Day 40 Steps to Perseverance.

I did it! Today was the last day of my 40 day Character Makeover. I want to thank all of you who took this journey with me. I will be looking back at my blog journal a lot to remember what I learned. I can also now start reading everyone else's entries to get new perspectives on each day. This was such a wonderful experience and I am so glad I did it.

Today of course we put together our perseverance plan and added the final step to our master action plan, which I have hanging behind my door so I can see it often.
The biggest thing I wanted to do as part of today's plan was to memorize one of God's promises to us. It suggested either Romans 8:37-39, Hebrews 7:25-26, or 1 Peter 1:6-8. I am going to do them all.

I am also going to find my passion! Uh oh watch out!

Day 39 Your perseverance coach

Perseverance Day 4:

" 99% of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."
George Washington

I want to remember that quote from today. It seems to me today everyone is always looking to blame someone else.
When we are determined we get criticized for not being flexible. We can no longer express our convictions because we will be called intolerant. People who are disciplined are called control freaks.
When you remove every challenge, reduce every standard, and soften every obstacle, there are no meaningful rewards to gain.

Today spoke to me in so many ways I was just so excited and hopeful when I got to the end. Today asked us to remember something we have prayed about for a long time. Something you have prayed about off and on for years or something you gave up praying for because God never seemed to answer you.
Jesus told of a parable of a widow who persisted and got an unjust judge to meet her request (Luke 18:1-8). She kept after him until he gave in. The point Jesus wanted to make was this: If an unjust judge will grant the request of a persistent person, how much more will your loving father respond to your prayers of trust in his time?
So why does it sometimes seem God does not hear our prayers? There are 4 things we need to understand about persistent prayer.

1. Unanswered prayer is how God gets our attention.
Do you look to everyone else to solve your problem before you turn to God?
Do you pray to God but then go look on the internet for your "real" answer?

Depend on the Lord and his strength always go to him for help. Psalm 105:4

God waits until you go only to him.

2. Sometimes praying for something for a long time changes your desires.
Sometimes God will use prolonged prayer to test the depth of our desire or to help us adjust our request. Have you ever prayed for something for so long then realized you really didn't want or need what you were asking for?

3. Persistent prayer changes you.
Effective prayer gives you meaningful communication with God. It reveals your innermost self to him.

4. Persevering in prayer is an exercise of faith.
God grows your character, faith, and hope.
Now glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we could ever dare to ask or even dream of. Ephesians 3:20

God expects us to ask continually for the same thing until we get our prayer answered. Remember he only has 3 answers. Yes, not yet, and no I have something better.

Day 38 How to Keep on to the end

Perseverance Day 3:

Wow I'm back online! I had major computer issues last week that took me out of commission the 3 days I was at work (still no internet at home) and the week before I must have been really busy because I neglected my writing!

Day 38 talked about persisting in faith for eternal rewards. Sometimes the only reward big enough to get you to stick to a tough task is God's promise of heavenly rewards. When you feel like giving up there are two principles to remember.:

1. Life is a race and there is a prize at the end.
What a wonderful way to look at the journey that is our lives. You don't have to get there first, you just have to take the right path and you win! When you know you are going to get a prize and it is something you want, you are more motivated to do your best.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:24

The apostle Paul says our crown will last forever. We want that eternal crown and we need to train for it.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Corinthians 9:25

2. WINNERS ALWAYS FOCUS ON THE PRIZE!
Isn't that so true? When there is a prize at stake a true champion will not weaken their concentration by focusing on past failures. Sin keeps us from competing in the spiritual race of life. What is tying you down? For me it use to be worry. I am happy to say I have taken off those shoes! Real racers finish the race whether they feel like it or not!

Day 37 The quitter: Exposing your inner Mowgli

Perseverance Day 2:
Mowgli was a quitter apparently. I never liked this one much so I don't remember it at all. I do like how they said quitting is a popular pastime. Sadly it is so true.
A famous quitter in the Bible was Elijah. Today we got some pointers on how to quit.

When the going gets tough, quitters run away.
In 1 Kings 19 Elijah had just beat 450 prophets of the fertility god Baal, ticking off Queen Jezebel. She put a hit out on him so he ran. When we feel like failures or we just can't get something done our first instinct is to run. Leave the problems for someone else to deal with.

After a failure quitters put themselves down.

He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
1 Kings 19:4

I have been there have you? Sadly more than once. It made me feel better to read that Raphael, one of the greatest painters to ever live in some people's opinions, suddenly burst into tears while he was in the middle of The Transfiguration and said "I am not a painter, I can not complete this!"
If you don't ask God to pick you up and help you keep going you might deprive the world of the next Raphael!

By exaggerating their problems quitters get paranoid.
They make their problems seem way too big to overcome to justify their quitting.
Do you ever feel overworked,under appreciated, and alone?

Oh me me me!! Yes! Right now! Today! Yesterday! This is where I am!

That is where Satan wants you to be. He loves to use discouragement to defeat Christians. If Satan can get a perfectly capable, successful, fruitful christian to succumb to discouragement, he has gained himself one more quitter and removed one more threat to his agenda for the world.

Do you see why I don't want this to end? This is GREAT daily therapy!

God's Perseverance Program:
1. When you're exhausted God gives you rest and nourishment. It is a commandment to take a day of rest.

2. When you're discouraged God lets you vent. He always knows your frustrations and feelings but he wants you to bring him your worries and fears.

3. When you want to give up God reminds you who He is. When you think you've got big problems, God will let you know in some unmistakable way that he is bigger than your problems.

4. When you are full of self pity God will give you friends and a task. He will give you a job to do and friends to do it with!

Yes he will!

Day 36 Inspired By God

Perseverance Day 1:
Oh my gosh this is my last week already! I don't want this to end, these have been my little therapy sessions. And like every week I think this is my topic! It is so easy to be a quitter these days. If you don't like something as much as you thought you would, quit. If something becomes too hard and you just don't feel like doing it anymore, quit. Some days I just want to quit being a mom. Sounds harsh but I do. Those days when it just seems too hard. I want to be laying on a beach somewhere in the sun with NO YELLING! No worries or responsibilities. Ahhh nice. Maybe I just need a vacation.
We have all heard it gets worse before it gets better right? To keep going when it's hard, remember how God has already come through for you. God inspires you for a reason. Next time you want to quit don't think of it as giving up on the task, think of it as giving up on God. No one wants to do that! It may make it easier to continue. Or at least that is what I am going to try to do!

Day 35 Steps To Generosity

Generosity Day 5:
Here already. Today we make a generosity action plan. I already donate so that step is already taken care of. My challenge will be affirming my possessions are not my own so I will not hoard them. I think I shared in a previous post how hard it is to share food with all the teenage boys in the neighborhood when money is tight. Isn't food one of the most important things I should share?!
YES IT IS!
I tithe, check!
I will purpose to give additional gifts above and beyond my tithes. I will give more of my time to my family and friends.
I will pray for my kids when they are troublesome to me. I will give them my mercy and forgiveness even if they do not deserve it because I do not deserve many of the generous gifts God gives to me!

Day 34 Your generosity coach

Generosity Day 4:
How generous are you?
Generosity is giving more than you can.
What motivates your generosity?
You can give without loving. But you can not love without giving.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue,but with actions and in truth."
I John 3:18

Your generosity from Heaven's perspective:

Little things you have done, sacrifices made, may go unnoticed on the earth but in heaven are proclaimed.

Day 33 How to be a generous giver

Generosity Day 3:
The bible describes several different types of givers; persistant givers, poor givers, guilty givers, and terrifies givers. The hall of fame givers of scripture are women.

The most lavish giver: The Queen of Sheba. (This made me laugh because when I was little my mom use to ask me "Who do you think you are the queen of Sheba?" and I had no idea what she meant!) Her gift of gold to Solomon would have been three and a half million dollars in today's currency, and that does not include any of the jewels or spices she gave!

The most astute giver: Abigail. Her gift to David of provisions for his army prevented a murder.

The most unsung givers: The women who supported Jesus. The fed and supported Jesus and his followers through out his ministry.

The most broken giver: The woman who tearfully anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume then wiped them with her hair. Can you imagine that? The worst job you could have was to wash someone's feet after they have been walking almost barefoot then wiping it with your hair???

The most generous giver: The widow who put two pennies in the offering. Jesus singles her out as THE example of the greatest generosity he had seen. Her gift may have been the smallest in monetary amount but it was all she had. She gave out of her means not her abundance.

Today we were given the 8 principles of giving. They are:
1. The amount doesn't count. You just need to be cheerful.

2. Compare after prayer. Pray about every giving decision.

3. The Lord rewards. When you give, you receive.

4. Delay before you pay. Decide what your giving will be before you spend on yourself.

5. Decide against pride. Give your giving to God.

6. Invest in the best. Think of the kingdom as an investment property ;)

7. Be wise and prioritize. After giving to your church, prioritize the rest of your giving.

8. Take part from your heart. Giving is an adventure in faith.

Day 32 Exposing your inner.....

Generosity Day 2:

Come on guess who the character is for this week. When you think of someone who needs help being generous who do you think of?? Even I saw this one coming....
Scrooge! Exposing your inner Scrooge:

"One of the dangers of greed, is that it often doesn't set off the alarms that other sins do." Gary Thomas author

OOOO wonderful opening.

The flip side of generosity is greed. Generosity trusts God. Greed distrusts God. Greed slaps God in the face and tells him "You won't have enough for me to I will hoard for myself!" Ouch. (pause for thought) OUCH! This realization just took me by the shoulders and shouted "Wake up!!" Fabulous though that is what I needed.

It says in the garden of Eden, greed was the sin that launched them all. So true! I have never thought of it that way before, but Eve wanted to know what God knew. She craved more knowledge. When you think of it this way, it is so easy to put this sin in the middle of all of them. You want what you want no matter the cost to others or yourself.

Day 31 Being Like God

Generosity Day 1:

The world asks what does a man own? Christ asks how does he use it?

I never thought being generous was hard until I hit hard times. It was always just a no brainer and came naturally until all of a sudden I felt I didn't have enough to share. Not so much for myself but for my kids. I had to make sure they had enough and how could I do that if I was giving it all away? When I noticed my behaviour I started to feel guilty. UGGGG.
I have to start thinking whose stuff is it anyway? Then I have to relate material things to tithing. I have seen first hand how God multiplies your tithe back to you, I just have to trust him to do that with everything.
Here is one some of you can relate to: the eating habits of teenage boys. Have you seen how much they can eat?! We don't have a lot of money to spare and I only buy enough groceries to last us for the week. When my son has his friends over they can clean out his snacks for the whole week in 30 minutes! So I tell him no one can eat when they are over, then I feel bad for not feeding them! It is a vicious cycle!

I have to remember he provides for all our needs. No matter what. If you give, you will receive. Period. God is such an abundant giver!

Day 30 Steps to Contentment

Contentment Day 5:
Today is the day we make our action plan. Today I finally got two large pieces of blank white paper the size of poster boards and on one I put my action steps that I chose for each topic, and on the other one I wrote out my Master Action Plan with my one step from each section. Then I hung them up behind my door so I will see them.
When it all comes down to it, I just really need to work on being thankful for all the little things.
Where will I start today? I am very thankful I am not sick anymore! Woohoo!

Day 29 Your contentment Coach

Contentment Day 4:
I need to learn to reinforce my prayer for the little things. I don't think I do it enough. I will be thankful for the water heater that allows me to take hot showers, the insulation in my home that keeps us warm, the locks on the doors that make me feel safe.
Since we entered this world penniless, and we will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough.
I Timothy 6-8

Remember, God already knows the desires of your heart.

Day 28 How to have Peace and Joy

Contentment Day 3:
To experience happiness we must train ourselves to live in the moment. Oh gosh. Can I just say I have been trying to learn this for years now and I just have not been able to wrap my brain around it. I know I stress way too much over things that may not even happen and over things I will not be able to control anyway and I would be so much more content if I could live in the moment BUT HOW??? Maybe today I will learn something.
Joy thief: The daily drudge like laundry and dishes.
Peace thief: The greener grass, I will be happy when....
Don't wait until you reach your goal to be happy, delight in today's adventure. Again yes I know this but how do I do this?? If you can't tell I am having a real hard time with contentment. I am not sure why and I am not sure how to change it.

Day 27 Envy; Exposing your inner Veruca Salt

Contentment Day 2:
Oh yeah another voice in my head!! I had no idea who they were talking about in todays title. I had to read she is the girl in Willie Wonka who wants it all. Oooooo Ok now I know who she is. And yup she has her spot in my head too. And my my she is a vocal little gal! She is a self centered little girl who is never satisfied. I like to think I am not self centered anymore but there are times I don't feel satisfied.

Envy's favorite sport; The comparison game
Do you ever play?
"I don't have what she has and that's not fair!"
Oh yeah, you've played!

Envy's Bumper Sticker; It's All About Me
The cure for it's all about me disease is love others.
Envy is inward focused. Love is outward focused.

Envy's Theme Song; I want it all
(now how many of you started singing the tv commercial?)
Today's example was called The Dog and the Shadow. Basically a dog was crossing a stream with meat in his mouth. He looks down and sees his reflection but thinks it is another dog. He decides he wants the meat the other dog has too. As he opens his mouth to snap at the other dog, the meat he has in his own mouth falls into the water. Moral; if you covet all you may lose all.
W O W!
Eve had everything but God's knowledge of evil. She traded Eden for that. Gee, she made a bad deal.

The lesson for today is to remember God can give you everything you want. If he chooses not to, there is a reason.

Day 26 Thanking God

Contentment Day 1
First I want to say I am still not feeling well and I missed a few reading nights but I want to post my thoughts on the last couple days quickly. Today we tackled the number one question: Why is contentment so elusive?? I have been wondering that myself for so long and I have felt really guilty about wanting more. I have Jesus so why would I want anything else?? Right? I do admit I use to want to be beautiful but now that is not even in my top 10 anymore. I get caught up in the whole, "Well God wants his people to be blessed doesn't he?"
Then I have to remind myself that my children are healthy. No diseases, no disabilities. They are protected which is better than a nicer house. That is my thankfulness. I just need to work on it more than I do. For instance, today I am thankful I know Jesus at all. I watched millions on tv last night that don't know him at all.
God knows my pain and he knows my needs.God is a pain healer and a need meeter. He has been faithful to take care of me in the past. He will take care of my todays. He will keep his promises in my tomorrows.

Day 25 Steps to Patience

Patience Day 5:
Yet the end of another week. Where is the time going?! Today we make our patience action plan. This will be one I probably need to write down in triplicate, one copy at home, one at work, and one in the car. OH! And one for my purse!

To help me develop patience in the wilderness, I will change my pace. I will try to get more rest. I will pray in a new way to refresh my connection with God. I will re read days 3 and 4 of this study often!

To help me develop patience in relationships I will pray for the other person when I feel impatient with them. I WILL BE FLEXIBLE. And, I will be interruptible.

To develop everyday patience I will practice going slower. I will enjoy every moment of my day. I will be serene. To do this I will memorize 1 Peter 3:4
"You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

Day 24 Your Patience Coach

Patience Day 4:
God's waiting room: where he shelters us,feeds us,and gives us time and protection to grow strong enough to withstand storms and fires, and to flourish.

Wow.

Today was all about exploring how we do in extreme tests of patience.
1. patience when the wilderness is silent
2. patience when we just can't wait
3. patience when people won't change

Oh yeah since I need a big dose of help in all 3 areas I will read today more than twice.
Sometimes God is silent because he is quietly waiting until we're ready for his answer.
Can I get that on a bumper sticker?
The example for today is Mary and Martha John 11:1-44, when their brother Lazarus dies. Jesus did not just come and heal him. Why??? Because they already knew he could heal him. But did they know he could raise him from the dead? Probably not. That is what God wanted them to know. To see. It was a bigger miracle.

Those who are patient are those convinced God will provide, he is on schedule and he is in control. Oh man! Shame on me! I know this is to help me not make me feel bad but how could I not??

God will provide.
I wait expectantly trusting God to help for he has promised. Psalm 130:5

I am the Lord, no one who waits for my help will be disappointed. Isaiah 49:23

God is on Schedule.
God makes everything happen at the right time. Ecclesiastes 3:11

God Is In Control.
Entrust your ways to the Lord. Trust him, and he will act on your behalf. Psalm
37:5

Well I don't know about you, but I feel 100 pounds lighter!

Day 23: How to slow down

Patience Day 3
For those of you not doing the study yet, I just have to say today was right on about the language of our lifestyle.
We LEAP out of bed, ZIP in and out of the shower, GULP down breakfast, RUSH to work, HUSTLE & GET CRACKIN on assignments, RACE home in RUSH hour traffic, THROW dinner together, RUN through everyone's day, SCRAMBLE through the rest of the evening before we FALL into bed.
After reading that I felt like she had a camera in my purse! Then we read a tragic story of a fellow multi-tasker who was trying to do too much and ended up getting burned, literally.
But isn't multi-tasking what we as women do?!

OOh then there was a section that has helped me so much called Jumping The Gun. It is about making impulsive decisions that you regret. This is what we do when delays are making us nervous or the decision is not clear. We get antsy and feel like we should make something happen. out of this section I got my new catch phrase:
" Don't just do something; stand there!"
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret."
Psalm 37:7

DELAYS AND ROADBLOCKS ARE OFTEN THERE FOR A REASON! God is not a God of confusion!
This has helped me so much in my current situation. If you don't have peace about a decision, pause, ponder, and pray. When there is confusion, wait. Clarity will come out of the chaos.

We also learned we need to quit indulging our pet peeves. Mine are:
*dirty dishes in the sink
*messy kids rooms
*people who turn without their blinkers....

The secret to not indulging them and not using up all your patience before lunch is to learn to let go of your agenda, your preferences, and your expectations.

Oh boy! Pray for me!

Day 22 Impatience: Exposing Your Inner Shrek

Patience Day 2:
So Shrek is our character of the week. Do you think Disney and those other companies who created all these characters knew they were all lurking around in our brains and that is why we would love them so much?? Hmm....
Our lesson today is, some people are irritating like Donkey, and some are irritable like Shrek. What kind of people trigger your impatience? An irritating relative? A rowdy child? A daughter making poor choices? A husband not willing to work on the marriage?
Today our coach compared these difficult relationships to the impatience of Moses. Apparently (again I am behind in my bible reading) Moses had a problem controlling his temper. He was working with some very ungrateful people though. In one example, even though they should have known by now God would not let them go thirsty, they were still complaining. I can see how Moses would lose his temper with these people! Don't you? Ok it may not have been what Jesus would do, but I could see it.

How do you demonstrate your impatience?
Do you stop and pray? Sometimes. Not always.
Do you blame and label the person irritating you? Sometimes.
Do you feel sorry for yourself? Hmmm...??? I guess sometimes.
Do you hit,throw or shake something? Finally something I can say NO to!

What I am taking away from today is I need to seek first to understand. I don't always know the other persons motives. And someones words might not necessarily mean the same thing they would mean if I had said them. (I still ponder that one).

Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love.
Ephesians 4:2

Day 21 Waiting on God

Patience Day 1

OH MY!! This is my week! Can I just tell you now that I am reading each day twice! I have prayed for patience for years and I STILL don't think I have any!
Anyway~ I just want to say I loved the opening so much I really want to get it on a picture and a coffee mug:

I believe in the sun even when it's not shining.
And I believe in love even when I don't feel it.
I believe in God even when he is silent.
Inscription on a wall in Nazi Germany

Isn't that beautiful?!

Ok, ok I also loved that our life coach told us patience is not her strong suit. Can I get an AMEN?! (she got one from me) But what I did not realize, and this is because I am new to the Bible, I have not read all the wonderful stories in it, I am years behind most of you. Anyway I learned the Bible is all about waiting. And patience is all about waiting. There is a wonderful little chart in the book about 7 different kinds of waiting, and each one has at least two different bible stories about that kind of waiting. I identified with 4 kinds of waiting. What I have been learning in my life lately was right here in front of me in black and white: God's timetable is definitely different from ours, and the process of waiting is a God ordained experience that he uses to prepare us for what he has in store.
(whiny me: but it's just soooooooooo hard!)

Wilderness waiting; a financial circumstance that is burying you, a family member who is rebelling, (cough cough)have you experienced wilderness waiting?? You're confused, unsure of what to do next, and probably experiencing deep anguish in your soul. I really did feel like she was talking to me! She gave examples of why God takes us through wilderness waiting and said we can either resist or relax.

Resisting can make us more miserable and may may the waiting longer.
Confusion leads to despair.
Losing Faith gets you stuck.

Relaxing allows you to be nurtured by God.
God meets you where you are.
God grows you. He is growing something inside of you because he wants to prepare you for what is next after the wilderness. He needs to leave you there long enough to grow your trust in him.

Man this is good stuff!