Monday mornings can be hard. After a fun filled or relaxing weekend, Mondays can be hard to roll out of bed and get moving for our week. Whether you are working, retired, in school, or working in your home, you have a goal. Take a few minutes to think about your goal or goals.

Have you been caught up in the hustle and bustle of life so much that your goal has become off center? Has your goal become crooked?

Often we need to re-focus on “the big picture” or goal we are working towards. How do we straighten our goal? We must take the time to be intentional about our focus. Here are some steps I find helpful.

1) Pray: Re-focus by spending some time in prayer. Ask God to guide and direct you. Clarify your focus and commit your goal to God.

2) Write down your goal: Putting your goal in writing helps you see in black and white what you are working towards. If you write your goal in a place you see often, you will be reminded of your goal and feel more accountable.

3) List steps or smaller goals to help you achieve your goal. Most big goals are accomplished through many smaller goals. List the smaller goals that will need to be met to reach your bigger goal.

4) Find a Scripture or phrase that is motivating. If you don’t already have a Scripture that helps to keep you focused and motivates you, do a Google search for scriptures that pertain to your goal. Write down the one scripture that resonates with you and place it in a prominent place.

5) Commit your work to the Lord. Whatever the goal is, commit your steps, your work, and the goal to God.

As you start this Mindset Monday, allow God to help you straighten your goal. Let the Holy Spirit lead you in the steps ahead and give God the glory as you move closer to the goal line with each step.

Look at the large tree root in this image captured by Ray White. Look at all the life around the root. Not only is the tree living and standing strong but also moss and ferns are growing on and around the root.

On this Spiritual Sunday, let’s examine our spiritual roots. The dictionary defines root as “the part of the plant which attaches it to the ground or to a support, typically underground, conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches and fibers”.

This morning I ask, where and to who is your root attached? What has you grounded? What holds you down? Does your root system convey life giving water and nourishment to you? The Bible tells us where and to whom we should be rooted.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On this Spiritual Sunday, examine your roots. Are you grounded in your faith in Jesus? Are you allowing Jesus to nourish, establish and strengthen you? Spend time in worship today “overflowing with thankfulness” to Jesus Christ for His love, strength, guidance and support.

Click here to watch today’s See You Saturday video and hear an example of an u expected blessing from God.

Imagine my surprise when one day as while I was taking an afternoon walk in my neighborhood, low and behold I saw dinosaurs in the yard of a house I was passing! Zoom in and see in the picture! What an unexpected sight! Seriously! Who has dinosaurs in their yard?!? It turns out the homeowners have the dinosaur replicas in their yard because their grandchildren like dinosaurs. Can you imagine how excited the children were when they first saw the dinosaurs? Do you think the dinosaurs were an unexpected blessing? Do you think the homeowners were delighted to give the grandchildren an unexpected gift?

Let’s Finish Friday continuing to look for God winking at you. Today I want you to look for the unexpected. Can you imagine how much God wants to give you an unexpected blessing? Do you think God delights in surprising you with the unexpected? Be on the lookout for the unexpected. Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t blink because you just might see a dinosaur!

Good Thankful Thursday morning! Have you seen God this week? Have you been looking for Him? Have you been open to Godwinks?

Often we wake up with praise on our lips. We spend some quiet time in prayer and devotion and then go about our busy day, move from one task to the other, and then fall into bed exhausted at the end of the day. Are we continually looking for God’s goodness throughout our day? Are we praising God from sunrise to sunset?

This Thankful Thursday let’s be intentional about our praise. Even if you have to set alarms for every few hours throughout your day, take mini breaks today to stop what you’re doing and give thanksgiving. During those moments look, listen and be open to God’s presence around you and give praise.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬

Have you been looking for Godwinks this week? Where have you seen them? Was it in likely places or did they catch you by surprise?

The picture today is of a sign that was in an Airbnb house our family stayed in a couple weeks ago. It was a Godwink for me and by chance that I saw the sign…or was it? If you know me well you know that I have gained a good deal of weight over the last couple years. It has been a struggle. In the beginning of 2022 I felt convicted by today’s scripture.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My friend and I both felt we needed to make a change. We dabbled with change by leading a Health Challenge at church and even encouraged everyone to buy and read a book titled, “I’ll Start Again Monday” by Lisa Terkeurst. I bought the book myself, but I never read it. Lots of good that did! Over the next several months I continued to struggle with direction. Finally, I opened the book and read it. Wow! My mindset began to change! At the end of March-beginning of April I finally bit the bullet and got in gear at making healthy lifestyle changes, off habit at a time. My friend and I have been diligent about walking together and holding one another accountable. I call our time together our “walk and talk” because during that time, not only do we discuss our healthy habits/plan, but we also share our ups and downs of life.

So, in early June when we were leaving the Airbnb, I did a final walkthrough to be sure we had all our belongings and we’re leaving the home in order, I walked into the bathroom my children had used for the weekend and there was this sign: “Nothing changes…if nothing changes.” These words were a Godwink for me because I had recently chosen a face for my Apple Watch that is of various butterflies. Each time I lift my arm a different butterfly appears with its wings flapping. I chose this watch face to remind me of the phrase, “without change there would be no butterflies.”

Reading the book helped me change my mindset. Changing my mindset helped me change my habits. Changing my habits is helping me prepare my body as “a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” one small change at a time.

What about you on this Water Walking Wednesday? Has God convicted you about a change to make in your life? Have you been afraid to take the first step? Today I encourage you to continue to listen, continue to be open, continue to look for Godwinks. If there is a change God is calling you to, be ready and willing. Open the book!

I have always wondered how anyone could really look at God’s creations and not believe in Him. Look closely at the picture of flowers. Zoom in on the intricate details. How marvelous! That is just a flower. Now think about the miracle of human life.

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8:1-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This week I have asked you to look for Godwinks and notice God’s presence around you. On this Transformation Tips Tuesday I encourage you to pause. Close your eyes. Be aware of yourself and your surroundings. Notice your breathing in and out. Imagine all the systems in your body working together; circulatory system, nervous system, digestive system, etc. Maybe even take a few moments to Google the various systems of the human body. What a miracle that all of these systems work together as we go about our day. You and I are pretty much mindless of that miracle as it is happening. Today be intentional about your mindfulness. Be aware of the miracle of life. Be present. Take moments throughout the day to declare;

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬