A Storm & Then The Perfect Day

If you could create a perfect day, what would it include? Would it be a walk on the beach, a trip to an amusement park, or something more exotic? Do you ever catch yourself having perfect days on the seemingly normal days?

Yesterday was pretty close to a perfect day. I was prepared mentally for the day (this is not necessarily a prerequisite to a perfect day). I was with my family, and headed to church. It was a great morning with good truth from Scripture and a few good conversations with friends. Then, the afternoon came, and with it came nap time for my kids. Yeah for nap time! I got to sit in the stillness, catch up on some Bible reading with a cup of coffee next to me, and God's beautiful creation just outside my window. The day continued with some other good things, which I will leave out because they are nothing really exciting to the reader. 

The point is, sometimes "perfect" days come when you least expect them. Sometimes you have just had a rough week and you expect today to be rough as well, and it is not. Sometimes you have felt rushed lately and you assume that you will again feel rushed today, and you don't. Sometimes you need to sit back in the midst of everything going on throughout the day and just enjoy what is around you. 

When you have recently gone through a storm, the simple things can be so much more meaningful. My recent storm that I am now coming out of was a flare up with my health condition. I praise God that I can say I am finally coming out of that battle, and I believe that I will continue to improve. 

What is one of your recent "perfect" days or even a storm you have recently faced? I would love to hear it! 

Just Being Real...

Do you need grace today? Do you need to just let yourself relax about some things?

Recently, I encountered a problem. Without going into tremendous details (and to protect the innocent. Ha!), I found that I was not too happy in a particular situation. It is an activity that I love, however, the environment was just not working for me. Has that ever happened to you? You are trying to participate in something because you believe in it and you have a passion for it, but at the end of the day, when you consider the whole picture surrounding the activity, it is not what you had hoped for and it causes more stress than satisfaction.

Now, by God’s mercy, I am a Christian. I choose to follow Christ, which means that I know it is important that I try to not serve myself. This year, I am really trying to put the J.O.Y. principle into practice (Jesus, Others, Yourself). Yet, if I am miserable in an activity that I adore, maybe I need to reassess if this is the place and time for me and this activity.

So today I want to remind us all of grace. I am not talking about choosing to do the wrong thing because we know we will be forgiven. Paul, the Apostle, did not speak too highly of that mentality in Romans six. I am talking about knowing that we have given something our best effort with all of our love and passion for that activity, and we still find that it is not working. Since I have chosen to keep the details of this situation to myself, I must clarify one last thing. I would not promote ending anything that would go against Scripture. For example, a struggling marriage should try with all their might and get whatever help needed to make it work. A person trying to complete their work with integrity should not give in and be dishonest just because it is tough to be truthful. I am referring to anything you can stop that will not be dishonoring to God.

So here it is. We all need grace. Give yourself grace today as I am choosing to do with myself. Jesus extended this grace and understanding to us because he KNOWS our weaknesses. Pray about everything. Seek God’s wisdom. Work as unto the Lord not unto men. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Thanks so much for reading.

(Please check these out: Philippians 4:6, James 1:5, Colossians 3:23, Proverbs 3:5-6)