Should-Be-Doings

An excerpt from First Light: Women's Daily Devotional & Journal:

Someone once comared the daily task of caring for small children to stringing beads. At the end of the day you expect to find quite an impressive strand considering your efforts; then you come to realize there was no knot at the end of the string! All your hard work is strewn across the floor in spilled juice, Cheerios, toys and dirty diapers.

After the birth of her third child, Joy could easily relate to the "stringing beads" analogy. Every day she cared for a preschooler, a toddler, and a nursing infant - three needy little humans. Although she felt blessed beyond measure to be entrusted with these children, she found herself mostly exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed.

In a rare moment of quiet one afternoon, Joy cried out to God, "What are my priorities? Quiet times"? (Those were hard to come by). "Scripture memorization"? (She could hardly remember where she put her purse!) "Exercise"? (How about pull-ups; she would pull the covers up over her head each morning).

"Joy", He seemed to say, "if you'll quit looking for significance in your circumstances and accomplishments and simply rest in your assignment, I will accomplish My agenda through you each day. This important season of your life may not look like you think it should, but by serving these little ones you are serving Me". Sure enough, when she let God's plans dictate her "doings", her life was filled with peace and contentment. Some days that divine agenda consisted simply of three meals and snacks, spills and cleanups, diapers and laundry, but always, God's love.

What "doings" in your life will you allow God to dictate?

Psalm 138: 7-8(NIV)

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; ...with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.

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I feel like God is done with me in a way. Or maybe it's the way that I'm feeling because of the people around me. I wonder what God's plan is for my life. If my season of singing for the Lord is over with God. I guess only time will tell.

Committment

An excerpt from First Light: Women's Daily Devotional&Journal:

New Year's Day has come and gone. People are talking about their resolutions. Talk, as the old adage says, is cheap. It's now two weeks into the new year, and most of those resolutions have already gone into the recycling bin. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh just can't seem to keep up. We slip back into our old comfortable patterns.

Why is it so difficult for us to keep the committments we make? Perhaps because the changes we seek are external rather than internal. We can make vows but unless true committment is roooted deep in our hearts, we are bound to fail, to disappoint our loved ones and ourselves.

We live in a society where lack of committment is the accepted norm. If the road to marital bliss gets a little rocky, bail out and start over with someone new. If a job's tougher than you planned, turn it over to someone else - or just abdicate it altogether. If you're always late for appointments - hey, no big deal. They'll wait. Committment, in the modern world, simply isn't a very high priority.

To God, however, committment is the very bedrock of faith. And it begins, not with our external efforts to change our outward patterns, but with a profound inward conviction that draws us into a committment to Someone greater than ourselves.

When we commit our lives to God, we begin to see the spiritual truth in everyday life, to realize that keeping our word is not just a matter of making a good impression, but a matter of being true to the One who created us and redeemed us. Committment is not an outward effort, but an inner transformation. It's not a New Year's resolution; it's a gift of grace.

What committments do you need God's help to fulfill?

Psalm 116: 13-14I will lift up the cup of salvation and call the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of His people.

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This is one of the reasons I have since stopped making new year's resolutions. They never worked. What I do do, is ask God to help me with a few things. Not a whole bunch of things all at once. It's a daily and even sometimes a weekly thing. And I have noticed, this does work.