Recently I have been asking the Lord to help me open my mind, to take down any barriers or wrong mindsets that I may have. He has been doing a lot of that over the last year and a half and I have just felt some sort of block that I haven't seemed to be able to put my finger on. A good friend of mine recommended a book to me the other day by Robert G. Allen called "Creating Wealth" that I began reading last night and I couldn't put it down. I saw how many wrong mindsets I have had about money, the "American dream," the way to get there and how backwards our culture is about it. There are a select few who actually achieve that dream, who have a completely different mindset, not just about money but about life in general. What makes them so different for us? Why do some people seem to really excel in life and finances while others slave away day in and day out of a job they hate, missing precious and valuable time with their friends and family, thinking that the harder they work, the closer they will get to their dream? I am realizing many things: the goal is not to work harder, but to work smarter, to let the Holy Spirit lead and guide us into all truth, every decision we make, and that we will not just do something because it's what we think we need to do to survive and get by. We need to find a way to tap into the unlimited resources God has already made available to us through His son! God is not "El Cheapo", He IS "El Shaddai," the God of more than enough! He does not lack anything in any way. Everything he does in in an abundance, surplus, overflows, and running over!!
Deut. 28:1-8 says "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you."
If we are God's children, all these things are not only available to us, but they are ours for the taking, bought and paid for by Jesus, and for us not to live this way is actually an insult to what Jesus paid with his own life for us to have! When we follow the Lord and his leading, he has promised to provide ALL of our needs according to HIS riches in Glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19), so we need not worry or try and figure out how it's all going to work out. God's word is true...period! He can not lie! If he says he's going to take care of you and supply everything you need, then trust him and let him do that! He is capable to handling it all and never intended for us to carry that heavy load and burden.
Nehemiah 9: 24-25 says "So the people went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they wished.And they took strong cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness."
Not only will God provide, but he has already prepared the way before you. I love this verse because it talks about how even before they got there, God had provided them with houses that they did not build, wells they did not dig, olive trees they did not grow, etc!! God will cause other people to put in the work before hand so you can receive the blessings he has for you without all the blood, sweat and tears!!!
I am in no way against working. In fact the Lord tells us if we don't work, we won't eat, that He blesses the work of our hands, and that he gives us the power and ability to get wealth. What I am saying is that we need to make sure we are doing and moving towards the Lord's calling and not allowing ourselves to be stuck, thinking we can do it all ourselves and work ourselves to death to get ahead. God wants us to work, yes, BUT he also needs us to let go of trying to figure it all out, working ourselves into the ground and just let him take care of us by following his leading. God is not glorified when we are just merely surving instead of thriving, sick, depressed, in strife, and our whole world is falling apart. Sure we all want the blessings of God, but how many of us are really willing to let go of the control, wrong mindsets, surrender our plans and completely trust the Lord? Or take him at his word? I want to be a doer of the word and not merely a hearer! It is my desire to follow the Lord wherever he leads, even if it doesn't make sense, and I know by doing so he WILL bless me and my family and that his word will never return void!
This blog was created to challenge our way of thinking, the way we perceive things, and to ultimately point us towards God. In reading my blog, I challenge you to step outside of your normal way of thinking, expect to see the goodnes of God, to possibly see things in a new light, and to not be limited to our own perceptions.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
A Thankful Heart
I've been just thinking about how good the Lord is and has been in my life so I wanted to share a few things that I am very thankful and grateful for!
1.My God-I could go on and on about how good God has been to me throughout my life and we would be here for weeks, but I will just share what's been going on lately that I am thankful for. I am thankful for His love, mercy, grace, kindness, provision and for being true to his word. It has been a loooong time coming, but in just 3 weeks, my husband will finally be signing up to attend Bible College full time, and it will be paid for in full!!! We were disobedient when the Lord told us almost 9 years ago to come to CO, allowing friends, family and circumstances to hold us back, but God's calling on our lives has never changed and is irrevocable! God gave us another opportunity to follow him last year, calling us away; we took a huge step of faith and made the plunge, and it has been the best decision we have ever made! Finances were really tough for a while after we moved. People we thought would support us, didn't, and really haven't kept in contact with us like we thought they would...BUT God has always been there and has been faithful. My husband got laid off from his previous job in January this year, but where one door closes, another door opens! God has really promoted him!! He is making almost 3x's what he was making when we first moved here, he is opening doors for him left and right, and we are actually living on 60% of our income better than when we were trying to hoard every penny before. God has changed me, is changing me, has given me a marriage I never thought I would have, a life I truly love, I get to live in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. and I get to do it with God by my side, leading the way, supplying all our needs, and enjoying this life he created for me!!
2. My husband-Boy, oh boy, am I thankful for this man God has given me. He has seen me at my best and my worst, has fought for me, our marriage, our family, has never taken the easy way out or given up on me, has been an awesome provider, allows me the privilege to stay at home and home school our children, to be the care taker of our home, is my best friend, and am SO glad I get to do this life with him by my side! God truly gave me a gift when he gave Wayne to me, knowing that he would help rub off the rough edges, sharpen the areas that need to be sharpened, and gave me someone who has the same desires and passions for life that I do! God has renewed my love for him, some days I fall more and more in love with him and can hardly stand it, has humbled me and allows me to serve him, respect him, and finally let him be the head of our home! Things operate so much smoother now that I have let go of the control and give him to God, praying for his success and trying to stay humble when my flesh wants it's own way.
3. My kids-Children really are a blessing from the Lord, even though a lot of times we may take that for granted. My kids have loved me in spite of my rants and yelling at them, keep me humble, have showed me what true forgiveness and love is, make me laugh hysterically, and bring so much joy to me! Just the fact that I get to be with them everyday, teach them and see the efforts of that pay off, I get to feel their little arms wrapped around my neck, receive compliments from them and little sweet kisses enriches my life so much! I am truly blessed to have them as my children! God knew I needed them and that they needed me too!
4. My family and friends-They have seen me at my very best and my very worst and have always chosen to love me through it, encourage me, and lovingly show me areas where I may be missing it. I am thankful that I can always rely on them to be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, to encourage me, pray for me, and always point me back to the cross! I am thankful for the friends that still keep in contact with me and show me that no matter the time or distance, they will always have my back!
5. Little things: I find myself being thankful even for little things lately, like a hot shower, a car that runs and operates good (even if it's not exactly the car I want), a bed to sleep in (even if it's not the most comfortable one), that our storehouse is full, a refrigerator full of food, a roof over my head, my family and I are healthy, air in my lungs, we have clean and decent looking clothes to wear, and that I live in a country that's free (for now).
There are so many things we can be thankful for if we just stop and take the time to see them. We are such a blessed nation and people, yet many of us overlook that fact and want more and more, feeling we are entitled to more and that more will make us happy. If we can't be content and enjoy where we are, what we have, who we have, then we never will be! What kinds of things are you thankful for? May we choose everyday to acknowledge the things we DO have and not the things we don't!
1.My God-I could go on and on about how good God has been to me throughout my life and we would be here for weeks, but I will just share what's been going on lately that I am thankful for. I am thankful for His love, mercy, grace, kindness, provision and for being true to his word. It has been a loooong time coming, but in just 3 weeks, my husband will finally be signing up to attend Bible College full time, and it will be paid for in full!!! We were disobedient when the Lord told us almost 9 years ago to come to CO, allowing friends, family and circumstances to hold us back, but God's calling on our lives has never changed and is irrevocable! God gave us another opportunity to follow him last year, calling us away; we took a huge step of faith and made the plunge, and it has been the best decision we have ever made! Finances were really tough for a while after we moved. People we thought would support us, didn't, and really haven't kept in contact with us like we thought they would...BUT God has always been there and has been faithful. My husband got laid off from his previous job in January this year, but where one door closes, another door opens! God has really promoted him!! He is making almost 3x's what he was making when we first moved here, he is opening doors for him left and right, and we are actually living on 60% of our income better than when we were trying to hoard every penny before. God has changed me, is changing me, has given me a marriage I never thought I would have, a life I truly love, I get to live in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. and I get to do it with God by my side, leading the way, supplying all our needs, and enjoying this life he created for me!!
2. My husband-Boy, oh boy, am I thankful for this man God has given me. He has seen me at my best and my worst, has fought for me, our marriage, our family, has never taken the easy way out or given up on me, has been an awesome provider, allows me the privilege to stay at home and home school our children, to be the care taker of our home, is my best friend, and am SO glad I get to do this life with him by my side! God truly gave me a gift when he gave Wayne to me, knowing that he would help rub off the rough edges, sharpen the areas that need to be sharpened, and gave me someone who has the same desires and passions for life that I do! God has renewed my love for him, some days I fall more and more in love with him and can hardly stand it, has humbled me and allows me to serve him, respect him, and finally let him be the head of our home! Things operate so much smoother now that I have let go of the control and give him to God, praying for his success and trying to stay humble when my flesh wants it's own way.
3. My kids-Children really are a blessing from the Lord, even though a lot of times we may take that for granted. My kids have loved me in spite of my rants and yelling at them, keep me humble, have showed me what true forgiveness and love is, make me laugh hysterically, and bring so much joy to me! Just the fact that I get to be with them everyday, teach them and see the efforts of that pay off, I get to feel their little arms wrapped around my neck, receive compliments from them and little sweet kisses enriches my life so much! I am truly blessed to have them as my children! God knew I needed them and that they needed me too!
4. My family and friends-They have seen me at my very best and my very worst and have always chosen to love me through it, encourage me, and lovingly show me areas where I may be missing it. I am thankful that I can always rely on them to be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, to encourage me, pray for me, and always point me back to the cross! I am thankful for the friends that still keep in contact with me and show me that no matter the time or distance, they will always have my back!
5. Little things: I find myself being thankful even for little things lately, like a hot shower, a car that runs and operates good (even if it's not exactly the car I want), a bed to sleep in (even if it's not the most comfortable one), that our storehouse is full, a refrigerator full of food, a roof over my head, my family and I are healthy, air in my lungs, we have clean and decent looking clothes to wear, and that I live in a country that's free (for now).
There are so many things we can be thankful for if we just stop and take the time to see them. We are such a blessed nation and people, yet many of us overlook that fact and want more and more, feeling we are entitled to more and that more will make us happy. If we can't be content and enjoy where we are, what we have, who we have, then we never will be! What kinds of things are you thankful for? May we choose everyday to acknowledge the things we DO have and not the things we don't!
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