The Condition of Your Heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right and steadfast spirit within me. ~Psalm 51:10 (AMP)

Life happens to us. Life happens in us. Life happens for us. And because life happens, we sometimes find ourselves all over the place. We may be happy one minute, sad the next, then frustrated, then worried, and the list goes on. Things around and in us cause us to feel this myriad of emotions that  doesn't necessarily have to do with anyone else. It has everything to do with us and the condition of our hearts.

David found himself in a quandary in the above passage. So much transpired in and through him, and he needed to be still. He knew he had sinned against God and wanted forgiveness. He didn't blame anyone else for his actions. He took responsibility for his vile actions, humbled himself, repented, and asked God for forgiveness.

I've not felt my loving self for a few days. I've been attitudinal, recluse, short, and simply bothered. It could be cabin fever. It could be I'm over being sick and just want to get well. It could be that I've allowed some stuff to creep in that's not like God. Either way, I know that I don't like it and desire to do something about it. This had led me to our prayer focus and study this week...our hearts. Each day this week, I will meditate on one of these Scriptures to help get me back to where I need to be and in His presence.

Psalm 51:10 (today's Scripture)
Romans 10:10
Ezekiel 36:26
Proverbs 4:23
James 4:8
Jeremiah 17:10


Every day will not be happy. Every moment will not be one filled with laughter and fun. Every experience will not be a golden one. However, we can invite Him in and allow Him to work fully and completely on our hearts to change them, so we can experience all that He has in store for us.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, create in me a clean heart. Remove any and every thing that hinders me from who You have called me to be. Replace worry with peace, doubt with clarity, and sadness with joy. Restore love in my heart. The unconditional and agape love that You have for me, let me have that and show that towards others. I pray that You will ease any tension that may try to come upon me this week. I know that You have a divine plan for my life. Let me and my flesh get out of the way of that. Help me to discern when what I'm feeling is not You. Help me to grow. Forgive me for a stony heart, a pierced heart, a contrite heart. Restore joy and love and peace and meekness and loving kindness in the Name of Jesus. I desire more of You and less of me in my heart now.  I love You. I trust You. And I thank You in advance for the turnaround. In Jesus' Name...amen.

Be blessed,
Tee

It Starts in the Mind

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Romans 12:2 (KJV)

We've all heard the phrase, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" (Arthur Fletcher). We've heard it and maybe even internalized it. But many of us are still wasting away our minds. We can't make necessary changes in our lives because of the state of our minds. There are things that we want to do, but we simply do not put forth the effort to do them because of what's in our minds. And more often than not, what's in and on our minds is not us; it's someone else. We are concerned about what they will think, what they will say, how they will respond, if they will support or turn away, and the list goes on. 

Most of our time and energies are spent on making the actual plans instead of executing them. Our plans are well thought, and we even know that God is IN them. We have the faith to execute them. But a plan without action is simply just a plan. Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). 

Our thoughts can sometimes push us out of a blessing and a breakthrough. We spend time thinking about frivolous things that end up causing up frustration, worry, mischief, and the list goes on. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8 to think on things that are honest, just, pure, praiseworthy, of good report, and true. That should drive our hearts and will to move in the direction of God and the things of God.

This week, let's put our prayer focus on our minds. Read, meditate, pray, and even journal on one scripture a day. In your journal, write out the actual scripture, write what you understand of it, and write how you want to God to give that Scripture life in your life. Let's see how God moves when we make up our minds that it's time for a transformation in our lives. It's a process, but we have to know that the change starts in our minds.

Romans 12:2 (above)

Isaiah 26:3

Romans 8:5-6

Colossians 3:2

Psalm 119:15

Philippians 2:5-8

Prayer:
Dear God, we thank You for minds to seek You. As we go through this week focusing on cleansing our minds, we ask that You remove anything that is not like You. Draw us closer to Your Word and grant us understanding. Let Your Word give us life and breathe new life into our minds. We desire a change in our thinking. We desire to let go of thoughts that hold us bound...stuck. To go forward in this thing called life, we know that we need an infilling of You. Speak to us. We're ready. We're hungry. We're desperate. Have Your way in this journey. Open our minds to receive from You. In Jesus' Name...amen.

Be blessed,

Tee

I Got You!

I'm training for a marathon to be run later this year. I have a good friend, my #RunBoo, that I get a few runs in with a few times per week. We have a great time on and off the pavement. One day last week torwards the end of a run, she frantically says, "Sis, give me your hand! Give me your hand! I want to quit!" Yes... we were rolling at a pretty fast pace. I have her my hand and began to encourage her.

When we got to the stopping point, she was weak. Doubled over, spitting up, and all that comes with having the wind knocked out of you when you push it during a run, she ended up on the ground. I let her sit for a few until she said she was dizzy. I was able to get her to her feet and instructed one of the other ladies to squeeze some of my electrolytes in her mouth. She said, "Sis I'm going down." As she began to go down, I held her tighter and said, "Nope. I gotchu." She was dead weight up against me. But I was girded against her, with my feet firmly planted and my arms around her waist.

How many times have we given so much of ourselves until we are just ready to quit? We need someone's hand because we know we can't go another step without that "grip", that "assurance", "them". The Bible encourages us to cast our cares upon God because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), and to come to Him for rest... those of us who are weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28-30). We can't be afraid to ask for help no matter what!

In your getting weary, reach out for Him. He will hold your hand, carry you through and over, and allow you to finish. He will hold you in the midst of it all, ensuring that you keep standing, despite the fact that you feel weak. His strength IS made perfect in our weakness. When we're weak, He's strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)!

Be blessed,

Tee

Change Your Method...Change Your Results

A couple weeks ago, one of my son's friends came to me with a delimma. She needed to pass a PT test for school, but was struggling with the sit-ups. She asked if I'd spend some time with her getting her core stronger. Sure!

We're at the gym, and I ask her to demonstrate the form they're to use for the sit-ups. She also explained the rules - feet can't come up and arms have to touch thighs when you come up. She struggled doing 3 and needs to complete 38 in 1 minute. After a few tries and some additional core exercises, I thought I'd give it a try.

I asked her to sit on my feet and set the timer. I confirmed the rules with her as well. Instead of grabbing my shoulders with my arms crossed like she did, I crossed my arms and rested my hands on my upper arm. I was able to complete 43. We switched spots. She tried the same method. This time, she was able to complete 5 without pulling herself up by grabbing her legs!

Someone may be thinking...well you're probably in better shape than she is. That may be true. But sometimes the issue is our form or the method we're using! You may know how to say a prayer, but what's the positioning of your heart when you seek God in prayer? You may have had the same experience that your friend is venting to you about, but is now the right time to tell her about what you did? Or should you just listen, quietly praying for Godly wisdom in responding?

I'm sure so many things can apply here. My encouragement to you, my sisters, is if you have the tools but can't seem to fix it, try using the tools a different way. It may simply be how you're "holding the screwdriver that's causing the screw to go in sideways". Take a breath. Assess the situation and what you're working with. And don't be afraid to switch it up!

Be blessed, 

Tee ❤

Favor in Your Fight

Early into my 5-mile run this morning, I heard very clearly:

There is favor in your fight.

I was like...hunh? Then I found myself having a conversation with myself in my head. My response to that was - but isn't the battle the Lord's? I thought he was fighting my battles, and I was just to be still?

I shook it off and kept running. While sitting at my desk, I read someone's post in a group about (I'm paraphrasing) not wanting to get up. Not wanting to do their workout. Not wanting to deal with humidity. But...in the end they were glad that they did.

We will never know what the finish will be if we don't "fight". A fight isn't always violent. A fight can simply be a struggle - with someone, with something, or even with YOURSELF! We have to not be so quick to "get out of the ring" before the bell sounds. Pray for endurance. Pray for Him to sustain us and give us wisdom, knowing that at some point and some way, He's going to give us the tools necessary for the victory. The favor is already IN it. We just have to have faith and see the favor in our FIGHT!

Be blessed, 

Tee <3

Daily Push 5.4.17

Things may not always be as we want them to be. But trust...God has them working according to His plan and His timing. Trust, commit to, and embrace the process.

Lay Aside Every Weight…Not So Fast!

As a runner, I have long runs and short runs as part of my training. I had a long run planned for this past Saturday, and I awakened to a temperature in the low 30s. I got dressed and put on my warm pants, and I also had a 16.9 oz bottle of water, my “protection”, cell phone, and fuel goodies in the pockets. The course was unfamiliar to us. We noticed there were several inclines…and even rolling hills. While running the route, I felt weighted down with all the “stuff” I was carrying. I felt like it was slowing me down at one point. I said to myself that I wished I would have left things in the car because they were heavy and causing me to slow down.

 I continued to move. I had a 10-mile run on deck. During the run, I heard the scripture so clearly, “Lay aside every weight and run the race…” (Hebrews 12:1-2). But just as I heard that, the Lord spoke to me and made my “weight” clear to me:

Your “protection” is for your safety.
Your water is to keep you hydrated.
Your phone is in case of emergency.
Your goodies are your sustenance.

When I shifted my focus from my “stuff” to my “purpose”, I began to pick up the pace. I knew that everything I had ON me was good FOR me! Some weight is necessary – to build you up, to protect you, to sustain you, to make you stronger, to KEEP you!

I encourage you to pray for discernment about the weight you’re carrying during this “race” called life. Lay aside frustration, negativity, worry, depression, idle chatter – those things will keep you from moving forward and crossing the finish line. Carry that right weight knowing that He’s with you every step of the way. It may be a struggle at first, but in the end, you will be bigger, better, faster, and stronger…on, with, and for purpose!

Be blessed!
Tee