Category: Faith

What Does Our Life Say?

Our Life Speaks

What is my life really saying? I was considering this question recently, and I had to really think about the answer. First off, it is realizing that my life is speaking. It has a voice. Since I’m living my life I may not realize the voice it has, but to people around me, my life speaks to them.

I know what I want my life to say. I have some conceptions of what I think my life is saying. Often times however, what we think we’re saying is not the same as what is being heard.

There have been times when I’m trying to tell a story or explain something to my wife and I think it’s really funny. However, after I tell her the story, she doesn’t think it is funny or that my story did not make sense. I was trying to tell her one thing and it was heard in a different way than I intended. Our lives can be the same way.

How Do We Live?

So how should we live our lives? For the people that are watching and listening or for ourselves.

Matthew 4:4(KLV)
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

I believe this is how we should live our lives. God’s word, the Bible, has direction and guidance for us. There is something for every situation and every care that we have.

Colossians 1:10(KJV)
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Do we please God?

Our lives should be pleasing to God. When we live our lives in this manner, we don’t have to worry about what our lives are saying. God is speaking for us. This should be a comfort to us. It should take the stress of everyday life off our shoulders, and places it at God’s feet.

What is my life saying? I want it to say that I’m a loving husband and father. A man that loves God and shows that love to the people and community around him.

What is your life saying?

2 Steps to a Growth Plan

Do I need a Growth Plan

I was recently watching a video on YouTube by Terri Savelle Foy. You can watch it here. In the video she was talking about a personal growth plan. It got me to thinking about my life and wondering if I really have a growth plan.

I can say that I have parts of what could be a growth plan. I have dreams and goals written down that I would like to accomplish. I’m working on them, but I don’t know if I have a specific plan for my growth.

Why is it Important?

You may be in the same mode of thinking that I am. Well, I’m about to change my thinking and I believe that you should too. Why is a growth plan important? If you’re like me, your life by societal standards, may be pretty good.

Jeremiah 29:11(KJV)
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

This is the scripture that I think of when it comes to growing. There is a desire in me, that I don’t want to be the same person that I am now in 5 or 10 years. I think that is the first step to a growth plan.

1. A  Desire

Personal, spiritual, and mental growth doesn’t happen just by chance. There must be a desire in us that wants to be better. The scripture in Jeremiah tells me that God has a plan for me too. I would rather pursue God’s plan for my life than anything that I could plan for my life. So as we pursue God, we begin to see His plan and His track for our life.

The Enemy to Growth

The enemy of growth is comfort. People all around us settle in all different areas. We settle on our jobs, because we think there are too many politics involved. Settling in our marriages because we’re comfortable with the routine that has been established. We settle personally because we don’t see a need to be a better person, when by societal standards, we’re a decent human being.

None of these things matter or compare to what God has for us.

Isaiah 55:8-9(KJV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God has a plan for us. A plan of peace and His goodness. There has to be a desire in us to see that plan come about in our lives.

2. Action

You have a Great Idea

How many times have we had a great idea. Something that we thought could change the world. Well it would at least change our world. The idea creates a desire in us. The more we think about it, the more we’re convinced that it would help others and ourselves. A week goes by, then maybe a month and now we’re struggling to remember that great idea we had.

I’ve been there so many times, with so many different ideas. The problem is that we don’t capitalize on those ideas and desires. We have to allow those ideas and desires to cause us to act.

Even little steps are steps towards your dreams. Take advantage of those moments of inspiration and use them to propel you toward something special.

This is how our lives will change. This is how we grow!

What areas do you want to grow in?

Are there ideas that you’ve let slip by?

I’d love to hear your story.

Thankfulness: A New Set of Eyes

Wheel of Life

How thankful are we for the opportunities that lay before us? There are times in our lives where it can seem like we are running a race that is never ending. We become the hamster on the wheel of life, running and running never going anywhere.

This shouldn’t be the way that we live our lives. We shouldn’t settle for this type of life. What we do and who we are should matter to us. However, the question then becomes, how do we break out of the hamster wheel?

Big Jet!

I’ve recently come back from a vacation with my family. For my son, Leonard Joshua (LJ), this was a first trip on an airplane for him. We had flown before when he was a baby, but this was the fir
st time where he was excited about seeing an airplane up close and riding on one. As we got to our gate
and he could look out of the window, you could see the excitement growing in him. He was so excited that he yelled “There’s an Airplane! Look mommy, daddy, Big Jet!” Side note, Big Jet is a character from Little Einstein’s, his favorite show.

It was in this moment that I was thankful for this experience. I treasured being able to be a part of a moment in his life that was so special. At that moment, it didn’t matter what we paid for the airline tickets, the other people around, or the sleep I didn’t get trying to make sure we made it on time. The only thing that mattered was to be in the moment.

Thankfulness creates Opportunities 

Our thankfulness helps to create our opportunities. It is when we have a thankful attitude and heart that our eyes can be opened to see the opportunities in front of us. Otherwise we may miss something truly special. We may miss the very thing that we’ve been praying about for so long.

In the world around us there is a distinct lack of thankfulness. It’s an anomaly to hold the door open for people to go in a restaurant or store ahead of you. It’s not common to go to an interview and tell the interviewer “thank you for the opportunity” after the interview. While these may be little things, it’s how we act in little things that determines how we see, act, and receive the bigger things in life.

Self Centered or Selfless

So much of everything around us makes it easier for us to be self-centered rather than thankful. Thankfulness is an attitude, choosing to be selfless rather than selfish. Instead of thinking that we deserve something, we should be thankful that we have an opportunity.

Today and every day we have a choice. Let’s choose to be thankful. It will change the world around us and we’ll see more opportunities to do what God has called us to do.