Being Obedient

It's so important to be obedient and the more you listen, the easier it is to hear Him. I think it's easy to question what we feel God is telling us to do. Partly because we try to understand why and we try to see our role in particular situations. But I believe that so many times when God has a purpose for using us, it has absolutely nothing to do with us but everything to do with the person or people on the receiving end. It's kind of selfish of us to think that we can "choose" not be obedient, especially when it involves others.

We shouldn’t be obedient because we see it as a "good deed" or because we will worry about what God will think of us. If we choose not to listen to God and not be obedient, we might miss out on planting a seed in someone’s life or extending the fruit of the Spirit. We might miss out on an opportunity to extend to others what Jesus so graciously and unconditionally extends to us.

We need to be obedient always and we don’t need to understand why or what God calls us to do. We are not skilled to understand. And many times we will never see the outcome or end result but after our part is complete, it just doesn't matter...we did what God called us to do and that is all that matters.

We need to trust and have faith in God's perfect plan and know that if He has chosen us, it’s because He knows that we are perfect and capable for what He’s called us to do.

He is the truth and the way and we need to be obedient simply because God has spoken.

We can all rise above

Whatever our situation or circumstance, God can bring us through and we can rise above it. God knows how capable we are and He wants us to know how capable we are.
When we are faced with challenges and problems, He doesn't want us to be constantly just "talking about" our problems. This just breathes life into our them and allows our problems to grow. But God "does" want us to talk about our problems if we are coming together with others in His name to talk "to" and not "about" the problem.

When we face our circumstances and look to find solutions and release them to God, we are taking immediate action to rid ourselves of any negative strongholds our situations have on our daily lives. We are acknowledging that our circumstances don't define who we are. And because they don't define who we are, we know that we may find ourselves in unwanted and unpleasant circumstances but through it all we can remain pleasant. By allowing our emotions to be dictated by our circumstances, we are already accepting defeat. But by remaining true to our faith, joy and peace, half the battle has already been fought. We have already started to overcome and rise above everything that comes our way.

Giving, giving and more giving

I believe giving to others is beautiful and is how we are meant to do life. Why is giving beautiful? Because in giving we lose sight of ourselves and become "others focused."

When our hands and our hearts that hold our love, our compassion and even our possessions, are so tightly closed to giving and sharing, then they are also closed to receiving...closed to receiving blessings from God. It is truly all about stewardship and not ownership. Everything we have and are blessed with, is all thanks to God. Everything comes to us from Him and is not ours to keep but God's to share. And if we had compassion like Jesus did during His earthly ministries, then we would see the heart of people and not only see, but our compassion would urge us take action. We would want to give anything that was needed, whether it be our possessions, our time, kindness, and especially love, to make a situation better or help someone feel better.

We are all able to give in some capacity or another. What we are able to give is determined by what we have been blessed with. What gifts, talents, or finanical blessings God has bestowed upon us. However, just because we are able to give, Lord help us, we are not all willing. Willingness comes from the heart. Willingness comes from an internal need and desire to want to give based on a heart full of love and compassion to do so. Jesus was more than able to offer an abundance of love mercy, grace, compassion and healing. Where would we be today if He wasn't "willing"?
He is just as "willing" as He is "able". And with a true heart for God, we should be "willing" as well.

"You have not truly given until you’ve given to someone who will never be able to repay you."

Being Selfless...truly selfless

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog. For my first post, I wanted to share a truly wonderful story with you. Have some tissue ready. This will certainly tug at your heartstrings but WOW, an amazing and inspiring read.

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools. At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that will never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shay? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish, and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that, when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shay:

One afternoon Shay and his father walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But he also understood that his son's being chosen to play would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. He approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shay could play.
The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team, and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay's father was ecstatic as Shay smiled broadly. Shay was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning they scored again. Now they had two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base. Shay was the batter up. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved up a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay should at least be able to make contact.
The first pitch came, and Shay swung clumsily and missed. One of Shay's teammates came up to Shay, and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher, waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay and his teammate swung at the ball, and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out, and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond the first baseman's reach. Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first; run to first." Never in his life had Shay run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman, who would tag out Shay, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second; run to second." Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases toward home. As Shay reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third." As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shay, run home!"
Shay ran home, stepped on home plate, and all eighteen boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero because he had just hit a grand slam and won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those eighteen boys reached the level of God's perfection."
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I love that story! A single act of selflessness is the greatest gift we can give someone and it has the power to transform lives. Imagine the impact of living a selfless life.