Browsed by
Tag: Life lessons

Hold On To Your Peace

Hold On To Your Peace

Comments 0 Comment

My prayer every day is that God will allow me to be a blessing to someone, and He never disappoints me. And it doesn’t have to be anything big. Sometimes it’s just smiling at someone, or holding up the traffic to let someone merge in. Little things that really don’t look like much, but could turn someone’s whole day around 

I was thinking about that recently, because I was out dI’riving, just trying to take care of a few errands. As I rounded the bend trying to merge over into traffic, the other driver sped up so that I  couldn’t get in. Thankfully, the person behind him had a little more grace, and slowed down so that I could get in. But I was so angry. I had to talk myself down, because I couldn’t understand why the other driver took it as a personal attack. I wanted to catch up to him to give him “the eye,” but God reminded me about the grace I had just received (I hate when He does that)…sigh. And on top of that, why was I taking it as a personal attack on me? That person didn’t know me, he never even turned in my direction. 

It made me think about the scripture in Matthew 7:3 when Jesus says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank that is in your own eye?” Even though I didn’t like it, I had to admit that it was kinda funny. Here I am praying every day to be a blessing, and at the first sign of someone else’s bad behavior, I was ready to throw it all away, and lose my peace…over nothing. 

It just goes to show, there will always be opposition. But we can’t allow things or even other people to dictate how we respond. We control our response…especially when it comes to our peace of mind. No one can take that. But we can definitely give it away.

Until next time…

Be blessed

Follow the Directions

Follow the Directions

Comments 2 comments

This is starting to be a thing. This week, I put up mini blinds. Yay! At first, it seemed like it was going to be pretty easy. I mean, what could be so hard, right? You drill a hole, put in a screw, and voila! Snap on a mini blind…um, not so much.

What actually happened is I typically don’t use the directions. I can just eyeball it, right? I used a ruler to measure the spot where I wanted the mini blind to hang (I did it twice just to make sure)…it wasn’t right, and I had to move it over…sigh. I drilled three perfect holes, and then the fourth hole kept on going. It was hollow. Why would the hole be hollow? Ok. So, I wasn’t going to let one hollow hole stop this show. I got out the brackets and after a couple of tries…it worked. I was so happy. A little sweaty from trying to get the screw to stop spinning along with the drill, but I digress. When I got to the second bracket, let’s just say…things took a turn. Of course, the one hole was hollow, so that screw went straight through. There was no wood for it to go into. I’m not sure what that’s about, but the second one finally went in and as long as no one fiddles with it we should be good. 

As always, God used this whole thing to show me a thing or two about myself. Even though the ladder wasn’t quite tall enough, and my arms got tired from holding them up so long, I learned that perseverance does pay off. I learned that having a plan is good, but being able to ride it out when it doesn’t go as planned is essential. Sometimes, what looks easy is really going to take hard work, but following directions will not only save time…it just makes sense. 

I really can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

Until next time…

Be blessed

Still good

Still good

Comments 2 comments

This has been a tough season. But don’t be discouraged…this is only a season…life is still good. Things will get better. I know it feels like it is going to last forever, but it really won’t. One of the things that makes it so hard is that it seems like as soon as we get past one hurdle another one is already on the way. It can be disheartening. Our lives are just like the waves of the sea…as surely as our problems roll in–they will surely roll out.

That’s just the way life is. It’s all hills and valleys. Every now and then, we will get some level ground, but that is just there to prepare us for the next climb. God does prepare us in advance though. The thing is that we are so busy doing life that we sometimes miss the signs. But the Bible says that His grace is sufficient…meaning that even though we may miss the signs, He will carry us until we can get our footing again. 

Here’s the thing…our lives are full of lessons. We just have to learn how to manage them. Some lessons are for us, and some lessons are designed for those around us. Our job is not to know which is which. Our job is to trust God no matter what is happening in our lives, and know that He will see us through. Be encouraged. Even though life may sometimes be hard…it is still worth living, and God is still good.

Until next time…

Be blessed