I turn 40 in less than a month.  It makes me think back and look forward at the same time.  Some parts of my life were planned and others stumbled upon.  I want less stumbling and more intentional planning.

My greatest accomplishments I can’t take credit for. They are my marriage to my husband of five years and the births of my sons.  Both of these are a credit to a mighty God who loves me, and who, by his grace, has blessed me with a wonderful marriage and two healthy children.  The last ten years of my life have been the most amazing God-ordained years, as it was a little over ten years ago that I came to know my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.  It is through establishing a relationship with him that I truly began to understand myself and gain a better perspective on how to care for myself and others in relationship. In addition He taught me through His word and by it I have increased wisdom and understanding, made numerous friends, and even been blessed in financial management.  I have learned how to be submissive in a powerful way, and more disciplined in many aspects of my life, including parenting.  By His grace he has blessed me financially, maritally, physically, and socially.  By seeking His will I’ve discovered that His plans are always better than my own.

My failures I can honestly say, although regrettable, are things that I have learned from.  So I can’t really call them failures as they instead are mistakes that I learned from.  I could have applied myself better in high school, and I should have spent more time and effort selecting a college and earning scholarships.  I spent too many years in my late teens and twenties looking for love in the wrong places (the right place is in Jesus Christ) and making selfish decisions and financial blunders that pain me to think about.

I can’t go back and change my errors but I can look forward and work to ensure that the trajectory of my future is in the right direction.  Diligence is needed in the pursuit of truth – and this requires daily reading of scripture and time to pray and seek the Lord.  My husband and I are thinking towards retirement and how to achieve  that goal.  We are looking towards our sons’ education and how to ensure that goal.  We need to create a will and a financial structure to protect our family’s future; and not only the temporal but the eternal well-being of our children.  It’s a huge task.

I need to spend time planning how my short range goals will support my long range goals and how it plays out in daily application: stewardship over my spiritual, physical, marital, relational, generational, and financial health.  With great privilege comes great responsibility.  I’m so glad I don’t have to rely on my own strength, knowledge, or power.  I’m so glad I can rest in the arms of an almighty father who loves me and who desires the best for me and for those I love.  If you don’t know Him, seek Him.  A great resource is His word, you can find it free on BibleGateway.com.  Also, find support through His people and a good church or bible study (I like Beth Moore) Take hold of your life and submit it to God’s plan and watch the blessings flow.

In His Grip,
Monica

An Inspirational Scripture
Deuteronomy 28

Blessings for Obedience

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.