Power in the Cross

I pray that you will begin to understand

the incredible greatness of His power

for us who believe in Him. This is the

same mighty power that raised Christ

from the dead and seating him in the 

place of honor at God's right hand in 

the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 1:19-20

Many of us are relying on our own willpower and strengths instead of God's power. We are constantly telling ourselves we'll change how we live life after a loss of a loved one or something tragic. We stick to the change for a couple of days then slowly revert back to our old lifestyles. My devotional for today advices:

To be successful at this, we must move from willpower to real power. This is where we depend on God to help us define and achieve what matters most. 

We already have the Holy Spirit in our lives, which means we have access to God's power. This power is the power to help us live meaningful lives, the power to heal broken relationships no matter what they are, help you work out problems with your family and friends, and lend you a hand and strength when you need it the most. This kind of power is accessible to those who believe in Him. 

I love this quote in Ephesians because through Him, I can gain the power to start fresh with my faith and I can pursue what matters most. Finding why I am placed in this world and making a purpose of my existence here. 

Some things I value the most would most definitely be my relationships. From the relationship I have with my family, my friends, my boyfriend, and even strangers. I used to catch myself being such a people pleaser. Always wanting to make sure everything was going fine and that no one hated me. If I found out someone had a negative view towards me, I used to try so hard to change their minds. But honestly, lately I haven't been worrying too much about how others see me. Now I just want to continue growing through my relationship with Christ and trust and allow Him to mold me and my path to where I need to be and WHO I need to be. Honestly, lately I haven't been feeling myself at all. I've had little patience with people, I'm always in a grumpy mood, I'm always trying to dismiss myself from gatherings I'm invited to... etc. That's completely opposite of who I used to be. I'm trying to really put myself back out there and be a positive light as much as I can to those around me. We had to present Where I'm From poems in my Language & Literacy class yesterday and some of the poems presented brought the whole class to tears. It's crazy to hear about other peoples upbringings and see how it's so different from your own. You become more aware of different trials and honestly your perception of the person changes. But do we need to know everyone's background to respect them? Absolutely not. Everyone deserves respect. 

A big chunk of my days lately is spending time with my dogs, especially since we just got Spot on Sunday (11 mo old maltese/terrier mix). I've been spending a lot of outdoor time with both Spot and Muppy and trying to help them get along with one another. Honestly, I never really participated with Lent before but this year I decided to try it out. I gave up soda (I don't normally drink soda anyways but I really need to lose weight. I should cut other things off my diet too actually...) but I also decided to cut out at LEAST 10-30 minutes of my day to commit to the Lord and to read my Bible and maybe even write down some thoughts either onto this blog or into my journal that I haven't opened in so long. I can most definitely make some time in my day to meditate on the Word and to talk to God. It's possible. I know God can give me the strength and knowledge throughout this fast and even life after it. I pray and hope to be more kind and understand with others. That's something I really need to work on as well as forgiving myself. I have the hardest time doing that. I'm always nailing myself down for mistakes I've made and the guilt eats me up. But I really need to be forgiving to myself. I'm only human.