I Choose Today...

I Choose Today: Wisdom in the Pause

A few days ago, I was listening to a friend retell about a situation she had at work. It was a conversation she was having with a coworker and it had all the makings of a coming conflict. When she made the statement, “I paused before I responded,” it was like the Holy Spirit said to me, “there is wisdom in the pause.” Think about it, today’s society tends to speak hastily, causing conflict and wreaking havoc in the workplace, public, churches, and families. We speak hastily from our own understanding and wisdom, as well as throwing in some of our own hangups and anxieties. King Solomon, the wisest person to ever live outside of Jesus, knew this principle all to well when he warns us, “Do you see a [conceited] man who speaks quickly [hastily] [offering his opinions or answering without thinking]? There is more hope for a [thickheaded] fool than for him.” Proverbs‬ ‭29‬:‭20‬ ‭AMP‬‬ (emphasis added) Basically he is saying it is better to be someone who is silly or stupid; a person who lacks judgement and sense, than to be a person who speaks hastily. We have all been guilty of it, haven’t we?  Giving our

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I Choose Today to Talk About Everything

Not too long ago, some friends and I were sitting around talking when the topic of prayer came up. What do you pray for? How do you pray? Who do you pray for? What do you say? Then, how do you listen? There were some interesting conversations that came from these prompting questions. Over the next couple of blogs, we will discover what God’s Word says about these questions. And we will dive into how God speaks to us in response. The first of which is: what do you pray for? So, what do you pray for? Do you only pray when your circumstances in life are overwhelming, hard, and/or challenging all the solutions you come up with? Or perhaps it is when an emergency or illness arises, and there is no earthly way the issue can be solved and needs heavenly intervention. What about simple things like where to invest or spend your money? What about which job you should take or if you should change jobs? How about what you should say to your spouse, kids, or co-worker in response to a situation, whether good or bad? How about praying for how you should spend your day? All

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I Choose Today to Look for the God Who Sees Me

Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t feel there will be a good outcome or a way out? Maybe you feel alone and you don’t have any support? Well, that is exactly how Hagar felt so she ran away from her situation. But she found herself in the wilderness, feeling completely alone… but was she? Nope! God saw her! ”Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” Genesis‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬a ‭NLT‬‬ He saw her mess (that she helped make), her distress, her isolation. Even though she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, God met her where she was! Hagar also recognized God. Hagar was an Egyptian. Her culture had many Gods. But being in Abraham’s household, she knew about his God, the one true God. And He was showing Himself to her, a lowly servant girl, who has made a mess of things. She recognized He was showing up for her; with compassion and understanding! “She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?”“ Genesis‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬b ‭NLT‬‬ (Emphasis added from AMP)

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I Choose Today to Wait

There is purpose in the waiting; there is purpose in the pain. There is an expression “it will be worth the wait.” Well, God ALWAYS shows us that His timing is worth the wait. The account of what happened when Lazarus dies (falls asleep) (John 11:1-44) shows us so much about Jesus and the power He has over death. He wanted to illustrate a point; He wanted to show the people (of the time and all those since) that He alone has the power and was sent to conquer death. It showed His divinity. But He also showed His humanity and love by having compassion for His friends’ pain. Which by weeping with them, showing compassion for them, comforting them, He illustrated how He would do the same for us. He was showing us how He responds to our pain. It seems to me that it is easy for us to understand that Jesus conquered death and that He is compassionate and understands our pain. But the waiting? We don’t get it. Am I on target or am I the only one who has a hard time understanding it? Just as Jesus was illustrating a point of His power over

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