Investing In Yourself

Every person in the world has been called by God. Called to work a specific gift or ministry. Sometimes though we become so caught up in someone else’s vision or dream that we forget about our own or we put the dreams and visions God has given us on the bookshelf for a later date and time. Is this the right thing to do? In my mind, NO!

Yes, we are to always have a servants heart and be dedicated to the vision of those that we serve but that doesn’t mean that our own dreams and visions can ‘t be getting fed. God gave us those dreams and visions for a reason. If we don’t work towards them mentally, physically, and spiritually, when the spotlight is on us we will not be ready and we will be screaming “WAIT! I am not ready yet“. Unfortunately if we aren’t ready the spotlight dies and we miss out on what God has planned for us. (Thanks Pastor Melva for that vision)

A lot of people quote Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says: “There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth” and they use that as a pull to have you work their vision and to be honest I completely agree with that scripture and that there is a time and season for everything but even during the winter months the earth is preparing for spring. During the fall the earth is preparing for winter. You have to always be preparing for the next season.

Many of you might be asking, “How do I prepare for the next season?”. In order to explain and show this I would like to use me as an example. God has called me to be a child evangelist. At the age of 13 God began giving me dreams and visions of the work He has in me however since that time I have been always serving someone else’s vision and keeping the visions and dreams God has given me on the bookshelf. Change is here. I will always serve my pastors and their vision and will still sow into the lives around me but I also have to grow in me as well. How do I plan on doing this?

Here’s how:

Mentally: Reading is now going to be a “hobby” in my life. I have set a goal to always be reading something. I know people who are always reading … sometimes 3-4 books at a time and they are the quickest people I know. Their brain is being stimulated with new information. I am currently reading a pre-released copy of Tony Morgan’s new book “Killing Cockroaches”. You will be seeing the book review here on my site on March 1st but anyways … got off subject there slightly but I am mainly reading the book because it’s about leadership. I am also looking forward to reading “Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney” by Lee Cockerell. These are both books on leadership of which will help me become a better leader.

Reading isn’t the only way I plan on stimulating my mind. There are other ways which include listening to books or the Word on CD while driving or sitting in the office. I know people who play “The Bible Experience” even while they are asleep.

I also did a search on Google for ways to stimulate your mind and found a great article from Reader’s Digest that offers some great suggestions including taking Vitamin B and eating grapes instead of cookies (man … I love cookies though). The site actually has a lot of great tips that I will be implementing. Try it … what’s it going to hurt?

Spiritually: Getting in the Word more. I currently spend about 30 minutes a day in the Word. That is just strictly reading the Word (not listening to preaching via CD or online) but I plan to increase that to an hour a day. The Word of God is what it’s all about. In the past I have had an issue of memorizing the Word. I would read something one day and then forget what I read a week later. This bothered me but the more and more I am in the Word the more and more it becomes real and becomes a part of me. People want the Word to be personal … of which it is. If we don’t know the Word, we can’t make it personal to those that we are ministering to. How can we show that God is a personal God if we can’t show His Word as being personal? (WHEW THAT WOULD PREACH)

With all that said … I have to make every attempt to be in the Word more and more. To know God intimately. To know what makes Him laugh … smile … and even blush. That’s where I am going. Becoming a real God Chaser … not just a religious person.

Physically: The ministry God has in me isn’t a low impact experience. It’s high impact and for that to be the case I must be in good health. This means I need to start eating healthier and start exercising. PERIOD!! Enough is enough. It’s not a resolution it’s a order of change. We all talk about losing or for some people gaining weight but we never take it further than just talk and if we do it ends up being this thought bubble that gets popped after a few short days. We really gotta stick it out. They say quitters never win so why do we keep quitting.

For me I have made the commitment (keyword) to exercise three times a week. After all, I do have a fitness center down on the first floor at home that I can use free of charge and best of all I can watch my cartoons while exercising. LOL

I also am making a commitment to start eating healthier. Cutting out soda and fast food from my life is going to be key. Yeah I will enjoy it once in a while but not as often as I am now. I am also going to start eating more veggies. If you know me at all you know I HATE VEGGIES but I am going to start eating them whether they taste good or not. Sometimes things that are good for you don’t always taste or feel good. Veggies and exercise are just two of those things. LOL

Over the next several months my life is going to be going through some major changes (Announcement Coming Soon). Changes that will affect the rest of my life. In order to be all that God has called me to be I have to be investing not only in those around me but also investing in myself or allowing others to invest in me. I encourage you do to the same.

So now, what has God called you to do? Are you living it out? How are you investing into yourself? Ask yourself these questions. I would love to hear your answers.