20 Bits of Encouragement For Ministry #4

1.       Always make time for family and friends.

2.       Take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

3.       Know that God works all things (yes even that situation that seems impossible) for your good.

4.       Give yourself permission to be imperfect.

5.       Know when to say, “It’s finished”.

20 Bits of Encouragement For Ministry #3

1.       Ask for help when needed.

2.       Pray and seek God when new opportunities arise.

3.       Just because it’s a need, it doesn’t make it your ministry.

4.       Plan “white space” in often.

5.       Cut someone some extra slack today. 

20 Bits of Encouragement For Ministry #2

1.       Give freely.

2.       Love generously.

3.       Seize the moment.

4.       Never overload yourself.

5.       Say thank you a lot. 

20 Bits of Encouragement For Ministry #1

This month I’m going to be giving you 20 pieces of advice that I’ve found over my years of ministry. My hope is that these little snippets will encourage you in your endeavors.

1.       Always remember the reasons behind your actions.

2.      Pray (all the time). Even if you don’t see the effects, know that God hears and will act.

3.       Enjoy the process. Life is a journey, enjoy it.

4.       Put people first, even if it means all your work doesn’t get done.

5.       Stick with a project. It may not seem glamorous at times, but you make more of an impact than you think. 

Just Let It Go

Since the last time we talked, things have changed. I've spent a lot of time with God and catching my breath. You know what I found out? There's great peace that comes when you let go.

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Let go of your plans, your wants, and your impossible wish list. I had worked myself into a frantic knot trying accomplish everything that I thought I needed to do. I was running around crazy, but not doing anything well.  That wasn't a to do list that motivated me to get things done, it was causing me nothing but worry. That should have been my first clue. When something in our life - a goal, list, or what have you - is causing us nothing but fear, it's probably not from God. It probably comes from our need to have things get done.

It's in letting go, there is real peace. Simply freeing yourself from the need to do it all is so freeing.

Sometimes the demands of ministry can become overwhelming if we hold ourselves to an impossible standard. Let go. Do all you can and then leave room for God to work. 

When You Don't Feel Like Doing It

Today I woke up with a ridiculous amount of work to do. Sticky notes and lists cluttered every area of available space. Work that had piled up lay scattered around the room. I was overwhelmed. I spent most of the morning running around trying frantically to put a dint in the ever growing pile of work.

Have you ever had times like that? You just wonder how you are ever going to make this deadline? Write that blog post? Finish that project? Complete the work you've been given?

Today I'm wondering how I can get this list done. The sad thing is, I don't feel like doing any of it. All I want to do is rest and shut out the world for a while. That's what I feel like doing. But that's not what I should be doing.

I've spent most of today worrying, complaining, and frantically trying to in my own strength complete my work. But this is only because I don' see the reality of what is.

What is the reality I'm missing? The fact that if I don't finish this project, the world won't end. The fact that no matter how I feel, I'm loved more than I ever know. The fact that neither bad or good feelings can make me any less a Child Of God. The fact that I don't have to do this work alone. God is in me to help me sort this out. The fact that life is beautiful and meant to be enjoyed not rushed through. The fact that this is just a passing time, it won't last forever.

No I don't have it all together. Yes I really didn't want to do some of this work today. But with God's help and by slowing down enough to realize what I have in Christ, my perspective changed. I'm not alone, and I'm not as stressed as when I started this post.

Check Mark

Jesus only had one thing on His to-do list. Seek and save the lost. when that was done, He put a check mark  by your name. "It is finished."

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The work is complete. You are enough. Know that you will always have more to do here. There will always be more demands on your time and energy. There will always be something else to do. You can't possibly do it all.

But just because you can't do it all doesn't mean that you are a failure. It just means you're human. Know that in God's eyes, you are already enough. You are complete. You are treasured. You are loved. 

When the pressures of to-do lists, deadlines, meetings, and people press in you aren't a failure because of what you can't do. You are loved for who you are. Let go of unrealistic expectations and enjoy the reality of living in His finished perfect work. 

Messy Life & God's Grace

 As I write these words, I feel down. More emotionally than anything. I had taken on too much. Sadly I was in the middle of it when I realized this.

Yet even in the midst of tangled emotions, damaged egos, feeling overwhelmed, too much to-do, and so little time, God never leaves me. In the midst of everything this life can throw at me, I know I’m not alone.

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Life is messy. It’s just a fact. We’re all messed up human beings trying to live the best life that we can. Accept it. And when you make mistakes, don’t let them define you. It’s so easy to start name calling yourself (believe me, I’ve been doing some of that today). Give room for God to work despite your mistakes.

We all get to feeling down sometimes. We all sometimes wonder if it’s worth it. We all make mistakes. Remember you’re loved, treasured, accepted, and redeemed. Hold onto that. Savor that today.

Encouragement

God goes before you today
and His presence is with you.
He has a life for you to live,
a plan for you to follow,
and a purpose for you to fulfill.
He has allowed you to be here,
at this time in history,
to be His watchmen for this generation. 

Encouragement

Photo credit Mikayla H. 

 Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. 

Encouragement

Colossians 3:23 (NIV) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Song

Sometimes we get so caught up in work that we forget we forget the reason why we do.

Let the words of this song take you back to the reasons, and let it remind you of your eternal reward.

When it's all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for truth?
Did I live my life for you?

When it's all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I have done
For love's rewards
Will stand the test of time

Lord, your mercy is so great
That you look beyond our weakness
That you found purest gold in miry clay
Turning sinners into saints

I will always sing your praise
Here on earth and in heaven after
For you've joined me at my true home
When it's all been said and done
You're my life when life is gone.

Photo is copyrighted by Christina Hastings Photography 

Happy Good Friday

This is my favorite time of the year. The flowers are blooming, the days are getting warmer, and we are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

God is so good to give us spring. It’s like a promise. Winter is not forever. Spring is here.

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Sometimes when we go through hard times, it’s easy to think that it will be forever. There seems to be no end in sight and we wonder if we’ll make it.

Then God brings along spring. It starts out slowly, but things begin to get better. Your heart grows warmer. Your circumstances get better. Life awakes with new meaning and purpose. God seems closer.

Just as winter is melting into spring, hard nights of the soul won’t last forever. Spring will come. 

Leave the Rose

          By Rose H.

          I stopped to smell a rose. The soft petals tickled my cheeks and its sweet fragrance filled my senses.

          “It’s beautiful,” I whispered to God.

          “I put it here just for you.” He answered softly.

           It was so lovely I wanted to pick it and take it with me. I gazed at the flower thinking at how beautiful it was.

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           But then I remembered that someone else would probably pass by that same place. If I picked this flower, then they wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. Then what would brighten their day as mine had been?

           So I left the rose, so that all could enjoy it.

           Wherever you go and whatever you do, leave lovely fragrances there. So that those who come behind you can be blessed.  

Encouragement Verse

Here's a little something to encourage you today.

Romans 15:17-19 (NIV) Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done -- by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. 

Emmanuel

By Rose H.

It’s Christmas Eve. About this time we are putting the final touches on our Christmas preparations and getting excited about tomorrow. It’s a fun time of year.

At Christmas time we celebrate, God coming down and making Himself one of us. It struck me with new force this evening that over two – thousand years ago, the thought that God would come down was insane. God, in their minds, lived up in heaven only available to the priests. They (sometimes) followed His rules, but lived without much hope of a better future.

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It dawned on me that when God came down that night as a baby, He was Emmanuel. God with us. God living among us. God in us. Now instead of being cloistered in heaven, God is among us. We get to know a whole new part of God. We get to talk to Him all the time. We get to feel His presents. We get to come to Him with all our problems. God is with us, living in us, working though us, loving us. Emmanuel.

I know that things can get stressful in this life. Things get crazy, schedules fill up, and we wonder what we want guidance in the midst of it. Just remember that He is Emmanuel. God with us. No matter what we are going through, we can make it with God’s help.

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God With Us by Amy Grant

The skies don't seem to be as dark as usual
The stars seem brighter than they've been before
And deep within I feel my soul is stirring
As though my hope has been restored

The shepherds say they've heard the voice of angels
Confirming rumors spread across the land
That a child protected well from Herod's anger
Is our Father's Son and the Son of Man

Love is raining down on the world tonight
There's a presence here I can tell
God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

He's the savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts, He will dwell
God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

I feel compelled to tell all who will listen
That peace on Earth is not so out of reach
If we can find grace and mercy and forgiveness
He has come to say He is all of these

Love is raining down on the world tonight
There's a presence here I can tell
God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

He's the savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts, He will dwell
God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

Love is raining down on the world tonight
There's a presence here I can tell
God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

He's the savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts, He will dwell
God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

God is in us
God is for us
God is with us, Emmanuel

    

One Day...

Just a short thought for your day.
Here we work hard, we give, we pray, we volunteer, we work with our hands. Sometimes it seems like it's one drop in the ocean. That it doesn't do any good.

But one day, when we meet our Savior we will see what we did on earth in a new light. We will see all the good that was accomplished, all the souls touched, and all the joy that we spread. One day we'll see all this and be amazed at all that God did through us. 

For now, press on. Keep looking to Him. Don't give up!

Encouragement Verse

Whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord not for men. Since you know that you will receive from the Lord a reward. - Colossians 3:23

A Poem

Brighten Your Corner

We cannot all be on famous or listed in “Who’s Who,”

But every person, great or small, has work to do.

For seldom do we realize the importance of small deeds

Or to what degree of greatness unnoticed kindness leads,

For it’s not the big celebrity in the world of fame and praise,

But it’s doing unpretentiously in distinguishing ways

The work that God assigned to us, unimportant as it seems,

That makes our task fulfilling and brings reality to dreams.

So do not sit and idly wish for wider, new dimensions

Where you can put in practice your many intentions,

But at the spot God placed you, begin at once to do

Little things to brighten the lives of those around you.

If everybody brightened up the spot where they’re standing,

By being more considerate and a little less demanding,

This dark old world would soon eclipse the evening star,

If everybody brightened up the corner where they are. 

By Helen Stiener Rice

The End

So I’ve spent 30 days talking about what I’m grateful for. It’s been hard at times, once you get through the obvious you have to look deeper.

But this has been a great blessing. Sometimes I get so focused on my needs, my wants, my schedule, that I forget to look at the blessings I have.

This has been a good chance to remember what I have.

And I pray that as you have traveled with me you have been encouraged to be grateful for all the things you have.