Untapped Potential

Yesterday, Pastor Derick's message resonated with a familiar internal struggle of mine: The desire to belong and fit in...to be liked, wanted and needed.  But, it's more than just belonging and wanting people to like me.  Its my dream to contribute, collaborate, plan, and actually be a part of hearing and initiating what God wants to do at my church and my circle of influence.  I have untapped potential and talents inside of me that should not longer sit dormant.  I am not a bench warmer!  No one on God's team are meant to be bench warmers.   We are all on the starting line up in some way, and we all possess untapped potential!

God created me therefore,
I matter,
I belong, I fit in,
I am not only liked, but loved. 

Where's your armor?

If you knew beforehand that today you would be attacked, would you take precautions?  Well, you should take precautions...Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
Belt of Truth. Breastplate of Righteousness.  Shoes of Peace. Shield of Faith. Helmet of Salvation. Sword of the Spirit. Pray. Ephesians 6:11-18 NLT

Thankful & Grateful

With God, the best is always yet to come.  He is my hope, my deliverer, my Savior in every situation.  I strive to not become discouraged with what looks like a storm or disapointments, but to be grateful for what I am learning and for all that I am already blessed with.  God's provision isn't always packaged how I WANT it to look, but it is always perfect to provide what I NEED.

Don't Lose Sight of the Light

Sometimes following Jesus is hard and we don't always see clearly or understand the road we're traveling.  Don't lose sight of the light.  Staying close to Jesus on each step of our journey is the absolute key to success. He is the light and promises to walk with us illuminating our way just enough.  Step by step he leads, we trust and follow.

He is Holy

Reflect upon His faithfulness, be in reverence of His greatness, remember you are standing on holy ground.

Integrity

Integrity.  I wouldn't say I've always been a subject matter expert on this topic!  A work in progress, I am.  What I've leaned (mostly the hard way) is that integrity must be fought for daily.  Character must be guarded and protected.  It's a choice.  A choice to learn with diligence the truth of God's word for it is the instruction manual.  A choice to be guided by the Spirit.  A choice to humbly love myself and others with grace and forgiveness.  Daily choosing to live a life worthy of my calling.

Beyond Mediocrity

...whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these... John 14:12 NIV

Sometimes I read this verse and see a huge divide between what Jesus says my potential is, compared to the life I am currently living.  How about you?  I know for myself I can tend to discount my effectiveness due to my own insecurities and failures. But God is not deterred by our weaknesses.  It's only through our weaknesses that Christ's power can be made perfect.

What if we just started to live our lives believing what Jesus said about living a greater life beyond the ordinary.  In 1 Kings 19:15-21,  Elisha's ordinary life was was interrupted and the course of his whole life changed. Even now, God is always working behind the scenes, orchestrating little interruptions, waiting on us to accept his invitation to a life beyond mediocrity into something greater.  Small steps at a time.