Focus, Faith and Future

As I cued up the instrumental music tonight, I wasn't quite sure what to write about... so I prayed. In mere moments, the word FOCUS stirred inside of me. Here I go, letting it flow, fingers to the keys, no forethought at all.



RAT ON A WHEEL

There are so many thoughts in my head that I can barely keep up with them. Focus is a constant battle. I make lists and then sub-lists just to get it all out and accomplished. As my good friend Will best describes me... " You have a Ferrari brain with Chevy brakes." That about sums it up, and it's no different today than it was yesterday, in fact, it may even be worse.

Many things in today's world demand our "focus" calling our immediate attention; or is it that we simply CHOOSE to give them the immediate attention that they DO NOT truly deserve? We are pulled so far away from where our focus should be...

GOD 1st, FAMILY 2nd, CAREER 3rd

That is what is written, it's what is REQUIRED to live a life of abundance, yet we struggle as we are pulled from living this way on a daily basis. It takes a lot of strength to live this trilogy of faith; I suppose that is why the reward is so great when we do.

This morning when I woke up with an overwhelming feeling to write, the urge was expressed in a status update on Facebook. Without any though at all, I opened my laptop and just wrote...

So often we look for happiness and fulfillment in things... in people... in actions, money and careers yet still feel empty, lonely, broken and defeated.

Simply put, we are looking in the wrong places.

Once you realize where to turn, who to surrender control to, and EXPERIENCE the wonder of God's grace for real, your heart and life will be filled in a way I can only describe through experience.

I have come a long way since my days of atheism; I did not even know that's what it was called. All I knew was that God had never been there for me... or so I thought. My life was a mess and I felt that if I was "His child" he wouldn't let my life fall apart.

In reality, He was always there. I had just never invited Him to walk with me, to guide me, to change me. Now that I have, my life has changed, my heart is filled even when it's empty and even when I fall; because I still do, I know by grabbing His hand in a tearful surrender, He will pick me up and carry me to a peaceful place.

Have a blessed Sunday knowing that you are never alone even in your loneliest moments and that you are blessed every day even when you don't notice.

All day, my mind swirled around in thought about what I wrote and I got a feeling inside that I need to shift my focus in a few areas of life. Then, one sentence in today's message at church confirmed that for me. Refocus is needed in many of our lives as we sacrifice things we should never sacrifice for things so insignificant, so undeserving. We don't even take moments to STOP and realize that it is leaving us empty inside. We repeat cycles expecting different outcomes when the results have already been proven and rarely change; we are in a comfortable denial.

We hold onto things for self serving reasons and call ourselves generous, we future pace our lives instead of handling the present, we avoid problems and issues causing them to multiply while focusing on what deserves the LEAST amount of our attention. We hurt ourselves, our lives, our present, our future and those around us. 

TIME TO REFOCUS!!

I have been working really hard lately on refocusing energy, but have failed in a few areas. Today I made a promise to myself, to future, to family and to the legacy that I hope to leave behind long after being gone. I will refocus in the areas of life where it's needed and put God 1st in everything. I have failed Him, but He does not fail me. Trying harder, sacrificing for Him, not for self service will allow Him to deliver the life He wants to give me. Where I fail, He will forgive, where I fall, he will pick me up and carry me when there is nothing left in me to walk. Putting my attention where it should be and leaving the rest alone is something that I will remind myself of every single day.

I encourage you to evaluate where your focus is... define what is sucking up all your energy and attention. Is it worthy of your attention? If it is, then make it a more significant part of your life, but if it's not, perhaps you should simply let it go. Get unstuck by shifting your focus and weeding out what is not helping you. Focus on the what is to be rather than the what is now or what has been before. Change is the most uncomfortable feeling there is and letting go of things is frightening... but at times it is the ONLY answer to reaching the next stage of life.

Until next time....

PURSUE WHAT YOU HOPE FOR; LEAVE BEHIND WHAT YOU WISH TO FORGET.... 

xoxo

Shells

WWW.THESGIARDGROUP.COM

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Walking in the Footsteps of Faith

As I sit here at my keyboard tonight... so many things are swirling around in my head. My thoughts are a hurricane of mixed emotion all wrapped up in a tiny box, crowding the space in my head. The sensible part of me wants to grab the wheel and take control; to force things to happen the way that I want, need or hope them to be, because that is what I have always done. I have always been the lone survivor.  However, the faithful side of me; the side that has grown tremendously says... be still, give up control, do it differently this time and maybe your results will change. I am telling myself to let it rest on the shoulders of my faith and am trying so hard to listen closely to what I am being led to do.

JUST GIVE UP...

We are taught to not give up... and trust me, I will NEVER give up, but as believers we ARE taught to give up... to surrender our worries, our troubles and our lives to God and trust in His faithfulness. Yet walking in the footsteps of faith, although we know that is what we are supposed to do, is the hardest thing to do; especially when we are essentially putting full trust into something we cannot see.. touch or feel. However, when you have lived a life like mine, full of self induced trials and challenges caused by poor decisions, God has a way of showing up in a way that you CAN feel Him... and that does make it easier to trust in times when my faith is tested. When I should be weak, I am finding strength... by diving in and giving up.

WHEN WE CAN'T HE CAN

I have talked a lot lately in my posts about prayer... mainly because I am completely on my knees each day with all that is going on in my life. What's interesting is that I have had a lot of activity on these posts; more than normal actually. What that tells me, is that I need to continue being a voice for God; people are needing it, seeking it, wanting it. My paths have changed and even though I am facing a lot of struggle right now, I know beyond all of it lies a gift... a chance to grow in my faith once again. I have been here before...  not the exact circumstance, but in a situation similar enough to see through to the other side. When we can't, He can. 

ONCE YOU HAVE IT 

Faith that grows is like a vine that never ends... it winds through your heart, into your mind and embraces you like a blanket on a chilly night. You will still get cold, but when you do,  you know that all you have to do is wrap yourself tighter and the cold will not penetrate. Once you have faith... once you have experienced what it can truly do in your life, you will never be alone. When you feel alone, you will simply remind yourself that you can trust it, that you need to seek more the more troubled your life becomes. Realize that adversity is a gift... it serves a purpose.

ALL OR NOTHING

When you have nothing, all you have are two choices. Grab the wheel, hug the curves and hope for the best or let go and put it on cruise control... allowing God to set the path. Give it your all or give it nothing. Give Him your all and He will give you nothing... but grace.

AND SO IT IS

On my way to church yesterday, I was looking for clarity,  I had been praying about it all week. A few times through tears and confusion. I came off stage after the praise and worship (I am on the worship team) and sat down in my normal front row seat having no idea what the pastor was going to give his message on. As always... God answered my prayer, yet again. He grew my faith even more. He laid peace upon me in one simple passage which I will share at the close of this post. I know the storms will continue beyond doubt, until He has formed me into all that I am to be through Him. 

DON'T GIVE UP...  BUT GIVE IN

It is so easy to give up... to give up trying, give up fighting, give up dreaming and what we hope for in our lives; it's what most people do. We must NEVER give up because HE doesn't give up on us. We must simply give in... give our worries, fears and uncertainty to the one who will carry us through. We must listen and take the steps we are led to take. We must walk in the footsteps of our faith; that is what will lead us to the life we were meant for. A life filled with love, prosperity,  hope and true happiness.

In closing, I will share that passage that meant everything to me yesterday, it gave me the clarity that I was looking for. It was the reminder that I needed to embrace the troubles, to be thankful for them and to know that I am being perfected by Him, through Him and for Him. I hope that you too can find peace in this message, in this post and share it with someone who may need it.

" Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" James1:2-4

Until next time... be faithful

xoxo

Shells

WWW.THESGIARDGROUP.COM

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What You Have Is Enough...

WELL....
It has been two weeks since my last post, and usually, when this happens, it's because I have been busy traveling for work, or simply busy being busy at home. This time, however, my lack of writing was due to a few of life's circumstances that left me feeling like I had nothing truly inspirational to share right now; then I remembered something... I am enough. 

NOBODY IS PERFECT
So often in this world of fake reality and clouded perception, when we are feeling "less than perfect" we sometimes begin to feel we have nothing to offer... nothing worth saying or giving. When you are used to being a blessing, you never want to feel like a burden or even worse, a curse. Strong people tend to just sit quietly alone until the storm is over. This is almost always what I do when I am dealing with not so awesome circumstances. Sometimes, even the closest people to me won't even know what I am dealing with because I tend to recluse.

NEEDING INSPIRATION
Although I was still sharing daily inspiration and encouragement on Face Book, writing a whole blog post was not something I was feeling "inspired" to do; nor motivated to be quite honest. It happens, even to the best of us. However tonight, as I scrolled through the voice recorder on my phone, I found some inspiration. This voice recorder is where I often record bright ideas that pop into my head as I am driving, or as I lay in bed and wake up in the middle of the night to groggily record my voice. I planned to listen to the recordings one by one hoping to find a blog idea that had been thought of that I had failed to bang out yet.

Suddenly, I heard a message that I had recorded for someone and I realized I never sent it. I took the time to record it the moment it entered my mind, but I never had the courage to send it and had completely forgot I even recorded it. I'll admit, I got a bit emotional as I listened to it, kind of how a song on the radio with thwart you back in time, hearing my own voice and remembering how I felt that night sent me right back into the moment I recorded it.

THAT LITTLE VOICE THAT TOLD ME TO KNEW
When I first sat down to blog tonight... I drew a blank,  I had nothing, however I refused to get up from my keyboard until I wrote. Something told me to pick up my phone and this message was the second message I heard; it was exactly what I needed to be reminded of.

WE MAY NOT GET WHAT WE WANT
Telling someone they are enough, is powerful; especially when they are feeling less than adequate. I know, as there have been times when I felt unworthy... like what or who I was, was not enough. In those times, having someone tell me that I was enough would have been salvation. I longed for someone to let me know in those moments that how I was feeling about myself was a big, fat lie. I did not need to hear that I was strong, that I'd make it... or that I could do it because I was tough...or used to it. What I needed was for someone to hold me tight and simply say, "YOU ARE ENOUGH and I accept you and love you for EXACTLY who you are RIGHT NOW." 

MAYBE I SHOULD SEND IT
Unfortunately, some of us have yet to experience a moment like that. For that reason, I have decided that I will send that message tomorrow the person it was intended for... to let them know that they are enough.

JUST WHAT WE NEED
As I listened to this message... I smiled and thought to myself, WOW I have changed so much. The kind of love and acceptance I offer in this message is not only what I have always wanted, but it reminds me of the kind of love and acceptance we are promised from God. It does not matter where we come from, where we have been, the mistakes we have made or the fact that we have failed at things. What matters is that no matter what, we are loved, accepted and told that WE ARE ENOUGH!

What we do not have clarity on now, we should continuously seek. We will be made whole again; maybe for the first time ever. We are always perfect in someones eyes; it's simply perspective.

YOU ARE ENOUGH
What I hope for you tonight is that you will feel you are ENOUGH. Not everyone will recognize it and some will tell you that you aren't. I am here to remind you that YOU ARE! No man is perfect, however, we ARE perfectly made and we ARE destined to win.

Until next time... be faithful

xoxo

Shells

WWW.THESGIARDGROUP.COM

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL:

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