A Poignant Moment – Questions That Will Free Your Mind and Transform Your Life
I am at a poignant moment in my life as I am sure many of you are. Life is beginning to take on a whole new perspective. I’ve examined things that I have done in the past and have asked myself these questions, “With all that you are doing, have you done enough of the things that are bringing glory and honor to God? Are you spending quality time on the things that matters most? Whose ways are you really patterning your life after?”
It would not be long that beams of light began to shine on my thoughts. First it was through these scriptures –
Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may be able to determine what God’s will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect. (Romans 12:2 ISV)
We are free to do all things, but there are things which it is not wise to do. We are free to do all things, but not all things are for the common good. (1 Corinthians 10:23 BBE)
And then, as if ‘someone else’ had me on their radar, was trailing me and keeping tabs on my every move, I would be further awakened by a post from Marc and Angel Hack Life [Blog] which I subscribe to. The title of the post 12 Things You Should Start Making Time For Again brought confirmation that there were indeed some things that I was not doing or, yes doing, but not spending quality time on. My comment on that blog read in part:-
This is such a great reminder to me and it’s a post that confirms the very things that I have been thinking of lately since my last visit to the ER two weeks ago. Life is really fragile, it slips away so quickly as we draw our last breath. I am thinking how important it is to spend quality time with my family. I’ve already taken a step in that direction and one of the things we did together on Sunday was to have a picnic on the beach…”
But truth be told, is that enough? How can I really make up for all the lost [quality] time that I did not spend with them? Am I initiating long, intimate conversations with them, and among other things letting them know every day how much I love and appreciate them?
Am I doing enough of the right things to take care of myself that would ensure a healthy life? Do I listen to others without first casting a judgement on them? If my life were to end right now, what would be the [true] condition of my soul and would I go to heaven or [hell]? I further asked myself some very tough questions but in the end, and for the most part, I fell short of the mark.
I thought about the encounter that Marc Chernoff had with the screaming woman as he was jogging on the outskirts of Austin, when her husband fell to the ground in an unconscious state. It was God’s miraculous means through grace, and Mark’s quick thinking/action, that I believe the man was revived and he did not die. He was given another chance at life and to perhaps make some things right. But just what if……
Later on in the day, I was confronted by the Holy Spirit [the real one keeping tabs on my every move] of some other areas of my life that I was lacking in.
You see, lately I have been so consumed with work, projects after projects, my blog/s and other social media sites to get posts out and to support others through commenting on their blog, reading and responding to emails, focusing on permalinks, RSS, SEO’s, marketing strategies of what to do and what not to do, what works in blogging and what will not work…..
It turns out, in addition to all of the other things above that I had already failed in, most important of all, I have been neglecting to spend quality time with the one [GOD] who matters the most in my life.
Missing the mark means that along the way, I had reverted to my old ways of being conformed to and patterned after the things of the world and slowly began to miss the things that are considered proper, perfect, pleasing and a perfect fit to the will of God.
You may be reading this post and is now beginning to realize that you too are in this same situation that I have just described. True as it may be that the scripture (1 Corinthians 10:23) does agree with us that we are free to do all things, we have to know when and where to draw the line, because not all things that we do are wise in the sight of God.
Not all things are helpful as to bring glory and honor to Him, and not everything that we do encourages our spiritual growth. Not everything that we entertain would edify and contribute to our spiritual wellness.
TIME FOR YOUR LIFE TO BE TRANSFORMED
1.) It is very important to set aside time each day to have dialogue and ‘spiritual intercourse’ with God through prayer, reading, studying and meditating upon His word. Without Him, you and I can do nothing and if what we are doing is not bringing glory and honor to His name, then we are doing it in vain.
2.) Take the necessary action each day you wake up to ensure that whatever you believe in, it is in alignment with your beliefs and core values. Measure what you are going to do against all of the possible outcomes and stick with the one that gives you the highest benefit without you having to compromise with who you are, your Godly character, your morol and spiritual belief system.
3.) Focus on the things that brings joy and happiness, not just to yourself but to others around you. A huge part of this means managing your time effectively. It also means zeroing in on those things that ensures that your basic human needs are met. Be sure to connect with and surround yourself with positive people. Use every opportunity you have to express love and for others to share their love with you.
4.) Consciously and consistently measure where you are now against where you want to be in life. Ensure that you are taking the necessary steps or action that would help you to work towards your goals and to reach them at the appoinnted time. Take time to meditate, to reflect on life and give yourself the freedom to mess up at times along the way. None of us are perfect.
5.) Finally, celebrate your victories, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. Life is worth living and enjoying. It is about you being able to make a difference in the world by helping those you meet each day. Cherish the things that speaks to your soul and feed your inner being with that for long term happiness. It all starts from within.
YOUR THOUGHTS….
Was this post helpful at all to you? In what area/s did you connect with it? Let’s have this discussion by leaving your comments below.
Kingdom Ambassadors Empowerment Network 
The fragility of life is so true. I’ve had to step back and realign myself with my goals and what God wants from me I had to stop looking at what others are doing and begin to look at what I was doing. It’s hard when you have to check yourself and be completely honest. There no is better day for change than today, and if all we have is today, we should grasp it and thank God for another chance to do right in His eyes.
Kalley these are all excellent points you have made. It is really hard when we have to do the self examination and to be completely honest with ourselves..but I fully support it because it is the right thing to do. I have a tendency to be very hard on myself when I do it but better me ‘picking the plank’ from my eye than to have someone else do it. 🙂
I am exactly the same way! I tend to be very hard on myself. Expecting myself to do better and be better than what I am, but from a reflective standpoint, I am doing all that I can do at the moment.
It’s great that we want to do more, but we have to take into account for what we am able to do at that moment, and accept that.
It is so hard to not be hard on ourselves, but it’s something that I’m learning to change.
Sounds great!! 🙂
Awesome post packed with great advice! The questions we can all ask ourselves and with the answers make the necessary changes in our lives. It is so easy to become consumed with life and everything else that comes with it and forget about the things that really matter the most. Initiating intimate conversations with our loved ones comes easier the more often we do it. Beyond asking how one is doing, ask more open ended questions that will initiate and engage the person in a conversation as opposed to asking closed ended questions that only give answers such as yes, no, okay…Blessings!
Thanks Janelle, I totally agree with you! Asking open ended questions is a great strategy..even in my own life, if a question is asked of me once a yes or no is all that is required that is all I would give and would not volunteer any more information. So we have to be careful to ask the questions that sparks a ‘real’ conversation.
As a woman who came close to death in 2004, I embrace every single moment, despite suffering, messes or challenges, life is beautiful. Your post is awesome and full of great advice. I plan to share it. Blessings!
Oh absolutely, life is beautiful! As you move forward, use every opportunity you get to embrace triumph over every mess, challenge or suffering that you have faced in times past. You are a miracle! You are beautiful and your breaking was for the making. Trust God who is faithful and will not ever give up on you. Thanks for sharing. Blessings! 🙂
I felt a sting of conviction when you mentioned initiating long, intimate conversations with loved ones. That’s something i need to get on and work on.
I believe that this was my day of conviction….it is what gave birth to this post. Thanks for stopping by.
Your post brought on a sting of conviction when you mentioned initiating long, intimate conversations with loved ones… I need to get on that.
Hi Joseph, first a warm welcome to you and thanks for taking the time out to share your thoughts. I want you to know that you are not alone with this. I am as guilty myself of not initiating intimate conversations with my loved ones. I am about to change that. Blessings!
First, I apologize for the double post! I didn’t see that it went through the first time.
As for initiating those intimate conversations, any tips on doing so?
Great question Joseph and I am so glad that you asked. To initiate those intimate conversations I would suggest the following:
1.) Pay compliments to the person – it is a subtle, gentle way of communicating how much you admire them. Repeat ever so often, it becomes natural after a while.
2.) Show that you genuinely care by asking “how are you doing today?” or if you know they had a difficult day previously, be sure to ask “how is your day going today?” Ask if there is anything that you can do to assist.
3.) Say I love you to your loved one, and do it in person. (not just via a text or an email) When doing it in person, timing is of essence. Maintain eye contact. Depending on the loved one, add touches – holding that persons’ hand is a great way of showing affection and getting an intimate conversation going.
4.) Always try to keep your conversation free from any awkward silence
Set aside time on weekends to have that kind of conversation and to express your love through action/s and doing things together.
5.) Above all, if initiating the intimate conversation is with your spouse, an excellent way to get intimate conversations going in your relationship is praying together each day.
I trust this helped. I would love to explore this more in an upcoming post on my blog.
Thanks for the thorough response Yvonne. You gave a lot of great suggestions that I’ll try to begin to implement today!
Also, that would make a terrific blog post. I could see it helping lots of people.