Look at your schedule today. All you have to get done in such a limited time. Do you feel rushed? Me too.

It’s funny how we translate busyness to importance. If I have all of this to do, I must be important, right? Let’s compare our to-do list for the day, and the one with the longest list wins most important person. The one rushing more takes the trophy. No, girl, the one rushing more is the one missing more. Jesus, unrush me as I set my schedule today. Please unbusy me.

You and I are not more important than Jesus. Agreed? He had bigger business to be taking care of in his days on earth than we have today. But was he rushed? Did he hurry his way through? No, quite the opposite. Jesus allowed interruptions. He gave himself fully to unscheduled people when he had somewhere else to go.

We’re going to read two back to back stories to see how Jesus unrushed himself. One story he’s on his way to Jericho, and the very next story he’s just arrived to Jericho. Why is it important where Jesus is going? Understand Jericho is on Jesus’ way to Jerusalem. What was awaiting Jesus in Jerusalem? The cross. Yes, this was the final week of Jesus’ life. His time was limited, yet he was not rushed. His mission was clear, yet he was not too busy.

First, Luke 18: 35-43, “As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”“Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.”

How did everyone else respond to this blind beggar? They hushed him. They said, “hey, unimportant poor guy, Jesus doesn’t have time for you.” But Jesus said the exact opposite. When Jesus heard him, he stopped and then he asked, “what do you want me to do for you?” Jesus is on his way to die on the cross and take the keys from hell to set us free, but he stops for the blind beggar everyone else tried to hush.

Honey, you think he won’t stop for you? You think you’re not important to Jesus? You think your problem is too big or too far gone for the touch of Jesus? Jesus healed this blind man living on the street immediately. He can do that. He wants to do that. He responded to this one man’s cry for mercy. He will respond to yours too. Jesus says today, “my girl, what do you want me to do for you?”

Do you want me to guide your next step? Do you want me to help you make the right choice here? Do you want me to show you how to live better? Do you want me to heal? Do you want me to restore? THEN ASK ME. Jesus says in James 4: 2-3, “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

What is the motive behind your ask? Check your heart, because Jesus is. Get your heart right about this, then ask. You will never receive if you don’t ask. The blind beggar cries out for mercy and says, “Lord, I want to see.” What happens next is the man can instantly see! Then … then he changes what he’s doing. He no longer sits and begs. He follows Jesus and praises God.

What has your self-doubt stolen from you? What opportunities were divinely aligned for you, but you were too afraid to step into because you didn’t feel good enough? What are you missing in your life right now solely because you talked yourself out of showing up for it? Honey, you settled. You settled for less because you settled for believing you weren’t enough.

How can you ever experience more in life? I’m talking about the full and abundant life Jesus said he came to give you. How do you experience that? You find your confidence in God. You start believing you are here for a purpose and you’re chosen for something greater. And you start showing up like this is FOR YOU, not against you.

The struggle, that’s FOR you. For you to become stronger. For you to break through the resistance and build endurance. For you to dig deeper and find the power of God’s spirit dwelling within you. It’s FOR YOU. But if you’re insistent on receiving every struggle as a scheme from hell set against you, you’ll miss the value of each day’s training.

Life isn’t against you. Bad things don’t happen to you because you have bad luck. The truth is, sometimes bad things happen to us because we avoided doing something about it when we should have. Sometimes bad things happen because we straight up make stupid choices and we get stuck in our own stupid. And sometimes bad things happen because we live in a fallen world filled with people who have free will and they make stupid choices that impact us.

But through it all, one thing never changes. We have a God who is FOR us, not against us, and he has promised to work all things together for our good when we love him. Because of this, we can have complete confidence that every struggle is FOR US. It may not have been orchestrated in the heavenlies, but it’s being worked out in the heavenlies and it will be for our good to bring us in alignment with God’s good plans.

How would it change your current struggle if you showed up for it with unshakable confidence that God is FOR you in this and not against you? Wouldn’t you walk in the room different if you knew God’s Spirit is unstoppable in you? Wouldn’t you boldly fight for every ounce of goodness God has planned for you? Wouldn’t that take settling and giving up right off the table of options?

Isaiah 26:3, “People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.”

With your mind set on God, you push out all self-doubt. With your mind set on God, your thoughts of being not good enough are eliminated. This is how you show up whole. This is how you stay steady on your feet and take the next step. You set your mind on God. The God who is for you, not against you. The God who has good plans specifically for your life and is actively working all things together for your good. You see, Sis, when you walk in with your mind set on Him, you show up different.

You don’t have to “feel” qualified. You don’t have to be everyone’s favorite. You don’t have to get everybody’s vote of confidence and reassurance. Nope, you can walk in like you belong because God sent you! Why? Because you do! You do belong in the room. You do belong at the table. All the places your self-doubt has stolen from you in the past, now you’re walking in with a mind set on God, a confidence made completely whole, and girl, you are steady on your feet with your confident next step because you know God is for you!

Oh Hell knows it just lost it’s grip on you! Hell just felt that shift in your spirit that said,

God has blessed you with the opportunity to live a big, beautiful life. He has brought you through the unimaginable. He has made a way where there was no way. He has strengthened you, equipped you, and blessed you. Now, what happens from here, for the most part, is up to you. What will you do with all God has done for you? How will you use what he has already given you?

Here we are waking up to a brand new month of life. The gift of September is here. We’ve never seen September 2023 before. This is all brand new. If you didn’t wake up this morning with great anticipation, you might just be missing the power of this gift. It’s here for you, now what in the world are you going to do with it?

If you use the days of this month to just drag your butt through a meaningless existence, it might not feel very impressive. However, if you use your days to plant every seed given to you, you might just be walking in a bountiful harvest in your future!

You don’t choose the seeds you are given. God creates the seed. He creates the opportunities. He gives the blessings. He provides the start. But I assure you, what God gives you is the beginning of more than you could possibly imagine. Now, it won’t look like much. In fact, seeds never look like what they will become. Have you seen the seed of a massive apple tree? It’s that tiny little nuisance you cut around when peeling an apple. But that seed has the potential to become something so much greater, it just doesn’t look like it in the beginning.

Recognize the little things that seem like a nuisance right now are your seeds. Seeds given to you by a mighty God who wants so much more for your life. Seeds entrusted to you to do something with. Honey, you have no idea what seeds of tremendous potential you’re holding in your hand right now. And while you don’t know what it could become, now is the time to trust God with the future harvest, and plant that seed!

Looking back, wouldn’t you agree it’s funny how life turns out. Can’t you look back and see how your first job led to your next job, and through the twists and turns it brought you to your career? If you would have told 17 year old Pamela that her job making cheeseburgers and french fries at McDonald’s would lead to a career of taking women on adventures around the world, I would have told you to shut the front door. But it did. Every step of the way, I was always being equipped for my future purposes through today’s work.

Yes, today’s work is equipping you for your future purposes. Don’t miss that!

What could today’s work be equipping you for in your future? MORE. BIGGER. GREATER.

That’s the thing about seeds and harvests. Harvests are always more than the seed they started with. They’re always bigger. And they’re always greater.

No, I don’t work at McDonald’s anymore, but I truly believe my weekend 3 am opening shifts were priming me for the very thing I do today. I had to learn how to wake up early. I had to learn how to choose happiness even when everyone else wasn’t. I had to learn how to be intentionally positive. I had to learn how to be faithful. That was the seed. My harvest is more. My harvest is bigger. My harvest is greater.

Look at the harvest of the seeds you have been faithful with. Can’t you see how it all grew to become so much more? And Sis, think about this, God knew all of this goodness was in your future when he gave you those seeds back then to work with. He always intended to bring you to a fulfilling harvest. But, remember, he’s still giving you seeds today.

Why doesn’t God just do what you think he should do when you think he should do it? Why do we have to wait? Why do things get worse before they get better? Why can’t God just swoop in and fix this right now?

As I was writing these questions this morning, God’s spirit immediately prompted me with this: God has! Countless times God has swooped in and fixed things before you even knew they needed fixing. Just yesterday he did miraculous things on your behalf you don’t even know about. You didn’t have to wait for it. It was immediate and it was perfect. So perfect you didn’t even notice. So first, let’s praise God for all he has done. Yes, before you even had time to come up with a solution on your own, God fixed the problem. Thank you God for your immeasurable grace over the details of my life. Thank you for your miraculous touch I’m not even aware of most of the time.

But some times, well some times, we wait. Some times the miracle doesn’t seem to come. Sometimes we sit and we watch as things go from bad to worse and there’s still no answer. What do we do with these times?

Whatever you’re going through, God has a purpose. Whatever you’re in the middle of right now, God’s good plans reach beyond this. And whatever you’re waiting for, God will do it in his divine timing, and when he does, it will be swift, it will be complete, and you will never be the same!

Isaiah was a prophet of God, meaning God spoke through him to deliver his messages to the people. Isaiah 60: 21-22, “Your days of mourning will come to an end. All your people will be righteous. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands in order to bring myself glory. The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”

This is a letter to the Israelites who would face extreme hardships through slavery, captivity, exile, and wandering through deserts facing enemies far bigger and greater than them. And the promise was, THIS WILL COME TO AN END. AT THE RIGHT TIME, I, THE LORD, WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN.

And this is our promise today. Whatever you’re going through, whatever you’re facing, whatever you just want to run away from and make go away, God assures you THIS WILL COME TO AN END. When? At the right time. How? God will make it happen.

This day, August 31st, is remembered as one of the hardest days for our family. It went from an extreme high, to one of the lowest lows I’ve ever lived through. This was a day we had been waiting on for over 9 months. The day we were going to Mexico and bringing our little girls home from the orphanage. I had bought a special pink shirt that said “Daddy Loves Me”, and a purple shirt that said “Mommy Loves Me”. Our 7 year old son was wearing a “Proud Big Brother” shirt. We had been told by Mexico that today was the day to bring home our girls and we couldn’t drive our little white Mitsubishi across that border fast enough.

We arrived to the orphanage where a celebration was happening. All the children gathered around the little girls we were claiming as our own. We had grown to love all of these kids in our years volunteering there, but we knew these two little girls were chosen by God as ours. I had been dreaming of them since meeting them. Their little faces had filled my dreams for 9 months as we proceeded with the myriad of paperwork. Alexa was 5, wearing her “Mommy Loves Me” shirt. Paola was 4, wearing her “Daddy Loves Me” shirt. And when they got in our car with their single black trash bag holding everything...

Have you heard about glimmers? A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger.

We all know about triggers. That little thing that just sets you off. A reminder of a painful memory, causing you to react negatively. If you experienced a traumatic event, you likely remember certain sounds, smells, or sights related to that experience. Now, when you encounter those sensory reminders, you feel anxiety or panic. That’s a trigger.

But there’s also a glimmer. That little thing that creates awe and wonder. That micro moment that makes your soul feel hope. It’s that reminder of a good, good Father who holds the entire world in the palm of his hand and is personally involved in the details of your life. A glimmer lets you know you’re held. A glimmer reminds you of goodness. A glimmer sparks joy.

We’re surrounded by both today. Triggers and glimmers. The question is, which will you look for today?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7, “Seek and ye shall find.” Yes, you will always find what you are looking for. Unfortunately, we’ve been condition by the world to continually look for the trigger, so guess what we’re continually finding? Yes, the trigger. We’re looking for the thing to go off about, so we’re finding all the things that just make us go off. When we look for the reason to be overwhelmed, overwhelm will be everywhere. God has given you the divine power to find everything you’re looking for. The problem is, our seeker is set to the wrong thing. I promise you this, if you seek all the things that trigger your bad mood, you’re going to be in a massively bad mood. If you seek the things that trigger your anxiety, whew girl, you’re going to be an anxious mess up in here.

You don’t have to live that way. God has not only given you the divine power to find everything you’re looking for, but he’s also given you the divine power to CHOOSE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR! Yes, change what you seek and what you find will change.

If you will look for the glimmer today, you will find it. You will find tiny things to be in absolute awe over. You will find miraculous moments where time stands still and you’re captivated by the wonder of it all. You will suddenly notice the sheer beauty of simple things you rushed by yesterday. But today, when you seek your glimmers, glimmers you will find.

Seek your triggers and you will be set off all day.

But let’s dig deeper on these triggers. What if God wants to heal you completely of that? What if he wants to heal you so perfectly that the only thing those old haunting sounds, smells or signs can trigger in you is the Holy Spirit. Something bumps into your painful reminder and boom, God’s power within you is released. Boom, God’s grace and mercy flood you and overflow from you. Boom, gratitude covers your mind and you are healed. So healed that nothing can steal your peace again. So healed that nothing can threaten your joy here.

And what if God could turn your old triggers into new glimmers. They’re no longer negative reminders of what happened, they are hopeful reminders of what God has done for you. Reminders of how God carried you through. Reminders of how God made a way when there was no way. Reminders of how he supernaturally strengthened you to get through what you never thought you could get through. A new awareness of how God was there, always there, and what hurt you, hurt him. And from that very moment, God’s power has been at work in your life to turn it around for good. Hasn’t he turned it around? If he hasn’t then he’s just not done yet.

Psalm 103:2,

Are you dragging around the regret and shame of something in your past right into your future? Does God’s forgiveness not cover this? Can this not be taken from you? Are you doomed to have this hanging over you forever?

Here’s the thing about sin that we often miss. God doesn’t hate sin because we’ve broken a rule. The real reason God hates sin is because sin breaks us. Your creator knows the pain this creates in your life. He knows the darkness this little secret will cause you to hide in one day. And he doesn’t want that for his girl. He hates sin because of what it does to you.

Can God get over the mistakes you have made? Girl, he was over it the second it happened. What he was mad about was the continued affect it would have on your life. The way it would change how you talk to yourself and how you see yourself. The way it would cause you to dismiss yourself from good things for your future. The way it would always take you right back to that place where you did what you shouldn’t have done and then it would fill you with shame.

That shame is not from God. That feeling that makes you pull away, withdraw and hide … that’s not from God. Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The Greek word for condemnation is katakrima. Katakrima means both guilt and punishment. For those of us who are in Christ Jesus, which simply means we have accepted him as our savior, we are neither guilty nor punished. Jesus took all of that for us.

So, the continual guilt you feel over that thing you did, well that guilt is not from God. You’re self-punishing and God says that isn’t necessary. What is from God is conviction. Conviction is a desire to change and do better. God allows conviction, and then gives us supernatural power and strength to change. 2 Corinthians 7:10, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.” But for the person stuck in condemnation, they sacrifice the power to get better. They stay stuck in the pain of how wrong it was and never receive the gift Jesus came to give them. So, it’s really not about the rule you broke. It’s about how it continues to break you. God wants to heal you of that.

Let’s read Roman 8: 1-2 in the Message translation. “Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.”

That low-lying black cloud that always serves to remind you of your past mistakes has been blown away by the Spirit of God! You’re not living under that darkness any more. You are free because of what Jesus did for you! Free from reliving it over and over again. Free from the weight of regret. Free from the secrets that kept you stuck in shame. You’re free to walk out of that past pain and never, ever walk back in there again. Jesus said it’s finished. He covered that sin with his sacrifice. You’re not guilty. You’re not being punished. God is working in you to make you better and you are fully forgiven.

Roman 8:4 says we must “simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.” The Spirit empowers us to do what we could never do on our own. You know what we could never do? We could never get over some of the things in our past. We could never forgive and move on. We could never rise up and be better. We could never use our own mistakes for good in the future. Nope, we couldn’t do that under our own power. But with the Spirit working in us,

Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to get you or choose you. You can’t make everybody happy, girl, you’re not a taco! So, how do you continue to walk boldly in your purpose when others aren’t walking with you? How do you confidently show up as your authentic self when some simply don’t seem to like you? How can you continue to find happiness even when you know you’re not making everybody happy?

You didn’t get chosen for the job. The answer was no. The door was closed. He left. She moved on. They said some ugly stuff about you. Now, how do you deal with that?

Let me tell you how the enemy of your soul wants you to deal with that. He wants you to wallow in self pity and wonder what’s wrong with you. He wants you to take everything personal and be crushed. He wants you to grow callouses on your heart to keep others out. He wants you to be absolutely convinced you’re not good enough, you’re not worthy, and you should pull back and hide. But honey, the devil is a liar. Those are all straight up lies from hell and taunting invitations to get you stuck in that pit.

You are not immune from the rejection of people, no matter how good you are. They say you can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world and there’s still somebody who just hates peaches. Before you walk through another day all butt hurt that they didn’t choose you or that someone doesn’t like you, remember this … Some people didn’t like Jesus! Some people literally sat in his presence, heard his life changing teachings in person, and walked away saying he was a fake. They didn’t like the stories he told or the way he told them. But, Jesus was not distracted by their dislike. And you can’t be either!

While Jesus walked this Earth, he told stories. Every lesson he taught was taught in the form of a story. A story of a man building a house on the sand verses building on a rock, then a storm comes. A story of patching an old garment with new cloth. Stories of sheep and wolves,stories of birds and trees and fruit. A story of a farmer with seed. Story after story. Jesus told stories about everything. But not everyone like Jesus’ stories. Not everyone understood them. Some walked away saying he was crazy.

But, did this stop Jesus? No, here’s his reply to the ridicule. Matthew 13: 16-17, “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and hear what you hear but did not hear it.” He didn’t go into a tail spin of oh my gosh, they don’t like me, what if I’m not good enough. He didn’t get insulted and bite back. He simply accepted, when you’re ready I’m here for you. But if you’re not, I’m going to keep going.

Jesus was perfection. Everything he said was true. Every story he told was divine. Yet, not everyone like him, agreed with him, or got it. And get this … Jesus shows us how to get over that!

Yes, Sister, it’s time to get over not being chosen. It’s time to get over not being everyone’s favorite. It’s time to move on from trying to convince everyone. Let it be. They’re not ready. God never gave you the job of being the convincer of people. Stop trying to convince people of you, who you are, what you believe, what you’re doing, or where you’re going. Trying to convince the doubters, the nay sayers, and the haters is exhausting. THEY’RE NOT READY!

Jesus knew those who ridiculed his teaching and his stories simply weren’t ready. Matthew 13: 11-12 MSG, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom.

Where you are today is not where you will stay. Who you are today is not all you will become. God is in the divine business of making you more than you could imagine and taking you to places beyond your wildest dreams.

Who you have been does not define you. What you have done does not cancel the destiny God has planned for you. There is so much more beyond this. Let me prove it.

In Biblical times there were laws which said certain sins were punishable by stoning. These were sins considered to cause irreparable damage to a person’s value and worth. One such sin was prostitution. A woman found guilty of prostitution was to be killed by a circle of people throwing rocks at her. A slow, agonizing death, watched by those who were better than, holier than, more valuable than this woman who had sold herself.

But God stepped into the life of a woman caught in prostitution and changed the world through her. She was not damaged beyond repair. She was not a shameful soul to be discarded. She was not dirty and unwanted. She was chosen. Yes, even in her sin. Even when the law said she deserved death by stoning, God said she was chosen for a life of greater purpose.

Her name was Rahab. We first read about her in Joshua 2. Here’s all we know about Rahab, she’s a prostitute. Verse 1, “So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.”

Men of God were in her house. They knew she was a prostitute. By law they had every right to drag her out into the street and gather others to stone her. But they didn’t. Instead, they asked for her help. Help hiding from their enemies. And because Rahab knew they were men of God, she hid them and ultimately saved their lives. In return, God saved her and her family. Joshua 6:17, “But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.”

Rahab the prostitute. Living in a sin considered to cause irreparable damage to her value and worth, yet God considered her worthy to save. God deemed her value to be greater than everyone else in the city of Jericho, and only she and her family were spared when the walls of Jericho came down.

Why would God not only do this, but why would he be sure it was included in his word for us to read today? Why wouldn’t he just drop her label and let her be known as a faithful woman who believed in God? Why would he have her story be told and include that she was a shamed and lowly prostitute? Oh, I know why … because he wants his girls to hear him loud and clear today. Hear him say this: Nothing in your past cancels the good plans I have for you. Nothing you have ever done erases what I have done for you. I can still use you! Your life is still of tremendous value in my eternal plans.

This isn’t the end of Rahab. Her name shows up again in the most treasured place a name could possibly appear, the lineage of Jesus. Yes, Rahab the prostitute becomes the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz. To become a wife, we know her life changed. She changed. She stepped out of who she was and what she had done to become a wife and mother. Rahab wasn’t who she used to be.

How could she overcome what she had done and who she had become? Real simple … the power of God! God changed the trajectory of her life because of her faith, and he deemed her worthy of being one of only five women named in the lineage of Jesus. She was that important. Her story was that important. Out of 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus, Rahab was an integral part of the divine selection.

Not stoned. Not unworthy.

What you have today is all it will take for your breakthrough. Honey, you’re not waiting until you have the right tools, you’re waiting until you have the faith to use what you already have.

As always, I started this morning on my knees, asking God what he wanted to say through me today. He knew you would be listening and he knew precisely what you would need to hear, so he divinely popped a thought into my head. The thought was of Moses with his staff. This staff seemed ordinary in the beginning, but it would be used for miraculous works.

Moses was carrying a staff because Exodus 3 begins with him tending his father-in-law’s sheep. Shepherds carry sticks to manage and sometimes catch the sheep. Everyone had one. Everyone used one. This was just an ordinary wooden stick. But my sister, never forget, God uses ordinary things for his miraculous works.

Later in chapter 3 of Exodus, God gives Moses his mission. He is to lead the Israelites to freedom. But Moses felt like a nobody. Who would listen to him? Who would follow him? Who would ever believe that God showed up and spoke to him in a burning bush and he could be their leader? Knowing Moses’ questioning, God stopped him with one question. Exodus 4:2, “What is that in your hand?”

Of course, what was in Moses’ hand was his staff. That ordinary wooden stick he walked with to manage and sometimes catch sheep. It seemed like nothing special. But God wanted to show him what he already had is what he would use. So God tells him to throw the staff onto the ground. When he did, it became a snake. Then when he grabbed the snake by the tail, it turned into a staff again.

Crazy, huh? A simple display of God’s power through ordinary things. Moses had no idea all God would do through this seemingly ordinary wooden stick. But now he had the courage to take the next step. Verse 17, the Lord says to Moses, “But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

God can do anything. He can use anything. And to be very clear, he uses us and the seemingly ordinary things we have to do his miraculous works. When God says take something with you, stop questioning it, and take it with you! When God says to use something you already have, then get to using what you already have.

Verse 20, “And he took the staff of God in his hand.”

Did you notice the transition here? Before it was just a wooden stick Moses had been using to tend to his father-in-law’s sheep. But now, now it was the STAFF OF GOD! What changed? It’s purpose changed. It’s intentional use changed. Now Moses is carrying the Staff of God, knowing it had great power. Formerly known as ordinary stick, now yielding miraculous power as the Staff of God.

Did you know your car could be the Car of God? For real! If that car is being used for an intentional purpose of God, then it’s his car. Drive it accordingly. Did you know your humble little house could be a House of God? Yes, the doors of your little house could be opened to the intentional purposes of God, then it’s his. Miraculous things could happen within your home when it becomes God’s home! Every morning I sit down at my laptop computer and I type as God speaks to me. This is the Computer of God! I dedicate this to him. It may not have been created for this purpose, but it’s use has changed. It’s no longer just a computer, it’s a tool of God’s.

I mean hey, if God can use a stick to perform miracles, couldn’t he use a computer? Couldn’t he use a humble house? Couldn’t he use a car? How about your cell phone? How about your dog or your cat?

I checked the weather today. You know what I found? Excessive heat warnings. Extreme weather alerts. Stupid hot temperatures. Do you know why I checked the weather? Because I also realized 4 months from today we will all be getting ready for Christmas. And guess what … it won’t be hot then. In fact, we’ll probably be complaining about how cold it was when we were shopping. We will probably be yelling, “shut the door, you’re letting the heat out!”

But today … no, today we’re not saying that, are we? Today, we’re complaining about totally different circumstances. Shut the door, you’re letting the cold air out. I can’t stop sweating. I’m melting out here. It’s miserable.

Dang, are we just going to complain our way through life? It’s always too hot or too cold. We continually want what we don’t have and completely miss what we do have. Here we are waking up to a million things that are miraculously so right, and yet we want to focus on the fact that it’s too hot? Pretty soon we’ll wake up to another million things that are miraculously so right, yet we will focus on the fact that it’s too cold.

Honey, seasons will be what seasons will be. You don’t get to control that. Weather changes just like life changes. If circumstances determine your happiness, you’re going to be motion sick with the ups and downs and miss that you’re on a beautiful ride.

Many years ago my mentor instructed me to listen to one of the original motivational speakers, Jim Rohn. Jim had a 6 CD set called “The Art of Exceptional Living”. Daily, I listened to these same 6 CDs on repeat until I nearly knew them by memory. One quote I memorized was, “Life is like the changing seasons. You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. Therein lies the opportunity to live an extraordinary life, the opportunity to change yourself.”

Learning this, I began seeing the changing seasons differently. I began accepting change for what it was. The weather changed, life changed. The seasons came and went, our kids came and went. I couldn’t stop it, but I could lean into it. I couldn’t change it, but I could change how I received it.

Changing how I received the changes of life changed me. It took away my tendency to complain about circumstances. It eliminated my useless worry. It lightened my load and eased my burden. It freed me to find unspeakable joy even in the harsh winters of life where nothing was growing. It showed me the beauty in the days where the heat made it too hard to do anything, but happiness was still available.

And eventually, I stopped dreading the changes and hating the seasons. I can’t change it, but I can change. I can change how I look at it. I can change how I talk about it. I can change how I wake up to it. And when I change, everything changes.

We weren’t created to just endure life, we were created to enjoy this life! Are you? Are you enjoying life here and now, or are you just enduring another season you didn’t wish for and are waiting for the next?

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8:“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.