Helping Women Flourish in Life, Relationships, and Dreams
We sat in the floor of my small bedroom thumbing through the pages of an old photo album of my past life. Images that showed smiling faces everywhere. Smiles, all smiles. Everything looked like a beautiful life.
As we turned the pages, I pointed out the people he knows, but would not recognize in their earlier ages. He was so interested in learning about them. And then, it was as if the world stopped for both of us.
(more…)Seek me first with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Through this seeking, all else will be added to you. Abide in Me and I will abide in you (then you will understand the beauty of how our God mends the pieces of our shattered hearts to wholeness), no branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. John 15:4
Learning to abide is a process. Each day we that we rest in Him, we live and love well.
Picture yourself as a bird flying high, flying high above all the chaos and those who reach to pull you down to their immature way of thinking and rebellion. Trust in the Spirit of the Father who abides in you. Awaken your heart to Him, giving each new day to Him to hold you up, above the conflict. Trust there is a greater plan and He knows best. When conflicted, pray about everything while giving thanks to the Lord Jesus for your conflict. It has led you closer to Him.
It is in this closeness with Him, this daily moment to moment giving of your heart to Him, that the Potter reshapes the heart, the soul, the mind and you come into the new mind, into alignment with the likeness of Christ Jesus (the anointed One). Above the chaos, flying on the heights, you receive empowerment through the light of the world to come down into the chaos of others, maintaining balance of peace and God’s presence with you to shine the light out to others which is flows from deep within your soul.
Our Creator has promised a life of abundance in the glorious riches of Jesus Christ when we seek Him first, above all things. It might not look like what you expect, but stay the course, trust Him alone in everything, sit alone with Him until you are alone with Him in a crowd of thousands. God will honor your devotion, your heart and He will make Himself and the Way known. Believe Him, this is what He asks of you.
You are the future of what comes next. In every breath you take, you breathe in life or death. In every thought, word and action life or death is chosen. Breathe life so you may give life! Trust your Heavenly Father, the only One able to shine light in and through you.
The Vision
What is your vision? Where does it come from? The Greatest Visionary, our Father in Heaven, had an amazing, out of the box, enormously creative vision. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Later, after He added all we need to sustain life and saw that it was good, God created man from the dust, literally the dirt we walk on every day. He created man in His own image to be in relationship with HIm and to be a mirror, a reflection of who He is and what He is like. Man was not created as a copy, but for the purpose of being in relationship, to reflect and to fill the earth with children, more mirrors. If you hold a diamond up to the light, you will see many beautiful reflections from it’s many facets. This is how we are created, with the thumbprint of God inside us. In essence, God imprinted upon your heart a vision to reflect Him. His purpose for man’s life is to bring that reflection to fullness and completeness through a relationship with Him.
What is it you can do to reflect Him without distortion? Before the fall of man, everything was as God created it, in order and perfection. “God saw all that He had made and it was good.” After the fall, the reflection became broken mirrors, shattered images, distorted. To become whole again, we seek the heart of God.
Where do you seek the heart of God? Are you looking to Jesus, the Son of God, and to the will of God for His life and the gift given to us through the sacrifice of His life? God had a big vision—bigger that we will ever know this side of heaven. His vision is for you to know Him and His heart of love for you, so that you may live out the days of your life on earth being conformed into a being that is reflective of His great love, kindness, compassion and generosity. God’s vision came to fruition in steps. What steps can you take today, the beginning of a New Year, to begin to follow the steps toward the vision God has set for your life?
Sit with God and quietly reflect, ask Him to teach you, to reveal to you the next step of His vision for you. Then trust Him with all your heart, believing He will show you the way. Press on to meet the goal of what before you, leaving behind all the past that gets in the way. Soon, you will find that by taking these steps each day with God leading you, with your eyes fixed on Jesus and your mind and heart set on knowing the heart of Him who created you, you will be living out the vision God placed upon your heart in the beginning, before you were ever born.
Scriptures reflecting these truths
Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:7; Luke 12:6; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 139:12-14; Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Mark 12:29; John 1:18;
Personal application
God has personally and uniquely designed a vision for you. Maybe you are a gardener who provides flowers or food for the enjoyment or nutrition of others. Perhaps you are an artist, a writer, teacher or an architect using your talents through creating something beautiful from nothing, crafting a story or book from a compilation of words that encourage and inspire others, work with children modeling the love of Christ and teaching preparation for adulthood, or create designs and strategies to bring structure to another’s life. Perhaps you are a mother with small children, spending your time caring for your family and modeling the love of Christ in the training ground for your children.
What ever it is, big or small from your perspective—God’s perception of you and your purpose brings Him great joy, glory and honor. He is not concerned with what you do as much as who you are. What is closest to God’s heart is for us to seek to know His heart above all else.
How will I begin this New Year? In 2012 what changes can I make in myself to become a better reflection?
After the comments made on relationships, I thought it right to share a blog post I received. I believe we can see from this perspective that no matter what we believe, the TRUTH is, the Bible teaches men to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. Men are called as a Spiritual leader in marriage. It doesn’t mean they always will. Christ laid His life down for the Church, so it would live and grow. Spiritual leadership requires having a healthy fear (respect and reverence) for God. When a man respects and honors God above all else, he will love his wife with a love that will draw his wife into his love, and she will respect and trust him. Marriage was originally designed for those who love God and one another. My experience has been that any relationship built on a sandy foundation and without an understanding of the love of God, will have great trouble. Paul tells us that those who love God will experience trouble in marriage. Trusting God, respecting Him and seeking Him above all else will build a healthier perspective for love. Love includes boundaries. It is not a free for all, without moral integrity and disrespect for God and one another. Without Christ’s love as the center, no relationship will breed trust.
I hope you gain some gold nuggets from the attached message. I did!