Over the last several weeks I have been doing the workout program T25 with a friend of mine.  We get together each morning, plug in the T25 DVD for the day and work hard.  Shawn T, who leads the workout, says each morning, give me the best 25 minutes of your day, because this is the most important 25 minutes you will spend each day.

Now, I love to work out, I don’t have many hobbies so I would say fitness ranks as a hobby for me.  But, as much as I love working out, I love how it makes me feel, I love the pain that comes along with it, because I know it is working, it is not the most important 25 minutes of my day.  The most important 25 minutes of my day is my time with God.

As much as I want to stay in shape physically, I rather be in better spiritual health.  The time I spend alone with God trumps everything else.  There is nothing more fulfilling, nothing more energizing, nothing that can create the peace that comes from spending time with Him.  I want to know Him better, I want Him to transform me, I want Him to guide me and I don’t want to miss what He has to say.

But please don’t get me wrong, I have days where life gets busy and the first thing that is dismissed from my schedule is my quiet time with God.  Why?  When I know it is the source of everything I need for each day.  And then I wonder why I can’t figure out what the right decision is, or why I lose my patience so quickly, or why I can’t seem to get focused.

I am learning, I am a work in progress, I am so thankful His mercies are made new everyday.  I am so thankful He meets me where I am.  I am so thankful He will never leave me or forsake me.  I am so thankful He is El Roi – the God who sees me, El Shaddai – the All Sufficient One, Jehovah-Jireh, my Provider, Jehovah-Raah, my Shepherd.

I know it has been a while since I have posted on my blog.  I believe we go through different seasons in life and I have been in a season where I found myself needing to be quiet.  I am reading a book called Anonymous:  Jesus’ Hidden Years and Yours and it is helping me understand a little bit more about this time of life.

I have faced some health issues over the last year that has taken me out of my element and reminded me I am not in control.  God has taught me a lot, one of which is how important it is for me to spend time with Him daily.

So here I am today and wanted to share something God is teaching me now.  Life is a little chaotic right now.  A lot going on and I seem to have a lot of “I’m not sure what to do” moments.

I find myself lying awake at night wondering what to do.  I so desperately want to make good decisions; and not just good decisions, but ones that are led by God.  And as I lay there trying to figure things out in my mind, God quietly reminds me, this is not for you to figure out.

In those quiet moments, He said trust me, keep your eyes on me, spend time with me, I will light your path every step of the way.  Did Moses have things figured out?  What about Esther, Ruth, Naomi, Abraham?  Did they know how the plan would unfold?  No!  They did not!  I wanted them to trust me and that is what I want from you.  Please trust me.

Barrett, my 9 year old son is a lot like me in that he always wants to know the plan and if he thinks there is not one, he is happy to set one in motion.  Oh how often I find myself doing the same thing.  Sometimes we must wait patiently and simply trust God.

I find if I start out my day spending time with Him, He prioritizes my chaotic to do list and lights my path one minute at a time.

The scripture that inspired this is 2 Chronicles 20:12  …….We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

My prayer today is that I keep my eyes on Him!

Have you ever found yourself in a place of uncertainty?  Literally not knowing what tomorrow holds?  And I’m not talking about little things like what you are going to eat for breakfast or what things might pop up at work.  I mean life altering unknowns.  It is in these times of unknowns where God is molding us, where our faith grows, where our relationship with Christ deepens, where we can more fully understand the words from Proverbs; “but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Being a Christ follower does not ensure you a life without troubles.  Scriptures says that we will share in Christ sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

Take a look at Joseph; he lived a life full of uncertainty and sufferings.  From the moment his brothers sold him into slavery, to being unfairly thrown into prison and the many years that passed until he assumed the role as Pharaoh’s highest official in Eqypt.  There must have been days, weeks, months or years where Joseph questioned all of the uncertainties in his life.

I believe one of the many principles we can learn from Joseph is there is a process we must go through, many times this includes uncertainties, sufferings, pain and tears.  There may be days like David had where he cried out to God in despair and depression but then his despair turned to praise and thankfulness.

Spending time with God is what turns fear into boldness, despair into praise.  It is reading His word, talking to Him in prayer and then taking time to listen for what He has to say to us.  This is what leads us to have life and have it abundantly.  This is what leads us to the peace that passes all understanding, no matter our circumstances.

When we face the days filled with uncertainty may we fall at the feet of Jesus, lay our fears and weaknesses down and embrace the power of the Holy Spirit who is dwelling in us.

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

John14:27-28 Peace I leave with you; peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This is the beginning of Passion Week and as I sit here on this rainy Sunday at Genesis Church iCampus, I struggle to keep my heart, mind and eyes on Jesus.  Oh how I love Him and my hearts desire is to worship Him but my mind seems to be crowded with life.  Life, the stresses of life, the decisions that have to be made Monday morning, the unknown of the future, the gazillion things on my to do list and on and on, so as I sit here today, I have to make a decision to lay all of it at the feet of Jesus an keep my eyes, mind and heart focused on Him.  I don’t want life to drown out what God has to say to me today and my hearts desire is to praise Him unashamed as we celebrate His life, death and resurrection this week.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a facebook message from my Pastor asking me to share what I would do if I knew I had one month to live on this earth. And after the big gulp of processing that question, I quickly wrote out the things I would focus on and do during this time.  One of which was to quiet out the noise of life so I could hear CLEARLY what God would have me do this last month on earth.   So I then started thinking, why would I wait until then to quite the noise of life to hear from God?  Why am I not quieting the noise now, and then I rationalize all of the reasons I have to go 200 miles per hour from sun up to sun down and all of the responsibilities I have and how I must fulfill everyone one of those responsibilities to the best of my ability.  But as I sit here today, I long for quietness, I long to spend time with God, I long to hear from Him.  Yet as Paul says, I seem to do the things I don’t want to do and don’t do the things I do want to do.

So, this week, as I enter Passion Week, I choose to quiet the noise of life and to focus on Jesus.  I choose to stop focusing on the unknowns in my life, I choose to stop wallowing in guilt, insecurity, and worry, I choose to keep my eyes on Jesus despite all of the distractions.  All of this is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in me.

I still don’t know what the future holds and I still am not sure what the right decisions are for Monday morning, I still don’t know what to do on my to do list and what to re-prioritize but I do know that the Holy Spirit will lead and direct me and I don’t have to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself.

I don’t have all the answers and I am definitely a work in progress but I do challenge you to join me to quiet the noise from “life” and focus on hearing from God.  Praise Him this week for who He is, for what He has done and for the amazing Gift He gave us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It has been a while since I last posted, November and December were amazingly crazy busy for us (but in a really good way).  December 8th was one of my favorite days during the last couple of month; we were able to host the James 215 Event to help the homeless and less fortunate of Tallahassee.  We are already looking forward to next year’s event!  You can check out some photos from the event here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151120824871415.434491.553646414&type=1&l=2e60fe789d

Discipleship – this has been on my mind and heart for a very long time.  This is what we are called to do – our purpose in life – lead others to Jesus Christ.  I had the opportunity to speak at our church home, Genesis Church, back in November and share about our calling to go make disciples.  You can check it out here:  https://vimeo.com/54190344

Psalm 27:14 Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

Waiting is probably one of my least favorite things to do.  I am a planner by nature.  I love to have my plan and follow it as closely as possible.  Structure and planning helps me feel like I am somewhat in control.  But guess what, I am not the one in control – God is.

When “my plan” gets off track, I am reminded that I am supposed to wait on God.  This gives me an opportunity to put Proverbs 3:5 into action.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”  

In my plan certain things need to happen at certain times in order for everything to be okay – and when they do not, I must trust God – it doesn’t make sense in my planning but it does to Him.

As much as I love to plan months out (and I don’t think that is a bad thing), if I seek Him everyday, He will guide my DAY.  I don’t have to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself.  My focus should be on Him and what He has for me today.  He will guide me on what to do today, which inherently will effect tomorrow and hereafter; but it is not my responsibility to worry about tomorrow.

My challenge for myself is to wait patiently on the Lord, be strong and courageous and trust in Him and not my own understanding.

I mysteriously received a book in the mail titled “40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life” by Tommy Newberry.  I’m not sure how I ended up with it; I have no idea who sent it.  I put it off to the side since I am currently in the middle of 4-5 different books already.  I love reading; but I have to be strategic in order to find a lot of reading time.  I love my kindle books because anytime I have a few extra minutes (Doctor’s office, waiting for appointments, etc) I can pull out my ipad and read.

Well, I got curious what the book was about and chapters were short, so I decided, why not make it six.  I’m not recommending the book at this point; because I haven’t read it but I was inspired by the 4:8 principle referred to in the book.  The 4:8 principle is based on Philippians 4:8  Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy- meditate on theses things.  

Quoting from the book “While trials and tribulations are permanent fixtures of this world, our attitudes toward them can help soothe the wounds and bring about solutions while glorifying our heavenly Father in the process.”

Proverbs 23:7 “As a person thinks in his heart, so is he.” 

Today I choose to think about my many blessings, not the few problems, I choose to be thankful to my gracious heavenly Father for His abundant grace and mercy on my life.  I am so thankful for the joy in my life that comes from Him!  I’m reminded today what the Holy Spirit reminded me of earlier this week – keep my eyes on Him.  Hebrews 12:2  “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”