You saw the pink cards I made for my little sister...I wanted her to know how much I love her everyday. On another occasion, I had the opportunity to do something similar for a male friend who was going to be away. I put together a similar package of cards, but these ones were scriptures and quotes from great men in History. Winston Churchill, Plato, Jesus (their greatness is not in that order... obviously).
It was my desire that as he was away from home, that he would be reminded of the impact he was having on the lives of those around him. He travels quite a bit for work, and so we don't often get to spend a lot of time with him, It was my hope that the cards he read daily would have a layering effect on his life, that I would, in effect, build a 'case' for the importance of his presence to us. That day by day, tidbit by tidbit he would see a fuller picture of how well regarded he is.
We need to spend time daily finding the words and thoughts that God has toward us. Just like my sister, we need to be reminded of what God's word says, and we need something daily. It is in the daily communication that the messages are layered one on the other until, we have a fuller picture of God's purpose for us. These daily interactions are designed to have a cumulative effect. That as we absorb a little at a time, more will truly be retained.
It is not the sprint of a crash diet, but slow steady marathon of a lifestyle change.
Do you feel the cumulative effect of your time daily with God?
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
New to Me!
I found a new fav artist. His name is Aaron Shust. I came across him totally by accident, I was watching a video on You Tube, and they used his music as the backdrop.
Very deep words, nice sound, very "sing-alongable"!
Very deep words, nice sound, very "sing-alongable"!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Day by Day
Every day there should be a new word. Everyone should have a new moment in God. I have on a couple of occasions recently made birthday gifts of cards that are to be opened one a day. It is not my original idea, I do it because I loved recieving a package like that for my birthday one year. This has been my gift of choice because in the case of my little sister, I wanted her to know that I think of her everyday and all the amazing things that are part of who she is. We don't talk everyday, and I sometimes wonder if she knows how much she is in my thoughts. So, for her 26th birthday, I printed 26 cards, each with one dictionary definition of words that describe her. They each got an envelope, and it was all tied with a beautiful ribbon.
There are times when I wonder how much God thinks of me throughout the day. His word says that his thoughts toward us exceed the grains of sand (Psalm 139:17-18), but do we take the time to hear from him everyday.
In the busyness of my life, I stopped and realized that it has been a while since I undid the ribbon and opened another envelope of His word, and because we haven't really spoken at length, it is easy for me to wonder how much He really thinks of me at all. The truth is, He has prepared enough words for every moment of everyday of our lives.
If my sister had not chosen to open the envelopes, she might have wondered about how often I think of her, or, if our schedules had prevented a phone call, she might have even wondered if I loved her still. Yet all that time sitting right in front of her was the proof of my love and thoughts toward her.
Do you ever forget to open the word of God, and then wonder if He still loves you?
Stay tuned for part 2
All about the shoes!
If you are surprised that I can do a whole post on a pair of shoes, either this is your first visit to LauraCoxworth.com, or we have never met. I have a rule in my life.
"I always want to be barefoot, but if that is not possible, my feet need to be in a pair of FIERCE shoes, or amazing cotton gym socks"
If you think that I am kidding, I am not.
Knowing my love of all things shoes, my amazing roommate purchased for me a pair of really beautiful HIGH stilettos for Christmas. I had not worn them though, because they are just a bit too big, and the heels are so high, that you don't want to risk falling off!
I pulled the shoes out for the Nails because frankly they are soooo nice. The only problem is that this year, the stage had about 40 steps of various heights and placements that I had to navigate around to do my part. Normally I choose shoes that are completely safe, snug fitting and preferably with some sort of strap for insurance, so I am not really sure what I was thinking with this year's choice.
As I think about it though, it is possible that these shoes were the PERFECT shoes for what God wanted me to see and understand. The combination of size, height, and stairs meant that EVERY step had to be thought through, every movement carefully considered,
In carefully considering every step, I realized that it didn't make sense to take extra steps just because I felt I HAD to. It forced me to be more efficient in my movements. As well, when amateur actors (and I am definitely in that category) get on stage, there can be a tendency towards frenetic movement that can look panicked from the audience. I am sure that I looked much more settled than I felt simply because I didn't want to risk the extra steps.
Is is possible that God can speak to me through my shoes? I love God, He loves me, and I LOVE SHOES, so it seems a logical extension.
Here is what I discovered: Anything that keeps me a little off balance has the amazing by-product of sending me right into the hands of God. I have discovered over my journey a reliance on Him that I hadn't before. As well, I have discovered that sometimes movement for the sake of having something to do steals something from the experience you are trying to have. I have learned the benefits of waiting one more moment before taking what I feel is the next step.
Onstage when the lights dimmed but I needed to walk down some steep stairs, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light, but if I waited that extra moment, I was much more confident that I wouldn't fall down the stairs. I have learned it is the same with God. Occasionally, He calls us to something with a short timeline, and delay in that case IS disobedience, however, more often then not, another moment to consider is actually better.
Has there been a situation where you took extra time to ponder and had a lot more safety doing what God had called you to?
"I always want to be barefoot, but if that is not possible, my feet need to be in a pair of FIERCE shoes, or amazing cotton gym socks"
If you think that I am kidding, I am not.
Knowing my love of all things shoes, my amazing roommate purchased for me a pair of really beautiful HIGH stilettos for Christmas. I had not worn them though, because they are just a bit too big, and the heels are so high, that you don't want to risk falling off!
I pulled the shoes out for the Nails because frankly they are soooo nice. The only problem is that this year, the stage had about 40 steps of various heights and placements that I had to navigate around to do my part. Normally I choose shoes that are completely safe, snug fitting and preferably with some sort of strap for insurance, so I am not really sure what I was thinking with this year's choice.
As I think about it though, it is possible that these shoes were the PERFECT shoes for what God wanted me to see and understand. The combination of size, height, and stairs meant that EVERY step had to be thought through, every movement carefully considered,
In carefully considering every step, I realized that it didn't make sense to take extra steps just because I felt I HAD to. It forced me to be more efficient in my movements. As well, when amateur actors (and I am definitely in that category) get on stage, there can be a tendency towards frenetic movement that can look panicked from the audience. I am sure that I looked much more settled than I felt simply because I didn't want to risk the extra steps.
Is is possible that God can speak to me through my shoes? I love God, He loves me, and I LOVE SHOES, so it seems a logical extension.
Here is what I discovered: Anything that keeps me a little off balance has the amazing by-product of sending me right into the hands of God. I have discovered over my journey a reliance on Him that I hadn't before. As well, I have discovered that sometimes movement for the sake of having something to do steals something from the experience you are trying to have. I have learned the benefits of waiting one more moment before taking what I feel is the next step.
Onstage when the lights dimmed but I needed to walk down some steep stairs, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light, but if I waited that extra moment, I was much more confident that I wouldn't fall down the stairs. I have learned it is the same with God. Occasionally, He calls us to something with a short timeline, and delay in that case IS disobedience, however, more often then not, another moment to consider is actually better.
Has there been a situation where you took extra time to ponder and had a lot more safety doing what God had called you to?
Saturday, March 22, 2008
What about the Nails?
Every year at TLC we do an Easter Production called "The Nails". If you have ever heard the Easter story you know the general plot. TLC takes a little twist on the story to tell it from the perspective of the blacksmith who made the nails that Jesus was crucified with. It is dramatic and life-changing. I have played the same part for 3 years and every year, it has been a profound and amazing experience.
When you are in your 3rd year of playing the same role, the focus of energy moves away from remembering the lines, to finding depths beyond the words-finding a new way to communicate them. We perform it 3 times, and every time there is a different experience. God comes in and takes over and I feel the differences in the words and meanings. It is like God tailor makes each experience for each audience. We as the cast are just along for the ride.
The reason we do it, is ALWAYS about the lives that it will impact. ALWAYS. Occasionally, however, God somehow steps in and changes me in the process. I was, for some unknown reason, more nervous this year.... actually afraid is more accurate. I was afraid of saying the wrong lines, getting the scene mixed up... and a big source of my anxiety were my SHOES!!
I couldn't find any nice shoes that would compliment my outfit, and so I decided on a pair that were a gift, yet a bit too big. Being as high as they were and a bit too big, I was nervous about falling or stepping out of them onstage. Nothing happened, and my dignity is intact, but as I ponder about the shoes I realized that there is an underlying lesson to be had.
I found, more than other years, that I TRULY had to turn it all over to God. A few months ago, I had an incredible realization about the equipping of God. In a Joyce Meyer podcast, I was reminded so clearly that "what God calls you to, He also equips you for". Backstage, waiting for my cues, I would breath deeply and remind myself that everything was in God's hands. I was not responsible for the people's salvation, I was simply called to do my part.
The more focused I became on that reality the stronger I felt, and the more at peace I became. There are a few things that God is calling me to in the next season of my life where this truth needs to be drilled right down into the depths of my until it rests in the marrow of my bones. I will have no other option than to rely solely on the equipping of God.
This was a truth that needed to be embraced quickly because of the immediate and very public nature of what I was called to do, but it served as a wonderful reminder for everyday.
Stay tuned for more about the shoes!!
When you are in your 3rd year of playing the same role, the focus of energy moves away from remembering the lines, to finding depths beyond the words-finding a new way to communicate them. We perform it 3 times, and every time there is a different experience. God comes in and takes over and I feel the differences in the words and meanings. It is like God tailor makes each experience for each audience. We as the cast are just along for the ride.
The reason we do it, is ALWAYS about the lives that it will impact. ALWAYS. Occasionally, however, God somehow steps in and changes me in the process. I was, for some unknown reason, more nervous this year.... actually afraid is more accurate. I was afraid of saying the wrong lines, getting the scene mixed up... and a big source of my anxiety were my SHOES!!
I couldn't find any nice shoes that would compliment my outfit, and so I decided on a pair that were a gift, yet a bit too big. Being as high as they were and a bit too big, I was nervous about falling or stepping out of them onstage. Nothing happened, and my dignity is intact, but as I ponder about the shoes I realized that there is an underlying lesson to be had.
I found, more than other years, that I TRULY had to turn it all over to God. A few months ago, I had an incredible realization about the equipping of God. In a Joyce Meyer podcast, I was reminded so clearly that "what God calls you to, He also equips you for". Backstage, waiting for my cues, I would breath deeply and remind myself that everything was in God's hands. I was not responsible for the people's salvation, I was simply called to do my part.
The more focused I became on that reality the stronger I felt, and the more at peace I became. There are a few things that God is calling me to in the next season of my life where this truth needs to be drilled right down into the depths of my until it rests in the marrow of my bones. I will have no other option than to rely solely on the equipping of God.
This was a truth that needed to be embraced quickly because of the immediate and very public nature of what I was called to do, but it served as a wonderful reminder for everyday.
Stay tuned for more about the shoes!!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
2 faces of me.
I had a goal. 13 months, 17 days ago, I had began a program that I was praying was going to change my life. For many years, I was unhappy with my weight, and I never felt like I could successfully do anything about it. I tried to follow diets and programs but none ever lasted more that about 4 hours. For those who have ever had something in your life you just couldn't conquer, you know what it is like to have a dream in your heart but no capacity to hope for a change. That is where I was.
One day, I decided that I needed to stop eating the way I was eating or I had to just suck up the reality that my poor choices were resulting in a body that I didn't want. It came to the point where I just had to forget about hoping or justifying or planning, I simply gave up on diets and fads. I realized that I had to 'own' what I was doing to myself. Either way, I had to stop beating myself up over and over and over again for the same issues. Mostly I had to just admit that no matter how 'good' it was to go to the gym, it didn't make me feel good, and everytime I DIDN'T go I felt worse about myself.
For a year, I stopped paying attention to what I was doing, and more than that I stopped beating myself up about it. There was no majic pill, no change in circumstances, and no moment waiting just around the corner that would transform me miraculously into the size 6 supermodel I thought I wanted to be. Instead of beating myself up about it, all I did was become a student of myself-my feelings, my reactions, my interactions with the world around me. I tried very hard not to sugar coat what I was thinking and feeling.
Toward the end of that 'observation period' I realized that I was actually pretty proud of the PERSON I had become, I watched as I became thoughful, loyal friend, and a chaser of God. I found that the shape my body was in was changing my personality, and I didn't like that, but I was able to differentiate what I looked like from who I was.
In January of '07, I was watching TV and saw an ad for a weightloss program that a friend had found great success with. It just seemed RIGHT. There was an inevitability about the situation that directed me.
13 months and 17 days later I have achieved my original goal of 50 pounds lost.
As you can imagine, this has changed my life. Surprisingly though, it hasn't had the profound internal impact that I always though weight loss would. I KNOW that if I hadn't dealt with the mechanic of eating separatly from how I felt about myself, I never would have succeeded. Although there are a lot of changes in my life that have been the result of the weightloss, it hasn't actually changed much of WHO I am. I am still that same person I was before-who I was proud to be before, just now the outside is less burdensome to carry around.
So often when we are attempting to make drastic changes in our lives, we confuse the activity we are trying to change with the person that we are.
Here is a quick side-by-side to give you an idea.....
Friday, March 14, 2008
Preparation Time Part 4
...Continued from Part 3
God had a plan to get me ready and in position to step into the destiny that he has called me to. God knew what it would take to bring me to a place of total surrender…. Through this process I have discovered: 1) Only I am qualified to define my strengths 2) God has placed in me a really good sense of what is right for me 3) I need ‘hands on’ direct access to the things of God. 4) No matter what God is calling you to… no matter how long it takes to get you there, He is daily invested in propelling you toward your destinyWhen God is in control, it is always His way and timeline…..
Imagine Esther, one day she is an orphan living with her uncle, one year later, she is the queen of a great nation. There are so many times that God calls us to something bigger our lives, yet our thinking and our identity holds us back. We think like an orphan when God is calling us to be a queen. We need to change the way we think about ourselves in order to fulfill what God is calling us to.
This is not an easy feat, however I have found that steeping myself in the things of God, has the natural result of changing your heart and mind without even trying. Is this is what God referrs to when He says "seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you."?
Occasionally, I find surprise myself by doing something, or thinking in a different way than I
used to.
Go, be the Esther God is calling you to be!
God had a plan to get me ready and in position to step into the destiny that he has called me to. God knew what it would take to bring me to a place of total surrender…. Through this process I have discovered: 1) Only I am qualified to define my strengths 2) God has placed in me a really good sense of what is right for me 3) I need ‘hands on’ direct access to the things of God. 4) No matter what God is calling you to… no matter how long it takes to get you there, He is daily invested in propelling you toward your destinyWhen God is in control, it is always His way and timeline…..
Imagine Esther, one day she is an orphan living with her uncle, one year later, she is the queen of a great nation. There are so many times that God calls us to something bigger our lives, yet our thinking and our identity holds us back. We think like an orphan when God is calling us to be a queen. We need to change the way we think about ourselves in order to fulfill what God is calling us to.
This is not an easy feat, however I have found that steeping myself in the things of God, has the natural result of changing your heart and mind without even trying. Is this is what God referrs to when He says "seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you."?
Occasionally, I find surprise myself by doing something, or thinking in a different way than I
used to.
Go, be the Esther God is calling you to be!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Preparation Time Part 3
.... continued from Part 2
I sat. I waited and just ‘was’. There were questions, from those around me-from concerned parents who worried as time went on. I didn’t know what God was up to, but I knew that He was in control. Occasionally God would take the time to remind me that I was in a 52 week process.
In December, one night, I couldn’t sleep, I was just lying awake ‘processing’. This is the term that I use when I am going over and over all the loose ends in my head, attempting to look at them from different angles to see where they might fit together, or where God might be leading.
I began to realize that what I really wanted to do was to go back to school. I didn’t know how that was going to happen, or when, but it became my focus to find a way. A number of options were weighed and discarded. Finally, the I had an idea. It fit with all the objectives I had set out, it made sense, it was multi-purposed, and it was JUST enough beyond my ability that I would have to rely completely on God! As time went on, I began to do the background research to find out what was going to be possible and what was not.
January came along, and we began the series in our lifegroup "Now discover your strengths". Everything that I had been working through I KNOW that I KNOW was needed to set the stage for “trombone player wanted”. The breakthrough moment of this series was when Marcus said that ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR STRENGTHS ARE.
All my life, I have allowed people to speak into my life and have defined my actions with what they said. I have on a couple of different occasions, wanted to change my career, hand I did what all the self-help books said to do…. I asked people who are successful what they saw when they looked at me. Then I chased after that identity, only to be devastated when it didn’t quite fit.
The week of my birthday (January 20th), I was working to define the plan a little more clearly. Using the concepts that we were learning at lifegroup, I spent a long time thinking and praying about what my strengths are, and gradually, it all came into clear focus. By the time the 52nd week came along, I had changed, I don’t mean that I was beginning a plan of changes,…. I HAVE changed.
I can only imagine that Esther could barely recognize herself when she looked in the mirror, I can see her stepping out in a function of royalty only to think to herself “how is it that I am doing this?” I feel that way occasionally….. I find myself doing things I never thought I would…. And LOVING it.
I sat. I waited and just ‘was’. There were questions, from those around me-from concerned parents who worried as time went on. I didn’t know what God was up to, but I knew that He was in control. Occasionally God would take the time to remind me that I was in a 52 week process.
In December, one night, I couldn’t sleep, I was just lying awake ‘processing’. This is the term that I use when I am going over and over all the loose ends in my head, attempting to look at them from different angles to see where they might fit together, or where God might be leading.
I began to realize that what I really wanted to do was to go back to school. I didn’t know how that was going to happen, or when, but it became my focus to find a way. A number of options were weighed and discarded. Finally, the I had an idea. It fit with all the objectives I had set out, it made sense, it was multi-purposed, and it was JUST enough beyond my ability that I would have to rely completely on God! As time went on, I began to do the background research to find out what was going to be possible and what was not.
January came along, and we began the series in our lifegroup "Now discover your strengths". Everything that I had been working through I KNOW that I KNOW was needed to set the stage for “trombone player wanted”. The breakthrough moment of this series was when Marcus said that ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR STRENGTHS ARE.
All my life, I have allowed people to speak into my life and have defined my actions with what they said. I have on a couple of different occasions, wanted to change my career, hand I did what all the self-help books said to do…. I asked people who are successful what they saw when they looked at me. Then I chased after that identity, only to be devastated when it didn’t quite fit.
The week of my birthday (January 20th), I was working to define the plan a little more clearly. Using the concepts that we were learning at lifegroup, I spent a long time thinking and praying about what my strengths are, and gradually, it all came into clear focus. By the time the 52nd week came along, I had changed, I don’t mean that I was beginning a plan of changes,…. I HAVE changed.
I can only imagine that Esther could barely recognize herself when she looked in the mirror, I can see her stepping out in a function of royalty only to think to herself “how is it that I am doing this?” I feel that way occasionally….. I find myself doing things I never thought I would…. And LOVING it.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Preparation Time Part 2
A few months passed and I wasn’t hearing much from God about where I should look for work, or what I was supposed to be doing not only with this time, but with the rest of my life.
I began to see patterns emerging. About every 2 months or so, I would be going along seemingly fine and then crisis would hit. I began to see that each crisis carried with it a major theme.
The first stage was about identity… who am I, I am more than the job title I have, I am a child of Christ, this was to continue to be a recurring theme. The next was about God’s willingness to provide for me. I never doubted His ability, but what about his willingness? After that, I spent a lot of time discovering what Godly femininity is, and some of the barriers in my life toward femininity, next came fitness- my least favourite subject at the time. I intentionally sat and experienced each stage, I chose to be looking for what God was trying to tell me and learn more about His character in the midst of it.
In each stage of this journey, I have had to ruthlessly confront lies that the enemy had sown into my life as the result of a very challenging childhood. For the first time in a long time, I had nothing to distract me. There were just raw, yucky feelings and the pain of confronting hurts that had defined me more than I would ever have thought. It essentially became a 6-month long therapy session…. A little talk-therapy, a lot of tears, a lot of literally just sitting pondering, and I am not gonna lie… a little retail therapy too!!!
In the middle of all this, I needed a career change. I thought, "If I do what I did, I will get what I had, and 5 years from now, I will be in the same situation". This sounds like a great idea, yet, for anyone who has ever tried, it is easier said than done.
In June I made a decision to walk through ANY door that opened-cautiously but wholly. I would step through it. I would explore that until my gut told me otherwise, or until the door closed. It seems like everyone has a suggestion, and I discovered that what people were seeing me doing were the same things that they had always seen me doing. In previous situations I had grasped what people told me they thought I should be doing and put a lot of effort into that career. Except a few months down the road, I hated it or was rotten at. So suddenly I have discovered that what people see in me, I am not good at! It truly caused me to question my identity and worth in moments like that. This time, I realized quickly that none of the suggestions fit with what was in my heart.
So there I was needed money to pay the bills, with no idea where to even begin to look for work, and when I did submit resumes to jobs similar to what I had successfully done in the past, I was turned down. It took a lot to remind myself that I had put this whole process in God’s hands, and I had turned over control to Him.
Stay tuned for Part 3
I began to see patterns emerging. About every 2 months or so, I would be going along seemingly fine and then crisis would hit. I began to see that each crisis carried with it a major theme.
The first stage was about identity… who am I, I am more than the job title I have, I am a child of Christ, this was to continue to be a recurring theme. The next was about God’s willingness to provide for me. I never doubted His ability, but what about his willingness? After that, I spent a lot of time discovering what Godly femininity is, and some of the barriers in my life toward femininity, next came fitness- my least favourite subject at the time. I intentionally sat and experienced each stage, I chose to be looking for what God was trying to tell me and learn more about His character in the midst of it.
In each stage of this journey, I have had to ruthlessly confront lies that the enemy had sown into my life as the result of a very challenging childhood. For the first time in a long time, I had nothing to distract me. There were just raw, yucky feelings and the pain of confronting hurts that had defined me more than I would ever have thought. It essentially became a 6-month long therapy session…. A little talk-therapy, a lot of tears, a lot of literally just sitting pondering, and I am not gonna lie… a little retail therapy too!!!
In the middle of all this, I needed a career change. I thought, "If I do what I did, I will get what I had, and 5 years from now, I will be in the same situation". This sounds like a great idea, yet, for anyone who has ever tried, it is easier said than done.
In June I made a decision to walk through ANY door that opened-cautiously but wholly. I would step through it. I would explore that until my gut told me otherwise, or until the door closed. It seems like everyone has a suggestion, and I discovered that what people were seeing me doing were the same things that they had always seen me doing. In previous situations I had grasped what people told me they thought I should be doing and put a lot of effort into that career. Except a few months down the road, I hated it or was rotten at. So suddenly I have discovered that what people see in me, I am not good at! It truly caused me to question my identity and worth in moments like that. This time, I realized quickly that none of the suggestions fit with what was in my heart.
So there I was needed money to pay the bills, with no idea where to even begin to look for work, and when I did submit resumes to jobs similar to what I had successfully done in the past, I was turned down. It took a lot to remind myself that I had put this whole process in God’s hands, and I had turned over control to Him.
Stay tuned for Part 3
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Preparation Time
Recently, I was privileged to give my testimony at lifegroup. It was so amazing to tell a group what God has been doing in my life. I am posting it over the next little while... here is part 1!
Esther was a beautiful young woman who was chosen to go into the household of the king to be trained and perhaps chosen as his wife. The bible says that she was a woman of incomparable beauty. When she moved into the palace, she underwent 1 year of treatments and training before she could be presented to the king. When she was presented to the king, he found favour with her and she replaced his wife as queen. In the position of queen, she was given the favour she needed to save her whole people group from extinction. You know the story; those are the broad-strokes.
I tell you this story because, in January of 07, I was an overweight, unhappy woman with no joy in my job, and a string of failures with attempting to lose weight. I was single with no prospects, or much hope. Life was pretty bleak in those areas, but I desperately loved the lord and had amazing friends, and I was staying busy with the Lord.
I had just spent more money than I could truly afford to buy into a weigh-loss program that is a year from beginning to end. I was standing in my bathroom doing my hair when a quiet voice broke through and said “52 weeks of preparation” I had just been reading the book of Esther and I knew her story. I knew immediately it was the Lord and said “52 week until WHAT??” My immediate thought of course… went to “A MAN!!!” My heart started beating… I asked…. Until my wedding? Until I meet Him??? and then I got a hold of myself and thought… maybe it is 52 weeks until I am launched into a great new career….
I took a moment to think about all the wondrous possibilities this might relate to and then I gave it to the Lord, and tucked it away. I have learned, that, when dealing with the things of God, he is “above and beyond anything I can ask or imagine”, and I never truly can guess what god has up His sleeve.
On I go about my life…. A job that I hated, but I began to see success with my weight loss.
Fast forward to June, I lost my job. It was one of the inexplicable situations that can only be God taking me out of a situation that was killing my soul one day at a time. Even though I KNEW it was God, it was still crappy!
I decided just after I lost my job, that since this was a circumstance that God had orchestrated, I wanted get as much as I could out of whatever was going to come my way . Passed and I wasn’t hearing much from God about where I should look for work, or what I was supposed to be doing not only with this time, but with the rest of my life.
Esther was a beautiful young woman who was chosen to go into the household of the king to be trained and perhaps chosen as his wife. The bible says that she was a woman of incomparable beauty. When she moved into the palace, she underwent 1 year of treatments and training before she could be presented to the king. When she was presented to the king, he found favour with her and she replaced his wife as queen. In the position of queen, she was given the favour she needed to save her whole people group from extinction. You know the story; those are the broad-strokes.
I tell you this story because, in January of 07, I was an overweight, unhappy woman with no joy in my job, and a string of failures with attempting to lose weight. I was single with no prospects, or much hope. Life was pretty bleak in those areas, but I desperately loved the lord and had amazing friends, and I was staying busy with the Lord.
I had just spent more money than I could truly afford to buy into a weigh-loss program that is a year from beginning to end. I was standing in my bathroom doing my hair when a quiet voice broke through and said “52 weeks of preparation” I had just been reading the book of Esther and I knew her story. I knew immediately it was the Lord and said “52 week until WHAT??” My immediate thought of course… went to “A MAN!!!” My heart started beating… I asked…. Until my wedding? Until I meet Him??? and then I got a hold of myself and thought… maybe it is 52 weeks until I am launched into a great new career….
I took a moment to think about all the wondrous possibilities this might relate to and then I gave it to the Lord, and tucked it away. I have learned, that, when dealing with the things of God, he is “above and beyond anything I can ask or imagine”, and I never truly can guess what god has up His sleeve.
On I go about my life…. A job that I hated, but I began to see success with my weight loss.
Fast forward to June, I lost my job. It was one of the inexplicable situations that can only be God taking me out of a situation that was killing my soul one day at a time. Even though I KNEW it was God, it was still crappy!
I decided just after I lost my job, that since this was a circumstance that God had orchestrated, I wanted get as much as I could out of whatever was going to come my way . Passed and I wasn’t hearing much from God about where I should look for work, or what I was supposed to be doing not only with this time, but with the rest of my life.
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