Saturday, January 31, 2015

FTT = Languishing




So far, I have been a few of my A-Ha moments from "The ME I Want To BE" reading. I think I have read the epitome of all of my A-HA moments. Well, at least for now, :)

I never knew what FTT meant until I started reading this book by John Ortberg. FTT means Failure To Thrive.

 
To Thrive means to grow vigorously, FLOURISH;
to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances



If you fail to thrive, then you fail to grow. It, also, means that you are not willing to fight, to take a stand. You will give up at a moment's notice when things seem hard or if there's a bump in the road.


John Ortberg said it best. Languishing is Failure To Thrive. "Languishing is the condition of someone who may be able to function but has lost a sense of hope and meaning. Languishing is not the presence of mental illness; it is the absence of mental and emotional vitality." This is good time to pause and ponder.


From there John Ortberg went on to define acedia, which means weariness of soul and inability to delight in life.

 
 
"To languish is to feel inner deadness. 
 LANGUISHING is the opposite of FLOURISHING." 

 
I must take a moment to ponder on this. Could you imagine how it must feel to you have the "inability to delight in life"; the inability to "stop and smell the roses."? When you choose not to live and enjoy life, the only thing left is death. To be spiritual dead is not a good feeling at all.

No matter how hard it gets, you must remain hopeful and faithful. Don't focus on what everybody wants or what you THINK you should be because you don't want to disappoint anyone. When you attempt to pursue a path that's not intended by God, it doesn't lead you to a good place.



"When we give up on our growth and life's purpose, we languish." 



WOW!! Now, if this doesn't blow your mind, I don't know what will. In order for me to become God's best version of myself, I must not stunt, give up on and/or languish my growth.












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Sunday, January 25, 2015

Just a Few MEs





Hello Everyone!

I finished reading chapter 1.  I have read some of chapter 2 up to page 26. 

I read about a few MEs that are God's version at all.....

  1. The Me I Don't Want To Be
  2. The Me I Pretend To Be
  3. The Me I Think I Should Be

From what I read so far, I concluded that some or even most of us strive very hard to be everything and anything we want to be instead of what God wants us to be.   I think the reasoning behind that is because we want to please people, fit in, or be a part of something so that we can have a sense of belonging.  Peer pressure can, also, hinder the God's best version of us.

  • "We do not drift into becoming the best version of ourselves."
    • We are not going to be THE ME WE WANT TO BE overnight.  It's a process.  You're not going to stumble upon the best version of yourself.  It takes direction from God.  He directs our paths and shows us the way.

  • "When I am growing toward the ME I want to be, I am being freed from the ME I pretend to be."   "If I am ever going to become the ME I want to be.  I have to start being honest about the ME I am.
    • Both of these quotes go hand in hand.  The more you grow spiritually the more you become free in Christ Jesus.  I think a sense of awareness begins to happen.  You begin to realize how the truth can set you free.  God's words, His truth about who we are, release us from the bondage of not facing ourselves,  When we decide to face ourselves, we become honest about who we are. No more pretending. No more camouflaging. No more hiding.

There is more from today's reading experience.  However, I will elaborate more in my next post.  Consider this post as part 1.  Although I am a work in progress, they are a few MEs that I hope to steer clear of.

To Be Continued.......










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Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Journey Has Started - My A-HA Moments (So Far)



 
 


In my previous post, I talked about beginning the journey of becoming God's best version of ME by reading "The ME I Want To Be," by John Ortberg.  I started reading it last night.  So far, I've read chapter 1, pages 11 - 17.  I want to make sure I take my time to read and comprehend every word.  Sometimes, when you rush through your reading, there's a possible chance that you may miss a key point.

There were a few quotes that caught my attention.  I like to call these quotes my A-Ha moments.

  • "You are not your handiwork; your life is not your project.  Your life is God's project.  God thought you up, and He knows what you were intended to be."
    • I thought you else knows their creation better besides the Creator. No one.  Only God knows the master plan for our lives.  He knows our purpose. 

  • "Flourishing is not measured by outward signs such as income, possessions, or attractiveness.  It means becoming the person he had in mind in creating you.  Flourishing means moving toward God's best version of you."
    • When you flourish in God, you grow spiritually.  Your knowledge and experience in Him increase.  You develop a deeper, a more intimate relationship with God.

  • "God wants to redeem you, not exchange you."
    • After reading this statement, I immediately responded by saying, "Wow!"  Many times we think we are not good enough; we should be more like this person and that person and so on.  But God loves who we are and who He created.  We are His masterpiece.  Yes, we may need a little tweaking here and there, but it doesn't mean God wants us to be anything besides ourselves

There are more, but these are my top three reading moments.  John Ortberg made two scripture references:



 "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
in advance for us to do," (Ephesians 2:10, niv). 
This scripture happens to be my base scripture for my blog. :)
 
 
 
"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree.....they will flourish
in the courts of our God," (Psalms 92:12-13, niv).


As I read this book, my goal is share with you my thoughts and favorite quotes in hopes that you will be blessed, inspired, and encouraged to become God's best version of you.









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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Let the Journey Begin



I am on a quest!!  I know without a shadow of a doubt there are going to be a few challenges along the way, but I have to stand, endure, be steadfast, stay committed and faithful.  I am on the quest of becoming God's best version of myself.

For once in my life, I truly feel like I am on the right path when it comes to my career, developing my business, and other areas in my life.  However, I don't want to become content and too comfortable.  I want to make sure I don't lose sight of God along the way or get caught up in my self. 

I don't want to be self-conscious nor do I want to be people conscious.  I want to be GOD-Conscious.  One of the best ways for me to do that is to become God's best version of myself.  With that being said, God has led me to, "THE ME I WANT TO BE," by John Ortberg.  We did this series about a few years ago in my church, but I don't think I was ready.  I took this series for granted.

Now I am in a different place.  While doing something on my laptop, I came across the study guide by accident.  (How many of you know when it comes to God there are no accidents?)  I completely forgotten about the book until then.  Immediately, my spirit was stirred.  I knew it was God pushing me in that direction to buy the book.  So I did!!  I am very much excited about reading this book and taking advantage of what God has in stored for me.









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Monday, January 19, 2015

Getting Back to What I Love To Do!!




It's been about 2 years since my last post. I'm not sure why. It's not like I need to explain or anything. But if I had to give a reason, it would be TIME. You can either have too much or too little time. Sometimes time is not an issue, it's just where you simply don't feel like doing it. But how can I not feel like doing what I love doing. In my case, it's not necessarily my feelings that got in my way, but various distractions and not enough focus. Then the more time passed on the more I tucked my blog in a box along with other stuff that I used to do that I love doing. After being tucked away for so long, certain things can easily become a figment of your imagination. That is, if you allow it to be.

But, I must say God has a funny way of reminding you of your first loves in a subtle or not-so-subtle way. For example, these business cards below. I forgot I even had them. They pretty much came out of the blue sort of speak. Seeing these cards reminded me of how excited I was and the passion I felt for my jewelry making business and my blog. I took that as a hint. I thought, "Maybe God is trying to tell me something."








I came to realize that I don't have to sacrifice one dream for another, especially when it's God's will and a part of His master plan for my life. I just have to be more God-Conscious of my time and my daily tasks. It's a blessing to say that, "I'm doing what I LOVE; and I LOVE what I am doing."





If you're not doing what you love, I encourage you to find out what that is exactly.  You may have to take risks as well as a few leaps and/or steps of faith. But one thing I know for sure, it's going to take your ability to TRUST God and to WAIT on Him.

I love this quote by Steve Jobs:




Here's another quote I came via google search:






As for me, I pray that this is the beginning of many posts.  I may not post, but my prayer is that I practice being God-Conscious and not neglect or abort my dreams.




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