Mitigate Disappointment With Thankfulness

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Does anyone else get crushed when they think something is about to be great and it’s lackluster at best?

This could be a huge thing, or it could be a tiny small thing. But every-time that searing sense of disappointment can really wreck my mood.

I’ve been trying to figure out some mood hacks lately. To be more conscious of what causes me to have low moods and figure out how to recover when I do.

I’m now realizing that we aren’t victim to our moods and mindsets. But it does require FIGHTING if we’re gonna get out of them. Just like physical exercise requires effort for growth, so does this mental and emotional exercise.

The problem is, it’s REALLY hard when you’re in a low emotional state to fight.

Thankfulness is the slayer of low moods. Get your thankful on.

Comment and let me know 5 things you’re thankful for!

One Heart One Mind

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Jeremy Riddle posted recently about worship being about us coming together as one heart and one mind.

He’s referencing this verse from Acts 4:32

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Community! Yeah! We need better community!

If you’re like me your mind immediately goes to the part about no one having need and what an awesome community that would be.

But we forget to ask what makes that community act in that way.

It’s because they were unified in one heart and mind.

Unity YEAH! We need unity!

But what is the unifying message they are gathering around?

Testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot build healthy communities for the sake of a healthy community.

Real Kingdom, healthy community, flows from people gathering around advancing and preaching the good news of Jesus. And if you read more in Acts you will see that things weren’t always peachy. Lots of “sharp disagreements”

What is your community gathering around? Are they of one heart and mind?

Hearts Burning Within Us

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Luke 24:32

When we hear God’s voice and read the scriptures do our hearts burn?

What amazing imagery.

What’s your heart truly burning for today?

Desire is a God given gift that is intended to be directed back at our Creator. I heard someone say Hollywood does a better job of awakening desire than the church.

Maybe today if you’re honest you don’t sense your heart burning for anything, or maybe it’s burning for the wrong things.

That’s okay, we can only move forward when we truly acknowledge where we are.

I’m asking God this morning that our hearts would burn brighter for Him and Him alone. He’s so good.

Fire’s have to be tended to. Stirred up. New fuel added. Bellows used.

Bill Johnson says something along the lines of “God sends the fire but it’s the priests job to keep it going.”

I’ve got Lindy Conant’s ”Freight Train” on repeat this morning to stir up my fire.

Lindy was at YWAM Kona with Jess and I a decade ago. It’s fun to see how God is using people a decade later.

Today is Aloha day here at YWAM Honolulu which means a new quarter is starting. Check out our facebook page to see some pics.

Contend For Hope

I’m tired. And when I get tired I lose track of my why. And without my why I question just about everything. And because my eyes aren’t focused upward they turn inward and it quickly becomes about my comfort and my rights and my preferences which is entitlement. And entitlement is a slippery slope to bitterness and despair.

If your feelings don’t align with truth tell them to shut up.

And I did. Some people’s hard tasks tonight are fighting literal battles. My little scrimmage tonight was a pile of dishes that I have been neglecting all day. But they are done now.

And I’m contending for hope in my confusion. Forcing myself to be thankful, because I have a lot to be thankful for but when I get overwhelmed I shrink back and hide and would rather justify inaction.

This is the busiest and equally most fulfilling and challenging season of my life so far.

And I have to contend right now for hope and joy and peace. Not dread despair and anxiety.

Writing this is me contending. Because that all to common voice says don’t be vulnerable they will judge you and think you are weak. I am weak. And I daily fight battles I feel like I should have won by now.

I’m posting because resistance is telling me not to. Push through. Finish a task. Because you tell Your Feelings What To Do not the other way around.

Soul Cleaning

IMG_3156The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.  — Proverbs 22:3

My side hustle has allowed me to take a deeper dive into my soul recently.

Who knew that God would have aligned something so perfectly, for me to earn some much needed extra cash for my family and would use this time for me and Him.

I’m kidding that’s just like God.

I truly feel like God is peeling back the curtain so I can see some of His dreams for our future. Things that He’s whispered to my heart and are now are almost here, ready to be birthed through partnership and consistent hard work.

They say your gifts open doors for you, but your character keeps you there.

For me to STAY where God wants me in the future requires that I work on some soul stuff. Even though I wish living the dream was stress free, it’s quite the opposite.

When things get hard what do we run to?

So that’s why I’m diving into my soul. What are the wounds that are maybe just floating around in my subconscious sabotaging what I and God truly desire for my life?

I wouldn’t say this is a fun journey of the soul. But I’m excited to really be free. Lets work on this stuff now so there isn’t a catastrophe in the future.

What if left unchecked in your life right now is a time bomb ticking, waiting to explode?

Love Me Where I’m Hiding

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We are in a season of God peeling back unbelief and showing us the dreams He has for us.

The #destiny we were created for.

The impossible things we desire in our deepest being but cannot do apart from Him.

If you can accomplish your dreams without God you probably aren’t tapped into the destiny you were created for.

To do what God is #calling us to it requires us to #CHOOSE to #grow.

It requires surrender.

It requires the tangible love of God to come and undo us in the areas we are trying to hide. The areas of weakness even areas of shame.

Managing freedom is HARD.

But there is no love without choice. And God took such a great risk for love.

The living God is pursuing us and dreaming big dreams for us that will bring restoration to the earth.

And the next step requires us to invite Him to draw us in closer.

Our battles will be won in intimacy with our loving Father not by human effort. That doesn’t negate our partnership but we cannot do it apart from truly drawing near to the heart of God.

Let’s relent. Let’s surrender. Let’s let Him in to the places of hurt and shame and self sufficiency we’re hiding.  Jesus we need You.

Brave Surrender

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I wouldn’t call @kimwalkersmith R&B (amazon says its the top r&b biography) but I’ve never been so excited to drive an hour to work and scrub toilets while listening to this book.

on Amazon –> https://amzn.to/2FKZOPZ

I remember having How He Loves on REPEAT and when Kim starts talking in the middle of that song about truly encountering the love of God. Man. I want and need more of that today. (https://youtu.be/JoC1ec-lYps?t=394)

Or her tune “I surrender” and the spontaneous song after that. Honestly still my number one song for me and Jesus. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ganByZCU3MI)

Get blasted today by our God who is alive and is actively madly in love with you.

Last week I read @brianjohnsonm book “When God Becomes Real” (https://amzn.to/2TUybt0) and was glad there is no one on the construction site as I clean since I ugly wept through that entire book.

@bethelmusic has blessed my life and continually points me toward deepening my relationship with Jesus through intimacy and finding my rest in His manifest presence.

Invest in future self today. Read a book and get inspired and equipped for the call God has on your life. If you need a list of good reads comment and I’ll recommend one for you. :)

Want Less Frustration? Communicate More

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These mountains ⛰ never get old.

I understand now why there are songs about mountain to the ocean. It’s amazing that you can see both.

I’m learning about communication and for me how I think I’m over communicating at times but I’m really under-communicating.

Recently someone asked what we are doing in Hawaii and if we were on a permanent vacation. I thought I was really putting it out there what we are doing. One person even told me that I talk about toilets 🚽 a lot. But if people aren’t plugged into your methods of communication then…

You might be disseminating information but you aren’t communicating.

Jess’ Bible Core Course (@bcchonolulu) starts Tuesday. She has 5 students and for the next 3 months they will read through the whole entire Bible and learn tools to study, gain confidence to teach and grow in intimacy with Jesus by finding their place in this amazing story God is writing.

What are you frustrated about that could be alleviated by better and more frequent communication?

Two Responses To Stress

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I looked through my IG account today just to see which posts were doing better than others.

Pretty photos do the best. Makes sense since IG is really a photo sharing app. So I guess I gotta get out there and take more pretty pictures.

This is the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

I prayed or someone this evening and as I prayed I felt God wanting to bring clarity to something.

Stress is real, and everyone experiences it. And there are two different responses.

1. Draw good boundaries and say no to unhealthy stress

2. Don’t shy away from healthy stress (hardship) and be all in, advance move forward, fight it head on.

The problem lies in the indecision of dealing with that stress. We need clarity to swiftly say no and draw a healthy boundary to unhealthy stress.

Or we need to quickly and decisively jump all in and not shrink back.

So which is it?

Name your stress specifically. And tell me if you need to say no and draw a boundary or truly commit and take action and be all in.

Then do it.

Self Discipline

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Self Discipline = DOING what you know you need to do even though you don’t FEEL like doing it

“I know what I’m suppose to do, I just can’t do it.” 

This has been a common phrase in my life.  I was waiting for a feeling of great motivation.  I needed a perfect atmosphere, or circumstances.  I wanted it to feel easy.  I wanted to feel like doing the hard things I didn’t want to do.

And as I looked around watching other people execute on hard things, I thought they had some special gift. I thought they were constantly motivated.  I thought they were feeling it all the time.

It’s sad to say but it hasn’t been until recently that I realized I have the ability to get after it no matter how I feel.  That I’m a powerful person and I can take action on things even if I’m not feeling it.

It was yesterday when I was reading Take The Stairs by Rory Vaden and he stated something along the lines: Every single person has things they want to do and don’t want to do, but learning to take action on the things you don’t want to do is the winning habit of self discipline. 

I remember when I was in my late teens having people tell me that emotions were deceptive and I couldn’t trust my feelings.

I thought they were ludicrous.  My feelings felt so real.  More than a decade later I’m wondering why I’m taking this lesson in now.  If I would have read some of the books I’ve been reading then would I have gotten the message? 

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.  The next best time is right now. 

So I can’t wonder about the past and what my life would be like if I had unlocked this seeming secret to self discipline earlier.  And just because you know something doesn’t mean you’re going to apply it.  So now that I’ve been given this truth, am I going to take ownership of it?  Well my alarm went off at 4am this morning and I drank a bunch of water to start my day and did some squats with my kettle bell, and here I am writing.  So today I’m taking ownership of taking actions on things. 

Another great quote from Rory is this:  “Success is not owned, it’s rented, and rent is due every day.” 

Yesteryears disciplines don’t do you a whole lot of good today. 

This morning there was something in me that felt like getting up and executing on my morning plan, that’s why I’m up.  I value “feeling” good.  And when I do my morning plan it helps me feel better throughout the day.  Less scattered.  I get time to myself uninterrupted to work on the things I want to work on and by the time everyone else gets up I’ve already accomplished some things.  So while everyone else is waking up, I’m already primed and ready to go. 

But self discipline kicks in and is tested when you don’t feel like doing things.  When you’re tired or sick.  Last night I was super tired after work and didn’t want to prep the house for my morning routine.  But I did it anyway. 

Because at some point, our values have to override our feelings. 

The interesting thing is we have the ability change the way we feel through perspective.  We might not feel like doing certain things now.  But when we get in a routine of it, and are reminding ourselves of the value of said task, we can change how we view life.  No longer is it just something we don’t want to do, but it moves to something that we enjoy doing because it’s valuable to us. 

Take action today on the things you know you need to, the healthy disciplines that are an investment in your future.  I promise you’ll feel better if you do.