What I leverage when practicing what I know

I am participating in the ‘Writing Contest: Overcoming Writer’s Doubt’ held by Positive Writer.”

I used to be afraid of reaching my weight loss goal.   This fear morphed into a weird sense of doubt that I would never achieve success in this area and I tackled defeat for many years.  And then there was the lie that even if I did arrive at my goal, I would gain it all back right away.  I had been on this Merry-go-round of the scale ups and downs for most of my life.  I am talking about losing a 100 lbs or more of excess weight and attaining a healthy weight range.  To take this a bit further, how would I ever be an expert in the world of losing weight or even an authority to write a book about it?

I found out two things, I am a loser and I'm an authority of what has worked for me.  First, I had to overcome the doubt that plagued me.  There is a bit of wisdom that I cling to in maintaining a weight loss of 132 lbs.   It's this:

"Eat today for how I want to feel tomorrow."    

If I want to live a healthy tomorrow, feel good about myself, see a healthy and balanced reflection in the mirror, experience good confidence and self-esteem, I will choose to eat towards my healthy goals.  My goals won't include chocolate anymore.  My goals will include healthy choices for today.  I chose a healthy lifestyle yesterday, and those choices feed my motivation to feel good about today.  This idea helps me make better choices for today, which affects tomorrow.  It removes doubt and gives freedom to acknowledge what does.

I leverage doubt to work in my favor.  I choose to believe that making healthy choices are right, good, and safe to lose and maintain a healthy weight.  Instead of throwing hurdles or stones in my path, I will cast the doubt out of my way, to clear the path of resistance, and create distance between good and bad choices.

In the distance between me and doubt, comes much resistance to what feeds my fears.  

That's not to say that I don't think about ice cream.  I do, but I think about practicing freedom more.  Every day, I practice sticking with what I know.  Because of what I have experienced, healthy choices and having a defense against doubt, I have been set free from the fear of gaining.

I have a strong health ethic now.  In working hard to accomplish a life-long goal of healthy living, I let my freedom win over my doubts.  I am free, confident, strong and 132 lbs lighter than I was 6 years ago.   

This practice works for me.  Choose to practice what you believe over what you don't.  Don’t stumble over doubt that you can’t achieve something.  Practicing doubt defense, gives me a weapon to fight against the enemy.  It doesn't remove doubts but I am better prepared for the mix of healthy tension that this struggle brings.  Most days I see doubt as a war to prepare for.  I hate that faith and doubt hold hands so tight.

I choose to believe over doubt.  I leverage what I know doesn't work against what I know does.  I put that d-word in its place and I guard my mind from going to a place of dismal defeat.  

Practice fortifies my faith, faith exercised brings strength.  (Someone should tweet that!)  Doubt debilitates and can whittle your confidence down to the nub.   Leverage doubt to fuel you instead of fool you.  

Read more about overcoming doubt in writing here.  

From generation to generation

Rules were made to be broken, or were they?

We grow up with this saying thinking that rules are bad, guidelines are restrictive, and by following something like God, we are freaks who are weak.  God's disciplines are for our benefit and are meant to enrich our faith and grow as believers in our families and the church community.  

There are times we want to give our kids the best of everything and we forget that sometimes the best advice is to give them room to grow in their faith as children of God.  We give them kudos they don't deserve, we shower them with the top of the line technology they didn't earn, and we are way too lenient with rewards when they aren't ready to handle the responsibility.

With our good intentions, we teach them the lazy, convenient and comfortable ways of faith without teaching them to seek God first in everything, surrender to Him with all parts of our hearts, and don't hold the standard of purity high.  We should be teaching them to have a fear and respect of a Holy God, our Creator and that the blessings of life can come in storms of adversity.  To praise God for all opportunities that come to grow our faith and experience His power.  

Let's not forget our life of faith is all about God.

We need to teach them to run to God first for everything instead of the Internet.  That God is more than the "Big Guy" that we call on when we need a miracle.  This isn't about how to make our children strong and independent.  This is about freedom that comes from knowing the truth about God and living within right disciplines as disciples.   

An outlandish faith will outlast this world filled with sin.  This kind of faith will build a strong community of believers by experiencing God in our daily lives.

God's word reminds us that in His sovereignty, God gives us freedoms and disciplines out of His love for us, for our safety and for our protection against the world and the sins that so entangle our hearts.   These disciplines are established for our good, not from His anger or restrictive ways.

Our calling as God's sons and daughters is to point the way to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, the Life.  We are not to be do-gooders with our plastic-lives-of Christianity but to be the light of God's truth.  We are to share love to everyone around us.  True love comes from the Father through Jesus by faith. 

John 15:9 says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I love you.  Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you."

To really love our family in the ways of faith, we live a kingdom-minded life complete with a fresh hunger and thirst, seeking after God with an intense pursuit and passion. 

We seek God first, in every way, every day, in all areas of life.
We treasure God's holy standards of purity.    
We love the Lord our God with all our heart, end of story, no idols allowed.  

We mentor our community by living out our faith.  

We need to cooperate with God by obeying Him.  

Faith is the very fabric of our lives in every way, every day.  We live the life of holiness, a life set-apart for God when we let Him work in and through our lives to change the world around us.  Living this legacy will last, and it will overflow to others.  

When God has total rule in our life, His rules won't be broken.

What’s God calling you to purposely give to the next generation?

Talk about practice!

How do you do live a life that really matters?  How can our faith outlive our physical years?  

I can relate this discipline to my maintaining a weight loss of 132 lbs.  Now that I have succeeded at my goal, I want to maintain my goal weight.  So how do I do that?  I continue to make healthy lifestyle choices regarding food and exercise.  Now that I know have lived the difference, I want to practice what I know.  Even if there is still a part of me that just wants to cave to the comfort of a slice of cake, a heapin' scoop of ice cream, or a combination of both.  I have to practice healthy and right choices in my life every day.  

So it is with our faith, to live a life that will outlast we have to practice faith, live in the messiness of it it, and practice truth daily.  Day in, day out.  

The church that lives by faith, must be the church that lives, practices, and works the muscle of faith.  We work the muscle of our faith by living by faith that impacts the next generation, based on the principles of God's word.  

"We are called to unleash Christ-centered, Biblically anchored, world changers."  ~ Craig Groeschel.

How do we manage today's generation when we have so much information at our fingertips?  We have to measure the exposure of what the world teaches against what God's Word teaches.

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20

I decided long ago to daily partake of study God's word, but I also have to let God's word study me.  That's how I apply my faith to my daily living.  I also have to act on what I know and practice what I read.  I choose to muscle my faith.  Living in a godly manner, applying God's truth to our lives, and letting the truth change our behavior is faith at work.  When faith makes a difference in our own world, it will spill out to impact the world around us.  It's intentional faithful living by practicing a surrendered faith-filled life God's way.

As we practice the disciplines of truth, we practice living a life of faith.  We become more consistent in worship, prayer, and can practice the power of the gospel so that we can pass more empowered faith to others we meet, and influence our family, our friends, and our communities.

We must be intentional in our faith, to live what we believe is true and practice what we believe from our faith in our forever faithful God.  His faithfulness outlasts, and His Spirit empowers an intentional faith in us.

You can hear a message on this here.

How have you seen your faith make a difference in the lives of those around you?

Yes, I want to live like that

Hebrews 11 is full of faith stories that are inspiring.  Their faith has made a big difference in my life.  The awesome stories recorded in the faith "hall of fame", remind us of who God is and motivates me to know and seek Him more.

How could we not be moved by a God who parts the waters of a raging sea, leads a nation out of slavery to a land that He promised, and knocked down walls with a single horn blast and killed a giant with a single stone?

How could we not want to be a follower of a great and mighty God like that?  Verse by verse miracles are told.  Every story has a common denominator though...each story told of simple faith that God prospered.

Each story tells of prospered faith.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1  Faith is not about evidence.  "This is what the ancients were commended for." Hebrews 11:2  The "ancients" referring to the faith greats like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, David, Joseph, Moses & Gideon just to name a few.  The big hitters in this faith business who were merely obedient to the directions of God.

Their hearts responded in obedience, with a "yes, God."

Their strong faith lead them to places where God met them and showed them the way.  They had faith in God and believed God for who He was.  In faith and by their obedience, they experienced God in ways that are still making a difference in our lives today.  Their faith outlasted their lives and has definitely impacted my faith.

We trust the Bible to record the accurate faithfulness of God.  After all God wrote those faith stories on their hearts to move ours to faith.  With every story, there was a need to believe God for who He was and what He was telling his children to do. A decision was made to believe God over their circumstances.  They believed God for something impossible.  God prospered their faith by providing His answer in the midst of their circumstances.  

What I love about faith is that God makes it so easy to just believe.  All we need to do is take a look back at His faithfulness to propel us to act forward in faith.  Or rather it should seem easy right?  We have to fully trust God to journey these days of faith.  We have to believe God for who He says He is.

We have to trust God to prosper our faith.

If it were so easy, then why does God ask us to do hard things?  I think it's because He gives us a chance to believe Him for what only He can do.   He wants to shape our faith into a story that will impact our lives but also outlast our lives for the next generation.

Have you ever thought about how your test of today will be tomorrow's testimony?  If we didn't have trials and temptations why would we need God?  We would be able to survive, but not thrive.  God has plans to prosper us.  The awesome part of His prospering is that it will take a lot of desert moments of meeting God one on one, waiting upon Him to act on our behalf as we seek Him on the behalf of ourselves, our families, our communities, our  nation, the church, believers everywhere and so that we can be encouraged in our faith.

Prospering means growing, bloom, bear fruit, thrive, bear, benefit or yield.  How else will we learn faith if we don't experience faith in a way that is earned?  It means that it won't always be easy, comfortable or convenient but it will always be worth it.

Obedience and devotion to God are always worth the faith it takes to prosper God's way.  

When the world tells you it doesn't make sense, we choose to follow God anyway.  We choose to live by faith like our faith fathers who's faith outlasted their lives from one generation to another to lead others to a life of following God.

Absolute faith in a God you know always has your best interest at heart.

Faith is God's best life to choose.  No matter what, say yes, "I want to live like that".  Let us run the race like Paul who was a warrior for Christ from the pit of dark despair.  He wrote his faith in such a way that still inspires me today.

Paul's outlasting faith still inspires me.  Yes, God, I'm all in.  Prosper our faith so that it outlasts our days, so that Your glory lives on and on.

Yes, I want to live like that when my soul fades, and when the memory of me would only point to God.  Yes, that I was love where there was none, and that my worship was more that just a song.  Yes, I that gave it all that I had, and I was known by my obedience to God who so gracefully gave it to me.  That I am totally sold out and fully surrendered, recklessly abandoned and never holding back to His prospering of the faith.  Yes, I want to live like that.

To see an inspiring message about this subject watch this:  Outlasters.

Do you want it?

If you have been living with an addiction to food, drugs, alcohol, lust or whatever the struggle, you know that this life can be somewhat disheartening.  And the longer you struggle with a problem, the longer it persists, the more discouraged we become.

It challenges our faith.

It seems that daily our chronic problems become bigger...or never fade. Maybe this is just the life God has designed for us. We tend to give up, and give into our weaknesses and don't see a way out.  There are road blocks galore.

To add insult to our injuries, the more excuses we make the more discouragement amps it's voice.  Every thing, everyone, is against us. Excuses, shame, guilt, shame, excuses, and more guilt.

It's a broken record of our life.  The more days you tolerate the more you are sucked into the lie of the familiar Accuser's voice.  If one more bad things happens you just might lose it!  It might be time to let God turn the table around for our true heart's desire.  

"You can't change what you are willing to tolerate."  Craig Groeschel.  

How often have we've learned to accept the guilt, the shame, the circumstances that seem plague us every day?  We secretly suffer in the Christian life thinking that the good life is just for that other "believer" who has it all together.  

Dear defeat, please meet my Overcomer, Jesus.

We must want the kind of faith that depends on Christ, to leave the familiar lies, those that cast doubt as is the biggest enemy or an even bigger trap, the familiar.  The longer we are stuck in the familiar, the more we need to have faith that God is working for us, not against us.  

We have to do our part too in believing God for who HE says He is.

Is your desire is bigger than your disability?  God can still move in your life, even if it's been a while, like 38 years. It doesn't matter how long you've been down, by the power of Jesus, you can overcome.

Do you really want it? If you want it bad enough you can have desire to want to change. With the power and hope in Christ, we are not out of the fight. What is your greatest misery can now become your greatest ministry. But know this about God, His healing won't come as expected.

I know this personally as I used to look to food for comfort.  Then one day I lost hope to ever losing weight.  I asked God to be my comfort instead of food.  He answered my prayer that day by putting my hands on the stones of belief.  The Spirit helped to roll away the lies that had been holding me back.

God is my comfort and strength when I want to eat every piece of chocolate man has made.  I've lost 132 lbs to prove God's grace in me and through me.  I believed God when HE said that He would take care of my needs as my good Shepherd.  I  believed him when He said that He even looks after the lilies of the field, and the birds of the air.  I believed that He would take care of my food needs in a way that was healthy and pleasing to Him.

I believed God for who he was, not just for what He could do for me.  I am not enslaved to food anymore and am walking in the freedom of looking to my Comforter each and every day I want more.  

When you believe God for who He is, that's a game changer.  I want what God's best is.  Once you roll away those lies, you can see where your help comes from.

Ask God to do what only HE can do. Are you looking to yourself for something that only God can do in you? Take a step of faith forward, pick up your faith, and look to Jesus to give you the healing you need, the kind that can only come from God. The healing your soul longs for.

God is a mystery. It’s not that He doesn’t want you to know these things, it’s that He wants you to get close to Him and find out so that He can teach you. When you get close enough and quiet enough, He’ll whisper a secret to your heart and it will change your life.

In that moment, all your fear will be gone. Ask God to speak to you today.   We can all begin anew, God wants to help you but have to want HIS help to get it.

Do you want it?  You can hear an incredible message about this here.

The strength of our faith

Sometimes, it’s easy to wonder if God even hears our prayers.   We tend to think we are one small voice among millions knocking on God’s heart with our requests.

I used to think God didn’t have time for me or my insignificant prayers.  Why would he bend down and listen to needs when there were much “bigger problems” to care for?  There was no way my little needs would be heard by God.  So, I didn’t have much faith in the conversations between us.

It was only after I became a Christian that I understood that no words to our Father are insignificant.  After accepting the personal work of Jesus on the cross for my sins, everything became very personal.

My prayer posture changed the day I believed in Jesus.  I knew without a doubt that God touched my heart and was Jesus was my Savior. It felt like I was the only person alive that needed saving that day.  That was many years ago, but a move of God like that changes you forever.  I am so grateful that our Father is such a personal God.

My prayers changed my faith.  I started to believe and know that my prayers were always important as the next person’s prayers.  I became expectant and waited on the Lord to answer for His best answer for whatever was happening in my life.

My perspective of God has changed my prayers.  I love the way Pastor Craig says it best, “The size of your requests reveals the strength of your faith.”  Faith is about the unseen, not evidence.

Faith isn’t based on feelings, either.  How often does doubt hit our hearts when we don’t hear from God right away or in what seems to be His silence?

I believe by faith God’s best answer is enough and worth waiting for.  Our conversations with the Father make a difference in our faith, and it builds trust that fuels our faith.  Faith that believes, persists and is put to work pleases God.

Don’t you love it when you please the Father?  Faith is a demonstration of what we believe and know about our God, who loves us more than we could ever imagine.

The Accuser likes to hinder our hearts from believing God for what he tells us and then makes our faith falter. There is no room in our faith for those kinds of sneak attacks.

We have to believe God for who He says He is.  He is mighty, all-powerful, and all-knowing.

Believe that He has a plan to grow you in your faith and trust in Him.  His faithfulness shows us that He alone is a personal God and most trustworthy.

After all, God thought you were worth dying for – that’s why Jesus came. He sent His Spirit, our Counselor, to help us in our everyday faith journeys and when life brings storms that build our faith.

So have faith in a God who is very personal, who cares, and has all the answers to your problems.  He’s still in the healing business, He’s into restoring families and marriages, and cares deeply about each and every need like you are the only one who talks His ears off.

Believe it, our God is that BIG.  Just ask Him, He’ll tell you…”I AM your God!”

1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.” 

...and that's the way I want it

tobyMac has a song that reminds of what I learned to do waaayyyy back when...  It's called "Speak Life".  And from the first time I heard it, it's reminded me of my victory of when I started to give myself some grace.  It has literally spoken life...to my heart and it has changed the way I feel about me, and life in general.

Why do these lyrics mean so much?  

..."Well it's crazy to imagine,
Words from our lips as the arms of compassion,
Mountains crumble with every syllable.
Hope can live or die."
I began to put them into practice by speaking life to myself.  One of my all time-blue-medal-life-time achievement awards goes to?  

God.  

With God's help I have kicked the habit of the negative talk in my heart and mind.  

...and that's the way I like it!

I can honestly say I don't do it anymore.  And wow...what freedom I have since the day I ditched that bad habit.

It has literally poured days of God's blessing in our house and in my own life.  When you speak life to yourself, you will speak it to others.  When you harness your tongue and mind to speak kindness, God's Holy Spirit speaks life to you.

You can change your world and the world around you just by being kind to yourself.

Believe me I know.  

I used to carry a big word stick around with me, beating myself up for my bad behavior.  I carried the weight of my own extra weight in the form of shame, guilt and just plain 'ole trouble with me on a daily basis.

I wasn't smart enough...or good enough, or ...well you get the picture.

Perhaps you have been doing this in your own life.  Here's what God's word says...

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."  Proverbs 12:18

"The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushed the spirit."  Proverbs 15:4

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  Ephesians 4:29

God made us in His own image, that includes our tongues.  Jesus dwells inside of our hearts when you accept Christ as Savior, and when you say negative things to yourself, you are saying them back to God.  

What a slap in the face of Perfect, when the imperfect says God's "workmanship" is not good enough.  There's freedom in the proclamation that we aren't enough.  We aren't supposed to be enough without God.  We are only complete with the identity in Jesus Christ.  So therefore we will never measure up to be enough without Jesus. 

...and that's the way I want it.

So how do you kick the bad habit of negative self-talk?  Speak life to yourself as well as others.

It's the small things that no one sees that result in the big things everyone wants.  If you can't say something helpful, skip it.  Make a list of 100 compliments about you.  Do it...it's so freeing.  And then carry it with you wherever you go.  You will be surprised how God will write those on your heart.

Now that you have those 100 good things about yourself, say those 100 good things to yourself everyday if you have to.

We are God's children.  It's time to encourage ourselves and the world around us.  We can't encourage if we are busy sowing seeds of discouragement to ourselves.  Even David encouraged himself...

..."but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."  1Samuel 30:6

One of my sticky statements for this year is to speak life to me.....and that's the way I want it.

Faith takes a little sweat

Running the race of faith is hard and sweaty

This time of year is a transitional time for me in a lot of areas.  I not only do a January look at my health but I also note spiritual changes made and areas of growth that still need attention.  As I take a look back, I can see where God and I have journeyed together, looking at my weak spots that still need a bit of oomph.

That's hard to do.  It's taking an honest look at your naked self, inside and out.

Man...last year was a season of ups and downs for me.

How about you?

As I reflect on the goodness of God, I so want to align my heart with His.  And that means I have to lay it all out before Him, as I let Him direct my re-centering.

I get face down to seek His face.  My prayer posture brings some new disciplines as well as cut out some old ones.

I must be honest with you...my old habits die hard.

Change for God's best is always good, even though it's hard.  But remember, nothing is too hard for our God and He is bigger than any change He is asking of you.  Absolute faith in a God you know has your best interest at heart.

I don't know how you make changes, but if I might encourage you, please ask God first about what you should be changing, and let Him set your priorities, rather than you presenting Him your goals list.

Making changes is hard work.

In my experience, and out of my fear and respect for our Lord, it behooves me to seek Him in all things first instead of heading into my goals like a bull in a china closet.  (if you don't know what that means, please go ask your mom.)

First and foremost, acknowledge Him as your God.  Praise Him for the work He's done so far.  Thank Him for the saving work of His Son, Jesus.  Today when I checked in, He's still in control of you and that part hasn't changed.  Nor is He wanting to hand over the controls to you, He's doing awesome without our help.

Inviting God to be a part of your everyday storms can be hard, we don't like to admit we need help.  Depending on God's strength instead of your own is key.  Admitting that we need help is a threatening situation to our self-confidence.  Admitting that openly to someone else makes you feel weak and exposed.  Don't delay, let God search your heart deep on this one.

Admitting that we need God's help is hard.  Admitting we need help to others is harder.

There are many days I have felt alone since I have stepped away from the microphone. And for a wired-for-relationships person, I need to know that I have friends to reach out to.  I need your community.  Instead of getting depressed about my loss of friendships, I praise God for the intentional friends that He has placed in my conversations and I'm doing my best in honoring those.

Being intentional is hard and takes time.

When God nudges you out of the comfortable nest you have made for yourself, He will put you in a place where you have to depend on Him for all things.  He doesn't concern Himself with how comfortable you are, He only looks in your heart to see how obedient you are.  We have to listen closely to hear His directives.  Listening for God's voice means we talk less and it's hard to keep quiet isn't it?  

Hearing truth is hard, hearing the whispers of God takes a real stillness in our souls.

Letting God be your security is hard work when we are easily distracted with the comforts of this world.  Do you need me to make a comfort list for you too?  If this confuses you, ask God what you run to for comfort and security instead of God being your Comforter and your Refuge.  Believe me, He's waiting for you to ask Him these hard questions.

God uses others to cheer-lead you along the way.  And in those conversations God will stretch you uncomfortable and sting your heart a little!  But it's accountability to keep you on task with good godly changes.  It's hard to be authentic and real before others who will judge you.  

Finding trustworthy friends is hard work.  Finding faith mentors is even harder.

Exercising faith is never easy, and asks us to do hard things.  Exercising is never easy for me, I have the time to carve out 15 minutes a day, just like you, but I can still find plenty of excuses as to why I don't exercise, instead of moving this body plus I don't like to sweat.  It's about choosing to change exercise habits, these don't come naturally.

Working out is hard.  Sweating is gross and the discipline to stick with it is harder.

I memorized eight pages of dialog while renovating a baby nursery, painting walls, getting caught up in a sewing fever of the new baby preparations all the while taking lessons from a 3-year-old.  Learning from someone younger...especially your children's children is very hard.  Learning 8 pages of lines is hard.  

Learning new disciplines is even harder.

Forgiving someone who has wounded your heart is hard.  Forgiveness in general is hard work but Christ's forgiveness is easy.  

In these times, faith requires us to do hard things.  God never said it was going to be easy.  He only asked for our trust.  Faith and trust go hand in hand and speaking of what is in our hands...

Obedience takes hard action.

Living the free, forgiven life of a child of God is hard work.  I choose to wear the opinion of my immovable faith in God.  This takes action, hard action not based on evidence or feelings but on a God I know.  We don't need evidence of faith, we need to live in and by the faith we already know.

And ..there's hope for our hardened hearts, don't give up the first time you have to sweat.  

God helps us with the hard parts.

Romans 12: 1- 2:  "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you:  Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.  Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You'll be changed from the inside out.  Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.  Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to is level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."  (MSG)

Lean into the hard parts of life, you'll be changed from the inside out, and God will change you to be a faith die hard.  

Today is the new start you prayed for

I wrote about how one word can transform your life.

I must confess that I don't make new year's resolutions anymore. I refuse to make a half-hearted list of self-proclaimed promises to myself, and then get swept away by life's currents of business and busyness.  I only set myself up for disappointment and failures.  

If only we didn't get distracted with the busyness of life.  My life seems to be much more doable when I make one change at a time.

There's power in making just one change.  There's power in the One who helps you change.  God longs to empower you to change.  (tweet this, tag me @thejanellekeith)

With a demanding virtuous agenda, intense focus is needed just to allow change to happen in the first place.  I can easily excuse away my motivations to improve my weaknesses.

When making changes for the better, my goals usually direct me at doing things that are of the opposite of my current behavior.  I need a lot of help...you do too that's why you are reading this.  

My inability to focus on many ideas at once quickly aborts the total of my desire and then I simply give up trying.  I take on too many changes, become overwhelmed at the burden of each one, and am consumed by the commitment it takes to develop each positive change.

I take on too many changes at the start and forget the work involved with each commitment.  

One of my weaknesses that God is developing in me is the finish.  I'm really great at starting a lot of ideas....really lame at seeing the ideas to the end...

For instance last year, I started at least 10 feed-my-soul-books plus dove deeper into God's Word.  I only finished one of those books, however I'm still continuing the dive into Truth.

I have over 100 posts in my drafts folder of this blog that I want to write for you, I am challenged to go back and look at each one to finish them.

I have 1000+ ideas for teams to be the hands and feet of Jesus, only to have one trip scheduled for this year, plus writing at least 100 more Africa stories from what God taught me this past October.  

I started a podcast idea and have recognized that I might have some public speaking skills that I haven't even tapped into.  And now that my schedule is more flexible those opportunities are looming like a giant shadow waiting to battle.  

You see, I have areas of growth that I need to let God massage and work His best plan in.  So that's why I start change with the ask.  I'm asking God to help finish just one change...learn the training manual about change, allowing God to change me no matter what it takes, and then live the change.  

That's how I focus, that's how I change.  I embrace God's change in me, just one change at a time.

Last year my word was Hope.  This year my word is Freedom.

I resolve to be devoted to focus on this one task, discovering the freedom I have in knowing my source of Freedom.  And not succumb to resolution exhaustion by trying to keep pace with other resolution makers.

I resolve to let God deeply discover and uncover new faces of freedom, and embrace freedom as defined by Him and His Holy Word.  

I resolve to not let the list of weak excuses choke out attempts for a new and fresh start and leave a reject, dejected and brimful of regret.  

How many times have you kicked your resolutions to the cub because they got too hard?  Or life got in the way?   I don’t blame you if you’ve stopped making resolutions. You’re busy enough and the last ones didn’t work.

It's not that you wrestle with determination or drive, you wrestle with managing priorities.

When it gets tough for us moms, we usually put bottom out on priority.  Plus you are at the max on all circuits of life.

There's something more empowering in making just one change.  Embrace life by making one change at a time.  We all have the deep desire to change to be our best but we do not want to go through the work of changing. Drastic changes require drastic actions. 

Do you trust God to lead you through that change?  Listen to this!

We can trust our changes to an unchangeable God.  His steadfastness supersedes our failures and fears.

The possibilities are endless when you invite God to be part of your do-overs. 

You can embrace change by asking these three simple questions:
What do I need? ~ What’s in my way? ~ What needs to go?

Then your why question:  “The why is always more important than the what.”

Look up by asking God for your word, 

Listen; ~ Write it down; ~ Take some actions steps today.  Don’t check the box; experience the journey.  Work hard.  Sweat.

Here are simple some action steps that will help you slip into successful changes:

Connect your change with a verse in the Bible, that will anchor your heart to why you want to change.
Take a picture of your word -keep it on your mind,in your pocket and tuck it in your heart, always.
Keep a One Word journal write a thought about it everyday.
Look for sayings and quotes that relate to your word.
Pick a song that reminds you of your word.
Get a tattoo. I suggest temporary body art or a ink pen in your favorite color.  

Write it a sticky statement on a post it and then stick everywhere you need to focus on your change.  

There will be a day when your resolve will weaken and you will want to smack your goals out to left field and you'll remember that you are doing this one step at a time.  That sticky note will remind you to try again or give yourself some mercy to try harder.  

These actions steps will remind you of your why.

Might I suggest one more idea.  Write a letter to yourself as if you have succeeded in your change.  Like you are on the other side of 10 or 50 lbs. for example and pat yourself on the back with some positive feedback to boost your success.    

You are the only you that will take care of you.  

Care for yourself like you would care for a prized possession.  That's the way God sees you... as something to treasure.  Remind yourself that you are an overcomer if Christ is in you.

You can do it!  Embrace change and then celebrate your changes along the journey.  

What do you have to lose with just one change?  What change do you want to make?

Soon I will tell you about my one word journey and what I am doing about it.

   

2013 in a word

Photo credit:  Cindee Snider Re

I decided one day, in 2012, to mark the forward year with one word.

I had such a hard time coming up with just one.  But then I sought the One and God's word for me was...

Hope.

I resolved to learn everything about hope.

Everyday I prayed over the word hope.  I prayed hope.

Daily, hope was on my mind.  Hope was a part of my conversations with God.

Hope was spoken with Holy.

Holy hope was spoken to me.

....Holy Hope was spoken to me.  

Can I just stop....tell you how much I adore how God works a word in our hearts?

By speaking hope, God defined hope in so many ways....by His character.  Hope defined, spoken, shown, revealed, and assimilated into my life.

Hope matters and is endless.

Hope is my anchor.  Hope speaks firm, secure.  Hope begins and ends.  Hope goes ahead of us, hope comes alongside, and is our rear guard.  Hope surrounds.  Hope is moving and active in my being.  

Hope in a word is Jesus.  Embrace Hope.

Jesus is the hope of this world, Jesus is hope.  Hope is what this hopeless world needs.  

Do you need some hope today?  Did this year turn out like you thought it would?

Do you know that God hopes for you?  God has high hopes for you, God has given us all the Hope we need.  Hope is enough.

Hebrews 6:19 20a ~ "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sactuary behind the curtain, where Jesus who went before us has entered on our behalf."

Hope is a promise, God promises Hope.  God keeps his promises, always forever.

Did you catch that?  ... Hope is!  We have....Hope.  We have this hope as a steadfast, firm foundation, a secure footing.  We have security, safety, rescue, and refuge.  Hope is our safe place.  Our hiding place, our place is hope.  Hope has a place for us.  Hope speaks life into our unspoken parts, it tethers our hearts to truth.  

Hope saves.  Hope is eternal.

Hope is born.  Hope is with us.

From the storms of my heart to the shores of India, Africa, Louisiana and Canada...Brazil and Honduras...

....I have seen hope.  Hope has no borders, and trust will always show you new faces of hope.

Hope wins.  Hope frees slaves.  Hope opens the eyes of the blind.  Hope has opened the eyes of my soul.

Many things, many memories of this year are now apparent about hope.  There is so much hope.  And oh so many facets of hope.  Hope remembers the goodness of God.  Hope reminds me of Holy Hope.  Hope gently teaches and is my treasure.

Hope....what a gift!   Heavenly hope...

Hope answers prayers.  Hope answers.  Hope is the answer to this world.  

Hope is the answer you are looking for today.  I have seen so many depths of Hope.

If you don't know Jesus, please don't let another hopeless day pass without taking hope inside your heart.  I honestly don't know how a person can live without hope.  It's my lifeline, my anchor, my all, my hope.

Hope is Jesus, and something to hold high and holy.  Hope is real, alive and active.  Hope is something to cling to like a strong hold in your soul.  Hope feeds.  Hope heals.

Hope is my soul's source of strength.  Hope is teaching me to soar, such beautiful hope.

Holy Hope.. it is now my heartbeat, as I hold dear, Hope's breath.  

To know Hope personally click here.

Dear God...may we embrace Hope, deepen our hope.  “An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.” ― A.W. Tozer

What have I been up to and how did I get here?

Everyone has to start somewhere....

Today I have started.

Listen to this.....

Let me know what you think,and leave a comment.

Thank you for being my friend.

Big thanks to the early believers and special thanks to the True Believers.

Special thanks to Brett N. for getting me into this!

To Brent, Andy & Carder...you're the best hosts a girl could ever dream of working with.

Thanks to all friends from The House FM,  your support means the world to me.

Now...your assignment...

Did you know that I have my own website?.  It's http://www.janellekeith.com.  It's a work in progress, so please be kind...

Tweet this link and then tag me:  @thejanellekeith
Share on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/janellekeith
Pin it:  http://www.pinterest.com/janellekeith/

And...
Contact me if you want to, let me know what you think about all of this.

Share it with whoever or your dog and cat.  Just listen.......(hope that didn't sound too desperate).

Until next time....

Why we adore the Christ child

The faint sounds of the old piano were bouncing down the stairs where we lined the hallway waiting for our cue to march in. The teacher was listening for the right notes to start our practiced processional down the long candlelit aisle. It was Christmas Eve, and our nervous voices were about to perform our well-rehearsed lines of the treasured Christmas story.

Decking the halls were the neatly placed decorations along with the smell of crisp, freshly starched white shirts, mingling with the cinnamon and evergreen scents. The boys stood wringing their hands hoping they remember their lines, the girls twirled in their new red velvet or plaid dresses, their small feet slipped into shiny, patent leather shoes.

All the endless Sunday afternoon practices were leading up to this night...the long awaited and annual production of the nativity story in front of aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpa's, teachers, and parents. The Christmas story would come to life through the eyes of children.

As the pianist pounded the keys, my heart jumped into my throat. The notes engaged my timidity. We stood perfectly still at the entrance of the auditorium, each parental eye was trained on their own loved one. They looked at us with Christmas anticipation, I'm sure I was not the only child filled with fear and trepidation.

"Let's not forget why we are here", whispered the director. It's Christmas Eve!"

We paced down that long, poinsettia lined aisle, with our eyes trained on the stage. I didn't remember it being so large and looming in practice.

We began to sing...

O Come All Ye Faithful...
joyful and triumphant!

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of Angels:
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come,
Let us adore Him,
 Christ the Lord.

I really didn't take the invitation from that song to heart until later in life. In those program days, I was just making my way to the end of the program to get the brown paper bag filled with the sweet treats. Every year the bag held the predictable apple, candy cane, nuts, and some of that hard ribbon candy only grandmas would buy. Joyful chocolate never made the cut.

It wasn't until years later that I really beheld the fail-proof invitation to worship the main character of the manger story.

Jesus invites us all to worship and find joy and peace while we kneel before Him. He invites us to worship Him as King. The nativity invites everyone, the lost, the lonely, the unloved, and the forlorn, burdened and carefree.

When we lift our heads to the small Wonder in the Christmas story, we see Hope come to life.

Now every Christmas I look forward to experiencing Christ's invitation of His Presence during Christmas. It brings to life the real hope that we all have in Christ, the reason that He came to earth.  

Oh Come you faithful hearts and receive the baby King, come with child-like faith. 

Leave your worries, your problems, and your cares at the stable door. The perfect baby Jesus is born to the world. The story that is told year after year,  is a holy anthem as it makes our hearts sing, and the faithful who come, adore Him.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… Hebrews 12:2

What can we remember about the baby Jesus? That He is God incarnate, not just a nicely dressed Christmas characters acted out by children using their best memorization skills and polite behavior.

It's a very true story that only makes this perfect miracle believable by only by faith. God made a way for something impossible. This simple story of Jesus in baby's skin makes the impossible believable.

Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus is born. Our takeaway from the manger is that He remains with us today.

Remember Christ and all that He has done for us. Comfort from the Comforter.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God,the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…" Isaiah 43:2-3

Remember. God makes impossible things happen. Tomorrow ...remember that God is real and that God is with us.

Oh come, let us ADORE Him. Please come....

What pops your faith balloon?

Believe me....I really thought about the title of this post.  It made sense at the time.

This is for all of you readers that have wondered what God was up to in your life.  Today, I went back and took a deeper look at the birth announcement of John the Baptist.

As you know, he was the son of a priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth.  Read this post about how that news came down the prayer chain.  John, was a great prophet, who prepared people to meet Jesus.

When I combed back over the story again, I noticed something.  Have you ever noticed that this epic announcement came by way of the super-angel Gabriel, who was only pulled out for a few occasions - making earth shattering announcements?  And it was really Zechariah's unbelief that popped the faith balloon?

And then I still wonder why the dude found out first before the mother-to-be?

We've already looked at how Zechariah received the news that he was going to be a dad.  The one striking response was his doubt that met the angelic delivery.  Luke 1:11 tells of how Gabriel gave this first time father the news of his lifetime, even ushers with a peaceful ..."Do not be afraid!"

Zechariah's response?  Luke 1:18 "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."  

Now I don't know about you, but wouldn't an angelic face to face meeting been enough proof to believe the message from the appointed messenger?

Maybe that's just me.  But no..old Mr. "Z" had the nerve to ask the "how" question.

And then I took another look at my own prayers...

I found out that I had been wanting a little more proof of God too.   How often have you found yourself in the middle of doubt when God has laid something on your heart and was really only asking you to trust and obey, to simply take him for His faithful word?

Because of Zechariah's doubt, he was struck mute.  God has not caused that to happen to me just yet, but has every reason too, as my own list of doubting Thomas moments has been made.

I don't blame 'ole Mr. "Z" for thinking logical first.  Isn't that what we tend to do?  And when we don't understand the hows of God, we respond to His promise with an "Are you sure about this?"

Would it be more honest to say that we want all the pieces of the mysteries of God before we believe the mysteries of God?

If so, where would the word faith come into our prayers?

I giggle at myself when I pray ..."surprise me God", and then am really surprised at how He answers my prayers.   Shouldn't we always be surprised at how God answers our prayers?  We should be, but we aren't, because doubt often comes into play and steals our heart response, bringing unbelief to our conversations first.

Can't we trust God to know what He's doing first before He brings about His promises?  Wouldn't His faithfulness prove every one of them?

Yes, I believe so.

I love Elizabeth's response though when she receives the birth notice.  Can't you hear her teary joy-joy-happy sigh from here?  Luke 1:25 records that she said publicly, "The Lord has done this for me.  In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

She responded with belief and hope.  Ever wonder why she wasn't told first?  Could it be that the bigger miracle was to have the husband lead in believing, a man who was supposedly was more near to God with his calling rather than a devoted prayer warrior wife in the faith family tree?

I don't know...just wondering...

The difference is the two responses.  One spoke faith, one didn't.  One thing is for sure, when we respond with faith over doubt we are blessed.

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" ~ Luke 1:45

Those who pray in faith are blessed.  I want to be blessed..and so do you.  So let's go through these Advent days with faith, that as we believe in our God, who has promised us peace, joy, love, an eternal home, and so many more promises (and not just at this time of year) that we can...

....have faith.  Completely.  In all His promises.

Trust in our God who keeps His promises.

....and believe He knows what He's doing.  Yes, even when He is up to His mysterious ways.

Trust.  Believe.  Hope.

My Prayer...God, surprise us!

Hungry for more

Photo credit

Some crazy God awesome stuff happens when you pray open ended prayers...fully trusting in God.

God and I have had some interesting and very enlightening conversations.  I wish I could share them all with you.  

But for now...it's encouraging when God sends a symbol consistently to remind you that He is in charge, listening and working on the things between you and Him, and that He cares.

That's the kind of personal God who wants a relationship with you.  God reminds us that He is listening.

He's an attentive God.  And He excels in listening.  That's one of His tender qualities about Him.  He reminds me that I have been heard.

For a woman that's huge, you know, to be heard.  Bigger than you know.  

Sometimes my faith feels a little more than a black hole, empty and draining.   Sometimes I have those sunrise moments that bring an awakening in my soul.

Faith in God is based on a personal relationship built on an endless Love; a journey through time and space and emotions. Like any relationship, it is not static.

There are those highs and lows of a relationship that reveal our areas of growth and trust.  I used to need those conferences or whatever it was that helped us feel so deeply the consuming fire of faith, but in this season I am just seeking God in everything.  And that kind of surrendering lifestyle keeps you submissive to listening to Him.  All the time.

This is my devoted love that is a love response to our Creator.  He has proven Himself worthy of trust.  He is faithful and true.  

Have you grown to a deep faith that is not defined by the emotional or spiritual highs of particular experiences?

And still....

With those...don't we crave it? Once we have tasted and delighted ourselves in God's love, don’t we long for it?  Don't our hearts pine deeply over the comfort feeling that experience again and again?

Perhaps spiritual maturity is demonstrated through our commitment to stay through the mountain-top moments and  journey to the valley-low experiences.  

Is our desire born of a curious nature or one of holy craving?  Of course we, just need or want to know the Lord is near.  Don't we like to feel Love close and nearby?

My heart craving is a sign of my heart’s hunger for my One true Love.  

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water. – Psalm 63:1

When the ebb and flow of our faith has taken us someplace uncomfortable, our longings shows our love.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you. – Psalm 63:2-5

Our craving shows our hunger for the Holy.  Oh Lord, draw us near.  Bring us close.