if you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side
Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, I fail. Last month, I was struggling to keep up with the 31 days series and when I got behind, I gave up. I have 12 more posts in the queue waiting to be edited and published. I will do it…just not in the month of January. To the beautiful ladies of “A Woman Inspired Conference” who kept the series going, thank you.
See you soon with the final posts of my series!
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. ~Psalm 16:11
Abraham Lincoln once said that “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
While there is some degree of truth to this, we would all do well to remember that God has outlined some pretty specific ways for us to be happy in His Word:
Isn’t it great to know that God cares so much about our happiness that He tells us things we can do to be happy in our lives? We are truly blessed – and should praise Him for our Happiness.
Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:
Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress
*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. – Eph. 5:15-16
One thing I’ve really wanted to work on this year is time management from a Biblical perspective.
I’ve read Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and I know that he says the “the essence of effective time and life management is to organize and execute around priorities.” As Christians, whatever we value most in life becomes our priorities. My number one priority is my relationship with God, then my family.
From a Biblical perspective, time management isn’t necessarily about the ability to manage our time. It’s about surrendering the time we have to spend to God. And that’s a good thing – I’ve always struggled with day to day time management…homeschooling kids, trying to run a business, family and church obligations — but add to that mix the fact that I’ve been taking care of my mom for the last 4 months and, well, you can imagine, .
I really needed this past weekend to focus on what God would have me do going forward – with my blog, with homeschooling, with our Friday School Co-op. I’ve been feeling stretched too thin for a very long time, and it’s no one’s fault but my own. I have a hard time saying one little word – “no.” But God expects us to say “no” to things that aren’t important – we are told to redeem our time in order to recover it from waste and improve it for great or important purposes.
Matthew Henry said that “Time is a talent given us by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to his design.” Won’t you join me in praising Him for the gift of Time?
Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:
Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress
*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.
I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. – Psalm 116:1-2
They say love is blind, but I’ve heard it said that when we love God our affection has its eyes open and can sustain itself with the most rigid logic. In other words, we love Him because He first loved us. It just makes sense.
David spent so much time in prayer with the Lord. The Psalms are full of his prayers, praise, and petitions and I love to spend time reading them. Many times when David prayed, he couldn’t find the words, but God listened and knew his heart and answered him anyway.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some pretty rough days in the past year. There have been times I was at a loss for HOW to pray, I couldn’t find the words to say to express my grief, anger, and frustrations to the Lord. But the Bible says that He inclines His ear to us – He is waiting and listening for us to pray to him – whether or not we are able to use our voice – He hears us, because Jesus is making intercession for us.
I will praise the Lord today because He listens to my prayers. Spurgeon said, “Answered prayers are silken bonds which bind our hearts to God. When a man’s prayers are answered, love is the natural result.” I love the Lord my God and praise Him for answering my prayers.
Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:
Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress
*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. – 2 Cor 9:8
After reading Lisa B.’s “31 Days of WordPress” post today, I could feel her pain. There are some days when we could all use a little extra grace.
Lately, my business has been so very good (God has blessed abundantly!) that I’m finding it more and more difficult to stay on top of client requests and I’m having to turn a lot of new business away. I simply cannot do it all, nor can I stay on top of it, even working 12-18 hours a day.
Like anything in life, the stress is beginning to wear on me and it’s showing in my speech with others (I’m short) and my general attitude (I’m exhausted). It’s times like this, we must remember that God’s grace is sufficient. I love the acrostic for Grace, which I first heard from Dr. Adrian Rogers – “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”. Isn’t that a lovely picture? Grace is one of the most beautiful words in the English language.
When people truly understand grace, it makes them want to write songs about it. I think we could all use a little grace now and then. If we can’t get it from those around us and we hit a wall due to exhaustion, depression, anger, frustration, or sadness…all we need to do is look up.
I will praise Him today for the unmerited favor He’s extended to this undeserving sinner. Truly, God’s grace is sufficient to see us through.
Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:
Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress
*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.
“Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.” Psalm 25:1
I’ll be the first to admit that blogging 31 days in a row is proving to be quite a challenge – especially when you haven’t blogged regularly in a year and a half!
Remember the days when people would actually stop by a blog and comment? There was even a time that I’d do the same. There was something so special about getting comments that fueled me on to want to write more. Write better. But lately, it seems we have all become so busy that the altruistic nature of blogging has become something of a lost art. Very few people comment, more people read in their readers and never click over to drop a line to let you know they’re still there.
And you’re left wondering. And waiting. And possibly splitting your infinitives. Writers should really learn to not split infinitives.
*Phoo Phoo* Is this thing on? Hello?
But you keep going, because whether or not you think anyone is listening, you have something that needs to be said. Even if you can’t remember to keep your story in first person and you switch back and forth repeatedly between first person and third person.
I said all of that to say this…even if no one else is listening, especially when no one else is listening – God is always waiting to hear from us. He expects us to give Him the Praise He deserves – it’s either going to come from us or the rocks! I love this little video of a father and daughter singing the above verse. The singing starts at 1:45 – the little girl’s voice just makes me smile every time I hear her sing. 🙂
When was the last time you lifted up your voice to God in praise? Play that video again…listen to those words…
Please visit the other ladies who are participants in the 31 Days of Ministry Online:
Amy Bayliss {Cajun Inspired} : 31 Days of Heart Matters
{A Martha Heart} : 31 Days of Prayer
Karin {Mommy Matters} : 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jenny {867-53oh9} : 31 Days of Social Media
Dawn {My Home Sweet Home} : 31 Days of Encouragement
Lisa Boyd : 31 Days of WordPress
*Links to all posts on this subject can be found here.