Good Monday morning!! Another great week ahead of us. What new adventures does it hold?

Today I got up and had certain things that I wanted to get done today but someone got sick and that has rearranged all of my plans. Isn't that life? It got me to thinking: how I deal with these plan-changers makes all the difference.

Life happens all around us all the time. We will get a phone call out of the blue that someone we love has passed or perhaps someone we know is engaged or expecting a baby. When those we are close to are involved, it suddenly very much involves us. Or sometimes it's something more mundane like wanting to get something done at work or home and there just seems to be constant interruptions.

At the end of the day and in light of eternity, how important is this? Don't get me wrong - I know that there are things that we DO have to get done, deadlines and commitments that need to be fulfilled. I'm not talking about the big have-to's, I'm talking about those little things like phone calls or 'do you have a minute?'.  Bottom line: people are important. I never want someone to feel like they are a bother or an inconvenience. Sometimes you might have to tell someone: I'm sorry but I really have to get this done. Can I call you later? But in all of life's interruptions, I want my first priority to be asking God: what does this person need? Will You give me the wisdom I need to help them or to bless them?

Our ways are not God's ways and sometimes an interruption is just what WE need. Sometimes we get too focused on things and people tend to fall by the wayside. An encouragement for your week: look at interruptions as little blessings or little learnings and welcome them. Sometimes a change of plans is just what the doctor ordered!

Another start of the week. My apologies for this not being on a Monday but I really did totally holiday yesterday, it being a day off on account of Remembrance Day. Hope this finds you all well.

"They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support."  - Psalm 18:18

God gave me this verse today and so I read it through a few times. I'm not particularly in the day of my disaster but maybe some of you reading this are. The word that jumped out at me was the word 'my'.  So it's not necessarily a world-wide disaster (although it could be that) but it's YOUR disaster. What constitutes a disaster for you? Did you have an accident with your car or did your house flood? I think the word 'disaster' would be different for each of us. However, if you feel that what you're dealing with is disastrous then it is, indeed, your disaster.

I'm not a fan of pity-parties but I do believe that we need to feel our pain, frustration and disappointment when we are dealing with hard things. It doesn't make you a bad Christian to acknowledge things that are hard for you. Again, for each of us, disaster might mean very different things. Don't negate your pain. Own it and feel it. That is what's going to help you move on.

We all face hard things in life from time to time. Can I make a few suggestions for getting through hard things?
First of all, as I already said, acknowledge your pain and frustration. Be honest with yourself. Second of all, be honest with God. Go to Him and tell him all that you are feeling. Thirdly, have a good friend who can be both a good support but also bring in a good perspective. And fourth, don't try to hurry the process. Deal with it in the way that is good for you and remember to do some good self-care in this time.

Hard stuff is a part of life but we have a faithful God who is always walking beside us in all things. For more encouragement, go to Psalm 18 and read verse 19!

Happy Monday yet again! Thanks for tuning in and reading what God has put on my heart.

This morning, I was reading Oswald Chambers - one of my favorite authors! This quote really struck me:

      "The paralysis of refusing to act leaves a man exactly where he was before; when once he acts, he is never the same."

Wow!! Such words of wisdom. I think the first word that really got me was the word 'paralysis'. How many of us would like change in our lives and yet when it comes down to it, that is what happens - we are paralyzed. However when we act, we are never the same - why? Because you have stepped out of your normal and tasted a little bit of freedom, a little bit of something better, a little bit of what you really want.

God does not want us paralyzed or staying in the same place. He wants us growing and stepping out fully and living that abundant life that He extends to each of us. Can I both encourage and challenge you today? I want to encourage you by saying that God has more for you - wonderful things that you have not yet imagined (Eph.3:20)! And I want to challenge you to act! I know that for most of you reading this right now there is probably something that jumps right to mind when I ask what it is that you want in your life. Go ahead, act on it!! You will never be the same!