Three Ways God Makes All Things New

New is always great. New sounds like potential an opportunity…Unless I think about it you much. Then it sounds like canes in the unknown.

Things become new every year. Every year I promise myself instead of fearing the unknown I will choose you hope in the known. So what is known about you? What do I do with it true that I can securely placed my hope in? I know this – that God is the author of new. And since He authors every good and perfect thing I can trust that every new situation will bring good and perfect thing. I can trust that every new situation will have some good in it. James 1:17 promises “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

New is one of God’s promises to us, and we know that all his promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ (2 Coronavirus 1:20). As believers our hope ultimately rest in the promises that Christ will come back or us and one day make all things new (Revelation 21:5). But what about the here and now? What can I hang my hope – hat on today, tomorrow and every other day? Luckily, scripture is full of accounts that show us how God makes things new for his glory and for the good of his people. Lets look at a few of them and I hope that they bring:

He Restores

I love God more for his ability to restore. He restores us to a little right relationship with him through the gift of forgiveness and justification. He is able to restore earthly relationships. And He can even restore days and years that have been lost two of the effects of sin (Joel 2:25). That Has to be the greatest evidence of the extravagant nature of God’s mercy. Not only can He renew ally and redeem its future, but He can also redeem its past.

Our hope rests in the promise that Christ will come back for us one day and make all things new.

In scripture, we say God’s power of restoration countless times. When Jacob was finally reunited with his lost son Joseph, he described the grief-filled days of his life as “few and evil” (Genesis 47:9). But in his last days, through God’s mercy, Jacob was able to look back on his life and see that God had been a shepherd all along and that he had been redeemed from the evil that one’s marked is life (Genesis 48:115-16). In the account of Ruth, we see God take a family whose name face extinction and not only restore to them a secure future but knit them into his grand story of a redemption by placing them in Jesus’s family line.

In the New Testament, we see Jesus live a ministry of restoration. He restore sight to the blind, the ability to walk to the crippled, hearing to the deaf, and new clean skin to the deceased (Mark: 8:22-26; Matthew 9:2-8: Mark 7:31-37; Luke 5:12-25). In all of these accounts, Jesus didn’t just feel a condition. He restore life, security, and hope to broken people.

What has God been stored for you? Time? Relationships? What are you hoping for and Christ in your situations. God has restored my family, healed me of cancer, taking away my sin. And I have the satisfaction of knowing I will always be protected, he is always watching out for me.

He Renames

Names carried a lot of significance in scripture. Throughout the Bible, people are introduced to us by name and by meanings of their name. Eve Was “ The mother of all the living.” Isaac was “laughter.” And Samuel was “asked of God” (Genesis 3:20; 21:6; Samuel 1:20),

What’s even more significance is the renaming of people in scripture. When God gave someone a new name, it was always a sign of renewed purpose and a redeemed life. God change Abrams name to Abraham to signify His promise to make him a father of many (Genesis 17:5). He change the names of Hosea’s children from No mercy and Not My People to My loved One and My People to symbolize His love for Israel and His plan to redeem her from idolatry (Hosea 1:2). Simon became Peter, and Saul became Paul when they became Jesus‘s disciples ( Matthew 4:18; Acts 13:9). They receive new identity in Christ as a they forsook live in the flesh.

While me we may not actually receive new names when we become Christ followers, we certainly receive new identities. My name Kathrine is a great reminder to me that I’m a pioneering woman, highly focused and achievement oriented, my name is Hebrew means pure. Because of Christ sacrifice, I am walking why did Snow, pure and clean. I get to wake up and put it on God’s righteousness every day as if it was my own.

So as I look forward to new situations I can trust and hope in my identity in Christ. I know that, no matter how I fail, God tender mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). He made me worthy of my name and called me His in Christ.

If you are in Christ, you have been given a new name, a new identity. You are living according to your new name with renewed purpose in redemption.

He Resurrects

God make dead things alive again. Literally. He has power over death in every sense, and He demonstrated that to us when He raised Jesus from the grave. Scripture says that, as believers, we have the same power dwelling as in us. It’s what gives life who are dead souls (Romans 8:11).

I can’t get easily discouraged when I think about how many times I’ve failed and given into temptation… just in the last week. End it makes the idea of fighting this battle for another year of Seen overwhelming. But this truth, that I have the same power that raised Christ from the grace dwelling in me, gives me great hope. If I lay down my weak, flawed existence every day, I can trust that God will resurrect it with a new life and new grace.

Do you trust in God‘s power to resurrect? Are you living in the truth that God can bring new life to your soul every day? Or are you living as one defeated by shame and sin?

All Things New

As I begin every day, I’m committed to hope in God’s power you make things new. He restores lost time, bestows new identities, and creates new life. He offers renewed mercy to His own each day. He promises good plans for His people, plans that include a hopeful future (Jeremiah 29:11).

So rather than seeing the start of another day as a daunting task to be met or an unknown to be feared, my prayer is that I can trust God’s sovereignty over new. There will be new blessings, new trials, new failures, and a new victories, but His goodness will guard them all.

The Benefits Of Toxic Interactions

“Toxic” has become a buzz win the last few decades, and we are continually encouraged to rid ourselves and protect ourselves from toxic people, situations, and relationships. That may be good advice, but it isn’t always practical. Why? Because sometimes, it isn’t easy to leave your job or relationship, and people with e generational are all around us no matter how much positive energy we exude; they are part of the landscape. So unless we self-isolate, we’re going to get exposed to people with a certain amount of negative vibes, and yes toxicity.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who haven’t learned strategies for living a positive life, managing stress or up overcoming their past trauma (I should know I lived with these toxic behaviors for years), Sometimes, they don’t behave like nice people. We should avoid toxicity when possible, but when you happen to be in a negative environment with negative people, you can try and reap the benefits.

As with everything else seemly negative there are benefits to toxic interactions.

Here are some that you can consider:

1. Learning A Lesson

Ask yourself: “what can I learn from this? Some, it’s patience, sometimes compassion and sometimes it’s how to rectify the same quality in ourselves.

A Rabbi named Baal Shem Tov, speaks of how a fault we see in another should serve as a manner in which we should seek the same fault – perhaps in a more subtle guise in ourselves. Otherwise, we would not have perceived it in another.

Ask your what the reason is and how you can apply it. It’s the theater of life, and the Director is putting you in the show. Try to respond the way you would if toy had an audience watching you. And you usually do. Everyone watches to see how others deal with difficult people. If we learn from one another how to do this, we might have fewer difficulties.

2. Give Of Yourself.

Try to discover what you can teach/give the other person. Challenge yourself to find something you can share with the other person that will make them better or happier.

Difficult people are often expressing a surfeit of pain and bitterness. Try and sweeten their life a little bit by understanding their pain, where it comes from and what you can do about it.

3. Embrace Gratitude.

It’s important sometimes to be exposed to the negativity in the world in order to appreciate the value of good in our own lives. Thank God, our situation has not reached some points of toxicity, and that we are not that grouchy, dismal person. (A least thank God, I’m not like that anymore).

4. Create More Good In The World.

Another benefit is that although exposure to toxic people can be stressful, it acts as a stimulus to make you more positive almost in self-defense. It’s sort of like an oyster secreting more pearl over the irritant that had entered its shell.

You may find that you are trying to cancel out the other person’s negativity with your own positivity, generating more positivity. Some, you may even succeed in rubbing off on them.

A Rabbi named Menachen Mendak once said: The loftier the soul, the greater the challenges and darkness surrounding it, like the most valuable pearl which is set in the largest encasement.

5. Uncover The Good.

Sometimes, people are very negative because they’re projecting their own feeling of low self-worth out into the world. If you can find something good about the person and reflect it back to them, that will soothe and temper their irascibility.

You can always find something nice to say about a person if you play detective and look good and hard.

I was listening to a speaker, a few years back, He told of a time when he was in his office and a man, visited his office every day to try and stir up trouble with him. The speaker said it was so bad, he felt like leaving every time the man would enter. One day he decided to try a different approach toward him. He starting saying the man “ You are sure a nice dresser, you’re always dressed in nice clothing.” Every time he seen the man he would compliment him on his clothing. After a while the man wasn’t as annoying as he was before. The speaker actually got him a job at a Taylor shop in the town he lived.

6. Speak Creativity.

Although you can’t always take a pause from someone, you can often take a break from them. If you take the initiative to find strategies to spend less time with them, it may ease the situation. Like the speaker that found something good to say to the annoying man by finding him a job. It sometimes calls on us to be creative and sensitive, and take initiative. Think of it like a sort of a game,

7. Learn To Protect Your Boundaries And Shine Your Sunshine.

There is a very important service that toxic people perform for you. They teach you to understand your limitations and protect your borders. They reinforce the idea that we have to be kind to ourselves in order to help others. And once we give ourselves the self-love we need, we are more flexible about being able to give it to others, even difficult people.

So accept the fact that someone you know might bother you or bring you down. But having taken steps to protect yourself from their negative influence with kindness, you will then be able to open yourself up a little bit and give them some of your own light.

It might not work all the time, but we are called to be a light.

As a people, we are exhorted to be a light among the nations (Isaiah 42:6). As individuals, we can be a light to one another.

Resist The Devil, But How?

Whether as accuser, adversary, or destroyer, it is clear that the devil is the enemy.

Having been created by God as the chief among angelic beings, the devil would not abuse his station but instead tried to usurp God Almighty. The devils pride and covetousness were his undoing. God cast the devil out of heaven along with the rebellious angels who we now know as demons. The devil and his demons will spend eternity in the lake of fire prepared for them (Matthew 25:41). Ever since his rejection from the heavenly sphere, the devil has made it his purpose to destroy the works of God (John 10:10).

It is the primary purpose for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy everything good in the world, God’s people, and God’s creation, it is also of primary importance to point out that we can resist the devil by the power of God, not our own (Zechariah 4:6; John 15:5; 2 Corinthians 12:9), God has given His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, to all who are trusting in Christ, for salvation (Romans 8:9). The same Spirit that enabled Jesus to successfully ward off the devil’s forty-day campaign in the desert has been given to believers (Mark 1:13). The first step of resisting the devil is submitting to God. We are made right with God through the sacrifice of Jesus, and then in our lives, we submit to Him by responding to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. Additionally, God has not left us defenseless in our battle against that ancient evil dragon but has provided us with a complete set of armor (Ephesians 6:10-20). God has given us the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness of, gophel shoes, and the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit and prayer.

The truth of God’s Word, the sword of the Spirit, acts as both a defensive and offensive weapon. God’s truth protects us from the devil’s lies and is used to proclaim the truth of the gospel. Our loins are to be girded with truth, meaning that the truth of God provides stability and core support. A “belt” is also a place where flowing tunics could be gathered up to enable feet to move freely. God’s truth gives us not only structure and support but freedom to not be entangled (John 8: 31-33; Hebrew 12:1-2). It is because of God’s truth that we know we are made righteous in Christ, and through His truth that we live out this righteousness in practice. The righteousness that comes through faith in Christ acts as a breastplate and the shield to protect us from the devil’s assaults on our hearts (Romans 3:22; Philippians 1:11). The gospel shoes give us peace, which helps enable us to stand firm and also acts as our protector. The helmet of salvation secures our minds 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that “we have the mind of Christ.” Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The helmet of salvation assures us that we are eternally saved by God. And it also functions as words of ongoing salvation to deliver us from the power of sin. When our minds are secure in Christ, we can better resist the devil. And often forgotten weapons in the battle against the devil is prayer. It’s some of the most crucial moments in the life of Christ. He prepared himself through prayer (Matthew 26:36-46; Hebrews 5:7).

All of these spiritual weapons are wielded by believers In the power of the Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. God has provided everything we need to defend ourselves against the cunning and devious acts up he who disguises him so as an angel of light (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:14). It is by faith in Christ and the power in the Holy Spirit that we overcome both the world and the devil (John 5:4-5). We resist the devil when, when like Christ we resist temptation. Resist the devil by refusing to worship anyone or anything other than God (Matthew 4:8-19). We resist the devil by living on the very word of God and not merely on bread (Matthew 4:2-4).

Finally, why Mr. devil for you when we resist him in this manner? Simply put, the devil mostly when we kissed him with a spiritual weapons because he who lives in us (Jesus Christ) is greater than the devil (1John 4:4). Just like a demon scour and shriek in the frightful care before the presence of Christ, the devil must flee from us when we resist him because he Christ dwells in us (Matthew 8:29; Romans 8:19; Colossians 1:27). Christ to triumphed over the Devils attacks an accusation by defeating the powers of sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). When the devil accuses a question of sin and guilt, the Christian care appeal to the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 9:26). When the devil attacks a Christian with doubts about God‘s promises and goodness, the question can counter with a sword of the Spirit. God has thoroughly equipped the believer of Christ to resist the devil and caused him to flee.

Hearing The Still Small Voice Of God

7 Keys

Will God speak to me and if so, how will I know it’s His voice I am hearing?

John 10:27 says, “His sheep hear and know His voice.” God longs to speak to us all.

Here are 7 keys to hearing God’s voice:

Be Aware

We need to be aware that God still speaks today. In 1 Samuel 3 we read “the word was rare in those days” and when God called Samuel’s name, neither he not Eli the priest knew it was God. But God was persistent until He made a connection with Samuel. It is within that connection that God communicated with him, but Samuel first had to respond to the voice of God. It is the same with us; we must be aware of God’s invitation for connection, so we can respond to it.

Just like Samuel, we can respond in faith and ask; “God is that You? If so I am listening.

So, Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘ Speak, Lord, for your servant Is listening.’ So Samuel went and lay down I his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as the other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel said, “Speak For your servant is listening” ( 1 Samuel 3:9-10).

I personally don’t recall God calling my name, I was still so lost when I began going to church, I would go and here the message and then hurry and leave so I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. After about 6 months I decided to get baptized after talking to the Pastor. I chose to give my life to Jesus without knowing very much. And after the baptism I still didn’t know very much. But I wanted to learn. I began talking to God as I would an ordinary person. All I knew was I had to break down a huge wall that I had built around myself before I could expect anyone to enter my heart.

Be Discerning

We need to be aware that not all things we hear or receive are from God. There are many voices crying for our attention at any given time, but the three big one are, God, Satan, and ourselves. I was so used to hearing Satan tear me down, I had let him intimidate me for a very long time. Along with all the other derogatory things I told myself.

John 10:7, says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” We can learn to discern whose voice is speaking to us. But, we must be patient and quiet and listen to that still small voice.

1 John 4, says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirit ps to see if they are from God. God will never tell you something, that is not in His word (the Bible). If it not in His word it wasn’t from God.

I was so paranoid that God wasn’t going to forgive me and accept me. I spent all day apologizing to Him for every sin I had done in my entire life. I was in a grocery store parking lot the first time God spoke to me. It was a hot June day. I heard him say “Kathy, Kathy, I have forgiven you.” I immediately started crying. From that time one I knew that 100% God was true.

Be Expectant

God is speaking all the time.we just need to learn to discern His voice from all the others to if you will tune into His frequency. We should expect that God wants to speak to us and be eager to hear from Him when He does. We need to believe and expect God will speak to us just as He did with individuals throughout the Scriptures. It’s not a once in a lifetime conversation, it’s a daily ongoing one.

He says, “Call to Me and I will answer you. And I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” ( Jeremiah 33:3).

Be Available

Yes, God is speaking all the time, but we are often too busy to notice. We need to make ourselves available to hear from God. This means being intentional to set aside time for Him to speak to us. Part of being available is also being ready and willing to respond when God speaks to us. God longs to move His people in obedience.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Be In The Word

When God speaks to you, it will never be contrary to the word of God not contradict His character or nature. In order to know these things about God, we need to know what the Bible says about who He is and what His character is, If we are in the Word and know what it says about God, then we can confidently discern we are hearing from God.

“Every Scripture has been written by the Ho,y Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Be In Relationship

God designed us for a relationship with Him and with others. Relationships by design includes two-way conversations. Just ad Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the Garden, it is His desire to have the same kind of relationship with us today. God wants to communicate with us on a daily basis. He wants an ongoing conversation that continues throughput the day, week, months, and years. We are called friends of God.

“No longer do I call you servants for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).

Be Humble

God doesn’t speak to the specific people, He speaks to us all. We must recognize that hearing God speak is a normal part of our lives as a Christ follower. But we also must not allow pride to sneak into our hearts as we begin to hear from Him. Staying in humility positions us to fully receive and respond to the messages God may share with us.

“For the Lord takes delight in His pay; He crowns the humble with victory“ (Psalm 149:4).

The Secret Of Victory Over Worry

Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.

Jesus said. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today“ (Matthew 6:34).

Interestingly, the word worry comes from a term that means “strangle” or “choke.” And that’s exactly what worry does. It creates mental and emotional strangulation in your life. Worrying does make things better, it actually makes things worse

When you worry your future, you cripple yourself in the present, it’s simply not a productive thing to do.

The Apostle Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice!… Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, with surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4;4-5, 7).

Paul wrote these words to the believers in Philippi while he was living u def house arrest. He’d been arrested for preaching the gospel. But as a Roman citizen, he had the right to appeal to Caesar, and he did. Paul was waiting for an appearance before the leader of Roman, and his future was very uncertain.

He didn’t know whether he woebegone acquitted or beheaded. In addition, some of the believers were for him, and some were against him. Paul easily could have been stressed out, but instead he was rejoicing and living in great peace,

Now, this doesn’t mean that God expects us to rejoice in whatever happens. For instance, we don’t have to be thankful that we just wrecked our car. But here’s what we can say: “I’m thankful that despite the fact that I wrecked my car, God is still on the throne, and he still loves me,” That’s what it means to rejoice in the Lord, not merely in our circumstances.

In fact, the Bible says that when we have a relationship with God, we”lol experience “fullness of joy” and pleasure forevermore “ (Psalm 16:11).

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, “For the happy heart, life is a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:15).

When we worry, it’s actually a failure on our part to trust God. Paul was saying, “loosely paraphrased, “Look Y”all, if anyone should be depressed, it’s me. If anyone can be down, it’s me, if anyone is facing an uncertain future, it’s me. But here’s what I’m telling you, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice.”

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk said this about facing adversity: “Even though the fir trees

have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; and through the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

No matter what’s going on, we can rejoice in the Lord. God’s plans for us are still good, and He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching the gospel, yet at midnight they sang praises to God. They literally were in a Roman dungeon with their back torn open by Roman whips.

The midnight hour isn’t the easiest time to sing God praises when you’re in the doctor’s office waiting for test results, when you’re in the waiting room while your loved one is in surgery, or when you’re experiencing any of the multiple scenarios that can induce worry or panic.

We need to get into the habit of turning to God when we feel worry approaching. We need to develop what we might call a conditioned reflex, which is something we’ve learned to do. For example, remember what it was like when you first learned to drive a car? There were so many things to remember.

When you were coming up on a turn, you had to turn your signal light on. Then when you made the turn, you had to turn it off. But after you had been driving a while, you didn’t even think about those things anymore they just can naturally.

We can take the same approach to worry. When trouble comes our way, when something scary happens, our first inclination is to worry are maybe even panic. But we need to teach ourselves to pray instead.

The moment you start to panic, turn it into a prayer. Turn your worry into worship. Turn to God immediately. That’s what Paul was saying we should do. Develop this conditioned reflex and put the matter completely into God’s hands.

It’s the secret of victory over worry.

Reawaken Your Spirit

Your spirit is what remains in you when everything else is stripped away..

It is the very core of your being; The seed from which you grow; The spring from which you drink.

Yet, sometimes this seed lies dormant and this spring runs dry. You lose touch with the part of you that is the most real and authentic.

Every single second of modern life is packed full of distractions that leave you stressed, anxious, and disconnected from your sense of purpose and meaning.

Beneath it all, your spirit sleeps deeply, too deeply.

You feel it. I know you do. I feel it too. The nagging itch that can’t be scratched; The thirst that can’t be quenched; The yearning that you can’t quite put your finger on.

These are the messages sent to you while your sleeping spirit. It compare you to reach within and awaken it from its slumber.

It wants to show you a different way to live, a more peaceful way that travels with the flow of existence, rather than swimming against it but you do now.

It sounds great, doesn’t it? But how do you wake something that has been sleeping for so long? Well, you do it gradually. Near-death experiences and other extreme events aside, the spirit is most effectively woken by peeling back the many layers that cover it.

These layers are the mental constructions that consume our every waking second. They are the thoughts, the fears, and the endless noise – both internal and external that fill our minds.

It may sound counterintuitive, but one means of ridding yourself of these mental layers is to ask questions.

Such questions that will get you thinking, these questions can also help you to identify things that are preventing you from connecting with your spirit.

The following question should be asked often, multiple times a day if needed.

It This Really Me?

When things aren’t going how you’d like them to go or even when they are you can ask this question.

The aim is to help you surrender the misconceptions surrounding who you are. These include the idea that you are your thoughts, your emotions, you circumstances, or your body.

We get so distracted these days, and sometimes even try to be someone we are not.

When we really sit and contemplate those things, we begin to realize that we the real us, ask that has existed since birth and will exist up until death (and possibly beyond). Are more than what we think we are.

Conversely, we are less than what we think we are.

Right now you equate you with all the things we have mentioned: thoughts, emotions, circumstances, and body.

Yeah none of these things are fixed, none of these things are permanent. So ask yourself this: if these things are ever changing can they really be me?

And a few things are not me, who am I? What am I?

Those layers we spoke of earlier, the ones that suppress your spirit and keep it asleep, they are the things you wrongly believe you are.

The question, “Is this really me?” Becomes a tool that you can use to loosen and eventually remove them one by one.

The less you identify with these layers, the more you begin to identify with the real you that has lumber for years, decades even.

What Can I Let Go?

This follows logically from the previous question. If there are things that block my spirit, can I let him go?

Sometimes this is something you can do directly with experiencing an emotion or thinking a thought. You can identify it as a temporary creation that is not who you are, accept that it happened, and then say goodbye to it.

It sounds so simple. It is… and it isn’t.

Thoughts and feelings feed off each other, and they can be difficult to release during the event.

For example; I was taught for many years that I was worthless, so I have an adult I thought I was worthless, my emotions therefore we’re being depressed and sad all the time. My thoughts led to my emotions. It was not who I was- I really was a happy optimistic person.

Don’t beat yourself up if you get caught in the moment. It happens, show yourself some compassion and understand that you can still let go of something after it happened.

Let go of the regret, let go of the guilt, let go of the need to be perfect. Life is messy – Thoughts and emotions especially so.

On a larger scale, asked what aspects of your life might be preventing your spirit from waking up.

Are you unhappy at your job? Are the relationships that lead you unfulfilled? Are there responsibilities but why are you down?

Maybe you can forward your plan to change your life in ways that will see these things disappear. Or if they have to remain, perhaps you can find ways to live in harmony with them.

Whatever it is you resent, know that the very feeling of resentment is not a part of you. It is just another thought-emotion storm that consumes your energy, which in turn, prevents your spirit from waking up.

Your expectations – let them go too. If you have dreams, work towards them, but don’t let yourself be defined by the outcomes. Somethings work out, but most things don’t. You either accept it or you punish yourself for it.

Let go of your material desires. Look around you – what possessions do you have that do nothing but burden you? Are you drowning in clothes? Are you dependent on electronics? Your attic and garage packed full of “things” that never see the light of day?

Get rid of them. Give them to a worthy cause. Relinquish your grip on them and their grip on you.

Whenever you buy something new, get rid of something old. Keep your life and your mind open and uncrowded.

Your spirit needs space in which to move and thrive. To create space, let go of anything that currently fills it.

I feel like I’m writing this for me instead of you. I have to admit my weakness is clothing. I’ll bet I have three totes hanging around that I haven’t looked in for months they are full of clothing.

Am I Viewing This With An Open Mind?

So much of our lives are seen through the lens of our views, beliefs, expectations, and desires. None of us ever experience a true, unpainted version of reality.

We can however, move in the right direction by regularly asking whether we are keeping an open mind toward things.

Our spirit does not judge, it has no preconceptions about what should be, it simply embraces it is what it is.

By being open minded, we can grow in tune with our spirit and encourage it to come out of hibernation once more.

So, whatever circumstances you find yourself in, and whatever beliefs or ideas you are being exposed to, don’t let your past taint your response.

In other words, don’t let the things you’ve been told, or the experiences you had, prevent you from living in new ideas and new ways of doing things.

This doesn’t mean you have to give up your critical thinking skills, but it does mean you have to be willing to accept that there are other ways to act, live, and think.

Stubbornness, inflexibility, intolerance – these will only serve to suppress your spirit, for they are its antitheses.

Openness, willingness, and enthusiasm are the mental characteristics that fall from the spirit, and they can fall to the spirit if you adopt him.

What Would A 4- Year Old Me Do?

When we were young, We were almost entirely driven by spirit. We have a pure, unadulterated view of the world and are completely open minded to experiences and possibilities.

Then, as we get older and our minds fill with fears, worries, prejudices, misunderstandings, and all those thoughts that we take together real, when they are, in fact, constructions of our own minds and what people tell us, along with our egos.

So, to reawakened your spirit, you can ask what your younger self would you and your situation, and what they think regarding a particular topic.

What would they say and how would they act when they encounter others? Were they embrace them as fellow human beings, are we use them with distrust?

Would they be like in the simplest pleasures and squeeze out every last ounce of goodness from their day, or complain and ruminate over a lack of everything.

The innocence of our youth can be kenneled when we see the world through our childhood eyes.

The sense of awe, the curiosity, the willingness to connect with other creatures and the wider world; these all act as alarm clocks for the spirit, stirring it from its sleep.

Who Do I Serve?

Your spirit your connection to a greater whole.

Whatever you believe the link is a physical, energetic one, or a more conceptual, ideological one, your spirit is at the heart of it.

With this in mind, the question of who we serve is perhaps not as odd as it sounds. after all, the connection is two-way, and to receive from without, you must first give from within.

When you act, you should do so with a consideration of who is affected by your actions, and whether the effect is positive or negative.

You should and to be a source of a positive influence by serving others, helping them, showing them love, compassion, and kindness.

You needn’t consider your personal boundaries either. No one is going to appreciate a kind act or word occurs from some misguided compulsion of self sacrifice.

But when your spiritual vessel is replenished, you should be willing to pour from it to help fill someone else’s,

Just remember your spirit is an outward facing conduit between you and the rest of the world. Serve others and you will be served.

That indefinable presence in our lives, our spirit, is something that needs caring for, something that needs prompting, something that requires our awareness.

Right now, we live in a time where our individual and collective spirits are put into a form of induced coma. We have to turn our backs on them in favor of more ego driven impulses.

It doesn’t have to be this way. All over the world, spirits are waking up and they are ready to rouse others.

Are you prepared to open your curtains and let the morning light shining?