Monthly Archives: February 2015

You Just Can’t do Everything

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card

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. -2 Timothy 4:7

One afternoon several years ago, I came upon a box of handmade cards at Costco. I snatched it off the shelf and that should have been the end of it. But I have never been one to pass up an opportunity. No matter how much sense it doesn’t make.

So, I decided I could make them myself, and that little gem at the top of the post is a creation by my very own hand. I know you’re thinking, Wow, why is she wasting all this time blogging, when with mad skills like that, a licensing agreement with Hallmark is imminent? Try not to be jealous. 

I think at some point, my six-year old must have tried to rescue it by drawing eyes on the pitiful ones that couldn’t see.

I found that long forgotten card in a drawer the other day and couldn’t stop the fit of laughter. Seriously, it’s important not to belittle yourself, but sometimes you just have to let an impulse go when you realize your strengths are found elsewhere.

And then some time after my Costco impulse, Pinterest popped up on the radar. Thanks to that little site, I have more construction paper, canvasses, glue, sparkles, paint, fabric and beads than I could possibly use in one lifetime. Most likely, they will all end up at our next community yard sale for some other poor Pinterest visionary.

Busyness, envy and impulse are a daily reality for all of us. It is so easy to be tempted down paths we are not meant to go. God didn’t create us to say, “Squirrel!” every time something beautiful and shiny distracted us from His ultimate goal for our lives.

The apostle Paul was one of the mightiest warriors for God that ever roamed the earth. Chosen by God to take the message of hope in Christ to the Gentiles, Paul was smart, determined, and more than a little passionate about his message, but he wasn’t always that way.

Initially, his mission was to make sure Christianity was destroyed. Considered a hardcore Pharisee, he worked tirelessly against Christ, until a divine encounter temporarily blinded him, and ultimately revealed the clear truth to him.

Once he was transformed by Christ, hunger, a lack of freedom, storms, and trials unimaginable to many of us, never stopped Paul from completing the mission God gave him. He persevered until the time he could say he had given it all he had.

But even though his earthly race would come to an end, Paul’s impact had a lasting, rippling effect for the kingdom of God. Countless lives were changed and continue to be changed by Christ because of this man’s faithfulness and obedience. As John MacArthur put it, “He left no unfinished symphony.”

If we allow God to be the conductor of our lives, we can accomplish amazing things for His kingdom within the set of skills and talents He gave us. We don’t have to exhaust ourselves trying to be good at everything, when we really need to ask God where He wants to use us.

Just bear in mind that if you need a card, you should go to the Hallmark store because I’m officially out of business.

Give it up sister!

Keeping it Real

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Woman praying on table

But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. -John 16:5-7

One afternoon in the not so distant past, my husband and I were at odds about something I cannot even remember. He speaks northern, and I speak southern, so it isn’t uncommon for us to completely misconstrue one another’s words. In his vocabulary, there is no such thing as ‘Bless your heart’ to soften the blow from his truth telling lips.

I had just cleaned out my purse that morning, and the little pile of trash still remained on the floor. Out of mounting frustration and anger from our conversation, I snatched up a discarded candy cane and launched it straight at the ceiling, watching it shatter and rain down in pieces.

I was horrified to see that I also grabbed an unopened container of ranch sauce from Chick-fil-A and hurled it at the ceiling right along with the candy cane. Now I had sauce splattered all over the television, hardwood floor, and fireplace in addition to the sticky pieces of peppermint. Awesome.

The shame and failure to contain my emotions began to cloud my judgment, and immediately following this little outburst, I began chastising myself. Once again I failed. How could God possibly use me? Ever the opportunist, the enemy joined in my little pity party, assuring me that I was correct, and I was definitely useless to God.

God gave me this strong will and fiery personality. He knows what a struggle it can be for me to contain at times, and once I do let it loose, He knows how hard it is for me to rein it in. But He gave me this personality so that I could use my strong will for His kingdom, not mine. There is one way to harness it and restrain it for His use and not my own, and that my sisters, is the power of the Holy Spirit.

It seems unfathomable that Jesus would tell the disciples in John 16 that it was to their advantage He leave them. In God’s perfect plan, once Christ had given His life so that we may have ours, His ascension marked the moment a new permanent resident would begin to set up shop within each believer.

Until that point, the Holy Spirit had not been widely given to God’s people, nor was it permanent. Now, beginning with Pentecost, His presence would be permanent and it was empowering. Cowardly, wishy-washy, often clueless disciples now had a spiritual IQ of over 200 and the boldness of a lion. The same power given to us if we believe in Christ.

There are over 7 billion people in the world and no two people were created with the same fingerprint. Just as unique as our fingerprints, God’s blueprint for our lives contains a plan that no other person on the face of the earth can fulfill.

Behind the outward image we often project to others, all too often, the struggle behind the scenes is real. There are moments of contentment, but there are also moments of despair, struggle, heartache and failure. Moments where we feel that we are spinning all alone and out of control on this giant Ferris wheel of life.

If you are willing to surrender and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, you will be empowered to do great things in the name of the Lord for the sake of His kingdom. You are not useless, and you are not meant to wander aimlessly through this life wasting the precious minutes God gave you. He has a plan, you only have to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you each step of the way.

God knows we are imperfect, and He loves us anyway. It is no great shock to Him when we fail. That doesn’t mean we quit. It means we dig deep, repent, dust off our boots and follow the real leader.

Give it up sister.