Originally posted for Labor Day weekend, 9/1/2014! Still some great thoughts for today, four seven years later! I still need to do some of the same things on my little checklist below....how about you?
Hope you and yours have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!! (9/6/2021 Note: I am revisiting this on Labor Day evening, but this message is good for anytime!!)
I absolutely love this jaunty little fox, trotting away after very efficiently darting into the woods, finding a tasty morsel of something to eat, rodent or reptile I do not know, finishing it off rapidly,
Got me to thinking about the times that we need to do just like this fox...take care of the necessities of life, whatever they may be...work, food, shelter, and then just keep on going. Don't get bogged down by things that distract us from our real purpose.
Things like:
- toxic relationships...people that drag us down, lead us astray, keep us from blossoming
- material attachments...more things...bigger, better, more expensive, prettier, or sentimental objects that weigh us down
- too many projects that really have no vital purpose and take up our time, money, and space
- social attachments that steal our time away from our loved ones...cell phones, social media, internet
- "Responsibilities"...duties we take on that perhaps aren't really our responsibilities but somehow we have allowed ourselves to become pressured into making them our own
- clutter...cluttered closets, garages, sheds, kitchen cupboards, shelves, desks, drawers, rooms, attics, basements, porches, cluttered minds...
- guilt trips...things I should have done, things I should not have done, things I want to do and can't, things I don't want to do but do anyway
- toxic memories...memories of sorrow, fear, anxieties about things that I need to forget...and perhaps forgive
I see myself in several of these...what do I need to walk away from today? How about you? Perhaps you see yourself here as well. It's certainly easier said than done. But the first step is to identify the things that need to be eliminated from our lives....
- The First Step is to PRAY.
- Then go down the list above...make your own list and prioritize those things that need to go first.
- Work on one item at a time.
- PRAY again. Ask God for wisdom.
- "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33
- If you need wisdom to carry out this process in your life, ask God. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:5-6
- Don't allow this process to further bind you in guilt and frustration. Take your time. Let God lead you. But DO listen to His prompting when He speaks to your heart. Don't turn away from the help He is sending your way.
I love this passage in the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verses 4-9:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
And the PEACE OF GOD, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy,
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS.
The things which you learned and received and heard
and saw in me, these do, and the
God of Peace will be with you."
There is really nothing else for me to say. I've got my own list to ponder...and some things to pray about on this Labor Day. Then I need to be on my way to a life free from the burden of things...
You might also like to read another story about some little foxes in our lives... Click on the blue.
You might also like to read another story about some little foxes in our lives... Click on the blue.
Perfect post for me today!!!
ReplyDeleteOh goodie! I can't wait to see/hear about the results of this! praying for you! Happy birthday yesterday. Love you sweet niece Debbie!
DeleteOh my goodness! You really pulled some great stuff out of this little photo collection! I love this! Wow Pam! Now I am going to go back and read it again and apply what you've said here! So good!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susie. You helped me start thinking about these pictures...and then another facebook friend confirmed that with another comment that made me think deeper...I love how God brings people into our lives to inspire and encourage and motivate us to dig deeper and find the truths waiting just under the surface! Love ya Girlfriend!
DeleteOh, Dr. Doolittle- I love it! Animals and Nature so often reveal great wisdom from above! Lessons from His classroom are always available when we make ourselves available to the Teacher.
ReplyDeleteYes, I tend to "talk to the animals" a lot...and watch and learn from their behavior. It is a great classroom. I am thankful that God uses His world AND His Word to teach us. Everyday is a new adventure if we are paying attention.
DeleteThis is special to me. I am in the midst of getting my fall/winter wardrobe out and putting away the spring/summer clothes. I just read on another blog about being careful about things in our writing life. Hmmm,two messages, is there a lesson there for me? Blessings to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteI know there is a message here for me...sometimes the Holy Spirit uses the messages He directs me to write to teach me the lesson He has for me that day. Now, to put it into action...that is the next step. I'm glad this was meaningful for you as well. Have a blessed day my friend. Hope you are doing well. Saying a prayer for you.
DeleteHi Pam! I love that your first step is to pray. I think the world world would start making that list (me included!), but how can I make a good list unless I pray about it first?
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos of the fox too. They are very focused on necessities and are a wonderful example of 'getting it done.' I didn't know I could learn so much from a fox!
Blessings,
Ceil
Funny I just found your comment a year later. I guess I never got around to coming back and checking to see if I had any other comments. One of the things I need to be better focused on doing...cultivating friendships and positive relationships even with my online friends. Thank you for always being a faithful encourager. You've been a blessing to me!
DeleteI have some friends here in their 90's who are always smiling, thinking of others, never complaining, even though they have serious health problems. I want to be always rejoicing and giving thanks, like them!
ReplyDelete'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God,' that's what we should do every morning before we start our day. Only through His Power, Kingdom and Glory can we overcome this world. Just like the fox, take care of business (seek Him) before running into the woods (world).
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. I talk to the animals that come to the yard and even to the bugs and to the plants.I also made voices for them to "talk" to my kids. I always have and it taught my children that animals etc had feelings and were to be considered. They also make animals "talk" now.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your list of things to work on and how to do it.
I agree toxic relationships can destroy your life if you let them.
I always put comments over 14 days on comment moderation. Then I see when I get a new comment on a post.
Have a lovely Saturday my friend.
Since this was a repost, I am seeing all of the new comments as they come. Blogger has renewed the notification by email of all new comments, so now I am getting them regularly! I may not always respond, but I do read them all and appreciate them. I try to respond when I can, but lately it just seems to be hard for me to keep up with everything and also read my friends' posts as well. Yes...the animals are pretty special around here...as you can see, I often post animal pictures. They were here first...we are living on their territory, so I try to respect that and them...and I have found that they have respected us more so as well. Hope your Saturday is blessed and beautiful.
DeleteA great message, I needed to hear again. Thank you for the reminders.
ReplyDeleteI needed it too!! I love how God re-reminds us kindly of things we need to remember!!
DeleteThat passage from Philippians is one of my favorites, Pamela. Thank you for reminding us to take time to pray when we need to shed ourselves of the toxic influences in our lives, and simply move on. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Excellent post, Pamela! I'm glad you re-posted it since I didn't know you n 2014. There are things I need to walk away from (and I have). There's a quote attributed to Clara Barton that is also appropriate here. When she was asked about a matter when someone had treated her wrongly, she replied along the lines of "I distinctly remember forgetting that." So, not only do we have things we need to walk away from, but we have matters we need to forget.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. Have a good weekend!
Came back for a re-read.
ReplyDeleteYou are in my prayers.
This is life-changing. A lot to consider here. Wow...
ReplyDeleteI love the list of things to walk away from. Many of them are things I need to think about, but I love even more your steps for doing just that. I will ponder this a good bit.
ReplyDeleteWe do tend to overload our selves with daily events and projects. Sometimes things happen that leave us feeling out of control. Well, we just need to remember we are not in control but our God is. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice, is something we need to do daily to lift us, to give us hope, and to calm our spirits. Always enjoy my visits to Closed Doors, Open Windows.
ReplyDeleteBoth your lists are so good. I need to do some of the things in the first list and not do some others in the list. Matthew 6:33 is my life verse. We have a tendency to get tangled up in the distractions of life that entangle and trip us up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I certainly am guilty of a lot of things on the list but thank God I am wiser now. Slowly and bit by bit I am dealing with it. Prioritizing of course and everything takes me so very long. Right now I'm sitting in huge disarray as I have multiple projects on the go (mini home improvement) and once everything is put back I can continue with my decluttering exercise. I know what needs doing but I cannot do it all so quickly so I just take my time and try not to get too bogged down. I'm grateful for the last year and a half which has helped me to focus on a good deal of what needed doing.
ReplyDelete