Daily Thoughts: School

Monday, October 7, 2013

Use Your Time Wisely

I apologize for the lack of posts over the last 2 weeks. I was on a trip in Asia and unable to access this Blogspot web-site because of censorship laws there. Please keep the people of China in your prayers as they continue to grow in the Lord, and strengthen their resolve to serve Him.

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“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps" – Proverbs 16:9

Do you really know where it is you are going each day? I’m not talking about to work, school or the store. I’m referring to life. Where are your steps today taking you? One step closer to tomorrow, or are you stuck in the mud and mire of today’s circumstance and problems?

The Lord gives you a sunrise each and every morning as a reminder that all things are new once again. Today is only defined by the hour hand on the clock, but your life is defined by the moments and memories within each day. For the next 24 hours, you will have the opportunity to do great things for other people and to expand His Kingdom on this earth. Certainly, you will have responsibilities along the way, such as your job, your bills, your kids, your friends and family; but you purpose for getting out of bed today was placed in your heart by your Creator.

Serving His purpose is the plan for the day. Are you in a place in life where you can actually serve Him wherever He might call you to serve? What would happen if you were led to help those people in the “Inner city” find shelter today? How much of your planned life would you give up to help another person? What if a child needed to be cared for, so the mother could look for a job? What if your neighbor fell on hard times and needed help financially to make it through the month? What if that friend from so many years ago was on the verge of doing something terrible because of a battle with depression raging inside of them?

We are one in the Lord. We are a community of brothers and sisters, sworn to love, cherish and serve those around us. You plan may take you to the office or classroom or grocery store today. Let it. Let your daily walk proceed in a manner that achieves it’s end purpose, but at the same time, let the Lord work in and through you to touch those you come in contact with. Despite your belief and your desire, you are not here on this earth for your joy and happiness. You are here to serve the One and Only God of the Universe, because He placed His loving trust in you, and called you to follow Him.

When the sun sets on this beautiful day, you can sit in soft reflection on the walk you took with the Lord today. Contemplate the opportunities that came and went, and your use of those to bring glory to your King. After all, that is why you get out of bed each morning, and that is the purpose you are on this earth. Think about the eternal plan of life, death and heaven, and you will realize that you are here at this time, in this place for a purpose that has nothing to do with you. You are only living this life to bring those around you to a better understanding and relationship with their Creator; and then your days will come to an end.

My request for you today, is to think bigger about what you are doing with the moments you have between sunrise and sunset each and every day. Use them wisely, for once they have passed, they are no longer yours to control. Be blessed my friends, and seek His way today.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

De-stressing in the New Year

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“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15

I wake in the morning refreshed and ready to take on whatever lies before me with the strength and courage provided by God to endure the challenges and temptations. Generally by 10AM I have already stepped outside of His guidance 2 or 3 times, and by noon I’m trying to conquer the world on my own. By mid-afternoon, my stress level has gone through the roof and I’m struggling to get back on track, and by the end of the work day I’m typically frustrated and looking around for someone to blame. The drive home allows me an hour of quality time to beat myself up over the mistakes made throughout the day and to belittle myself for not accomplishing the things that needed to get done. Guilt and shame set in, and I question my ability to achieve what is expected of me.

How can a man go from filled with the courage of the Lord to feeling miserable in a 12 hour span of time, only to wake up the next morning and repeat the process. This is not what God has designed for our life. I can attest to the fact that when I wander from God’s presence in my day, I am going to quickly fall into a mode of struggling to keep up, feeling overwhelmed and incapable of achieving the goals I have set. The problems that come across my desk each day are not for the weak at heart, and the expectation is that these problems are brought to conclusion leveraging the resources available to me on any given day. The problem I have is that I find myself trying to solve the problems without God more frequently than with Him.

Are you in a similar position of finding yourself overwhelmed with the stress of your job, school, schedule or family commitments? It’s not uncommon and so many people today are allowing life to control them, rather than the opposite. This is your life. You get to make the choices on how you will get through each day, each hour, each minute. You will be able to solve some of the problems based on your prior life experiences and knowledge, but unfortunately life doesn’t play by those rules. New problems will surface every day that need new thinking, new creativity and new disciplines to solve. Where are you getting that strength from? Who are you going to turn to for the wisdom, discernment and confidence to take on these new challenges that come up?

God created the world and all that is in it. You believe this, right?
Then tell me, is there any problem that you are going to face today that He hasn’t already seen? Is there something that is going to come up in your life that will catch God by surprise, or will cause Him to sit back and say, “Wow, I’ve never seen this before.” Of course not. We, are the obstacle to bringing closure to these problems in our life. I am 48 years old and I’ve been in the professional marketplace for the last 27 years, managing people and projects. Over that time I have learned a tremendous amount about problem solving and I often fall back on my own wisdom to try to solve the problems of today. This demonstrates a lack of good judgment on my part, when I know full well that His ways are better than my ways, but I fail to seek His counsel and rush to my solution instead.

With the New Year upon us, one of my resolutions is to seek God’s wisdom and counsel in my daily walk, at work, at home, in the car and at rest. I am done trying to solve the world’s problems on my own, and I turn it over to God the Creator, and seek how I might use His wisdom, confidence, knowledge and grace in my daily activities. It is His truth that I want my day to be based upon, rather than listening the excuses of the world. Perhaps this is something that you will join me in, and can commit to in your daily walk. Start afresh each day with the Lord at the center of it all, and do not turn from His guidance throughout the day, but rather seek Him over and over again for directions. I promise you, life will become less stressful and you will find the peace that His word promises. But, the choice is yours and nobody else is going to make it for you.