The Right Words at the Right Time

God always has great timing.

This past Sunday, my pastor, Joel at Life Church West Monroe, gave a great message called God 1st Career. It's part of his series, God 1st.

We should all strive to put God first, in everything we do. In our marriage, parenting and even our career. Not too long I went through something that taught me this lesson the hard way.

A few years ago I had a pretty good job. I was good at it too. But I let some things get in the way. I did not have a God 1st attitude. I had a ME 1st attitude. And let me tell you, that can stink up a place quicker than anything.

I had worked at the same place for a while. I had been there longer than alot of other folks in my department. People depended on me more than others. And I didn't let them down. It's not in my nature. If something needs to get done, I do it. And being the perfectionist that I am, I generally do it right or don't stop trying until I get there.

Basically it got to the point where I of course thought that I wasn't being paid my worth. Underpaid and overworked right? Well, that was my attitude. That and a whole lot more. I began thinking that I should be running things. Pastor Joel quoted this verse:

"Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance." Colossians 3:22

Well, I always did what I was told. And I always did my best. But I did not work from my heart for God. I worked for myself and what I thought was owed to me. I didn't respect the authority of my supervisor. I will admit that. I was . . . . .wrong. Yes I said it. (Man is that hard sometimes.)

Anyway, I got so full of myself and thought that I wasn't valued and that I needed to find that value elsewhere. So I quit. I found myself another job with a big pay raise, no weekends, off every day by 5 pm. My success didn't depend on an entire group of people doing or not doing their jobs. Just me. All me.

Finally, I would be rewarded for all of my hard work, for all of my great talents. Or so I thought.

But guess what. I was wrong. I failed and failed miserably. For 4 months, I worked at a job where I had no successes. Now, you must know how hard this is for me to admit. I don't accept defeat. I just don't. But I can tell you that this time, there was no escaping it. I had never performed so badly at something before in my life. I am going to stop now for 2 reasons. One because I think you get the picture and two because I'm bringing myself down a bit just thinking about it.

God revealed some things to me. And Pastor Joel reiterated this past Sunday. One was that your mission is much bigger than your career. I feel it in my heart that my mission is public service. I have a plan and my new job took me in a whole different direction. It had nothing to do with my purpose.

The other thing that I learned was that I had to keep faith. God was testing my faithfulness. Seeing if I would trust in him or try to take matters in my own hands. I have learned that when you take matters into your own hands, for example, quitting a job for a new one that seems to be perfect, you really make a big mess of everything. I mean a big ol' ugly cry in your car in the parking lot of a doctor's office before you go in only to have the window shut in your face mess.

And lastly, I learned that no matter how bad I think it is, it can be far worse. I went from being the best to being the absolute worst. It took me 4 months to own up to the fact that I was wrong. It took me 4 months to admit to myself that I leaned on my own understanding instead of leaning on God.

And when I admitted that, and when I took all of my angst, all of my heartbreak, all of my failures, and laid them at God's feet, that's when he rescued me.

I now have a job that God made for me. I am able to do things that will lead me down a road to fulfill my purpose. I work with great people and get to go to amazing places.

But it's funny how the devil tries to creep back in. Oh, he remembers your hurts and your mistakes.

Lately, I have been feeling a little off at work. I have noticed things that used to, would have set me off. And for a moment, I let things get to me. I will admit, I put my guard down a little.

Anyway, Pastor's words were right on Sunday. Just the recap that I needed and amazingly, just the right time. So for those of you who were in the same service, put God 1st in your career. Don't go it alone. It works out so much better if you follow him.

And if you weren't in that service, check it out at www.lifechurchwestmonroe.com. It's a great message with alot of truth.

So thanks for reading the whole thing. I didn't mean to write so much, but once you get me started, it's hard to make me stop.

Good night all.

Joy

Just a quick thought.

Joy. Such a little word, but it's such a great thing. I looked up joy in the dictionary. Joy is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. What could be more exceptionally good or satisfying than God. I looked up joy in a Bible index, and the word is sprinkled throughout the Old and New Testaments. God gave joy, people worshipped with joy and took joy in the blessings of God. But it all came from one place-God.

I don't have to go very far to be reminded of what joy looks like. My son, Jackson, is as joyful as they come. This verse:

"A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart. . ."Proverbs 15:30

reminds me so much of him. He always has a twinkle in his eye. Take a look at this and tell me you don't see joy-

The devil works round the clock to steal our joy. He works very hard, but uses the simplest of tactics. It could simply be a person cutting you off on your way to work or someone at work could say something that ruffles your feathers. The devil knows what he's doing. He knows what gets under our skin. And he uses it relentlessly.

So the next time you feel your joy slipping away, take a second. Stop and tell the devil and yourself that he cannot get you down. Smile, laugh, do whatever you have to.

God gave us joy-it's up to us to hold on to it.

Happy Birthday Chloe Grace

Happy Birthday to my beautiful niece-Chloe Grace! Turning One is so much Fun!!

Well Here Goes

Most of the people who know me will tell you that I tend to be a little over-dramatic. What can I say. My name is Sheila and I'm a Drama Queen. But its all in good fun. At least for those around me. I also fancy myself as some sort of celebrity-at least in my own mind. At our last small group meeting, the question was raised-if your spouse could have their dream job, what would it be? Immediately, my husband answered "Movie Star". Or politician. And he was so right. I often go through my day as if it were a movie and I was playing the starring role. That's not far from the truth if you think about it. Aren't we all the stars in our own lives?

How about I introduce some of my fellow players in the production that is my life?

This is my leading man, my husband Jimmy. Good-looking isn't he? He is a great husband and father. He is a Marriage and Family Therapist and has a gift for helping people.

Next is Jackson, our oldest. Well he's only 3. He is quite the little entertainer. (I don't know where he gets it.)

And here is our newest addition. Anne Marie. Isn't she just the most beautiful baby girl you have ever seen. I think so.

Well, I think this about wraps it up. This is my first post on this blog. I think it went rather well. (Amy-I hope you are pleased.) My goals for this blog are to entertain and inspire you all. Oh and of course-to bring about World Peace. (It's not a beauty pageant. It's a scholarhip program.)