Last week was a different kind of week for me, which is probably alot of the reason I didn't get a blog post finished up for this week. So, today, I was just gonna share a verse that I was reading last week that caught my attention. Then, Lord willing, we'll have our monthly round-up next week and then that post I was working on for today! "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." ~Isaiah 43:7 Is there a specific verse that has stood out to you lately?
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Why is it that small, frustrating situations can be so... frustrating? Why does it sometimes seem like it's harder to trust God with the smaller things that come up than it is to trust Him with the bigger ones? I struggled with this this past week, when I had gotten my work schedule for the next few days texted to me. I'd been wanting to work more hours, praying that if it was God's will I would get more, but yet disappointment filled me as I looked at the picture one of my managers had sent. I had very few hours, once again. I'd been dealing with this for weeks. I'd been trying to figure out some way to get more hours, thinking of working at another store or maybe working night shifts or maybe even leaving this job I love, but none of that seemed like a good idea. It even seemed like something would work out when a co-worker had an idea, but that didn't end up happening either.
It had already consumed so many of my thoughts for weeks upon weeks. And looking at so few hours once again, I was hurt. I was tempted to be angry. I was frustrated, feeling like I hit a wall that there felt like there was no good way I could climb over. I knew I was supposed to trust God and leave it with Him. I'd made my request known unto Him with thanksgiving for whatever He allowed to happen. But letting that be it was so hard. I didn't want to let it go. I didn't want to let it go, stop thinking about it so much, and just let God handle it. Why though? As I've thought about it more, I've come to face the answer: I was afraid that He wouldn't handle it the way I wanted. What if it wasn't His will that I get more hours? What if He wanted me to wait even longer for anything to change?
My Father promises that if I delight in Him, He shall give me the desires of my heart. I can trust Him with my heart. After all, He knows my desires better than I do. Maybe what I think I want isn't actually what I want. Maybe He's going to change my desires, maybe He's going to meet them in a different way, or maybe He's going to meet them the way I'm thinking but only after I wait and learn this.
And all the brain room it consumes, as I try to figure it out and find my mind constantly on it? Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." He promises to establish my thoughts; all I have to do is commit my way unto Him. He's the God of the universe. He made me. He allowed everything that happens to me. He knows me and loves me and wants the best for me more than anyone else in the entire universe, including myself. He is so much infinitely wiser than I can even imagine (the last few chapters of Job give us a glimpse of that!) All things will work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He won't withhold any truly good thing from them that walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). I can trust Him with a work schedule, as well as anything else that comes up in life, however small or big.
"Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us." (Psalm 62:8) "He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he." (Proverbs 16:20) "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us," (Ephesians 3:20) "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Do you deal with frustration over small situations? Is there any specific truth or verse that God has used to help you?
Time management is one of those topics that applies to everyone. I think we all find ourselves considering how we spend our time and how we can spend it better. Making a circle graph to represent the percentage of time you are spending on each thing in your day is something that got covered in the Consumer Math class I took last year. I don't know that I'd ever really thought about it doing it before, but it really does help you to see what you spend most of your time doing. It can help you realize that you're dedicating more time than you want to to a specific thing. Or it could show you that something that stresses you out doesn't actually take that much time and is only stressing you out because you're focusing on it. And, besides all that, it's kinda fun to get out some paper and pens and make something. :D So, here are the steps! 1) Gather your supplies.You're going to need a pencil, paper, compass, protractor, and any pens or colored pencils you might want to use to decorate it. 2) Keep a record of your day.
3) Add up the amount of time for each category.4) Divide each amount of time by 24 hours.This will give you the percentage of the day that you spend on each category. Just don't forget that minutes will have to be expressed in terms of hours (like 30 minutes is .5 hours and 45 minutes is .75 hours). Your answer will come out as a decimal. 5) Multiply each decimal you got by 360 degrees.Since there are 360 degrees in a circle, you'll multiply each decimal amount you got for each category by 360. This will give you the number of degrees in the angle you'll draw for each category in the circle graph. 6) Use a compass to draw a circle.Once you have all your angles drawn and your circle divided up, you can label it and color it however you like (likely the most fun step, haha!) Now it's easy to see what you're spending the most and least time on. :D Do you think that you'll try making one of these?
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