Waiting with Expectancy!!!

After writing the blog post about working overtime, I received at text from a reader that said "WHAT NEXT?". I was confused at first, and then the person said "What do I do after I give God control and let him fulfill his plan. I didn't have an immediate answer. I was kind of stumped. So today, I remembered a sermon I listened to one day while driving to school, and the pastor spoke about waiting for God's blessings. He stated that we should wait with faith that God is about to make those things we have been praying for come to pass. I listened to the entire sermon, but I didn't quite get it. I knew that the sermon was a good one, and I knew that I needed to hear it. I just could not quite understand. What did the pastor mean about waiting with expectancy? What did he mean wait with faith?

I wanted to blog about the sermon, but I just could not get what he was saying. It wasn't until today that I was online browsing at something that I have been wanting and even trying to plan for. All of a sudden I saw something that was reassuring, and I really think it was a sign from God. I had looked at the same photos, but it was something different about the photo this time. So, it hit me. I understood what the pastor was saying. We have to wait for our blessings, and while waiting we have to show God we have faith that he is going to deliver.

Now that I understand, I realized that I had not been waiting with expectancy. I would easily get discouraged when I stumbled or it seemed that things weren't happening fast enough. I would even wonder if it was ever going to happen because it seemed to be taking so long. But with this attitude, it was never going to happen. I was questioning God's power. I wasn't waiting like I knew he was going to bless me. Instead, I was sitting around worried and wondering how I could possibly make it happen. I was failing to acknowledge the power of God, and relying on myself and other people to make something happen.

There are a few things that I have prayed and prayed about, and almost became discouraged about. Last night, I realized that I wasn't allowing God to make those things happen. I was too busy trying to be the superhero, and I suck at being a superhero. About a week ago, I was filled with excitement because I thought I was on the road to accomplishing one of those goals, and guess what, I was slapped with a huge disappointment. I told myself, "forget it and give up." But on last night I got confirmation from God not to give up. I must admit that even after the confirmation, I was still hesitant to be excited because of past disappointments. However, this morning I received further confirmation. So now I choose to stop questioning God and wait in expectancy.

So, I will leave you with this. When you have asked God about your plan, and you have relinquished control to him, wait in faith. Wait for your blessing as if you know God is going to make things happen soon. Show God that you know that he is powerful and that he can do all things. With this faith, God will really do some life-changing things.

Stop working OVERTIME trying to Change something you have no control over

Control is something most of us want to have over our lives. We work hard to accomplish our goals and live out our dreams. We usually have a plan for our lives and we work day and night trying to fulfill the plan. Sometimes we get so focused on the plan until we forget to ask God if that's the plan he has for our lives. Not acknowledging God's plan will result in a long struggle in trying to accomplish a plan that may not even be what he has in mind for us. We have to be very careful with thinking that we have control over our own lives because when we act this way it leads to unnecessary stress and worry. Sometimes the very thing that we work hard to make us happy, is the same thing that the devil will use to make us unhappy, worry, or stress. But when we give God complete control over our lives this does not matter.

So, let me break this down because it took me some time to understand. Many of us have goals or dreams of getting married, buying a home, getting a business off the ground, getting a promotion, having kids, or whatever goal or plan we have made for our lives. We stress and slave trying to make these things come to pass. Often times when we are not accomplishing these goals we go through each day worrying and working harder than we probably should be. I know I have always busted my butt trying to work toward a plan that I didn't get God's approval of. I have been trying to control my life, when I could easily put things in God's hand and do my part and be much happier.

You see, life can be very stressful and challenging. Life has many roadblocks. Life has traps. We will stumble over some of those roadblocks, and we will fall in many of those traps. All of this is okay because it's a growing and learning experience. This does not mean that we should go through life angry, bitter, and worried about fixing things that God can fix in record time. We have to learn to stop letting our plans, goals, and dreams determine our happiness. I know it's hard being happy when your finances are out of whack, the kids are acting like little hoodlums, you have been overlooked for a well deserved promotion, or your spouse or significant other just want get it right.

GUESS WHAT??? You can not go through life being miserable, unhappy, or feeling sorry for yourself. You have to learn to show God and yourself that you can be happy and thankful for your current situation. You have to release control to him. Releasing control does not mean that you are just verbalizing it. It means that you will stop working overtime trying to make it happen, just do your part and nothing else. You will stop worrying about it. Finally, you will show God you can be genuinely happy with where you are. When you release this control, God will go to work and you will start to see amazing things happen. He may even make the plan you had for yourself come to pass, but if that plan doesn't come to pass he will give you something even greater.

So, I will leave you with this. I understand that most of us are naturally independent people, and we work hard to have and maintain a good life. I also understand that it is scary not knowing or having control over our lives, but we should not fear when GOD IS IN CONTROL. God wants us to trust him and place our worries and woes in his hand. When we do this he can go to work. So, give god control over our plans, and STOP working overtime on things that we were never designed to CHANGE or CONTROL.

Slow Down & Cherish Each Moment

My heart is heavy and so I decided to write. This morning I learned that a 23 month old baby boy passed away from severe burns, while his mom and mom's boyfriend sits in jail facing felony child abuse and neglect charges. The baby boy happens to be one of my son's classmates at aftercare. I don't know the details, but I know that my heart aches for the families involved. Incidents such as this make you think about your own child or children. It makes you wonder if you are giving them the best life possible, or if you hugged them tight enough before you left them, or did you tell them you loved them.

I know this morning my mind is not settled and I just think about the innocent life. Children are truly blessings and sometimes we unintentionally forget that. Sometimes we get so caught up into life and routines that we don't always take the time to cherish the small moments. I never want to experience such tragedy, and I never want to wonder if I hugged my love bug enough, if I kissed him, of if he knew that mommy loved him.

Learning of this news, forced me to reflect over my life. I must admit every since my son was born I have been working hard and none stop to give him an awesome life. We have been moving none stop. I almost feel like in May he should walk across the stage with me. He literally listened to law school lectures while in the womb, he has tagged along with me to meet with professors, and he has had to endure me giving up mommy and son time to allow me to study. I never looked at things in this perspective until today. I always thought of it as I am doing what I have to do for us. Yes, I want an awesome future for my KING, but I don't want to sacrifice precious moments with him.

I realized that maybe I need to slow down, hug him a little longer and tighter, tell him I love him even more, and just be sure to take advantage of each day. I encourage all parents to hug your child or children a little tighter and longer today and from this point forward. Remember to take advantage of every second with your little ones.