The Miracle of the Moment

Last week, Kristen’s Corner was about making every moment count. We spend so much time focusing on the next step or phase in life that we tend to miss the opportunity and magic of the present moment.

This week, I want to share with you some of the ways that help me to focus my attention on where I am here and now.
Practice saying, I enjoy this. Each day there are things we have to do – brush our teeth, comb our hair, take a shower and eat a meal – so why not enjoy each of these to the maximum amount?

As I put my makeup on in the mornings (sorry guys, bad example for y’all), I used to try to hurry. There was no need to rush, I just wanted to get it on as fast as possible and move on to the next part of my day. But now, I truly do enjoy putting on my eye shadow and mascara each morning. And the funny thing is, it doesn’t take me any longer, I just have my focus on the present task.

Another way to focus on enjoying the moment is by not trying to multi-task all the time. This may in fact be the hardest thing for me to do. I multi-task ALL the time! As I brush my teeth, I used to read my email. While I eat, I read a book or play on Facebook. As I talk on the phone, I straighten up my apartment. But now, I’ve really tried to work on this area. When I talk on the phone, I sit down on my bed and even turn off the light sometimes. As I brush my teeth, I thank God for my health ability to wake up each morning. In class, as my professor lectures, I give them my undivided attention instead of thinking about another class. I enjoy the present task and learn what God has for each moment of my day.

The story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) hits the nail on the head when talking about living in the present moment. Martha was “overly occupied and too busy” to sit down and enjoy the present moment of Jesus being in her home.

And lastly, enjoy people. Life is too short to be too busy to visit with friend. As a college student about to graduate, there are lots of friends that I probably won’t see after I leave Lubbock. Take the time to go grab lunch or even a coke. Sit down and visit.

Don’t miss the miracle of the moment.

Making Every Moment Count

I remember playing in kindergarten, excited about first grade where I would learn to read. Once I could read a book, everything would be good.

I remember sitting at my desk in fifth grade, excited about being in Jr. high. Once I was in middle, everything would be good.

I remember being the ‘top dog’ as an eighth grader, excited about high school. Once I was a freshman, everything would be good.

I remember being a senior, excited about the adventure of college. Once I moved, everything would be good.

As I sit here now, a senior in college with graduation approaching quickly, I am excited about what my future holds – my future career, my future spouse, my future home, my future friends – it is all very exciting!

But as I reflect on thinking the same thing about going off to college, or being in Jr. high, or being able to read, I wonder what all I’ve missed in wish my time away.

It seems that we are always looking ahead at the next phase of life with the hope that things will be better or easier or less stressful or more fun. We say things like, “When I graduate,” or “When I move,” or “When I get married,” but what does that cause us to miss right now?

Our time, right now, is a gift from God. As I’ve already eluded, I am guilty of setting my eyes on the future without any thought to stop and enjoy the present moment.

Right now, as I type this (Sunday evening), I am already looking forward to the weekend when I will get to sleep in, see my boyfriend and hang out with my friends. I am wishing part of my week, five days of my life, away. But then I stop and think about all the things I will learn this week and all the people I am able to see and visit with. I think of all the good food I will get to enjoy and all the articles I will get to write. I would miss precious time with God and the blessings that He has for each day.

Madame Guyon, the seventeenth century French mystic, said that the highest call for every child of God is to enjoy God. That’s pretty powerful!

Jesus paid a very high price for us to have life and to have abundantly (John 10:10). We need to enjoy life in the present, not only for us, but for Him.

Get started today making every moment count!

What Comes First?

What comes first of your list – God or family? I was asked this question in an attempt to settle an argument. My answer is God, without a doubt. One person didn’t agree, he thinks family should be number one. With curiosity of his reasoning, I asked why.

His thoughts were that they are here with you, you spend time with them in person and you have a strong relationship with them. All were interesting points.

Then, he asked what my reasoning was. I explained that He created each of us and the love in that is unfathomable.

The point was also made by one of my roommates that there are many different types of love. There is the love you feel for your friends, a love that you have for your family, a love that you will one day have for your spouse and a different love for your children someday. In the same way, the love we have for God isn’t comparable to that of which we have with relationships on earth. In English, we just have the word ‘love’, but in other translations of the Bible, there is a different word for the different types of love. And I think this makes it harder for us to fathom the immeasurable love of our Heavenly Father.

The question was then asked if you had to choose between God or your family right now, which would you choose? Again, without a doubt, I would choose God because our family is here and now, but God is everlasting and Heaven is our goal for eternity.

After thinking about the conversation later in the day, I thought of more points I would have liked to have talked about.

God created the Heavens and the Earth. He breathed the breath of life into you and sent His One and Only Son as the sacrifice for each person’s sin.

John 3:17 says, For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 17:16 says, They are not of this world, even as I am not of it.

And one of my favorite verses, Romans 12:2 says, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We Give You Thanks

Giving thanks is a vital part of a relationship with God. To be thankful in all circumstances is easier said than done. After a long stressful day, sending God a prayer of thanks isn’t always the first thing on my mind, but it should be.

There are lots and lots of verses about being thankful and giving thanks and the following are a few that I really like.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
~ 1 Chronicles 16:34

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. ~ 1 Chronicles 29:13

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High. ~ Psalm 7:17

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
 ~ Psalm 69:30

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
 ~ Psalm 95:2

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
 ~ Psalm 100:4

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
 ~ 1 Corinthians 15:57

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Ephesians 5:19b-20

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~ Philippians 4:6

And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
~ Matthew 14:19

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
 ~ Matthew 26:26 & 27

I encourage you to set aside some time and just thank God for all He has done, is doing and will do.

Follow Your Heart

My Freshman year of high school, I remember asking my best friend what I choice I should make. I don’t remember what the decision was about, but I do remember her answer – follow your heart.

Well, that wasn’t the answer that I was looking for, but it was good advice! That day I engrained that valuable piece of guidance into my life. Since then, I’ve even had the opportunity to offer her the same words of wisdom when she had more than one option.

The saying, ‘follow your heart’, turned into more of a joke between us for the past six years. It wasn’t until last semester, when I was tossing around the idea of pursuing my master’s degree, that I truly understood how to actually follow my heart.

I spent time praying because I believe that seeking God’s will is key, after all, He is the One who knows best! Then, I used the time walking to and from class to think. It isn’t necessarily a time of ‘peace and quiet’ but it is my special time to talk to God and listen.

In my mind, I thought through the scenario of going to graduate school, which would be somewhere other than Texas Tech. The thoughts of buying more books, needing more scholarship money, moving to another state and studying for two more years worth of tests overwhelmed me. My heart would start beating faster, my head literally felt heavy and it stressed me out.

Then I imagine myself completing my degree, graduating from college, finding a career, moving into a house and being an ‘official’ adult. A sense of peace would come over me and for a lack of words, my heart felt happy.

Now that I know how God directs me, making decisions with confidence is much easier. I do still have to be patient, however, in waiting for God’s timing and feeling engulfed with complete peace.

Let me outline the steps that I use, and encourage you to try them as well when you have a choice to make: 1) Pray – seek God’s guidance. 2) Be patient – His timing is perfect. 3) Think through your options – write them down on separate sheets of paper if necessary. 4) Follow your heart.

Psalm 37: 3, 4 says Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Choosing Our Thoughts

Life can be stressful. It is easy to get caught up in worrying about everything from major projects and day to day activities all the way down to small things.

This semester is by far the busiest one in college (however, it should be my last!) I am taking 18 class credit hours, which is broken down into seven classes. I am the industry information intern for Certified Angus Beef. I am a teaching assistant for an agricultural communications technical writing class, editor for the agricultural communications magazine and I continue to do a little freelance writing on the side.

During Christmas break, I made myself sick one afternoon thinking about having such a busy semester ahead of me. As I sat there, I thought to myself, ‘there is no way I’m going to survive with this mindset. Something has to change’.

In the book Power Thoughts, Joyce Meyer describes worrying like rocking back and forth in a rocking chair – “it’s always in motion and it keeps us busy, but it never gets us anywhere.”

Stress and worry are a waste of time and energy. The following are a few ways that I have learned through devotionals that help me to stay stress free this semester:

- I refuse thoughts that are not from God (and stress is definitely not from above!). We have control over what we spend our time thinking about and we do not have to let thoughts make their home in our mind.

- Reasoning is another word for worrying. I tend to try to help God out by going through different scenarios in my mind of how things could work. I’ve learned that this is a form of sin because I am not putting my confidence in God. Having faith and truly knowing that God is in control is an amazing feeling.

- In Power Thoughts (which I highly recommend!), the Power Thought #6 is, “I trust God completely; there is no need to worry!” When I feel a hint of stress creeping in, I say this in my mind over and over until it is gone.

- Joyce Meyer makes the statement, “The instant you begin to worry or feel anxious, give your concern to God in prayer. Release the weight of it and totally trust Him to either show you what to do or to take care of it Himself.”

- And one last thought – “There will always be situations that cause you concern, but with God’s help, you can live above all of them and enjoy life.”

“I” Statements

I’ve come to the realization that any time you are working with human beings, there is going to eventually be conflict. And I believe that until the day comes when we sit all alone and work with robots and computers we will have conflict with others. (In pondering the thought of working solely with robots and computers rather than people makes me think that a little conflict isn’t all that bad!)

I have a piece of advice for getting through a potentially tough subject with anyone – chose your words wisely.

As a journalist and agricultural communications student, I focus a lot on words. Why was this word chosen over that one? Could I rearrange this sentence and have the same meaning? What can I change to simplify this sentence?

I’ve learned to apply this same concept to how I talk to people in all situations whether it be a casual conversation or settling a disagreement. The old saying “Think before you speak” applies in all cases.

Use “I” statements.

Rather than saying, “You told me to.” Simply rephrase the sentence and say, “I understood that you wanted me to.”
Which would you respond better to?

In visiting with a friend whose boyfriend wouldn’t call every evening, I advised her to say, “I love to hear your voice before I fall asleep at night.” rather than, “You need to call me every night.”

The “I” statement applies because there is no finger pointing. It changes from a demand to a request.

While at home, it drives me up the wall when it is said, “Thank you, Kristen, for doing the dishes.” before we even get up from the dinner table. I would respond much better (and be much more willing to do more to help) if I was asked, “Kristen, I would really appreciate it if you would take a turn at the dishes tonight”.

I personally would rather choose to volunteer rather than be, as one of my good friends calls it, ‘voluntold’.

“I” statements apply to every relationship – friends, acquaintances, strangers, significant others and I would assume even within a marriage.

And one last thought – I’ve heard it said that when you are praying for a change in another person, it may just be you that needs a change of heart.

I challenge you to think before you speak and test the “I” statement. Let me know how it works for you!