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God, Where Are You?

Homeless Man in Subway

The disciples wanted to know the answer to that question. They thought they had it all figured out.
Their Savior (from the Romans) had arrived and would conquer their enemy. But, then He died. He left them. Why? Why did He leave them? How could they ever go on without Him? How could they have been so wrong about Him? He died! And worse yet, they thought someone must have stolen His body from the tomb! They were lost. They were purposeless. Can you relate? I know I can!

And then, He appeared ALIVE in their midst

“The touching part of this story is where and how Jesus appears…He doesn’t call the disciples to the temple, or to some other place to see Him. He comes to them where they are, both literally and spiritually. He shows them that He’d kept His promises.” – Anchor devo, July 2022

I love that Jesus meets us where we are, just as we are. No pretense. In real life right where we are, spiritually and literally.

Object lessons

God is faithful to send object lessons along the way in order to solidify any lessons He is currently teaching us. Often, for me, it comes in the form of a song, a devotional, a comment from a friend, a radio Bible lesson, or a movie. And often, it comes in all of those things one after another. I guess I am a bit dense, so He has to repeat His messages to me in multiple ways. THIS week, it is about God meeting me right where I am.

Movie title

The title of this post is actually the title of a movie I watched this week: God, Where Are You? The man—the subject of the story–had been on top of the word. Famous. Rich. With lots of “friends” and admirers. And then his world totally fell apart and he was homeless, filthy, hungry, and absolutely alone.

Kindness reminders

The movie is actually a great reminder of our mission on earth. To help those God sends our way to see that God does indeed meet us right where we are. Everyone. Always. We don’t have to wait to be (almost) perfect, in order to help others (as we discussed last week in the post.) To LISTEN to their story. To feed them when they are hungry. To NOT TAKE OFFENSE when they get angry with our lame attempts to help. To be PATIENT with them in their inability to trust that we don’t have a hidden agenda in our helping them. There are so many lessons in this movie. I hope you will take the time to find it online and watch it with an open heart to what God might be teaching you through it. We all need kindness reminders that God is in our midst. Always. Sometimes the smallest act is exactly what is needed to begin a mindset shift.

A dark tunnel

One of the characters is a woman that had found her way out of the dark tunnel of homelessness. Malachi encourages each of his “customers” (as he refers to them) to keep a gratefulness journal and to write down each thing that BY CHOICE they are grateful for. This woman had learned “Being grateful for all that I have is the biggest step to get away from what I didn’t have”.

It reminded me of life coaching. Yes, it is important to look at the past because it made us what we are today, but it is important to not stay there. Rather, to look to the present and what we can be grateful for and then to look forward to what is possible. To NOT GIVE UP!

We CAN. With JESUS

So when we ask: “God, where are you?” He responds: “I am right here with you every moment. Look for Me and you will find Me!”

All things are possible…

ALL things are possible. All THINGS are possible. All things ARE possible. All things are POSSIBLE. Always! To God be the Glory! Don’t give up!

Gratefulness Journal

Those of you who know me well, know that I have kept an Ebenezer (Thus far God has led me) Journal every since I went through a very difficult crossroads. It can be like throwing a life raft to a drowning person. To choose to walk in an attitude of gratitude and keep a gratefulness journal to read when you go through dry seasons…as a reminder of what He has done and so will do again! To help those God sends our way, to see that God does indeed meet us right where we are. Everyone. Always. Whether we realize it or not. HE is faithful. We don’t have to wait to be (almost) perfect…We can start today…

Amen? So be it!

Discover Living From Your Strengths (LFYS) Life Changing Mentor Coaching.

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Leading from Your Strengths

Let's Connect!
Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Christian Life Coaching,Spiritual Life,Strengths Mentor Coach — Tags: , , , , , , , — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Murmurming or Gratefulness?

Today I Am Grateful Book
Which will we choose? Murmuring or gratefulness? Can we actually learn to overcome grumbling? There are certainly lots of challenges to capture our attention and direct it toward the negative aspects of life.

Job (of the Old Testament book named after him) had friends that were miserable comforters. He lost all but his wife and yet he did not curse God and die as his wife suggested. Job had lots of questions. He didn’t know that he had been chosen to be an object lesson to satan to prove how authentic Job’s faith in God was.

It is possible to recognize a true follower of God by observing their lives. Did Job grieve over loss? It hurt him as deeply as it hurts one who has not yet experienced the transforming light of God. The difference is, those with a relationship with God have hope…even if they don’t understand. They trust that God is The Lord God Almighty. Maker of Heaven and earth. Creator of all that exists. And much, much wiser than our own limited earth-bound understanding.

Those with a relationship with Father God know that whatever trials…whatever painful ordeal…whatever suffering…whether it is character-building or whether it is to show the world how a Christian reacts to crisis, they continue to follow…maybe with sadness, and a sense of loss, but also with hope. Maybe with confusion, but also with trust in the God of the Bigger Picture. We earthlings see through earth-bound eyes. God knows how it all fits together for the Bigger Picture. He sees through the lens of Eternity.

Murmuring or Gratefulness?

Which will you choose? I keep a daily Ebenezer journal. Ebenezer is an old word that means, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” No requests. No murmurings. Only gratefulness. Through this daily evening written record, I see major interventions of God in my life. I begin to see a trend of God being involved in my life. My dreams are sweeter and I wake more refreshed and at peace. I begin to actually look forward to each new day as I look expectantly for God to show up. I am actually recording His involvement in my day-to-day life.

Try it…and then let me know how it changes your outlook on life.

Maranatha!
Come Lord Jesus!

God bless you bunches!

Let's Connect!Awaiting His shout,
pam_signature-c49a6c

Christian Life Coach
Leading from Your Strengths Mentor
www.loavesandfishescoaching.com

Filed under: Spiritual Life — Tags: — Pam Taylor @ 7:00 am

Secret Sleep Aid

Looking for a good sleep aid?

Frustrating, isn’t it…tossing and turning at night…trying to fall asleep?

I might have an answer for you…if you are willing to try it. No purchase necessary.

I’m about to share my cool discovery with you. If you truly want to improve your ability to fall asleep, you won’t hesitate to try this. But just in case you need an extra incentive…I double-dare you to try my secret.

This secret sleep aid has worked for me about 5 years.

Here’s my story: After years of sleep deprivation, I was desperate for sleep. I had a job that required me to work one day until 9:00 p.m. and then the next day have to leave for work at 6:30 a.m. and work 10 hours and then it was often the 9 p.m. schedule on the following day. Sometimes, it would be two 9 p.m. days in a row. Or two or three early a.m. days in a row, following by the 9 p.m. day. Some weeks we were working 6 days a week. It was hard to get a routine.It was difficult to fall asleep.

We all know it is easier to fall asleep if you have a routine you follow each night.

Since I was not able to have a dependable routine because my work schedule was beyond my control, I needed a solution to help me fall asleep soon after my head hit the pillow, no matter what time it was each night.

I’ve heard your groans as you also sometimes toss and turn at night. And for some of you, it is a regular almost nightly occurence. Maybe it is not from an undependable work schedule. Maybe it is a new baby. Or maybe it is a child that has nightmares. Or any myriad of possibilities that are preventing your falling asleep at night.

Assuming you have checked out other possibilities…like no caffeine late in the day or evening…or an illness that is causing great pain that is preventing sleep. That is a different story. We can talk about that special circumstance if you would like…

But for now, let’s stick with this scenario…

I want you to have your best life possible and I know that sleep is one way to help you to have the best outlook on your life, no matter what challenges you face. I want you to know my secret so you can get some relief…so you can feel your best…so you can do your best…so your work, family, church, neighborhood relationships have the best possible chance of being great (not just good). So all of your life just “works” better! A life coach likes to help people figure out ways to be their best self (by God’s design).

With all that said, here’s the secret…

After you have made the room dark and cool and as quiet…

Fluff your pillow.

Lie down on your bed.

Close your eyes.

And

Smile.

Then…

Keep smiling.

That is really what I said.

Smile.

Keep smiling.

And think of how much Jesus loves you.

And imagine Him reaching His arms toward you in love.

And before you know it, it is morning.

Don’t laugh. Well, laugh if you want…because it IS funny…but is also works. It works for me and it will work for you if you give it an honest try.

God says in the Bible that a joyful heart doeth good like medicine. So…smiling will affect the way you look at your life and it will tell your heart that you are joyful and before you know it, you are looking at life differently. And your life “feels” better, even if nothing has changed…(except that you are smiling more).  🙂

Bottom line: I want you to be able to get a better night’s sleep. Like me.

Let me know if I can help. Here is some of what I do..

Pam Taylor. Christian Life Coach. Entrepreneur. Blogger. Coach. Strengths Coach. Improving your options for a more efficient and satisfying life.

Filed under: Christian Life Coaching — Pam Taylor @ 3:04 pm