Steps Toward Change

        I've been learning some things lately. Sometimes I wish that I learned things a little faster or didn't allow myself to learn the wrong thing and then have to take time later to unlearn it and replace it with the right thing. But anyway...
       My mind is not always my friend. I've gotten to the point where any little thought or fear that pops into my mind can quickly grow to be an all consuming monster in my brain. It is neither fun nor peaceful and I know that I need to change it. And, slowly, slowly, God is bringing things to my mind, Steps Toward Change.

Step 1: Stand Firm
        Over and over I am coming across verses in the Bible that talk about standing firm. We need to stand firm in our faith and we need to stand firm against the enemy. Fear is my enemy. My husband reminds me that when fear starts growing, I need to stand firm against it. I cannot let it win.
       Ephesians 6:13
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. "

     Psalm 91:14
"Because he holds fast to me in, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name."

    1 Corinthians 16:13-14
"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."

Step 2: Hope in God
       When fear starts attacking my mind, sadly one of the first thing that goes out the door is my hope. Fear tells me that God isn't on my side and I start to believe it. But I can't let this happen. We need to hope in the One who gives us life regardless of what is happening.

     Psalm 42:5-6a
" Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,  my salvation, and my God"

Step 3: Be grounded in the Word
        All my life I have been exposed to God's Word. Growing up I memorized verses and knew that the Bible was my sword. I knew that I should read it every day but wasn't all that great of following through, but I have been realizing lately just how important it is. 

        Ephesians 6:16-17
"In all circumstances take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God."

Step 4: Guard Your Heart
       Here again, I have heard this one all of my life. But guarding my heart doesn't just mean keeping it pure from sins, I also need to guard it from fear and doubt. Because when you let those things in they squelch your hope, cloud your vision and take you places you don't want to go. 

      Proverbs 4:23
" Keep your heart with all vigilance,  for from it flow the springs of life."

     2 Corinthians 10:5
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

Step 5: Accept God's Love
I've heard this said before, but it just really struck me when I read this passage the other day.

John 15:9
" As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love."

  One of the definitions of the word Abide is "to accept."

 Step 6: Remember That Faith is a Choice and Not a feeling. 
     I listen to my feelings way to much. So, all to often, if my feelings tell me that there is no hope for me or that I am always doing things wrong, I tend to believe them. My husband has tried to tell me this time and again, but the other day it just clicked in my mind. I can choose to hold fast to faith and hope even when my feelings tell me otherwise

Joshua 24:15
"...Choose this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

So there you have it. The steps that God has been revealing to me lately. I still struggle a lot, but I can do this, and you can too. Happy Saturday.  

“Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” ~Heath L. Buckmaster

"Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it." ~Andy Rooney


       
    

Remembering

     I love being an elementary school teacher and the other day, I had the opportunity to take my class on a field trip to the Williams' farm. As I drove up the lane I thought about the first time I ever made that drive. It was before I knew that I would move to this wonderful town, before I was a teacher, it was the day I met my husband. It's crazy to think about, because that day, almost 4 years ago, I would never have guessed that I would be making this trip now, With a new name and a classroom of kids in tow. As I make this trip I wonder what I will think in 4 more years or 10 or 20. What changes await in the future? What adventures?
    

 “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
~Heraclitus

Metamorphosis

     The first day of Autumn happened a week ago and the colors of the season are beginning to show their faces. I love Fall. With the coming of Fall has come new changes. I started a new job recently. A job that I was so excited to get and have loved from the get go. I am a teacher. Finally. Years of college were starting to wear on me and I wondered if I would ever stop being on the student end of things. And then, just like, that I get a call saying the job is yours. I love working with kids. It is energizing and oh so fun. I love it when the kids call me Mrs. Williams and I love telling funny stories from my classroom. Like I've been fighting a cold lately and the other day I blew my nose during class. One of my third graders giggled and commented that Mrs. Williams was using her nose for a trumpet.
      One of the topics we have been studying lately is Insects. Some insects go through a process called Incomplete Metamorphosis. The three stages of this are egg, nymph, adult. As I was thinking about this the other day, it occurred to me that in a way, as followers of The One who gave us life,  we are going through these same stages.  You see, after the egg hatches into a nymph it must molt multiple times before it finally emerges as an adult. So often in life, we go through changes and think we are finally there only to realize that there is yet another step ahead of us. This can get frustrating. But you know what, I think that we are going to be in the "Nymph stage" as long as we walk this earth. Because know matter what we learn or how we grow, we are never going to get it all figured out. And that is perfectly okay. In fact that is how we have been designed. God wants us to learn and develop and grow in Him. But until we finally meet Him face to face we will always have learning to do.
     This is truly a lesson I need to get through my head. So often, I look at myself and get frustrated. I get frustrated because I don't understand something or because I see so many imperfections in who I am. But I'm human, I'm never going to be perfect. But Jesus, the One who loves my soul and died for it wants me and you to know that we are doing okay. Keep allowing yourselves to learn and grow, allow The One who loves you to guide you through the changes and ups and downs. As new understanding comes we will molt and then do it again. We are Nymphs. But someday, we will meet Jesus in person. And on that day we will molt for the last time and be complete.  Paul says in    1Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
     So, I encourage you, don't get discouraged. No matter where you are in life or in your understanding of who God is, allow yourself to rest in the hand of the One who designed the system. He will get you through. Keep growing, learning and going deeper with Him. Happy Monday




"We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.”
  ~LeeAnn Taylor