God, I was reading – still in Timothy and it reminded me of my part. I know that You give me favor and opportunity but I still have to do my part. It says in chapter four, 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Its not so much what the gift as it is my decision to not neglect. Neglecting is when I dont take the time to nourish and develop those things that You have placed in me. Its loving people, leading people to their growth, and tapping into the Holy Spirit in people. For me. So I need to exercise and receive knowledge about those. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to fine tune each area of my life, and weed out the things that; stunt my growth, distract from growth, and are growing the wrong things.
Stunting my growth is much like when my dad told me about how his smoking stopped him from being taller. While Ive never been a smoker, there are some things in life that the devil tries to (or I try) to do that becomes a stunt for growth. If I held on to bitterness or unforgiveness it would literally stop growth in loving people. Distracting from growth is simply self-indulgence. I cannot be a self indulging person. Last night Nili wanted to talk and share with each other rather than watch a show on tv. Tv is a distraction simply said. It rarely promotes relational growth, and almost never leads to great outcomes. When I am not neglecting the gift, I am not allowing distractions in my life. Lastly wrong things growing…in me I see the areas that are selfish. The areas that I am pursuing because they bring me pleasure. I am not saying that everyone needs to quit their bowling league, but I am saying that if I am going bowling to escape from my personal gift and responsibility en I have to quit. Basically if I am to do my part in this life, then every part of this life has to have purpose. While that may seem boring, or waaayyyyy sacrificial, even religious – when I personally stand back and look at these things that I feel I am missing out on (movies, tv shows, golfing all day) I quickly realize that non of them bring me fulfillment and none of them produce the life that I want to live. So, for now I think Ill keep my Golding to 6 times a year (helps that I live in Chicago now and part of the year you simply cant golf).

God, please help me today to be the sharpest tool in the shed. Help me to be on target Ll day with Your presence and Your will. I need You to help me with that. I need You to be In every thought, every reaction, and ever decision today. I love You and thank You for loving me. I trust You with my life today – please lead it for me.
All Yours
B