Without the right motive, whatever it is that we are doing quickly becomes a burden and we fall away.

How much of what we do is a reaction to life, rather than a response to the Life in me?

Who I am

In my quest to stay consciously connected to the Lord continually, I am finding who I am. It's interesting that Jesus said "those who wish to find life, must lose their lives".

In this world of knowledge and the quest of discovering self and finding purpose, we are ignoring the ONE who gave us life and knows us intimately well. The harder we are try in ourselves to find our life and our purpose the farther we get away from the "Life" that we were created for and so long to have.

God created me/us. I/we were created in His image. I believe this, and am discovering that the more that I know God, the more I know myself. So instead of trying to get to know who I am, it is through knowing God more intimately every day that I am seeing myself and how He created me. He shows me who I am in Him, and who He is growing me to be. It is here that I am finding true life. Life is in Him and through Him. He is the giver and author of life...my life...and I am continuing to find me and my life day by day in HIM, in our time together, and through His life in me.

HOW do I consciously surrender on a daily basis?

Honest

Open minded

Willing

Am I honest, open minded and willing? All of these qualities are important to change.... am honest that I don't know all the answers and that I can't change on my own? am I open minded to taking instruction, learning from and following another? and am I willing to do whatever it takes to line my life up to discipline myself and be accountable?

At this time of year when we are anxious to begin afresh and achieve new goals in our lives, we look back and survey the last year to learn from our mistakes and purpose to do better. What if better comes not from trying but from surrendering?

Conscious Surrender

The discipline that has brought the largest change in my life, has been learning to devote my first hour or hours of the day to meet with Almighty God. To sit in His presence and practice letting myself go into HIS hands. I practice surrender here, and look to see His face, to hear His voice and His love and grace for me. It is in this first hours of my day that I am sure of who I am in Him, and sure of His love and acceptance of me. My purpose of these times is to lay down my life in His hands, to see and meet with Him.

How this has changed my life? I long for that time with Him each night before I fall asleep, anxious for that first morning hour. It is our special time, where He speaks to me, where He leads me, where I study of Him, where I am safe and perfectly loved and accepted. It is through those times that I am changed, strengthened and encouraged through the power that He supplies through the living Christ and the Holy Spirit.

I have found that whatever God tells me to do, that He also supplies the power to do it. It is in those moments of just He and I that I am most changed through His word and the power of the Spirit, supplied with the strength to face whatever the day may hold.

It is through surrender to Him that my life and purpose has been found. "Conscious Surrender" every morning of myself to the triune GOD, to be used for His purpose.

Little things count

I am painting my bathroom, and while I love things to look good, I find that I get impatient with the time that it takes to make it perfect, thus I begin looking for ways to cut corners to get it done. I am finding in my quest for a more diligent self disciplined life that I cut corners a lot. I am finding that it takes tons of discipline on my part to finish something once I lose interest or maybe another fun thing comes along. The "new shiny thing" whatever it is, catches my eye and I am distracted and going in a new direction. I have been in the process of learning to be more disciplined for years and rarely does anyone notice that I am falling away from something, but I know it to be true....it's in the little things that I am trying to cut corners...those details that you would not see unless you look super close. Little things DO make a difference. Many undone little things add up to big things, and those big things will overtake you. Every little thing that I do not do, that I know I need to do, or should do, zaps me of much needed energy for other things in my life.

I want my integrity to be solid and my life disciplined as unto the Lord to bring Him glory no matter what I do, especially in those things that no one else sees.....The real character of a man is determined not by what he does when others are looking but what he does when no one is looking.

You can't move forward while you are holding on to the past.

I will to do the right thing, but I end up doing what I do not want to do. I love Romans 7 in that it addresses that we inside ourselves want to do one thing, and yet we end up doing the very thing that we did not want to do. As we come up to New Years and new beginnings, and struggle with the lack of self discipline through the Christmas season of food and more food, I find that I am willing myself not to each so much and to keep with my exercise program, only to end up eating too much and not getting in a good work out. What? what is going on in me? Do you feel as though you are white knuckling it through the season instead of enjoying it all. What is wrong?

Ask yourself.... What is keeping me from doing what I desire to do and disciplining myself the way I usually do?

Disciplines go out the window when we do not make time for them and keep them in the proper priority. Why are you doing what you are doing in the first place? What is motivating you today?

Make one change that will make room again to keep one of your disciplines. What will that change be?