Just Say Yes

I was texting my cousin the other day and said in my text that I was declaring 2018 as the year of yes. I don’t know about you, but I have been known to procrastinate when it comes to what I believe is Gods will for my life. Unfortunately, from time to time, I have also allowed “real life” to stand in my way. What do I mean by “real life?”  For me, “real life” refers to my day to day living. Like many of you that are pursuing your passion or what you believe is God’s will for your life, I work a full-time job. My full-time job often spills over into late night and even weekend hours. The time, my time, which should be reserved for doing what I want to do, or in my case, what I believe God wants me to do as of late has been dedicated to my 9-5. Don’t get me wrong. I am thankful for my job, but I can’t help but to ask myself where I would be if I committed the same amount of time to my passion that I commit to my 9-5.

As I look towards 2018 I’m looking for a new beginning, a new opportunity to say yes. We automatically say yes to those things that we feel we don’t have any control over or those things that are expected of us. I’m employed. It’s expected of me to not only give 100%, but to give my all. I have a family. It’s expected of me to commit myself and go over and above for my family. But what about Gods purpose for my life? Are my job and my family part of God’s purpose for my life? Of course, they are but so is the passion that God has placed in me.

I’m one of those all or none people. I don’t like to start something I can’t complete. I don’t want to commit to something that I cannot see through to the end. This is a challenge for me because life happens. Obstacles appear out of nowhere. I become frustrated with myself when things get in my way that prevent me from moving forward. Those of you that follow my blog probably noticed I was blogging less frequently, then I finally stopped. Well it was the ole 9-5 that was taking up my time. I have been working nights and weekends. Because of my personal work ethic, I don’t see things in my 9-5 changing in the immediate future. I have however decided to make changes. My commitment to my 9-5 ensures I excel in the work place, but what about the souls that are being neglected because I don’t have time to pursue my passion?

In 2018 I’m saying yes. Yes, Lord to your way and yes Lord to Your will. I believe when I rest in the Lord, acknowledging Him in ALL that I do, that He will direct my path. I’m going to seek God. I’m going to listen. I’m going to be still long enough to hear from God. I’m going to accept that He knows my heart and the desires of my heart because He has given me those desires. In doing so, I am going to understand God will also bring my desires to pass because He is the only One that can. I am going to recognize that a little bit is better than none. Whatever the Lord gives me to share in whatever format I can share it is better than not sharing it at all.

I can’t expect everyone to understand nor support my dreams but I can have faith that the God that has given me those dreams will bring them to pass in His time.

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9

I invite you to join me in making 2018 your year of yes. The year of moving forward in all that God has prepared for a people that will move themselves out of His way, removing all barriers so that He can move mightily through them as He gets all the glory.

Perseverance

Joseph was a dreamer. At 17 years of age he was going about his business feeding the flock. Now Joseph was special in the eyes of his father Jacob, because he was born when Jacob was no longer in his prime. As a matter of fact Joseph was Jacobs’s favorite child. He loved him more than his other children. In fact, he loved him so much he made him a coat of many colors. Now how would that make you feel if you were one of Joseph’s brothers?

You’d probably be jealous and maybe a little envious, and Joseph’s brothers, well they hated him plain and simple. As a matter of fact they couldn’t even carry on a peaceable conversation with him. So Joseph, happy go lucky in his colorful coat has a dream and shares it with his brothers. He tells them we were binding sheaves, or bundles of wheat in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance, or bowed down to my sheaf, they responded to Joseph saying are you going to rein or rule over us and have dominion over us, so they hate him even more.

Then Joseph has another dream and shares it with his brothers and his father. He tells them how in his dream the sun, the moon and eleven stars made obeisance or bowed down to him. This time his fathered rebuked him saying are your mother and I along with your brothers going to bow down to you on earth?

His brothers grew angrier, but his father thought about the dream.

What had Joseph done to cause his brothers to be so angry? Absolutely nothing. He didn’t cause his own birth. He didn’t make his father love him, nor did he make his father make his coat of many colors. He wasn’t even responsible for his own dreams. All he did was share his dreams.

Did you cause your own birth? Are you responsible for the dreams or visions God has given you?

I will issue a word of caution here. Not everyone will understand, encourage or support you in your vision, goals, ideas, or Gods plan for your life. Be careful with whom you share your dreams.

Your only responsibility is to have that childlike faith, believing and trusting in God as you forgive those that trespass or conspire against you, or try to deter you from God’s plan for your life, and persevere, or persist in anything you have undertaken. Maintaining your purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles or discouragement, continuing steadfastly, that’s the definition of perseverance.  Believing God for whatever He has placed in your heart whether it’s healing, a job, a relationship, a spouse, the birth of a long awaited child, a business venture, deliverance, or salvation for those you love.

You must be resolved, or stand steadfastly in your faith as you persevere.

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Are You Ready?

The other day my sister asked me to let her dog out of the house. She had been gone most of the day and did not anticipate arriving home in a timely manner. Now you must know Jazzy, my sister’s dog. If any of you have dogs you know they have their own personality and many of them just as Jazzy does think they are human.

Jazzy saw me walking towards my sister’s house and began barking. When I opened the door Jazzy was glad to see me. Usually if you ask her if she wants to go to the mail box she will follow you. This time she didn’t. My sister asked me to pick up her bag of dog food and walk towards the door to see if she would follow. Jazzy just looked at me. I asked her if she wanted to go outside. She laid down on the floor and turned her head away from me as if to say I’m comfortable just where I am. Go away. My sister asked me to put her on speaker thinking if she heard her voice she could coax her into going outside. Again, Jazzy gave me that you can go now look, so I left.

Jazzy was comfortable. I’m sure if she really needed to go outside she would have gone outside.

How many of us are comfortable so we stay where we are?

While pursuing our passion, dream, vision, destiny, many of us are employed in full time jobs which I believe are part of our journey otherwise we wouldn’t be there. Depending on the job, we may put in 40 hours a week or more. We are comfortable because we have income, a means of supporting ourselves and our family. But how much time are we committing to what we know God has called us to do and instilled in our hearts?

Many of us, me included struggle with our commitment to what we know will bring us a satisfaction that only comes with fulfilling our purpose. Our excuses vary. We don’t have time, we’re too tired, and/or we don’t have the money. We also have doubt. What if I’m not good enough, what if I fail, what if this really isn’t God? Excuses, Excuses!

How many people that don’t believe in God succeed because they apply His principles? Have you ever listened to a successful entrepreneur or business owner talk about what makes them successful? Whether they realize it or not they are applying sound business principles which come directly from the bible.

Paul said in Philippians 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

It would be foolish, unless instructed by God, to quit your job and follow your passion full time, but what are you doing to prepare yourself?

What if you woke up tomorrow morning to find all your bills were paid, you had an unlimited line of credit for which you were not responsible for repaying, and a note which read do it now. What would you do, after picking yourself up off of the floor of course?

Are you ready? Can you step out of the door right now and begin doing what you know, that you know, that you know, you should be doing?

In Matthew 25 we read the parable of the ten virgins.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

² And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

³ They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

⁴ But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

⁵ While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

 

I would like to liken the coming of the Son of man to your opportunity to do what God has called you to do. Will you be ready? Are you like the wise virgins or the foolish virgins? Do you have oil for your lamp? Are you doing everything you need to do so that when your opportunity presents itself, when your gift makes room for you and brings your before great men you will be able to step into your rightful place?

Are you responding like Jazzy when she heard my sister’s voice trying to coax her to go outside? Turning your head the other way, waiting for more than a voice?

God speaks to us in many ways. He is coaxing us by giving us a heart or passion for whatever it is that He has called us to do.  He speaks to us through His word, other people, circumstances and situations. I believe He is speaking to you and me right now through this blog. Will you take heed, be bold, confident in God’s plan for your life, and move out of your comfort zone, or will you rest on your laurels, slumber and sleep as the foolish virgins?

What Kind of Ground are You?

Some of us spend more time thinking about our dreams, gifts, and passions than we do pursing them. When thinking about the amount of energy we sometimes expend when it comes to our pursuit of our passion it made me think about the parable of the sower and the soil. We know that the parable refers to the seed as the word of God, but bear with me as I to use the parable to refer to the seed as the gift God sows into our lives for His purpose.

In Mark chapter 4:3-8 we read the parable of the sower and the soil. We then read in the same chapter in verses 15- 20 the explanation of the parable.

Jesus begins in verse 15 by explaining these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. When it comes to the gifts in our lives, or the passion God has given us for certain things I believe when we are first made aware of our gifts sometimes we don‘t believe God is talking to us. It’s difficult to believe He has chosen us and entrusted us, so we may dismiss the idea and think of it as a passing whim. This behavior may be found in individuals that don’t see their talents as gifts from God, but rather somehow see them as something they can do on their own.

We then read in verses 16-17 and these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. I believe this occurs when we believe God has chosen us. We know our purpose. We are excited. We tell everyone that will listen about what we believe God wants us to do. We think about ideas of what Gods plan for us will look like, but we don’t have a plan. As soon as things don’t appear as though they are moving in the right direction we become discouraged. I refer to this as having a beginning and a perceived end with no middle, or no plan to get there. Without a plan you cannot reach your desired end.

Verses 18-19 and these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Busy, busy, busy, planning, thinking, lots of ideas, unsure of which one to follow. This person may dabble in several different areas, unable to focus on one because they all feel right. They may achieve success in an area and become blinded by their initial success, so rather than continue they relish in the success and stay there only to realize this is not their final destination. Once realized they may feel as though they have failed, and may not continue. They may also become discouraged when obstacles come across their path. Rather than face the obstacles head on and learn from them they may move on to something else and start all over again. I refer to this as visions of grandeur. This person believes and acts, but is not totally convinced.

 

And finally verse 20 and these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. This person is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt of what God has called them to do. They work diligently. Do they encounter obstacles and failure? Of course they do. Do they become side tracked? Sometimes. They become disappointed but never discouraged.

I believe Paul said it best in 2: Corinthians 4:7-9 we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. These are the people that will not give up. They know God has given them gifts and depend solely on His ability, rather than their own, to bring what He has destined for their lives to come to fruition. This person is convinced and committed.

At some point in time you may experience one or more of these behaviors. You may even experience them more than once. What’s important is that you recognize your behavior and correct it. There will always be obstacles, naysayers and barriers. There will be disappointment and you will become discouraged but don’t stay in that place. Don’t allow your circumstances to control you. You must control them.

I have exhibited each of these behaviors at some point in time except for the first one. I’m a dreamer and an optimist so nothing seems impossible to me, but what about you? Which of these are you experiencing right now?

Let your gifts be sown into good ground. Ground that will receive the gifts that God has given you. Move in your gifts rather than covet someone else’s, and take your gifts to the limit!

Stay on Track

I hope you used the month of January to focus on your finances and have a plan in place. The key is to stay on track. Remember your financial goals, and work towards them. Don’t deviate. If it’s not in the budget don’t buy it.

It’s important to have a budget when you are pursuing your passion. It’s easy to pull funds from your household budget to fund your dream because of your passion. Don’t let your enthusiasm for pursuing your passion become a financial burden. Remember Proverbs 18:16 a man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. If God has given you a gift, dream, desire or passion, He is more than able to bring it to pass along with all the necessary funding. You are blessed to be a blessing. Your gifts are to be shared. Why would God give you a gift that you could not share? He wouldn’t. The gifts that He has entrusted you with are to edify the body and glorify Him.

Just as you have set financial goals you must also set goals to help you pursue your passion. Where are you? Where do you believe God wants you to be? What are you doing to get there?

What may seem impossible for you is not impossible for God. We serve a big God that gives us big dreams. Whatever God has placed in your heart, you will not be able to achieve without Him so don’t become discouraged when what He desires for you appears unrealistic for you to achieve. It is. As we read in John 15:5 …for without me ye can do nothing.

There will be times when everything will flow perfectly. You will want to pinch yourself, asking is thing really happening. There will be other times when you will feel like nothing is going right, and you will ask yourself was this God or was it me. Count it all joy, the ups, the downs, the good and the bad, but never give up. The journey God places you on while pursuing His purpose for your life is part of your testimony. It is what will inspire others to believe they too can achieve what God has placed in them.

You may feel like you have done everything according to your plan but you are not seeing the results you expect. The operative word here is you. Just because you don’t see what you think you should see doesn’t mean God is not working behind the scene doing exactly what needs to be done so what He has planned for you will come to fruition. While you are waiting, keep praying, believing and thanking Him for what He has done. Keep sharing and encouraging others. It’s all part of His plan.

You have a gift. We all have gifts and once God gifts us He never takes His gifts back as we read in Romans 11:29 for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

If you’ve gotten off track, get back on track. Take baby steps if you must. Sometimes we try to do too much at one time and become lost in what we are doing. Slow down, seek God, ask for direction and move according to His will.

Time For Reflection

January should be a time of reflection. For those that have charged Christmas gifts on credit cards you will start receiving your billing statements. Mortgages companies, financial institutions and employers are mailing year end statements. Some people may be surprised at how much income they received because they may not be able to account for a majority of what they earned. Others may be surprised at how little income they received yet consider it a blessing because God multiplied their income like the fish and the loaves. Their needs and wants were met and they still had money left over.

As your financial statements are coming in it is the perfect time to prepare a budget if you do not already have one.  Take a look at your spending and your saving habits. Are you where you want to be? If not what changes can you make to move closer to your financial goal? We are only a few days into the New Year. If you cannot account for your income from last year start saving your receipts. Itemize all of your spending. You may be surprised by how much or maybe even how little you spend on certain items.

Oftentimes when people are trying to reduce their expenditures they are advised to reduce or eliminate what they spend on soft drinks, coffee, eating out, entertainment, and wants verses needs. Well what if you have already reduced or eliminated those expenses and still cannot make ends meet? As rich as this country is it is unfortunate that they are many people who are unemployed or underemployed.

Comparison shopping is important. Using coupons saves money. Sometimes it may be less expensive to eat out than cook if you are discarding uneaten food when preparing meals. Freeze leftovers or reinvent them. I used to use leftover meatloaf to make spaghetti. Be creative. Purchasing clothing at a discount isn’t always a discount if the items require dry cleaning.

Over the next 3 months from January through March I encourage you to take a close look at what and how you spend. Are you paying yourself first? Do you have any money put away for a rainy day? Are you prepared for a financial emergency? Some people may think because they cannot save a substantial amount that they should not save anything. This is far from the truth. How many times have you found just enough money to get exactly what you need? Every little bit helps and it all adds up.

I believe in tithing and know that Gods word is true. Think about it. If you receive a salary your net income is what you have to spend. You do not have the option of deciding whether or not certain deductions are made from your gross income. You accept what is deducted and live off of the rest. You have no guarantee that you will ever reap any benefit from any deductions taken from your gross income. However there are several guarantees made by the only person that cannot lie that are associated with tithing.  Decide for yourself who you will believe…but as for me and my house we are sticking with the One that cannot lie.

While you are reviewing your finances get a free copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com. This site does not provide a free credit score but it will provide you with a credit report from TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.  I recommend you review your credit history annually. Errors can be made. Oftentimes unpaid medical payments are added to your credit report without notification.

God wants us to be whole, mind, body and spirit. That is why He says beloved, above all things I wish that you should prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. He also says my people perish for lack of knowledge. Learn what you can. Use what you learn and share what you learn.

Everyone can exceed their wildest dreams but not everyone will. It is only those that will not give up, those that believe, those that are confident in God and the gifts He has given them, those that will not accept defeat and don’t know the meaning of the word can’t, and those that think it is impossible for them to fail that will see the fullness of what God has planned for them.

Are you one of the ones that will excel or are you one of the ones that will not excel?

Let Your Passion Be Greater Than Your Fear

My favorite question, as I have mentioned previously, is to ask people, especially adults, what they want to be when they grow up.  Some people’s passions are obvious.  There is no need for me to ask them at all.  After spending just a few moments speaking with them they cannot help but mention with great enthusiasm what kindles their fire.  Their face glows.  They may share what they are doing, what motivates them, and/or their future plans.

There are others that speak of a dream, desire, vision or passion, but put very little effort behind bringing it to fruition.  They have ideas of grandeur.  They can even envision themselves where they want to be, but have no plan to get there.  We read in Proverbs 18:16 (KJV) a man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.  We also read in in James 2:28 (KJV) yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  We must have faith, but it is the work or belief and effort that we put behind the faith that actually shows that we have faith.

If we say we believe, but never make an effort towards what it is that we believe, do we really believe?  You may not always succeed immediately out of the gate, but you must open the gate and step on the other side.

Sometimes we say we have a dream or desire, but is it even ours?  Could it be the desire our parents or someone of influence over our lives has for us?  Perhaps we see people with dreams all around us and we want one just because they have one.  Never belittle, or allow anyone else to belittle your dream.  No dream is too big and no dream is too small.  If it’s your dream you own it.  Get excited about it!  You may be the only one who is, but that’s okay.  It’s yours, and you are the one that will feel fulfilled when it comes to fruition.

There are many things that may hold us back, some are real and some are excuses.  But even what is real may slow us down, but should not stop us.  Tragedy can prevent us from moving forward, but we should not let it stop us.  Sometimes it may have the reverse effect and drive us forward.  Budget may stop us, but if we are experiencing a financial deficit we should channel our energy and resources in a productive direction to keep us moving.  When our momentum stops, even briefly, it is difficult to restart our engine.

Procrastination may be one of the most powerful blocks that prevent us from moving forward.  We come up with excuse after excuse, one of which is “I work better under pressure.”  Do you really work better under pressure, or is it that you wait until the last minute and when you complete your task you feel relieved?  Do you realize procrastination is a form of fear?  You may be afraid of failure which is natural; no one wants to fail, but you may be more afraid of success.  What happens when you succeed? What is your next step?  What will be expected of you?

Whatever your desire, dream, vision or passion, in order for you to succeed you must Let Your Passion Be Greater than Your Fear, which is what I have done.  My website www.gretahillman.com is now live; please click on the link to view.  Follow me on Twitter, like my Facebook page and feel free to leave comments. Subscribe to my blog read, and submit questions and/or comments to my forum.  I accept public speaking invitations and I encourage you to watch for the release of my books and upcoming events by visiting my site often.

Thanks for your continued support.  May God bless you as I yield myself to Him and He continues to speak through me.

 

 

Failure is not an Option; It's an Opportunity

Oftentimes when we don’t receive the results we expect we as well as others think we have failed. Usually before undertaking any project we prepare in advance with an expectation of receiving the desired results whether it’s baking a cake, preparing for an exam, writing a business plan or whatever the undertaking. In other words we have done our homework. If we were preparing to bake a cake we would not preheat the oven and prepare our baking pan without first making sure we had all of the required ingredients.

But even if we have all of the right ingredients and follow the directions we may not receive the desired result. Jackie, a friend of mine bakes one of the best pound cakes I have ever tasted. Another friend Diane asked for her recipe which she provided. Diane baked a cake following the directions but the results were not the same. Some of you may think perhaps Jackie did not divulge all of the information to prepare the cake the same way that she does but she did.

Diane could not figure out where she went wrong. Jackie wasn’t there when Diane baked her cake so she could not tell her what she may have done that was different. Diane told Jackie everything she did and Jackie confirmed everything was done correctly. Diane considered herself a failure saying she couldn’t even follow simple directions.

I don’t like to use the word failure. As a matter of fact when I don’t receive the results I expect rather than say I have failed. I say just that. These are not the results I expected. I now have an opportunity to exam my process and try a different approach. There are no failures in life only new opportunities.

Just like Diane you may think you have followed the directions perfectly but rather than be disappointed think about the following:

Ø  Did I do everything exactly the way I was supposed to i.e. did I cut any corners? Perhaps in Diane’s case the directions were to mix by hand 100 strokes. Maybe she used an electric mixer and just counted 100 strokes.

Ø  Do I have a plan? Diane had a recipe to follow which she did. What is your plan? You may have a desired result or goal but what is your plan to reach your goal? Without a plan you don’t have a map to reach your destination.

Ø  Am I following my plan? If you have set a deadline which requires working an hour a day are you working an hour a day or are you skipping a couple of days and making a decision to combine all of the hours at the end of the week? What happens if something unexpected comes up and prevents you from keeping your commitment to complete all of your hours at the end of the week? Have you failed? No you have not, but you have learned putting things off did not yield the desired results so the next week you make a decision to keep your commitment to work an hour each day.

What if you have set a goal followed your plan but did not receive your desired results? What do you do? Initially you may feel disappointed. No one likes rejection and everyone wants to feel successful. What you must realize is that you are successful because you set a goal for yourself and followed your plan to completion. You may not have yielded your desired results but you now have a new opportunity. Maybe you are a singer and performed a song that was not so well received. Perhaps you performed before the wrong audience. Everyone will not receive your thoughts, your dreams, and your goals with the same enthusiasm that you have. Does that mean they are not good ideas? No it does not. It may mean it’s the wrong audience.

Never give up on what you know God has placed in your heart to do. Isaiah 40:31 but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. If you do not receive your desired results keep in mind God has given you a desire but the path He places you on will be His and may not always coincide with yours as we read in Proverbs 16:9 a man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directed his steps.

 

 

 

 

Just How Committed Are You?

If I had a dollar for each time I have said I’m going to dedicate myself to following my destiny I probably wouldn’t have to follow it because I’d be a billionaire. That may be an exaggeration but I have made a commitment to follow my dreams more times than I care to remember. The truth of the matter is I have my peaks and valleys. There are days when I work until I can’t think. Whether I’m working on my latest book, a poem, a greeting card or marketing. There are days when the adrenaline is so strong I feel as though I can’t get the words on paper fast enough.

Then there are the days I sit in front of the television and don’t move. Afterwards I become angry with myself because of all the time I’ve wasted doing absolutely nothing. I can also spend an entire day just conversing with people. I must admit my biggest joy comes from helping others discover their passion and encouraging them to follow their dreams and pursue their destiny, but what else would you expect from a Motivational Speaker and Life Coach?

What’s important is consistency with balance. It’s great to follow your dreams but without balance even following your dreams can take a toll on you. When you are passionate about what you are doing it doesn’t feel like work, time gets away from you and before you know it you can become burnt out doing the thing you love the most.

Always make time for friends, family and something fun. This enables you to work without feeling guilty when you take a break.

Just how committed are you? Some people work full or part-time jobs while pursing their passion. If you fall into this category commit one of my favorite scriptures to memory. It can be found in Romans 4:17 call those things which be not as though they were. What is your passion, dream, desire or destiny? Perhaps you want to be a chef. Why not call yourself a chef? Maybe your desire is to be an artist. Call yourself an artist, and say it aloud. God spoke the world into existence. Why can’t you speak your destiny into existence? If you believe you can do it and put effort behind it your faith will bring it to fruition.

Are You In Motion?

One of the definitions of motion is the action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement. This process of moving, changing place or position can take you in different directions. But back to my original question are you in motion? Positive motion will propel you forward. It keeps you active and engaged in reaching your goals, your dreams, and your destiny. While negative motion will move you in the opposite direction.

Oftentimes interference or noise will turn our positive or forward motion into a negative or backward motion or even stop us from moving.  Have you ever listened to a radio station with a very clear signal then suddenly the signal weakens there may be static or you may even hear a completely different station. The radio frequency has changed because you are out of range.

When we lose our focus, our reason or purpose for seeking after our goals, dreams or destiny due to interference or noise we may feel what we have been striving for is out of range. You may have written a business plan, spent hours doing research but ran into a snag. Perhaps you have run out of funding. Maybe you are walking through the mall and see an idea that is similar to yours or everything is in place for a big contract that falls through at the last minute.

What do you do? Do you lose focus? If you were listening to the radio and were no longer able to listen to your favorite station what would you do? Do you play a CD or do you turn off the radio? If you are like me you may make your own music and sing.

We cannot be distracted by notice, interference or setbacks. As long as we are alive and striving to reach a goal there will be obstacles in our way so what do we do? We improvise. If your capital has fallen short find creative ways to come up with new capital. Have a garage sale, or sell unwanted or unneeded items on ebay. Perhaps you can barter with someone than needs what you have to offer. So what if someone has an idea that is similar to yours. I cannot say this enough. No one can do what you can do exactly the way you do it. If one contract falls through keep working towards the next one. As long as you are moving forward you will reach your destination, but the minute you stop moving your progression stops.

We all get side tracked from time to time but it’s imperative that you stay focused. Find an alternate route. It may take you longer to get there but you will get there eventually and guess what? You may even find your detour gets you there quicker.