When someone gets really good at something, it is thought of as “the art of…”. When we do something repeatedly, it is a habit. When a habit is done repeatedly and well and is producing something good, it becomes the art in which we live.

I want to develop the art of looking up.

What I mean by that, is that I want to make a habit of intentionally choosing my focus. I want that focus to be on Jesus Christ, Who He Is, How Faithful He Is, Who I am in Him, and Surrender to His Plan. Looking Up.

None of this  comes  naturally to my brain. Instead, I usually focus on how bad things are, how impossible it seems, how I never seem to be enough, how much  I really want my own way…

I want Jesus…for blessing and to make me happy, more than I want Jesus to make me holy. Ugh! ( that was a true confession, just in case you were wondering!)

Time for a change. To change my focus will take some intentional choices, and some new practices.

Today’s Truth: Colossians 3:2-3

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is not hidden with Christ in God.”

Set: To put in particular position or place. To become firm, secure, fixed.

To set something is intentional, it is something we do. The verb tense is the doing…put in a position. The result is that we become secure and fixed.

I have to say, I love the idea of becoming secure. What’s the secret? It’s setting my mind on things above, not on what is around me.

• What is going wrong in your life today? Look Up
• What is your greatest current challenge? Look Up
• What is hurting your “feelings”? Look Up
• What is breaking your heart? Look Up
• What is causing you pain? Look Up

Your life is no longer your own. Your life is not random, it is hidden with Christ, in God. You are protected, shielded, cared for, provided for…by Christ, hidden in his faithfulness and power….In God. To Look Up, it to Focus your Attention on what is Biblically True, rather than casually focusing on what you are feeling.

In the moment of stress, pain or doubt…STOP….choose instead to tell yourself what is true about you, your life in Christ, and God’s love and faithfulness. Take a new position, stand firm in who Christ is, and who you are in Him. Look Up! Look to Him! Choose to Believe….it starts as a choice, when repeated becomes a new habit, and over time becomes an art. I would have to say, I think Looking Up, has become a lost art in a world where we look to self, get discouraged, depressed and defeated. There is a better way and it starts with the choice to Look Up!

Today’s Prayer

Father, help me to learn the art of Looking Up. I want to learn to set my mind on things above, not on earthly things. I want to believe my life is enclosed in you and your love, and that I am in God. Teach me, help me, change me.

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Do you borrow things from people? A pen from a co-worker, some eggs from a neighbor, a dress from a friend…What about borrowing Jesus? Have you ever borrowed Him when you needed Him and then put Him back when you were done?

Funny thought…borrowing Jesus…hmmm

But, sometimes I think we live like that. We only go to Jesus when we need to borrow something from Him. And, like the best of neighbors, He reaches out to us to help in our need. But, what if we got into the habit of living in all that is supplied in relationship with Him on a regular basis, not just when we needed something. What would that look like?

Today’s Truth: Micah 7:7

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

Watching in HOPE is living with a new perspective.

Perspective is how we view things….things like life, God, ourselves and others. A new perspective comes from having our minds renewed daily in the Truth of God’s Word, experiencing relationship with God as we grow to know Him, recognize Him and follow Him.

This relationship with God is like going to the store on a regular basis and having your pantry full… having what you need. When you are in the middle of the trials of life, you will not have to borrow Jesus from a friend or a pastor, you will already have Jesus. Best part is, because He is not borrowed from another you will never have to give him back….His promise is to always be with you, always provide for you, always seek the best for you, and always love you.

No, we don’t ever have to borrow Jesus and give him back. He is ours to keep and we are His forever.

• Are you in a current situation that is hard? Watch in hope for the Lord!
• Do you feel that the trial never ends? Wait for God, He hears you and will answer in His time.

We might live in a world where people are on the fence in relationship with God, borrowing Him when needed, putting him back on the shelf when they are not wanting Him…but look at how today’s verse begins

BUT AS FOR ME….

But as for me…I  will learn to do something different, something different than I did before, something different than the world around me, something different than what is natural…I am going to learn the wild life, the experiencing God life, the walking with Jesus and not borrowing anyone else’s faith life…But as for me….I watch in hope and wait for the Lord. Yes!

Will you do something different too?

Together let’s become women who try the wild thing, really walking with Jesus. I am not talking legalistic, rule based, judging others walking with Jesus. We all have seen enough of that. I am talking humbly walking with Him daily…grace filled, agape love infused, holy spirit powered…less of us and more of Him!

Sending you a Hug and a Prayer from blogger land…..and trusting that God uses these little devos to help align your focus and renew your heart. Showing up to be with you daily sure does both to me….Debbie

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Time and time again I find myself going back to the basics of Scripture. It is there that I find practical guidance for living. It is also there that I gain perspective on what about my life is NOT working and maybe WHY.

But, just like anything else, basics can seem mundane or boring. Kinda like learning to play golf…sorry to keep on the golf subject, but it’s right in front of me these days…In order to learn how to play I have to practice the basics. The more practice I get with the basics, the better I will be able to actually play out on the course.

There is more than one basic to golf...more than hitting the driver off the tee…there is putting, and hitting out of the bunker ( sand trap), and hitting with different irons for different distances. Different things, but all basics.

Today I am thinking about learning how to actually walk the walk out in the real world and the need for a Spiritual  basic that I overlook far too often.

Today’s Truth: Matthew 7:7-11

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. What man is there among you who if his on asks for break, will give him a sonte? Or if he asks for fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

The word ask here is aiteo, which means to request or petition. The word usually describes a suppliant making request of someone in higher position such as an individual asking something from God. The word denotes consistent asking without qualms, not commanding God but solidly presenting a requistion whose items He longs to distribute.

Do you ever forget to ASK God for what you need?

Maybe you just think about you need, focus your thinking on that need and it turns to worry…instead of prayer.

What is it that you need from God today? Ask, Seek, Knock. This is what He tells us to do in His word, but it’s something that we forget. Practice remembering to go to God with your need…asking, seeking, knocking. The promise is that we will Find and Receive!

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