Ready or not!!!

I’m sure almost every American knows that phrase from the childhood game of hide and seek. It’s a phrase that usually accompanies happiness, laughter and squeals of joy.  But this past week, I heard it said by my husband and it brought on a whole new set of feelings and emotions. 

I was recently asked to be one of 4 speakers at a women’s event at our church. While I am NOT a fan of public speaking, (you could more accurately describe me as having a FEAR of public speaking) I willingly said YES.  When I got off the phone, I thought to myself “What in the world did you just agree to, Amy!” All I really had was a message title and a vague idea of what I should speak on. 

I immediately began to pray and seek God, asking Him to help me to know exactly what HE wanted me to talk about.

I began scribbling notes down here and there (and everywhere), when a thought would pop into my head.  A few days before I was supposed to speak, I was still struggling with what I was even going to talk about.  I had crossed so much out, that I was left with almost nothing.  I went to my husband (who I admire for his ability to speak and communicate God’s word) and asked if he could help me organize my thoughts (at this point, my notes and thoughts were so scatterbrained that I was getting worried that I wasn’t going to make any sense when I got up to speak).  He told me to calm down, that it would all work out. He gave me some tips on how to write out my notes. So I scrapped what I had and started ALL OVER.   This time when I sat down to write, I felt God’s presence immediately take over.  I was able to write something that made sense!  Perfect sense!  I knew God was giving me exactly what to say. 

My notes were ready, and I had my story.  I read what I had to Kory and he assured me that it all made sense.

The night of the event, my nerves really kicked into high gear.  I went to my husband again for reassurance.  Instead of the reassuring words I was hoping for, he said “Babe, ready or not, it’s happening, you can’t escape it!”  Those words felt like a kick in the gut. I couldn’t turn back now!  I couldn’t call up our women’s leader and say “sorry, I don’t feel comfortable speaking after all.  Nope! This was it.  It was time…time to face my fear and share exactly what God has laid on my heart.  I prayed all the way to church, asking God to help me to communicate what He had given me, but more importantly, I prayed that someone (even just ONE lady) would be encouraged by my message. 

When it was my turn to speak, I felt at ease and all of my nerves seemed to fade away.  Since that night, I have had several women come to me and thank me for my message.  God DID work through me, even with my fears and doubts!  It’s crazy really, because I know He never leaves me or lets me down, so I don’t know why I was expecting anything less.  All glory goes to HIM.

Now, back to the “ready or not” phrase. 

I believe it applies to us as Christians. I believe that we are given so many opportunities to share with others, to serve and love and give, that we sometimes let those opportunities slip right through our hands.

Each one of us has a choice of whether or not to follow God's will for our lives. If we choose to reject God's will then He will find someone else to do it and we will suffer the consequences for our disobedience. 

Take Esther for example,

Esther obeyed the will of God without any thought for her life. She could have very easily attempted to preserve her own life, but instead she pushed aside thoughts of her own safety for the good of her people. She submitted to God's will for her life and God used her in a great capacity because of it.
Whatever God's will is for our lives, we need not shy away from it! God will provide us with the tools we need to do His will. If we will merely submit to Him, He will make it possible for us to accomplish whatever He calls us to do.

2 Timothy 4:2 (NLT) says: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not.

Blessings!

-Amy 

A year’s worth of “hurry”

Certain personality types require every minute to be accounted for.  One might feel the need to constantly be checking things off a “to do” list, or feel an urgency to immediately give an account to the electronic world by instantly answering texts, emails, social media alerts.  This past year I found myself falling into that trap – the trap of distractions. 

I found myself constantly rushing everyone (especially my children).  I caught myself saying things like:

“hurry up and eat”

“why must you take so long getting dressed?”

“hurry up and get in the car, we’re going to be late!”

With my personality type, I find it necessary to be on time and have every aspect of my life in order.  The only problem is, it’s not just me that lives in my house.  I have been blessed with family members who live life a bit more “leisurely” than I do. This is especially true for my 8 year old daughter, who at times I feel purposefully moves in slow motion just to see how I will react.  This past year I found myself getting very frustrated when things weren’t moving along in the time frame that I felt they needed to. 

One day recently, my kids and I were driving home from visiting some family we hadn’t seen in quite awhile, when I had an overwhelming “God experience” in the car.  I was suddenly driving at the exact time that God had decided to paint the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.  My kids were happy in the backseat, playing their games, when I told them to turn them off and look at artwork around them.  I explained to them how God took the time to paint the sky just for us!  They were amazed.  It seemed like the “painting” kept changing minute by minute.  I handed my phone back to my daughter and had her snap some photos of the beauty.  I know that the pictures don’t do it justice, but at least you will get an idea of what we were seeing on the drive home that evening:

 

Somehow through watching that sunset, God reminded me of the importance of the PEOPLE He has placed in my life and that they deserve my focus more than all of the other things that fight for my attention.  I still believe it is important to be reliable, & on time for things, however I have learned that people won’t always be there. I have had a substantial amount of loss in my life, so it’s interesting to me how easy it is to still lose focus on what truly matters. 

So, while I could list all of the things I would like to do differently this year, I want my focus to instead to be on the people that I hold so dear to me.  In 2014, I resolve to slow down, let my kids take an extra minute or two (because in reality that’s all it every really is), and just live…in every moment of every day.  I know what they say is true, kids grow up so fast.  I’m already seeing that in my own two.  I want to hold on to these moments I have with them as long as I can; and this year, I refuse to let the busyness of schedules and my own agenda get in the way of experiencing each blessing God has for us, whether big or small! Speaking of blessings….here are the ones that I hold dearest to my heart.  Of course there are others, but these are the ones that have been with me through life’s ups and downs…

My two B-E-A-U-tiful kids

   The most PATIENT man I know, my sweet husband

My dad & step mom who have always been willing to rearrange their own schedules just to spend time with us. And when they are with my children, they help to affirm what Kory and I are teaching them at home about God and life.   

This year, I will live in the moment….