intentional

Intentional Gratitude

/ Robin Glinka / Leave a comment
God’s Canvas

Lately the Lord has been speaking with me about being intentionally grateful in spite of what may be going on in my life personally or in the world itself. I struggle at times with focusing on the Lord and His promises when all in the world seems so chaotic and ugly. It takes intentionality to shift my mindset and focus on God and His promises and to see the daily blessings in the midst of the chaos. Does anyone else struggle with this?! There is so much beauty in the world. He’s helping me see and reminding me to be grateful for the little pleasantries in the daily mundane happenings of my life. Things like enjoying solitude and rest with Him, enjoying the beauty and sounds of nature, gratefulness for a word of encouragement from a stranger or friend, gratefulness for being able to physically do daily tasks, and so many more things that could go unnoticed in a hectic day. I find it challenging to be informed of what is going on in the world without allowing all the negativity and chaos in the world creep in and drown out His voice. I am grateful that He is gracious and patient in reminding me of His promises and that He is always walking with me through any trials I encounter. I am grateful for the journey He has me on, but the past year has been a bit daunting in so many ways-physically, emotionally and spiritually. Yet He has remained faithful and even in the midst of chaos, I do sense His presence and peace when I keep my eyes focused on Him. I’m grateful that I can pour my heart out to Him. He already knows my needs and desires and has been working on my behalf. I’m grateful for the growth, even though it is painful at times. He is always gracious to carry me when I need it. I do enjoy the new perspectives He shows me and the grace He gives when I fall short. He has been teaching me to love others and myself better and in all things to be more grateful and grace giving.

It truly does change my mindset and perspective as I go throughout the day purposefully looking for things to be grateful for and looking for ways to better love others. It’s helped me extend more grace to others and myself. It reminds me that we are all on this journey called life, individually and collectively, and we are all working through things good and bad. There is so much more peace and joy in extending kindness, encouragement, love and gratitude to others. It’s often easy to see the negative in situations and others which only seems to lead to more divisiveness. But, with intentionality, I can be a source of encouragement and hope, it is so much fun to spread positivity and speak life into people and situations. There is a treasure in every trial- some just are harder to see and take more intentionality.

My prayer is that each person reading this will be intentional in keeping their eyes on the Lord and His goodness in these crazy times. I also pray that each will be intentional in being positive and encouraging to one another. Be a light that shines and brings out the gold in someone else. Don’t allow the negativity and divisiveness of the enemy to be the main voice you hear.

Lord, thank you for continuing to walk with me and those reading this as we walk through this life. Help us keep our eyes on You and Your promises. Help us have a tender and loving heart just like your son Jesus. May each person You bring across our path be touched by Your presence. Thank you for helping me and each individual, navigate the challenges of life, knowing You are there and have even gone before us in all situations. Help us be intentional in seeking time with You and in bringing out the gold in others. Help us find the beauty and gratitude in the seemingly mundane daily tasks of life. Thank you for the beauty of nature, smell of fresh cut grass and singing of the birds. You truly are a God of detail! We love you Lord! Amen

Who will you encourage and uplift today!?

Reflections

Choices

/ Robin Glinka / Leave a comment

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Life is all about making choices. Have you ever thought about how many times a day you make a choice and the impact of that choice on your life in the present as well as your future? Have you thought about how the choices you make not only impact your life, but also the lives of those in your sphere of influence? I’m not trying to overthink each choice, but it is good to be aware of the importance of each choice in shaping our lives and impacting the lives of others.

Even seemingly simple choices like, what should I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, what should I wear today, how should I respond verbally to this situation, or any other seemingly simple choice have present and future impacts in our lives. For example, choosing what to eat, over time it can impact your health for good or bad; what you choose to wear portrays to others a bit about your character and how you value yourself. Dressing in a sexy and provocative manner will draw lustful eyes, whereas dressing more conservative but elegant will call for more respect and value of your body. The sexy and provocative is something that one can enjoy and reserve for one’s spouse!

In responding to others, do I choose to speak life and encouragement, building them up, or do I choose to speak criticism and negativity into their life. One response is life giving, the other response tears others down. I do believe there are times when constructive criticism spoken in love is necessary and essential to reveal blindspots in our lives. We all have blindspots and even as painful as it can be in the moment, I am grateful to have trusted individuals, that love me, bring to light those areas to which I have been blind. It is through these difficult to hear, but necessary times that the Lord can do a work in growing and refining me into better and more Christlike person. I remember one such time when a friend ask me if I thought of myself as a judgemental person and I said no. I said that I try to treat everyone with equal love and kindness. She revealed a blindspot of judgement I had because of my own insecurities of being different and believing people didn’t like me. You see, I would tend to stay secluded and not initiate interaction with people in social settings because of my insecurity of being rejected. So in essence, I had formed a judgement of how they perceived me without giving them a chance. Ouch!! That stung a bit, but I’m so glad she enlightened me to that blindspot and the lie I was believing, because without her doing so, I may never have seen it.

So, back to choices. What do you do with bad choices you’ve made in the past? They can’t be changed. I have made many bad choices during my life. I’ve found the best thing is to look back and see what I can learn from each bad choice, so I don’t make it again. Next, I try to be intentional about making the “next” best choice. Don’t let choices of the past keep you locked in shame and regret. Instead, seek forgiveness from God and trust He has forgiven you. Then, you will be free to move forward in the journey He has for you.

I find I can’t focus too much on the future. Though it is important to have goals and take steps to be purposeful in working towards them, ultimately I need to stay in the present and focus on making the “next” best choice each time a one is presented. By staying in the present, I can enjoy what the Lord has given me each day and I can better stay tuned to what He’s asking me to do in the current moment. By being obedient to following the guidance of the Lord, He can shape and guide me along His path for my life. I’m amazed at times I have reflected back on my life and choices He asked me to make that made no sense at the time, but in retrospect, I can see the beautiful and sometimes difficult journey He has taken me through to get me to where I am now!! I’m so grateful that He never gives up on me and when I do make bad choices. He is patient and loving as He steers me back on track, and He will do the same for you!! Seek Him and open your heart to allowing Him full access to your life. He will not disappoint you. It won’t always be easy, trust me, but it will be an amazing journey.

I have found He will often ask you to make a choice that makes no logical sense, but deep in your spirit, you will know it’s what He’s calling you to do, just like he did of Abram (later called Abraham) in Genesis 12:1. God told Abram to go forth to a land he would show him. What?! Pack up and leave without telling Abram where he was to go before he left?! That’s craziness–at least for the one that likes to know the plan a head of time!

The Lord is helping me each day to make the “next” best choice as it is presented and to trust the incredible journey He is taking me on in this adventure called life! Will you choose to be intentional about making the “next” best choice each day? It can be challenging, but also an amazing blessing.

Lord I pray you guide each person reading this, and myself, in making the “next” best choice as each choice is presented, from the smallest to the biggest, knowing and trusting Your plan; knowing that You love us and have good planned for our lives as we grow in a deeper, more intimate relationship with You!! Thank you in advance for answering this prayer! Amen

“Heart Condition”

/ Robin Glinka / Leave a comment
Photo by Ashley Williams on Pexels.com

Over the past 6 months things have become especially crazy in our world. Most recently the Covid 19 epidemic and Black Lives Matter movement have impacted life in profound ways.

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Covid 19 has definitely had a huge impact on what life looks like on a day to day basis. Fear seems to be running high most everywhere- fear of getting sick, fear of not having needed supplies (like toilet paper…), fear of not having financial income/stability, fear of losing a loved one, fear of being alone, fear of not knowing what the future holds, and fear of isolation. These are all very real and true things to be concerned about, but the thing that breaks my heart is that the focus on fear is stealing the joy and blessings that each day offers. If our focus is only one of fear and despair, one will miss the blessings that are present. I always tell my family that in every struggle or trial there is a treasure!! Something to be grateful for and to allow you to experience peace and joy in the midst of difficult times. In the Bible the words “fear not” are present over 365 times- that’s a daily reminder to trust the Lord and His provision. We have a choice to choose faith or fear. We can choose to live in fear and unrest or we can choose to lean into the promises of God and choose joy and gratitude. You can’t live in both camps at the same time. I pray fear and chaos don’t steal the beauty in each day. There is always something to be grateful for each day-some days it’s easier to find than others but it is there!!

Secondly, the Black Lives Matter movement while on some fronts has been represented by peaceful protests, on other fronts there have been violent riots and destruction of property. I question the overall productiveness of the violent and destructive means for any cause. I struggle with all the labeling and judgement of all people based on race, gender and whatever other title culture wants to come up with. For me, all people matter. I believe God loves everyone and He loves and values diversity as well. I believe culture has used diversity in this country to create division. I believe God meant for diversity to be celebrated in the uniqueness of each individual and the unique purpose for which He designed each individual. He is a multifaceted God. So I ask myself what is the underlying root cause of the outward displays of violence and hatred for another individual. Fear, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, rage, selfishness, etc are all displayed as a result of a deeper underlying “heart condition”. They are the manifestation of what one holds deep within their heart. Ones internal “heart condition” is portrayed through a persons behavior and interaction with others. What’s the old saying- actions speak louder than words?! What if we choose to listen and value another person’s different perspective? What if varying perspectives gave vision to a bigger picture? What if we focused more on commonalities and strengthened those aspects through relationship-would not the chasm of the differences start to be healed as we meet each other where we are today and truly tried to understand and communicate respectively with one another? What if these deeper discussions caused each individual to then take a step back and reflect on why they believe what they believe or to try and understand why another person believes what they believe? What if it caused each individual to look at their own “heart condition” and to work on areas that need to be healed- some of which may have been blind spots they didn’t recognize? I know it’s a lot of “what if’s” and I know that this is an area the Lord is working on in my heart too. Do I choose to value each individual regardless of whatever label culture gives them and to see each person as loved and valued equally by God and therefore by me as well? May my actions speak louder than my words.

created using YouVersion Bible app
created using YouVersion Bible app

I pray that we each continue to check our own individual “heart condition” and choose to value each human life as valuable. I believe for true lasting change to happen we each need to start with our own “heart condition”, our own families, and expanding beyond that to our individual sphere of influence. Hurting people tend to hurt people even if they don’t do it intentionally and hurting people tend to be self focused on their own wounds making them less able to see and value others in the way God does. There is healing through God’s love-I’ve lived it and am so grateful. There is hope, but it begins within each individual’s “heart condition” and seeing each life as equally valuable. God can heal heart wounds if you will allow Him the access to do so. We all have influence on the people in our lives. What will your influence look like? Blessings and Shalom!!!!

It’s all about Identity!!

/ Robin Glinka / Leave a comment
photo credit Pexels Tracy Hudson

CHOICES AND LOVE

(Part 2 of a 3 part series- Choices and Love)

Welcome Back!!! Last week I spoke of knowing my identity and how that brought a sense of peace and freedom in loving unconditionally. Freedom for myself, and freedom for those in my life. Having no judgements or expectations on others helps create deeper and more trusting relationships. Deeper and more trusting relationships are fueled by love and create freedom for me to be who God called me to be, to encourage and build others up, to walk into my God given identity and purpose on this earth. It gives me freedom to make mistakes, to learn and move forward to the next thing in life. I get to take valuable lessons learned from failures and successes of things ventured in life and grow along my journey.

Life is a journey not a destination-I’m sure you’ve heard that before. It’s full of crossroads and choices along the way. Choices we make affect us and others not only in the present, but can also have a profound affect on our future. So, when we make any choice, how do we go about deciding what to do. My first inclination has been to try and analyze the effects or scenarios of each option/choice (lots of web brain browsers open!! lol). I Try to get perspective on current and future effects. The Lord has been showing and teaching me over the past several years that my first line in decision making is to bring whatever it is I’m deciding on- to Him in prayer. I believe since He is a relational God, He wants me to pray and seek His guidance before making a decision. Even in the little things He desires to be involved. Asking for His help in daily appointments with the people He puts across my path is something I’ve more recently been more intentional about lifting up in prayer. Surrendering my plan to His agenda versus strictly following my own (anyone else struggle with wanting to be in control?). I may start with a game plan for the general days events or my “to do list”, but I’m learning to be more intentional in seeing and recognizing those He may be placing in my path that need His light, love, touch, or encouragement. It is typically at a time I would deem “inconvenient”. There have been many times in the past and even some now currently, that I get so focused on what I “needed” to get done that I wouldn’t recognize or I’d choose to ignore His promptings to recognize that He wants to work through me to touch those He either brought to me or put in my path. Forgive me Lord and help me to have your eyes, ears and words to recognize and be obedient to whatever it is you’re calling me too.

I recognize that I can be selfish with “my time”. It’s easy for me to give of my financial resources or help when it’s convenient or easily fits into my schedule. Does anyone else struggle with this? So I have to ask myself why? What truly is my heart posture? Lord has my heart hardened a bit over time in relation to past hurts, regrets, shame, failed expectations I’ve placed upon myself and others? because of the lack of setting boundaries and then holding within me hurt because of not being true to myself or placing blame on others for my decisions?

Has this lead me to believing lies about who God is? Feeling that I only need to rely on me? In a sense shutting out the world in order to “protect” myself-all the while inadvertently locking myself away and closing my heart to God and others? Allowing myself and my decisions to be based more on Fear than love? I read or heard somewhere that we make decisions in life based either out of fear or love. What will you base your decisions on- Love or fear? I choose love…I have done the fear thing and it just isn’t peaceful or productive!!

Fear decisions seem to be based on protecting oneself and one’s best interest. As I look back, they seem to be mostly focused on self and lack of trust. Lack of trust in God, self and others. Fear decisions seem based more on what the repercussion of a decision and how it may negatively affect one if that particular choice is not made. It can be something silly like- if I don’t do this now, I’ll miss out on whatever deal is going on(speaking of shopping) or , if I don’t do this (whatever it may be) , then I won’t fit in or I won’t get ahead, or I’ll miss out.

The Bible speaks of fear as not trusting in the Lord. It says perfect love casts out fear. So the antithesis of fear is love. Fear is a tool of the enemy. It’s also a way for us to know areas in our lives that we are relying on or trusting in self or others versus the Lord.

The sin of self reliance is an area the Lord has been showing me that I am believing a lie about Him-an area He is healing. Thank you Lord! This again circles back to an identity issue!! It’s also based on fear. Fear that if I don’t handle things they won’t get done. Fear based choices for my own self preservation-not having, needing or wanting to rely on anyone-including the Lord at times. Sure I’d trust Him with some of the “little” things and some of the “big ” things, but I wasn’t trusting Him in all things. I’m grateful for how He has grown me in this area and I’m relying more and more on Him for every decision, every day. I have to be intentional to make that choice to trust and rely on Him. He is faithful and touching/healing areas in my life each day and He can do the same for you if you choose to let Him!

So back to choices based on love. What is love? The dictionary app defines love as “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child or friend.” the Bible says God is love!! Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter. If you substitute the name of God for love while reading it, it is powerful in revealing more of God’s character. If you put your own name in for love it may reveal areas you need the Lord to touch to make you more like Christ. We are called to be like Christ and to be the light of Christ for others. This can only be done through the power of God(love) as He transforms our hearts and helps reveal lies we believed. Lies that have moved our choices and affected our lives and the lives of those around us. Choices that typically either build one’s life and the life of others up or tears down our life and the lives of others. What will you choose?

Choices made out of love come from a pure heart that doesn’t have self as focus. By taking each choice and calling on the Lord to reveal , guide and direct us, we are surrendering to His will. Often choices He leads us to may not make sense from a “logical” evaluation. They often involve trusting His leading wherever that may be. Taking that first step without knowing the plan. Trusting choices He’s guiding us to make are meant for good in every sense of furthering His kingdom on Earth and for growing us to be like Christ. Sometimes those choices may involve promoting another above ourselves, or changing our days “agenda” to fit what He’s put before us. I know this is an area I am still growing in, but each time I’m obedient to do as He says, I am blessed abundantly. So why do I struggle to stay in that surrendered state all the time?! Selfishness! Thinking I know better!! The list could go on, but you get the idea!

So the challenge is to know and walk in my identity, fully trusting His way and being intentional in making love based choices instead of fear base ones!! Remember you are an amazing child of God and He loves you unconditionally and desires to have a relationship with you!!!! The choice is yours!! Many blessings to you all!!!