God's Got a Fix For You

I had a friend who had a saying that always brought a smile to my face every time I heard her say it. Her name was Edna Weaver. She was a pastor and she was filled with God's joy. She always wanted to encourage others by letting them know that no matter how long it takes, God has a plan for you that is for good and He will see it come to pass. Here's her quote:

"God will fix a fix for you, and if you don't get fixed by the fix He fixed for you, He will fix another fix to fix you."

As I am writing this, I am reminded that although God wants the best for us, it is up to us to cooperate with His plan for us. He wants to fulfill His plan for our lives, but since we have free will, He can only fulfill His plan when we allow Him to.

What does that mean? In my opinion, when we try to do things our way, according to our understanding, we can only go so far. Sometimes, with some people, a lot can be accomplished, but it is not God's best for us. When we seek Him and do our best to understand His ways and how He wants us to live, we will fare much better.

I used to think that I knew best for myself and everyone else in my life. What I have come to realize is that, since I don't know all circumstances that are involved with others and what my future might hold, I am much better off trusting that God is God and He knows best. Consequently, I have chosen to do my best to seek the Lord in all that I do and trust that He is working on me and those for whom I pray to bring about His best in each of our lives.

A couple of the benefits of doing things God's way are peace and a lack of stress. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29-30, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

So I would encourage all of us to seek the Lord, allow Him to "fix a fix" for us, and rest in His peace.

INTEGRITY

Several years ago, I was thinking about how God would want us to live. I know that we are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, but what is one way that we can walk that out in our daily lives? Then I thought that one way would be to live a life of integrity. Then I wondered what that would look like in my life. I came up with an acronym that represents my thoughts about the characteristics that a person of integrity would have. Below are my ideas.

INTEGRITY

Interested in the well being of others

Nice, kind, generous

Trustworthy - having earned the trust of others

Esteem - to be well thought of, to have a good reputation

Genuine - not characterized by deception or fraud

Respectable - of or appropriate to good or proper behavior; having an acceptable appearance

Internalize the qualities of positive attitude, responsibility, courage, positive communication, self- respect, respect for others, love, commitment, and honesty

Truthful - to be honest, a person who keeps his/her word

Yearnings to make the most of myself while helping others do the same by internalizing and applying all the above mentioned traits

How about you? Has God encouraged you to walk your best life out in certain ways? If you would like to share, please scroll down and enter your comments.

Joyeux Noel

Joyeux Noel (French with English Subtitles) or The Christmas Truce (English version). This movie is based on the true story of a truce that was called on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Dec. 1914, WWI. It is an amazing story of how, in the midst of war, on Christmas Eve, British, French and German troops stopped fighting and fellowshipped in peace with each other through Christmas Day. It is currently only available for rent or purchase.

In this movie, the Prince of Peace, Jesus, brought, for a few hours, peace on earth and good will towards men between warring countries. What if we followed Jesus' example and made a decision to be peaceable and loving to all those we meet, starting with our families. If we decide to live that way for the Christmas season, perhaps we can extend it, little by little, for the entire year. I am willing to try. How about you?