Sunday, November 15, 2015

Own Your Life Chapter 4


I meant to post about Chapter 4 the other day, but between nursing my knee and making sure all 5 of my kids were kept happy my little book study kind of took a back seat.  I apologize for that.  Hubby just took the kids to church, so I'll use part of my quiet time to post about my thoughts on chapter 4 of Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson.  Chapter 4 is about Living with the end in mind.  Owning Your Life Vision.

"As we diligently go through each day, plodding as faithfully as we can, holding together the cares of the world that seem to rest on our shoulders, we don't even know we need to hear "Well done!"  Oh how that spoke to me as she tearfully received the words of affirmation that she received from her friend.  Words that she didn't even realize that she needed to hear.  This spoke to me as I'm not one to receive compliments a whole lot...I shyfully receive them and hurriedly say thank you or make up an excuse when I do receive them.  Sometimes, I too get teary eyed.  I choose to have a different mindset of my compliments that I do receive and I have contemplated writing them down in a journal as they truthfully are far and few between, but I try to receive them as if God Himself says them to me and they are even more valued when I do hear them.

"..I was reminded anew that someday all of us will be in the presence of Jesus--the One who knows us better than any human ever could.  Our lives, our choices, and our actions will testify to the legacy we left in this life.  We will strain to hear Christ tell us, "Well done,...enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21), because His affirmation and validation are what each of us was created to enjoy."  Yes, Lord, how I long to hear that at the end of my earthly journey!

"Once we belong to Jesus, we are the stewards of His good gifts.  I want to use my gifts for Him, but sometimes I wonder what my true gifts are.  I remember though once praying a couple of years ago and I asked Jesus, what His gift that He had given me was and no sooner had I prayed it that I heard His whisper back..."Compassion."  I am a very compassionate person and I SO want to give to others.  I get so much joy out of giving.

"He has given each of us, according to our gifts and circumstances, a "talent" to use well.  If we do not invest ourselves spiritually, we will incur His anger when we stand before Him someday.  I want to do His will and not be passive about it.  He also told me awhile back that He would not give me more of something, until I learned to appreciate what He had given me.  I'll use this as another post one day, so I won't say more about it here.  But, I just felt the need to touch on it a little bit.  We must be grateful for all that He has given, even when those things are hard.  We must respond to even those opportunities with obedience to His will for our life.

"If you dedicate yourself to taking in spiritual wisdom from Scripture, giving yourself wholly to the purposes of God, disciplining the attitudes of your heart, and stepping out in faith to show Jesus to the world, God will use you to shape history for His glory."  Use me Lord...I want to give all the glory to You.  So hard, but so beautiful, and I do see Your Hand in my life...in the trials and in the good...all glory and honor to You.

"Jesus has chosen you to be a picture of Him to your world too...."  Oh how that little story of the little boy spoke to me.  We used to be foster parents and I try so hard to teach my children of Jesus.  I want my family to see Jesus when they see all that I do for them.  Oh how I fall short somedays, but my little Emma said something the other day that truly spoke to my heart.  She said "Mom really tries hard to teach us about Jesus and that we need to love Him."  It told me that I must be doing something right as it was sticking with her.  I want to be a picture of Jesus to all that I meet.  Lord, I want to reflect You so badly in all that I do.

a prayer request that I have...one of my children says that they love Jesus, but do not choose to make good choices and live in obedience and it is a daily battle.  When we try to teach them about Jesus, eyes are rolled and they have a very defiant spirit.  It is my biggest prayer request that this child will fully come to know Jesus and live in obedience for God's will upon their life.  Please be in prayer with me for my child.

Lord, please bless those of us who are reading this book and give us Your love, courage, and faith. Convict us where we need it and  give us Your wisdom to figure out how to live our present lives in harmony with You and give us Your spirit each and every step of the way.  Amen.

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