Make it Count...

So many thots swirl thru my head as I read, ponder, observe, experience, and do each day. So, in the 'spaghetti-brained' fashion that is so often a description of a woman's mind, I take the plunge this morning and 'pen' a few lines.

Life is a gift. You may feel depressed, or be stumbling in grief, or pine for what isn't that God created to be but someone is unfaithfully neglecting their post, or you may be passive and complacent without vision or goal... Wake up, my friends. You are here on this earth for a specific reason. You are in this generation because God needs you to love Him and others, drawing to Himself all who will come to Him (and using the redeemed to be His witnesses and drawing power, many times). This life that is a gift is not to be squandered away in pornography, or petty focus, or in hobbies that require time that you could be giving to love and bless others (I'm not talking about the 'down time' that we need sometimes in the 'desert' to rest, but in your resting, be productive. Feed your soul, become refreshed by refreshing others even in little ways, and always be in tune with the Holy Spirit's direction in your day). Don't waste the day being sad and pining for what you wish was. Get out there, embrace the day! Feed your body wholesome fuel so that it can be healthy and well to do the work God is calling you to do. Go on country walks and admire the beauty of wildflowers, using some of that time to pray the Creator of the wildflowers about whatever He puts on your heart to speak to Him about. Take some of that time to be quiet and listen to the thots He downloads into your heart. Take the time to admire the sunsets He paints (how many thousands do we miss?!) Plunge yourself into the Word of God and in whatever fellowship of the saints that God gives you (Be careful! Fellowship is an idol to many where God intends it to be a gift to spur us on to doing His work. Receive it however He gives it and do not insist that it is given in the way you feel it should be. God always provides. YES, I'm being vulnerable here and sharing what I've learned from personal experience...) Take the time to enjoy your people, whoever they may be (do you know them? What they appreciate...what makes them smile...etc or are you too busy scrolling Facebook posts and playing on your phone to notice? Yes, this is preaching to me, too!)

Stoop. Bend to tend that broken person that God brings to you today. Kneel to hear a child speak. Be aware of your surroundings, and of how the Spirit is moving you to meet whatever needs He puts in your path. How many days do we sail thru, 'mindlessly' (there is no such thing, according to Scripture!) missing so many opportunities to make a difference in someone's life because we are busy doing our own thing, feeding our own pleasures, and even walking in sinful behavior that no one else but God can see?

Only one life we have. Then it's all over and we will spend an eternity answering for how we lived God's commission on earth.

There are many young people needing discipling. There are parents whose weary hands we can lift up. There are grandparents who could use our physical help and our time to listen to them teaching and reminiscing on their life. No matter what age a person is, if God brings them into your life, seek His heart on how to relate to them and how to encourage them. Make your moves count. Make your
life count!

Are you sad because your family is broken? Are you sad because you never were (and still aren't) close to your parents? Does the pull of addiction lap at your feet daily? (You can fill in the blank but I name some addictions here that are more common among those who name Jesus' name than you would think: pornography and overeating/eating junk food. Both give that dopamine push in the brain that drugs do, which satan uses to pull us over to his side during times of sorrow or weakness. Be aware of it and plan your strategy before tragedy/trauma/sorrow hits!) Do you spend your days pining for different circumstances? I am well aware of these things, both in myself or in the people I have mentored/encountered in life. Please know that there is hope and joy and LIFE abundant in the name of Jesus. Whoever will call on the name of Jesus WILL be saved. Call on His name and walk in His presence. In His presence is FULLNESS of joy. It's true. I can say it's true, both because God says it in His word and because I experience it. The freedom in surrender is beyond words. Try it. You will know it too.

Life is short. Eternity is long. What are we going to do with those 86, 400 seconds in each day that God gives us? Will we spend the seconds living for Him, or will we spend them for ourselves? The difference shows ups fairly quickly in the fruit that grows from our choices. I know Who I want to use the seconds for. What about you?


Because of Jesus, for Jesus, by the power of Jesus...for His glory always.

~Marcia

PS
If you feel alone without anyone to pray with you or for you, or if you wish for counsel/discipling, please feel free to drop a comment here. It does not get publicly seen unless I choose to publish it. I will never publish private information but dropping a comment here is one way that I can be contacted. I have a little group of friends who are willing to pray with people, disciple people, and pray for people with heart needs. We extend our love and blessing to you today.