A Joyful Mission

Seeking the EXTRA within the ordinary

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It’s so hard to see something extraordinary when the world around you seems to be going to pot. The thing is, those events are out there, though. You just have to look and realize that in some of these stories is where God is.

Think about this……

These are some of the stories that you read or hear about: the waitress on her way home who saves a lady from a wrecked, burning car; the police officers who pool their money to buy a basketball goal for kids in Chicago because they are only playing with a crate; the teacher who shows students how to read and tells them that they can do anything that they put their minds to; the brave man or woman who goes into the water to rescue a drowning person; the random person who helps others out by sending donations to a worthy cause or the local food bank; the ones who rush in to rescue when others rush away. I can continue on and on with these types of stories, but they are too numerous to count. These are the stories that we sometimes gloss over yet this is where we can see God. It’s in the everyday. It’s in the ordinary that has now become the extraordinary.

The key is, is that we have to look for them. Sure, news stations will mention them but sometimes in a passing sort of way that makes us forget that in the midst of all the other news that we hear from that day, week, month or year. In seeking the extraordinary, we can find God there as well. We need that these days. We need that little bit of hope that helps us to continue on and to know that God is in our midst. He proves it through the actions of His people. When we also take the time to do the extra within the ordinary for others, then we too can see God which then gives us hope and an uplift in dealing with the day-to-day messiness of life.

What did I learn from this? We all are called to do the extraordinary, to think of others, first and ourselves, second. It’s not for our glory but for His glory. I’m very humbled by what I can do for Him. I can show my love for Him by sharing my love with others. He tasks me, and all of us, to bring others who are lost and angry and afraid to Him, so that they too can know the love of our beautiful God, who wants a relationship with us.

So, what can you gain from this? It’s not about being the hero, it’s just about doing what’s right for the right reason. You could be the person that that person was praying for. God calls us all to do His work on earth. You never know, years from now, the impact that you will have had on that person or the impact of what you gained in the doing of an extraordinary act. It can change you for the better and that is never a bad thing!

The lessons that I’ve learned during a global pandemic.

No one asked for this pandemic. We were innocent victims of something that we could not control and, I, for one, hope not to have to deal with again in this lifetime! However, there are some things that I did learn during this time. Here are some of those lessons……

Lesson 1: All of you are my neighbors. I love my family and my friends, but I also am tasked with loving others and treating them with respect. It has nothing to do with rather or not we agree politically or if we have different values or not. It especially has nothing to do with your race or your religion (or if you don’t have any). No, this has to do with who you are and who I am in God’s eyes. God tells us to treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves. Unfortunately, too many people have forgotten that very basic of courtesies. We don’t have to agree on everything and, in fact, we can agree to disagree, but we need to do it in a respectful manner. (Related post: Black and white and all the beautiful shades of gray in-between). So, yes, I will love you just like I love my family because that is what you are to me, even when we disagree.

Lesson 2: I value honesty and transparency! We need this in the leaders of our country and in the media as well. I might not like what that leader has to say but I like it when that leader attempts to do what is best for the people that they serve. When that leader, instead, fails to accept or even admit their own failings, then I am seeing that they are choosing not to be honest with us. Also, when the media becomes a mouthpiece for certain groups and chooses not to acknowledge a leaders failings then they are just as complicit as well. I’d rather them (the leaders and media) tell me what I need to hear versus what they think that I want to hear. If they don’t have the gumption to be honest, then they don’t deserve my trust! There are other leaders and media groups who have proven that they value us simple folks, so I will go there instead. (Related post: Our actions define the person that we are, not only our words.)

Lesson 3: I admire the human spirit. Life is tough. It can knock you down so many times that you may feel that you just want to give up. I admire the human spirit that allows us to continue to forge ahead in those tough times and then we know that we will become so much stronger because of it. We are resilient and although we may see this as a temporary setback, we may feel that better things are yet to come from it. The human race will prosper because that is how we are made. (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace)

Lesson 4: Our God has given me (and all of us) the tools that I need to persevere in this life. He gives me a heart that loves, a brain that thinks and ponders, hands that can help, arms that will hold, eyes that see, ears that hear and a mouth that speaks. I am tasked with using each of these tools wisely so that I may help and not hurt others. I must never take these tools for granted or allow them to become dull or to be taken over for evil purposes. I must practice what I preach. When I go before God at the end of my life, I want to be able to say, “God, look at what I have been able to do with the tools that you’ve given me!” I am forever humbled and grateful for these gifts and pledge to use them as wisely as I possibly can. (Related post: Why in the world should I be thankful?)

What did I learn from this? There is a purpose for my life. It’s not my purpose, it’s God’s purpose. I don’t always know where God will lead me but He just asks that I trust Him. He knows that I am stronger than I believe that I could ever could be all because of His love for me. The trials that I go through are meant to make me stronger and better. It also allows me to see Him in everything. I find my own joy in getting through all of the trials and tribulations that life has to offer with God ever present with me.

What can you gain from this? Think about the lessons that you may have learned since going through this pandemic. I will just bet that you will have things to add to the list above! But most of all, be grateful for the life that you have and make the very most of it in the time that you have here on earth. Life is too short to be wasted on anger or regrets. Just remember, you get out of life what you put into it. So make a conscious decision to be a better version of yourself!

Our actions define the person that we are, not only our words.

It is so hard when our words come back to haunt us. Too many people post things on a social media site that they might not have said in a face-to-face situation. Likewise, our actions also define the type of person that we are. When we talk down to someone based on their race, religion or even the fact that they are different in some way, then we risk alienating others. These words and actions can come back to us in ways, years later, that are harmful to ourselves and our family and in a way that we weren’t considering when we said those words or performed that action the first time around.

Our reputations are so fragile and so easily broken when we speak or act before we think. It is hard to project into the future how or even who our words and actions may impact, so we have to make sure that what we give of ourselves is the self that we want others to see and admire.

I’ve seen so many people who say one thing then act another way. The worst part is that they can’t or won’t see that about themselves. The most egregious of offenses are those committed by some politicians, actors/actresses, singers, athletic role models, etc. Why? They think that because they have wealth and power, that they can say whatever they want and there are no consequences. These people wonder why we call them hypocritical! If your intent is to accept all, then you should show love to all. Instead, we (those who call them out about their behavior) get called names and are bullied into backing down if we don’t agree with their point of view.

News flash! We all have an equal and just as vital point-of-view! Just because we have a freedom of opinion, doesn’t mean it needs to be posted on social media! I’ve always told my kids, “You can think it, just don’t say it. Be the bigger and better person than they are.” We need to stop and think or consider the possible consequences before the words come rolling out of our mouth, especially if it something that is meant to be demeaning to another person. Put yourself in that other person’s shoes. How would you feel if and when the shoe is on the other foot? Doesn’t feel so good, does it?

What did I learn from this? Am I perfect? Not by a long shot, but at least I recognize that imperfection within myself and I am always striving to learn and grow in order to be better. When I fail to see the truth within my own self, then I can’t be the better person that I am meant to be in the future.

What can you gain from this? Really, really think about what you say before you say it. It’s never easy to hear the truth about something that you need to change, but if many people are condemning you for your actions then that should be a clue that you overstepped. Remember that no one (NO ONE) admires a bully. Your goal should always be to be a person that someone can admire because of the qualities that you possess and not your status in life.

Finding joy in the midst of sorrow

Sorrow is a soul-sucking emotion that seems to take the joy out of life. It is so hard to overcome that sadness, especially when events of life seem to keep stacking upon you. So how can you find happiness in great times of sadness?

There is a song that I have heard several times called When We Fall Apart by Ryan Stevenson that I listen to on KLOVE, a Contemporary Christian radio, in which he explains how he was so saddened by the loss of his mother to cancer. In the song, he references that she told him that “the only way to heal a broken heart, is when we fall apart.” In other words, it is okay to cry. It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to be mad about the situation that you are being faced with and choices that you didn’t want to have to make. No matter what, God knows what your tears are about. He knows that it’s part of the healing that needs to take place. You can’t change what has happened or even what you know will happen but you absolutely need to let yourself grieve about whatever it is happening in your life that is keeping you from being happy.

God never said that we wouldn’t have times of sorrow but that in time, the tears will be turned into laughter. Just like a wound that hurts and bleeds, then heals over time, so does your heart. In time, you begin to remember all of the beautiful things about that person or place that you were glad that you now have as memories. The sorrow may never completely go away, but as time goes on, the joy comes from having had that time in your life when you can look back. Those are the memories that come with finding joy in the midst of your sorrow.

What did I learn from this? Each hard thing that I went through, has made me a better person. It made me stronger. God doesn’t do this to punish us, however, I do think that it happens to shake us up and help us to realize that we need to turn our hearts and minds and hurts and joys over to a God who loves us completely. He desires for us to turn to Him all the time, not just in times of sorrow. I know that He’s with me all the way through the valleys and the hills that come with living. (related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace )

What can you gain from this? Everyone expresses sorrow differently. It’s okay. Never compare how you mourn against how someone else mourns. Your way is right for you. Remember, it’s okay to have all the feelings that you have. Express them in positive ways, like, for example: painting, going for long rides, going to visit a close friend, writing out your feelings…. The point is, is that you need to find a way that works for you and that helps you to find your joy in life again.

Seeds are a promise of progress

I was scrolling through Pinterest (don’t you just love Pinterest?) and I came across this saying that goes something like this, “Fruit does not grow from a tree that was planted on that same day.” (If anyone knows where this quote comes from, please let me know! I love to give credit where credit is due.).

In pondering over this quote, I started thinking about the meaning. Physically, we know that a seed holds the promise to become some sort of plant. We know that it takes time to really see the progress or growth of the plant. There are things going on underground before we even begin to see what happens as it comes out of the soil. Then, if you wait for the the fruit to grow, it seems to take that much longer! However, I think that this quote has much more meaning in a psychological way. Think about this, when we begin a new endeavor, we may not see all the things that are going on behind the scenes with it. Maybe, you’ve been pondering about starting a new job or you had some big change in your life and, now, you are having to make some big decisions. This change (or seed) is a promise of progress for you even when you can’t see it now. (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace )

This quote also got me thinking about my own feelings about my blog.

I am wanting my blog to attract people, and I have been getting frustrated recently because it is taking a while for it to happen. Then I read that quote and it made me realize that what I have are the seeds that God has given me that He wanted me to plant. These seeds take time to grow in order to become fruitful to the many people that I want to reach, so, therefore, I need to be patient. I am reminded that it is the promise of progress that makes me hopeful that the seeds will grow within people so that they are touched in some way by the words that I write. I must be consistently reminded that God has a purpose for this blog and I also have to realize that He is never wrong and He is always on time.

Also, realize that I am specifying that it is not my time, but His time!

Isn’t that the most difficult thing for us humans? We seem to hate the waiting that we are required to do. We are so determined to have something happen right now! When we don’t wait for the promise that He gives, then we tend to rush through life and we may miss the lessons that God is trying to teach us that will bring us more joy in life!

What did I learn from this? His time is not my time and I have a long way to go when it comes to my growth as His disciple. Luckily, we have a God who is extremely patient and is willing to wait on me to “catch up”! I have to be open to all of the ways that He guides me and sends His help to me so that I can get to the next step that He has planned for me. There are so many things going on “underground” that I am not aware of, but He always knows what will happen! I just have to trust enough to give it over to Him, willingly.

So, what can you gain from this? I know that the hardest thing for us humans to do is to let go of our control so that we can let God take the reins. Yes, He gave us free will, but I have found that what He really wants for us to say to Him is, “Not my will, but Yours be done” just like Jesus did on the cross. Finding joy is about trusting the path that God wants us to go. The first step is always the hardest, but the rewards are perfectly in-line with His purpose for your life!

Everyone has a bad day, now and then! So, what can you do to make it better?

Sometimes, those bad days just stay in your memory. Don’t you agree? I remember a day, when I backed my car out of my garage and because I was thinking of the three (very important) meetings that I had that day, instead of looking behind me, I ran my car into the back of my husband’s truck. He had a steel flatbed on the back, so it didn’t hurt HIS truck at all!! I got out and looked at my car and when I pulled back into the garage, I was VERY tempted to just close the garage door, call my school that I worked as a teacher at and tell them that I was sorry, but I was not going to make it in today.

It was a Monday. Go figure!!

I did end up going to school that day and, somehow, I mustered through the whole day. The fact that that was something that occurred 13 years ago and I still remember it, pretty vividly, tells you that bad days tend to stay in our memories. Also, the fact that I remembered the day of the week it happened on, tells you even more, as well! We have the hardest time letting those bad days go. They hang on, like a rotten odor that you can’t get rid of.

Why do you think that is? Why do we remember those days so vividly?

Surely, we know that we can’t change them. We can’t go back and do it over and hope for a different result. I think that the reason is because, maybe, it was a turning point in our life, so we just sucked it up and did what we had to do because that is the type of person that we had to be. Maybe, it was because………. (fill in the blank here). For whatever reason that you remembered it, know that you are not alone. We all have those days. I think it’s how you deal with them is what shows the type of person that you are.

If you take your bad day out on others then you might want to figure that you need some help. But, if it makes you stronger, more resilient, then you aren’t defined by your bad day. It was just that, a bad day, one that you don’t want to repeat, but, again, just a bad day.

I think that when we understand that it happens to all of us, then we can give others a bit of a break when they have their bad day as well. We may want to, instead, reach out and just let them know that it’s okay and they are stronger than they think. It’s nice to know that somebody understands and can empathize with us. That’s what we need more of, empathy. So, the next time that you want to jump down someone’s throat, don’t. Take a deep breath and try to understand their feelings instead. It’s not personal to you or even about you. You are just the person there. So, remember that sometimes, we just need someone to listen and not judge our feelings. Sometimes, we just need a friend.

What did I learn from this? It is so much easier to jump than to pause when we are responding to another person. I have found that it helps me to try to say a quick prayer for them and for myself as well. I pray that I can listen but then really hear what they may not be saying. I have to remember that it’s not about me. It’s about them and I may be able to help even if it’s just to listen.

So, what can you gain from this? Life is stressful enough! Don’t take on someone else’s problems, it’s not about you. You can, however, learn to be a friend. You never know when someone will help you as well, later on. You get back what you give out in life, so think carefully before you respond. Also, think, how would you feel in their shoes? Sometimes, just thinking about that is what can give us a different perspective.

Obedience is a small price for us to pay for the love of God

“God loves us, this I know, for the Bible tells me so!” Isn’t this part of a song that we sang as children? Times were so much easier then, as a young child, when we didn’t question and demand from God that He gives us what we wanted. We just automatically knew that He loved us as children and we never demanded or questioned His judgement. I have found that it’s so much harder as adults for us to obey God.

Why do you think that is?

I think that I know (at least for me anyway). We think that we think that we know about how we want everything to go in our life and so we begin to demand for God to “do this or do that” for us. God loves us, but He chooses to answer some prayers with a “Yes!” and then sometimes it’s a “No.” or, even harder, sometimes it’s a “Not right now, but soon.”

God’s timing is not ours. I’m learning that the hard way. It’s not easy to sit in obedience for an answer when He says that it is, “Not right now, but soon.” The waiting is killing me!!!!! Patience is a virtue that I am certainly lacking in right now. But then…… I start thinking back to the different times in my life when I was in a valley (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace ) and I can now see what I couldn’t see then. God had given me what I needed, but I was too blinded by my own inner turmoil, that I couldn’t see it then. It is only now, in retrospect, that I see it more clearly. He brought me to the hills of accomplishment from the valley of despair-each and every time!

God doesn’t want blind obedience. He want us to trust Him to guide us down the right path. He wants our “Yes!” to His “Not right now, but soon.” He wants us to trust that His answer will cover all of our needs and we do this by learning to Let Go and Let God (Related post: Why are we sometimes so resistant to change? ). He wants us to see “the why” we needed to go through that change that we were so resistant to in the first place. Our obedience to Him, is a very small price to pay for what we can get in return. So, are you willing to try it with me?

So, what did I learn from this? Obedience is hard, especially because I like to think that I know my own mind. I really don’t. Actually, I am learning so much more about myself and my faith than I ever thought that I knew. I’m continually growing in my journey. Isn’t that what life is about? In finding my strength and dignity, I am growing and this will help me be able to laugh at the days to come. I’ve still got a long way to go, though. God’s not done with me yet! Thank goodness!!!

What can you gain from this? The hardest thing we can do is to Let Go and Let God. When you give a qualified “Yes!” to God, then you are telling Him that you trust Him to do the very best for you and to put you on that right path that you didn’t even know that you needed to be on. You won’t understand the whole reason behind it now, but don’t worry, you will.

Accepting failure is actually the key to success

No one likes to think that by failing, we may turn out to be successful in our life pursuits. “How does that work?”, you may ask?

If you completely are believing in the goals that you have set for yourself and in what you want to accomplish, then you will find a way to succeed. All you have to do is look at anyone who created any new invention that we use now. I am very sure that they didn’t succeed on their first try. The key to their eventual success was that they had to fail over multiple times of trying. Then they kept working to make a change, maybe to some small component that they needed to change, in order to get the result that they eventually wanted.

However, they didn’t stop there. Those inventors continued to keep modifying those products in order to make their product even more of a success today. They learned and grew with each of the “failures” that they went through. Understand that the failures that they experienced never stopped them from trying in the first place.

Remember Thomas Edison’s quote: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” He stated this quote in response to people who asked about his quest for when he created the incandescent electric lightbulb.

For me, I want to say that I’m not planning on creating a thing or object, only this blog. This is my creation. It involves uniquely my thoughts, feelings and the growth that I’ve experienced along the way. But this is what God wanted me to do so that I could share them with you and, hopefully, help you as well. However, I can’t just write a post and think that I am done. I must continue to grow and learn on the variety of ways in order to make each post better. I also have to think of how to reach the largest audience that I can. It does help with word of mouth and if my posts have helped you, then please pass it on! However, no one would read my posts if I had many, many common grammatical errors and if it was not very understandable or readable. No one would take it seriously. So, I am vested in the growth of this blog because I believe in the message and how it can help you as much as it has helped me.

Now, ask yourself this question……

Do you feel successful in what you are doing right now? If the answer to that question is yes, then that is wonderful…. keep doing what you are doing! However, if the answer is no, then ask yourself another question. What is holding me back from reaching the goals that I want for myself? It’s hard, but be completely honest with yourself and what you want to accomplish in life. Sometimes we need to take that leap of faith and then we can come out with amazing results that we can be proud to share with others!

So, what did I learn from this? God believes so much in my capabilities, more so than I even do in myself! Yes, He loves me just the way I am, but He knows what’s in my deepest thoughts. He knows the thoughts and dreams that I may not truly realize that I really had wanted or even voiced aloud. He then gives me the opportunity to take that leap of faith. I can make a choice to sink or swim and I know that He will be there to bolster me up when I get frustrated and feel overwhelmed.

What can you learn from this? As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, change is not a bad thing! How many times have we heard of people who made a drastic life change or job change? The answer to that would be…..many, many times! It’s okay if people are scratching their heads, wondering about what you are doing. You owe it to yourself to be honest about what you want in life. If you aren’t happy, then look at the why. If it helps, go get counseling. Remember that in order to make it a positive change, talking to someone validates your wants and needs or helps you to see them in a new way.

Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Sometimes, life is hard. I suppose that that is an understatement, to say the least. But then again, life can be easy, too, at times. Those are the hills and valleys of life that we travel. These ups and downs in life can become more meaningful to all of us who want to grow and become wiser. Yet, only if we learn to look at the hills and valleys as a way of learning life’s many lessons, especially if we learned how to handle them with grace.

I read somewhere that none of us are born with wisdom, but we develop it over time through our experiences. In other words, we learn along the way in our journey to our destination. (Related post: Which is the better choice, the destination or the journey? ) It is while we are traveling through those hills and valleys that we can begin to learn deep and wonderful lessons in grace. However, we can only learn from them, if we are willing to see them as lessons about life.

This is certainly a rhetorical question……

Have you ever been in one of your valley moments and you feel a lot of “poor me”, self-pity moments? Of course you have…..you’re human! Then you talk to someone who seems to be going through something much worse and you may immediately look at your situation and see that it wasn’t quite so bad as you thought? Yeah, me too.

Even when our situation is hard and we are in the valley, we need to remember that we will not stay that way before we start climbing up the hill. It is in those times that we need to give God the glory and thanks for his help. We can’t do it alone. We need our family, friends and, most of all, we need God in order to help us to climb that hill. It is in acknowledging Him that we can display the grace that God has given us. That is when we truly can start becoming the person that God knows that we can be.

So, what did I learn from this? I’m never alone in my valley or on the top of my hill, for that matter. I may not understand, yet, why I am going through this, but I know that all will be revealed as long as I am willing to grow in my struggles and be able to trust God on my journey. It’s not easy. God never said that it would be. I just have to be open to the message that He wants me to learn.

What can you gain from this? Reach out to others when you need help and also learn to recognize when others may need help but may be unsure of how to reach out. The give and take can be just as healing to your soul as it may be to theirs.

It’s not WHERE you worship, it’s THAT you worship. That is when you can help make a difference in the world.

I am the youngest of four children that my parents had. Each one of us has attended a different domination of Christian faith as we each started our own families. My point with that statement is that my mom and dad NEVER said that we must go to one particular church or attend only a certain denomination. They recognized that what we all needed, instead, was to have a Christian faith instead of focusing on where we worshipped. The location was secondary to the purpose of going to church.

So, what is the purpose of going to church? And, what should be the main purposes of going to church? The answer to that is simple….to learn about God, to give Him the glory and to grow in your faith! In doing all these things, you can begin to make a difference with others. Let me explain what I mean.

Too many of us look at all the other ways that people worship and judge them based on where they go. What we need to see, instead, is that the whole purpose of going to church is to learn about God. When we start looking at the whole and not just the pieces, then we can begin to see our own faith in a whole new light. When we also look at the pieces that others hold, then a true and more complete picture may emerge. When we open our hearts and minds to others, this is where we can start to make a difference in our world. We can make it better.

Remember that our God, is a just God. Our God, is a loving God. Our God…… is our amazingly, awesome God! He guides us, molds us and believes in us. All that He asks from us, is that we ask Him to come along with us on our journey of faith. And He loves us so much, that He sent His Son to take our sins from us and nailed Him to the cross. He took our sins in sacrifice so that we can be with Him when our time on earth is done. We are washed clean by His grace with the shedding of His blood.

So, our mom and dad had the perfect approach when it came to our faith. They trusted all of us to seek God first in our worship of Him, then find a denomination that we wanted to attend. Personally, I think that that is good parenting, right there!

So, what did I learn from this? My denomination helps me to see God more fully, but it doesn’t define the whole of the relationship that I have with Him. I am even more filled with the beautiful wonder of his grace and love when I open myself up to others who have done the same. Matthew 18:20, states that “Where two or three have gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” (ASV). It doesn’t mean, only if you belong to this denomination of faith or attend this particular church. Again, let’s restate… if you gather in His name…… that’s pretty strong stuff and so simplistic really!!

What can you gain from this? Get rid of the idea that the denomination that you go to is the only one that counts in getting to know God. We all have pieces of the puzzle. Now we just need to learn to open ourselves to others thoughts and ideas in order to help us to see where those pieces will fit so that we may, hopefully, begin to see the whole picture. I’m betting that it will be the prettiest picture that you’ve ever seen!

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