Tuesday, June 21, 2016

HAVE I ARRIVED?

“It’s not me it’s him/her.” How many times have we heard, let alone used this statement?
I think at some point or another most of us singles have convinced ourselves that this is the case in our current marital status.  Well though part of it might be true, hold your horses!

A lot of times we get to the point in our wait where we are justifying the lack of movement in our season of singleness by blaming it on the other party. We are the first one to sing our own praise as if we hung the moon. Have you used phrases like:

“Don’t they realize I am a catch” or “It is to their benefit to date me.” Or even “Remember that good thing that he is looking for, well here I am!”

Though as a righteous woman those statements are partially true, because we area special treasure these phrases can’t be rooted in arrogance and pride.

I have caught myself in the past thinking and saying these very things and then suddenly there was a stab in the heart. I was listening to a podcast, and it made this statement. “Chances are when YOU become the person you are looking for is looking for, you will probably find them.” In disbelief I said to myself, “WHOA so you mean that I am not a finished product and there are things that I still need to work on?” Wake up call. It didn’t even dawn on me that as hard as I might pray for my husband that he is doing the same thing for his wife. So really the holdup could have been me the whole time.

Could I be stubbornly overlooking the areas that he needs me to grow in and resisting change and halting the process? At the end of the day you want an Iron sharpen iron relationship and you don’t want to be the dull blade. Just as much as your future is submitted to his, you are also a factor for him to fully develop in the man of God he is supposed to be. Your life will be submitted to his but to truly submit means to lift up or come under the mission of. So you need to be able to come under and lift him to be the support for his life and future. It is partially dependent on you. It could very well be not that God is saying no but just not yet because we haven’t fully faced some of our correctable flawed areas. Mind Blow!

So the prayer about him needing to get it together so you can be together is misdirected.  There is a bigger speck in your eye than you might choose to see.  I say that because I was in the same predicament. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t think that I was perfect but close to it at least.

After hearing that, I immediately restructured my prayers and humbled myself. Instead of praying for my husband to become who he is supposed to be. I asked God to mold me into who I was supposed to be for him. I asked God to begin to show me the areas that are not so “wife” like and mold those parts of me. Probably a dangerous prayer because we all know how much correction can hurt but bring on the challenge.

So think about YOUR not so perfect self. What are some areas that you can stand to change? Are you a messy person and need to learn how to keep a house? Call me old fashion but I believe a man’s home should be his castle, a place to relax. Is it being kept up for royalty or for a peasant? I am not saying be a clean freak but just keep it manageable. I might get death threats for that one.

Is your specialty Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or Raman noodles? Maybe you might need to learn a couple of dishes. Or you could luck out and those are his favorite meals but don’t count of it. That would be the exception not the rule. I not saying be Rachel Ray but the way to a man’s heart is his stomach right? Practice and get a few recipes under your belt. Plus bonus who doesn’t like to brag about their superb cooking abilities. Every girl likes a little praise.

Do you want marry someone who enjoys being active and doing fun things but you can’t walk to the mailbox and back without being winded. Maybe try couch to 5k or join a local gym and commit to 30 minutes a couple time of weeks. Just take it slow. I am not saying be a body builder but you must also be realistic and make steps towards what you expect to receive.

What about healthy eating. Don’t make that false promise that you will start eating better when you have someone to cook for. If you aren’t doing it now don't kid yourself you won’t do it then. Since I am not going to have kids when I expected to in the so called "prime of life",, along with my confession, I changed my eating habits to keep my body in tiptop condition. I can’t expect God to keep me youthful but not be a good steward of my body by eating whatever I want. I have to do my part to keep my youth renewed like an eagle. I can’t have faith without works.

Do you expect him to have money to take care of you but you can’t balance your check book or your account is overdrawn all the time. Stop spending and learn how to save! Make a conscious effort to keep track of how many times you swipe that card. Also chose to set aside a little money to make a habit of saving. Mine is directly deposited into my savings account each time I get paid. This way I don’t even have to think about it. Out of sight out of mind but also creating a habit and a seed for my future.

When you get upset how do you respond? Are you patient? Learn now how to train yourself to respond in love and patience towards those who upset you. Contrary to popular belief, your spouse will upset you because you are two DIFFERENT people with DIFFERENT ideals and ways of doing things. This was one for me. I am being taught through living with my sister to exercise patience and choose my battles. I am learning not to quickly react but to seek to understand and then lovingly, which is not always the case, respond.

Also in the category of getting upset, do you spout off every cuss word in the English language and maybe some other languages or just don’t speak edifying words. Are you quick to go negative? Remember your words have life and death in them. You frame your world with your words and what kind of world are you framing over your household in times of pressure.  Learn to be “slow to speak quick to listen and slow to wrath”. James 1:19

How disciplined are you in your quiet time with the Lord? Are you giving yourself the daily bread of the word and quenching your thirst with prayer. You can’t expect to marry Jesus and you don’t even have any knowledge of the word. Remember even Satan could quote scripture…

There are many other areas that we all can work on. These are just a few. Seek God and do an honest evaluation and ask Him to reveal areas where you can get started. I am not saying that these things will be perfect in you when you meet your special someone but I am saying you could begin to plant seeds in some of these areas.

You know me that I always have to bring it back to the word but I remember the Verse

Luke 10:16 10 Whoever ·can be trusted [is faithful] with a little ·can also be trusted [is also faithful] with a lot”

Please hear me that I am not trying to condemn you at all because there are areas in my life that aren’t so perfect. This is simply to spark revelation so that you can start experiencing the very desire of your heart.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a guarantee formula to get a husband nor am I saying that you need to be complete to get a husband. simply aim to be complete in Christ. It is nothing you can earn. It is a gift because He wants to see us happy. it says it is His pleasure. This simply might be a step in the right direction.

#thatsinglelifethough


Bekah Out!

Friday, June 10, 2016

UNPAUSE YOUR LIFE

T minus 31 days. What is the countdown for you may ask? It is the day where I vacate the not so distant memories of my 20’s and enter into the years of 30, flirty, and thriving. Except that the only part of this statement happening in my life is the 30… I am not flirting with anyone and I am not thriving in the way I thought I would. Does this sound like you? You might not be at the milestone age yet but you are simply not in the place of life that you thought you would be.

My 10-year high school reunion has come and gone and still nothing major has happened in my life. I thought surely by now I would be married and have a kid or two. In fact, I thought that I would have been married by 22... well obviously God redirected my path. So in this moment, I have two choices. I can wallow in self-pity and say “WHY GOD, WHY” or I can choose to see the situation from a Godly point of view. 

Since self-pity was never my thing I chose to be thankful. Though I might not be where I want to be thank God I am not where I used to be! It makes me think about the verses in Philippians 3:11-14“Not that I have attained or perfected but I press on. Not that I have apprehended but one thing that I do forgetting those thing which are behind and forward to those things that are ahead. I press towards the goal of the upward call of Christ Jesus.”  This must be our attitude in the midst of situations that are not what we expected. Press forward.

Have a Godly perspective. You can’t relive the past nor can you necessarily plan the future to your specific qualifications. You can have humility and trust that God is working EVERYTHING COLLECTIVELY together for your good. I have come to the realization as I exit this season of life that I have lived my life on pause and hoping in the “what ifs” and the “when” Well I am here to tell you that those don’t get you anywhere.

“What ifs” and “whens” can simply be translated into hope deferred and the Bible says that It makes the heart sick. (Proverbs 13:12) Continually dwelling on these does exactly that. It gets you in the attitude where you wait to live or thinking that life will start when you meet that special someone who sweeps you off your feet and buy that big house in the suburbs. If you are still breathing (since you are reading this you are) Guess what life has already begun!

Maybe you’re getting exhausted because your breathe has been held for a little while, waiting for things to change. But DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATHE! BREATHE! Venture out, live life. What is amazing about God is that in the midst of living He has already orchestrated every day of your life so you don’t have to fear that you are going to miss out on something. He will in fact use those days to get you to where you want to be so don’t fret.

Don’t live is a constant state of discontent. Don’t measure your success against anyone else’s. What God has called to be success in your life is different than others and it is tailor made for you. Don’t slap your life in the face and lessen your accomplishments because of lacking milestone moments. You are not behind. You are not forgotten. You are where you are supposed to be, when you are supposed to be there.

Don’t allow the enemy to steal your joy in this season by deceiving you to think that you are where you are because of things you may or may not have done. Yes there are things that we could have changed from our past but the mercy of God covers and redeems our mistakes. Out past doesn't dictate our future. Press forward. Live and enjoy life now and when the time is right, I promise everything will work out even better that you could have ever imagined!

1 Corinthians 2:9
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

#thatsinglelifethough

Bekah Out!