Part 5b: What's in Your Wallet?

I have noticed that a lot people use the word faith loosely. Some throw it around like a toy and regard it only as a last resort, "Well this didn't work, so I think I'll try faith."

That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about taking the effort to ensure that faith is central in your life. Taking the steps to be focused on it without being spooky. Taking the time to Internalize your F-A-I-T-H.

The I in F-A-I-T-H is INTERNALIZE. Last post the tools came up. Let's start back with Tool #1: Pocket Scriptures.

By now you have been Finding & Studying Scriptures as well as Asking & Confessing. A pocket scripture is simply taking the scripture that truly speaks to you and putting it on a notecard and placing that notecard in your wallet, back pocket, on the visor in your car, the mirror in your back room or whatever works for you. This is not magic, this is simply you keeping the word on who you say you are in your face, so that you remember to act like who you say you are. I started doing this when I was college.

I always wore blue jeans, never carried a purse, so everything that I needed was in my jean pockets. My back pockets however, where always empty, because I think it's too easy for people to pick your back pocket (nobodies watching it). Anyway, I did alot of walking then, 15 minutes to this class, 15 minutes to that class, waiting in line to buy lunch, waiting in line to buy school books, you get the picture. I could leave my dorm room happy and sure of myself. But by the time I arrive at class I could be nervous, frustrated and afraid to speak. I had some hard nosed professors and a lot of small classes where I could not hide. I didn't want to anyway, but I don't want to make a fool of myself either and I didn't want to be afraid to speak up. So I started keeping my favorite scripture in my back pocket (I would switch out once I knew it by heart). And when the fear would grip me I would grab that pocket scripture and do battle in my mind. You see, I want to enjoy my life and fear and foolishness are not a part of my pleasure. Feeling good in my own skin and having the guts to go for the dream is. So I ask you, what's in your back pocket, wallet, purse, whatever? You know what I mean.

A scripture to start with,
"God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind (2Tim 1:7)." Are you acting crazy? because you don't have to . . .

-MizJAI-

Part 5a: Having Fun and Continuing to Build Faith

I missed you guys last week. I am trying a new work out routine and it has me a little out of sorts in the morning. But I am excited about it.

In the meantime, I have been thinking about this F-A-I-T-H thing. Consequently the T and the H have changed. You can review the changes here.

As for today, have you ever found your mind overrun with ideas and dreams of things that you would like to have? And you think and think and think and pray (a little:-)) and dream and think some more about it until your mind or your heart explodes. Then you calm down, but it remains in the back of your head as something that you will get yourself as soon as you get a chance. The desire never goes away, you just store it away.

Our dreams, our righteous dreams, are so much more than the "things" that we desire and they should be honored with our full attention. At this point you have been FINDING & studying the promise as well as ASKING and confessing the promise. Those steps help you to identify the dreams that God will honor. And once you know that God is on your side, what is holding you back?

Now it's time to do things to truly INTERNALIZE who you say you want to be, what you say you want to do. There are two tools that I use all the time to anchor my dreams inside my heart because I don't want them to be passing fantasies, I want them to be real.
Tool #1: Pocket Scriptures
Tool #2: Focus Boards

Listen my alarm is ringing. It's time to go work out, so I'll finish this on the next post.

In the meantime, I hope you guys have some vacations planned. I know I need that time to regroup and reset my personal compass. I use it to rest and reevaluate my life, and to determine whether or not I am taking the baby steps and grown up strides to get me to the places that I want to be in this lifetime.

"See" you next week.

MizJAI