guy formally known as Saul – the Christian hunter. Yet God, indeed, used them. And not just despite their weakness, but probably because of it.

God will make the strong become weak when they depend on their own abilities and are not faithful to Him (1 Corinthians 1:27). In the same respect He will use our weaknesses as an opportunity to prove His power when we surrender to His will and trust in Him (Psalms 55:22). We are called to greater things. His plan for us is a great promise. To achieve all that He has planned for us we must adhere to a very simple but very hard life of turning away from the sin and temptation that surrounds us. We have to rise above the worldly desires of consumerism, of being the one that finishes with the most, of doing whatever it takes to get whatever we want. We have to be better than the world around us (Romans 12:2). We have to avoid our evil desires by knowing that the righteous pursuit of faith, love, and peace with a pure heart is what enables our calling from God to be fulfilled through us (2 Timothy 2:22).

Like I said, it is simple but it is not easy. In fact it is very hard. We will fail from time to time. And when we do, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get back on track. God’s grace affords us that opportunity. And as hard as it might be, the reward is greater than we can imagine. Here are a few things you can do every day:

  • Spend time in the Word – get still, pray, read, and listen for His guidance.
  • Worship God – praise Him, sing to Him, thank Him. Whatever it looks like to you – make sure you let Him know how much He means to you.
  • Look at your actions through what I like to call the Glory Filter; “Is this bringing God glory?” -if so do it. “Is this action/activity going against my Christian beliefs?” -if so stop it.
  • Love others – every single day you should be encouraging to at least one other person, and tomorrow out-do what you did today in this department.

If you can do these very simple, but not easy things everyday you will start to see God’s favor in your life – and you will start to feel him working through you. You will start to witness God doing great things through you- regardless of your qualifications. You are a chosen child of God – that qualifies you for everything He has planned for you.