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525,600

At the beginning of the semester I heard a sermon at Journey Church that I loved and has continued to inspire me. It has provoked me to ponder many questions daily. As I was rereading my notes today I decided I had to share some of my notes, my thoughts and questions that have been weighing heavy on my heart.

What are some ways you respond when someone asks you how you are doing? Blessed, wonderful, okay, fine, tired, stressed… Many times, I think we misuse our time.

In 2011 we have 525,600 minutes to spend however we please.

There are many things that are going to fight for our time. Family, social, work, school, church, getting ready, blogging, facebook, twitter, sports, sleep, etc. Jesus is one of them. He wants our time.

How much time are we wasting?

Jesus had the most important job in history (redeeming humanity), yet as your read the Bible, He never seems to be in a hurry. He never passed the sick and hurting, never rushed through dinner, never ignored those who loved him.

 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 4:14

What is important to you?
What is a priority in your life?
What if you did something everyday that mattered?
What is heavy on your heart? (Is this from my heart of the Lords?)  

What does it look like, to not fit God in, but to build my schedule around God?  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17

We have experienced 84,960 minutes of the year 2011 (counting from January 1-March 2).  I challenge you to make the most of the 440,640 minutes you have left. The count down is on!



I pray the Lord will make Himself the center and complete focus of my life. I can not do it without His help. I pray that the Lord does something so big in our lives that we realize it could only have happened because of Him.

Blessings

Over the past two weeks my schedule has been crazy. From the moment I wake up to the moment my head hits the pillow (PTL for Day Planners)! Days filled with class, meetings, work, etc… I’m lucky if I find 5 minutes to sit and be still.

Up until about 3 minutes ago my mind has been racing and yes, I’ll admit it, slightly stressed (and beyond ready for Spring Break. Nine days- but who’s counting ☺ ).

As I was sipping my green tea and enjoying the “collegiate” atmosphere of the OU Library, the Lord reminded me how blessed I am. So often I fail to recognize that the Lord showers me with blessings.

In order to help myself refocus I decided to make a list of a few of the blessings I am grateful for, things I love and things that fill me with joy.

God’s love and grace
Family & Family Time
Friends
Health
Sunrises/the Sky
Positivity
Green Tea
Fellowship
Music
School

Bible
Goals
Freedom to Worship
Love
Mentors
Each new day (Life)
Traveling
Books
Photographs
A good workout
Smiles & Laughter
Bible Studies
Flowers
Accountability
Quality Time
Challenges
Creativity
Inspiration

Wisdom

Oh the list could go on forever…

What brings you joy and makes you happy? How are you blessed?

Praise the Lord for these gifts!

I pray that God will help me remember my list and help me to be grateful and give thanks constantly.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:18


“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6

Prayer

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

Stop for a moment and really ponder this- how much time do you spend during the day praying and talking with God? Do you spend 5 minutes? Pray before meals and before bed? Do you spend hours with Him? Confession- I know I don’t spend nearly as much time praying as I wish I did, I’m working on it.

I feel the importance and power of prayer is often underestimated.  If Jesus felt prayer was so important, why do we not depend on it constantly? Why am I not always overwhelmed with thanks that the Lord has given me this blessing?

Just like any other goal, it takes time and discipline to form a habit. (1 Corinthians 9:25) You must train yourself to be successful.  God calls us to be in constant prayer.

Over the past couple years my prayer life has grown immensely and I have been so blessed because of it. I keep a prayer journal where I write my prayers, prayer requests I have received, verses I love and take notes during sermons I enjoy. Reading through past prayers and seeing how God answers my prayers brings such joy to my day and encourages me to speak with the Lord even more.

I pray that God will make my prayer life even more fruitful this year and that He will work wonders in the lives of those around me.

 Following is a poem I read at someones house once and loved. Had to share it :)

I got up early one morning,
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish,
I didn’t have time to pray.

Troubles just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task.
"Why doesn’t God help me?" I wondered.

He answered, "You didn’t ask."

I tried to come into God’s presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"Why, child, you didn’t knock."

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on gray and bleak.
I wondered why God didn’t show me.
He said, "You didn’t seek."

I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.
By Regine Anne Baldomar

Success

We all have goals. Some of us just think about them, some of us write them down and thoroughly plan them out, while some of us visually imagine them.

Recently I have been thinking about the goals I wrote down in January.  I realized I started my planning, but never got any further then that. So today I began taking the steps to achieve these goals. (My dad gave me a “Dream List” packet to help me be successful in my goal planning. I will scan it and upload it soon- it is so helpful)

The Bible has over 7,000 promises from God to you. He promises success, confidence, health, prosperity, strength, wisdom and so much more.  But these promises won’t just happen because we want or expect them to. They will come true if we trust the Lord.

To begin, we must recognize our current position. Where am I spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially, occupationally, physically, etc? Once that list is made, it is time to identify what it is that I want to be different. Not only what do I want to be different, but exactly what I want. It is impossible to reach a vague goal. Also, it is important to ask yourself, ‘Why do I want this?’

Rick Warren made a statement I love. He stated “When you set a goal, don’t focus on  the problems, focus on the promises. Find a promise in God’s Word that will take you to your goal.”

Once this is accomplished, we must depend on the Lord and pray fervently. 

"Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham." Genesis 24:12

"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God and there we will receive mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it" Hebrews 4:16

Barriers come with life. There will be road blocks and obstacles. We must identify any problem we may have to tackle for each of our goals. You can’t remove an obstacle until you identify what it is first.

After recognizing your barriers, you must figure out what steps you must take to achieve your goal. Keep in mind how long it will take. I like to make a timeline. I figure out how long it will take to reach my desired results and put miniature goals in between to keep me on schedule.

A Harvard study in 2010 showed that only 5 percent of Americans have written goals and many of them are among the highest earning people in the nation. (The following link is another Harvard study on goal setting)

Don’t lost courage, you wont achieve your goals over night.

"These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will sure come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3

Also, you can’t do it alone. I struggle with this. I tend to be a very independent person, which is a blessing and a weakness at the same time. Tell others or have others help you achieve your goals.


"One person standing alone is easily attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three people are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

One of the last things to keep in mind is what is it going to cost you to achieve your goal. What are you willing to give?

You can either drift through life or you can be directed through life by taking the time to think through where God wants you to be. Is your future worth the effort? Absolutely ☺

Fear, Faith & Love

While reading through the book of Matthew today, I noticed that the statement “You have so little faith” appears more then once (in Matthew 6 & 8). This sentence is short, yet so powerful.

“Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Matthew 8:26

This statement truly challenges me. It is a wonderful reminder that nothing is too large for the Lord to handle. So why is it that while in the midst of reality, I find myself worrying about little things? Jesus tells us to choose to rely on our faith. But how do we make this choice?

The more I pondered this question the more I thought about Gods character- His love for me and how He wants to work in my life. Matthew 6:28-30 gives us a glimpse of God’s love for us.

 “Look at the lilies and how they grow … if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you?” And once again, these verses are followed by “You have so little faith.”

The sweet Lord made flowers absolutely beautiful because that is His character, not because the flowers “worried” enough to be taken care of. I need to choose to have faith that the Lord is at work in my life too. Even in the little things.

My three favorite flowers created by the precious Heavenly Father:

Hydrangeas

Peonies

Orchids

 "The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:11

Cartoons

This is silly and I recieved it in an email. And although it does not fit into a "typical blog," I thought it was cute and worth sharing.

We complain about the cross we bear but don't realize it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we can't.

"The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."

2 Chronicles 16:9

This reminds me of the quote
         Don't ask God to make things easier, instead ask Him to make you stronger.