Whose Business Is It Anyways?

     I heard a quote recently that said, "It's not your business to worry about your business. It's your business to worry about God's business, and His to worry about yours." So the word business is repeated like 100 times, but the point is really good. We need to be focusing on what God says to focus on, and give our own business to Him. So often we're obsessed with things that really don't matter. Someone looked at you the wrong way, you're not sure if you should wear that because people might look at you weird, your significant other is definitely NOT taking the hint, ect. I'm definitely a person who spends 80% of my day worrying about business that is 100% insignificant.
     So what exactly is "God's business?" What are the things we should be spending our time focusing on?

Set your affections on things above, not on things on earth. Colossians 3:1

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

So that thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding. Proverbs 2:2

     We need to have an eternal perspective on life. Our business is for the most part very fleshly and carnal, a giant waste of time. It's God's business that deserves our time and attention. We can't let our earthly affections rule what we say and do. We need to be seeking the wisdom of the Lord in everything we do. We aren't guaranteed forever, so we have to use each day wisely.
     Obviously this isn't easy because if it was, I wouldn't even write this. Focusing on God's business is something that requires diligence, it requires effort. It requires me waking up in the morning saying, "Okay God. My business is your business, now make Your business mine." It takes a commitment to give God the thoughts, feelings and intents of your heart and allowing Him to change them into what He wants them to be.
      So remember, it's not your business to worry about your business. You focus on God's business, and let Him handle yours.

Stay excellent!

My Critical Heart

     It's very easy for us to see faults in others while being blind to our own. I have recognized in my life lately that at times, I can be a very critical person. I read a quote by Dale Carnegie that says, "Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving." I mean, isn't that what we should be doing as Christians? Being understanding and forgiving? I am definitely guilty of being condescending, especially when a person says or does something I find wildly annoying. But really, most of the times I get annoyed, it's for a totally pathetic reason. People are going to be critical, it's just part of being human. I'm sure someone is going to read this and have loads of negative criticism. But I know as a person who is seeking after the Lord, that's definitely something I need to be avoiding. So here are some things that have been helping me to get rid of my critical heart!

1. Remember Jesus died for them too.

Seriously, I get that hearing her talk 24/7 can get really old. I'm usually the person talking all the time, and most of the time I don't realize it. People can really get on our nerves, it's kind of human nature. But Satan wants to use that to make us really critical. He HATES unity among believers, so any way he can get you irritated with your brothers or sisters in Christ, he's going to try. The next time that person really annoys you, remember Jesus died for them too. We don't really get the right to be annoyed or critical, because really we don't even deserve to be living. God says that we are ALL sinners, we are all destitute without Him and His blood. So if we're honest, we don't really have anything on anyone else. The only person who gets to be critical is God, yet He chooses to see the good in us. Therefore it's only fair that we see good in other people too.

2. Imagine the times you were in their position.

As stated before, usually I'm the person who doesn't stop talking. I don't do it on purpose, I just have so much to say so much of the time. A lot of times, when people are irritating us, they don't even know it. I know I've gotten on people's nerves before, and chances are you probably have too. Next time you're super critical of someone for something they're doing/saying/wearing, imagine all the times you've probably been in their position. It's really awful to be on the other end of people's criticisms and I know that it requires a lot of self control to keep the condescending thoughts away. But we can do it as long as we remember who we are compared to who God is.

3. Would Jesus appreciate your thoughts?

We all know Philippians 4:8, and that should be our filter for everything we think, say and feel. Are your critical thoughts true, honest, just, pure, lovely, or of good report? Chances are, probably not. Every time you want to feel or think or even say critical or rude things about another person, try praying instead. Ask God to help you see that person through His eyes instead of your own. It's a slap of humility that can really change your thinking.

     I wish I could say that I've mastered the art of having a totally understanding and forgiving heart, but it's something I have to work on every day. I pray that these things that helped me will help you too. As always, thanks for reading!

Stay excellent!

The Sacredness of Heartbreak

     Chances are, if you're a human and have had any sort of contact with any other human being, you've experienced heartbreak. When we experience moments of heartbreak, it's easy to feel alone. Stuck on an island of solitide, feeling as though the pain is unbearable. Studies done by multiple scientists show that emotional pain, hearbreak, can cause an actual physical pain. It is actually proven that a person can die of a broken heart, given the pain of the emotional stress is so heavy on the heart that it literally cannot continue beating. Seeing as though I've only been alive for 20 years and a few months on this earth, I haven't experienced anything too truamatic. However, like most people, I know what it feels like to feel alone, scared, stuck as though you were quarenteed from the rest of the world. In times like these, we must remember one thing - we are not alone. Jesus was betrayed, abandoned and rejected. Therefore, we get to know God and understand Him more when we are experiencing times of hurt deeper than human words could express.

 Having our hearts broken gives us a glimpse of the character of God. 

     How often we humans break God's heart, we leave our first love, we have idols in our hearts, and we forget His goodness and His blessings in our life. There is no person on this earth who will be able to understand what you're feeling 100% of the time, but God can. If anyone knows heartbreak best, it's Jesus Christ. He loved the people of Israel as much as a husband loves his wife. (Jeremiah 31:32) Being forgotten and replaced time and time again by these people He loved so much must have given him incomprehensible heartbreak. He sacrificed for them, He gave them so many chances, yet they still chose to take advantage of His blessings and despise Him when things weren't going their way. We must be careful not to do that in our lives.
     It's sacred to share the pain of heartbreak with Jesus. When He hung on the cross, He experienced true hell on earth because He felt what it's like to be without God the Father. How much His heart must of broke when He slowly died on that tree for us, knowing He did nothing to deserve it. We could never endure a pain more painful than what He must have felt. That is an extremely humbling yet encouraging thought. We can never doubt God's love for us, He loved us enough to sacrifice His perfect Son. As Stephanie Rische writes,

 "When you feel like your heart is broken beyond repair, remember that nothing about this place is ordinary. You are uniquely poised, at this very moment, to share an intimate part of God's character. It's the place of the broken heart, and it's a sacred ground."

Stay excellent!

(Derived from http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2009/march/sacredness-of-broken-heart.html?start=3)

Patience, Posture & Power

(This blog post comes from the notes that I took from an incredible message preached by Pastor Percy Edmunds)

Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

     Psalm 27:14 is such an encouraging verse for so many people. It's one of those verses that are vital to write down on a post-it and put it in a convenient location to read 100 times a day. This verse seems short, sweet and simple, but there are three points within it that really encouraged me and I hope that they will do the same for you.

1.Plea for Patience

     Part of serving is waiting. So often we think we have to work, work, work all the time and never take a break. We think ministry is being busy 100% of the time. Serving and working for the Lord are important and commanded in scripture, but we are told twice in this verse to wait. Wait on the Lord. Wait is defined as staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something happens. God wants us to stay right where we are, delay action, and wait on the Lord. Wait for His timing and for Him to work.

2. Positive Posture

     We must wait on the Lord with a good attitude. "Be of good courage" means that we need to be strong in the time of trials or temptations. Waiting isn't always going to be easy. In fact, it could quite possibly be one of the hardest things we go through. Despite this, God is not impressed with us waiting angrily or with a lousy attitude. Our outlook must be courageous, it must be good, and that's what will give us the strength to wait on the Lord.

3. Promise of Power

     "He shall strengthen your heart." We are promised that if we will wait on the Lord, and do it with a good attitude, He will strengthen our hearts. God is incapable of breaking His promises to us because it's against His nature, so we have that ultimate promise of His power working in our lives. However, this promise is conditional - to experience God's power in our hearts, we must have positive posture while being patient.

     When I heard these three points within this verse, it instantly became even more precious to me. We are promised so much in Christ Jesus, but it's very easy to let the cares and worries of this world consume us. We must remember to have positive posture as we patiently wait on Jesus, and when we do this, we will get to experience the power of the strength He gives. I don't know about you, but that's power that I definitely want to have!

                                                       

                                                                                                                                         Stay excellent!

Goals for 2016

    Ah, it's that time of year. Everyone is posting what their New Year's resolutions are, really determined to actually see them through until January 2017. People everywhere are resolved to finally shed off that extra ten pounds this year, and really crack down on that healthy eating. All of it lasts for a solid month or two before we're all back to our old ways of life, deciding that maybe we can lose the extra weight next year. I decided to make some goals for this next year and really pray that I can make them permanent changes to my life. Growing closer to God is obviously the aim in everything I do, and it's something I should resolve to do each day of my life. Here are some specific things I would like to make a point to work on through this next year.

1. Be nicer to people.

I can be super rude sometimes, I'm ashamed to admit. Sometimes my first judgements of people can be harsh and cruel. I examine things from my own perspective and often forget to "walk in another person's shoes." I definitely want to work on being kinder to people, both the way I think of them and the way I talk to or about them. The Bible has a lot to say about kindness and I know it's a big step in showing God's love to other people.

2. Go out of my way to help others.

Sometimes it's so easy to walk away when someone could use my help. If there's some trash on the floor clear on the other side of the hallway, it's my tendency to just keep walking. Someone down the hall has an armload and I sometimes I reluctantly hold the door open when I should be happy to do it. I want to work on going out of my way to do little things that make a difference eternally. I want to be LOOKING for ways to help. People don't have to notice every little thing we do, but we should be going out of our way to do good for other people. God notices it all. Look at things through the scope of eternity. God blesses busy hands, whether that's emptying a full trash can at work or helping an elderly lady put away her groceries. I pray that God will give me the heart and desire to look for more ways to lend a helping hand.

3. Avoid the "bad mood" mindset.

I don't know about the rest of you, but at the end of a long work day, sometimes I get hit with a really bad mood. When that happens, I am super negative and I extend very little grace to people. Quite obviously, this is not a godly attitude nor is it one that encourages others. I pray that I can be more cognizant of how my moods are affecting my testimony. When we're in a bad mood, we could say one small thing to someone that could altar the way they think of us from then on. Honestly, we really don't have any excuse for a bad mood. Nowhere in the Bible does it excuse sin when we've had a rough day. Those are times when we can really show the light of Jesus by getting through it with kindness and smile. I know that's something that I definitely want to work on in this next year.

4. Be a better listener.

I like to talk. Anyone who knows me knows that. I could probably talk faster than an auctioneer on double speed. To my shame, there are times when I get so caught up with my talking that I forget to listen. I know that being a good listener is a vital part of being a godly friend. A person must have ears sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and it's hard to hear that soft whisper when my own voice goes right over it. To be teachable one must have ears to hear. One of my favourite verses is 1 Thess. 4:11-12, and it talks about "studying to be quiet." Listening has never been a skill I've been talented in, but it's something I know I most definitely want to work on.

5. Don't take any moment for granted.

None of us know when our last breath will be. There was someone from my church who died last year in his early 30's of a heart attack. Nobody saw it coming and we were all completely shocked. We are not immortal nor are we untouchable. Each day, each hour, each minute we have is a gift from God that needs to be used to the fullest for His honor and glory. Our lives belong to God, we can't just allow Him to have His way when we're in a convenient location. It doesn't matter if we're at church, work, Walmart or on family vacation in Florida, we need to cherish every moment and do as much for God as we can. We are given life to further the gospel, not to further our own fame, fashion or success. It's easy to get caught up in the love and luster of life, but it's all about the cross and what Jesus did to make us free. I want to make every moment I have count for eternal value because I am not guaranteed my next breath.

     I pray that throughout this year I will be able to really work on these things and grow closer to the Lord. I'm so excited to see all that He's going to do in my life and in the lives of those around me as we learn and grow more and more. I hope all of you reading this have a very happy new year!

Stay excellent!