Tag: #NotPerfectButPresent

Clearing the Clutter

Posted on by Kris Valdez

The costs of clutter can be deceiving. What may look like a minor mess or something we start stepping over on a daily basis, actually saps our energy and willpower. I know sometimes when I look at the pile of mail I need to go through, I can’t even start because I’m so weary of making decisions all day. Then I go into the process of mentally beating myself up over what I believe needs to get done. This then spirals to impacting the faith I have that my dreams will ever come to pass. If I can’t even get through the junk mail, how can I have the energy to pursue my dreams?

Last week, I wrote about clutter in our home, our heart, and our mind. This post, expands on that. With looking at our physical space, our mental space and our spiritual space.

Physical Space

The physical space is any area where we are work, play or stay. It could be my office covered in unfinished projects, sitting half done and no idea where to start. The feelings of helplessness begin to mount in relation to the height of my piles. I joked with my husband, this is called my horizontal filing system. I know where everything is, until I don’t, which if I’m honest with myself is most of the time.

I need to commit to working on my clutter a little bit each day. Starting with a prayer that goes something like this, “Lord, I know this clutter is costing me time with you and the pursuit of the dreams put in my heart. Please show me what is weighing me down and help me to release it the trash, to a charity, or to a friend. Please grant me wisdom about what is keeping me from being the woman you created me to be.” Change this prayer up to fit your challenges with physical space and how God is speaking to your heart.

Mental Space

The second area to overcome clutter is our mental space. Essentially, we need to get rid of our stinking thinking. Two weeks ago my daughter picked up her yearbook. As we’re looking through the group photos, I asked if she was in the one of the honor class. Her response was, “I’m in there, but like usual, I’m small so no one noticed me.”

I immediately turned to her and asked if that was a positive way to think about herself. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “No, probably, not.”

I then followed up with, “So, what makes it okay to say that?”

Her response, floored me, she said, “Because it’s easy to believe.”

Oh, my heart ached for her and also for myself because I have thought the same thing. It’s so much easier to believe the harsh, cruel words hurled at us than the words of comfort, caring and love God has written to us in His Word.

This is the work of the enemy my friend.

God created us in His image and He doesn’t create junk. In Proverbs 23:7, it says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” We need to bring our thinking inline with how God thinks about us because if we don’t we are headed in a dangerous direction of believing the wounds we received are just and true. Run, don’t walk towards clearing your mental space with God.

Spiritual Space

The last area is our spiritual space. In a way, is part of mental space. We have an internal dialogue where we easily believe the negative thoughts. We need to have faith that God has already overcome the author of all our spiritual clutter. God is not a God of confusion, but a God a clarity. 1 Corinthians 14:33, (NLT), says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.”

God wants to help us, but He won’t force Himself into our lives. He gives us all the space we need, but He is never farther away than a prayer or even a grown. He understands every tear, every sorrow, every hurt in our lives, but we must separate out the lies. The lies are the clutter that stop us from reaching out to God. There is nothing, absolutely nothing we do which surprises God. He already knows our past, present, and future. Let’s be perfectly clear, He gave up His son for us. He has already given us everything we could ever need. All we need to do is clear out the spiritual space to let go of what is holding us back and give it over to God.  

As it proclaims in Isaiah 61:3, “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.” Look for the beauty He can make of the ashes or the clutter of our lives.

Share in the comments below how you clear out your clutter so can encourage others on their journey.

Clutter Costs Us Our Dreams

Posted on by Kris Valdez

Clutter. This word conjures up visions of messy houses, disorganized piles or as I call it, horizontal filing systems, dishes loaded in the sink and utter chaos. Not that I would know from personal experience or anything.

What does clutter cost us when we are pursuing our dreams? It costs us more than we think. According to 1 Corinthians 14:40 (NLT), it says “But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.” God is one of order. He always has a plan and His plan in perfect, but we can’t see His plan if all we see around us are the obstacles of clutter.

God created all of us to be creative, but sometimes it’s in different ways. There are those who are creative with a paintbrush or pen, then they are those who are creative with a mathematical equation. Each takes equal amount of creativity, so if you’re more practical, take heart, you are creative as well. But, the creativity engine stalls when we are surrounded by clutter.

There is hope for those of us in the clutches of clutter. Here are three places where clutter becomes an opportunity for change.

Our Home

This is the most common place for clutter to accumulate. There’s stacks of mail, kiddo’s projects from school, piles of laundry and dishes. Once again, not like I know from personal experience or anything. Here’s the difficulty with physical clutter. It stifles our creativity which in turn stunts the growth of our dreams. It requires decisions and willpower to clear it out that some of us just don’t have at the end of a crazy day. I ask God for wisdom about what is weighing me down and to show me what to get rid of or to keep. Right now, our family is going through what I termed, the “Great House Clean Out of 2017.” Our goal is to get rid of 2,000 items by the end of 2017. This means clothes that don’t fit, things that are broken or we don’t use anymore are going out the door. I can claim the name as my own, but I can’t claim the concept, it came from a book called, “Clutter Free: Quick and Easy Steps to Simplifying Your Space. It’s an awesome book if, like me, you struggle with getting out from under the physical clutter.

Our Mind

I’m one of those people that will mull a problem over in my head until I’m exhausted and can’t think of anything else. This mental clutter limits my ability to think creatively in any area of my life, not only in my writing or coaching processes. I’ve found the key to getting things out of my head is to write them down. It become clearer when I see it in black and white. This enables me to release the mental gymnastics going on in my head. If you are averse to writing anything down, consider talking it out with a family member, friend or consider hiring a coach who can see the situation objectively. The point is, if we are continually focusing on our problems, we can’t see the possibility of our dreams.

Our Heart

This is where we need the power of God. Only the light He offers can cleanse our heart. Our hearts become cluttered when we keep things from God. Guess what? He already knows about everything we’ve ever done or thought about in our past, present and future. Luke 12:2 (NIV), says, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” We can clear our hearts when we confess everything to God. Allow Him to take on our burden so we can feel less cluttered. He can handle it.

Is clutter an area of your life where you struggle? How to you combat the clutter in your home, mind and heart? Share it in the comments below to encourage others.

Memorializing Our Dreams

Posted on by Kris Valdez

Welcome to Memorial Day weekend! Many view this as the official kickoff to summer, while others use this time to reflect on the cost to even have a holiday. Memorial Day is to honor those in military service who lost their lives to preserve our freedoms. To those veterans out there, thank you for your sacrifice away from your families, the comforts of home and contributing to the ease of living in a free county. Thank you!

Memorial Day makes me think of fighting and sacrificing for our dreams. While I’m not in the active military, make no mistake, I’m in a battle and so are you. For believers, we’ve been recruited to God’s Army. Part of being in God’s Army is to use our gifts, talents, abilities and yes, even our dreams to spread His message of salvation and love.

God is not one to shy away from a battle. All we have to read is the Old Testament to see there is time for war and a time for peace. I’m offering a call to arms in this time of war. Not a war with guns and bombs, but a war for our dreams. This is a war where we use our God given talents to fulfill the dreams He has placed in our hearts.

It could be the dream of writing a book, building your own business, finding another job, or developing a new product. Whatever it is, God has put the dream in your heart for a reason. Do not let it go. It may have been dormant for awhile or is a slow burning ache which won’t let us go.

I challenge us to use this day, this moment to plant our flag in the ground and say enough is enough to the lies of the enemy!

1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV) states, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

This doesn’t say, if we’ve receive a gift, it says, “As each has received a gift…” If we have accepted God as our Lord and Savior, then we have been given a gift. It’s the lie of our enemy to make us believe that God skipped over us when the gifts and abilities wagon went by.

If we’re jealous of another person’s gift, look at what Romans 12:6-8 (NLV) says, “We all have different gifts that God has given to us by His loving-favor. We are to use them. If someone has the gift of preaching the Good News, he should preach. He should use the faith God has given him. If someone has the gift of helping others, then he should help. If someone has the gift of teaching, he should teach. If someone has the gift of speaking words of comfort and help, he should speak. If someone has the gift of sharing what he has, he should give from a willing heart. If someone has the gift of leading other people, he should lead them. If someone has the gift of showing kindness to others, he should be happy as he does it.”

How amazing is this? God has provided us different gifts and abilities to fulfill unique roles in His Kingdom. God doesn’t create an assembly line of lives. God doesn’t do boring. He creates beautifully, special opportunities for us to point the world to Him through our talents and abilities.

This responsibility is awesome. God has invited us into His kingdom as servants with a place at the table. Not just any table mind you, the table of the most high King. The King of Kings. The original creator.

Are we going to push ourselves back from the table with the gift of salvation firmly in our grasp and say thanks for the invite, I’ll see myself out to handle the rest of my life? No! We’d never take a friend’s hospitality or gift for granted. At least I hope we wouldn’t because we wouldn’t be friends for long. But when we waste our talents becoming less than what God has laid out for us, this is exactly what we are doing.

I have a challenge for you this Memorial Day. First, find a veteran and thank them for their service to our county. Next, I challenge you to stake your claim to the dream God has put in your heart. Seek out how God wants you to begin serving Him with the gifts He’s blessed you with. I’ve created a free workbook to help draw you closer to what God wants you to do.

Share in the comments below what you discovered so we can encourage you.

Peaceful Imperfections

Posted on by Kris Valdez

There is no such thing as perfect. These are difficult words for me to digest. I struggle with perfectionism. My husband reminds me on a regular basis there is only one perfect person to walk this earth and it’s not me. If there is a situation which doesn’t go the way I planned, blame myself. This has led to a life of regrets and bone crushing thoughts of responsibility for the outcomes I’ve created. However, this isn’t God’s plan for my life.

What if I looked at my regrets, my mistakes, another way? What if everything in my life is working towards God’s plan? It’s not all up to me but up to God? What if each imperfection is leading me to a closer relationship with God? To trust Him more?

To build this trust, it means getting peaceful with my imperfections. Oh, how I struggle with this. I started to ask myself a few questions to work through my perfection gene. How can I get peaceful with my imperfections? Is there some way I can let go of my perfection gene? Am I striving to be perfect to show I don’t need a Savior? This last question reached the heart of my struggle because at the core of my perfectionism is pride.

Pride can mean positive things such as the pride I felt last week at my daughter’s band concert or at my son’s soccer game where they braved below normal temperatures and freezing rain which turned into a sideways snow storm all without complaint.

Then there is the pride which can eat me alive from the inside out. Don’t take my word for it, the Bible is chock full of verse about the dangers of pride. Crack open the book of Proverbs and we’re assaulted with how pride brings destruction in our lives. In Proverbs 11:2 (ESV), it states, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom,” and in Proverbs 16:18 (ESV) it says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Another verse is Proverbs 16:5 (NLT) which says, “The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished,” and finally, Proverbs 20:23 (NLT), states, “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.”

There are even more verses in Proverbs and throughout the Bible on pride, which leads me to believe God knew we would have a problem in this area. What are some ways I can keep pride from taking over my life? Here are four suggestions:

Be humble.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines humble as, “not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive.” Even in this definition I see my faults reflected back to me. See, I’m assertive, probably to the point of being annoying. I’ve attend many events at school where my child is standing in the back patiently waiting their turn to speak with a teacher or have a turn at some game, only to see other kids push in front of them. My assertive self and mama bear personality wants to go put the pushing kids back in their places. But when I take a step back, I see my kids putting others before themselves and going with the flow. To them it’s not a big deal to have a fellow classmate, who may have other places to go or other needs ahead of their own. I could learn a thing or two about humility from my kids.

The second definition listed in Merriam-Webster Dictionary for humble is, “reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission,” which leads me to the next suggestion.

Be submissive.
This is hard. Let me say that again, THIS. IS. HARD. The Bible calls us to be submissive to both good and bad leadership. In 1 Peter 2:18 (NLT), it says, “You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.” The world tells us to do our own thing and if we don’t like it or if those in authority don’t like it, we need to stage a protest in our lives. I’m not saying protest doesn’t have it’s place. The life Jesus lived on this earth was a protest. He challenged authority, but he did it humbly and ultimately submitted to the cross even though He asked it to be taken away from Him. I ask God to take away the struggles in my life, but ultimately, I need to submit my will to His and be submissive to His plan and correction, which leads to the next suggestion.

Be open to correction.
Going back to the book of Proverbs, specifically verse 12:1 (NIV), it states, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Ouch. In the words of my six year old, “We don’t say stupid.” Well, God does call those of us who hate correction, stupid. Once again, ouch. The last thing I want to be in stupid. I need to take what someone is telling me and then decipher what is the truth by taking it to God for clarity in a situation. Then be grateful for the correction offered. This leads into the next suggestion.

Be grateful.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) we are call to, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I don’t know about you, but when I’m running late to work because a kiddo can’t find their shoe, forgot a snack in their backpack or needed a permission slip signed at the last minute along with a check for the upcoming field trip, I am anything but grateful in the moment. Sometimes I stare at my children in utter disbelief as they each have something critical to share at 7:29 am when we should be walking out the door in one minute. It’s not until later in the day, when I realize how fortunate I am to have three young ones all clamoring for my attention, when I know people who would gladly trade places with me. When I become thankful and change my focus to God, my attitude changes and I’m learning to let go and let God. I’m still working on this lesson because when I dropped my lunch getting it out of the refrigerator at work last Friday, I wasn’t very thankful. I’m a work in progress, but I’m getting more peaceful with my imperfections.

How do you handle your imperfections? Share it in the comments below to help others and so we can encourage you.

Finding Worth in Work

Posted on by Kris Valdez

I am guilty of finding my worth in my work instead of with God. How about you? Anyone else slowly raising their hand in the class? Or is it only me? This one hits me close to my heart and home.

According to Colossians 3:22-24 (NIV) it states, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Yes, God commands us to work for Him, but He doesn’t want work to become Him. It doesn’t matter if our work is inside the home through being a stay at home parent or owning a home based business or out in the workforce. He is a jealous God and doesn’t want us cheating on Him or cheating ourselves on an authentic relationship with the cheap imitation of work.

Let’s face it, on the best day, our workdays are eight hours long if we work outside the home. The work day can seem never ending if we work inside the home whether it’s taking care of kids or working at that all consuming home business.

At the end of the work day outside the home, we navigate our way home, sometimes with a stop at the grocery to figure out what to make for dinner or we rush to kids’ activities or even the dreaded night meeting. In the fast paced, pressure filled world, there seems to be little time to find worth outside of our work. So, how do we keep work from becoming our god so we can serve the real God? Here are three strategies.

1. Don’t make work a show. If we are working for the Lord, then it shouldn’t matter what others think, how much we get paid or what our title is. But, for me and my human nature, it does. I want my effort to be rewarded with earthly things rather than eternal things. I look around my workplace and see some of my coworkers getting recognition for other’s work or obtaining undeserved rewards. Then the voice whispers in my ear, that’s not fair. You are doing work too, where’s your recognition and rewards? The problem with this type of thinking is it leads to a road of resentment, jealousy, and bitterness. These are not words I want to describe me, like, ever. If I trust God with what’s going on at my office, rather than being part of the position or money grabbing group, then I know He will reward me, if not in this life, than in heaven.

2. Keep an eternal perspective. I wrote an entire blog post about keeping an eternal perspective if you’d like to dig deeper in this concept. God wants to bless us. He’s a loving God who wants to lavish us with His love and forgiveness. However, we also have bodily needs which He provides for, if I allow Him to. The rewards we get here on earth, pale in comparison with what’s waiting in heaven. So I ask myself, do I want earthly rewards or do I want rewards in heaven? If I’m obedient to God and what He’s calling me to do, both of rewards will materialize.

3. Trust God. This is a theme throughout my life and therefore my blog. I’m still working on developing my complete trust in God. To know in my heart, not only my head that He has my back. He is my provider, my redeemer, my Savior. I can’t save myself from the problems of my life, because if I did, then I don’t have a need for God. In the turmoil of my life right now, I feel God working through this trust issue with me because there are days where I find myself seeking Him almost moment by moment.

I’m continually finding God in my work, by not allowing work to become my god. This is still a work in progress (pun intended) and probably will continue being a struggle for me on this side of heaven. I’m learning to obtain my worth from God rather than my work.

How about you? Do you look for you worth in work? How do you keep God in perspective? Share it in the comments below so we can encourage one another.

Finding F.O.C.U.S – Day Five

Posted on by Kris Valdez

We are at the final day of finding a little more focus in our lives. Hopefully these posts have helped you, even if it’s in a small way. Going back to the first post in this series, I wrote that I rush from one thing to the next without much thought and the majority of my life feels like the logistics planning of a battlefield deployment for my family, with a few fire drills thrown into the mix. Does my life have to be this way? What if I simplified the things and activities in my life so I have a fighting chance on being more focused? This leads me to the final letter in F.O.C.U.S which S = Simplify Our Lives.

As a reminder, this is what I have F.O.C.U.S. mean:

F = Finding Peace
O = Observing Our Habits
C = Christ Centered Life
U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Life
S = Simplify Our Lives

Over the last five days, there was a post for each letter.

Day 5

S = Simplify Our Lives: This is one I need, in a desperate way. If you’re like me, I have a tendency to over schedule and over stuff my life. I’ve tried and failed, over and over again to simplify my life. When I ask myself why, it normally comes down to opportunities. Opportunities I don’t want my family to miss out on, especially my kids, or opportunities I want to pursue personally and professionally. I struggling with wanting to live my life to the fullest but being scheduled from 5 am to 9 pm at night on an almost daily basis creates little time to enjoy the small things in life.

As I write this, I’m watching the sun come up over the Rocky Mountains. Early morning or late at night seem to be the times I can devote to writing. I do this, make space for this, because I believe God has put a calling on my life to write, coach, speak and teach others to pursue the dreams God has put in their hearts. When my fingers fly across the keyboard or even when I stare at the blinking cursor of a blank screen, this is when I feel most alive. I feel the presence of God as I craft words to share with you. Even if there was no one reading this (Thank you for reading this!) I would write.

I started asking myself, how do I create more space for the activities which fill me up rather than drain the life out of me? It’s to simplify, simplify, simplify. As I stated earlier, I schedule my life because I don’t want to miss anything, but what if I trusted God to show me what is important to the life He wants me to live? Then I asked myself the hard question, have I prayed to God about all the activities I have my kids in? Have I run my last “Yes” or “Sure, I can do that!” by God before I provided my answer?

Upon reflection, I understood my mistakes. I’m listening to the world and my head, rather than God and my heart. This week, I’m challenging myself to be more present and less perfect by examining my schedule, my things and even my attitude in order to create a simpler life. I understand this will take more than a week, since it’s taken me just over 40 years to create this life, but there is hope in God. In Psalm 39:7, (NLT) is says, “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”

The fear of missing out is a lie. It’s a lie I easily believe, but I’m combating it with more focus and intention. When I put my hope in the Lord, there is simplicity in my life.

Are there areas you need to simplify in your life? Share them in the comments below so we can encourage you.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. If you have gotten a nugget of wisdom out of them, I would encourage you to sign up the 5 Day Challenge listed below.

Finding F.O.C.U.S – Day Four

Posted on by Kris Valdez

It’s Day Four and we’re in the home stretch of finding focus in our lives. How are you doing at finding some more focus? Today we are going to be talking about God’s role in our lives. Many times I’ve questioned God’s motives in a situation, but my role isn’t to ask why, it’s to trust that God is trying to teach me something or help me grow closer to Him, which leads me to the next letter in F.O.C.U.S which U = Understand God’s Role in Our Lives.

As a reminder, this is what I have F.O.C.U.S. mean:

F = Finding Peace
O = Observing Our Habits
C = Christ Centered Life
U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Life
S = Simplify Our Lives

Over five days, there will be a post for each letter.

Day 4

U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Lives: It seems like there are three stages in life: heading into a trial, being in the middle of a trial or coming out of a trial. Where is God in the midst of this trial process? This is one of the hardest questions I had in my life. The Bible says in John 16:33 (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” God’s role in our life is not to keep us from trials. In the eyes of a toddler, learning to walk and communicate are trials, but if they don’t go through these things, they won’t grow as a person. The same goes for us. We need trials in our lives to grow our faith and our skills to trust God. We will have trouble, but God is there to provide comfort and encouragement during the trial.

How do you see God’s role in your life? Share in the comments below to encourage others.

Tomorrow, we tackle the final letter S = Simplify Our Lives. Sign up for the email list, so you don’t miss a single letter this week. 

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Finding F.O.C.U.S – Day Three

Posted on by Kris Valdez

Welcome to Day Three of Finding F.O.C.U.S. The first day we talked about F = Finding Peace and yesterday we talked about O = Observing Our Habits. Today we are talking about living a Christ Centered Life.

As a reminder, this is what I have F.O.C.U.S. mean:

F = Finding Peace
O = Observing Our Habits
C = Christ Centered Life
U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Life
S = Simplify Our Lives

Over five days, there will be a post for each letter.

Day 3

C = Christ centered life: Philippians 1:20-21 (NIV) is states, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” As the Apostle Paul was writing this, he’s sitting in a jail cell being persecuted for living a life centered on Christ and speaking out for God. Here was someone living in horrible conditions, conditions which would probably cause me nightmares if I dwell on it or research Roman prisons, but this man kept praising God and worshiping His provision, when he could have been throwing himself an epic and probably justified pity party for being wrongly incarcerated.

Instead, he kept his focus on Christ and was able to lead people, including the prison guards to creating a connection with God. This didn’t mean his life was easy, actually it was the opposite, but he was filled with joy, peace and love for those around him. He allowed Christ to shine through his attitude and actions.

When I start to lose my temper, especially in situations outside of my control, I want to ask myself, do my attitude and actions reflect a Christ centered life? In most instances, I regretfully have to say no, but I want to do better and God extends me the grace I need to work on it. Part of the way I do this is to stop and realize nothing is going to be perfect and I only need to be present in this situation.

How do you live a Christ centered life? Share it in the comments below to encourage others.

Tomorrow, we tackle the letter U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Lives. Sign up for the email list, so you don’t miss a single letter this week.

Finding F.O.C.U.S – Day Two

Posted on by Kris Valdez

My life lacks focus, still. It’s only day two, so I’ve giving myself a little grace. Hopefully you are too! In an effort to create more focus in my life and some gentle reminders on how to do that, I created a few words for each letter of the word F.O.C.U.S. Yesterday we talked about F = Finding Peace. Today we are talking about habits.

As a reminder, this is what I have F.O.C.U.S. mean:

F = Finding Peace
O = Observing Our Habits
C = Christ Centered Life
U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Life
S = Simplify Our Lives

Over five days, there will be a post for each letter.

Day 2

O = Observing our habits: How are we spending our time? The things we do on a daily basis create our habits, even those we do subconsciously. Are those things bringing us closer to God and the plans He has for us or are we doing things that are pulling us away from God? I’ve learned when I do things in my own timing or under my own strength, they rarely turnout well. A great example of this was my first job out of college. I desperately wanted to move to Colorado from Denver and I jumped on the first job offer rather than checking in with God. I wound up at a firm which skirted ethics on a routine basis and made working for them uncomfortable. However, if I had waited on God and His perfect timing, the circumstances would have flowed as opposed to me pushing and pulling against the current.

If you’re open to it, track what you do out of habit on a daily basis. Live more present in your life and observe your habits. It could be that the snooze alarm gets hit three times instead of getting out of bed. Set the alarm clock for later and give yourself the extra 15 minutes of uninterrupted sleep to start out the day with a little more energy. Or go to bed 15 minutes earlier so the alarm clock doesn’t have to get hit three times. By hitting the snooze button multiple times, we’re already telling ourselves it’s okay to compromise.

Before you roll out of bed in the morning after hitting the snooze button multiple times, do you check the news on your smartphone or computer? Consider beginning your day with a daily devotional, prayer, or stretching to start your day on a different tone to create a habit of joy. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 (ESV) it states, “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.” Are there habits in your life that are unhelpful and dominate you without you knowing it? I challenge you to take a look at your daily habits and find out what is and isn’t serving you.

What habits do you need to change? Share them in the comments below so we can encourage you.

Tomorrow, we tackle the letter C = Christ Centered Life. Sign up for the email list, so you don’t miss a single letter this week. 

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Finding F.O.C.U.S – Day One

Posted on by Kris Valdez

I admit it, my life lacks focus. There is a tendency to rush from one thing to the next without much thought. The majority of my life feels like the logistics planning of a battlefield deployment for my family, with a few fire drills thrown into the mix. My husband and I sit down for a few precious minutes at night or sometimes, unfortunately, in the rush of the morning to figure out who is driving which kid where and if either one of us have a night meeting or another obligation which would interrupt our plans.

I starting asking myself, what if I became more intentional with my life? What if instead of logistics planning, I started focusing on what is truly important and what God has called me to do? What if I became a laser beam of focus and let go of those things which aren’t serving me or driving me towards the path God has laid out for me?

Out of this thought process came the word focus. What does it mean to truly have focus in my life? So, I broke down each letter of F.O.C.U.S. to mean something and put direction in my life. I’ve broken out the word like this:

F = Finding Peace
O = Observing Our Habits
C = Christ Centered Life
U = Understanding God’s Role in Our Life
S = Simplify Our Lives

Over the next five days, there will be a post for each letter. See, I wrote the whole blog out and it was over three pages. Who wants to sit and read that in one sitting? I’d start skimming and would probably click off the page before the conclusion so I decided to make it into bite size chunks to savor each little tidbit of F.O.C.U.S. The first letter is “F” which means “Finding Peace.”

Day 1

F = Finding Peace: The peace I’m talking about doesn’t have to do with the absence of war. It had to do with inner peace. The mom in me, keeps see this scene from Kung Fu Panda, where the character Po is saying, “Inner peace, inner peace, inner peace, inner peace,” but doesn’t find it. There can be peace in the midst of a storm, either emotional or weather related.

The Bible says, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” God is the author of peace. He freely provides it if we seek time with Him. He wants to fill us with a peace which passes all understanding. Philippians 4:7 states, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Not only can we have peace, but it will guard our hearts and our minds. This peace will bring calm to our hearts and minds. Think of it as layer of protection from the bumps and bruises of life. We obtain this peace by spending time with God. How do we create this time with God? By creating habitats which leads to the next letter, O = Observing Our Habits, which we’ll talk about tomorrow.

Do you have a way of finding peace? Share it in the comments below to encourage others.

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