Month: March 2023

Wisdom, Instruction, Understanding

Proverbs 23:23 – “Buy truth, and do not sell it. Get wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”

Wisdom is defined as:  “the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.”

The Word of God says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Education in the Word of God is critical for every believer. Daily presence in the Word of God allows the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Today’s culture promotes education fiercely. Believers should be fiercely motivated to educate themselves in His Word.

Instruction is defined as: education.

Understanding is defined as: intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind.

The Word of God tells us to love the Lord our God with all our soul, strength, heart, and mind. When we understand and accept that God is in control, He truly is as the Creator, it brings about a certain understanding. When we see that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, it brings about a certain understanding. When these understandings are accepted, we receive truth. God’s truth. I believe that education is important. When we have a passion for something, we educate ourselves. I believe that when we educate ourselves in the Word of God, He shines the light on who He is and how much He truly does love us. My encouragement today is to read the Word; and, not just today, but everyday. Let us seek the Lord while He may be found.

Be blessed and have a great week!

Cultivating Faithfulness

During my devotion this morning, I was struck by this passage of Scripture.

Psalm 37:3 – Trust in the Lord and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Of course, I have read this before. However, if you know God, there are times when you read something. Then, you read it again and again, and yet see something that didn’t strike you before like it does at that moment. “Cultivating faithfulness” was impressed upon my spirit. I looked up the word “cultivate” in the dictionary. Even though I know what it means – nurture, feed, promote growth – I had to see the definition again. The fifth definition given was “to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine”. The seventh definition given was “to devote oneself”. 

In perspective of this Scripture, the word choice of cultivating faithfulness is speaking of our spiritual journey. We are responsible for cultivating our faithfulness. We are to devote ourselves to being faithful. Educating ourselves in the Word of God and then applying to our daily lives. While it does seem very simple, it takes time and practice. Being faithful means being aware of what you have chosen to do, and then continue doing it. It means educating or learning something new to do it better. I mentioned in an earlier post this week that some things will always take time. We have the microwave, the computer, etc. and can get things done faster than ever before. However, cultivating takes more time and attention to detail, as well as practice. The first thought that came to me about cultivate is relative to land. When you consider farmers, they must cultivate the land to get the best harvest. Aren’t we looking for the best harvest when it comes to our walk with the Lord? Of course, the Lord gives the increase. There are those in our lives who plant seeds. But, are we cultivating those seeds towards faithfulness?

Do you have daily practices in place to cultivate your faithfulness? This question is for you to answer, to ponder, to consider what your harvest will be. Be blessed and have a great day!

Today

Lord, go before me today. Work in me and through me to bring You glory.

Today, I am up early and enjoying the morning. Learning new information and reinforcing useful information that I already know. I am re-energized this morning. I would like to say that being a person who encourages others, I have to make sure that I encourage myself. I think about the coaching perspective of how to help others and know that you must practice what you preach, as it is commonly said.

Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday. She is 21 years old. She told me this morning she is now a law-abiding citizen..lol. Just the beginning my dear! My encouragement today is to be present. Enjoy the day, your family and your friends. Even if you are alone, enjoy that as well. Enjoy yourself. No worries, no anxiety, no sadness. None of it. Be glad that you are alive and breathing. Be mindful that if you could do something about anything, you would. If not, don’t let the negativity grab hold of you and rob you of your joy.

As you maintain an attitude of gratitude, things open up. Should you need to be creative, it will come. Should you need to be productive, get up and do something. I think about motivation and realize that when I have needed to be motivated about something, getting up and getting started does the job. Willing myself to be motivated is just way too hard. It is much easier to just get up and do it. I believe Nike had the best slogan ever, “Just do it.”

As I move on to the next thing this morning, everyone have a great day! Be blessed and be present in the moment. Enjoy your surroundings and the morning sunshine. Take care and talk to you soon!

Information Overload

Learning something new is not easy. I am currently working on my website and want to add a subdomain for my coaching connection. To say the least, it is a challenge. There is so much information out there, it does seem to be a bit daunting just to grab what you need and not all the extra. However, it will come together. Just thought I would touch base with my readers and let you all know I am still here. Growth does take time. I have accepted that I will do what’s necessary to move forward.

That said, I would like to encourage anyone who is int the process of learning something new. Stay with it. Whether you are replacing old thoughts with new ones, better ones or replacing bad habits with good habits, or learning a new technology process. Consistency is the key to becoming strong in your desired direction. I will say this. The microwave was a great invention and technology is seeming to point us in the same direction of press the timer and it is done. Doesn’t work like that on everything though. And even with the advancement of sciences and technology, some things still take time and always will. I have made peace with my desire to be in the moment, be present, and enjoy things even in information overload. What is the hurry? In our “it has be done yesterday culture”, we have become so impatient.  

My aging process has put me in a place of doing what needs to get done and let that be that. No race to move so fast that I don’t know what I did or if I could have done it better. Just my thought process. Be blessed and enjoy the day! This day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!