Quality Time
My love language is quality time. So, I feel loved when someone gives me their undivided attention and time. According to Gary Chapman, there are five love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. When I first started dating my husband, I felt it was important for us to know each other's love language. We both felt it was important to understand that we are individuals first that were raised in different households coming together to try to get this love thing right. I needed him to understand that for me, the most valuable thing he could give me was his time. I'm an only child, so not just time, but quality time. Quality time means no distractions. It means no cell phones when we're having a conversation. It means doing things together, even if it's going to the grocery store or running errands. One of the top three reasons people fail at relationships is due to lack of communication. No matter what stage you are at in your relationship, marriage, or friendship its important to know how your loved one gives and receives love.
Feel free to take the love assessment below:
http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/
Quicken
quick·en (ˈkwikən) verb
make or become faster or quicker.
spring to life; become animated.
Sometimes, our lives need to shaken up. Sometimes, we need to be a little uncomfortable. Sometimes, we need to be quickened. We need to be resurrected from our pain and our suffering. We need to be resurrected from our doubt and unbelief. We need new life. We need new perspective. We need newness. The book of Psalms encourages us to ask God to quicken our souls towards God's righteousness and lovingkindness.
Qualified
qual·i·fied (ˈkwäləˌfīd) adjective
officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job; certified.
not complete or absolute; limited.
Moses stuttered. Noah was a drunk. Abraham was old. Jacob was a trickster. Gideon was scared. Rahab was a prostitute. David was an adulterer. Jonah ran from God. Naomi was a widow. Peter denied Christ. Martha was a worrier. Paul was a murderer. Lazarus was dead. God can use anything and anyone. If there is a calling on your life and a strong desire in your heart, then God will do the rest. Your finances and education are irrelevant to God's plans. Your circumstances don't matter either. "God does not call the qualified he qualifies the called."
The Program
Get with the program! I know that sometimes order and discipline can be hard, but your purpose is tied to your obedience. You have to do something. You can't continue to be complacent. You are bigger than this, and God is bigger than your circumstance. Write the vision. Don't worry about things outside of your control. There will always be obstacles. Look for the opportunities. Look for the open doors. Stop making excuses and get with the program!
Process
Trust the process! We hear this all the time, but its hard to trust the process when you don't trust the processor. God is the processor. He is the one who is ultimately in control. It's easy to acknowledge God as creator, supplier, and healer because all those roles benefit us. However, it can be difficult to acknowledge God as a processor. A processor by definition is responsible for executing a sequence of stored instructions called a program. There is a plan for your life that was established before your creation. God designed your program. He is the executor, all you have to do is trust the process.
Pull the Weeds Up!!
I never thought a Saturday morning of yard work would be so profound. Let's get this straight. I have allergies. I don't do outside. I don't do bugs. I don't do dirt, and I'm not a fan of heat.
I'm not completely new to yard work, but let's just say it's been a while. I used to help my grandfather in his garden in exchange for playing in the sprinklers afterward.
So, here I am with my face mask, gloves, and hoe... and God starts to speak.
My grandfather always told me:
1. Pull the weeds up straight.
2. Make sure you pull the roots up.
3. Use the hoe to help you.
4. Repeat.
Pull the weeds up straight.
Lesson: So, you have to get the whole weed not just what's visible. Weeds have strong roots. What you see on the surface is only a tiny bit of what's happening underground. If you just pick what you see, you're not really dealing with the issue only what's visible. Go deep!
Make sure you pull the roots up.
Lesson: Get to the root. Take the time. Do the work. Put in the sweat equity. Don't let those roots stay in the ground. They will produce and multiply and overrun your garden. They will choke out your plants and whatever else you are trying to grow.
Sidenote: Some weeds look like grass and you can't tell the difference until you pull it out and see the root.
Sidenote 2: Be careful about who you keep close. Some of them are weeds. Their sole purpose is to grow with you to ultimately hinder you. All weeds don't stifle growth, some just stifle your maturity.
Matthew 13:24-30 The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
Use the hoe to help you.
My Native New Orleanian is screaming, "there are some hoes in your life who can help you." Cue my organ.
See Joshua 2 Rahab and the Spies. (Rahab was instrumental in God's plan for the Battle of Jericho)
Lesson: There are people in your life who have learned the lesson....the hard way so, you don't have to!!! Glean from their experience and understanding.
Sidenote: A hoe is a garden tool. Its sole purpose is to be used. I'll stop right there.
Repeat
Lesson: You can't just stop because you pulled up one weed. There's more. Gardening is messy work. Your hands will get dirty. It requires strength. It's uncomfortable. It's a process, but the results are worth it.
Pull the weeds up from the garden of your heart. Get to the root. Use the tools that God has given you and ask for help if you need it. Pull the weeds up!!!
Overtaken
What does it look like when blessings overtake you? Is it like The Wizard of Oz when the tornado swept Dorothy up? Is it like a storm surge? Is it like a surfer that wipes out on a wave? Is it utter chaos followed by bliss? Imagine what it must feel like to truly be blessed. Now, realize that you are blessed. You are blessed in the city. You are blessed in the field. Your children are blessed. Your home is blessed. Your job is blessed. You are overtaken by blessings every day. You woke up. You had a roof over your head, food to eat, and clothes on your back. You made it to and from wherever you went without any bodily harm. Your enemies scattered. Your friends gathered. God is with you. You are overtaken by God's grace and mercy every morning. You are overtaken by God's promises daily.
Deuteronomy 28:1-8 (KJV)
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.