It was one of those days. I hit the start button on my blender and watched as the contents of my smoothie  propelled out of the too-loose lid, up to the ceiling, back down on me, and all over the counter.

As I began cleaning up the colossal mess, I realized that my spirit was feeling about as stirred up as my shake currently was. Lately, God was whirring up something new in me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.

Something New in You?

Do you ever feel that way? God lays something new on your heart and you think about it, and think about it some more. If you try to ignore it, you may feel as if you’re about to explode with pent-up emotions.

This very thing happened to two men in the Bible, Zerubbabel and Joshua. Haggai 1:14 tells us that the Lord stirred up their spirits because he had a job for them to do — to head up the committee to put God’s temple back in order. It was a big job, but God was with them. They got moving and got it done.

As I was reading this tiny book in the Bible, it made me realize that when God stirs up our spirits, it’s for a reason, and how we handle those feelings is important. I’ve identified a few steps to help you get moving.

Step #1: Pray and Ask

While this may seem like an obvious step, it’s surprising how often we overlook it. First we need to discern that these stirrings are part of God’s plan. Too often I have charged ahead with my own plans or buried my head in the sand because I wasn’t thrilled about being the point person.

Taking the time to be certain of God’s leading on something new is important because

we should not be saying yes to every thing that comes our way, just the things God calls us to.

Tweet This

I love this quote from Mark Batterson’s book Draw the Circle regarding praying. “Our responsibility is to simply discern what God wants, and then humbly yet boldly to ask Him for it.” So don’t be shy. Be specific in your prayers.

Once you feel confident in His leading (and this may take a while), move on to step  #2.

Step #2: Take a Step of Faith

This step will look different for each one of us, depending on what we’re being called to. It will most likely involve the following:

• Research. Whether you’re starting a business or leading a Bible study, you don’t want to blindly blunder in. Make sure you take the time to explore options, determine costs (both time and money), find needed resources, and line up any help you may need.
• Prepare. Perhaps you need to learn a skill, get a certification, take a refresher course or otherwise prepare for what is next. Seek wise counsel from someone you trust.
• Establish a timeline. When do you want to start? Have a goal in mind otherwise preparing will stretch on indefinitly.

Step #3 Experiment

Do you need to create a product or offer a service? Spend the time you need to create, test, and refine. Where you can, learn from what others have done/are doing so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel on everything. Continue to pray through.

Step #4 Launch Your Something New

There comes a time when you have to hit the Go button! Will you ever feel fully ready? No. Will you struggle with thinking that someone else could be doing this better? Probably. Will you make some mistakes? Most definitely. But what God told the people in the book of Haggai as they responded to the stirring in their hearts is true for us too:

I’d love to hear what God is stirring up in your heart lately. Leave a comment below about your “something new” so we can pray for you!

Resources: Note that Mary and I are affiliates for CBD. We only recommend titles that we use and like.

Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge By Mark Batterson / Zondervan

The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears By Mark Batterson / Zondervan

photo credit: “HK Causeway Bay Hysan Place Eslite Bookstore inside restaurant kitchen Electric blender Aug-2012” by Elite S Moramels – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

photo credit: Stepping out in Chucks via photopin (license)

i pray

short podcasts to bring the sacred into your everyday

Do you only have a few minutes for prayer today? You’re in the right place! Try one of our new i pray podcasts. A few minutes is all you need to pray God’s word into any situation by interceding for friends, family, and yourself. 

Today we’re praying about believing God. Sometimes I have a hard time knowing what to believe God for in my life. But I’ve found when I spend time praying and listening for His will and priorities for this season of my life, I better understand how to stand on His promises. Join Only By Prayer below for a short prayer.

i pray

short podcasts to bring the sacred into your everyday

Do you only have a few minutes for prayer today? You’re in the right place! Try one of our new i pray podcasts. A few minutes is all you need to pray God’s word into any situation by interceding for friends, family, and yourself. 

Today we’re praying for relationships. In His word, God makes it clear how important it is to maintain unity when possible. With so many fractured family relationships, let’s take the offensive and start praying for God to restore and heal relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings, friends, and the workplace.

Being one of those people with a “sensitive nature,” (read that as touchy and taking myself too seriously), I spent many years of my life in inner turmoil of some kind. If I received what I thought was a wrong look, harsh comment, or short response, I stewed on it forever, analyzing and reanalyzing what I did wrong, why  that person didn’t like me, how could they be so mean … you get the picture. I could worry myself into a frenzy.

Worries Everywhere

I’d also worry about any perceived threats: storms, accidents, bad grades, and so on. My mom was always telling me to quit being a worry wart! Maybe you can identify with that struggle. Goodness knows, there’s plenty of things to be anxious about in the world today.

Over time, however, I realized that worry is actually a bad habit, a sin, that God tells us not to do.

As I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve thankfully gotten over myself, although I will always have to keep a check on this area.

I’ve found it’s so much better to live in peace than the constant turmoil of runaway thoughts and petulant grudges.

Tweet This

Now don’t mistake peace for sweeping things under the carpet. If an issue needs to be addressed, address it. What I’m talking about is the daily drip of worry and anxiety that drains the life out of you and robs you of peace and joy. If your first waking thought is a rehash of all your current worries and problems as you readjust the load into your mental backpack for the day’s hike, then it’s time to break this cycle.

3 Steps To Ditch Worry and Get Peace

We’re going to take our steps from Philippians 4:6-7 NIV:

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Step 1, Pray

This step is pretty straightforward. God tells us to pray. The thing to note here are the words every situation. Nothing is too small or too big for God to handle. Skinned knees, injured animals, and hurt feelings should all be taken to God. So should accidents, job loss, sickness, and death. Everything falls under His jurisdiction.

Step 2, Petition

At first, I didn’t see much difference between this and prayer. But when I looked at the Greek meanings, the subtleties became clear. in the Greek, one definition of petition is “prayer for particular benefits.” God wants us to be very specific in our prayers. Dig in. Rather than praying general prayers of “Help John feel better,” we can pray targeted prayers. “Help John acknowledge this addiction and seek healing for it.”

We can pray a verse of scripture for added power “Lord, we thank you that you sent your word to heal John and deliver him from his destruction,” (Psalm 107:20). If you have a particularly difficult situation and just don’t now how to pray, a prayer strategy may be helpful.

Step 3, Thanksgiving

The third step to peace is that we are to have a heart of thanksgiving. In the Greek, the word is eucharistia, and it means “actively grateful language (to God as an act of worship).” So as we are praying, we salt and pepper our prayers with thanks for what God has already done and is in the process of doing.

In Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, she discovers how offering thanks in every circumstance is necessary to us finding the miracle of a joy-filled life. Notice I did not say offering thanks for the circumstance, but in every circumstance. For example, When a spouse loses a job, we can say “Thank you, God, for the meal the neighbor sent over. Thank you that you are providing for our needs and are working to lead us to a new job.”

Sweet Peace

As we make a practice and habit of continually praying our worries and fears and thanking God for what He’s doing, something happens: the peace of God guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We exchange worry for peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. Does that mean that everything in our lives is perfect? No, it means that we can choose peace no matter the circumstance.

Application

I know worry is a hard habit to break. But we now have the key to breaking this vicious cycle. Let’s make 2016 the year we embrace the peace that only Christ can give.

To make it personal:

1. Step one: Write down a worry.
2. Step two: Write down a specific prayer concerning this worry, incorporating a verse of scripture into the prayer
3. Step three: Write down something you are thankful for.

Repeat your prayer as much as needed, especially when you feel yourself taking the worry back and becoming anxious. With practice you’ll soon be a reformed worry wart, known for your peaceful spirit.

What have you learned over the years about handling worry? Please share any strategies you use to cultivate a peaceful heart in times of stress.

Pray on!

Resources:

The Armor of God, Bible Study Book By Pricilla Shirer / LifewayAll day, every day, an invisible war rages around you. A cunning, devilish enemy seeks to wreak havoc on everything that matters to you – your emotions, your mind, your family, your future. But…when the enemy meets a woman dressed for the occasion, he fails miserably. Join Priscilla Shirer in a 7-session Bible study that will challenge you to suit up, stand firm, and secure victory in your life. This study guide is designed to be used in conjunction with the DVD sessions and includes 5 days of study per session, leader tips, and prayers strategies. In the back are perforated prayer cards for you to craft your own prayers.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are By Ann Voskamp / ZondervanIn One Thousand Gifts, author and blogger Ann Voskamp invites you into her own moments of grace, gently teaching you how to biblically lament loss, turning pain into poetry and intentionally embracing a lifestyle of radical gratitude.Discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to everyday amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of experiencing the constant presence of God that will bring you deep and lasting joy. There is purity in simplicity and a breathtaking beauty that can be found even in life’s slightest details and heartbreaking moments. Ann Voskamp welcomes you in to explore her grace-bathed life of farming, parenting, and writing, and encourages you to live a life filled with gratitude, no matter where you are.Not a book merely to read, One Thousand Gifts begs to be embraced as a dynamic, interactive primer inviting you to engage with truths that will serve up the depths of God’s joy and transform your life forever. Hardcover.

*Just a note, Mary and I are affiliates for CBD bookstore. If you buy any resources from them using our link, we will receive a small donation from them. We only recommend resources we ourselves use and benefit from. Thank you!

Christmas To Do-ers List

Day 5: Seek Him

.

Seek.

Seek Him.

Seek the face of God.

Seek the face of God this Christmas.

We don’t need more Christmas spirit, but Holy Spirit.

Tweet This

Action Points:

1. In order to seek Jesus, we must think of places where He may be found. List a few places or activities in which you can meet with Jesus. Pick one to do today.
2. Jesus can always be found when we seek Him in His Word. Play the beautiful Christmas music embedded below, get your Bible and read Luke 2. Write down what God speaks to your heart as your seek Him.
3. Seek Jesus while enjoying His creation. Unplug. Leave the phone at home and just listen to Him.

How will you seek Jesus today? Please comment below.

Be a doer of the word!

Copyright 2015

All rights reserved

I must admit it.

I remember the days of lay-away shopping.

Green stamps and bubble gum wrappers.

S&H Green Stamps premiums, Bazooka Bubble Gum wrapper toys, and cereal proof of purchase box top prizes also required the discipline of waiting. For months we’d gather and save stamps, wrappers and proofs of purchase in order to earn prizes. Most of the fun of earning one of these gizmos was the anticipation of what it would be like when IT finally arrived. Perseverance, delayed gratification, earning something by the sweat of the brow. Lessons well learned.

The benefits of waiting.

1. It strengthens our faith. John 11:15
2. It helps us gain courage. Psalm 27:14
3. It brings blessings. Isaiah 30:18
4. It helps us receive direction and guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6

I also believe waiting helps to establish an attitude of thankfulness and humility in our heart. It helps us to live in the moment instead of wishing our lives away. To live simple. To rejoice when we have. To rejoice when we have not. Learning to wait a minute.

Action Points:

1. What are you trying to push through that you need to wait on God for?
2. Are you a habitual rusher? Do your kids constantly ask are we in a hurry again? When was the last time you actually savored something? …a kiss … a piece of chocolate … a good movie … a cozy time with a toddler and a book?
3. Take a half hour and linger with God in silence today. You won’t believe how He will refresh your soul and strengthen your heart.

Life is sweet when you wait a minute.