It is 5:09am and I am up and running! Well, not running exactly, but I'm up!
Last night after I posted a couple blogs and the video about the book I'm reading, Getting Things Done, I laid in bed and I prayed. I acknowledged that without Jesus I can do nothing and I asked Him to help me. Right before falling asleep, I thought, I'm going to start following the Joel Osteen Ministry for the next seven weeks. Joel is always talking about exercising your faith muscles and I know that's what I need to do in order to receive the breakthrough I am currently chasing.
So the first thing I did after getting out of bed this morning was log into his website to hear/see the Word for today. Sure enough, it was an on time word! Before getting out of bed, I spent a little time in prayer.
Run Your Race was the title. It was very much in line with some of what I prayed about last night.
I hate to admit it, but the comments were enough to make me hold back on another post I wanted to share. I know this is just a distraction and I am allowing the opinions of others to keep me from what God has called me to do. God has gifted me with the ability to style my hair and it is an honor to share my journey with others. Any time I allow the disproval of others to stop me from using my talents in a way that helps others and honors God, is no longer acceptable to me.
God please help me today and every day, not to allow the opinions of others to distract me. Please help me to not allow the approval of others to be my focus either. In Jesus' name. Amen!
Intellectually I know that I can only accomplish what I am meant to accomplish and I know that God has a special plan just for me. I know this in my mind, yet my actions do not always line up with that knowledge.
God PLEASE help me! I need your grace in order to stay focused on winning the prize that you have specifically for me. I know I am your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to walk in the good works you prepared for me in advance. I know this. Help me to act and think in a way that demonstrates revelation knowledge of this truth. In Jesus' name. Amen!
Last night after I posted a couple blogs and the video about the book I'm reading, Getting Things Done, I laid in bed and I prayed. I acknowledged that without Jesus I can do nothing and I asked Him to help me. Right before falling asleep, I thought, I'm going to start following the Joel Osteen Ministry for the next seven weeks. Joel is always talking about exercising your faith muscles and I know that's what I need to do in order to receive the breakthrough I am currently chasing.
So the first thing I did after getting out of bed this morning was log into his website to hear/see the Word for today. Sure enough, it was an on time word! Before getting out of bed, I spent a little time in prayer.
Run Your Race was the title. It was very much in line with some of what I prayed about last night.
So many people today spend valuable time and energy trying to make everyone around them happy. They want to be approved, accepted and affirmed. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you can’t let the opinions of others become your focus or distract you from what God has called you to. (emphasis mine)I can relate to that! I have been guilty of allowing the opinions of others to distract me from what God has called me to do. Just recently I wrote a blog post about my hair and how I find it necessary to intentionally try to define my curl pattern, otherwise as my hair dries, it morphs into a frizz ball. Even though I knew I was going to receive some flack for talking about defining my curls, I was still distracted by the disapproval that came.
I hate to admit it, but the comments were enough to make me hold back on another post I wanted to share. I know this is just a distraction and I am allowing the opinions of others to keep me from what God has called me to do. God has gifted me with the ability to style my hair and it is an honor to share my journey with others. Any time I allow the disproval of others to stop me from using my talents in a way that helps others and honors God, is no longer acceptable to me.
God please help me today and every day, not to allow the opinions of others to distract me. Please help me to not allow the approval of others to be my focus either. In Jesus' name. Amen!
In the natural, when a professional runner races, you don’t see them looking around at the other runners, wondering how they are doing. No, they have their mind focused on one thing: the finish line. They don’t waste valuable energy comparing themselves or wondering what’s going on around them. Instead, they focus on winning the prize. This is how we should be in life—focused on winning the prize of the victor’s crown in life. (emphasis mine)I have wasted plenty of time and energy looking around at others and comparing myself to them. I confessed last night to God that this was an area in which I needed His grace. It is easy in todays ultra connected culture of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to see what everyone else is doing. And if I'm not careful, I can find myself getting sucked down into a feeling of inadequacy jealously as I compare what I have or don't have with others. I sometimes look at the view count of other vloggers and feel defeated by my own numbers. I puff up the work of others in my mind and belittle my own. I have got to stop this and focus on winning the prize.
Intellectually I know that I can only accomplish what I am meant to accomplish and I know that God has a special plan just for me. I know this in my mind, yet my actions do not always line up with that knowledge.
God PLEASE help me! I need your grace in order to stay focused on winning the prize that you have specifically for me. I know I am your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to walk in the good works you prepared for me in advance. I know this. Help me to act and think in a way that demonstrates revelation knowledge of this truth. In Jesus' name. Amen!
My challenge to you today is: run your race. Don’t let people squeeze you into their mold. Remember, you don’t have to try to play up to people. You don’t have to worry about what everyone else thinks. As long as you’re being true to what God has put in your heart, don’t look to the left or to the right. Stay focused on your goals. Run your race to win and honor God in everything that you do! (emphasis mine)Today I accept the challenge. Today I am going to focus on my goals and not worry about what any one else thinks about it. It is always my hearts desire to be true to what God has placed in my heart and to do the things Her has given me to do. So for today, as long as I believe in my heart that what I am doing is true to my God given purpose and it honors Him, I am doing it! I am not looking to the right or to the left!
Today's Prayer:
Father, today and every day I set my focus on you. I declare that I will not look to the left or to the right, but I will fix my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith. Give me wisdom and grace as I dedicate every area of my life to You in Jesus’ name! Amen.Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.1 Corinthians 9:24, NKJV.
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