Music pulled
from https://www.youtube.com/ and
are free for public consumption**** Bible Verses pulled from https://www.biblegateway.com/ unless noted
otherwise and are free for public
consumption**** (NIV -New International Version, NKJV-New King
James Version, AMP -Amplified Version, TPT-The Passion Translation)
Date: Friday, March 26,
2021
Daily
Journal/Thoughts/ Prayers (Thinking out loud)
Why do we do the
things we do?
I woke with the
thoughts on my mind that I do not have think of a reason why I serve. I am not out looking for gratitude or expectations
I am getting anywhere for what I do; not even that I should be paid as my child
asked not that long ago.
Hey mom, how many days a week do you work for
free at the church. I laughed and said I
am not working even though some of the skills we learn serving can be great on
a resume. Back in the day I was pretty
much serving at the church seven days a week.
My payment was and still is that it spiritually
grew/grows me.
It helped me find myself in a no judgement
zone. For me to love on others and be
loved on and learn the gospel and grow forward.
Yes, over time you can burn out. When you work in the secular world and serve
a greater power there is always something that is playing out.
Many will never give
one ounce of there time for even what they have purchased. Much less get up and do and be whatever your
called to do at that time for a God you cannot see but know exists. Or strangers that in the moment they are
thankful but as soon as they walk away, all you can do is pray that the seed of
faith, promise and love grows like wildflowers deep within them. Graves Into Gardens @Elevation Worship
When my kid asked me
again, I smiled and said look around. You
and all of us here and now are the payment, the reward the blessing. The house we have as shelter, the health and
wellbeing. The ability to have someone
close.
Each day I am allowed
back up, that is the payment I am given.
None of us deserve a
thing and it does not matter if you gave all you own away and worked in the far
country in the slums helping those in need.
Or you and your gift and talent took you to be president or a top
celebrity. NONE of us deserve a
thing. Yet we all think we do more
times than not.
I get up and do what
I do because if feeds the spirit deep within. Spirit Lead Me @Michael Ketterer & Influence Music Yes, with respect and every now and again
just being hugged on and thanked or even just acknowledged helps on those
really hard days. But even when it
does not come; the love of the souls I have truly been able to connect. The ability to learn and grow and even when
I managed a prayer list for many years.
To know we are all going through, coming out of or in the thick of
something.
Those we know, those close
to us and those we do not.
So as these thoughts
pour out before even touching my devotionals and just getting started with my
day; now that my eyes can focus and see.
My thoughts are: Why do you do what you do? I am not talking about because I have to
pay the bills, so we have shelter and all that stuff.
Why good, or bad do
you keep doing what you do? Even those things
that you try so hard not to do.
Trust me not just the
fact one bad habit I had was I smoked for many years. And that was not even half of the things I am
sure I did and should not have; but like everything else when I dove in headfirst
and really wanted to know more about Jesus and invited him into my life. Then later found I cannot be, I cannot exist,
and I really am nothing without Him. All
those things just one day were like there never was a struggle. Break Every Chain @Jesus Culture
You hear it all the
time but is true. Be it addictions,
struggles all of it. And it does not
have to be drugs, alcohol, spending, eating, sex, anxiety, or the billion other
things that can consume us.
They can all become addictive
like drugs. Once you tap into them and
start wanting more it is hard not to keep going. Even when you know how bad it can be for your
well-being, or even the possible destruction of those you love and care for
immediately around you.
Even the biggest,
most well-known, most holy go through trials and sometimes fall into everything
or anything besides God himself. Later
left trying to recover from the shock waves of the quake that wrecked or took
lives of those that were far to young to go.
It does not matter if
they were taken out of the world or just from our immediate lives. The shock waves of what we do when we do it
lasts forever.
I cannot say it
enough, just like that social media post that came back around again yesterday.
If you believe everything
you read, why not start reading the bible?
I Believe In You @JJ Heller
If you have tried all
these other things and they do not last; why have you not yet called upon
Jesus?
No, it is not that
simple; no, it will not happen overnight.
But I can assure you each day you purpose to get up and give it all to
him. Each day you try just a little bit
more; each day you find your way to a spirit lifting devotional; each day you
listen to songs of hope and just allow your soul to be loved. Each day you give thanks for even the things
that go wrong.
It does not mean we
will not be impacted by things that hurt, things that leave us or those we love
in suffering. It does not mean we won’t
mess up and even at times find our way in places we left long ago.
But that day that you
finally wake up and feel and see something is different and you do not know
when it happened but there is an abundance of peace that just continually
flows.
You will never
question again the need to just keep diving in and wanting to know more, contribute
more of who you are to the light. See The Light @TobyMac ft. Jordan Feliz
Yes, these are my
thoughts and perspectives. And this
light carries me. Hold On To Me @Lauren Daigle It does not mean I do not go through those
moments of self.
I know I will never be good enough in the
world or be that one for that one or any of the other crazy that spins around
us. Push @Matchbox Twenty
I know who I am, I know
when I do, and I never should have. I know
when I need to call upon my brothers and sisters to help me stay on track and
not just do without thinking.
I also know when God
says do it; you just do it! I am
perfectly placed right where he wants me to be. And on the day, he says it is done time to
come home none of the things I got wrong or would of, should of could of will
never matter in the first place. All
of the inanimate objects that I chased, had, gave away, had taken or just got
destroyed. None of them will matter.
Yes, many of us want something
for our family, to leave something behind for our children. But have you ever noticed in this world how
broken families are?
Why are we not leaving
them the gift of life now? Why is it
that we wait to look up or down from wherever we end up seeing those same
people that never really cared while we were alive, now are fighting over what
was left.
And I know there are
so many around the globe that need so much help.
I know the U.S. is
really one of the richest countries when it comes to even just having shelter, running
water, and all the things we take for granted.
So why do we have so
many homeless children? Why is it I
can drive down my roads and see so many homeless people living in the woods, or
sleeping outside a building in the inner city?
Yes, we all get to
choose! Yes, many people live off the
grid because they do not want to deal with the messed-up government and all the
messes that roll downhill. Or they just
do not want to fit in the box. But what
about the children that never had a chance and have to just be because of the
choices adults make?
What about those
people who really have been working to just have a life with shelter and love
and had everything fall apart? I
know what that is like. To be a single
parent and working hard and one day the company says we are closing, or we no
longer need your position. What it felt
like to not know what or how I would do to feed my children.
To know what it was
like for me being the responsible one and holding all the burdens of what seem
to be the world while everyone else was going on with their life as nothing
mattered.
Knowing what it is like to be nothing and fighting
for a place in this world which I could have never made without meeting Jesus 26
years ago. Place In This World @Michael W. Smith
And the thing is even today I forget who I am until I cling to Jesus.
I may or may not get
it right, but one thing is for sure I will keep fighting forward until my very last
breath and absolutely always know how, or why I get to do so.
Because there was
Jesus! There Was Jesus @Zach Williams, Dolly Parton
Never give up hope in
all that is good. We get to choose each
new day he allows us up and gives us one step to the future of what our dreams
may be. No matter what you are never
alone. Hello Future @TobyMac ft. David Crowder
No matter what He is
always with you! Choose to laugh through
all the tears and choose to love even when the worst of things fight you hard
to give up. Let him in~ He Is With You @Mandisa
Meditation
Opportunities
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(@Jesus Calling 365 Devotions with Real-Life
Stories @Sarah Young)
Jesus has promised many blessings to those who call upon
and wait upon him!
Lamentations 3:24-26 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore,
I will wait for him.” The Lord is good
to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait
quietly for the salvation for the Lord.
Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew
their strength. They will soar on wings
like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.
Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your
right hand ar pleasures forevermore.
