iShineInMinistry

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is...self-control.

The Lord moves so powerfully in the ministry as we are daily filled with His Holy Spirit and have the fruit of the Spirit manifesting in our lives. One of the hardest evidences of fruit in our entire society today is that of self-control. Our world tells us to follow our hearts, have “YOLO” moments and do what “feels good”. The problem with this is that our hearts are deceitfully wicked and we can only trust in the Lord with all of our hearts to walk in a way that is pleasing. This is true in our day-to-day lives as well as in the ministries that we oversee.

When we are being stewards over the ministry God has given us to oversee, we want to make sure to be in His will, doing everything to His glory and make sure that we are bearing fruit as He entrusts us to serve His people. As we prep and plan, place things in order and make sure that we have crossed every t and dotted every i, we must be careful. Our self-control in being diligent can quickly slip into a spirit of becoming a control freak. We have everything “just so” then a volunteer steps in to assist us and afterward we re-do everything they help with so that it looks the way we want. However, what we should be doing is making sure it is the way that the Lord wants.

As we pour out our hearts through service and ministry, let us continue to yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead the way as His vessels of honor. Let us have the fruit of the Spirit of self-control without becoming overly controlling of the situation to the point where God is no longer the center. I pray that our hearts will always check our motives and make sure that we serve in a way that is pleasing to Jesus and a wonderful example of a godly woman to the women we minister to on a daily basis.

When your plans do not look exactly as you have planned do you get in the flesh? Make sure that as you practice self-control it stays in Spirit and does not flip to control-freak mode. We need to be flexible so that we are willing to move as God moves!

Proverbs 16:3 (NET)

Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

I love making to-do lists – on my iPhone notes app, on cute stationary, on fun notepads and pretty much anything that is nice looking with a pink pen! I especially enjoy putting a check next to the things that I have finished. Right now, however, I find myself being so busy that my list cannot dwindle down my list before I have to add five more additional tasks. I feel like my life is becoming one endless litany of duties to accomplish and this feels like a bottomless pit, not like a lot of fun. Usually in particularly busy times of life I am able to find a bright side to all the mayhem, taking place in my life. Today, all I want is to take a nap and put on frumpy clothes. Of course what I want to do will not allow me to cross anything off of the list, so I feel like it is not really an option for me.

When we have overly busy moments of life we need to get on our knees before the Lord and place everything before Him. He will direct us and help our hearts to know what things are truly the most important and how to proceed with every duty staring us in the face. He will show us how to prioritize, delegate and hold off on certain things so that all we do is pleasing to Him.

Let us make sure that all we do is pleasing to the Lord and that we let Him establish the things He truly called us to do in this life of ministry.

Colossians 3:17 (HCSB)

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

1 Corinthians 7:20

Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.

Do you ever just have one of those days (or weeks, or even months) when you feel completely and utterly done with the calling God has given you for ministry? Do you feel tired, weary, drained or discouraged and think it must be time to retire, move into a season of rest or just be so still that you become a “sideline Christian”? You get one too many phones calls from the person struggling with the same sin and think, “I clearly am not doing this right” or you forget to pay the rental fee for an outreach and your supplies never show up or you get to the point where you do not even want to get out of bed in the morning. The thought of becoming “Sleeping Beauty” seems more and more appealing, except, you do not want Prince Charming to wake you up any time soon!

I know that I am feeling like this is the season I am in right now…it’s pretty draining (or that could be the lack of sleep having its effects). However, I also know that God is still here even when I do not see the exponential progress happening in record timing. I know that God is here while I am still waiting for an answer or for the next great thing to happen. He even was kind enough to remind me as I did my evening devotions last night.

When we have those “Eeyore moments” in ministry, we have to remember that time spent in the valley helps us to realize when we are changing to the mountains. The valleys have lots of growth, water to feed our souls and opportunities to see how much faith we really do have in the Lord when things are not so sunny and bright.

The calling that we have did not come with the promise of rainbows and glitter all the days of our ministry lives…we will have wonderful moments of joy in the Lord and we will have moments that deplete us so much that all we can do is cry out for God to be our refuge and strength, to sustain us and help our unbelief. When those times arise, we simply cannot despair and think that we are doing it all wrong. If we were perfect at this all the time, why would we even need a Savior? And we all know that we DEFINITELY NEED A SAVIOR!

So when the hard days, the tragic days, the tiring days and the seemingly hopeless days come, please remember that God called you for all of this ministry, good times and bad…and walk worthy of the calling in which you were called!

Ephesians 4:1

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

Are you feeling discouraged and ready to call it quits in ministry.  Please do not give up – Remember to cling to Jesus and let Him use you no matter what the outcome. This is the calling He has given you and as Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

If you are anything like me, you are hoping to get your second wind after serving through the season of Thanksgiving. You are gearing up for all of the blessings and activities that go with Christmas. Outreaches and outings, plays and parties…not to mention your own Christmas shopping and family preparation. This is the final leg of the race of serving for the year of 2014 and we want to make sure that we do not end in the flesh. So, let us remember these three things as we enter into this last month of the year:

1) This is the season of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior- Please do not forget the reason for the season as you serve and run around. If you keep this truth at the forefront of your mind as you go through each detail and to-do list, you are bound to be more joyful as you work in His strength and not your own.

2) This is a labor of love- How many people may be able to see the truth of Jesus and receive salvation as you diligently obey the Lord and do what He has called you to at this very moment, in this very month of the year? Who knows what the Lord plans to use to draw someone to Himself as these final weeks of the year, filled with special worship services and other events goes on. Please remember that God uses all things for good, so look for those special opportunities to shine for Him everywhere you go (including the mall parking lot).

3) This is a season of Joy- How can you not be filled with excitement and a child-like enthusiasm with all of the lights, Christmas songs and beauty of this time of year?

Remember all of the wonderful things that only take place during this time of year and choose to look at the loveliness of this season…it will make all of the difference! Remember, 2014 is almost done, so we want to finish strong with this last part of ministry for the year. Be blessed and be a blessing during this time and then remember that at the end of it all you can plan a sleep-in day!

During this time as it gets quite busy and active, may I please remind all of us ladies to be extra careful not to forego our devotional times and quiet times with the Lord? This is when we will need it most!

Psalm 146:1-6

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

While I live I will praise the Lord;


I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Day in and day out life can become hectic and frustrating, as we get overly busy with tasks, duties and ministry. Before we know it, we become completely drained and are no longer happy about the amazing things that could be taking place right in front of us. There could be a great message where many get saved and we are in our office working on notes for our own upcoming teaching. There can be a lady that wants to share a praise report with us and we get a little less than patient as her story continues and we think about all of the items on our to-do list that are not being completed because we are listening to her story. So many joys can become overlooked and then we start to complain during our prayer times to Jesus rather than thank Him for all of the amazing things happening as we serve Him.

Might I suggest that when we become stressed and a little less than joyful to stop and praise? We need to recall the perfect plans that God has for us, the beautiful calling He has placed on our lives, the wonderful opportunities we see that others may not get to have in their line of work and thank Him for His faithfulness. We need to thank Him and know that He is the God that sees us, even when we are tired. He will give us rest and He will fuel us in those moments when we begin to feel wiped out. He will meet us where we are and help us to be reminded of His perfect faithfulness. He will help our hearts stay on track and not get apathetic or just plain tired. He will show us all of the many reasons to praise His name. Then we can get our hearts back on track as we do the work of the ministry and walk in His perfect will.

What will you do next time you want to pout or complain when you are too busy? Will you praise the Lord? I hope so!

Psalm 147:1

Praise the Lord!


For it is good to sing praises to our God;


For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

Are your prayers sounding more like rants and whining because you are too drained, tired or frustrated? Praise God and ask Him to renew your mind as you walk through this busy season.