Day by Day

I must confess that I am not pleased with my last post on my blog titled Start Somewhere. I honestly wanted to delete it and hoped nobody had read it. I wish I could have made it short and sweet about how when I feel overwhelmed with the many things I want to do in my daily life, God kindly told me to Start Somewhere. It could have been just that plus an encouragement to others to do the same. Instead, I felt the need to expand and list all the things in my daily life that I wanted to accomplish, and then make a new list of how I would accomplish them. It was all so unrealistic and I have not even followed through with the "new list" I made of how I would accomplish everything.

After hoping nobody had read it, a friend of mine texted me. Here is how our conversation went. "F" means friend and will be what she wrote and "K" is for what I wrote.

F: How is your list of things you want to get done going?
K: I was hoping nobody read that blog. It was too much and I haven't done much and I am so hard on my self :( Just taking it Day by Day.
F: Day by Day is good! It was quite a list...lots of things to fit into every day.
K: Ya, not sure what I was thinking ;) I wanted to delete it!
F: It's ok...maybe amend it? I'm sure when most people read it they were wondering when you were planning on sleeping...that was my question at least.

Since writing that blog, I recognized how easy it is for me to be hard on myself. I tend to focus on the things I don't get done in the day. I tend to focus on the things I am not changing and I forget to focus on the positive. This is quite interesting for me because I am generally a positive person, yet when it comes to evaluating myself and my time, I can't even pick out the positives. Maybe you can relate.

I am in a Women's Bible Study that meets weekly and I like to call it my Girls Group. Last Tuesday night they asked me how I was doing on the Daniel Fast (God put it on my heart to do this a while ago and I am finally doing it...may post a blog eventually with more details) and I was quick to tell them how discouraged I was about my success with this fast. After sharing with them, they began to tell me they think I am doing great and it sounds like I am doing great. You see, I notice the things I am falling short in, and they see my choice to do the fast and discipline to stick to it despite the challenges. It definitely opened my eyes and I went home after Girls Group and started reflecting on the things I am doing well with on this fast and the good coming from it. I felt so much better.

Another thing that has come to mind since writing my previous blog is

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

In context, this scripture is surrounded by Jesus telling his disciples not to worry. I often find myself worrying about my time- how I should use it, which one of the many things to do when I have empty time, what should I do first, am I using it wisely? You may find yourself worrying about other things. However, Jesus instructs us not to worry and instead seek Him first.. I like to see it as when we seek Him first, everything else will fall into place. God will take care of the rest if we are seeking Him first. The study notes in my Bible say the following about this scripture: To "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" means to turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take his character to your pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything. What is really important to you? People, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly become most important if you don't actively choose to give God first place in every area of your life.

A recent devotional from Jesus Calling, written by a missionary, as if God is speaking the words she is writing, states the following.

IN ORDER TO HEAR MY VOICE, you must release all your worries into My care. Entrust to me everything that concerns you. This clears the way for you to seek My face unhindered. Let Me free you from fear that is hiding deep inside you. Sit quietly in My Presence, allowing My Light to soak into you and drive out any darkness lodged within you. Accept each day just as it comes to you, remembering that I am sovereign over your life. Rejoice in this day that I have made, trusting that I am abundantly present in it. Instead of regretting or resenting the way things are, thank Me in all circumstances. Trust Me and don't be fearful; thank Me and rest in My sovereignty.

1 Peter 5:6-7: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Psalm 118:24: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

My encouragement to you on this journey of Pursuing Him is learn from my mistakes. Don't set yourself up for failure. Set realistic expectations that you can meet, or trust that God will help you accomplish everything you need to in His timing. Trust that daily He will guide you and give you wisdom about what to do. This is something I am learning and the past couple days have been better since I have taken it day by day and chosen to listen to the Holy Spirit's leading with my time.

Because God is so timely, as I finished writing in my journal the Jesus Calling Devotional, I heard a song on Pandora play that was so relevant and timely. It is called Remain by Starfield. The music video is posted below. Day after day God never changes. No matter how I choose to live my day, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.