Tag: Grateful

Three Steps

Today’s a new day! As I walk through this crazy beautiful journey, I continue to notice so many people making a simple relationship with God much too difficult. In my personal experience, I have discovered if I do these three things daily everything else seems to flow properly.

1). Pray. Each morning I wake up giving God thanks for another day. I thank Him for the many blessings in my life. I pray for others. Then I listen. Each day I want to improve on making sure my prayer time is centered more and more on gratefulness and listening.

2). Time in my Bible. As I pray, I seek guidance on what book and chapter I should read in the Bible for that day. Sometimes, God has me reading through a certain book of the Bible, but I always seek His guidance as I spend time in the Word. Then I reflect on what I have read that morning. Sometimes it leads me to journal and sometimes it leads me to just listen.

3). Do what God says. As I finish my time of prayer and reading, I do not rush off to complete the days agenda. No, I spend more time just listening to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. Then I simply do what God wants me to do for that day. When I choose to live this way, I am able to be part of the bigger God story. That is the most amazing gift in life.

This three-step approach is as complicated as my faith gets. The hardest part of this faith journey is learning to slow down. We tend to have this false narrative, that if something is going to happen, then we must make it happen. But as I slow down in life and try to live out this three-step approach, God continues to teach me that’s not how our faith works at all. ~OC

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Truths

Today’s a new day! I want to share some truths with you today.

You are not your successes nor failures.

You are not your abilities nor disabilities.

You are not your looks, popularity, bank account, intelligence or how many followers you have on social media.

As a Christian, you are who God says you are, which is:

His child (John 1:12).
Justified (Romans 5:1).
Christ’s friend (John 15:15).
A member of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27).
Assured all things work together for good(Romans 8:28).
Established, anointed and sealed by God(2 Corinthians 1:21-22).
A citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20).
Hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).
Blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians
1:3).
Chosen before the creation of the world(Ephesians 1:4, 11).
Holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4).
Adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:5).
Given God’s glorious grace lavishly and without restriction (Ephesians
1:5,8).
Redeemed (Ephesians 1:8).
Forgiven (Ephesians 1:8; Colossians 1:14).
The salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14).
A personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8).
God’s co-worker (2 Corinthians 6:1).
Alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
Raised up with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12).
God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).
Secure (Ephesians 2:20).
A holy temple (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19).
A dwelling for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22).
Completed by God (Ephesians 3:19).
Not alone (Hebrews 13:5).
Growing (Colossians 2:7).
Victorious (I John 5:4).
Set free (Romans 8:2; John 8:32).
A light in the world (Matthew 5:14).
Safe (I John 5:18).
Part of God’s kingdom (Revelation 1:6).
Healed from sin (I Peter 2:24).
No longer condemned (Romans 8:1, 2).
Protected (John 10:28).
Born again (I Peter 1:23).
A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God gives each of us spiritual riches the world can never offer us. Our identity in God is one of eternal security. We have value simply because God, in perfect love, sent his son Jesus to die for us and cleanse us from the sin that beat us down. True freedom is found in a relationship with God. And this relationship shapes all we say and do. Our life choices flow out of our relationship with God. And as hard as life might get, we have the promise of eternal life with God when we put our trust in him. We are made in God’s image, and we are HIS forevermore, protected, in his loving arms. When we are in Christ, we are truly free. May God bless you as you renew your trust in him today. ~OC

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God’s Word

Today’s a new day! As I continue to run this crazy beautiful health journey, I cling to the promises of God’s word. One of those promises is found in Isaiah 40:29, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Even when our bodies are struggling to find strength, God lifts our hearts with hope and comfort. He gives strength to the weary and weak. If you have ever felt weary and weak you qualify.

The astonishing thing is the way He chose to do it. It does not take the mending or healing of our bodies. We do not have to be propped up with the comforts of this world. God did it all with the power of his word. It is true, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). If your soul is starving today, find nourishment in the reading of God’s powerful words and promises.

Today, if you find yourself weary, worn, and ready to throw in the towel, I want to remind you that He gives strength to the weary. My prayer is that you’re experiencing God’s strength and peace this very hour. Know this, one day, you will look back on your troubles, whether in this life or on the beautiful shores of eternity, and you will say, “God pulled me through. He gave me the strength I needed.” The One in whom you trust does not faint or grow weary, and his understanding is unsearchable. ~OC

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Keep Showing Up

Today’s a new day! You may not have much to bring to the table right now. And that’s okay. Sometimes just showing up requires extraordinary strength and faith. You could find a million reasons to give up, but please don’t. In the wilderness, showing up is an act of worship, a step of obedience towards God and a firm no in the face of the enemy’s lies. ~OC

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Prayer

Today’s a new day! Prayer has been a major part of my life. Especially, as I have walked through this crazy beautiful health journey. I have learned a lot about prayer during this time. I thought I would share a few things I have learned about prayer over the years.

I believe prayer is an act of listening to God, not just talking. Prayer begins with listening, or being still as the Psalmist says. Without this, I believe prayer can be downgraded to transactional communication.

Prayer was not designed to be transactional. Prayer is relational. I believe we must learn to listen to God before prayer will have the true meaning He desires for each of us to experience.

During this crazy beautiful health journey, I have learned a lot about just listening to God. Being still.

As I shared earlier, I believe prayer begins with listening. But it eventually becomes a way of life. I believe prayer is a divine attentiveness to the things of God in our everyday lives. It’s an increased awareness of God’s movement in the world. I believe this explains why Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

Over the years as I have learned to sit still and just listen to God, I have found peace in my health journey and in every area of my life. What a beautiful gift.

When prayer truly becomes a way of life, nothing happens by chance. No moment stands alone. Everything is connected. Good or bad, nothing is wasted. Every circumstance is an opportunity to see God, a realization of his movement in the world.

Prayer, the transformative kind, cannot be rushed. Short little pop up prayers are not wrong. God can use those prayers in powerful ways. There is also nothing wrong with scheduling a time for prayer. But I believe to truly experience God and the Spirit’s fruits (love, joy, peace, etc.), prayer must become something our day revolves around rather than something crammed into an already busy schedule.

I encourage everyone not to hurry through prayer. You just can’t. In America, everything is built on speed. We’re an on-demand, right this minute culture. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, it’s toxic when we try to impose these cultural values onto prayer.

A few more thing I believe we sometimes miss about prayer.

Prayer is intensely personal and extremely intimate. When it comes to intimacy, how you approach it with God is how you approach it with everything in your life. If you struggle to find intimacy with God, it will impact intimacy with your spouse, family, friends, and everyone else you connect with in life.

Prayer shapes our capacity for relational intimacy. It’s hard to be intimate with another divinely-created person when you’re not intimate with the divine Creator.

My health issues continue to be a battle, but I strive to be still and listen to God throughout my day. By doing this, I feel more connected to God and I am more grateful for my life and relationships. I am also more concerned about the wellbeing of others. This journey is not all about me.

Coincidence? No. I believe my increased intimacy with God has given me a different lens in the way I look at people and the world.

So, as I continue to walk out this health journey, focused and intimate prayer will continue to be a major part of my life. I pray as you walk out your own journey, prayer will guide your steps and become a special and life changing time in your daily life. ~OC

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A Different View

Today’s a new day! I have several friends who do not like going to church, but they think Jesus is really cool. When Jesus was walking on earth, thousands of people flocked to hear him teach. He had something worth saying and his message was life changing. If you are a Christian how do you live? If a non-Christian spent the day with you, would they change the way they viewed Christians?

Some people believe that the Church is a place that is only for people who are good enough. Nothing could be further from the truth. The faith lived out by Jesus was one that was taken up by people who were the wrong sort according to the religious people of the day. They did not have it all together. People came to Jesus with their imperfections and some turned to him and called on him for forgiveness and he forgave them and he led them in a new life. Jesus never sent anyone away who was imperfect and he never sent people away who didn’t agree with him or who didn’t want to follow his teaching. One of his disciples Peter, cut off the ear of one of the people who had come to arrest Jesus (John 18:10), Peter also denied knowing Jesus three times (Mark 14:66-72). In Matthew 16:18, Jesus shares these powerful words, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” In Peter we see the worst and best of the Christian faith, but Jesus loved him and still chose to work with and through him.

Where some Christians go wrong is that they try to portray themselves as perfect rather than the truth which is that we are all broken and thankfully have been forgiven. That as Christians, we are all on a journey of change. I’ve heard it said that: God loves us as we are, but he also loves us too much to leave us that way.

When we make the choice to follow Jesus we are born again, spiritually beginning a new life. The Bible also talks about us reflecting the glory of God as he changes us (2 Corinthians 3:18). The apostle Paul who wrote most of the New Testament talks about a battle going on in every Christian between the Spirit (God in us) and our sinful nature (Romans 7:9). Who will we listen to? Will we live for ourselves only or do we want to live for God?

I pray every Christian will walk securely in God’s love, acceptance, forgiveness, grace and all of His beautiful gifts. I pray as God’s children, we will be guided by the Holy Spirit living in us to keep on striving to become more like Jesus. ~OC

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Trust God

Today’s a new day! Never be afraid of the journey God has you on. He could be preparing you for an amazing adventure. Trust the process. Trust Him! ~OC

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Keep Living!

Good Morning! As I have walked through this crazy beautiful health journey, I have always tried to be honest and transparent about my health issues. So I wanted to share the latest update with you. I do not share this update for pity, but to hopefully encourage anyone walking through their own journey.

I met with my medical team this past week. The doctor shared my Parkinson’s has moved to Stage 3 out of 5. He upped my medication and started me on some new medication. The doctor wants me to start using a cane and a voice amplifier. My Myasthenia Gravis and Gastroparesis has gotten worse. Eating has become more of an issue. The doctor shared I could be in the beginning of a major decline. Not sure about that, because I have a lot of fight left in me. Laura and I continue to stay encouraged and believe God has some amazing plans for our future. We look at this as a little bump in the road. I am truly looking forward to all God has for me in this next chapter of the journey. ~OC

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What is Greatness?

Today’s a new day! As I scroll through social media and tv, I see so many post about being the greatest. Is this athlete or that athlete The Greatest Of All Time (The G.O.A.T.)? Is that singer or that band the greatest of all time? All this got me to thinking about greatness. What does it really mean? So here are my thoughts about being great.

I think you become great by simply helping others. Sometimes you put yourself last so someone else can experience being first. What are you good at? Are you a cook? Maybe you could make your signature dish for a family that’s struggling. Are you a mechanic? Maybe you could help a single mom or dad get their car fixed. Are you a coach? Maybe you could volunteer your time coaching a local team. Are you retired and still wanting to stay active? Maybe you could become a mentor or help run errands for someone who is homebound. Maybe you’re a regular person who decides to buy a meal for a total stranger at a local restaurant. You do not have to be a millionaire or person of influence to make a difference.

Simply helping people makes you great. Even though that should never be the motivation. Living a life of service changes the lives around you. Doing the little things in life truly make a difference. They give people hope when all hope seems lost. They put a smile on someone’s face who hasn’t smiled in years. They encourage others to look for opportunities to help. To serve. What talents do you have in your hand? Go share them.

Jesus said: “What you do to the least of these…. you do unto me.” (Matthew 25:40).

“Love” is a verb… a doing word.
Think about that for a minute… then look around, find someone that needs a hand. Because we all do. ~OC

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