I am dropping in with an unscheduled blog post to share with y’all some things that have been on my mind.
For the past couple of months, God has placed the word “prepare” on my heart. I didn’t understand what He meant, so I decided to dive deeper into His Word and increase my prayer life with Him. I felt like he was dropping so many topics and areas into my head when it came to this. In my human mind, I couldn’t possibly juggle and prepare for all of these areas at once. Or even back to back. But during my studying and praying, God kept reminding me that I couldn’t do anything in my strength alone. That I needed God for all things, and I needed to start remembering that every single minute of the day.
I started to journal about all the things God dropped into my spirit and asked God to help guide what He needed me to do. Some of these topics were not new ideas for me. They were things that I either purposely put on the backburner or was just being lazy and not listening to God when He spoke them. I repented for this and asked God to give me the desire and push to do all the things that He wanted me to do. I also started to research and downloaded a lot. Actually, I was collecting a lot but not doing much with the information I was receiving. And with this pandemic stuff going on, there has been even more information out there. People and businesses are providing their resources for free or at a discount.
But with that, also comes a lot of misinformation being shared. Not to mention all of the news and updates we are receiving. So it is essential to filter everything through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. One of the crucial messages The Church is sending out right now is faith over fear. While many are saying that this is an unprecedented time, by reading my Bible, I realized that none of this is new to God and is not unique to the world. So I agree with making sure we use this time to grow closer to God, read His Word, and not allowing fear to lead us.
This morning I felt the push to move from preparation to action. I feel like I have the time now, even more than before, to start to do this. Here are a few things I did:
- I opened my Bible. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, but I find that I get a ton of ideas and thoughts when I am reading my Bible. So when I am sitting down at a time where I feel overwhelmed, it makes sense for me to read my Bible. It gives me a sense of peace and understanding. It helps all the things jumbled in my head, get straightened out, and make sense.
- I pulled out my notebook and started to clear my mind. I listed everything I heard God speaking, everything that crossed my mind that I needed to do, random things, etc. I do this frequently when I feel overwhelmed, and when I feel like God is telling me something. Then I take those things and decide what needs to be done now, what needs to be scheduled for later, and what needs to be broken into action steps.
- I pulled out my planners. I have been using a daily Day Designer that I grabbed from Target last year. It ends in June, but I am a big future planner, so I went ahead and set up my daily Erin Condren binder. Erin Condren was the first planner company I used when I graduated to being serious about daily planning back in 2013/2014. So I am happy to try out her binder system. My idea with the planners is actually to do the scheduling I mentioned above. I’ve been in a mood, on and off for a few months, where I have all these plans and just haven’t been doing them. So to avoid this, I go ahead and schedule it, and then I am more likely to do these things.
- I have some stickers. Because I may get bored or a little scattered, and planning with stickers helps make it fun.
- Set up my iPad. I tend to do a lot of work on my laptop and cell phone. So I keep my iPad up for videos and things I want to take in. I mentioned above, I was downloading a lot of information, so I decided to start going through the information, writing down what I learned and planning out the steps I could take from what I learned. For instance, today, I wanted to see what One Big Happy Family was saying about the economy and personal finance. I was able to catch a live of theirs. They were talking about what is happening recently and why her method of prioritizing saving and wealth-building over paying off debt is essential in a time like this where people are losing their jobs and need to rely on that savings for the unforeseeable future.
I honestly don’t know what is next for me; what is going to come from this. But I am excited to see what God does with all of this. I believe strongly in Romans 8:28. “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” There are lessons to be learned. Families to spend more time with. Dreams to be achieved. Rest to be had. Take this time to do what is best for you and your family.
*I included my Erin Condren referral link in this post. In addition to you getting $10 off your first purchase, I earn rewards as well!
*I included my Day Designer referral link in this post. Sign up for their newsletter for free printable and 10% off your order! I receive a small commission at no cost to you.
