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.

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Click here to worship with God Who Moves the Mountains by Corey Voss

Check out this view from Beech Mountain. Thank you Ray for sharing God’s beauty with us!

I went for a walk after dinner last night. I enjoyed listening to music and watching the sun set. I stumbled across a song called Unconditional by Austin Ludwig. When I saw the title my mind automatically thought it would be about God’s unconditional love for us. In 1 Cor 13:7 NIV; “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” To my surprise it is about our unconditional hallelujah no matter what we are facing. Some of the lyrics sing;

“In the storm or the calm, I’ll sing hallelujah. Cause the way that I feel doesn’t change who you are. So HALLELUJAH UNCONDITIONAL”.

It is our earthly nature to question God on what we see. It is easy to let our hallelujah grow weary. On this Finish Friday I encourage us to keep the faith. Let’s hold on to the love that is unconditional and everlasting. We are blessed with hope when what we see or feel doesn’t make sense. So let’s hallelujah through our day!

Click Here to worship with this beautiful song.

One day last week, Psalm 103:2NIV was the verse of the day in my Bible app; “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—”. What are the benefits we have with God? I encourage you to read all of Psalm 103 to find the answer.

On this Thankful Thursday morning I will focus on how God satisfies our desires with good things. In Psalm 103:5NIV we read; “who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” The message version reads how He wraps us in goodness – eternal beauty.

Just like He satisfies the birds, he will satisfy us. Often we to turn to the world to satisfy our needs first which can quickly make us grow weary. Let’s not forget the benefit of being a child of God. We can turn to God every day with praise on our lips and requests on our hearts. He listens. He cares. He satisfies. He renews.

I challenge us all today. When we see a bird, take a moment to thank God and give him praise for all His benefits.

In Sunday’s sermon message, our Pastor said; we don’t have to reach thousands to be involved in missions. What is our interpretation of missions? Leaving everything behind and going to another country? No, missions is simply an important assignment carried out that may involve travel and crossing boundaries.

Our Pastor reminded us of this sign that we see when leaving our church parking lot (traveling, crossing boundaries), which says; you are now entering the mission field. In John 17:18 NIV, Jesus said; “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” As Christian’s our mission in the world can be our job, a neighbor, or even a stranger at the grocery store.

It is also important to remember that our mission isn’t always going to be the cleanest or the prettiest task. We may not need to travel far but we certainly may need to travel outside the boundaries of our comfort zone. Jesus also said in Matthew 25:40 NIV, ““The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

On this Water Walking Wednesday I encourage us all to keep our eyes open for a mission we can do today. I am sure we will all cross at least one boundary. If we are stationary that may be a phone call. If we are physically able, that may be an encounter by making a trip to the grocery store. You will be amazed at the small missions we can do everyday.

As we are fast approaching half way through 2022, I have been revisiting my Word of the year. This year I actually have a word, mantra, and prayer. My mantra, Live For Today has been a great reminder on this Transformation Tips Tuesday. If we don’t surrender today, tomorrow will hold us in chains. If we don’t surrender our best laid plans, our control may become out of control.

I recently saw a picture on Facebook that read, “Forgive me for picking back up what I’ve already laid down at your feet”. How often do we do that? We say I surrender but it still consumes our thoughts which then snowballs into our productivity. How productive can we be if we keep picking things back up?

Like this verse from Romana 15:13 NIV, I pray that God floods our minds with joy and peace as we choose to live for today! “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Click here for My Word of the Year blog