Category Archives: Direction

Sep12

DAY 255 (2015)

Posted on September 12, 2015 by lsgrlr

Fill in the blank…

Mmmm, been a while, huh? Sorry about that. Life has gotten busy, but that is not an excuse. But if there is one thing I have learned it is that when it comes to being thankful it is better late than never. So, here goes.

Since we last interacted many things have changed. For one I have relocated both state and job. The change has been good in many ways. My mom is happy, we are closer to my brother. Life on a whole has improved. My job is fun and offers a lot of opportunity for growth.

However, there still are struggles. Such as once again I still bear most of the financial burden, and the worst one, I work on Sundays (no church). Wait, no that’s not the worst the worst is that due to lack of time, and an inability to not interact with people of like minds and hearts. I have for the better part of this entire year found myself in a spiritual funk to say the least.

Not backslidden per say, but not moving forward either. I feel that for a Christian, this is the most horrible state to be. It is the place where God has said, “I will spew you from my mouth.” Let’s be honest no one ever has aspired to be spewed from anything much less God’s mouth. But that is where I found myself in the land of the lukewarm, not hot, not cold, and not just right.

Two days ago I took a hit, a bad one. My first reaction whine and complain and inevitably ask the, “Why’s it always me,” question. But then I realized the hit wasn’t meant to hurt me, it was meant to wake me up.

Yesterday was the first in a long time that I took time in my devotion. Not just skimming the words so I could say I spent time, but reading and taking to heart what was being said. Reading to see what God was teaching. I prayed that morning for a better financial situation and to not have to work on Sundays.

Almost at the end of my work day I receive an email from my supervisor it read, “you qualify for this you should apply.” I finished up what I was doing and on my break read the email. It was a job posting in the company one that would give me my Sundays back and raise my pay exponentially. What floored me is that I hadn’t mentioned this to anyone, not the need for more money nor the desire to not work on Sundays.

God heard. God answered.

What’s my point? God hears. No matter how far you stray, no matter how hard you fall– God hears. ALWAYS.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10).

The lesson: With God you can always go back home, it’s never too late, and our Father is waiting at the gate with open arms.

So what am I thankful for today, repentance and a God, who hears, always.

Jan18

DAY 18 (2015)

Posted on January 18, 2015 by lsgrlr

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What we look like when our eyes are off our purpose… dirty snow.

It has snowed for the past two weeks in Buffalo (this is not an exaggeration). Today is the first day where snow did not fall at least one time during the day. Right about now you’re wondering if this post is going to be a weather update. Rest assured it is not. Snow when it initially falls is white, pure, and beautiful. But when it has sat for a while and interacted with the elements of the earth, it becomes a brown dirty mess. What’s my point? Snow unaffected by the world is a beautiful sight, it is doing what it was created to do. As snow is falling it is fulfilling the purpose that God made it for. But when snow is sitting and not falling it is not doing what it was created for and at that moment is when it beaten and dirtied by the world. Are you catching my point, yet? We all have a purpose, a reason for being. When we are living that purpose we are unaffected by the world, we interact but are unaffected because our focus is on our purpose. But when we like snow sit around not doing what we are called to do, then we too become dirty and ineffective. Today God reminded me that I have a purpose and that everyday He guides me to do what He has called me to do. On the days that I follow I feel light and at peace, even if my circumstances don’t change. But on days that I don’t I feel dark and burdened. If we want light in our lives, and not to be cast aside like dirty snow, we need to do what God has called us to do.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good and what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

What am I thankful for today? Lessons from the snow.

Jan5

DAY 5 (2015)

Posted on January 5, 2015 by lsgrlr

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As we grew each lesson helps us make better choices the next time around… learn the lesson.

Today I woke up to my car door frozen shut. Ice on my windshield and 13 degree temperatures. Yup, it was cold, really, really cold… still is. But I also woke up to clear blue skies, and brisk refreshing air. The fact that God allowed me to wake up at all is a blessing in itself. Today work didn’t go as planned. I am still learning to navigate a system that I have never used before, but today I was better at the job than I was last week. Today I felt more confident in what I was doing than I had previously. Today is when it hit, that life is a lesson and we are all called to learn and grow. Everyday whatever trials we are going through will get a little easier to bear, a little easier to handle as we learn to navigate better. Who I am today, is not who I was this time last year (and that is a blessing). Today I feel like someone standing at the beginning, surveying the horizon and realizing that I can do and become anything I want as long as God is my guide. Today I am a billion percent thankful for the lessons I have learned and for the hardships I had to go through in order to learn them. Here’s the thing: lessons and hardships will always be there, but we have a choice, learn the lessons so we can grow to the next steps, or, don’t learn and stay right were we are… The choice is ours to make, that’s what free will is all about. Choose wisely.

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

So what am I thankful for today? Learning to make wise choices.

Oct27

DAY 299 (2014)

Posted on October 27, 2014 by lsgrlr

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A little cleaning never hurt anybody.

So I dislike cleaning it is my least favorite past time. If I could avoid it I would. However, God in his infinite wisdom and with His ironic sense of humor has made it so that cleaning is something I can not avoid. Why you ask? Well, I am allergic to dust. Yes makes me laugh when I think about it too. Dust is everywhere it is unavoidable, which is why I have a large and unending supply of allergy medicines that I have to take on a daily basis so that breathing does not become difficult. One of the ways to combat aversion to dust is to clean. Told you God had an ironic sense of humor. I am convinced He allowed this infirmity because He knew I’d never clean any other way 😉 . Today was clean the house day (I do it twice a week to lessen the dust accumulation). as I cleaned my home I contemplated the change that life has taken over the past few month. Then it hit me that what I was doing in my home, was the very same thing that God was doing with me… CLEANING. There were many things in my former home of South Florida that vied for my attention, many things that caused clutter in my mind, in my life. Many of those things God needed to clean up in order to get me to a place where I could be pliable in His hands. Sometimes there are things in our lives that can cause us not to see the path. Dust in our life that makes it hard for us to breath. Let God clean it up. Don’t despise the cleaning. It makes breathing easier.

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4).

Lesson: If your “house” is dirty let God clean it.

Oct25

DAY 297 (2014)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Fill in the blank…

Today I saw the coolest sign it said, “I am thankful for _________…” It reminded me of the reason I started this blog. In 2012 life was less than stellar. I spent the majority of 2012 depressed, although you would not have known by looking at me. Years of being the “go to person” had taught me to hide my feelings like a pirate hides his treasure. But even if it didn’t show on the outside, I always knew what was going on, on the inside. At the lowest point of my year, God spoke to me and told me I needed to develop an attitude of THANKFULNESS. As you can guess, thankful was not how I was not my prevailing feeling. But from that challenge this journey was born. In 2013 everyday for 365 days, I found one thing to be thankful for. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. In those 365 days, some days were easier than others to find a reason to be thankful. That year changed me from the inside out. It taught me to see past the situation I was facing and to see the “what” God was trying to teach me. If we see life the good, bad, and ugly from the perspective of God, then we are able to find a reason to give thanks. As we give thanks, we learn to appreciate what we have, even when it is not always what we want. I learned that thankfulness does not change my situation, but it will change how I view the situation. So today just a little encouragement to be thankful in the midst of whatever you are going through. Life does not always go according to plan, but sometimes plans changing can also be a reason to be a reason to give thanks,

“Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, The Message).

So what am I thankful for today? I am thankful for God’s gentle reminder.

Oct23

DAY 295 (2014)

Posted on October 23, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Life is seasonal we change and we grow. We have to go through Winter to get to Spring.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

For all of those who read my DAY posts. I wanted to take this time to say I am sorry that I have not kept up with them. Someone very close to me recently said this, “you need to get back on that (meaning DAY posting) you don’t realize what a difference it makes and how encouraging it is.” The words touched me, but it they also made me realize something… That while, it is awesome that my posts encourages others, God uses them as a way to refresh and restore me as well. He uses them to remind me He has a plan, a purpose, a reason for the things that seem so unreasonable… so to all my readers 정말 죄송해요 (I sincerely apologize). Lately I have been feeling, meh. Nothing bad is happening, but things just feel, well, meh. Which explains the lack of writing. Because I have been so wrapped up in my “feelings”, I wasn’t really noticing the cause of my meh-ness (<–I think I may enter this word in the dictionary 😉 ), which is (and was) trusting, but not accepting. Yup it is as ironic as it sounds. God brought me here, told me He had a plan, confirmed in many ways that this was His direction for my so life, so I trust. But things aren’t falling into place the way I imagined, the road is right, but there are multiple paths and the right one doesn’t always have neon signs. So I am struggling to accept God’s choices. Today God used the change in seasons to re-teach me something I had forgotten. I am going to share it with you:

The first picture is what all the trees in Western New York looked like at the beginning of Autumn. The leaves are brightly colored, the air is brisked. You feel as though you are living in a dream world. It makes your heart feel happy and light. This is what that same tree currently looks like. See the life picture? Is it the same tree? Yes. However, the tree is going through a different season, a different period of its life cycle. It went from brightly colored leaves, to NO leaves at all. The tree is the same, but the season it inhabits is NOT. This does not only happen to trees, it also happens to us. However, our changes are more subtle, they are often times not as easily detectable as those of a tree in Fall, not even to the ones going through the change. Today God whispered this, “I am changing you. Bringing you to a new season in your life. Your leaves need to fall off in order for you to get where I want you to be.” Ahhhh… Life is seasonal, we have our Fall and then our Winter. But we have to go through Winter to get to Spring. And who doesn’t love SPRING?

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Today I am thankful for seasons and change.

Oct1

DAY 273 (2014)

Posted on October 1, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Uhmmm… today has been a day of whiny Lisa. I don’t mean to be this way, it is just that sometimes my emotions get the better of me. I made up the interview I missed last Wednesday due to the fact that my car decided it was time for a new battery (can’t fault it for that). I had, had negative feelings about the job since the moment I spoke to the recruiter a couple weeks prior. It just hit me as strange that she knew nothing about the job. Today would make the third attempt at this interview. The first was missed because the address to the company was misplaced (although the night prior I put it in my bag), when I tried calling the recruiter no answer. The second time was last Wednesday when the car battery died, but today, today I made it to the interview… and immediately realized why God had put that check in my heart and why the two times prior He had made it impossible to for me to make it. The job was not for me, what they wanted me to do was potentially dangerous for a single female. I left the interviewed grieved and a little down. Which is silly because I have a FINAL interview tomorrow for a really good company. Why was I grieved then? Because I was worried about what would happen if I didn’t find a job soon. Let me just preface this by saying my rent and bills are met for this month (God has provided), yet I am worried about what will happen next month. As I sat bemoaning my current lack of employment and my fear of the future God gently reminded me of my personal quiet time with Him yesterday. The message “Don’t worry about tomorrow, live in today”, the scripture Matthew 6:34. I use the Jesus Calling devotional for my personal quiet time, and yesterday it had this to say, “I want you to live this day abundantly, seeing all there is to see, doing all there is do. Don’t be distracted by future concerns. Leave them to Me! I am training you to keep your focus on My Presence in the present.” We won’t always do it right. There will be days when we feel the pressure, there will be days we feel insecure, but fear not God is always there to remind us that He is has our back. So don’t fear the future, Leave it in God’s very capable hand. Live in the NOW! It”s a lesson I am learning.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

Lesson: Live in today. Let God worry about tomorrow.

Sep23

DAY 265 (2014)

Posted on September 23, 2014 by lsgrlr

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What words are you using?

So if you have been reading my blog for a while you know I love God first and foremost. But you also know I have a love for all things Korean, so much so I have been learning the language for the past year and a half. It is a beautiful language and oddly not as hard to learn as you’d think considering the letters look more like pictures. My friend will often tease me by reading Korean characters based on what the symbols look like (to them) something like this, “the standing man is hugging a tree and crossing his legs” (yes, they’re a little abnormal… it’s why I love them). Learning this language is one of the things God used to help me step out of my box and explore the world around me. Today I have been thinking a lot about the things we let into our world, and how each new interaction changes us. Oddly I would never have this interaction with Korean had I not had surgery. I had six weeks of recuperation, which for a person who doesn’t really like being bored, was the most horrible experience, EVER. After a couple weeks of American TV and old movies I was going crazy. Enter the internet. I started surfing the web, watching random videos, I landed on a link for a Korean drama called Boys Before Flowers. I was hooked. It was both hilarious and refreshing. I then decided it would be more fun to understand what they were saying instead of just reading English subtitles, and thus started my journey into learning the Korean language. What’s the point of this very long story? Sometimes bumps in the road and potholes on the journey is God’s way of saying step out of the box, try something new. Don’t just settle for the same old. One year later my Korean journey saw me spending three weeks in Korea on a missions trip. I am not sure why I felt the need to write this today, probably because I know that we can miss so many things because we tend to stay with what we know. We stay in the box. So today just a little encouragement don’t miss your adventure because you’re too comfortable. Find the “NEW” that God has for you.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).

Lesson: Don’t settle for comfort, seek the adventure. Don’t miss God’s NEW

Sep19

DAY 261 (2014)

Posted on September 19, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Sometimes the path is right, but the direction is wrong. Plug into the navigator.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

Today I woke up feeling great, but that mood changed almost instantly after seeing my email. It was from United Healthcare, I recently applied for a job and was called for a phone interview last Friday. I was told I would receive a response in a week about whether or not they’d proceed to the next step with me, a face to face (they were true to their word). It turns out they don’t want to see my face (as adorable as it is… 😉 ). I wish I could say I was the pillar of faith, that I dropped to my knees and thanked God for not opening the door, because clearly He knew it would be bad for me. No, my response was more like, “I don’t understand Lord I am qualified for this job. How come no one wants to give me an opportunity?” Followed by a run down of what will happen if I don’t find a job soon (as if God was unaware). Yup I am a solid rock of faith… not. I got out of bed feeling dejected and wondering, what God’s ultimate plan for me was (I honestly can say I understand now why the Children of Israel whined and complained, but I also understand why because of their whining God made them wander in the desert for forty years). Here’s what I know God brought me out of my bondage. I know this because while I may be a little worried at times, the freedom I feel in my heart and in my mind is secondly only to how close my relationship with God has grown over this time. I determined in my heart at the beginning of this journey that if I was going to trust, I would trust even when I didn’t understand. After my mini meltdown, I had my devotion. God led me to Judges 6 (see Random Thought for today), the story of Gideon. Through this story God reminded me that He doesn’t always make the obvious choice. He sees what we miss and if we are going to let Him lead us, we have to trust that He didn’t make a mistake even when it feels to us like He did. After my devotion I decided to go park close to my house. To clear my mind, to change my scenery, and to talk to God. On the way to the park I got lost. Here’s the interesting part: I was on the right path, I was at the right crossroads, however, I going in the wrong direction. I found this out once I plugged in my navigator. The message was clear, I am in the right spot, but going in the wrong direction. I need to plug in to my navigator. God is my navigator, He will turn me in the direction that I need to go. I will not whine (although my human nature wants to), I will not see this door as a rejection, but as God’s way of saying, “You are in the right place, but walking in the wrong direction.”

“A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?” (Proverbs 20:24).

Lesson: Sometimes we can be on the right path, but going in the wrong direction. Plug in the navigator.