Posture of the Heart

11:09 AM Unknown 8 Comments


 2016 has been an extraordinary year for me thus far.  Not because I had some major life altering change, not because I landed a huge job, not because I suddenly won the "destiny" lottery, but because I have chosen to be intentional... in the small things.  

I'm a big picture thinker.  Which means I also easily get overwhelmed by my dreams and desires.   I tend to focus on the larger scale vision, which then stresses me out because I miss all the little steps in between right now, and 2 years from now.  Does that make sense?  I find myself getting super overwhelmed with the sense of "How do I get there?"  "How do I leave THAT kind of impact?"  "I know You've called me to great things, but how do I DO those great things?"  I so easily get stuck in my own head thinking that my destiny will only come about because of how hard I work, or what I do/don't do.  But... it's not about me.  And lately God has been constantly needing to remind me of that.  It's about today.  It's about RIGHT NOW.   

"You cannot arrive at your life's purpose by starting with a focus on yourself.  You must begin with God, your Creator."  -Rick Warren

Posture of the Heart

(Thanks to my friend Brenna Carnuccio for this timely phrase!)

 

What is the posture of my heart?  This is the question I have been presenting to myself every morning.  This simple step has drastically changed not only my outlook on situations I face (good and bad), but it has had a major impact on my attitude.   

To be honest, life in LA is hard.  Yes it's glamorous at times, it's fun, and exciting and unpredictably wonderful, but it's also comes with so much pressure - pressure to stand out, to be skinny, to be perfect, to be rich, etc.  Those things I just mentioned are not necessarily what I strive for, but simply the reality of what often gets focused on in this industry.  It's the reality of this culture.  While there are some amazing highs... there are even lower lows.  It is SO EASY to be distracted from God and His plan for my life -  especially when sometimes I'm like "What the heck is YOUR plan God?!?!?!?!?!" 

But it's all about perspective. 

This morning I read an amazing quote by Anais Nin... We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.  Even IF I have all of these BIG PICTURE dreams and desires, the reality is I can't actually SEE the big picture, because I'm not God.  So it's really a waste of my time to plot out my life according to what I think "the ultimate" accomplishment would be. Ya know?  What I can work with is today, is right now.  God what is your plan for me TODAY?  

So I have decided this year to be intentional - ESPECIALLY when it comes to my time.  It's amazing how - as I take these small steps - I've noticed that they have major impact in my life.  Again, what is the posture of my heart?  My prayer for myself every day is simply "God use me to show your love to someone today & give me the wisdom to know TODAY how I should spend my time."

And ya know what?  The great thing is that God wants us to have maximum impact here on Earth!  He WANTS us to have a "big picture" effect on the world, so all the little seemingly small steps we take out of obedience to Him, actually perfectly aligns us with not only His purpose for our life but His plan to make the most out of OUR lives and who we are destined to be.

I am not here by accident.  You are not here by accident.  We are all here because God has a specific plan for every single one of us. 

So all this to say,  if you tend to get overwhelmed by life, by your dreams, by where you are vs. where you want to be - I FEEL YA!  Take a step back with me... I'm telling you - it works!   Take the time each morning or evening or whenever to position your heart before God.  Be intentional. Take time to steward the most important parts of your being - your soul and your time.  
I want to end with a verse that has really been an encouragement to me lately.  

You Lord give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and their trust in You. 

Isaiah 26:3.

8 comments:

  1. isaiah 26:3 one of my life verses. encouraging blog. thx. :)

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  2. Awesome perspective. I'm walking this one out with ya!

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  3. Awesome perspective. I'm walking this one out with ya!

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  4. Beautiful! I want to see more about this inner beauty because life is more then makeup, etc it's about God

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  5. Very timely word. I too get caught up in the long run instead of the training...and that's right where He wants us. I wonder at times if we will even be around to "know" we made it somewhere...maybe the adventure is a part of writing our story, others will read...and only when Jesus reads it back to us when we stand before Him will we really understand where the highlights truly were...probably not anywhere we thought.

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  6. Very timely word. I too get caught up in the long run instead of the training...and that's right where He wants us. I wonder at times if we will even be around to "know" we made it somewhere...maybe the adventure is a part of writing our story, others will read...and only when Jesus reads it back to us when we stand before Him will we really understand where the highlights truly were...probably not anywhere we thought.

    ReplyDelete