Tag Archives: 2 Timothy 1:7

4 Ways to Reclaim Your Inspiration

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Do you ever get the feeling at the end of a day, week, or even year that life is passing you by without your consent? Without your full participation?

Maybe it feels like life is so full of the must-dos that there’s no time for the want-tos. Maybe you routinely wake up, go to work or school, take care of the house and/or family, and by the time you check off all the boxes of adulting for the day, it’s time to do it all over again.

You find yourself going through the motions of life like a robot with none of the zest for life you had “back in the day.”

“That’s life,” people say.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” they say as they throw up their hands, feeling as lost as you do.

You’ve lost your motivation because you can’t find your inspiration.

I’ve been there. Much of the toddler years of my kids’ lives felt that way. Maybe due to sleep deprivation. Maybe due to the fact that you can’t form a coherent thought when you’re hanging out with toddlers all day. I’m not complaining—I’ve loved my time at home with my kids, but there are certainly seasons of life more…shall we say…life giving than others.

This is for those of us who lose sight of the inspiration we so desperately need in order to obtain a fulfilling life.

If this is where you find yourself today, or have found yourself in the past, I’m speaking to you. And I’m most certainly speaking to myself.

Four Ways to Reclaim Your Inspiration:

1.  Be still. Some people claim they’re always busy as if it’s a badge of honor. It’s not. You will never find inspiration if your mind is crammed full of everything under the sun.

Make margin in your life—it’s not your job to take care of everything under the sun. Clear your mind long enough to let the peace of God and the voice of the Spirit calm and guide you. This will allow you to remember what really matters and direct your focus.

2.  Speak affirmations. For whatever reason, there is power in speaking truth out loud. Talk back to the negativity that tries to take root in your mind.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started: “I have power, love, and a sound mind.” (from 2 Timothy 1:7), “I delight in God. He fulfills the desires of my heart.” (from Psalms 37:4), or “God fills me with joy and peace as I trust in him.” (from Romans 15:13).

Practice speaking affirmations such as these and you will soon find that you have more confidence in God and in yourself.

3.  Remember what God says. Yes, this sort of overlaps with point #2, except where point #2 focuses more on who YOU are in God, this one suggests focusing more on GOD alone. His timeless truths and promises for our lives.

My favorite way to remember the truths of God is through music. Contrary to popular belief, there actually is a lot of great Christian music out there. (Lauren Daigle is one of my favorites and my 10 year old daughter thought it was Adele when she heard her on the radio!)

Good music is a great way to flood inspiration back into our hearts and minds. Other ways include reading the Bible or reaching out to a friend who can speak the truth of God into your life.

4.  Just do it! (And no, I’m not trying to get into any Nike controversy, I promise.) Sometimes you just have to be bold and do something new or unexpected. Have you been wanting to learn piano for years? No time like the present! Have you been wanting to start a Bible study with your friends? Call them today! Doing new things brings a rush of life back into your soul like few other things can.

My challenge to you (and to myself) is to be proactive and try out these four tips this week—see if some inspiration doesn’t come creeping back into your life. I pray that each of us would breathe new life as we seek to understand the vision and good plans God has for our lives, grab hold with both hands, and not look back.

I would love to hear what you think! Leave me a comment below to share your thoughts! And while you’re at it (if you haven’t already), head on over to the subscribe button and drop your email address so you can receive future posts directly to your inbox. Thanks for reading!

 

 

3 Ways to Sass Your Fear

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First, let me disclaim…I may have borrowed the phase “sass your fear” from Rhonda Rhea (www.rhondarhea.com ), a hilarious author and speaker who recently taught at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. But don’t you just love the visual? I do. It was thought provoking for sure, which leads me to today’s post…

Chip and I just returned from a busy week at this large conference, and let me tell you…although it was an amazing experience, it was not for the faint of heart.

Maybe because I’m not typically immersed in the world of business as is normal for my dear hubby Chip (follow him at http://www.chipmattis.com). Maybe because I tend to see myself as “just” a stay-at-home-mom, even though I genuinely know the weight and privilege of such a calling and will be the first to jump down anyone else’s throat who dares to utter the words “ ‘just’ a stay-at-home-mom.”

So why was it such a weighty event for me, while my husband flitted about networking like he could do it in his sleep? As far as I can tell it boils down to fear.

Fear of non-stop-for-days mingling with strangers (who turned out to be awesome, by the way). Fear of not being good enough or not measuring up. Fear of putting myself and my writing out there for others to judge…literally.

I could have decided the fear was too great and easily stayed home. But I knew that the thoughts of what might have been would haunt me if I did. So I put on my big girl pants and we made the beautiful road trip to North Carolina.

I’m so glad I did. If I hadn’t, I never would have had the privilege of seeing my husband win 2nd  place for his beautiful children’s picture book manuscript.

Receiving his award from best selling author, Eva Marie Everson.

And I never would have experienced the surprise and gratitude I did as I won 3rd place for my middle grade novel manuscript.

I don’t have a clue what God has in mind for the future as far as writing goes, but I do know I’m not going to let fear stop me from finding out.

I want to share with you 3 Ways to Sass Your Fear. Then, together, we can look fear in the eyes and say boldly…

Fear, schmear.

Ok, here you go…3 Ways to Sass Your Fear:

1. Remember the source. Fear is not from God, it’s from Satan. And he’s the biggest of all liars. Satan just loves to whisper lies into our unsuspecting ears, filling us with fear while he does his best to knock us off course.

Tell him he’s not the boss of you and keep your eyes on the promises of God. Like this one from 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT):

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Let’s choose to focus in on the power, love, and self-discipline part of this verse instead of the fear itself!

2. Embrace big faith. Why is it easy for us to say “yes, I have faith” but hard for us to say “I have BIG faith.” Maybe it’s because the first is easily uttered in passing with little accountability, and the second is more often proclaimed before taking an action of some sort that will actually require big faith.

God loves to see his children utilize big faith. Embrace it – big faith will lead you to incredible places you never dared to dream…probably outside your comfort zone. Embrace that too (says the introvert).

3. Courage up. Who says courage can’t be a verb? Roll up your sleeves and remember that courage is the opposite of fear. Don’t set your eyes on your fear; set your sights on the courage inside of you, as provided by our source – God himself.

There’s an episode of the popular sitcom, Frasier, where Frasier tries to learn how to ride a bike. Every time he begins, his eyes are drawn to a big tree at the side of his path, and guess what? Yep. He runs into it every time. We’ll hit what we’re looking at. Let’s look at Jesus and the courage he’s already planted in our hearts.

Maybe the courage inside of you is slight right now; maybe you can’t see that it’s there. Maybe you couldn’t even find it if you dusted off your magnifying glass and tried again. Then revisit point #1. Don’t let the enemy steal the courage God has given you and replace it with fear. As Deuteronomy 31:6 says:

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Those are some powerful words, right there. Go ahead, read them again.

The next time fear threatens to ruin our hope and joy for the future, let’s remember the 3 points above. We’ll sass our fear out of the way and in doing so, clear a path that leads more directly to Jesus. Because what HE wants for us is ultimately the best thing, right? Even if fear threatens to talk us out of the best thing.

To that I would say…fear, schmear.

What fear is trying to hold you back today? Leave me a comment below and let me know your action plan for giving fear the boot!

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