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Hallelujahs and Hiccups

Living Your Best Life!

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You don’t have to retire from all those years of labor to begin living your best life. Many of us have visions of a better tomorrow, a future where we will except is more, or find a career that we actually love, make more money, have more feee time and so forth. If you’re reading this, it is because you want more and you suspect you’re capable of more. You have hopes and dreams and you’re ready to create the life you want. Jesus lived and died to give us this gift of abundant life. So how do we go about receiving it? We see the need to change direction in our lives, the need for forgiveness for past sins, and the need to start down the path of discipleship with Jesus. But that is only the beginning. The next part is the “following” part, the “imitating Jesus” part. We begin to realize that there is left in our life a root of sin, from time to time we act unchristian, and we know that there must be more that God has for us than what we have. So what actually is our best life and how do we live it? 

The most important word in the phrase “Living your best life” is “your.” Strip away the Instagram filters and look at your own values objectively and with honesty. Figure out what’s most important to you, what matters on an achievable level and go from there. What do you need to do to be satisfied with your life? Once you’ve figured that out, set some goals. Hate your busy city life? Then make time on the weekends to escape to the country. You’re not energized by your career?  Well, do something about it. Take tiny steps to inject things you like into your workplace, set new goals, talk to your boss about new responsibilities, or look for something new. Take a class, learn a skill, take up a new sport or hobby — everything is within your control. Ask God to take a certain habit away, to prune away a particular behavior and as God takes away those undesirable traits in your life, ask Him to fill those now-empty spaces with His love, His “likeness,” and His presence. It is then that we find ourselves living out loud the best versions of ourselves. I believe we should be living life to its fullest, which is the life God intended for each of us to have and the life for which Jesus died. There is no reason to ever be ashamed of where you are in life. Not when you’re doing your best. Not when you’re in your best moment. There’s always gonna be people to tell you “No.” Or “You can’t.” Or “you shouldn’t.” Or even that it’s just not in your cards. No matter what anybody says, you have to have the mindset that saids, “They may not see my potential but I’m still doing this and I will give it my best.” Defy the odds. Take chances, take risks, try to appreciate the things you do have and surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. Sometimes our happiest moments are among the most mundane made special by those they’re shared with. Don’t hinge your happiness on things you think will impress others — that’s not living your best life. That’s only living someone else’s idea of it. This is the life that you can claim today.
Why not you?

Excerpt from Breakthroughs and Bless You’s 100 Day Devotional Journal by Kara Barker available now!

Lifequakes

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It is the moments we experience when we encounter a new life transition that we were never fully prepare for. In less than 24 hours, my husband and I will be dropping off our youngest son, Micah at the University of Texas in Austin to start his first year of college and I can’t help but to feel an array of emotions.
In life, we’ve learn to speed through transitions to get over them fast but in this transition I’ve decided for the first time to “sit in my feelings.”
Over this past summer I’ve learned that although one may not be seeking change, when it sneaks up on you, not to rush through it but to grow through it and learn from it.
No one ever gets through life without experiencing a series of transitions which I coin as lifequakes. And if you think your immune to them allow me to remind you that we’re still living in a post pandemic world.
However, as a continuous learner I like to share a few simple lessons or validating statements to help you through your next “lifequake.”

  1. It’s okay to not be okay. Just don’t setup camp there forever.
  2. It’s okay to let go of what was to embrace what’s next.
  3. It’s okay to get centered “in the now”.
  4. It’s okay to increase your self-care routine. Is eating gelato every night for the past week, self-care or self-indulgence? Just asking for a friend. 🤔
  5. It’s okay to lean on others and seek help and counsel if you can’t manage your emotions.
  6. It’s okay to take things one step at a time. Give yourself and others grace.
  7. It’s okay to do if afraid and start something you’ve always wanted to start. Why not?
  8. It’s okay to call your kid often that’s away, that doesn’t have to change. But just don’t ask for the play-by-play every time that’s a little too much 😀
  9. It’s okay to let go and Let God.
    And last but not least
  10. It’s okay to keep it simple for the next 60 days to sit in your feelings.
    At the end of the day, I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to experience this life transition with our son and we truly believe his best is yet to come!
    Keep our son in your prayers.

Providence

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“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Let’s be honest. Isn’t one of our greatest fears about giving to God’s work that if we give generously, we won’t have enough money left over to meet our own needs? Paul confronted this fear when he told the Philippians, “You have given generously to God, and God will give generously to you. My God shall supply all your needs.” Notice Paul didn’t say that God would fill all their greeds, but He would supply all their needs.

Notice how God supplies our needs. When we are faithful to give to Him, He will give to us “according to His riches in glory” (v. 19). Paul didn’t say God gives to us out of His riches; He gives to us according to His riches. That’s a big difference. Think of the  mall bell ringer during the holidays collecting money in red kettles. Imagine a wealthy socialite walks by and drops in a check for one hundred thousand dollars. Can you imagine the expression on the volunteer’s face when she pulls out that check? But as large as that gift is, the socialite has a big pile of money left. In that case, the socialite gave out of his riches. Now, if instead the socialite had written a check for two billion dollars and placed it in that kettle, that would’ve been a gift according to her riches. When God chooses to supply your needs, He doesn’t just give a piddling amount and keep most of it for Himself. Instead, God blesses you proportionate to His riches in glory.

As said written in Philippians, “Just as God has been faithful to take care of my needs in whatever situation I’m in, you can depend on Him to be faithful to take care of your needs in whatever circumstances you face. And that’s how we can be content. Together, we trust in God’s providence.” Providence is God’s ability to see beforehand what happens to us. Nothing happens to you that takes God by surprise. God is in complete control of His whole creation, which means He is in control of your life and my life. Scripture says, “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). We will never learn contentment until we trust in God’s sovereignty.

We will never be satisfied in life until we believe that every situation in life is part of the perfect plan of our loving God. The secret to living in spite of your circumstances is finding joy in every situation by choosing to trust God’s providence and purpose for your life.