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CR.HEART.MIND.
// BLOG
7.29.08-SUCCESS BEGINS ON SUNDAYS
I often hear my pastor at church say that "success begins on Sundays!" I for one agree with that statement...
As I grow and learn more about God and even life, I have come to realize that every week I live; there are certain challenges that await me. I believe that we all face various kinds of adversity everyday as well as different magnitudes of these tests. This is why I can think of no better way to start off my week by going to church!
#1 it shows God that I desire to start my week off the right way by giving him the first of my time. It also reminds me of my priorities in life and helps me keep things in perspective, especially at times when I think life is tough. I am always surprised when God gives me a powerful word that I need to hear to be encouraged…or even challenged in certain areas of my life.
If you really want
to have a week filled with success…start it off by spending time
with God in HIS HOUSE!
// CR
3.14.08-FAITH IN GOD & HIS TESTS
Life is full of TESTS. While in college, I remember being taught at some point by my pastor that you have to "fight for your destiny." It would take some time for me to fully grasp what he meant, but eventually I understood what he was trying to teach me. One day, while fully suited up in uniform sitting in my locker before a big game, that word 'FIGHT' was on my heart. I wrote it on the white athletic tape on my wrist for the game and came up with an acronym for the word itself. What I thought of was, "Faith in God & His Tests." This phrase would become engrained in my heart for the rest of my life. I had come to the realization that in some way, God tested me everyday and that I had to have faith in Him in order to past the test, whatever it was. Whether the test was big or small...easy or hard. The tests we face aren't always easy, in fact I believe that they are mainly hard. That is when we see what we are really made of and our faith is truly tested, because I believe God wants to see how we will respond!
When things are going smoothly in our lives, we find it easy to believe that we serve a "Good God." But if life presents a challenge and something bad happens to us, we might ask, “How could a good God allow this?” You may wonder how a God of love could allow something devastating to happen. That is when we have to have faith, because God is most likely not done working out His plan. There will be a day when you will look back and see how God’s sovereign hand was at work. Truth is, He is in the center of any situation in which you feel alone. He’s right there in the middle of it! Just because we can’t see Him, doesn’t mean He isn’t there and working all things together for good.
Truthfully, it is easy for me to see God at work in the easy, successful and joyful situations. However, in the tough and challenging times, when adversity hits and I feel like I don't have any of the answeres to my questions, I have to remind myself to say and believe, "Lord, I know You are at work in my life and with my circumstances…even when I can't see you. I know You are working all things together for good. Help give me the courage to keep my eyes and my heart on You no matter how long I must wait to see your plan for me fulfilled. I believe You will bring all things around for Your glory, because You gave me a promise."
These are especially the times where we have to pick ourselves up, press into our FAITH and BELIEVE. These are the times where we have to have Faith In God and His Tests...This is when we have to FIGHT! Because without a TEST...there cannot be a TESTIMONY! // CR
3.13.08-CLEAN DISHES vs. DIRTY DISHES
I had a revelation while simply doing the dishes. Following dinner in which my Wife and I grilled some chicken on the "legendary" George Foreman Grill, I eyed the infamous black grilling plates that needed to be cleaned. I thought about getting to them later after dessert and some time on the couch, but if there is one thing I have learned about dishes (or the Foreman Grill), it's that the longer you leave them, the harder they are to clean. So I decided to go over to the sink, get the soap and sponge and immediately clean the grill. It was so much easier than the times where I've let it sit in the sink for a few hours or even overnight and then as a result, had to scrub harder and take more time to clean it than I really needed to.
This simple example reminded me that in life-just as in doing the dishes, it is always better to address "dirty dishes" earlier rather than later. It is wiser to "clean it" rather than "leave it." The sooner you do, the easier it is to clean and remove any "mess" on your plate, or in your life. If you choose to wait to "clean your plate," it will be harder and take more time to get your plate clean because some things may stick, staying around longer than you want them to... // CR
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