Learning From the Eagle

 

Today a dear friend of mine shared with me something her pastor preached about some time ago.    I was intrigued about the eagle who recognized that it needed a change and endured the difficult, painful process of plucking it’s feathers and staying out-of-sight for a few months before re-emerging with new plumage. Change though difficult is oftentimes necessary.

 

I hope you enjoy this reading.

From All and For All

PRINCIPLE 1

Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or other small birds. No other bird can got to the height of the eagle. Stay away from sparrows and ravens.

Eagles fly with Eagles

PRINCIPLE 2

Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites his prey, he narrows his focus on it and set out to get it. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.

PRINCIPLE 3

Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey. Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not.

Be careful with what you feed your eyes and ears with, especially in movies and on TV. Steer clear of outdated…

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Never Give Up (Part 4) Mental Toughness Required

Lately I have been thinking about the scripture that states:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)

³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

In the King James translation of the Scripture, the arguments and pretensions, mentioned in the verses above are referred to as vain imaginations. From what I understand, these are thoughts that are bad, and torture the mind.  In order to develop a sense of determination and get passed the harsh things in life, we have to be mentally tough.

I remember having a challenge with my finances and I went from a careless, money-making, lofty spending, freely giving person to being broke without a job. I had many demands on my life financially and only started to really understand more about being responsible when I lost a stable source of income. Part of it came after a desire to go back to school full time as well. Some debt went to collection agents and I’m not sure if you know how frustrating it is to have them call all the time. I hid my deficits from friends and family and also came to the point where I would ignore phone calls. Big mistakes In that period of being irresponsible, I focused on what I didn’t have. I imagined that people would think less of me if they knew. I thought that picking up those phone calls only meant more badgering for money I did not have. In my heart I was sinking and didn’t know how to get out.

As I prayed about the trouble I was facing, I not only asked God for a miracle but also for wisdom on how to deal with the financial crisis. I came to a point of realizing that I could not make it on my own and I was tired of being ashamed. As my prayers were answered, he showed me how to be resourceful in hobbies that I could do and charge a fee for to help. He provided me with a great full time job that aligns with my career goals and even though I’m not at the point of being able to do everything that I would like, he has removed the same and taught me to be more responsible. I am a hard working individual and I am glad to know that as I work, God is still the main source of my provisions. i can hold my head up high and apply the truth of what I have learned from scripture to become a good financial steward.

Some times asking for help (from God and others) is the best thing for us but our “imagination” of something bad happening causes us to delay doing something about it.  I reflected on my earlier responses to my financial woes and  I realized that being mentally tough was important ; it could only be obtained through studying God’s word and meditating on it. Vain imaginations come in when we dwell on things we know nothing about in our mind. We entertain thoughts that lead our decision making and it is hard to make good decisions when we are burdened down with stress and grief. Let me say this: our circumstances should serve us, we should not be serving them. Hard times should not cause us to be dishonest, cowardly, or irresponsible but rather they are opportunities to prove God’s Word of truth in our lives. They are opportunities to build character.

Don’t crumble or entertain thoughts that push you over the edge.

Instead, here is something that helped me to develop mental toughness :

Philippians 4:6-8

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Be blessed today. I pray that whatever crosses you mind will be filtered by the Holy Spirit and that God will strengthen you to reject bad thoughts. If you are in need of prayer, please feel free to send me a message. Also, you are welcomed to leave your comments or questions on this page.

Take care!

Never Give Up (Part 3)

It has been quite some time since my last post and I cannot even begin to tell you all things that have happened along the journey since then…

As I think more and more about the challenges that we face in our daily lives, I consider how they shape our views on life. I have also been thinking that they impact the way we view ourselves. I have had the privileged of sharing so much with people from many walks of life. Although our circumstances many have been common or uncommon, one thing that was consistent – the people who decided not to give up on themselves used their experiences to become stronger and better.

My encouragement to you today is “never give up on yourself”.

There was a point in my life when I became overwhelmed and thought that my life was of very little value. Instead of making choices to view my obstacles as stepping stones, I would convince myself that failure and disappointment was proof of my inability and believed that  “you are just not cut out for____________(fill in the blank)”.  I would rehearse this in my mind over and over again like a bad song with a catchy melody. While reflecting on how this thought pattern developed, I have come to the understanding that I was completely self-reliant and fearful. I hated making mistakes and feared public embarrassment. Anyone else share those same thoughts?

It’s one thing to have others doubt you but self-doubt is the real threat.

Today, it’s time to fight back with God’s promises as your guide.

One verse that we can commit to memory is :

Luke 18:27 (KJV)

²⁷ And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Think of the motivational speaker Nick Vujiic. He travels the world sharing the Good News of Christ. He lives a full life and did not let a disability stop him from pursing His dreams. Being a person without legs and arms has, in my opinion been the most attractive aspect of his story. I am amazed at how much he does. He doesn’t have hands and so he writes with his mouth. He swims, surfs and the list goes on. For more about his story, check out his site at : http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/about-nick/

I have come to realize that when our minds accept limited perspectives, we become miserable and settle for less than purpose driven lives.

Don’t let past failures or limitations change your view of how God sees you. Don’t think poorly of yourself because of mistakes or missed opportunities; use them as a platform for learning. Exercise the faith that, with God, anything is possible. Don’t be afraid to believe and live like you do! There are very practical and spiritual ways to recover. Your recovery is a part of the grace experience…It is when God shows you that His strength is perfect if your weaknesses and there are so many things in life that He wants to do for you. Don’t be so hard on yourself.

I am resolved to believe God is able to help me in every aspect of my life; in my love life, in my career and educational pursuits, in ministry and in my finances. In some cases I believed I messed up so bad – or others just had it better than me…Neither belief is true. Nothing can outweigh the truth that “with God, all things are possible”.

Will you believe with me?

What areas of your life have you shied away from because of self-reliance?

What will you differently, believing that all things are possible with God?

As always, I am looking forward to hearing from you. Please share your thoughts and if you have any prayer requests, feel free to send them. I will trust that our Lord hears the petitions of your heart and desires more than anything to help you.

Until the next post, God bless you!