What is YOUR Story?

I have been following the NBA playoffs and I find tonight's outcome of the Orlando/Cleveland game quite inspiring.  Now some people might say that I think this because I must obviously be an Orlando fan.  Well, I am but that is not what I mean.  Let me Mindspeak about it and elaborate what insight I gained from this.

During the playoffs, there have been many commercials and conversations concerning the show down of Lebron and Kobe, two phenomenal players indeed.  Commercials have depicted LeBron and Kobe together and they were really working to program people as to what they should expect to see in the finals.  I must admit that even my husband and I discussed the playoffs early on and I talked about how it would be LeBron and Kobe and how interesting it would be to watch.  I have heard many people talk this way.  Talking about how the final would be set up before the first round was played out.  But what I find interesting is that no matter how much people thought they knew what the outcome would be, the Orlando Magic knew that their story had not been completed.

They knew that no matter what people said or wrote, their story was yet to be told.  They didn't give up on what could be a great triumph and achievement all because of what people said about them.  They chose to believe in what they knew about themselves.  They understood that the words they speak to themselves are more powerful than words from anyone else.  People can say and do any and every thing and we all have a thought or opinion on things.  Opinions are like air, they are always floating around.  But Orlando was not swayed or defined by what other people thought or said about them.

That encourages me because I know that no matter what has been said to me or about me, my story isn't over.  People may tell  you that you will never be this or you can't achieve beyond a certain level and they can say whatever they like but it is not a part of your story unless you choose to let it be.  You are the author of your story.  You are the editor of the novel of you.  You are the editor and publisher and you have the final say in what your story will be.  

I think we all can and should take a key point out of the example from the Orlando Magic.  Your story is never over until you say so.  People can think and even be bold enough to say all kinds of things to you and about you but until you choose to believe it, it doesn't have to have any effect on your life.  Your story is never over until you say so.

Choose to take an active role and write your own story and don't let others write it for you.  Don't be a contributing author to your story, be the author.  Write your success because you are what you say you are and God created us all to be victors and over-comers.

What will you choose to have your story say about you?

Be truly happy!

For people that know me, the next statement is not going to be something that takes you by surprise. For quite a while now, I have been hoping to be a mother. I have been waiting and waiting for children and sometimes it has gotten hard, very hard. It is something that both my husband and I want and we have prayed together, sat up late nights, talked to friends, everything. We've even had a few times when we thought we were pregnant only to receive contrary news from the doctor. Those have been some pretty hard times but my personal hardest times would come on Mother's day. 

For the past 3 Mother's Days, I have opted to stay home where I can just be to myself because it has honestly been painful to be out on that day, constantly confronted with the fact that it had been another whole year, 365 days, 12 months, countless hours and we were still not parents. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mom and we would all have dinner together and she would get presents from us. That would all happen later in the day and in the safety of family that knew the deal and it was never a discussion. This year though, God put it on my heart that its not even about the pain or hurt that I am feeling, its all about Him and His glory. God gave me an opportunity to realize that I could step outside of myself and see things how they are. Yes, I have a desire but yes He will fill that in His perfect time so until that time, be an example and a willing and yielded vessel that God can use. So, I made up my mind (with a little higher power help!) that I would go to church on Mother's Day. 

As I was on my way to church, God gave me a desire to give cards to our friends who were mothers. I have to admit, He comes up with some good ideas! So off to the store I went and my husband and I gave out a few cards to some of the mothers that we know. Don't you know that when I stopped focusing on what I was feeling, God enabled me to be a blessing to someone else.  It seems that people really liked the cards. Isn't that something! That truly made us feel good that we could help someone else feel good. 

After all that God showed me this scripture, Colossians 1:11 (cev) 'His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.' I can say that I am truly happy. I have a wonderful husband that keeps life fun, wonderful family all around and sitting in church Sunday I realized that I have been really really blessed because we have two beautiful God children and we love them dearly! Our god-daughter walked up to me Sunday and gave me a giant hug! It was priceless! 

For those of us who are going through things, just know that when you are God's child, He has your back. It may not seem like it or feel like it or look like it but He does. He has proven this to me in many different areas of my life and now He has given me yet another weapon to use when the enemy tries to tell me otherwise, Colossians 1:11. Be truly happy!

Comic book only or is there more to it?

Each child of God is embodied with a gift and a talent and there are people that God has blessed with the ability to nurture that gifting or talent to be a gift to the whole kingdom of God. These remind me of Superheroes.

The ‘Mind Reader” is an example of Discernment and Empathy. When you can look at something and see it not only for what it is but for what is lying underneath. When you truly tune in to what someone is feeling and going through and minister to them in a way that brings healing and wholeness and a new breath that revives and restores them and enables them to be able to help someone else to gain healing. You minister in a way that helps people know that you care and are not just present in the moment but sharing your heart with them.

The ‘Regenerator’ is an example of Faith. Knowing that no matter how I put myself out there for God, He has my back, for there is no weapon formed against me that will prosper Isaiah 54:17. God has placed His shield around me and although it may not be pretty right now, I will emerge as one beautified. I am made beautiful as I follow His direction and will.

The ‘Time Traveler’ is an example of a Prophet. A prophet receives from God a word and shares it with others with the authority and command of God. This can be something that is going to happen or a greater revelation of why something has already happened. A prophet speaks to people not only in their current position but speaks a word of exhortation to bring encouragement and peace to others. A prophet hears directly from God and God's word is always a rhema word, a perfect word for the situation.

These ‘Superheroes’ are really evangelists if you think about it. Evangelism is spreading the word of God. You are teaching to others that they may in turn take it to more people, the power of multiplicity. Evangelism gives the Word of God the ability to take flight to others. It reaches far beyond you and the number of people that you can touch just yourself just in the area you are. Matthew 10:16 - 17 ESV "but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus said this to His disciples but it also rings true for us. We are to spread the Word of God and not hold it to ourselves. When we do not share the Word of God or act as if we are ashamed or embarrassed to be children of God, we are denying Him. Matthew 10:33, ESV "but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."
We are all called to be disciples. We are all called to teach and be examples of God's love and grace. We are His living, breathing and walking examples and we must represent Him fully because as it has been said, we may very well be the only bible that some people ever read.

Know that as a child of God, you are constantly being watched and this is not a bad thing. Let those that watch you see an example of God. Let your life be a catalyst for change in someone else's life for if you are not inspiring change or growth in someone else you are truly missing the boat. Matthew 5:13, MSG "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you loose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage."

Don't end up in the garbage pail of life. Be who God has called you to be and inspire change, growth and a desire for a relationship with God in others.

Be a God-Hero, that is what He has already created you to be.

Poem

MY PAIN

Out of my pain flows a beauty this world has never seen
Out of my pain grows an appreciation for those different from me
Out of my pain my eyes are opened wide to see the hurts of others
Out of my pain my heart is made tender to love and to nurture
Out of my pain I learn more about me
Out of my pain I understand more about you.

What is in my pain?

What is the anatomy of my pain?

My pain is hurt from feelings trampled under foot
But I begin to understand that same foot has walked a lonely path
My pain is from tears cried over words spoken from those who seemed not to care
But as I listen I hear their pain from days, weeks, months and years of being locked in despair

My pain is from dreams shattered from negative criticism
But now I realize that criticism stems from a shattered vessel broken by too many put downs and too much shame

What does your pain bring?
What does your pain allow you to see?

Just as our giftings are not just for us but for others to benefit
Our pain is to be a lesson to love others more than ourselves.

From a heart that has grown through pain LMW

The cost of obedience

Why does it seem to take so much energy or courage to be obedient to the voice of God? It seems that some of the instructions He gives are not easy to comply with and we try to cut a deal with God. ‘If you can let me do it this way instead, I promise I will pray more tomorrow.’ ‘If I can give them a handshake instead of a hug, I promise I will put a little more in my offering.’ ‘How about I don’t call that person today but tell them Sunday that I was thinking about them? That would be good enough right?’

Why is it that we try to get around the things that God instructs us to do? Is it because of fear of rejection? Could it be that maybe we are not confident within ourselves that we truly know the voice of God?

Why do we put the cost of our obedience so high?

What was the real cost paid for obedience? Mark 14:34 – 36 tells us the cost that was paid for obedience. Jesus knew why He had been sent, what His purpose was and He was obedient to the point of His death. Verse 34 shows the intense emotion that Jesus felt, (NASB) ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death…’ even in that state, He did not stray from the will of God. Verse 36 shows that the thought crossed his mind but He followed it by saying, ‘yet not what I will, but what you will’. How many times are we presented with a difficult task and we just do our will? We don’t even acknowledge the fact that we are taking our own path. We figure God understands, that was too much for me anyway.

Think of what and where we would be if Jesus had decided the cost of His obedience was too much. The cost of His obedience was the cross. The cost of our individual acts of obedience may be discomfort or possible rejection but do you know the payoff? A soul may come to know Christ. A life may be saved. Will you be the one to say, ‘Yes Lord, Your will be done in my life. Use me as an example. Use me as Your hands, Your touch, and Your voice to someone who cannot hear You right now?’

Is the price we pay to be obedient higher than the ultimate price that Jesus paid?

Chasing?

Chasing after God, what does it really mean?

As I sit and ponder this question, it stirs something deep within my heart. Could this be that just thinking of what it means to chase after God awakens a part of us that no man, thing or action can touch? The desire that He put within us when He created us that only He can touch, the void that only He can fill, the thirst that only He can quench, that hunger that only He can satisfy.

There are many things that we do to try to fill these things outside of God and His design. Oftentimes it isn’t even intentional. Think of people around you who truly love God. You can see it in their actions, in the way they carry themselves and treat others. There are people that truly love God and want to do His will and be that Godly example in the world but still end up searching for something. That next high, no it doesn’t mean drugs or alcohol but people get ‘high’ off of a variety of things. Shopping, writing, drawing, eating, exercising, surfing the net, reading a book, chatting online, none of these things are bad in and of themselves but what if we are using these to try to fill something that only God can fill?

How often do I feel that hunger and grab a good book instead or find something to fix or make something just right? I can honestly say that I am a perfectionist and there is a rush you get when something is done just right or something comes out just the way you planned it but you know what, only God is perfect. In being a perfectionist, it is just like running on a treadmill. No matter how fast or hard you run, you are not going anywhere. That is what happens when you strive to make everything perfect. There is nothing wrong with working things in a spirit of excellence or pushing to be the best at what you do but perfection is only perfection in your eyes. No one else can meet your standards of perfection. But when you are a perfectionist and that plan comes out just the way you planned it or this or that happens, you get a little rush. Are you replacing God with a search for that rush? What would happen if you didn’t focus that time and attention on that one detail but turned it instead towards understanding God’s voice? What if instead of shopping for 3 hours, you spent 30 minutes in God’s word understanding more what is written and how it affects you?

What does it mean when we chase after God? To me, it reminds of what was said in Phillipians 3: 13 and 14. In my own understanding, what I take away from that is, I am not saying I am perfect or that I have made it but what I do know is that I lay aside and forget all of the past things and focus on God. I press and move and fight towards His example.

Is that what chasing God is? Leaving all the other stuff by the wayside, forgetting what your spouse said that irritated you, forgetting the ones that said you would never amount to anything, forgetting that best friend that betrayed your trust and focusing on God and all that He did and does for you. Focusing on the blessings that He gives on a daily basis that many of us take for granted. Focusing on truly listening for and to His voice. Understanding that in God’s eyes, obedience is greater than sacrifice and that in order to please Him, we must obey Him. Our sacrifice, no matter what it may be, is nothing without obedience to His word.

How do I chase after Him? By desiring and seeking to know Him. By reading and learning and meditating on His word to seek and understand His plan for my life and how He uses me to help others to know Him.

GodChaser? I can get with that.