Bono with Bill Hybels

saw this off the i-heart blog... Bono gives a heap of great insight- i never knew he was so spiritual or wise! (sorry Bono!)

but it's so true what he said- "don't ask God to bless what you're doing- find out what God is doing cos it is already blessed!"

i want to get on board with what God is doing in 2010 in our church and in Judah 4!

stepping into 2010: seize God opportunities

wow! 2009 is drawing to a close and we're on the verge of entering 2010 :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Almost exactly a year ago I remember having a conversation/shepherding lesson with some girls I was doing life with. We were talking about what our regrets were in 2008.

And interestingly enough, our biggest regrets were not the things we had done WRONG but the things we had NOT DONE. It was the missed God-opportunities.

It was the excuses we'd made, the fears we'd allowed to hold us back, the inconveniences that we'd found too inconvenient to make us move out of our comfort zones!

This year looking back... I've found that it is the same.

There may have been times where I'd made a complete fool of myself, where I'd made the biggest mess up of things, done or said things that I regret... we all wish we could hit the rewind button or turn back time and do things differently.

But what's funny is that those experiences don't weigh as heavy on my heart as the times where God had SAID something to me, OPENED doors for me, PROMPTED me on something... and due to fear, laziness, selfishness, greed... I'd not done those things or even TRIED.

very recently I almost missed one of those God opportunities.

i almost missed out the chance to help someone in need (which i know will lead to more open doors into that person's life) and i'm not proud to say, what would have been my excuse if i'd not helped?

i was actually selfishly telling myself that i didn't really want to have a conversation with that person, because it would take too much of my time and energy. how ironic is it that i was busy planning how i could grow in God in 2010?? (well here's an opportunity to start now! God must have been saying)

thank God i heeded the Holy Spirit's prompting in my heart! or else i would seriously have regretted it the rest of 2010, which hasn't even started!!!

I really think it is something God is speaking (or SHOUTING to get my attention!) to me about before 2010 comes.

This is what I read last night before I went to bed (you know those times when you read something and you feel like it was written just for you just at the right time??)

"...I think our deepest regrets are missed opportunities. Action regrets taste bad, but inaction regrets leave a bitter aftertaste that lasts a lifetime. Inaction regrets haunt us because they leave us asking, "What if?" We wonder how our lives would have been different had we taken the risk or seized the opportunity.

Failing to take a risk is almost like losing a piece of the jigsaw puzzle of your life. It leaves a gaping hole. When we get to the end of our lives, our greatest regrets will be the missing pieces."


You know, I believe without a doubt God is sovereign and so He uses EVERY single experience, circumstance, every single day and moment for His plan in our lives. So whether there are regrets that we may have- it's not too late and you don't have to beat yourself up over it. God still can use every regret and missed opportunity for His plan in your life. God is a God of second chances and He is master at connecting the dots in ways we cannot understand!



So leave the past behind us, leave 2009 behind us and let me say exactly the same thing I said to those girls almost a year ago: let us seize every God ordained opportunity in 2010.

So make the decision in your heart now, and write it down somewhere, make it part of your new years' resolutions, post it on your wall!

Determine before God that you will NOT let any fear, any doubt, any inconvenience, any laziness, any selfishness hold you back when God speaks, prompts, opens that door.

i know sometimes we want to stick to schedules, plans and what is convenient. (personally being almost a control freak i LOVE it!)

But something that i have come to realize as I've allowed God to throw me in all sorts of situations over the years: the best memories, most unforgettable experiences are the ones we DIDN'T plan.

They're the ones we went out on a limb on, took a risk, followed the Holy Spirit's leading, or sometimes for our own good God left us without a choice.

And usually these are the ones we remember forever, and changed us forever.

So as you look forward to and seek God about 2010:
make those plans yes! but remember to leave some room, plan for the unplannable, be flexible, be courageous. walk in step with the Holy Spirit.

Have faith: embracing uncertainty. so in the new year let's together embrace the uncertainties and the opportunities even when they are out of your comfort zone, confronting your deepest fears, and inconvenient, and see how God will move far beyond what we can ever dream or imagine.

i know that's going to be one of my new year's resolutions :)


oh and if you need any motivation... watch that clip from "Facing the Giants"!

in order to fly

mel sent me this story... i love it! it's SO true. was just talking to God about difficulties in life today and once again i'm so grateful for opportunities to grow in strength, wisdom, love... God is so good, and so wise. :)

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength......... And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom......... And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity......... And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage......... And God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love......... And God gave me troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors......... And God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted........ I received everything I needed!

Trust in God. Always!