We Can’t See It, But That’s Alright

Raise your hand if you know exactly how everything in your life is going to turn out.

Yeah, so now that we’ve established that no one falls in that category, I’ll just share this with you as someone who relates to you.

God does.

“But, why can’t I?”

You may be saying that right now. I hear you. As someone who likes answers and has very little patience, I always want to know everything. But sometimes, well…many times, it doesn’t work that way.

These are times when God gives us the opportunity (even though it may not feel that way) to increase our faith and trust Him more.

It can be pretty tough in the middle of that, but looking back at times in my life where this has been the case, I see how God was working on me.

He is still working on me. I just have to choose to believe He is in control during those times. After all, that’s what faith is all about, right?

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Peaceful Paddling

My wife and I had a “staycation” of sorts this weekend…and it was everything we’d hoped it would be.

We’ve been on go, go, go mode for so long, it seems. This was an opportunity to recharge our batteries and just enjoy a few days together. As we sit here in continued relaxation mode afterward, both of us would tell you it definitely was worth it.

My parents are out of town for the week and so we went to their place for the weekend. They have a pool, the lake is nearby – why not? It was fabulous.

Granted, we were aided by essentially perfect weather. 70-something and sunny the past two days, with a nice little breeze in there at times. Amazing.

We did some poolside sitting (and napping), played a little golf,  sat and talked a lot, saw some friends for dinner one night. Simple pleasures.

What we did the most, though, was canoe. We spent probably seven or eight hours out on the water the past two days. Time well spent.

Sure, we threw our lures into the water in hopes of reeling in the big one while we were out there. But, fishing wasn’t the main attraction. Exploring a body of water I’d never really been able to before and getting to do that with my wife was a winning combination.

I’ve included a short video from one of the areas we were able to experience this morning. Hope you enjoy it at least somewhat as much as we did.

Peaceful paddling. Wonderful weekend. Batteries recharged. No complaints. 🙂

No Pressure / Big Potential

Do you ever feel like you have to do everything right for God to accept you? Do you ever think that your circumstances or what you’ve been through negate your opportunity to be a light for Him in this world?

God isn’t looking for perfection, or for us to reach some bar or level in life. It’s our heart that matters, as in, what we do with our lives. We all have the ability to do something with our lives, regardless of what they’ve been like to this point.

Whether you have a million dollars or if you have 10 cents. Whether it’s been a life of mostly walking the straight and narrow path or if you’ve wandered all over the place. You have potential and can serve God and make a positive impact during this life!

Some of the greatest blessings in this world come from people in the latter category of both of those comparisons – giving completely of themselves, even though they have very little money or even though they’ve lived much of their lives away from God.

I have seen this personally from many people who have “nothing” in terms of finances or status, and from people have experienced truly terrible things in their lives. It doesn’t seem to matter to them; they just serve others and do the best with what they have, and in spite of their past. It inspires me.

Let’s get back to that first question. No one should feel pressure to perform for God; He loves us, period. Instead, every day is just a great opportunity to serve Him, regardless of who we are, what we’ve done or where we come from. This can be done in so many different ways. Inspiration is so needed in this world and it can be found almost anywhere, and provided by anyone. So thankful for that!

Have a great day.

Believe You Can

Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise. Success in many cases is failure turned inside out. The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything. Replace ‘if I can, I hope, maybe’ with ‘I can, I will, I must.’
-Mary Kay Ash

Amen to that!

It’s so important to think positive. Negative thinking will not take you anywhere good. Sure, it’s easier to think things won’t go your way or that you can’t do something…but that’s not the path to victory.

We were not made to think we can’t do things or live in defeat. Just the opposite, in fact (Mark 11:22-24).

So think positive. Do what the quote above says to do. Trust that God’s in control and that things are going to work out just fine. Believe you can.

Have a great day.

Opportunity

‘Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity.’
-Helen Schucman

I came across this quote today and had to share it. Maybe you need to hear this right now.

Just think about it for a minute, it really is true. I hope you’ll see the opportunity in everything, no matter where your life is right now.

Have a good day.