Tag: stand up

Stand Up in Your Boat | God Speaks Gently and Reasonably

It’s easy to tell you that God is speaking to you, and you can stand up in your circumstances and hear directly from Him, and that He often speaks through your closest family and friends — but it’s much harder to explain exactly how that works.

What if you’ve got some difficult relationships closest to you?

What if you are questioning the wisdom of some of your friends?

How can you figure out if the advice spoken to you is truly a message from God?

Let’s take a look at James 3:17, from The Message Bible: “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.”

The ESV Bible, explains this verse in a similar way: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

God’s Word is consistent, unchanging – “not hot one day and cold the next”. God’s Word is gentle, reasonable, merciful —this does not mean you can do whatever you want and never be called into account, but that the message is delivered in a gentle, reasonable, impartial, sincere way for your good.

God’s Word is also holy and unchanging. He will never ask you to do something that doesn’t line up with His directions for us in the scriptures.

God will speak to you through the people closest to you. Are you listening closely?

Reach out if you would like to learn more about the benefits of personal coaching or the step forward process. It’s a joy to journey with you!

It’s Time to Stand Up in Your Boat | Notice What God is Doing

I see your daily life: a constant barrage of activity, the clamoring needs of small children, work demands, stressful decisions…a sensory collage of thought, analysis, media messaging and emotion.

The end of the day finds you trying to relax your mind for a few minutes and eventually grabbing some hours of rest.

Where is God?

How do you find Him?

God speaks to us, guides us, and directs us all the time through various situations and events. To understand what He wants you to do next, is to notice what He’s doing in your life right now.

Make time for Him. Read His Word. Talk to Him.

Even if you’re dealing with a really hard situation, He is with you and He will help you through it.

Reach out if you would like to learn more about personal coaching or the step forward process. It’s a joy to journey with you!

It’s Time to Stand Up in Your Boat | Step Off the Hamster Wheel

Sometimes making steps forward turns into a giant hamster wheel spin. Instead of moving ahead, we keep spinning around making lists, asking others for opinions, second-guessing what we heard from God, and getting caught up in self-doubt.

If you find yourself in this situation, remember that God speaks through wise counsel. This is counsel that comes from a person deeply rooted in his/her faith that is aligned with God’s Word — not fleeting emotions or opinions. Note these instructions in Proverbs:

“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (19:20-21)

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion].” (27:17, Amplified Bible)

Seeking the Biblical wisdom of a pastor, elder, friend or colleague grounded in faith, Spiritual Director, coach or an accountability partner can help you sort things out, investigate God’s word more deeply, support you and help you uncover actionable steps.

Is it time for you to get off the hamster wheel?

Who’s in your tribe? Who can you rely on to walk with you, help you sort things out, and speak truth into your life?

Reach out if you would like to learn more about the benefits of personal coaching or the step forward process. Thank you for sharing your journey with us!

It’s Time to Stand Up in Your Boat

I see you struggling to take that first step toward making an improvement, reaching a goal, or trying something new, completely unsure if you are making the right move or walking in the right direction.

I see you doubting that God could possibly be speaking to you and questioning why He would even want to. You know deep inside that you could make changes, but that familiar boat of your circumstances seems to be stuck or holding you back in some way.

Maybe you’re holding yourself back?

Let me share with you Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Not only does God care about you and want to speak to you, He created you for a purpose. Even on the days you feel uncertain, uninspired, or “less than” in any way, there is an invisible road in front of you mapped out with goals that only you can achieve, people that you are supposed to meet, lessons that you are supposed to learn, and a life adventure that only you can live.

One way to get clearer on God’s plan for you is to recognize that He speaks through His word. I love how Psalm 119:30 points this out: “the unfolding of Your words give light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

And who or what is ‘the simple’? The simple is you and me.

The translation of this verse found in The Message Bible puts it another way: “Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.”

That’s you, that me, that’s us: the simple…the ordinary…the worn-out questioners in need of a well-lit path.

Romans 15:4 states, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

By spending time with God and digging into His Word for you, you can make improvements, you can reach goals, you can experience beauty out of ashes, and receive strength to get through dark moments.

You can stand up in your boat.

God is speaking to YOU!

Reach out if you would like to learn more about the step forward process, spiritual disciplines, or the benefits of personal coaching. It’s a joy to be part of your faith journey!

Stand Up: God Speaks through Situations and Events

Throughout the month of March, we are exploring Step #1 of the step forward lifecycle: Stand Up and recognize that God is speaking to you. One way that God speaks to us is through situations and events.

Nothing that happens in our lives is by accident. God knows every detail of every second and nothing is a surprise to him. The current Pandemic is a great example. It may have been a surprise to us, with massive changes in lifestyle, income, education and health seemingly overnight, but God already sees the whole timeline of these events.

You might be wondering: So how can God speak through a situation like this?

When we’re going through a trial in our lives or experiencing a hardship, pain or loss, it’s easy to blame God: “Why is God doing this TO me?” It makes sense that if we are feeling something or experiencing something, we feel that it’s happening TO us — but that’s not the 30,000-ft. view.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
— Isaiah 55:8-9

Everything that happens to us is part of a much larger picture and it’s one that only God can see and walk through with us.

That’s a key point: God wants to walk through each situation with us.

When difficult times come, just like this unprecedented time we’re facing now, it’s an opportunity to ask this question, “What can I learn from God?”

Whatever you are facing now…

What is God trying to teach you?
How can you make more space to spend time with Him and hear from Him?
What can you thank God for?

Comment below or contact us if we can help you uncover God’s work in your life.

Stand Up: Seek Wise, Biblical Counsel

Dear sisters, during this month of March, we are covering the first step of the step forward process: Stand Up and recognize that God is speaking to you. One way to more clearly understand how God is speaking to you is to seek wise, Biblical counsel.

We look to Jesus as our example.

Jesus always sought to do the will of His Father: “For I have come down from Heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38). When he had a big decision to make like selecting his twelve disciples, “…he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.” (Luke 6:12-16)

It’s easy for us to discuss our plans and opinions with everyone we know, but that’s not the life Jesus modeled for us. There are no accounts of Him receiving directions from His Father and discussing them with the disciples or anyone else. Instead, He showed us the power in retreating to silence, prayer, and boldly following where the Father led.

So, what does this mean for you?

Once you realize what God is saying to you, and you have a sense of direction from Him, ask God to show you someone who will provide you with wise, Biblical counsel such as a Pastor, or a church elder, or a Godly friend with a deep faith walk. You might also consider meeting with a Spiritual Director – someone who will walk alongside you, who can help you tune into the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, and can help you discern God’s work in your life.

Ask yourself these questions:

Who is your biblical community?
Who in your life can you seek wise, biblical counsel from?

If you don’t have that person, how can you go about finding that person in your life?

Comment below or contact us if we can help you uncover God’s work in your life.

Stand Up: Rest in God’s Presence

Hey Friends! Our theme for March is the first step of the step forward process: Stand Up. One way to stand up in your boat and recognize that God is speaking to you is through prayer and quiet reflection. It’s really easy to talk at God, but the main idea here is to spend time resting in His presence.

Resting is no easy task. How many times have you tried an official quiet time and were completely distracted? Or maybe you fell asleep? Some of you remember the old Energizer Bunny commercials – the idea that the battery is so good the bunny just keeps going and going and going and going…

Does that sound like you?

It’s easy to keep going, propelled forward by circumstances, goals, or one expectation after the other. In the quiet moments when you finally stop, you have to deal with all of your thoughts and emotions…the cracks and gaps you try to avoid…everything about your daily life that you shove under the rug or cover up with other things.

By resting in God’s presence, you gain clarity about how you see God in your life – and it’s in those quiet moments that you really have an opportunity to let God work and direct you. When you rest in God’s presence, He can clear your thoughts and open your heart and mind to receive His message and prepare you for the work He has for you.

Will you try to rest in God’s presence this week for as little as 5-10 minutes a day?

A great practical tool for spending time with God is journaling. You can journal your questions, things you’ve been wrestling with, your thoughts, what you’re thankful for, prayers, etc., and then look back and see how God provided an answer, opened a door, made a way, and what He taught you through the process.

What methods have you tried to draw closer to God?

Comment below or contact us if we can help you uncover God’s work in your life.

Stand Up: God is speaking to YOU

We’re one week into Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter. Many of you know that the Easter season begins with Ash Wednesday and it’s a common practice for Christians to attend church on this date and receive a cross or touch of ashes on their foreheads. The ashes symbolize our sinfulness and need for repentance in the light of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

For the month of March, we’re taking a look at the first step in moving forward: Stand Up – recognizing that God is speaking. One way that God speaks to us is through His Word.

It’s easy to look at the words written on the pages of the Bible and feel that they’re irrelevant…ancient words on a page written thousands of years ago. While it is true that the historical events and cultural customs written differ greatly from our modern world, the Word of God remains true today. His love for us, His faithfulness to us, and His forgiveness of our sins never changes.

So, if the Word of God is still true and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), why do we have such a difficult time believing that God is speaking to us?

Maybe we don’t understand our worth and identity in Christ.

When we stand up in our comfortable, familiar boat of positive or negative circumstances and recognize God is speaking to us individually, we are compelled to acknowledge that He sees us, that He’s interested in us, that He loves us, and that even in our constantly imperfect state, we are somehow worthy to be heard and recognized by the King.

Harkening back to Ash Wednesday, to stand up and acknowledge God’s voice and work in our lives means we rise to stand in the ashes of our sin, recognize our worth in Christ, and listen to what God has to say.

What is God saying to you?

How do you know when you’re listening?

Share your comments below or contact us if we can help you uncover God’s work in your life.