Revelation of a Simple Girl

Recently I had this revelation: I am a simple girl trapped in a warp speed society.

I mean there are so many voices that call out on any given day. Some are welcomed and others just barge their way into life. 

There is Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pintrest, e-mail, text, blogs (which I am thankful for), news, magazine, advertisements, and the list goes on...  There is no lack of information and no lack of opinion, and it comes at lighting speed. It also comes with contradictions and competition.  I mean seriously think about: For the fitness minded, do I eat my weight in protein or only consume .8g of protein per kilogram of my body weight?  For the business minded, do I pursue success without end or do I break for the moments that truly matter? For the relationship minded, does love and friendship have boundaries or is it to give without limit? And finally is the one who leads greater than the one who serves?

With so much information at such rapid speed there is a possibility of distraction and derailment from one's individual goals.  There is a chance one could be chasing the noise from all the voices that pour into the day rather than staying on track with the goals and tasks that line up with one's individual and unique life and purpose. 

I woke up one day and realized I was trying to be a high class city girl wanting to ride the subway,  wear designer dresses, attend Hollywood parties, book speaking engagements, write books, and be a master in all things. In reality,  I am a simple girl who loves outdoor adventure, sweat, workout clothes, traveling in my car, small gatherings, not a public speaker, I do love to write; however I will never master all things! So I guess I got lost in the noise and the contradictions and competition of all the different voices that fill my day.  Now let's be clear, I am not against ambition, learning, or growing but I believe that one should stay true to themselves and be honest about strengths, weakness, likes and dislikes. Then live in that sweet spot where passion and strength cross even if it means you forgo the "Hollywood life" for the "Simple life".

Shante

What's the Priority?

When I first had a thought of doing this post on priorities it was much different in my mind than it actually played out to be.
My initial thought was that I would look through my "work in progress" list, see which were functioning on a schedule of "process" (which was discussed in an earlier post), and then I would identify an order of importance of each and at that point my "priority" would be set. I could then write an informative "how to" post on priorities.

Surprise.... that is not how it happened. I read the following and it changed everything:
Psalm 42.11 NLT - Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!

While chasing my "work in progress" list,  there was a feeling of discouragement. I looked at my list and was unable to find the thing that topped everything else, the thing of upmost importantance and therefore I had no real priority.  Not to mention that the size of the list and the size of the dreams that fueled the list seemed almost impossible to conquer.  Then I read the verse mentioned above.  I realized that my hope and joy had been shifted to the accomplishments that I could generate from a list and no matter how great those accomplishments are after a while they fade and leave the need for more. Then I realized something even greater,  I had been unable to identify my upmost priority because it wasn't included on my "work in progress" list. 

For me, when I read Psalm 42:11 it spoke to my discouragement and frustration and reminded me that my true hope doesn't come from how many items I accomplish on a checklist. It also reminded me that my real priority was to praise God through my life. I believe that in doing that all the works around me that are in line with my real priority will come to completion. Then I was reminded of this:
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

So maybe my list still needs a little work, but there is no doubt that my top priority has been set.

What Holds You Captive?

I know my next post was scheduled  to be on priority;  however this hit me today, and I felt the need to share.

What holds you captive? An intriguing question isn't it!

This morning I read the following:

Ephesians 4:7-8 (NKJV)

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”

Grace, captivity, captive, and gifts.

We all have a measure of grace according to Christ’s gift.  In John 14:26-31 we see a little more about Christ’s gift.  These verses highlight two principles.  The presence of help through the Holy Spirit and the death of Christ in which He took the punishment of the world’s sin (John 3:16).  So we have perfect grace, God’s presence, help, and sacrifice.

The other thing I see is that there is captivity. There is One, however, who is stronger than our captivity and took captivity itself captive and in turn gave us gifts in its place.

So what does it mean to be captive?  It is to be imprisoned or confined. Is there something that imprisons your heart, your mind, or confines your life?  Maybe it is anger, unforgiveness, pride, depression, addiction, control issues, laziness, or more. Whatever holds you captive you can be sure of this, captivity remains until it itself is brought captive.  That means healing.  That means bringing the hidden areas of your life out of hiding and revealing the imprisonment. That means truth and transparency, facing the unknown and the uncomfortable and for some it could mean learning a whole new way of living.  The good thing is that in you and those around you were placed gifts that are meant to work together to free captives.  Jesus gave us the tools and even laid down His life for our freedom, but we must pick them up and walk in freedom.   So if you need release from captivity and have a relationship with Jesus already, take a moment and thank Him that He has already brought your captivity captive and ask Him to show you how to use the gifts in you and those around you to walk in the freedom He has provided.

Unsure about this whole Jesus thing? If there is someone in your life that you know who could fill you in then please reach out to them, or I would be happy to talk with you more!