Tidbits

This blog post is a bit different because after a crazy week, I think we all need just a few tidbits of encouragement. Maybe you can relate-Monday sneaks up on us and we don’t feel prepared at all for the tasks we’ve assigned ourselves. And then life hits like a powerful tidal wave that knocks us off our feet, leaving us scrambling and grasping to get back to shore where it’s calm. How can we possibly accomplish the to-do-list we have created for ourselves plus the unexpected life tasks that are being flung at us each day? Often, we can’t.

How is this encouraging? It’s encouraging because it frees us from wasting energy and emotions on striving to be “God.” We are human. Success is defined differently when we realize this. We need to ask the One in Control to teach us how to honor Him with our daily actions. And most importantly, we need to stop creating our own to-do-lists without consulting the Creator first. Whenever I fall into this trap of thinking my agenda should be blessed by God, I try to envision this mental picture: I imagine a student throwing out her knowledgeable professor’s syllabus and creating her own topics and assignments. And then at the end of the semester she finds herself confused and angry as to why she did not receive a passing grade. Unfortunately, that is often what I try to do with life’s tasks.

I started Monday this week with my own ideas of how life was going to happen. Thank goodness, God reminded me quickly that I needed to change my attitude and actions to align with His plans. The rest of the week I woke up each morning and said, “Lord, please show me what you want me to do, think, and say today. Please tell me your agenda and help me to listen and obey.” Phew!

Here are some tidbits of encouragement that helped me get through this week and better focus on the King’s agenda. May you also be encouraged that you don’t have to do life alone. We have God Almighty to guide us!

“Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” 
~C.S. Lewis

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness.”
~Kurt Vonnegut

“It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.”
~2 Corinthians 5:7

“A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”
~Proverbs 19:11

“God is fair and just; He corrects the misdirected, sends them in the right direction. He gives the rejects his hand, and leads them step by step.”
~Psalm 25:8-9

“Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don’t know and can’t find out.”
~Jeremiah 33:3

“The Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget.” 
~Deuteronomy 4:31a