You Simply MUST Do

For my class I had to read the book 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life By Dr. Henry Cloud

These are a few of my thoughts and hopefully they will encourage you to take the time to read this fabulous book.

He starts out by defining Deja vu people as “People who found what they were looking for in life” and that these people had specific traits in common. None of these people had the same background, they were from all walks of life, upbringings varied, which encourages us that these things can be learned, we are not stuck. We can learn from these people and become successful.

He then proceeds to give us 9 Principles or word pictures based on the actions of successful people he has met and interacted with.

Since there are several of them that impacted me deeply, I will divide them up so you don’t have a novel to dig through, so to start:

Principle #1

Dig it up: Find your heart’s desire. Find that combination of interest and what lays deeply buried in your heart. So often we become distracted or lose that which makes us “come alive”–I firmly believe that God has given us all talents that must be used, and when we neglect them we lose the purpose for life. Find it, act on it, invest in it, hold on to it, fight for it. Do not ignore your heart, mind, and soul…Do not allow for it to be buried in the busyness of life.

Awesome quote “Those who take what they possess, invest it in life, and are diligent and faithful with it over time, grow and build something good. But those who allow fear to keep them from stepping out, not only fail to increase what they have, they actually lose it” 

I challenge you, search your heart, when you are feeling discontent and frustrated, seek those things you have buried away. We were created for a purpose and we must not neglect to use the talents and skills, passions that were given to us.

Communicate Hope

Do you ever hear a phrase that just jumps out at you? A powerful combination of together that strung together express your vision or feeling.

Today just such a phrase jumped out at me.

::communicate hope::

am I daily communicating hope to those around me?

How does one communicate hope?

To understand this I think of love hopes all things from 1 Corinthians 13:7

hope:: does not allow the failure to be final

hope:: allows us to look forward, to get up & to move on

Hope is a powerful emotion, an outlook on life, a glimpse at a better tomorrow.

What are you hopeful for?

Why do you have hope?

Who are you communicating this valuable lesson to?

 

Hope Communicates 

Hope Communicates

Failure is not the end

Hope Communicates

Get up, Move on

Hope Communicates

There is a better future

 

The sorrows of life, they

drag us down

The storms, the trials,

all surround us

 

We Fall, We Fail

But we Rise up Again

 

Hope Communicates

Failure is Not the end

 

 

Follow Up:: Trust

Proverbs 3:1-7

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
² for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.

³ Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

 

This passage says so much about a life of Trust. When we keep the commandments, when we are living a Spirit controlled life, we a trusting God. His Steadfast love & faithfulness should be my meditation.

Verses 5, 6, & 7 are “classic” trust verses, but do not underestimate the power they contain.

Trust, Acknowledge, Turn –all actions that we must be living out in a life a trust.

::TRUST:: 

{Trust}

 

“Sarah, do you Trust Me?”

“Of course I do” I hurried to reassure Him

The blunt response came loud & clear,

{Then Live Like It}

OUCH

Do I live like I Trust? What does a life of Trust look like?

If I trust a chair do I only partially sit down? Nope, I plop right down & put my whole weight on it. If I am seeking advice from a trusted friend, do I only tell them half of the story? No, I confide in them all the details, trusting that they will give me the best advice.

Do I truly Trust God? Do I allow Him to lead me?

Do I spend my time worrying & fearing the future?

{Trust} 

Not an easy lesson to learn, not an easy lesson to practice.

Trust:: practice it daily

{Live Like It} 

Heart Check

a good article on a healthy heart

Tis the Lovely Month of {February}

Also Known As: National Heart Month

As a nurse who works in the unhealthiest county of Wisconsin I take this month seriously.

Our hearts are important. Yet we treat it with no respect, we shovel in fats & sweets (which turn into fats & cause insulin resistance which sets off a whole boat-load of problems). My town has the most bars (based on population) in WI…Our state fair featured Deep Fried Butter last year… What could be better? A Beer & Deep Fried Butter (on a stick)

A Recipe For Disaster!

Check out the American Heart Association & see what you can do to make a difference (www.heart.org)

But this causes me to pause & think about my spiritual heart.

Matthew 5:8 reminds us that only the pure in heart will see God.

{is my heart pure} 

Romans 1:21 reminds us “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened”

{am i thankful}

Paul’s advice to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:22 “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart”

{is my heart seeking God}

 

 

 

Thankful

Today my heart has been burdened by thankfulness.

This (unfortunately) has been lacking in my life. I have not had a thankful heart.

But today, I awoke after a glorious sleep, the kind that makes your arm go numb & you can’t remember the year kind of sleep. Last night I had cried out to the Lord begging for a night of sleep, I could feel my emotions  & thinking drifting out of control & I knew a good night’s sleep could cure it.

And this morning–pure and joyful thankfulness.

Now should I still have the same thankfulness bubbling out of me even on those days/nights when I do not get the amount of sleep I feel I deserve? Yes, yes I should…but I don’t.

Thankfulness is an attitude we make up our mind to have about the situations, the circumstances that arise in our daily life.

{Paul admonishes the churches in many of his letters to always be thankful.

{David openly praises & thanks the Lord in his many Psalms

{Job refused to deny God when everything was stripped from him

Thankfulness is an attitude that we must cultivate in our lives. 

 

I’m Still Alive

I am still alive I promise.

I’ve been writing, just not blog material. Short stories mostly, some devotionals, but mostly reading.

I’ve been traveling, attending weddings, and seeing old friends.

Such is the life of my last summer vacation.

I feel that I have learned many lessons, but mainly the lesson of waiting.

{Patience} 

{Wait}

And I am still waiting. W

Waiting for adventure

Waiting for the next step

But I am alive. I have been granted the wonderful gift of Time.

Time to grow.

Time to learn.

Time to study.

So I wait and learn and grow.

 

There is a Plan

I was reading in Deuteronomy today {not the most inspirational couple of chapters} and the thought struck me, God had this wonderful plan, but His people disobeyed and messed it up. God had laid out His law, His plan for redemption, and Israel disregarded it.

And Moses, even after a long lifetime of serving the Lord & following Him, rebelled once out of frustration & was unable to reach the Promise Land of Israel.

In his last message to the people (ch 4) Moses just keeps reminding the people to obey the statutes of the Lord.

^{4: 9}  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.

 

He also reminds Israel to have no false gods or idols. This is not something I think about often, but so many times I can see there are things in my life that I value more than God.

God’s Plan is for me to love Him, to be knowing Him better, and I mess it up. Through laziness, through busyness, through excuses, I do not take the time to know God and His Word, as He has planned.

{God had a Plan–I must follow it} 

On Faith

I love the Hebrews 11 passage, often called the “Hall of Faith” or the “Heroes of the Faith”

I’ve been reading through all of these wonderful acts of Faith the Patriarchs committed in their lifetime.

Such as Noah building an ark without even knowing what rain was, Abraham leaving his country without knowing his final destination, Sarah waiting for a child, Enoch walking with God and not having to face death, as well as the many many many unnamed Christians who suffered for their Faith.

I finished chapter 11 today and decided to keep reading into chapter 12.

And I am so glad I did.

The writer of Hebrews (PauL?) spends the whole of chapter 11 building up to chapter 12.

12:1 & 2-Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We have seen all these wonderful examples of a life lead by faith. But Christ is our ultimate example. He is the reason we live by faith, because He died for us.

The writer encourages us by three significant verbs in these verses

• Lay aside: Get rid of the sin and don’t be weighed down by things that don’t matter
• Run: Get out there and do something! After you’ve spent the time preparing, move
• Looking: Keeping your focus always on Christ, do not let your eyes stray to the distractions around you, focus 

Just what I needed to see/hear today!

A Vision

Do you have a vision? Not like a vision in the sense of “i saw people in white descending from the clouds” {if that has happened to you, well you may want to schedule a doctor’s appointment}

A vision, a direction, a goal if you will. But I think vision is so much more.

Vision in-compasses all that you want to be, all that you hope to accomplish, and even what you want to be remembered for. More like a mission statement. A direction you want your life to be headed. A way to make your life meaningful.

What is your vision?

My vision is related to relationships. I feel that relationships are an area that I can excel in. A vision can be any area of life, but remember in the end people are what matter.

My vision is to build relationships, encourage those around me, and help people to grow into who they want to become. See their vision, encourage them to develop it, and help them accomplish it. My vision is to impact those around me for Christ.

Do you have a vision?