Are you giving God your best?

A short time ago, the Lord asked me this exact question.  “Are you giving Me your best Abby?  Is this really all you can give me?”  I knew in my heart that I wasn’t truly giving God my very best.  I was making excuses and justifying my efforts.  Now before we go any further, this is not a time to be hard on yourself or to bring about a lot of guilt.  This is a time to really evaluate if you feel in your heart, you are giving God your best.  Be honest with yourself. Think about the list below and ask yourself, am I giving God my best…

• with the gifts and talents He has given me to be used for His glory.
• in the way I respond to my spouse, children, parents, boss, co workers, etc.
• in my attitude about my job He has blessed me with
• in submitting to my husband
• in raising my children
• in my marriage
• in my tithes and offering
• as a disciple for Christ
• to Be Love & Give Love to all I see

This list could go on and on.  I am understanding more and more that my job is to give God my very best and leave the rest up to Him.  I encourage you to watch this short powerful video.  I pray that as you watch, the Holy Spirit will move into your heart and ignite something in you that only He can.  Let’s commit to giving God our very best.

The Death Crawl Scene in the movie Facing the Giants

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Be Love, Give Love

Abby

Please allow me to share part of my journey when God truly began to reveal to me the importance of forgiving myself, asking for forgiveness and forgiving others.

My Journey

Once I recognized the destruction in my life, I knew that I didn’t want to be a hurt person hurting people anymore. I wanted to be free! I cried out to God for help, and in the quietness of my spirit I heard . . . forgiveness. From that moment, I began to learn the power and freedom of forgiveness. When I realized that God promises to forgive us for our destructive thoughts, attitudes, words and behaviors, I asked for His forgiveness of all of mine. Though I knew that He would forgive me, I struggled with forgiving myself for all the ways I had brought destruction into my life and relationships. I was so burdened by all of the unintended consequences of my harmful choices that I was unable to let go of my shame.

During my times of stillness, God urged me over and over to forgive myself. He reminded me that He had already forgiven me, and that my holding on to the burden of my guilt would never set me free. I couldn’t just know that He would forgive me; I had to accept that His forgiveness had already washed me clean. Eventually, I was able to truly accept the gracious gift of God’s forgiveness—I finally released the burden of my guilt and forgave myself.

With this decision, I was walking toward greater freedom, but God had more to teach me about forgiveness. He showed me that accepting His forgiveness is not just about releasing my own guilt. Accepting His forgiveness requires seeking forgiveness from those we’ve hurt and choosing to forgive those who have hurt us. Choosing forgiveness is not always easy and does not always “feel” right, but it is a necessary choice for our freedom: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). Gradually, I chose to forgive those who had hurt me, and with a wash of healing tears, I felt the heavy burden of unforgiveness lift. I felt whole; I felt free.

God also began to prompt me to seek forgiveness from various people I had hurt. These promptings were not all at once; in fact, some were even years after I began my journey out of my dark valley. But each time I responded in obedience to God’s leading, I experienced the gift of forgiveness from that person. I encourage you to examine your heart to see if there are any remnants of unforgiveness toward those who have hurt you, or if you need to seek forgiveness from someone else. If so, press into God, and He will give you the strength and courage you need to experience forgiveness in your relationships. It is a choice worth making—forgiveness leads to freedom.

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Be Love, Give Love

Abby

Some thoughts she writes:

Sometimes we have to separate from the things we love in order to make sure what we want is really what we want.

But what if I’m not supposed to be writing? Is this my dream? What will people think about me if I quit? Am I that good at it anyway?

Then God’s gentle whisper came through the crack of the wall that my confusion was starting to build around my heart. It was time for a talk. It went something like this:

God: Are you writing for me or for you? 

Me: I thought I was doing it for you.

God: It started out that way, but I think things have changed. 

Me: But I want it to be for you.

God: Then stop thinking about what everybody else thinks. If you’re doing it for me, nothing else will matter. If you trust me and do it for me, others will be impacted. You let me worry about that. 

Me: I’m sorry. It’s not worth doing if I’m not doing it for you. Is that why I don’t feel connected?

God: You may be onto something. 

He was indeed correct. Writing was becoming an obligation, not a ministry for God. I had to write five posts a week like Michael Hyatt. I had to teach people everything I knew as fast as I could. There were expectations I needed to live up and I was failing to do so. I had to give into the pressure of doing it just right.

The reality is I’ve put those expectations on myself. The pressure isn’t from anyone but me and my insecurities of trying to be perfect and please everyone. Most wouldn’t look at me from the outside and think I’m a perfectionist, especially since the majority of my wardrobe doesn’t make it out of the clothes basket. But my mind says differently when it comes to other things. I want people to be happy. I don’t want to screw up.

God is once again gracefully showing me the truth versus the lies I’ve believed. I’m so grateful to know His mercies are new every morning. Emails have shown up in my inbox thanking me for touching lives with the truth I write about. A friend I hadn’t seen in a while gave me encouraging words about speaking and writing and didn’t have a clue I was struggling. He has shown up through people and their words for me in abundance.

So here I am today, realizing I may not always “be in love” with writing, but I know without a doubt God has called me to do so. Perhaps I’ll blog five times next week, maybe just once. I don’t know yet. But I do know that my routine is changing. It’s changing from my routine to God’s. If I’m not doing it for Him, then I don’t want to do it at all. 

Sometimes we have to leave the things we love to realize how much we love them….finishing reading Sundi Jo’s Post

Be Love, Give Love

Abby

Is everything within your spirit, mind and body…calm, peaceful and still?  Do you think it is possible to live this way?  Join me and be inspired as I share my heart with you on “Living Still”.

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I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment if you feel lead to.

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Related Posts:

• Is God Enough
• Refined by God
• Listen to the Still Small Voice

BE LOVE, GIVE LOVE
Abby Lewis

Distraction

BE LOVE, GIVE LOVE
Abby Lewis

I know everyone wants to give God their burdens and I have learned that many just don’t know how to.

What I am about to share with you could change your life….it did mine.  I feel strongly that the exercise in chapter 6 of my book, Blossoming out of the Valley, will truly help you release the burdens you have been carrying once and for all.  This exercise is by far one of the most powerful exercises I have ever done.  I have also seen amazing things take place in the lives of many others, just by doing this exercise and receiving what is in chapter 6….actually not just chapter 6 but the entire book has been changing lives in a powerful way.

My true heart’s desire is to help and encourage you to find peace and stillness with God.  So as a gift to you, I would like to give you Chapter 6 of my book, Blossoming out of the Valley, entitled Laying the Burdens Down.

There are no strings attached to this free gift to you.  Just click on the link below and the gift is yours.  I pray that God will use this chapter to truly bless you and free you.

Chapter 6 Laying the Burdens Down

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Related Posts:

• Is God Enough
• Refined by God
• Listen to the Still Small Voice

Be Love, Give Love

Abby

I remember the day when God spoke to my heart several years ago and asked me, “If you lost everything, would I be enough for you?” I really had to ponder it for awhile. I didn’t want to think about not having my family, friends, home, car, career, clients, money, etc.

But there I sat…saddened…not because of the thoughts of losing everything, but because at that moment I had to be honest and say to God, “No, you wouldn’t be enough for me.” In that moment I became aware that I did not trust God deeply in life and that my relationship with Him was not where it needed to be. I desired greatly to get to a point in my life where I could say, “God you are enough and I trust you deeply with the plans you have for me and the lives of the ones I love.”

Over the years the Lord has taken me on a journey…a journey of finding true peace and stillness with Him…a journey of discovering a deep and meaningful relationship with my Father in Heaven. I can now say, “Father, you are enough. I might not understand your plans but I trust you with all my heart.”

Now I’m asking you…

Is God enough for you?

I desire to help you get to a place in your life where you can say, “Father, you are enough.”

In my book, Blossoming out of the Valley, I share my journey with you on finding peace and stillness with God. I encourage you to get a copy and start your journey to stillness today.

BE LOVE, GIVE LOVE
Abby Lewis

Keep moving forward my friends, letting go and trusting God in the midst of the molding and the shaping….the refining process.

Enjoy this video…a beautiful story about a Teacup being refined, that will encourage and bless you.

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Be Love, Give Love

Abby

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23

Spring is here!  I enjoy watching the flowers bloom, the trees come back to life and even cutting my lawn.  I find myself just wanting to be outside.  I found myself this morning tending to a flowerbed that has gone neglected for a few months.  I should not have been surprised to see all of the weeds that have began to rear their ugly heads.  As I was pulling these weeds, I was reminded of the proverb – “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”  As I looked at my weedy flowerbed, I was caught asking myself, “Why are these weeds here?  I certainly didn’t plant them.”  They just crept up on me.  But because I want a flowerbed full of flowers, shrubs, plants and trees, I continued with my painstaking labor of love of pulling up the weeds.

Likewise, sometimes I will take a long look at my heart and be amazed at the bitterness, anger, envy, pride, etc. that has infested my spirit.  I don’t remember putting them there.  They just kinda creep up on me.  But just like I want a beautiful flowerbed, I desire to have a heart that grows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faith and self-control.  So I begin the process of asking God to weed out the evil and grow the good.

It’s my privilege to get to help others do the same thing in my work as a marriage and family therapist.  I’ve found that no matter what brings someone to my office, there is always a weed that has crept in and has taken over their heart.  We’ve somehow neglected God’s command to guard our hearts.  Our hearts are precious gifts that we have been given the amazing privilege to steward and yield back to God.  But instead of accepting that responsibility, so many times we place that on the shoulders of our spouse, friends and family.  We catch ourselves believing, “if only they would do this or that, then I could be happy.”  But this very belief goes against our duty of guarding our own hearts.  And the end of the day, God will not hold me accountable for anyone else’s heart.  Likewise, I can’t hold anyone else accountable for my heart.

If you haven’t done so in a while, I encourage you to take a long, hard look at what your heart looks like these days.  Are there any weeds that have taken root?  If so, allow God to do a work in your life and begin gently removing them so that healthier, beautiful vegetation can begin to blossom.

Happy gardening!

Ryan Pannell, LMFT

Woodland Hills Counseling Center

I am seeking to build my clientele, and I need your help. Word of mouth is by far the best form of marketing, so I’m asking you to help me spread the word about the nurturing massages that I give at Healing Naturally. As a special thank you, for every person you refer who gets a massage, I will give you half off of your next massage.

For more information on my services, visit myjourneytohealing.com. Looking forward to sharing this nurturing experience with you.

 
BE LOVE, GIVE LOVE
Abby Lewis