Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Dollar Signs

God has been teaching me {alot} about finances lately. Largely because I have been trying to seek understanding from Him so He has been making Himself known in the area of money. Let me first give you some background information of how this all came about! I was offered by my sister and brother-in-law to take over their lease sometime around October. After discussing it with a few people I trust, I felt at peace with moving forward and making the commitment to take on the lease when they are ready to move out. Although, I know I only make enough to live pay check to pay check. Which I concluded was fine, and it is a season I really want to walk out and an experience I feel like God is going to teach me a lot through.

Knowing full well that finances will be a key component of me moving out and how I will be living, I know that God MUST be intertwined in my decisions or else there really doesn't leave room to have faith. There are three main points that God has brought to my attention. These three point have literally impacted my whole perception of money and my thought processes. I pray that these points can add to your existing thoughts of money and how you handle your decisions about the topic.  

{Have Faith
{Put Forth Effort}
{Be a Steward}


I'm so excited to talk to you about what God has shown me about these three life changers!

HAVE FAITH

{ Luke 16:10 }

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much"

Faith is a really important component - With faith you can do above and beyond what you think. If you have faith when you have only a little or the bare minimum, you will most likely be able to build lasting faith when God blesses you. Faith allows God to intervene while on the other hand faithless living only positions yourself to get in the way of what God could be doing in your life. While faith is a huge factor in how I will be handling my finances for me it is partnered with effort.  Which leads me to the second aspect that God has been teaching me. 

PUT FORTH EFFORT

Put Forth Effort! I have found that it is crucial to have faith that God WILL show up but to also partner with Him and work for the financial aspirations you have. I know that I have a big part in making my finances run smoothly. If I am being lazy, not being diligent at my job or just expecting money with no effort, that logic has flaws in it. So while I am believing & having faith that God will provide an adequate amount of money I have recently asked my boss for a few more hours at work as a sign that I am putting forth effort that will tag team my faith goals & how I know God WILL be showing up in my life.

BE A STEWARD

Lastly, and the concept of being a steward! This point is really what initiated this blog post. While listening to Dave Ramsey and trying to see if God would speak to me about anything, Dave brought up the topic of being a steward. A concept I am familiar with simply from reading scripture and listening to offering transitions in church. Have you ever experienced hearing something over and over but never really {hearing} it? Until there is a point in life were it is applicable to you and the season you are in. The impact it has and how it resonates is way more personal when you are experiencing and walking through a particular season. The part that really struck me was when I looked up the definition of {steward} and it stated:

Stew·ard
person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others


The instant I read that definition I was impacted. I am only stewarding Gods money that He has so GRACIOUSLY allowed me to manage for Him. If everything is His in the first place than money is not exempt from that. I will conduct my life in a way that demonstrates first hand that God is the overseer of my finances. I am only being an agent of what He's given me, blessed me with and asked me to take care of.

The combination of faith, effort & stewardship that God has been teaching me, has allowed me to comprehend and understand my place in handling the way I see money and what I do with my money. I want God involved in every area of my life - money is a big area and I'm desperate for Him to be in the fabric and make up of how I conduct myself. Finances included!    

I give EVERYTHING over to You Lord


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Confront Healing

"You Can't Heal What You Refuse To Confront"

When you are walking through different life situations, such as, relationally, spiritually or personally, you are going to face "something," right? Whatever the "something" may be will depend on the situation faced and the person handling it. The "something" may be hurt, confusion, disappointment, neglect, anger or sadness. Whatever it ends up being, at one point in life you will face a memorable hardship that will take time and energy to shake it from your heart and mind with the goal of eventually finding complete healing from it. Although, confrontation with the goal of healing will allow you to withstand hardships and the pain you may go through in order to be restored.

"Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
"I will try again tomorrow."

I have found that trying to run from the pain and hard issues in life never produce as much learning and growth as facing the problems and conflicts that arise. Ignoring the pain or living out of fear of being hurt will hinder your full potential of living. The same goes for bitterness and resentment, holding all of that inside will only hurt you, not the other person. I am really believing for this generation and generations to come to have the ability to stand up and face the issues in their life. To avoid the ease of being a society that try's to patch up and mask what's really going on in life and to simply deal with it. 
 
Forgiveness doesn't change the past, although it give a hope for the future.

I read a quote that said, "If you're lucky enough to get a second change, don't waste it." Although I understand what this quote is implying, I find that it takes away the true magnitude of Grace that God extends to us. If I could reword the quote, I'd say, "Every day you wake up is already a second chance, if you are living to God it will never be a waist."

"Do not let projections of the past or future affect the present." But, be willing to let go of the life you have planned for yourself and surrender it completely to the life that is awaiting you, according to Gods plan.
You have permission to feel angry, hurt, confused, upset, delighted, joyful or all of the above or none of the above. You have permission to feel however you feel. Your feelings are valid, understandable and they are important enough to process through them. So take the time to confront what you are experiencing so you can move on with a healed and whole perspective about life and about people. Often times people feel like that have to just hurry up and get over issues. I have found that to be a really damaging position to place yourself in. Because if you don't get down to the heart of what has happened to you or the situations your facing it is bound to surface again your life. "Confront the situations in your life, don't ignore them, so that you can remember what it has taught you and leave behind the hurt that it has caused you."


"It is better to be hurt by the truth than to be comforted by a lie." Because, while numbing the pain might feel good for awhile, it will only make it worse when you finally feel everything you have been avoiding. Remember that it is okay to change your mind about things you once thought you never would. Because if you are truly following God's plan for your life, He may have you go a different direction than you once thought you were headed.

If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough! So dream. Dream passionate, daring, outrageous, huge, inspiring, world changing dreams. If you believe in the dream you will actually be able to accomplish it.

I give everything over to You Lord