Tag Archives: destinantion

Oct24

DAY 296 (2014)

Posted on October 24, 2014 by lsgrlr

A change in perspective, a change of view.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

Been thinking a lot today about how I believe life should be, verses the reality of how life is. I have realized something. We (okay me) tend to live in “the how we think things should be”. The problem…There is rarely a time where fantasy and reality are the same. Moving here in many was has been the best thing that has happened in a while, but in some ways it has been the most difficult too. Why? Because the picture in my head does not match the reality of what I am facing. Today as I drove through my picturesque city talking (okay technically complaining) to God, He impressed this on my heart… TRUST His reality. Trust the things I know to be true about God. I have been so busy thinking about how I thought things should be I had forsaken the most important thing. What God brought me here for. Today He reminded me that the ultimate problem is, where we put our focus. If we focus on the problem then all we see is the problem, oddly if we focus on our fantasy then once again all we see is the problem. But if we focus on God’s purpose, then we are privy to the big picture. Life doesn’t always fit our fantasy. Heck 99% of the time it doesn’t. That’s because the goal isn’t to live out our fantasy, but to find our true purpose, to unfold into what God created us to be. To be our “real” self. Today His still small voice told me my focus was on the wrong picture. Change your perspective, change view. Stop looking at the fantasy, look at the God who wants to lead us to the best versions of ourselves.

“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing Him directly just as He knows us!” (1 Corinthian 13:12, The Message Bible).

The Lesson: Don’t focus on the situation focus on God who can fix the situation.

Oct5

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on October 5, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Ruth 1. “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her” (Verses 16-18). I have always loved the book of Ruth. It is the ultimate Cinderella story with a God twist. It dawned on me that this story may never had happened had Ruth chosen the easy way. Naomi gave both her daughter-in-laws the right to go back home. The freedom to break their pledge with her and return to their families, to find new husbands, to have a chance at a new life. At first both insisted on staying, but Naomi insisted and thus Orpah left. But Ruth clung. I love this because many times that’s all God wants, for us to cling. For His children to hold on to Him and see what He has for them. If you have read the story of Ruth, then you know the blessing that awaits her because she clung, because she held on, because she choose to keep the commitment she had made. I am not saying that Orpah wasn’t blessed. I am not even saying that she made the wrong choice. But there is no story in the bible about her. Ruth clung and her story has been told from generation to generation. Want to leave a legacy, a story worth being told for generations to come… then CLING. See what God has for you.

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.

Sep16

DAY 258 (2014)

Posted on September 16, 2014 by lsgrlr

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First step gets you to the door, second step gets you through it.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

So today I had this thought. “The first step is scary. But the second step gets you through the door.” I am not sure where the thought came from (well that’s not 100% true. Duh, God), but it has permeated my day invading my thoughts. I have accomplished a lot more in the last three weeks than I have in most of my adult life. I let go of my past and took the step necessary to grab a hold of my future. That’s quite an accomplishment, that is not to say that where I came from was bad. On the contrary I left a great job, great patients, and great friends to embark on a journey to find God’s “best” and not just live in “great”. Now that I have made the first step, moving. It is time for the second step, acclimating. The culture in Western, NY is a lot different from South Florida. For example last night I left my house at midnight to run out and get something. I was shocked to find that there was no one on the road. WEIRD!!!! I mean that literally NO ONE was on the road, just me (this makes me wonder why they have 24 hour anything here). Midnight in Florida the roads would still have tons of cars, and not from people going home, but from people going out. Clearly this part of New York is the part that does sleep, a lot. As I have been thinking about the things I miss the most, ie., my church home, my hairdresser, and my friends. It dawned on me that those are things God wants to give me here as well. Granted they won’t be a replica of what I left behind, but they will be exactly what I need for this leg of the journey. How do I get them? Take the next step. Step one gets us to the destination, but it is the second step that gets us through the door. This is not just true of life, but of our walk with God as well. Many times we’re comfortable with the first step, asking God for help. But it is the second step, doing what He says that tends to give us pause. Life is about the journey, that’s true. But journeys are meant to bring us to a destination. Don’t just take the first step, take the second as well. Don’t just arrive, thrive.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:1).

Lesson: The second step is just as important as the first. The first gets you to the door, the second gets you through it.

Sep13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on September 13, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Joshua 24. “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 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. Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!It was the Lord our God Himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because He is our God'” (Verses 14-18). Choose who you will serve. We all serve something, and that is our God given right. Joshua laid out clearly for Israel the distinction between the two choices. He didn’t merely tell them once, but he reminded them over and over again throughout his 110 year existence and before him Moses did the same. What’s my point? God does not hide from us the right way. He doesn’t only tell us the good. He clearly gives us both sides of the coin and allows us to choose which side we prefer. So like Joshua I lay out this challenge before all who read this post: “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” The choice is yours, so choose wisely. But as for me and my house we will serve GOD.

Sep12

DAY 254 (2014)

Posted on September 12, 2014 by lsgrlr

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The fences of our past aren’t meant to keep us out. No, sometimes they are saying…fight to get in.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Looking back. Remembering. Today I had an interview. It was a phone interview and it lasted for about an hour. During the course of the interview the interviewer and I covered much ground, but the longest portion of our talk pertained to my past work experience. Questions such: “Name a time when you had to deal with an irate patient, how did you resolve the situation?” In my working life I have had to deal with angry, irate, happy, sad and sometimes crazy patients. I have lots of stories, however, the moment the questions started coming my mind (which is normally full) went BLANK. 🙂 . I started a little mini panic on the inside. But God (I think I have said it before that is my favorite phrase in the Bible), reminded me of the verse He gave me in my morning devotion John 14:27. He reminded me that He had given me His peace, the peace that passes all understanding. I took a deep breath, thanked God for the reminder, and the stories came flooding in. I answered all her question with actual work examples. The interview ended, she thanked me for my time and told me I would have an answer in about a week. After hanging up I breathed a sigh of relief. I had given it my best and now it was in God’s hands. As I sat reflecting on the answers I had given, I realized something: we need to remember our past experiences. Why? Our past not only reminds us of how far we have come (or not come) it also helps to shape our future. That is part of the reason earlier today I posted my blog from a year ago. On that day I was thankful for new beginnings for new life, today I am thankful for a new journey, a new road to travel, and a possible new job. Some of us have painful past (trust me I know, I have had very dark days) and because of that we hide our past or feel ashamed of it. The problem is that once we start hiding we are always hiding, and we are never comfortable or secure enough to be who we really are. That is not what the past is meant to do. Our past whether beautiful or scary is meant to propel us forward, it is meant to be the stepping stone to something better. If our past is good then we have a good foundation on which to build. If our past is bad, then we have the opportunity to change our circumstance and fight for a brighter day. Never be ashamed of where you come from, but also don’t live there. Life is all about the growing forward and growing up. Today my past help me with my interview, it helped me crack open the door to my future. Let your past do the same for you.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).

Lesson: We all have a past and whether it be amazing or horrifying God wants to use it as a blessing for our future.

Aug27

DAY 238 (2014)

Posted on August 27, 2014 by lsgrlr

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In life we either fly or crawl. One requires that we let go of the load, and the other requires that we bear the burden. The choice is ours: Free to fly, or burdened to a crawl. (Picture by Lisa R.)

I have so much to say. There is so much that God has done in past week and a half, but I fear I will never be able to express adequately all that I have been learning. All that I have seen Him do. As I was pondering what to write and how to write. I determined that the message I wanted to most convey was the reason I had decided to embark on this journey in the first place. I wanted to see God work, but I also wanted to be used. Here’s the best way I can tell my story:

The Flying Flower

Yesterday I went for a run in my new neighborhood I happened upon a butterfly. It was white with a little bit of yellow in the center it reminded me of a daisy. A flying flower. I stopped and watched it for a bit. Then I had this thought how does a butterfly come into being. Even the smallest of children know that butterflies first start out as caterpillars. So how does this unattractive, usually stepped on bug become a flying flower? It let’s go of the old. It literally has to dissolve all of it’s old outer layer all the way to its core. This produces a protein rich goo-like liquid that then regenerates and grows all the parts necessary for the bug to become what it was truly meant to be. A flower with wings. Right now in my life I am in the stage of letting go of my outer core, so that I can become what God intended. Life has thrown many curve balls my way and instead of swinging I hid in fear worried that I might get hit. As I looked back on my life I saw many missed opportunities, many open doors that I failed to walk through. I was not ready to let go of that outer protection I had built up. Sadly though it meant I was crawling around like a bug, instead of soaring like a butterfly. Today I can say I have seen God do amazing things in the one week I have been in Buffalo, He has met me right at the point of my need. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Each experience has helped me shed a new layer of the outer core and has pushed me closer to the place that Christ has prepared for me. Here’s the truth we are ALL either crawling or flying. We are either living the life that God has for us or we are living according to the world. One gives us the freedom to soar. One holds us down and all we can do is crawl. The choice as always is ours. Choice wisely.

“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people, He will beautify the humble with salvation” (Psalms 149:4).

Learning to fly and not crawl. Learning to shed what is not needed so that I can lay hold of what is (needed).

Aug19

DAY 231 (2014)

Posted on August 19, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Let God direct our path…expect miracles EVERY day.

It’s been a while since I have posted a DAY post. I apologize about that, I have been (and still am) in the process of moving from Florida to Buffalo, NY (yeah I know, quite the climate change). The move is two fold, first and foremost I sincerely believe it is what God is calling me to do. Previously when I have done something this dramatic I was usually running away from something, this is the first time I feel like I am running toward something, and that is a GREAT feeling. Secondly I realized that if I didn’t make a change I would forever be stuck not realizing or exercising my full potential in Christ. What does that mean? Well…we all have a purpose, I think I have said this before. We all also have a personal responsibility to listen and follow God’s guidance so that we end up on the path that He has prepared for us. However, many times we miss out, not because we don’t love God or because we don’t want to trust and follow Him. But because many times His ways don’t jive with our human logic and thus we assume it can’t be God, and so we don’t go. We don’t even pray, we just assume that God would do it OUR way. My relationship with God wasn’t bad prior to making this drastic change, but it was stale and stagnant. I wasn’t doing great things, I wasn’t doing small things, I wasn’t doing ANYTHING. I wasn’t living expecting God to show up and do amazing things. I was just a “christian”, when what I want to be is a CHRISTIAN. So this portion of the journey will be a little different. From this moment and till such time as God says, don’t write this post. I will endeavor to live my life expecting God to SHOW UP. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I want to see His hand in every area of my life, I want you all to be able to see His hand in every area of my life. I want to live like Joshua, “strong and courageous, not trembling or being afraid”. I want to like Paul, “be persuaded that my GOD is able to do all that He says, and more”. But even more than that, I want all who read the words I write to see it too. Welcome to the journey, let’s experience God together!!! 😛

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Today I believe and trust that God has gone before me. I await His blessings on this journey.

Aug2

DAY 214 (2014)

Posted on August 2, 2014 by lsgrlr

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The bars aren’t meant to keep you out. No, sometimes they are saying…fight to get in.
(Picture by Lisa R)

God’s got jokes. Plenty of them. This morning I have to be honest I didn’t do my devotions. I kept putting it off thinking, “I’ll just do it later.” Later came. So I put it off for, yup, you guessed it, later. Then later came again and again (what’s up with later…geesh). It is now 7:27 pm and I just finished my devotions, about 15 minutes ago. So, why does God have jokes? The lesson I walked away with from my time in His word? Right choices are often the hardest to make (see God…JOKES). Why? They normally go against popular advice and popular beliefs. They also usually mean harder work, and more effort given. I am packing up and moving away from my “comfortable”. I am stepping into a unknown that will require me to work harder, put forth more effort. What I have realized about comfortable from this time of packing is that comfort makes you lazy. It makes you forget your dreams your goals. Often times we will sit in comfort, even if we are dissatisfied. Why? Well, it’s comfortable. We are not called to be comfortable, and just for the record we are not called to be uncomfortable either. No we are called to move forward, we are created to grow, change, and adapt. When we settle in our “comfortable” we don’t move forward. So today as I embark on this new journey. I know I will grow, I know I will change. But most importantly I know that God will continue to move me in His direction. That is the direction I want to go. Today’s lesson: Don’t settle in the “comfortable”. Move. Grow. Adapt.

“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived’ the things God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthian 2:9).

So what’s the plan? Move. Grow. Adapt. Let God be God.