Everything is God's

I am making my way through the Bible & yesterday I finished the Book of First Chronicles. The book ends re-addressing all the plans The Holy Spirit impressed on King David about the Temple. It recaps that King David's son Solomon will become King and actually be in charge of building the temple. It explains why & what God's reasons were. It lists out all the different people appointed to all the different jobs. It discusses all the supplies and labor needed and where it came from. All the important details were listed there.

There are two things that stick with me as I meditate on the lessons in this book.

1) God being impartial to the specific people that were assigned a job. Jobs were assigned by clans or tribes, but lots were drawn (regardless of age and experience) as to who got what duty.

2) David acknowledges & proclaims that EVERYTHING is God's. All the supplies and laborers that he lined up were already God's. He blessed him and others with certain skills and abilities, but all of everything already belongs to God. Not only did King David know this, but he proclaimed it to the ENTIRE kingdom. He also acknowledge weaknesses of man & that God did and will provide in our weakness. He proclaimed this in the assembly, almost seeming in a way, to be sure these facts were VERY clear to everyone.

These two points have been VERY helpful to me over the last week. God has blessed me with the ability to apply these lessons and discern in my own personal situations where they should apply.

No matter how much as a business-owner you don't want to micro-manage, you've learned that sometimes, in some situations, you really need to. Yet, there is this constant struggle of what to turn loose of a little bit & what to focus on. I found myself there, even in team building & the different skills that team members possess. I'm still contemplating my current situation and all the ways the first lesson applies, but it is definitely shedding light on the situation.

As my business has gone through different growth phases, my view has had to get bigger and bigger and bigger. You learn there are risks you have to take for the potential to offer more services - producing more income, knowing that you aren't producing more income yet. You learn how valuable your time is when the workload increases, but your time doesn't. You figure out that you need to hire someone to help you, not really knowing what that looks like because you've never done it. I believe these types of situations are the ingredients for the wisdom He wants to download to us, to develop us for whatever He has waiting ahead of us.

I also have to remember to stay looking ahead, not to the right or left at what someone else is doing. That is not my business, not my journey, and not my call. He has put me on this path, to carry out this plan, with the help of the people He places on it. It can be a hard thing when you know your heart is being conditioned towards a new direction, but you know your current work is right where you're at. Imagine excitement toward a new goal & confusion for what to do next where you are at. You have to figure out the next step now to get to the new goal. That is where I find myself. I see the bigger vision, where both situations co-exist. I'm just not exactly sure how to get there, BUT I know I'll get there....& it will be better than I think it will be.

What has ALWAYS helped me is that I truly believe that this is God's plan for my life. Not mine. I dig His plan. It is one that I did not expect & it has been an incredibly rewarding ride. With all that, I believe that as long as my heart, towards the plan, in grounded in helping people and doing the best job possible in my given situation, He will take care of the rest. He always has. I'm not saying it hasn't been frustrating or confusing or inconvenient. It has, but it has always led me to a place I hadn't planned on going.

Just like the message I believe King David was proclaiming in that assembly, we can do NOTHING alone. God's hand & will & strength & love is in everything. It is all a gift to us to draw us closer to Him. It is all for our benefit...a benefit we are unable to fathom in our flesh.

Buck Up Baby & Ride with Jesus! All things are His and He is giving it to you.

Day 5: "Seeing Life From God's View"

Welcome! Welcome!! For everyone that is a NEW reader...we are going through a book I recently finished reading. It is a chapter-a-day book: The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For? by Pastor Rick Warren.

I am inviting others to join in on the discussion. You can comment here OR on my Facebook Page. I am going back through each chapter to discuss it & share how I've started applying it to my daily life, the struggles I have/had with the discussion, & so on.

Today is Day 5!

 Day 5: "Seeing Life From God's View."

"Point to Ponder: Life is a test & a trust."

Daily Bible Verse: "Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones." Luke 16:10A (NLT)

Daily Question: "What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?"

From My Journal the Day of Reading:

Recent Happenings That Were a Test: My past work experiences, situations & disagreements with certain family members, less than ideal business transactions

The Greatest Matters Entrusted to Me: Sharing my spiritual journey, human nature - learning & understanding it, the exchange of goods & services, using personal connections to shine light to each other.

I can say...when you START thinking like this (How God views our lives) ALL the B.S. starts fallin' by the way side. There is plenty of drama that you can get caught up in...other peoples' drama, your drama, the drama you crEatE with your mind, the drama others create with their mind.....that literally... DOES NOT MATTER.

When you realize & AFFIRM that our time on earth is limited; you start making your actions matter more & you start focusing  on yourself & your family versus everyone else's opinion. You focus on your mission (if you know what that is.) If you're not sure what that is take a look at your gifts. They are sure enough clues.

I KNOW that I am supposed to BLESS people through auctions. I can't tell you EXACTLY how I'm supposed to do that...and I don't think there is an exact way... Since I have gone FULL-time at it I KNOW that I have created an atmosphere or setting to help estranged family members start mending their relationships. I've seen severed friendships MEND. I have created an environment where complete strangers are helping other complete strangers ALL because they have LOVE for one of the people involved OR they have gone through something similar. I have GENERATED IDEAS of how larger entities can help smaller entities & EXHIBITED how. I have SEEN a cancer patient become FILLED with SO MUCH LOVE for the people that came out to SUPPORT her...ENOUGH to take with her on the LONG journey ahead of her. I have witnessed people most would have forgotten about, find PURPOSE that they didn't KNOW they had. I have been a key player in generating LARGE sums of $$$ (a little from everyone with a little) - to really HELP someone in need. I have seen families of tragedies HELP other families of tragedies. I have seen causes with a small intent BALLOON out to WAY more than what they expected. I have seen families & communities RALLY around others that are down. I have made life-long friends out of COMPLETE strangers. I have been URGED forward by people of ALL kinds. I have made CONNECTIONS with other GIFTED & BLESSED people that I will be able to work with.

I also KNOW now that ALL the difficulties I have faced, have gotten me to where I am now. ALL the false perception, all the INTENSE feelings, the words from ALL the critics, all the disagreements.....EVERYTHING are tools to put in my tool bag for MY journey....BECAUSE there will be a time when it will REALLY matter & God is equipping me with the tools to OVERCOME it.

I second guess myself quite often, & in all different areas of my life. There is a sentence from this chapter that GROUNDS me, when my thoughts start whirlin' around: "Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management." -Rick Warren

So...when I start thinking about how I should maybe do something like this wife, or this mom, or this business owner, or this sister, or sister-in-law, or friend....I check myself. GOD TRUSTS ME with ALL the gifts, people, relationships, experiences, opportunities, THOUGHTS....EVERYTHING. He doesn't give the same ones to everyone. Everyone does not see what I see or understand what I understand. THEY ARE ENTRUSTED TO ME. On that note...once you wrap your head around this thought....you MOVE faster on the things you KNOW you have to move on.

I can tell you what I still struggle with is: OTHER people trying to get in OUR business. Say some prayers for me, because I don't KNOW the right or wrong way to handle that one. I've just been bringing it back to FOCUSING on MY actions & what I have to do to PROTECT my family & my mission & my blessings. We can't control others...it's not our gig.

Buck Up Baby & Ride With Jesus!! Join in on the discussion. God Bless!!