“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Romans 12:1
We like to boat ride on Pine Island Bayou. Last summer I was shocked to see how much the water level had dropped in just a couple of days. It was still a beautiful day, but I was nervous because of what had been revealed. Snags and stumps were all over the place. The safe boating lane was very narrow. I said a little prayer for safety and as I did I felt the Lord connect some dots for me on some things I had been studying.
Those stumps and snags represent the things that keep me from going all in and being that living sacrifice. To be all in, head under in…I have to dig all of them out. Not just step over them or wade around them, but dig out every snag and completely remove the trash. I have to surrender completely every area of my will to line up with His. Whew. We were in pretty shallow water for something that deep.
Whatever snag that may be holding me back, whether it is discouragement, pride, life circumstances, hidden sins, anxiety, you fill in the blank, it has to be completely surrendered to His will. He can handle it when I can’t. His yoke is easy and His burden is light and it is waiting for me out there in the middle.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4, ESV.
When was the last time you experienced delight? I don’t mean a warm and fuzzy feeling, gratitude, or even reverence. Those are nice, but they are not delight. Perhaps it’s been a while and you need some reminding of what delight feels like.
Delight is . . .
. . . making snow angels at the age of seven.
. . . a kid on Christmas morning.
. . . looking into the face of a newborn baby.
. . . watching your child laugh and play.
. . . a rainbow over a waterfall.
. . . watching the Airforce Thunderbird show.
And delight is knowing the love of God. He is so great that his love brings us great pleasure. Psalm 37:4 tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord, and that when we do he will give us the desires of our heart. So, we first need to choose to delight in him. Delight starts with a choice to engage and allow ourselves to experience God. Spend time with him, look at his creation, feel his presence, listen to his voice, and learn to delight in him.
We know how to do this, as we have felt delight in moments like the ones described above. We sometimes forget in our prayer routines that he is not just the God we come to, he is a God we can and should delight in. And when we find that great and satisfying pleasure in God most high, he will honor our heart’s desires.
What is it about God that brings you delight? Write it down and allow your heart to smile at your God today.
Prayer: God, you are a delight. My soul longs for you and my heart needs you every day. Lord, thank you for giving me what I need and I ask you today for what my heart wants. I don’t ask out of selfishness or pride, I ask because I want to know and feel true delight in you alone and because your Word tells me you will give me those heart desires. Your Word is true and does not return void. God, I ask your forgiveness for the times I have been selfish or delighted myself in things other than you. Help me to keep my eyes and heart on you, and to use anything you give me to bring glory to your name. Amen
Answering the Call: Embracing New Directions in Faith and Career
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When God whispers “move,” it’s more than a nudge; it’s a transformative call to faithful action. As I reflect on my calling journey, I see a tapestry of trials and profound learning. This is not just my story, but an invitation for you to discover the beauty in your God-given calling, especially when life takes unexpected turns.
Whether you are feeling burnout, stuck, or just unfulfilled in your career, God is telling you something.
I shared a bit of my burnout journey last year. My path has been a mix of spiritual growth, revelation, and now empowering others through my new initiative, Burnout to Blessed. Each step of the way has been influenced by my divine design, purposeful passion, and life experience. I’ve realized that God’s callings are not static; they are dynamic, evolving with our life’s seasons and God’s intricate design for us.
At the heart of every call is serving others.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” – 1 Peter 4:10
When I was developing Teacher Revival last year, I knew I wanted to include the tagline: from burnout to blessed. It wasn’t just a catchy phrase but a revelation from the Holy Spirit about my journey and purpose. This revelation grew into a desire to support not just teachers, but to serve Christian career women, guiding them from frustration and career burnout to a place where their professional life is infused with spiritual fulfillment.
I’ve learned that understanding our unique calling is not just something for those called into ministry (sidenote: we are all called to ministry), but EVERYONE has a unique God-given calling—something He designed especially for you (Ephesians 2:10). I dove head-first into personality tests, spiritual gift assessments, and Bible studies, eventually becoming a Certified DiSC and Spiritual Gifts Facilitator. This knowledge has been instrumental in my own life and in helping others discover their divine design – a combination of personality, gifts, strengths, and God-given passions. The more I learn, the more I feel God pushing me to teach and share with others. (Did I mention that teaching is one of my spiritual gifts?!)
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:6-8
The Calling Clarity Workshop, a free resource I offer, is a testament to my commitment to helping other women uncover their God-given calling. It’s a space for exploration, understanding, and clarity about how God uses every aspect of our lives for a greater purpose.
As I continue to blend my passions through Shake Up Learning, Teacher Revival, and Burnout to Blessed, I see a beautiful synergy emerging – one that supports, empowers, and uplifts. I invite you to join me in this journey of discovery, to embrace your calling, and to experience the joy of aligning your career with your faith.
Let us be bold, swiftly obedient, and open to the wonderful ways God is moving in our lives. God bless you on your career journey, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek in His divine plan.
When we look at Philippians and we try to understand what Paul is getting at when he says in 1:21 “For me to live is Christ and to die is to gain” – we see a man who has had the opposite. He has had a full and complete life. When we look later in Philippians 3 we see a bigger picture of Paul’s life.
He was a “Hebrew among Hebrews”, he was zealous in the way he tried to protect the Jewish law and culture even to the point of persecuting the Church. He was blameless in the view when you looked at his righteousness. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, one of the most respected tribes of Israel.
But he says “I count it all loss for the sake of knowing Christ” and he’s right. When we look at what we have and what we put in our life to try and fulfill it, it’s a loss when we put it to scale with Christ.
So, when Paul writes earlier in the letter saying “To live is Christ and to die is gain” – he means it. And he knows that for the sake of knowing Jesus that it is worth his life and worth all these possessions, statuses, and accomplishments Paul had previously had in his life.
So when we look at our lives in the next month, let’s think of Paul and his call to see our lives as nothing even close to comparable to knowing and sharing Jesus with others!
My absolute favorite song right now is, “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Jesus)”. I like the version by Tamesha Pruett-Ray and her sons! I listen to it multiple times a day to remind me to keep my mind where it needs to be, on Jesus!! It has led me to question what it really means to keep our minds stayed on Jesus? The definition of stayed is to remain in the same place; to not move away from or leave a place or situation. Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Who doesn’t want perfect peace? We as humans have a nature that longs for peace. Our minds are bombarded with constant attacks from the enemy, constant demands and anxieties that stem from numerous uncertainties in our daily lives. So how do we train our minds to stay fixed on God?
We have to first realize that we must take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We have the power through the help of the Holy Spirit to control our minds. We have to trust God’s character and faithfulness in our lives. He is sovereign and highly capable to guide, provide, and stand true to His promises. When we put our total trust in Him it allows us to surrender our fears,worries, and anxieties to an all-knowing, all powerful God!
We will have trials and tribulations until eternity, so we have to learn to give God control. In the midst of our trials it is hard to see what good can come from them, but in the end we can always look back and see what God did for us. He supplies us with the strength to endure whatever comes our way.
We need to be in constant communication with God. It is a vital part of the life of a christian to meditate on God’s word and seek him daily. This allows God to help us align our thoughts and concerns with His will! His word gives us the guidance and help we need to fight off the attacks of the enemy. It gives us the mindset and very character of Christ. It is good to memorize scripture so that even when you don’t have your bible you can meditate on the word.
When we give Him full control of every thought or situation in our lives it brings us peace. We will experience more joy, happiness, laughter, and we will love others like Jesus does! We can have clarity and calmness in every situation which will lead us to make wise choices and help our minds to be stayed on Jesus!!!
Doubt. Contradiction. Worry. Trials. Misfortune. These things are challenges that are presented to us frequently. Peter reminds us of this in 1 Peter 1:6: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
Oftentimes, we are faced with circumstances that seem impossible to overcome.
Let’s look at Abraham. When we first met Abraham, then Abram, he had become very wealthy in all things, but lacked a child. He and his wife, Sarai, were considerably aged, and remained barren. Even though almighty God promised Abram that his descendants would be many nations like the stars in the sky and the grains of sand. He doubted this miraculous proposition and used sinful cunning to make his own way. He and his wife decided to turn to alternate plans to bear a child, thinking they needed to assist God in His plan.
After Abram’s stumbling, the Lord remained faithful and re-established His covenant changing Abram to Abraham. He then promises the couple that Sarai, now Sarah, would bear a child in the next year and they will name him” Isaac.” By the grace of God, this promise was fulfilled just as God had foretold.
After this Abraham was totally joyful and faithful. To test Abraham’s commitment, God calls Abraham to sacrifice his only begotten son. As any rational creature would surmise, this appears to be contradictory to the promise of Isaac bringing forth many nations as how could someone be dead and produce such fruit? I think that it is reasonable to attribute this suspicion to Abraham.
Considering the fact that when he was at the foot of the mount, Abraham telling his servants that he and the boy would return leads me to believe that something greater is at play such as resurrection or just not killing Isaac. So in the face of contradiction, Abraham puts his faith in God’s word and abides.
Then came the binding of Isaac. After telling his servants a brief, Abraham went up with his son and the supplies. Isaac was puzzled at the fact that they lacked an animal to offer but Abraham informed him that God will provide a lamb for himself. They got atop the mountain meaning the time had come. Abraham bound and placed Isaac upon the altar. Abraham then readied the knife in order to sacrifice him. Suddenly, the angel of the Lord appeared, stopping him and commending him for proving his fear of God.
To hark back to Peter ”so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.“ 1 Peter 1:7
The Lord might not command you to murder your offspring, but He will call us to follow Him through the fire. We must, therefore, persist towards the Lord through pain in fear and in trembling.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It seems weird that Paul would even have to say those words, but it happens. People take sides. People get jealous and want others to fail. Think about when people get in a physical altercation and others flock to it – often videoing for pure entertainment. Think about how people throw the word “karma” around.
God, please help me to love like you even in the hard situations. The right path is often the hardest path, but that is the only one I want to take. Help me to speak the truth in love in all situations. Help me to love like Jesus. Amen.
The two go hand in hand – truly the epitome of a viscous cycle. We already talked about that fact that love is indeed patient. Love helps those short fuses grow longer. Love also keeps bitterness at bay. Remember anger isn’t a sin, but how we handle that anger potentially could be. And harboring hard and hostile feelings won’t help any situation. In fact, harboring hostile feelings is a fiery, festering furnace ready to blow at any given minute.
God, I don’t want to snap at the people I love. I don’t want to be annoyed with them, and I certainly don’t want to make them feel like they are annoying.
And if anyone had the right to be resentful it was your son Jesus. He came down from a perfect Heaven to die an unimaginable death for imperfect people. People that shamed Him, deceived Him, and still to this day deny Him.
God, help us to do better. Help us to love better. Help us to be more like you. Amen
And He knew. He knew the whole time what Judas would do. He could have said, “No, you wash my feet. I am YOUR King.”
But He didn’t.
Oh God, help me to be more like Jesus. Help me to humble myself and “wash the feet” of others instead of demanding what I think I deserve. And let me remember what I truly do deserve – and that’s death on a cross.
Arrogance. Thinking you are more important than others – maybe thinking you are the “catch”. 👀
I read it this way, “In pride we become the objects of our own life.”
God, please help us not to be that way. Help us to stay humble like Jesus. Help us to keep YOU the center of our love and our life. Help us to look around us and to truly see the people around us and their amazing qualities. Help us lift them up – not ourself.
God, as children of yours help us also to not be rude. Most of us learned manners and how to treat others from a very young age. We should care about how our words and actions affect others. As we speak, please keep that at the forefront of our thoughts and our tongues. Let us communicate in words and actions that are not crass, but that carefully portray our Savior’s attributes. Amen.
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