Face to Face with Adonai

From my bible study this morning, I love this. (I am currently working through a Bible study called Live Intimately: Lessons from the Upper Room by Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose. It has been a wonderful study so far, and God is showing me such love in His word and through this study. This morning, poem, from the chapter “Changing Expectations:”

I had walked life’s path with an easy tread,

Had followed where comfort and pleasure led;

And then by chance in a quiet place-

I met my Master face to face.

With station and rank and wealth for goal,

Much thought for body but none for soul,

I had entered to win this life’s mad race-

When I met my Master face to face.

I had built my castles, reared them high,

Till their towers had pierced the blue of the sky;

I had sworn to rule with an iron mace-

When I met my Master face to face.

I met Him and knew Him, and blushed to see

That His eyes full of sorrow were fixed on me;

And I faltered, and fell at His feet that day

While my castles vanished and melted away.

Melted and vanished; and in their place

I saw naught else but my Master’s face;

And I cried aloud: “Oh, make me meet

To follow the marks of Thy wounded feet.”

My thought is now for the souls of men.

I have lost my life to find it again

Ever since alone in that holy place

My Master and I stood face to face

Lord, I have to admit that washing feet was not what I had in mind when I became a Christian. It’s awe inspiring to see your humble example. Lord, I surrender my lofty plans. Let me do what you have done and serve others. Amen

My Best Month Ever

I am sleepy this morning- like dozing off where I sit sleepy. Oh, it’s my own fault…I’m burning the candle at both ends right now, and, at times, feels like I am trying to light up the middle too. What happened to my “kick back and relax with the kids summer?”

Here’s my problem in a nutshell. I do too much. I expect too much. I expect to be able to do too much….sensing a trend? Last night, I was listening to Earl Nightingale’s Strangest Secret (thanks so much Lisa, it was needed in the worst way) and he said something that is so true, so right on, but that I struggle to wrap my heart and mind around. He defined success as “the progression to the realization of a worthy ideal.”

Wow! That’s it? No dollar amount, no stuff to count, no prestigious or honorable mention in the history books. I simply have to define MY worthy ideal and move toward it? Yep…it’s that easy.

Here’s the kicker…by that definition, I am wildly successful. HUH? Me? Already successful? But there is so much left to do? Yep, there is. And I am not going to stop doing it, but what does that change for me knowing that I am ALREADY successful? I don’t have to fear failure anymore, because I have already achieved great things. Does that set me free to do even greater things? I believe it does and I am ready to set about the realization of those worthy ideals.

I won’t tell you it’s all cupcakes and butterflies, there is still a lot of hard work. For me a good deal of that is mental. I struggle with breaking the connection between my net worth and my self worth. In many ways, this holds me back from being truly great and from stepping fully into my role as a called minister of God. I struggle with both a fear of failure and, perhaps, a fear of success as well, and this prevents me from maintaining a singular focus on my goal and working to achieve it. But I have a plan to change all this.

Here’s what I am going to do. I am taking Earl Nightingale’s Strangest Secret 30 Day Test. I am committing to focus on my goal of bringing GPS4Life ministries into fruition. I am developing my compelling, detailed and sensory specific vision. I am writing it on a card to carry with me and I commit to actively work to replace negative thoughts with positive, goal oriented thoughts about my vision.

“We become what we think about.” Uh-oh….for me, that has been fear, worry, and, well, laundry, but I am committing to change those thought patterns for something much more compelling: a connected community of Christian women.

I invite you to join with me in one or all of the following ways:

In Prayer. I ask you to pray for my thought life. I have been crippling my Walk with God of late with tons of tiny agreements. Agreements I have made with myself that have shut out my loving and merciful Lord. Pray that I have the strength to break those agreements and stay true to my commitment to change how I have been thinking.

In Commitment. Listen to the Strangest Secret. I have posted the link below. Take his 30 day challenge yourself. Post your comments and let me know how to pray for you. Tell me about your wins and your challenges, as I share with you mine.

In Support and Witness. In one of my favorite movies, “Shall We Dance?” ( no judgments here- it’s really good!), Susan Sarandon’s character, Beverly, is asked why people get married. She says, “Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet, I mean what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything...the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things...all of it, all the time, every day. You're saying... Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.” (See! I told you it was a good movie!) While, I’m not asking you to marry me, J I would love your support and your witness to my efforts. I always commit more fully when I have others to support me and hold me accountable.

So Day 1 of the best month of my life starts today. I’m gonna get busy on my compelling vision and perhaps I’ll post it for you later. Download that link, guys. Listen to it! And make today the first day of your new life!

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&batch_id=cmczYUlsaTFoMlVLSkE9PQ