Things to Remember!

Hi! These are just some things that God wants me to remember, and I thought He might just want you to remember some of them as well.

• Pray more than I plan and work. I need to learn to let Him work in and through me rather than me trying to work for Him. Spend more time seeking His will and His ways rather than trying to reason everything out for myself and doing it in my own strength.
• Listen more! Prayer is more than giving God my "wish list" or crying out to Him for my needs. Prayer is two-way communication. I need to spend more time listening for what God wants to say, rather than just talking His head off. Solitude and silence are so important, look for opportunities to find that place where I can hear that still small voice more clearly.
• Time and Focus! I wonder sometimes how God feels as He sees me rushing off to this or that, spending time with this one and that one, while I short-change Him day after day. I need to commit to spending more time drawing apart to meet with Him, to get to know Him through His Word -- where He has chosen to reveal Himself -- to listen to Him, to share my heart with Him. I also need to learn to focus my heart on Him throughout my day. It is so easy to get caught up in the day, but I NEED to remember to keep my focus on Him throughout the day -- to pray without ceasing, carrying on a conversation with Him throughout the day.
• Lordship! Oh, how I need to submit EVERY area of my life to His Lordship -- recognizing that He wants to be Lord over even what I eat and drink, what I buy, what I spend my "free" time doing. EVERYTHING!
• Obey! Simply, just to obey Him!
• Learning to live a God-centered life rather than a self-centered life. Not focusing on "my rights", or "my desires", or "my feelings", but rather learning to look at life from God's perspective. Learning to do things God's way. Learning to love those God loves. Letting go of offenses. Letting go of my agendas. Embracing God's will!
• Praying for my family! Looking to God to meet their needs and to fulfill all His will for their lives. For my unsaved family and loved ones, lifting them up to God and asking Him to initiate a move of His Spirit in their lives.
• Share! I need to be willing to share God's heart with others without fear. God gives each one of us things to share with the body, but sometimes I find it a little scary to share something. God doesn't want me to be shy about sharing His love and His truth.
• Choose faith, hope, and trust! God wants me to learn to put off all the depression and discouragement, and to choose to live by faith, expectant hope, and trust.
• Giving. Tithing teaches me to trust God to provide for my needs, to recognize Him as my Provider. It also teaches me to be thankful for all the blessings that He pours out so lavishly.
• As I see God at work in my life and all around me, I need to remember to magnify Him. Just simply to put a "spotlight" on what He has done and is doing! Sometimes, again, I can be hesitant to share what I see Him doing, but I NEED to learn to magnify Him and praise Him! It encourages me and encourages those who hear it!!
• Rather than trying to "fit in" with those around me, to be acceptable to them, I need to set my heart on shaping myself to the mold of Jesus! Pleasing God should be far and away more important than pleasing those around me.
• Church! I need to remember to pray for my church! I need to be seeking God's will for our church and for the body. I need to be listening for what He has to say regarding our church. And I need to be sharing what I am hearing Him say. I also need to be praying for the greater Body of Christ throughout the world, my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Asking Him for insight and leading and strength for His Body and it faces challenges and opposition. What is the Lord wanting to say to His people. How does He want us to live. I need to be praying that our ears and hearts would be open to His direction.

I am sure that there are so many more things that I need to remember! It just seems that it is so difficult to keep one idea in my head longer than 10 minutes. So, I thought writing them down in this way would help. Hope that one or two will encourage you. Perhaps you could come up with your own list of things that God wants you to remember.

Love,
Ev

Model Christians

Hi! This morning in my quiet time, I started out by reading some of the things I have kept in my "Mini-Me Journal" and it prompted a thought that I would like to share with you:

There is no such thing as a model Christian. Every one of us is unique and meant to be so. Because you see others whom you admire for their faith, love, wisdom, or goodness does not mean God wants you to be like them. God created you as a unique member of the body, and He wants to use you, your life, as He created you. I have many people in my life that I admire so much, and often I can become discouraged because I don't measure up to them as I see them.

I see their wisdom, their ministry, their kindness and love, or their accomplishments and then look at my own life and see myself lacking. Then the really sad part is that I don't see within me the nature nor the motivation to do the things I see them doing. Well, i realized that God did not design me to be a "Helen," a "Sarina," a "Neva," a "Ruth," a "Debbie," a "Monika," or a "Brenda." (Oh, wow!!! I could name a handful more of you that I look at with love and admiration! Sorry, I hope this doesn't become about whose name I did or did not include.)

Of course, that is not to say that I cannot use them as examples and encouragement to grow in certain areas. I long so much to love others as I Monika loved me. But I should not expect nor strive to become all that they are. Nor should I berate myself for not measuring up to them in those areas in which they shine. I need to go to God to learn from Him who He has created me to be, which will be a lifelong journey of discovery. And then I need to walk with Him day by day to find the ways He has wants to include me in the work He is doing.

I hope this blesses you as it did me. Just being inspired from God was such a blessing for me, and I thank God.

As I said, I love you all. Each one of you has blessed my life so richly, and I admire each one of you for the ways that I see God using you to minister to the hearts and minds of those around you!! You are each a beautiful and unique and glorious gift from the Lord for my life.

Love,

Ev