Day 352 - Fix It

"Jess is currently replacing her broken phone glass."

My wife is not only pretty but she is a go getter. She just gets in and makes things happen. When her phone glass was broken she decided to fix it herself. She did it too. 

I have benefitted from being her husband because I don't always have the same drive that she does. In fact I often would rather avoid certain issues and see how they play out on their own. 

As a leader and someone who is responsible I can't always do that. More often than not the right answer is to confront an issue and hit it head on rather than bury my head in the sand. 

Laziness and apathy will hinder this drive and halt progress. If left unchecked it will morph into fear and will drive us even further away from courage and doing what is right. Eventually we will find ourselves frozen without the capacity to make changes or do anything productive. The issues will rule us. 

Rather than be ruled by issues we will rule them when we confront and deal with issues as they occur. It is hard work tackling tough issues. In the end it is worth it. I find that afterward when the dust has settled I feel better and the outcome is right. There is nothing unresolved and the issue is settled. 

If you have left something unresolved and your issues are ruling you it is time to fix it. Let me be to you like my wife is to me. Get after it. Don't be afraid. You can do it!

Do you see any examples of unresolved issues that damaged someone? What scriptures deal with this? 

Day 296 - Make It and Take It

"It comes down to experience and courage."

This week I took on a new responsibility. As usual when I looked back at last years journal entry we were doing the same thing on the same day this year. Only this year I am in a new role. I have never been where I am at today (really none of us have been) and know that next year will be a different story as well. The story will be one of the grace that God gives to make me into the leader He wants me to be. 

I do know from my past experience that I can do it. I can be what I need to be and do what I am called to do. It comes down to experience and courage. 

You have to make it through something in order to have experience. It doesn't come any other way but through time and lots of situations that you came through. You wan't always come through well either. Many times we learn more through the negative experiences or the tough ones than we do with the positive or easy ones. What matters is that we made it through and we learned. 

Courage comes when you know who is backing you. Some trust in themselves. Some trust in wealth. Some trust in their team or in their leaders. All of these are good but they are not the best. The ultimate One to be trusted is God Himself, Christ in you. When you know that God backs you then you have all the courage you need. 

There are times that I struggle with doubting my decisions. I wonder if I am going with what others want or if I really hear from God. Along the way God has always assured me that I was going in the right direction or corrected my direction if needed. Just today when I was reading my Bible in the morning I read some verses that assured me I was headed in the right direction. It brought me to tears. 

You can know that the paths you have traveled and the experiences you have had combined with the backing that God can only give are a set up for success. You can handle the day because God won't give you more than you can handle. He has called you to this time and this place. Be bold and take the day!

What experiences have shaped you? How much of a role does courage have in your decisions?

Day 186 - Kick Fear in the Face

"We prayed and quoted 2 Timothy 1:7"

The verse say that God has not given us a spirit of fear but power, love and a sound mind. This is the verse we have taught our children to say when they are afraid. Even at an early age they know this verse and it has helped them through bad dreams, going upstairs by themselves and thinking about E.T. (Don't ask, my children think he is freaky and get scared when we even mention his name) 

The verse isn't only for children. There are irrational fears we battle all the time. Fear of lack, fear of failure, fear of the future, fear of (insert yours here). 

I remember the first time I went snorkeling I had to stop and pray because of fear. It started to grip me. Maybe it stemmed from when I was a kid and we would play burrito and roll up in a blanket and get under the couch cushions. My brother would sit on the couch with me under it but when I was ready to get out he would stay sitting on me. I remember feeling claustrophobic. That same feeling came on me with the snorkel mask and the tube in my mouth and putting my face in the water. It is probably the closest thing I have encountered to a panic attack. I stopped and prayed and spoke 2 Timothy 1:7 and then had the time of my life looking at fish and coral. 

You don't have to stay afraid. Believe God's Word and confess it over your life. There are tons of verses about fear and how to overcome it. Get into your Bible and find the ones that help you and then declare them when you feel fear gripping you. You can be bold and courageous!

What fears try to stop you? What Bible verse deals with those fears? 

Day 37 - In a good bind

"From the Word today Abigail's words ring in my soul, “bound in the bundle of life with The Lord”. We had a fire drill today and it shook up a lot of us. I could tell that our staff was frustrated that they did not have the specific direct solution to what they were supposed to do with the drill. Can we predict the path of a fire or devastation from ground shaking? This would be unstable except for that we are bound in the bundle of life with The Lord. God is for us. He is our sun and our shield. He is the strong tower we run to and are safe."

It is good to be bound in certain circumstances. If I am bound may it be in a good way. May my boundaries be for my safety and blessing. May the fences set around keep my heart from wandering from my God. May the ties that bind me hold me near to the Lord. 

Since I am bound to Lord I am secure. It is the bundle of life and not death. I can be confident and cast of fear for I know Whom I am bound with. He never fails and I am bound to Him! 

Can you see a binding force that is for your safety or your good? What does the saying "Bound in the bundle of life with the Lord" speak to you?

Day 7 - Courage

"I find that many times the obvious answers are right in front of us but we don't want to face them because they will change what we are comfortable with. I spoke with someone who was having terrible difficulty with a person they had volunteered to work with because it was affecting their friendship. My immediate thought was "Why not stop working with them so that you can stay friends and not have to think about the work situation?" The problem was that they liked the work and it made them feel important so they won't change that situation for the relationship because they think they can do both effectively. Sometimes we have to give up our comforts for a better outcome where it matters."

As I was thinking about this journal entry I asked myself the question "What would it take to make the change?" The answer is 'courage'. Courage to face ourselves soberly. Courage to make that hard choices. Courage to do the things we don't want to do.

Without it we cower. We run and hide behind excuses. We shift blame or get angry. The fingers point and our progress is stopped. Worse still is the devil laughs because we have played into his trap. When we fear there is no faith and we end up in sin.

Courage changes the story from a tragedy to an epic. Which ending do you want?