Last week was a lonnnng productive week. So late, late Saturday night I rewarded myself with a fun treat. Disneyland! My favorite place on earth =) The goal? Get on one ride and try out their gumbo before the park closed. The gumbo was nothing special but I did get on two rides. One of which inspired this post…

I haven’t been on this ride since they reopened it a few years back because I’ve never been willing to stand in the long line…anywho I’m on the flight getting banged up by the crazy hydraulics and I noticed C-3PO say something multiple times… “I’m not programmed for this” and it made me think of us. Yeah us, you and me!

How many times have we been mid trial, blessing, new task, etc and we scream out to everyone there “I’m not programmed for this!”

Ok, so we might not say those words exactly but we say something like:

I don’t know why you are holding onto it.

That thing you have already asked forgiveness for a thousand times.

What you’ve already given to him at the altar in your church, as you cried in your shower, as you laid your head on your pillow.

Every time you have a free, silent, moment you allow it to lead you on a guilt trip. God says STOP. I have forgiven you!

As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Now if you believe what the scriptures say, that you are forgiven through Christ, then you cannot hold on to the weight of unforgiveness any longer. It’s too heavy and not meant for us to bear. I want to encourage you to work on freeing yourself by forgiving yourself. It’s one thing to feel convicted or even guilty about doing something wrong. But after you have given it up to God in repentance the sense of guilt should not be greater. Self-condemnation is not what God desires for any of us. Neither is condemnation by any other person!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1.

I don’t know what it is, how long you have been holding it, or the extent to which it burdens you throughout your nights but you have to let it go. Receive and experience peace.

Pray a simple prayer today:

Lord, help me to forgive myself and help me to forgive others. I’ve tried before and failed so please guide me. I want to be free and I need your peace. I trust you! In Jesus name, Amen.

Need more specific prayer? Click here now 

How many of you wake up in the morning and this is the first thing that you do:

I’m guilty of it some mornings. Okay, most. Especially since I use my phone as an alarm. If I see messages I immediately read, respond, and then find myself trailing off to something else. By the time I’m finished I throw a quick “thank you Lord” prayer in the air and rush in order to get out of the house.

He deserves so much more. We deserve so much more. So today I just want to encourage you to add something to your morning ritual if you haven’t already. I’m asking you to:

Our schedules are filled to the brim. As we start one project we are getting calls about one we thought we already completed, thinking about how we are gonna tackle the one in queue, and problem solving ways to handle a situation that may arise in the coming week. Our minds move nonstop and so do our bodies. Busy, busy, busy but are we productive?

There is nothing wrong with taking on projects and having a full schedule, nothing at all. But: 

• Are things getting done?
  
• Is God still getting his time?
• Are the things you are currently working on getting all of your attention?
• Are you constantly staring at a phone or tablet while in a meeting or in conversation with someone?
• Are you working on tons of things for months at a time but have very little to show for it?
• Or are you filling your schedule with pointless, or easy tasks so that you don’t have to face something?

Ahhh something is missing here. And one of those somethings is your ability to remain present. I’m convinced staying present with what is happening in your right now boosts productivity like 510%. (I made those figures up, we know I don’t do math).

I’m overly tired of being busy with nothing getting done. And for the tasks that are being completed, I‘m tired of them not getting 100% of me. So, I’m going to share 4 tips I had to tell myself this week to get back to the right here right now *side note have you read that blog? Read it here.  

1. Slow down
Does it always feel like you’re rushing? Like, no matter what you’re doing you rush through so you can get to the next task on your to do list? Stop that! Slow down! Your present deserves 100% of your attention. What is happening in front of you? Who are the random individuals walking by? Should this task even be on your list? We miss out on so much because we live in the next moment instead of the present. Oh, and lift your head up out of your phone! I promise you your timeline and notifications will be there when you are done.

2. Be flexible
While some of us may have really good days and get everything we planned for the day done, this doesn’t happen