Ignite Passion and Reach Your Potential

As a contributor to “liftupyourday.com”, this article first appeared on December 28, 2015.

The new year is starting whether you’ve got a plan for great things or just living on prayer that it won’t be like the last one.

My prayer is that discover the potential God placed under your fingertips and reach for what you haven’t tapped into yet.

You may have climbed the ladder in 2015, but the gifts you were given last season aren’t the same as what’s coming to you in the next. You were designed to grow into new opportunities and talents over time. So although you may be satisfied with where you are, God has new levels for you beyond this point.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” – Frederick Buechner

You may have to give up contentment to get a little uncomfortable so that God can cultivate his gifting. As long as you keep honoring God and developing your talent, the oil that belongs to you will not flow to anybody else. God will get you to where you are supposed to be.

David spent his days in the shepherd’s field slinging stones with the sheep until a moment came when God put this small, seemingly useless hobby to work defeating a giant. This victory let David to the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 16 – 17)believe in your potential,

Maybe you know what God wants you to do but your talent has gone dormant because you haven’t been disciplined to develop it any further. You might be stuck in an overwhelmed schedule or intimidated by fear that you’re not good enough. Doubt that you’ll be able to stick with it and end up reverting back to your routine after a while.

Failure says ‘what if… what if… what if…’

Faith says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6)

Sometimes we see heroes of faith and think they have it all figured out. But God asks us to do things afraid so that we will lean into Him on faith. If we had all the confidence, courage and strength to do it on your own, we wouldn’t run to Him as the source.

The Father’s gifts were never meant to pressure you. When you’re tempted to ‘wait for the perfect time’ to get out of your comfort zone, lean into the resistance and remind yourself this is an excuse. There is no perfect time. Daring to take the first step is difficult for a reason. Pressing against resistance makes you grow.

God has invested gifts in you and He’s expecting a return on that investment. Like the servants with the master’s money, God is looking for the willing to carry out his plan. (Matthew 25:14-30)

Keep using what God is giving to you and He’ll continue to pour out more through you.

So start the stirring now by praying for this dwelling passion to grow. Stretch your imagination and reframe those intimidations into inspiration. It’s time to turn down the distractions, stop discounting this gift and get focused. It’s time to fan the flame of your blessing.

God has a hedge of protection around you and your future that cannot be penetrated without permission. You don’t have to live worried.

Heavenly Father, develop in us this gift with your grace, your favor, your wisdom, and your strength. Stir up a storm of passion for your blessing and equip us with the courage to get out of our comfort zone this year. To You be all the glory and honor as your work is being revealed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Shine

 

shine, matthew 5:16, be the light, trishakeehn.com

You are beautiful. And to be beautiful every day means to be yourself. You are uniquely created in the image of a beautiful artist.

Simply stunning and crafted with an extraordinary soul… Let your light dazzle us today. Keep shining, Beautiful.

(Matthew 5:16) #bethelight

If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. -Eckhart Tolle

Pick Your Place and Start Running

The evening news called it one of Broadway’s hottest performances, drawing in the President of the United States and cabinet members even, and it’s being hailed as a theatrical “game-changer”. “Hamilton” is a hip-hop, rapping musical about the life and times of founding father Alexander Hamilton. It took 35-year old playwright, Lin-Manuel Miranda, six years to produce the performance, including the music compositions, and taking on the title character.

pick a path, pick a dream, there's room at the tableLast night, I listened to the young producer share the pivotal moment to his current success. It was when he was accepted into a school for the gifted; he was a very bright child.

“Everyone was smarter than me. And I’m not blowin’ smoke. I was surrounded by genius, genius kids. What’s interesting about growing up in a culture like that is you go, ‘All right, I gotta figure out what my thing is. Because I’m not smarter than these kids. I’m not funnier than half of them, so I better figure out what it is I wanna do and work really hard at that.’ And because intellectually I’m treading water to be here… I picked a lane and I started running ahead of everybody else. That’s the honest answer. I was like, “All right, THIS.”

“This” was theater. He was in practically every school play from then on.

I silenced the television. That’s a powerful story. Letting those words ruminate in my mind, I picked up a book quoting Dr. Seuss’s “A Zoad In The Road”.

Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad 
Who came to two sides in the fork in the road?
He looked one way then the other way, too.
So the Zoad had to make up his mind what to do.
Well the Zoad scratched his head, his chin, and his pants,
And he said to himself, ‘Now, I’ll be taking a chance.
If I go to place one, that place may be hot.
So how will I know if I like it or not?
On the other hand though, I’ll feel such a fool,
If I go to place two and find it’s too cool.
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So place one may be best and not place two.
On the other hand though, if place one is too high,
I might get a terrible earache and die.
On the other hand though, if place two is too low,
I might get some terrible pain in my toe.
So place one may be the best,’ and he started to go.
And he stopped and he said, ‘On the other hand though. . .
On the other hand, other hand, other hand though, and. . .
For thirty-six hours and one half that Zoad made starts and made stops
At the fork in the road, saying ‘No, don’t take a chance, you may not be right.’
Then he got an idea that was wonderfully bright.
‘Play safe,’ cried the Zoad, ‘I’m no dunce.
I’ll simply start off to both places at once.’
And that’s how the Zoad who would not take a chance
Got no place at all with the split in his pants.

This poem represents the inability to commit to a solitary direction in life… and faith.

Maybe you’re at a fork in the road right now. Does it seem like everyone around you is smarter, richer, funnier, faster and more of everything that you are not? If your social media feed is anything like mine, it’s filled with dream chasers standing on the platform of their vision and sharing it all over the world.

Well, I’m encouraging you to pick a place. Choose a path that you can be good at. There’s room at the table for one more.

Are you a writer? What’s the one thing you can share with others from your own experience? Your story and perspective will come from the seasoning of life that is exclusive to you. No one else can come to the banquet with the kind of salt from your upbringing that you have.pick a place, dreamer, dream big, start walking, Godly wisdom, worldly wisdom, The Zoad, Dr. Seuss

Are you crafty? Your creative spirit can conceive and combine ideas that others cannot. You see the breakdown of steps on how to achieve a work of art. We need you at the table.

Are you all about the details? Surely your spreadsheets stand out amongst the crowd in color-coded charting and make a statement in the board room. Creative minds need your analytical brain to put these ideas on paper in a way the rest of us can understand it.

If you attempt to mix the world’s wisdom with Godly wisdom, well, this is when you end up going no place at all.

God has given you a direction and path that he wants you to follow. He may not have revealed each and every step to you at this very moment. And that’s okay. My advice is to just continue walking until He reveals the next one.

What does God’s path look like? It’s living a life that steps into faith when the details are fuzzy.

When you can’t see the end destination, and trust His lead into the next step, that is the surest way to reach your final destination.

Be Available

Save Perfection For The Able

God didn’t ask for the able, He asked for you to become available.

The breeze coming through my window in the morning catches the fragrance of my first cup of coffee brewing by 5 a.m.

Suddenly, I have energy just by the scent and I’m tossing back the covers to reach for that cup of greatness.

I begin with an offering of my heart and then I release control over my pen. I’m too scared to try on my own, so I read through the Word and wrestle to my knees. My soul is intoxicated by the aroma of the Spirit. It fills my being and I consume slowly and deeply, as I do with my coffee.

There are many refills of both before I ever pick up that pen. The last bit is brimming when I feel ready to let it pour out on the pages and speak to someone else who may need what I just digested.perfection, piles of writing

My past was buried under pages of perfection and I became too short on time to sort it out. Truthfully, there were struggles like fear and defeat that paralyzed my pen and made it easier to walk away from the words written down.

My control was carrying baggage with more than a thousand words from this journey through the valleys and mountain peaks that wasn’t worth much waiting on the fictitious day I could piece it together perfectly.

God is writing stories every day. We need only to be available. And willing to release control over the way He wants to write it.

fear cripples, creativity, professionals were amateursWhen I write in cadence with the story of life, that’s what letting go of perfection looks like. These are drafts rough around the edges and it takes a lot of trust to let you see it. It takes a whole lot more faith to believe my Father in Heaven is going to work with it. And yet, that’s the life we were called to live, a life of faith.

Living in our creative expressions takes faith. God is painting a new picture now, of a girl running wild and free with the gift He gave her at birth.

The enemy has a plan for you, and it includes anything that will prevent a preview of this portrait the Artist has been painting.paint the world, share your talent, God's gifts

So put it out there. Let go of control. Fear cripples creativity. Every professional started scribbling somewhere as an amateur. Practice by putting these gifts on display and watch what the Lord does with them.

Refine and rework the ridges tomorrow if you must, but for today splash the world in shades and strokes with whatever tools you have because time is running out. Perfection may have held you hostage but here’s permission to persevere.

Worry is a Waste of Imagination

worry, imaginationNever be ashamed to admit that you can’t do it all.

Wisdom is recognizing what season you’re in and living according to that.

Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender where you’re at for where you could go.

My advice is to keep God first, and His strength will give you what you need to make the rest of your decisions.

We all have different responsibilities, demands and distractions. When you choose to walk in the fear of the Lord, then it’s His job to find and provide the tools you need to get His work done.

 

God Will Always Provide

It just might look different than what we had in mind

God will provide, Philippians 4:19, trishakeehn.comFaith involves looking beyond what you can see or the limitations that you face.

Maybe you don’t have enough time in the day to do all you need to do. Or maybe you don’t have the resources to carry out what needs to be done. It could be that you are struggling to raise your kids alone. Or it could be that you have received a report from your doctor that is not good.

Maybe your bank account is low, and you are doing all you can to find a job… and yet, God is asking you to still honor Him with a portion of your money.

Whatever the case, faith acts on the truth that even though you don’t have enough, God has more than enough, and He has promised to supply all that you need.

Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.‪#‎KingdomWoman‬

How to Make a Decision

decisions, faith, God's strength, trishakeehn.com

One of the hardest decisions you’ll ever face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder. The next time you have a choice to make, ask yourself:

  • Which direction will build character and qualities in me that I need?
  • Where do I need to lean on God for the strength and less on my ability?
  • What brings peace and requires love?

Be careful not to let your emotions dictate the direction. Pray for God’s peace to lead you in the journey that is best the life He intended you to live.

Go Your Own Way

Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be? Trying to be true to yourself in a world filled with noise and conformity and comparison is a challenge. Find who you are once more and don’t change for anyone. Not for a day, a minute, a second. Go your own way.

moving on, dreamer, living in the past