“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson
Every day…every moment of every day…we get to choose to be SELF-propelled or GOD-propelled. We can live solely on our own energy, patience and wisdom…or tap into God’s LIMITLESS energy, patience and wisdom.
As Christ-followers, we get access to the unlimited power of God!
Self- propelled
Self-propelled looks like:
- Limited focus, energy, and strength.
- Short-tempered and impatient.
- Harsh words.
- Frantic or angry.
God-propelled
God-propelled looks like what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit. It means going about our day with LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self –control.
We can’t control what happens throughout the day:
- Our kids will keep us up at night,
- The baby will have a blow out at a totally inconvenient time and place,
- Our kids will fight or they will break something…
We can’t control what happens, but we can control our response to what happens!
Tapping into the power source allows us to keep our joy in the midst of difficult circumstances.
Each day, each hour, each minute is an opportunity to chose either “Self-propelled” or “God-propelled.”
How do you stay God-propelled?
For ME, it means that I’m talking to my Father God throughout the day.
I usually start the day with a prayer before I get out of bed.
The prayer can be as simple as “HELP!”
I love this verse:
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5
I ask for wisdom THROUGHOUT the day. Why not? Scripture encourages us to do that!!!
Also, this is my favorite book regarding prayer:
Each chapter contains a different topic and a prayer. It also includes Scripture verses regarding that topic.
Staying tapped in to God, or living “God-propelled” means that:
- If I’m tired, I ask God for strength.
- If I’m feeling angry, I ask for help and/or patience.
- If I need to have a tough conversation, I ask God for wisdom.
- It means I’m praying for people as they come up in my mind.
- It means stopping to pray with my kids when they have a concern or when they get hurt.
- It means pointing out where I see God throughout the day. Do you notice a beautiful flower, bird, sunset? An answered prayer? Talk about it!
- It means asking my kids, husband, or someone else to forgive me when I mess up.
- It means keeping a heart of thankfulness. “Thank you for food to feed my children.” “Thank you for a washing machine.” “Thank you for eyes to see my child play and ears to hear their laughter.”
- It means open communication with God throughout the day.
- It means taking time to read my Bible, to then think about it, and memorize specific verses.
Do I do ALL of this everyday? No!
Am I self-propelled at times! YES!
I, too, have to choose every day, each hour, and minute-by-minute, to be God-propelled and not self-propelled!
I encourage you to try ONE thing from the “God-propelled” list above and do it today.
Each day brings a new opportunity to give Him thanks and invite Him to empower us.
There’s a popular verse in the Bible that says:
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
I love this verse and say it often when I’m feeling weary…but I also want to point out that it doesn’t say that we are to do ALL THE THINGS ….sometimes we try to do too much and we are left feeling exhausted.
Seek God before you add another thing to your ‘to do’ list.
Being a parent is challenging. Marriage can be challenging. However, we DON’t have to do it in our own strength. Rely on God to make you the wife and parent He wants you to be…Give HIM your weaknesses and burdens and let Him carry those for you and then go about your day in peace and joy!
When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you. So I am very happy to brag about my weakness. Then Christ’s power can live in me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
If you have prayer requests … leave me a comment. I want to pray for you.
Let me leave you with this:
May the God of hope fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the POWER of the Holy Spirit!
Romans 15:13
Important Note: I am NOT a parenting/marriage expert. I am a guinea pig and mess up every single day (you can ask my husband). I’m on this journey right along with you. When I write about something, it’s NOT because I’ve mastered the topic but because this is what I’m learning. Thanks for joining me in the journey. Leave a comment and let me learn from you too!