Sometimes we look at our jobs and if we are not working in ministry or at a church we do not feel as if we are working for the Lord.  That is a misconception.  This verse shows us that.  It says “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”  We are to work hard at whatever it is we do as if we are working for the Lord. I do not think God is too concerned with what our “work” is, but how we do it each day.

Are we working diligently and serving others?

Are we setting a good example?

Are we putting our hearts into what we are doing?

Are we being good stewards with the money God has allowed us to make?

I think if we need to focus more on our day to day and how we are working. We need to serve others right where we are. This doesn’t mean we cannot also be serving others in our church and be involved in ministry in our “off” time, but we need to realize that we are “working” for the Lord in every single thing we do, no matter what!

Here is the song along with the lyrics.

I love these two verses:

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful”- Joshua 1:8

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” – Matthew 7:24

It really couldn’t be any clearer.  God promises that we WILL succeed if we follow what He has told us in His word.  That’s it, just read the Bible (daily) and follow what He says to do.  It’s really pretty simple…right?  It should be, but why do I struggle with this?  I try to do things MY way, and they never work.  If I would just read, trust and obey every single day… imagine what God could do in and through me.

My prayer:

“God, please help me to stay out of your way each and everyday.  Help me to keep focused on Your Word and what it tells me to do.  Work within me and through me.  Keep me close to You and change my desires to match yours.  Amen.”

James 1:2-5 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him”

Based on this verse we should find joy in our trials because those are the times God is really working on us, and once we make it through the trial we will be better for it.  When we focus on where we will be on the other end of the trial that does make the trial seem better.  I am going to have to work on actually being joyful during trials, but when I read this verse it does help me see it much differently.  God is working on me and making me more like Him.  That is definitely something to be excited about.

I love how they use books stacked to show that sometimes a lot is already written about our past, but once the girl in the video realizes she is forgiven, she finds a book with blank pages.  A fresh start. What a great feeling.  Then the man is watching old videos of his past life, and then he puts in the last video and it is erased.  A clean slate.

Here are the LYRICS ( I bolded my favorite lines):

Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I’m reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just wont let me forget

In this life
I know what I’ve been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

[chorus]
I’m forgiven
I’m forgiven
And I don’t have to carry
The weight of who I’ve been
Cause I’m forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind
And I’ll relive my days, in the middle of the night
When I struggle with my pain, wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

In this life
I know what I’ve been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

[back to chorus]

When I don’t fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere
When I don’t measure up to much in this life
Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ ‘cause

[back to chorus]

I am so thankful that I was able to spend this time resting.  It gave me a lot of time to clear my mind and think about things I never really have time to think about.  I’ve set some personal goals and I talked to God a lot about what He has in store for me.  I’m going to work on the “next things” that I think need to be accomplished and go from there.

I feel refreshed, renewed and ready to go.  I have a big week next week.  I am volunteering at VBS at our church and I will be in charge of some 2nd graders (which is the area where my daughter will be).  It will be fun, but I’ll be able to handle it so much better now that I have had rest!

Please take time to make sure you are getting enough rest in your life.  Relaxing and resting is so important! 

1.  Daily.  Be sure to rest enough each day and have time to yourself.
2.  Weekly.  Try to finish all your to-do’s during the week and on Saturday.  Save Sunday for some rest and relaxation with your family.  (and of course worship)
3.  Yearly (or more if possible).  Plan some down time for at least 4-5 days.  Try to plan a trip somewhere.  It does not have to be far away or expensive.  Just somewhere that takes you away from your regular busy life and forces you to rest!

You will feel so much better and be so much more productive.  Remember, if God rested then I think it’s safe to assume we need rest even more!

I work in the bookstore at our church once every few weeks and this past Sunday they had received in some new merchandise.  This one plaque in particular struck me when I saw it hanging on the wall.  “Love God, Serve Others, Live Simply”.  I love that.  If I focus on those three things, my life will become more in tune with God and what He has planned for me.  The two greatest commandments are to “love God with all your heart, soul and mind” and “to love others as yourself”.  The first one is covered and serving others is definitely loving them as yourself.  Living simply is what Jesus demonstrated for us.  He lived with very little belongings, if any, and was attached to nothing other than loving and communicating with God and serving others.  Shouldn’t I live my life the same way?

1.  Love God. This is obviously the most important thing we will ever do in our lives.  Without God as my focus my life would be nothing, literally.  I’ve tried living without God, and trust me it’s so much more fulfilling when you have a relationship with the One who created you.  No one on Earth knows you better or will always be there like He will.  He is what fills me up inside, nothing else in this world can do that.  Nothing.   When I love God with all my heart, soul and mind I have no room for sins that bring me down.  I don’t have time to focus on anything that could ultimately lead to self-destruction.  I focus above and all things below seem manageable.  Nothing can come second to God.

2.  Serve Others.  Serving others keeps me from focusing on myself.  Focusing on me gets me nowhere and that is not where God ever intended my focus to be.  He wants me out serving others, helping those that are in situations I have been in and can help with.  For me in particular, I know He wants me helping young women make the right choices in life.  He wants me to use my past experiences to help those who are just beginning their adult lives.  I’m just working all that out now and how it will come to be, but that is what God has put a fire in my heart for.  Helping young women with the choices in their lives.

3.  Live Simply. This is something I’ve really been working on this year.  Living with less.  Less attachments, less stress, less commitments, and less clutter.  We need so much less than we think we do.  We should be too busy with our relationships to worry about stuff or be bogged down by it.    Who has time to be tied down to “stuff” when you are busy loving God and serving others all the time?

With today being Memorial Day, I want to thank all the men and women who fight for our freedom on a daily basis.  They sacrifice so much for our country and I am amazed by their selflessness.  I really am.  What a great act of service, not only to our country, but to God’s people in general.  I feel so blessed to live in this country and have so many soldiers willing to fight for our freedom.

Thank you!!

I also wanted to share a website with you.  Adopt-A-Platoon is an organization that matches volunteers with soldiers overseas.  You fill out an application and they will send you a soldiers name and mailing address.  You can then send them cards, care packages and eventually emails once they email you at some point.  I “adopted” two soldiers at two different times and it was a lot of fun.  Not only did they really appreciate it, but they also communicated with me and let me know what it was like for them on a daily basis.  I felt like it helped keep me focused on what they were sacrificing for us over there.  I think it’s easy to go about our lives and forget what those soldiers and their families are going through daily.  This is a great (and fun) way to get more involved with what is going on over there.  They need to have something to look forward to and something to cheer them up.  They are losing friends and having a tough time on a regular basis.  It’s so simple to send them a little note or package, but it was greatly appreciated.  You can also be praying for that individual and their family. 

Click below to go to the website if you want to check it out:

Adopt-A-Platoon

Nick Vujicic video