Today I ordered a pleasant day; A chance to wake up before my alarm and listen to the birds for a few minutes. Then on to read a devotional and pray for a productive day that is God honoring. Next, pleasant moods for my children and a timely exit for the bus. Oh, and mild weather is a must! After a calm departure, a few moments to savor my perfect cup of coffee is in order followed by hours of cleaning and listening to music as I saunter effortlessly through my day…..

Hey a girl can dream! Seriously though, it would be fantastic to have no bumps or ripples, no grit to rub against and puppy dogs and rainbows for days. But alas I wake up from this fantasy to a beeping alarm, mad rush to the bathroom shared by 5, rushing kids out the door and tepid coffee.

So go our days in a fallen world. Our presumptions may be somewhat realistic and maybe even (almost) within reach, but the truth is, negativity creeps in somewhere and blows our perfect day out of the water. The truth is, we should expect it. The likelihood of chaos is far greater than the possibility of the picture perfect day I illustrated. We all know that. So why are we surprised and disappointed when things go awry?

It boils down to expectations. We all have them. It’s great to set the bar high; to go after your perfect day; to set out for success. But doing so without selfish ambition is the key. Yes, we want good things. God wants good things for us, too. But the area between what we deem good and what God knows is good is where disappointment happens. Let’s call this area “If only.” “If only” is the place where we naively put our trust. “If only” seems like the gold at the end of the rainbow. “If only” convinces us that life will finally be bearable.” If only” may not be bad, but it may also not be good! We need to be careful that our plans line up with His will. What are our motives for these good things? And do they trump the desire to show Jesus to the world?

 We need to realize that we are imperfect people trying to function alongside imperfect people. As one author put it, our rough areas rubbing against another’s rough areas are the beginning of conflict. Keeping our eyes on the prize of our own definition of success is a set up. For. Real. Unless our prize is all about God’s plan for our life and about bringing others to know Him, it’s not really a prize at all. We should run the race with endurance, but we should expect others to push us down to get past us, to gain their “What ifs.” And when that happens, and it will, we should get up, brush it off, and keep moving; not to catch up to them, but because we are running for the right reasons. Because we are running for God, leaning on His sustenance, believing that the ultimate outcome of the race is just what we need.

Thinking outside the box is a great way to grow yourself out of your comfort zone. But be careful not to get all the way outside the box of God’s will. Your lofty plans may advance you, but at what cost? Your blowing past or ignoring your Holy calling to be happy in this world will be the death of you, make no mistake.

For God, “If only” is an opportunity to see our hearts. “If only “is where He shows Himself perfect and powerful. His truth and omniscience will not be compromised. “If only” will be what He says it will be. No matter how we strive to attain the perfect day, as long as He is in control, and He is, it may not feel perfect, but it will be just what is necessary. He will use it for His glory and for the good of His kingdom here.

What are your expectations for today? Are they realistic? Are they beneficial? Are they God honoring? Who are you pushing out of the way to get there? HMMM…
Lower your expectations. Be humble in your pursuit. Then expect God to work in your life. I promise He will. He promises it many times in His Word.
Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 6:26
"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

Psalm 34:10
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
Hebrews 13:5
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

1 Peter 3:9 
“‘Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

Psalm 128:1-2
“Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things.”

Proverbs 28:20
“A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”

And finally, this….
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:3-11
 
Be a blessing…Be blessed….

Trying to write when I’m in a funk is impossible. I’ve started many posts, only to fizzle before I could finish. My funk needed to be replaced with fervor; my atrophy with ambition. I’m coming out of the fog and finally able to find my way back to writing. I pray this closes a chapter in my life and frees me to go forward with more knowledge and vigor as I enter a new one!

Each trial we endure draws us nearer to God and develops our character. We are each on paths to being perfected, to become more Christ like. Tough experiences change our hearts; we can allow them to harden our hearts or let the love of Jesus and His power soften them. I am often tempted to stay bitter, to wallow in the muck of self-pity when things don’t go my way. But I am of no use to God in that state. He has work for me to do, so I prayed hard for an expedited healing; for a softened heart! Here is how it went …

I spent a large part of my time this past summer in prayer and in study as I sought to let go of unforgiveness, bitterness and rejection that has tormented me over the past year.   God was faithful, as always to lift the burdens. I felt them go, along with all the strife, struggle and sin. Up, up and away, as if carried by balloons…each labeled with the people, places and pains that put me in the state of madness. I took the time I needed to address each and every thing that was weighing me down. One by one, I released them to the only one powerful enough to overcome them. And then I walked away. It was a life changing experience.

There is healing in the process of unpacking your pain layer by layer. Covering your hurt with a smile is not enough. It will continue to rear its ugly head until and unless you hit it head on. I have done that and praise God, it was worth the hard work. Part of the process of forgiving and letting go of a painful event is a re- remembering of how things went down. Obviously the situation itself won’t change, but the feelings, opinions and suspected motives can. I can choose to view the situation from a new standpoint; one that is realistic and that takes not only mine, but also the other parties’ weaknesses into consideration. Recognizing their shortcomings as well as my own keeps me from not only internalizing it all and blaming only myself but also from putting the focus solely on them. It’s not bad to call a spade a spade, a sin a sin, and a raw deal a raw deal. Blaming is certainly not helpful, but a dose of realism is absolutely necessary. Acknowledging that others have heart issues that are the root of their problems, just like my heart issues are mine, takes the villainizing out of the equation. Stripping them down and seeing their hearts allows for grace and understanding; the same grace and understanding I get daily from Jesus. So WWJD? He would, as he has, forgive. He has forgiven way more by worse people. He has forgiven me, after all! And if you know me, you realize what a miracle that is! He wants me to learn from the stuff that seems unfair, from the people who seem to not love me and from the places I fear the most. He wants to see growth in me personally as my faith in Him increases.
 
So, here’s my advice…Let that crap go! Release the people who hurt you. Let the healing balm of the Gospel cover you! Rewrite those old tapes playing in your head. Re-remember the events in a way that causes gratitude for growth and gives grace to the sinner. Stuff happens. We all disappoint and fall short. Conflict happens. Sometimes it’s on us, sometimes it’s not. Regardless of the situation, our battle scars are the foundation from which we draw our testimonies. God uses everything! We are all messed up. Still, God is faithful. He is refining us until we need it no more. I can’t wait to be all shiny, new and free from the sin of this world; my own sins and those waged against me. It is not going to happen here; we know that! But it will in heaven! That’s why it is so important that we know Jesus. He is the author and perfector of our faith. Take the time to get to know Him, lean on His promises and, once again, know you are loved! Embrace your individuality! God made you! And He did not give you a Spirit of fear, but of a sound mind.

 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
 
 
 This world is a total mess! But we have the promise that God will set things right. Knowing Jesus better is what we should be striving for, not conformity.
I love The Message translation of Romans 3:21-24
Romans 3:21-24The Message (MSG)
God Has Set Things Right
21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

Forgiving others and trusting in God’s forgiveness is the only way for others to see how “BE_YOU_TIFUL” we are!!
Stay tuned for some good stuff about expectations and how you really need to lower them! Until next time….xoxox….. Love and blessings from a messed up Christian ;)